LLukas22/scidocs huggingface dataset:
A note on optimal cost driver selection in ABC

In implementing an activity-based costing (ABC) system the selection of cost drivers is a major issue since accuracy must be traded off against the complexity of the ABCsystem. On the one hand, a high accuracy in allocating overhead costs often requires a high number of cost drivers. On the other hand, a small number of cost drivers is desirable to achieve acceptable information cost and to make the ABC-system easier for management to understand. In this paper a mathematical model to support optimal cost driver selection is developed. While existing approaches consider only the possible replacement of one cost driver by just one other cost driver, the model takes into account that cost drivers can also be replaced by combinations of cost drivers. This approach yields a more accurate cost allocation with the same ABC-system complexity. c © 2001 Academic Press
Groups generated by bounded automata and their Schreier graphs

Groups Generated by Bounded Automata and Their Schreier Graphs. (December 2007) Ievgen Bondarenko, B.S., National Taras Shevchenko University of Kyiv, Ukraine; M.S., National Taras Shevchenko University of Kyiv, Ukraine Chair of Advisory Committee: Dr. Rostislav Grigorchuk This dissertation is devoted to groups generated by bounded automata and geometric objects related to these groups (limit spaces, Schreier graphs, etc.). It is shown that groups generated by bounded automata are contracting. We introduce the notion of a post-critical set of a finite automaton and prove that the limit space of a contracting self-similar group generated by a finite automaton is post-critically finite (finitely-ramified) if and only if the automaton is bounded. We show that the Schreier graphs on levels of automaton groups can be constructed by an iterative procedure of inflation of graphs. This was used to associate a piecewise linear map of the form fK(v) = minA∈KAv, where K is a finite set of nonnegative matrices, with every bounded automaton. We give an effective criterium for the existence of a strictly positive eigenvector of fK. The existence of nonnegative generalized eigenvectors of fK is proved and used to give an algorithmic way for finding the exponents λmax and λmin of the maximal and minimal growth of the components of f (n) K (v). We prove that the growth exponent of diameters of the Schreier graphs is equal to λmax and the orbital contracting coefficient of the group is equal to 1 λmin . We prove that the simple random walks on orbital Schreier graphs are recurrent. A number of examples are presented to illustrate the developed methods with special attention to iterated monodromy groups of quadratic polynomials. We present the first example of a group whose coefficients λmin and λmax have different values.
How Software Developers Mitigate Collaboration Friction with Chatbots

Margaret-Anne Storey University of Victoria Victoria, BC, Canada mstorey@uvic.ca Abstract Modern software developers rely on an extensive set of social media tools and communication channels. The adoption of team communication platforms has led to the emergence of conversation-based tools and integrations, many of which are chatbots. Understanding how software developers manage their complex constellation of collaborators in conjunction with the practices and tools they use can bring valuable insights into socio-technical collaborative work in software development and other knowledge work domains.
Extracting Terrain Features from Range Images for Autonomous Random Stepfield Traversal

One of the challenges of rescue robotics is to create robots that can autonomously traverse rough, unstructured terrain. Although mechanical engineering can produce very capable robots, mechanical engineering alone will not drive them. In this paper, we present a terrain feature extractor that can be taught to find significant features in range images of terrain around a robot from a human expert. This novel approach has the advantage that it potentially allows the human expert's knowledge to be captured rapidly. A terrain model is generated from the many points in the range sensor data. Techniques from the field of knowledge acquisition are then used to find patterns in the terrain model. A knowledge acquisition system can then be taught to drive a robot in unstructured terrain based on these features. We evaluate the performance of the initial stages of the feature extractor on a real robot, traversing NIST specification red stepfields.
Expression of the yeast trehalose-6-phosphate synthase gene in transgenic tobacco plants: pleiotropic phenotypes include drought tolerance

