LLukas22/scidocs huggingface dataset:
Arctic marine mammal population status, sea ice habitat loss, and conservation recommendations for the 21st century

Arctic marine mammals (AMMs) are icons of climate change, largely because of their close association with sea ice. However, neither a circumpolar assessment of AMM status nor a standardized metric of sea ice habitat change is available. We summarized available data on abundance and trend for each AMM species and recognized subpopulation. We also examined species diversity, the extent of human use, and temporal trends in sea ice habitat for 12 regions of the Arctic by calculating the dates of spring sea ice retreat and fall sea ice advance from satellite data (1979-2013). Estimates of AMM abundance varied greatly in quality, and few studies were long enough for trend analysis. Of the AMM subpopulations, 78% (61 of 78) are legally harvested for subsistence purposes. Changes in sea ice phenology have been profound. In all regions except the Bering Sea, the duration of the summer (i.e., reduced ice) period increased by 5-10 weeks and by >20 weeks in the Barents Sea between 1979 and 2013. In light of generally poor data, the importance of human use, and forecasted environmental changes in the 21st century, we recommend the following for effective AMM conservation: maintain and improve comanagement by local, federal, and international partners; recognize spatial and temporal variability in AMM subpopulation response to climate change; implement monitoring programs with clear goals; mitigate cumulative impacts of increased human activity; and recognize the limits of current protected species legislation.
Formalized systems development methodologies: a critical perspective

Systems development issues occupy a position of central importance in the information systems field and, indeed, much has been prescribed in the quest for successful systems development. However, given the well-documented "software crisis", success is far from guaranteed for systems development projects. Many researchers see the solution to the software crisis in terms of increased control and the more widespread adoption of rigorous and formalised system development methodologies. This paper first presents some arguments and pressures which support the use of methodologies. Some evidence of the literature bias which favours methodologies is also provided. However, the problems associated with the use of methodologies have not perhaps received as much attention in previous research. This paper identifies a number of arguments and pressures which question the value of methodologies, and reports the results of a field study which investigated the role of methodologies in practice. The critical perspective adopted in this paper shows that, contrary to the predominant literature view, the assumption that increased adoption of methodologies would help address the problems inherent in systems development is by no means proven.
Planar vapor chamber with hybrid evaporator wicks for the thermal management of high-heat-flux and high-power optoelectronic devices

Heat spreaders based on compact vapor chambers offer one attractive approach to the thermal management of high-power electronics. We report our design and experimental characterization of advanced evaporator wicks and thin planar vapor chambers incorporating these wicks. The hybrid wicks combine distributed high-permeability liquid supply structures with thin (monolayer) evaporation layers to achieve both low thermal resistance and high limiting heat fluxes over large heating areas. We model and experimentally characterize the capillary and heat transfer performance of liquid spreading layers consisting of mono-layers of Cu particles and identify a range of optimal particle diameters maximizing their performance. The thin liquid spreading layers are integrated with three different types of liquid supply structures, namely, columnar arteries, converging lateral arteries, and bi-porous structures. The resulting hybrid wicks show comparable heat transfer performances with critical limiting heat fluxes >350 W/cm over heating areas of 1 cm and peak heat transfer coefficients >20 W/cm K. These results confirm the effectiveness of our hybrid wick designs and also that evaporation heat transfer is dominated by the liquid spreading layers. A prototype vapor chamber incorporating CTE-tailored envelopes and the hybrid wick is developed for potential applications in the thermal management of laser diode arrays. We demonstrate an evaporator resistance of approximately 0.075 K/(W/cm), while removing over 1500 W from a 4 cm heating area. 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Human limb skeletal muscle wasting and architectural remodeling during five to ten days intubation and ventilation in critical care – an observational study using ultrasound

BACKGROUND
Critically ill patients frequently suffer muscle weakness whilst in critical care. Ultrasound can reliably track loss of muscle size, but also quantifies the arrangement of the muscle fascicles, known as the muscle architecture. We sought to measure both pennation angle and fascicle length, as well as tracking changes in muscle thickness in a population of critically ill patients.


