LLukas22/scidocs huggingface dataset:
Earthworm (Pheretima aspergillum) extract stimulates osteoblast activity and inhibits osteoclast differentiation

BACKGROUND
The potential benefits of earthworm (Pheretima aspergillum) for healing have received considerable attention recently. Osteoblast and osteoclast activities are very important in bone remodeling, which is crucial to repair bone injuries. This study investigated the effects of earthworm extract on bone cell activities.


METHODS
Osteoblast-like MG-63 cells and RAW 264.7 macrophage cells were used for identifying the cellular effects of different concentrations of earthworm extract on osteoblasts and osteoclasts, respectively. The optimal concentration of earthworm extract was determined by mitochondrial colorimetric assay, alkaline phosphatase activity, matrix calcium deposition, Western blotting and tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase activity.


RESULTS
Earthworm extract had a dose-dependent effect on bone cell activities. The most effective concentration of earthworm extract was 3 mg/ml, significantly increasing osteoblast proliferation and differentiation, matrix calcium deposition and the expression levels of alkaline phosphatase, osteopontin and osteocalcin. Conversely, 3 mg/ml earthworm extract significantly reduced the tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase activity of osteoclasts without altering cell viability.


CONCLUSIONS
Earthworm extract has beneficial effects on bone cell cultures, indicating that earthworm extract is a potential agent for use in bone regeneration.
A quintessential proof of van der Waerden's theorem on arithmetic progressions

A particularly well suited induction hypothesis is employed to give a short and relatively direct formulation of van der Waerden's argument which establishes that for any partition of the natural numbers into two classes, one of the classes contains arbitrarily long arithmetic progressions.
Incorporating radiology into medical gross anatomy: does the use of cadaver CT scans improve students' academic performance in anatomy?

Radiological images show anatomical structures in multiple planes and may be effective for teaching anatomical spatial relationships, something that students often find difficult to master. This study tests the hypotheses that (1) the use of cadaveric computed tomography (CT) scans in the anatomy laboratory is positively associated with performance in the gross anatomy course and (2) dissection of the CT-scanned cadaver is positively associated with performance on this course. One hundred and seventy-nine first-year medical students enrolled in gross anatomy at Boston University School of Medicine were provided with CT scans of four cadavers, and students were given the opportunity to choose whether or not to use these images. The hypotheses were tested using logistic regression analysis adjusting for student demographic characteristics. Students who used the CT scans were more likely to score greater than 90% as an average practical examination score (odds ratio OR 3.6; 95% CI 1.4, 9.2), final course grade (OR 2.6; 95% CI 1.01, 6.8), and on spatial anatomy examination questions (OR 2.4; 95% CI 1.03, 5.6) than were students who did not use the CT scans. There were no differences in performance between students who dissected the scanned cadavers and those who dissected a different cadaver. These results demonstrate that the use of CT scans in medical gross anatomy is predictive of performance in the course and on questions requiring knowledge of anatomical spatial relationships, but it is not necessary to scan the actual cadaver dissected by each student.
A Usability Evaluation of Academic Virtual Reference Services

Anthony S. Chow is Associate Professor in the Department of Library and Information Studies of the School of Education at The University of North Carolina at Greensboro; e-mail: aschow@uncg.edu. Rebecca A. Croxton is a Doctoral Student and Instructor at The University of North Carolina at Greensboro; e-mail: racroxto@uncg.edu. © 2014 Anthony S. Chow and Rebecca A. Croxton, Attribution-NonCommercial (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/) CC BY-NC This study examined the usability of five virtual reference services—instant messenger chat, e-mail, telephone, text messaging, and Skype videoconferencing—by having 31 undergraduate and graduate students evaluate the usability of the virtual reference services of two different universities. The study’s results suggest that user preference and satisfaction for virtual reference service are highly correlated with the service’s overall usability in terms of effectiveness and efficiency. Online chat was rated highest across all measures including satisfaction and seven different usability factors. Major implications of the study suggest that online chat is the virtual reference of choice for university students and that usability metrics are a good predictor of user preferences centered on high return on investment, speed of transaction, convenience, and minimal effort.
Chapter 2 GIS and Remote Sensing-Based Forest Resource Assessment , Quanti fi cation , and Mapping in Amhara Region , Ethiopia

