LLukas22/scidocs huggingface dataset:
Habitat-specific clutch size and cost of incubation in eiders reconsidered

The energetic incubation constraint hypothesis (EICH) for clutch size states that birds breeding in poor habitat may free up resources for future reproduction by laying a smaller clutch. The eider (Somateria mollissima) is considered a candidate for supporting this hypothesis. Clutch size is smaller in exposed nests, presumably because of faster heat loss and higher incubation cost, and, hence, smaller optimal clutch size. However, an alternative explanation is partial predation: the first egg(s) are left unattended and vulnerable to predation, which may disproportionately affect exposed nests, so clutch size may be underestimated. We experimentally investigated whether predation on first-laid eggs in eiders depends on nest cover. We then re-evaluated how nesting habitat affects clutch size and incubation costs based on long-term data, accounting for confounding effects between habitat and individual quality. We also experimentally assessed adult survival costs of nesting in sheltered nests. The risk of egg predation in experimental nests decreased with cover. Confounding between individual and habitat quality is unlikely, as clutch size was also smaller in open nests within individuals, and early and late breeders had similar nest cover characteristics. A trade-off between clutch and female safety may explain nest cover variation, as the risk of female capture by us, mimicking predation on adults, increased with nest cover. Nest habitat had no effect on female hatching weight or weight loss, while lower temperature during incubation had an unanticipated positive relationship with hatching weight. There were no indications of elevated costs of incubating larger clutches, while clutch size and colony size were positively correlated, a pattern not predicted by the ‘energetic incubation constraint’ hypothesis. Differential partial clutch predation thus offers the more parsimonious explanation for clutch size variation among habitats in eiders, highlighting the need for caution when analysing fecundity and associated life-history parameters when habitat-specific rates of clutch predation occur.
Transdermal Testosterone

▴ Nightly application of testosterone transdermal (TTD) system to nonscrotal sites in men with hypogonadism results in a 24-hour serum testosterone concentration profile which mimics the circadian pattern observed in healthy young men. ▴ The system also normalises dihydrotestosterone/testosterone and estradiol/testosterone ratios and reduces luteinising hormone levels towards the normal range. ▴ A multicentre, open-label study demonstrated that nocturnal erectile response and overall sexual function improved during 12 months’ treatment with the TTD system (5 mg/day) in men with hypogonadism. Individual variables of sexual desire, arousal, frequency of sexual activity, orgasm and satisfaction also improved. ▴ The TTD system is well tolerated, with application site reactions such as pruritus, burn-like blisters and erythema being the most commonly reported events. ▴ Prostate-specific antigen levels and prostate volume remain in the normal range during long term treatment. ▴ Nightly application of testosterone transdermal (TTD) system to nonscrotal sites in men with hypogonadism results in a 24-hour serum testosterone concentration profile which mimics the circadian pattern observed in healthy young men. ▴ The system also normalises dihydrotestosterone/testosterone and estradiol/testosterone ratios and reduces luteinising hormone levels towards the normal range. ▴ A multicentre, open-label study demonstrated that nocturnal erectile response and overall sexual function improved during 12 months’ treatment with the TTD system (5 mg/day) in men with hypogonadism. Individual variables of sexual desire, arousal, frequency of sexual activity, orgasm and satisfaction also improved. ▴ The TTD system is well tolerated, with application site reactions such as pruritus, burn-like blisters and erythema being the most commonly reported events. ▴ Prostate-specific antigen levels and prostate volume remain in the normal range during long term treatment.
Evaluation of color encodings for high dynamic range pixels

