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{ "title": "Niche of harmful alga Aureococcus anophagefferens revealed through ecogenomics", "abstract": "Harmful algal blooms (HABs) cause significant economic and ecological damage worldwide. Despite considerable efforts, a comprehensive understanding of the factors that promote these blooms has been lacking, because the biochemical pathways that facilitate their dominance relative to other phytoplankton within specific environments have not been identified. Here, biogeochemical measurements showed that the harmful alga Aureococcus anophagefferens outcompeted co-occurring phytoplankton in estuaries with elevated levels of dissolved organic matter and turbidity and low levels of dissolved inorganic nitrogen. We subsequently sequenced the genome of A. anophagefferens and compared its gene complement with those of six competing phytoplankton species identified through metaproteomics. Using an ecogenomic approach, we specifically focused on gene sets that may facilitate dominance within the environmental conditions present during blooms. A. anophagefferens possesses a larger genome (56 Mbp) and has more genes involved in light harvesting, organic carbon and nitrogen use, and encoding selenium- and metal-requiring enzymes than competing phytoplankton. Genes for the synthesis of microbial deterrents likely permit the proliferation of this species, with reduced mortality losses during blooms. Collectively, these findings suggest that anthropogenic activities resulting in elevated levels of turbidity, organic matter, and metals have opened a niche within coastal ecosystems that ideally suits the unique genetic capacity of A. anophagefferens and thus, has facilitated the proliferation of this and potentially other HABs.", "corpus_id": 737555 }

{ "title": "The Pseudoautosomal Regions of the U/V Sex Chromosomes of the Brown Alga Ectocarpus Exhibit Unusual Features", "abstract": "The recombining regions of sex chromosomes (pseudoautosomal regions, PARs) are predicted to exhibit unusual features due to their being genetically linked to the nonrecombining, sex-determining region. This phenomenon is expected to occur in both diploid (XY, ZW) and haploid (UV) sexual systems, with slightly different consequences for UV sexual systems because of the absence of masking during the haploid phase (when sex is expressed) and because there is no homozygous sex in these systems. Despite a considerable amount of theoretical work on PAR genetics and evolution, these genomic regions have remained poorly characterized empirically. We show here that although the PARs of the U/V sex chromosomes of the brown alga Ectocarpus recombine at a similar rate to autosomal regions of the genome, they exhibit many genomic features typical of nonrecombining regions. The PARs were enriched in clusters of genes that are preferentially, and often exclusively, expressed during the sporophyte generation of the life cycle, and many of these genes appear to have evolved since the Ectocarpales diverged from other brown algal lineages. A modeling-based approach was used to investigate possible evolutionary mechanisms underlying this enrichment in sporophyte-biased genes. Our results are consistent with the evolution of the PAR in haploid systems being influenced by differential selection pressures in males and females acting on alleles that are advantageous during the sporophyte generation of the life cycle.", "corpus_id": 857810 }

{ "title": "Controlling harmful algal blooms through clay flocculation.", "abstract": "The potential use of clays to control harmful algal blooms (HABs) has been explored in East Asia, Australia, the United States, and Sweden. In Japan and South Korea, minerals such as montmorillonite, kaolinite, and yellow loess, have already been used in the field effectively, to protect fish mariculture from Cochlodinium spp. and other blooms. Cell removal occurs through the flocculation of algal and mineral particles, leading to the formation of larger aggregates (i.e. marine snow), which rapidly settle and further entrain cells during their descent. In the U.S., several clays and clay-rich sediments have shown high removal abilities (e.g. > 80% cell removal efficiency) against Karenia brevis, Heterosigma akashiwo, Pfiesteria piscicida and Aureococcus anophagefferens. In some cases, the removal ability of certain clays was further enhanced with chemical flocculants, such as polyaluminum chloride (PAC), to increase their adhesiveness. However, cell removal was also affected by bloom concentration, salinity, and mixing. Cell mortality was observed after clay addition, and increased with increasing clay concentration, and prolonged exposure to clays in the settled layer. Mesocosm, field enclosure, and flume experiments were also conducted to address cell removal with increasing scale and flow, water-column impacts, and the possible benthic effects from clay addition. Results from these studies will be presented, especially those in regards to water quality, seawater chemistry, bottom erodibility and faunal impacts in the benthos. At this time, clay dispersal continues to be a promising method for controlling HABs and mitigating their impacts based on existing information and experimental data.", "corpus_id": 10913675, "score": 2 }

