LLukas22/scidocs huggingface dataset:
Online clock skew tuning for timing speculation

The timing performance and yield of integrated circuits can be improved by carefully assigning intentional clock skews to flipflops. Due to the ever-increasing process, voltage, and temperature variations with technology scaling, however, traditional clock skew optimization solutions that work in a conservative manner to guarantee "always correct" computation cannot perform as well as expected. By allowing infrequent timing errors and recovering from them with minor performance impact, the concept of timing speculation has attracted lots of research attention since it enables "better than worst-case design". In this work, we propose a novel online clock skew tuning technique for circuits equipped with timing speculation capability. By observing the occurrence of timing errors at runtime and tuning clock skews accordingly, the proposed technique is able to achieve much better timing performance when compared to existing clock skew optimization solutions. Experimental results on various benchmark circuits demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed methodology.
Effect of self-efficacy and social support on adherence to antihypertensive drugs.

STUDY OBJECTIVE
To determine the relationship between poor adherence and self-efficacy or social support after a pharmacist intervention.


DESIGN
Post-hoc analysis of data from two randomized controlled trials of physician-pharmacist collaborative interventions (6 and 9 mo, respectively) to improve blood pressure control.


SETTING
Eleven university-affiliated primary care clinics.


PATIENTS
Five hundred eighty-four patients (aged 21-85 yrs) with uncontrolled primary hypertension; 296 were in the intervention group and 288 were in the control group.


INTERVENTION
Pharmacists provided intensified hypertension management and drug adherence counseling to patients in the intervention group.


MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS
Social support and self-efficacy questionnaires were administered at baseline and end-of-study visits. Patient adherence was monitored by using the Morisky self-reported adherence questionnaire. Self-reported adherence scores improved significantly in the control group (p=0.0053) but not in the intervention group; however, adherence at baseline in both groups was high. There were small, but significant, improvements in self-efficacy (p<0.04) and social support (p<0.05) scores in the intervention group but not the control group at the end of the study. Social support and, to a lesser extent, self-efficacy improved as a function of duration of study participation (9-mo vs 6-mo intervention), regardless of whether the patient received the intervention. Blood pressure control in both groups improved significantly at the end of the study; however, mean blood pressure was significantly lower in the intervention group (129.7/76.6 mm Hg) compared with the control group (140.8/78.9 mm Hg; p<0.0001 for systolic, p=0.032 for diastolic).


CONCLUSION
Social support and self-efficacy improved significantly in the intervention group at the end of the pharmacist intervention. Drug adherence was correlated with self-efficacy even though drug adherence did not improve significantly in the intervention group. The fact that social support and self-efficacy improved as a function of duration of study participation suggests that participation in a research study may have had a positive influence on these measures. Even though the changes in social support, self-efficacy, and drug adherence were modest, there was significantly better blood pressure control in the intervention group compared with the control group. These findings indicate that changes in drug adherence, self-efficacy, or social support probably played a minor role in the blood pressure outcomes in these studies.
The TRPV4 channel: structure-function relationship and promiscuous gating behaviour

 Transient receptor potential (TRP) channels provide an enormous variability of Ca2+ influx mechanisms triggered by a wide range of stimuli. In this review, we discuss the activation properties of the Ca2+- and Mg2+-permeable TRP channel of the vanilloid subfamily TRPV4. This channel is activated by various physical and chemical stimuli, such as cell swelling, heat, phorbols and, probably, by endogenous ligands, which are able to induce Ca2+ entry. Not much is known about the regulation of this channel. We will refer only to a mechanism of Ca2+-dependent inhibition of TRPV4. Possible functional roles of this channel will be correlated with its observed expression pattern. Finally, we discuss the structural determinants of TRPV4 channel function.
Multiorgan protection of remote ischemic perconditioning in valve replacement surgery.

BACKGROUND
Remote ischemic perconditioning (RIPerc) is a new alternative of remote ischemic conditioning and has not been well studied. RIPerc attenuates myocardial injury when applied during cardiac surgery. However, its protective effects on other organs remain unknown.


