LLukas22/scidocs huggingface dataset:
The global distribution of tetrapods reveals a need for targeted reptile conservation

The distributions of amphibians, birds and mammals have underpinned global and local conservation priorities, and have been fundamental to our understanding of the determinants of global biodiversity. In contrast, the global distributions of reptiles, representing a third of terrestrial vertebrate diversity, have been unavailable. This prevented the incorporation of reptiles into conservation planning and biased our understanding of the underlying processes governing global vertebrate biodiversity. Here, we present and analyse the global distribution of 10,064 reptile species (99% of extant terrestrial species). We show that richness patterns of the other three tetrapod classes are good spatial surrogates for species richness of all reptiles combined and of snakes, but characterize diversity patterns of lizards and turtles poorly. Hotspots of total and endemic lizard richness overlap very little with those of other taxa. Moreover, existing protected areas, sites of biodiversity significance and global conservation schemes represent birds and mammals better than reptiles. We show that additional conservation actions are needed to effectively protect reptiles, particularly lizards and turtles. Adding reptile knowledge to a global complementarity conservation priority scheme identifies many locations that consequently become important. Notably, investing resources in some of the world’s arid, grassland and savannah habitats might be necessary to represent all terrestrial vertebrates efficiently. The global distribution of nearly all extant reptile species reveals richness patterns that differ spatially from that of other taxa. Conservation prioritization should specifically consider reptile distributions, particularly lizards and turtles.
Computer Vision - Algorithms and Applications

As known, adventure and experience about lesson, entertainment, and knowledge can be gained by only reading a book. Even it is not directly done, you can know more about this life, about the world. We offer you this proper and easy way to gain those all. We offer many book collections from fictions to science at all. One of them is this computer vision algorithms and applications that can be your partner.
Effect of maternal weight, adipokines, glucose intolerance and lipids on infant birth weight among women without gestational diabetes mellitus.

BACKGROUND
The delivery of excess maternal nutrients to the fetus is known to increase the risk of macrosomia, even among infants of women without gestational diabetes mellitus. With the current obesity epidemic, maternal adiposity and its associated effects on circulating adipokines and inflammatory proteins may now have a greater impact on fetal growth. We sought to evaluate the independent effects of maternal glycemia, lipids, obesity, adipokines and inflammation on infant birth weight.


METHODS
We included 472 women who underwent an oral glucose tolerance test in late pregnancy and were found not to have gestational diabetes; 104 (22.0%) had gestational impaired glucose tolerance. We also measured fasting levels of insulin, low-and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, triglycerides, leptin, adiponectin and C-reactive protein. Obstetric outcomes were assessed at delivery.


RESULTS
The mean birth weight was 3481 g (standard deviation 493 g); 68 of the infants were large for gestational age. On multiple linear regression analysis, positive determinants of birth weight were length of gestation, male infant, weight gain during pregnancy up to the time of the oral glucose tolerance test, body mass index (BMI) before pregnancy and impaired glucose tolerance in pregnancy. Leptin, adiponectin and C-reactive protein levels were each negatively associated with birth weight. On logistic regression analysis, the significant metabolic predictors of having a large-for-gestational-age infant were BMI before pregnancy (odds ratio [OR] 1.16, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.05-1.27, per 1 kg/m(2) increase), weight gain during pregnancy up to the time of the oral glucose tolerance test (OR 1.12, 95% CI 1.05-1.19, per 1 kg increase) and leptin level (OR 0.50, 95% CI 0.30-0.82, per 1 standard deviation change).


INTERPRETATION
Among women without gestational diabetes, maternal adiposity and leptin levels were the strongest metabolic determinants of having a large-for-gestational-age infant rather than glucose intolerance and lipid levels.
Bacteremia in febrile nonneutropenic pediatric oncology patients.

BACKGROUND
We sought to determine the risk of bacteremia in a cohort of outpatient febrile nonneutropenic pediatric oncology patients and to assess clinical characteristics that may influence decisions regarding empiric antibiotic therapy.


PROCEDURE
A single institution retrospective cohort study was performed of outpatient pediatric oncology patients presenting with fever, a central venous catheter, and an absolute neutrophil count (ANC) of >/=500/microl over a 6-year period. We also collected data regarding the presence of clinically evident infections, antibiotics prescribed, and the sensitivity of bacteria to specific antibiotics.


RESULTS
There were 29 cases of bacteremia in 459 (6.3%) febrile outpatient visits by 167 patients. Bacteremia was documented in 4.4% of patients with ports and in 16.2% of patients with external catheters. Patients with external catheters had a relative risk of bacteremia of 3.7 (95% CI: 1.8-7.4) times the risk of those with internal catheters (P < 0.0001). A documented source for fever on exam was noted in 21% of patients but in none of the patients with bacteremia (P = 0.004). Empiric treatment with ceftriaxone was administered to 92% of the patients. Of the high-risk bacteremic infections (Gram-negative organisms, Streptococcus pneumoniae, viridans group streptococcus, and Staphylococcus aureus) 94% had at least an intermediate sensitivity to ceftriaxone.


