LLukas22/scidocs huggingface dataset:
[Wegener's granulomatosis diagnosed by orbital-meningeal presentation: a case report].

Wegener's granulomatosis is a necrotizing granulomatous vasculitis with a strong affinity for the upper respiratory tract, lung and kidney. The ophthalmologic manifestation most often presents as inflammatory orbital pseudotumor or scleritis. We report a case of a 27-year-old woman with an orbital-meningeal presentation leading to a diagnosis of Wegener's granulomatosis.
Outsourcing transportation infrastructure maintenance : a theoretical approach with application to JR East

In transportation agencies, how to reduce maintenance and operation cost is one of the biggest and most common concerns, because their revenue is not expected to increase drastically in the future. One of the solutions undertaken nowadays is contracting out and utilizing contractors' efficiency for cost cutting and performance improvements. Actually, highway agencies in the US have already tried several pilot programs, employing performance-based contract, aiming at reducing their cost of maintenance and rehabilitation of their assets. It has been reported that these agencies achieved huge cost-reduction and performance improvement at the same time by implementing these strategies. Railway infrastructure maintenance is not outsourced as much as highway maintenance in the US. However, a theoretical discussion about outsourcing and contracting shows that railway track maintenance can be outsourced to enhance operating efficiency. Exploring the cases in several railway organizations and highway agencies, fixed-price contract with incentive schemes turn out to be mainly utilized. Evaluating maintenance contractor's performance by several comprehensive performance metrics is also a useful tool to manage and control the contractor's performance, which is linked to reward or penalty payments. Considering the lessons learned in the discussions above, applications for railway maintenance in JR East is discussed. Its maintenance contract structure is in the midst of transition, but still imbues a traditional style. Instead, a long-term, performance-based contract with incentive scheme is suggested to improve the efficiency of infrastructure maintenance and adjust the future environmental changes JR East faces. Thesis Supervisor: Joseph Sussman Title: JR East Professor Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering and Engineering Systems
Concept Mapping as a Form of Student Assessment and Instruction in the Domain of Bioengineering

As part of a concerted effort to improve Biomedical Engineering (BME) education, the Vanderbilt-Northwestern-Texas-Harvard/MIT Engineering Research Center (VaNTH ERC) is investigating alternative methods for assessing students’ conceptual knowledge, and integrating an array of diverse competencies into the curriculum. One potentially useful tool for achieving these goals is concept mapping or the spatial representation of concepts and their interrelationships. This paper describes three studies investigating this potential. In Study One, three groups (i.e., BME undergraduates, graduate students and faculty) constructed concept maps in response to the question, “What are the 10-20 most important concepts in BME?” Group differences were consistent with expert-novice distinctions in structural knowledge. Faculty generated dense networks of higher-order principles (e.g., “the synthesis of engineering and medicine”) and their applications (e.g., “interdisciplinary communication”) while students generated fewer connections among concepts pertaining largely to domain content (e.g., “biotechnology,” “physiology”). Study 2 conducted longitudinal and cross-sectional examinations of the development of expertise. Undergraduates in a yearlong design course responded at two different time points to the question, “What is your current conceptual understanding of what is involved in the BME design process?” Analyses revealed that, relative to maps constructed at the beginning of the course, end of the semester maps used more precise vocabulary, were more coherently constructed, and contained a greater number of connections among concepts. Student maps were also compared to a criterion map created by the course instructor. Study Three will investigate concept mapping as a form of instruction. Learning outcomes of students receiving traditional (i.e., taxonomy-driven presentation of concepts) and innovative (i.e., use of concept mapping as an advance organizer) instruction are being compared. Findings are discussed in terms of their implications for the role of concept mapping as a form of student assessment and instruction, and ultimately, a means to promoting lifelong learning. Introduction P ge 722.1
Gender difference in the response to valsartan/amlodipine single-pill combination in essential hypertension (China Status II): An observational study

BACKGROUND
The China STATUS II is a prospective, multicentre, open-label, post-marketing, observational study including Chinese adults (aged ⩾ 18 years) with essential hypertension who were prescribed once-daily valsartan/amlodipine (Val/Aml 80/5 mg) single-pill combination. In order to examine gender differences in treatment response to Val/Aml, we further analysed data from the China STATUS II study.


METHODS
A total of 11,312 patients (6456 (57%) men and 4856 (43%) women) received the Val/Aml treatment for 8 weeks. After the treatment, we compared the proportion of patients not achieving the target systolic blood pressure (SBP: < 140 mm Hg) or diastolic blood pressure (DBP: < 90 mm Hg) in different age groups (by Fisher exact probability test) and estimated the changes in blood pressure (BP) according to age and gender, using a mixed model.


