LLukas22/scidocs huggingface dataset:
A Multicentre Study of Acute Kidney Injury in Severe Sepsis and Septic Shock: Association with Inflammatory Phenotype and HLA Genotype

BACKGROUND
To investigate the association between severity of acute kidney injury (AKI) and outcome, systemic inflammatory phenotype and HLA genotype in severe sepsis.


METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS
Prospective multicenter observational study done in 4 intensive care units in two university hospitals. Severe sepsis and septic shock patients with at least 2 organ failures based on the SOFA score were classified: 1) "no AKI", 2) "mild AKI" (grouping stage 1 and 2 of AKIN score) and 3) "severe AKI" (stage 3 of AKIN score). Sequential measurements: The vasopressor dependency index (VDI; dose and types of drugs) to evaluate the association between hemodynamic status and the development of early AKI; plasma levels of IL-10, macrophage migration inhibitory factor (MIF), IL-6 and HLA-DR monocyte expression. Genotyping of the 13 HLA-DRB1 alleles with deduction of presence of HLA-DRB3, -DRB4 and -DRB5 genes. We used multivariate analysis with competitive risk model to study associations. Overall, 176 study patients (146 with septic shock) were classified from AKIN score as "no AKI" (n = 43), "mild AKI" (n = 74) or "severe AKI" (n = 59). The VDI did not differ between groups of AKI. After adjustment, "mild and severe AKI" were an independent risk factor for mortality (HR 2.42 95%CI[1.01-5.83], p = 0.048 and HR 1.99 95%CI[1.30-3.03], p = 0.001 respectively). "Severe AKI" had higher levels of plasma IL-10, MIF and IL-6 compared to "no AKI" and mild AKI (p<0.05 for each), with no difference in mHLA-DR at day 0. HLA-DRB genotyping showed a significantly lower proportion of 4 HLA-DRB alleles among patients requiring renal replacement therapy (RRT) (58%) than in patients with severe AKI who did not receive RRT (84%) (p = 0.004).


CONCLUSIONS
AKI severity is independently associated with mortality and plasma IL-10, MIF or IL-6 levels. Presence of 4 alleles of HLA-DRB in severe AKI patients seems associated with a lower need of RRT.
Design of Two-Stage CMOS Operational Amplifier

This paper presents a design of Two Stage CMOS operational amplifier, which operates at ±2.5V power supply using umc 2μm CMOS technology. The OP-AMP designed is a two-stage CMOS OP-AMP. The OP-AMP is designed to exhibit a unity gain frequency of 4.416MHz and exhibits a gain of 96dB with a 700 phase margin. Design and Simulation has been carried out in LT Spice tools. Keywords— 2 stage CMOS op-amp, design, simulation and results.
Heavy metals health risk assessment for population via consumption of vegetables grown in old mining area; a case study: Banat County, Romania

BACKGROUND
The aim of this study is to measure the levels of heavy metals (Fe, Mn, Zn, Cu, Ni, Cd and Pb) found in common vegetables (parsley, carrot, onion, lettuce, cucumber and green beans) grown in contaminated mining areas compared with those grown in reference clear area and to determine their potential detrimental effects via calculation of the daily metal intake (DImetal) and Target Hazard Quotients (THQ) for normal daily consumption of these vegetables, for male and female gender.


RESULTS
Compared with the reference in contaminated areas, soil and plant contents of all analyzed metals are higher, usually over normally content for Mn, Zn, Cu, Cd and Pb. Particularly, in soil, higher values than intervention threshold values (ITV) were found for Cu and Pb and higher than maximum allowable limits (MAL) for Zn, Cu, Cd and Pb for parsley roots and leaves, carrot roots, cabbage, lettuce and cucumber. DImetal and THQ values for male and female were calculated for each vegetable and metal and for which oral reference doses exist. The combined THQ values calculated are concerning in that they are usually below the safe level of THQ<1 for all vegetables grown in reference area. In contaminated Moldova Noua (M) area the combined THQ exceeded the safe level only for parsley roots, while in more contaminated Ruschita (R) area combined THQ exceeded the safe level for parsley and carrot roots, lettuce and cabbage. Cd and Pb, most toxic metals to humans, have an increasing prevalence in the combined THQ for leafy (cabbage and lettuce) and fruit vegetables (cucumber). In the root vegetables only Pb has an increasing prevalence in combined THQ values. In all areas female THQ is higher than male THQ.


