LLukas22/scidocs huggingface dataset:
Results of a type 2 translational research trial to prevent adolescent drug use and delinquency: a test of Communities That Care.

OBJECTIVE
To test whether the Communities That Care (CTC) prevention system reduces adolescent alcohol, tobacco, and other drug use and delinquent behavior communitywide.


DESIGN
The Community Youth Development Study is the first randomized trial of CTC.


SETTING
In 2003, 24 small towns in 7 states, matched within state, were randomly assigned to control or CTC conditions.


PARTICIPANTS
A panel of 4407 fifth-grade students was surveyed annually through eighth grade. Intervention A coalition of community stakeholders received training and technical assistance to install the CTC prevention system. They used epidemiological data to identify elevated risk factors and depressed protective factors in the community, and chose and implemented tested programs to address their community's specific profile from a menu of effective programs for families, schools, and youths aged 10 to 14 years.


MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES
Incidence and prevalence of alcohol, tobacco, and other drug use and delinquent behavior by spring of grade 8.


RESULTS
The incidences of alcohol, cigarette and smokeless tobacco initiation, and delinquent behavior were significantly lower in CTC than in control communities for students in grades 5 through 8. In grade 8, the prevalences of alcohol and smokeless tobacco use in the last 30 days, binge drinking in the last 2 weeks, and the number of different delinquent behaviors committed in the last year were significantly lower for students in CTC communities.


CONCLUSION
Using the CTC system to reduce health-risking behaviors in adolescents can significantly reduce these behaviors communitywide.
TrafficModeler: A Graphical Tool for Programming Microscopic Traffic Simulators through High-Level Abstractions

In this paper, we present TrafficModeler, an opensource, graphical tool for the rapid high-level modeling and generation of vehicular traffic. TrafficModeler supports a variety of traffic definition models representing a wide range of traffic patterns. A set of traffic generation algorithms are implemented to convert high-level models to output compatible with SUMO, a popular open-source microscopic traffic simulator. TrafficModeler drastically reduces the time and effort required to generate traffic for SUMO. Furthermore, it can be easily extended to support other traffic simulators and to incorporate new types of traffic.
Study of sense of coherence health promoting behavior in north Indian students

BACKGROUND & OBJECTIVES
With advances in knowledge about health promotion, public health professionals are in search for the determinants of personal health behaviours. This study was carried out to explore the level of engagement of north Indian students in health promoting behaviours; to determine their sense of coherence scores; and to ascertain the determinants of health promoting behaviours of these students.


METHODS
A cross-sectional study was done in four randomly selected colleges of Chandigarh during 2007-2008 in 200 students (100 male, 100 female). Their health promoting lifestyle profile (HPLP) and sense of coherence (SOC) scores were estimated using interviews. The data were analyzed using Pearson's product moment correlation, and also stepwise linear regression analysis.


RESULTS
Mean HPLP and SOC scores of the students were 138.69 and 130.87, respectively. Females cared more about their health than males. Male students were more involved in physical activities. There was a linear correlation between the total SOC and HPLP scores (r=0.3). Female students (63%) consulted doctors more than males (50%) and washed their hands more regularly (P<0.05). Only 13 per cent students practiced yoga regularly. Female students had more meaningful relationships with friends and had more faith in God. Regression equation revealed that the two independent variables (SOC and age) accounted for 10.8 per cent of the variance in HPLP.


INTERPRETATION & CONCLUSION
Students with higher SOC scores had higher HPLP scores. Female students were more health conscious than male students. In general, college students in Chandigarh had a good health promoting lifestyle and good sense of coherence.
Comparison and classification of methamphetamine seized in Japan and Thailand using gas chromatography with liquid-liquid extraction and solid-phase microextraction.