World forest resources are continually depleting. Assessing and quantifying the current forest resources status is a prerequisite for forest resources improvement planning and implementation. The objectives of this study are to assess, quantify, and map forest resources in the Amhara National Regional State, Ethiopia. GIS, GPS, and Remote Sensing technologies were applied for the study. As a result, forest distribution map is prepared. Most of the forest covers were found along the lowland belt of Mirab Gojam, Awi, and Semen Gonder zones bordering the neighboring country, Sudan and the Tigray and Benishangul-Gumz regions. The total forest cover of the region is 12,884 km, that is, about 8.2 % of the total land area. Including bushlands, it is about 21,783 km, which is about 13.85 %. Woodlands, natural dense forest, riverine forest, bushlands, and plantations are 740,808, 463,950, 20,653, 889,912, and 62,973 ha in area with percentage coverage of 4.71, 2.95, 0.13, 5.66, and 0.40 respectively. GIS, GPS, and Remote Sensing were found to be important tools for forest resource assessment and mapping. M. Mekonnen (&) M. Gebeyehu B. Azene Amhara National Regional State, Bureau of Agriculture, Natural Resource Conservation and Management Department, PO Box 1188, Bahir Dar, Ethiopia e-mail: mulatiemekonneng@gmail.com; mulatie.mekonnen@yahoo.com M. Gebeyehu e-mail: mulu_gebeyehu@yahoo.com B. Azene e-mail: aze_bayleyegn@yahoo.com T. Sewunet Amhara National Regional State, Bureau of Finance and Economic Development, Bahir Dar, Ethiopia e-mail: tsegayesewinet@gmail.com A.M. Melesse Department of Earth & Environment, Florida International University, 11200 SW 8th Street, Miami, USA e-mail: melessea@fiu.edu © Springer International Publishing Switzerland 2016 A.M. Melesse and W. Abtew (eds.), Landscape Dynamics, Soils and Hydrological Processes in Varied Climates, Springer Geography, DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-18787-7_2 9
Evolution strategies – A comprehensive introduction

This article gives a comprehensive introduction into one of the main branches of evolutionary computation – the evolution strategies (ES) the history of which dates back to the 1960s in Germany. Starting from a survey of history the philosophical background is explained in order to make understandable why ES are realized in the way they are. Basic ES algorithms and design principles for variation and selection operators as well as theoretical issues are presented, and future branches of ES research are discussed.
Design of a five actuated DoF upper limb exoskeleton oriented to workplace help

This paper presents the design of IKO (IKerlanpsilas Othosis), an upper limb exoskeleton oriented to increasing human force during routine activity at the workplace. It can be considered as a force amplification device, conceived to work in collaboration with the human arm and implementing biomimetic principles. The proposed design is intended to find the best compromise between maximum reachable workspace and minimum moving mass, which are the key factors for obtaining an ergonomic wearable exoskeleton. Power transmission is based on Bowden cables. Dynamic performance and control strategies have been evaluated for the electrical motors and pneumatic muscles used.
Prediction and treatment of asthma in preschool children at risk: study design and baseline data of a prospective cohort study in general practice (ARCADE)

BACKGROUND
Asthma is a difficult diagnosis to establish in preschool children. A few years ago, our group presented a prediction rule for young children at risk for asthma in general practice. Before this prediction rule can safely be used in practice, cross-validation is required. In addition, general practitioners face many therapeutic management decisions in children at risk for asthma. The objectives of the study are: (1) identification of predictors for asthma in preschool children at risk for asthma with the aim of cross-validating an earlier derived prediction rule; (2) compare the effects of different treatment strategies in preschool children.


DESIGN
In this prospective cohort study one to five year old children at risk of developing asthma were selected from general practices. At risk was defined as 'visited the general practitioner with recurrent coughing (>or= 2 visits), wheezing (>or=1) or shortness of breath (>or=1) in the previous 12 months'. All children in this prospective cohort study will be followed until the age of six. For our prediction rule, demographic data, data with respect to clinical history and additional tests (specific immunoglobulin E (IgE), fractional exhaled nitric oxide (FENO), peak expiratory flow (PEF)) are collected. History of airway specific medication use, symptom severity and health-related quality of life (QoL) are collected to estimate the effect of different treatment intensities (as expressed in GINA levels) using recently developed statistical techniques. In total, 1,938 children at risk of asthma were selected from general practice and 771 children (40%) were enrolled. At the time of writing, follow-up for all 5-year olds and the majority of the 4-year olds is complete. The total and specific IgE measurements at baseline were carried out by 87% of the children. Response rates to the repeated questionnaires varied from 93% at baseline to 73% after 18 months follow-up; 89% and 87% performed PEF and FENO measurements, respectively.


DISCUSSION
In this study a prediction rule for asthma in young children, to be used in (general) practice, will be cross-validated. Our study will also provide more insight in the effect of treatment of asthma in preschool children.
High prevalence rates of tobacco, alcohol and drug use in adolescents and young adults in France: results from the GAZEL Youth study.

BACKGROUND
Rates of substance use among adolescents have increased in the 1990s, however little is known about current patterns of substance use among youths entering adulthood.


