nils-herrmann/clean_scirepeval huggingface dataset:
The effect of pentoxifylline on oxidative stress in chronic kidney disease patients with erythropoiesis stimulating agent hyporesponsiveness: Sub study of the HERO trial
Venue: Redox report communications in free radical research

Pentoxifylline has previously been shown to increase haemoglobin levels in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) and erythropoietin stimulating agent (ESA) hyporesponsive anaemia in the HERO multi centre double blind, randomized controlled trial. The present study evaluated the effects of pentoxifylline on oxidative stress in ESA hyporesponsive CKD patients.  This sub study of the HERO trial compared 15 patients in the pentoxifylline arm (400 mg daily) and 17 in the matched placebo arm on oxidative stress markers: plasma total F2 isoprostanes, protein carbonyls, glutathione peroxidase (GPX) and superoxide dismutase (SOD) activities.  Pentoxifylline did not significantly alter total F2 isoprostanes (adjusted mean difference (MD) 35.01 pg/ml, P 0.11) SOD activity (MD 0.82 U/ml, P 0.07) GPX activity (MD 6.06 U/l, P 0.09) or protein carbonyls (MD 0.04 nmol/mg, P 0.52) Replicating results from the main study, pentoxifylline significantly increased haemoglobin concentration compared with controls (MD 7.2 g/l, P 0.04)  Pentoxifylline did not alter oxidative stress biomarkers, suggesting that alternative mechanisms may be responsible for the agent's ability to augment haemoglobin levels in CKD patients with ESA hyporesponsive anaemia.
Gender, Political Rhetoric, and Moral Metaphors in State of the City Addresses

Politicians and leaders use metaphors and frames in political communication to provide citizens with meaning, persuade, and promote emotional reactions. At the same time, a large body of scholarship documents the propensity for female leaders to "speak in a different voice" when in political office. Research to date on policy metaphors, however, rarely compares male and female leaders' use of metaphors or evaluates the use of these metaphors in local politics. Using State of the City addresses from 16 cities to evaluate the connection between policy agendas, metaphors, and mayoral gender, I find that male and female leaders emphasize similar issues in their speeches, but use different frames to present these issues, with female leaders using more nurturing framing than do male leaders. In addition, while both male and female mayors emphasize economic development as the central issue in their speeches, female mayors use more inclusive framing in these discussions.
Prevalence and predictors associated with intestinal infections by protozoa and helminths in southern Brazil
Venue: Parasitology Research

Approximately 2 billion people are infected with soil transmitted helminths worldwide, mainly in tropical and subtropical areas. This research aimed to investigate the prevalence and predictors associated with parasitic infections in primary health care. A cross sectional study was performed with a large random sample to identify the prevalence and predictors associated with parasitic infections in primary health care in Marialva, southern Brazil, from April 2011 to September 2013. Stool samples from 775 individuals were analyzed for the presence of protozoan cysts, helminth eggs, and larvae. The overall prevalence of intestinal parasites was 13.94 and the prevalence of protozoa and helminths was 15.1 and 2.9 respectively. The predictor variables that were associated with intestinal parasites were male gender odds ratio (OR) 1.60, 95 confidence interval (CI 1.10 2.40) and the absence of a kitchen garden (OR 2.28, 95 CI, 1.08 4.85) Positive associations were found between Giardia duodenalis and individuals aged =18 with high risk (OR 19.0, 95 CI 2.16 167.52) between Endolimax nana and the absence of a kitchen garden (p 0.01) and between Trichuris trichiura and the presence of a kitchen garden (p 0.014) Polyparasitism was present in 27.27 of infected individuals. Our findings confirmed a relatively low prevalence in primary care, compared to international standards, despite the rare publications in the area. As variables, male gender and the absence of a kitchen garden stood out as important predictors. It is highly relevant that the health conditions of the population comply with consistent standards.
On the delay bounds of discrete time linear systems under delay independent truncated predictor feedback
Venue: 2016 American Control Conference (ACC)

Predictor state feedback law achieves stabilization for a discrete time linear system with input delay by making the closed loop system free of delay. It is known that the predictor feedback law disposed of the term corresponding to the zero state solution in the state predictor, which is referred to as truncated predictor feedback (TPF) can be designed using low gain feedback technique to stabilize a system that is not exponentially unstable for an arbitrarily large delay. Moreover, when the transition matrix in the truncated predictor feedback is removed, a delay independent TPF law is formulated, and has the ability to stabilize a system for an arbitrarily large delay if all open loop poles of the system are inside the unit circle or at z 1. This paper first proposes an example to show that a delay independent TPF law is practically not able to achieve stabilization for a sufficiently large delay if the system is not exponentially unstable but has at least one pole on the unit circle at z 1. We then determine a delay bound and the values of the low gain parameter that guarantee the asymptotic stability of the closed loop system. Generalization of the results to the exponentially unstable system is also considered.
MATERIALS FOR POLYMER NANOCOMPOSITES