Methamphetamine (MA) is one of the most frequently abused drugs worldwide. The aim of this study is to improve the analytical method for profiling MA impurity in order to compare and classify MA crystals seized in different countries and to investigate the relationships between seizures. To compare MA samples seized in Japan and Thailand, the following analytical method was adopted. A 50mg sample of MA.HCl was dissolved in 1ml of buffer solution (four parts 0.1M phosphate buffer, pH 7.0, and one part 10% Na(2)CO(3)), impurities were extracted with 0.5ml of ethyl acetate containing four internal standards (n-decane, n-pentadecane, n-eicosane and n-octacosane) and analyzed by gas chromatography with a flame ionization detector on a DB-5 capillary column (0.32mm i.d.x30m, film thickness 1.0mum). Fourteen characteristic peaks on chromatograms were selected for the comparison and classification of samples, and the data were evaluated by the Euclidean distance of the relative peak areas after logarithmic transformation. Sixty-nine samples seized in Japan and 42 seized in Thailand were analyzed. The samples were classified into four groups roughly by cluster analysis. In addition, when it was difficult to compare samples that had fewer impurities on chromatograms obtained from liquid-liquid extraction (LLE), solid-phase microextraction (SPME) was effective. Because many characteristic peaks were detected using SPME, SPME made it easy to compare samples of high purity. The combination of LLE and SPME was useful for impurity profiling of MA samples seized in different countries.
Differences in the chemical and catalytic characteristics of two crystallographically 'identical' enzyme catalytic sites. Characterization of actinidin and papain by a combination of pH-dependent substrate catalysis kinetics and reactivity probe studies targeted on the catalytic-site thiol group and

The characteristics of actinidin (EC 3.4.22.14) and papain (EC 3.4.22.2), two cysteine proteinases whose catalytic-site regions appear to superimpose to a degree that approaches atomic co-ordinate accuracy of both crystal structures, were evaluated by determining (a) the pH-dependence in acid media of the acylation process of the catalytic act (k+2/Ks) using N alpha-benzoyl-L-arginine p-nitroanilide (L-Bz-Arg-Nan) as substrate and (b) the sensitivity of the reactivity of the catalytic-site thiol group and its pH-dependence to structural change in small, thiol-specific, two-protonic-state reactivity probes (2,2'-dipyridyl disulphide and methyl 2-pyridyl disulphide) where enzyme-probe contacts should be restricted to areas close to the catalytic site. Distortion of the catalytic sites of the two enzymes at pH less than 4 was evaluated over time-scales appropriate for both stopped-flow reactivity probe kinetics (less than or equal to 1-2 s) and steady-state substrate catalysis kinetics (3-5 min) by using the 2,2'-dipyridyl disulphide monocation as a titrant for non-distorted catalytic sites. This permitted a lower pH limit to be defined for valid kinetic analysis of both types. The behaviour of the enzymes at pH less than 4 requires a kinetic model in which the apparently biomolecular reaction of enzyme with probe reagent is separated from the process leading to loss of conformational integrity by a potentially reversible step. The acylation of actinidin with L-Bz-Arg-Nan in acidic media occurs in two protonic states, one produced by raising the pH across pKa less than 4 which probably characterizes the formation of -S-/-ImH+ ion pair (pKa approx. 3) and the other, of higher reactivity, produced by raising the pH across pKa 5.5, which may characterize rearrangement of catalytic-site geometry. The pH-dependence of the acylation of papain by L-Bz-Arg-Nan is quite different and is not influenced by protonic dissociation with pKa values in the range 5-6. The earlier conclusion that the acylation of papain depends on two protonic dissociations each with pKa approx. 4 was confirmed. This argument is now more firmly based because titration with 2,2'-dipyridyl disulphide permits the loss of conformational integrity to be taken into account in the analysis of the kinetic data at very low pH. Methyl 2-pyridyl disulphide was synthesized by reaction of pyridine-2-thione with methyl methanethiolsulphonate and its pKa at I = 0.1 was determined by spectral analysis at 307 nm to be 2.8.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)
Convergence Analysis of Gradient Descent Algorithms with Proportional Updates

The rise of deep learning in recent years has brought with it increasingly clever optimization methods to deal with complex, non-linear loss functions [13]. These methods are often designed with convex optimization in mind, but have been shown to work well in practice even for the highly non-convex optimization associated with neural networks. However, one significant drawback of these methods when they are applied to deep learning is that the magnitude of the update step is sometimes disproportionate to the magnitude of the weights (much smaller or larger), leading to training instabilities such as vanishing and exploding gradients [12]. An idea to combat this issue is gradient descent with proportional updates.
Failure to generate bone marrow adipocytes does not protect mice from ovariectomy-induced osteopenia.

