LLukas22/scidocs huggingface dataset:
The Australian Cancer Anaemia Survey: a snapshot of anaemia in adult patients with cancer.

OBJECTIVE
To evaluate the frequency and management of anaemia in Australian adults with solid and haematological malignancies.


DESIGN
6-month observational, prospective, multicentre study.


PARTICIPANTS
694 patients recruited from outpatient oncology clinics in 24 hospitals in five Australian states between 9 April 2001 and 31 July 2001.


MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES
Frequency of anaemia (haemoglobin [Hb] level < 120 g/L) at enrolment and over ensuing 6 months, by tumour type, disease status and cancer treatment; anaemia treatment and "trigger" Hb level for this treatment.


RESULTS
Participants had median age 60 years, and 61% were women. Prevalence of anaemia at enrolment was 35% (199/562), with 78% of these 199 having mild anaemia (Hb, 100-119 g/L). Frequency of anaemia (either present at enrolment or developing during the study) was 57% overall (323/566), and varied with tumour type, from 49% (lymphoma/myeloma) to 85% (urogenital cancer). Patients who received radiotherapy either in combination or concomitant with chemotherapy were more likely to have anaemia (73%) than those receiving chemotherapy alone (58%) (P = 0.004). Of all chemotherapy patients not anaemic at enrolment, 23% developed anaemia by the second monthly follow-up. Independent predictors for anaemia in chemotherapy patients were low baseline Hb level (odds ratio [OR], 5.4; 95% CI, 2.7-10.9) and use of platinum chemotherapeutic agents (OR, 4.8; 95% CI, 2.1-11.4) (P < 0.001). Anaemia was treated in 41% of patients with anaemia at enrolment--by transfusion (36%), iron (5%) and erythropoietic agents (2%). Frequency of anaemia treatment varied between tumour types, from 19% (breast cancer) to 60% (leukaemia). The mean "trigger Hb" for initiating transfusion was 95 g/L.


CONCLUSIONS
Anaemia is prevalent among Australian patients with cancer managed in hospital oncology units. Its management varies between tumour types. Many patients do not receive treatment for their anaemia.
Novel sizing algorithm for yield improvement under process variation in nanometer technology

Due to process parameter variations, a large variability in circuit delay occurs in scaled technologies affecting the yield. In this paper, we propose a sizing algorithm to ensure the speed of a circuit under process variation with a certain degree of confidence while maintaining the area and power budget within a limit. This algorithm estimates the variation in circuit delay using statistical timing analysis considering both inter- and intra-die process variation and resizes the circuit to achieve a desired yield. Experimental results on several benchmark circuits show that one can achieve up to 19% savings in area (power) using our algorithm compared to the worst-case design.
Determinants of repurchase intention in online group-buying: The perspectives of DeLone & McLean IS success model and trust

The purpose of this study is to propose a theoretical model to examine the antecedents of repurchase intention in online group-buying by integrating the perspective of DeLone & McLean IS success model and the literature of trust. The model was tested using the data collected from 253 customers of a group-buying website in Taiwan. The results show that satisfaction with website, satisfaction with sellers, and perceived quality of website have positive influences on repurchase intention, while perceived quality of website and perceived quality of sellers have significant impacts on satisfaction with website and satisfaction with sellers, respectively. The results also show that trust in website has positive influences on perceived quality of website and satisfaction with website, whereas trust in sellers influence perceived quality of sellers and satisfaction with sellers significantly. Finally, the results show that perceived size of website has positive influence on trust in website, while reputation of website and reputation of sellers significantly affect trust in website and trust in sellers, respectively. The implications for theory and practice and suggestions for future research are also discussed. 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
An investigation of recurrent neural network architectures for statistical parametric speech synthesis