MATERIALS AND METHODS
Patients with rheumatic heart disease undergoing valve replacement surgery were randomized into the RIPerc group (n = 101) or the control group (n = 100). RIPerc was achieved by three cycles of 5-min ischemia-5-min reperfusion in the right thigh during surgery. Clinical data and the levels of injury biomarkers for the heart, lungs, liver, and kidneys within 48 h after surgery were compared using one-way or repeated measurement analysis of variance.


RESULTS
In the RIPerc group, the release of serum cardiac troponin I (128.68 ± 102.56 versus 172.33 ± 184.38, P = 0.04) and the inotropic score (96.4 ± 73.8 versus 121.5 ± 89.6, P = 0.032) decreased compared with that of the control; postoperative drainage (458.2 ± 264.2 versus 545.1 ± 349.0 ml, P = 0.048) and the incidence of acute lung injury was reduced (36.6% versus 51%, P = 0.04), and the extent of hyperbilirubinemia was also attenuated. No significant difference was observed in the levels of biomarkers for renal injury and systemic inflammation response.


CONCLUSIONS
RIPerc applied during the valve replacement surgery induced multiple beneficial effects postoperatively including reduced drainage and myocardial damage, lower incidence of acute lung injury, and attenuated hyperbilirubinemia.
Frequency-Scanning Phased-Array Feed Network Based on Composite Right/Left-Handed Transmission Lines

This paper presents an all-passive phased-array feed network based on composite right/left handed (CRLH) transmission lines (TLs). A CRLH TL enables systematic engineering of the phase response providing phase advance in addition to phase delay. When utilized in a phased-array feed network, an all-passive 1-D frequency-scanning array can be designed with a large scanning angle range toward both positive and negative elevation angles. This unique feature cannot be realized using conventional delay lines or dispersive lines that do not contain left-handed properties. Also, unlike the previously studied CRLH-based leaky-wave antennas that provide similar 1-D continuous frequency-scanning functionality, the proposed method completely decouples the radiating antenna element from the array factor; thereby providing extra design freedom and enhanced radiation performance. To validate the added advantage, we use the proposed CRLH-based phased-array feed network to demonstrate simultaneous controllability of the radiated polarization and array current amplitude distribution.
Secure smartcardbased fingerprint authentication

In this paper, the fundamental insecurities hampering a scalable, wide-spread deployment of biometric authentication are examined, and a cryptosystem capable of using fingerprint data as its key is presented. For our application, we focus on situations where a private key stored on a smartcard is used for authentication in a networked environment, and we assume an attacker can launch o -line attacks against a stolen card.Juels and Sudan's <i>fuzzy vault</i> is used as a starting point for building and analyzing a secure authentication scheme using fingerprints and smartcards called a <i>figerprint vault</i>. Fingerprint minutiae coordinates <i>m<sub>i</sub></i> are encoded as elements in a nite eld <i>F</i> and the secret key is encoded in a polynomial <i>f(x)</i> over <i>F</i>[<i>x</i>]. The polynomial is evaluated at the minutiae locations, and the pairs (<i>m<sub>i</sub>, f(m<sub>i</sub>)</i>) are stored along with random (<i>c<sub>i</sub>, d<sub>i</sub></i>) cha points such that <i>d<sub>i</sub> ≠ f(c<sub>i</sub>)</i>. Given a matching fingerprint, a valid user can seperate out enough true points from the cha points to reconstruct <i>f(x)</i>, and hence the original secret key.The parameters of the vault are selected such that the attacker's vault unlocking complexity is maximized, subject to zero unlocking complexity with a matching fingerprint and a reasonable amount of error. For a feature location measurement variance of 9 pixels, the optimal vault is 2<sup>69</sup> times more difficult to unlock for an attacker compared to a user posessing a matching fingerprint, along with approximately a 30% chance of unlocking failure.
Ki-67 and PCNA expression in prostate cancer and benign prostatic hyperplasia.

OBJECTIVE
Ki-67 is a proliferation-associated nuclear antigen and is expressed in all cycling cells except for resting cells in the G0-phase. PCNA is an acidic nuclear protein and has been recognized as a histologic marker for the G1/S phase in the cell cycle. Ki-67and PCNA labeling indices are considered to reflect cell proliferation, particularly, growth fraction. The purpose of this study is to investigate the expression levels of Ki-67 and PCNA in prostate cancer (PCa) and benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) and their potential on the early diagnosis of PCa.


