LLukas22/scidocs huggingface dataset:
Using structural alignment to facilitate learning of spatial concepts in an informal setting

We tested whether analogical processes can be harnessed to help children learn in a complex, naturalistic learning situation. Specifically, we asked whether a brief analogical training experience could help children learn a key principle of stable construction— namely, the idea of using a diagonal brace to stabilize a structure. The context for this learning was a free construction activity in the Chicago Children’s Museum, in which children and their families built a model skyscraper together. The results indicate that even a single brief analogical comparison can confer insight, and add to evidence that structural alignment processes underlie analogical comparison.
Reinforcement Learning and Markov Decision Processes

Reinforcement learning (RL) has developed into a large research field. The current state-ofthe-art is comprised of several subfields dealing with, for example, hierarchical abstraction and relational representations. This overview is targeted at researchers interested in RL who want to know where to start when studying RL in general, and where to start within the field of RL when faced with specific problem domains. This overview is by no means complete, nor does it describe all relevant texts. In fact, there are many more. The main function of this overview is to provide a reasonable amount of good entry points into the rich field of RL. All texts are widely available and most of them are online. General and Introductory Texts There are many texts that introduce the exciting field of RL and Markov decision processes (see for example the mentioned PhD theses at the end of this overview). Furthermore, many recent AI and machine learning textbooks cover basic RL. Some of the core texts in the field are the following. I M. L. Puterman. Markov Decision Processes—Discrete Stochastic Dynamic Programming. John Wiley & Sons, Inc., New York, NY, 1994 I D. P. Bertsekas and J. Tsitsiklis. Neuro-Dynamic Programming. Athena Scientific, Belmont, MA, 1996 I L. P. Kaelbling, M. L. Littman, and A. W. Moore. Reinforcement learning: A survey. Journal of Artificial Intelligence Research, 4:237–285, 1996 I S. S. Keerthi and B. Ravindran. Reinforcement learning. In E. Fiesler and R. Beale, editors, Handbook of Neural Computation, chapter C3. Institute of Physics and Oxford University Press, New York, New York, 1997 I R. S. Sutton and A. G. Barto. Reinforcement Learning: an Introduction. The MIT Press, Cambridge, 1998 I C. Boutilier, T. Dean, and S. Hanks. Decision theoretic planning: Structural assumptions and computational leverage. Journal of Artificial Intelligence Research, 11:1–94, 1999 I M. van Otterlo. The Logic of Adaptive Behavior: Knowledge Representation and Algorithms for Adaptive Sequential Decision Making under Uncertainty in First-Order and Relational Domains. IOS Press, Amsterdam, The Netherlands, 2009 The book by Sutton and Barto is available online, for free. You can find it at http://www.cs.ualberta.ca/∼ sutton/book/the-book.html Function Approximation, Generalization and Abstraction Because most problems are too large to represent explicitly, the majority of techniques in current RL research employs some form of generalization, abstraction or function approximation. Ergo, there are innumerable texts that deal with these matters. Some interesting starting points are the following.
A 25Gb/s 170μW/Gb/s optical receiver in 28nm CMOS for chip-to-chip optical communication

A low-power high-speed optical receiver in 28nm CMOS is presented. The design features a novel architecture combining a low-bandwidth TIA front-end, double-sampling technique and dynamic offset modulation. The low-bandwidth TIA increases receiver's sensitivity while adding minimal power overhead. Functionality of the receiver was validated and the design is compared with a conventional 3-stage TIA receiver via actual measurements. The proposed receiver architecture achieves error-free operation (BER<;10-12) at 25Gb/s with energy efficiency of 170fJ/b while the conventional receiver achieves error-free operation at 17.1Gb/s with energy efficiency of 260fJ/b.
Comparison of Cryo-treatment Effect on Machining Characteristics of Titanium in Electric Discharge Machining

