LLukas22/scidocs huggingface dataset:
eTransQual : a transaction process-based approach for capturing service quality in online shopping

Existing e-service quality scales mainly focus on goal-oriented e-shopping behavior excluding hedonic quality aspects. As a consequence, these scales do not fully cover all aspects of consumer's quality evaluation. In order to integrate both utilitarian and hedonic e-service quality elements, we apply a transaction process model to electronic service encounters. Based on this general framework capturing all stages of the electronic service delivery process, we develop a transaction process-based scale for measuring service quality (eTransQual). After conducting exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis, we identify five discriminant quality dimensions: functionality/design, enjoyment, process, reliability and responsiveness. All extracted dimensions of eTransQual show a significant positive impact on important outcome variables like perceived value and customer satisfaction. Moreover, enjoyment is a dominant factor in influencing both relationship duration and repurchase intention as major drivers of customer lifetime value. As a result, we present conceptual and empirical evidence for the need to integrate both utilitarian and hedonic e-service quality elements into one measurement scale. © 2006 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
A 1 . 2-ns 16 × 16-Bit Binary Multiplier Using High Speed Compressors

For higher order multiplications, a huge number of adders or compressors are to be used to perform the partial product addition. We have reduced the number of adders by introducing special kind of adders that are capable to add five/six/seven bits per decade. These adders are called compressors. Binary counter property has been merged with the compressor property to develop high order compressors. Uses of these compressors permit the reduction of the vertical critical paths. A 16×16 bit multiplier has been developed using these compressors. These compressors make the multipliers faster as compared to the conventional design that have been used 4-2 compressors and 3-2 compressors. Keywords—Binary multiplier, Compressors, Counter, Column adder, Low power.
Annealing effect for LaxC60 thin films

Abstract Numerous studies on metal-doped C 60 compounds had been done since the discovery of superconducting C 60 compounds. It is interesting to study physical properties of trivalent-meta-doped C 60 . We examined La-doped C 60 thin films fabricated by layer-by-layer (LBL) deposition with a multi-source evaporation system. The physical properties of La x C 60 depend on the diffusion of La atoms in the film, so we studied the effect of annealing. The crystal structure and morphology of La x C 60 thin films were examined by X-ray diffraction and AFM and electronic structure was also examined by UPS. We found that annealing promotes orientation of the crystal. UPS spectra showed the change depends on the concentration of La atoms. Moreover, the spectrum of annealed thin film was quite different from that of as-deposited thin film.
A three dimensional foot placement planner for locomotion in very rough terrains

Maneuvering through 3D structures nimbly is pivotal to the advancement of legged locomotion. However, few methods have been developed that can generate 3D gaits in those terrains and fewer if none can be generalized to control dynamic maneuvers. In this study, foot placement planning for dynamic locomotion traversing irregular terrains is explored in three dimensional space. Given boundary values of the center of mass' apexes during the gait, sagittal and lateral phase-plane trajectories are predicted based on multi-contact and inverted pendulum dynamics. To deal with the nonlinear dynamics of the contact motions and their dimensionality, we plan a geometric surface of motion beforehand and rely on numerical integration to solve the models. In particular, we combine multi-contact and prismatic inverted pendulum models to resolve feet transitions between steps, allowing to produce trajectory patterns similar to those observed in human locomotion. Our contributions lay in the following points: (1) the introduction of non planar surfaces to characterize the center of mass' geometric behavior; (2) an automatic gait planner that simultaneously resolves sagittal and lateral feet placements; (3) the introduction of multi-contact dynamics to smoothly transition between steps in the rough terrains.
Patterns of Stroke Between University Hospitals and Nonuniversity Hospitals in Mainland China: Prospective Multicenter Hospital-Based Registry Study.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE
In China, stroke has risen to the first commonest cause of death. Currently published data on stroke come mainly from university hospitals and less from community hospitals, especially lacking information on stroke focusing on the differences between university hospitals and nonuniversity hospitals. Therefore we aimed to investigate the patterns and differences of acute stroke between university hospitals and nonuniversity hospitals in China.


