nils-herrmann/clean_scirepeval huggingface dataset:
IL-21 acts directly on B cells to regulate Bcl-6 expression and germinal center responses

During T cell-dependent responses, B cells can either differentiate extrafollicularly into short-lived plasma cells or enter follicles to form germinal centers (GCs). Interactions with T follicular helper (Tfh) cells are required for GC formation and for selection of somatically mutated GC B cells. Interleukin (IL)-21 has been reported to play a role in Tfh cell formation and in B cell growth, survival, and isotype switching. To date, it is unclear whether the effect of IL-21 on GC formation is predominantly a consequence of this cytokine acting directly on the Tfh cells or if IL-21 directly influences GC B cells. We show that IL-21 acts in a B cell-intrinsic fashion to control GC B cell formation. Mixed bone marrow chimeras identified a significant B cell-autonomous effect of IL-21 receptor (R) signaling throughout all stages of the GC response. IL-21 deficiency profoundly impaired affinity maturation and reduced the proportion of IgG1(+) GC B cells but did not affect formation of early memory B cells. IL-21R was required on GC B cells for maximal expression of Bcl-6. In contrast to the requirement for IL-21 in the follicular response to sheep red blood cells, a purely extrafollicular antibody response to Salmonella dominated by IgG2a was intact in the absence of IL-21.
A Concave Hull algorithm for scattered data and its applications

In this paper, the novel methods and problems of Concave Hull are given through the scattered points set. The — Concave Hull algorithms, which simply connected region, are proposed based on Graham's scanning of Convex Hull. By the — Hull definition, the Convex Hull is the case when. The — Concave Hull algorithms and Graham's scanning are equivalent when. The experiment of the fault plane extraction of 3D seismic showed that the algorithm is an effective method for the extracting the fault plane problems under the appropriate conditions.
laGP: Large-Scale Spatial Modeling via Local Approximate Gaussian Processes in R

Gaussian process (GP) regression models make for powerful predictors in out of sample exercises, but cubic runtimes for dense matrix decompositions severely limit the size of data—training and testing—on which they can be deployed. That means that in computer experiment, spatial/geo-physical, and machine learning contexts, GPs no longer enjoy privileged status as data sets continue to balloon in size. We discuss an implementation of local approximate Gaussian process models, in the laGP package for R, that offers a particular sparse-matrix remedy uniquely positioned to leverage modern parallel computing architectures. The laGP approach can be seen as an update on the spatial statistical method of local kriging neighborhoods. We briefly review the method, and provide extensive illustrations of the features in the package through worked-code examples. The appendix covers custom building options for symmetric multi-processor and graphical processing units, and built-in wrapper routines that automate distribution over a simple network of workstations.
Women Also Snowboard: Overcoming Bias in Captioning Models

Most machine learning methods are known to capture and exploit biases of the training data. While some biases are beneficial for learning, others are harmful. Specifically, image captioning models tend to exaggerate biases present in training data (e.g., if a word is present in 60% of training sentences, it might be predicted in 70% of sentences at test time). This can lead to incorrect captions in domains where unbiased captions are desired, or required, due to over-reliance on the learned prior and image context. In this work we investigate generation of gender-specific caption words (e.g. man, woman) based on the person’s appearance or the image context. We introduce a new Equalizer model that encourages equal gender probability when gender evidence is occluded in a scene and confident predictions when gender evidence is present. The resulting model is forced to look at a person rather than use contextual cues to make a gender-specific prediction. The losses that comprise our model, the Appearance Confusion Loss and the Confident Loss, are general, and can be added to any description model in order to mitigate impacts of unwanted bias in a description dataset. Our proposed model has lower error than prior work when describing images with people and mentioning their gender and more closely matches the ground truth ratio of sentences including women to sentences including men. Finally, we show that our model more often looks at people when predicting their gender.
Antimicrobial activity of thiazolyl benzenesulfonamide-condensed 2,4-thiazolidinediones derivatives

