LLukas22/scidocs huggingface dataset:
Development of a Sintering Process for High-Performance Silicon Nitride.

Abstract : Beta-Si3N4 ceramics with excellent creep and oxidation resistance in the temperature range of 1300 to 1450 C can be produced by the sintering process using small amounts (3-7%) of BeSiN2 as a densification aid. These ceramics are composed of both elongated and equi-axed grains of Beta-Si3N4 solid solution and sometimes contain minor amounts of Si, SiC and BeSiN2, depending on starting composition and sintering conditions. Although samples have been occasionally sintered to 98% relative density, densities near 90% are routinely produced by sintering at 2000-2100 C for 15 min. in 60-80 atm of N2. In addition to optimum amounts of Be and O required for the attainment of high density and consequently, good thermochemical properties of the ceramic, effects of metallic impurities (Ca, Mg and Fe which promote sintering) have been observed. The thermodynamic stability of Si3N4 is outlined and the 'region of sinterability' is established for submicron alpha-Si3N4 powders containing small amounts of BeSiN2. Proposed chemical reactions and mechanism of densification during sintering are discussed. (Author)
A grid-based joint routing and charging algorithm for industrial wireless rechargeable sensor networks

The emergence of wireless charging techniques provides a more flexible and promising way to solve the energy constraint problem in industrial wireless rechargeable sensor networks (IWRSNs). Although considerable researches have been conducted on wireless charging algorithms, most of them only focused on passively replenishing energy for nodes with insufficient energy. In this paper, we propose a grid-based joint routing and charging algorithm for IWRSNs to solve charging problem in a proactive way. On one hand, a new routing protocol is designed according to charging characteristics of the charger to achieve local energy balance. On the other hand, different charging time is allocated at different charging points on the basis of energy consumption caused by routing process to achieve global energy balance. Simulation results verify the superiority of our proposed algorithm in balancing energy and improving survival rate of nodes. © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
The Effect of Brand Equity Components on Purchase Intention: An Application of Aaker's Model in the Automobile Industry

The paper aims to investigate the effect of brand equity dimensions on purchase intention, based on Aaker’s well-known conceptual framework in the automobile industry. Building on extensive literature, a model of consumers’ purchase intention that includes the major determinants of brand equity model is proposed. Based on a sample of 242 consumers, structural equation modeling is used to test hypotheses. The research reveals that brand awareness, brand association, brand loyalty, and perceived quality have a significant impact on consumers’ intention to purchase products. The paper suggests that marketers should carefully consider the brand equity components when designing their branding strategies. Marketers are also called on to adapt their branding approaches to fit each marketing environment and enhance brand loyalty to reduce the switching behavior of consumers. The paper clarifies the interrelation between the four brand equity model components and purchase intention.
Practical Semantic Parsing for Spoken Language Understanding

Executable semantic parsing is the task of converting natural language utterances into logical forms that can be directly used as queries to get a response. We build a transfer learning framework for executable semantic parsing. We show that the framework is effective for Question Answering (Q&A) as well as for Spoken Language Understanding (SLU). We further investigate the case where a parser on a new domain can be learned by exploiting data on other domains, either via multitask learning between the target domain and an auxiliary domain or via pre-training on the auxiliary domain and fine-tuning on the target domain. With either flavor of transfer learning, we are able to improve performance on most domains; we experiment with public data sets such as Overnight and NLmaps as well as with commercial SLU data. The experiments carried out on data sets that are different in nature show how executable semantic parsing can unify different areas of NLP such as Q&A and SLU.
Internet-based treatment of major depression for patients on a waiting list for inpatient psychotherapy: protocol for a multi-centre randomised controlled trial

BACKGROUND
Major depressive disorder (MDD) is a prevalent and severe disorder. Although effective treatments for MDD are available, many patients remain untreated, mainly because of insufficient treatment capacities in the health care system. Resulting waiting periods are often associated with prolonged suffering and impairment as well as a higher risk of chronification. Web-based interventions may help to alleviate these problems. Numerous studies provided evidence for the efficacy of web-based interventions for depression. The aim of this study is to evaluate a new web-based guided self-help intervention (GET.ON-Mood Enhancer-WL) specifically developed for patients waiting to commence inpatient therapy for MDD.