Jiji Abraham International and Inter University Centre for Nanoscience and Nanotechnology, Mahatma Gandhi University, Kottayam, Kerala, India Soney C. George Centre for Nanoscience and Nanotechnology, Amal Jyothi College of Engineering, Kanjirappally, Kerala, India Rene Muller Rheology and Polymer Processing, Institut Charles Sadron, Strasbourg, France Nandakumar Kalarikkal International and Inter University Centre for Nanoscience and Nanotechnology, Mahatma Gandhi University, Kottayam, Kerala, India; School of Pure and Applied Physics, M.G University, Kottayam, Kerala, India Sabu Thomas International and Inter University Centre for Nanoscience and Nanotechnology, Mahatma Gandhi University, Kottayam, Kerala, India; School of Chemical Science, M.G University, Kottayam, Kerala, India
Thermal Conductivity of Polymer Based Composites: Fundamentals and Applications

Thermal management is critical to the performance, lifetime, and reliability of electronic devices. With the miniaturization, integration and functionalization of electronics and the emergence of new applications such as light emitting diodes, thermal dissipation becomes a challenging problem. Addressing this challenge requires the development of novel polymer based composite materials with enhanced thermal conductivity. In this review, the fundamental design principles of highly thermally conductive composites were discussed. The key factors influencing the thermal conductivity of polymers, such as chain structure, crystallinity, crystal form, orientation of polymer chains, and orientation of ordered domains in both thermoplastics and thermosets were addressed. The properties of thermally conductive fillers (carbon nanotubes, metal particles, and ceramic particles such as boron nitride or aluminum oxide) are summarized at length. The dependence of thermal conductivity of composites on the filler loading, filler aggregate morphology and overall composite structure is also discussed. Special attention is paid to recent advances in controlling the microstructure of polymer composites to achieve high thermal conductivity (novel approaches to control filler orientation, special design of filler agglomerates, formation of continuous filler network by self assembly process, double percolation approach, etc. The review also summarizes some emerging applications of thermally conductive polymer composites. Finally, we outline the challenges and outlook for thermally conductive polymer composites.
Primary productivity and phytoplankton dynamics in a subtropical estuary: a multiple timescale approach

Temporal variability of physicochemical parameters and phytoplankton primary productivity, abundance and composition were investigated at Babitonga Bay, southern Brazil, using a hierarchical sampling design on the scales of months, weeks and days during spring 2012 and summer 2013. Only temperature, respiration rates and concentrations of dissolved oxygen and silicate exhibited significant differences in the greatest timescale (seasons: spring; summer) In contrast, most physicochemical parameters, such as salinity and the concentration of nitrogen compounds, varied mainly among weeks and days. This short scale variability was similarly observed for the microphytoplankton abundance, ranging from 0.04 to 1.7.10 6 cells L 1 during a bloom of the diatom Skeletonema costatum Two major phytoplankton assemblages were associated with high primary production rates: 30 mm centric diatoms such as Cyclotella spp. and Cymatodiscus sp. in spring; and a summer assemblage dominated by smaller, bloom forming diatoms S. costatum and Eucampia cornuta Primary production ranged from 10.5 to 1793 mg C m 2 d 1 and varied significantly between days and months, being associated with the photosynthetic active radiation level and weather conditions on the sampling day. Abundance of specific plankton taxa appeared controlled by trophic interactions, as revealed for the mixotrophic, toxic dinoflagellate Dinophysis acuminata complex and its prey, the ciliate Mesodinium rubrum
ANALYSIS OF POWER CONSUMPTION SAR ADC DYNAMIC COMPARATOR

Due to the high demand of ultra low power in digital application, the needs of energy efficient analog to digital converter (ADC) are really essential. The comparator being an important part of successive approximation register SAR) ADC needs to have optimum performance under low power condition. T his paper presents the comparison on power consumption together with the output performance flow power SAR ADC dynamic comparators from three different design proposed by previous researchers. The three circuits is simulated and compared in terms of power consumption, regeneration time, reset time and output transient. The simulation is using Cadence Spectre and setup with 0.18um CMOS technology, VDD at 0.8V and clock speed 2 at MHz. The analysis results obtained provides the lowest voltage input different (DVin) possible for double tail dynamic comparator using 0.18um CMOS technology while adhering to the 45 corner process requirement. The results can be used as references for further design of ultra low power dynamic comparator.
PTU 135 How Much Gluten is the General Population Consuming and Does It Relate to Symptoms?