METHODS
The survey was conducted in 281 hospitals in China: 62 in the west, 85 in the middle, and 134 in the eastern regions. The participating hospitals were sorted into university hospitals (n = 93) and nonuniversity hospitals (n = 118). We prospectively registered patients with acute stroke within 7 days of symptom onset between 1 April and 20 May 2006. The diagnosis of stroke was defined by World Health Organization criteria, and the pathologic types of stroke were determined by clinical and computed tomography/magnetic resonance imaging findings. The demographic data, pathologic types of stroke, and outcomes (death or disability) at discharge (or 30 days if not discharged) were collected. Disability was defined as modified Rankin Scale (mRs) score >2. Basic characteristics, pathologic types of stroke, and functional outcomes were compared between university hospitals and nonuniversity hospitals.


RESULTS
We enrolled 5273 patients (3135 males; mean age, 65 ± 12 years), of which ischemic stroke accounted for 70.8% (3733), intracranial hemorrhage for 25.7% (1357), and subarachnoid hemorrhage for 3.5% (183). Most of the patients (3555, or 67.4%) were from nonuniversity hospitals, and 1718 patients (32.6%) came from university hospitals. There were no significant differences between university hospitals and nonuniversity hospitals in terms of age, sex, pathologic types of stroke, and history of stroke (all P > 0.05), except the less stroke severity (mRS) on admission (3.1 ± 1.4 vs. 3.2 ± 1.3; P = 0.005) in patients from nonuniversity hospitals. After adjustment for age, sex, and mRS on admission, only patients with intracranial hemorrhage from nonuniversity hospitals had significantly lower proportions of disability (40.8% vs. 47.1%; P = 0.005) and death/disability (49.9% vs. 57.1%; P = 0.008) at discharge than those from university hospitals.


CONCLUSION
This survey comparing stroke patients treated in university and nonuniversity hospitals in China showed that both cohorts were largely comparable including most demographic features, such as age and gender, history of stroke, and stroke subtypes. It may be concluded that patient cohorts treated on stroke units in university and nonuniversity hospitals are similar and stroke units in both types of institutions are also comparable in terms of workload and most patient outcomes.
Secured Cryptographic Key Generation From Multimodal Biometrics: Feature Level Fusion of Fingerprint and Iris

Human users have a tough time remembering long cryptographic keys. Hence, researchers, for so long, have been examining ways to utilize biometric features of the user instead of a memorable password or passphrase, in an effort to generate strong and repeatable cryptographic keys. Our objective is to incorporate the volatility of the user's biometric features into the generated key, so as to make the key unguessable to an attacker lacking significant knowledge of the user's biometrics. We go one step further trying to incorporate multiple biometric modalities into cryptographic key generation so as to provide better security. In this article, we propose an efficient approach based on multimodal biometrics (Iris and fingerprint) for generation of secure cryptographic key. The proposed approach is composed of three modules namely, 1) Feature extraction, 2) Multimodal biometric template generation and 3) Cryptographic key generation. Initially, the features, minutiae points and texture properties are extracted from the fingerprint and iris images respectively. Subsequently, the extracted features are fused together at the feature level to construct the multi-biometric template. Finally, a 256-bit secure cryptographic key is generated from the multi-biometric template. For experimentation, we have employed the fingerprint images obtained from publicly available sources and the iris images from CASIA Iris Database. The experimental results demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed approach. Keywords-Biometrics; Multimodal, Fingerprint, Minutiae points; Iris; Rubber Sheet Model; Fusion; Segmentation; Cryptographic key; Chinese Academy of Sciences Institute of Automation (CASIA) iris database.
Human rights and basic needs : theory and practice

Human rights have a projection of universality, but as a matter of ground reality they are not the same for all people and societies. It is in this scenario that a few scholars from the West and from Asia decided to sit together and exchange views on their understanding of human rights issues and their subject matter.
Dependent Gaussian Processes

Gaussian processes are usually parameterised in terms of their covariance functions. However, this makes it difficult to deal with multiple outputs, because ensuring that the covariance matrix is positive definite is problematic. An alternative formulation is to treat Gaussian processes as white noise sources convolved with smoothing kernels, and to parameterise the kernel instead. Using this, we extend Gaussian processes to handle multiple, coupled outputs.
Effects of cognitive arousal and physiological arousal on sleep perception.

