LLukas22/scidocs huggingface dataset:
The role of estrogen deficiency in skin ageing and wound healing

The links between hormonal signalling and lifespan have been well documented in a range of model organisms. For example, in C. elegans or D. melanogaster, lifespan can be modulated by ablating germline cells, or manipulating reproductive history or pregnenolone signalling. In mammalian systems, however, hormonal contribution to longevity is less well understood. With increasing age human steroid hormone profiles change substantially, particularly following menopause in women. This article reviews recent links between steroid sex hormones and ageing, with special emphasis on the skin and wound repair. Estrogen, which substantially decreases with advancing age in both males and females, protects against multiple aspects of cellular ageing in rodent models, including oxidative damage, telomere shortening and cellular senescence. Estrogen’s effects are particularly pronounced in the skin where cutaneous changes post-menopause are well documented, and can be partially reversed by classical Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT). Our research shows that while chronological ageing has clear effects on skin wound healing, falling estrogen levels are the principle mediator of these effects. Thus, both HRT and topical estrogen replacement substantially accelerate healing in elderly humans, but are associated with unwanted deleterious effects, particularly cancer promotion. In fact, much current research effort is being invested in exploring the therapeutic potential of estrogen signalling manipulation to reverse age-associated pathology in peripheral tissues. In the case of the skin the differential targeting of estrogen receptors to promote healing in aged subjects is a real therapeutic possibility.
Unmanned Aerial Vehicles

Small unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), equipped with navigation systems and video capability, are currently being deployed for intelligence, reconnaissance and surveillance missions. One particular mission of interest involves computing location estimates for targets detected by onboard sensors. Combining UAV state estimates with information gathered by the imaging sensors leads to bearing measurements of the target that can be used to determine the target’s location. This 3-D bearings-only estimation problem is nonlinear and traditional filtering methods produce biased and uncertain estimates, occasionally leading to filter instabilities. Careful selection of the measurement locations greatly enhances filter performance, motivating the development of UAV trajectories that minimize target location estimation error and improve filter convergence. The objective of this work is to develop guidance algorithms that enable the UAV to fly trajectories that increase the amount of information provided by the measurements and improve overall estimation observability, resulting in proper target tracking and an accurate target location estimate. The performance of the target estimation is dependent upon the positions from which measurements are taken relative to the target and to previous measurements. Past research has provided methods to quantify the information content of a set of measurements using the Fisher Information Matrix (FIM). Forming objective functions based on the FIM and using numerical optimization methods produce UAV trajectories that locally maximize the information content for a given number of measurements. In this project, trajectory optimization leads to the development of UAV flight paths that provide the highest amount of information about the target, while considering sensor restrictions, vehicle dynamics and operation constraints. The UAV trajectory optimization is performed for stationary targets, dynamic targets and multiple targets, for many different scenarios of vehicle motion constraints. The resulting trajectories show spiral paths taken by the UAV, which focus on increasing the angular separation between measurements and reducing the relative range to the target, thus maximizing the information provided by each measurement and improving the performance of the estimation.
Clustering Analysis on E-commerce Transaction Based on K-means Clustering

Based on the density, increment and grid etc, shortcomings like the bad elasticity, weak handling ability of high-dimensional data, sensitive to time sequence of data, bad independence of parameters and weak handling ability of noise are usually existed in clustering algorithm when facing a large number of high-dimensional transaction data. Making experiments by sampling data samples of the 300 mobile phones of Taobao, the following conclusions can be obtained: compared with Single-pass clustering algorithm, the K-means clustering algorithm has a high intra-class dissimilarity and inter-class similarity when analyzing ecommerce transaction. In addition, the K-means clustering algorithm has very high efficiency and strong elasticity when dealing with a large number of data items. However, clustering effects of this algorithm are affected by clustering number and initial positions of clustering center. Therefore, it is easy to show the local optimization for clustering results. Therefore, how to determine clustering number and initial positions of the clustering center of this algorithm is still the important job to be researched in the future.
Application for systems engineering concepts as enhancements to the project life cycle methodology

A dissertation submitted to the faculty of engineering and built environment, University of Witwatersrand, in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of science in Engineering.
Knowledge and future preference of Chinese women in a major public hospital in Hong Kong after undergoing non-invasive prenatal testing for positive aneuploidy screening: a questionnaire survey.

BACKGROUND
Despite the non-invasive nature of non-invasive prenatal testing (NIPT), there is still a need for a separate informed consent process before testing. The objectives of this study are to assess (a) knowledge and preferences of Chinese women in a major public hospital in Hong Kong who underwent NIPT, and (b) whether their knowledge and preferences differ depending on womens' characteristics and sources of information.


