LLukas22/scidocs huggingface dataset:
A unified analysis of niche overlap incorporating data of different types

1. Competition theory predicts that community structure may be shaped by resource partitioning between co-occurring species. As such, quantifying the degree of resource partitioning (i.e., niche overlap) is a key component of studies examining community structure and species coexistence. 2. For many organisms, multiple resource axes quantify niche space. Each axis may be described by a different type of data (e.g. categorical, continuous, count or binary data, as well as electivity scores), with different data types requiring different statistical treatments. Therefore, incorporating multiple axes into a single measure of niche space is problematic. 3. Here, we propose general methods for combining multiple niche axes, each characterized by different data types, within a unified analysis of niche overlap. Using appropriate transformations and probability models, we show that each data type can give rise to directly comparable measures of niche overlap, with the overlap statistic between two species defined as the overlapping area between the distributions for each species. 4. Measurements derived from different types of data can be combined into a single unified analysis of niche overlap by averaging overmultiple axes. 5. We then describe null model permutation tests that assess statistical differences in niche overlap, which can address questions commonly posed by population ecologists (e.g. do two species occupy different niche space?) and community ecologists (e.g. are multiple species evenly distributed across niche space?). 6. To illustrate the use of these newly devised indices, we use an example from reef fishes that combines ratio, categorical and electivity data, and an example from alpine plants that combines continuous and ratio data. 7. The methods described in this article are relevant to a wide variety of ecological projects, including the investigation of invasive species, relative abundance distributions, global change, species coexistence and evolutionary diversification.
Randomized Trial of Continuous Subcutaneous Delivery of Exenatide by ITCA 650 Versus Twice-Daily Exenatide Injections in Metformin-Treated Type 2 Diabetes

OBJECTIVE
To evaluate ITCA 650, a continuous subcutaneous miniature osmotic pump delivery system of exenatide versus twice-daily exenatide injections (Ex-BID) in subjects with type 2 diabetes.


RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS
We conducted a randomized, two-stage, 24-week, open-label, phase 2 study in type 2 diabetes inadequately controlled with metformin. Stage I: 155 subjects were randomized to 20 or 40 μg/day of ITCA 650 or Ex-BID 5 → 10 μg. Stage II: 131 subjects were rerandomized to 20, 40, 60, or 80 μg/day of ITCA 650. Change from baseline for HbA1c, weight, and fasting plasma glucose were evaluated at weeks 12 and 24.


RESULTS
HbA1c was significantly lower in all groups after 12 and 24 weeks. Stage I: mean change in HbA1c from a mean baseline of 7.9-8.0% was -0.98, -0.95, and -0.72% for the 20 and 40 μg/day ITCA 650 and Ex-BID groups, respectively, with 63, 65, and 50% of subjects achieving HbA1c levels ≤ 7% (P < 0.05). Stage II: significant (P < 0.05) reductions in HbA1c (≈ 1.4% from baseline) were achieved with 60 and 80 μg/day ITCA 650, and 86 and 78% of subjects achieved HbA1c ≤ 7% at 24 weeks; respectively. Weight was reduced by 2.8-3.7 kg (P < 0.05) at 24 weeks in all except the 20 → 20 μg/day group. ITCA 650 was well tolerated; nausea was lower and transient with 20 μg/day relative to Ex-BID; and 60 μg/day had the best profile of tolerability and HbA1c lowering.


CONCLUSIONS
ITCA 650 significantly reduced HbA1c and weight and was well tolerated. The 20 → 60 μg/day regimen was considered the best dose for further examination in phase 3.
Toward asthma prevention--does all that really matters happen before we learn to read?

