LLukas22/scidocs huggingface dataset:
Magnetic resonance low-dose dobutamine test is superior to SCAR quantification for the prediction of functional recovery.

BACKGROUND
Low-dose dobutamine challenge (DSMR) by MRI was compared with delayed enhancement imaging with Gd-DTPA (SCAR) as a predictor of improvement of wall motion after revascularization (RECOVERY).


METHODS AND RESULTS
In 29 patients with coronary artery disease (68+/-7 years of age, 2 women, 32+/-8% ejection fraction), wall motion was evaluated semiquantitatively by MRI before and 3 months after revascularization. SCAR and DSMR were performed before revascularization. The transmural extent of scar was assessed semiquantitatively. Binary prediction of RECOVERY was performed by logistic regression in 288 segments with wall motion abnormalities at rest. Receiver operating characteristic-area under curve (AUC) statistics were used to compare different models. Low-dose DSMR (AUC 0.838) was superior to SCAR (AUC 0.728) in predicting RECOVERY. SCAR did not improve accuracy of prediction by DSMR. Subgroup analysis showed superiority of DSMR for 1% to 74% transmural extent of infarction.


CONCLUSIONS
Low-dose DSMR is superior to SCAR in predicting RECOVERY. This advantage is largest in segments with a delayed enhancement of 1% to 74%.
A Phase 2a Study of Benralizumab for Patients with Eosinophilic Asthma in South Korea and Japan.

BACKGROUND
Airway eosinophils are considered to play an important role in the pathogenesis of asthma. Interleukin-5 is believed to be a key cytokine for the development, proliferation and activation of eosinophils. Benralizumab is an anti-interleukin-5 receptor α monoclonal antibody that depletes blood and airway eosinophils. We conducted a phase 2a study in South Korea and Japan to evaluate the effect of benralizumab in an East Asian population. The primary objective was to evaluate the effect of benralizumab in adults with uncontrolled eosinophilic asthma with 2-6 incidences of exacerbations in the past year using a medium/high dose of inhaled corticosteroids and long-acting β2-agonists.


METHODS
This was a multicenter, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study. The subjects (n = 106) were randomized into four groups: placebo (n = 27) or benralizumab 2 mg (n = 27), 20 mg (n = 26) and 100 mg (n = 26). Benralizumab or placebo were administered subcutaneously on weeks 0 (day 1), 4, 8, 16, 24, 32 and 40. The primary endpoint was the asthma exacerbation rate at week 52.


RESULTS
The asthma exacerbation rate was reduced by 33, 45 or 36% versus the placebo group when treated with 2, 20 or 100 mg of benralizumab, respectively. The percent mean change in forced expiratory volume at 1 s increased with each of the three doses in subjects treated with benralizumab.


CONCLUSIONS
Benralizumab reduced asthma exacerbation and improved lung function and asthma control in adults with uncontrolled eosinophilic asthma.
OpenMM: An Open-Source Multimodal Feature Extraction Tool

The primary use of speech is in face-to-face interactions and situational context and human behavior therefore intrinsically shape and affect communication. In order to usefully model situational awareness, machines must have access to the same streams of information humans have access to. In other words, we need to provide machines with features that represent each communicative modality: face and gesture, voice and speech, and language. This paper presents OpenMM: an open-source multimodal feature extraction tool. We build upon existing open-source repositories to present the first publicly available tool for multimodal feature extraction. The tool provides a pipeline for researchers to easily extract visual and acoustic features. In addition, the tool also performs automatic speech recognition (ASR) and then uses the transcripts to extract linguistic features. We evaluate the OpenMM’s multimodal feature set on deception, depression and sentiment classification tasks and show its performance is very promising. This tool provides researchers with a simple way of extracting multimodal features and consequently a richer and more robust feature representation for machine learning tasks.
Algorithms for computing and integrating physical maps using unique probes

