LLukas22/scidocs huggingface dataset:
GIS Cloud Computing Methodology

Geographic Information System (GIS) is the processes of managing, manipulating, analyzing, updating and presenting metadata according to its geographic location, to be effectively used in different aspects of life [1]. Cloud Computing allowed the utilization of all computing resources and software as required through the web in a virtual computing environment [2], [3]. Different Application software and data are provided at the (virtual) server side to be used. GIS Cloud is the future of Web GIS, with capabilities of easy and fast: collecting, processing, analyzing, updating, rectifying, publishing geospatial data through the internet. It is a web-based- GIS Application to enable all users fast, easy informed decision-making at fair price. It provides the power of desktop GIS on a web-based platform at fair cost anywhere. It offers a JavaScript Application Programming Interface (API) and a REST API, to provide GIS functionality into an application or website that can be hosted by GIS Cloud or by a third-party. In this work we are presenting a GIS-Cloud application in AL-Kamaliah region, small town of Amman suburbs to demonstrate its practicality and functionality.
Quark condensate in a magnetic field

Abstract We study the dependence of quark condensate Σ on an external magnetic field. For weak fields, it rises linearly: Σ(H) = Σ(0) [1 + eH ln2 (16π 2 F π 2 ) + …] . M π and F π are also shifted so that the Gell-Mann-Oakes-Renner relation is satisfied. In the strong field region, Σ(H) α (eH) 3 2 .
Effects of a short term supplementation of a fermented papaya preparation on biomarkers of diabetes mellitus in a randomized Mauritian population.

OBJECTIVE
Clinical evidence and cellular models have shown an inverse relationship between the intakes of plant and fruit based diets and oxidative stress, suggesting the suitability of natural antioxidants in the management of diabetes mellitus and its complications.


METHOD
A randomized controlled clinical trial was conducted at the Cardiac Centre, SSRN Hospital, Pamplemousses, (Mauritius) to determine the effect of a short term supplementation of a fermented papaya preparation (FPP®) on biomarkers of diabetes and antioxidant status in a multi-ethnical neo-diabetic population from November 2010 to March 2011.


RESULT
Supplementation of 6g FPP®/day for a period of 14 weeks could improve the general health status of several organs targeted by oxidative stress during diabetes. When comparing experimental to control groups with independent samples t-test, C-reactive protein levels significantly decreased (P=0.018), LDL/HDL ratio was considerably changed (P=0.042), and uric acid levels were significantly improved (P=0.001). ANOVA results also validated the same findings with significant differences in C-reactive protein, LDL/HDL ratio, uric acid and in serum ferritin levels.


CONCLUSION
FPP® may present a novel, economically feasible nutraceutical supplement for the management of diabetes and for those at risk for cardiovascular disease, neurological disease and other conditions worsened by overt inflammation and oxidative stress.
The clinical utility of normal findings on noninvasive cardiac assessment in the prediction of atrial fibrillation.

BACKGROUND
The absence of abnormalities on noninvasive cardiac assessment possibly confers a reduced risk of atrial fibrillation (AF) despite the presence of traditional risk factors.


HYPOTHESIS
Normal findings on noninvasive cardiac assessment are associated with a lower risk of AF development.


METHODS
We examined the clinical utility of normal findings on routine noninvasive cardiac assessment in 5331 participants (85% white; 57% women) from the Cardiovascular Health Study who were free of baseline AF. The combination of a normal electrocardiogram (ECG) + normal echocardiogram was assessed for the development of AF events. A normal ECG was defined as the absence of major or minor Minnesota code abnormalities. A normal echocardiogram was defined as the absence of contractile dysfunction, wall motion abnormalities, or abnormal left ventricular mass. Cox regression was used to compute the 10-year risk of developing AF.


RESULTS
During the 10-year study period, a total of 951 (18%) AF events were detected. A normal ECG (multivariable hazard ratio [HR]: 0.80, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.69-0.92) and normal echocardiogram (multivariable HR: 0.75, 95% CI: 0.65-0.87) were associated with a reduced risk of AF in isolation. This association improved in those with normal ECG + normal echocardiogram (multivariable HR: 0.66, 95% CI: 0.55-0.79) compared with participants who had abnormal ECG + abnormal echocardiogram (referent).


CONCLUSIONS
Normal findings on routine noninvasive cardiac assessment identify persons in whom the risk of AF is low. Further studies are needed to explore the utility of this profile regarding the decision to implement certain risk factor modification strategies in older adults to reduce AF burden.
Neurohormonal and clinical sex differences in heart failure.

AIMS
Despite disparities in pathophysiology and disease manifestation between male and female patients with heart failure, studies focusing on sex differences in biomarkers are scarce. The purpose of this study was to assess sex-specific variation in clinical characteristics and biomarker levels to gain more understanding of the potential pathophysiological mechanisms underlying sex differences in heart failure.