{ "title": "Duodenal Bulb in Celiac Adults: The “Whether Biopsying” Dilemma", "abstract": "Background: Celiac disease (CD)-related lesions were described in duodenal bulb of celiac patients. Goal: Our aim was to evaluate the morphology of bulb mucosa in adult celiac patients and in controls to evaluate its usefulness for CD diagnosis. Study: We studied 43 celiac patients (10 male, median age: 35.2 y) at diagnosis and 43 gastroenterological controls (10 male, median age: 37.8 y), submitted to upper endoscopy for gastroenterological complaints. Histologic lesions were assayed by an experienced pathologist according to the Marsh modified classification. Antiendomysium antibodies and antitransglutaminase antibodies-tTGAb (ELISA and/or RIA) have been tested. In selected patients, DNA was typed for DRB1, DQA1, and DQB1 genes by sequence-specific primer polymerase chain reaction. Results: In all celiac patients lesions were present in the bulb mucosa. One female with thyroiditis, who had a CD daughter, showed lesions only in the duodenal bulb. Patchy villous atrophy was found in another patient. All celiacs were antiendomysium and/or tTGAb positive. DQ2 heterodimer was present in 5 CD patients. The gastroenterological controls showed normal mucosa in the duodenum. Conclusions: This study demonstrates that CD-related histologic lesions are present in duodenal bulb of adult patients. Moreover, the normal aspect of this mucosa in gastroenterological controls implies the high negative predictive value of this finding. Therefore, we suggest taking at least 1 biopsy on the bulb area and 1 from the distal duodenum for CD diagnosis, in all the patients submitted to upper endoscopy, to avoid missed or delayed diagnosis.", "corpus_id": 606672 }

{ "title": "Malignant lymphoma in coeliac disease: various manifestations with distinct symptomatology and prognosis?", "abstract": "Abstract. Objectives. To study the different forms of malignant lymphoma complicating coeliac disease in a low‐prevalence area, according to extranodal–nodal and extraintestinal–intestinal manifestations.", "corpus_id": 9101634 }

{ "title": "Adaptive FIR filter for frequency estimation of sinusoids using particle swarm optimization", "abstract": "A new frequency estimation method which detects frequencies of unknown number of source sinusoidal signals is suggested. The system contains an adaptive finite impulse response filter (FIR) which exploits one of a several random search algorithms, particle swarm optimization (PSO). PSO will work on minimizing the overall output power by finding the frequencies of the roots on the unit circle. The pseudo spectrum is achieved by frequency elimination of the roots and is used to estimate the frequency of the source signals along with their number. After estimating the frequencies of the undesired interfering signals, the system can then work on suppressing these signals and maintaining the strength of the desired signals.", "corpus_id": 6233063, "score": 0 }

{ "title": "Molecular and immunohistochemical studies do not support a role for papillomaviruses in canine oral squamous cell carcinoma development.", "abstract": "Oral squamous cell carcinomas (OSCCs) are common neoplasms of dogs and are of unknown cause. Whereas papillomaviruses (PVs) are an established cause of human OSCCs, few studies have investigated canine OSCCs for a PV aetiology. In humans, a PV aetiology can be determined by detecting PV DNA and PV-induced increased p16(CDKN2A) protein (p16) within the OSCC. In this study, PCR, using four different primer sets and p16 immunohistochemistry, was used to evaluate 28 canine OSCCs for a possible PV aetiology. None of the primers amplified PV DNA from any of the OSCCs although four neoplasms contained intense p16 immunostaining. Intense p16 immunostaining would indicate a PV aetiology in a human OSCC but the absence of PV DNA suggests that the increase in p16 was not due to PV infection. Overall the results indicated that PVs are not a significant cause of canine OSCCs.", "corpus_id": 2152371 }

{ "title": "Clinically Healthy Skin of Dogs Is a Potential Reservoir for Canine Papillomaviruses", "abstract": "ABSTRACT Papillomaviruses have been linked to several skin disorders in the dog. In order to have a suitable diagnostic tool for canine papillomavirus detection, eight PCRs with published primer combinations were evaluated. The most sensitive PCR was used to demonstrate that papillomavirus DNA can be detected on nonlesional skin of dogs.", "corpus_id": 23077518 }

{ "title": "An Oral Papillomavirus that Infected One Coyote and Three Dogs", "abstract": "Boyce 1T, DiBartola SP, Chew 01, Gasper PW: Familial renal amyloidosis in Abyssinian cats. Vet Pathol 21:3338, 1984 2 Burry A: Pathology of analgesic nephropathy: Australian experience. Kidney Int 13:34-40, 1978 3 Chew 01, DiBartola SP, Boyce 1T, Gasper PW: Renal amyloidosis in related Abyssinian cats. 1 Am Vet Med Assoc 181:139-142,1982 4 Chrispin AR, Hull 0, Lillie 1G, Ridson RA: Renal tubular necrosis and papillary necrosis after gastroenteritis in infants. Brit Med 11:410-412,1970 5 Eknoyan G, Qunibi WY, Grissom RT, Tuma SN, Ayus 1C: Renal papillary necrosis: an update. Medicine 61:5573, 1982", "corpus_id": 1026492, "score": 2 }

{ "title": "The effect of hyaluronic acid on the corrosion of an orthopedic CoCrMo-alloy in simulated inflammatory conditions.", "abstract": "During joint inflammation, various reactive oxygen species (ROS) are present in the surrounding tissue and joint fluid. In the laboratory, hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) is typically used to simulate inflammatory conditions, and media containing proteins and hyaluronic acid (HA) are employed to simulate joint synovial fluid. Electrochemical interactions between H2O2 and HA in the presence of a CoCrMo surface are expected, since HA molecules contain redox-active moieties. We hypothesized that any redox reactions of these moieties with ROS will mitigate the oxidizing effect of H2O2 on the CoCrMo surface, limiting the corrosion rate of the metal. Non-destructive electrochemical measurements (open circuit potential, linear polarization resistance and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy) were used to investigate the corrosion response of CoCrMo in synovial model fluid containing physiologically relevant concentrations of albumin proteins and hyaluronic acid, with and without H2O2. Two different molarities of H2O2, 3 mM and 30 mM, were tested. While both molarities are within physiological limits, 3mM is well within the range HA could mitigate, whereas 30 mM is not. Contrary to our hypothesis, HA did not alleviate corrosion in 3 mM H2O2 and even caused a corrosion increase in the case of 30 mM H2O2. The decrease in corrosion resistance of the alloy may be attributed to the complexation of degenerated HA molecular chains with chromium ions released from the metallic surface, which are necessary to build a protective oxide film. This finding has clinical implications, suggesting that HA accelerates corrosion of CoCrMo implants in the presence of strong inflammation.", "corpus_id": 165136402 }

