bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
New drugs for osteoporosis therapy: a review of the clinical trials phase 2 and 3
Authors: Tadić Ivana , Tasić Ljiljana , Vujašinović Stupar Nada , Ilić Katarina , Stevanović Dejan 
Published: March 2014

SUMMARY
Osteoporosis is a chronic disease with increasing incidence that predominantly occurs in female population. There are evidences that bisphosphonates, selective estrogen receptor modulators, denosumab, teriparatide and strontium renalate, prevent vertebral fractures while alendronate, risedronate, zoledronic acid, denosumab and strontium renalate prevent hip fractures. Although these drugs are effective in osteoporosis treatment, their use is limited by their side-effects and low-adherence. The aim of this review article was to compare efficacy of new drugs for osteoporosis currently in phase 2 and 3 clinical trials. After reviewing 57 articles available on PubMed and Scopus databases that evaluated efficacy of osteoporosis medications, 10 papers, that fulfilled the review criteria, were selected for the analysis. Finally, the efficacy of five drugs was compared. Efficacy was evaluated by the values of bone mineral density (BMD) and bone turnover markers (BTM). In all the analyzed articles the BMD increased and changes of BTM were noted. The highest increase of lumbar BMD from the baseline values was achieved after six months of subcutaneous application of 20 μg/day teriparatide (11.3%). The lowest increase of BMD in the same region was recorded after six months of risedronate therapy 100 mg per os once monthly (2.1%). From ten selected articles, only one has reported data about fracture risk.
Epidemiological characteristics of carriers of antibody against hepatitis C virus in the population of Nišava district
Authors: Kostić Marina , Kocić Biljana , Popović Dragonjić Lidija 
Published: March 2014

SUMMARY
The aim of the paper was to determine the disease trends and characteristics of anti-HCV antibody carrier status for the purpose of better prevention and disease control.
The materials used were annual reports, reports of diseases and deaths from infectious diseases, and epidemiological surveys of the Public Health Institute Niš in the period from 2002 to 2011 in the Nišava District. A descriptive epidemiological method was used. Rates were non-standardized and were calculated per 100.000 residents.
There was an upward trend (y=-5.4+8.21 x±R²=0.53) of HCV carriers. Most carriers were male (68.34%), from urban areas (81.66%), aged 37.75±SD 16.80 years on the average, and unemployed (39.45%) (out of which the inmates of the Correctional Facility in Niš making up 26.11%). More than half of the registered carriers (59.05%) were not able to report the precise mode of transmission. Then followed hemodialysis patients (15.83%), injecting drug users (11.06%), blood donors (4.77%), pregnant women (3.52%), mother-to-child transmission cases (2.26%), and health professionals (0.75%). There were 14.82% of hospitalized cases. In 4.52%, a coinfection with hepatitis B virus was found.
HCV carrier status in the Nišava District showed an upward trend. Low incidence rates might have been the result of underreporting. Since there is no anti-HCV vaccine, it is necessary to focus on the activities of health education of all categories of people at risk, as well as on the service providers in different sectors, risk factors, modes of transmission and protection measures.
λ-Almost Statistical Convergence of Order α
Authors: Çolak R. , Altin Y. , Et M. 
Published: March 2014

Abstract
In this paper, we introduce the concept λ-almost statistical convergence of order α. Also some relations between λ-almost statistical convergence of order α and strong (V, λ)-almost summability of order α are given. Furthermore some relations between the space [Vαp, λ, f] and Ŝαλ are examined.
Finite Groups with Some Primary Subgroups Weakly τ-Quasinormal
Authors: Li Changwen , Yi Xiaolan 
Published: March 2014

Abstract
A subgroup H of a group G is said to be weakly τ-quasinormal in G if G has a subnormal subgroup T of G such that G = HT and H ∩ T < HτG, where HτG is the subgroup generated by all those subgroups of H which are τ-quasinormal in G. In this paper we investigate the influence of weakly τ-quasinormal subgroups on the p-nilpotency and p-supersolvability of finite groups.
A Generalization of Commutativity Theorem for Rings
Authors: Wei Junchao , Fan Zhiyong 
Published: March 2014

Abstract
Let R be a ring with an identity and for each x ∈ SN(R) = {x ∈ R|x ∉ N(R)} and y ∈ R, (xy)k = xkyk for three consecutive positive integers k. It is shown in this note that R is a commutative ring, which generalizes the known theorem belonging to Ligh and Richoux.
Characterizations of Functions with Closed Graph
Authors: Goel Asha , Singh Satbir 
Published: March 2014

Abstract
The nature and usefulness of KC functions in topology have been well established in literature. In this paper, we introduce a new class of functions to be called inversely KC functions and emphasize its utility in characterization of functions with closed graph for the first time. We hereby study the relation between KC functions and Inversely KC functions and investigate various specific conditions under which these functions can be converted into functions having closed graph.
A Multi-Valued Choquet Integral with Respect to a Multisubmeasure
Authors: Sofian-Boca Floarea-Nicoleta 
Published: March 2014

