LLukas22/scidocs huggingface dataset:
Catalytic conversion of methane to more useful chemicals and fuels : a challenge for the 21 st century

The very large reserves of methane, which often are found in remote regions, could serve as a feedstock for the production of chemicals and as a source of energy well into the 21st century. Although methane currently is being used in such important applications as the heating of homes and the generation of hydrogen for ammonia synthesis, its potential for the production of ethylene or liquid hydrocarbon fuels has not been fully realized. A number of strategies are being explored at levels that range from fundamental science to engineering technology. These include: (a) stream and carbon dioxide reforming or partial oxidation of methane to form carbon monoxide and hydrogen, followed by Fischer–Tropsch chemistry, (b) the direct oxidation of methane to methanol and formaldehyde, (c) oxidative coupling of methane to ethylene, and (d) direct conversion to aromatics and hydrogen in the absence of oxygen. Each alternative has its own set of limitations; however, economical separation is common to all with the most important issues being the separation of oxygen from air and the separation of hydrogen or hydrocarbons from dilute product streams. Extensive utilization of methane for the production of fuels and chemicals appears to be near, but current economic uncertainties limit the amount of research activity and the implementation of emerging technologies. © 2000 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.
A Comparison of Energy Consumption Prediction Models Based on Neural Networks of a Bioclimatic Building

Energy consumption has been increasing steadily due to globalization and industrialization. Studies have shown that buildings are responsible for the biggest proportion of energy consumption; for example in European Union countries, energy consumption in buildings represents around 40% of the total energy consumption. In order to control energy consumption in buildings, different policies have been proposed, from utilizing bioclimatic architectures to the use of predictive models within control approaches. There are mainly three groups of predictive models including engineering, statistical and artificial intelligence models. Nowadays, artificial intelligence models such as neural networks and support vector machines have also been proposed because of their high potential capabilities of performing accurate nonlinear mappings between inputs and outputs in real environments which are not free of noise. The main objective of this paper is to compare a neural network model which was designed utilizing statistical and analytical methods, with a group of neural network models designed benefiting from a multi objective genetic algorithm. Moreover, the neural network models were compared to a naïve autoregressive baseline model. The models are intended to predict electric power demand at the Solar Energy Research Center (Centro de Investigación en Energía SOLar or CIESOL in Spanish) bioclimatic building located at the University of Almeria, Spain. Experimental results show that the models obtained from the multi objective genetic algorithm (MOGA) perform comparably to the model obtained through a statistical and analytical approach, but they use only 0.8% of data samples and have lower model complexity.
Effect of increased body mass index and anaesthetic duration on recovery of protective airway reflexes after sevoflurane vs desflurane.

BACKGROUND
Increased BMI may increase the body's capacity to store potent inhaled anaesthetics, more so with more soluble agents. Accordingly, we asked whether increased BMI and longer anaesthesia prolonged airway reflex recovery.


METHODS
We measured time from anaesthetic discontinuation until first response to command (T1); from response to command until ability to swallow (T2); and from anaesthetic discontinuation to recovery of ability to swallow (T3) in 120 patients within three BMI ranges (18-24, 25-29, and >or=30 kg m(-2)). All received sevoflurane or desflurane, delivered via an LMA.


RESULTS
T1 and T3 after sevoflurane exceeded T1 and T3 after desflurane: 6.6 (sd 4.2) vs 4.0 (1.9) min (P<0.001), and 14.1 (sd 8.3) vs 6.1 (2.0) min (P<0.0001). T3 correlated more strongly with BMI after sevoflurane (28 s per kg m(-2), P=0.02) than desflurane (7 s per kg m(-2), P=0.03). Regarding T2, patients receiving sevoflurane with BMI >or=30 kg m(-2) were less often able to swallow 2 min after response to command than were those with BMI 18-24 or 25-29 kg m(-2) (3/20 vs 10/20 or 9/20, P<0.05). Each sevoflurane MAC-hour delayed T3 by 4.5 min (268 s) (R=0.46, P<0.001) whereas each desflurane MAC-hour delayed T3 by 0.2 min (16 s) (R=0.10, P=0.44).