METHODS
Human prostate cancer cell lines LNCaP and PC-3, human normal prostate epithelial cell line HuPEC, tissues from patients with PCa (121 cases) and BPH (45) and 36 normal cases were examined for the expression of Ki-67 and PCNA by Reverse Transcription-Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR). Then, the association of Ki-67 and PCNA expression with clinical grading of PCa was analyzed by immunohistochemistry staining.


RESULTS
The ratios of PCNA and Ki-67 expression levels in LNCaP and PC-3 were higher (P < 0.05, P < 0.001) than that in HuPEC. The two markers were differentially expressed in three tissues and showed increased expression in PCa (P < 0.05) and BPH (P < 0.05), relative to human normal prostate tissues. Compared with BPH, the ratio of Ki-67 and PCNA expressed in tumour tissue was increased (P < 0.05). The increase of Ki-67 was greater than that of PCNA. Expression of the two markers increased after different grading of PCa cases. The values of Ki-67/PCNA were: 0.073 in grade I PCa tissues, 0.119 in grade IIa PCa tissues, 0.141 in grade IIa PCa tissues, 0.234 in grade III PCa tissues.


CONCLUSION
The combination of Ki-67 and PCNA, specific proliferative markers of PCa, may improve the accuracy of early diagnosis of prostatic cancer.
The bilingual adaptation: How minds accommodate experience.

According to some estimates, more than half of the world's population is multilingual to some extent. Because of the centrality of language use to human experience and the deep connections between linguistic and nonlinguistic processing, it would not be surprising to find that there are interactions between bilingualism and cognitive and brain processes. The present review uses the framework of experience-dependent plasticity to evaluate the evidence for systematic modifications of brain and cognitive systems that can be attributed to bilingualism. The review describes studies investigating the relation between bilingualism and cognition in infants and children, younger and older adults, and patients, using both behavioral and neuroimaging methods. Excluded are studies whose outcomes focus primarily on linguistic abilities because of their more peripheral contribution to the central question regarding experience-dependent changes to cognition. Although most of the research discussed in the review reports some relation between bilingualism and cognitive or brain outcomes, several areas of research, notably behavioral studies with young adults, largely fail to show these effects. These discrepancies are discussed and considered in terms of methodological and conceptual issues. The final section proposes an account based on "executive attention" to explain the range of research findings and to set out an agenda for the next steps in this field. (PsycINFO Database Record
Localization of ferruginol, a diterpene phenol, in Cryptomeria japonica heartwood by time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry

Time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry (TOF-SIMS) was applied to the investigation of heartwood extractives in Sugi (Cryptomeria japonica). Sugi heartwood tissue generated secondary ions that were not produced from sapwood tissue by TOF-SIMS. Among the peculiar ions generated from heartwood, two positive ions of m/z 285 and 301 were remarkable due to their appearance in a larger mass range and with a high intensity. These two ions were not generated from heartwood tissue preextracted with n-hexane, and the n-hexane extract of Sugi heartwood produced both ions. Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry of the n-hexane extract demonstrated that ferruginol, a diterpene phenol, the molecular weight of which is 286, constituted one of the predominant constituents of the extract. Authentic ferruginol also generated both ions by TOF-SIMS. The molecular formula of the m/z 285 ion generated from Sugi heartwood tissue was estimated to be C20H29O, which corresponds well with that of ferruginol, i.e. C20H30O, by peak identification. All these results strongly suggest that the m/z 285 ion generated from Sugi heartwood tissue originated significantly from ferruginol in Sugi heartwood. By TOF-SIMS imaging, the m/z 285 ion was detected uniformly in the tracheid cell walls, in the cell walls of the axial parenchyma cells and ray parenchyma cells, and also inside these parenchyma cells. These results indicate that ferruginol was distributed almost evenly in Sugi heartwood tissue.
The association between antihypertensive drug therapies and plasma lipid levels in the general population