Abstract
Jang, Kim and Kwon introduced a multi-valued Choquet integral for multifunctions with respect to real fuzzy measures and Zhang, Guo and Liu established for this kind of integral some convergence theorems. The aim of this paper is to present another type of set-valued Choquet integral, called by us the Aumann-Choquet integral, for non-negative measurable functions with respect to multisubmeasures taking values in the class of all non-empty,compact and convex sets of ℝ+ on which we use the order relation considered by Guo and Zhang. For this kind of integral, we study some important properties and we prove that if we add some supplementary properties to the multisubmeasure then they are also preserved by the set-valued function defined as Aumann-Choquet integral.
An analytical iterative statistical algorithm for image reconstruction from projections
Authors: Cierniak Robert 
Published: March 2014

Abstract
The main purpose of the paper is to present a statistical model-based iterative approach to the problem of image reconstruction from projections. This originally formulated reconstruction algorithm is based on a maximum likelihood method with an objective adjusted to the probability distribution of measured signals obtained from an x-ray computed tomograph with parallel beam geometry. Various forms of objectives are tested. Experimental results show that an objective that is exactly tailored statistically yields the best results, and that the proposed reconstruction algorithm reconstructs an image with better quality than a conventional algorithm with convolution and back-projection.
Nuclei segmentation for computer-aided diagnosis of breast cancer
Authors: Kowal Marek , Filipczuk Paweł 
Published: March 2014

Abstract
Breast cancer is the most common cancer among women. The effectiveness of treatment depends on early detection of the disease. Computer-aided diagnosis plays an increasingly important role in this field. Particularly, digital pathology has recently become of interest to a growing number of scientists. This work reports on advances in computer-aided breast cancer diagnosis based on the analysis of cytological images of fine needle biopsies. The task at hand is to classify those as either benign or malignant. We propose a robust segmentation procedure giving satisfactory nuclei separation even when they are densely clustered in the image. Firstly, we determine centers of the nuclei using conditional erosion. The erosion is performed on a binary mask obtained with the use of adaptive thresholding in grayscale and clustering in a color space. Then, we use the multi-label fast marching algorithm initialized with the centers to obtain the final segmentation. A set of 84 features extracted from the nuclei is used in the classification by three different classifiers. The approach was tested on 450 microscopic images of fine needle biopsies obtained from patients of the Regional Hospital in Zielona Góra, Poland. The classification accuracy presented in this paper reaches 100%, which shows that a medical decision support system based on our method would provide accurate diagnostic information.
An optimal sliding mode congestion controller for connection-oriented communication networks with lossy links
Authors: Bartoszewicz Andrzej , Leśniewski Piotr 
Published: March 2014

Abstract
A new discrete-time sliding-mode congestion controller for connection-oriented networks is proposed. Packet losses which may occur during the transmission process are explicitly taken into account. Two control laws are presented, each obtained by minimizing a different cost functional. The first one concentrates on the output variable, whereas in the second one the whole state vector is considered. Weighting factors for adjusting the influence of the control signal and appropriate (state or output) errors are incorporated in both the functionals. The asymptotic stability of the closed-loop system is proved, and the conditions for 100% bottleneck node bandwidth utilization are derived. The performance of the proposed algorithm is verified by computer simulations.
Approximation of a linear dynamic process model using the frequency approach and a non-quadratic measure of the model error
Authors: Janiszowski Krzysztof B 
Published: March 2014

Abstract
The paper presents a novel approach to approximation of a linear transfer function model, based on dynamic properties represented by a frequency response, e.g., determined as a result of discrete-time identification. The approximation is derived for minimization of a non-quadratic performance index. This index can be determined as an exponent or absolute norm of an error. Two algorithms for determination of the approximation coefficients are considered, a batch processing one and a recursive scheme, based on the well-known on-line identification algorithm. The proposed approach is not sensitive to local outliers present in the original frequency response. Application of the approach and its features are presented on examples of two simple dynamic systems.
A differential evolution approach to dimensionality reduction for classification needs
Authors: Martinoyić Goran , Bajer Draźen , Zorić Bruno 
Published: March 2014