Traditional Low Dynamic Range (LDR) color spaces encode a small fraction of the visible color gamut, which does not encompass the range of colors produced on upcoming High Dynamic Range (HDR) displays. Future imaging systems will require encoding much wider color gamut and luminance range. Such wide color gamut can be represented using floating point HDR pixel values but those are inefficient to encode. They also lack perceptual uniformity of the luminance and color distribution, which is provided (in approximation) by most LDR color spaces. Therefore, there is a need to devise an efficient, perceptually uniform and integer valued representation for high dynamic range pixel values. In this paper we evaluate several methods for encoding colour HDR pixel values, in particular for use in image and video compression. Unlike other studies we test both luminance and color difference encoding in a rigorous 4AFC threshold experiments to determine the minimum bit-depth required. Results show that the Perceptual Quantizer (PQ) encoding provides the best perceptual uniformity in the considered luminance range, however the gain in bit-depth is rather modest. More significant difference can be observed between color difference encoding schemes, from which YDuDv encoding seems to be the most efficient.
Lipopolysaccharide Alters Motivated Behavior in a Monetary Reward Task: a Randomized Trial

Inflammation-induced sickness is associated with a large set of behavioral alterations; however, its motivational aspects remain poorly explored in humans. The present study assessed the effect of lipopolysaccharide (LPS) administration at a dose of 2 ng/kg of body weight on motivation in 21 healthy human subjects in a double-blinded, placebo (saline)-controlled, cross-over design. Incentive motivation and reward sensitivity were measured using the Effort Expenditure for Rewards Task (EEfRT), in which motivation for high-effort/high-reward trials vs low-effort/low-reward trials are manipulated by variations in reward magnitude and probability to win. Because of the strong interactions between sleepiness and motivation, the role of sleepiness was also determined. As expected, the probability to win predicted the choice to engage in high-effort/high-reward trials; however, this occurred at a greater extent after LPS than after saline administration. This effect was related to the level of sleepiness. Sleepiness increased motivation to choose the high-effort/high-reward mode of response, but only when the probability to win was the highest. LPS had no effect on reward sensitivity either directly or via sleepiness. These results indicate that systemic inflammation induced by LPS administration causes motivational changes in young healthy subjects, which are associated with sleepiness. Thus, despite its association with energy-saving behaviors, sickness allows increased incentive motivation when the effort is deemed worthwhile.
Evaluation of SD Bioline HIV/syphilis Duo rapid test kits in Nepal

BACKGROUND
Accurate and prompt diagnosis of HIV and syphilis simultaneously has reinforcing effect on their control program because of their prevalent co-infection. Availability of a simple user-friendly two-pronged and affordable detection tools brings down the cost of health care. They are important in the antenatal clinics, with added opportunity for intervention and prevention of mother to child transmission. In cooperation with rapid test kit manufacturers, SD Bioline, NPHL and NCASC, an evaluation of commercially available HIV/syphilis Duo rapid test kit (SD Bioline) to assess its performance and operational characteristics was done in the present study.


METHOD
A prospective laboratory-based cross sectional study was conducted at a large Women's Hospital. Ten thousand pregnant women, visiting the Hospital for antenatal care or for delivery, were enrolled in study. Tests were performed by the SD Bioline HIV/Syphilis Duo kit as well as national algorithm for HIV and syphilis diagnosis which were considered gold standard. Sensitivity, Specificity, positive predictive value and negative predictive value along with kappa coefficient were calculated for the kit under evaluation.


RESULT
The sensitivity, specificity, Negative predictive value and Positive predictive value of the kit for HIV diagnosis were 100 % (95 % CI 83.18-100 %, 99.96-100 %, 83.18-100 %, and 99.96-100 %, respectively). Kappa value was found to be 1.0. Out of total cases, results of 9985 (99.85 %) cases were concordant with National algorithm for syphilis diagnosis. Thirteen (0.13 %) cases were found false positive while two were false negative. The sensitivity of the kit for syphilis diagnosis was found to be 95.45 % (95 % CI 84.86-98.74 %) and specificity was 99.87 % (95 % CI; 99.78-99.92 %). Positive predictive value was 76.36 % (95 % CI; 63.65-85.63 %) and Negative predictive value was 99.89 % (95 % CI; 99.39-99.99 %). Kappa value was found to be 0.85.