{ "title": "Effect of synovial fluid temperature on the corrosion resistance of Ti6Al4V, Ti6Al7Nb, and CoCrMo alloys", "abstract": "The frictional heat generated during the operation of the joint prosthesis in vivo could change the corrosion resistance of the prosthesis material. In this paper, the corrosion behavior of three medical alloys at different synovial fluid temperatures was analyzed using electrochemical measurement technology. Furthermore, the scanning electron microscope and energy‐dispersive spectrometer were used to characterize the surface morphology and composition of the alloys after long‐term immersion. The results show that increasing temperature causes the open‐circuit potential of titanium alloy to shift negatively and the corrosion tendency to increase. The increasing temperature leads to the decrease of activation energy of titanium alloy, which in turn results in the increase of corrosion current density and accelerated corrosion. The results of Nyquist curves confirmed that the radius of the capacitive arc decreased with the increase of temperature, indicating the deterioration of corrosion resistance. The CoCrMo alloy shows the same regularity as the titanium alloy in 0.9% NaCl, though no obvious regularity in 25% newborn bovine serum; this may be related to the complexity of the corrosion system.", "corpus_id": 213525642 }

{ "title": "The Seven Sexes: A Study in the Sociology of a Phenomenon, or the Replication of Experiments in Physics", "abstract": "The replication of scientific experiments is discussed stressing the problem of communication between the originator of an experiment and a scientist intending to replicate it. Models of communication are set up, with reference to established fields. A more marginal field is then investigated in the light of these models and it is concluded that scientists in the latter field should not be seen as engaged in replicating original experiment, but in negotiating the rules of replication, and hence the nature of the phenomenon under investigation.", "corpus_id": 121517709, "score": 0 }

{ "title": "ISTI@SemEval-2 Task 8: Boosting-Based Multiway Relation Classification", "abstract": "We describe a boosting-based supervised learning approach to the \"Multi-Way Classification of Semantic Relations between Pairs of Nominals\" task #8 of SemEval-2. Participants were asked to determine which relation, from a set of nine relations plus \"Other\", exists between two nominals, and also to determine the roles of the two nominals in the relation. \n \nOur participation has focused, rather than on the choice of a rich set of features, on the classification model adopted to determine the correct assignment of relation and roles.", "corpus_id": 3034624 }

{ "title": "MP-Boost: A Multiple-Pivot Boosting Algorithm and Its Application to Text Categorization", "abstract": "AdaBoost.MH is a popular supervised learning algorithm for building multi-label (aka n-of-m) text classifiers. AdaBoost.MH belongs to the family of “boosting” algorithms, and works by iteratively building a committee of “decision stump” classifiers, where each such classifier is trained to especially concentrate on the document-class pairs that previously generated classifiers have found harder to correctly classify. Each decision stump hinges on a specific “pivot term”, checking its presence or absence in the test document in order to take its classification decision. In this paper we propose an improved version of AdaBoost.MH, called MP-Boost, obtained by selecting, at each iteration of the boosting process, not one but several pivot terms, one for each category. The rationale behind this choice is that this provides highly individualized treatment for each category, since each iteration thus generates, for each category, the best possible decision stump. We present the results of experiments showing that MP-Boost is much more effective than AdaBoost.MH. In particular, the improvement in effectiveness is spectacular when few boosting iterations are performed, and (only) high for many such iterations. The improvement is especially significant in the case of macroaveraged effectiveness, which shows that MP-Boost is especially good at working with hard, infrequent categories.", "corpus_id": 9094585 }

{ "title": "Semantic Classification with Distributional Kernels", "abstract": "Distributional measures of lexical similarity and kernel methods for classification are well-known tools in Natural Language Processing. We bring these two methods together by introducing distributional kernels that compare co-occurrence probability distributions. We demonstrate the effectiveness of these kernels by presenting state-of-the-art results on datasets for three semantic classification: compound noun interpretation, identification of semantic relations between nominals and semantic classification of verbs. Finally, we consider explanations for the impressive performance of distributional kernels and sketch some promising generalisations.", "corpus_id": 9155839, "score": 2 }

