nils-herrmann/clean_scirepeval huggingface dataset:
Endoscopic management of cysticercal cysts within the lateral and third ventricles.

OBJECT
In this report the authors review their 3-year experience with the endoscopic management of patients with hydrocephalus who harbored cysticercal cysts within the third and lateral ventricles. The management plan was to utilize an endoscopic approach to remove the cysts and to incorporate techniques useful in treating obstructive hydrocephalus. The ultimate goals were to avoid having to place a complication-prone cerebrospinal fluid shunt and to eliminate the risk of complications related to cyst degeneration.



A retrospective analysis of 10 patients with hydrocephalus and cysticercal cysts within the third or lateral ventricles who were endoscopically managed was performed. A general description of the instrumentation and technique used for removal of the intraventricular cysts is given. At presentation, neuroimaging revealed findings suggestive of obstructive hydrocephalus in eight patients. Seven of the 10 patients treated endoscopically were spared the necessity of shunt placement. Three successful third ventriculostomies and one therapeutic septum pellucidotomy were performed. Despite frequent rupture of the cyst walls during removal of the cysts, there were no cases of ventriculitis. The endoscopic approach allowed successful removal of a cyst situated in the roof of the anterior third ventricle. One patient suffered from recurrent shunt obstructions secondary to a shunt-induced migration of cysts from the posterior fossa to the lateral ventricles.



The endoscopic removal of third and lateral ventricle cysticercal cysts, combined with a third ventriculostomy or septum pellucidotomy in selected cases, is an effective treatment in patients with hydrocephalus and should be considered the primary treatment for this condition.

Field of study: Medicine
Extended Kirsch Combined Method for Eigenvalue Reanalysis

Based on the Kirsch combined method and the Rayleigh quotient, a new eigenvalue reanalysis method for modified structures is developed. Using this method, the accuracy of the eigenvalues reanalysis of large modifications of structural parameters is improved. As an application of the method, a numerical example is given to illustrate the accuracy by comparing the second-order perturbation method with the proposed method if the large modifications of structural parameters are made. The calculated results show that the proposed method is effective.

Field of study: Physics
Cenozoic history of the Himalayan-Bengal system: Sand composition in the Bengal basin, Bangladesh

Stratigraphic sequences preserved in the Bengal basin provide detrital information that documents a significantly older history of the eastern Himalaya than that available from Ocean Drilling Program and Deep Sea Drilling Project cores recovered from the Bengal fan. The Bengal basin, formed as a result of the Himalayan collision, is located at the juncture of the Indian craton to the west, the Shillong massif and the Himalayan belt to the north, and the Indo-Burman ranges to the east. Modal analyses of Eocene and Oligocene sandstones of the Cherra, Kopili, and Barail Formations document compositions that are dominated by subangular monocrystalline quartz grains with scarce to no feldspar grains, and few lithic fragments (Cherra and Kopili: Qt 99 F 1 L 0 ;  Qt 90 F 3 L 7 ; Qt—total quartz, F—feldspar, L—lithic fragments). These compositions are similar to sands derived from the Indian craton, suggesting that they underwent intense chemical weathering, likely in a source with low relief and considerable transport. Himalayan tectonism during this time was probably significantly more distant from the Bengal basin than at present. Sandstones of the Miocene Surma Group (Bhuban and Boka Bil Formations) are rich in feldspar grains, argillite, and very low-grade metamorphic lithic fragments (Bhuban: Qt 66 F 15 L 19 ; Boka Bil: Qt 57 F 23 L 20 ) relative to older sandstones, suggesting onset of uplift and erosional unroofing in the eastern Himalaya, and initiation of stream systems supplying orogenic detritus to the Bengal basin. Sands of the upper Miocene to Pliocene Tipam Group and the Pliocene–Pleistocene Dupi Tila Sandstone contain abundant argillitic and low- to medium-grade metamorphic lithic fragments and feldspar grains (Tipam: Qt 61 F 19 L 19 ; Dupi Tila: Qt 70 F 13 L 17 ), suggesting continued orogenic unroofing. These younger sands are rich in potassium feldspar (P/F=0.30, 0.20) relative to plagioclase (P)-rich Bhuban and Boka Bil sandstones (P/F=0.66 and 0.48), suggesting a granitic source, probably the Miocene leucogranites of the High Himalayan Crystalline terrane. These results document for the first time contrasts in orogenic history recorded in the Bengal system vs. western Himalayan foreland basins. Sands deposited in the Bengal basin are generally more quartzose and less lithic than those from the western Himalayan foreland basins, and pre-Miocene strata in the Bengal system show little to no evidence of orogenic activity. In part, this probably reflects west to east progression of the Himalayan collision, but it probably also results from sedimentary systems propagating southward, ahead of the advancing mountain belt as it has been consuming the remnant ocean basin trapped between the Indian craton and the Burmese block.

