LLukas22/scidocs huggingface dataset:
The potentials of Blockchain technology in logistics

Background: Blockchain technology is recently receiving a lot of attention from researchers as well as from many different industries. There are promising application areas for the logistics sector like digital document exchange and tracking of goods, but there is no existing research on these topics. This thesis aims to contribute to the research of information systems in logistics in combination with Blockchain technology. Purpose: The purpose of this research is to explore the capabilities of Blockchain technology regarding the concepts of privacy, transparency and trust. In addition, the requirements of information systems in logistics regarding the mentioned concepts are studied and brought in relation to the capabilities of Blockchain technology. The goal is to contribute to a theoretical discussion on the role of Blockchain technology in improving the flow of goods and the flow of information in logistics. Method: The research is carried out in the form of an explorative case study. Blockchain technology has not been studied previously in a logistics setting and therefore, an inductive research approach is chosen by using thematic analysis. The case study is based on a pilot test which had the goal to facilitate a Blockchain to exchange documents and track shipments. Conclusion: The findings reflect that the research on Blockchain technology is still in its infancy and that it still takes several years to facilitate the technology in a productive environment. The Blockchain has the capabilities to meet the requirements of information systems in logistics due to the ability to create trust and establish an organisation overarching platform to exchange information.
Entrepreneurial women engineers

gyfirms, as a look a t tbefaces of the top management in such companies quickly confirms. It is true that the pool of technically trained women to bring into the top ranks of management i s small. IM the United States, less than one in ten engineers i s a woman. Worldwide, the number is even smaller, Even 50,far less than 10 percent of tbe chief executive officers and chief technical officers in high-tech U.S. firms are women To become an engineer or a scientist in tbefirst place, a woman needs more than brains and interest. She also needs the actioe encouragement of teachers aizd t b e support of family members to counteract the pervasive impression that women are simply not good a t math aizd science But once through school and into an industrial environment, many women engineers report that technical competence and congeniality alone are inadequate for survival, let alone for success. In fact, vigilance, bulldog determination, and fierce independence are necessary dtfenses against t h e subliminal messages of inferiority, indifference, and isolation that are often sentfrom colleagues and managers This "water torture," as one wornan engineer calls it, causes many wornen to quietly leave the profession. But, for some women, entreprerzeurship may be a rewarding alternative. To answer the question ofwhat professional qualifications and personal characteristics a woman needs to start and run a successful engineering business, IEEE Spectrum recently convened a muidtable oJ entrepreneurial women engineers. At the most basic level, the women felt tbat the requirements f o r entrepreneurial success are the samefor women and men. Beyond the minimum requirements of aptitude, determination, and independence i s the need for exberience and contacts. And these things Pat Nelson [M), founder, Nelson Electronics Inc., Ellicott City, Md , afirm tbat represents manufacturers of electronic componentsfor military and telecommunications systems. Shari Lawrence Pfleeger [MI, president of SystemslSoftwnre Inc., Wasbington, D.C., a consulting firm tbat sDecializes in the eoaluation of technology effectiveness. She is O M the editorial board of IEEE Spectrum and is associate editor-in-chief of IEEE Software magazine. Linda Weaver [SM), cofounder of TecKnowledge Healthcare Systems Inc , Halifax, N. S., Canada, which provides technology products and consulting services to the healthcare community She is the Director of the IEEE Region 7 [Canada) and the President of IEEE Canada.
Computational methods for the image segmentation of pigmented skin lesions: A review

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES
Because skin cancer affects millions of people worldwide, computational methods for the segmentation of pigmented skin lesions in images have been developed in order to assist dermatologists in their diagnosis. This paper aims to present a review of the current methods, and outline a comparative analysis with regards to several of the fundamental steps of image processing, such as image acquisition, pre-processing and segmentation.


METHODS
Techniques that have been proposed to achieve these tasks were identified and reviewed. As to the image segmentation task, the techniques were classified according to their principle.


RESULTS
The techniques employed in each step are explained, and their strengths and weaknesses are identified. In addition, several of the reviewed techniques are applied to macroscopic and dermoscopy images in order to exemplify their results.


