LLukas22/scidocs huggingface dataset:
Towards a theory of e-learning: experiential e-learning.

E-learning is frequently technology-led rather than theory-led. In order to provide a deeper theoretical foundation for the development of e-learning, this case study uses a model developed from experiential learning theory as the practical basis for the design of an induction CD-Rom for students. In moving from a face-to-face experience to an electronic experience, video content was added to text-based induction handouts, with film and text carefully used to simulate a ‘real experience’ to engage the learners. An experiential model informed the filming sequences and script development, which was then evaluated through the use of questionnaires, interviews and reflective writing with postgraduate students. This action research, concerned with ‘what works’, had the central question: is it possible to transfer a successful face-to-face experience into an e-learning format? While the results point to the need for further research, the CD-Rom was well received by learners and was significantly advantageous to them. The experiential model provided a solid application to the design of the e-learning experience. Experiential learning closely involves the person, whereas e-learning, through its very nature, is an electronically mediated interaction. To bridge these differences, the two forms of learning are combined to introduce the concept of Colin Beard is a Teaching Fellow at the Faculty of Organisation and Management at Sheffield Hallam University. He is a National Teaching Fellow, Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, and specialises in experiential learning. John Wilson is a researcher at the Institute of Work Psychology. He is co-author of Experiential Learning and editor of the textbook Human Resource Development: Learning and Training for Individuals and Organisations. Richard McCarter has worked for training organisations and in higher education for 27 years. His experience and expertise is mainly in video production. He supports lecturers in the use of rich media in teaching and learning at Sheffield Hallam University, and his main research interests are in the pedagogical use of video and text in multimedia. Beard, Wilson and McCarter (2007) Towards a Theory of e-Learning: Experiential e-Learning experiential e-learning (E learning). While these e-learning materials were initially developed for distance learning students who were unable to experience the face-to-face event, the ematerial is now being used by: 1) distance learning students; 2) on-site students as a reinforcement of seminars and lectures; and 3) other universities and HE institutions.
Discretization methods of fractional parallel PID controllers

This work addresses employing direct and indirect discretization methods to obtain a rational discrete approximation of continuous time parallel fractional PID controllers. The different approaches are illustrated by implementing them on an example.
Performance of an Off-Line Signature Verification Method Based on Texture Features on a Large Indic-Script Signature Dataset

In this paper, a signature verification method based on texture features involving off-line signatures written in two different Indian scripts is proposed. Both Local Binary Patterns (LBP) and Uniform Local Binary Patterns (ULBP), as powerful texture feature extraction techniques, are used for characterizing off-line signatures. The Nearest Neighbour (NN) technique is considered as the similarity metric for signature verification in the proposed method. To evaluate the proposed verification approach, a large Bangla and Hindi off-line signature dataset (BHSig260) comprising 6240 (260×24) genuine signatures and 7800 (260×30) skilled forgeries was introduced and further used for experimentation. We further used the GPDS-100 signature dataset for a comparison. The experiments were conducted, and the verification accuracies were separately computed for the LBP and ULBP texture features. There were no remarkable changes in the results obtained applying the LBP and ULBP features for verification when the BHSig260 and GPDS-100 signature datasets were used for experimentation.
Discriminative Training and Maximum Entropy Models for Statistical Machine Translation

We present a framework for statistical machine translation of natural languages based on direct maximum entropy models, which contains the widely used source-channel approach as a special case. All knowledge sources are treated as feature functions, which depend on the source language sentence, the target language sentence and possible hidden variables. This approach allows a baseline machine translation system to be extended easily by adding new feature functions. We show that a baseline statistical machine translation system is significantly improved using this approach.
Hand-foot syndrome (hand-foot skin reaction, palmar-plantar erythrodysesthesia): focus on sorafenib and sunitinib.