METHODS
In a two-armed randomised controlled trial (n = 200), the web-based guided intervention GET.ON-Mood Enhancer-WL in addition to treatment as usual (TAU) will be compared with TAU alone. The intervention contains six modules (psycho education, behavioural activation I & II, problem solving I & II, and preparation for subsequent inpatient depression therapy). The participants will be supported by an e-coach, who will provide written feedback after each module. Inclusion criteria include a diagnosis of MDD assessed with a structured clinical interview [SCID] and a waiting period of at least three weeks before start of inpatient treatment. The primary outcome is observer-rated depressive symptom severity (HRSD24). Further (explorative) questions include whether remission will be achieved earlier and by more patients during inpatient therapy because of the web-based preparatory intervention.


DISCUSSION
If GET.ON-Mood Enhancer-WL is proven to be effective, patients may start inpatient therapy with reduced depressive symptom severity, ideally leading to higher remission rates, shortened inpatient therapy, reduced costs, and decreased waiting times.


TRIAL REGISTRATION
German Clinical Trial Registration (DRKS): DRKS00004708.
Solar array system simulation using FPGA with hardware co-simulation

In this paper an attempt has been made to realize the solar photovoltaic (PV) characteristics and its control through solar array simulation system designed using field programmable gate array (FPGA) with hardware co-simulation. This facilitates the virtual test bench to test the I-V and P-V characteristics of the solar PV module and performance of the maximum power point tracking (MPPT) algorithm. The test system consists of boost DC-DC power converter, which is controlled by Xilinx/FPGA based control unit to demonstrate the perturb and observe (P&O) MPPT algorithm employed for the solar PV module. The results of the simulated solar PV module are verified with the practical solar PV module characteristics. The results of the MPPT verify the performance of the proposed solar array simulation system. The real time simulation study is carried with Xilinx System Generator (XSG) and Matlab/Simulink simulation environment.
Using a packet manipulation tool for security analysis of industrial network protocols

Scapy is a free and open source packet manipulation environment written in Python language. In this paper we present a Modbus extension to Scapy, and show how this environment can be used to build tools for security analysis of industrial network protocols. Our implementation can be extended to other industrial network protocols and can help security analysts to understand how these protocols work under attacks or adverse conditions.
Privacy, Security and Trust in Cloud Computing: The Perspective of the Telecommunication Industry

The telecommunication industry has been successful in turning the Internet into a mobile service and stimulating the creation of a new set of networked, remote services. In this paper we argue that embracing cloud computing solutions is fundamental for the telecommunication industry to remain competitive. However, there are legal, regulatory, business, market related and technical challenges that must be considered. In this paper we list such challenges and define a set of privacy, security and trust requirements that must be taken into account before cloud computing solutions can be fully integrated and deployed by telecommunication providers.
A qualitative evaluation of volunteers' experiences in a phase I/II HIV vaccine trial in Tanzania

BACKGROUND
Evaluating experiences of volunteers in an HIV vaccine trial will be useful for the conduct of future trials. The purpose of this study among volunteers who participated in a phase I/II HIV vaccine trial in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania was to assess what characterized their experiences during the trial.


METHODS
We conducted four focus group discussions with 35 out of the 60 individuals (women and men) after the five scheduled vaccinations. An interpretive description approach was applied to data analysis.


RESULTS
As a result of the trial interventions, both men and women gained confidence in their own abilities to have safer, less risky sexual behaviour. The participants experienced the trial as a way of accessing free [insured] medical services. Most of the men said they had gone from self-medication to professional medical consultation. Despite these benefits, the participants faced various challenges during the trial. Such challenges included mistrust of the trial shown by health care providers who were not connected to the trial and discouragement from friends, colleagues and family members who questioned the safety of the trial. However, they managed to cope with these doubts by using both personal and trial related interventions.