CONCLUSIONS
The image segmentation of skin lesions has been addressed successfully in many studies; however, there is a demand for new methodologies in order to improve the efficiency.
Pentylentetrazole-induced loss of blood–brain barrier integrity involves excess nitric oxide generation by neuronal nitric oxide synthase

Dysfunction of the blood-brain barrier (BBB) is one of the major pathophysiological consequences of epilepsy. The increase in the permeability caused by BBB failure is thought to contribute to the development of epileptic outcomes. We developed a method by which the BBB permeability can be demonstrated by gadolinium-enhanced T1 weighted imaging (GdET1WI). The present study examined the changes in the BBB permeability in mice with generalized convulsive seizures (GCS) induced by acute pentylentetrazole (PTZ) injection. At 15min after PTZ-induced GCS, the BBB temporarily leaks BBB-impermeable contrast agent into the parenchyma of the diencephalon, hippocampus and cerebral cortex in mice, and the loss of BBB integrity was gradually recovered by 24h. The temporary BBB failure is a critical link to the glutamatergic activities that occur following the injection of PTZ. PTZ activates the glutamatergic pathway via the NMDA receptor, then nitric oxide (NO) is generated by NMDA receptor-coupled neuronal NO synthase (nNOS). To examine the influence of nNOS-derived NO induced by PTZ on the increases of the BBB permeability, GdET1WI was performed using conventional nNOS gene-deficient mice with or without PTZ injection. The failure of the BBB induced by PTZ was completely protected by nNOS deficiency in the brain. These results suggest that nNOS-derived excess NO in the glutamatergic pathway plays a key role in the failure of the BBB during PTZ-induced GCS. The levels of NO synthetized by nNOS in the brain may represent an important target for the future development of drugs to protect the BBB.
Vehicular pollution monitoring using IoT

Degradation of air quality in cities is the result of a complex interaction between natural and anthropogenic environmental conditions. With the increase in urbanization and industrialization and due to poor control on emissions and little use of catalytic converters, a great amount of particulate and toxic gases are produced [1]. The objective of this paper is to monitor air pollution on roads and track vehicles which cause pollution over a specified limit. Increasing number of automobiles is a serious problem that has been around for a very long time. This paper proposes use of Internet of Things(IoT)[2] to address this problem. Here, combination of Wireless Sensor Network and Electrochemical Toxic Gas Sensors and the use of a Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) tagging system to monitor car pollution records anytime anywhere.
Elevated γ-glutamyltransferase in implantable cardioverter defibrillator patients

HINTERGRUND: Erhöhte γ-Glutamyltransferase (GGT) Plasmaspiegel korrelieren mit kardiovaskulären Erkrankungen, aber nichts ist bekannt über eine mögliche Assoziation mit dem gehäuften Auftreten von ventrikulären Tachyarrhythmien. Weiters stellt sich die Frage, ob erhöhte GGT Werte auch bei ICD-Patienten mit einer erhöhten Sterblichkeit verbunden sind. METHODEN UND RESULTATE: Aufgrund der geschlechtsspezifischen Normalwerte von GGT wurden nur männliche Patienten in die Analyse eingeschlossen. In einer retrospektiven Studie an 743 Patienten konnte gezeigt werden, dass erhöhte GGT Werte mit einer signifikant erhöhten Gesamtmortalität, nicht aber mit einer gehäuften Notwendigkeit von appropriater ICD-Therapie (antitachykardes Pacing, Schockabgabe) assoziiert sind. In einer Cox Regressionsanalyse bestätigte sich ein erhöhter GGT Wert (>56 U/L) als unabhängiger Risikofaktor für erhöhte Sterblichkeit, vor allem wenn dieser in Kombination mit einer eingeschränkten Nierenfunktion (GFR <60 ml/min/1,73 m2) auftritt. ZUSAMMENFASSUNG: Erhöhte GGT Werte sind trotz ICD Therapie mit einer erhöhten Gesamtsterblichkeit assoziiert. Es bleibt zu überprüfen, ob dieser Routineparameter in der verbesserten Patientenselektion zur ICD Therapie eine Rolle spielen kann. BACKGROUND: Elevated γ-glutamyltransferase (GGT) is a new risk factor for cardiovascular diseases, but its impact on ventricular tachyarrhythmia occurrence and survival in patients with an implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) is unknown. METHODS AND RESULTS: Considering that GGT levels are gender-dependent, female ICD recipients were excluded from our database because of the low incidence of events. In a retrospective analysis, appropriate ICD therapy (both shocks and antitachycardia pacing due to ventricular tachyarrhythmias) occurred in 31.9% of 320 male patients who had received an ICD for primary prevention (median follow-up of 2.3 years), and in 55.1% of 423 male patients who had received an ICD for secondary prevention (median follow-up of 3.9 years). Compared to normal low GGT plasma levels (below 28 U/L), total mortality but not risk for appropriate ICD therapy was elevated for higher GGT categories (p for trend = 0.004 in primary prevention and p for trend = 0.002 in secondary prevention, respectively). In Cox regression analysis, elevated GGT (>56 U/L) remained an independent predictor of death both in primary (p = 0.011) and in secondary prevention (p = 0.006). Patients with elevated GGT and renal insufficiency defined by an estimated glomerular filtration rate <60 ml/min/1.73 m2 suffered from excess total mortality jeopardizing the benefit of ICD therapy. CONCLUSION: Elevation of GGT is an important adverse prognostic parameter in ICD patients. A possible role of GGT for improved patient selection for ICD therapy deserves further investigation.
COORDINATED REPLENISHMENTS IN A MULTI-ITEM INVENTORY SYSTEM WITH COMPOUND POISSON