METHODS
Setting: Prenatal diagnosis and counselling clinic. Between February 2012 and September 2013, a questionnaire survey was distributed to all women who underwent NIPT after positive aneuploidy screening. As a pilot study, ten knowledge questions were designed based on the rapid response statement on Prenatal Detection of Down Syndrome using Massively Parallel Sequencing from the International Society for Prenatal Diagnosis in 2011. The source of women's knowledge and their preferences were also evaluated. While conventional screening was publicly funded, NIPT was not. Differences between subgroups were compared using chi square tests and logistic regression analysis.


RESULTS
Of 152 women who underwent NIPT, 135 (88.8%) completed their questionnaires. More than 90% of women recognised the possibility of false positive and false negative results. Slightly more than 70% of women knew the inferior sensitivity of NIPT compared to an invasive test, and the possibility of an uninformative test result, but were not aware of the complicated aspects of NIPT. Pregnant women with an advanced level of education or those who underwent NIPT before 15 weeks provided answers that was more accurate by around 10-20% in two to three knowledge questions than those without. These associations were confirmed by multivariate logistic regression analysis. The women received information on NIPT largely from their private doctors (47.4%) and web (41.5%). In their future pregnancies, more women would opt for NIPT (a self-financed item) after positive screening ('free' in a public hospital) (57.8%) than as a primary screening (30.4%).


CONCLUSIONS
It is feasible to use a questionnaire based on the ISPD statement on NIPT to assess women's knowledge of the test. The Chinese women who underwent NIPT recognised the limitations, but did not understand the complicated aspects. More information should be provided by health care professionals in order to facilitate an informed choice by patients. More women preferred NIPT as a contingent test than as a primary screening probably because of its high cost.
A novel group of rhinoviruses is associated with asthma hospitalizations.

BACKGROUND
Although recent studies have identified new group C human rhinoviruses (HRVCs), their spectrum of pediatric disease is unknown.


OBJECTIVE
We sought to determine the presentation and burden of disease caused by HRVCs among young hospitalized children.


METHODS
We conducted prospective population-based surveillance in 2 US counties among children less than 5 years of age hospitalized with acute respiratory illness or fever from October 2001 through September 2003. Nasal/throat swabs were obtained and tested for HRVs, as determined by means of RT-PCR and then characterized by means of partial sequencing.


RESULTS
Of 1052 children enrolled and tested during the 2-year period, 167 (16%) had HRVs detected. Of 147 samples successfully sequenced, 64 were group A HRVs, 6 were group B HRVs, and 77 were HRVCs. Children with HRVCs were significantly more likely than those with group A HRVs to have underlying high-risk conditions, such as asthma (42% vs 23%, P = .023) and to have had a discharge diagnosis of asthma (55% vs 36%, P = .022).


CONCLUSIONS
Overall, HRVCs were detected in 7% of children hospitalized for fever or respiratory conditions and constituted almost half of all rhinovirus-associated hospitalizations, suggesting that this novel group causes a substantial burden of pediatric disease.
Adaptation to Drifting Concepts

Most of supervised learning algorithms assume the stability of the target concept over time. Nevertheless in many real-user modeling systems, where the data is collected over an extended period of time, the learning task can be complicated by changes in the distribution underlying the data. This problem is known in machine learning as concept drift. The main idea behind Statistical Quality Control is to monitor the stability of one or more quality characteristics in a production process which generally shows some variation over time. In this paper we present a method for handling concept drift based on Shewhart P-Charts in an on-line framework for supervised learning. We explore the use of two alternatives P-charts, which differ only by the way they estimate the target value to set the center line. Experiments with simulated concept drift scenarios in the context of a user modeling prediction task compare the proposed method with other adaptive approaches. The results show that, both P-Charts consistently recognize concept changes, and that the learner can adapt quickly to these changes to maintain its performance level.
Big data and its technical challenges

Exploring the inherent technical challenges in realizing the potential of Big Data.
Dog Eat Dog: Who is in Charge of Controlling Art in The Post‐Socialist Condition?

Abstract The article explores what happens when artists attempt to control art in order to ‘solve’ conflicting definitions of art in the post‐Socialist condition with the use of two case studies. In the case of Little Warsaw, a Hungarian artist duo, representatives of the ex‐unofficial and underground artists were eager to take over the disappearing state control and claim authoritarian power to define the boundaries of art and police fellow artists. In the second case radical Russian artists, such as Oleg Kulik and Alexander Brener, Western artists and curators declared themselves the guardians of standards and norms in their desire to keep the status quo of Cold War art discourse alive and maintain their dominant position within it. The author refers back to the heritage of censorship employed by artists towards fellow artists and to the hidden history of gate‐keeping in modern art.
Validity and reliability of the French version of the STarT Back screening tool for patients with low back pain.

STUDY DESIGN
Observational prospective study.


