LLukas22/scidocs huggingface dataset:
The Environmental Kuznets Curve, environmental protection policy and income distribution

The effect of economic growth on pollution emissions differs substantially among high-income countries. I address this issue by analyzing public environmental policy decisions. Individual heterogeneity, relative income effect and the political framework in which policy decisions are taken determine the emergence of the downward sloping segment of the Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC). Income inequality produces a gap between the country’s ability to pay for environmental protection and a country’s willingness to pay. I test this result by using OECD data on public R&D expenditure for environmental protection. The conclusion is that contrary to the EK hypothesis, moments of the income distribution function other than the mean may be important for the emergence of a virtuous path of sustainable growth in high-income countries. © 2000 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.
Consecutive lynestrenol and cross-sex hormone treatment in biological female adolescents with gender dysphoria: a retrospective analysis

Prior to the start of cross-sex hormone therapy (CSH), androgenic progestins are often used to induce amenorrhea in female to male (FtM) pubertal adolescents with gender dysphoria (GD). The aim of this single-center study is to report changes in anthropometry, side effects, safety parameters, and hormone levels in a relatively large cohort of FtM adolescents with a diagnosis of GD at Tanner stage B4 or further, who were treated with lynestrenol (Orgametril®) monotherapy and in combination with testosterone esters (Sustanon®). A retrospective analysis of clinical and biochemical data obtained during at least 6 months of hormonal treatment in FtM adolescents followed at our adolescent gender clinic since 2010 (n = 45) was conducted. McNemar’s test to analyze reported side effects over time was performed. A paired Student’s t test or a Wilcoxon signed-ranks test was performed, as appropriate, on anthropometric and biochemical data. For biochemical analyses, all statistical tests were done in comparison with baseline parameters. Patients who were using oral contraceptives (OC) at intake were excluded if a Mann-Whitney U test indicated influence of OC. Metrorrhagia and acne were most pronounced during the first months of monotherapy and combination therapy respectively and decreased thereafter. Headaches, hot flushes, and fatigue were the most reported side effects. Over the course of treatment, an increase in musculature, hemoglobin, hematocrit, creatinine, and liver enzymes was seen, progressively sliding into male reference ranges. Lipid metabolism shifted to an unfavorable high-density lipoprotein (HDL)/low-density lipoprotein (LDL) ratio; glucose metabolism was not affected. Sex hormone-binding globulin (SHBG), total testosterone, and estradiol levels decreased, and free testosterone slightly increased during monotherapy; total and free testosterone increased significantly during combination therapy. Gonadotropins were only fully suppressed during combination therapy. Anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH) remained stable throughout the treatment. Changes occurred in the first 6 months of treatment and remained mostly stable thereafter. Treatment of FtM gender dysphoric adolescents with lynestrenol monotherapy and in combination with testosterone esters is effective, safe, and inexpensive; however, suppression of gonadotropins is incomplete. Regular blood controls allow screening for unphysiological changes in safety parameters or hormonal levels and for medication abuse.
Canonical Correlation Inference for Mapping Abstract Scenes to Text

We describe a technique for structured prediction, based on canonical correlation analysis. Our learning algorithm finds two projections for the input and the output spaces that aim at projecting a given input and its correct output into points close to each other. We demonstrate our technique on a language-vision problem, namely the problem of giving a textual description to an “abstract scene.”
Violence against transgender people : A review of United States data ☆

Article history: Transgender people face ma Received 14 December 2007 Received in revised form 31 December 2008 Accepted 20 January 2009 Available online 24 January 2009
Endothelial Nitric Oxide Synthase Single Nucleotide Polymorphism and Left Ventricular Function in Early Chronic Kidney Disease

BACKGROUND
Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is associated with accelerated cardiovascular disease and heart failure. Endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) Glu298Asp single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) genotype has been associated with a worse phenotype amongst patients with established heart failure and in patients with progression of their renal disease. The association of a cardiac functional difference in non-dialysis CKD patients with no known previous heart failure, and eNOS gene variant is investigated.