Field of study: Geology
Numismatic Evidence and Falling Prices in the Fourteenth Century

INCE scholars first detected a fall in the level of prices in the later Middle Ages a number of different arguments have been put forward to explain it. Initially, it was believed that prices fell because of a shortage of money and money metals. Then in the I950's it was argued that changes in population were the cause of falling prices and, although advocates of the monetary theory have continued to question it, it is the population thesis which still largely holds the field. No one has done more to scatter the ranks of the monetary theorists than Prof. M. M. Postan, and his explanation of the economic fluctuations of the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries makes a good startingpoint. His argument is that increasing population in the thirteenth century first stimulated the economy of Europe but later began to exert undue pressure on the food supply. Disaster was postponed by the colonization of "marginal" lands, but survival based on the cultivation of poorer soils became more and more precarious. "In these conditions a fortuitous combination of adverse events, such as the succession of bad seasons in the second decade of the fourteenth century, was sufficient to reverse the entire trend of agricultural production and to send the population figures tumbling down."2 On the other hand it has been suggested that there was no fall in the population before the Black Death and that prices fell because of a decline in the stock of money metals.3 This application of the quantity theory of money to the question was quickly rejected by Prof. Postan4 but it reappeared in a modified form in an

Field of study: Economics, History
Cognitive processes in program comprehension: An empirical analysis in the Context of software reengineering

Changes in an organization's internal and external environment impose numerous demands on management information systems (MIS). Since few MIS can be designed to fully anticipate all change, system portfolios frequently tend to become heavily weighted with older systems needing maintenance and revision. To maintain cost effectiveness, encourage system reuse, and ensure that the new system's behavior will differ from that of the old one only as intended, the former's functional design must be recovered (preferably from the old program code itself) when undertaking such maintenance and revision. We studied of how experts perform this design recovery activity by analyzing the cognitive processes of six experienced system developers engaged in the program comprehension phase of software reengineering. Results of protocol analysis indicate that subjects distributed their cognitive processes in a systematic and generally comparable fashion. Over the sample, similar transitions between two activities and patterns of three activities were observed to occur with high frequency. The most frequently occurring program comprehension transitions and patterns generally occurred within, rather than across, two activity groups: recognition and design documentation. We conclude with suggestions for further research on program comprehension and the design of computerized tools to support the software reengineering process.

Field of study: Computer science, Engineering
Automatic monitoring method of apple browning for determining optimal inhibitor mixtures.

Apple browning is an undesirable biochemical change that decreases the value of apple produces on the food market. The colour of apples starts changing immediately after being cut, the speed of colour-change depending on apple-variety and environment: sweeter apples become brown quicker, warmer environment favorizes the browning speed. Monitoring apple browning is part of food quality control and part of studying ways to decrease the browning speed by using different types of inhibitors (anti-browning agents). The monitoring is usually done with colorimetric devices such as spectrophotometers and colorimeters. We propose an alternative way of monitoring colour changes during the browning process for optimizing inhibitor mixtures for fresh-cut green apples, using the Trichromatic Colour Analyser (TCA) system, which turns scanner into colorimeter. TCA has been initially created for the complete study of the traditional Thai colours and subsequently developed for other tasks, one of them being the automated monitoring of fruit browning. One of the main advantages of TCA over other colour measurement devices is the capability of obtaining colorimetric values over a flexible port-size with a maximum aperture of 100 x 100 mm. In our research we mixed different quantities of ascorbic acid (10 g/L), citric acid (10 g/L) and sodium chloride (10 g/L) using proportions specified by simplex centroid pattern, in order to obtain an optimized inhibitor for browning process of Granny Smith green apple types. The automated TCA monitoring process was compared with the automated monitoring using a Konica Minolta CR400 colorimeter for 28.3 hours with a 1300 seconds time-interval between measurements. The optimized inhibitor mixture depended on time frame (initial time, t0 and time t).

Field of study: Agricultural and Food sciences
Phytotoxicity of atrazine and alachlor in soil amended with sludge, manure and activated carbon

Greenhouse studies were conducted to determine the influence of waste‐activated carbon (WAC), digested municipal sewage sludge (DMS), and animal manure on herbicidal activity of atrazine [2‐chloro‐4‐(ethylamino)‐6‐(isopropylamino)‐s‐trazine] and alachlor [2‐chloro‐2’,6'‐diethyl‐N‐(methoxymethyl)acetanilide] in a Plainfield sandy soil. Amendments generally reduced bioactivity against oat (Avena sativa L.) and Japanese millet (E. crus‐galli frumentacea). The extent to which herbicide phytotoxicity was inhibited depended upon the application rate and the kind of soil amendment. WAC, applied at the loading rate of 2.1 mt C/ha, showed a significant inhibitory effect on both herbicides. In DMS‐ and manure‐amended soil, the reduction of atrazine activity was not significant at the rate of 8.4 mt C/ha, but reduction of alachlor activity was significant at the rate of 4.2 mt C/ha. Despite inhibition of herbicidal activity, the ED50 of atrazine and alachlor was below 2 ppm in most of the amendment treatmen...