Hand-foot syndrome (HFS), also called hand-foot skin reaction, palmar-plantar erythrodysesthesia, acral erythema, and Burgdorf reaction, is a dose-limiting cutaneous toxicity of many chemotherapeutic agents. Recently, the multiple tyrosine kinase inhibitor class of novel targeted therapies, including sorafenib and sunitinib, has emerged as an important cause of HFS, with 10-28% of patients treated with sunitinib and 10-62% of patients treated with sorafenib reporting HFS. This review examines the epidemiology, clinical features, histopathology, pathogenesis models, prognostic implications, and management of HFS, with particular attention to HFS induced by sorafenib and sunitinib. The high prevalence of HFS reported by patients treated with these medications underscores the need for greater understanding of the pathogenesis and management of this syndrome.
Icodextrin does not impact infectious and culture-negative peritonitis rates in peritoneal dialysis patients: a 2-year multicentre, comparative, prospective cohort study

BACKGROUND
Icodextrin is a glucose polymer derived by hydrolysis of cornstarch. The different biocompatibility profile of icodextrin-containing peritoneal dialysis (PD) solutions may have a positive influence on peritoneal host defence. Furthermore, cases of sterile peritonitis potentially associated with icodextrin have been reported.


METHODS
The primary objective of this multicentre, longitudinal, observational, non-interventional, prospective cohort study, which included 722 PD patients, was to evaluate the incidence of overall peritonitis in patients treated with icodextrin-containing PD solutions (Extraneal) used during one long-dwell exchange/day compared with those treated with non-icodextrin-containing PD solutions. The secondary objective was to determine if culture-negative peritonitis rates differed between patients treated with icodextrin from two independent manufacturers. All peritonitis episodes were assessed by a Steering Committee in a blind manner.


RESULTS
There was no significant difference between icodextrin-treated and control patients in the adjusted overall, culture-positive or culture-negative peritonitis rates. When stratified by the icodextrin supplier, there was no significant difference in the adjusted rate of culture-negative peritonitis episodes between groups.


CONCLUSION
Subjects receiving icodextrin as part of their PD regimen experienced neither a higher rate of culture-negative peritonitis nor a lower rate of infectious peritonitis compared with non-icodextrin users. There was no significant influence of the icodextrin raw material supplier on peritonitis rates.
Growth dynamics and thermal stability of Ni nanocrystalline nanowires

Abstract The growth dynamics and the thermal stability of a Ni nanocrystalline nanowire (NNW) model system fabricated using electrochemical deposition has been investigated using X-ray diffraction, scanning and transition electron microcopy, and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). It has been found that the thermal stability of the Ni-NNW is dominated by the microstructure movement and the grain boundary rotation mechanism at temperature ranging from 400 to 600 °C. The Ni-NNW experiences the Rayleigh instability at temperature approaching the melting point. The observed fragment separation in the Rayleigh phase-transition is much greater than that expected theoretically.
The Tecton Proof System

1988-present Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute 1993-present Professor, Computer Science 1998-present Professor, Faculty of Information Technology Program 1988-93 Research Professor, Computer Science 2006 Visiting Researcher, Google, Inc., New York, NY (January-August, during sabbatical leave) 1998 Visiting Scientist, Technical University of Vienna (January-February, during sabbatical leave) 1998 Associate Professor, Tübingen University (March-July, during sabbatical leave) 1979-87 Computer Scientist, General Electric Research and Development Center, Schenectady, NY 1974-79 Research Staff Member, USC Information Sciences Institute 1973-74 (academic year) Visiting Assistant Professor, Computer Sciences Department and Research Staff Member, Mathematics Research Center, University of Wisconsin 1970-73 Assistant Professor, Computer Sciences Department, University of Texas 1967-70 Computer Programmer, Mathematics Research Center, University of Wisconsin (part-time)
Two year follow-up after treatment of coronary in-stent restenosis with a paclitaxel-coated balloon catheter