In this paper, we investigate two different recurrent neural network (RNN) architectures: Elman RNN and recently proposed clockwork RNN [1] for statistical parametric speech synthesis (SPSS). Of late, deep neural networks are being used for SPSS which involve predicting every frame independent of the previous predictions, and hence requires post-processing for ensuring smooth evolution of speech parameters. RNNs, on the other hand, are intuitively better suited for the task as they inherently model temporal dependencies, but were restricted in use because of the difficulty in training. Lately, techniques such as sparse initialization, Nesterov’s accelerated gradient, gradient clipping and leaky integration (LI) have been shown to overcome this difficulty. We study the utility of these techniques for SPSS task. In addition, we show that clockwork RNN is equivalent to an Elman RNN with a particular form of LI. This perspective enables us to understand the reason why a simple Elman RNN with LI units performs well on sequential tasks.
Molecular epidemiologic studies within the Selenium and Vitamin E Cancer Prevention Trial (SELECT)

Objective: To conduct timely epidemiologic investigations of molecular/genetic markers that may contribute to the development of prostate, lung, colorectal, or other cancers within the Selenium and Vitamin E Cancer Prevention Trial (SELECT), and to evaluate interactions between these markers and the study interventions. Methods: The epidemiologic studies within SELECT will be based on 32,400 men aged 55 years or older (age 50 or older for the African-American men) enrolled into an intergroup, randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind, phase III prevention trial of supplemental selenium and vitamin E developed and funded by the National Cancer Institute, and coordinated by the Southwest Oncology Group. During the 12-year study period approximately 1500–2000 cases of prostate cancer, 800 lung cancers, and 500 colon cancers are estimated to be diagnosed, based on data from the ongoing Prostate Cancer Prevention Trial of finasteride. A modified fasting blood sample will be processed to collect plasma for analysis of micronutrients, hormones, cytokines, and other proteins. Buffy-coat derived white blood cells collected at baseline will be used for isolation of DNA and establishment of immortalized cell lines. Red blood cells will be stored for analysis of hemoglobin adducts and other components. Results: Specific results anticipated from these molecular studies will provide information on factors hypothesized to contribute to prostate cancer risk and that may modify the efficacy of either trial supplement, including: steroid sex hormones and several polymorphic genes that encode proteins affecting androgenic stimulation of the prostate, including the androgen receptor, steroid 5α-reductase type II, CYP17, and β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase; polymorphisms of DNA repair genes and carcinogen metabolism genes, including those involved in the activation of chemical carcinogens to reactive intermediates (e.g., CYP1A1) or the detoxification of reactive intermediates (e.g., glutathione S-transferase M1); DNA and protein adducts; and insulin-like growth factors and leptin. Conclusion: SELECT offers an excellent opportunity to conduct molecular epidemiologic investigations to assess gene–environment interactions and their role in prostate, lung, and colon carcinogenesis.
Patterns of brain structural connectivity differentiate normal weight from overweight subjects

BACKGROUND
Alterations in the hedonic component of ingestive behaviors have been implicated as a possible risk factor in the pathophysiology of overweight and obese individuals. Neuroimaging evidence from individuals with increasing body mass index suggests structural, functional, and neurochemical alterations in the extended reward network and associated networks.


AIM
To apply a multivariate pattern analysis to distinguish normal weight and overweight subjects based on gray and white-matter measurements.


METHODS
Structural images (N = 120, overweight N = 63) and diffusion tensor images (DTI) (N = 60, overweight N = 30) were obtained from healthy control subjects. For the total sample the mean age for the overweight group (females = 32, males = 31) was 28.77 years (SD = 9.76) and for the normal weight group (females = 32, males = 25) was 27.13 years (SD = 9.62). Regional segmentation and parcellation of the brain images was performed using Freesurfer. Deterministic tractography was performed to measure the normalized fiber density between regions. A multivariate pattern analysis approach was used to examine whether brain measures can distinguish overweight from normal weight individuals.