{ "title": "Human T-lymphotropic virus type 1 peptides in chimeric and multivalent constructs with promiscuous T-cell epitopes enhance immunogenicity and overcome genetic restriction", "abstract": "Conventional strategies of viral peptide immunizations often elicit low-affinity antibody responses and have limited ability to elicit immune responses in outbred animals of diverse major histocompatibility (MHC) haplotypes. This genetically restricted T-cell-stimulatory activity of peptides is a serious obstacle to vaccine design. However, the use of promiscuous T-cell epitopes may circumvent this problem. Promiscuous T-cell epitopes from tetanus toxin (amino acids [aa] 580 to 599) and the measles virus F protein (aa 288 to 302) that bind to several isotypic and allotypic forms of human MHC class II molecules have been identified and have been used in highly immunogenic constructs to overcome haplotype-restricted immune responses. Chimeric and beta-template peptide constructs incorporating known human T-lymphotropic virus type 1 (HTLV-1) B- and T-cell epitopes from the surface envelope protein gp46 (SP2 [aa 86 to 107] and SP4a [aa 190 to 209]) and promiscuous T-cell peptides were synthesized, and their immunogenicities were evaluated in both rabbits and mouse strains of divergent haplotypes (C3H/HeJ [H-2k], C57BL/6 [H-2b], and BALB/c [H-2d]). In addition, peptide preparations were structurally characterized by analytical high-performance liquid chromatography, mass spectrometry, and circular dichroism. In contrast to their linear forms, the chimeric constructs of both the SP2 and SP4a epitopes displayed alpha-helical secondary structures. Immunogenicity of the peptide constructs was evaluated by direct and competitive enzyme-linked immunosorbant assay (ELISA), as well as by radioimmunoprecipitation, syncytium inhibition, and antigen-induced lymphocyte proliferation assays. Immunization with the SP4a peptide without conjugation to a carrier protein produced antibodies specific for SP4a in two mouse strains (C3H/HeJ and C57BL/6). However, BALB/c mice failed to respond to the peptide, indicating that the T-cell epitope of the SP4a sequence is MHC restricted. In contrast, the chimeric constructs MVF-SP2 and SP4a-measles virus F protein were highly immunogenic, producing elevated ELISA titers after only two immunizations. Elicited antibodies recognized native forms of gp46 in ELISAs and radioimmunoprecipitation assays, as well as inhibited HTLV-1-mediated syncytium formation. In addition, chimeric constructs were effective at induction of lymphocyte proliferation to the T-cell epitope, SP4a, in each strain of immunized mice. Our data demonstrate that the antibody response to retroviral peptides is enhanced by promiscuous peptide constructs, in part because of the ability of such constructs to promote appropriate secondary structural forms of viral epitopes. In addition, these constructs promote virus-specific helper T-cell responses, thereby overcoming genetically restricted immune responses to the synthetic peptides.", "corpus_id": 344445 }

{ "title": "Synthesis and biophysical characterization of engineered topographic immunogenic determinants with alpha alpha topology.", "abstract": "Model peptides with predetermined secondary, tertiary, and quaternary conformation have been successfully designed, synthesized, and characterized in an attempt to mimic the three-dimensional structure of an antigenic determinant. This work is a continuing effort to map the antigenic structure of the protein antigen lactate dehydrogenase C4 (LDH-C4) to develop a contraceptive vaccine. A putative topographic determinant with alpha alpha topology which associates into four-helix bundles was designed on the basis of the framework model of protein folding. An idealized amphiphilic 18-residue sequence (alpha 1) and a 40-residue alpha alpha fold (alpha 3) have been shown to form stable 4-helix structures in solution with a free energy of association on the order of -20.8 kcal/mol (tetramerization of alpha 1) and -7.8 kcal/mol (dimerization of alpha 3). Both alpha 1 and alpha 3 form stable monolayers at the air-water interface. The CD spectra of Langmuir-Blodgett monolayers are characteristically alpha-helical. Both CD and FTIR spectroscopic studies reval a high degree of secondary structure. The SAXS data strongly suggest that the helices are arranged in a four-helix bundle since the radius of gyration of 17.2 A and the vector distribution function are indicative of a prolate ellipsoid of axial dimensions and molecular weight appropriate for the four-helix bundle. The major contribution to the formation and stabilization of alpha 1 and alpha 3 is believed to be hydrophobic interaction between the amphiphilic alpha-helices. The displayed heptad repeat, helix dipole, ion pairs, and the loop sequence may have also contributed to the overall stability and antiparallel packing of the helices. A detailed structural analysis of a relevant topographic immunogenic determinant will elucidate the nature of antigen-antibody interactions as well as provide insight into protein folding intermediates.", "corpus_id": 7916816 }

{ "title": "Maximum Likelihood for Generalized Linear Models with Nested Random Effects via High-Order, Multivariate Laplace Approximation", "abstract": "Abstract Nested random effects models are often used to represent similar processes occurring in each of many clusters. Suppose that, given cluster-specific random effects b, the data y are distributed according to f(y|b, Θ), while b follows a density p(b|Θ). Likelihood inference requires maximization of ∫ f(y|b, Θ)p(b|Θdb with respect to Θ. Evaluation of this integral often proves difficult, making likelihood inference difficult to obtain. We propose a multivariate Taylor series approximation of the log of the integrand that can be made as accurate as desired if the integrand and all its partial derivatives with respect to b are continuous in the neighborhood of the posterior mode of b|Θ,y. We then apply a Laplace approximation to the integral and maximize the approximate integrated likelihood via Fisher scoring. We develop computational formulas that implement this approach for two-level generalized linear models with canonical link and multivariate normal random effects. A comparison with approximations based on penalized quasi-likelihood, Gauss—Hermite quadrature, and adaptive Gauss-Hermite quadrature reveals that, for the hierarchical logistic regression model under the simulated conditions, the sixth-order Laplace approach is remarkably accurate and computationally fast.", "corpus_id": 96425162, "score": 0 }