We are presenting an extension of a previously published trial on the efficacy and safety of a paclitaxel-coated balloon in coronary ISR in a larger patient population and after a complete follow-up of 2 years. Hundred eight patients were enrolled in two separately randomized, double-blind multicenter trials on efficacy and safety using an identical protocol. Patients were treated by the paclitaxel-coated (3 µg/mm2 balloon surface; Paccocath) or an uncoated balloon. The main inclusion criteria were a diameter stenosis of ≥70% and <30 mm length with a vessel diameter of 2.5–3.5 mm. The primary endpoint was angiographic late lumen loss in-segment. Secondary endpoints included binary restenosis rate and major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE). Quantitative coronary angiography revealed no differences in baseline parameters. After six months in-segment late lumen loss was 0.81 ± 0.79 mm in the uncoated balloon group vs. 0.11 ± 0.45 mm (P < 0.001) in the drug-coated balloon group resulting in a binary restenosis rate of 25/49 vs. 3/47 (P < 0.001). Until 12 months post procedure 20 patients in the uncoated balloon group compared to two patients in the coated balloon group required target lesion revascularization (P = 0.001). Between 12 and 24 only two MACE were recorded, a stroke in the uncoated and a target lesion revascularization in the coated balloon group. Treatment of coronary ISR with paclitaxel-coated balloon catheters persistently reduces repeat restenosis up to 2 years. (ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT00106587, NCT00409981).
Six-month follow-up of patient-rated outcomes in a randomized controlled trial of exercise training during breast cancer chemotherapy.

BACKGROUND
Few exercise trials in cancer patients have reported longer-term follow-up. Here, we report a 6-month follow-up of exercise behavior and patient-rated outcomes from an exercise trial in breast cancer patients.


METHODS
Breast cancer patients initiating adjuvant chemotherapy (n = 242) were randomly assigned to usual care (n = 82), resistance exercise training (RET; n = 82), or aerobic exercise training (AET; n = 78) for the duration of their chemotherapy. At 6-month follow-up, participants were mailed a questionnaire that assessed quality of life, self-esteem, fatigue, anxiety, depression, and exercise behavior.


RESULTS
Two hundred one (83.1%) participants provided 6-month follow-up data. Adjusted linear mixed-model analyses showed that, at 6-month follow-up, the RET group reported higher self-esteem [adjusted mean difference, 1.6; 95% confidence interval (95% CI), 0.1-3.2; P = 0.032] and the AET group reported lower anxiety (adjusted mean difference, -4.7; 95% CI, -0.0 to -9.3; P = 0.049) compared with the usual care group. Moreover, compared with participants reporting no regular exercise during the follow-up period, those reporting regular aerobic and resistance exercise also reported better patient-rated outcomes, including quality of life (adjusted mean difference, 9.5; 95% CI, 1.2-17.8; P = 0.025).


CONCLUSIONS
Improvements in self-esteem observed with RET during breast cancer chemotherapy were maintained at 6-month follow-up whereas reductions in anxiety not observed with AET during breast cancer chemotherapy emerged at 6-month follow-up. Moreover, adopting a combined aerobic and resistance exercise program after breast cancer chemotherapy was associated with further improvements in patient-rated outcomes. Exercise training during breast cancer chemotherapy may result in some longer-term and late effects for selected patient-rated outcomes.
Application of Quantum Annealing to Training of Deep Neural Networks

In Deep Learning, a well-known approach for training a Deep Neural Network starts by training a generative Deep Belief Network model, typically using Contrastive Divergence (CD), then fine-tuning the weights using backpropagation or other discriminative techniques. However, the generative training can be time-consuming due to the slow mixing of Gibbs sampling. We investigated an alternative approach that estimates model expectations of Restricted Boltzmann Machines using samples from a D-Wave quantum annealing machine. We tested this method on a coarse-grained version of the MNIST data set. In our tests we found that the quantum sampling-based training approach achieves comparable or better accuracy with significantly fewer iterations of generative training than conventional CD-based training. Further investigation is needed to determine whether similar improvements can be achieved for other data sets, and to what extent these improvements can be attributed to quantum effects. 1 Lockheed Martin Information Systems & Global Solutions, Palo Alto, California, USA (steven.h.adachi@lmco.com) 2 Lockheed Martin Information Systems & Global Solutions, King of Prussia, Pennsylvania, USA © 2015 Lockheed Martin Corporation. All rights reserved. Application of Quantum Annealing to Training of Deep Neural Networks
Wounds measured from digital photographs using photodigital planimetry software: validation and rater reliability.