In many practical applications of multi-item inventory systems significant economies of scale can be exploited when coordinating replenishment orders for groups of items. This paper considers a continuous review multi-item inventory system with compound Poisson demand processes; excess demands are backlogged and each replenishment requires a lead time. There is a major setup cost associated with any replenishment of the family of items, and a minor (item dependent) setup cost when including a particular item in this replenishment. Moreover there are holding and penalty costs. We present an algorithm which searches for a simple coordinated control rule minimizing the long-run average cost per unit time subject to a service level constraint per item on the fraction of demand satisfied directly from on-hand inventory. This algorithm is based on a heuristic decomposition procedure and a specialized policy-iteration method to solve the single-item subproblems generated by the decomposition procedure. The model applies to multi-location inventory systems with similar cost structures for coordinated deliveries. (MULTI-ITEM INVENTORY SYSTEMS; COORDINATED REPLENISHMENTS; COMPOUND POISSON DEMAND PROCESSES; SERVICE LEVEL CONSTRAINT; POLICYITERATION ALGORITHM)
Primary prevention of colorectal cancer with low-dose aspirin in combination with endoscopy: a cost-effectiveness analysis.

OBJECTIVE
Low-dose aspirin reduces colorectal cancer (CRC) incidence and mortality. Recently, the aspirin effect has been shown to occur primarily in the proximal colon. Colonoscopy has been either less effective or ineffective in the proximal compared to the distal colon. The authors assessed the cost-effectiveness of adding low-dose aspirin to a simulated screening with colonoscopy or sigmoidoscopy.


DESIGN
A Markov model comparing the strategies of 10-year colonoscopy or sigmoidoscopy screening and the combination of either of the two with low-dose aspirin in 100,000 subjects aged 50 years until death was constructed. Proximal and distal CRC prevention rates with endoscopy or aspirin were extracted from the literature. Screening and aspirin prevention were simulated to stop at 80 years. The cost of aspirin and aspirin-related complications, as well as aspirin-related mortality, was included. Incremental cost-effectiveness ratios between the different strategies were calculated. Sensitivity and probabilistic analyses were also performed.


RESULTS
The addition of low-dose aspirin to colonoscopy and sigmoidoscopy screening increased the CRC death prevention rate from 68% and 39% to 81% and 69%, respectively. Lifetime aspirin-related mortality appeared to be 0.1%. Because of the substantial reduction in CRC care, the addition of aspirin to colonoscopy and sigmoidoscopy screening was cost-effective (incremental cost-effectiveness ratio: US$5413 per life-year saved) and cost saving (US$278 per person), respectively. When the proximal CRC prevention rate with colonoscopy was increased 56% to 73% from the baseline, the addition of aspirin was no longer cost-effective. The addition of aspirin to colonoscopy and sigmoidoscopy was a cost-effective strategy in 52% and 94% of the scenarios at probabilistic analysis.