RESULTS
At enrolment, mean SBP was higher in the female versus the male patients (160.0 ± 12.71 versus 159.3 ± 12.31 mm Hg; p = 0.003), whereas the mean DBP was higher in the male versus the female patients (96.4 ± 10.65 versus 94.5 ± 10.72 mm Hg; p < 0.001). The overall proportion of women not achieving the target BP was less than that of men (57.41% versus 59.59%; p < 0.05) at 4 weeks and (22.22% versus 23.78%; p < 0.05) at 8 weeks after the Val/Aml treatment. Among both men and women, the proportion of patients not achieving the target SBP increased with age; however, the proportion not achieving the target DBP decreased with age. The mixed-model analysis showed that the changes in SBP were closely related to gender, indicating that the SBP-lowering effect after Val/Aml treatment might be better in women. In addition, the changes in DBP were closely related to age.


CONCLUSIONS
Gender might be a factor for consideration in the decision-making process of individualised antihypertensive therapy, in the future.
Fabrication of silver nanoparticles from leaf extract of Butea monosperma (Flame of Forest) and their inhibitory effect on bloom-forming cyanobacteria

Background: Silver nanoparticles (SNPs) are used extensively in areas such as medicine, catalysis, electronics, environmental science, and biotechnology. Therefore, facile synthesis of SNPs from an eco-friendly, inexpensive source is a prerequisite. In the present study, fabrication of SNPs from the leaf extract of Butea monosperma (Flame of Forest) has been performed. SNPs were synthesized from 1% leaf extract solution and characterized by ultraviolet-visible (UV-vis) spectroscopy and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The mechanism of SNP formation was studied by Fourier transform infrared (FTIR), and anti-algal properties of SNPs on selected toxic cyanobacteria were evaluated. Results: TEM analysis indicated that size distribution of SNPs was under 5 to 30 nm. FTIR analysis indicated the role of amide I and II linkages present in protein in the reduction of silver ions. SNPs showed potent anti-algal properties on two cyanobacteria, namely, Anabaena spp. and Cylindrospermum spp. At a concentration of 800 μg/ml of SNPs, maximum anti-algal activity was observed in both cyanobacteria. Conclusions: This study clearly demonstrates that small-sized, stable SNPs can be synthesized from the leaf extract of B. monosperma. SNPs can be effectively employed for removal of toxic cyanobacteria.
Reducing Duplicate Filters in Deep Neural Networks

This paper investigates the presence of duplicate neurons or filters in neural networks. This phenomenon is prevalent in networks and increases with the number of filters in a layer. We observe the emergence of duplicate filters over training iterations, study the factors that affect their concentration and compare existing network reducing operations. We validate our findings using convolutional and fully-connected networks on the CIFAR-10 dataset.
Assessing and conceptualizing orgasm after a spinal cord injury.

OBJECTIVES
To provide a questionnaire for assessing the sensations characterizing orgasm. To test the hypothesis that orgasm is related to autonomic hyperreflexia (AHR) in individuals with a spinal cord injury (SCI).


SUBJECTS AND METHODS
A total of 97 men with SCI, of whom 50 showed AHR at ejaculation and 39 showed no AHR, were compared. Ejaculation was obtained through natural stimulation, vibrostimulation or vibrostimulation combined with midodrine (5-25 mg). Cardiovascular measures were recorded before, at, and after each test. Responses to the questionnaire were divided into four categories: cardiovascular, muscular, autonomic and dysreflexic sensations.


RESULTS
Significantly more sensations were described at ejaculation than with sexual stimulation alone. Men with SCI who experienced AHR at ejaculation reported significantly more cardiovascular, muscular, autonomic and dysreflexic responses than those who did not. There was no difference between men with complete and those with incomplete lesions.


CONCLUSIONS
The findings show that the questionnaire is a useful tool to assess orgasm and to guide patients in identifying the bodily sensations that accompany or build up to orgasm. The findings also support the hypothesis that orgasm may be related to the presence of AHR in individuals with SCI. Data from able-bodied men also suggest that AHR could be related to orgasm, as increases in blood pressure are observed at ejaculation along with cardiovascular, autonomic and muscular sensations.
BioIE: extracting informative sentences from the biomedical literature

SUMMARY
BioIE is a rule-based system that extracts informative sentences relating to protein families, their structures, functions and diseases from the biomedical literaturE. Based on manual definition of templates and rules, it aims at precise sentence extraction rather than wide recall. After uploading source text or retrieving abstracts from MEDLINE, users can extract sentences based on predefined or user-defined template categories. BioIE also provides a brief insight into the syntactic and semantic context of the source-text by looking at word, N-gram and MeSH-term distributions. Important Applications of BioIE are in, for example, annotation of microarray data and of protein databases.