CONCLUSIONS
Prolonged sevoflurane administration and greater BMI delay airway reflex recovery. The contribution of BMI to this delay is more pronounced after sevoflurane than desflurane.
Flood water level modelling and prediction using artificial neural network: Case study of Sungai Batu Pahat in Johor

Flood water level prediction has long been the earliest forecasting problems that have attracted the interest of many researchers. Accurate prediction of flood water level is extremely importance as an early warning system to the public to inform them about the possible incoming flood disaster. Using the collected data at the upstream and downstream station of a river, this paper proposes a modelling of flood water level at downstream station using back propagation neural network (BPN). In order to improve the prediction values, an extended Kalman filter was introduced at the output of the BPN. The introduction of extended Kalman filter at the output of BPN shows significant improvement to the prediction and tracking performance of the actual flood water level.
Social-Psychological Interventions in Education: They’re Not Magic

Recent randomized experiments have found that seemingly “small” social-psychological interventions in education—that is, brief exercises that target students’ thoughts, feelings, and beliefs in and about school—can lead to large gains in student achievement and sharply reduce achievement gaps even months and years later. These interventions do not teach students academic content but instead target students’ psychology, such as their beliefs that they have the potential to improve their intelligence or that they belong and are valued in school. When socialpsychological interventions have lasting effects, it can seem surprising and even “magical,” leading either to the desire to scale them up immediately or to consider them unworthy of serious consideration. The present article discourages both responses. It reviews the theoretical basis of several prominent social-psychological interventions and emphasizes that they have lasting effects because they target students’ subjective experiences in school, because they use persuasive yet stealthy methods for conveying psychological ideas, and because they tap into recursive processes present in educational environments. By understanding psychological interventions as powerful but context-dependent tools, educational researchers will be better equipped to take them to scale. This review concludes by discussing challenges to scaling psychological interventions and how these challenges may be overcome.
Tuning a PID controller for a digital excitation control system

Some of the modern voltage regulator systems are utilizing the proportional, integral, and derivative (PID) control for stabilization. Two PID tuning approaches, pole placement and pole-zero cancellation, are commonly utilized for commissioning a digital excitation system. Each approach is discussed including its performance with three excitation parameter variations. The parameters considered include system loop gain, uncertain exciter time constants, and forcing limits. This paper is intended for various engineers and technicians to provide a better understanding of how the digital controller is tuned with pros and cons for each method.
Randomised Phase II Trial (NCT00637975) Evaluating Activity and Toxicity of Two Different Escalating Strategies for Pregabalin and Oxycodone Combination Therapy for Neuropathic Pain in Cancer Patients

PURPOSE
Neuropathic pain is commonly associated with cancer. Current treatments include combination opioid and adjuvant therapies, but no guidelines are available for dose escalation strategies. This phase II study compared the efficacy and tolerability of two dose escalation strategies for oxycodone and pregabalin combination therapy.


METHODS
Patients (N = 75) with oncological neuropathic pain, previously untreated with pregabalin, were recruited in 5 Italian institutions between 2007 and 2010. Patients were randomised to two different dose escalation strategies (arm A; N = 38) oxycodone at a fixed dose with increasing pregabalin doses; (arm B; N = 37) pregabalin at a fixed dose with increasing oxycodone doses. Patients were evaluated from daily diaries and follow-ups at 3, 7, 10, and 14 days after beginning treatment with a numerical rating scale (NRS), neuropathic pain scale (SDN), and well-being scale (ESAS). The primary endpoint was a ≥1/3 reduction in pain (NRS); secondary endpoints included the time to analgesia and adverse effects. The study had a 90% probability of detecting the best strategy for a true difference of at least 15%.