METHODS
140 non-dialysis CKD patients, who had cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) imaging and tissue doppler echocardiography as part of two clinical trials, were genotyped for eNOS Glu298Asp SNP retrospectively.


RESULTS
The median estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) was 50 mls/min and left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) was 74% with no overt diastolic dysfunction in this cohort. There were significant differences in LVEF across eNOS genotypes with GG genotype being associated with a worse LVEF compared to other genotypes (LVEF: GG 71%, TG 76%, TT 73%, p = 0.006). After multivariate analysis, (adjusting for age, eGFR, baseline mean arterial pressure, contemporary CMR heart rate, total cholesterol, high sensitive C-reactive protein, body mass index and gender) GG genotype was associated with a worse LVEF, and increased LV end-diastolic and systolic index (p = 0.004, 0.049 and 0.009 respectively).


CONCLUSIONS
eNOS Glu298Asp rs1799983 polymorphism in CKD patients is associated with relevant sub-clinical cardiac remodelling as detected by CMR. This gene variant may therefore represent an important genetic biomarker, and possibly highlight pathways for intervention, in these patients who are at particular risk of worsening cardiac disease as their renal dysfunction progresses.
BANDWIDTH EXTENSION OF AUDIO SIGNALS BY SPECTRAL BAND REPLICATION

Spectral Band Replication (SBR) is a new audio coding tool that significantly improves the coding gain of perceptual coders and speech coders. Currently, there are three different audio coders that have shown a vast improvement by the combination with SBR: MPEG-AAC, MPEG-Layer II and MPEG-Layer III (mp3), all three being parts of the open ISO-MPEG standard. The combination of AAC and SBR will be used in the standardized Digital Radio Mondiale (DRM) system, and SBR is currently also being standardized within MPEG-4. SBR is a so-called bandwidth extension technique, where a major part of a signal’s bandwidth is reconstructed from the lowband on the receiving side. It is developed and marketed by Coding Technologies, an international company in the audio coding field. This paper will focus on the technical details of SBR and in particular on the filter bank, which is the basis of the SBR process.
THE LANGLANDS-KOTTWITZ APPROACH FOR SOME SIMPLE SHIMURA VARIETIES

We show how the Langlands-Kottwitz method can be used to determine the semisimple local factors of the Hasse-Weil zeta-function of certain Shimura varieties. On the way, we prove a conjecture of Haines and Kottwitz in this special case.
Efficient application of GPGPU for lava flow hazard mapping

The individuation of areas that are more likely to be impacted by new events in volcanic regions is of fundamental relevance for mitigating possible consequences, both in terms of loss of human lives and material properties. For this purpose, the lava flow hazard maps are increasingly used to evaluate, for each point of a map, the probability of being impacted by a future lava event. Typically, these maps are computed by relying on an adequate knowledge about the volcano, assessed by an accurate analysis of its past behavior, together with the explicit simulation of thousands of hypothetical events, performed by a reliable computational model. In this paper, General-Purpose Computation with Graphics Processing Units (GPGPU) is applied, in conjunction with the SCIARA lava flow Cellular Automata model, to the process of building the lava invasion maps. Using different GPGPU devices, the paper illustrates some different implementation strategies and discusses numerical results obtained for a case study at Mt. Etna (Italy), Europe’s most active volcano.
Characteristic sets: Accurate cardinality estimation for RDF queries with multiple joins

Accurate cardinality estimates are essential for a successful query optimization. This is not only true for relational DBMSs but also for RDF stores. An RDF database consists of a set of triples and, hence, can be seen as a relational database with a single table with three attributes. This makes RDF rather special in that queries typically contain many self joins. We show that relational DBMSs are not well-prepared to perform cardinality estimation in this context. Further, there are hardly any special cardinality estimation methods for RDF databases. To overcome this lack of appropriate cardinality estimation methods, we introduce characteristic sets together with new cardinality estimation methods based upon them. We then show experimentally that the new methods are-in the RDF context-highly superior to the estimation methods employed by commercial DBMSs and by the open-source RDF store RDF-3X.
Nasal airway preservation using the autospreader technique: analysis of outcomes using a disease-specific quality-of-life instrument.