Abstract
The feature selection problem often occurs in pattern recognition and, more specifically, classification. Although these patterns could contain a large number of features, some of them could prove to be irrelevant, redundant or even detrimental to classification accuracy. Thus, it is important to remove these kinds of features, which in turn leads to problem dimensionality reduction and could eventually improve the classification accuracy. In this paper an approach to dimensionality reduction based on differential evolution which represents a wrapper and explores the solution space is presented. The solutions, subsets of the whole feature set, are evaluated using the k-nearest neighbour algorithm. High quality solutions found during execution of the differential evolution fill the archive. A final solution is obtained by conducting k-fold crossvalidation on the archive solutions and selecting the best one. Experimental analysis is conducted on several standard test sets. The classification accuracy of the k-nearest neighbour algorithm using the full feature set and the accuracy of the same algorithm using only the subset provided by the proposed approach and some other optimization algorithms which were used as wrappers are compared. The analysis shows that the proposed approach successfully determines good feature subsets which may increase the classification accuracy.
An efficient eigenspace updating scheme for high-dimensional systems
Authors: Gangl Simon , Mongus Domen , Žalik Borut 
Published: March 2014

Abstract
Systems based on principal component analysis have developed from exploratory data analysis in the past to current data processing applications which encode and decode vectors of data using a changing projection space (eigenspace). Linear systems, which need to be solved to obtain a constantly updated eigenspace, have increased significantly in their dimensions during this evolution. The basic scheme used for updating the eigenspace, however, has remained basically the same: (re)computing the eigenspace whenever the error exceeds a predefined threshold. In this paper we propose a computationally efficient eigenspace updating scheme, which specifically supports high-dimensional systems from any domain. The key principle is a prior selection of the vectors used to update the eigenspace in combination with an optimized eigenspace computation. The presented theoretical analysis proves the superior reconstruction capability of the introduced scheme, and further provides an estimate of the achievable compression ratios.
An algorithm for reducing the dimension and size of a sample for data exploration procedures
Authors: Kulczycki Piotr , Lukasik Szymon 
Published: March 2014

Abstract
The paper deals with the issue of reducing the dimension and size of a data set (random sample) for exploratory data analysis procedures. The concept of the algorithm investigated here is based on linear transformation to a space of a smaller dimension, while retaining as much as possible the same distances between particular elements. Elements of the transformation matrix are computed using the metaheuristics of parallel fast simulated annealing. Moreover, elimination of or a decrease in importance is performed on those data set elements which have undergone a significant change in location in relation to the others. The presented method can have universal application in a wide range of data exploration problems, offering flexible customization, possibility of use in a dynamic data environment, and comparable or better performance with regards to the principal component analysis. Its positive features were verified in detail for the domain’s fundamental tasks of clustering, classification and detection of atypical elements (outliers).
Cross-task code reuse in genetic programming applied to visual learning
Authors: Jaśkowski Wojciech , Krawiec Krzysztof , Wieloch Bartosz 
Published: March 2014

Abstract
We propose a method that enables effective code reuse between evolutionary runs that solve a set of related visual learning tasks. We start with introducing a visual learning approach that uses genetic programming individuals to recognize objects. The process of recognition is generative, i.e., requires the learner to restore the shape of the processed object. This method is extended with a code reuse mechanism by introducing a crossbreeding operator that allows importing the genetic material from other evolutionary runs. In the experimental part, we compare the performance of the extended approach to the basic method on a real-world task of handwritten character recognition, and conclude that code reuse leads to better results in terms of fitness and recognition accuracy. Detailed analysis of the crossbred genetic material shows also that code reuse is most profitable when the recognized objects exhibit visual similarity.
Survival analysis on data streams: Analyzing temporal events in dynamically changing environments
Authors: Shaker Ammar , Hüllermeier Eyke 
Published: March 2014

Abstract
In this paper, we introduce a method for survival analysis on data streams. Survival analysis (also known as event history analysis) is an established statistical method for the study of temporal “events” or, more specifically, questions regarding the temporal distribution of the occurrence of events and their dependence on covariates of the data sources. To make this method applicable in the setting of data streams, we propose an adaptive variant of a model that is closely related to the well-known Cox proportional hazard model. Adopting a sliding window approach, our method continuously updates its parameters based on the event data in the current time window. As a proof of concept, we present two case studies in which our method is used for different types of spatio-temporal data analysis, namely, the analysis of earthquake data and Twitter data. In an attempt to explain the frequency of events by the spatial location of the data source, both studies use the location as covariates of the sources.
A Canonical Correlation Analysis of Relationships Between Growth, Compositional Traits and Longevity, Lifetime Productivity and Efficiency in Polish Landrace Sows
Authors: Sobczyńska Magdalena , Blicharski Tadeusz , Tyra Mirosław 
Published: March 2014