A reciprocal association between bone marrow fat and bone mass has been reported in ovariectomized rodents, suggesting that bone marrow adipogenesis has a negative effect on bone growth and turnover balance. Mice with loss of function mutations in kit receptor (kit(W/W-v)) have no bone marrow adipocytes in tibia or lumbar vertebra. We therefore tested the hypothesis that marrow fat contributes to the development of osteopenia by comparing the skeletal response to ovariectomy (ovx) in growing wild type (WT) and bone marrow adipocyte-deficient kit(W/W-v) mice. Mice were ovx at 4 weeks of age and sacrificed 4 or 10 weeks post-surgery. Body composition was measured at necropsy by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry. Cortical (tibia) and cancellous (tibia and lumbar vertebra) bone architecture were evaluated by microcomputed tomography. Bone marrow adipocyte size and density, osteoblast- and osteoclast-lined bone perimeters, and bone formation were determined by histomorphometry. Ovx resulted in an increase in total body fat mass at 10 weeks post-ovx in both genotypes, but the response was attenuated in the in kit(W/W-v) mice. Adipocytes were present in bone marrow of tibia and lumbar vertebra in WT mice and bone marrow adiposity increased following ovx. In contrast, marrow adipocytes were not detected in either intact or ovx kit(W/W-v) mice. However, ovx in WT and kit(W/W-v) mice resulted in statistically indistinguishable changes in cortical and cancellous bone mass, cortical and cancellous bone formation rate, and cancellous osteoblast and osteoclast-lined bone perimeters. In conclusion, our findings do not support a causal role for increased bone marrow fat as a mediator of ovx-induced osteopenia in mice.
Evaluation of sentinel node detection in vulvar cancer.

BACKGROUND
In vulvar cancer, in a large portion of patients with early stages of the disease, the inguinal lymphadenectomy not only does not influence the overall survival and recurrence rate but may increase the incidence of complications. Sentinel lymph node (SN) detection is a promising technique for detecting groin lymph nodes, which may in future lead to less extensive use of surgical treatment. The aim of the study was to evaluate the feasibility of the sentinel node detection technique in patients with vulvar cancer.


MATERIAL AND METHODS
Between the years 2003 and 2005, we performed intraoperative lymphatic mapping on 10 patients with planoepithelial vulvar cancer. In eight cases, vulvar lesion was localized centrally, around the clitoris. The extent of the surgery included radical vulvectomy with bilateral inguinal lymphadenectomy in nine cases and unilateral inguinal lymphadenectomy in one case. For the lymphatic mapping, we employed two detection methods: (99m)Tc-labelled radiocolloid (activity 35-70 MBq) and blue dye (3-5 ml). Both techniques were used in six cases (60%), blue dye only in three cases and radiocolloid only in one case.


RESULTS
In each patient, we detected at least one sentinel lymph node. Sentinel nodes were localized in 14 of 19 operated groins (73.7%); a total of 25 SNs in all. The mean number of SNs for one groin was 1.78. Nodal metastases were found in four cases. In three cases, metastases were detected only in the SN. In one patient, two SNs with metastases were found in one groin and in the contralateral groin (without any SN) there was one unchanged node, which transpired to be metastatic. This can be explained by a complete overgrowth of neoplasm in the lymph node resulting in lymph flow stasis and disabling tracer uptake. In five cases, an SN was found only in one groin ó the first case is described above, in the second case the vulvar tumor was localized laterally, opposite to the groin without any SN. In the remaining three cases, we have used only one method of SN detection.