1. Merkatz IR, Nitowsky HM, Macri JN, Johnson WE. An association between low maternal serum alpha-fetoprotein and fetal chromosome abnormalities. Am J Obstet Gynecol 1984;148:88694. 2. Prenatal diagnosis of fetal chromosome abnormalities. ACOG practice bulletin no. 27. Washington, D.C.: American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, 2001. 3. Wald NJ, Huttly WJ, Hackshaw AK. Antenatal screening for Down’s syndrome with the quadruple test. Lancet 2003;361:835-6. 4. Benn P. Improved antenatal screening for Down’s syndrome. Lancet 2003;361:794-5. 5. Wald NJ, Kennard A, Hackshaw AK. First trimester serum screening for Down’s syndrome. Prenat Diagn 1995;15:1227-40. [Erratum, Prenat Diagn 1996;16:387.] 6. Wapner R, Thom E, Simpson JL, et al. First-trimester screening for trisomies 21 and 18. N Engl J Med 2003;349:1405-13. 7. Snijders RJM, Noble P, Sebire N, Souka A, Nicolaides KH. UK multicentre project on assessment of risk of trisomy 21 by maternal age and fetal nuchal-translucency thickness at 10-14 weeks of gestation. Lancet 1998;352:343-6. 8. De Biasio P, Siccardi M, Volpe G, Famularo L, Santi F, Canini S. First-trimester screening for Down syndrome using nuchal translucency measurement with free b -hCG and PAPP-A between 10 and 13 weeks of pregnancy — the combined test. Prenat Diagn 1999;19: 360-3. 9. de Graaf IM, Pajkrt E, Bilardo CM, Leschot NJ, Cuckle HS, van Lith JM. Early pregnancy screening for fetal aneuploidy with serum markers and nuchal translucency. Prenat Diagn 1999;19:458-62. 10. Rhoads GG, Jackson LG, Schlesselman SE, et al. The safety and efficacy of chorionic villus sampling for early prenatal diagnosis of cytogenetic abnormalities. N Engl J Med 1989;320:609-17. 11. Multicentre randomised clinical trial of chorion villus sampling and amniocentesis: first report. Lancet 1989;1:1-6. 12. Wald NJ, Watt HC, Hackshaw AK. Integrated screening for Down’s syndrome based on tests performed during the first and second trimesters. N Engl J Med 1999;341:461-7. 13. Malone FD, Berkowitz RL, Canick JA, D’Alton ME. First-trimester screening for aneuploidy: research or standard of care? Am J Obstet Gynecol 2000;182:490-6. 14. Bianchi DW, Simpson JL, Jackson LG, et al. Fetal gender and aneuploidy detection using fetal cells in maternal blood: analysis of NIFTY I data. Prenat Diagn 2002;22:609-15. 15. Adinolfi M, Sherlock J. Fetal cells in transcervical samples at an early stage of gestation. J Hum Genet 2001;46:99-104. Copyright © 2003 Massachusetts Medical Society.
( Crowd ) funding Innovation , Financing Constraints and Real Effects ∗

Financing through crowdfunding is growing rapidly, especially for start-ups. Investment financing via crowdfunding is integrated with the real side of the firm as future consumers may potentially provide all or part of the required resources. We derive the optimal pre-sale crowdfunding contract of a financially constrained monopolist and analyze its implications for production, investment and welfare. Crowdfunding contracts may serve as a price-discrimination mechanism, forcing pivotal consumers to pay a premium above the future spot price, thus increasing profits. When raising funds is costly, entrepreneurs balance the benefits from price discrimination against the costs of external financing, and respond to tighter financing constraints by decreasing the degree of price discrimination and increasing production. When crowdfunding is available, reducing the cost of capital, a common policy instrument used for spurring innovation, may unintentionally reduce production and welfare. JEL classification: L1,G23,G32
A Model for Text Summarization

Text summarization is a process for creating a concise version of document(s) preserving its main content. In this paper, to cover all topics and reduce redundancy in summaries, a two-stage sentences selection method for text summarization is proposed. At the first stage, to discover all topics the sentences set is clustered by using k-means method. At the second stage, optimum selection of sentences is proposed. From each cluster the salient sentences are selected according to their contribution to the topic (cluster) and their proximity to other sentences in cluster to avoid redundancy in summaries until the appointed summary length is reached. Sentence selection is modeled as an optimization problem. In this study, to solve the optimization problem an adaptive differential evolution with novel mutation strategy is employed. With a test on benchmark DUC2001 and DUC2002 data sets, the ROUGE value of summaries got by the proposed approach demonstrated its validity, compared to the traditional methods of sentence selection and the top three performing systems for DUC2001 and DUC2002. KeywoRdS Adaptive Differential Evolution Algorithm, Information Diversity, k-Means, Optimization Model, Sentence Clustering, Text Summarization
Frequency and Outcomes of Postrandomization Atrial Tachyarrhythmias in the Resynchronization/Defibrillation in Ambulatory Heart Failure Trial.

