LLukas22/scidocs huggingface dataset:
The impact of three pedagogical agent roles

This exploratory experimental study validated the effectiveness of pedagogical agent roles for promoting motivational and learning outcomes within the MIMIC agent-based learning environment. In a between-subjects design, 73 learners worked with an agent representing one of the following three agent roles while learning about instructional planning: Motivator, Expert, or Mentor (designed to incorporate both motivation and expertise). The roles were evaluated according to three contrast comparisons, comparing the value of the agents with and without motivation, the value of the agents with and without expertise, and the overall value of the Mentor agent (which combined motivation and expertise). Results indicated that the motivational agents (Motivator & Mentor) were significantly more engaging, human-like and facilitative of learning than the Expert agent, yet were also less credible. The agents with expertise (Expert & Mentor) were significantly more credible, and led to better performance on the transfer measure than the Motivator agent, yet were also less supportive and less human-like. Overall, the Mentor was perceived as significantly more engaging and facilitative of learning than the other two agents, and also led to significantly better transfer performance.
Challenges for political science in South Africa

Abstract The political scientist in South Africa is faced with the challenge to give meaning and relevance to the discipline in the South African context. Therefore it is the task of the political scientist to conceptualize the discipline of political science in a universal context and to evaluate the unique South African political experience against the universal pattern. On the South African level a meaningful and fruitful dialogue with foreign political science scholars must be maintained, our own political history, experience and culture must be assessed and general concepts must be applied to our own political situation. Regarding the basis of conceptualization to which the political scientists should address themselves, the question of priorities arise. In this attempt at theorizing, relevant concepts developed elsewhere may be of some use to the South African political scientist, but essentially a high degree of intellectual innovation on. the part of local scholars is called for.
High dose heparin as pretreatment for primary angioplasty in acute myocardial infarction: the Heparin in Early Patency (HEAP) randomized trial.

OBJECTIVES
In the Heparin in Early Patency (HEAP) pilot study a beneficial effect of high-dose heparin on early patency in acute myocardial infarction (MI) was observed in a matched-control study.


BACKGROUND
High dose bolus intravenous injection of heparin may achieve lysis of coronary thrombi and could enhance early patency of the infarct related vessel in patients with MI scheduled for primary angioplasty.


METHODS
Before primary angioplasty, 584 patients with MI entered an open randomized trial of high dose (300 IU/kg) or low dose (0 or 5,000 IU) heparin. Of the 584 patients, 299 were randomized to high dose and 285 patients to low dose heparin.


RESULTS
Thrombolysis In Myocardial Infarction (TIMI) flow grade 2 or 3 was observed before primary angioplasty in 65 patients (22%) in the high dose group and 60 patients (21%) in the low dose heparin group (p > 0.1), whereas TIMI flow grade 3 was observed in 38 (13%) and 24 patients (9%), respectively (p = 0.11). There were no differences in the clinical end points between the two groups. There were no hemorrhagic strokes, while 10% of the patients in the high dose group required blood transfusion versus 6% in the low dose/no heparin group (p = 0.07). No subsets of patients showed beneficial effects of high dose heparin, such as patients with longer delay between heparin administration and diagnostic angiogram or patients with short delay between symptom onset and admission.


CONCLUSIONS
There is no benefit of high dose bolus heparin on early patency compared with no or low dose heparin.
The wheeleg robot

