nils-herrmann/clean_scirepeval huggingface dataset:
Evaluation of abnormal liver function tests
Venue: Postgraduate Medical Journal

Incidentally detected abnormality in liver function tests is a common situation encountered by physicians across all disciplines. Many of these patients do not have primary liver disease as most of the commonly performed markers are not specific for the liver and are affected by myriad factors unrelated to liver disease. Also, many of these tests like liver enzyme levels do not measure the function of the liver, but are markers of liver injury, which is broadly of two types: hepatocellular and cholestatic. A combination of a careful history and clinical examination along with interpretation of pattern of liver test abnormalities can often identify type and aetiology of liver disease, allowing for a targeted investigation approach. Severity of liver injury is best assessed by composite scores like the Model for End Stage Liver Disease rather than any single parameter. In this review, we discuss the interpretation of the routinely performed liver tests along with the indications and utility of quantitative tests.
Characterization of primary human hepatocyte spheroids as a model system for drug induced liver injury, liver function and disease
Venue: Scientific reports

Liver biology and function, drug induced liver injury (DILI) and liver diseases are difficult to study using current in vitro models such as primary human hepatocyte (PHH) monolayer cultures, as their rapid de differentiation restricts their usefulness substantially. Thus, we have developed and extensively characterized an easily scalable 3D PHH spheroid system in chemically defined, serum free conditions. Using whole proteome analyses, we found that PHH spheroids cultured this way were similar to the liver in vivo and even retained their inter individual variability. Furthermore, PHH spheroids remained phenotypically stable and retained morphology, viability, and hepatocyte specific functions for culture periods of at least 5 weeks. We show that under chronic exposure, the sensitivity of the hepatocytes drastically increased and toxicity of a set of hepatotoxins was detected at clinically relevant concentrations. An interesting example was the chronic toxicity of fialuridine for which hepatotoxicity was mimicked after repeated dosing in the PHH spheroid model, not possible to detect using previous in vitro systems. Additionally, we provide proof of principle that PHH spheroids can reflect liver pathologies such as cholestasis, steatosis and viral hepatitis. Combined, our results demonstrate that the PHH spheroid system presented here constitutes a versatile and promising in vitro system to study liver function, liver diseases, drug targets and long term DILI.
Long term impact of liver function on curative therapy for hepatocellular carcinoma: application of the ALBI grade
Venue: British Journal of Cancer

Application of curative therapy for hepatocellular carcinoma is crucially dependent on underlying liver function. Using the recently described ALBI grade we examined the long term impact of liver dysfunction on survival of early stage hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) patients.This cohort study comprised 2559 HCC patients from different geographic regions, all treated with curative intent. We also examined the relation between indocyanine green (ICG) clearance and ALBI score. Survival was measured from the date of treatment to the date of death or last follow up.The ALBI score correlated well with ICG clearance. Among those undergoing surgical resection, patients with ALBI grade 1 (good liver function) survived approximately twice as long as those with ALBI grade 2 (less good liver function) although more than 90% of these patients were classified as Child Pugh (C P) grade A. In the cohort receiving ablative therapies, there was a similar difference in survival between ALBI grade 1 and grade 2. Cox regression analysis confirmed that the ALBI score along with age, gender, aetiology and tumour factors (AFP, tumour size/number and vascular invasion) independently influenced survival in HCC patients receiving curative treatments.The ALBI score represents a simple approach to the assessment of liver function in patients with HCC. After potentially curative therapy, those with ALBI grade 1 survived approximately twice as long as those with ALBI grade 2. These data suggest that ALBI grade 1 patients are appropriately treated with surgical resection whereas ALBI grade 2 patients may, where the option exists, be more suitable for liver transplantation or the less invasive curative ablative therapies.British Journal of Cancer (2016) 114, 744 750; doi:10.1038/bjc.2016.33 www.bjcancer.com
Daclatasvir and asunaprevir treatment improves liver function parameters and reduces liver fibrosis markers in chronic hepatitis C patients
Venue: Hepatology research the official journal of the Japan Society of Hepatology

