nils-herrmann/clean_scirepeval huggingface dataset:
Information needs and information seeking behaviour of patients during follow up of colorectal cancer in the Netherlands
Venue: Journal of Cancer Survivorship
Year: 2019

Adequately informing patients is considered crucial in cancer care, but need for information and information seeking behaviour of colorectal cancer (CRC) patients in the Netherlands are currently not well known. In a prospective study, patients participating in a specialty, hospital based follow up program completed three consecutive surveys over a 6 month period to analyse their information need and information seeking behaviour. Patients (n 259) felt well informed about their treatment (86% disease (84% and follow up program (80% but less well informed about future expectations (49% nutrition (43% recommended physical activity (42% and heredity of cancer (40% The need for more information on these subjects remained constant over the first five postoperative years. Patients who were younger, who had undergone chemotherapy, or who had comorbid conditions needed more information on several subjects. One in three patients searched for information themselves, mostly on the Internet. One in four patients consulted a health care provider for information, mostly their GP. Younger and more educated patients more often searched for information themselves, while patients undergoing chemotherapy more often consulted the hospital nurse. Information seeking behaviour remained constant over time. This study showed where current information provision is perceived as adequate and on which subject improvements can be made. It identifies information seeking behaviour and proposes ways to personalize information provision. The GP is most frequently consulted for information; involving GPs in CRC follow up could improve information provision on several subjects for several patients.
Markov Approximation for Combinatorial Network Optimization
Venue: IEEE Transactions on Information Theory
Year: 2013

Many important network design problems are fundamentally combinatorial optimization problems. A large number of such problems, however, cannot readily be tackled by distributed algorithms. The Markov approximation framework studied in this paper is a general technique for synthesizing distributed algorithms. We show that when using the log sum exp function to approximate the optimal value of any combinatorial problem, we end up with a solution that can be interpreted as the stationary probability distribution of a class of time reversible Markov chains. Selected Markov chains among this class yield distributed algorithms that solve the log sum exp approximated combinatorial network optimization problem. By examining three applications, we illustrate that the Markov approximation technique not only provides fresh perspectives to existing distributed solutions, but also provides clues leading to the construction of new distributed algorithms in various domains with provable performance. We believe the Markov approximation techniques will find applications in many other network optimization problems.
Role of serum protein electrophoresis in clinically suspected cases of plasma cell dyscrasia
Year: 2020

Serum protein electrophoresis (SPE) and its pattern recognition is an excellent screening technique for the detection of paraproteinemias or monoclonal gammopathies. In this study, we assessed SPE patterns in all clinically suspected cases of plasma cell dyscrasia with usual and unusual clinical presentations and correlated with ancillary investigations.  We analysed serum protein electrophoresis (SPE) patterns in clinically suspected cases of plasma cell dyscrasia in 2 year duration. Based on SPE pattern these cases were divided into two groups: Group I, with M component and Group II, without M component. These cases were reviewed with respect to clinical presentation and correlated with immunofixation electrophoresis and bone marrow aspiration/ biopsy findings wherever available, especially in the M band positive cases to differentiate multiple myeloma (MM) from the other conditions.  A total of 80 samples were received for SPE, out of these, 56.3% were clinically suspected to have plasma cell dyscrasia. Among these cases 60% were in group I and 40% were in group II. In group II, 39% cases were essentially non neoplastic after relevant investigations. In group I, M band was observed in 88.9% cases in g region and 11.1% cases in b region. The mean fraction of the M protein was 4.7g/dl with a range of 2.0g/dl to 9.8g/dl. In group II 72.2% showed polyclonal hypergammaglobulinemia, 22.2% showed normal electrophoretic pattern and 5.6% showed hypogammaglobulinemia. Bone marrow aspiration and biopsy were available in 88.9% of all suspected cases. Various haematological neoplasms observed in both the groups, their clinical presentations with interesting facets of the cases have been discussed.  Serum protein electrophoresis is one of the most important diagnostic modality in clinical chemistry. It helps to resolve cases with bone marrow plasmacytosis particularly in differentiating between reactive non neoplastic plasmacytic proliferations from clonal plasma cell disorders. Moreover, it also facilitates the work up of cases with atypical presentations and thereby paves way to clinch the diagnosis in these ambiguous cases.
Prioritizing genes responsible for host resistance to influenza using network approaches
Venue: BMC Genomics
Year: 2013