CONCLUSION
We found that during the phase I/II HIV vaccine trial, participants had both the opportunities and the ability to cope with the doubts from the surrounding community. Follow up visits enhanced the opportunities and individuals' abilities to cope with the doubts during the trial. Understanding this discourse may be useful for the trial implementers when designing future trials.


TRIALS REGISTRATION
ISRCTN: ISRCTN90053831 Pan African Clinical Trials Registry (PACTR): ATMR2009040001075080.
A comparison of the national registry of myocardial infarction 2 with the cooperative cardiovascular project.

OBJECTIVES
This study was performed to evaluate whether or not the simpler case identification and data abstraction processes used in National Registry of Myocardial Infarction two (NRMI 2) are comparable with the more rigorous processes utilized in the Cooperative Cardiovascular Project (CCP).


BACKGROUND
The increased demand for quality of care and outcomes data in hospitalized patients has resulted in a proliferation of databases of varying quality. For patients admitted with myocardial infarction, there are two national databases that attempt to capture critical process and outcome data using different case identification and abstraction processes.


METHODS
We compared case ascertainment and data elements collected in Medicare-eligible patients included in the industry-sponsored NRMI 2 with Medicare enrollees included in the Health Care Financing Administration-sponsored CCP who were admitted during identical enrollment periods. Internal and external validity of NRMI 2 was defined using the CCP as the "gold standard."


RESULTS
Demographic and procedure use data obtained independently in each database were nearly identical. There was a tendency for NRMI 2 to identify past medical histories such as prior infarct (29% vs. 31%, p < 0.001) or heart failure (21% vs. 25%, p < 0.001) less frequently than the CCP. Hospital mortality was calculated to be higher in NRMI 2 (19.7% vs. 18.1%, p < 0.001) due mostly to the inclusion of noninsured patients 65 years and older in NRMI 2.


CONCLUSIONS
We conclude that the simpler case ascertainment and data collection strategies employed by NRMI 2 result in process and outcome measures that are comparable to the more rigorous methods utilized by the CCP. Outcomes that are more difficult to measure from retrospective chart review such as stroke and recurrent myocardial infarction must be interpreted cautiously.
The contribution of non-digital afferent signals to grip force adjustments evoked by brisk unloading of the arm or the held object

OBJECTIVE
Earlier studies suggest that grip force adjustments evoked by mechanical perturbations result more from cutaneous signals from the fingertips, than from afferent signals from the supporting limb. Generally an increase in tangential load at the fingertips induces an increase in grip force, whereas a decrease in load induces the opposite reaction. Some data suggest that prior knowledge and experience influences the magnitude of grip force adjustments.


METHODS
This study examines the relative contribution of digital and arm afferent signals in the context of brisk involuntary upward flexions obtained either by unloading the arm (ARM) or the held object (OBJECT). Following the perturbation, the tangential load at the fingertips increased in ARM, but decreased in OBJECT. A subsidiary goal was to compare the performance of naive subjects with the performance of trained and informed subjects.


RESULTS
When the perturbation was completely unexpected, grip force increased sharply after OBJECT and ARM unloading. By contrast, when subjects had prior knowledge and experience with the upcoming perturbation, grip responses were clearly differentiated; grip force increased after ARM, but decreased after OBJECT.


CONCLUSIONS
These results challenge the view that cutaneous signals of the fingertips are the driving signals of grip force responses. Instead, afferent signals from the flexed arm would account well for the lack of difference between grip force responses in ARM and OBJECT under unpredictable conditions. These data provide clear evidence that prior knowledge and experience influences reactive grip force control, since subjects became able to repress unnecessary grip force modulation in OBJECT.


