LLukas22/scidocs huggingface dataset:
Robust line fitting using LMedS clustering

The authors propose a robust clustering method based on the Least Median of Squares principle. This is a general-purpose method, and is efficient for finding a majority structure using dictionary sorting and a smallest square region enclosing for a set of data points. In addition, the authors propose a robust line fitting algorithm using this method. The fitting problem is solved through a dual transform of a pair of points selected from data space to a parameter space, and then clustering the mapped points. Moreover, a function to identify outliers based on the size of the square region converging in the parameter space is defined, and is used to distinguish between normal values and outliers. The proposed method enables robust line fitting for data points found in images or in files. The resulting line statistically satisfies the least median condition. Furthermore, line fitting to groups of points with a high outlier percentage is also possible. Here, outliers and normal values are removed in sequence. The validity of the proposed method has been shown based on the results of simulation experiments. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Syst Comp Jpn, 34(14): 92–100, 2003; Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com). DOI 10.1002/scj.1225
Enhancing transparency in reporting the synthesis of qualitative research: ENTREQ

BACKGROUND
The syntheses of multiple qualitative studies can pull together data across different contexts, generate new theoretical or conceptual models, identify research gaps, and provide evidence for the development, implementation and evaluation of health interventions. This study aims to develop a framework for reporting the synthesis of qualitative health research.


METHODS
We conducted a comprehensive search for guidance and reviews relevant to the synthesis of qualitative research, methodology papers, and published syntheses of qualitative health research in MEDLINE, Embase, CINAHL and relevant organisational websites to May 2011. Initial items were generated inductively from guides to synthesizing qualitative health research. The preliminary checklist was piloted against forty published syntheses of qualitative research, purposively selected to capture a range of year of publication, methods and methodologies, and health topics. We removed items that were duplicated, impractical to assess, and rephrased items for clarity.


RESULTS
The Enhancing transparency in reporting the synthesis of qualitative research (ENTREQ) statement consists of 21 items grouped into five main domains: introduction, methods and methodology, literature search and selection, appraisal, and synthesis of findings.


CONCLUSIONS
The ENTREQ statement can help researchers to report the stages most commonly associated with the synthesis of qualitative health research: searching and selecting qualitative research, quality appraisal, and methods for synthesising qualitative findings. The synthesis of qualitative research is an expanding and evolving methodological area and we would value feedback from all stakeholders for the continued development and extension of the ENTREQ statement.
Cost-minimization analysis of lanthanum carbonate versus sevelamer hydrochloride in US patients with end-stage renal disease.

PURPOSE
Sevelamer hydrochloride (SH) and lanthanum carbonate (LC) are calcium-free phosphate binders used in the clinical management of hyperphosphatemia in patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD). The objective of this analysis was to assess the cost-effectiveness of LC monotherapy compared with SH monotherapy in US patients with ESRD in a clinical practice setting.


METHODS
This was a post hoc assessment of phosphate binder costs among US patients with ESRD who converted from SH to LC monotherapy in a previously published, 16-week, Phase IV, real-world study. Calculations of drug costs used both average wholesale price (AWP) and wholesale acquisition cost (WAC).


FINDINGS
There were 953 patients with available baseline SH dose data; 950 also had a recorded LC dose >0 mg at baseline, and 691 had dose data available for both SH at baseline and LC at week 16 (post hoc analysis population). Baseline demographic characteristics were similar in excluded patients and the post hoc analysis population. Mean (SD) serum phosphate levels were 5.91 (1.66) mg/dL at baseline and 5.93 (1.85) mg/dL after conversion to LC monotherapy for 16 weeks. Mean AWP costs were US$35.72 (16.89) per day at baseline and US$24.69 (8.28) per day at week 16, yielding an overall mean cost change (defined as LC cost - SH cost) of -US$11.03 (16.37) per day in favor of LC. The overall mean WAC cost change was -US$9.17 (13.64) per day. Within baseline SH dose subgroups 2400 to 4800, >4800 to 7200, >7200 to 9600, and >9600 mg/d, the mean AWP cost change ranged from US$2.78 (9.26) per day in favor of SH for the 2400- to 4800-mg/d subgroup to -US$33.15 (12.58) per day in favor of LC for the >9600-mg/d subgroup. Mean WAC cost changes showed a similar trend, ranging from US$2.33 (7.72) per day to -US$27.59 (10.48) per day. Linear regression analyses revealed that the inflection SH doses corresponding to a mean cost change of zero were 4905 mg/d (AWP) and 4908 mg/d (WAC). For the 455 (66%) patients in the post hoc analysis population who had baseline SH doses at least as high (≥ 5600 mg/d) as these point estimates, the mean SH:LC tablet ratio was ≥ 3.7, indicating a mean reduction in the tablet burden after conversion to LC of ≥ 73%.