{ "title": "Effect of structural distortions on the magnetism of doped spin-Peierls CuGeO3", "abstract": "Abstract. The chemical selectivity and great sensitivity of the\nExtended X-ray Absorption Spectroscopy technique allowed the\ndetermination, in the paramagnetic phase, of the structural\ndistortions induced by doping in the spin-Peierls CuGeO3\ncompound. The distorted environments were analyzed as a function\nof concentration, magnetic nature of impurity and the substitution\nsite (Ni, Mn and Zn impurities on the Cu site, Si impurity on the\nGe site). This has led to estimate the variation of the angles and\npair distances, and hence to evaluate the magnetic coupling along\nthe Cu chains in the vicinity of the impurities. The\nantiferromagnetic interaction between Cu first neighbors in the\npure sample is found to be weakened around Ni, almost cancelled in\nthe case of Mn doping, and even to change sign, producing a\nferromagnetic coupling for Si doping. More generally, the\nstructural distortions on a local scale are shown to be key\nparameters for the understanding of the magnetic properties of\ndoped spin-Peierls compounds.\n \n", "corpus_id": 3145498 }

{ "title": "Near-edge x-ray-absorption fine structure of Pb: A comparison of theory and experiment.", "abstract": "Two independent techniques are used to obtain the background function for the x-ray-absorption fine structure (XAFS) of pure Pb at energies that are normally inaccessible because they are in the edge. The results of the two techniques are shown to give the same \\ensuremath{\\chi}(k) above a threshold energy in the absorption edge, where the background is 70% of the edge step. The reliability of the XAFS starting at unprecedentedly low k values (1.5 A${\\mathrm{\\r{}}}^{\\mathrm{\\ensuremath{-}}1}$ above the Fermi energy) allows sensitive tests of several details of theoretical XAFS calculations. Electron-hole-excitation losses in addition to the plasmon-pole loss term are shown to be important, and the Hedin-Lundqvist many-body self-energy is found to be superior to that of Dirac-Hara for pure Pb. One of the presented methods of background removal can be employed for general XAFS analysis, and is easily automated.", "corpus_id": 32483367 }

{ "title": "Optical Anisotropy of Silicon Single Crystals", "abstract": "The birefringence of Si single crystal was measured for He-Ne laser light of wavelength $\\ensuremath{\\lambda}=1.15$ \\ensuremath{\\mu} propagating along $〈110〉$ directions, and found to be $\\ensuremath{\\Delta}n={n}_{〈110〉}\\ensuremath{-}{n}_{〈100〉}=(5.04\\ifmmode\\pm\\else\\textpm\\fi{}0.12)\\ifmmode\\times\\else\\texttimes\\fi{}{10}^{\\ensuremath{-}6}$. For $〈100〉$ and $〈111〉$ directions of propagation, no birefringence was observed. The magnitude and symmetry of the observed optical response as well as the spectral dependence of birefringence are in good agreement with the theory of spatial dispersion in cubic crystals.", "corpus_id": 121449589, "score": 1 }

{ "title": "A Fast Algorithm for Computing a Nearly Equitable Edge Coloring with Balanced Conditions", "abstract": "We discuss the nearly equitable edge coloring problem on a multigraph and propose an efficient algorithm for solving the problem, which has a better time complexity than the previous algorithms. The coloring computed by our algorithm satisfies additional balanced conditions on the number of edges used in each color class, where conditions are imposed on the balance among all edges in the multigraph as well as the balance among parallel edges between each vertex pair. None of the previous algorithms are guaranteed to satisfy these balanced conditions simultaneously.", "corpus_id": 34631 }

{ "title": "The Equitable Edge-Coloring of Series-Parallel Graphs", "abstract": "An edge-coloring of a graph G is equitable if, for each vertex v of G, the number of edges of any one color incident with v differs from the number of edges of any other color incident with v by at most one. A graph G is called equitable if G has an equitable edge-coloring with k colors for any integer k ? 1. A plane graph is series-parallel graph if it contains no subgraphs homeomorphic to K 4. In the paper, we prove that any simple and connected series-parallel graph is equitable if and only if it is not an odd circuit.", "corpus_id": 3020009 }

{ "title": "The GF11 supercomputer", "abstract": "GF11 is a parallel computer currently under construction at the IBM Yorktown Research Center. The machine incorporates 576 floating- point processors arranged in a modified SIMD architecture. Each has space for 2 Mbytes of memory and is capable of 20 Mflops, giving the total machine a peak of 1.125 Gbytes of memory and 11.52 Gflops. The floating-point processors are interconnected by a dynamically reconfigurable non-blocking switching network. At each machine cycle any of 1024 pre-selected permutations of data can be realized among the processors. The main intended application of GF11 is a class of calculations arising from quantum chromodynamics.", "corpus_id": 7409330, "score": 2 }