The yeast trehalose-6-phosphate synthase gene (TPS1) was engineered under the control of the cauliflower mosaic virus regulatory sequences (CaMV35S) for expression in plants. Using Agrobacterium-mediated transfer, the gene was incorporated into the genomic DNA and constitutively expressed in Nicotiana tabacum L. plants. Trehalose was determined in the transformants, by anion-exchange chromatography coupled to pulsed amperometric detection. The non-reducing disaccharide accumulated up to 0.17 mg per g fresh weight in leaf extracts of transgenic plants. Trehaloseaccumulating plants exhibited multiple phenotypic alterations, including stunted growth, lancet-shaped leaves, reduced sucrose content and improved drought tolerance. These pleiotropic effects, and the fact that water loss from detached leaves was not significantly affected by trehalose accumulation, suggest that synthesis of this sugar, rather than leading to an osmoprotectant effect, had altered sugar metabolism and regulatory pathways affecting plant development and stress tolerance.
Vascular safety issues in CML patients treated with BCR/ABL1 kinase inhibitors.

Vascular safety is an emerging issue in patients with chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) treated with tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs). Whereas imatinib exhibits a well-documented and favorable long-term safety profile without obvious accumulation of vascular events, several types of vascular adverse events (VAEs) have been described in patients receiving second- or third-generation BCR/ABL1 TKIs. Such VAEs include pulmonary hypertension in patients treated with dasatinib, peripheral arterial occlusive disease and other arterial disorders in patients receiving nilotinib, and venous and arterial vascular occlusive events during ponatinib. Although each TKI interacts with a unique profile of molecular targets and has been associated with a unique pattern of adverse events, the mechanisms of drug-induced vasculopathy are not well understood. Here, recent data and concepts around VAEs in TKI-treated patients with CML are discussed, with special reference to potential mechanisms, event management, and strategies aimed at avoiding occurrence of such events in long-term treated patients.
Female genital mutilation and obstetric outcome: WHO collaborative prospective study in six African countries

BACKGROUND
Reliable evidence about the effect of female genital mutilation (FGM) on obstetric outcome is scarce. This study examines the effect of different types of FGM on obstetric outcome.


METHODS
28 393 women attending for singleton delivery between November, 2001, and March, 2003, at 28 obstetric centres in Burkina Faso, Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, Senegal, and Sudan were examined before delivery to ascertain whether or not they had undergone FGM, and were classified according to the WHO system: FGM I, removal of the prepuce or clitoris, or both; FGM II, removal of clitoris and labia minora; and FGM III, removal of part or all of the external genitalia with stitching or narrowing of the vaginal opening. Prospective information on demographic, health, and reproductive factors was gathered. Participants and their infants were followed up until maternal discharge from hospital.


FINDINGS
Compared with women without FGM, the adjusted relative risks of certain obstetric complications were, in women with FGM I, II, and III, respectively: caesarean section 1.03 (95% CI 0.88-1.21), 1.29 (1.09-1.52), 1.31 (1.01-1.70); postpartum haemorrhage 1.03 (0.87-1.21), 1.21 (1.01-1.43), 1.69 (1.34-2.12); extended maternal hospital stay 1.15 (0.97-1.35), 1.51 (1.29-1.76), 1.98 (1.54-2.54); infant resuscitation 1.11 (0.95-1.28), 1.28 (1.10-1.49), 1.66 (1.31-2.10), stillbirth or early neonatal death 1.15 (0.94-1.41), 1.32 (1.08-1.62), 1.55 (1.12-2.16), and low birthweight 0.94 (0.82-1.07), 1.03 (0.89-1.18), 0.91 (0.74-1.11). Parity did not significantly affect these relative risks. FGM is estimated to lead to an extra one to two perinatal deaths per 100 deliveries.


INTERPRETATION
Women with FGM are significantly more likely than those without FGM to have adverse obstetric outcomes. Risks seem to be greater with more extensive FGM.
Agreement-Based Learning