Field of study: Agricultural and Food sciences
MSX versus IRAS Two-Color Diagrams and the CSE-Sequence of Oxygen-Rich Late-Type Stars

We present MSX two-color diagrams that can be used to characterize circumstellar environments of sources with good quality MSX colors in terms of IRAS color regions for oxygen-rich stars. With these diagrams we aim to provide a new tool that can be used to study circumstellar environments and to improve detection rates for targeted surveys for circumstellar maser emission similar to the IRAS two-color diagram. This new tool is especially useful for regions in the sky where IRAS was confused, in particular in the Galactic plane and bulge region. Unfortunately, using MSX colors alone does not allow to distinguish between carbon-rich and oxygen-rich objects. An application of this tool on 86 GHz SiO masers shows that for this type of masers an instantaneous detection rate of 60% to 80% can be achieved if target sources are selected according to MSX color (region). 
Our investigations may have revealed an error in the MSX point source catalog version 2.3. That is, the photometry of the 21.3 $\mu$m (MSX E filter) band for most weak 8.28 $\mu$m (or MSX A filter) band sources seems off by about a factor two (0.5--1 magnitude too bright).

Field of study: Physics
Short-Circuit Current Limitation Through 2G YBCO Resistive-Type SFCL Devices: A Model for Technical and Economic Comparison With Traditional Air-Core Reactors

In this paper, a methodology has been developed to perform techno-economic comparisons between superconducting fault current limiters (SFCL) devices and air-core reactors to be used for short-circuit current limitation following a parameterized approach. The methodology is based on the development of models dedicated to the SFCLs design, to the calculation of the electrical quantities in the grid under study, and to the economic analysis of the related costs. As an example of the developed methodology application, a parameterized study has been carried out with respect to the desired limitation and a comparison between SFCLs and air-core reactors installation in a test grid has been performed. In total, 30 different values of limitation factor have been fixed and, for each of them, design calculation of the device, its impact in the grid, both in steady-state and in transient regime, and the related economic analyses based on hypotheses of capital and operating costs (derived from the experience of Ricerca sul Sistema Energetico in the development and installation of resistive SFCL) have been carried out. The main outcome is that, for a given tariff plan, for a grid initial power factor and for a wide range of limitation factor values, it is possible that the installation of SFCL devices instead of air-core reactors may guarantee a time of return on investment shorter than ten years.

Field of study: Physics
Evaluation of the Referral System Performance in the Family Physician Program

As the first in the line of contacts between patients and the health system, family physicians have an important role in improving the health status of a society. Referring the patients to specialized care or special health services is one of the important duties for this group.  To better understand referral services, this study aimed at evaluating the referral function of family physicians in Damavand City.  This cross-sectional descriptive study was carried out in five health care centers with eight family physicians in Damavand City from April to September 2013. The main variables included the number of referred patients to laboratory and radiology centers and specialist physicians and the provided feedback.  The findings revealed that three out of eight family physicians referred patients to the laboratory more than the set cap. As for referrals to specialists, only one physician had more than ten percent of the cap. The feedback was zero for all patients, except for one case who had unknown status and another who had five percent feedback.  According to the results, it can be concluded that the existing referral potential is not optimally fulfilled by family physicians of Damavand City. Increasing the usage of the available potentials is hence recommended.  Referral System, Family Physicians, Damavand

Field of study: Medicine
ПРОМЫШЛЕННОСТЬ В МАЕ 2016 Г. ПО ДАННЫМ КОНЪЮНКТУРНЫХ ОПРОСОВ

Позитивная динамика спроса и выпуска промышленной продукции при минимальных излишках запасов готовой продукции сочетается в мае 2016 г. с ростом неуверенности в будущем спросе. Нет оптимизма в отношении инвестиционных планов, но нет и пессимизма в отношении способности обслуживать взятые кредиты.