AVAILABILITY
http://umber.sbs.man.ac.uk/dbbrowser/bioie/
Meanings of blood, bleeding and blood donations in Pakistan: implications for national vs global safe blood supply policies

Contemporary public policy, supported by international arbitrators of blood policy such as the World Health Organization and the International Federation of the Red Cross, asserts that the safest blood is that donated by voluntary, non-remunerated donors from low-risk groups of the population. These policies promote anonymous donation and discourage kin-based or replacement donation. However, there is reason to question whether these policies, based largely on Western research and beliefs, are the most appropriate for ensuring an adequate safe blood supply in many other parts of the world. This research explored the various and complex meanings embedded in blood using empirical ethnographic data from Pakistan, with the intent of informing development of a national blood policy in that country. Using a focused ethnographic approach, data were collected in 26 in-depth interviews, 6 focus group discussions, 12 key informant interviews and 25 hours of observations in blood banks and maternity and surgical wards. The key finding was that notions of caste-based purity of blood, together with the belief that donors and recipients are symbolically knitted in a kin relationship, place a preference on kin-blood. The anonymity inherent in current systems of blood extraction, storage and use as embedded in contemporary policy discourse and practice was problematic as it blurred distinctions that were important within this society. The article highlights the importance-to ensuring a safe blood supply-of basing blood procurement policies on local, context-specific belief systems rather than relying on uniform, one-size-fits-all global policies. Drawing on our empirical findings and the literature, it is argued that the practice of kin-donated blood remains a feasible alternative to the global ideal of voluntary, anonymous donations. There is a need to focus on developing context-sensitive strategies for promoting blood safety, and critically revisit the assumptions underlying contemporary global blood procurement policies.
Variation of seizure frequency with ovulatory status of menstrual cycles.

PURPOSE
To determine if seizure frequency differs between anovulatory and ovulatory cycles.


METHODS
The data came from the 3-month baseline phase of an investigation of progesterone therapy for intractable focal onset seizures. Of 462 women who enrolled, 281 completed the 3-month baseline phase and 92 had both anovulatory and ovulatory cycles during the baseline phase. Midluteal progesterone levels ≥5 ng/ml were used to designate cycles as ovulatory. Among the 92 women, average daily seizure frequency (ADSF) for all seizures combined and each type of seizure considered separately (secondary generalized tonic-clonic seizures - 2°GTCS, complex partial seizures - CPS, simple partial seizures - SPS) were compared between anovulatory and ovulatory cycles using paired t-tests. A relationship between the proportional differences in ADSF and estradiol/progesterone (EP) serum level ratios between anovulatory and ovulatory cycles was determined using bivariate correlational analysis.


KEY FINDINGS
ADSF was 29.5% greater for 2°GTCS during anovulatory than during ovulatory cycles. ADSF did not differ significantly for CPS or SPS or for all seizures combined. Proportional differences in anovulatory/ovulatory 2°GTCS ADSF ratios correlated significantly with differences in anovulatory/ovulatory EP ratios. Among the 281 women, the three seizure types did not differ in ovulatory rates, but EP ratios were greater for cycles with 2°GTCS than partial seizures only.


SIGNIFICANCE
Seizure frequency is significantly greater for 2°GTCS, but not CPS or SPS, during anovulatory cycles than ovulatory cycles. Because the proportional increases in 2°GTCS frequency during anovulatory cycles correlate with the proportional increases in EP level ratios, these findings support a possible role for reproductive steroids in 2°GTCS occurrence.
Life-world, modernity and critique : paths between Heidegger and the Frankfurt School

Ontology and critique Adorno and Heidegger critical theory and reconciliation Kant and critical theory Habermas and rationality Heidegger and Marxism psychoanalysis and critical theory - a Lacanian perspective Heidegger and psychotherapy.
HCCI combustion timing control with Variable Valve Timing