ABSTRACT Current physical mapping projects based on STS-probes involve additional clues such as the fact that some probes are anchored to a known map and that others come from the ends of clones. Because of the disparate combinatorial contributions of these varied data items, it is difficult to design a "tailored" algorithm that incorporates them all. Moreover, it is inevitable that new experiments will provide new kinds of data, making obsolete any such algorithm. We show how to convert the physical mapping problem into a 0/1 linear programming (LP) problem. We further show how one can incorporate additional clues as additional constraints in the LP formulation. We give a simple relaxation of the 0/1 LP problem, which solves problems of the same scale as previously reported tailored algorithms, to equal or greater optimization levels. We also present a theorem proving that when the data is 100% accurate, then the relaxed and integer solutions coincide. The LP algorithm suffices to solve problems on the o...
A vertical jump force test for assessing bilateral strength asymmetry in athletes.

PURPOSE
To establish the validity and reliability of a new vertical jump force test (VJFT) for the assessment of bilateral strength asymmetry in a total of 451 athletes.


METHODS
The VJFT consists of countermovement jumps with both legs simultaneously: one on a single force platform, the other on a leveled wooden platform. Jumps with the right or the left leg on the force platform were alternated. Bilateral strength asymmetry was calculated as [(stronger leg - weaker leg)/stronger leg] x 100. A positive sign indicates a stronger right leg; a negative sign indicates a stronger left leg. Studies 1 (N = 59) and 2 (N = 41) examined the correlation between the VJFT and other tests of lower-limb bilateral strength asymmetry in male athletes. In study 3, VJFT reliability was assessed in 60 male athletes. In study 4, the effect of rehabilitation on bilateral strength asymmetry was examined in seven male and female athletes 8-12 wk after unilateral knee surgery. In study 5, normative data were determined in 313 male soccer players.


RESULTS
Significant correlations were found between VJFT and both the isokinetic leg extension test (r = 0.48; 95% confidence interval, 0.26-0.66) and the isometric leg press test (r = 0.83; 0.70-0.91). VJFT test-retest intraclass correlation coefficient was 0.91 (0.85-0.94), and typical error was 2.4%. The change in mean [-0.40% (-1.25 to 0.46%)] was not substantial. Rehabilitation decreased bilateral strength asymmetry (mean +/- SD) of the athletes recovering from unilateral knee surgery from 23 +/- 3 to 10 +/- 4% (P < 0.01). The range of normal bilateral strength asymmetry (2.5th to 97.5th percentiles) was -15 to 15%.


CONCLUSIONS
The assessment of bilateral strength asymmetry with the VJFT is valid and reliable, and it may be useful in sports medicine.
Remote-Controlled Home Automation Systems with Different Network Technologies

This paper describes an investigation into the potential for remote controlled operation of home automation systems. It considers problems with their implementation, discusses possible solutions through various network technologies and indicates how to optimize the use of such systems. The home is an eternal, heterogeneous, distributed computing environment, which certainly requires a careful study before developing any suitable Home Automation System (HAS) that will accomplish its requirements. Nevertheless the latest attempts at introducing Home Automation Systems in actual homes for all kinds of users are starting to be successful thanks to the continuous standardization process that is lowering the prices and making devices more useful and easier to use for the end user. Even so several important issues are always to be handled strictly before developing and installing a Home Automation System; factors like security, reliability, usefulness, robustness and price are critical to determine if the final product will accomplish the expected requirements.
Autonomous Vehicle Implementation Predictions: Implications for Transport Planning

