LLukas22/scidocs huggingface dataset:
A Peristaltic Micro Pump Driven by a Rotating Motor with Magnetically Attracted Steel Balls

In this paper, we present a membrane peristaltic micro pump driven by a rotating motor with magnetically attracted steel balls for lab-on-a-chip applications. The fabrication process is based on standard soft lithography technology and bonding of a PDMS layer with a PMMA substrate. A linear flow rate range ∼490 μL/min was obtained by simply varying the rotation speed of a DC motor, and a maximum back pressure of 592 Pa was achieved at a rotation speed of 43 rpm. The flow rate of the pump can also be adjusted by using steel balls with different diameters or changing the number of balls. Nevertheless, the micro pump can also work in high speed mode. A high back pressure up to 10 kPa was achieved at 500 rpm using a high speed DC motor, and an utmost flow rate up to 5 mL/min was reached.
Locally delivered 0.5% clarithromycin, as an adjunct to nonsurgical treatment in chronic periodontitis with well-controlled type 2 diabetes: a randomized controlled clinical trial.

OBJECTIVE
Several epidemiologic studies have identified a greater incidence of periodontitis in patients with type 2 diabetes. Recent developments suggest that local delivery of antimicrobials into periodontal pockets improve periodontal health. The present study was designed to investigate the adjunctive effects of subgingivally delivered clarithromycin (CLM) (0.5% concentration) as an adjunct to scaling and root planing for treating chronic periodontitis in patients with well-controlled type 2 diabetes.


METHODS
Sixty-three patients were categorized into two treatment groups: Group 1, scaling and root planing (SRP) plus 0.5% CLM; Group 2, SRP plus placebo gel. Clinical parameters were recorded at baseline, 1, 2, and 3 months; which included gingival index (GI), sulcus bleeding index (SBI), plaque index (PI), probing depth (PD), and periodontal attachment level (PAL).


RESULTS
Both therapies resulted in significant improvements. Using a subject-based analysis, patients in Group 1 treated with SRP + CLM showed enhanced reductions in PI, GI, SBI, and PD, and gains in PAL (P < 0.001) over a period of 6 months as compared to Group 2.


CONCLUSION
Although both treatment strategies seemed to benefit the patients, the adjunctive use of 0.5% CLM as a controlled drug delivery system enhanced the clinical outcome.
Comparing the mechanical strength of hip spica cast between a conventional and a new method of application

PURPOSE
The current technique of hip spica application is mostly based on a publication by Kumar (J Pediatr Orthop 1(1):97-99, 1981). We modified the technique of hip spica application in order to reduce the rate of breakage across the hip joint and designed this study to compare the strength between hip spica applied according to Kumar's technique and the new technique.


METHODS
We created 12 hip spica casts with 24 hips according to Kumar's technique, and another 12 casts according to a new technique. The two types of spica were tested with a mechanical testing machine (Instron 3365 series) by using compression loading to failure in flexion, extension, abduction and adduction. Data were analysed in SPSS version 20.0. Comparison of means was done with an independent T test for normally distributed data and the Mann-Whitney test for skewed data.


RESULTS
The new technique involved the creation of three slabs, instead of 14 slabs as described by Kumar. The loads to failure for hip spica cast applied according to the new technique were higher than those applied according to Kumar's technique, and the differences were statistically significant. The stiffness was also higher in spica casts applied with the new technique; the difference was not statistically significant under extension force.


CONCLUSION
Hip spica applied with the new technique was stronger than that applied according to Kumar's technique based on load to failure testing. The new technique of application would potentially reduce the risk of cast breakage during the management of developmental dysplasia of the hip (DDH) and femur fracture in children.
Exclusive Breastfeeding, Diarrhoeal Morbidity and All-Cause Mortality in Infants of HIV-Infected and HIV Uninfected Mothers: An Intervention Cohort Study in KwaZulu Natal, South Africa

INTRODUCTION
Antiretroviral drug interventions significantly reduce the risk of HIV transmission to infants through breastfeeding. We report diarrhoea prevalence and all-cause mortality at 12 months of age according to infant feeding practices, among infants born to HIV-infected and uninfected mothers in South Africa.