BackgroundThe genetic make up of humans and other mammals (such as mice) affects their resistance to influenza virus infection. Considering the complexity and moral issues associated with experiments on human subjects, we have only acquired partial knowledge regarding the underlying molecular mechanisms. Although influenza resistance in inbred mice has been mapped to several quantitative trait loci (QTLs) which have greatly narrowed down the search for host resistance genes, only few underlying genes have been identified.ResultsTo prioritize a list of promising candidates for future functional investigation, we applied network based approaches to leverage the information of known resistance genes and the expression profiles contrasting susceptible and resistant mouse strains. The significance of top ranked genes was supported by different lines of evidence from independent genetic associations, QTL studies, RNA interference (RNAi) screenings, and gene expression analysis. Further data mining on the prioritized genes revealed the functions of two pathways mediated by tumor necrosis factor (TNF) apoptosis and TNF receptor 2 signaling pathways. We suggested that the delicate balance between TNF's pro survival and apoptotic effects may affect hosts' conditions after influenza virus infection.ConclusionsThis study considerably cuts down the list of candidate genes responsible for host resistance to influenza and proposed novel pathways and mechanisms. Our study also demonstrated the efficacy of network based methods in prioritizing genes for complex traits.
Language Anxiety among Selected Grade 7 ESL Learners in the Division of Northern Samar, Philippines
Year: 2019

Copyright (c) 2019 by author(s) and International Journal of Trend in Scientific Research and Development Journal.  This descriptive correlational study determined the language anxiety experienced by Grade 7 ESL learners from four selected junior high schools in the first district of the Division of Northern Samar, Philippines for School Year 2018 2019. The respondents of the study were 286 Grade 7 students who were determined using Slovin's formula. The instrument used in the study was composed of three parts: the socio demographic profile of the respondents; the factors causing second language anxiety; and the language anxiety scale adopted from Horwitz, Horwitz, and Cope's (1986) model of language anxiety. The English performance of the respondents was based on their grades in the English subject. The data were treated statistically using frequency counts, percentages, weighted mean and Pearson r correlation. The findings revealed that in the English performance of the respondents, a majority of them obtained very satisfactory rating in English. Students' second language anxiety especially on language anxiety and fear of negative evaluation were found to be "either anxious or relaxed" On the test of relationship, a significant relationship was found between demographic profile and their English performance. There was also a significant relationship between the demographic profile and the respondents second language anxiety. Age and sex were found significantly related with classroom related factors and teacher related factors. English performance was also found significantly related with communication anxiety and test anxiety.
Cost shifting and other perverse incentives in biodiversity offsetting in India.
Venue: Conservation biology the journal of the Society for Conservation Biology
Year: 2018

Biodiversity offsetting aims to compensate for development induced biodiversity loss through commensurate conservation gains and is gaining traction among governments and businesses. However, cost shifting (i.e. diversion of offset funds to other conservation programs) and other perverse incentives can undermine the effectiveness of biodiversity offsetting. Additionality the requirement that biodiversity offsets result in conservation outcomes that would not have been achieved otherwise is fundamental to biodiversity offsetting. Cost shifting and violation of additionality can go hand in hand. India's national offsetting program is a case in point. Recent legislation allows the diversion of offset funds to meet the country's preexisting commitments under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) With such diversions, no additional conservation takes place and development impacts remain uncompensated. Temporary additionality cannot be conceded in light of paucity of funds for preexisting commitments unless there is open acknowledgement that fulfillment of such commitments is contingent on offset funds. Two other examples of perverse incentives related to offsetting in India are the touting of inherently neutral offsetting outcomes as conservation gains, a tactic that breeds false complacency and results in reduced incentive for additional conservation efforts, and the clearing of native vegetation for commercial plantations in the name of compensatory afforestation, a practice that leads to biodiversity decline. The risks accompanying cost shifting and other perverse incentives, if not preempted and addressed, will result in net loss of forest cover in India. We recommend accurate baselines, transparent accounting, and open reporting of offset outcomes to ensure biodiversity offsetting achieves adequate and additional compensation for impacts of development.
Digital Diabetes Dudes
Year: 2018

The Dudes project explored young people's experiences of living with diabetes and how they would like to be supported in self management using digital resources. In the early stages of development, Dudes is an interactive online education site for young people living with type 1 diabetes, situated within My Diabetes My Way. Dudes aims to support young people aged 17 25 years to understand self management for their lifestyle, and has been developed by a collaborative team from Edinburgh Napier University, NHS Lothian and the University of Dundee. It was accepted by the Digital Health Care Institute as part of an integrated 'Digital Diabetes' programme of projects seeking to develop digital resources to support self management. The Dudes Experience Lab took place in November 2016, following Pre and General Labs exploring themes and questions that cut across the projects in the Digital Diabetes programme (commenced November 2015) This report describes the Experience Lab activity for the Dudes project and a detailed set of findings. It begins by providing project background and aims, and summarises the relevant findings of the Pre and General Labs (described in full in previous reports) The findings are mapped onto the objectives of the Dudes project, presenting a detailed discussion of the current experiences of young people, in terms of the insights, attitudes and actions that relate to self management. Feedback on existing resources for young people are presented, and information gaps and opportunities are identified. Finally, the report presents design requirements, concepts and scenarios of use for the enriched young person's zone, and the conclusions of the Experience Lab Team.
El futuro impuesto especial sobre los envases de plastico no reutilizables
Year: 2020