IMPLICATIONS
This real-world assessment of comparative phosphate binder drug costs between SH and LC among US patients with ESRD indicates that average cost savings with LC use increased with increasing SH doses. Conversion to LC from SH ≥ 5600 mg/d reduced drug costs and tablet burden while maintaining serum phosphate levels.
Interactive whiteboards: Real beauty or just "lipstick"?

There has been extensive investment by governments and individual schools in interactive whiteboard technology in developed countries premised on the assumption that their use in education will impact positively on learners’ achievements. Developing countries, such as South Africa, keen to raise attainment among their learners are following suit. While at least one of the nine provinces in South Africa had undertaken pilot roll-outs of interactive whiteboards (IWBs) in schools, the Eastern Cape Department of Education commissioned a feasibility study to determine teachers and learners perceptions of the potential benefits and drawbacks of using interactive pen technology, specifically the eBeam, in their teaching and learning environments, before embarking upon a large scale roll-out. This paper reports on a case study of three government schools and highlights the learners and teachers’ enthusiasm about the ‘‘big screen” and the multimedia options, but also raises concerns about the lack of ICT literacy displayed by teachers and learners and the cost of technology. As most of the benefits mentioned by the teachers and learners seemed to accrue to the use of the laptop and data projector combination and most of the drawbacks emanated from the use of the interactive pen technology itself, we suggest that it may not be expeditious to attempt to ‘‘leap-frog” the use of interactive technologies. Instead we suggest that an evolution of ICT related pedagogy is necessary to make optimal use of interactive pen technologies such as the eBeam and that teachers should be offered technologies, not have them imposed upon them. 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Cationic liposome-hyaluronic acid hybrid nanoparticles for intranasal vaccination with subunit antigens.

Here we report the development of a new cationic liposome-hyaluronic acid (HA) hybrid nanoparticle (NP) system and present our characterization of these NPs as an intranasal vaccine platform using a model antigen and F1-V, a candidate recombinant antigen for Yersinia pestis, the causative agent of plague. Incubation of cationic liposomes composed of DOTAP and DOPE with anionic HA biopolymer led to efficient ionic complexation and formation of homogenous liposome-polymer hybrid NPs, as evidenced by fluorescence resonance energy transfer, dynamic light scattering, and nanoparticle tracking analyses. Incorporation of cationic liposomes with thiolated HA allowed for facile surface decoration of NPs with thiol-PEG, resulting in the formation of DOTAP/HA core-PEG shell nanostructures. These NPs, termed DOTAP-HA NPs, exhibited improved colloidal stability and prolonged antigen release. In addition, cytotoxicity associated with DOTAP liposomes (LC50~0.2mg/ml) was significantly reduced by at least 20-fold with DOTAP-HA NPs (LC50>4mg/ml), as measured with bone marrow derived dendritic cells (BMDCs). Furthermore, NPs co-loaded with ovalbumin (OVA) and a molecular adjuvant, monophosphoryl lipid A (MPLA) promoted BMDC maturation and upregulation of co-stimulatory markers, including CD40, CD86, and MHC-II, and C57BL/6 mice vaccinated with NPs via intranasal route generated robust OVA-specific CD8(+) T cell and antibody responses. Importantly, intranasal vaccination with NPs co-loaded with F1-V and MPLA induced potent humoral immune responses with 11-, 23-, and 15-fold increases in F1-V-specific total IgG, IgG1, and IgG2c titers in immune sera by day 77, respectively, and induced balanced Th1/Th2 humoral immune responses, whereas mice immunized with the equivalent doses of soluble F1-V vaccine failed to achieve sero-conversion. Overall, these results suggest that liposome-polymer hybrid NPs may serve as a promising vaccine delivery platform for intranasal vaccination against Y. pestis and other infectious pathogens.
An Analysis and Survey of the Development of Mutation Testing

Mutation Testing is a fault-based software testing technique that has been widely studied for over three decades. The literature on Mutation Testing has contributed a set of approaches, tools, developments, and empirical results. This paper provides a comprehensive analysis and survey of Mutation Testing. The paper also presents the results of several development trend analyses. These analyses provide evidence that Mutation Testing techniques and tools are reaching a state of maturity and applicability, while the topic of Mutation Testing itself is the subject of increasing interest.
Heel compressions quadruple the number of bystanders who can perform chest compressions for 10 minutes.

OBJECTIVE
The objective of the study is to evaluate whether chest compressions using the heel provide a more effective method than manual compressions for bystanders.


METHODS
This is a cross-sectional observational comparison study where each subject acted as his or her own control. A 49-person cohort whose age distribution approximated that of sudden cardiac arrest victims were asked to perform 10 minutes of 5-cm manual compressions on a cardiopulmonary resuscitation manikin at 100 compressions per minute. The compression rate and the endurance of each subject were recorded. The same subject was then asked to perform 10 minutes of heel compressions at the same depth and rate.


