LLukas22/scidocs huggingface dataset:
Torneträsk tree-ring width and density AD 500 – 2004 : A test of climatic sensitivity and a new 1500-year reconstruction of north Fennoscandian summers

This paper presents updated tree-ring width (TRW) and maximum density (MXD) from Torneträsk in northern Sweden, now covering the period AD 500–2004. By including data from relatively young trees for the most recent period, a previously noted decline in recent MXD is eliminated. Non-climatological growth trends in the data are removed using Regional Curve Standardization (RCS), thus producing TRW and MXD chronologies with preserved lowfrequency variability. The chronologies are calibrated using local and regional instrumental climate records. A bootstrapped response function analysis using regional climate data shows that tree growth is forced by April–August temperatures and that the regression weights for MXD are much stronger than for TRW. The robustness of the reconstruction equation is verified by independent temperature data and shows that 63–64% of the instrumental inter-annual variation is captured by the tree-ring data. This is a significant improvement compared to previously published reconstructions based on tree-ring data from Torneträsk. A divergence phenomenon around AD 1800, expressed as an increase in TRW that is not paralleled by temperature and MXD, is most likely an effect of major changes in the density of the pine population at this northern tree-line site. The bias introduced by this TRW phenomenon is assessed by producing a summer temperature reconstruction based on MXD exclusively. The new data show generally higher temperature estimates than previous reconstructions based on Torneträsk tree-ring data. The late-twentieth century, however, is not exceptionally warm in the new record: On decadal-to-centennial timescales, periods around AD 750, 1000, 1400, and 1750 were equally warm, or warmer. The 200-year long warm period centered on AD 1000 was significantly warmer than the late-twentieth century (p \ 0.05) and is supported by other local and regional paleoclimate data. The new tree-ring evidence from Torneträsk suggests that this ‘‘Medieval Warm Period’’ in northern Fennoscandia was much warmer than previously recognized.
Applying MDA approach for Web service platform

We present the development of an illustrative example of e-business based on two different applications of a Model-Driven Architecture (MDA) approach. In the first application, the platform-independent model (PIM) is created using the Unified Modeling Language (UML). This PIM is transformed using Atlas Transformation Language (ATL) to generate the platform-specific model (PSM) based on three target platforms: Java, Web service and Java Web service developer pack (JWSDP). In the second application, the PIM is created using enterprise distributed object computing (EDOC) and transformed into another PSM based on the same target platforms. For this purpose we use the illustrative example of a travel agency to depict some issues of the approach. Then, we discuss mappings between meta-models.
Active Learning in Recommender Systems

Recommender Systems (RSs) are often assumed to present items to users for one reason – to recommend items a user will likely be interested in. Of course RSs do recommend, but this assumption is biased, with no help of the title, towards the “recommending” the system will do. There is another reason for presenting an item to the user: to learn more about their preferences, or their likes and dislikes. This is where Active Learning (AL) comes in. Augmenting RSs with AL helps the user become more self-aware of their own likes/dislikes while at the same time providing new information to the system that it can analyze for subsequent recommendations. In essence, applying AL to RSs allows for personalization of the recommending process, a concept that makes sense as recommending is inherently geared towards personalization. This is accomplished by letting the system actively influence which items the user is exposed to (e.g. the items displayed to the user during sign-up or during regular use), and letting the user explore his/her interests freely. Unfortunately, there are very few opportunities for the system to acquire information, such as when a user rates/reviews an item, or through a user’s browsing history.1 Since these opportunities are few, we want to be as sure as possible that the data we acquire tells us something important about the user’s preferences. After all, one of the most valuable assets of a company is user data. For example, when a new user starts using a recommender system, very little is known about his/her preferences [43, 36, 2]. A common approach to
Effective Lagrangians (for electroweak physics)

In this set of lectures I will present an elementary introduction to the uses of effective lagrangians in the electroweak interaction with emphasis in practical applications
Thematic networks : an analytic tool for qualitative