OBJECTIVE
To measure the efficacy of a specific midvault reconstruction technique (the autospreader flap) in dorsal reductive rhinoplasty with a validated quality-of-life instrument.


DESIGN
A prospective observational outcomes study of patients desiring reduction of the nasal dorsum who either (1) had no breathing obstruction, who underwent purely aesthetic rhinoplasty, or (2) had concomitant severe nasal obstruction due to septal deviation, internal valve narrowing, and/or turbinate hypertrophy, who subsequently underwent combined functional and aesthetic rhinoplasty. Preoperative and postoperative evaluation was performed using the Nasal Obstruction Symptoms Evaluation (NOSE) scale.


RESULTS
Thirty-eight patients completed preoperative and postoperative evaluation. No complications occurred. Patients in the purely aesthetic group were noted to have low preoperative NOSE scores, with no change postoperatively. There was a significant improvement in mean NOSE score postoperatively for the combined functional and aesthetic group (P < .001).


CONCLUSIONS
Midvault reconstruction using the autospreader graft may help prevent postoperative nasal obstruction due to midvault collapse. Combining this procedure with dorsal reduction in functional rhinoplasty patients with traditional airway reconstruction techniques is effective in improving nasal airway function as measured by a patient-based, disease-specific quality-of-life instrument.
iCub Whole-Body Control through Force Regulation on Rigid Non-Coplanar Contacts

*Correspondence: Francesco Nori , Cognitive Humanoids Laboratory, Department of Robotics Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Fondazione Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Via Morego 30, Genova 16163, Italy e-mail: francesco.nori@iit.it This paper details the implementation of state-of-the-art whole-body control algorithms on the humanoid robot iCub. We regulate the forces between the robot and its surrounding environment to stabilize a desired posture. We assume that the forces and torques are exerted on rigid contacts. The validity of this assumption is guaranteed by constraining the contact forces and torques, e.g., the contact forces must belong to the associated friction cones. The implementation of this control strategy requires the estimation of both joint torques and external forces acting on the robot. We then detail algorithms to obtain these estimates when using a robot with an iCub-like sensor set, i.e., distributed six-axis force-torque sensors and whole-body tactile sensors. A general theory for identifying the robot inertial parameters is also presented. From an actuation standpoint, we show how to implement a joint-torque control in the case of DC brushless motors. In addition, the coupling mechanism of the iCub torso is investigated.The soundness of the entire control architecture is validated in a real scenario involving the robot iCub balancing and making contact with both arms.
In the Age of Web: Typed Functional-First Programming Revisited

Most programming languages were designed before the age of web. This matters because the web changes many assumptions that typed functional language designers take for granted. For example, programs do not run in a closed word, but must instead interact with (changing and likely unreliable) services and data sources, communication is often asynchronous or event-driven, and programs need to interoperate with untyped environments. In this paper, we present how F# language and libraries face the challenges posed by the web. Technically, this comprises using type providers for integration with external information sources and for integration with untyped programming environments, using lightweight meta-programming for targeting JavaScript and computation expressions for writing asynchronous code. In this inquiry, the holistic perspective is more important than each of the features in isolation. We use a practical case study as a starting point and look how F# language and libraries approach the challenges posed by the web. The specific lessons learned are perhaps less interesting than our attempt to uncover hidden assumptions that no longer hold in the age of web.
Exercise Training in Pregnancy for obese women (ETIP): study protocol for a randomised controlled trial

UNLABELLED



BACKGROUND
Both maternal pre-pregnancy obesity and excessive gestational weight gain are increasing in prevalence and associated with a number of adverse pregnancy outcomes for both mother and child. Observational studies regarding physical activity in pregnancy have found reduced weight gain in active mothers, as well as reduced risk of adverse pregnancy outcomes. There is however a lack of high quality, randomized controlled trials on the effects of regular exercise training in pregnancy, especially those with a pre-pregnancy body mass index (BMI) at or above 30 kg/m2.