A new series of benzoyl chloride-substituted 2,4-thiazolidinedione derivatives have been synthesized by the condensation of 2-amino-4-aryl-thiazole and 4′-chlorosulfonyl benzylidine-2,4-thiazolidinedione. New compounds were evaluated for their in vitro antibacterial activity against Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus subtilis, Escherichia coli, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Furthermore, new products were tested for in vitro antituberculosis activity against Mycobacterium tuberculosis using isoniazid and rifampicin as control drugs. The results of bioassay demonstrated that some of the newly synthesized 2,4-thiazolidinedione derivatives emerged as lead molecules with excellent MIC (mg/mL) values against mentioned organisms compared to standard drugs. The structure of the final analogs has been confirmed on the basis of IR, 1H NMR, mass spectral, and elemental analysis.
A 1kb 9T subthreshold SRAM with bit-interleaving scheme in 65nm CMOS

Subthreshold SRAM is a significant approach to reduce power consumption in energy-constrained SoC design. For the ultra-low power consideration, the primary concerns of SRAM are stability and reliability instead of performance. In this paper, the proposed 9T bit-cell enhances write ability by cutting off the positive feedback loop of inverter pair. In the read mode, the isolated read path and storage node enlarge the read SNM. Besides, a 9T subthreshold SRAM is proposed to enable implementation of bit-interleaving structure which achieves soft-error tolerance. The proposed SRAM is able to operate at a voltage as low as 0.3V. One extra virtual ground (VVSS) line is used to reduce the bit-line leakage to ensure the data can be read successfully. A 1kb bit-interleaved 9T SRAM is implemented in UMC 65nm 1P10M CMOS technology to verify the proposed scheme, which operates at the minimum energy point (0.3V) with 5.824pJ energy consumption for one write and one read operation.
New core loss measurement method for high frequency magnetic materials

Magnetic core loss is an emerging concern for integrated POL converters. As switching frequency increases, core loss is comparable to or even higher than winding loss. Accurate measurement of core loss is important for magnetic design and converter loss estimation. And exploring new high frequency magnetic materials need a reliable method to evaluate their losses. However, conventional method is limited to low frequency due to sensitivity to phase discrepancy. In this paper, a new method is proposed for high frequency (1MHz∼50MHz) core loss measurement. The new method reduces the phase induced error from over 100% to <5%. So with the proposed methods, the core loss can be accurately measured.
Special Digital Monies: The Design of Alipay and WeChat Wallet for Mobile Payment Practices in China

While research studies of digital and mobile payment systems in HCI have pointed out design opportunities situated within informal and nuanced mobile contexts, we have not yet understood how we can design digital monies to allow users to use monies more easily in these contexts. In this study, we examined the design of Alipay and WeChat Wallet, two successful mobile payment apps in China, which have been used by Chinese users for purposes such as playing, gifting, and ceremonial practices. Through semi-structured interviews with 24 Chinese users and grounded theory coding, we identified five contexts in which the flexibility and extensive functions of these payment apps have allowed these users to adaptively use digital monies in highly flexible ways. Finally, our analysis arrived at our conceptual frame—special digital monies—to highlight how digital monies, by allowing users to alter and define their transactional rules and pathways, could vastly expand the potential of digital monies to support users beyond standard retail contexts.
Prevalence of seasonal affective disorder in Iceland.

To investigate seasonal patterns in mood and behavior and estimate the prevalence of seasonal affective disorder (SAD) and subsyndromal seasonal affective disorder (S-SAD) in the Icelandic population.



A random sample generated from the Icelandic National Register, consisting of 1000 men and women aged 17 to 67 years from all parts of Iceland. It represents 6.4 per million of the Icelandic population in this age group.



The Seasonal Pattern Assessment Questionnaire, an instrument for investigating mood and behavioral changes with the seasons, was mailed to a random sample of the Icelandic population. The data were compared with results obtained with similar methods in populations in the United States.



Seasonality score and prevalence rates of seasonal affective disorder and subsyndromal seasonal affective disorder.