Earlier studies on cryogenic treatment highlighted that certain metals, after being cryogenically treated, show a significant increase in tool life when used in manufacturing, cutting and shaping processes. The present work deals with experimental investigation of the role of cryogenic treatment on the machining characteristics of titanium in electric discharge machining (EDM). EDM is a potential process to commercially machine tough materials like titanium alloys, due to the properties of non-mechanical contact between the tool and workpiece and the capability to machine intricate shapes. In this research work an effort has been made to compare the machining characteristics of titanium with EDM, before and after cryogenic treatment of the tool and workpiece using a Taguchi design approach. The output parameters for study are material removal rate (MRR), tool wear rate (TWR), surface roughness (SR) and dimensional accuracy (Δd). The results of the study suggest that with cryogenic treatment MRR, TWR, SR and Δd show an improvement of 60.39%, 58.77%, 7.99% and 80.00% respectively.
Growth performance and feed conversion efficiency of three edible mealworm species (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae) on diets composed of organic by-products.

Insects receive increasing attention as an alternative protein-rich food source for humans. Producing edible insects on diets composed of organic by-products could increase sustainability. In addition, insect growth rate and body composition, and hence nutritional quality, can be altered by diet. Three edible mealworm species Tenebrio molitor L., Zophobas atratus Fab. and Alphitobius diaperinus Panzer were grown on diets composed of organic by-products originating from beer brewing, bread/cookie baking, potato processing and bioethanol production. Experimental diets differed with respect to protein and starch content. Larval growth and survival was monitored. Moreover, effects of dietary composition on feed conversion efficiency and mealworm crude protein and fatty acid profile were assessed. Diet affected mealworm development and feed conversion efficiency such that diets high in yeast-derived protein appear favourable, compared to diets used by commercial breeders, with respect to shortening larval development time, reducing mortality and increasing weight gain. Diet also affected the chemical composition of mealworms. Larval protein content was stable on diets that differed 2-3-fold in protein content, whereas dietary fat did have an effect on larval fat content and fatty acid profile. However, larval fatty acid profile did not necessarily follow the same trend as dietary fatty acid composition. Diets that allowed for fast larval growth and low mortality in this study led to a comparable or less favourable n6/n3 fatty acid ratio compared to control diets used by commercial breeders. In conclusion, the mealworm species used in this study can be grown successfully on diets composed of organic by-products. Diet composition did not influence larval protein content, but did alter larval fat composition to a certain extent.
Liraglutide decreases carotid intima-media thickness in patients with type 2 diabetes: 8-month prospective pilot study

BACKGROUND
Liraglutide, a long-acting glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) analog, has several non- glycemic properties, but its effect on carotid intima-media thickness (IMT), a recognized marker of subclinical atherosclerosis, is still unknown.


METHODS
A prospective study of 8 months duration in 64 patients with type-2 diabetes and no prior history of coronary artery disease evaluated whether adding liraglutide to metformin affects carotid IMT, measured by color doppler ultrasound.


RESULTS
After 8 months, fasting glucose decreased by 2.1 mmol/l and HbA1c by 1.9% (p < 0.01 for all). Liraglutide reduced total-cholesterol and triglycerides by 10%, and LDL-cholesterol by 19%, whereas HDL-cholesterol increased by 18% (p < 0.01 for all lipid changes). Carotid IMT decreased from 1.19 ± 0.47 to 0.94 ± 0.21 mm (p < 0.01). Yet, changes in carotid IMT did not correlate with changes in any other variable studied.


CONCLUSIONS
Liraglutide decreases carotid IMT after 8 months treatment independently of its effect on plasma glucose and lipids concentrations.


TRIAL REGISTRATION
ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT01715428.
Relation of birth weight, body mass index, and change in size from birth to adulthood to insulin resistance in a female twin cohort.

CONTEXT AND OBJECTIVES
Because an adverse intrauterine environment is thought to induce insulin resistance, our objective was to investigate the relationships between birth weight, BMI, and change in body size over the life course and insulin resistance. SETTING, DESIGN, AND PARTICIPANTS: We conducted a cross-sectional study in a cohort of 1194 female twins aged 18-74 yr. The relationship between birth weight and insulin resistance was analyzed using a regression method allowing for a simultaneous estimation of within- and between-pair influences. The approach allows the influence of individual fetal nutrition on adult insulin resistance to be distinguished from effects that are mediated by confounding factors in the maternal environment.


MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES
Insulin resistance was measured by the homeostasis model assessment.


RESULTS
Individual level regression analyses showed no significant relationship between birth weight and insulin resistance. There was a significant positive relationship between insulin resistance and current body mass index (BMI) (a 26% increase in insulin resistance per sd increase in BMI; confidence interval, 22.6-29.5%). This significant relationship was accounted for in equal parts by individual-specific effects and by confounding factors in the shared environment of the twins. The relationship with birth weight became significant only after adjustment for BMI and was mediated only through between-pair differences.


CONCLUSIONS
These results suggest that insulin resistance is influenced more by current body size than birth weight and that postnatal growth is potentially more important than fetal growth in the subsequent development of insulin resistance.
Clinical effectiveness of integrating depression care management into medicare home health: the Depression CAREPATH Randomized trial.

IMPORTANCE
Among older home health care patients, depression is highly prevalent, is often inadequately treated, and contributes to hospitalization and other poor outcomes. Feasible and effective interventions are needed to reduce this burden of depression.


OBJECTIVE
To determine whether, among older Medicare Home Health recipients who screen positive for depression, patients of nurses receiving randomization to an intervention have greater improvement in depressive symptoms during 1 year than patients receiving enhanced usual care.


DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS
This cluster randomized effectiveness trial conducted at 6 home health care agencies nationwide assigned nurse teams to an intervention (12 teams) or to enhanced usual care (9 teams). Between January 13, 2009, and December 6, 2012, Medicare Home Health patients 65 years and older who screened positive for depression on routine nursing assessments were recruited, underwent assessment, and were followed up at 3, 6, and 12 months by research staff blinded to intervention status. Patients were interviewed at home and by telephone. Of 502 eligible patients, 306 enrolled in the study.


INTERVENTIONS
The Depression Care for Patients at Home (Depression CAREPATH) trial requires nurses to manage depression at routine home visits by weekly symptom assessment, medication management, care coordination, education, and goal setting. Nurses' training totaled 7 hours (4 onsite and 3 via the web). Researchers telephoned intervention team supervisors every other week.


MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES
Depression severity, assessed by the 24-item Hamilton Scale for Depression (HAM-D).


RESULTS
The 306 participants were predominantly female (69.6%), were racially/ethnically diverse (18.0% black and 16.0% Hispanic), and had a mean (SD) age of 76.5 (8.0) years. In the full sample, the intervention had no effect (P = .13 for intervention × time interaction). Adjusted HAM-D scores (Depression CAREPATH vs control) did not differ at 3 months (10.5 vs 11.4, P = .26) or at 6 months (9.3 vs 10.5, P = .12) but reached significance at 12 months (8.7 vs 10.6, P = .05). In the subsample with mild depression (HAM-D score, <10), the intervention had no effect (P = .90), and HAM-D scores did not differ at any follow-up points. Among 208 participants with a HAM-D score of 10 or higher, the Depression CAREPATH demonstrated effectiveness (P = .02), with lower HAM-D scores at 3 months (14.1 vs 16.1, P = .04), at 6 months (12.0 vs 14.7, P = .02), and at 12 months (11.8 vs 15.7, P = .005).


CONCLUSION AND RELEVANCE
Home health care nurses can effectively integrate depression care management into routine practice. However, the clinical benefit seems to be limited to patients with moderate to severe depression.


TRIAL REGISTRATION
clinicaltrials.gov Identifier: NCT01979302.
Lipedema: a frequently misdiagnosed and misunderstood fatty deposition syndrome.

PURPOSE
To enhance the learner's competence in caring for patients with lipedema through understanding the differential diagnoses, pathophysiology, and treatment/management options.


TARGET AUDIENCE
This continuing education activity is intended for physicians and nurses with an interest in skin and wound care.