METHODS
On days 1, 5 and 10 after admission to critical care, muscle thickness was measured in ventilated critically ill patients using bedside ultrasound. Elbow flexor compartment, medial head of gastrocnemius and vastus lateralis muscle were investigated. In the lower limb, we determined the pennation angle to derive the fascicle length.


RESULTS
We recruited and scanned 22 patients on day 1 after admission to critical care, 16 were re-scanned on day 5 and 9 on day 10. We found no changes to the size of the elbow flexor compartment over 10 days of admission. In the gastrocnemius, there were no significant changes to muscle thickness or pennation angle over 5 or 10 days. In the vastus lateralis, we found significant losses in both muscle thickness and pennation angle on day 5, but found that fascicle length is unchanged. Loss of muscle on day 5 was related to decreases in pennation angle. In both lower limb muscles, a positive relationship was observed between the pennation angle on day 1, and the percentage of angle lost by days 5 and 10.


DISCUSSION
Muscle loss in critically ill patients preferentially affects the lower limb, possibly due to the lower limb becoming prone to disuse atrophy. Muscle architecture of the thigh changes in the first 5 days of admission, in particular, we have demonstrated a correlation between muscle thickness and pennation angle. It is hypothesised that weakness in the lower limb occurs through loss of force generation via a reduced pennation angle.


CONCLUSION
Using ultrasound, we have been able to demonstrate that muscle thickness and architecture of vastus lateralis undergo rapid changes during the early phase of admission to a critical care environment.
Vitamin C as an adjuvant for treating major depressive disorder and suicidal behavior, a randomized placebo-controlled clinical trial

BACKGROUND
There are some animal studies suggesting the possible role of vitamin C for treating depression. However, the efficacy of vitamin C for treating adult patients with major depressive disorder (MDD) has never been examined.


METHODS
This 8-week randomized double-blind placebo-controlled clinical trial included adult patients with major depressive disorder according to DSM-IV diagnostic criteria. Twenty-one patients in the treatment group received citalopram plus vitamin C and the 22 patients in the control group received citalopram plus placebo. The Hamilton Depression Rating Scale was used to measure depressive symptoms at baseline, week 2, week 4, and week 8. We also checked for the presence of adverse effects.


RESULTS
While depression symptoms decreased in both groups during this trial, there was no statistically significant difference between the 2 groups (P = .5). The rate of remission, partial response, and complete response was not different between the two groups. The rate of adverse effects were not different between the two groups.


CONCLUSION
Adding vitamin C to citalopram did not increase the efficacy of citalopram in MDD patients. Vitamin C plus citalopram is as effective as placebo plus citalopram for treating adult patients with suicidal behavior. No serious adverse effect for this combination was identified during this trial.


TRIAL REGISTRATION
This trial was registered at http://www.irct.ir . The registration number of this trial was: IRCT201312263930N31 . Date registered: 5 July 2014.
Health related quality of life outcomes for unresectable stage III or IV melanoma patients receiving ipilimumab treatment

BACKGROUND
In an international, randomized Phase III trial ipilimumab demonstrated a significant overall survival benefit in previously treated advanced melanoma patients. This report summarizes health-related quality of life (HRQL) outcomes for ipilimumab with/without gp100 vaccine compared to gp100 alone during the clinical trial's 12 week treatment induction period.


METHODS
The Phase III clinical trial (MDX010-20) was a double-blind, fixed dose study in 676 previously treated advanced unresectable stage III or IV melanoma patients. Patients were randomized 3:1:1 to receive either ipilimumab (3 mg/kg q3w x 4 doses) + gp100 (peptide vaccine; 1 mg q3w x 4 doses; ipilimumab plus gp100, n = 403); gp100 vaccine + placebo (gp100 alone, n = 136); or ipilimumab + placebo (ipilimumab alone, n = 137). The European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality of Life Questionnaire (EORTC QLQ-C30) assessed HRQL. Baseline to Week 12 changes in EORTC QLQ-C30 function, global health status, and symptom scores were analyzed for ipilimumab with/without gp100 vaccine compared to gp100 alone. Mean change in scores were categorized "no change" (0-5), "a little" (5-10 points), "moderate" (10-20 points), and "very much" (>20).