Although interferon (IFN) free antiviral therapy is expected to improve the treatment response for chronic hepatitis C, the effect on liver function and liver fibrosis is unknown. In this study, we analyzed the long term follow up of liver function parameters and liver fibrosis markers in genotype 1b hepatitis C virus (HCV) infected patients treated with daclatasvir and asunaprevir.
Liver function declines with increased age.
Venue: HPB the official journal of the International Hepato Pancreato Biliary Association

Age itself is not considered a contraindication for high impact surgery. However, the aging process of the liver remains largely unknown. This study evaluates age dependent changes in liver function using a quantitative liver function test.  Between January 2005 and December 2014, 508 patients underwent (99m)Tc mebrofenin hepatobiliary scintigraphy (HBS) for the assessment of liver function. These included 203 patients with healthy livers (group A) and 57 patients with HCC and Child Pugh A (group B) (99m)Tc mebrofenin uptake rate of the whole liver corrected for body surface area (cMUR) was calculated for all patients. Linear regression analysis was performed to assess the relationship between age and cMUR.  The mean cMUR was 8.50 2.05%/min/m(2) and 6.94 2.03%/min/m(2) in group A and B, respectively. A negative linear correlation was found between patient's age and cMUR in group A, r 0.244, p 0.000. In group B, there was no correlation between age and cMUR, however, a trend in decline of liver function with age was noted.  This study shows that liver function deteriorates with age. Since the regenerative capacity of the liver correlates with liver function, this finding should be taken into account when assessing surgical risk in patients considered for major liver resection.
Effect of canagliflozin on liver function tests in patients with type 2 diabetes.
Venue: Diabetes metabolism

To report changes in liver function tests observed with canagliflozin, a sodium glucose co transporter 2 inhibitor, across phase 3 studies in patients with type 2 diabetes, and to examine the relationship between changes in liver function tests and the weight loss and glycaemic improvements observed with canagliflozin.  Data were pooled from four 26 week, placebo controlled studies of canagliflozin 100 and 300mg (n=2313) and two 52 week, active controlled studies of canagliflozin 300mg versus sitagliptin 100mg (n=1488) Analysis of covariance was performed to determine the contribution of changes in body weight and HbA1c to the changes in liver function tests.  Reductions in alanine aminotransferase, aspartate aminotransferase, alkaline phosphatase and gamma glutamyl transferase, and increases in bilirubin were seen with canagliflozin 100 and 300mg versus placebo (nominal P<0.001 for alanine aminotransferase, aspartate aminotransferase and gamma glutamyl transferase [both doses] P<0.001 for alkaline phosphatase and P=0.015 for bilirubin [canagliflozin 300mg only] at week 26 and with canagliflozin 300mg versus sitagliptin 100mg (nominal P<0.001 for alanine aminotransferase, aspartate aminotransferase, gamma glutamyl transferase and bilirubin, and P<0.01 for alkaline phosphatase) at week 52. Few patients met predefined limits of change criteria for liver function tests, and none met Hy's law criteria. In both populations, alanine aminotransferase, aspartate aminotransferase and gamma glutamyl transferase reductions were fully explained by HbA1c and body weight reductions.  Canagliflozin provided improvements in liver function tests versus either placebo or sitagliptin treatments that were fully explained by the combined effects of HbA1c and body weight reductions with canagliflozin.
Evaluating Creative Language Generation: The Case of Rap Lyric Ghostwriting
Venue: ArXiv

Language generation tasks that seek to mimic human ability to use language creatively are difficult to evaluate, since one must consider creativity, style, and other non trivial aspects of the generated text. The goal of this paper is to develop evaluation methods for one such task, ghostwriting of rap lyrics, and to provide an explicit, quantifiable foundation for the goals and future directions of this task. Ghostwriting must produce text that is similar in style to the emulated artist, yet distinct in content. We develop a novel evaluation methodology that addresses several complementary aspects of this task, and illustrate how such evaluation can be used to meaningfully analyze system performance. We provide a corpus of lyrics for 13 rap artists, annotated for stylistic similarity, which allows us to assess the feasibility of manual evaluation for generated verse.
Endocrine therapy resistance in estrogen receptor (ER) positive breast cancer.
Venue: Drug discovery today