METHODS AND RESULTS
Baseline demographic and clinical characteristics, multiple biomarkers, and outcomes were compared between men and women in 567 patients. The mean age of the study group was 71 ± 11 years and 38% were female. Women were older, had a higher body mass index and left ventricular ejection fraction, more hypertension, and received more diuretic and antidepressant therapy, but less ACE-inhibitor therapy compared with men. After 3 years, all-cause mortality was lower in women than men (37.0 vs. 43.9%, multivariable hazard ratio = 0.64; 95% confidence interval 0.45-0.92, P = 0.016). Levels of biomarkers related to inflammation [C-reactive protein, pentraxin 3, growth differentiation factor 15 (GDF-15), and interleukin 6] and extracellular matrix remodelling (syndecan-1 and periostin) were significantly lower in women compared with men. N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide, TNF-αR1a, and GDF-15 showed the strongest interaction between sex and mortality.


CONCLUSION
Female heart failure patients have a distinct clinical presentation and better outcomes compared with male patients. The lower mortality was independent of differences in clinical characteristics, but differential sex associations between several biomarkers and mortality might partly explain the survival difference.
Histopathological grading of breast ductal carcinoma In Situ: validation of a web-based survey through intra-observer reproducibility analysis

BACKGROUND
Histopathological grading diagnosis of ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) of the breast may be very difficult even for experts, and it is important for therapeutic decisions. The challenge may be due to the inaccurate and/or subjective application of the diagnosis criteria. The aim of this study was to investigate the intra-observer agreement between a traditional method and a developed web-based questionnaire for scoring breast DCIS.


METHODS
A cross-sectional study was carried out to evaluate the diagnostic agreement of an electronic questionnaire and its point scoring system with the subjective reading of digital images for 3 different DCIS grading systems: Holland, Van Nuys and modified Black nuclear grade system. Three pathologists analyzed the same set of digitized images from 43 DCIS cases using two different web-based programs. In the first phase, they accessed a website with a newly created questionnaire and scoring system developed to allow the determination of the histological grade of the cases. After at least 6 months, the pathologists read again the same images, but without the help of the questionnaire, indicating subjectively the diagnoses. The intra-observer agreement analysis was employed to validate this innovative web-based survey.


RESULTS
Overall, diagnostic reproducibility was similar for all histologic grading classification systems, with kappa values of 0.57 ± 0.10, 0.67 ± 0.09 and 0.67 ± 0.09 for Holland, Van Nuys classification and modified Black nuclear grade system respectively. Only two 2-step diagnostic disagreements were found, one for Holland and another for Van Nuys. Both cases were superestimated by the web-based survey.


CONCLUSION
The diagnostic agreement between the web-based questionnaire and a traditional method, both using digital images, is moderate to good for Holland, Van Nuys and modified Black nuclear grade system. The use of a scoring point system does not appear to pose a major risk of presenting large (2-step) diagnostic disagreements. These findings indicate that the use of this point scoring system in this web-based survey to grade objectively DCIS lesions is a useful diagnostic tool.
Towards a unified Media-User Typology (MUT): A meta-analysis and review of the research literature on media-user typologies

Considering the increasingly complex media landscape and diversity of use, it is important to establish a common ground for identifying and describing the variety of ways in which people use new media technologies. Characterising the nature of media-user behaviour and distinctive user types is challenging and the literature offers little guidance in this regard. Hence, the present research aims to classify diverse user behaviours into meaningful categories of user types, according to the frequency of use, variety of use and content preferences. To reach a common framework, a review of the relevant research was conducted. An overview and meta-analysis of the literature (22 studies) regarding user typology was established and analysed with reference to (1) method, (2) theory, (3) media platform, (4) context and year, and (5) user types. Based on this examination, a unified Media-User Typology (MUT) is suggested. This initial MUT goes beyond the current research literature, by unifying all the existing and various user type models. A common MUT model can help the Human–Computer Interaction community to better understand both the typical users and the diversification of media-usage patterns more qualitatively. Developers of media systems can match the users’ preferences more precisely based on an MUT, in addition to identifying the target groups in the developing process. Finally, an MUT will allow a more nuanced approach when investigating the association between media usage and social implications such as the digital divide. 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. 1 Difficulties in understanding media-usage behaviour have also arisen because of
UK Back pain Exercise And Manipulation (UK BEAM) trial – national randomised trial of physical treatments for back pain in primary care: objectives, design and interventions [ISRCTN32683578]

BACKGROUND
Low back pain has major health and social implications. Although there have been many randomised controlled trials of manipulation and exercise for the management of low back pain, the role of these two treatments in its routine management remains unclear. A previous trial comparing private chiropractic treatment with National Health Service (NHS) outpatient treatment, which found a benefit from chiropractic treatment, has been criticised because it did not take treatment location into account. There are data to suggest that general exercise programmes may have beneficial effects on low back pain. The UK Medical Research Council (MRC) has funded this major trial of physical treatments for back pain, based in primary care. It aims to establish if, when added to best care in general practice, a defined package of spinal manipulation and a defined programme of exercise classes (Back to Fitness) improve participant-assessed outcomes. Additionally the trial compares outcomes between participants receiving the spinal manipulation in NHS premises and in private premises.