RESULTS
1. White-matter classification: The classification algorithm, based on 2 signatures with 17 regional connections, achieved 97% accuracy in discriminating overweight individuals from normal weight individuals. For both brain signatures, greater connectivity as indexed by increased fiber density was observed in overweight compared to normal weight between the reward network regions and regions of the executive control, emotional arousal, and somatosensory networks. In contrast, the opposite pattern (decreased fiber density) was found between ventromedial prefrontal cortex and the anterior insula, and between thalamus and executive control network regions. 2. Gray-matter classification: The classification algorithm, based on 2 signatures with 42 morphological features, achieved 69% accuracy in discriminating overweight from normal weight. In both brain signatures regions of the reward, salience, executive control and emotional arousal networks were associated with lower morphological values in overweight individuals compared to normal weight individuals, while the opposite pattern was seen for regions of the somatosensory network.


CONCLUSIONS
1. An increased BMI (i.e., overweight subjects) is associated with distinct changes in gray-matter and fiber density of the brain. 2. Classification algorithms based on white-matter connectivity involving regions of the reward and associated networks can identify specific targets for mechanistic studies and future drug development aimed at abnormal ingestive behavior and in overweight/obesity.
Clinical, cognitive, and behavioural correlates of white matter damage in progressive supranuclear palsy

White matter (WM) tract alterations were assessed in patients with progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP) relative to healthy controls and patients with idiopathic Parkinson’s disease (PD) to explore the relationship of WM tract damage with clinical disease severity, performance on cognitive tests, and apathy. 37 PSP patients, 41 PD patients, and 34 healthy controls underwent an MRI scan and clinical testing to evaluate physical disability, cognitive impairment, and apathy. In PSP, the contribution of WM tract damage to global disease severity and cognitive and behavioural disturbances was assessed using Random Forest analysis. Relative to controls, PSP patients showed diffusion tensor (DT) MRI abnormalities of the corpus callosum, superior cerebellar peduncle (SCP), cingulum and uncinate fasciculus bilaterally, and right inferior longitudinal fasciculus. Corpus callosum and SCP DT MRI measures distinguished PSP from PD patients with high accuracy (area under the curve ranging from 0.89 to 0.72). In PSP, DT MRI metrics of the corpus callosum and superior cerebellar peduncles were the best predictors of global disease severity scale scores. DT MRI metrics of the corpus callosum, right superior longitudinal and inferior longitudinal fasciculus, and left uncinate were the best predictors of executive dysfunction. In PSP, apathy severity was related to the damage to the corpus callosum, right superior longitudinal, and uncinate fasciculi. In conclusion, WM tract damage contributes to the motor, cognitive, and behavioural deficits in PSP. DT MRI offers markers for PSP diagnosis, assessment, and monitoring.
Towards High Performance Cryptographic Software

Current software implementations of current cryptographic algorithms are orders of magnitude slower than required to secure a gigabit network. This paper examines three different approaches to improving the performance of cryptographic software: new algorithm design, parallelization, and algorithm independent hardware support. We believe that in combination these approaches could go a long way to improving cryptographic protocol performance without the inflexibility required for the current generation of cryptographic hardware support. Department of Computer Science The University of Arizona Tucson, AZ 85721 This research supported in part by NSF under grant NCR-9206908, by ARPA under contract F19628-92-C-0089, by ARPA under contract DABT63-94-C-0002, and by NCSC under contract MDA 904-94-C-6110. Protocol Performance MD5 80 Mbits/sec DES 15 Mbits/sec 3-DES 5 Mbits/sec RSA Crypt-Decrypt 10 Kbits/sec RSA Signature 20 signatures/sec Diffie-Hellman 5 keys/sec Key Exchange Table 1: Current Cryptographic Algorithm Performance
Cost-Benefit Analysis , the Death Penalty , and Rationales for Punishment