CONCLUSIONS
When assuming a suboptimal efficacy of endoscopy in preventing CRC, the addition of low-dose aspirin may be an effective and cost-effective strategy, mainly because of its high efficacy in preventing proximal CRC.
Ectopic expression of a hot pepper bZIP-like transcription factor in potato enhances drought tolerance without decreasing tuber yield

Over-expression of group A bZIP transcription factor genes in plants improves abiotic stress tolerance but usually reduces yields. Thus, there have been several efforts to overcome yield penalty in transgenic plants. In this study, we characterized that expression of the hot pepper (Capsicum annuum) gene CaBZ1, which encodes a group S bZIP transcription factor, was induced by salt and osmotic stress as well as abscisic acid (ABA). Transgenic potato (Solanum tuberosum) plants over-expressing CaBZ1 exhibited reduced rates of water loss and faster stomatal closure than non transgenic potato plants under drought and ABA treatment conditions. CaBZ1 over-expression in transgenic potato increased the expression of ABA- and stress-related genes (such as CYP707A1, CBF and NAC-like genes) and improved drought stress tolerance. Interestingly, over-expression of CaBZ1 in potato did not produce undesirable growth phenotypes in major agricultural traits such as plant height, leaf size and tuber formation under normal growth conditions. The transgenic potato plants also had higher tuber yields than non transgenic potato plants under drought stress conditions. Thus, CaBZ1 may be useful for improving drought tolerance in tuber crops. This might be the first report of the production of transgenic potato with improved tuber yields under drought conditions.
MODELING AND CONTROL OF BALL AND BEAM SYSTEM USING MODEL BASED AND NON-MODEL BASED CONTROL APPROACHES

The ball and beam system is a laboratory equipment with high nonlinearity in its dynamics. The aims of this research are to model the ball and beam system considering nonlinear factors and coupling effect and to design controllers to control the ball position. The LQR is designed considering two Degrees-of-Freedom and
Positive psychology interventions in people aged 50-79 years: long-term effects of placebo-controlled online interventions on well-being and depression.

OBJECTIVES
Various positive psychology interventions have been experimentally tested, but only few studies addressed the effects of such activities in participants aged 50 and above.


METHOD
We tested the impact of four self-administered positive psychology interventions in an online setting (i.e., gratitude visit, three good things, three funny things, and using signature strengths in a new way) on happiness and depressive symptoms in comparison with a placebo control exercise (i.e., early memories). A total of 163 females aged 50-79 tried the assigned interventions or the placebo control exercise for one week and completed measures on happiness and depressive symptoms at five times (pre- and post-test, 1, 3, and 6 months).


RESULTS
Three out of the four interventions (i.e., gratitude visit, three good things, and using signature strengths in a new way) increased happiness, whereas two interventions (three funny things and using signature strengths in a new way) led to a reduction of depressive symptoms on at one post-measure.


CONCLUSION
Positive psychology interventions yield similar results for people aged 50 and above as for younger people. The dissemination of such interventions via the Internet offers a valuable opportunity for older age groups as well.
Effect of raloxifene on bone mineral density in premenopausal women at increased risk of breast cancer.

CONTEXT
Raloxifene is a promising breast cancer prevention agent in postmenopausal women at increased risk for breast cancer. The effects of raloxifene in premenopausal women are unknown.


OBJECTIVE
We evaluated the effect of raloxifene in premenopausal women at increased risk for breast cancer on bone mineral density (BMD).


DESIGN
This was a phase II clinical trial.


SETTING
This study was conducted at an academic medical center.


PARTICIPANTS
Thirty-seven premenopausal women at increased risk for breast cancer enrolled in the trial. Thirty subjects began treatment and 27 were evaluable.


INTERVENTION
Raloxifene (60 mg daily) and elemental calcium (500 mg daily) were given for 2 yr. Subjects were followed up off medications for 1 yr.


MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE
The primary end point was the intrasubject percent change in BMD at 1 yr measured by dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry.