CONCLUSIONS
Bacteremia is an important issue in febrile nonneutropenic pediatric oncology patients occurring in 6% of the patient visits in this study. The overall sensitivity of high-risk bacteremia to ceftriaxone provides justification for its empiric use in outpatient febrile nonneutropenic pediatric oncology patients.
SUMO – Simulation of Urban MObility An Overview

SUMO is an open source traffic simulation package including net import and demand modeling components. We describe the current state of the package as well as future developments and extensions. SUMO helps to investigate several research topics e.g. route choice and traffic light algorithm or simulating vehicular communication. Therefore the framework is used in different projects to simulate automatic driving or traffic management strategies. Keywordsmicroscopic traffic simulation, software, open
Natural language processing to extract symptoms of severe mental illness from clinical text: the Clinical Record Interactive Search Comprehensive Data Extraction (CRIS-CODE) project

OBJECTIVES
We sought to use natural language processing to develop a suite of language models to capture key symptoms of severe mental illness (SMI) from clinical text, to facilitate the secondary use of mental healthcare data in research.


DESIGN
Development and validation of information extraction applications for ascertaining symptoms of SMI in routine mental health records using the Clinical Record Interactive Search (CRIS) data resource; description of their distribution in a corpus of discharge summaries.


SETTING
Electronic records from a large mental healthcare provider serving a geographic catchment of 1.2 million residents in four boroughs of south London, UK.


PARTICIPANTS
The distribution of derived symptoms was described in 23 128 discharge summaries from 7962 patients who had received an SMI diagnosis, and 13 496 discharge summaries from 7575 patients who had received a non-SMI diagnosis.


OUTCOME MEASURES
Fifty SMI symptoms were identified by a team of psychiatrists for extraction based on salience and linguistic consistency in records, broadly categorised under positive, negative, disorganisation, manic and catatonic subgroups. Text models for each symptom were generated using the TextHunter tool and the CRIS database.


RESULTS
We extracted data for 46 symptoms with a median F1 score of 0.88. Four symptom models performed poorly and were excluded. From the corpus of discharge summaries, it was possible to extract symptomatology in 87% of patients with SMI and 60% of patients with non-SMI diagnosis.


CONCLUSIONS
This work demonstrates the possibility of automatically extracting a broad range of SMI symptoms from English text discharge summaries for patients with an SMI diagnosis. Descriptive data also indicated that most symptoms cut across diagnoses, rather than being restricted to particular groups.
Glass capillary microfluidics for production of monodispersed poly (DL-lactic acid) and polycaprolactone microparticles: experiments and numerical simulations.

HYPOTHESIS
Droplet size in microfluidic devices is affected by wettability of the microfluidic channels. Three-dimensional countercurrent flow focusing using assemblies of chemically inert glass capillaries is expected to minimize wetting of the channel walls by the organic solvent.


EXPERIMENTS
Monodispersed polycaprolactone and poly(lactic acid) particles with a diameter of 18-150 μm were produced by evaporation of solvent (dichloromethane or 1:2 mixture of chloroform and toluene) from oil-in-water or water-in-oil-in-water emulsions produced in three-dimensional flow focusing glass capillary devices. The drop generation behaviour was simulated numerically using the volume of fluid method.


FINDINGS
The numerical results showed good agreement with high-speed video recordings. Monodispersed droplets were produced in the dripping regime when the ratio of the continuous phase flow rate to dispersed phase flow rate was 5-20 and the Weber number of the dispersed phase was less than 0.01. The porosity of polycaprolactone particles increased from 8 to 62% when 30 wt% of the water phase was incorporated in the organic phase prior to emulsification. The inner water phase was loaded with 0.156 wt% lidocaine hydrochloride to achieve a sustained drug release. 26% of lidocaine was released after 1 h and more than 93% of the drug was released after 130 h.
Advertising and Competition in Privatized Social Security : The Case of Mexico ∗