You are welcome and encouraged to copy, distribute, share and excerpt this document and its ideas, provided the author is given attribution. Please send your corrections, comments and suggestions for improvement. The Google Corporation's self-driving car is a well-publicized example of an autonomous vehicle. Abstract This report explores the implications of autonomous (self-driving) vehicles on transportation planning. It identifies their potential benefits and costs, predicts their likely development and deployment patterns, and how they will affect transport planning decisions such as road and parking supply and public transit demand. The analysis indicates that some benefits, such as independent mobility for affluent non-drivers, may begin in the 2020s or 2030s, but most impacts, including independent mobility for low-income people (and therefore reduced need to subsidize public transport), reduced traffic congestion and parking demand (and therefore facility cost savings), increased traffic safety, energy conservation and pollution reductions, will only be significant when autonomous vehicles become affordable and represent a major portion of total vehicle travel, in the 2040s through 2060s, and some benefits may require prohibiting human-driven vehicles on certain roadways, which could take even longer. According to a popular urban legend, 1 Bill Gates once compared computer and automobile industries and concluded, " If GM had kept up with the technology like the computer industry, we would be driving $25.00 cars that got 1,000 miles to the gallon. " In response, according to the legend, General Motors issued the following press release. If General Motors developed technology like Microsoft, motor vehicles would have the following characteristics: 1. Automobiles would frequently crash for no apparent reason. This would be so common that motorists would simply accept it, restart their car and continue driving. 2. Occasionally, for no reason, all doors would lock, and motorists could only enter their vehicle by simultaneously lifting the door handle, turning the key, and holding the radio antenna. 3. Vehicles would occasionally shut down completely and refuse to restart, requiring motorists to reinstall their engine. 4. Every time GM introduced a new model, car buyers would have to relearn to drive because all controls would operate in a new manner. 5. Whenever roadway lines are repainted motorists would need to purchase a new car that accommodates the new " operating system. " 6. Cars could normally carry only one passenger unless the driver paid extra for a multi-passenger license. 7. Apple would make a car powered by …
Projecting Productivity Growth: Lessons from the US Growth Resurgence

What is the New Economy, what makes it new, and what are the implications for antitrust, regulation and macroeconomic policy? Providing a non-technical and compelling analysis of the modern macro-economy, the contributors to this volume, eminent scholars all, provide their views on the New Economy from a variety of perspectives.
Optimal Decision Stimuli for Risky Choice Experiments: An Adaptive Approach

Collecting data to discriminate between models of risky choice requires careful selection of decision stimuli. Models of decision making aim to predict decisions across a wide range of possible stimuli, but practical limitations force experimenters to select only a handful of them for actual testing. Some stimuli are more diagnostic between models than others, so the choice of stimuli is critical. This paper provides the theoretical background and a methodological framework for adaptive selection of optimal stimuli for discriminating among models of risky choice. The approach, called Adaptive Design Optimization (ADO), adapts the stimulus in each experimental trial based on the results of the preceding trials. We demonstrate the validity of the approach with simulation studies aiming to discriminate Expected Utility, Weighted Expected Utility, Original Prospect Theory, and Cumulative Prospect Theory models.
Outcome of chemotherapy in advanced synovial sarcoma patients: Review of 15 clinical trials from the European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer Soft Tissue and Bone Sarcoma Group; setting a new landmark for studies in this entity.

INTRODUCTION
Previous studies in metastatic soft tissue sarcomas (STS) showed that synovial sarcomas tend to have better survival rates and a higher chemosensitivity than other STS subtypes. However, data are derived from relatively small subgroups and statistical significance of these observations is lacking. Larger cohorts are necessary to define and confirm the specific characteristics of this subtype.


PATIENTS AND METHODS
Patient data were retrieved from 15 European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer advanced first-line STS trials. Patient characteristics, survival and treatment response of synovial sarcoma patients were compared to other STS patients. Univariable and multivariable analyses were performed to evaluate prognostic factors.


RESULTS
In total, 3330 advanced STS patients were retrieved, of whom 313 had a synovial sarcoma. Synovial sarcoma patients were significantly younger (median 40 versus 52 years), more often had extremity primary tumours and had a better performance status (PS 0: 50.2 versus 43.4%) compared to other STS patients. Additionally, synovial sarcoma patients had a significantly better response to chemotherapy (responders: 27.8 versus 18.8%) and better survival rates (progression free survival [PFS]: 6.3 versus 3.7 months; Overall survival [OS]: 15.0 versus 11.7 months). Age, PS, and presence of metastatic disease were defined as prognostic factors for PFS and OS in the univariable analysis. The last two factors were confirmed in the multivariable analysis for OS.


DISCUSSION
Advanced synovial sarcomas are a distinct subgroup of STS, with a better response to systemic chemotherapy and longer PFS and OS. These results should be taken into account in the design of future synovial sarcoma specific studies.
Postal questionnaires identified hospitalizations for self-reported acute myocardial infarction.