Homogeneous Charge Compression Ignition (HCCI) is a promising concept for combustion engines to reduce both emissions and fuel consumption. In HCCI engines, a homogeneous air-fuel mixture auto-ignites due to compression, which is unlike traditional spark ignition or diesel engines where ignition is started with either a spark or fuel injection. HCCI combustion control is a challenging issue because there is no direct initiator of combustion in these engines. Variable Valve Timing (VVT) is one effective way to control the combustion timing in HCCI engines. VVT changes the amount of trapped residual gas and the effective compression ratio both of which have a strong effect on combustion timing. In order to control HCCI combustion, a physics based control oriented model is developed that includes the effect of trapped residual gas on combustion timing. The control oriented model is obtained by model order reduction of complex chemical kinetic reaction mechanisms. This method allows different fuels to be incorporated using a standard methodology and fills the gap between complex models with highly detailed chemical kinetics and simple black box models that have been used in model based control. The control oriented model is used to develop ignition timing PI control using simulation. The PI control modulates the trapped residual gas using variable valve timing as the actuator. The results indicate that the controller can track step changes in HCCI combustion timing.
Nonlinear Pedagogy: An Effective Approach to Cater for Individual Differences in Learning a Sports Skill

Learning a sports skill is a complex process in which practitioners are challenged to cater for individual differences. The main purpose of this study was to explore the effectiveness of a Nonlinear Pedagogy approach for learning a sports skill. Twenty-four 10-year-old females participated in a 4-week intervention involving either a Nonlinear Pedagogy (i.e.,manipulation of task constraints including equipment and rules) or a Linear Pedagogy (i.e., prescriptive, repetitive drills) approach to learn a tennis forehand stroke. Performance accuracy scores, movement criterion scores and kinematic data were measured during pre-intervention, post-intervention and retention tests. While both groups showed improvements in performance accuracy scores over time, the Nonlinear Pedagogy group displayed a greater number of movement clusters at post-test indicating the presence of degeneracy (i.e., many ways to achieve the same outcome). The results suggest that degeneracy is effective for learning a sports skill facilitated by a Nonlinear Pedagogy approach. These findings challenge the common misconception that there must be only one ideal movement solution for a task and thus have implications for coaches and educators when designing instructions for skill acquisition.
Efficient DTW-Based Speech Recognition System for Isolated Words of Arabic Language

Despite the fact that Arabic language is currently one of the most common languages worldwide, there has been only a little research on Arabic speech recognition relative to other languages such as English and Japanese. Generally, digital speech processing and voice recognition algorithms are of special importance for designing efficient, accurate, as well as fast automatic speech recognition systems. However, the speech recognition process carried out in this paper is divided into three stages as follows: firstly, the signal is preprocessed to reduce noise effects. After that, the signal is digitized and hearingized. Consequently, the voice activity regions are segmented using voice activity detection (VAD) algorithm. Secondly, features are extracted from the speech signal using Mel-frequency cepstral coefficients (MFCC) algorithm. Moreover, delta and acceleration (delta-delta) coefficients have been added for the reason of improving the recognition accuracy. Finally, each test word’s features are compared to the training database using dynamic time warping (DTW) algorithm. Utilizing the best set up made for all affected parameters to the aforementioned techniques, the proposed system achieved a recognition rate of about 98.5% which outperformed other HMM and ANN-based approaches available in the literature. Keywords—Arabic speech recognition, MFCC, DTW, VAD.
Functional characterization of human coronary artery smooth muscle cells under cyclic mechanical strain in a degradable polyurethane scaffold.

There are few synthetic elastomeric biomaterials that simultaneously provide the required biological conditioning and the ability to translate biomechanical stimuli to vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs). Biomechanical stresses are important physiological elements that regulate VSMC function, and polyurethane elastomers are a class of materials capable of facilitating the translation of stress induced biomechanics. In this study, human coronary artery smooth muscle cells (hCASMCs), which were seeded into a porous degradable polar/hydrophobic/ionic (D-PHI) polyurethane scaffold, were subjected to uniaxial cyclic mechanical strain (CMS) over a span of four weeks using a customized bioreactor. The distribution, proliferation and contractile protein expression of hCASMCs in the scaffold were then analyzed and compared to those grown under static conditions. Four weeks of CMS, applied to the elastomeric scaffold, resulted in statistically greater DNA mass, more cell area coverage and a better distribution of cells deeper within the scaffold construct. Furthermore, CMS samples demonstrated improved tensile mechanical properties following four weeks of culture, suggesting the generation of more extracellular matrix within the polyurethane constructs. The expression of smooth muscle α-actin, calponin and smooth muscle myosin heavy chain and the absence of Ki-67+ cells in both static and CMS cultures, throughout the 4 weeks, suggest that hCASMCs retained their contractile character on these biomaterials. The study highlights the importance of implementing physiologically-relevant biomechanical stimuli in the development of synthetic elastomeric tissue engineering scaffolds.