LLukas22/scidocs huggingface dataset:
A phase II study of erlotinib in gemcitabine refractory advanced pancreatic cancer.

BACKGROUND
Erlotinib induced skin toxicity has been associated with clinical benefit in several tumour types. This phase II study evaluated the efficacy of erlotinib, dose escalated to rash, in patients with advanced pancreatic cancer previously treated with gemcitabine.


METHODS
Erlotinib was given at an initial dose of 150 mg/day, and the dose was escalated by 50mg every 2 weeks (to a maximum of 300 mg/day) until >grade 1 rash or other dose limiting toxicities occurred. Erlotinib pharmacokinetics were performed, and baseline tumour tissue was collected for mutational analysis and epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) expression. The primary end-point was the disease control rate (objective response and stable disease >8 weeks).


RESULTS
Fifty-one patients were accrued, and 49 received treatment. Dose-escalation to 200-300 mg of erlotinib was possible in 9/49 (18%) patients. The most common ⩾ grade 3 adverse events included fatigue (6%), rash (4%) and diarrhoea (4%). Thirty-seven patients were evaluable for response, and the best response was stable disease in 12 patients (32% (95% confidence interval (CI) 17-47%)). Disease control was observed in nine patients (24% (95% CI: 10-38%)). Median survival was 3.8 months, and 6 month overall survival rate was 32% (95% CI 19-47%). Mutational analysis and EGFR expression were performed on 29 patients, with 93% having KRAS mutations, none having EGFR mutations, and 86% expressing EGFR. Neither KRAS mutational status nor EGFR expression was associated with survival.


CONCLUSIONS
Erlotinib dose escalated to rash was well tolerated but not associated with significant efficacy in non-selected patients with advanced pancreatic cancer.
Sustained Benefit at 2 Years for Covered Stents Versus Bare-Metal Stents in Long SFA Lesions: The VIASTAR Trial

The hypothesis that covered stents are superior to bare-metal stents (BMS) in long femoropopliteal artery disease was tested. The one-year results of the VIASTAR trial revealed a patency benefit of covered stents in the treatment-per-protocol (TPP) analysis only. A prospective, randomized, single-blind, multicenter study evaluated 141 patients with symptomatic peripheral arterial disease (PAD) after treatment with heparin-bonded covered stents (VIABAHN® Endoprosthesis) or BMS. Clinical outcomes and patency rates were assessed at 1, 6, 12, and 24 months. Mean lesion length was 19.0 ± 6.3 cm in the VIABAHN® versus 17.3 ± 6.6 cm in the BMS group. The 24-month primary patency rates in the VIABAHN® and BMS group were: intention-to-treat 63.1 (95 % CI 0.52–0.76) versus 41.2 % (95 % CI 0.29–0.57; log rank p = 0.04) and TPP 69.4 (95 % CI 0.58–0.83) versus 40.0 % (95 % CI 0.28–0.56; log rank p = 0.004). Freedom from target-lesion-revascularization (TLR) was 79.4 (95 % CI 0.70–0.90) versus 73.0 % (95 % CI 0.63–0.85) for VIABAHN® versus BMS (log rank p = 0.37). For the TPP group in lesions ≥20 cm, the 24-month patency rates were 65.2 (95 % CI 0.50–0.85) versus 26.7 % (95 % CI 0.12–0.59; log rank p = 0.004) for VIABAHN® versus BMS, and freedom from TLR was 80.0 (95 % CI 0.68–0.94) versus 61.9 % (95 % CI 0.44–0.87; log rank p = 0.13). The ankle brachial index was 0.89 ± 0.18 versus 0.91 ± 0.17 (p = 0.76) at 24-month in the VIABAHN® versus the BMS group, respectively. At 24-month, this trial in PAD patients with long femoropopliteal lesions demonstrated a significantly improved primary patency rate for heparin-bonded covered stents compared to BMS, however, without a significant impact on clinical outcomes and TLR rate (Reg. Nr. ISRCTN48164244).
The privacy paradox - Investigating discrepancies between expressed privacy concerns and actual online behavior - A systematic literature review

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.tele.2017.04.013 0736-5853/ 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/). ⇑ Corresponding author at: University of Twente, Faculty of Electrical Engineering, Mathematics and Computer Science, Services, Cybersecurity an Research Group, PO Box 217, 7500 AE Enschede, The Netherlands. E-mail addresses: s.barth@utwente.nl (S. Barth), m.d.t.dejong@utwente.nl (M.D.T. de Jong). Susanne Barth a,b,⇑, Menno D.T. de Jong b
Hepatoprotective activity of Musa paradisiaca on experimental animal models.