CONCLUSION
The results of this study regarding metal contents in soils, vegetables, DImetal and THQ suggest that the consumption of some vegetables (especially parsley, carrot and cabbage and less for lettuce, cucumber and green beans) is not free of risks in these areas. The complex THQ parameter use in health risk assessment of heavy metals provides a better image than using only a simple parameter (contents of metals in soils and vegetables).
Loneliness and health: potential mechanisms.

OBJECTIVE
Two studies using cross-sectional designs explored four possible mechanisms by which loneliness may have deleterious effects on health: health behaviors, cardiovascular activation, cortisol levels, and sleep.


METHODS
In Study 1, we assessed autonomic activity, salivary cortisol levels, sleep quality, and health behaviors in 89 undergraduate students selected based on pretests to be among the top or bottom quintile in feelings of loneliness. In Study 2, we assessed blood pressure, heart rate, salivary cortisol levels, sleep quality, and health behaviors in 25 older adults whose loneliness was assessed at the time of testing at their residence.


RESULTS
Total peripheral resistance was higher in lonely than nonlonely participants, whereas cardiac contractility, heart rate, and cardiac output were higher in nonlonely than lonely participants. Lonely individuals also reported poorer sleep than nonlonely individuals. Study 2 indicated greater age-related increases in blood pressure and poorer sleep quality in lonely than nonlonely older adults. Mean salivary cortisol levels and health behaviors did not differ between groups in either study.


CONCLUSIONS
Results point to two potentially orthogonal predisease mechanisms that warrant special attention: cardiovascular activation and sleep dysfunction. Health behavior and cortisol regulation, however, may require more sensitive measures and large sample sizes to discern their roles in loneliness and health.
PDVLoc: A Personal Data Vault for Controlled Location Data Sharing

Location-Based Mobile Service (LBMS) is one of the most popular smartphone services. LBMS enables people to more easily connect with each other and analyze the aspects of their lives. However, sharing location data can leak people's privacy. We present PDVLoc, a controlled location data-sharing framework based on selectively sharing data through a Personal Data Vault (PDV). A PDV is a privacy architecture in which individuals retain ownership of their data. Data are routinely filtered before being shared with content-service providers, and users or data custodian services can participate in making controlled data-sharing decisions. Introducing PDVLoc gives users flexible and granular access control over their location data. We have implemented a prototype of PDVLoc and evaluated it using real location-sharing social networking applications, Google Latitude and Foursquare. Our user study of 19 participants over 20 days shows that most users find that PDVLoc is useful to manage and control their location data, and are willing to continue using PDVLoc.
Effect of Pole and Slot Combination on Noise and Vibration in Permanent Magnet Synchronous Motor

This paper investigates the effect of pole and slot combination on the vibration and noise in permanent magnet synchronous motor (PMSM). Two PMSMs that have the same performances but different pole and slot combinations are studied. A numerical analysis process for the vibration is introduced. First, by using the electromagnetic field finite element analysis (FEA) and Maxwell stress tensor method, the radial forces of these two motors are analyzed. In order to evaluate the effect of the radial force on the vibration, then the equivalent magnetizing current method is used to calculate the local force which then is employed in the mechanical FEA analysis. Finally, an experiment is processed to test the vibration and noise of these two motors, and verify the proposed analysis process. The effect of the pole and slot combination on the noise and vibration are revealed.
Combining Answer Set Programming with Description Logics for the Semantic Web

