LLukas22/scidocs huggingface dataset:
Hierarchical binary CNNs for landmark localization with limited resources

Our goal is to design architectures that retain the groundbreaking performance of Convolutional Neural Networks (CNNs) for landmark localization and at the same time are lightweight, compact and suitable for applications with limited computational resources. To this end, we make the following contributions: (a) we are the first to study the effect of neural network binarization on localization tasks, namely human pose estimation and face alignment. We exhaustively evaluate various design choices, identify performance bottlenecks, and more importantly propose multiple orthogonal ways to boost performance. (b) Based on our analysis, we propose a novel hierarchical, parallel and multi-scale residual architecture that yields large performance improvement over the standard bottleneck block while having the same number of parameters, thus bridging the gap between the original network and its binarized counterpart. (c) We perform a large number of ablation studies that shed light on the properties and the performance of the proposed block. (d) We present results for experiments on the most challenging datasets for human pose estimation and face alignment, reporting in many cases state-of-the-art performance. (e) We further provide additional results for the problem of facial part segmentation. Code can be downloaded from https://www.adrianbulat.com/binary-cnn-landmarks.
St John's wort for major depression.

BACKGROUND
In some countries extracts of the plant Hypericum perforatum L. (popularly called St. John's wort) are widely used for treating patients with depressive symptoms.


OBJECTIVES
To investigate whether extracts of hypericum are more effective than placebo and as effective as standard antidepressants in the treatment of major depression; and whether they have fewer adverse effects than standard antidepressant drugs.


SEARCH STRATEGY
Trials were searched in computerised databases, by checking bibliographies of relevant articles, and by contacting manufacturers and researchers.


SELECTION CRITERIA
Trials were included if they: (1) were randomised and double-blind; (2) included patients with major depression; (3) compared extracts of St. John's wort with placebo or standard antidepressants; (4) included clinical outcomes assessing depressive symptoms.


DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS
At least two independent reviewers extracted information from study reports. The main outcome measure for assessing effectiveness was the responder rate ratio (the relative risk of having a response to treatment). The main outcome measure for adverse effects was the number of patients dropping out due to adverse effects.


MAIN RESULTS
A total of 29 trials (5489 patients) including 18 comparisons with placebo and 17 comparisons with synthetic standard antidepressants met the inclusion criteria. Results of placebo-controlled trials showed marked heterogeneity. In nine larger trials the combined response rate ratio (RR) for hypericum extracts compared with placebo was 1.28 (95% confidence interval (CI), 1.10 to 1.49) and from nine smaller trials was 1.87 (95% CI, 1.22 to 2.87). Results of trials comparing hypericum extracts and standard antidepressants were statistically homogeneous. Compared with tri- or tetracyclic antidepressants and selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), respectively, RRs were 1.02 (95% CI, 0.90 to 1.15; 5 trials) and 1.00 (95% CI, 0.90 to 1.11; 12 trials). Both in placebo-controlled trials and in comparisons with standard antidepressants, trials from German-speaking countries reported findings more favourable to hypericum. Patients given hypericum extracts dropped out of trials due to adverse effects less frequently than those given older antidepressants (odds ratio (OR) 0.24; 95% CI, 0.13 to 0.46) or SSRIs (OR 0.53, 95% CI, 0.34-0.83).


AUTHORS' CONCLUSIONS
The available evidence suggests that the hypericum extracts tested in the included trials a) are superior to placebo in patients with major depression; b) are similarly effective as standard antidepressants; c) and have fewer side effects than standard antidepressants. The association of country of origin and precision with effects sizes complicates the interpretation.
Burnout as a predictor of all-cause mortality among industrial employees: a 10-year prospective register-linkage study.

OBJECTIVE
Burnout, a psychological consequence of prolonged work stress, has been shown to coexist with physical and mental disorders. The aim of this study was to investigate whether burnout is related to all-cause mortality among employees.