IEEE Robotics & Automation Magazine 33 1070-9932/03/$17.00©2003 IEEE T he design of a new mobile robot is a process that entails satisfying several requirements with respect to the environment in which the robot will be asked to work. Most classic solutions adopt wheels as a locomotion technique. It is clear, however, that wheeled robots have some limitations in highly unstructured environments or in difficult structured environments (like stairs). On the other hand, the current technology for walking robots is not yet so advanced as to represent a valid alternative. Most current walking robots are very slow, have a low payload capability, are difficult to control, and, because of the high number of sensors and actuators, have low fault-tolerance capabilities. A way to find a compromise between these two solutions is to choose a hybrid system adopting wheels and legs together. Several examples of hybrid robots exist in the literature and belong to two main categories. The first category includes articulated-wheeled robots, with the wheels mounted at the end of legs. This category comprises the WorkPartner robot [1]-[3] with its particular kind of locomotion called rolking; the Roller Walker [4], where the wheels are not actuated but the robot simply skates; the bipedtype leg-wheeled robot developed by Dr. Matsumoto of AIST [5], [6] that is able to climb up stairs; the Walk’n Roll with four legs with a wheel attached at the end of each leg [7]; and the mini-rover prototype developed by the Laboratoire de Robotique de Paris (LRP) [8], just to name a few examples. Most of these systems can have three types of locomotion: wheel mode, where they act as a conventional wheeled mobile robot; step mode where the wheels are locked and act as a simple legged system; and hybrid mode with cooperation of legs and wheels. The second category consists of robots with wheels and legs separated but always acting together to locomote the system. This category includes, for example, the Chariot II robot [9], [10], which has four articulated legs and two central wheels; the RoboTrac robot [11], [12], with two front legs and two rear articulated wheels; the hybrid wheelchair proposed by Krovi and Kumar [13]; and the ALDURO [14], [15]. This category of robot has usually only the hybrid type of locomotion, but from a mechanical point of view it is more simple and, consequently, has a lighter weight. The subject of this article, the Wheeleg robot, belongs to this second category. This robot, designed and built at the robot laboratory of the Dipa r t imento Control Strategies, Computing Architectures, and Experimental Results of the Hybrid Wheeled/Legged Robot
Spatially Binned ROC: A Comprehensive Saliency Metric

A recent trend in saliency algorithm development is large-scale benchmarking and algorithm ranking with ground truth provided by datasets of human fixations. In order to accommodate the strong bias humans have toward central fixations, it is common to replace traditional ROC metrics with a shuffled ROC metric which uses randomly sampled fixations from other images in the database as the negative set. However, the shuffled ROC introduces a number of problematic elements, including a fundamental assumption that it is possible to separate visual salience and image spatial arrangement. We argue that it is more informative to directly measure the effect of spatial bias on algorithm performance rather than try to correct for it. To capture and quantify these known sources of bias, we propose a novel metric for measuring saliency algorithm performance: the spatially binned ROC (spROC). This metric provides direct in-sight into the spatial biases of a saliency algorithm without sacrificing the intuitive raw performance evaluation of traditional ROC measurements. By quantitatively measuring the bias in saliency algorithms, researchers will be better equipped to select and optimize the most appropriate algorithm for a given task. We use a baseline measure of inherent algorithm bias to show that Adaptive Whitening Saliency (AWS) [14], Attention by Information Maximization (AIM) [8], and Dynamic Visual Attention (DVA) [20] provide the least spatially biased results, suiting them for tasks in which there is no information about the underlying spatial bias of the stimuli, whereas algorithms such as Graph Based Visual Saliency (GBVS) [18] and Context-Aware Saliency (CAS) [15] have a significant inherent central bias.
The safety and effectiveness of TM81, a Chinese herbal medicine, in the treatment of type 2 diabetes: a randomized double-blind placebo-controlled trial.

AIM
TM81 (or Tang-Min-Ling-Wan) is a Chinese medicine. Previous studies suggested that this medicine is effective for treating type 2 diabetes. This controlled trial evaluated the safety and effectiveness of TM81 in the treatment of type 2 diabetic patients.


METHODS
This study was a large-scale controlled clinical trial to evaluate the safety and effectiveness of TM81 on type 2 diabetes. After a 2-week run-in period, 480 overweight type 2 early-stage diabetic patients [35-65 years old, HbA1c ≥ 7.0%, fasting plasma glucose (FPG) 7.0-13.9 mM or 2 h plasma glucose (PG) > 11.1 mM, body mass index (BMI) ≥ 24 kg/m(2)] were enrolled. These patients were divided into a TM81 group and placebo group in a 3 : 1 ratio. The subjects received 6 g TM81 or placebo, three times daily for 12 weeks.