METHODS
A non-randomised intervention cohort study that followed both HIV-infected and HIV-uninfected mothers and their infants until 18 months of age. Mothers were supported in their infant feeding choice. Detailed morbidity and vital status data were collected over the first year. At the time, only single dose nevirapine was available to prevent mother-to-child transmission of HIV.


RESULTS
Among 2,589 infants, detailed feeding data and vital status were available for 1,082 HIV-exposed infants and 1,155 HIV non-exposed infants. Among exclusively breastfed (EBF) infants there were 9.4 diarrhoeal days per 1,000 child days (95%CI. 9.12-9.82) while among infants who were never breastfed there were 15.6 diarrhoeal days per 1,000 child days (95%CI. 14.62-16.59). Exclusive breastfeeding was associated with fewer acute, persistent and total diarrhoeal events than mixed or no breastfeeding in both HIV-exposed infants and also infants of HIV uninfected mothers. In an adjusted cox regression analysis, the risk of death among all infants by 12 months of age was significantly greater in those who were never breastfed (aHR 3.5, p<0.001) or mixed fed (aHR 2.65, p<0.001) compared with those who were EBF. In separate multivariable analyses, infants who were EBF for shorter durations had an increased risk of death compared to those EBF for 5-6 months [aHR 2.18 (95% CI, 1.56-3.01); p<0.001].


DISCUSSION
In the context of antiretroviral drugs being scaled-up to eliminate new HIV infections among children, there is strong justification for financial and human resource investment to promote and support exclusive breastfeeding to improve HIV-free survival of HIV-exposed and non-exposed infants.
Medical Text Classification using Convolutional Neural Networks

We present an approach to automatically classify clinical text at a sentence level. We are using deep convolutional neural networks to represent complex features. We train the network on a dataset providing a broad categorization of health information. Through a detailed evaluation, we demonstrate that our method outperforms several approaches widely used in natural language processing tasks by about 15%.
Lifestyle interventions for the treatment of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease in adults: a systematic review.

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease is a serious and growing clinical problem. Despite lifestyle modification, i.e. diet and physical activity, being the recommended therapy, there are currently no systematic evaluations of its efficacy. This review applies a systematic approach to evaluating lifestyle modifications studied to date. Medline (Pubmed), Scopus, and the Cochrane Controlled Trials Register were searched for studies and study groups assessing the effect of diet, physical activity, and/or exercise modification in adult populations with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. The outcome markers of interest were indicators of steatosis, histological evidence of inflammation and fibrosis, and glucose control/insulin sensitivity. We identified 23 studies for inclusion; seven had control groups, but only six were randomised. Eleven groups received diet-only interventions, two exercise-only, and 19 diet and physical activity/exercise. Studies consistently showed reductions in liver fat and/or liver aminotransferase concentration, with the strongest correlation being with weight reduction. Of the 5 studies reporting changes in histopathology, all showed a trend towards reduction in inflammation, in 2 this was statistically significant. Changes in fibrosis were less consistent with only one study showing a significant reduction. The majority of studies also reported improvements in glucose control/insulin sensitivity following intervention. However, study design, definition of disease, assessment methods, and interventions varied considerably across studies. Lifestyle modifications leading to weight reduction and/or increased physical activity consistently reduced liver fat and improved glucose control/insulin sensitivity. Limited data also suggest that lifestyle interventions may hold benefits for histopathology.
Theorizing from Within: Ibn Khaldun and His Political Culture