METHODS
We are conducting a randomised, controlled trial in Norway with two parallel arms; one intervention group and one control group. We will enroll 150 previously sedentary, pregnant women with a pre-pregnancy BMI at or above 30 kg/m2. The intervention group will meet for organized exercise training three times per week, starting in gestation week 14 (range 12-16). The control group will get standard antenatal care. The main outcome measure will be weight gain from baseline to delivery. Among the secondary outcome measures are changes in exercise capacity, endothelial function, physical activity level, body composition, serum markers of cardiovascular risk, incontinence, lumbopelvic pain and cardiac function from baseline to gestation week 37 (range 36-38). Offspring outcome measures include anthropometric variables at birth, Apgar score, as well as serum markers of inflammation and metabolism in cord blood.


DISCUSSION
The results of this trial will provide knowledge about effects of regular exercise training in previously sedentary, obese pregnant women. If the program proves effective in reducing gestational weight gain and adverse pregnancy outcomes, such programs should be considered as part of routine pregnancy care for obese women.


TRIAL REGISTRATION
ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT01243554.
A review of TRIZ, and its benefits and challenges in practice

TRIZ (the theory of inventive problem solving) has been promoted by several enthusiasts as a systematic methodology or toolkit that provides a logical approach to developing creativity for innovation and inventive problem solving. The methodology, which emerged from Russia in the 1960s, has spread to over 35 countries across the world. It is now being taught in several universities and it has been applied by a number of global organisations who have found it particularly useful for spurring new product development. However, while its popularity and attractiveness appear to be on a steady increase, there are practical issues which make the use of TRIZ in practice particularly challenging. These practical difficulties have largely been neglected by TRIZ literature. This paper takes a step away from conventional TRIZ literature, by exploring not just the benefits associated with TRIZ knowledge, but the challenges associated with its acquisition and application based on practical experience. Through a survey, first-hand information is collected from people who have tried (successfully and unsuccessfully) to understand and apply the methodology. The challenges recorded cut across a number of issues, ranging from the complex nature of the methodology to underlying organisational and cultural issues which hinder its understanding and application. Another contribution of this paper, potentially useful for TRIZ beginners, is the indication of what tools among the several contained in the TRIZ toolkit would be most useful to learn first, based on their observed degree of usage by the survey respondents. & 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
A method for positioning electrodes during surface EMG recordings in lower limb muscles

PURPOSE
The aim of this work is to provide information about the degree of inter-subject uniformity of location of innervation zone (IZ) in 13 superficial muscles of the lower limb. The availability of such information will allow researchers to standardize and optimize their electrode positioning procedure and to obtain accurate and repeatable estimates of surface electromyography (sEMG) signal amplitude, spectral variables and muscle fiber conduction velocity.


METHODS
Surface EMG signals from gluteus maximus, gluteus medius, tensor faciae latae, biceps femoris, semitendinosus, vastus medialis obliquus, vastus lateralis, rectus femoris, tibialis anterior, peroneus longus, soleus, gastrocnemius medialis and lateralis muscles of ten healthy male subjects aged between 25 and 34 years (average = 29.2 years, S.D. = 2.5 years) were recorded to assess individual IZ location and signal quality.


RESULTS
Tensor faciae latae, biceps femoris, semitendinosus, vastus lateralis, gastrocnemius medialis and lateralis showed a high level of both signal quality and IZ location uniformity. In contrast, rectus femoris, gluteus medius and peroneus longus were found to show poor results for both indexes. Gluteus maximus, vastus medialis obliquus and tibialis anterior were found to show high signal quality but low IZ location uniformity. Finally, soleus muscle was found to show low signal quality but high IZ location uniformity.


