nils-herrmann/clean_scirepeval huggingface dataset:
Efficacy of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy on Body Dissatisfaction and Fear of Negative Evaluation in Girl adolescents with Body Dysmorphic Disorder

Body dysmorphic disorder is one of the common disorders in which adolescents pay excessive attention to their appearances. It causes disruptions to both individual and social life. This study investigated the efficacy of acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) on body dissatisfaction and fear of negative evaluation in high school girls with body dysmorphic disorder.  An experimental study (pre test, post test design) was performed in which 30 female high school students with body dysmorphic disorder were recruited. The participants were selected using multistage random sampling and divided into experimental (n=15) and control (n=15) groups. The experimental group attended an eight week ACT programme (1.5 hr) while the control group received no intervention. Structured Clinical Interview for DSM IV (SCID I) body dissatisfaction questionnaire, and fear of negative evaluation questionnaire were used in pre test and posttest stages.  ACT produced significant reductions in body dissatisfaction (P<0.01) and fear of negative evaluation (P<0.01) in post test.  Based on this study, ACT therapy could be used as an efficient intervention for reduction of body dissatisfaction and fear of negative evaluation in high school girls with body dysmorphic disorder.
The effectiveness of acceptance and commitment therapy on reduction of obesity and body image

The purpose of this research was to study the effectiveness of acceptance and commitment therapy on reduction of obesity and body image. This was a quasi experimental study with pretest and post test and a control group. The population in this study included all patients who referred to the center of weight loss and nutrition clinics in area number 1 of Tehran city. 30 people were chosen among those people who were considered obese based on the MBI index. They were divided into two groups. The experimental group underwent eight sessions of treatment but the control group did not undergo any intervention. The results of data analysis using analysis of covariance indicated that acceptance and commitment therapy is effective on reducing obesity and body image. So we can use this method as an effective way to help people reduce these problems.
Derivation of Human Embryonic Stem Cell Lines from Vitrified Human Blastocysts.
Venue: Methods in molecular biology

Human embryonic stem cells are pluripotent cells typically derived from blastulating embryos that have become excess to clinical needs in assisted reproduction programs. They provide cellular models for embryonic development and disease, and are thought to be useful for future cell replacement therapies and regenerative medicine. Here we describe methods to derive human embryonic stem cell lines. This includes blastocyst cryopreservation using a highly efficient vitrification protocol, the production and use of fibroblast feeder cells, embryo plating and passaging of resulting cellular outgrowths, and cryopreservation of putative stem cells lines.
Determining the Perceptions of Teacher Candidates on the Effectiveness of MOODLE Used in Flipped Education

This study was carried out to determine the efficiency of implementing Moodle in Remote Flipped learning environments by identifying the perceptions of teacher candidates. The survey consisted of 120 volunteer teachers from Near East University who have received education through remote learning. The survey was carried out in the fall term of 2015 2016. The 5 type Likert scale results developed by the researchers were analyzed using the SPSS program. The results of the analysis were given using percentage, frequency and descriptive analysis methods. When examined the research findings show that the teacher candidates receive a high amount of Moodle in their remote flipped learning, they do not loose connection or face slow stream when watching educational videos, they have access to information when and where they want with remote learning, and lastly they stated that the remote learning system is very useful and effective.
Effectiveness of MOODLE in Education System in Sri Lankan University

This study examines students' overview of the students' online capabilities of course that we have implemented in the MOODLE platform in a developing country and underlying information technology principles that are critical for an in depth understanding of elearning. A structured multiple choice questionnaire was distributed among students' who were enrolled in the certificate of teaching in higher education course at the General Sir John Kotelawela Defence University, Sri Lanka. A total of 31 students participated in this study and completed written and online multiple choice questionnaire on MOODLE. The outcome of this study shows that there is a strong positive response on elearning on MOODLE platform. Almost 61% of them were able to get extreme good results in the online examination and observed late submission in both printed and online examination. Although the outcome is preliminary in nature, the results provide cause for concern over the status of e learning education in MOODLE platform in Sri Lanka which is highly satisfactory.
The Impact of Credit Risk on Profitability of the Commercial Banks