OBJECTIVES
After participating in this educational activity, the participant should be better able to: 1. Differentiate lipedema from other similar diagnoses. 2. Tell patients with lipedema and their caregivers about treatment of this condition. 3. Construct assessments, treatment plans, and management options for patients with lipedema.
A survey of agricultural household models : recent findings and policy implications

Semicommercialfarms that produce multiple crops make up a large part of the agricultural sector in developing economies. These farms or agricultural households combine two fundamental units qf microeconomic analysis: the household and the firm. Traditional economic theory has dealt with these units separately. But in developing economies in which peasant farms dominate, their interdependence is of crucial importance. Researchers at the Food Research Institute, Stanford University, and at the World Bank have developed models of agricultural households that combine producer and consumer behavior in a theoretically consistent fashion. Recent empirical applications of these models have extencled them and expanded the range of policy issues which can be investigated using this generalframework. This article reports the results of empirical applications of this model in India, Indonesia, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Malaysia, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Taiwan, and Thailand. It provides a comparative analysis of the policy implications of the approach for such matters as the welfare of farm households, the size of marketed surplus, the demand for nonagricultural goods and services, and for hired labor, and the availability of budget revenues and foreign exchange.
Immersive design of DMA molecules with a tangible interface

This paper presents an experimental immersive interface for designing DNA components for application in nanotechnology. While much research has been done on immersive visualization, this is one of the first systems to apply advanced interface techniques to a scientific design problem. This system uses tangible 3D input devices (tongs, a raygun, and a multipurpose handle tool) to create and edit a purely digital representation of DNS. The tangible controllers are associated with functions (not data) while a virtual display is used to render the model. This interface was built in collaboration with a research group investigating the design of DNA tiles. A user study shows that scientists find the immersive interface more satisfying than a 2D interface due to the enhanced understanding gained by directly interacting with molecules in 3D space.
Modern Control Systems

(Pearson Education) A textbook setting the standard in undergraduate education about modern control systems. Introduces the use of SIMULINK, a tool for control system simulation, with an appendix that explains the program. Also contains updated information on MATLAb, and a new companion Web site with practice exams. Previous edition: c1998. DLC: Feedback control systems.
Enhancing Building Operations through Automated Diagnostics: Field Test Results

The Whole Building Diagnostician (WBD) is a modular diagnostic software system that provides detection and diagnosis of problems with the operation of heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning (HVAC) systems and major energy end-uses. It has been extensively field tested and demonstrated in buildings over the past several years. WBD found problems with many air-handling units at all sites. The problems ranged from a simple set point deviation to improper implementation of controls. The results from these demonstrations, along with the feedback from building operators and managers on the use of diagnostic tools, are presented in the paper. Experience from field tests indicates that providing diagnostic tools to building operators can increase their awareness of equipment faults, but it will not by itself solve the problems of inefficient operations. Changes in operation and maintenance practices and behavior are needed. We discuss how these new technologies might be delivered and used more effectively to better manage facilities, improving their condition and increasing their energy efficiency.
Design & Check Cyclic Redundancy Code using VERILOG HDL

1096 Abstract-the CRC or cyclic redundancy check is a widely used technique for error checking in many protocols used in data transmission. The aim of this project is to design the CRC RTL generator or a tool that calculates the CRC equations for the given CRC polynomials and generates the Verilog RTL code .This block deals with the calculation of equations for standard polynomials like CRC-4, CRC-8, CRC-16, CRC-32 and CRC-48, CRC-64 and also user defined proprietary polynomial. To use PERL as the platform it also aims at having a simpler user interface. To generate the RTLs for any data width and for any standard polynomial or user defined polynomial, this design aims to be complete generic. The RTLs generated by this tool are verified by System Verilog constrained random testing to make it more robust and reliable. ACRC (Cyclic Redundancy Check) [1] is a popular error detecting code computed through binary polynomial division. To generate a CRC, the sender treats binary data as a binary polynomial and performs the modulo-2 division of the polynomial by a standard generator (e.g., CRC-32[2]). The remainder of this division becomes the CRC of the data, and it is attached to the original data and transmitted to the receiver. Receiving the data and CRC, the receiver also performs the modulo-2 division with the received data and the same generator polynomial. Errors are detected by comparing the computed CRC with the received one. The CRC algorithm only adds a small number of bits (32 bits in the case of CRC-32) to the message regardless of the length of the original data, and shows good performance in detecting a single error as well as an error burst. Because the CRC algorithm is good at detecting errors and is simple to implement in hardware, CRCs are widely used today for detecting corruption in digital data which may have occurred during production, transmission, or storage. And CRCs have recently found a new application in universal mobile telecommunications system standard for message length detection of variable-length message communications [3]. Traditionally, the LFSR (Linear Feedback Shift Register) circuit is implemented in VLSI (Very-Large-Scale Integration) to perform CRC calculation which can only process one bit per cycle [4]. In this project the method used for the generation of CRC polynomials is based on the LFSR CRC implementation, where the CRC is calculated by passing each data bit every cycle, feeding the …
Mental Health Problems in University Students : A Prevalence Study