Estrogen receptor (ER) positive breast cancer represents the majority ~70% of all breast malignancies. In this subgroup of breast cancers, endocrine therapies are effective both in the adjuvant and recurrent settings, although resistance remains a major issue. Several high throughput approaches have been used to elucidate mechanisms of resistance and to derive potential predictive markers or alternative therapies. In this review, we cover the state of the art of endocrine resistance biomarker discovery with regard to the latest technological developments, and discuss current opportunities and restrictions for their implementation into a clinical setting.
Abstract P5 13 02: Neoadjuvant endocrine therapy for estrogen receptor (ER) positive breast cancer: Comprehensive systematic review and meta analysis

ER positive tumors are generally highly responsive to endocrine treatment. However, the specific indications for neoadjuvant endocrine therapy, both as monotherapy and in combination with other therapies, in early breast cancer remain unclear. We conducted a comprehensive systematic review and meta analysis to evaluate the impact of neoadjuvant endocrine therapy on response rate (RR) based on clinical response or imaging, and pathological complete response rate (pCR) for ER positive breast cancer.  Based on QUORUM guidelines, a librarian led search of PubMed, Ovid, and EMBASE was performed to identify eligible trials published prior to May 15, 2015. Inclusion criteria were prospective, randomized neoadjuvant trials that had at least one arm with neoadjuvant endocrine therapy and reported RR. Pooled odds ratios (ORs) 95% confidence intervals (CI) and p values were estimated for endpoints using the fixed and random effects statistical model.  We identified 477 citations initially with 277 remaining after duplications were removed. Twenty trials ultimately met inclusion criteria, with a total sample size of 3,493. The majority of studies (90% focused on post menopausal women and compared chemotherapy to endocrine therapy, different durations and types of endocrine therapies, or combinations with growth factor pathway inhibitors. Overall, as compared to chemotherapy, neoadjuvant endocrine therapy had a similar clinical RR (OR 0.93, CI: 0.43 2.02, p 0.85) and radiological RR (OR 0.73, CI: 0.48 1.09, p 0.12) but lower rate of toxicity (febrile neutropenia, mucositis) Aromatase inhibitors were associated with significantly higher clinical RR (OR 1.69, CI: 1.36 2.10, p  Neoadjuvant endocrine therapy is associated with similar response rates as neoadjuvant chemotherapy but with lower toxicity, and neoadjuvant AIs are superior to tamoxifen for ER positive tumors. Compared to endocrine monotherapy, dual combination therapy may have superior response rates by imaging, but the low number of trials limits strong conclusions. Additional studies and more predictive biomarkers are needed to personalize the optimal neoadjuvant endocrine combination for an individual patient with ER positive breast cancer.  Spring L, Gupta A, Reynolds KL, Gadd MA, Isakoff SJ, Ellisen LW, Moy B, Bardia A. Neoadjuvant endocrine therapy for estrogen receptor (ER) positive breast cancer: Comprehensive systematic review and meta analysis.
Material Distribution Optimization for the Shell Aircraft Composite Structure