Assume submodels are in exponential family: pm(x, z; θm) = exp { θ m ( φm(x)φ Z(z) ) −Am(θm) } for x ∈ X , z ∈ Zm and 0 otherwise Reformulation of Product EM: Aggregate parameters: b = ∑ m bm, bm = φ X m(x) θm E-step: compute expected sufficient statistics μ = E(b,∩mZm) def = Eq(z;b)φ(z) with support ∩mZm M-step: set θm to match moments φ X m(x)μ Exponential family formulation Two sources of intractability in the E-step: • Domain Z = ∩mZm is unwieldy (e.g., matchings) • Parameters b result in high tree-width graph New objective function: • A function of sufficient statistics μm and parameters θm for each submodel m = 1, . . . ,M • See paper for some preliminary bounds Algorithm: Aggregate parameters: b = ∑ m bm E-step: compute statistics μm = E(b′,Z ′) Aggregate statistics: μ̄ = 1 M ∑ m μm M-step: set θm to match moments φ X m(x)μ̄
Change in the discontinuation pattern of tumour necrosis factor antagonists in rheumatoid arthritis over 10 years: data from the Spanish registry BIOBADASER 2.0.

OBJECTIVE
To investigate in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) the rate and reason of discontinuation of tumour necrosis factor (TNF) antagonists over the past decade.


METHODS
RA patients in BIOBADASER 2.0 were stratified according to the start date of their first TNF antagonist into 2000-3, 2004-6 and 2007-9 interval years. Cumulative incidence function of discontinuation for inefficacy or toxicity was estimated with the alternative reason as competing risk. Competing risks regression models were used to measure the association of study groups with covariates and reasons for discontinuation. Association is expressed as subhazard ratios (SHR).


RESULTS
2907 RA patients were included in the study. Competing risk regression for inefficacy shows larger SHR for patients starting treatment in 2004-6 (SHR 2.57; 95% CI 1.55 to 4.25) and 2007-9 (SHR 3.4; 95% CI 2.08 to 5.55) than for those starting in 2000-3, after adjusting for TNF antagonists, clinical activity and concomitant treatment. Competing risk regression analysis for adverse events revealed no differences across the three time intervals.


CONCLUSIONS
In RA, the discontinuation rate of TNF antagonists in the first year of treatment is higher more recently than a decade ago, inefficacy being the main reason for the increased rate. The rate of discontinuation for adverse events has remained stable.
A double-blind, placebo-controlled study of risperidone addition in serotonin reuptake inhibitor-refractory obsessive-compulsive disorder.

BACKGROUND
To date, only 1 controlled study has found a drug (haloperidol) to be efficacious in augmenting response in patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) refractory to serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SRI) monotherapy; patients with comorbid chronic tic disorders showed a preferential response. This report describes the first controlled study of risperidone addition in patients with OCD refractory to treatment with SRI alone.


METHODS
Seventy adult patients with a primary DSM-IV diagnosis of OCD received 12 weeks of treatment with an SRI. Thirty-six patients were refractory to the SRI and were randomized in a double-blind manner to 6 weeks of risperidone (n = 20) or placebo (n = 16) addition. Behavioral ratings, including the Yale-Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale, were obtained at baseline and throughout the trial. Placebo-treated patients subsequently received an identical open-label trial of risperidone addition.


RESULTS
For study completers, 9 (50%) of 18 risperidone-treated patients were responders (mean daily dose, 2.2 +/-0.7 mg/d) compared with 0 of 15 in the placebo addition group (P<. 005). Seven (50%) of 14 patients who received open-label risperidone addition responded. Risperidone addition was superior to placebo in reducing OCD (P<.001), depressive (P<.001), and anxiety (P =.003) symptoms. There was no difference in response between OCD patients with and without comorbid diagnoses of chronic tic disorder or schizotypal personalty disorder. Other than mild, transient sedation, risperidone was well tolerated.


CONCLUSION
These results suggest that OCD patients with and without comorbid chronic tic disorders or schizotypal personality disorder may respond to the addition of low-dose risperidone to ongoing SRI therapy.
Closure Operators for Order Structures

We argue that closure operators are fundamental tools for the study of relationships between order structures and their sequence representations. We also propose and analyse a closure operator for interval order structures.
Management of patients with acute coronary syndromes in the United States by platelet glycoprotein IIb/IIIa inhibition. Insights from the platelet glycoprotein IIb/IIIa in unstable angina: receptor suppression using integrilin therapy (PURSUIT) trial.