CONCLUSIONS
Lymphatic mapping in vulvar cancer based on the combined detection technique is a highly accurate method after adequate training of the surgeons.
Regularized Least Squares Approximations on the Sphere Using Spherical Designs

Abstract. We consider polynomial approximation on the unit sphere S2 = {(x, y, z) ∈ R3 : x2 + y2 + z2 = 1} by a class of regularized discrete least squares methods with novel choices for the regularization operator and the point sets of the discretization. We allow different kinds of rotationally invariant regularization operators, including the zero operator (in which case the approximation includes interpolation, quasi-interpolation, and hyperinterpolation); powers of the negative Laplace– Beltrami operator (which can be suitable when there are data errors); and regularization operators that yield filtered polynomial approximations. As node sets we use spherical t-designs, which are point sets on the sphere which when used as equal-weight quadrature rules integrate all spherical polynomials up to degree t exactly. More precisely, we use well conditioned spherical t-designs obtained in a previous paper by maximizing the determinants of the Gram matrices subject to the spherical design constraint. For t ≥ 2L and an approximating polynomial of degree L it turns out that there is no linear algebra problem to be solved and the approximation in some cases recovers known polynomial approximation schemes, including interpolation, hyperinterpolation, and filtered hyperinterpolation. For t ∈ [L, 2L) the linear system needs to be solved numerically. Finally, we give numerical examples to illustrate the theoretical results and show that well chosen regularization operator and well conditioned spherical t-designs can provide good polynomial approximation on the sphere, with or without the presence of data errors.
Chemotherapy followed by chemoradiotherapy for locally advanced non-metastatic pancreatic cancer - a new paradigm?

Sir d We read with interest the paper published in the February 2010 issue of Clinical Oncology by the Velindre group of their experience of induction chemotherapy followed by chemoradiation in locally advanced nonmetastatic pancreatic cancer [1]. We have recently audited our results at the Beatson West of Scotland Cancer Centre for locally advanced non-metastatic pancreatic cancer deemed inoperable. Gemcitabine 1000 mg/m2 on days 1, 8 and 15 of a 4-week cycle as induction treatment and chemoradiotherapy to those with non-progression on chemotherapy after four cycles. Patients with a performance status of 0e2 were selected. All patients had conformal computed tomography planned radiotherapy with a multi-field technique to a dose of 4500 cGy in 25 fractions with either continuous 5-fluorouracil at a dose of 200e300 mg/m2 or weekly gemcitabine at a dose of 300 mg/m2 until the completion of radiotherapy. All patients completed treatment. The median age was 65 years (range 49e78). The median overall survival was 15.5 months (range 2 months e upper confidence interval not calculable as patients were still alive) and the time to progression taken from the end of radiotherapy to either the first clinical or radiological evidence of progression was 5.04 months (range 1e10 months). Treatment was well tolerated. Only two of the 19 reported grade 3 nausea or fatigue. Seventeen of 19 had either grade 1 or 2 nausea and fatigue as the most significant symptoms. Despite single-agent gemcitabine as induction treatment and a 4500 cGy radiotherapy dose concomitant with continuous infusion 5-fluorouracil, our results correlate well with the Velindre group, with a median survival of about 15 months. This compares favourably with quoted survivals of around 10e12 months by both the Velindre group and Huguet et al. [2] for patients continuing with chemotherapy alone.
Anti-tumour necrosis factor agents reduce non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug-induced small bowel injury in rheumatoid arthritis patients.

OBJECTIVE
The role of tumour necrosis factor α (TNFα) in the pathogenesis of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID)-induced small intestinal damage remains unclear. We evaluated the preventive effect of anti-TNF therapy against NSAID-induced enteropathy in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients.


DESIGN
Capsule endoscopy was performed in 95 consecutive RA patients who received NSAID for more than 3 months, with or without anti-TNF therapy over a period of 3 months. The findings were scored from 0 to 4: 0, normal; 1, red spots; 2, one to four erosions; 3, more than four erosions; and 4, large erosions/ulcers. The relationship between the use of anti-TNF therapy and the risk of severe damage (scores 3 or 4) or the most severe damage (score 4) was assessed using multiple logistic regression analysis. Furthermore, a propensity score matching analysis was performed to reduce the effects of TNF selection bias.