METHODS
In 1996, of 15,466 Finnish forest industry employees, 9705 participated in the 'Still Working' study and 8371 were subsequently identified from the National Population Register. Those who had been treated in a hospital for the most common causes of death prior to the assessment of burnout were excluded on the basis of the Hospital Discharge Register, resulting in a final study population of 7396 people. Burnout was measured using the Maslach Burnout Inventory-General Survey. Dates of death from 1996 to 2006 were extracted from the National Mortality Register. Mortality was predicted with Cox hazard regression models, controlling for baseline sociodemographic factors and register-based health status according to entitled medical reimbursement and prescribed medication for mental health problems, cardiac risk factors, and pain problems.


RESULTS
During the 10-year 10-month follow-up, a total of 199 employees had died. The risk of mortality per one-unit increase in burnout was 35% higher (95% CI 1.07-1.71) for total score and 26% higher (0.99-1.60) for exhaustion, 29% higher for cynicism (1.03-1.62), and 22% higher for diminished professional efficacy (0.96-1.55) in participants who had been under 45 at baseline. After adjustments, only the associations regarding burnout and exhaustion were statistically significant. Burnout was not related to mortality among the older employees.


CONCLUSION
Burnout, especially work-related exhaustion, may be a risk for overall survival.
Automatic thresholding for defect detection

Automatic thresholding has been widely used in the machine vision industry for automated visual inspection of defects. A commonly used thresholding technique, the Otsu method, provides satisfactory results for thresholding an image with histogram of bimodal distribution. This method, however, fails if the histogram is unimodal or close to unimodal. For defect detection applications, defects range from no defect, small defect, to large defect, which means the gray-level distributions range from unimodal to bimodal. In this paper, we revised and improved the Otsu method for selecting optimal threshold values for both unimodal and bimodal distributions. We also tested the performance of the revised method on common defect detection applications.
Nickel-induced oxidative stress and effect of antioxidants in human lymphocytes

 The purpose of this study was to evaluate the oxidative effect in human lymphocytes after acute nickel (Ni) treatment for 1 h; levels of intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS), lipid peroxidation (LPO) and hydroxyl radicals (•OH) were examined in isolated lymphocytes. The potential effects of antioxidants were also examined. After acute treatment, NiCl2 (0–10 mM) significantly decreased the viability of lymphocytes. NiCl2 appear to increase the degree of dichlorofluorescein (DCF) fluorescence and the levels of thiobarbituric acid-reactive substances (TBARS) in human lymphocytes in vitro in a concentration-dependent manner. The level of •OH was quantified by two main hydroxylated derivates, 2,3- and 2,5-dihydroxybenzate (DHB). Levels of 2,3- and 2,5-DHB were significantly higher in the Ni-treated group than in controls. Catalase partially reduced the NiCl2-induced elevation of oxidants and TBARS, whereas superoxide dismutase (SOD) enhanced the level of oxidants and TBARS. Both NiCl2-induced fluorescence and LPO were prevented significantly by glutathione (GSH) and mannitol. NiCl2-induced increase in generation of •OH was prevented significantly by catalase, GSH and mannitol, but not by SOD. These results suggest that NiCl2-induced lymphocyte toxicity may be mediated by oxygen radical intermediates, for which the accelerated generation of •OH may plays an important role in Ni-induced oxidative damage of human lymphocytes. Catalase, GSH and mannitol each provides protection against the oxidative stress induced by Ni.
The Complex Gradient Operator and the CR-Calculus ECE275A - Lecture Supplement - Fall 2005

Often signals and system parameters are most conveniently represented as complex-valued vectors. This occurs, for example, in array processing [1], as well as in communication systems [7] when processing narrowband signals using the equivalent complex baseband representation [2]. Furthermore, in many important applications one attempts to optimize a scalar real-valued measure of performance over the complex parameters defining the signal or system of interest. This is the case, for example, in LMS adaptive filtering where complex filter coefficients are adapted on line. To effect this adaption one attempts to optimize the performance measure by adjustments of the coefficients along its gradient direction [16, 23].
The diabetes risk score: a practical tool to predict type 2 diabetes risk.