K E Y W O R D S : method, qualitative analysis, text interpretation, textual data The need for tools in qualitative analysis Qualitative methods have enjoyed a growing popularity in the past decade throughout the social sciences (Bryman and Burgess, 1994; Denzin, 1994; Jensen, 1991; Marshall and Rossman, 1999; Morse, 1994). No longer relegated to the marginalia of exploratory stages, or derided as anecdotal, qualitative methods have been gaining recognition in domains traditionally inclined to more positivistic methods (Barnes et al., 1999; Black, 1996; Ritchie and Spencer, 1994). Indeed, literature espousing, promoting and employing this method of research is rapidly increasing – a move that is being welcomed as a positive step towards a deeper understanding of social phenomena and their dynamics. However, while the issues of when, why and how to employ qualitative Thematic networks: an analytic tool for qualitative research J E N N I F E R A T T R I D E S T I R L I N G Commission for Health Improvement, England Qualitative Research Copyright © SAGE Publications (London, Thousand Oaks,CA and New Delhi) vol. (): -. [- () :; -; ] 385 Q R A RT I C L E
Recent Advances in Graph Partitioning

We survey recent trends in practical algorithms for balanced graph partitioning, point to applications and discuss future research directions.
Informal Formality? The Object Constraint Language and Its Application in the UML Metamodel

Within the field of object technology it is becoming recognised that constraints are a good way to produce more precise and formal specifications than with diagrams alone. Evidence of this is that UML incorporates a standard constraint language called OCL (Object Constraint Language). The availability of OCL will encourage UML users to add constraints to their UML models. This paper explains OCL and demonstrates its applicability. Probably the largest application of OCL to date was its use to define the metamodel of UML, and the experiences gained in this application are discussed.
Why reduce ? Phonological neighborhood density and phonetic reduction in spontaneous speech

Frequent or contextually predictable words are often phonetically reduced, i.e. shortened and produced with articulatory undershoot. Explanations for phonetic reduction of predictable forms tend to take one of two approaches: Intelligibility-based accounts hold that talkers maximize intelligibility of words that might otherwise be difficult to recognize; production-based accounts hold that variation reflects the speed of lexical access and retrieval in the language production system. Here we examine phonetic variation as a function of phonological neighborhood density, capitalizing on the fact that words from dense phonological neighborhoods tend to be relatively difficult to recognize, yet easy to produce. We show that words with many phonological neighbors tend to be phonetically reduced (shortened in duration and produced with more centralized vowels) in connected speech, when other predictors of phonetic variation are brought under statistical control. We argue that our findings are consistent with the predictions of production-based accounts of pronunciation variation. 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Suárez’s Psychology

In 1572 Francisco Suarez lectured in Segovia on questions related to Aristotle's De anima , which largely defined the scope of teaching psychology in sixteenth-century universities. This chapter follows the 1572 text (C) and also gives references to the 1621 version (A). SSuarez also deals with questions pertaining to philosophical psychology in some parts of the Disputationes metaphysicae and in his theological commentary on Thomas Aquinas's Summa theologiae . In fact, Aristotle and Aquinas are the most quoted authors in Suarez's psychological works. The Jesuit usually points out when he is deviating from their views, and he often seeks harmonising interpretations, although some of his basic insights, such as the theory of non-causal psychological connections, go in another direction. Duns Scotus is one of the sources for his non-Thomist views, though Suarez is familiar with a great number of medieval and early modern theological, philosophical, and even medical works. Keywords: Aristotle; Francisco Suarez; Jesuit; philosophical psychology
Discontinuation of cART postpartum in a high prevalence district of South Africa in 2014

BACKGROUND
Combination antiretroviral therapy (cART) is the current strategy to prevent mother-to-child transmission (PMTCT) of HIV. Women initiated on cART should continue taking treatment life-long or stop after cessation of breastfeeding depending on their CD4 cell count or on their World Health Organization (WHO) staging. Keeping people living with HIV on treatment is essential for the success of any antiretroviral therapy (ART) programme. There has been a rapid scale-up of cART in the PMTCT programme in South Africa. cART is supposed to be taken life-long or until cessation of breastfeeding, but premature or unmanaged discontinuation of cART postpartum is not unusual in South Africa and is confirmed by studies from around the world. Discontinuation of cART can lead to mother-to-child transmission (MTCT), drug resistance and poor maternal outcomes. The extent of this problem in the South African context however is unclear. This study aims to determine the prevalence of and identify risk factors associated with discontinuation of cART postpartum amongst women who were initiated on antiretroviral treatment during their index pregnancy.