BACKGROUND
A multinational, randomized, placebo-controlled trial (Platelet Glycoprotein IIb/IIIa in Unstable Angina: Receptor Suppression Using Integrilin Therapy, PURSUIT) demonstrated that the platelet glycoprotein IIb/IIIa receptor antagonist eptifibatide reduced the incidence of death or myocardial infarction among patients with acute ischemic syndromes without ST-segment elevation. Because of expected differences in practice patterns, a prospectively planned analysis of outcomes as a function of regions of the world was performed. The current study provides a detailed assessment of eptifibatide among the subgroup of patients enrolled within the United States.


METHODS AND RESULTS
Patients presenting with chest pain within the previous 24 hours and ischemic ECG changes or creatine kinase-MB elevation were eligible for enrollment. Of the 10 948 patients randomized worldwide, 4035 were enrolled within the United States. Patients were allocated to placebo or eptifibatide infusion for up to 72 to 96 hours. Other medical therapies and revascularization strategies were at the discretion of the treating physician. Eptifibatide reduced the rate of the primary end point of death or myocardial infarction by 30 days from 15.4% to 11.9% (P=0.003) among patients in the United States. The treatment effect was achieved early and maintained over a period of 6 months (18.9% versus 15.2%; P=0.004). Bleeding events were more common in patients receiving eptifibatide but were predominantly associated with invasive procedures. The magnitude of clinical benefit from eptifibatide was greater among patients in the United States than elsewhere in the world.


CONCLUSIONS
Platelet glycoprotein IIb/IIIa receptor blockade with eptifibatide reduces the incidence of death or myocardial infarction among patients treated for acute ischemic syndromes without ST-segment elevation within the United States.
Efficacy of Grintuss® pediatric syrup in treating cough in children: a randomized, multicenter, double blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial

BACKGROUND
Cough is an extremely common problem in pediatrics, mostly triggered and perpetuated by inflammatory processes or mechanical irritation leading to viscous mucous production and increased sensitivity of the cough receptors. Protecting the mucosa might be very useful in limiting the contact with micro-organisms and irritants thus decreasing the inflammation and mucus production. Natural molecular complexes can act as a mechanical barrier limiting cough stimuli with a non pharmacological approach but with an indirect anti-inflammatory action.


OBJECTIVE
Aim of the study was to assess the efficacy of a medical device containing natural functional components in the treatment of cough persisting more than 7 days.


METHODS
In this randomized, parallel groups, double-blind vs. placebo study, children with cough persisting more than 7 days were enrolled. The clinical efficacy of the study product was assessed evaluating changes in day- and night-time cough scores after 4 and 8 days (t4 and t8) of product administration.


RESULTS
In the inter-group analysis, in the study product group compared with the placebo group, a significant difference (t4 study treatment vs. t4 placebo, p = 0.03) was observed at t4 in night-time cough score.Considering the intra-group analysis, only the study product group registered a significant improvement from t0 to t4 in both day-time (t0 vs. t4, p = 0.04) and night-time (t0 vs. t4, p = 0.003) cough scores.A significant difference, considering the study product, was also found in the following intra-group analyses: day-time scores at t4 vs. t8 (p =0.01) and at t0 vs. t8 (p = 0.001); night-time scores at t4 vs. t8 (p = 0.05), and at t0 vs. t8 (p = 0.005). Considering a subgroup of patients with higher cough (≥ 3) scores, 92.9% of them in the study product group improved at t0 vs. t4 day-time.


CONCLUSIONS
Grintuss® pediatric syrup showed to possess an interesting profile of efficacy and safety in the treatment of cough persisting more than 7 days.
Occupational and environmental exposures and lung cancer in an industrialised area in Italy.

AIMS
To investigate the effects of occupational exposures and residence near to industrial sites on lung cancer mortality in an area in Italy.


METHODS
234 cases of lung cancer and 729 controls matched by sex, age, and date of death were enrolled. Environmental exposure was evaluated using historical residence data. A geographical information system was used to compute distances from residence to pollution source (cement factory, power plants, harbour) and an average distance was computed for each subject. Odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) in a logistic regression model were used to estimate the relative risk of lung cancer associated with the risk factors (smoking habits and occupational exposure) collected by questionnaire; ORs for distances from pollution sources and from city centre were computed, adjusting for smoking habits, education, and occupation.