RESULTS
More patients in arm A (76%) than arm B (64%) achieved ≥1/3 overall pain reduction even after controlling for baseline factors (gender, baseline pain). Group A reported fewer side effects than group B; constipation 52.8% vs. 66.7%; nausea: 27.8% vs. 44.4%; drowsiness: 44.4% vs. 55.6%; confusion: 16.7% vs. 27.8%; itching: 8.3% vs. 19.4%.


CONCLUSIONS
Both strategies effectively controlled neuropathic pain, but according to the adopted selection design arm A is preferable to arm B for pain control.


TRIAL REGISTRATION
ClinicalTrials.gov NCT00637975.
Predictors of intensive end-of-life and hospice care in Latino and white advanced cancer patients.

BACKGROUND
The role of end-of-life (EOL) care preferences and conversations in receipt of care near death for Latinos is unclear.


OBJECTIVE
This study examines rates and predictors of intensive EOL and hospice care among Latino and white advanced cancer patients.


DESIGN
Two-hundred-and-ninety-two self-reported Latino (n=58) and white (n=234) Stage IV cancer patients participated in a U.S. multisite, prospective, cohort study from September 2002 to August 2008. The Latino and white, non-Hispanic participants were interviewed and followed until death, a median of 118.5 days from baseline.


MEASUREMENTS
Patient-reported, baseline predictors of EOL care included EOL care preference; terminal illness acknowledgement; EOL discussion; completion of a DNR order; and religious coping. Caregiver postmortem interviews provided information regarding EOL care received. Intensive EOL care was defined as resuscitation and/or ventilation followed by death in an intensive care unit. Hospice was either in- or outpatient.


RESULTS
Latino and white patients received intensive EOL and hospice care at similar rates (5.2% and 3.4% for intensive care, p=0.88; 70.7% versus 73.4% for hospice, p=0.33). No white or Latino patient who reported a DNR order or EOL discussion at baseline received intensive EOL care. Religious coping and a preference for life-extending care predicted intensive EOL care for white patients (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] 6.69 [p=0.02] and aOR 6.63 [p=0.01], respectively), but not for Latinos. No predictors were associated with Latino hospice care.


CONCLUSIONS
EOL discussions and DNR orders may prevent intensive EOL care among Latino cancer patients. Efforts should continue to engage Latino patients and caregivers in these activities.
Online anomaly detection using dimensionality reduction techniques for HTTP log analysis

Modern web services face an increasing number of new threats. Logs are collected from almost all web servers, and for this reason analyzing them is beneficial when trying to prevent intrusions. Intrusive behavior often differs from the normal web traffic. This paper proposes a framework to find abnormal behavior from these logs. We compare random projection, principal component analysis and diffusion map for anomaly detection. In addition, the framework has online capabilities. The first two methods have intuitive extensions while diffusion map uses the Nyström extension. This fast out-of-sample extension enables real-time analysis of web server traffic. The framework is demonstrated using real-world network log data. Actual abnormalities are found from the dataset and the capabilities of the system are evaluated and discussed. These results are useful when designing next generation intrusion detection systems. The presented approach finds intrusions from high-dimensional datasets in real time. © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Randomized open comparison of montelukast and sublingual immunotherapy as add-on treatment in moderate persistent asthma due to birch pollen.

BACKGROUND
No studies have directly compared the effects of immunotherapy and antileukotrienes due to the long time required to appreciate the clinical effects of immunotherapy. We compared the effect of montelukast (MK) and SLIT added to standard therapy in moderate asthma over 5 years.


METHODS
Open randomized controlled trial. Patients with moderate asthma (and rhinitis) solely due to birch pollen were randomized to receive either MK (10 mg/d) or birch sublingual immunotherapy (SLIT) in the pollen seasons, in addition to formoterol/fluticasone. All the patients also received salbutamol and cetirizine as rescue medications. Asthma and rhinitis symptoms were recorded on diary cards from February to May at baseline and after 3 and 5 years of study. In-season nasal eosinophils and bronchial hyperresponsiveness were also evaluated.