Gluten is a ubiquitous part of a western diet. It is implicated for causing an array of disorders, which have both intestinal and/or extraintestinal manifestations. Our understanding of this heterogeneous group of gluten related disorders is advancing, however uncertainty exists as to how much gluten the general population is consuming. This study aims to address this knowledge gap and also assess the prevalence of self reported gluten sensitivity within the general population.  Between September and October 2015 a population based survey was undertaken in Sheffield, UK. Members of the general public, all over the age of 16 years, were invited to complete a modified version of a previously validated written questionnaire. This questionnaire assessed demographic information, GI conditions and also determined the presence of gluten sensitivity (GS) In addition, total gluten consumption was calculated using a food frequency questionnaire. Participants were asked about their use of a gluten free diet (GFD) and whether they had seen a healthcare professional for their symptoms. A diagnosis of coeliac disease (CD) was determined if individuals had a doctor diagnosis of CD, and were also taking a GFD.  1003 adults completed the population based survey (59% female, median age 31 years (16 86 years) The mean consumption of gluten per day for this group was 13.2 g (s.d =9.2 g) The self reported prevalence of GS was 32.5% (326/1003, female 70% [P 0.0001] age range 17 82, median age 35 yrs) with 3.7% (38/1003) on a GFD and 1.1% (12/1003) having CD. The proportion of GS individuals who had seen a doctor for their symptoms was 18.3% (65/326) Individuals with GS had an increased prevalence of fulfilling the Rome III criteria for irritable bowel syndrome, in comparison with those without GS (31.3% vs. 5.61% odds ratio 7.66, p 0.0001) In addition, mean daily consumption of gluten was considerably lower in this GS group compared to the non GS group (10.8 g vs. 14.4 g, p 0.0001)  This is the first study assessing gluten consumption in a UK population. Findings from our work highlight that sensitivity to gluten based products is common, and that affected individuals have a higher prevalence of IBS. Although only a minority of individuals maintained a gluten free diet, individuals with gluten related symptoms evidently were electing to reduce their gluten consumption. Disclosure of Interest None Declared
Fully integrated quantum photonic circuit with an electrically driven light source

Photonic quantum technologies allow quantum phenomena to be exploited in applications such as quantum cryptography, quantum simulation and quantum computation. A key requirement for practical devices is the scalable integration of single photon sources, detectors and linear optical elements on a common platform. Nanophotonic circuits enable the realization of complex linear optical systems, while non classical light can be measured with waveguide integrated detectors. However, reproducible single photon sources with high brightness and compatibility with photonic devices remain elusive for fully integrated systems. Here, we report the observation of antibunching in the light emitted from an electrically driven carbon nanotube embedded within a photonic quantum circuit. Non classical light generated on chip is recorded under cryogenic conditions with waveguide integrated superconducting single photon detectors, without requiring optical filtering. Because exclusively scalable fabrication and deposition methods are used, our results establish carbon nanotubes as promising nanoscale single photon emitters for hybrid quantum photonic devices. Single photons are generated from electrically driven semiconducting single walled carbon nanotubes embedded in a photonic circuit. Pronounced antibunching is observed when photon correlation is measured at cryogenic temperatures.
Photonic Packaging: Transforming Silicon Photonic Integrated Circuits into Photonic Devices

Dedicated multi project wafer (MPW) runs for photonic integrated circuits (PICs) from Si foundries mean that researchers and small to medium enterprises (SMEs) can now afford to design and fabricate Si photonic chips. While these bare Si PICs are adequate for testing new device and circuit designs on a probe station, they cannot be developed into prototype devices, or tested outside of the laboratory, without first packaging them into a durable module. Photonic packaging of PICs is significantly more challenging, and currently orders of magnitude more expensive, than electronic packaging, because it calls for robust micron level alignment of optical components, precise real time temperature control, and often a high degree of vertical and horizontal electrical integration. Photonic packaging is perhaps the most significant bottleneck in the development of commercially relevant integrated photonic devices. This article describes how the key optical, electrical, and thermal requirements of Si PIC packaging can be met, and what further progress is needed before industrial scale up can be achieved.
Encodings of implied motion for animate and inanimate object categories in the two visual pathways
Venue: NeuroImage

Previous research has proposed two separate pathways for visual processing: the dorsal pathway for "where" information vs. the ventral pathway for "what" information. Interestingly, the middle temporal cortex (MT) in the dorsal pathway is involved in representing implied motion from still pictures, suggesting an interaction between motion and object related processing. However, the relationship between how the brain encodes implied motion and how the brain encodes object/scene categories is unclear. To address this question, fMRI was used to measure activity along the two pathways corresponding to different animate and inanimate categories of still pictures with different levels of implied motion speed. In the visual areas of both pathways, activity induced by pictures of humans and animals was hardly modulated by the implied motion speed. By contrast, activity in these areas correlated with the implied motion speed for pictures of inanimate objects and scenes. The interaction between implied motion speed and stimuli category was significant, suggesting different encoding mechanisms of implied motion for animate inanimate distinction. Further multivariate pattern analysis of activity in the dorsal pathway revealed significant effects of stimulus category that are comparable to the ventral pathway. Moreover, still pictures of inanimate objects/scenes with higher implied motion speed evoked activation patterns that were difficult to differentiate from those evoked by pictures of humans and animals, indicating a functional role of implied motion in the representation of object categories. These results provide novel evidence to support integrated encoding of motion and object categories, suggesting a rethink of the relationship between the two visual pathways.
In the Middle of Passive: Middle Voice in Modern Greek vs. Passive Voice in English