OBJECTIVE
We validated the diagnoses of self-reported acute myocardial infarction (AMI) treated in hospital.


STUDY DESIGN AND SETTING
The agreement between myocardial infarction reported in a postal questionnaire in 1998 and data from the Augsburg Coronary Event Register were assessed in a representative sample of German men and women (n = 9,176) aged 25 to 74 years at baseline examination.


RESULTS
Of the 9,176 persons, 207 men and women reported an incident AMI treated in hospital during the follow-up period. Of these, 148 persons fulfilled the criteria for verified AMI (positive predictive value 71.5%). Among the 8,969 respondents who reported no AMI, three persons had an AMI (negative predictive value 100%). The sensitivity was 98.0%, and the specificity 99.3%. Much of the false-positive reporting was related to cardiac hospitalizations, predominantly for coronary heart disease (42%).


CONCLUSION
A postal questionnaire seems to be a useful method to identify hospitalizations for incident nonfatal AMI cases in epidemiologic cohort studies. Because the proportion of false negatives is low, medical record reviews for case ascertainment can be limited to the group of positive responders.
Enterography CT without and with water enema in patients with Crohn's disease: Results from a comparative observational study in comparison with endoscopy.

OBJECTIVES
CT is nowadays an examination routinely performed in Crohn's disease (CD) patients. However, there are several ways to assess gastro-intestinal tract, in particular colonic segments. Aim of this study is to compare enterography-CT (E-CT), performed after oral administration of polyethylene-glycol solution (PEG-CT) versus enterography-CT performed also with water enema via rectum (ECT-WE) in patients with CD.


METHODS
We have studied 79 patients with CD undergone to enterography-CT (42 evaluated with PEG-CT and 37 with ECT-WE) who have performed a lower endoscopy within 15 days before CT. CT results concerning large bowel were compared with endoscopic findings. Intestinal distension, discomfort of the patients, sensitivity, specificity and diagnostic accuracy were evaluated. Pearson test was used for statistical analysis.


RESULTS
Degree of abdominal pain was significantly higher in patients underwent to ECT-WE compared to PEG-CT. Distension of the colon was significantly greater in patients studied with ECT-WE compared to those studied with PEG-CT. Values of sensitivity, specificity and diagnostic accuracy of PEG-CT and ECT-WE were respectively 77, 86.5 and 81%, and 89, 100 and 92% in comparison with endoscopy.


CONCLUSIONS
In patients with CD, ECT-WE allows the evaluation of large bowel in addition to small bowel better than PEG-CT.
A Robust Motion Detection Technique for Dynamic Environment Monitoring: A Framework for Grid-Based Monitoring of the Dynamic Environment

The Bayesian occupancy filter (BOF) provides a framework for grid-based monitoring of the dynamic environment. It allows us to estimate dynamic grids, containing both information of occupancy and velocity. Clustering such grids then provides detection of the objects in the observed scene.
Influence of music and its genres on respiratory rate and pupil diameter variations in cats under general anaesthesia: contribution to promoting patient safety.

OBJECTIVES
The aims of the study were to recognise if there is any auditory sensory stimuli processing in cats under general anaesthesia, and to evaluate changes in respiratory rate (RR) and pupillary diameter (PD) in anaesthetised patients exposed to different music genres, while relating this to the depth of anaesthesia.


METHODS
A sample of 12 cats submitted for elective ovariohysterectomy was exposed to 2 min excerpts of three different music genres (classical [CM], pop [PM] and heavy metal [HM]) at three points during surgery (T1 = coeliotomy; T2 = ligature placement and transection of the ovarian pedicle; T3 = ligature placement and transection of the uterine body). A multiparametric medical monitor was used to measure the RR, and a digital calliper was used for PD measurement. Music was delivered through headphones, which fully covered the patient's ears. P values   <0.05 were considered to be statistically significant.   