CONCLUSION
The performance characteristics of SD Bioline HIV/Syphilis duo kit were found almost concordant with the kits being used for HIV and Syphilis diagnosis separately. Its implementation in antenatal clinics/VCTs could be an added opportunity for simultaneous diagnosis of HIV and syphilis.
Blockchain - the Gateway to Trust-Free Cryptographic Transactions

Recently, the Bitcoin-underlying blockchain technology gained prominence as a solution that offers the realization of distributed trust-free systems, where economic transactions are guaranteed by the underlying blockchain. We are still at an early stage and thus require a deeper understanding of how the blockchain potentials can be realized, and what are the opportunities and challenges in so doing. Following a design science approach, we developed a proof of concept prototype that has the potential to replace a trust-based coffee shop payment solution that is based on an analogue, pre-paid punch card solution. The demonstrator provides a starting point to evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of the blockchain technology when replacing a trust-based by a trust-free transaction system. We conclude that the secure and trust-free blockchain-based transaction has the potential to change many existing trust-based transaction systems, but that scalability issues, costs, and volatility in the transaction currency are hindrances.
Array design techniques of microstrip comb-line antennas in millimeter-wave band

Traveling-wave array design techniques are applied to microstrip comb-line antennas in the millimeter-wave band. The simple design procedure is demonstrated. To neglect the effect of reflection waves in the design, a radiating element with a reflection-canceling slit and a stub-integrated radiating element are proposed. Matching performance is also improved.
Multicenter double-blind comparison of sertraline and desipramine for concurrent obsessive-compulsive and major depressive disorders.

BACKGROUND
Serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SRIs) have demonstrated consistent efficacy in the treatment of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), while agents that are primarily norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors have not. Comparable efficacy has been demonstrated for SRI and non-SRI antidepressants in uncomplicated major depressive disorder (MDD). This multicenter trial is the first comparison of an SRI (sertraline) and a non-SRI antidepressant (desipramine) in the treatment of OCD with concurrent MDD.


METHODS
One hundred sixty-six patients diagnosed using structured clinical interviews and recruited from 16 treatment sites were randomly assigned to double-blind treatment with either sertraline (up to 200 mg/d) or desipramine (up to 300 mg/d) over 12 weeks. Measures of severity of OCD and MDD symptoms, as well as adverse effects of the medications, were monitored over the course of the treatment period.


RESULTS
Patients assigned to sertraline responded significantly better at end point on measures of OCD and MDD symptoms compared with patients assigned to desipramine. Sertraline was also associated with a significantly greater number of patients who achieved a "robust" improvement in OCD symptoms (> or =40% reduction) compared with desipramine. More patients receiving desipramine than sertraline discontinued treatment because of adverse events.


CONCLUSIONS
The SRI sertraline was more effective in reducing MDD and OCD symptoms than the primarily norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor desipramine for patients with concurrent OCD and MDD.
Normative curves of fetal nasal bone length for the ethnic Chinese population.

OBJECTIVE
The purpose of this study is to determine the association between fetal nasal bone length (NBL) and gestational age (GA), biparietal diameter (BPD) and head circumference (HC) in women undergoing prenatal assessments and Down syndrome screening.


METHODS
Cross-sectional data were obtained from 3,003 women with singleton pregnancies who underwent a prenatal ultrasound examination at the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Cheng Hsin General Hospital between August 2006 and July 2009.


RESULTS
Statistical analyses involved linear regression. NBL with GA, BPD and HC as measured between 14(+0) and 35(+6) weeks of gestation were linearly related.