METHODS
An observational analytic cross-sectional study design will be conducted in six health facilities in a high prevalence district in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa over a period of 3 months in 2014. An interviewer-administered questionnaire will be used to collect data from mothers who initiated cART during their index pregnancy. The prevalence of discontinuation of cART postpartum will be measured, and the association between those who discontinue cART postpartum and independent variables will be estimated using multivariable-adjusted prevalence odds ratios for discontinuation.
Flow cytometric characterization of human umbilical cord blood lymphocytes: immunophenotypic features.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE
One of the most important potential advantages in the use of human umbilical cord blood (HUCB) for hematopoietic reconstitution after myeloablative therapy seems to be the lower occurrence of acute graft-versus-host-disease (GvHD) in recipients after allogeneic transplantation. Since mature T cells play an important role in GvHD pathogenesis, we tried to verify whether a different immunophenotypic pattern exists between HUCB and peripheral blood (PB) T cells.


DESIGN AND METHODS
An immunophenotypic study on 40 HUCB and 40 PB samples from healthy adult volunteers was performed, by means of flow cytometry using a large panel of monoclonal antibodies in double labeling.


RESULTS
The absolute lymphocyte count was greater in HUCB (5233 +/- 1808 microL) than in adult PB (1941 +/- 378 microL). Significant differences in percentage were found between cord and adult T-cells, respectively (CD3+: 59.9 +/- 12 vs 74.9 +/- 4.6%), CD3- CD16+ and/or CD56+ natural killer (NK) cells (23.8 +/- 10.1 vs 10.8 +/- 5.3%) and CD3+CD16+ and/or CD56+ cytotoxic T lymphocyte subset (0.3 +/- 0.3 vs 10.7 +/- 4.1%). There was no difference in CD4/CD8 ratio (1.7 +/- 0.5 vs 1.6 +/- 0.2%) between the two groups. In absolute terms, HUCB contained an higher number of all lymphocyte subsets, with the exception of CD3+CD16+ and/or CD56+ T lymphocyte subpopulation, CD3+CD25+ and CD3+HLADR+ activated T-cells. CD38, a marker of activation and immaturity, was present on virtually all cord T cells and on approximately half of the adult T cells. The large majority of HUCB T cells co-expressed CD45RA naive antigen (CD4+CD45RA+: 87.6 +/- 5.2%, CD8+ CD45RA+: 93.5 +/- 7.8%; CD4+CD45RO+: 12.3 +/- 5.2%; CD8+CD45RO+: 6.4 +/- 7.8%) whereas in adult PB T cells an higher number of CD45RO+ memory cells was detected (CD4+CD45RA+: 44.8 +/- 9.6%; CD8+CD45RA: 71.5% +/- 8.1%; CD4+CD45RO+: 55.2 +/- 9.6%; CD8+ CD45RO+: 28.5 +/- 8.1%). Finally, less than 14% of lymphocytes were shown to belong to B lineage in both sources, while, in absolute terms, they were more represented in HUCB with respect to adult PB.


INTERPRETATION AND CONCLUSIONS
In the present study we found significant difference between HUCB and adult PB lymphocytes in their immunophenotypic profile. In particular HUCB showed T lymphocytes that appeared to be phenotypically immature. Indeed, as a likely consequence of poor antigenic experience during pregnancy, the majority of HUCB cells were naive, expressing the RA isoform of the CD45 molecule. These findings could justify the previously reported reduced cord blood lymphocyte alloreactivity when allogeneic transplantation is performed and require further functional studies in order to confirm the impairment of HUCB immune system response to alloantigens.
Improved preprocessing, labeling and scaling algorithms for the Weight-Constrained Shortest Path Problem