There is an increasing movement to give workers greater control over pensions, allowing them to personally manage their retirement investments. The recent trend away from pay-as-you-go social security programs towards fully-funded, individual-account systems is a prominent example. Competition and privatization are often touted as potential cures for the agency, efficiency and solvency problems of traditional pay-as-you-go pension schemes (Feldstein (2005)). In theory, privatization of social insurance should lead to competition among asset management firms, providing incentives for efficiency, as affiliates choose among fund managers to maximize expected wealth at retirement given contributions. However, experience in commonplace retail goods suggests that the law of one price often fails to hold even for physically identical products. Evidence from financial markets reveals many of the same issues. Considerable price dispersion has been noted in the market for credit cards, index funds, mortgages, and in privatized social security systems (respectively, While some of these studies rationalize price dispersion as arising from information frictions such as search costs (Hortacsu and Syverson 2004, Hall and Woodward 2010), others find that even when price information is provided to consumers, consumers often select based on fund brand name rather than price (Choi et al. 2009). Indeed there is growing field evidence that investors are often overly responsive information framing and short-term incentives when selecting fund managers (Duarte and Along with price competition, advertising has proved to be an important competitive component in markets for consumer financial products. The US mutual fund industry spends about $6 billions of dollars annually on advertising (Cronqvist 2006). 1 1 Cronqvist (2006) finds that US mutual fund flows respond positively to advertising and other information irrelevant to net returns. As to whether such advertising is socially beneficial or harmful, however, extant theoretical models do not provide a unified policy front. Advertising that 'informs' consumers can reduce frictions and intensify price competition, increasing consumer surplus through market expansion (Butters 1977; Grossman and Shapiro 1984). However, advertising that 'persuades' consumers to focus on 2 brand name or 'complements' consumption with prestige can lower price competition as consumers focus on non-price attributes-real or perceived-when selecting products In the context of social security privatization, a forced savings-for-retirement program, understanding how investors react to advertising and how this affects management fees collected by fund administrators takes on new importance. This paper presents evidence on how advertising impacts competition and equilibrium prices in the context of a privatized pension …
A controlled trial of long-term inhaled hypertonic saline in patients with cystic fibrosis.

BACKGROUND
Inhaled hypertonic saline acutely increases mucociliary clearance and, in short-term trials, improves lung function in people with cystic fibrosis. We tested the safety and efficacy of inhaled hypertonic saline in a long-term trial.


METHODS
In this double-blind, parallel-group trial, 164 patients with stable cystic fibrosis who were at least six years old were randomly assigned to inhale 4 ml of either 7 percent hypertonic saline or 0.9 percent (control) saline twice daily for 48 weeks, with quinine sulfate (0.25 mg per milliliter) added to each solution to mask the taste. A bronchodilator was given before each dose, and other standard therapies were continued during the trial.


RESULTS
The primary outcome measure, the rate of change (slope) in lung function (reflected by the forced vital capacity [FVC], forced expiratory volume in one second [FEV1], and forced expiratory flow at 25 to 75 percent of FVC [FEF25-75]) during the 48 weeks of treatment, did not differ significantly between groups (P=0.79). However, the absolute difference in lung function between groups was significant (P=0.03) when averaged across all post-randomization visits in the 48-week treatment period. As compared with the control group, the hypertonic-saline group had significantly higher FVC (by 82 ml; 95 percent confidence interval, 12 to 153) and FEV1 (by 68 ml; 95 percent confidence interval, 3 to 132) values, but similar FEF25-75 values. The hypertonic-saline group also had significantly fewer pulmonary exacerbations (relative reduction, 56 percent; P=0.02) and a significantly higher percentage of patients without exacerbations (76 percent, as compared with 62 percent in the control group; P=0.03). Hypertonic saline was not associated with worsening bacterial infection or inflammation.


CONCLUSIONS
Hypertonic saline preceded by a bronchodilator is an inexpensive, safe, and effective additional therapy for patients with cystic fibrosis. (ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT00271310.)
Virus systematics: relationships and names

The core activity of biological systematists is to devise systems – classifications – representing the relationships of groups of organisms, usually their evolutionary relationships. These classifications, together with the names of the organisms – taxonomies – can then be used by all to communicate about the organisms, their characteristics, identification, evolution, adaptations and so on.
Geographic and temporal dynamics of a global radiation and diversification in the killer whale.

Global climate change during the Late Pleistocene periodically encroached and then released habitat during the glacial cycles, causing range expansions and contractions in some species. These dynamics have played a major role in geographic radiations, diversification and speciation. We investigate these dynamics in the most widely distributed of marine mammals, the killer whale (Orcinus orca), using a global data set of over 450 samples. This marine top predator inhabits coastal and pelagic ecosystems ranging from the ice edge to the tropics, often exhibiting ecological, behavioural and morphological variation suggestive of local adaptation accompanied by reproductive isolation. Results suggest a rapid global radiation occurred over the last 350 000 years. Based on habitat models, we estimated there was only a 15% global contraction of core suitable habitat during the last glacial maximum, and the resources appeared to sustain a constant global effective female population size throughout the Late Pleistocene. Reconstruction of the ancestral phylogeography highlighted the high mobility of this species, identifying 22 strongly supported long-range dispersal events including interoceanic and interhemispheric movement. Despite this propensity for geographic dispersal, the increased sampling of this study uncovered very few potential examples of ancestral dispersal among ecotypes. Concordance of nuclear and mitochondrial data further confirms genetic cohesiveness, with little or no current gene flow among sympatric ecotypes. Taken as a whole, our data suggest that the glacial cycles influenced local populations in different ways, with no clear global pattern, but with secondary contact among lineages following long-range dispersal as a potential mechanism driving ecological diversification.
Social property relations and payment for environmental services : a case study in a rural community in Mexico