OBJECTIVE
Our objective was to assess the reliability and validity of the French version of the Keele STarT Back Screening Tool (SBST).


SUMMARY OF BACKGROUND DATA
The SBST is a recently validated tool developed to identify subgroups of patients with low back pain (LBP) to guide early secondary prevention in primary care.


METHODS
Outpatients 18 years or older with LBP, attending a rehabilitation center, a back school, a private physiotherapy unit, or a fitness center were included. Patients were assessed through the SBST, Roland-Morris Disability Questionnaire, Örebro Musculoskeletal Pain Screening Questionnaire, Medical Outcomes Survey Short Form-36 questionnaire, and a pain visual analogue scale. Test-retest reliability was assessed with Kappa score or the intraclass correlation coefficient, internal consistency of the Psychological subscale with the Cronbach α coefficient, construct validity with the Spearman correlation coefficient, and floor and ceiling effects by percentage frequency of lowest or highest possible score achieved by respondents.


RESULTS
One hundred eight patients with LBP were included. The test-retest reliability of the SBST total score was excellent with an intraclass correlation coefficient of 0.90 (0.81-0.95). The Cronbach α coefficient was 0.73 showing a good internal consistency for the Psychological subscale. High Spearman correlation coefficients of 0.74 between SBST and Roland-Morris Disability Questionnaire, and 0.74 between the SBST and Örebro Musculoskeletal Pain Screening Questionnaire were observed. As expected, low-to-moderate correlations were observed between the SBST total score and some dissimilar measures of the Short-Form 36. The lowest possible SBST score was observed for 8 patients (7.4%), whereas only 3 patients (2.8%) had the highest possible SBST score.


CONCLUSION
The French version of the SBST is a reliable and valid questionnaire consistent with the original English version. Therefore, this new version may help French-speaking clinicians and scientists to stratify patients with LBP.


LEVEL OF EVIDENCE
2.
GreCo: Green code of ethics

Background: Codes of ethics (CoE) are widely adopted in several professional areas, including that of Software Engineering. However, contemporary CoE do not pay sufficient attention to one of the most important trends to have appeared in the last years environmental issues. Aim: The aim of this study is to establish a Green CoE for software engineering and Professional Practices (GreCo). Our intention is to cover a wide range of aspects related to sustainability, such as economic, environmental, social, and technical features. We are additionally interested in encouraging software engineers to adopt these aspects. Methods: The Green CoE presented is the result of the interaction of several experts in the area. A first version of GreCo, whose starting point was a discussion at the GInSEng workshop, was created by identifying key principles and adapting them to the Green area. Next, various important CoE were reviewed so as to gather the existing references to sustainability or to detect new ones. These elements would then possibly be incorporated into the new code or stimulate the creation of new sustainable principles. Results: The final result is the GreCo code, which has been produced by modifying existing principles or by the introduction of new ones.
Conventional aortic valve replacement for elderly patients in the current era.

BACKGROUND
Because of the rising expectation of prolonged life in the general population and the recent recognition of undertreated aortic valve disease in the elderly, updating the available results of aortic valve surgery is imperative, especially considering the rapid evolution of the transcatheter valve implantation procedure.


METHODS AND RESULTS
Between 1997 and 2010, 308 patients aged 70 years or older underwent aortic valve replacement (AVR) for aortic stenosis (AS). Short- and long-term results were analyzed and risk factors for long-term mortality were determined. Mean age was 78.5 years and 124 patients were aged 80 or older. Concomitant coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) was performed in 46% of the cases. Mean left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) was 52%. Overall observed and expected operative mortality using the Society of Thoracic Surgeons-Predicted Risk of Mortality score was 3.9% and 4.8%, respectively. Overall survival rates at 1, 5, and 10 years were 88.6%, 71.6%, and 31.8%, respectively. Predictors of long-term mortality included diabetes; preoperative shock; LVEF ≤ 40%; New York Heart Association functional class III or IV; and age.


CONCLUSIONS
Short- and long-term results of conventional AVR in the elderly prove it to be durable and, especially in relatively low-risk patients and patients who require concomitant CABG, operative mortality is reasonably low. Conventional AVR ± CABG remains the gold standard for elderly patients with AS.
Explainable Artificial Intelligence for Training and Tutoring

This paper describes an Explainable Artificial Intelligence (XAI) tool that allows entities to answer questions about their activities within a tactical simulation. We show how XAI can be used to provide more meaningful after-action reviews and discuss ongoing work to integrate an intelligent tutor into the XAI framework.
Word vectors, reuse, and replicability: Towards a community repository of large-text resources

This paper describes an emerging shared repository of large-text resources for creating word vectors, including pre-processed corpora and pre-trained vectors for a range of frameworks and configurations. This will facilitate reuse, rapid experimentation, and replicability of results.
Esophageal replacement for end-stage benign esophageal disease.