Much has been written on shortest path problems with weight, or resource, constraints. However, relatively little of it has provided systematic computational comparisons for a representative selection of algorithms. Furthermore, there has been almost no work showing numerical performance of scaling algorithms, although worst-case complexity guarantees for these are well known, nor has the effectiveness of simple preprocessing techniques been fully demonstrated. Here, we provide a computational comparison of three scaling techniques and a standard label-setting method. We also describe preprocessing techniques which take full advantage of cost and upper-bound information that can be obtained from simple shortest path information. We show that integrating information obtained in preprocessing within the label-setting method can lead to very substantial improvements in both memory required and run time, in some cases, by orders of magnitude. Finally, we show how the performance of the label-setting method can be further improved by making use of all Lagrange multiplier information collected in a Lagrangean relaxation first step. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Generative Visual Manipulation on the Natural Image Manifold

Interactive Image Generation User edits Generated images User edits Generated images User edits Generated images [1] Zhu et al. Learning a Discriminative Model for the Perception of Realism in Composite Images. ICCV 2015. [2] Goodfellow et al. Generative Adversarial Nets. NIPS 2014 [3] Radford et al. Unsupervised representation learning with deep convolutional generative adversarial networks. ICLR 2016 Reference : Natural images 0, I , Unif 1, 1
Research on computer vision-based for UAV autonomous landing on a ship

In this paper, a novel approach to UAV’s automatic landing on the ship’s deck is proposed. We present the design of the cooperative object, and then begin our basic research on UAV autonomous landing on a ship by using computer vision and affine moment invariants. We analyze the infrared radiation images in our experiments by extracting the target from the background and then recognizing it. Also, we calculate the angle of yaw. We study the basic research concerning automatic UAV navigation and landing on the deck. Based on our experiments, the average recognition time is 17.2 ms which is obtained through the use of affine moment invariants. This type of speed is expected to improve the reliability and real-time performance of autonomous UAV landing. 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
The ChoicePoint Dilemma: How Data Brokers Should Handle the Privacy of Personal Information

Before 2005, data broker ChoicePoint suffered fraudulent access to its databases that exposed thousands of customers' personal information. We examine Choice-Point's data breach, explore what went wrong from the perspective of consumers, executives, policy, and IT systems, and offer recommendations for the future.
Results of the post-market Registry to Evaluate the HeartWare Left Ventricular Assist System (ReVOLVE).

BACKGROUND
The post-market Registry to Evaluate the HeartWare Left Ventricular Assist System (ReVOLVE) is an investigator-initiated registry established to collect post-CE Mark Trial clinical data on patients receiving a HeartWare ventricular assist device (HVAD) in the European Union and Australia.


METHODS
The ReVOLVE is a multi-center, prospective, single-arm registry performed at seven centers in Europe and two in Australia. Herein we describe a total of 254 commercial HVAD implants according to labeled indications between February 2009 and November 2012. Summary statistics included patients' demographics, adverse events, length of support and outcomes.


RESULTS
Compared with the clinical trial supporting the CE Mark of the HeartWare system, patient selection differed in that patients were older, and there were higher proportions of females and patients with idiopathic cardiomyopathies in the ReVOLVE cohort. Duration of support ranged from 1 to 1,057 days, with a mean of 363 ± 280 days (median 299.5 days). Transplantation was done in 56 patients (22%), explant for recovery was performed in 3 patients (1%), 43 died while on support (17%), and 152 (60%) remain on the device. Success in patients with the HeartWare system was 87% at 6 months, 85% at 1 year, 79% at 2 years and 73% at 3 years. Adverse event rates were low, comparable or improved when compared to the CE Mark Trial.