CONCLUSIONS
Using multiple parameters (GA, BPD and HC) to estimate NBL is more accurate than using than using GA or BPD or HC alone, as indicated by the higher predictive value.
Implications of the changing role of the Ambulance Paramedic for the interpretation of inappropriate calls : a review of the literature

Objectives: This article is a review of the literature on the changing role of the ambulance paramedic in the light of recent changes in UK Government policy towards the ambulance service. Methods: A systematic review of the literature on the Ambulance Service in the UK was carried out with regard to the expanding role and skills of ambulance paramedics in assessing, treating and advising patients at the scene of an emergency call-out. This involved accessing papers on the impact of increasing call outs, debates about the appropriateness of emergency calls, the outcomes of changing patterns of ambulance service practices and the effects of the performance indicators appertaining. Results: The review identifies the differences in the interpretation of the appropriateness of call-outs between ambulance callers and professionals. It also establishes that the contrast in perspectives has increased in importance as the number of call-outs has risen and the role of the paramedic has been developed. The narrow performance measurement regime in place intensifies this dilemma. These developments have implications for assessing the impact of improved ambulance services in terms of efficiency and effectiveness. Conclusions: A more balanced set of performance indicators is required, which would clearly recognise the work done by ambulance paramedics on the ground. This should reflect the perceptions of professionals and users concerning appropriateness. In addition there were gaps identified in the literature, especially with regard to the managerial and policy implications of changes in the service.
IT Governance in Public and Private Sector Organisations : Examining the Differences and Defining Future Research Directions

Government agencies constitute a significant component of economic activity in most countries. Like their private sector counterparts, many public sector agencies are struggling to cope with reduced or inadequate IT budgets and are continuously looking for ways to extract maximum value from IT resources. While there are many similarities between public and private sector organisations, there are inherent differences that suggest that a one size fits all approach to IT Governance may not apply in all circumstances. However, despite these differences, there exists a paucity of IT Governance research that distinguishes between the different organisational characteristics found in private and public sector organisations. This paper briefly examines the systemic differences between public and private sector organisations so as to identify the unique IT Governance issues that might arise, and that future research should address.
Discrete Modal Decomposition: a new approach for the reflectance modeling and rendering of real surfaces

Reflectance Transformation Imaging is a recent technique allowing for the measurement and the modeling of one of the most influential parameters on the appearance of a surface, namely the angular reflectance, thanks to the change in the direction of the lighting during acquisition. From these photometric stereo images (discrete data), the angular reflectance is modeled to allow both interactive and continuous relighting of the inspected surface. Two families of functions, based on polynomials and on hemispherical harmonics, are cited and used in the literature at this aim, respectively, associated to the PTM and HSH techniques. In this paper, we propose a novel method called Discrete Modal Decomposition (DMD) based on a particular and appropriate Eigen basis derived from a structural dynamic problem. The performance of the proposed method is compared with the PTM and HSH results on three real surfaces showing different reflection behaviors. Comparisons are made in terms of both visual rendering and of statistical error (local and global). The obtained results show that the DMD is more efficient in that it allows for a more accurate modeling of the angular reflectance when light–matter interaction is complex such as the presence of shadows, specularities and inter-reflections.
Osteopenia in young hypogonadal women with systemic lupus erythematosus receiving chronic steroid therapy: a randomized controlled trial comparing calcitriol and hormonal replacement therapy.

OBJECTIVE
To evaluate the efficacy of calcitriol and hormonal replacement therapy (HRT) in the treatment of steroid-induced osteoporosis in hypogonadal women.


METHODS
We studied 28 young patients (aged 37 +/- 6 yr) with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) on chronic steroid therapy for 130 +/- 22 months and requiring more than 10 mg/day prednisone. They were amenorrhoeic for more than 2 yr with proven ovarian failure. All had osteopenia with a T score at L2-4 of less than -1. They were randomized to receive HRT (conjugated oestrogen 0.625 mg daily from day 1 to day 21 plus medroxyprogesterone acetate 5 mg daily days 10-21) or calcitriol 0.5 microg daily. All received calcium carbonate 1 g/day.