This paper aimed to analyse the impact of credit risk on profitability of five big UK commercial banks. For measuring profitability, two dependent variables ROA and ROE were considered whereas two variables for credit risks were: net charge off (or impairments) and nonperforming loans. Multiple statistical analyses were conducted on bank data from 2007 to 2015 to cover the period of financial crisis. It was found that credit risk indicators had a positive association with profitability of the banks. This means that even after the deep effects of credit crisis in 2008, the banks in the UK are taking credit risks, and getting benefits from interest rates, fee, and commissions etc. The results also reveal that the bank size, leverage, and growth were also positively interlinked with each other, and the banks achieved profitability after the financial crisis and learned how to tackle the credit risk over the years.
The Empirical Effectsof Credit Risk on Profitability of Commercial Banks: Evidence from Nigeria

The study investigates the effect of credit risk on profitability of commercial banks in Nigeria. Specifically, this research is to determine the significant effects of credit risk and its measure indicators; and the relationship between the indicators which influence the profitability of banks. A total 8 commercial banks (SIBs) was selected for the study, from the period 2011 2014. A panel data analysis is employed for the study to provide a robustness to the analytical model which passes all validity and reliability test to be a good fit model for hypotheses testing. Diagnostic test is utilized to test for data reliability and validity. The result of the analysis has revealed that there is a negative and significant relationship between non performing loan ratio and the profitability; negative and insignificant relationship between debts to total assets ratio and profitability, and a positive and insignificant relationship between debts to equity ratio and profitability of banks during the period of study. In general, the results propose that banks needs to refocus on the effective management of their inherent risk which often affects their profitability and financial viability. Therefore, the study concludes that credit risk impact on profitability of commercial banks in Nigeria.
Shaped beam scattering by an aggregate of particles using generalized Lorenz Mie theory

In this paper, the light scattering by an aggregate of particles illuminated by an arbitrary shaped beam is analyzed within the framework of generalized Lorenz Mie theory (GLMT) The theoretical derivations of aggregated particles illuminated by an arbitrary shaped beam are revisited, with special attention paid to the computation of beam shape coefficients of a shaped beam for aggregated particles. The theoretical treatments as well as a home made code are then verified by making comparisons between our numerical results and those calculated using a public available T Matrix code MSTM. Good agreements are achieved which partially indicate the correctness of both codes. Additionally, more numerical results are presented to study the scattered fields of aggregated particles illuminated by a focused Gaussian beam. Several large enhancements in the scattered intensity distributions are found which are believed to be due to the Bragg's scattering by a linear chain of spheres.
MtrA is an essential regulator that coordinates antibiotic production and sporulation in Streptomyces species

Streptomyces bacteria make numerous secondary metabolites, including half of all known antibiotics. Understanding the global regulation of secondary metabolism is important because most Streptomyces natural products are not made under laboratory conditions and unlocking 'cryptic' biosynthetic gene clusters (BGCs) is a major focus for natural product discovery. Production is coordinated with sporulation but the regulators that coordinate development with antibiotic biosynthesis are largely unknown. Here we characterise a highly conserved actinobacterial response regulator called MtrA in antibiotic producing Streptomyces species. We show that MtrA is an essential global regulator of secondary metabolism that directly activates antibiotic production in in S. coelicolor and S. venezuelae. MtrA also controls key developmental genes required for DNA replication and cell division and we propose that MtrA is the missing link that coordinates secondary metabolism with development in Streptomyces species.
Improved Real Time Scan Matching Using Corner Features