CONCLUSIONS
This study identifies optimal electrode sites for muscles in the lower extremity by providing a standard landmarking technique for the localization of the IZ of each muscle so that surface EMG electrodes can be properly positioned between the IZ and a tendon.
Central neuropathology of equine grass sickness

Equine grass sickness (EGS) is an acquired disease of unknown aetiology affecting horses kept at grass. The disease is characterised by postganglionic sympathetic and parasympathetic neuronal pathology and is categorised as a dysautonomia. This study undertook a systematic examination of brain stem cranial nerve nuclei in 59 cases of EGS. Pathology consisting of neuronal chromatolysis was most consistently noted in the lower motor neurons of the general visceral efferent nucleus of CN III and X and the general somatic efferent nuclei of CN III, V, VII and XII. The prevalence of chromatolysis differed significantly between the diagnostic categories and was inversely related to the age of the animal. Duration of disease had a small but significant negative effect on the proportion of nuclei with chromatolytic neurons in chronic cases. The distribution of chromatolytic neurons is unlike that reported in any other equine or human disease; however, it appears to be equivalent to that in other animals with primary dysautonomias. EGS should be classified as a multisystem disease.
The prosodic dimensions of emotion in speech: the relative weights of parameters

The emotional prosody is multi-dimensional. A debated question is to understand if some parameters are more specialized to convey some emotion dimensions [13]. Selected stimuli, mixed issued of authentic and acted French corpus, expressing anxiety, disappointment, disgust, disquiet, joy, resignation, satisfaction and sadness were used to synthesize artefactual stimuli integrating the emotional contour of each prosodic parameter separately. These stimuli were evaluated on a perception experiment. Results indicate that (1) no parameter alone is able to carry the whole emotion information, (2) F0 contours (not only the global F0 value) reveal to bring more information on positive expressions, (3) voice quality and duration convey more information on negative expressions, and (4) the intensity contours do not bring any significant information when used alone.
Zinc for attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder: placebo-controlled double-blind pilot trial alone and combined with amphetamine.

OBJECTIVE
To explore effects of zinc supplementation in American children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Mideastern trials reported significant benefit from 13-40 mg elemental zinc as the sulfate.


METHOD
We randomly assigned 52 children aged 6-14 with DSM-IV ADHD to zinc supplementation (15 mg every morning [qAM] or two times per day [b.i.d.] as glycinate, n = 28) or matched placebo (n = 24) for 13 weeks: 8 weeks monotherapy and then 5 weeks with added d-amphetamine (AMPH). AMPH dose was weight-standardized for 2 weeks and then clinically optimized by week 13. Zinc glycinate was chosen as having less gastrointestinal discomfort than sulfate. Hypotheses were that zinc would improve inattention more than placebo by effect size of d > 0.25 at 8 weeks; zinc+AMPH would improve ADHD symptoms more than placebo+AMPH by d > 0.25, and optimal dose of AMPH with zinc would be 20% lower than with placebo. An interim analysis requested by the National Institute of Mental Health resulted in an increased dosage, so that 20 received 15 mg/day qAM and 8 received 30 mg/day (15 mg b.i.d.)


RESULTS
Only the third hypothesis was upheld: Optimal mg/kg AMPH dose with b.i.d. zinc was 37% lower than with placebo. Other clinical outcomes were equivocal, sometimes favoring zinc, sometimes placebo, but objective neuropsychological measures mostly favored b.i.d. zinc (d = 0.36-0.7). Safety tests and adverse events were not different between groups. Copper and iron blood indices were not impaired by 8 weeks of 30 mg/day zinc.


CONCLUSION
Doses up to 30 mg/day of zinc were safe for at least 8 weeks, but clinical effect was equivocal except for 37% reduction in amphetamine optimal dose with 30 mg/day zinc (not with 15 mg). Possible reasons for difference from mideastern reports include endemic diets, population genetics, relative rate of zinc deficiency, difference in background nutrition, insufficient dosage or absorption, or wrong anion (sulfate may be necessary for reported benefit). Dose may be especially important: All visually impressive advantages over placebo appeared only with 15 mg b.i.d. rather than once a day. Future research should use larger doses than 15 mg/day, provide a basic recommended daily allowance/intake multivitamin/mineral supplement for all to standardize background nutrition, select participants for low zinc, and consider the issue of anion interaction.