SIGNIFICANCE
These data have implications for understanding the initiation and the modulation of grip force adjustments.
In-vitro bipolar nano- and microsecond electro-pulse bursts for irreversible electroporation therapies.

Under the influence of external electric fields, cells experience a rapid potential buildup across the cell membrane. Above a critical threshold of electric field strength, permanent cell damage can occur, resulting in cell death. Typical investigations of electroporation effects focus on two distinct regimes. The first uses sub-microsecond duration, high field strength pulses while the second uses longer (50 μs+) duration, but lower field strength pulses. Here we investigate the effects of pulses between these two extremes. The charging behavior of the cell membrane and nuclear envelope is evaluated numerically in response to bipolar pulses between 250 ns and 50 μs. Typical irreversible electroporation protocols expose cells to 90 monopolar pulses, each 100 μs in duration with a 1 second inter-pulse delay. Here, we replace each monopolar waveform with a burst of alternating polarity pulses, while keeping the total energized time (100 μs), burst number (80), and inter-burst delay (1s) the same. We show that these bursts result in instantaneous and delayed cell death mechanisms and that there exists an inverse relationship between pulse-width and toxicity despite the delivery of equal quantities of energy. At 1500 V/cm only treatments with bursts containing 50 μs pulses (2×) resulted in viability below 10%. At 4000 V/cm, bursts with 1 μs (100×), 2 μs (50×), 5 μs (20×), 10 μs (10×), and 50 μs (2×) duration pulses reduced viability below 10% while bursts with 500 ns (200×) and 250 ns (400×) pulses resulted in viabilities of 31% and 92%, respectively.
Population ecology of wild sunflowers: effects of seed density and post-dispersal vertebrate seed predators

Assessing the effects of seed density on the population dynamics of wild plant species with crop relatives will be vital in determining the potential effects of introducing traits into wild populations as a result of crop-to-wild gene flow. We examined experimental sunflower (Helianthus annuus) patches in eastern Kansas to determine the effects of seed density and predation on seedling recruitment and seed production in the next generation. High seed density treatment plots had significantly more seedlings and adult plants than did low seed density treatment plots. Overwinter vertebrate seed predator exclusion treatments resulted in increases in plant density compared to plots in which vertebrates were not excluded. Control patches (no seeds added) contained virtually no plants. Head production and estimated total seed production for a patch were not statistically different among treatments (excluding control plots). Although initial seed density and vertebrate post-dispersal seed predation do appear to have effects on seedling recruitment, neither appear to be limiting seed production of competing adult plants. Therefore, variation in seed densities (over the range examined) may have limited effects on local population dynamics. It is important to note that the choice of seed densities may affect the results obtained: the seed densities used in this study may, in retrospect, be higher than in the small roadside populations typical in eastern Kansas, yet other natural sites have much larger densities. Further, the effects of increased seed density at a local site may have other important effects such as altering metapopulation dynamics through increased long-distance dispersal or increased local seed bank size.
Hyperhomocysteinemia: an independent risk factor for vascular disease.

BACKGROUND
Hyperhomocysteinemia arising from impaired methionine metabolism, probably usually due to a deficiency of cystathionine beta-synthase, is associated with premature cerebral, peripheral, and possibly coronary vascular disease. Both the strength of this association and its independence of other risk factors for cardiovascular disease are uncertain. We studied the extent to which the association could be explained by heterozygous cystathionine beta-synthase deficiency.


METHODS
We first established a diagnostic criterion for hyperhomocysteinemia by comparing peak serum levels of homocysteine after a standard methionine-loading test in 25 obligate heterozygotes with respect to cystathionine beta-synthase deficiency (whose children were known to be homozygous for homocystinuria due to this enzyme defect) with the levels in 27 unrelated age- and sex-matched normal subjects. A level of 24.0 mumol per liter or more was 92 percent sensitive and 100 percent specific in distinguishing the two groups. The peak serum homocysteine levels in these normal subjects were then compared with those in 123 patients whose vascular disease had been diagnosed before they were 55 years of age.