BACKGROUND
Whether adding cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT-D) to an implanted cardioverter-defibrillator alters the risk of atrial fibrillation or other atrial tachyarrhythmias (AF/AT), or if postimplantation AF/AT modulate the benefits of CRT-D, remain unknown.


METHODS AND RESULTS
We studied 972 Resynchronization/Defibrillation in Ambulatory Heart Failure Trial (RAFT) participants without permanent AF, who were randomized to CRT-D (n=495) versus nonresynchronization defibrillator (implanted cardioverter-defibrillator; n=477) within the predefined stratum eligible for an atrial lead. Occurrence of postrandomization AF/AT was prospectively assessed, and Cox models were used to test the independent association between the postrandomization AF/AT and the RAFT primary composite outcome of all-cause mortality or hospitalization for heart failure. Over 41 (±19) months, postrandomization AF/AT occurred in 216 (45.3%) patients randomized to implanted cardioverter-defibrillator and 249 (50.3%) randomized to CRT-D. After adjusting for competing risk of death, randomization to CRT-D increased risk of postrandomization AF/AT (hazard ratio, 1.20; 95% confidence interval, 1.00-1.42; P=0.045). Postrandomization AF/AT, which remained paroxysmal in 69.5%, did not reduce biventricular pacing percentage. In adjusted models, postrandomization AF/AT was not associated with the primary outcome (hazard ratio, 1.04; 95% confidence interval, 0.84-1.30). However, AF/AT was associated with a borderline decreased risk of mortality (hazard ratio, 0.75; 95% confidence interval, 0.58-1.00) but increased risk of heart failure hospitalization (hazard ratio, 1.43; 95% confidence interval, 1.08-1.90).


CONCLUSIONS
In RAFT, nearly half of the patients developed postrandomization AF/AT, and those randomized to CRT-D had borderline significant higher risk. Postrandomization AF/AT was associated with risk of heart failure hospitalization, but not with the primary composite outcome.


CLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRATION
URL: http://www.clinicaltrials.gov. Unique identifier: NCT00251251.
The effectiveness and satisfaction of web-based physiotherapy in people with spinal cord injury: a pilot randomised controlled trial

Study design:A pilot randomised controlled trial.Objectives:The aims of this study were to evaluate the effectiveness and participant satisfaction of web-based physiotherapy in people with spinal cord injury (SCI).Setting:Community patients of a national spinal injury unit in a university teaching hospital, Scotland, UK.Methods:Twenty-four participants were recruited and randomised to receive 8 weeks of web-based physiotherapy (intervention), twice per week, or usual care (control). Individual exercise programmes were prescribed based on participants' abilities. The intervention was delivered via a website (www.webbasedphysio.com) and monitored and progressed remotely by the physiotherapist.Results:Participants logged on to the website an average of 1.4±0.8 times per week. Between-group differences, although not significant, were more pronounced for the 6-min walk test. Participants were positive about using web-based physiotherapy and stated that they would be happy to use it again and would recommend it to others. Overall, it was rated as either good or excellent.Conclusions:Web-based physiotherapy was feasible and acceptable for people with SCI. Participants achieved good compliance with the intervention and rated the programme highly and beneficial for health and well-being at various states after injury. The results of this study warrant further work with a more homogeneous sample.Sponsorship:This study was funded by the Queen Elizabeth National Spinal Injuries Unit, Glasgow, UK.
Body Image Perceptions : Do Gender Differences Exist ?