RESULTS
Statistically significant differences between stimuli conditions for all surgical points were obtained for RR (T1, P = 0.03; T2, P = 0.00; T3, P = 0.00) and for PD (T1, P = 0.03; T2, P = 0.04; T3, P = 0.00). Most individuals exhibited lower values for RR and PD when exposed to CM, intermediate values to PM and higher values to HM.


CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE
The results suggest that cats under general anaesthesia are likely to perform auditory sensory stimuli processing. The exposure to music induces RR and PD variations modulated by the genre of music and is associated with autonomic nervous system activity. The use of music in the surgical theatre may contribute to allowing a reduced anaesthetic dose, minimising undesirable side effects and thus promoting patient safety.
Comparative Study of Simulators for Vehicular Ad-hoc Networks ( VANETs )

Vehicular Ad hoc Networks (VANETs) are classified as an application of Mobile Ad-hoc Networks (MANETs) that has the potential in improving road safety and providing Intelligent Transportation System (ITS). Vehicular communication system facilitates communication devices for exchange of information among vehicles and vehicles and Road Side Units (RSUs).The era of vehicular adhoc networks is now gaining attention and momentum. Researchers and developers have built VANET simulation tools to allow the study and evaluation of various routing protocols, various emergency warning protocols and others VANET applications. Simulation of VANET routing protocols and its applications is fundamentally different from MANETs simulation because in VANETs, vehicular environment impose new issues and requirements, such as multi-path fading, roadside obstacles, trip models, traffic flow models, traffic lights, traffic congestion, vehicular speed and mobility, drivers behaviour etc. This paper presents a comparative study of various publicly available VANET simulation tools. Currently, there are network simulators, VANET mobility generators and VANET simulators are publicly available. In particular, this paper contrast their software characteristics, graphical user interface, accuracy of simulation, ease of use, popularity, input requirements, output visualization capabilities etc. Keywords-Ad-hoc network, ITS (Intelligent Transportation System), MANET, Simulation, VANET.
Aligning Business and IT Strategies in Multi-Business Organizations

The alignment of business and information technology (IT) strategies is an important and enduring theoretical challenge for the information systems discipline, remaining a top issue in practice over the past 20 years. Multi-business organizations (MBOs) present a particular alignment challenge because business strategies are developed at the corporate level, within individual strategic business units and across the corporate investment cycle. In contrast, the extant literature implicitly assumes that IT strategy is aligned with a single business strategy at a single point in time. This paper draws on resource-based theory and path dependence to model functional, structural, and temporal IT strategic alignment in MBOs. Drawing on Makadok’s theory of profit, we show how each form of alignment creates value through the three strategic drivers of competence, governance, and flexibility, respectively. We illustrate the model with examples from a case study on the Commonwealth Bank of Australia. We also explore the model’s implications for existing IT alignment models, providing alternative theoretical explanations for how IT alignment creates value. Journal of Information Technology (2015) 30, 101–118. doi:10.1057/jit.2015.1; published online 24 March 2015
A method engineering based legacy to SOA migration method

Legacy systems are vitally important for the continuation of business in an enterprise as they support complex core business processes. However, legacy systems have several well-known disadvantages such as being inflexible and hard to maintain, so momentum is growing to evolve those systems into new technology environments. Recently, service-oriented architecture has emerged as a promising architectural style that enables existing legacy systems to expose their functionality as services, without making significant changes to the legacy systems themselves. A significant number of the legacy to service migration approaches address the technical perspective (i.e., supporting technology) to expose the legacy code as services. The other approaches focus on determining the feasibility of the migration that includes economical and technical feasibility, based on the characteristics of existing legacy system and the requirements of the target SOA system. In this paper, a legacy to SOA migration method that does not single out the migration feasibility and technical perspectives, but combines these two perspectives of migration, is proposed. Method engineering is used to develop the migration method by reusing method fragments from existing service-oriented development methods. Then, concept slicing is used to develop the service by extracting the relevant parts of the legacy code. The method is evaluated and enhanced by interviewing experts and further validated with two case studies. The method is found to be appropriate and effective in extracting services from legacy code with the aim of reusing these services in new configurations.