RESULTS
There were no differences in the baseline demographic, bone mineral density (BMD) and biochemical data between the two groups. Lumbar spine BMD increased by 2.0 +/- 0.4% after 2 yr with HRT (P<0.05), but reduced by 1.74 +/- 0.4% (P<0.05) with calcitriol treatment. No change was seen at the distal one-third radius with HRT treatment but significant bone loss (2.3 +/- 1.4%, P<0.02) was observed with calcitriol therapy. BMD at the hip did not change in both groups. Comparing both treatment groups, significant differences in the BMD at the spine (P<0.03) and radius (P<0.05) were seen at the end of 2 yr. The changes in urinary n-telopeptide excretion but not serum osteocalcin at 6 months and 12 months were inversely correlated with the changes in lumbar spine BMD at 24 months. HRT did not cause an adverse effect on SLE disease activity.


CONCLUSION
HRT but not calcitriol could prevent bone loss in young hypogonadal women on chronic steroid therapy.
LTspice-model of thermoelectric Peltier-Seebeck element

A simple, symmetric, convertible into electric generator mode LTspice-model of Peltier-Seebeck element is proposed. The model parameters are extracted from the experimental measurement results of the electrical and thermal characteristics of the real elements.
Transcatheter aortic valve implantation without balloon predilation: a single-center pilot experience.

AIM
To assess the results of transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) using the Medtronic CoreValve prosthesis (Medtronic, Minneapolis, MN), without balloon predilation, in high-risk patients with degenerated severe aortic stenosis.


METHODS AND RESULTS
Fifty-one consecutive patients who underwent direct TAVI, 98% through a transfemoral approach. Patients were 79 ± 8 years of age, 74% in New York Heart Association classes III or IV and at high risk for surgical valve replacement (mean logistic EuroScore 20 ± 15). Mean aortic valve area was 0.7 ± 0.2 cm(2). Procedural success rate was 94.2%. In-hospital, there were 2 deaths, 1 minor stroke with minimal sequelae, and 14 (28%) pacemaker implantation. At 30 days, there was one additional stroke and no new deaths. The mean postprocedural transprosthetic gradient was 15 ± 5 mm Hg; periprosthetic severe regurgitation was absent and moderate in one case. After a median follow-up of 7 months, there were five additional deaths (two cardiac), while 84% of survivors were in New York Heart Association classes I or II.


CONCLUSIONS
These results suggest that direct CoreValve implantation in patients with severe aortic stenosis is feasible and may lead to hemodynamic and clinical improvement in patients who are poor candidates for aortic valve surgery, pending confirmation in larger series with longer follow-up.
Substance abuse treatment and psychiatric comorbidity: do benefits spill over? analysis of data from a prospective trial among cocaine-dependent homeless persons

BACKGROUND
Comorbid psychiatric illness can undermine outcomes among homeless persons undergoing addiction treatment, and psychiatric specialty care is not always readily available. The prognosis for nonsubstance abuse psychiatric diagnoses among homeless persons receiving behaviorally-based addiction treatment, however, is little studied.


RESULTS
Data from an addiction treatment trial for 95 cocaine-dependent homeless persons (1996-1998) were used to profile psychiatric diagnoses at baseline and 6 months, including mood-related disorders (e.g. depression) and anxiety-related disorders (e.g. post-traumatic stress disorder). Treatment interventions, including systematic reinforcement for goal attainment, were behavioral in orientation. There was a 32% reduction in the prevalence of comorbid non-addiction psychiatric disorder from baseline to 6 months, with similar reductions in the prevalence of mood (-32%) and anxiety-related disorders (-20%) (p = 0.12).


CONCLUSION
Among cocaine-dependent homeless persons with psychiatric comorbidity undergoing behavioral addiction treatment, a reduction in comorbid psychiatric disorder prevalence was observed over 6 months. Not all participants improved, suggesting that even evidence-based addiction treatment will prove insufficient for a meaningful proportion of the dually diagnosed homeless population.