RESULTS
In the ipilimumab plus gp100 and ipilimumab alone groups, mean changes from baseline to Week 12 generally indicated "no change" or "a little" impairment across EORTC QLQ-C30 global health status, function, and symptom subscales. Significant differences in constipation, favoring ipilimumab, were observed (p < 0.05). For ipilimumab alone arm, subscales with no or a little impairment were physical, emotional, cognitive, social function, global health, nausea, pain, dyspnea, constipation, and diarrhea subscales. For the gp100 alone group, the observed changes were moderate to large for global health, role function, fatigue, and for pain.


CONCLUSIONS
Ipilimumab with/without gp100 vaccine does not have a significant negative HRQL impact during the treatment induction phase relative to gp100 alone in stage III or IV melanoma patients.


TRIAL REGISTRATION
Clinicaltrials.gov identification number NCT00094653.
Inter-rater reliability of the Berg Balance Scale, 30 s chair stand test and 6 m walking test, and construct validity of the Berg Balance Scale in nursing home residents with mild-to-moderate dementia

OBJECTIVE
When testing physical function, patients must be alert and have the capacity to understand and respond to instructions. Patients with dementia may have difficulties fulfilling these requirements and, therefore, the reliability of the measures may be compromised. We aimed to assess the inter-rater reliability between pairs of observers independently rating the participant in the Berg Balance Scale (BBS), 30 s chair stand test (CST) and 6 m walking test. We also wanted to investigate the internal consistency of the BBS.


DESIGN
Cross-sectional study.


SETTING
We included 33 nursing home patients with a mild-to-moderate degree of dementia and tested them once with two evaluators present. One evaluator gave instructions and both evaluators scored the patients' performance. Weighted κ, intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) model 2.1 with 95% CIs and minimal detectable change (MDC) were used to measure inter-rater reliability. Cronbach's α was calculated to evaluate the internal consistency of the BBS sum score.


RESULTS
The mean values of the BBS scored by the two evaluators were 38±13.7 and 38.0±13.8, respectively. Weighted κ scores for the BBS items varied from 0.83 to 1.0. ICC for the BBS's sum score was 0.99, and the MDC was 2.7% and 7%, respectively. The Cronbach's α of the BBS's sum score was 0.9. The ICC of the CST and 6 m walking test was 1 and 0.97, respectively. The MDC on the 6 m walking test was 0.08% and 15.2%, respectively.


CONCLUSIONS
The results reveal an excellent relative inter-rater reliability of the BBS, CST and 6 m walking test as well as high internal consistency for the BBS in a population of nursing home residents with mild-to-moderate dementia. The absolute reliability was 2.7 on the BBS and 0.08 on the 6 m walking test.
Health-related quality of life in women with newly diagnosed polycystic ovary syndrome randomized between clomifene citrate plus metformin or clomifene citrate plus placebo.

STUDY QUESTION
What is the health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) undergoing ovulation induction with clomifene citrate (CC) combined with metformin compared with those using CC combined with placebo?


SUMMARY ANSWER
Overall quality of life in women with PCOS treated with CC plus metformin was significantly lower than in women treated with CC plus placebo.


WHAT IS KNOWN ALREADY
There are no data on HRQoL in adult women who receive ovulation induction with the purpose of conceiving. Women with PCOS have higher scores on depression and anxiety scales and lower QoL scores than women without PCOS.


STUDY DESIGN, SIZE AND DURATION
This study was a secondary analysis of a multi-centre RCT completed between June 2001 and May 2004. The randomization was stratified per centre, and the centres received blinded, numbered containers with medication. There were172 women available for the HRQoL assessment: 85 were allocated to metformin and 87 were allocated to placebo.


PARTICIPANTS, SETTING AND METHODS
The Rotterdam Symptom Checklist (RSCL), a standard self-administered questionnaire, was used to assess physical symptoms, psychological distress, activity levels and overall HRQoL.