Towards the integration of rules and ontologies in the Semantic Web, we propose a combination of logic programming under the answer set semantics with the description logics SHIF(D) and SHOIN (D), which underly the Web ontology languages OWL Lite and OWL DL, respectively. This combination allows for building rules on top of ontologies but also, to a limited extent, building ontologies on top of rules. We introduce description logic programs (dl-programs), which consist of a description logic knowledge base L and a finite set of description logic rules (dl-rules) P . Such rules are similar to usual rules in logic programs with negation as failure, but may also contain queries to L, possibly default-negated, in their bodies. We define Herbrand models for dl-programs, and show that satisfiable positive dl-programs have a unique least Herbrand model. More generally, consistent stratified dl-programs can be associated with a unique minimal Herbrand model that is characterized through iterative least Herbrand models. We then generalize the (unique) minimal Herbrand model semantics for positive and stratified dl-programs to a strong answer set semantics for all dl-programs, which is based on a reduction to the least model semantics of positive dl-programs. We also define a weak answer set semantics based on a reduction to the answer sets of ordinary logic programs. Strong answer sets are weak answer sets, and both properly generalize answer sets of ordinary normal logic programs. We then give fixpoint characterizations for the (unique) minimal Herbrand model semantics of positive and stratified dl-programs, and show how to compute these models by finite fixpoint iterations. Furthermore, we give a precise picture of the complexity of deciding strong and weak answer set existence for a dl-program. 1Institut für Informationssysteme, Technische Universität Wien, Favoritenstraße 9-11, A-1040 Vienna, Austria; e-mail: {eiter, lukasiewicz, roman, tompits}@kr.tuwien.ac.at. 2Dipartimento di Informatica e Sistemistica, Università di Roma “La Sapienza”, Via Salaria 113, I-00198 Rome, Italy; e-mail: lukasiewicz@dis.uniroma1.it. Acknowledgements: This work has been partially supported by the Austrian Science Fund project Z29N04 and a Marie Curie Individual Fellowship of the European Community programme “Human Potential” under contract number HPMF-CT-2001-001286 (disclaimer: The authors are solely responsible for information communicated and the European Commission is not responsible for any views or results expressed). We would like to thank Ian Horrocks and Ulrike Sattler for providing valuable information on complexityrelated issues during the preparation of this paper. Copyright c © 2004 by the authors INFSYS RR 1843-03-13 I
Nonlinear programming without a penalty function

Abstract. In this paper the solution of nonlinear programming problems by a Sequential Quadratic Programming (SQP) trust-region algorithm is considered. The aim of the present work is to promote global convergence without the need to use a penalty function. Instead, a new concept of a “filter” is introduced which allows a step to be accepted if it reduces either the objective function or the constraint violation function. Numerical tests on a wide range of test problems are very encouraging and the new algorithm compares favourably with LANCELOT and an implementation of Sl1QP.
From Positivity to Negativity Bias: Ambiguity Affects the Neurophysiological Signatures of Feedback Processing

Previous studies on the neurophysiological underpinnings of feedback processing almost exclusively used low-ambiguity feedback, which does not fully address the diversity of situations in everyday life. We therefore used a pseudo trial-and-error learning task to investigate ERPs of low- versus high-ambiguity feedback. Twenty-eight participants tried to deduce the rule governing visual feedback to their button presses in response to visual stimuli. In the blocked condition, the same two feedback words were presented across several consecutive trials, whereas in the random condition feedback was randomly drawn on each trial from sets of five positive and five negative words. The feedback-related negativity (FRN-D), a frontocentral ERP difference between negative and positive feedback, was significantly larger in the blocked condition, whereas the centroparietal late positive complex indicating controlled attention was enhanced for negative feedback irrespective of condition. Moreover, FRN-D in the blocked condition was due to increased reward positivity (Rew-P) for positive feedback, rather than increased (raw) FRN for negative feedback. Our findings strongly support recent lines of evidence that the FRN-D, one of the most widely studied signatures of reinforcement learning in the human brain, critically depends on feedback discriminability and is primarily driven by the Rew-P. A novel finding concerned larger frontocentral P2 for negative feedback in the random but not the blocked condition. Although Rew-P points to a positivity bias in feedback processing under conditions of low feedback ambiguity, P2 suggests a specific adaptation of information processing in case of highly ambiguous feedback, involving an early negativity bias. Generalizability of the P2 findings was demonstrated in a second experiment using explicit valence categorization of highly emotional positive and negative adjectives.
Telomeres and chromosomal instability