STUDY OBJECTIVES
Two experiments were conducted to investigate the effect of presleep arousal on sleep perception. Experiment 1 examined the link between presleep cognitive arousal and distorted perception of sleep and compared the relative effect of anxious and neutral cognitive arousal on sleep perception. Experiment 2 compared the relative effect of anxious cognitive arousal and physiological arousal on sleep perception.


DESIGN
Participants completed a nap session. Just prior to the nap, the participants were randomly assigned to 1 of 3 groups to receive different arousal manipulations. They were then allowed to go to sleep and were asked to report their sleep perception upon waking.


SETTING
Sleep laboratory.


PARTICIPANTS
Fifty-four healthy good sleepers in each experiment.


INTERVENTIONS
N/A.


MEASUREMENTS AND RESULTS
Self-reported sleep, actigraphy-defined sleep, and the discrepancy between them were indexed. In Experiment 1, participants who were experimentally manipulated to experience anxious cognitive arousal during the presleep period reported longer sleep-onset latency. Both the Anxious Cognitive Arousal Group and the Neutral Cognitive Arousal Group exhibited a greater discrepancy between self-reported and actigraphy-defined sleep, relative to participants who received no manipulation. In Experiment 2, participants who were experimentally manipulated to experience anxious cognitive arousal or physiological arousal during the presleep period reported longer sleep-onset latency and shorter total sleep time, and both groups exhibited a greater discrepancy between the self-reported and actigraphy-defined sleep, relative to participants who received no manipulation.


CONCLUSIONS
Results suggest that both presleep cognitive arousal and presleep physiological arousal contribute to distorted perception of sleep.
Pink Breast Milk: Serratia marcescens Colonization

Background Breast milk can turn pink with Serratia marcescens colonization, this bacterium has been associated with several diseases and even death. It is seen most commonly in the intensive care settings. Discoloration of the breast milk can lead to premature termination of nursing. We describe two cases of pink-colored breast milk in which S. marsescens was isolated from both the expressed breast milk. Antimicrobial treatment was administered to the mothers. Return to breastfeeding was successful in both the cases. Conclusions Pink breast milk is caused by S. marsescens colonization. In such cases,early recognition and treatment before the development of infection is recommended to return to breastfeeding.
Efficacy and safety of citrate-based anticoagulation compared to heparin in patients with acute kidney injury requiring continuous renal replacement therapy: a randomized controlled trial

INTRODUCTION
A systemic anticoagulation is often required to prevent circuit and filter clotting in ICU patients undergoing continuous renal replacement therapy (CRRT). A regional citrate-based anticoagulation (RCA) does not induce a systemic anticoagulation and prolongs the filter lifespan, but metabolic side-effects have been associated with this therapy. We conducted a randomized controlled trial with patients requiring CRRT to determine whether RCA using a balanced predilution replacement fluid is more effective than heparin in terms of renal replacement delivered dose and safety profile.


METHODS
One hundred and three patients with AKI requiring CRRT were included. The patients were randomized to either CRRT with RCA or heparin anticoagulation. Primary endpoints were effective daily delivered RRT dose during the first 3 days of CRRT and filter lifespan. Secondary endpoints were 28-day and 90-day survival and severe metabolic complications and bleeding disorders.


RESULTS
Median CRRT duration was 3.0 (2-6) days. Effective delivered daily RRT doses were 29 ± 3 and 27 ± 5 mL/kg/hr in the RCA and heparin groups, respectively (p = 0.005). Filter lifespans were 49 ± 29 versus 28 ± 23 hrs in the RCA and heparin groups (p = 0.004). Survival rates at 28 and 90 days were 80-74% in the RCA and 74-73% in the heparin group. Electrolytes and acid-base disturbances were uncommon and transient in patients treated with RCA.