Objective: To assess the association between different antihypertensive drug regimens and plasma lipid levels in the general population.Methods: The Monitoring Project on Cardiovascular Risk Factors was conducted from 1987 to 1991 as a cross-sectional study in The Netherlands. Antihypertensive drug-users and untreated hypertensives were selected. After exclusion of users of cholesterol-lowering drugs 2997 subjects remained for the analysis. The plasma lipid concentrations of the users and non-users of antihypertensives were compared by multiple linear regression.Results: In the univariate analysis patients using beta-blockers had lower high-density lipoprotein (HDL) concentrations (1.13 mmol/l, P < 0.05) and higher cholesterol ratios (5.74, P < 0.05) than untreated hypertensives (Total cholesterol = 6.07 mmol/l, HDL = 1.20 mmol/l and ratio = 5.44). Patients using diuretics had higher total cholesterol levels (6.34 mmol/l) and higher HDL levels (1.26 mmol/l) compared to untreated hypertensives. After adjustment for possible confounders these differences were smaller and no longer statistically significant. After adjustment we found a significant lower HDL cholesterol (mean difference of −0.10 mmol/l, P < 0.05) for users of a combination of a beta-blocker and a diuretic.Conclusions: Although randomised, controlled trials have demonstrated that antihypertensive drugs may influence plasma lipid levels we observed no substantial association for single antihypertensive drug therapy in the general population. The combination of a diuretic and a beta-blocker was associated with a worse lipid profile.
An improved high-power DC/DC Converter for distributed power generation

This paper presents a new step-up DC/DC converter topology intended for the distributed power generation systems. The topology utilizes the voltage fed quasi Z-source inverter with continuous input current on the primary side, a single-phase isolation transformer and a voltage doubler rectifier. To increase the power density of the converter, implementation of the three-phase auxiliary AC-link (three-phase inverter and three-phase isolation transformer) and the three-phase voltage doubler rectifier are proposed by the authors. The paper describes the operation principles of the proposed topologies and analyzes the theoretical and experimental results.
Speed-Consumption Tradeoff for Electric Vehicle Route Planning

We study the problem of computing routes for electric vehicles (EVs) in road networks. Since their battery capacity is limited, and consumed energy per distance increases with velocity, driving the fastest route is often not desirable and may even be infeasible. On the other hand, the energy-optimal route may be too conservative in that it contains unnecessary detours or simply takes too long. In this work, we propose to use multicriteria optimization to obtain Pareto sets of routes that trade energy consumption for speed. In particular, we exploit the fact that the same road segment can be driven at different speeds within reasonable intervals. As a result, we are able to provide routes with low energy consumption that still follow major roads, such as freeways. Unfortunately, the size of the resulting Pareto sets can be too large to be practical. We therefore also propose several nontrivial techniques that can be applied on-line at query time in order to speed up computation and filter insignificant solutions from the Pareto sets. Our extensive experimental study, which uses a real-world energy consumption model, reveals that we are able to compute diverse sets of alternative routes on continental networks that closely resemble the exact Pareto set in just under a second—several orders of magnitude faster than the exhaustive algorithm. 1998 ACM Subject Classification G.2.2 Graph Theory, G.2.3 Applications
A systematic review of topical negative pressure therapy for acute and chronic wounds.

BACKGROUND
Topical negative pressure (TNP) therapy is becoming increasingly popular for all kinds of wounds. Its clinical and cost effectiveness is unclear.


METHODS
A search of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) on TNP in adult patients with all kinds of wounds in all settings was undertaken in Medline, Embase, Cinahl (to October 2007) and the Cochrane Library (to issue 4, 2007). Information was also sought from manufacturer of the VAC device. Selection of trials for analysis, quality assessment, data abstraction and data synthesis were conducted by two authors independently. The primary endpoint was any measure of wound healing. Secondary endpoints were infection, pain, quality of life, oedema, microcirculation, bacterial load, adverse events, duration of hospital stay and cost.