OBJECTIVE
To investigate the hepatoprotective activity of stem of Musa paradisiaca (M. paradisiaca) in CCl4 and paracetamol induced hepatotoxicity models in rats.


METHODS
Hepatoprotective activity of alcoholic and aqueous extracts of stem of M. paradisiaca was demonstrated by using two experimentally induced hepatotoxicity models.


RESULTS
Administration of hepatotoxins (CCl4 and paracetamol) showed significant biochemical and histological deteriorations in the liver of experimental animals. Pretreatment with alcoholic extract (500 mg/kg), more significantly and to a lesser extent the alcoholic extract (250 mg/kg) and aqueous extract (500 mg/kg), reduced the elevated levels of the serum enzymes like serum glutamic-oxaloacetic transaminase (SGOT), serum glutamic pyruvic transaminase (SGPT), alkaline phosphatase (ALP) and bilirubin levels and alcoholic and aqueous extracts reversed the hepatic damage towards the normal, which further evidenced the hepatoprotective activity of stem of M. paradisiaca.


CONCLUSIONS
The alcoholic extract at doses of 250 and 500 mg/kg, p.o. and aqueous extract at a dose of 500 mg/kg, p.o. of stem of M. paradisiaca have significant effect on the liver of CCl4 and paracetamol induced hepatotoxicity animal models.
Reinforcement learning agents providing advice in complex video games

This article introduces a teacher-student framework for reinforcement learning, synthesizing and extending material that appeared in conference proceedings [22] and in a non-archival workshop paper [6]. In this framework, a teacher agent instructs a student agent by suggesting actions the student should take as it learns. However, the teacher may only give such advice a limited number of times. We present several novel algorithms that teachers can use to budget their advice effectively, and we evaluate them in two complex video games: StarCraft and Pac-Man. Our results show that the same amount of advice, given at different moments, can have different effects on student learning, and that teachers can significantly affect student learning even when students use different learning methods and state representations.
Pointwise Prediction for Robust, Adaptable Japanese Morphological Analysis

●Objective: Create a Japanese morphological analyzer (word segmentation + POS tagging) that is robust and adaptable to new domains ●Approach: Use pointwise prediction, which estimates all tags independently of other tags ●Pointwise prediction: ●Robust: does not rely on dictionaries as much as previous methods ●Adaptable: it can be learned from single annotated words, not full sentences ●Works with active learning: Single words to annotate can be chosen effectively ●Evaluation on Japanese morphological analysis shows improvement over traditional methods 1
A note on the complexity of finding and enumerating elementary modes

In the context of the study into elementary modes of metabolic networks, we prove two complexity results. Enumerating elementary modes containing a specific reaction is hard in an enumeration complexity sense. The decision problem if there exists an elementary mode containing two specific reactions is NP-complete. The complexity of enumerating all elementary modes remains open.
The cubtile: 3D multitouch brings virtual worlds into the user's hands

This demonstration combines the cubtile, a new 3D multitouch device that expands tactile input from surface-only interaction to full-volume manipulation, with an augmented-reality-like setup that blends interaction and visualization spaces to put 3D objects between the user's hands.
Experimental investigation of small diameter two-phase closed thermosyphons charged with water, FC-84, FC-77 and FC-3283