UNLABELLED
﻿﻿﻿﻿﻿﻿ Traditional wound tracing technique consists of tracing the perimeter of the wound on clear acetate with a fine-tip marker, then placing the tracing on graph paper and counting the grids to calculate the surface area. Standard wound measurement technique for calcu- lating wound surface area (wound tracing) was compared to a new wound measurement method using digital photo-planimetry software ([DPPS], PictZar® Digital Planimetry).


METHODS
Two hundred wounds of varying etiologies were measured and traced by experienced exam- iners (raters). Simultaneously, digital photographs were also taken of each wound. The digital photographs were downloaded onto a PC, and using DPPS software, the wounds were measured and traced by the same examiners. Accuracy, intra- and interrater reliability of wound measurements obtained from tracings and from DPPS were studied and compared. Both accuracy and rater variability were directly related to wound size when wounds were measured and traced in the tradi- tional manner.


RESULTS
In small (< 4 cm2), regularly shaped (round or oval) wounds, both accuracy and rater reliability was 98% and 95%, respectively. However, in larger, irregularly shaped wounds or wounds with epithelial islands, DPPS was more accurate than traditional mea- suring (3.9% vs. 16.2% [average error]). The mean inter-rater reliabil- ity score was 94% for DPPS and 84% for traditional measuring. The mean intrarater reliability score was 98.3% for DPPS and 89.3% for traditional measuring. In contrast to traditional measurements, DPPS may provide a more objective assessment since it can be done by a technician who is blinded to the treatment plan. Planimetry of digital photographs allows for a closer examination (zoom) of the wound and better visibility of advancing epithelium.


CONCLUSION
Measurements of wounds performed on digital photographs using planimetry software were simple and convenient. It was more accurate, more objective, and resulted in better correlation within and between examiners. ﻿﻿﻿.
The CACTOS Vision of Context-Aware Cloud Topology Optimization and Simulation

Recent advances in hardware development coupled with the rapid adoption and broad applicability of cloud computing have introduced widespread heterogeneity in data centers, significantly complicating the management of cloud applications and data center resources. This paper presents the CACTOS approach to cloud infrastructure automation and optimization, which addresses heterogeneity through a combination of in-depth analysis of application behavior with insights from commercial cloud providers. The aim of the approach is threefold: to model applications and data center resources, to simulate applications and resources for planning and operation, and to optimize application deployment and resource use in an autonomic manner. The approach is based on case studies from the areas of business analytics, enterprise applications, and scientific computing.
Response to a Comment by Bumpass on "Updating Children's Life Course"

This is a response to a comment by Larry Bumpass on the authors 1985 article concerning the proportion of children in the United States who spend time in a one-parent family. The author compares her analysis and results with those of Bumpass and discusses procedural differences in projecting the experiences of children born in 1980. Areas for future work are suggested. (ANNOTATION)
Effects of azilsartan medoxomil compared with olmesartan and valsartan on ambulatory and clinic blood pressure in patients with type 2 diabetes and prediabetes

BACKGROUND
Angiotensin receptor blockers (ARBs) are preferred antihypertensive therapies in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Azilsartan medoxomil (AZL-M) is a potent ARB for the treatment of stages 1-2 hypertension. We compared the efficacy, safety, and metabolic effects of AZL-M to both valsartan (VAL) and olmesartan (OLM), separately in patients with impaired fasting glucose (prediabetes mellitus) and T2DM.


METHODS
A pooled analysis of 3821 patients from three separate randomized placebo-controlled trials comparing the effects of AZL-M (40 and 80 mg), OLM (40 mg), VAL (320 mg), and placebo on changes in ambulatory and clinic blood pressure (BP) among patients with hypertension and prediabetes mellitus or T2DM was performed. Two analysis pools were created to facilitate comparisons: Pool A included patients who received placebo, AZL-M or OLM and Pool B included those who received AZL-M or VAL. Within each pool, patients were stratified by glycemic subgroups (normoglycemic, prediabetes mellitus, or T2DM) based on hemoglobin A1c values. Changes from baseline in both 24-h and clinic SBP were the primary efficacy assessments.