Telomeres are distinctive structures, composed of a repetitive DNA sequence and associated proteins, which enable cells to distinguish chromosome ends from DNA double-strand breaks. Telomere alterations, caused by replication-mediated shortening, direct damage or defective telomere-associated proteins, usually generate chromosomal instability, which is observed in senescence and during the immortalization process. In cancer cells, this chromosome instability could be extended by their ability to ‘repair’ chromosomes and terminate in break-fusion-bridge cycles. Dysfunctional telomeres can be healed by activation of telomerase or by the ‘alternative mechanism’ of telomere lengthening. Activation of such telomere maintenance mechanisms may help to preserve the integrity of chromosomes even if they play a role in chromosomal instability. This review focuses on molecular processes involved in telomere maintenance and chromosomal instability associated with dysfunctional telomeres in mammalian cells.
Systemic immune activation and microbial translocation in dual HIV/tuberculosis-infected subjects.

BACKGROUND
Systemic immune activation is a strong predictor of progression of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) disease and a prominent feature of infection with Mycobacterium tuberculosis.


OBJECTIVE
To understand the role of systemic immune activation and microbial translocation in HIV/tuberculosis dually infected patients over the full spectrum of HIV-1 immunodeficiency, we studied circulating sCD14 and lipopolysaccharide (LPS) and their relationship to HIV-1 activity.


METHODS
Two cohorts of HIV/tuberculosis subjects defined by CD4 T-cell count at time of diagnosis of tuberculosis were studied: those with low (<350/μL) and those with high (≥ 350/μL) CD4 T-cell count. Circulating soluble CD14 (sCD14) and LPS were assessed.


RESULTS
Levels of sCD14 were higher in HIV/tuberculosis with high (≥ 350/μL) as compared to low CD4 T-cell count (P < .001). Whereas sCD14 levels remained elevated in HIV/tuberculosis subjects with lower CD4 T-cell counts despite treatment of tuberculosis, in HIV/tuberculosis patients with higher CD4 T-cell count (≥ 350/μL), levels declined regardless of whether highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) was included with the anti-tuberculosis regimen. Circulating LPS levels in HIV/tuberculosis patients with CD4 T-cell count ≥ 350/μL were unaffected by treatment of tuberculosis with or without HAART.


CONCLUSION
During HIV/tuberculosis, systemic immune activation is dissociated from microbial translocation. Changes in circulating sCD14 and LPS are dependent on CD4 T-cell count.
Effects of Common-Mode Active Filtering in Induction Motor Drives for Electric Vehicles

This paper deals with the active common-mode (CM) voltage compensation in an induction motor drive where the inverter is supplied by a dc source, which is typical of vehicle applications. The CM voltage at motor terminals, creating a shaft voltage through the motor air gap with possible rise in bearing current, can endanger motor reliability and reduce its lifetime. Therefore, CM voltage filtering is desirable. On the other hand, the operation of an active filter has an impact on drive efficiency due to its specific losses and can affect the electromagnetic interference (EMI) emissions that are generated by the drive. Such effects are investigated in this paper. A detailed description of a CM active filter (CMAF) is presented. An analysis of the CM voltage and current on the motor ground connection before and after the introduction of the CMAF is performed. The power losses due to the CMAF operation are analyzed and experimentally evaluated. Furthermore, the EMI toward the vehicle dc power supply line is investigated. All phenomena are studied by simulation and experimentally. The simulated results “are obtained developing” a high-frequency circuit model of the drive system, including the CMAF, which is implemented using the PSpice software. To accurately perform the experimental tests, a new dedicated high voltage dual dc line impedance stabilization network (LISN) is designed and set up on purpose. The CMAF is found to be an effective solution for the increase in motor reliability and drive electromagnetic compatibility, and its operation does not significantly reduce drive efficiency. Moreover, the CMAF does not worsen the EMI toward the dc supply line. Therefore, its presence does not imply the need for additional filters with respect to the case where no CMAF is used. Simulated results are in good agreement with the experimental ones, confirming the validity of the proposed modeling of the drive system.
Dual- and Multiband U-Slot Patch Antennas