RESULTS
Sixteen percent of the cohort performed compliant manual compressions for 10 minutes vs 65% using heel compressions. Twenty-four percent of the subjects were not heavy enough to get compliant depth with manual vs 2% with heel compressions, and 6% could not get down on the floor to attempt manual compressions.


DISCUSSION
Most cardiac arrests occur in private residences. If there is a witness, his or her age usually approximates that of the victim. Heel compressions are useful in situations where a lone rescuer cannot get down on the floor, cannot compress the chest to guideline depth because of an infirmity or lack of weight, or becomes too tired to continue manual compressions. Heel compressions significantly increase the bystander population's ability to provide effective, uninterrupted compressions until EMS arrival.
Dependence of biodiesel fuel properties on the structure of fatty acid alkyl esters

Biodiesel, defined as the mono-alkyl esters of vegetable oils or animal fats, is an balternativeQ diesel fuel that is becoming accepted in a steadily growing number of countries around the world. Since the source of biodiesel varies with the location and other sources such as recycled oils are continuously gaining interest, it is important to possess data on how the various fatty acid profiles of the different sources can influence biodiesel fuel properties. The properties of the various individual fatty esters that comprise biodiesel determine the overall fuel properties of the biodiesel fuel. In turn, the properties of the various fatty esters are determined by the structural features of the fatty acid and the alcohol moieties that comprise a fatty ester. Structural features that influence the physical and fuel properties of a fatty ester molecule are chain length, degree of unsaturation, and branching of the chain. Important fuel properties of biodiesel that are influenced by the fatty acid profile and, in turn, by the structural features of the various fatty esters are cetane number and ultimately exhaust emissions, heat of combustion, cold flow, oxidative stability, viscosity, and lubricity. Published by Elsevier B.V.
Effects of Interviewer Style on Quality of Reporting in a Survey Interview.

Summary Eight female interviewers varied their interview styles in interviewing 207 adults who had been involved in automobile accidents during a four-year period. A “professional” and a rapport or “interpersonal” style was used. Dependent variables consisted of reporting of events related to an automobile accident in which the respondent was the driver, and for which independent criterion data were available. In addition, the amount of health information reported was also analyzed. In spite of the respondents' more favorable attitudes towards the interpersonal interviews, accuracy was not significantly greater in these rapport interviews. In fact, significant interaction effects between interviewer style and recency of the accident were obtained. Respondents, however, reported more completely under rapport conditions. The results are interpreted within a cognitive, role-learning framework.
Heterogeneous Software Reliability Modeling

A number of Markov-based software reliability models have been developed for measuring software reliability. However, the application of these models is strictly limited to software that satisfies the Markov properties. The objective of our work is to expand the application domain of the Markov-based models, so that most software can be modeled and software reliability can be measured at the architecture level. To overcome the limitations of Markov properties, our model takes execution history into account and addresses both deterministic and probabilistic software behaviors. Each state represents the executions of one or more components depending on the architectural styles. In addition, the executions of one component are depicted by using distinctive states, when such executions are influenced by past states. Furthermore, we construct loops to eliminate the likelihood of unlimited state expansion and utilize a binomial tree structure to account for all the different execution paths. We show that Markov models are applicable even to software that does not fully satisfy the Markov properties. Therefore, we significantly improve the state of the art in architecture-based software reliability modeling.
Breasts Are for Men: Media, Masculinity Ideologies, and Men’s Beliefs About Women’s Bodies

Although masculinity ideology (MI) has been shown to predict men’s sexual risk-taking, less is known about MI’s contribution to men’s beliefs about women and their sexual bodies. Accordingly, we examined associations between masculine ideology, media consumption, and men’s attitudes about women’s reproductive body functions among a sample of 656 undergraduate men. Participants completed measures assessing their endorsement of traditional gender ideologies, their levels of media exposure and engagement, and their attitudes toward childbirth and breastfeeding. It was hypothesized that media use would contribute to traditional MI, and that traditional MI would contribute to negative views about breastfeeding and childbirth. Results supported these individual connections, but not a mediated model. Discussion focuses on implications of these findings for women’s lives.
Soft-computing techniques and ARMA model for time series prediction