The automation of unmanned vehicle operation has gained a lot of research attention, in the last few years, because of its numerous applications. The vehicle localization is more challenging in indoor environments where absolute positioning measurements (e.g. GPS) are typically unavailable. Laser range finders are among the most widely used sensors that help the unmanned vehicles to localize themselves in indoor environments. Typically, automatic real time matching of the successive scans is performed either explicitly or implicitly by any localization approach that utilizes laser range finders. Many accustomed approaches such as Iterative Closest Point (ICP) Iterative Matching Range Point (IMRP) Iterative Dual Correspondence (IDC) and Polar Scan Matching (PSM) handles the scan matching problem in an iterative fashion which significantly affects the time consumption. Furthermore, the solution convergence is not guaranteed especially in cases of sharp maneuvers or fast movement. This paper proposes an automated real time scan matching algorithm where the matching process is initialized using the detected corners. This initialization step aims to increase the convergence probability and to limit the number of iterations needed to reach convergence. The corner detection is preceded by line extraction from the laser scans. To evaluate the probability of line availability in indoor environments, various data sets, offered by different research groups, have been tested and the mean numbers of extracted lines per scan for these data sets are ranging from 4.10 to 8.86 lines of more than 7 points. The set of all intersections between extracted lines are detected as corners regardless of the physical intersection of these line segments in the scan. To account for the uncertainties of the detected corners, the covariance of the corners is estimated using the extracted lines variances. The detected corners are used to estimate the transformation parameters between the successive scan using least squares. These estimated transformation parameters are used to calculate an adjusted initialization for scan matching process. The presented method can be employed solely to match the successive scans and also can be used to aid other accustomed iterative methods to achieve more effective and faster converge. The performance and time consumption of the proposed approach is compared with ICP algorithm alone without initialization in different scenarios such as static period, fast straight movement, and sharp manoeuvers.
Predictive Model for the Design of Zwitterionic Polymer Brushes: A Statistical Design of Experiments Approach.
Venue: ACS applied materials interfaces

The performance of polymer interfaces in biology is governed by a wide spectrum of interfacial properties. With the ultimate goal of identifying design parameters for stem cell culture coatings, we developed a statistical model that describes the dependence of brush properties on surface initiated polymerization (SIP) parameters. Employing a design of experiments (DOE) approach, we identified operating boundaries within which four gel architecture regimes can be realized, including a new regime of associated brushes in thin films. Our statistical model can accurately predict the brush thickness and the degree of intermolecular association of poly[{2 (methacryloyloxy) ethyl} dimethyl (3 sulfopropyl) ammonium hydroxide] (PMEDSAH) a previously reported synthetic substrate for feeder free and xeno free culture of human embryonic stem cells. DOE based multifunctional predictions offer a powerful quantitative framework for designing polymer interfaces. For example, model predictions can be used to decrease the critical thickness at which the wettability transition occurs by simply increasing the catalyst quantity from 1 to 3 mol
A weakly supervised activity recognition framework for real time synthetic biology laboratory assistance
Venue: UbiComp

We describe the design of a hybrid system a combination of a Dynamic Graphical Model (DGM) with a Deep Neural Network (DNN) to identify activities performed during synthetic biology experiments. The purpose is to provide real time feedback to experimenters, thus helping to reduce human errors and improve experimental reproducibility. The data consists of unlabeled videos of recorded experiments and "weakly supervised" information (i.e. "theoretical" and asynchronous knowledge of sets of high level activity sequences in the experiment) used to train the system. Multiple activity sequences are modeled using a trellis, and deep features are extracted from video images. Model performance is accessed using real time online statistical inference. The trellis incorporates variations during experiment execution, making our model very general and capable of high performance.
Prevalence de Mycobacterium bovis dans les agroecosystemes analyse de reservoirs environnementaux potentiels (sol, eau douce, faune du sol et faune aquatique) et tracage de la circulation de cette bacterie entre les differents compartiments