DESIGN
Randomised controlled trial using a 3 x 2 factorial design.


METHODS
We sought to randomise 1350 participants with simple low back pain of at least one month's duration. These came from 14 locations across the UK, each with a cluster of 10-15 general practices that were members of the MRC General Practice Research Framework (GPRF). All practices were trained in the active management of low back pain. Participants were randomised to this form of general practice care only, or this general practice care plus manipulation, or this general practice care plus exercise, or this general practice care plus manipulation followed by exercise. Those randomised to manipulation were further randomised to receive treatment in either NHS or private premises. Follow up was by postal questionnaire one, three and 12 months after randomisation. The primary analysis will consider the main treatment effects before interactions between the two treatment packages. Economic analysis will estimate the cost per unit of health utility gained by adding either or both of the treatment packages to general practice care.
Measuring ADHD behaviors in children with symptomatic accommodative dysfunction or convergence insufficiency: a preliminary study.

BACKGROUND
Accommodative dysfunction and convergence insufficiency (CI) are common pediatric vision problems that have been associated with an increase in frequency and severity of vision-specific symptoms that affect children when doing schoolwork. However, the relationship between accommodative dysfunction and CI and other learning problems, such as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), are not well understood. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the frequency of ADHD behaviors in school-aged children with symptomatic accommodative dysfunction or CI.


METHODS
Children 8 to 15 years of age with symptomatic accommodative dysfunction or CI were recruited from the teaching clinic at the Southern California College of Optometry. Children with learning disabilities or ADHD were excluded. One parent of each child completed the Conners Parent Rating Scale-Revised Short Form (CPRS-R:S). The children's scores on the CPRS-R:S were compared with the normative sample.


RESULTS
Twenty-four children (9 boys and 15 girls) participated in the study with a mean age of 10.93 years (SD = 1.75). On the CPRS-R:S, cognitive problem/inattention, hyperactivity, and ADHD index were significantly different from normative values (p < or = .001 for all tests).


CONCLUSIONS
The results from this preliminary study suggest that school-aged children with symptomatic accommodative dysfunction or CI have a higher frequency of behaviors related to school performance and attention as measured by the CPRS-R:S.
Stability and Dissipativity Analysis of Static Neural Networks With Time Delay

This paper is concerned with the problems of stability and dissipativity analysis for static neural networks (NNs) with time delay. Some improved delay-dependent stability criteria are established for static NNs with time-varying or time-invariant delay using the delay partitioning technique. Based on these criteria, several delay-dependent sufficient conditions are given to guarantee the dissipativity of static NNs with time delay. All the given results in this paper are not only dependent upon the time delay but also upon the number of delay partitions. Some examples are given to illustrate the effectiveness and reduced conservatism of the proposed results.
Effect of over-and under-expression of glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate dehydrogenase on tolerance of plants to water-deficit stress

While involved in a functional genomics program, we found that the overexpression of potato (Solanum tuberosum) glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH) gene in yeast improves its water-deficit stress (drought) tolerance. But, the effect of altered (under and over) expression of GAPDH on water-deficit stress tolerance of higher plants is not yet studied. In this study, we used a versatile reverse genetics tool called virus-induced gene silencing and down-regulated the expression of GAPDH gene in tobacco (Nicotiana benthamiana) to examine the relevance (effect of underexpression) of GAPDH on drought tolerance of higher plants. Leaf discs made from silenced and nonsilenced tobacco plants were subjected to water-deficit stress. Measure of cell viability and the content of chlorophyll in stressed and nonstressed leaf discs were determined to quantify the effect of stress. Leaf discs made from the gene-silenced plants were found to be more severely affected by the stress than the leaf discs made from nonsilenced plants, implying the importance of GAPDH gene in drought tolerance of plants. Furthermore, to reiterate the involvement of GAPDH in drought tolerance of plants, potato transgenic plants constitutively overexpressing the GAPDH gene were generated and their performance under drought condition was analyzed. Transgenic potato plants showed improved drought tolerance when compared to wild-type potato. On the whole, our results confirm that the GAPDH gene plays an important role in drought tolerance of higher plants, and its constitutive overexpression by genetic engineering can be used to improve drought tolerance of crop plants like potato.
Body Space in Social Interactions: A Comparison of Reaching and Comfort Distance in Immersive Virtual Reality

BACKGROUND
Do peripersonal space for acting on objects and interpersonal space for interacting with con-specifics share common mechanisms and reflect the social valence of stimuli? To answer this question, we investigated whether these spaces refer to a similar or different physical distance.