MAIN RESULTS AND THE ROLE OF CHANCE
In the intention to treat analysis, we found differences between the treatment groups with respect to physical symptoms and overall HRQoL. Physical well-being was significantly impaired in women allocated to metformin but not in women allocated to placebo. The increase in physical symptoms in the metformin group was caused by side-effects typical of metformin, and was most pronounced at Week 1 (mean difference 12 [95% confidence interval (CI): 8-16] and still apparent at Week 16 [mean difference 7 (95% CI 2-12]. Overall well-being was significantly impaired in the metformin group compared with the placebo group [mean difference 13 (95% CI 6-20)].


LIMITATIONS AND REASONS FOR CAUTION
RSCL measurements were available only for three quarters of the participants. Although the number of missing questionnaires and the baseline measurements, were comparable between the treatment groups, some form of selection bias cannot be ruled out.


WIDER IMPLICATIONS OF THE FINDINGS
Our finding that metformin was more burdensome than placebo, strengthens the recommendation that CC only and not CC plus metformin should be the drug of choice in this patient population.


STUDY FUNDING/COMPETING INTEREST(S)
None of the authors declared a conflict of interest. There was no study funding.


TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER
ISRCTN55906981.
Notes on Computable Analysis

Computable analysis has been part of computability theory since Turing’s original paper on the subject (Turing, Proc. London Math. Sc. 42:230–265, 1936). Nevertheless, it is difficult to locate basic results in this area. A first goal of this paper is to give some new simple proofs of fundamental classical results (highlighting the role of Π10${{\Pi }_{1}^{0}}$ classes). Naturally this paper cannot cover all aspects of computable analysis, but we hope that this gives the reader a completely self-contained ingress into this area. A second goal is to use tools from effective topology to analyse the Darboux property, particularly a result by Sierpiński, and the Blaschke Selection Theorem.
Dynamic actin filaments control the mechanical behavior of the human red blood cell membrane

Short, uniform-length actin filaments function as structural nodes in the spectrin-actin membrane skeleton to optimize the biomechanical properties of red blood cells (RBCs). Despite the widespread assumption that RBC actin filaments are not dynamic (i.e., do not exchange subunits with G-actin in the cytosol), this assumption has never been rigorously tested. Here we show that a subpopulation of human RBC actin filaments is indeed dynamic, based on rhodamine-actin incorporation into filaments in resealed ghosts and fluorescence recovery after photobleaching (FRAP) analysis of actin filament mobility in intact RBCs (~25-30% of total filaments). Cytochalasin-D inhibition of barbed-end exchange reduces rhodamine-actin incorporation and partially attenuates FRAP recovery, indicating functional interaction between actin subunit turnover at the single-filament level and mobility at the membrane-skeleton level. Moreover, perturbation of RBC actin filament assembly/disassembly with latrunculin-A or jasplakinolide induces an approximately twofold increase or ~60% decrease, respectively, in soluble actin, resulting in altered membrane deformability, as determined by alterations in RBC transit time in a microfluidic channel assay, as well as by abnormalities in spontaneous membrane oscillations (flickering). These experiments identify a heretofore-unrecognized but functionally important subpopulation of RBC actin filaments, whose properties and architecture directly control the biomechanical properties of the RBC membrane.
Cell Segmentation: 50 Years Down the Road [Life Sciences]