One of the main goal in aircraft structures designing isweight decreasing and stiffness increasing. Composite structures recently became popular in aircraft because of their mechanical properties and wide range of optimization possibilities.Weight distribution and lay up are keys to creating lightweight stiff strictures. In this paperwe discuss optimization of specific structure that undergoes the non uniform air pressure at the different flight conditions and reduce a level of noise caused by the airflowinduced vibrations at the constrained weight of the part. Initial model was created with CAD tool Siemens NX, finite element analysis and post processing were performed with COMSOL Multiphysicsr and MATLABr. Numerical solutions of the Reynolds averaged Navier Stokes (RANS) equations supplemented by k w turbulence model provide the spatial distributions of air pressure applied to the shell surface. At the formulation of optimization problem the global strain energy calculated within the optimized shell was assumed as the objective. Wall thickness has been changed using parametric approach by an initiation of auxiliary sphere with varied radius and coordinates of the center, which were the design variables. To avoid a local stress concentration, wall thickness increment was defined as smooth function on the shell surface dependent of auxiliary sphere position and size. Our study consists of multiple steps: CAD/CAE transformation of the model, determining wind pressure for different flow angles, optimizing wall thickness distribution for specific flow angles, designing a lay up for optimal material distribution. The studied structure was improved in terms of maximum and average strain energy at the constrained expense ofweight growth. Developed methods and tools can be applied to wide range of shell like structures made of multilayered quasi isotropic laminates.
Network connectivity and area coverage for UAV fleet mobility model with energy constraint
Venue: 2016 IEEE Wireless Communications and Networking Conference

Our main focus through the present paper is on developing an original distributed mobility model for autonomous fleet of interconnected UAVs (Unmanned Aerial Vehicles) performing an area exploration mission. The UAVs, equipped with wireless ad hoc capabilities, are required to optimally explore an area while maintaining connectivity with their neighboring UAVs and the base station. Because energy is a scarce resource, especially for UAVs, its wise management is quite beneficial for the network lifetime and mission success. Hence, the proposed mobility model, compared to other models in the literature, is the first to ever include the remaining energy level as decision criterion combined with area coverage and network connectivity. Based on these criterions and the information received from its neighbors, each UAV determines, using the information received from its neighbors, its next movement to be undertaken. The performances of the proposed approach are compared with those achieved through a randomized approach and a forces based approach. Simulation results, using NS3, show that it outperforms the two other models in terms of coverage and connectivity.
Environmental Chemicals in Urine and Blood: Improving Methods for Creatinine and Lipid Adjustment
Venue: Environmental health perspectives

Investigators measuring exposure biomarkers in urine typically adjust for creatinine to account for dilution dependent sample variation in urine concentrations. Similarly, it is standard to adjust for serum lipids when measuring lipophilic chemicals in serum. However, there is controversy regarding the best approach, and existing methods may not effectively correct for measurement error.  We compared adjustment methods, including novel approaches, using simulated case control data.  Using a directed acyclic graph framework, we defined six causal scenarios for epidemiologic studies of environmental chemicals measured in urine or serum. The scenarios include variables known to influence creatinine (e.g. age and hydration) or serum lipid levels (e.g. body mass index and recent fat intake) Over a range of true effect sizes, we analyzed each scenario using seven adjustment approaches and estimated the corresponding bias and confidence interval coverage across 1,000 simulated studies.  For urinary biomarker measurements, our novel method, which incorporates both covariate adjusted standardization and the inclusion of creatinine as a covariate in the regression model, had low bias and possessed 95% confidence interval coverage of nearly 95% for most simulated scenarios. For serum biomarker measurements, a similar approach involving standardization plus serum lipid level adjustment generally performed well.  To control measurement error bias caused by variations in serum lipids or by urinary diluteness, we recommend improved methods for standardizing exposure concentrations across individuals. Citation O'Brien KM, Upson K, Cook NR, Weinberg CR. 2016. Environmental chemicals in urine and blood: improving methods for creatinine and lipid adjustment. Environ Health Perspect 124:220 227; http:/dx.doi.org/10.1289/ehp.1509693
From Marketing Education in a Developing Country to a U.S. Master's and/or Doctoral Degree in Marketing