BACKGROUND
Benign esophageal diseases constitute a common group of disorders that are generally managed with medical therapy or surgery designed to improve foregut function. A small subset of patients, however, has advanced disease that requires esophageal replacement to achieve symptomatic relief.


PATIENTS AND METHODS
One hundred four patients with benign esophageal disease who underwent esophageal reconstruction over a 21-year period (1975 to 1996) were reviewed retrospectively. Dysphagia was the major symptom driving surgery in 80% of the patients. Colon was used to reconstruct the esophagus in 85 patients; stomach, in 10 patients; and jejunum, in 9 patients. Forty-two patients who had lived with their reconstruction for 1 year or more answered a postoperative questionnaire concerning their long-term functional outcome.


RESULTS
In the 104 patients, the primary underlying abnormality leading to esophageal replacement was end-stage gastroesophageal reflux (37 patients), an advanced motility disorder (37 patients), traumatic, iatrogenic or spontaneous perforation (15 patients), corrosive injury (8 patients), congenital abnormality (6 patients), or extensive leiomyoma (1 patient). Ninety-eight percent of patients reported that the operation had cured or improved the symptom driving surgery. Ninety-three percent were satisfied with the outcome of the operation. The overall hospital mortality rate was 2%, and the median hospital stay was 17 days. Graft necrosis occurred in 3% of patients, and anastomotic leak occurred in 6% of patients (or 2% of the total number of anastomoses).


CONCLUSIONS
Esophageal replacement for benign disease can be accomplished with a low mortality rate and a marked improvement in alimentation. Reconstruction restores the pleasure of eating and is viewed by the patient to be highly successful.
Simulations as Mental Tools for Network-Based Group Learning

The article presents pedagogical and technological applications developed and studied as part of the research project 'Web-supported Mental Tools in Technology Education' at the University of Lapland. The applications allow sinlulation tools. nlodein network-based sol~~tions that support leaning. and other mental tools. as well as traditional and inodein digital learning materials. to be sinootlily integrated into noimal teaching-studying-leaining activity. For example. efforts have been made make use of edutaimnent as part of the nature of tools and materials and game-like interactivity to enhance the leanling process. The broader framework for the model of leanling activity that is being developed and studied in the project centers on the question how and throu* which leaning activity (leanling process) study and leanling in the field of electric techno lo^ and electronics (technical work and technology education) can be organized to take into account the challenges posed by the post-industrial iilfoimation society.
Breaking CAPTCHAs with Convolutional Neural Networks

This paper studies reverse Turing tests to distinguish humans and computers, called CAPTCHA. Contrary to classical Turing tests, in this case the judge is not a human but a computer. The main purpose of such tests is securing user logins against the dictionary or brute force password guessing, avoiding automated usage of various services, preventing bots from spamming on forums and many others. Typical approaches to solving text-based CAPTCHA automatically are based on a scheme specific pipeline containing hand-designed pre-processing, denoising, segmentation, post processing and optical character recognition. Only the last part, optical character recognition, is usually based on some machine learning algorithm. We present an approach using neural networks and a simple clustering algorithm that consists of only two steps, character localisation and recognition. We tested our approach on 11 different schemes selected to present very diverse security features. We experimentally show that using convolutional neural networks is superior to multi-layered perceptrons.
Making Augmented Reality a Reality

Augmented Reality has attracted interest for its p otential as a platform for new compelling usages. This paper provides an overview of technical challenges in imaging and optics encountered in near-eye optical see-through AR disp lay systems. OCIS codes: (000.4930) Other topics of general interest; (000. 2170) Equipment and techniques
Solution-chemistry approach to graphene nanostructures

Graphene has many novel optical and electrical properties desirable for applications in future electro-optical devices. Graphene nanostructures are especially attractive for their wide range of tunable properties. Here we describe the recent progress and challenges in the solution-chemistry approach to graphene nanostructures. This approach could not only lead to new materials with various well-defined properties, but also enable their production in large quantities.
Characterisation of the palladium-modified thermal oxidation-treated titanium

Abstract A novel and cost-effective surface modification technique, namely palladium-modified thermal oxidation (PTO), has recently been developed, which can dramatically enhance corrosion and wear resistance of titanium. The present paper reports characterisation of the surface engineered (thermal oxidation and palladium-modified thermal oxidation) titanium, using X-ray diffraction (XRD), glow discharge spectrometry (GDS), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and secondary ion mass spectroscopy (SIMS). The surface case of the oxidised materials comprises a surface rutile TiO 2 layer and an underlying diffusion zone (Ti-O solid solution). It has been found that the palladium treatment can decrease the grain size of the surface oxide, improve the oxide layer adherence, and delay the stratification and spallation of the surface oxide.