CONCLUSION
Real-world use of the HeartWare system continues to demonstrate excellent clinical outcomes in patients supported with the device.
Reinforcement learning and optimal adaptive control: An overview and implementation examples

This paper provides an overview of the reinforcement learning and optimal adaptive control literature and its application to robotics. Reinforcement learning is bridging the gap between traditional optimal control, adaptive control and bio-inspired learning techniques borrowed from animals. This work is highlighting some of the key techniques presented by well known researchers from the combined areas of reinforcement learning and optimal control theory. At the end, an example of an implementation of a novel model-free Q-learning based discrete optimal adaptive controller for a humanoid robot arm is presented. The controller uses a novel adaptive dynamic programming (ADP) reinforcement learning (RL) approach to develop an optimal policy on-line. The RL joint space tracking controller was implemented for two links (shoulder flexion and elbow flexion joints) of the arm of the humanoid BristolElumotion-Robotic-Torso II (BERT II) torso. The constrained case (joint limits) of the RL scheme was tested for a single link (elbow flexion) of the BERT II arm by modifying the cost function to deal with the extra nonlinearity due to the joint constraints. 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Research Paper: Forecasting Emergency Department Crowding: A Prospective, Real-time Evaluation

OBJECTIVE
Emergency department crowding threatens quality and access to health care, and a method of accurately forecasting near-future crowding should enable novel ways to alleviate the problem. The authors sought to implement and validate the previously developed ForecastED discrete event simulation for real-time forecasting of emergency department crowding.


DESIGN AND MEASUREMENTS
The authors conducted a prospective observational study during a three-month period (5/1/07-8/1/07) in the adult emergency department of a tertiary care medical center. The authors connected the forecasting tool to existing information systems to obtain real-time forecasts of operational data, updated every 10 minutes. The outcome measures included the emergency department waiting count, waiting time, occupancy level, length of stay, boarding count, boarding time, and ambulance diversion; each forecast 2, 4, 6, and 8 hours into the future.


RESULTS
The authors obtained crowding forecasts at 13,239 10-minute intervals, out of 13,248 possible (99.9%). The R(2) values for predicting operational data 8 hours into the future, with 95% confidence intervals, were 0.27 (0.26, 0.29) for waiting count, 0.11 (0.10, 0.12) for waiting time, 0.57 (0.55, 0.58) for occupancy level, 0.69 (0.68, 0.70) for length of stay, 0.61 (0.59, 0.62) for boarding count, and 0.53 (0.51, 0.54) for boarding time. The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve for predicting ambulance diversion 8 hours into the future, with 95% confidence intervals, was 0.85 (0.84, 0.86).


CONCLUSIONS
The ForecastED tool provides accurate forecasts of several input, throughput, and output measures of crowding up to 8 hours into the future. The real-time deployment of the system should be feasible at other emergency departments that have six patient-level variables available through information systems.
Quantifying the relationship between symptoms at presentation and the prognosis of sarcoidosis.

BACKGROUND
Although it is the general consensus that sarcoidosis patients who present with sarcoidosis-related symptoms have a worse outcome than patients whose disease is detected incidentally without symptoms, this premise has not been rigorously examined.


METHODS
Consecutive patients followed longitudinally at one US university sarcoidosis clinic were questioned concerning the onset and description of sarcoidosis-related symptoms at disease presentation. The patients were classified into those with no sarcoidosis-related symptoms at presentation (NSP group) and those with symptoms at presentation (SP group). The following outcomes were examined in the NSP and SP groups: most recent spirometry, organ involvement, need for sarcoidosis therapy, most recent health related quality of life (HRQOL) as measured by the Sarcoidosis Assessment Tool (SAT), most recent chest imaging Scadding stage results.


RESULTS
660 sarcoidosis patients were analyzed, with 175 in the NSP group and 485 in the SP group. Compared to the NSP group, the SP group had a more frequent requirement for any sarcoidosis treatment, corticosteroid treatment, and non-corticosteroid treatment at some time and within the most recent year of follow up (at least 50% more than the NP group with strong statistical differences with p values all 0.01 or less). In addition, the SP group had significantly more organ involvement (p < 0.001) and several worse SAT domains (p < 0.022) than the NP group. There were no differences between the groups in terms of final spirometry or development of Scadding stage 4 chest radiographs. These findings held even after adjusting for age, sex, race, and time between presentation and the most recent follow-up visit using a multivariable logistic regression framework.


CONCLUSIONS
In our sarcoidosis cohort, compared to the absence of symptoms at presentation, the presence of symptoms was associated with a greater need for treatment, more organ involvement, and worse HRQOL.