RESULTS
Thirty-three adult patients were enrolled and 29 completed the study. The groups were homogeneous at baseline. Bronchial and nasal symptom scores were lower at 3 and 5 years compared to baseline in the SLIT group. Bronchial hyperresponsiveness and bronchodilator use decreased significantly in both groups at 5 years, but only in the SLIT group at 3 years. In the SLIT group there was a significant decrease in nasal eosinophils compared to baseline and to the MK group.


CONCLUSION
In patients with birch pollen-induced moderate asthma and rhinitis, the addition of SLIT provides a greater clinical benefit than that of MK.
Infusing sustainability principles into manufacturing/mechanical engineering curricula

Sustainability issues are increasingly important among governments, consumers, and corporations around the world. Many companies are directing their resources to reduce the environmental impact of their products and services. In order to remain competitive in the global economy, these companies must recruit employees who understand the impact of their decisions on the environment and society at the same time influencing its bottom line. It is the mission of universities to prepare these future employees to meet this need. A group of faculty and students in the Department of Mechanical Engineering Engineering Mechanics at Michigan Technological University is working to address this growing demand. This paper assesses the current undergraduate Mechanical Engineering curriculum at Michigan Technological University with regard to sustainability, and identifies barriers to incorporating sustainability throughout the curriculum. A benchmarking study, progress made at Michigan Tech, and a vision for the future of the Mechanical Engineering curriculum are presented.
The effects of computer games on primary school students' achievement and motivation in geography learning

The implementation of a computer game for learning about geography by primary school students is the focus of this article. Researchers designed and developed a three-dimensional educational computer game. Twenty four students in fourth and fifth grades in a private school in Ankara, Turkey learnt about world continents and countries through this game for three weeks. The effects of the game environment on students’ achievement and motivation and related implementation issues were examined through both quantitative and qualitative methods. An analysis of pre and post achievement tests showed that students made significant learning gains by participating in the game-based learning environment. When comparing their motivations while learning in the game-based learning environment and in their traditional school environment, it was found that students demonstrated statistically significant higher intrinsic motivations and statistically significant lower extrinsic motivations learning in the game-based environment. In addition, they had decreased focus on getting grades and they were more independent while participating in the game-based activities. These positive effects on learning and motivation, and the positive attitudes of students and teachers suggest that computer games can be used as an ICT tool in formal learning environments to support students in effective geography learning. 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Reduction malarplasty using a zygomatic arch-lifting technique.

BACKGROUND
Broad or excessive malar protrusion is a trait associated with aggression and old age in Asian cultures. Although various methods of shifting the zygoma have been introduced for reduction malarplasty, soft tissue sagging and inadequate bony union still remain great challenges. We have devised an arch-lifting technique that helps overcome these issues. An analysis of surgical outcomes is presented herein.


METHODS
A total of 54 patients subjected to lifting malar reductions between January 2013 and November 2014 were retrospectively reviewed. The reduction procedure entailed an L-shaped osteotomy of the zygomaticomaxillary junction via an intraoral approach. In addition, a prefabricated U-shaped microplate was applied for arch fixation in the lifted position. The follow-up period ranged from 6 to 18 months (average, 9.2 months), during which medical records, photographs, and facial bone computed tomography (CT) images were obtained to assess the postoperative results.


RESULTS
Patients were generally satisfied with aesthetic outcomes, thus rating the procedure excellent in terms of zygomatic prominence, midfacial width, symmetry, and resistance to cheek drooping. There were no major complications, such as facial nerve damage or trismus. An inadequate bony contact occurred in two instances due to unanticipated trauma, with immediate reduction and fixation thereafter. Minor wound infections developed in three patients but responded well to antibiotics.