Abstract
Relationships between performance test traits (growth rate, backfat thickness, loin depth, lean meat percentage, exterior, phenotypic selection index) and longevity traits (length of productive life, number of litters, total number of weaned pigs, number of weaned piglets per year, number of litters per year) in Landrace sows were evaluated using canonical correlation analysis. The data set consisted of 23,012 purebred sows that farrowed from 1994 to 2011 in 161 herds. The first three canonical correlations (0.37, 0.25, 0.07) were highly significant (P<0.0001). Correlations of the first canonical variate with the original measured variables indicated that sows with high values for this variate had lower growth rate (r=-0.31) and loin depth (r=-0.43), greater backfat thickness (r=0.23), as well as being older at birth of their last litter (r=0.98). These sows also had a greater number of litters (r=0.94) and better lifetime efficiency (r=0.61 and r=0.70 for number of weaned piglets per year and number of litters per year, respectively). Canonical loadings for the second canonical function indicate that sows with high values for the second set of variates had high growth rate (r=0.79) and phenotypic selection index (r=0.83), excellent conformation (r=0.62), as well as better efficiency in pig production (r=0.67). The squared multiple correlations show that the first canonical variate of the performance traits is a poor predictor of longevity (0.13) and nearly useless for predicting efficiency traits (0.07). Performance test traits explain 11% of the variance in the variables of longevity and lifetime productivity, whereas dependent variables explain only 3% of the variance in performance test traits. The relationships between performance test data and subsequent lifetime productivity or longevity were significant and unfavourable but low for Polish Landrace population
Assessment study of static-PPP convergence behaviour using gps, glonass and mixed gps/glonass observations
Authors: Farah Ashraf 
Published: March 2014

Abstract
Precise Point Positioning (PPP) has been used for the last decade as a cost-effective alternative for the ordinary DGPS-Differential GPS with an estimated precision sufficient for many applications. PPP requires handling different types of errors using proper models. PPP precision varies with the use of observations from different satellite systems (GPS, GLONASS and mixed GPS/GLONASS) and the duration of observations. This research presents an evaluation study for the variability of Static-PPP precision based on different observation types (GPS, GLONASS and mixed observations) and observation duration. It can be concluded that Static-PPP solution using mixed observations is offering similar accuracy as the one using GPS-only observations and saving 15 minutes observation time. For 30 minutes of observation duration, mixed observations offers improvement percentages of 14%, 26% and 25% for latitude, longitude and height respectively.
Noise sensitivity of selected kinematic path following controllers for a unicycle
Authors: Libal U. , Płaskonka J. 
Published: March 2014

Abstract
In the paper a path following problem for a wheeled mobile robot of (2,0) type has been considered. The kinematic model of the robot was derived with respect to the Serret-Frenet frame. Two kinematic control algorithms - Samson and Morin-Samson - have been tested taking into account their sensitivity to a white noise with a zero mean appearing in the one of state variables. The properties of path following errors have been analysed using statistical techniques. The conclusions related to an acceptable level of noise and a range of applicability of the presented algorithms have been reached.
The relationship between microstructure and mechanical properties of directly bonded copper-alumina ceramics joints
Authors: Pietrzak K. , Olesinska W. , Kalinski D. , Strojny-Nedza A. 
Published: March 2014

Abstract
The effect of phase transformations induced in the surface layer of alumina ceramics during its direct joining with copper activated with oxygen or titanium on the mechanical strength of the ceramic/copper joints was examined. The materials used in the experiments were an alumina single crystal, alumina ceramics (97.5 wt% Al2O3), the cermet mixtures: Cu-Cu2O with 10-50 wt% of Cu2O, copper with 5 wt% of Ti, and copper with 5 wt% of Ti and 10 wt% of Ag. The microstructure of the transition layer was examined by the X-ray diffraction method (XRD), scanning electron microscopy method (SEM) and energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy (EDX). The mechanical strength of the joints was measured using the three-point bending method. The amount of oxygen optimal for the joining process was determined. It has been demonstrated that the cohesion of the joints depends not only on the formation of the individual phases but also, or even primarily, on the microstructure of the transition layer formed between them.
Basic set of experiments for determination of mechanical properties of sand
Authors: Sawicki A. , Mierczyński J. 
Published: March 2014

Abstract
A basic set of experiments for the determination of mechanical properties of sands is described. This includes the determination of basic physical and mechanical properties, as conventionally applied in soil mechanics, as well as some additional experiments, which provide further information on mechanical properties of granular soils. These additional experiments allow for determination of steady state and instability lines, stress-strain relations for isotropic loading and pure shearing, and simple cyclic shearing tests. Unconventional oedometric experiments are also presented. Necessary laboratory equipment is described, which includes a triaxial apparatus equipped with local strain gauges, an oedometer capable of measuring lateral stresses and a simple cyclic shearing apparatus. The above experiments provide additional information on soil’s properties, which is useful in studying the following phenomena: pre-failure deformations of sand including cyclic loading compaction, pore-pressure generation and liquefaction, both static and caused by cyclic loadings, the effect of sand initial anisotropy and various instabilities. An important feature of the experiments described is that they make it possible to determine the initial state of sand, defined as either contractive or dilative. Experimental results for the “Gdynia” model sand are shown.