The Passive Construction has been the focus of many studies in Generative Grammar that gave rise to great discoveries (Chomsky 1957, Bach 1980, Roberts 1987) and yet there is no decisive analysis of the syntax and semantics of the Passive construction (cf. Baker, Johnson Roberts 1989, Collins 2005, Legate 2009, Bruening 2013) A further complication is that in many languages, the same morphology used for a prototypical passive construction is also used in structures that lack a passive meaning like verbal reflexives and reciprocals as well as anticausatives which have been analyzed as lacking an implicit agent. An example of such a language is Modern Greek (henceforth Greek) As it is illustrated below, the same morphology is used for a prototypical passive (1) for a verbal reflexive (2) and for an anticausative (3) (see Alexiadou Anagnostopoulou (2004) and references therein)
Successful microsurgical replantation of an amputated penis
Venue: Indian journal of plastic surgery official publication of the Association of Plastic Surgeons of India

Penile amputation is an uncommon injury for which immediate surgical replantation is warranted. Microsurgical replantation is the "standard" method for penile replantation. Early replantation yields a high success and low complication rate. We report a case of a 34 year old male who presented with amputation at the proximal penile shaft which was successfully replanted using microsurgical techniques. Minor skin necrosis was noted post operatively which was debrided and covered with skin graft. Follow up at 6 months showed satisfactory cosmetic appearance, normal voiding, return of sensations and erectile function. The level of evidence was V.
A blended learning concept for an engineering course in the field of color representation and display technologies
Venue: Optical Engineering Applications

The Paper presents the design and development of a blended learning concept for an engineering course in the field of color representation and display technologies. A suitable learning environment is crucial for the success of the teaching scenario. A mixture of theoretical lectures and hands on activities with practical applications and experiments, combined with the advantages of modern digital media is the main topic of the paper. Blended learning describes the didactical change of attendance periods and online periods. The e learning environment for the online period is designed toward an easy access and interaction. Present digital media extends the established teaching scenarios and enables the presentation of videos, animations and augmented reality (AR) Visualizations are effective tools to impart learning contents with lasting effect. The preparation and evaluation of the theoretical lectures and the hands on activities are stimulated and affects positively the attendance periods. The tasks and experiments require the students to work independently and to develop individual solution strategies. This engages and motivates the students, deepens the knowledge. The authors will present their experience with the implemented blended learning scenario in this field of optics and photonics. All aspects of the learning environment will be introduced.
An ontological approach to engineering requirement representation and analysis
Venue: Artificial Intelligence for Engineering Design, Analysis and Manufacturing

Requirement planning is one of the most critical tasks in the product development process. Despite its significant impact on the outcomes of the design process, engineering requirement planning is often conducted in an ad hoc manner without much structure. In particular, the requirement planning phase suffers from a lack of quantifiable measures for evaluating the quality of the generated requirements and also a lack of structure and formality in representing engineering requirements. The main objective of this research is to develop a formal Web Ontology Language ontology for standard representation of engineering requirements. The proposed ontology uses explicit semantics that makes the ontology amenable to automated reasoning. To demonstrate how the proposed ontology can support requirement analysis and evaluation in engineering design, three possible services enabled by the ontology are introduced in this paper. These services are information content measurement, specificity and completeness analysis, and requirement classification. The proposed ontology and its associated algorithms and tools are validated experimentally in this work.
Reliability analysis of structures by iterative improved response surface method

The moving least squares method (MLSM) is a more accurate approach compare to the least squares method (LSM) based approach in approximating implicit response of structure. The advantage of MLSM over LSM is explored to reduce the number of iterations required to obtain the updated centre point of design of experiment (DOE) to construct the final response surface for efficient reliability analysis of structures. The initial response surface is constructed based on a simplified DOE with mean values of the random variables as the centre point and updated successively to obtain the improved response surface. The reliability of structure is evaluated using this final response surface. The basis of the efficiency of the proposed method hinges on the use of simplified DOE instead of computationally involved full factorial design to achieve desired accuracy. As MLSM is more accurate compare to LSM in evaluating response surface polynomial, the centre point obtained is expected to be more accurate during iterations. Thus, the number of iteration in the update procedure will reduce and the accuracy of computed reliability will also improve. The improved performance of the proposed approach with regard to efficiency and accuracy is elucidated with the help of three numerical examples.