OBJECTIVE
Interventions to prevent type 2 diabetes should be directed toward individuals at increased risk for the disease. To identify such individuals without laboratory tests, we developed the Diabetes Risk Score.


RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS
A random population sample of 35- to 64-year-old men and women with no antidiabetic drug treatment at baseline were followed for 10 years. New cases of drug-treated type 2 diabetes were ascertained from the National Drug Registry. Multivariate logistic regression model coefficients were used to assign each variable category a score. The Diabetes Risk Score was composed as the sum of these individual scores. The validity of the score was tested in an independent population survey performed in 1992 with prospective follow-up for 5 years.


RESULTS
Age, BMI, waist circumference, history of antihypertensive drug treatment and high blood glucose, physical activity, and daily consumption of fruits, berries, or vegetables were selected as categorical variables. Complete baseline risk data were found in 4435 subjects with 182 incident cases of diabetes. The Diabetes Risk Score value varied from 0 to 20. To predict drug-treated diabetes, the score value >or=9 had sensitivity of 0.78 and 0.81, specificity of 0.77 and 0.76, and positive predictive value of 0.13 and 0.05 in the 1987 and 1992 cohorts, respectively.


CONCLUSIONS
The Diabetes Risk Score is a simple, fast, inexpensive, noninvasive, and reliable tool to identify individuals at high risk for type 2 diabetes.
Respiratory function and other biological risk factors for completed suicide: 40 years of follow-up of European cohorts of the Seven Countries Study.

BACKGROUND
Prospective cohort studies on biological risk factors of completed suicide are scarce. We aimed to test which biological risk factors independently identify subjects at increased risk of suicidal death.


METHODS
In the prospective cohort of the Seven Countries Study, 5,321 middle-aged men from Finland, Serbia, Italy, and Greece were included. Completed suicide (ICD-8 codes E950-959) was assessed during 40 years of follow-up. Biological cardiovascular risk factors (including forced vital capacity [FVC] and height) were tested for their role as predictors in multivariable Cox models stratified by country.


RESULTS
There were 4518 deaths during follow-up, with 64 from suicide (1.4%). In univariable models, only FVC and height were strongly inversely related with suicide. Socio-economic status and being unmarried were potential confounders. In multivariable models taking these confounders into account, both a low FVC (0.30 for top vs. lowest quartile; 95% CI: 0.12-0.76; P=0.006 for trend) and a low FVC/height ratio (0.37 for top vs. lowest quartile; 95% CI: 0.17-0.82; P=0.004 for trend) were strongly inversely related with completed suicide.


LIMITATIONS
Information on proximal causes, such as prior suicidal ideation, emotional distress and depression, was lacking at baseline.


CONCLUSIONS
Poor respiratory function in middle-aged men was an independent risk factor for completed suicide.
Management of Peyronie's disease with penile prostheses

Peyronie's disease is a common malady affecting men mostly between the ages of 40 and 60. When penile curvature and erectile softening are present and the erectile dysfunction does not respond to Viagra a penile implant will strengthen and usually straighten the penis. If curvature persists after implant placement ‘modeling’ the erect penis will successfully achieve straightening in most patients. Plaque incision and grafting or a Nesbit procedure are rarely necessary to straighten the penis but will afford excellent results when employed. A thorough explanation of the pathogenesis of Peyronie's disease and effects of the disease and treatment on penile size will help avoid some of the disappointment seen when a shorter erection occurs.
Heart rate variability measures: a fresh look at reliability.