An experimental investigation of the performance of thermosyphons charged with water as well as the dielectric heat transfer liquids FC-84, FC-77 and FC-3283 has been carried out. The copper thermosyphon was 200 mm long with an inner diameter of 6 mm, which can be considered quite small compared with the vast majority of thermosyphons reported in the open literature. The evaporator length was 40 mm and the condenser length was 60 mm which corresponds with what might be expected in compact heat exchangers. With water as the working fluid two fluid loadings were investigated, that being 0.6 ml and 1.8 ml, corresponding to approximately half filled and overfilled evaporator section in order to ensure combined pool boiling and thin film evaporation/boiling and pool boiling only conditions respectively. For the Flourinert liquids, only the higher fill volume was tested as the aim was to investigate pool boiling opposed to thin film evaporation. Generally, the water charged thermosyphon evaporator and condenser heat transfer characteristics compared well with available predictive correlations and theories. The thermal performance of the water charged thermosyphon also outperformed the other three working fluids in both the effective thermal resistance as well as maximum heat transport capabilities. Even so, FC-84, the lowest saturation temperature fluid tested, shows marginal improvement in the heat transfer at low operating temperatures. All of the tested Flourinert liquids offer the advantage of being dielectric fluids, which may be better suited for sensitive electronics cooling applications and were all found to provide adequate thermal performance up to approximately 30-50 W after which liquid entrainment compromised their performance.
Give Me a Break! Personalized Timing Strategies to Promote Learning in Robot-Child Tutoring

A common practice in education to accommodate the short attention spans of children during learning is to provide them with non-task breaks for cognitive rest. Holding great promise to promote learning, robots can provide these breaks at times personalized to individual children. In this work, we investigate personalized timing strategies for providing breaks to young learners during a robot tutoring interaction. We build an autonomous robot tutoring system that monitors student performance and provides break activities based on a personalized schedule according to performance. We conduct a field study to explore the effects of different strategies for providing breaks during tutoring. By comparing a fixed timing strategy with a reward strategy (break timing personalized to performance gains) and a refocus strategy (break timing personalized to performance drops), we show that the personalized strategies promote learning gains for children more effectively than the fixed strategy. Our results also reveal immediate benefits in enhancing efficiency and accuracy in completing educational problems after personalized breaks, showing the restorative effects of the breaks when administered at the right time.
Proposal and Implementation of MPLS Fuzzy Traffic Monitor

Multiprotocol Label Switched Networks need highly intelligent controls to manage high volume traffic due to issues of traffic congestion and best path selection. The work demonstrated in this paper shows results from simulations for building optimal fuzzy based algorithm for traffic splitting and congestion avoidance. The design and implementation of Fuzzy based software defined networking is illustrated by introducing the Fuzzy Traffic Monitor in an ingress node. Finally, it displays improvements in the terms of mean delay (42.0%) and mean loss rate (2.4%) for Video Traffic. Then, the resu1t shows an improvement in the terms of mean delay (5.4%) and mean loss rate (3.4%) for Data Traffic and an improvement in the terms of mean delay(44.9%) and mean loss rate(4.1%) for Voice Traffic as compared to default MPLS implementation. Keywords—Multiprotocol Label Switched Networks; Fuzzy Traffic Monitor; Network Simulator; Ingress; Traffic Splitting; Fuzzy Logic Control System; Label setup System; Traffic Splitting System
TPD: Travel Prediction-based Data Forwarding for light-traffic vehicular networks

This paper proposes Travel Prediction-based Data forwarding (TPD), tailored and optimized for multihop vehicle-to-vehicle communications. The previous schemes forward data packets mostly utilizing statistical information about road network traffic, which becomes much less accurate when vehicles travel in a light-traffic vehicular network. In this light-traffic vehicular network, highly dynamic vehicle mobility can introduce a large variance for the traffic statistics used in the data forwarding process. However, with the popularity of GPS navigation systems, vehicle trajectories become available and can be utilized to significantly reduce this uncertainty in the road traffic statistics. Our TPD takes advantage of these vehicle trajectories for a better data forwarding in light-traffic vehicular networks. Our idea is that with the trajectory information of vehicles in a target road network, a vehicle encounter graph is constructed to predict vehicle encounter events (i.e., timing for two vehicles to exchange data packets in communication range). With this encounter graph, TPD optimizes data forwarding process for minimal data delivery delay under a specific delivery ratio threshold. Through extensive simulations, we demonstrate that our TPD significantly outperforms existing legacy schemes in a variety of road network settings. © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Very Low-Cost Sensing and Communication Using Bidirectional LEDs