The challenge of predicting future values of a time series covers a variety of disciplines. The fundamental problem of selecting the order and identifying the time varying parameters of an autoregressive moving average model (ARMA) concerns many important fields of interest such as linear prediction, system identification and spectral analysis. Recent research activities in forecasting with artificial neural networks (ANNs) suggest that ANNs can be a promising alternative to the traditional ARMA structure. These linear models and ANNs are often compared with mixed conclusions in terms of the superiority in forecasting performance. This study was designed: (a) to investigate a hybrid methodology that combines ANN and ARMA models; (b) to resolve one of the most important problems in time series using ARMA structure and Box–Jenkins methodology: the identification of the model. In this paper, we present a new procedure to predict time series using paradigms such as: fuzzy systems, neural networks and evolutionary algorithms. Our goal is to obtain an expert system based on paradigms of artificial intelligence, so that the linear model can be identified automatically, without the need of human expert participation. The obtained linear model will be combined with ANN, making up an hybrid system that could outperform the forecasting result. r 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Most borrowed is most cited? Library loan statistics as a proxy for monograph selection in citation indexes

This study aims to analyse whether library loan statistics can be used as a measure of monograph use and as a selection criterion for inclusion in citation indexes. For this, we conducted an exploratory study based on loan data (1000 most borrowed monographs) from two non-Anglo-Saxon European university libraries (Granada and Vienna) with strong social sciences and humanities components. Loans to scientists only were also analysed at the University of Vienna. Furthermore, citation counts for the 100 most borrowed scientific monographs (SM) and textbooks or manuals (MTB) were retrieved fromWeb of Science and Google Scholar.The results show considerable similarities in both libraries: the percentage of loans for books in national languages represents almost 96% of the total share and SM accounts only for 10%–13%.When considering loans to scientists only, the percentage of English books increases to 30%; the percentage of SM loans also increases (~ 80%). Furthermore, we found no significant correlations between loans and citations. Since loan statistics are currently insufficient for measuring the use of monographs, their suggested use as an applicable selection criterion for book citation indexes is not yet feasible. Data improvement and aggregation at different levels is a challenge for modern libraries in order to enable the exploitation of this invaluable information source for scientometric purposes.
Beyond Markowitz: A Comprehensive Wealth Allocation Framework for Individual Investors

T he principles of Modern Portfolio Theory, as outlined in Markowitz’s famous 1952 paper (Markowitz [1952a]) speak clearly and unambiguously to the benefits of portfolio diversification. There is an optimum way to create a portfolio by combining different asset classes. This construction depends crucially on the market risk and return of each asset class and on the correlations between different asset classes. These optimal portfolios, when mapped on the risk-return plane, form a curve known as the efficient frontier. Each investor, based on his personal utility function, finds the appropriate point on this line, which then prescribes an optimum allocation between different asset classes such as stocks, bonds, and cash. It should be intuitively obvious that, in order to achieve a truly diversified portfolio, one must also diversify within each asset class. For example, equity portfolios should be composed of a large number of minimally correlated stocks, bonds should be diversified across both maturities and credit ratings. According to Modern Portfolio Theory, diversification minimizes non-systematic risk and diversification combined with the use of a utility function provides the investor with the right balance between risk and reward. The interested reader may refer to Appendix A for details on how the Markowitz framework is implemented in practice. More ambitious approaches such as Merton’s [1992] pioneering work on dynamic asset allocation, which incorporates multi-period investor consumption, unfortunately have not found widespread acceptance in the personal finance world. However, in sharp contrast to these recommendations, a vast majority of investors in the U.S. and in countries around the world are not well diversified. This neglect of diversification is also seen across all client segments, including affluent clients who have access to financial advisors, financially sophisticated investors, and participants of employer-sponsored retirement plans (Goetzmann and Kumar [2003]; Kennickell [2003]; Polkovinchenko [2003]). What does lack of diversification result in? The dangers of undiversified portfolios have been indelibly etched in the minds of many thousands of investors who participated in the Internet bubble with “irrational exuberance” (Greenspan [1996]; Shiller [2001]). Many of their investments became worthless, as their technology-heavy portfolios sustained heavy losses and never recovered. Yet there is a remarkable group of people, a minority of the general population but a significant majority of the affluent, who have become wealthy over the years by defying market diversification. Ironically, many of them would not have become so wealthy had they followed a conventional diversified approach. Some examples of such successful “undiversified” strategies have been: Beyond Markowitz: A Comprehensive Wealth Allocation Framework for Individual Investors
Provably secure session key distribution: the three party case

We study session key distribution in the three-party setting of Needham and Schroeder. (This is the trust model assumed by the popular Kerberos authentication system.) Such protocols are basic building blocks for contemporary distributed systems|yet the underlying problem has, up until now, lacked a de nition or provably-good solution. One consequence is that incorrect protocols have proliferated. This paper provides the rst treatment of this problem in the complexitytheoretic framework of modern cryptography. We present a de nition, protocol, and a proof that the protocol satis es the de nition, assuming the (minimal) assumption of a pseudorandom function. When this assumption is appropriately instantiated, our protocols are simple and e cient. Abstract appearing in Proceedings of the 27th ACM Symposium on the Theory of Computing, May 1995.