The paper contends that the use of cost-benefit analysis (CBA) for or against capital punishment is problematic insofar as CBA (1) commodifies and thus reduces the value of human life and (2) cannot quantify all costs and benefits. The paramount theories of punishment, retribution and utilitarianism, which are used as rationales for capital punishment, do not justify the use of cost-benefit analysis as part of that rationale. Calling on the theory of restorative justice, the paper recommends a change in the linguistic register used to describe the value of human beings. In particular, abolitionists should emphasize that human beings have essential value. INTRODUCTION Advocates of the death penalty use economics to justify the use of capital punishment. Scott Turow, an Illinois-based lawyer says it well when he comments that two arguments frequently used by death penalty advocates are that, “the death penalty is a deterrent to others and it is more cost effective than keeping an individual in jail for life” (Turow). Edward Elijas takes the point further in writing the following, “Let’s imagine for a moment there was no death penalty. The only reasonable sentence would a life sentence. This would be costly to the tax payers, not only for the cost of housing and feeding the prisoner but because of the numerous appeals which wastes man hours and money. By treating criminals in this manner, we are encouraging behavior that will result in a prison sentence. If there is no threat of death to one who commits a murder, than that person is guaranteed to be provided with a decent living environment until their next parole hearing. They are definitely not getting the punishment they deserve” (http://www.cwrl.utexas.edu/). According to the argument, whether a person convicted
An Efficient Simulation Technique for the Variable Sampling Effect of BLDC Motor Applications

This paper proposes a variable sampling simulation method using SIMULINK for brushless DC motor (BLDC) drives with low-resolution position sensors (Hall sensors). Variable sampling is an interesting and important topic in discrete-time robust control. Nevertheless, there is no suitable simulation tool for the BLDC motor drive to simulate variable sampling. We present three subsystems for variable sampling simulation: the first is continuous time model of BLDC motors, the second is variable sampling trigger, and the next is discrete time speed with variable sampling time constant estimator. Based on the variable sampling simulation method using SIMULINK, the simulation and implementation of variable sampling robust control will become more easily.
Italian validation of INQoL, a quality of life questionnaire for adults with muscle diseases.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE
A quality of life (QoL) questionnaire for neuromuscular diseases was recently constructed and validated in the United Kingdom in a sample of adult patients with a variety of muscle disorders. Preliminary results suggested it could be a more relevant and practical measure of QoL in muscle diseases than generic health measures of QoL. The purpose of our work was: (i) To validate INQoL in Italy on a larger sample of adult patients with muscle diseases (ii) to compare INQoL to SF-36.


METHODS
We have translated into Italian and applied language adaptations to the original UK INQoL version. We studied 1092 patients with different muscle disorders and performed (i) test-retest reliability (n = 80); (ii) psychometric (n = 345), known-group (n = 1092), external criterion (n = 70), and concurrent validity with SF-36 (n = 183).


RESULTS
We have translated and formally validated the Italian version of INQoL confirming and extending results obtained in the United Kingdom. In addition to good results in terms of reliability, known-group and criterion validity, a comparison with the SF-36 scales showed a stronger association between INQoL total index and SF-36 physical (r = -0.72) than mental (r = -0.38) summary health indexes. When considering comparable domains of INQoL and SF-36 with respect to an objective measure of muscle strength assessment (MMRC), regression analysis showed a stronger correlation using INQoL rather than SF-36 scores.


CONCLUSIONS
INQoL is recommended to assess QoL in muscle diseases because of its ability to capture physical limitations that are specifically relevant to the muscle condition.
Serum and urine pharmacokinetics of tigecycline in obese class III and normal weight adults.

OBJECTIVES
To compare the serum and urine pharmacokinetics (PK) of intravenous tigecycline in obese class III (obese-C3) adults with those in normal weight (NW) adults.


PATIENTS AND METHODS
Obese-C3 (n = 8) and NW (n = 4) healthy adult volunteers received a single intravenous dose of 100 mg of tigecycline for 30 min. Serum (0-96 h) and urine (0-48 h) tigecycline concentrations were assayed by liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry. Parametric population PK systems analyses were used to model the data and assess the effects of total body weight (TBW) on PK parameters. The area under the concentration-time curve extrapolated to infinity (AUC0-∞) was simulated to estimate the probability of AUC0-∞ : MIC target attainment and cumulative fraction of response (CFR) based on wild-type MIC distributions of select pathogens. Clinicaltrials.gov: NCT01560143.