Ever since the establishment of cell theory in the early 19th century, which recognized the cell as the fundamental building unit of life, biologists have sought to explain the underlying principles. Momentous discoveries were made over the course of many decades of research [1], but the quest to attain full understanding of cellular mechanisms and how to manipulate them to improve health continues to the present day, with bigger budgets, more minds, and more sophisticated tools than ever before. One of the tools to which a great deal of the progress in cell biology can be attributed is light microscopy [2]. The field has come a long way since Antoni van Leeuwenhoeks first steps in the 1670s toward improving and exploiting microscopic imaging for studying life at the cellular level. Not only do biologists today have a plethora of different, complementary microscopic imaging techniques at their disposal that enable them to visualize phenomena even way below the classical diffraction limit of light, advanced microscope systems also allow them to easily acquire very large numbers of images within just a matter of hours. The abundance, heterogeneity, dimensionality, and complexity of the data generated in modern imaging experiments rule out manual image management, processing, and analysis. Consequently, computerized techniques for performing these tasks have become of key importance for further progress in cell biology [3][6]. A central problem in many studies, and often regarded as the cornerstone of image analysis, is image segmentation. Specifically, since cellular morphology is an important phenotypic feature that is indicative of the physiological state of a cell, and since the cell contour is often required for subsequent analysis of intracellular processes (zooming in to nanoscale), or of cell sociology (zooming out to millimeter scale), the problem of cell segmentation has received increasing attention in past years [7]. Here we reflect on how the field has evolved over the years and how past developments can be expected to extrapolate into the future.
Using Data Analytics and Data Mining Methods to Determine a High Net Worth IndividualÃ¢ÂÂs Electronic Banking Behavior

Electronic banking is becoming more popular every day. Financial institutions have accepted the transformation to provide electronic banking facilities to their customers in order to remain relevant and thrive in an environment that is competitive. A contributing factor to the customer retention rate is the frequent use of multiple online functionality however despite all the benefits of electronic banking, some are still hesitant to use it because of security concerns. The perception is that gender, age, education level, salary, culture and profession all have an impact on electronic banking usage. This study reports on how the Knowledge Discovery and Data Mining (KDDM) process was used to determine characteristics and electronic banking behavior of high net worth individuals at a South African bank. Findings JIBC December 2017, Vol. 22, No.3 2 indicate that product range and age had the biggest impact on electronic banking behavior. The value of user segmentation is that the financial institution can provide a more accurate service to their users based on their preferences and online banking behavior.
Traffic configuration for evaluating networks on chips

Network-on-chip (NoC) provides a network as a global communication platform for future SoC designs. Evaluating network architectures requires both synthetic workloads and application-oriented traffic. We present our traffic configuration methods that can be used to configure uniform and locality traffic as synthetic workloads, and to configure channel-based traffic for specific applications. We also illustrate the significance of applying these methods to configure traffic for network evaluation and system simulation. These traffic configuration methods have been integrated into our Nostrum NoC simulation environment.
Implication and analysis in classical frege structures

On etudie la possibilite de fonder les mathematiques sur le concept de propriete suivant Frege un lieu du concept iteratif d'ensemble
Genotype–phenotype correlation in interstitial 6q deletions: a report of 12 new cases

Interstitial deletions of 6q are associated with variable phenotypes, including growth retardation, dysmorphic features, upper limb malformations, and Prader–Willi (PW)-like features. Only a minority of cases in the literature have been characterized with high resolution techniques, making genotype–phenotype correlations difficult. We report 12 individuals with overlapping, 200-kb to 16.4-Mb interstitial deletions within 6q15q22.33 characterized by microarray-based comparative genomic hybridization to better correlate deletion regions with specific phenotypes. Four individuals have a PW-like phenotype, though only two have deletion of SIM1, the candidate gene for this feature. Therefore, other genes on 6q may contribute to this phenotype including multiple genes on 6q16 and our newly proposed candidate, the transcription cofactor gene VGLL2 on 6q22.2. Two individuals present with movement disorders as a major feature, and ataxia is present in a third. The 4.1-Mb 6q22.1q22.2 critical region for movement disorders includes the cerebellar-expressed candidate gene GOPC. Observed brain malformations include thick corpus callosum in two subjects, cerebellar vermal hypoplasia in two subjects, and cerebellar atrophy in one subject. Seven subjects' deletions overlap a ~250-kb cluster of four genes on 6q22.1 including MARCKS, HDAC2, and HS3ST5, which are involved in neural development. Two subjects have only this gene cluster deleted, and one deletion was apparently de novo, suggesting at least one of these genes plays an important role in development. Although the phenotypes associated with 6q deletions can vary, using overlapping deletions to delineate critical regions improves genotype–phenotype correlation for interstitial 6q deletions.