El pasado 2 de junio, el Consejo de Ministros acordo someter a informacion publica, por el plazo de un mes, el Anteproyecto de Ley de residuos y suelos contaminados (el <Anteproyecto de Ley> entre cuyas novedades destaca la regulacion de una nueva figura impositiva de naturaleza indirecta: el impuesto especial sobre los envases de plastico no reutilizables (el <Impuesto> El presente articulo trata de analizar las principales caracteristicas del Impuesto segun la redaccion actual del Anteproyecto de Ley y expresar algunas de las dudas que nos plantea dicha redaccion en relacion con su compatibilidad con el Derecho de la UE.
The validity of pressure indicating film for the measurement of occlusal forces transmitted to distal extension removable partial denture made by dual impression technique
Year: 2012

The study aimed to measure clinically the occlusal force, and the force transmitted underneath two different distal extension removable partial dentures fabricated according to different types of dual impression technique. Ten male patients with mandibular class I Kennedy classification recruited, two metal frameworks were made for each (fluid wax impression (Denture A) and selected pressure impression (Denture B) Both dentures were fabricated according to altered cast technique, and then pressure indicating film (PIF) was used to record the occlusal force as well as the force transmitted to supporting tissues beneath each denture at the molar region. The processed (PIF) and color calibration swatch were scanned. Photoshop program was used to get the color density and to determine the amount of pressure. The force beneath denture (A) was significantly lower than that measured in denture (B) at 5% level (P=0.008) High localized pressure transmission was observed in the PIF opposite molar region in the distal extension RPD (B).The PIF enables to measure in vivo the pressure distribution under distal extension base of RPD. Furthermore, functional impression using fluid wax could be the impression of choice to minimize load induced by RPD, it provides more even force distribution and be more temperate to supporting oral tissues. [Manal R Alammari, Lana A Shinawi and Seham B Tayel. The validity of pressure indicating film for the measurement of occlusal forces transmitted to distal extension removable partial denture made by dual impression technique.  372] (ISSN: 1545 1003) http:/www.jofamericanscience.org.
Exploring Usage Patterns of a Large Scale Digital Library
Venue: 2019 ACM/IEEE Joint Conference on Digital Libraries (JCDL)
Year: 2019

Log file (LF) analysis has been widely used in Interactive Information Retrieval (IIR) as a means to uncover information about users and their behaviour when searching for information. Various studies targeted small scale IIR systems; Online Public Access Catalogue (OPAC) is an example. Instead this research considers a large scale digital library that services heterogeneous population and provides divers digital contents. The aim of this study is to explore the hidden usage patterns (UP) of a large scale digital library (DL) by analysing the LFs. A dataset of 28 million records obtained from the RERO Doc DL was adopted for our study. We identify and discuss three main distinct UPs: item seekers, navigators, and searchers. The UPs were characterised by session duration, session starting points, discovering content actions, functions used, and determination session points. We conclude that LF reveals valuable information that might assist DL developers and designers to improve user experiences.
Are Politicians Successful in their Electoral Strategies? The Case of Tax Revenue Budgeting Errors
Year: 2016

This paper aims to examine the effect of tax revenue budgeting errors on fiscal balance and mayor's party re election. Specifically, we contribute to the literature by testing whether the relationship between tax revenue underestimation and fiscal balance is influenced by political ideology, political strength and the electoral cycle. To this end, we use a 1994 2008 panel of the largest Spanish municipalities. Our results reveal that underestimating tax revenue increases fiscal surpluses or reduces fiscal deficits. Tax revenue underestimation puts pressure on expenditure, thereby creating a revenue windfall and reducing the deficit. Thus, politicians use these resources to serve their own electoral interests rather than to citizens' preferences. The impact of tax revenue budgeting errors on the fiscal balance depends on mayors' political strength and the electoral cycle. In fact, we provide evidence that politicians create buffers by underestimating tax revenue, thereby reducing (increasing) fiscal deficits (surpluses) in the preceding years, to increase expenditure in the pre election and election years. Finally, our estimates reveal that tax revenue underestimation two years before elections influences the mayor`s party reelection prospects positively.
Contribution of Working Memory, Orthographic and Sentential Processing to Chinese Text Comprehension by Tibetan and Yi Students.
Year: 2017