A novel microprocessor interface circuit is described which can alternately emit and detect light using only an LED, two digital I/O pins and a single current limiting resistor. This technique is first applied to create a smart illumination system that uses a single LED as both light source and sensor. We then present several devices that use an LED as a generic wireless serial data port. An important implication of this work is that every LED connected to a microprocessor can be thought of as a wireless two-way communication port. We present this technology as a solution to the “last centimeter problem”, because it permits disparate devices to communicate with each other simply and cheaply with minimal design modification. To appear in UbiComp 2003, Seattle, Washington, October 12-15, 2003 This work may not be copied or reproduced in whole or in part for any commercial purpose. Permission to copy in whole or in part without payment of fee is granted for nonprofit educational and research purposes provided that all such whole or partial copies include the following: a notice that such copying is by permission of Mitsubishi Electric Research Laboratories, Inc.; an acknowledgment of the authors and individual contributions to the work; and all applicable portions of the copyright notice. Copying, reproduction, or republishing for any other purpose shall require a license with payment of fee to Mitsubishi Electric Research Laboratories, Inc. All rights reserved. Copyright c ©Mitsubishi Electric Research Laboratories, Inc., 2003 201 Broadway, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139 1. Version submitted to Ubicomp 2003.
Remotely sensed small reservoir monitoring

A new ‘growing’ maximum likelihood classification algorithm for small reservoir delineation has been developed and is tested with Radarsat-2 data for reservoirs in the semi-arid Upper East Region, Ghana. The delineation algorithm is able to find the land-water boundary from SAR imagery for different weather and environmental conditions. As such, the algorithm allows for remote sensed operational monitoring of small reservoirs.
Vitamin D deficiency and depression in adults: systematic review and meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND
There is conflicting evidence about the relationship between vitamin D deficiency and depression, and a systematic assessment of the literature has not been available.


AIMS
To determine the relationship, if any, between vitamin D deficiency and depression.


METHOD
A systematic review and meta-analysis of observational studies and randomised controlled trials was conducted.


RESULTS
One case-control study, ten cross-sectional studies and three cohort studies with a total of 31 424 participants were analysed. Lower vitamin D levels were found in people with depression compared with controls (SMD = 0.60, 95% CI 0.23-0.97) and there was an increased odds ratio of depression for the lowest v. highest vitamin D categories in the cross-sectional studies (OR = 1.31, 95% CI 1.0-1.71). The cohort studies showed a significantly increased hazard ratio of depression for the lowest v. highest vitamin D categories (HR = 2.21, 95% CI 1.40-3.49).


CONCLUSIONS
Our analyses are consistent with the hypothesis that low vitamin D concentration is associated with depression, and highlight the need for randomised controlled trials of vitamin D for the prevention and treatment of depression to determine whether this association is causal.
Cybersecurity gets smart

Researchers aim to apply artificial intelligence and machine-learning methods to take cybersecurity to a new, higher, and better level.
Improved algorithms via approximations of probability distributions (extended abstract)

We present two techniques for approximating probability distributions. The first is a simple method for constructing the small-bias probability spaces introduced in [21]. This construction can be efficiently combined with the method of conditional probabilities to yield improved NC algorithms for many problems such as set cover, set discrepancy, finding large cuts in graphs etc. The second is a construction of small probability spaces approximating general independent distributions, which is of smaller size than the constructions of [13].
Autoimmune polyglandular syndromes