Despite the large volume of research on body image, few studies have directly compared body image perceptions of men and women. Do men and women experience body image dissatisfaction in the same ways? Do similar factors predict negative body image perceptions in men and women? Is body image dissatisfaction associated with the same consequences regardless of gender? This study investigated these questions. One hundred ninety-seven undergraduate students completed an online survey that assessed their body image experiences and self-perceptions (i.e., body esteem, body mass index, self-esteem, sociocultural and situational factors, and body image perceptions in sexual contexts). Data analysis compared the responses of male and female participants. Several gender differences were found; body dissatisfaction was more common and felt more strongly in women, yet men were also clearly affected by body dissatisfaction.
Fuzzy ontology models using intuitionistic fuzzy set for knowledge sharing on the semantic web

Ontology is adopted as a standard for knowledge representation and sharing in collaborative design on the semantic Web. Fuzzy ontology is an extension of domain ontology for solving the uncertainty problems. To represent formally the fuzzy knowledge more effectively, this paper proposes a series of fuzzy ontology models that consists of fuzzy domain ontology, using intuitionistic fuzzy set, and fuzzy linguistic variable ontologies, considering semantic relationships between fuzzy concepts, including set relation, order relation and equivalence relation. The fuzzy ontology introduces the fuzzy concepts as values of properties and extends the ordinary relationships to fuzzy relationships and intuitionistic fuzzy relationships. The application, which uses fuzzy ontology to model knowledge of intelligent transportation, shows that these models can overcome the localization of other fuzzy ontology models, and this research facilitates the fuzzy knowledge sharing and reuse on the semantic Web.
Credit card fraud detection: A fusion approach using Dempster-Shafer theory and Bayesian learning

We propose a novel approach for credit card fraud detection, which combines evidences from current as well as past behavior. The fraud detection system (FDS) consists of four components, namely, rule-based filter, Dempster–Shafer adder, transaction history database and Bayesian learner. In the rule-based component, we determine the suspicion level of each incoming transaction based on the extent of its deviation from good pattern. Dempster–Shafer’s theory is used to combine multiple such evidences and an initial belief is computed. The transaction is classified as normal, abnormal or suspicious depending on this initial belief. Once a transaction is found to be suspicious, belief is further strengthened or weakened according to its similarity with fraudulent or genuine transaction history using Bayesian learning. Extensive simulation with stochastic models shows that fusion of different evidences has a very high positive impact on the performance of a credit card fraud detection system as compared to other methods. 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
The method of synonyms extraction from unannotated corpus

The structuring of large volumes of e-documents assumes the organization of text on several levels, namely paragraphs, sentences, phrases, words. Methods of lexical paradigms extraction using statistical analysis were developed long ago. In this paper we attempt to move from lexical correlatives to the list of synonyms on various levels of generalization on the basis of local and global contexts' statistics.
Asthma and cystic fibrosis: a tangled web.

Successfully diagnosing concomitant asthma in people with cystic fibrosis (CF) is a challenging proposition, and the utility of conventional diagnostic criteria of asthma in CF populations remains uncertain. Nonetheless, the accurate identification of individuals with CF and asthma allows appropriate tailoring of therapy, and should reduce the unnecessary use of asthma medication in broader CF cohorts. In this review, we discuss the diagnostic challenge posed by asthma in CF, both in terms of clinical evaluation, and of interpretation of pulmonary function testing and non-invasive markers of airway inflammation. We also examine how the role of cross-sectional thoracic imaging in CF and asthma can assist in the diagnosis of asthma in these patients. Finally, we critically appraise the evidence base behind the use of asthma medications in CF populations, with a particular focus on the use of inhaled corticosteroids and bronchodilators. As shall be discussed, the gaps in the current literature make further high-quality research in this field imperative.
Intervention targeted at nurses to improve venous thromboprophylaxis.

OBJECTIVE
To assess the effectiveness of an intervention targeting both physicians and nurses vs. physicians only in improving venous thromboprophylaxis for older patients.


DESIGN
Cluster randomized trial.


SETTING
Fifty hospital-based post-acute care departments in France.


PARTICIPANTS
Patients aged 65 years or older.


INTERVENTION
A multifaceted intervention to implement a clinical practice guideline addressing venous thromboprophylaxis.


MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES
The effectiveness outcomes were elastic stocking use, ambulation or mobilization under the supervision of a physical therapist and anticoagulant-based prophylaxis. Patient outcomes included deep vein thrombosis and anticoagulant-related adverse events.