CONCLUSIONS
These results show that RCA is superior to heparin-based anticoagulation in terms of delivered RRT dose and filter life span and is a safe and feasible method. This does not translate into an improvement in short term survival.


TRIAL REGISTRATION
ClinicalTrials.gov NCT01269112 . Registered 3rd January 2011.
Non-surgical periodontal therapy assisted by potassium–titanyl–phosphate laser: a pilot study

As the American Academy of Periodontology indicates, the treatment of chronic periodontitis should be achieved in the least invasive manner through non-surgical periodontal therapy. However, complete removal of subgingival plaque and calculus is hindered with increasing probing depth (PD) and furcation involvement using hand, sonic or ultrasonic instruments. Many authors have suggested that the use of laser as an adjunct to scaling and root planing (SRP) might improve the effectiveness of conventional periodontal treatment. The aim of this study was to evaluate potassium–titanyl–phosphate (KTP) laser in non-surgical periodontal therapy. Seven hundred and thirty sites with probing depths of 4–6 mm were involved in the study. The sites were divided into four groups: control (SRP, chlorhexidine gel 0.5%), group A (SRP, chlorhexidine gel 0.5%, three sessions of KTP laser irradiation); group B (SRP, three sessions of KTP laser irradiation) and group C (SRP, irrigation with povidone-iodine 10%, three sessions of KTP laser irradiation). KTP laser was used with the following parameters: output power 0.6 W, time on 10 ms, time off 50 ms, 30 s per irradiation, fluence 19 J/cm2. All the sites showed improvement in all clinical parameters. Clinical attachment loss (CAL), pocket probing depths (PPDs) and bleeding on probing (BOP), especially in the lased groups, showed significant results (P < 0.001). Our experience showed KTP laser to be a significant help in SRP; nevertheless, more studies are necessary to confirm our results.
A Probabilistic Traffic-Theoretic Network Loading Model Suitable for Large-Scale Network Analysis

Full terms and conditions of use: http://pubsonline.informs.org/page/terms-and-conditions This article may be used only for the purposes of research, teaching, and/or private study. Commercial use or systematic downloading (by robots or other automatic processes) is prohibited without explicit Publisher approval, unless otherwise noted. For more information, contact permissions@informs.org. The Publisher does not warrant or guarantee the article’s accuracy, completeness, merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, or non-infringement. Descriptions of, or references to, products or publications, or inclusion of an advertisement in this article, neither constitutes nor implies a guarantee, endorsement, or support of claims made of that product, publication, or service. Copyright © 2018, INFORMS
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and inhaled steroids alter surfactant protein D (SP-D) levels: a cross-sectional study

BACKGROUND
Surfactant protein D (SP-D), an innate immune molecule, plays an important protective role during airway inflammation. Deficiency of this molecule induces emphysematous changes in murine lungs, but its significance in human COPD remains unclear.


METHODS
We collected bronchoalveolar lavage fluid from 20 subjects with varying degrees of COPD (8 former smokers and 12 current smokers) and 15 asymptomatic healthy control subjects (5 never smokers, 3 remote former smokers, and 7 current smokers). All subjects underwent a complete medical history and pulmonary function testing. SP-D was measured by Enzyme-Linked ImmunoSorbent Assay. Statistical analysis was performed using nonparametric methods and multivariable linear regression for control of confounding. The effect of corticosteroid treatment on SP-D synthesis was studied in vitro using an established model of isolated type II alveolar epithelial cell culture.