RESULTS
After treatment, the HbA1c decrease was 1.02% in the TM81 group versus 0.47% in the placebo group. The FPG decreased 0.8 ± 0.1 mM in the TM81 group versus an increase of 0.2 ± 0.2 mM in the placebo group. The PG decreased 2.7 ± 0.3 mM in the TM81 group versus a decrease of 0.9 ± 0.4 mM in the placebo group (all p < 0.05). The TM81 was more effective for patients with higher baseline HbA1c levels. The TM81 group also showed improved β-cell function and increased homeostatic model assessment (HOMA)-β. In addition, body weight, BMI and waist circumference of subjects in the TM81 group were reduced, and the symptoms related to diabetes were improved. There were no significant differences in the types and frequency of adverse reactions between the two groups.


CONCLUSIONS
The data showed that TM81 is effective in controlling blood glucose level and is safe to use in patients with early-stage type 2 diabetes.
Cognitive therapy for people with schizophrenia spectrum disorders not taking antipsychotic drugs: a single-blind randomised controlled trial

BACKGROUND
Antipsychotic drugs are usually the first line of treatment for schizophrenia; however, many patients refuse or discontinue their pharmacological treatment. We aimed to establish whether cognitive therapy was effective in reducing psychiatric symptoms in people with schizophrenia spectrum disorders who had chosen not to take antipsychotic drugs.


METHODS
We did a single-blind randomised controlled trial at two UK centres between Feb 15, 2010, and May 30, 2013. Participants aged 16-65 years with schizophrenia spectrum disorders, who had chosen not to take antipsychotic drugs for psychosis, were randomly assigned (1:1), by a computerised system with permuted block sizes of four or six, to receive cognitive therapy plus treatment as usual, or treatment as usual alone. Randomisation was stratified by study site. Outcome assessors were masked to group allocation. Our primary outcome was total score on the positive and negative syndrome scale (PANSS), which we assessed at baseline, and at months 3, 6, 9, 12, 15, and 18. Analysis was by intention to treat, with an ANCOVA model adjusted for site, age, sex, and baseline symptoms. This study is registered as an International Standard Randomised Controlled Trial, number 29607432.


FINDINGS
74 individuals were randomly assigned to receive either cognitive therapy plus treatment as usual (n=37), or treatment as usual alone (n=37). Mean PANSS total scores were consistently lower in the cognitive therapy group than in the treatment as usual group, with an estimated between-group effect size of -6.52 (95% CI -10.79 to -2.25; p=0.003). We recorded eight serious adverse events: two in patients in the cognitive therapy group (one attempted overdose and one patient presenting risk to others, both after therapy), and six in those in the treatment as usual group (two deaths, both of which were deemed unrelated to trial participation or mental health; three compulsory admissions to hospital for treatment under the mental health act; and one attempted overdose).


INTERPRETATION
Cognitive therapy significantly reduced psychiatric symptoms and seems to be a safe and acceptable alternative for people with schizophrenia spectrum disorders who have chosen not to take antipsychotic drugs. Evidence-based treatments should be available to these individuals. A larger, definitive trial is needed.


FUNDING
National Institute for Health Research.
Positive psychology and the internet: A mental health opportunity

This paper reviews two relatively young fields of research – positive psychology and internet interventions – and discusses the potential of online positive psychology interventions (OPPIs) as an effective and sustainable health promotion tool within a comprehensive approach to mental health care. The paper starts with a review of positive psychology, in particular well-being theory and contemporary research, and then followed by an overview of the advantages (e.g., accessibility and sustainability) and disadvantages (e.g., digital divide) of delivering mental health interventions via the internet. Finally, the results of a literature review combining the two fields of research are presented. Five randomised controlled trials were identified testing the efficacy of OPPIs as a means of enhancing well-being, with three studies demonstrating increased well-being compared to a control group. In the three studies that had populations with mild to moderate depression symptoms at baseline, there was significant symptom reduction, suggesting that well-being interventions, while primarily targeted at improving wellness, may also have an illness treatment and prevention function. While this review is limited by the small number of studies currently available, researchers, practitioners and consumers are asked to consider the opportunities and benefits of delivering well-being interventions online.
EAT2seq: A generic framework for controlled sentence transformation without task-specific training