RESULTS
Smoking habits (< or =10 cigarettes/day, OR = 2.28; 11-20, OR = 4.64; >20, OR = 6.61) and occupational exposure to asbestos (OR = 3.50) were significantly associated with lung cancer risk. Reported traffic level of area of residence and residence near the four sources were not associated with increased risk of lung cancer. There was a significantly increased risk for those residing outside the city centre, in the southern outskirts (OR = 1.51).


CONCLUSIONS
The increased lung cancer risk observed in the area can partly be explained by occupational exposures. The increased risk in the outskirts of the city is consistent with the results of dispersion models that indicate high levels of pollutant deposition in the same area.
Systemic lupus erythematosus and genetic variation in the interleukin 1 gene cluster: a population based study in the southeastern United States.

BACKGROUND
Interleukin (IL)1alpha and IL1beta, and their endogenous receptor antagonist (IL1Ra), have been related to the pathology of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), but the role of IL1 polymorphisms in the aetiology of SLE is unknown.


OBJECTIVE
To examine polymorphisms at IL1alpha -889(C-->T), IL1alpha +4845(C-->T), IL1beta -511(C-->T), IL1beta +3953(G-->T), and IL1Ra (86 bp VNTR) in a population based study of SLE in North Carolina and South Carolina.


METHODS
Genotypes from 230 cases who met ACR classification criteria, and from 275 controls matched for age, sex, and state, were analysed separately for African Americans and whites. Odds ratios (ORs) were estimated by logistic regression models for each locus alone and also after adjusting for polymorphisms at adjacent loci.


RESULTS
An increased risk of SLE for the IL1alpha -889C/C genotype compared with carriage of the -889T allele was found in both African Americans (OR = 3.1, p = 0.001) and whites (OR = 2.9, p = 0.005). In African Americans, carriage of the IL1beta -511T allele was associated with a higher risk of SLE than carriage of the -511C/C genotype (OR = 2.4, p = 0.017), independent of variation at IL1alpha -889.


CONCLUSIONS
The observed associations support the hypothesis that genetic variation in IL1 is involved in the aetiology of SLE and merit further investigation.
Fast Sampling of Gaussian Markov Random Fields with Applications

SUMMARY This paper demonstrate how Gaussian Markov random fields (conditional autoregressions) can be fast sampled using numerical techniques for sparse matrices. The algorithm is general , surprisingly efficient, and expands easily to various forms for conditional simulation and evaluation of normalisation constants. I demonstrate its use in Markov chain Monte Carlo algorithms for disease mapping, space varying regression model, spatial non-parametrics, hierarchical space-time modelling and Bayesian imaging. Håkon Tjelmeland and Darren J. Wilkinson for stimulating discussions, and Leo Knorr-Held for providing the oral cavity cancer data and the region-map of Germany. on " Computational and Statistical methods for the analysis of spatial data " .
Petrology of some oceanic island basalts: PRIMELT2.XLS software for primary magma calculation

[1] PRIMELT2.XLS software is introduced for calculating primary magma composition and mantle potential temperature (TP) from an observed lava composition. It is an upgrade over a previous version in that it includes garnet peridotite melting and it detects complexities that can lead to overestimates in TP by >100 C. These are variations in source lithology, source volatile content, source oxidation state, and clinopyroxene fractionation. Nevertheless, application of PRIMELT2.XLS to lavas from a wide range of oceanic islands reveals no evidence that volatile-enrichment and source fertility are sufficient to produce them. All are associated with thermal anomalies, and this appears to be a prerequisite for their formation. For the ocean islands considered in this work, TP maxima are typically 1450–1500 C in the Atlantic and 1500–1600 C in the Pacific, substantially greater than 1350 C for ambient mantle. Lavas from the Galápagos Islands and Hawaii record in their geochemistry high TP maxima and large ranges in both TP and melt fraction over short horizontal distances, a result that is predicted by the mantle plume model.