CONCLUSION
Zygomatic reduction procedures must consider the dynamics of the adjacent muscles, which are stabilized through arch fixation. The use of our arch-lifting technique for reduction malarplasty efficiently elevates the zygomatic complex, thereby ensuring an adequate bone-to-bone contact. Predictable and accurate outcomes are thereby achieved.
Off-label use of rituximab in 196 patients with severe, refractory systemic autoimmune diseases.

OBJECTIVES
To analyse the safety and efficacy of the off-label use of rituximab in patients with severe, refractory systemic autoimmune diseases.


METHODS
In 2006, the Study Group on Autoimmune Diseases of the Spanish Society of Internal Medicine created the BIOGEAS project, a multicenter study devoted to collecting data on the use of biological agents in adult patients with systemic autoimmune diseases refractory to standard therapies (failure of at least two immunosuppressive agents).


RESULTS
One hundred and ninety-six patients with systemic autoimmune diseases treated with rituximab have been included in the Registry (158 women and 38 men, mean age 43 years). Systemic autoimmune diseases included systemic lupus erythematosus (107 cases), inflammatory myopathies (20 cases), ANCA-related vasculitides (19 cases), Sjögren's syndrome (15 cases) and other diseases (35 cases). A therapeutic response was evaluable in 194 cases: 99 (51%) achieved a complete response, 51 (26%) a partial response and 44 (23%) were classified as non-responders. After a mean follow-up of 27.56+/-1.32 months, 44 (29%) out of the 150 responders patients relapsed. There were 40 adverse events reported in 33 (16%) of the 196 patients. The most frequent adverse events were infections, with 24 episodes being described in 19 patients. Thirteen (7%) patients died, mainly due to disease progression (7 cases) and infection (3 cases).


CONCLUSIONS
Although not yet licensed for this use, rituximab is currently used to treat severe, refractory systemic autoimmune diseases, with the most favourable results being observed in Sjögren's syndrome, inflammatory myopathies, systemic lupus erythematosus and cryoglobulinemia.
Marshall and Labor Demand in Russia: Going Back to Basics

Marshall and Labour Demand in Russia: Going Back to Basics ∗ Using a unique enterprise-level data set, which covers the regions Moscow City, Chelyabinsk, Krasnoyarsk and Chuvashia and the three sectors manufacturing and mining, construction and trade and distribution, we estimate Russian labour demand equations for the year 1997. The most important conclusion that can be drawn is that labour demand is inelastic in international perspective if we estimate a labour demand equation for all regions and all sectors combined. So, Russian MLEs well into the transition still exhibit peculiar behaviour as far as wage employment trade-offs are concerned. We try to relate this inelastic labour demand to basic neoclassical theory by testing Marshall’s rules of derived demand. Our results show that testing these rules seems a promising avenue for establishing some of the driving forces, which are behind labour demand in Russia. JEL Classification: P20, J23,
The Eocene fishes of Monte Bolca: the earliest coral reef fish assemblage

The fish assemblage from the Eocene deposits of Monte Bolca, Northern Italy, are compared with those of Recent coral reefs. A family-level taxonomic definition of a Recent coral reef fish assemblage is formulated to permit direct comparisons. On this basis, the Monte Bolca fishes represent the earliest clearly defined coral reef fish assemblage. Quantitative analyses of the relative abundance of fish families revealed significant differences between the two assemblages. The Bolca assemblage has Mesozoic links (Pycnodontiformes) and non-perciform taxa are relatively abundant, particularly the Beryciformes (Holocentridae). However, Bolca represents the earliest record of a perciform-dominated benthic fish assemblage (68.4% of all non-clupeid taxa). Within the Perciformes, the abundance of the major reef fish lineages (higher squamipinnes and Labroidei) differs markedly between the two assemblages. The numerical dominance of labroid fishes on coral reefs appears to have been a relatively recent occurrence.