We present EAT2seq: a novel method to architect automatic linguistic transformations for a number of tasks, including controlled grammatical or lexical changes, style transfer, text generation, and machine translation. Our approach consists in creating an abstract representation of a sentence’s meaning and grammar, which we use as input to an encoder-decoder network trained to reproduce the original sentence. Manipulating the abstract representation allows the transformation of sentences according to user-provided parameters, both grammatically and lexically, in any combination. The same architecture can further be used for controlled text generation, and has additional promise for machine translation. This strategy holds the promise of enabling many tasks that were hitherto outside the scope of NLP techniques for want of sufficient training data. We provide empirical evidence for the effectiveness of our approach by reproducing and transforming English sentences, and evaluating the results both manually and automatically. A single model trained on monolingual data is used for all tasks without any task-specific training. For a model trained on 8.5 million sentences, we report a BLEU score of 74.45 for reproduction, and scores between 55.29 and 81.82 for back-and-forth grammatical transformations across 14 category pairs.
Intraoperative temperature control using the Thermogard system during off-pump coronary artery bypass grafting.

PURPOSE
Normothermia during off-pump coronary bypass (OPCAB) grafting reduces metabolic derangements and contributes to improved clinical outcomes. Thus study examined the feasibility and efficacy of intraoperative temperature control using a novel endovascular heating system during OPCAB.


DESCRIPTION
Thirty-eight consecutive patients undergoing OPCAB were prospectively randomized to receive conventional warming (elevated room temperature, warmed intravenous fluids, warming blanket) or the Thermogard system (Alsius Corp, Irvine, CA). The triple-lumen temperature control Icy catheter (Alsius Corp) was inserted percutaneously into the inferior vena cava through common femoral vein. The catheter was removed after all wounds were closed. Temperature measurements (bladder, nasopharyngeal, and blood) were recorded at 5-minute intervals and compared between groups.


EVALUATION
Patient demographics did not significantly differ between groups. The 17 Thermogard patients warmed at a significantly faster rate than the 21 control patients (0.28 degrees vs 0.11 degrees C/h, p = 0.03). Furthermore, Thermogard patients received more bypass grafts (3.4 +/- 0.6 vs 2.6 +/- 0.9, p < 0.001) and less intraoperative fluids (1557.0 +/- 547.7 vs 2012.3 +/- 723.1 mL, p = 0.02) despite longer operative times (150.3 +/- 123.4 vs 108.1 +/- 43.7 min; p = 0.12). All catheters were placed successfully on the first attempt, and there were no device-related complications.


CONCLUSIONS
Endovascular warming is safe, simple to use, and obviates the need for uncomfortably warm operating room temperatures. The Thermogard system compared favorably with conventional methods for warming during OPCAB.
The case for research in game engine architecture

This paper is a call for research in the field of game engine architecture and design, a more comprehensive and thorough understanding of which we consider to be essential for its development. We present a number of key aspects that may help to define the problem space and provide a catalogue of questions that we believe identify areas of interest for future investigation.
Effects of anastrozole on cognitive performance in postmenopausal women: a randomised, double-blind chemoprevention trial (IBIS II).

BACKGROUND
Mild cognitive impairments have been recorded in cross-sectional studies of women with breast cancer receiving endocrine treatment. More comprehensive studies were warranted because aromatase inhibitors are being used increasingly in both chemoprevention and adjuvant settings. We report findings from the cognitive subprotocol of the International Breast Intervention Study (IBIS II), a double-blind placebo-controlled trial of anastrozole in postmenopausal women at high risk of developing breast cancer. We aimed to study and compare the effect of anastrozole versus placebo on memory and attention in these women.