RESULTS
The median (range) age, TBW and initial body mass index were 42 (20-50) years, 121 (61-160) kg and 43.8 (20.8-53.8) kg/m(2), respectively. The serum concentration-time profiles and exposures were similar in the obese-C3 and NW adults, with a mean urine recovery of 15.8% and 13.4%, respectively. The median (range) AUC0-∞ was 8.19 (6.12, 11.2) and 7.50 (6.78, 9.13) mg · h/L in the obese-C3 and NW groups, respectively. The clearance of tigecycline was not related to TBW. The CFR was calculated to be <90% against Acinetobacter baumannii, Enterobacter cloacae and Klebsiella pneumoniae for an AUC0-∞ : MIC target ≥ 6.96.


CONCLUSIONS
The serum and urine PK of tigecycline is similar in obese-C3 and NW healthy adults. A lower CFR is predicted against certain Gram-negative pathogens with the current standard tigecycline dosing regimen, irrespective of TBW.
Vernakalant hydrochloride for the rapid conversion of atrial fibrillation after cardiac surgery: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial.

BACKGROUND
Postoperative atrial arrhythmias are common and are associated with considerable morbidity. This study was designed to evaluate the efficacy and safety of vernakalant for the conversion of atrial fibrillation (AF) or atrial flutter (AFL) after cardiac surgery.


METHODS AND RESULTS
This was a prospective, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial of vernakalant for the conversion of AF or AFL after coronary artery bypass graft, valvular surgery, or both. Patients were randomly assigned 2:1 to receive a 10-minute infusion of 3 mg/kg vernakalant or placebo. If AF or AFL was present after a 15-minute observation period, then a second 10-minute infusion of 2 mg/kg vernakalant or placebo was given. The primary end point was the conversion of postcardiac surgery AF or AFL to sinus rhythm within 90 minutes of dosing. In patients with AF, 47 of 100 (47%) who received vernakalant converted to SR compared with 7 of 50 (14%) patients who received placebo (P<0.001). The median time to conversion was 12 minutes. Vernakalant was not effective in converting postoperative AFL to sinus rhythm. Two serious adverse events occurred within 24 hours of vernakalant administration (hypotension and complete atrioventricular block). There were no cases of torsades de pointes, sustained ventricular tachycardia, or ventricular fibrillation. There were no deaths.


CONCLUSIONS
Vernakalant was safe and effective in the rapid conversion of AF to sinus rhythm in patients who had AF after cardiac surgery.


CLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRATION
clinicaltrials.gov. Identifier: NCT00125320.
Conceptualising Global Strategic Sustainability and Corporate Transformational Change

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to present the concept of global „strategic sustainability‟, represented by a conceptual framework, the „Spheres of Strategic Sustainability‟. The paper examines routes, solutions, and a vision for corporate strategic sustainability in the macro context of the global physical environment and the planet. This builds on previous research identifying key drivers and strategies for corporate sustainability. Design/methodology/approach – The paper is conceptual in nature and underpinned by Gaia theory, ecosystems theory and the laws of thermodynamics. These three offer specific foci for sustainability research including holism, integration and synthesis: without which, sustainability research would be difficult to achieve. Findings – The paper identifies two major domains – „corporate‟ and „consumer‟ strategic sustainability. It examines the corporate domain in which routes are identified through responses to existing globalisation, corporate strategy and corporate culture. Research limitations/implications – The paper provides insight and preliminary conceptual development towards a full theoretical model of corporate and consumer strategic sustainability. The framework will guide future conceptual and empirical investigations and broaden and deepen our understanding of how firm‟s can construct strategic business models that incorporate sustainability. Originality/value – The paper offers a conceptual framework that develops the concept of „corporate strategic sustainability‟ and provides positive, practical solutions to incorporating sustainability into business models. It also challenges the current dominant socio-economic paradigm and sets the scene for a more positive eco-paradigm that serves the present and future needs of the planet, environment, businesses and human society.