This chapter outlines the pathway to advanced marketing education by students in a developing country. We begin by contrasting the similarities and differences in undergraduate marketing education in Saudi Arabia versus the U.S. The analysis includes the typical markers of language and access to secondary sources, and culture specific differences in the perception of time and various cultural influences using Hofstede's cultural dimensions. This is followed with a description of the pathway students from Saudi Arabia take to pursue a Master's and/or Doctorate in marketing in the U.S. The chapter concludes with the unique insight unlike a sizeable number of foreign students in the U.S. most students from Saudi Arabia return to Saudi Arabia and in so doing stem the 'brain drain' so many other countries face when their brightest head to the U.S. for advanced study.
Impact of Dry Eye Disease on Work Productivity, and Patients' Satisfaction With Over the Counter Dry Eye Treatments.
Venue: Investigative ophthalmology visual science

To assess the effect of dry eye disease on work productivity and performance of non work related activities, and patients' satisfaction with over the counter (OTC) dry eye treatments.  In this prospective, noninterventional, cross sectional study, conducted at 10 U.S. optometry/ophthalmology practices, 158 symptomatic dry eye patients naive to prescription medication underwent standard dry eye diagnostic tests and completed Work Productivity and Activity Impairment (WPAI) and Ocular Surface Disease Index (OSDI) questionnaires. Use of OTC dry eye medication, and satisfaction with OTC medication and symptom relief were also assessed.  On average, dry eye resulted in loss of 0.36% of work time ~5 minutes over 7 days) and ~30% impairment of workplace performance (presenteeism) work productivity, and non job related activities. Presenteeism and productivity impairment scores showed significant correlation with OSDI total (r 0.55) and symptom domain (r 0.50) scores, but not with dry eye clinical signs. Activity impairment score showed stronger correlation with OSDI total (r 0.61) and symptom domain (r 0.53) scores than with clinical signs (r 0.20) Almost 75% of patients used OTC dry eye medication. Levels of patient satisfaction with OTC medication (64.2% and symptom relief from OTC (37.3% were unaffected by administration frequency =3 vs. =2 times daily)  Dry eye causes negligible absenteeism, but markedly reduces workplace and non job related performances. Impairment of work performance is more closely linked to dry eye symptoms than to clinical signs. Patients' perceptions of OTC dry eye medication tend to be more positive than their perceptions of symptom relief.
An Investigation of the Factors Influencing Consumer Perception towards Green Brands

With the increased environmental concern of the society over the years, various initiatives by individuals, business houses, institutions and governments, are being constantly taken to appear 'Green' These initiatives are known as 'sustainable/environmental friendly/eco friendly efforts' As civilization happens to be more and more apprehensive regarding the natural environment, business organizations have also started adjusting their attitude as an attempt to take care of society's latest distress. With society's rising genuine concern towards the environment, the organizations got an opportunity to differentiate the branding aspect of the product by labeling as Green or environmental friendly. This genuine concern or marketing activity of the organization is termed as Green Marketing. This paper investigates the factors which influence consumer perception towards the green brands with predictors like green marketing initiative, customer involvement, environmental concern and organization's business strategy as the factors which were prominently visible in literature review. The primary data was collected through a questionnaire investigating 79 respondents through convenience sampling method and the responses were interpreted and analyzed using various statistical tools like reliability test, factor analysis and regression analysis with a level of significance of 5% The results from the statistical analysis supports the relationship of customer perception with factors like customer involvement, business strategy and environmental concern while no relationship with green marketing initiatives.  Green Marketing, Customer Perception, Customer Involvement, Business Strategy, Environmental Concern
Designing of Medium Size Humanoid Robot with Face Recognition Features

Nowadays, there have been so many development of robot that can receive command and do speech recognition and face recognition. In this research, we develop a humanoid robot system with a controller that based on Raspberry Pi 2. The methods we used are based on Audio recognition and detection, and also face recognition using PCA (Principal Component Analysis) with OpenCV and Python. PCA is one of the algorithms to do face detection by doing reduction to the number of dimension of the image possessed. The result of this reduction process is then known as eigenface to do face recognition process. In this research, we still find a false recognition. It can be caused by many things, like database condition, maybe the images are too dark or less varied, blur test image, etc. The accuracy from 3 tests on different people is about 93% (28 correct recognitions out of 30)