The autoimmune polyglandular syndromes—a group of syndromes comprising a combination of endocrine and nonendocrine autoimmune diseases—differ in their component diseases and in the immunologic features of their pathogenesis. One of the three main syndromes, type 1 autoimmune polyglandular syndrome (APS-1), has a unique pathogenic mechanism owing to mutations in the autoimmune regulator (AIRE) gene, which results in the loss of central tolerance—a process by which developing T cells with potential reactivity for self-antigens are eliminated during early differentiation in the thymus. Patients with IPEX (immune dysfunction, polyendocrinopathy, enteropathy, X-linked) syndrome harbor mutations in the forkhead box P3 (FOXP3) gene in regulatory T cells, which leads to severe autoimmunity and immune deficiency. Although both of these disorders are rare, their well-defined mechanisms of disease provide a basis for the understanding of the more common condition, APS-2. In this syndrome, alleles of human leukocyte antigens (HLAs) determine the targeting of specific tissues by autoreactive T cells, which leads to organ-specific autoimmunity as a result of this loss of tolerance. Non-HLA genes also contribute to autoimmunity in APS-2 and, depending on the polymorphism, potentially predispose to a loss of tolerance or influence which organ is specifically targeted. This Review discusses the genetic basis of APS-1, APS-2 and IPEX syndrome, with an emphasis on the mechanisms of autoimmunity and presents currently available therapies to treat their underlying autoimmune disorders.
Evaluation of a Modified MPA Procedure Assuming Higher Modes as Elastic to Estimate Seismic Demands

The modal pushover analysis (MPA) procedure, which includes the con­ tributions of all significant modes of vibration, estimates seismic demands much more accurately than current pushover procedures used in structural engineering practice. Outlined in this paper is a modified MPA (MMPA) pro­ cedure wherein the response contributions of higher vibration modes are computed by assuming the building to be linearly elastic, thus reducing the computational effort. After outlining such a modified procedure, its accuracy is evaluated for a variety of frame buildings and ground motion ensembles. Although it is not necessarily more accurate than the MPA procedure, the MMPA procedure is an attractive alternative for practical application because it leads to a larger estimate of seismic demands, improving the accuracy of the MPA results in some cases (relative to nonlinear response history analy­ sis) and increasing their conservatism in others. However, such conservatism is unacceptably large for lightly damped systems, with damping significantly less than 5%. Thus the MMPA procedure is not recommended for such sys­ tems.
A Phase I Randomized Therapeutic MVA-B Vaccination Improves the Magnitude and Quality of the T Cell Immune Responses in HIV-1-Infected Subjects on HAART

TRIAL DESIGN
Previous studies suggested that poxvirus-based vaccines might be instrumental in the therapeutic HIV field. A phase I clinical trial was conducted in HIV-1-infected patients on highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART), with CD4 T cell counts above 450 cells/mm3 and undetectable viremia. Thirty participants were randomized (2:1) to receive either 3 intramuscular injections of MVA-B vaccine (coding for clade B HIV-1 Env, Gag, Pol and Nef antigens) or placebo, followed by interruption of HAART.


METHODS
The magnitude, breadth, quality and phenotype of the HIV-1-specific T cell response were assayed by intracellular cytokine staining (ICS) in 22 volunteers pre- and post-vaccination.


RESULTS
MVA-B vaccine induced newly detected HIV-1-specific CD4 T cell responses and expanded pre-existing responses (mostly against Gag, Pol and Nef antigens) that were high in magnitude, broadly directed and showed an enhanced polyfunctionality with a T effector memory (TEM) phenotype, while maintaining the magnitude and quality of the pre-existing HIV-1-specific CD8 T cell responses. In addition, vaccination also triggered preferential CD8+ T cell polyfunctional responses to the MVA vector antigens that increase in magnitude after two and three booster doses.


CONCLUSION
MVA-B vaccination represents a feasible strategy to improve T cell responses in individuals with pre-existing HIV-1-specific immunity.


TRIAL REGISTRATION
ClinicalTrials.gov NCT01571466.
Nested Variational Compression in Deep G aussian Processes

Deep Gaussian processes provide a flexible approach to probabilistic modeling of data using either supervised or unsupervised learning. For tractable inference approximations to the marginal likelihood of the model must be made. The original approach to approximate inference in these models used variational compression to allow for approximate variational marginalization of the hidden variables leading to a lower bound on the marginal likelihood of the model [Damianou and Lawrence, 2013]. In this paper we extend this idea with a nested variational compression. The resulting lower bound on the likelihood can be easily parallelised or adapted for stochastic variational inference.