La tuberculose bovine est une maladie infectieuse contagieuse causee par Mycobacterium bovis. Cette maladie touche les bovins et de nombreuses especes de mammiferes domestiques et sauvages, ainsi que l'homme. La circulation de la bacterie dans des systemes multi hotes varies favorise l'entretien de la maladie et la contamination des bovins vivant a proximite des animaux sauvages infectes. En marge de la transmission directe de M. bovis par voie respiratoire, la transmission indirecte aux bovins, liee a l'inhalation ou a l'ingestion de matrices environnementales contaminees par un animal infecte excreteur, est suspectee dans plusieurs regions du monde. L'existence de reservoirs environnementaux ou le bacille M. bovis est capable de persister, pourrait donc etre un facteur important de la reemergence puis du maintien de la maladie dans les systemes multi hotes. En Cote d'Or, departement fortement touche par la tuberculose bovine depuis 2004, la transmission indirecte de la bacterie entre la faune sauvage infectee et les bovins est suspectee dans plusieurs elevages. Pour evaluer la presence et la survie de cette bacterie dans l'environnement, nous avons analyse un grand nombre d'echantillons preleves dans des zones partagees par les bovins et/ou la faune sauvage infectes dans le but de determiner la distribution environnementale de M. bovis. Pour ce faire, nous avons developpe ou modifie des systemes de detection moleculaire adaptes aux matrices environnementales complexes. Nous avons egalement evalue l'impact de la temperature et des proprietes physico chimiques de deux sols sur la survie de M. bovis, ainsi que le role de la mesofaune du sol (lombrics en particulier) dans la dissemination de la bacterie a partir de matiere organique contaminee. L'etude environnementale a mis plus particulierement en evidence la contamination de deux biotopes: les zones humides des patures et les sols de terriers de blaireaux. De plus, les etudes experimentales ont montre que M. bovis pouvait survivre plusieurs mois dans le sol a 4degC et que les lombrics pouvaient disseminer la bacterie dans le sol, voire jouer un role potentiel de vecteur pour les animaux qui les consomment. Ces resultats apportent de nouvelles connaissances sur la persistance et la circulation de M. bovis dans l'environnement en Cote d'Or et permettront de proposer des ameliorations aux mesures de biosecurite deja existantes dans les elevages bovins.
La Moisissure et la Bacterie: Deconstructing the fable of the discovery of penicillin by Ernest Duchesne.
Venue: Endeavour

Ernest Duchesne (1874 1912) completed his thesis on microbial antagonism in 1897 in Lyon. His work lay unknown for fifty years, but on being brought to light led to his being credited with having discovered penicillin prior to Alexander Fleming. The claims surrounding Duchesne are examined here both from the strictly microbiological perspective, and also for what they reveal about how the process of discovery is frequently misconstrued. The combined weight of evidence presented here militates strongly against the possibility that the species of Penicillium that Duchesne worked with produced penicillin.
Phytostimulation du mais par la bacterie Azospirillum lipoferum CRT1 impact sur des communautes fonctionnelles du microbiote racinaire

Le developpement des plantes est conditionne par leurs interactions avec le microbiote racinaire, dont le fonctionnement repose sur des fonctions elementaires partagees par plusieurs taxons, au sein de groupes fonctionnels. Certains de ces groupes incluent des PGPR (Plant Growth Promoting Rhizobacteria) qui stimulent la croissance des plantes grace a differentes fonctions phytobenefiques. L'inoculation d'une PGPR peut avoir un impact sur la physiologie de la plante et sur les autres partenaires microbiens de la racine. D'ailleurs, une PGPR inoculee peut modifier la structure genetique du microbiote racinaire global, sans que l'on sache comment cet impact se concretise au niveau de groupes fonctionnels particuliers. L'hypothese de cette these est que les PGPR inoculees peuvent modifier la structure de communautes microbiennes fonctionnelles importantes pour le developpement de la plante. Ces travaux ont evalue l'impact de l'inoculation de la PGPR Azospirillum lipoferum CRT1 sur la taille et/ou la diversite des diazotrophes, des producteurs d'1 aminocyclopropane 1 carboxylate (ACC) desaminase et des producteurs de 2,4 diacetylphloroglucinol (ainsi que de la communaute bacterienne totale) dans la rhizosphere du mais cultive en champ sous differents intrants azotes. Nos travaux ont montre que diazotrophes et producteurs d'ACC desaminase pouvaient etre co selectionnes dans la rhizosphere du mais, et que l'inoculation modifiait la composition taxonomique de ces groupes fonctionnels. En conclusion, l'inoculation de PGPR module la selection rhizospherique de taxons telluriques portant des fonctions phytobenefiques, ce qui pourrait contribuer aux effets phytobenefiques observes
Septicemie fatale due a une bacterie emergente: arcanobactrium hemolyticum
Venue: The Pan African Medical Journal