METHODS
We studied sex and age-specific rates of substance use (tobacco, alcohol, cannabis, other illicit drugs, inhalants and psychotropic medications) in a large sample of French youths aged 12-26 years (the GAZEL Youth study, n=1333).


RESULTS
Prevalence rates of substance use were high and varied with age and sex. Tobacco, cannabis and polysubstance use were most frequent among 19-21 year-olds (regular tobacco use: 41.5% in males, 39.9% in females; regular cannabis use: respectively 23.9% and 10.9%; tobacco+alcohol+cannabis: respectively 9.9% and 4.6%). Regular alcohol use was most frequent among 22-26 year-olds (29.8% in males, 15.6% in females). Across successive birth cohorts, the age of initiation of tobacco and cannabis use decreased. Males were consistently more likely to use psychoactive substances than females (except for tobacco and psychotropic medications).


CONCLUSIONS
Rates of substance abuse peak in late adolescence but remain high among a subgroup of young adults. Moreover, substance use initiation appears to be occurring at increasingly younger ages.
Mapping actor roles in social media: Different perspectives on value creation in theories of user participation

While media studies have been locked into a classic producer-text-audience model, most theories of social media suggest some degree of collapse between the producer and audience. In this article, we address social media in terms of processes of value creation. The aim of the article is to demonstrate that social media are either addressed in terms of economic and socio-political value creation, that is, power, exploitation and business revenues, or in terms of value creation as sense-making, that is, creative explorations of the self and management of social relationships in everyday life. These different interests in value creation, we argue, have consequences for the conceptualization of the media user as a participatory agent. With specific focus on the notion of value creation in social media, we uncover implicit conceptions of the social media user guiding industry and user-centric perspectives, respectively. We demonstrate that while studying the same phenomenon, the two perspectives operate with very different conceptions of the producer/user nexus. We then discuss whether the literature is inconsequential in the analytic treatment of its own suggested collapse by questioning if, and if so how, this collapse is in fact taking place. Finally, we offer a mapping of the multifarious actor roles identified in the literature review to nuance the understanding of the producer/ user nexus in social media and use it to identify and discuss possible opportunities Corresponding author: Anja Bechmann, Department of Aethetics and Communication, Aarhus University, Denmark. Email: anjabechmann@gmail.com 462853 NMS0010.1177/1461444812462853new media & societyBechmann and Lomborg 2012
Offering open hypermedia services to the WWW: a step-by-step approach for developers

Hypermedia systems and more specifically open hypermedia systems (OHS) provide a rich set of implementations of different hypertext flavors such as navigational hypertext, spatial hypertext or taxonomic hypertext. Additionally, these systems offer component-based modular architectures and address interoperability between hypertext domains. Despite multiple efforts of integrating Web clients, a widespread adoption of OHS technology by Web developers has not taken place. In this paper it is argued that Web Services - which offer a component model for Web applications - can be integrated in OHSs. An architectural integration is proposed, a step-by-step process is outlined and an example of integration is provided. This very approach is aimed to benefit both worlds: the Web community with new rich hypermedia functionality that extends the current navigational hypermedia, and the OHS community by opening its tools and platforms to the many developer groups of the Web community.
Understanding Smart Cities: An Integrative Framework

Making a city "smart" is emerging as a strategy to mitigate the problems generated by the urban population growth and rapid urbanization. Yet little academic research has sparingly discussed the phenomenon. To close the gap in the literature about smart cities and in response to the increasing use of the concept, this paper proposes a framework to understand the concept of smart cities. Based on the exploration of a wide and extensive array of literature from various disciplinary areas we identify eight critical factors of smart city initiatives: management and organization, technology, governance, policy context, people and communities, economy, built infrastructure, and natural environment. These factors form the basis of an integrative framework that can be used to examine how local governments are envisioning smart city initiatives. The framework suggests directions and agendas for smart city research and outlines practical implications for government professionals.
Online newspapers and ad banners: an eye tracking study on the effects of congruity

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to study the possible influence of congruity on the way ad banners are watched and remembered in online newspapers. Design/methodology/approach – The effects of the thematic connection between banner subject and article content are examined at the level of gaze behaviour using eye tracking technology, while questionnaires are exploited to assess both free and helped recall. Two “kinds of reading” are also considered, namely “imposed” (where the tester has to read a specific article) and “free” (where the tester can choose the article’s topic from a set). Findings – Results indicate that congruity matters for the way banners are looked at, although it seems to have a limited influence on memory. Moreover, the kind of reading is significant in a few cases. Practical implications – The design of ad banners for web content is very critical, due to the so-called “banner blindness” phenomenon. At the same time, ad banners are crucial for online newspapers, which rely on them as the main source of revenues. Understanding the potential of congruity is therefore an essential point. Originality/value – Results to date obtained from previous research about congruity between online content and ad banners are contrasting, and further investigations are thus necessary. Moreover, in the context of online newspapers, congruity has been considered in extremely few cases and, to the best of the authors’ knowledge, without using eye tracking technology. The outcomes of this study can be exploited to drive further research in the field.
Sentiment Trades and Option Prices