version of them, we may be able to understand that a different kind of social science sensibility is consistent with Arab/Islamic thought than we had imagined and that it is, therefore, all the more unfair, as some commentators have maintained, to assert that Arab culture lacks a view of social forces that are not implicit in religious doctrine. In sum, if we simply measure Ibn Khaldun and other thinkers who partake of his cultural traditions against theorists from the West, we will miss the enormous vitality of their distinctive contributions to social thought. Indeed, reading between the lines of Ibn Khaldun-for his culture, his type of theorizing, his view of humanity--can enrich our view of history and of the social ideas of our Arab contemporaries as well as remind us that we do neither scholarship nor cross-cultural understanding a favor if we simply merge all of culture and history into a common theme. The tendency, particularly prevalent among Americans, to presume that all cultures are basically the same should have been brought up sharp by current events: Globalism has by no means eliminated the local, indeed it may have exacerbated it. Between making everyone like "us" and making any one culture better than another there lies, however, the wiser and truer proposition, nowhere more cogently expressed than in the Prophetic Tradition that says "there is no distinction except as to knowledge," and in that common Arab saying, "a difference is not a distinction." It would be unfortunate to lose Ibn Khaldun's appreciation of the distinctive nature of each society in an attempt to render him the grandfather of a very Western-style grand theory of history and society. References Hourani, Albert. 1991. A History of the Arab Peoples. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. Irwin, Robert. 1997. "Toynbee and Ibn Khaldun." Middle Eastern Studies 33 (July):461-79. Khaldun, Ibn. 1987. An Arab Philosophy of History: Selections from the Prolegomena of Ibn Khaldun of Tunis (1332-1406). Princeton, PA: The Darwin Press. Lacoste, Yves. 1984. Ibn Khaldun: The Birth of History and the Past of the Third World. London, UK: Verso. Mahdi, Muhsin. 1957. Ibn Khaldun's Philosophy of History: A Study in the Foundation of the Science of Culture. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press. . 1968. "Ibn Khaldun." Pp. 53-57 in International Encyclopedia of the Social Sciences, edited by D. L. Sills. New York: The Macmillan Company and The Free Press. Rosen, Lawrence. 2002. The Culture of Islam: Changing Aspects of Contemporary Muslim Life. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press. Rosenthal, Franz. 1987. "Ibn Khaldun." Pp. 565-67 in The Encyclopedia of Religion, edited by M. Eliade. New York: The Macmillan Company. Toynbee, Arnold J. 1948. A Study of History, Vol. III. New York: Oxford University Press. Contemporary Sociology 34, 6 This content downloaded on Mon, 25 Feb 2013 16:25:06 PM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
Abduction, experience, and goals: a model of everyday abductive explanation

Many abductive understanding systems generate explanations by a backwards chaining process that is neutral both to the explainer's previous experience in similar situations and to why the explainer is attempting to explain. This article examines the relationship of such models to an approach that uses case-based reasoning to generate explanations. In this case-based model, the generation of abductive explanations is focused by prior experience and by goal-based criteria re ecting current information needs. The article analyzes the commitments and contributions of this case-based model as applied to the task of building good explanations of anomalous events in everyday understanding. The article identi es six central issues for abductive explanation, compares how these issues are addressed in traditional and case-based explanation models, and discusses bene ts of the case-based approach for facilitating generation of plausible and useful explanations in domains that are complex and imperfectly understood.
A novel serum-free medium for the expansion of human mesenchymal stem cells

Human multipotent mesenchymal stem cell (MSC) therapies are being tested clinically for a variety of disorders, including Crohn's disease, multiple sclerosis, graft-versus-host disease, type 1 diabetes, bone fractures, and cartilage defects. However, despite the remarkable clinical advancements in this field, most applications still use traditional culture media containing fetal bovine serum. The ill-defined and highly variable nature of traditional culture media remains a challenge, hampering both the basic and clinical human MSC research fields. To date, no reliable serum-free medium for human MSCs has been available. In this study, we developed and tested a serum-free growth medium on human bone marrow-derived MSCs through the investigation of multiple parameters including primary cell isolation, multipassage expansion, mesoderm differentiation, cellular phenotype, and gene-expression analysis. Similar to that achieved with traditional culture medium, human MSCs expanded in serum-free medium supplemented with recombinant human platelet-derived growth factor-BB (PDGF-BB), basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF), and transforming growth factor (TGF)-β1 showed extensive propagation with retained phenotypic, differentiation, and colony-forming unit potential. To monitor global gene expression, the transcriptomes of bone marrow-derived MSCs expanded under serum-free and serum-containing conditions were compared, revealing similar expression profiles. In addition, the described serum-free culture medium supported the isolation of human MSCs from primary human marrow aspirate with continual propagation. Although the described serum-free MSC culture medium is not free of xenogeneic components, this medium provides a substitute for serum-containing medium for research applications, setting the stage for future clinical applications.
Strongly Coupled Plasma Liquids