This article presents a case study centred on the rural community of Chichila, Mexico, which has implemented a local project of payment for environmental services to the neighboring town of Taxco. Mexican legislation recognizes different types of property rights related to water, forest and land and, likewise, recognizes the importance of conserving natural resources like forest and water while making use of the environmental services they can offer. This study is a qualitative approach, which shows how direct control of natural resources helps local people in the community to construct an idea of property and their own concept of environmental services. Both ideas are legitimized by the direct or indirect involvement of local agents in these projects, but at the same time bring to light conflicting interests between different actors at the regional level. This is because the process of appropriation of natural resources leads to confusion due to the overlapping of different property rights and the confluence of different, and divergent, political and legal institutions. keywords: social property relations, payment for environment services, environmental services, water management, rural community. Raktažodžiai: socialiniai nuosavybės santykiai, mokestis už aplinkosaugos paslaugas, aplinkosaugos paslaugos, vandens isteklių valdymas, kaimo bendruomenė.
On the cognitive processes of human perception

This paper presents a rigorous treatment of human perceptual processes such as emotions, motivations, and attitudes. A set of mathematical models and formally described cognitive processes is developed. The interactions and relationships between motivation and attitude are formally described in real-time process algebra (RTPA). Applications of the mathematical models of motivations and attitudes in software engineering are demonstrated. This work is the detailed description of a part of the layered reference model of the brain (LRMB) that provides a comprehensive model for explaining the fundamental cognitive processes of the brain and their interactions.
Studying Context : A Comparison of Activity Theory , Situated Action Models , and Distributed Cognition

It has been recognized that system design will benefit from explicit study of the context in which users work. The unaided individual divorced from a social group and from supporting artifacts is no longer the model user. But with this realization about the importance of context come many difficult questions. What exactly is context? If the individual is no longer central, what is the correct unit of analysis? What are the relations between artifacts, individuals, and the social groups to which they belong? This chapter compares three approaches to the study of context: activity theory, situated action models, and distributed cognition. I consider the basic concepts each approach promulgates and evaluate the usefulness of each for the design of technology. 1
16-Bit RISC Processor Design for Convolution Application

In this project, we propose a 16-bit non-pipelined RISC processor, which is used for signal processing applications. The processor consists of the blocks, namely, program counter, clock control unit, ALU, IDU and registers. Advantageous architectural modifications have been made in the incremented circuit used in program counter and carry select adder unit of the ALU in the RISC CPU core. Furthermore, a high speed and low power modified modifies multiplier has been designed and introduced in the design of ALU. The RISC processor has been designed for executing 27-instruction set. It is expandable up to 32 instructions, based on the user requirements. Keywords— Arithmetic and Logical Unit (ALU), Program Counter (PC), Register file (REG), Instruction Decoder Unit (IDU) and Clock Control Unit (CCU).
Prevalence and incidence of Parkinson's disease in Europe

OBJECTIVE
To provide an overview on the prevalence and incidence of Parkinson's disease (PD) in selected European countries.


BACKGROUND
PD is a common disease of unknown etiology. Accurate information on the epidemiology of PD is critical to inform health policy. An aging population will lead to more patients with PD; thus, the high financial burden PD places on society will increase.


MATERIAL AND METHODS
A systematic literature search was performed to identify studies on the prevalence and incidence of PD in the following European countries: Austria, the Czech Republic, France, Germany, Italy, The Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Sweden and United Kingdom. Only published studies were included. Abstracts, reviews, meta-analyses and letters to the editor were excluded. There were no language restrictions. Data were extracted using a standardized assessment form, and evidence tables were used to systematically report and compare the data.


RESULTS
Of 39 identified studies, most (87%) reported estimates of PD prevalence rates, while only a few (13%) reported estimates of PD annual incidence rates. Crude prevalence rate estimates ranged from 65.6 per 100,000 to 12,500 per 100,000 and annual incidence estimates ranged from 5 per 100,000 to 346 per 100,000. No publications could be identified for Austria or the Czech Republic.


DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION
The observed variations in prevalence and incidence rates may result from environmental or genetic factors, but might also be a consequence of differences in methodologies for case ascertainment, diagnostic criteria, or age distributions of the study populations. The comparability of existing studies is limited.
Asthma--a risk factor for dental caries.

This report points out a correlation between asthma and dental caries. It also gives certain guidelines on the measures to be taken in an asthmatic to negate the risk of dental caries.