The prevalence of SAD and S-SAD were estimated at 3.8% and 7.5%, respectively, which is significantly lower than prevalence rates obtained with the same method on the east coast of the United States (chi 2 = 9.29 and 7.3; P < .01). The standardized rate ratios for Iceland compared with the United States were 0.49 and 0.63 for SAD and S-SAD, respectively. No case of summer SAD was found.



Seasonal affective disorder and S-SAD are more common in younger individuals and among women. The weight gained by patients during the winter does not seem to result in chronic obesity. The prevalence of SAD and S-SAD was lower in Iceland than on the East Coast of the United States, in spite of Iceland's more northern latitude. These results are unexpected since the prevalence of these disorders has been found to increase in more northern latitudes. The Icelandic population has remained remarkably isolated during the past 1000 years. It is conceivable that persons with a predisposition to SAD have been at a disadvantage and that there may have been a population selection toward increased tolerance of winter darkness.
Islanding Detection using DQ Transformation based PI Approach in Integrated Distributed Generation

Although active islanding detection techniques have smaller non-detection zones than passive techniques, active methods could degrade the system power quality and are not as simple and easy to implement as passive methods. The islanding detection strategy, proposed in this paper, combines the advantages of both active and passive islanding detection methods. The distributed generation (DG) interface was designed so that the DG maintains stable operation while being grid connected and loses its stability once islanded. Thus, the over/under voltage and variation in the reactive power method be sufficient to detect islanding. The main advantage of the proposed technique is that it relies on a simple approach for islanding detection and has negligible non-detection zone. The proposed system was simulated on MATLAB/SIMULINK and simulation results are presented to highlight the effectiveness of the proposed technique.
Effects of handholding and providing information on anxiety in patients undergoing percutaneous vertebroplasty.

This study evaluated the effects of handholding and spoken information provided on the anxiety of patients undergoing percutaneous vertebroplasty under local anaesthesia.



A surgical intervention usually entails physical discomfort and psychological burden. Furthermore, patients under local anaesthesia are conscious during the surgical intervention, which leads to more anxiety, as patients are aware of their surroundings in the operating theatre.



A quasi-experimental design with a nonequivalent control group was utilised.



Amsterdam preoperative anxiety scale assessed psychological anxiety, while blood pressure and pulse were measured to evaluate physiological anxiety. Participants were 94 patients undergoing percutaneous vertebroplasty in a spine hospital in Gwangju Metropolitan City, South Korea. Thirty patients were assigned to Experimental Group I, 34 to the Experimental Group II and 30 to the control group. During a surgical intervention, nurses held the hands of those in Experimental Group I and provided them with spoken information. Patients in Experimental Group II experienced only handholding.



Psychological anxiety in Experimental Group I was low compared to those in Experimental Group II and the control group. In addition, there were significant decreases in systolic blood pressure in both Experimental Groups compared to the control group.



Handholding and spoken information provided during a surgical intervention to mitigate psychological anxiety, and handholding to mitigate physiological anxiety can be used in nursing interventions with patients undergoing percutaneous vertebroplasty.


 TO CLINICAL PRACTICE
Handholding and providing nursing information are possibly very useful interventions that are easily implemented by circulating nurses during a surgical intervention. In particular, handholding is a simple, economical and appropriate way to help patient in the operating theatre.
Electromyographic Activity of Rectus Abdominis during a Suspension Push-Up Compared to Traditional Exercises

Snarr RL, Esco MR, Witte EV, Jenkins CT, Brannan RM. Electromyographic Activity of Rectus Abdominis During a Suspension Push-up Compared to Traditional Exercises. JEPonline 2013;16(3):1-8. The purpose of this study was to compare the electromyographic (EMG) activity of the rectus abdominis (RA) across three different exercises [i.e., suspension pushup (SPU), standard pushup (PU) and abdominal supine crunch (C)]. Fifteen apparently healthy men (n = 12, age = 25.75 ± 3.91 yrs) and women (n = 3, age = 22.33 ± 1.15) volunteered to participate in this study. The subjects performed four repetitions of SPU, PU, and C. The order of the exercises was randomized. Mean peak EMG activity of the RA was recorded across the 4 repetitions of each exercise. Raw (mV) and normalized (%MVC) values were analyzed. The results of this study showed that SPU and C elicited a significantly greater (P<0.05) activation of the RA reported as raw (2.2063 ± 1.00198 mV and 1.9796 ± 1.36190 mV, respectively) and normalized values (68.0 ± 16.5% and 52 ± 28.7%, respectively) compared to PU (i.e., 0.8448 ± 0.76548 mV and 21 ± 16.6%). The SPU and C were not significantly different (P>0.05). This investigation indicated that SPU and C provided similar activation levels of the RA that were significantly greater than PU.
A Systematic Literature Review of Adaptive Parameter Control Methods for Evolutionary Algorithms