This paper intends to review some of the prominent properties of strongly coupled classical plasmas having in mind the possible link with the quark-gluon plasma created in heavy-ion collisions. Thermodynamic and transport properties of classical liquid-state one-component plasmas are described and features of collective excitations are presented.
The effect of video game violence on physiological desensitization to real-life violence☆

Past research shows that violent video game exposure increases aggressive thoughts, angry feelings, physiological arousal, aggressive behaviors, and decreases helpful behaviors. However, no research has experimentally examined violent video game effects on physiological desensitization, defined as showing less physiological arousal to violence in the real world after exposure to video game violence in the virtual world. This experiment attempts to fill this gap. Participants reported their media habits and then played one of eight violent or nonviolent video games for 20Â min. Next, participants watched a 10-min videotape containing scenes of real-life violence while heart rate (HR) and galvanic skin response (GSR) were monitored. Participants who previously played a violent video game had lower HR and GSR while viewing filmed real violence, demonstrating a physiological desensitization to violence. Results are interpreted using a c Purchase Export Previous article Next article Check if you have access through your login credentials or your institution. Check Access or Purchase or Check for this article elsewhere an expanded version of the General Aggression Model. Links between desensitization, antisocial, and prosocial behavior are discussed.
Maximal lactate steady state, respiratory compensation threshold and critical power

 Critical power (CP) and the second ventilatory threshold (VT2) are presumed to indicate the power corresponding to maximal lactate steady state (MLSS). The aim of this study was to investigate the use of CP and VT2 as indicators of MLSS. Eleven male trained subjects [mean (SD) age 23 (2.9) years] performed an incremental test (25 W·min−1) to determine maximal oxygen uptake (V˙O2max), maximal aerobic power (MAP) and the first and second ventilatory thresholds (VT1 and VT2) associated with break points in minute ventilation (V˙E), carbon dioxide production (V˙CO2), V˙E/V˙CO2 and V˙E/V˙O2 relationships. Exhaustion tests at 90%, 95%, 100% and 110% of V˙O2max and several 30-min constant work rates were performed in order to determine CP and MLSS, respectively. MAP and V˙O2max values were 344 (29) W and 53.4 (3.7) ml·min−1·kg−1, respectively. CP [278 (22) W; 85.4 (4.8)% V˙O2max] and VT2 power output [286 (28) W; 85.3 (5.6)% V˙O2max] were not significantly different (p=0.96) but were higher (p<0.05) than the MLSS work rate [239 (21) W; 74.3 (4.0)% V˙O2max] and VT1 power output [159 (23) W; 52.9 (6.9)% V˙O2max]. MLSS work rate was significantly correlated (p<0.05) with those noted at VT1 and VT2 (r=0.74 and r=0.93, respectively). VT2 overestimated MLSS by 10.9 (6.3)% V˙O2max which was significantly higher than VT1 [+21.4 (5.6)% V˙O2max; p<0.01]. CP calculated from a given range of exhaustion times does not correspond to MLSS.
Spatial patterns in relative primary productivity and gazelle migration in the Eastern Steppes of Mongolia

The Mongolian gazelle (Procapra gutturosa) of the Eastern Steppes of Mongolia shows seasonal migrations to traditional winter and calving grounds with diffuse movements during the intervening periods. We used a normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI), derived from coarse-resolution satellite imagery, to map relative primary productivity of steppes between April 1992 and December 1995. Productivity peaks were variable between years, but winter and calving grounds had highest NDVI scores during periods of use by gazelles. Gazelle movements to these areas track shifts in primary productivity across the steppe. Diffuse movements in summer were not matched to peaks in productivity. Productivity ‘hotspots’ utilized by gazelles during critical periods in their life cycle should be first priority for conservation and the impact of livestock grazing on these areas should be evaluated. # 2001 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.
Randomised controlled trial examining the effect of exercise in people with rheumatoid arthritis taking anti-TNFα therapy medication