{ "title": "A commentary on changing infant death rates and a plea to use sudden infant death syndrome as a cause of death", "abstract": "In his editorial entitled Changing Infant Death Rates— Diagnostic Shift, Success Story, Or Both, Byard concludes that changes in rates away from sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) towards another cause of death (COD) are appropriate [1]. Improved death scene investigations and autopsies leading to increased awareness of potential dangers imposed by infant sleep sites have been instrumental to the diagnostic shift occurring in cases of sudden unexpected infant death. Given abundant supportive data accumulating over the past few years, we certainly agree. But where do we go from here in order to bring about greater consensus and accuracy in establishing CODs in these cases? Over the past four decades, the original definition of SIDS [2] has undergone several refinements focusing principally on mandating death scene investigations, circumstances of death, association with sleep, and certainty of the COD [3–5]. Yet, each subsequent iteration has remained exclusionary with respect to the COD and is encumbered with its own diagnostic dilemmas given the lack of a pathognomonic postmortem marker, incomplete death scene investigations, and limited postmortem examinations and ancillary testing as well as philosophical differences with and objections to the concept of SIDS itself among death certifiers [6]. As a result, other labels including sudden unexpected death in infancy (SUDI), sudden unexpected infant death (SUID), unclassified sudden infant death (USID), Undetermined, and Unascertained, have gained wider currency in an ever increasing proportion of these challenging cases. The choice between SIDS and these latter COD certifications now often centers on death scene findings that suggest an asphyxial risk to the sleeping infant. However, present investigative methods neither precisely quantify nor determine the certainty of its lethality in the absence of reliable postmortem evidence of its significance; hence the slippery slope of COD assignment. The present uncertainty in analyzing the circumstances of death in these cases is demonstrated in our recent study wherein five pathologists blinded to one another and using a classification scheme focused on the estimated risk of asphyxia at the death scene as described in the investigative reports assigned a COD to 117 sudden infant death cases including 83 cases with SIDS as the original COD [7]. The reviewers concluded that the death scene contributed to or actually caused death in 32–50 % of the entire case study group and in 40–59 % of the 83 SIDS cases. Among the 83 original SIDS cases, SIDS as the COD decreased by 55–69 % and another COD was considered plausible in 2–12 % of the cases. Although SIDS remains an exclusionary COD, its underlying elements and the mechanism of death as hypothesized in the triple risk hypothesis are being unraveled [8]. According to this hypothesis, ‘‘SIDS, or an important subset of SIDS, is due to abnormal brainstem mechanisms in the control of respiration, chemosensitivity, autonomic regulation, and/or arousal which impairs the infant’s response to life-threatening, but often occurring, stressors during sleep (e.g., hypoxia, hypercarbia, asphyxia, hyperthermia) and leads to sudden death in a vulnerable developmental period’’ [9]. Thus, according to this hypothesis, SIDS infants who are intrinsically vulnerable as a result of underlying pathology must be exposed simultaneously to risk factors, such as prone sleep position, during their physiologically unstable stage of development during sleep, before they will succumb. This period of H. F. Krous (&) Department of Pathology, Rady Children’s Hospital, 3020 Children’s Way, M5007, San Diego, CA 92123, USA e-mail: hkrous@rchsd.org", "corpus_id": 1073084 }

{ "title": "Sudden death in babies: epidemiology.", "abstract": "HIS SYMPOSIUM deals with a probably universal phen,omenon variously termed the sudden death syndrome, sudden unexplained death in infamy, sudden and unexpected death in infancy, crib death, or (in Britain) cot death. It is distressingly common, claiming perhaps 1 child in every 400 or 500 born. Many explanations have been advanced, but few have incriminated the heart. The condition is, therefore, perhaps not overfamiliar to cardiologists; accordingly, it seemed worthwhile to introduce the subject of the symposium by summarizing existing knowledge, including some of our recent data, reviewing the various hypotheses of causation and their adequacy to explain the facts and describing why we believe the heart may play a more important primary role than has been generally supposed. Such a synoptic presentation raises problems. There are now a formidable body of experimental results and over 100 published series giving epidemiologic, clinical, or pathologic data. Fortunately, despite technical differences in definition and a.scertainment of cases, the findings are reasona.bly consistent, and a consensus can be readily distinguished. The descriptive profiles to follow will be built on this consensus and illustrated by preliminary results from our own study in Northern Ireland. Technics of methods of survey and analysis of data, although crucial to a critical appraisal of the findings, are not relevant here and are not discussed. Although this article refers to many studies, it is not intended to be a comprehensive review; for this readers are referred to the Proceedings of the 1963 Seattle Conference on Causes of Sudden Death in Infants’ and to a review by ValdCs-Dapena.!”", "corpus_id": 46395146 }