A survey of mental health problems of university students was carried out on 1850 participants in the age range 19-26 years. An indigenous Student Problem Checklist (SPCL) developed by Mahmood & Saleem, (2011), 45 items is a rating scale, designed to determine the prevalence rate of mental health problem among university students. This scale relates to four dimensions of mental health problems as reported by university students, such as: Sense of Being Dysfunctional, Loss of Confidence, Lack of self Regulation and Anxiety Proneness. For interpretation of the overall SPCL score, the authors suggest that scores falling above one SD should be considered as indicative of severe problems, where as score about 2 SD represent very severe problems. Our finding show that 31% of the participants fall in the “severe” category, whereas 16% fall in the “very severe” category. As far as the individual dimensions are concerned, 17% respondents comprising sample of the present study fall in very severe category Sense of Being Dysfunctional, followed by Loss of Confidence (16%), Lack of Self Regulation (14%) and Anxiety Proneness (12%). These findings are in lying with similar other studies on mental health of students. The role of variables like sample characteristics, the measure used, cultural and contextual factors are discussed in determining rates as well as their implications for student counseling service in prevention and intervention.
The CD39-Adenosinergic Axis in the Pathogenesis of Immune and Nonimmune Diabetes

Diabetes mellitus encompasses two distinct disease processes: autoimmune Type 1 (T1D) and nonimmune Type 2 (T2D) diabetes. Despite the disparate aetiologies, the disease phenotype of hyperglycemia and the associated complications are similar. In this paper, we discuss the role of the CD39-adenosinergic axis in the pathogenesis of both T1D and T2D, with particular emphasis on the role of CD39 and CD73.
Comparison of agility demands of small-sided games in elite Australian football.

PURPOSE
To compare the agility demands of 4 small-sided games (SSGs) and evaluate the variability in demands for elite Australian Football (AF).


METHODS
Fourteen male elite Australian Football League (AFL) players (mean ± SD; 21.7 ± 3.1 y, 189.6 ± 9.0 cm, 88.7 ± 10.0 kg, 39.4 ± 57.1 games) completed 4 SSGs of 3 × 45-s bouts each with modified designs. Video notational analysis, GPS at 5 Hz, and triaxial accelerometer data expressed the external player loads within games. Three comparisons were made using a paired t test (P < .05), and magnitudes of differences were reported with effect size (ES) statistics.


RESULTS
Reduced area per player (increased density) produced a small increase in total agility maneuvers (SSG1, 7.2 ± 1.3; SSG2, 8.8 ± 4.1), while a large 2D player load was accumulated (P < .05, ES = 1.22). A reduction in players produced a moderate (ES = 0.60) total number of agility maneuvers (SSG 3, 11.3 ± 6.1; SSG 2, 8.3 ± 3.6); however, a greater variability was found. The implementation of a 2-handed-tag rule resulted in a somewhat trivial decline (P > .05, ES = 0.16) in agility events compared with normal AFL tackling rules (SSG 2, 8.3 ± 3.6; SSG 4, 7.8 ± 2.6).


CONCLUSIONS
SSG characteristics can influence agility-training demand, which can vary considerably for individuals. Coaches should carefully consider SSG design to maximize the potential to develop agility for all players.