BACKGROUND
Substantial progress has been made in the medical management of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) over the past decade with the introduction of biologic therapies, including anti-tumour necrosis factor alpha (anti-TNFα) therapy medications. However, individuals with RA taking anti-TNFα medication continue to experience physical, psychological and functional consequences, which could potentially benefit from rehabilitation. There is evidence that therapeutic exercise should be included as an intervention for people with RA, but to date there is little evidence of the benefits of therapeutic exercise for people with RA on anti-TNFα therapy medication. A protocol for a multicentre randomised controlled three-armed study which aims to examine the effect of dynamic group exercise therapy on land or in water for people with RA taking anti-TNFα therapy medication is described.


METHODS/DESIGN
Six hundred and eighteen individuals with RA, on anti-TNFα therapy medication, will be randomised into one of 3 groups: a land-based exercise group; a water-based exercise group or a control group. The land and water-based groups will exercise for one hour, twice a week for eight weeks. The control group will receive no intervention and will be asked not to alter their exercise habits for the duration of the study. The primary outcome measure, the Stanford Health Assessment Questionnaire Disability Index (HAQ-DI) which measures functional ability, and secondary measures of pain, fatigue and quality of life, will be assessed at baseline, eight and 24 weeks by an independent assessor unaware of group allocation. Changes in outcome from 0 to 8 weeks and 0 to 24 weeks in the 'land-based exercise group versus control group' and the 'water-based exercise group versus control group' will be examined. Analysis will be conducted on an intention to treat basis.


DISCUSSION
This trial will evaluate the effectiveness of group exercise therapy on land or in water, for people with RA taking anti-TNFα therapy medication. If these exercise groups are found to be beneficial, they could be conducted in local community facilities thus making these forms of exercise more easily accessible for individuals and potentially reduce the burden on health services.


TRIAL REGISTRATION
This trial is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov (a service of the United States National Institutes of Health) identifier: NCT00855322.
Convolutional neural networks for malware classification

According to AV vendors malicious software has been growing exponentially last years. One of the main reasons for these high volumes is that in order to evade detection, malware authors started using polymorphic and metamorphic techniques. As a result, traditional signature-based approaches to detect malware are being insufficient against new malware and the categorization of malware samples had become essential to know the basis of the behavior of malware and to fight back cybercriminals. During the last decade, solutions that fight against malicious software had begun using machine learning approaches. Unfortunately, there are few opensource datasets available for the academic community. One of the biggest datasets available was released last year in a competition hosted on Kaggle with data provided by Microsoft for the Big Data Innovators Gathering (BIG 2015). This thesis presents two novel and scalable approaches using Convolutional Neural Networks (CNNs) to assign malware to its corresponding family. On one hand, the first approach makes use of CNNs to learn a feature hierarchy to discriminate among samples of malware represented as gray-scale images. On the other hand, the second approach uses the CNN architecture introduced by Yoon Kim [12] to classify malware samples according their x86 instructions. The proposed methods achieved an improvement of 93.86% and 98,56% with respect to the equal probability benchmark.
Support Vector Machine Based Fingerprint Identification

This work is released in biometric field and has as goal, development of a full automatic fingerprint identification system based on support vector machine. Promising Results of first experiences pushed us to develop codification and recognition algorithms which are specifically associated to this system. In this context, works were consecrated on algorithm developing of the original image processing, minutiae and singular points localization; Gabor filters coding and testing these algorithms on well known databases which are: FVC2004 databases & FingerCell database. Performance Evaluating has proved that SVM achieved a good recognition rate in comparing with results obtained using a classic neural network RBF. Keywords—Biometry, Core and Delta points Detection, Gabor filters coding, Image processing and Support vector machine.