RESULTS
Among former smokers, those with COPD had significantly lower SP-D levels than healthy subjects (median 502 and 1067 ng/mL, respectively, p = 0.01). In a multivariable linear regression model controlling for age, sex, race, and pack-years of tobacco, COPD was independently associated with lower SP-D levels (model coefficient -539, p = 0.04) and inhaled corticosteroid use was independently associated with higher SP-D levels (398, p = 0.046). To support the hypothesis that corticosteroids increase SP-D production we used type II alveolar epithelial cells isolated from adult rat lungs. These cells responded to dexamethasone treatment by a significant increase of SP-D mRNA (p = 0.041) and protein (p = 0.037) production after 4 days of culture.


CONCLUSION
Among former smokers, COPD is associated with lower levels of SP-D and inhaled corticosteroid use is associated with higher levels of SP-D in the lung. Dexamethasone induced SP-D mRNA and protein expression in isolated epithelial cells in vitro. Given the importance of this molecule as a modulator of innate immunity and inflammation in the lung, low levels may play a role in the pathogenesis and/or progression of COPD. Further, we speculate that inhaled steroids may induce SP-D expression and that this mechanism may contribute to their beneficial effects in COPD. Larger, prospective studies are warranted to further elucidate the role of surfactant protein D in modulating pulmonary inflammation and COPD pathogenesis.
ALCOHOL ADVERTISING AND ADVERTISING BANS : A SURVEY OF RESEARCH METHODS , RESULTS , AND POLICY IMPLICATIONS

This chapter surveys the literatures on advertising bans and alcohol consumption or abuse, and advertising expenditures and alcohol consumption. Studies of state-level bans of billboards are examined as well as studies of international bans that cover broadcasting media. For expenditures, the survey concentrates on econometric methods and the existence of an industry advertising-sales response function. Selected results from survey-research studies of advertising and youth alcohol behaviors also are discussed. The chapter concludes that advertising bans do not reduce alcohol consumption or abuse; advertising expenditures do not have a marketwide expansion effect; and survey-research studies of youth behaviors are seriously incomplete as a basis for public policy. Results of the survey are applied to the Supreme Court’s Central Hudson test for constitutionality of restrictions on commercial speech. JEL Codes: K2, L8, M3.
An eigenvalue search method using the Orr-Sommerfeld equation for shear flow

A physically-based computational technique was investigated which is intended to estimate an initial guess for complex values of the wavenumber of a disturbance leading to the solution of the fourth-order Orr–Sommerfeld (O–S) equation. The complex wavenumbers, or eigenvalues, were associated with the stability characteristics of a semi-infinite shear flow represented by a hyperbolic-tangent function. This study was devoted to the examination of unstable flow assuming a spatially growing disturbance and is predicated on the fact that flow instability is correlated with elevated levels of perturbation kinetic energy per unit mass. A MATLAB computer program was developed such that the computational domain was selected to be in quadrant IV, where the real part of the wavenumber is positive and the imaginary part is negative to establish the conditions for unstable flow. For a given Reynolds number and disturbance wave speed, the perturbation kinetic energy per unit mass was computed at various node points in the selected subdomain of the complex plane. The initial guess for the complex wavenumber to start the solution process was assumed to be associated with the highest calculated perturbation kinetic energy per unit mass. Once the initial guess had been approximated, it was used to obtain the solution to the O–S equation by performing a Runge–Kutta integration scheme that computationally marched from the far field region in the shear layer down to the lower solid boundary. Results compared favorably with the stability characteristics obtained from an earlier study for semi-infinite Blasius flow over a flat boundary. © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
CANCER IMMUNOLOGY AT THE CROSSROADS : COMPLEMENTARY THERAPEUTICMODALITIES 210 TemperatureMatters ! AndWhy It Should Matter to Tumor Immunologists

Synopsis: Using B cells from patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), Nakahara and colleagues have produced a lamprey monoclonal antibody with CLL idiotope specificity that can be used for early detection of leukemia recurrence. Lamprey antibodies can be generated rapidly and offer a complementary approach to the use of classical Ig-based anti-idiotope antibodies in the monitoring and management of patients with CLL.
Lorentz-Invariant Interpretation of Noncommutative Space-Time - global version

The global version of the quantum symmetry defined by Chaichian et al (hep-th/0408069) is constructed.