Two groups of 12 year old ethnic minority (EM) users of alphasyllabary (66 Tibetan and 45 Yi) were compared with 42 Han Chinese students in comprehending Chinese narrative and expository texts, each with inferential questions requiring short open ended written answers. Three constructs (verbal working memory, orthographic and sentential processing) each with two indicators, were hypothesized to predict text comprehension differentially in the three groups. A 43 item Students' Approaches to Learning (SAL) scale showed the EM students might not have developed effective strategies in learning Chinese. A task x group MANCOVA with SAL as covariate showed substantial differences in the students' performance. Multiple comparisons found group differences changed across tasks. Structural equation modeling, multiple regression analyses point to the significant and differential contribution of the constructs and the tasks to the two genres of Chinese text comprehension in the different groups. Educational implications include strengthening teaching the structure and function of Chinese characters, words, syntax and the need for adaptive curriculum materials.
Trade War Between the USA and China: Who will Win?
Year: 2020

Regular meeting of the Bogomolov Club, held at the Institute for Economic Strategies on January 28, 2020, was dedicated to the issues of trade and economic war between the USA and China. The keynote address was delivered by the famous Russian sinologist, Doctor of Economics, Professor, Director of the Center for Social and Economic Research of China at the RAS Institute of the Far East, member of the Russian Association of Sinologists, the European Association of Chinese Studies Andrey V. Ostrovsky.
Experimental Study on Hybrid Fiber Self Compacting Concrete
Year: 2017

Self Compacting Concrete is a recently developed conception in which the ingredients of the concrete mix are proportioned in such a way that it can flow under its own weight to completely fills up the formwork and passes through the crammed reinforcement with no segregation and self consolidate without any mechanical vibration. Several studies in the past have exposed the expediency of fibers to develop the structural properties of concrete like ductility, post crack resistance, energy absorption capacity etc. Fiber reinforced self compacting concreting combines the benefits of self compacting concrete in fresh state and shows an enhanced performance in the hardened state due to the addition of fibers. In this project, glass fibers and polyester fibers were added to SCC and HFRSCC was developed. An attempt has been made to study mechanical properties of self compacting concrete and glass fiber reinforced self compacting concrete with addition of mild steel reinforcement. A strength based mix proportion of self compacting concrete was arrived based on Nan Su method of mix design and the proportion was fine tuned by using Okamura's guidelines. Self compacting concrete mixes with partial replacement of cement by mineral admixture like fly ash were taken for investigation with and without incorporating glass fibers and polyester fibers.
Causality Between High Performance Work Systems and Organizational Performance
Year: 2017

Previous researchers have questioned whether the association between high performance work systems (HPWS) and organizational performance indicates causality. Strategic human resource management theories, including the resource based view of the firm and the behavioral perspective, have provided explanations linking human resource management practices to organizational performance. We add arguments based upon general systems theory to suggest a more complex relationship where performance provides feedback on HPWS in the form of information and resources. This feedback generates both the data and the slack resources needed to support an adaptive process of HPWS implementation. We test the causal associations between HPWS and performance using a large longitudinal data set with three time points. Findings showed that past HPWS positively contributes to later productivity as well as the reverse. The reciprocal relationship supports the need to extend strategic human resource management theory by considering productivity as an antecedent as well as an outcome of human resource management practices.
Flat panel electronic displays: a triumph of physics, chemistry and engineering
Venue: Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society A: Mathematical, Physical and Engineering Sciences
Year: 2010

This paper describes the history and science behind the development of modern flat panel displays, and assesses future trends. Electronic displays are an important feature of modern life. For many years the cathode ray tube, an engineering marvel, was universal, but its shape was cumbersome and its operating voltage too high. The need for a flat panel display, working at a low voltage, became imperative, and much research has been applied to this need. Any versatile flat panel display will exploit an electro optical effect, a transparent conductor and an addressing system to deliver data locally. The first need is to convert an electrical signal into a visible change. Two methods are available, the first giving emission of light, the second modulating ambient illumination. The most useful light emitting media are semiconductors, historically exploiting III V or II VI compounds, but more recently organic or polymer semiconductors. Another possible effect uses gas plasma discharges. The modulating, or subtractive, effects that have been studied include liquid crystals, electrophoresis, electrowetting and electrochromism. A transparent conductor makes it possible to apply a voltage to an extended area while observing the results. The design is a compromise, since the free electrons that carry current also absorb light. The first materials used were metals, but some semiconductors, when heavily doped, give a better balance, with high transmission for a low resistance. Delivering data unambiguously to a million or so picture elements across the display area is no easy task. The preferred solution is an amorphous silicon thin film transistor deposited at each cross point in an X Y matrix. Success in these endeavours has led to many applications for flat panel displays, including television, flexible displays, electronic paper, electronic books and advertising signs.