Despite its extensive use in physiological and clinical research, the analysis of HRV (heart rate variability) is still poorly supported by rigorous reliability studies. The main aim of the present study was to perform an in-depth assessment of absolute and relative reliability of standard indexes of HRV from short-term laboratory recordings. In 39 healthy subjects [mean age (min-max): 38 (26-56) years; 18 men and 21 women] we recorded 5 min of supine ECG during spontaneous and paced (15 breaths/min) breathing. The test was repeated on the next day under the same conditions. From the RR intervals we computed standard indexes of HRV: SDNN (S.D. of RR interval values), RMSSD (root-mean-square of successive RR interval differences), LF (low frequency) and HF (high frequency) power (absolute and normalized units) and LF/HF. Absolute reliability was assessed by 95% limits of random variation; relative reliability was assessed by the ICC (intraclass correlation coefficient). The sample size needed to detect a mean difference > or =30% of the between-subject S.D. was also estimated. Although there was no significant mean change between the two tests, we found that in individual subjects the second measurement was as high/low as 1.9/0.5 times (SDNN, best case) and 3.5/0.3 times (LF/HF, worst case) the first measurement, due to pure random variation. For most parameters the ICC was >0.8 (range 0.65-0.88). The estimated sample size ranged from 24-98 subjects. Reliability indexes tended to improve during paced breathing. We conclude that short-term HRV parameters are subject to large day-to-day random variations. Random error, however, represents a limited part of the between-subject variability; therefore observed differences between individuals mostly reflect differences in the subjects' error-free value rather than random error. Overall, paced breathing improves reliability.
A randomized trial of hypothesis-driven vs screening neurologic examination.

OBJECTIVE
We hypothesized that trainees would perform better using a hypothesis-driven rather than a traditional screening approach to the neurologic examination.


METHODS
We randomly assigned 16 medical students to perform screening examinations of all major aspects of neurologic function or hypothesis-driven examinations focused on aspects suggested by the history. Each student examined 4 patients, 2 of whom had focal deficits. Outcomes of interest were the correct identification of patients with focal deficits, number of specific deficits detected, and examination duration. Outcomes were assessed by an investigator blinded to group assignments. The McNemar test was used to compare the sensitivity and specificity of the 2 examination methods.


RESULTS
Sensitivity was higher with hypothesis-driven examinations than with screening examinations (78% vs 56%; p = 0.046), although specificity was lower (71% vs 100%; p = 0.046). The hypothesis-driven group identified 61% of specific examination abnormalities, whereas the screening group identified 53% (p = 0.008). Median examination duration was 1 minute shorter in the hypothesis-driven group (7.0 minutes vs 8.0 minutes; p = 0.13).


CONCLUSIONS
In this randomized trial comparing 2 methods of neurologic examination, a hypothesis-driven approach resulted in greater sensitivity and a trend toward faster examinations, at the cost of lower specificity, compared with the traditional screening approach. Our findings suggest that a hypothesis-driven approach may be superior when the history is concerning for an acute focal neurologic process.
Towards Usability Evaluation of Hybrid Mobile User Interfaces

Hybrid mobile applications are in an ongoing debate about their usability comparing with native mobile applications. Despite the cross-platform compatibility offered by hybrid apps, many developers tend to go native. This choice is due to some issues in hybrid apps like performance, usability, and security. As web technologies improvements take hold, many developers and technology executives find HTML5 usable for building mobile apps. In this context, we choose to work on assessing the usability of Hybrid User Interfaces (HUI). This study shows the results of an experiment conducted over four hybrid apps to identify their usability defects. A predefined list of 13 structural usability defects selected from literature has been used. Our aim is to create a usability defects base of examples of hybrid applications.
A Dynamic RGB Intensity Based Steganography Scheme

Steganography meaning covered writing. Steganography includes the concealment of information within computer files [1]. In other words, it is the Secret communication by hiding the existence of message. In this paper, we will refer to cover image, to indicate the images that do not yet contain a secret message, while we will refer to stego images, to indicate an image with an embedded secret message. Moreover, we will refer to the secret message as stego-message or hidden message. In this paper, we proposed a technique called RGB intensity based steganography model as RGB model is the technique used in this field to hide the data. The methods used here are based on the manipulation of the least significant bits of pixel values [3][4] or the rearrangement of colors to create least significant bit or parity bit patterns, which correspond to the message being hidden. The proposed technique attempts to overcome the problem of the sequential fashion and the use of stego-key to select the pixels. Keywords—Steganography, Stego Image, RGB Image, Cryptography, LSB.
Designing in the Dark: Eliciting Self-tracking Dimensions for Understanding Enigmatic Disease