METHODOLOGY
Participants provided reachability-distance (for potential action) and comfort-distance (for social processing) judgments towards human and non-human virtual stimuli while standing still (passive) or walking toward stimuli (active).


PRINCIPAL FINDINGS
Comfort-distance was larger than other conditions when participants were passive, but reachability and comfort distances were similar when participants were active. Both spaces were modulated by the social valence of stimuli (reduction with virtual females vs males, expansion with cylinder vs robot) and the gender of participants.


CONCLUSIONS
These findings reveal that peripersonal reaching and interpersonal comfort spaces share a common motor nature and are sensitive, at different degrees, to social modulation. Therefore, social processing seems embodied and grounded in the body acting in space.
The Impact of Internet Banking on Bank Performance and Risk : The Indian Experience

The paper describes the current state of Internet banking in India and discusses its implications for the Indian banking industry. Particularly, it seeks to examine the impact of Internet banking on banks’ performance and risk. Using information drawn from the survey of 85 scheduled commercial bank’s websites, during the period of June 2007, the results show that nearly 57 percent of the Indian commercial banks are providing transactional Internet banking services. The univariate analysis indicates that Internet banks are larger banks and have better operating efficiency ratios and profitability as compared to non-Internet banks. Internet banks rely more heavily on core deposits for funding than non-Internet banks do. However, the multiple regression results reveal that the profitability and offering of Internet banking does not have any significant association, on the other hand, Internet banking has a significant and negative association with risk profile of
VANET security surveys

Vehicular ad hoc networks (VANETs), a subset of Mobile Ad hoc NETworks (MANETs), refer to a set of smart vehicles used on the road. These vehicles provide communication services among one another or with Road Side Infrastructure (RSU) based on wireless Local Area Network (LAN) technologies. The main benefits of VANETs are that they enhance road safety and vehicle security while protecting drivers’ privacy from attacks perpetrated by adversaries. Security is one of the most critical issues related to VANETs since the information transmitted is distributed in an open access environment. VANETs face many challenges. This paper presents a survey of the security issues and the challenges they generate. The various categories of applications in VANETs are introduced, as well as some security requirements, threats and certain architectures are proposed to solve the security problem. Finally, global security architecture for VANETs is proposed. 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
The ratio of CRP to prealbumin levels predict mortality in patients with hospital-acquired acute kidney injury

BACKGROUND
Animal and human studies suggest that inflammation and malnutrition are common in acute kidney injury (AKI) patients. However, only a few studies reported CRP, a marker of inflammation, albumin, prealbumin and cholesterol, markers of nutritional status were associated with the prognosis of AKI patients. No study examined whether the combination of inflammatory and nutritional markers could predict the mortality of AKI patients.


METHODS
155 patients with hospital-acquired AKI were recruited to this prospective cohort study according to RIFLE (Risk, Injury, Failure, Lost or End Stage Kidney) criteria. C-reactive protein (CRP), and the nutritional markers (albumin, prealbumin and cholesterol) measured at nephrology consultation were analyzed in relation to all cause mortality of these patients. In addition, CRP and prealbumin were also measured in healthy controls (n = 45), maintenance hemodialysis (n = 70) and peritoneal dialysis patients (n = 50) and then compared with AKI patients.


RESULTS
Compared with healthy controls and end-stage renal disease patients on maintenance hemodialysis or peritoneal dialysis, patients with AKI had significantly higher levels of CRP/prealbumin (p < 0.001). Higher level of serum CRP and lower levels of albumin, prealbumin and cholesterol were found to be significant in the patients with AKI who died within 28 days than those who survived >28 days. Similarly, the combined factors including the ratio of CRP to albumin (CRP/albumin), CRP/prealbumin and CRP/cholesterol were also significantly higher in the former group (p < 0.001 for all). Multivariate analysis (Cox regression) revealed that CRP/prealbumin was independently associated with mortality after adjustment for age, gender, sepsis and sequential organ failure assessment (SOFA, p = 0.027) while the others (CRP, albumin, prealbumin, cholesterol, CRP/albumin and CRP/cholesterol) became non-significantly associated. The hazard ratio was 1.00 (reference), 1.85, 2.25 and 3.89 for CRP/prealbumin increasing according to quartiles (p = 0.01 for the trend).


CONCLUSIONS
Inflammation and malnutrition were common in patients with AKI. Higher level of the ratio of CRP to prealbumin was associated with mortality of AKI patients independent of the severity of illness and it may be a valuable addition to SOFA score to independent of the severity of illness and it may be a valuable addition to SOFA score to predict the prognosis of AKI patients.