Evolutionary algorithms (EAs) are robust stochastic optimisers that perform well over a wide range of problems. Their robustness, however, may be affected by several adjustable parameters, such as mutation rate, crossover rate, and population size. Algorithm parameters are usually problem-specific, and often have to be tuned not only to the problem but even the problem instance at hand to achieve ideal performance. In addition, research has shown that different parameter values may be optimal at different stages of the optimisation process. To address these issues, researchers have shifted their focus to adaptive parameter control, in which parameter values are adjusted during the optimisation process based on the performance of the algorithm. These methods redefine parameter values repeatedly based on implicit or explicit rules that decide how to make the best use of feedback from the optimisation algorithm.
 In this survey, we systematically investigate the state of the art in adaptive parameter control. The approaches are classified using a new conceptual model that subdivides the process of adapting parameter values into four steps that are present explicitly or implicitly in all existing approaches that tune parameters dynamically during the optimisation process. The analysis reveals the major focus areas of adaptive parameter control research as well as gaps and potential directions for further development in this area.
A new model of plastic ankle foot orthosis (FAFO (II)) against spastic foot and genu recurvatum.

A plastic ankle foot orthosis (AFO) was developed, referred to as functional ankle foot orthosis Type 2 (FAFO (II)), which can deal with genu recurvatum and the severe spastic foot in walking. Clinical trials were successful for all varus and drop feet, and for most cases of genu recurvatum. Electromyogram studies showed that the FAFO (II) reduced the spasticity of gastrocnemius and hamstring muscles and activated the quadricep muscles. Gait analysis revealed a reduction of the knee angles in the stance phase on the affected side when using the FAFO (II). Mechanical stress tests showed excellent durability of the orthosis and demonstrated its effectiveness for controlling spasticity in comparison with other types of plastic AFOs.
What drives bacteria to produce a biofilm?

Nearly 40 years ago, Dr. R.J. Gibbons made the first reports of the clinical relevance of what we now know as bacterial biofilms when he published his observations of the role of polysaccharide glycocalyx formation on teeth by Streptococcus mutans [ (1978) 86]. As the clinical relevance of bacterial biofilm formation became increasingly apparent, interest in the phenomenon exploded. Studies are rapidly shedding light on the biomolecular pathways leading to this sessile mode of growth but many fundamental questions remain. The intent of this review is to consider the reasons why bacteria switch from a free-floating to a biofilm mode of growth. The currently available wealth of data pertaining to the molecular genetics of biofilm formation in commonly studied, clinically relevant, single-species biofilms will be discussed in an effort to decipher the motivation behind the transition from planktonic to sessile growth in the human body. Four potential incentives behind the formation of biofilms by bacteria during infection are considered: (1) protection from harmful conditions in the host (defense), (2) sequestration to a nutrient-rich area (colonization), (3) utilization of cooperative benefits (community), (4) biofilms normally grow as biofilms and planktonic cultures are an in vitro artifact (biofilms as the default mode of growth).
Blood Vessels Extraction using Mathematical Morphology