{ "title": "The current total economic burden of diabetes mellitus in the Netherlands.", "abstract": "INTRODUCTION AND AIM\nInsight into the total economic burden of diabetes mellitus (DM) is essential for decision makers and payers. Currently available estimates for the Netherlands only include part of the total burden or are no longer up-to-date. Therefore, this study aimed to determine the current total economic burden of DM and its complications in the Netherlands, by including all the relevant cost components.\n\n\nMETHODS\nThe study combined a systematic literature review to identify all relevant published information and a targeted review to identify relevant information in the grey literature. The identified evidence was then combined to estimate the current total economic burden.\n\n\nRESULTS\nIn 2016, there were an estimated 1.1 million DM patients in the Netherlands, of whom approximately 10% had type 1 and 90% had type 2 DM. The estimated current total economic burden of DM was € 6.8 billion in 2016. Healthcare costs (excluding costs of complications) were € 1.6 billion, direct costs of complications were € 1.3 billion and indirect costs due to productivity losses, welfare payments and complications were € 4.0 billion.\n\n\nCONCLUSION\nDM and its complications pose a substantial economic burden to the Netherlands, which is expected to rise due to changing demographics and lifestyle. Indirect costs, such as welfare payments, accounted for a large portion of the current total economic burden of DM, while these cost components are often not included in cost estimations. Publicly available data for key cost drivers such as complications were scarce.", "corpus_id": 8924014, "score": 1 }

{ "title": "Study of underpotential deposited Cu layers on Pt(111) and their stability against CO and CO2 in perchloric acid.", "abstract": "The underpotential deposition (UPD) of copper on a Pt(111) electrode and the influence of gas coadsorbates, i.e. CO and CO2, on the thus deposited copper layer were studied in a 0.1 M HClO4 electrolyte by means of EC-STM. By UPD, an atomically flat Cu layer is formed, which exhibits a pseudomorphic (1 × 1) structure. However, it contains several point defects due to which its total coverage is less than a monolayer, in agreement with the measured charge density in the CV curves. Upon exposure to a CO-saturated solution the pseudomorphic structure collapses to a coalescent structure with many vacancy islands. This phase transition is induced by the preferential binding of CO to the Pt(111) surface. In contrast, CO2, which binds stronger to copper, does not affect the pseudomorphic structure of the Cu layer.", "corpus_id": 6212352 }

{ "title": "CO2 Electroreduction on Cu-Modified Platinum Single Crystal Electrodes in Aprotic Media", "abstract": "Techniques of electrode modification by copper deposits are developed that allow obtaining compact bulk quasi-epitaxial deposits on basal Pt(hkl) single crystal faces. The issues of the deposit roughness and characterization are discussed. Problems of drying and transferring electrodes with copper deposits into other solutions are considered. The obtained deposits are used for CO2 electroreduction in propylene carbonate and acetonitrile solutions of 0.1 M TBAPF6, and the relationship between the electrode surface structure and its electrocatalytic activity in CO2 electroreduction is discussed. We also demonstrate that the restructuring of Cu deposits occurs upon CO2 electroreduction. Complementary reactivity studies are presented for bare Pt(hkl) and Cu(hkl) single crystal electrodes. Cu-modified Pt(hkl) electrodes display the highest activity as compared to bare Pt(hkl) and Cu(hkl). Particularly, the Cu/Pt(110) electrode shows the highest activity among the electrodes under study. Such high activity of Cu/Pt(hkl) electrodes can be explained not only by the increasing actual surface area but also by structural effects, namely by the presence of a large amount of specific defect sites (steps, kinks) on Cu crystallites.", "corpus_id": 98479477 }

{ "title": "A Planetary Companion to the G-Type Giant Star HD 104985", "abstract": "We report the detection of a planetary-mass companion to the G9 III giant star HD 104985 from precise Doppler velocity measurements made using the High Dispersion Echelle Spectrograph (HIDES) at Okayama Astrophysical Observatory. The radial velocity variability of this star is best explained by an orbital motion with a period of 198.2 ± 0.3 days, a velocity semiamplitude of 161 ± 2 m s-1, and an eccentricity of 0.03 ± 0.02. Assuming a stellar mass of 1.6 M☉, we obtained a minimum mass and a semimajor axis of 6.3MJ and 0.78 AU, respectively, for the companion. A probable upper limit to the stellar mass of 3 M☉ yielded m2 sin i = 9.6MJ, which falls in the planetary-mass regime. This is the first discovery of a planetary companion orbiting a G-type giant star.", "corpus_id": 119001412, "score": 1 }

{ "title": "Drosophila Perlecan Regulates Intestinal Stem Cell Activity via Cell-Matrix Attachment", "abstract": "Summary Stem cells require specialized local microenvironments, termed niches, for normal retention, proliferation, and multipotency. Niches are composed of cells together with their associated extracellular matrix (ECM). Currently, the roles of ECM in regulating niche functions are poorly understood. Here, we demonstrate that Perlecan (Pcan), a highly conserved ECM component, controls intestinal stem cell (ISC) activities and ISC-ECM attachment in Drosophila adult posterior midgut. Loss of Pcan from ISCs, but not other surrounding cells, causes ISCs to detach from underlying ECM, lose their identity, and fail to proliferate. These defects are not a result of a loss of epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) or Janus kinase/signal transducer and activator of transcription (JAK/STAT) signaling activity but partially depend on integrin signaling activity. We propose that Pcan secreted by ISCs confers niche properties to the adjacent ECM that is required for ISC maintenance of stem cell identity, activity, and anchorage to the niche.", "corpus_id": 1061135 }