The design of personal health informatics tools has traditionally been explored in self-monitoring and behavior change. There is an unmet opportunity to leverage self- tracking of individuals and study diseases and health conditions to learn patterns across groups. An open research question, however, is how to design engaging self-tracking tools that also facilitate learning at scale. Furthermore, for conditions that are not well understood, a critical question is how to design such tools when it is unclear which data types are relevant to the disease. We outline the process of identifying design requirements for self-tracking endometriosis, a highly enigmatic and prevalent disease, through interviews (N=3), focus groups (N=27), surveys (N=741), and content analysis of an online endometriosis community (1500 posts, N=153 posters) and show value in triangulating across these methods. Finally, we discuss tensions inherent in designing self-tracking tools for individual use and population analysis, making suggestions for overcoming these tensions.
Are Firms Superior to Alliances and Markets? An Empirical Test of Cross-Border Knowledge Building

Are multinational corporations (MNCs) superior to strategic alliances and markets in facilitating the flow of knowledge across borders? If so, what are the sources of this superiority? Despite their central importance to the theory and practice of international management, these questions have not been directly tested. Our paper seeks to address this gap in empirical research. Drawing upon recent research on multinational corporations and the knowledge-based view of the firm, we develop hypotheses regarding the relative superiority of alternative institutional arrangements as regards cross-border knowledge building. Analysis of patent citations by semiconductor companies points to the superiority of multinational firms over both alliances and markets in cross-border knowledge building. Interviews with engineers and managers in MNCs point to the intertwining of codified and tacit knowledge and; therefore, the need for both formal and informal mechanisms for successful knowledge building. Our findings suggest that the superiority of MNCs stems from the firms’ ability to use multiple mechanisms of knowledge transfer flexibly and simultaneously to move, integrate, and develop technical knowledge. Our research, therefore, suggests that the challenge of knowledge management for MNCs extends beyond the creation of international information systems, to the design of organizational structures, systems, and culture capable of supporting the flow of knowledge. (Knowledge; Multinational Corporations; Strategic Alliances; International)
Intravenous contrast extravasation during CT: a national data registry and practice quality improvement initiative.

PURPOSE
Establish 3 performance benchmarks for intravenous contrast extravasation during CT examinations: extravasation frequency, distribution of extravasation volumes, and severity of injury. Evaluate the effectiveness of implementing practice quality improvement (PQI) methodology in improving performance for these 3 benchmarks.


METHODS
The Society of Abdominal Radiology and ACR developed a registry collecting data for contrast extravasation events. The project includes a PQI initiative allowing for process improvement.


RESULTS
As of December 2013, a total of 58 radiology practices have participated in this project, and 32 practices have completed the 2-cycle PQI. There were a total of 454,497 contrast-enhanced CT exams and 1,085 extravasation events. The average extravasation rate is 0.24%. The median extravasation rate is 0.21%. Most extravasations (82.9%) were between 10 mL and 99 mL. The majority of injuries, 94.6%, are mild in severity, with 4.7% having moderate and 0.8% having severe injuries. Data from practices that completed the PQI process showed a change in the average extravasation rate from 0.28% in the first 6 months to 0.23% in the second 6 months, and the median extravasation rate dropped from 0.25% to 0.16%, neither statistically significant. The distribution of extravasation volumes and the severity of injury did not change between the first and second measurement periods.


CONCLUSIONS
National performance benchmarks for contrast extravasation rate, distribution of volumes of extravasate, and distribution of severity of injury are established through this multi-institutional practice registry. The application of PQI failed to have a statistically significant positive impact on any of the 3 benchmarks.
Deterministic Aperiodic Tile Sets

Wang tiles are square tiles with colored edges. We construct an aperiodic set of Wang tiles that is strongly deterministic in the sense that any two adjacent edges of a tile determine the tile uniquely. Consequently, the tiling group of this set is not hyperbolic and it acts discretely and co-compactly on a CAT(0) space.