RESULTS
Baseline 24-h mean SBPs were approximately 145 and 146 mmHg in the prediabetes mellitus and T2DM subgroups, respectively; corresponding clinic SBPs were approximately 158 and 159 mmHg. Baseline hemoglobin A1c values for each subgroup (both pools) were normoglycemic, 5.3%; prediabetes mellitus, 6.0%; and T2DM, 6.9%. Changes from baseline in 24-h or clinic SBP were significantly greater with AZL-M, 80 mg compared with either OLM 40 mg or VAL 320 mg in all subgroups in each pool. Safety and tolerability were similar among the active treatment and placebo subgroups.


CONCLUSION
These analyses indicate that AZL-M, 80 mg/day lowers SBP by a greater magnitude than OLM or VAL at maximally approved doses in patients with prediabetes mellitus and T2DM. These findings have important clinical implications for this high-risk patient group.
Trends in tractor related fatalities among adults working on farms in Victoria, Australia, 1985-2010.

Tractors are associated with more fatalities than any other piece of machinery in agriculture, with tractor rollovers being a frequent mechanism. This study examines tractor fatalities between 1985 and 2010 in Victoria, Australia, and examines the impact of the 1998 legislation mandating the retrofitting of rollover protection structures (ROPS). The data source was the Victorian WorkCover Authority to whom unintentional work placed deaths are reportable. During the study period, 121 tractor fatalities occurred, of which 55 were rollovers. Poisson regression modelling indicated a significant decline in rollover fatalities during this period of approximately 7% per annum (incidence rate ratio [IRR]=0.93, 95% CI 0.90-0.97), however there was no simple relationship between the introduction of the legislation and the fatality decrease. It is proposed that the impact of previous voluntary retrofitting initiatives, coupled with the existing requirement for ROPS on new tractors, may have increased ROPS fitment to a critical point prior to the final requirement for retrofitting, diluting the effect over a number of years so that it could not be detected using the statistical techniques that have been applied. An increased trend in run over fatalities was also found (IRR=1.04, 95% CI 1.00-1.09) suggesting the need for research into interventions for this type of fatality, such as safe tractor access platforms.
Boosting up Scene Text Detectors with Guided CNN

Deep CNNs have achieved great success in text detection. Most of existing methods attempt to improve accuracy with sophisticated network design, while paying less attention on speed. In this paper, we propose a general framework for text detection called Guided CNN to achieve the two goals simultaneously. The proposed model consists of one guidance subnetwork, where a guidance mask is learned from the input image itself, and one primary text detector, where every convolution and non-linear operation are conducted only in the guidance mask. The guidance subnetwork filters out non-text regions coarsely, greatly reducing the computation complexity. At the same time, the primary text detector focuses on distinguishing between text and hard non-text regions and regressing text bounding boxes, achieving a better detection accuracy. A novel training strategy, called background-aware block-wise random synthesis, is proposed to further boost up the performance. We demonstrate that the proposed Guided CNN is not only effective but also efficient with two state-of-the-art methods, CTPN [52] and EAST [64], as backbones. On the challenging benchmark ICDAR 2013, it speeds up CTPN by 2.9 times on average, while improving the F-measure by 1.5%. On ICDAR 2015, it speeds up EAST by 2.0 times while improving the F-measure by 1.0%. c © 2018. The copyright of this document resides with its authors. It may be distributed unchanged freely in print or electronic forms. * Zhanghui Kuang is the corresponding author 2 YUE ET AL: BOOSTING UP SCENE TEXT DETECTORS WITH GUIDED CNN Figure 1: Illustration of guiding the primary text detector. Convolutions and non-linear operations are conducted only in the guidance mask indicated by the red and blue rectangles. The guidance mask (the blue) is expanded by backgroundaware block-wise random synthesis (the red) during training. When testing, the guidance mask is not expanded. Figure 2: Text appears very sparsely in scene images. The left shows one example image. The right shows the text area ratio composition of ICDAR 2013 test set. Images with (0%,10%], (10%,20%], (20%,30%], and (30%,40%] text region account for 57%, 21%, 11%, and 6% respectively. Only 5 % images have more than 40% text region. 57% 21% 11% 6% 5% (0.0,0.1] (0.1,0.2] (0.2,0.3] (0.3,0.4] (0.4,1.0]