A wide band patch antenna fed by an L-probe can be designed for dual- and multi-band application by cutting U-slots on the patch. Simulation and measurement results are presented to illustrate this design.
Purchasing Portfolio Models : A Critique and Update

Purchasing portfolio models have spawned considerable discussion in the literature. Many advantages and disadvantages have been put forward, revealing considerable divergence in opinion on the merits of portfolio models. This study addresses the question of whether or not the use of purchasing portfolio models is considered as a sign of purchasing sophistication. Using data from a broad sample of industries, it was found that purchasing sophistication is a two-dimensional construct: purchasing’s professionalism and purchasing’s position within companies. Results revealed that the position and the professionalism of purchasing are both positively related to the greater use of purchasing portfolio models. Findings indicate that portfolio usage is definitely a sign of purchasing sophistication. INTRODUCTION It is generally agreed that purchasing has evolved from a clerical buying function into a strategic business function that contributes to the competitive position of companies (Ellram and Carr 1994; Carter and Narasimhan 1996). Empirical evidence indicates that firms can indeed obtain competitive advantage by managing supplier relations (e.g., Dyer 1996; Mol 2002; Chen, Paulraj and Lado 2004). Obviously, differentiation is needed in managing supplier relationships, since not all suppliers are to be dealt with in the same way. The need for differentiated supplier relationships requires some sort of classification (Lilliecreutz and Ydreskog 1999). Since portfolio models provide differentiated strategic actions for heterogeneous categories of objects or subjects (Turnbull 1990), a purchasing portfolio approach could be characteristic of a sophisticated, strategic purchasing function. In a seminal paper, Kraljic (1983) introduced a comprehensive purchasing portfolio approach, including a matrix that classifies a firm’s purchased items into four categories on the basis of their profit impact and supply risk. Some authors have introduced similar models, although there are more similarities than differences in comparison to the original Kraljic matrix (Elliott-Shircore and Steele 1985; Olsen and Ellram 1997; Lilliecreutz and Ydreskog 1999; Van Weele 2002). The Kraljic matrix has become the standard in the field of purchasing portfolio models (Lamming and Harrison 2001; Gelderman 2003). Moreover, it has become the dominant approach to what the profession regards as ‘‘operational professionalism’’ (Cox 1997). However, in contrast with a growing acceptance and usage, purchasing portfolio models have become the target of severe criticism. Some argue that the complexity of business decisions does not allow for simple recommendations. How could one deduce strategies from a portfolio analysis that is based on just two basic dimensions (Heege 1981; Dubois and Pedersen 2002)? By simplifying the issue of buyer–supplier relationships, portfolio models fail to capture vital aspects, such as the context of networks (Dubois and Pedersen 2002), the interdependencies between products (Ritter 2000), and the concern for sustainable competitive advantage SUMMARY
Risk Factors of Survival and Surgical Treatment for Advanced Gastric Cancer with Large Tumor Size

The purpose of this study was to clarify the clinical significance of tumor size in advanced gastric cancer and to evaluate the risk factors of survival in advanced gastric cancer with large tumor size. The cut-off point for tumor size, 90th percentile value of tumor size in advanced gastric cancer, was determined to be 10 cm. We retrospectively studied the clinicopathological features and prognosis of 406 patients with advanced gastric tumors measuring 10 cm or more. Large tumors had a propensity for the following: Borrmann type IV, adjacent organ invasion, lymph node and distant metastasis, and stage IV classification. Tumor size was an independent risk factor for lymph node metastasis and survival in advanced gastric cancer. In patients with large advanced gastric cancer, Borrmann type IV, adjacent organ invasion, and N2–3 nodal involvement were independent factors associated with a poorer prognosis. The 5-year survival rate in large gastric cancer patients without any risk factors (65.5%) was similar with those in small gastric cancer patients (59.3%, P = 0.123). Tumor size was a simple predictor for lymph node metastasis and survival in advanced gastric cancer. Radical surgery should be recommended for large advanced gastric cancer patients without risk factors, while large gastric cancer with risk factors may not be a surgically treatable disease.