METHODS
Between Jan 3, 2003, and Dec 21, 2005, participants were recruited into the cognitive subprotocol from five UK centres. Cognitive assessments were done before randomisation, at 6 months, and at 24 months. 227 of 249 women approached completed a comprehensive set of standardised cognitive tasks at baseline and were randomly assigned to receive anastrozole (1 mg/day for 5 years) or placebo. Psychological morbidity, endocrine symptoms, and self-reported cognitive complaints were also measured. The main outcomes were cognitive task scores at baseline, 6 months, and 24 months. Analyses were done by intention to treat. This study is registered as an International Standard Randomised Controlled Trial, number ISRCTN31488319.


FINDINGS
111 women were assigned to anastrozole and 116 women to placebo. At 6 months, ten women in each group were excluded from analysis, leaving a total of 207 of 227 (91%) women available for further assessments. At 24 months, 24 women were excluded from the anastrozole group and 32 from the placebo group, leaving 151 of 227 (67%) women. We did not note any significant differences between the groups for any of the cognitive tasks. By 6 months, 13 women in both groups reported changes to their memory and this had decreased to five women in the placebo group and three women in the anastrozole group by the 24-month assessment. Significantly more women in the anastrozole group complained of hot flushes at 24 months (23 of 76 [30%] vs 11 of 73 [15%], p=0.032, not corrected for multiple comparison), but this was the only difference in reported endocrine symptoms.


INTERPRETATION
These findings show little or no impairment of cognitive performance with the use of anastrozole compared with placebo in postmenopausal women at high risk of developing breast cancer who were able to tolerate endocrine-related side-effects. Future studies assessing cognition should be done within randomised trials with baseline assessments to ascertain the true extent of the putative effects that treatments for breast cancer might have on memory and attention.


FUNDING
Cancer Research UK, London, UK (grant numbers C6280/A3162 and C6280/A6764).
Cognitive linguistics.

Cognitive linguistics is one of the fastest growing and influential perspectives on the nature of language, the mind, and their relationship with sociophysical (embodied) experience. It is a broad theoretical and methodological enterprise, rather than a single, closely articulated theory. Its primary commitments are outlined. These are the Cognitive Commitment-a commitment to providing a characterization of language that accords with what is known about the mind and brain from other disciplines-and the Generalization Commitment-which represents a dedication to characterizing general principles that apply to all aspects of human language. The article also outlines the assumptions and worldview which arises from these commitments, as represented in the work of leading cognitive linguists. WIREs Cogn Sci 2012, 3:129-141. doi: 10.1002/wcs.1163 For further resources related to this article, please visit the WIREs website.
Neonatal outcomes in relation to sex differences: a national cohort survey in Taiwan

An extensive assessment investigating the association between sex differences and neonatal outcomes is lacking. In the current study, we estimated the correlation of gender with adverse birth outcomes in a large cohort population. National population-based data containing maternal and neonatal information in 2001 to 2010 were derived from the Health Promotion Administration, Taiwan. Singletons without high-risk pregnancy were further analyzed for the sex ratio of live births in relation to neonatal outcomes—including preterm birth, birth weight, neonatal death, delivery mode, and congenital anomaly. A multivariate logistic regression model was used to adjust for possible confounders. In total, 2,123,100 births were valid for the analysis. Overall, the sex ratio at birth (male/female) was 1.096. Compared to multiple births, the sex ratio was significantly higher with singleton births (p < 0.001). Among multiple births, the incidence of stillbirths was significantly higher in males than in females (p < 0.05). The sex ratio at gestational age (GA) <37 weeks was 1.332, and it declined proportionally with a rise in the GA to 0.899 at GA of ≥41 weeks. In contrast, the sex ratio was 0.850 at birth weight <3000 g, and it rose proportionally with a rise in the birth weight to 1.902 at birth weight ≥4000 g (macrosomia). Operative delivery was more common in males than in females (p < 0.001). The regression analysis showed greater risks of preterm birth, macrosomia, operative delivery, neonatal death, and congenital anomaly among male newborns. Male gender carried higher risks of adverse neonatal outcomes, including preterm birth, macrosomia, operative delivery, neonatal death, and congenital anomaly. The data have clinical implications on health surveillance for plotting strategies in response to the unbalanced sex ratio in relation to the boy preference.