L'Arcanobacterium haemolyticum (A.haemolyticum) est un bacille a Gram positif. L'homme en est le principal reservoir. C'est un pathogene opportuniste essentiellement chez l'immunodeprime, et qui peut etre responsable d'infection au niveau de la peau et du pharynx chez les sujets sains, surtout chez les enfants et les adolescents. Il peut causer des surinfections des ulceres chroniques, et occasionnellement des infections invasives. Sa detection au niveau des cultures reste toujours difficile car il simule de nombreuses bacteries auxquelles il est souvent associe dans les produits pathologiques. Et Il n'existe pas de recommandations concernant l'etude sa sensibilite aux antibiotiques. Les bacteriemies a Arcanobacterium sont rares, a notre connaissance, seize cas ont ete decrits dans la litterature. Nous rapportons, un autre cas de bacteriemie a A.haemolyticum, secondaire a une surinfection d'escarres fessieres.
Representation systemique multi echelle des processus biologiques de la bacterie
Venue: IC

La production a haut debit de donnees biologiques de nature heterogene necessite une exploitation et une integration particulieres de celles ci. Malgre le developpement de nombreuses bioontologies, l'organisation de ces donnees dans un cadre structure et adaptatif reste perfectible. Nous emettons l'hypothese qu'une approche systemique multi echelle de la representation des processus cellulaires permettrait de progresser dans cette problematique. Pour valider cette demarche, nous avons concu une modelisation ontologique des processus bacteriens necessaires a l'expression genique. Les relations entre ces processus et leurs molecules participantes ou leurs sous processus ainsi que leurs modeles ont ete formellement decrites. Cette description s'accompagne d'axiomes et de relations supplementaires sur lesquels un raisonnement automatique est effectue. La representation des processus realisee permet leur mise en relation avec leurs modeles et parametres par inference. Parallelement, le raisonnement apporte de nouvelles informations contextuelles de sequentialite, agregation ou competition. Notre contribution s'appuie sur les bio ontologies existantes pour une meilleure interoperabilite.
Procalcitonin as a Serum Biomarker for Differentiation of Bacterial Meningitis From Viral Meningitis in Children
Venue: Clinical pediatrics

Several studies have explored the use of serum procalcitonin (PCT) in differentiating between bacterial and viral etiologies in children with suspected meningitis. We pooled these studies into a meta analysis to determine the PCT diagnostic accuracy. All major databases were searched through March 2015. No date or language restrictions were applied. Eight studies (n 616 pediatric patients) were included. Serum PCT assay was found to be very accurate for differentiating the etiology of pediatric meningitis with pooled sensitivity and specificity of 0.96 (95% CI 0.92 0.98) and 0.89 (95% CI 0.86 0.92) respectively. The pooled positive likelihood ratio, negative likelihood ratio, diagnostic odds ratio (DOR) and area under the curve (AUC) for PCT were 7.5 (95% CI 5.6 10.1) 0.08(95% CI 0.04 0.14) 142.3 (95% CI 59.5 340.4) and 0.97 (SE 0.01) respectively. In 6 studies, PCT was found to be superior than CRP, whose DOR was only 16.7 (95%CI 8.8 31.7) Our meta analysis demonstrates that serum PCT assay is a highly accurate and powerful test for rapidly differentiating between bacterial and viral meningitis in children.