RESULTS
The search identified 15 publications on 13 RCTs. These reported on patients with chronic wounds, diabetic wounds, pressure ulcers, skin grafts and acute wounds. In chronic and diabetic wounds, TNP did not allow earlier complete wound healing. It was, however, associated with a 1-10 day reduction in the time needed to prepare the wound for secondary closure surgery. In one trial on acute wounds, 17 (95 per cent confidence interval (c.i.) 0.02 to 0.32) per cent more wounds appeared to heal with TNP; the number needed to treat was six. This was, however, at the cost of an 11 (95 per cent c.i. 0.01 to 0.21) per cent higher complication rate; the number needed to harm was nine.


CONCLUSION
There is little evidence to support the use of TNP in the treatment of wounds.
Involvement of obliquus capitis inferior muscle in dystonic head tremor.

INTRODUCTION
Head tremor is a common feature in cervical dystonia (CD) and often less responsive to botulinum neurotoxin (BoNT) treatment than dystonic posturing. Ultrasound allows accurate targeting of deeper neck muscles.


METHODS
In 35 CD patients with dystonic head tremor the depth and thickness of the splenius capitis (SPL), semispinalis capitis and obliquus capitis inferior muscles (OCI) were assessed using ultrasound. Ultrasound guided EMG recordings were performed from the SPL and OCI.


RESULTS
Burst-like tremor activity was present in both OCI in 25 and in one in 10 patients. In 18 patients, tremor activity was present in one SPL and in 2 in both SPL. Depth and thickness of OCI, SPL and semispinalis capitis muscles were very variable.


CONCLUSION
Muscular activity underlying tremulous CD is most commonly present in OCI. Due to the variability of muscle thickness, we suggest ultrasound guided BoNT injections into OCI.
Process-oriented taxonomy of BPOs: an exploratory study

Purpose – This paper sets out to classify business process outsourcing (BPO), linking it to service level agreement (SLA) design needs. Design/methodology/approach – The paper develops a framework based on prior literature to classify BPOs and illustrates it with field research of Indian vendors. Findings – The paper identifies criticality and complexity as the dimensions of classification and explicates the role of SLAs along these dimensions. Research limitations/implications – This is an exploratory research involving four vendors. A larger study is needed to strengthen/enrich the proposed framework, and make the findings more conclusive. Practical implications – The taxonomy aids BPO industry practitioners in understanding the characteristics of different processes and the control issues arising therein. It also helps analysts to make more qualified generalizations within the BPO industry. Originality/value – The paper addresses a dearth of literature on BPOs, especially from a vendor perspective. The taxonomy serves to position future work in this fast-growing field of research.
Wave Equations, Renormalization and Meaning of the Planck's Mass: Some Qualitative Considerations

The flve-dimensional version of the quantum relativistic Klein-Gordon wave equation is assumed to be a more fundamental description for the dynamics of the single particle without spin. The meaning of the renormalization procedure in QFT and the Planck's mass one are brie∞y discussed from this point of view.
Survival following non surgical treatments for oral cancer: a single institutional result.

AIM
To report the results of radiotherapy with or without chemotherapy in the patients with oral cancer.


METHODS
Over the 2003-2009 periods, a total number of 69 patients with squamous cell carcinoma of the oral cavity that refused surgery or had unresectable tumor were enrolled in this study. A total dose of 60 to 70 Gy (2 Gy per day) was given to the primary tumor and clinically positive nodes. In the patients with locoregionally advanced disease (57 patients with T3, T4 lesions and/ or N+) induction chemotherapy following by concomitant chemoradiation was used. Induction chemotherapy consisted of 3 cycles of Cisplatin and 5-Flourouracil with or without Docetaxel. Weekly cisplatin was used in concomitant protocol. Kaplan-Meier method was used to calculate overall survival. Log-rank test and Cox regression model were used for comparison purposes.


RESULTS
Median follow-up was 32 months. The mean age of the patients was 59.2 years. The overall response rate after induction chemotherapy was 68.4%. Actuarial overall survival rates after 2 and 3 years were 38% and 26%, respectively. Clinical stage emerged as the only independent predictor of survival.


CONCLUSION
Outcome of the patients with oral cancer is poor. Presenting with an advanced stage lesion contributed to this result. The role of chemotherapy in advanced cases remains to be defined.