The retinal vasculature is composed of the arteries and veins with their tributaries which are visible within the retinal image. The segmentation and measurement of the retinal vasculature is of primary interest in he diagnosis and treatment of a number of systemic and ophthalmologic conditions. The accurate segmentati on of the retinal blood vessels is often an essential prerequisite step in the identification of retinal anatomy and pathology. In this study, we present an automated a pproach for blood vessels extraction using mathemat ical morphology. Two main steps are involved: enhancemen t operation is applied to the original retinal imag e in order to remove the noise and increase contrast of retinal blood vessels and morphology operations are employed to extract retinal blood vessels. This ope ration of segmentation is applied to binary image o f tophat transformation. The result was compared with ot her algorithms and give better results.
A Distributed Sensor Data Search Platform for Internet of Things Environments

Recently, the number of devices has grown increasingly and it is hoped that, between 2015 and 2016, 20 billion devices will be connected to the Internet and this market will move around 91.5 billion dollars. The Internet of Things (IoT) is composed of small sensors and actuators embedded in objects with Internet access and will play a key role in solving many challenges faced in today's society. However, the real capacity of IoT concepts is constrained as the current sensor networks usually do not exchange information with other sources. In this paper, we propose the Visual Search for Internet of Things (ViSIoT) platform to help technical and non-technical users to discover and use sensors as a service for different application purposes. As a proof of concept, a real case study is used to generate weather condition reports to support rheumatism patients. This case study was executed in a working prototype and a performance evaluation is presented.
Design of a 3D printed hand prosthesis actuated by nylon 6-6 polymer based artificial muscles

The majority of arm amputees live in developing countries and cannot afford prostheses beyond cosmetic hands with simple grippers. Customized hand prostheses with high performance are too expensive for the average arm amputee. Currently, commercially available hand prostheses use costly and heavy DC motors for actuation. This paper presents an inexpensive hand prosthesis, which uses a 3D printable design to reduce the cost of customizable parts and novel electro-thermal actuator based on nylon 6-6 polymer muscles. The prosthetic hand was tested and found to be able to grasp a variety of shapes 100% of the time tested (sphere, cylinder, cube, and card) and other commonly used tools. Grip times for each object were repeatable with small standard deviations. With a low estimated material cost of $170 for actuation, this prosthesis could have a potential to be used for low-cost and high-performance system.
Cannabinoids in medicine: A review of their therapeutic potential.

In order to assess the current knowledge on the therapeutic potential of cannabinoids, a meta-analysis was performed through Medline and PubMed up to July 1, 2005. The key words used were cannabis, marijuana, marihuana, hashish, hashich, haschich, cannabinoids, tetrahydrocannabinol, THC, dronabinol, nabilone, levonantradol, randomised, randomized, double-blind, simple blind, placebo-controlled, and human. The research also included the reports and reviews published in English, French and Spanish. For the final selection, only properly controlled clinical trials were retained, thus open-label studies were excluded. Seventy-two controlled studies evaluating the therapeutic effects of cannabinoids were identified. For each clinical trial, the country where the project was held, the number of patients assessed, the type of study and comparisons done, the products and the dosages used, their efficacy and their adverse effects are described. Cannabinoids present an interesting therapeutic potential as antiemetics, appetite stimulants in debilitating diseases (cancer and AIDS), analgesics, and in the treatment of multiple sclerosis, spinal cord injuries, Tourette's syndrome, epilepsy and glaucoma.
Symptomatic Tarlov cyst and electroacupuncture: more studies required.

Tarlov cysts, which develop between the endoneurium and perineurium, are perineural cysts that are defined as cerebrospinal fluid (CSF)-filled saccular lesions commonly located in the extradural space of the sacral spinal canal. They are rare, showing up in 1.5% to 4.6% of patients receiving magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) for their lumbosacral symptoms, and only 1% or less of Tarlov cysts are considered to be symptomatic. Clinical manifestation of symptomatic Tarlov cyst is non-specific and can mimic other spinal disorders: localised pain, radiculopathy, weakness, sensory disturbance, and bladder and bowel dysfunction. Although surgical interventions are proven to be effective for treating Tarlov cyst, a conservative approach is clinically preferred to avoid invasive surgery. Some clinicians reported good results with the use of steroid therapy. To the best of my knowledge, this case report is the first of its kind to use a medical acupuncture approach to manage this condition.