This paper examines whether trading based on market sentiment can explain mispricing in S&P 500 options. We test the heterogeneous agent’s option pricing model developed in Frijns et al. (2010), where our agents have different beliefs about the future level of market volatility and trade accordingly. Our agents trade on long-term mean reversion in volatility as well as on exogenous shocks from the underlying market, but we also consider irrational traders, sentimentalists, that incorporate market sentiment into their beliefs. Our option valuation framework is similar to a stochastic volatility model and is implemented using a filtered historical simulation approach. We find that sentimentalists play an important role in option markets. Their sentiment is an important determinant of index option prices and partly explains the term structure of the index option smile, because it primarily affects short-term options.
Minimizing GCV/GML Scores with Multiple Smoothing Parameters via the Newton Method

The (modified) Newton method is adapted to optimize generalized cross validation (GCV) and generalized maximum likelihood (GML) scores with multiple smoothing parameters. The main concerns in solving the optimization problem are the speed and the reliability of the algorithm, as well as the invariance of the algorithm under transformations under which the problem itself is invariant. The proposed algorithm is believed to be highly efficient for the problem, though it is still rather expensive for large data sets, since its operational counts are (2/3)kn + O(n2), with k the number of smoothing parameters and n the number of observations. Sensible procedures for computing good starting values are also proposed, which should help in keeping the execution load to the minimum possible. The algorithm is implemented in Rkpack [RKPACK and its applications: Fitting smoothing spline models, Tech. Report 857, Department of Statistics, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI, 1989] and illustrated by examples of fitting additive and interaction spline models. It is noted that the algorithm can also be applied to the maximum likelihood (ML) and the restricted maximum likelihood (REML) estimation of the variance component models. Key words, additive/interaction spline models, gradient, Hessian, invariance, Newton method, smoothing parameters, starting values AMS(MOS) subject classifications. 65D07, 65D10, 65D15, 65K10, 65V05
Laparoscopic diagnosis and repair of pediatric femoral hernia

Femoral hernias are often misdiagnosed and treated as inguinal hernias. Thus, laparoscopic groin exploration may be a valuable means of evaluating children with presumed recurrent inguinal hernias. This study describes the feasibility of laparoscopic groin exploration and femoral hernia repair in children. Four children (aged 2, 2, 3, and 17 years) with reported unilateral recurrent inguinal hernias underwent diagnostic laparoscopy via a 4-mm pediatric laparoscope. Contralateral defects were visualized in all four patients; there were three femoral hernias and one direct inguinal hernia. None of the contralateral defects had been suspected clinically. Of the seven femoral defects, five were repaired laparoscopically. One patulous defect was repaired by reapproximating the iliopubic tract to Cooper's ligament and overlaying a preperitoneal Teflon felt® patch. The other four defects were repaired using a Teflon felt® plug and preperitoneal patch. A total of three ports were required in each patient (umbilical, suprapubic, and one in between). Two femoral defects in one patient required open repair because a large lipoma prevented adequate visualization and diagnosis. The direct inguinal hernia was also repaired using the open technique. Laparoscopic groin exploration and femoral hernia repair in pediatric patients is safe and technically feasible. Its advantages, however, such as superior diagnostic ability and simultaneous bilateral tension-free repair, need to be validated with a larger study and longer follow-up.
A Vehicle License Plate Detection and Recognition System

Problem statement: Automatic vehicle license plate detection and recog nition is a key technique in most of traffic related applications a d is an active research topic in the image process ing domain. Different methods, techniques and algorithm s ave been developed for license plate detection and recognitions. Approach: Due to the varying characteristics of the license p late from country to country like numbering system, colors, language of characters, style (font) and sizes of license plate , further research is still needed in this area. Results: In most of the middle East countries, they use the combination of Arabic and English letters, plus th eir countries logo. Thus, it makes the localization of plate number, the differentiation between Arabic an d English letters and logo’s object and finally the recognition of those characters become more challen ging research task. The use of artificial neural network has proved itself beneficial for plate reco gnition, but it has not been applied for the plate detection. Radial Basis Function (RBF) neural netwo rk is used both for the detection and recognition of Saudi Arabian license plate. Conclusion/Recommendations: The proposed approach has been tested on 200 front images of national license pla te of Saudi Arabia. A higher percentage of accuracy has been obtained to show that the significant of t his approach. The study could be further investigat ed on other middle east countries.