RESULTS
The mean baseline lumbar spine density was 1.027 g/cm(2). Lumbar spine density decreased 2.3% at 1 yr (P < 0.00001) and 3.5% at 2 yr (P < .00001). Percent change from yr 2 to 3 was +1.4%. The mean baseline total hip bone density was 0.905 g/cm(2). Total hip density decreased 0.3% at 1 yr and 1.0% at 2 yr (P = 0.033). Percent change from yr 2 to 3 was +1.7%.


CONCLUSIONS
Raloxifene use is associated with a decrease in BMD in premenopausal women at increased risk for breast cancer. The clinical significance of this decrease is unknown and is attenuated with stopping raloxifene.
Algorithmic brands: A decade of brand experiments with mobile and social media

Algorithmic brands: A decade of brand experiments with mobile and social media Nicholas Carah, University of Queensland Published in New Media and Society here: http://nms.sagepub.com/content/early/2015/09/10/1461444815605463.abstract Citation: Carah, N. (2015). Algorithmic brands: a decade of brand experiments with mobile and social media, New Media and Society, 1-16. doi 10.1177/1461444815605463 Abstract This article examines how brands have iteratively experimented with mobile and social media. The activities of brands – including Coca-Cola, Virgin and Smirnoff – at music festivals in Australia since 2005 are used as an instructive case. The article demonstrates how these brands imagined social media, attempted to instruct consumers to use mobile devices, and used cultural events to stimulate image production tuned to the decision-making of social media algorithms. The article contributes to debate by articulating how brands are important actors in the development of algorithmic media infrastructure and devices. Accounts of algorithmic media need to examine how the analytic capacities of social and mobile media are interdependent with orchestrating the creative participation of users.
Deltoid muscle and tendon tears in patients with chronic rotator cuff tears

To describe the magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) appearances of tears of the deltoid muscle and tendon in patients with rotator cuff tears and without a prior history of shoulder surgery. Deltoid tears diagnosed on MR examinations were prospectively recorded between February 2003 through June 2004. The images of these patients were then retrospectively reviewed to determine the location of the deltoid tear, the presence of rotator cuff tears, tendon retraction, muscle atrophy, degree of humeral head subluxation, bony erosive changes involving the undersurface of the acromion, and the presence of edema or fluid-like signal intensity in the deltoid muscle and overlying subcutaneous tissues. There were 24 (0.3%) patients with deltoid tears; nine men and 15 women. The age range was 54 to 87 (average 73) years. The right side was involved in 20 cases, and the left in four cases. Fifteen patients had full thickness and nine had partial thickness tears of the deltoid. Shoulder pain was the most common presenting symptom. The physical examination revealed a defect in the region of the deltoid in two patients. Nineteen patients had tears in the muscle belly near the musculotendinous junction, and five had avulsion of the tendon from the acromial origin. Full thickness rotator cuff tears were present in all of the patients, and 22 patients had associated muscle atrophy. Subcutaneous edema and fluid-like signal was present in 15 patients. Tears of the deltoid muscle or tendon is an unusual finding, but they can be seen in patients with chronic massive rotator cuff tears. Partial thickness tears tend to involve the undersurface of the deltoid muscle and tendon. Associated findings such as intramuscular cyst or ganglion in the deltoid muscle belly and subcutaneous edema or fluid-like signal overlying the deltoid in a patient with a rotator cuff tear should raise the suspicion of a deltoid tear.
Use of whey proteins for encapsulation and controlled delivery applications

Whey proteins can be used as hydrogels and nanoparticle systems for encapsulation and controlled delivery of bioactive compounds. Whey protein concentrate (WPC) hydrogels exhibited pH-sensitive swelling behavior with minimum swelling ratio near the isoelectric point (pI) of whey proteins ( 5.1). The controlled drug release behavior of WPC hydrogels was studied using caffeine as a model drug. Consistent with the swelling behavior, the release of encapsulated model drug from the hydrogels was slower when the pH was below pI than it was at pH above pI. The swelling and release behavior of the WPC hydrogels can be changed easily with different layers of alginate coating. Nanoparticles of about 60 nm average particle size were prepared with beta-lactoglobulin (BLG) using a desolvation method by preheating the BLG solution to 60 C. The stability of the particles was investigated by degradation experiments at neutral and acidic conditions with and without proteolytic enzyme. 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.