RESULTS
One department allocated to the intervention targeted at physicians only and seven departments allocated to the intervention targeted at both physicians and nurses dropped out of the study. Compared with the intervention targeted at physicians only (n = 497 patients), the intervention targeted at both physicians and nurses (n = 315 patients) was associated with a higher rate of mobilization (62 vs. 37%, P < 0.001) and comparable levels of elastic stocking (32 vs. 39%, P = 0.74) and anticoagulant (55 vs. 48%, P = 0.36) use. The rates of deep vein thrombosis (15 vs. 13%, P = 0.50), bleeding (1 vs. 1%, P = 0.99) and thrombocytopaenia (0 vs. 0.2%, P = 0.99) did not differ between the two groups.


CONCLUSIONS
A multifaceted intervention targeting nurses in addition to physicians can increase the frequency of mobilization of older patients to prevent venous thromboembolism but does not alter the use of elastic stockings and anticoagulant. A differential drop-out of departments might have contributed to creating imbalances in baseline characteristics and outcomes in this study.
Revisiting peephole pointing: a study of target acquisition with a handheld projector

Peephole pointing is a promising interaction technique for large workspaces that contain more information than can be appropriately displayed on a single screen. In peephole pointing a window to the virtual workspace is moved in space to reveal additional content. In 2008, two different models for peephole pointing were discussed. Cao, Li and Balakrishnan proposed a two-component model, whereas Rohs and Oulasvirta investigated a similar model, but concluded that Fitts' law is sufficient for predicting peephole pointing performance. We present a user study performed with a handheld projector showing that Cao et al.'s model only outperforms Fitts' law in prediction accuracy when different peephole sizes are used and users have no prior knowledge of target location. Nevertheless, Fitts' law succeeds under the conditions most likely to occur. Additionally, we show that target overshooting is a key characteristic of peephole pointing and present the implementation of an orientation aware handheld projector that enables peephole interaction without instrumenting the environment.
The paradox of Parrondo's games

We introduce Parrondo’s paradox that involves games of chance. We consider two fair games, A and B, both of which can be made to lose by changing a biasing parameter. An apparently paradoxical situation arises when the two games are played in any alternating order. A winning expectation is produced, even though both games A and B are losing when we play them individually. We develop an explanation of the phenomenon in terms of a Brownian ratchet model, and also develop a mathematical analysis using discrete-time Markov chains. From the analysis we investigate the range of parameter values for which Parrondo’s paradox exists.
Decolorization potential of mixed microbial consortia for reactive and disperse textile dyestuffs

Four different aerobic mixed consortia collected from basins of wastewater streams coming out of dying plants of Crescent Textile (CT), Sitara Textile (ST), Chenab Fabrics (CF) and Noor Fatima Textile (NF), Faisalabad, Pakistan were applied for decolorization of Drimarene Orange K-GL, Drimarene Brilliant Red K-4BL, Foron Yellow SE4G and Foron Blue RDGLN for 10 days using the shake flask technique. CT culture showed the best decolorization potential on all dyestuffs followed by ST, NF and CF, respectively. CT could completely decolorize all dyes within 3–5 days. ST cultures showed effective decolorization potential on Foron Yellow SE4G and Drimarene Brilliant Red K-4BL but complete color removal was achieved after 4 and 7 days, respectively. NF culture showed 100% decolorization efficiencies on Foron Yellow SE4G and Foron Blue RDGLN but it took comparatively longer time periods (5–7 days). Where as, the NF culture had decolorized only 40% and 50% of Drimarene orange and red, respectively, after 10 days. CF caused complete decolorization of Foron Blue RDGLN and Drimarene Brilliant Red K-4BL after 4 and 8 days, respectively but it showed poor performance on other two dyes.
Meaningful Alignments

We propose a method for detecting geometric structures in an image, without any a priori information. Roughly speaking, we say that an observed geometric event is “meaningful” if the expectation of its occurences would be very small in a random image. We discuss the apories of this definition, solve several of them by introducing “maximal meaningful events” and analyzing their structure. This methodology is applied to the detection of alignments in images.