Field of study: Economics
Pulmonary Thromboembolectomy in Chronic Thromboembolic Pulmonary Hypertension: A Case Report and Review of Literature

Chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension (CTEPH) is an important cause of severe pulmonary hypertention (PH) resulting in significant morbidity and mortality. Chronic thromboembolic PH occurs when a pulmonary embolism fails to undergo complete thrombolysis leading to vascular occlusion and pulmonary hypertension. Despite the fact that CTEPH is a potential consequence of pulmonary embolus, diagnosis requires a high degree of vigilance as many patients will not have a history of thromboembolic disease. The ventilation perfusion scan is used to evaluate for the possibility of CTEPH although right heart catheterization and pulmonary artery (PA) angiogram are needed to confirm the diagnosis. Pulmonary thromboendarterectomy is the first-line treatment for patients who are surgical candidates. This case report and review describes the pathophysiology, risk factors, diagnosis, and management of CTEPH. As it is a potentially curable cause of PH, its accurate diagnosis is vital. The gold standard and effective treatment for CTEPH is pulmonary endarterectomy (PEA). Pulmonary endarterectomy is an uncommon procedure with less than 50 years of experience worldwide. Research on the development of new surgical approaches is essential. In the present case, a new successful surgical technique for PEA was introduced.  The surgical procedure used on the present patient was a unique technique. We do not claim that our technique is better than the original San Diego technique, but it is suggested as a modification that may improve patient survival. However, this procedure has its own limitations and cannot be used for clots that are located distally. Therefore, further experience should be obtained in order to overcome the limitations and improve the applicability of the technique.

Field of study: Medicine
[Diagnosis and treatment of cognitive impairment in patients with chronic cerebral ischemia: the results of observational Russian program DIAMANT].

To investigate the efficacy of divaza in outpatients with cognitive disorders and chronic brain ischemia (CBI).



The non-interventional observational program included the data of 2583 outpatients with CBI from 30 cities (8 federal okrugs of the Russian Federation) who were on outpatient neurological treatment and received divaza in a dose of 2 tablets three times a day from Oct 2016  Cognitive functions were evaluated using the MoCA scale before and after 3 months of treatment.



Cognitive disorders were identified in 90.7% of patients (<26 MoCA scores). After treatment, the mean MoCA score increased from 19.58±5.13 to 23.99±4.21 (p<0.0001), the number of patients with normal cognitive functions rate (≥26 scores) increased from 9.3 to 41.3%, the number of patients with marked cognitive impairment decreased. The drug was well-tolerated by old and very old patients, adverse events were observed rarely (0.6% of cases). The majority of doctors (88.4%) noticed the effect of divaza as significant improvement or improvement, and 89.6% of patients valued the effect to be excellent or good. The use of divaza, the drug with endothelioprotective and nootropic effects, is pathogenetically justified and promising in patients with cognitive disorders of vascular etiology.

Field of study: Medicine, Psychology
Semiparametric Transformation Models With Random Effects for Recurrent Events

In this article we study a class of semiparametric transformation models with random effects for the intensity function of the counting process. These models provide considerable flexibility in formulating the effects of possibly time-dependent covariates on the developments of recurrent events while accounting for the dependence of the recurrent event times within the same subject. We show that the nonparametric maximum likelihood estimators (NPMLEs) for the parameters of these models are consistent and asymptotically normal. The limiting covariance matrices for the estimators of the regression parameters achieve the semiparametric efficiency bounds and can be consistently estimated. The limiting covariance function for the estimator of any smooth functional of the cumulative intensity function also can be consistently estimated. We develop a simple and stable EM algorithm to compute the NPMLEs as well as the variance and covariance estimators. Simulation studies demonstrate that the proposed methods perform well in practical situations. Two medical studies are provided for illustrations.

Field of study: Mathematics
Bright is the new black—multi-year performance of high-albedo roofs in an urban climate

High-albedo white and cool roofing membranes are recognized as a fundamental strategy that dense urban areas can deploy on a large scale, at low cost, to mitigate the urban heat island effect. We are monitoring three generic white membranes within New York City that represent a cross section of the dominant white membrane options for US flat roofs: (1) an ethylene‐propylene‐diene monomer (EPDM) rubber membrane; (2) a thermoplastic polyolefin (TPO) membrane; and (3) an asphaltic multi-ply built-up membrane coated with white elastomeric acrylic paint. The paint product is being used by New York City’s government for the first major urban albedo enhancement program in its history. We report on the temperature and related albedo performance of these three membranes at three different sites over a multi-year period. The results indicate that the professionally installed white membranes are maintaining their temperature control effectively and are meeting the Energy Star Cool Roofing performance standards requiring a three-year aged albedo above 0.50. The EPDM membrane shows evidence of low emissivity; however this had the interesting effect of avoiding any ‘winter heat penalty’ for this building. The painted asphaltic surface shows high emissivity but lost about half of its initial albedo within two years of installation. Given that the acrylic approach is such an important ‘do-it-yourself’, low-cost, retrofit technique, and, as such, offers the most rapid technique for increasing urban albedo, further product performance research is recommended to identify conditions that optimize its long-term albedo control. Even so, its current multi-year performance still represents a significant albedo enhancement for urban heat island mitigation.

Field of study: Environmental science