RESULTS
By stratifying the patients on the basis of anti-TNF therapy, we obtained crude OR of 0.23 for severe damage (95% CI 0.09 to 0.65) and 0.37 for the most severe damage (95% CI 0.16 to 0.86). This protective effect of anti-TNF therapy remained robust to adjustments for baseline characteristics, with the adjusted OR for severe damage and the most severe damage ranging from 0.23 to 0.26 and 0.06 to 0.41, respectively. Propensity score matching yielded similar results and showed the protective effects of anti-TNF therapy against severe and most severe damage.


CONCLUSIONS
Anti-TNF therapy may protect against NSAID-induced small intestinal damage in RA patients.
Image Compression Using Vector Quantization Algorithms : A Review

This paper presents a review of vector quantization algorithmsused for the designing of the codebook to obtain better quality of the image with minimum distortion. First, the concept of vector quantization is introduced and then different algorithms such as Linde-Buzo-Gray (LBG) algorithm, Equitz nearest neighbor (ENN) algorithm,Back propagation neural network(BPNN) algorithm and fast back propagation(FBP) algorithm are reviewed.
An Asset Allocation Puzzle

This paper examines popular advice on portfolio allocation among cash, bonds, and stocks. It documents that this advice is inconsistent with the mutual-fund separation theorem, which states that all investors should hold the same composition of risky assets. In contrast to the theorem, popular advisors recommend that aggressive investors hold a lower ratio of bonds to stocks than conservative investors. The paper explores various possible explanations of this puzzle and finds them unsatisfactory. (JEL GI l) How should an investor's attitude toward risk influence the composition of his port-folio? A simple and elegant answer to this question comes from the mutual-fund separation theorem. This theorem, a building block of the most basic Capital Asset Pricing Model (CAPM), is taught regularly to undergraduates and business students. According to the theorem, more risk-averse investors should hold more of their portfolios in the riskless asset. The composition of risky assets, however, should be the same for all investors. Popular financial advisors appear not to follow the mutual-fund separation theorem. When these advisors are asked to allocate portfolios among stocks, bonds, and cash, they recommend more complicated strategies than indicated by the theorem. Moreover, these strategies differ from the theorem in a systematic way. According to these advisors, more risk-averse investors should hold a higher ratio of bonds to stocks. This advice contradicts the conclusion that all investors should hold risky assets in the same proportion. The purpose of this paper is to document this popular advice on portfolio allocation and attempt to explain it. We begin in Section I by reviewing the basic mutual-fund separation theorem. We consider the conditions under which all investors should hold stocks and bonds in the same proportion. We also present a numerical example of the optimal mutual fund based on the historical distribution of stock and bond returns. In Section II we document the nature of popular financial advice regarding portfolio allocation. We show that this advice contrasts starkly with the predictions of the mutual-fund separation theorem. Moreover, the deviations from the theorem are systematic. In the rest of the paper we take this popular advice on portfolio allocation as the "data" to be explained. In Section III we consider whether such advice might be optimal. We consider various deviations from the assumptions that underlie the basic mutual-fund separation theorem. In particular, we consider the absence of a risk-less asset; preferences that depend on more than the …
Piezoelectric tool actuator for precision machining on conventional CNC turning centers

A typical precision shaft machining operation may involve both turning and grinding operations; the latter required to meet part tolerances on form and surface quality. The positioning error of conventional turning centers, hindered by friction and backlash, may be as high as 10 microns depending on the design and wear of the machine. Clearly components requiring dimensional tolerances in the micron range will require subsequent finishing operations. Although high precision lathes are available to meet precision turning requirements, the need for thermal and vibration isolation and high capital cost may not be justifiable for some applications. For components requiring high dimensional tolerance only in local areas (e.g. bearing surfaces) it may be more cost effective to deliver precise positioning via a tool actuator mounted to a conventional machine. Although there has been extensive research in tool actuator design and control for ultra-precision diamond turning [1]~[5], few researchers have addressed the use of piezo based fast tool servos for precision shaft machining on conventional CNC turning machines. This paper presents a piezo based fast tool servo for precision shaft machining on conventional CNC turning machines. The mechanical design, structural properties, and controller design for high performance tracking and precision positioning of piezo actuator driven tool are presented with experimental results for shaft machining.