RESULTS
Hyperhomocysteinemia was detected in 16 of 38 patients with cerebrovascular disease (42 percent), 7 of 25 with peripheral vascular disease (28 percent), and 18 of 60 with coronary vascular disease (30 percent), but in none of the 27 normal subjects. After adjustment for the effects of conventional risk factors, the lower 95 percent confidence limit for the odds ratio for vascular disease among the patients with hyperhomocysteinemia, as compared with the normal subjects, was 3.2. The geometric-mean peak serum homocysteine level was 1.33 times higher in the patients with vascular disease than in the normal subjects (P = 0.002). The presence of cystathionine beta-synthase deficiency was confirmed in 18 of 23 patients with vascular disease who had hyperhomocysteinemia.


CONCLUSIONS
Hyperhomocysteinemia is an independent risk factor for vascular disease, including coronary disease, and in most instances is probably due to cystathionine beta-synthase deficiency.
LAMPS: A sketch recognition-based teaching tool for Mandarin Phonetic Symbols I

The non-Romanized Mandarin Phonetic Symbols I (MPS1) system is a highly advantageous phonetic system for native English users studying Chinese Mandarin to learn, yet its steep initial learning curve discourages language programs to instead adopt Romanized phonetic systems. Computer-assisted language instruction (CALI) can greatly reduce this learning curve, in order to enable students to sooner benefit from the long-term advantages presented in MPS1 usage during the course of Chinese Mandarin study. Unfortunately, the technologies surrounding existing online handwriting recognition algorithms and CALI applications are insufficient in providing a “dynamic” counterpart to traditional paper-based workbooks employed in the classroom setting. In this paper, we describe our sketch recognition-based LAMPS system for teaching MPS1 by emulating the naturalness and realism of paper-based workbooks, while extending their functionality with human instructor-level critique and assessment at an automated level.
The genetic determination of left ventricular mass in healthy adults.

AIMS
The extent to which left ventricular (LV) mass, an independent cardiovascular risk factor, is determined by genetic factors is unclear. The aim of this study was to assess the heritability of LV mass and its association with three potential candidate genes.


METHODS
A population-based adult twin study model was utilized. Echocardiographic assessment of LV mass was performed in 110 twin pairs (mean age 55.9+/-10.9 years). An estimate of genetic determination, heritability, was calculated for the main echocardiographic parameters. The cohort were genotyped for the G-protein beta-3, aldosterone synthase, and beta-1 adrenoceptor genes.


RESULTS
The intra-class correlation coefficients for LV mass were 0.69 for monozygotic (r-MZ) twins and 0.32 for dizygotic (r-DZ) twins, P=0.008 (heritability estimate of 0.69). This pattern persisted following correction for known confounding factors. Within-pair differences in the monozygotic, discordant and concordant dizygotic twins showed no differences for the three genes with respect to left ventricular wall thickness or mass. There was a non-significant trend towards a relationship between LV mass and the beta-1 adrenoceptor genotype.


CONCLUSION
Within a normal population left ventricular mass has a significant genetic determination. Further investigation of potential candidate genes is required.
A novel power converter for photovoltaic applications

A simple and economical power conditioner to convert the power available from solar panels into 60 Hz ac voltage is described. The raw dc voltage from the solar panels is converted to a regulated dc voltage using a boost converter and a large capacitor and the dc output is then converted to 60 Hz ac using a bridge inverter. The ratio between the load current and the short-circuit current of a PV panel at maximum power point is nearly constant for different insolation (light) levels and this property is utilized in designing a simple maximum power point tracking (MPPT) controller. The controller includes a novel arrangement for sensing the short-circuit current without disturbing the operation of the PV panel and implementing MPPT. The switching losses in the inverter are reduced by using snubbers. The results obtained on an experimental converter are presented. © 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.