{ "title": "Adult SVZ stem cells lie in a vascular niche: a quantitative analysis of niche cell-cell interactions.", "abstract": "There is an emerging understanding of the importance of the vascular system within stem cell niches. Here, we examine whether neural stem cells (NSCs) in the adult subventricular zone (SVZ) lie close to blood vessels, using three-dimensional whole mounts, confocal microscopy, and automated computer-based image quantification. We found that the SVZ contains a rich plexus of blood vessels that snake along and within neuroblast chains. Cells expressing stem cell markers, including GFAP, and proliferation markers are closely apposed to the laminin-containing extracellular matrix (ECM) surrounding vascular endothelial cells. Apical GFAP+ cells are admixed within the ependymal layer and some span between the ventricle and blood vessels, occupying a specialized microenvironment. Adult SVZ progenitor cells express the laminin receptor alpha6beta1 integrin, and blocking this inhibits their adhesion to endothelial cells, altering their position and proliferation in vivo, indicating that it plays a functional role in binding SVZ stem cells within the vascular niche.", "corpus_id": 18248615 }

{ "title": "Significance of Staphylococcus epidermidis in the clinical laboratory.", "abstract": "Susceptibility to 11 antibiotics was determined for 63 cultures of Staphylococcus aureus and 63 cultures of Staphylococcus epidermidis obtained at random from the clinical laboratory. The incidence of resistance to nine of these antibiotics was greater for S. epidermidis than for S. aureus. Studies of the minimal inhibitory concentration of these cultures to clindamycin showed that 61 cultures of S. aureus were susceptible whereas only 46 cultures of S. epidermidis were susceptible to this antibiotic. Although cultures of S. aureus were more active in the production of seven virulence factors, some cultures of S. epidermidis produced virulence factors. By successive cultivation in increasing concentrations of clindamycin, resistant variants were obtained for 10 cultures of S. aureus and 3 cultures of S. epidermidis. The presence of subinhibitory concentrations of clindamycin inhibited the production of some virulence factors by the resistant variants. In view of the greater resistance of S. epidermidis to antibiotics and its ability to produce virulence factors, its isolation in the clinical laboratory should not be regarded lightly.", "corpus_id": 24855466, "score": 1 }

{ "title": "The effect of chronic alcohol intoxication and smoking on the output of salivary immunoglobulin A.", "abstract": "The effect of chronic alcohol intoxication and smoking on the output of salivary immunoglobulin A (IgA) was studied in 37 volunteers: 17 male smoking patients after chronic alcohol intoxication (AS) and 20 control non-smoking male social drinkers (CNS). The DMFT index (decayed, missing, or filled teeth), gingival index and papilla bleeding index (PBI) were assessed. Concentration of IgA in saliva was determined by ELISA. Salivary flow (SF) and IgA output were significantly decreased in AS compared to CNS. There were no significant correlations between the amount of alcohol/cigarettes as well as the duration of alcohol intoxication/smoking, and SF or IgA output, nor between IgA level and SF. Gingival index was significantly higher in AS than in CNS, and was inversely correlated with IgA salivary level. The worsened periodontal state in smoking alcohol-dependent persons may result from diminished IgA protection of the oral tissues due to its decreased output.", "corpus_id": 255695 }

{ "title": "[Alcohol dependence syndrome--symptoms in the oral cavity].", "abstract": "Alcohol dependence syndrome is defined as a cluster of physiological, behavioural and cognitive phenomena in which the use of a psychoactive substance takes on a much higher priority for a given individual than other behaviours that once had greater value. In European Union the problem of the addiction affects about 5% of men and 1% of women each year. Long lasting alcohol abuse is detrimental to the whole body, including the oral cavity. The observable changes are usually caused by a convergent impact of a number of factors. The changes differ depending on the chemical features of the consumed substance, the life style adopted - as a consequence of the addiction, simultaneous addiction to nicotine, and finally on the medical treatment applied at different stages of the disease. Pathological changes may occur in all structures in oral cavity (teeth, periodontium, tongue, mucose membrane and salivary glands). Individuals addicted to alcohol revealed high percentage of carious losses and chemical damage enamel and dentine and inflammatory changes of the periapical area of teeth. Presence of these changes is linked unfortunately with low indicator of treatment. There is independence between alcohol addiction and damage of periodontium (clinical attachment level and pocket depth). Results of alcohol abuse may be also double-sided, painless, noninflammatory and non-malignant swelling on salivary glands (sialosis). Alcohol is said to be the risk factor for development of flat-epithelial cancer of the oral cavity. The most frequent localization of cancerous changes is the bottom of the oral cavity and the side of the tongue.", "corpus_id": 6305956 }

{ "title": "Acute renal failure in multiple myeloma.", "abstract": "Abstract A case of acute renal failure in multiple myeloma is described. This represents the seventh recorded case in which recovery occurred although the patient died a year later from a nonrenal cause. The pathologic appearance of the kidneys at autopsy indicated considerable improvement when compared to an earlier biopsy specimen. Survival in this patient may be attributable to the use of dialysis, a procedure which has seldom been employed in this condition. Melphalan induced a remarkable remission in the underlying disease. The general health of the patient improved considerably, mediastinal tumor and many bone lesions resolved radiologically and histologically, and the abnormal protein disappeared from the blood and urine. This case shows that not only is survival from acute renal failure in multiple myeloma possible, but also that the typical renal tubular casts seen in this disease are not necessarily irreversible.", "corpus_id": 32789538, "score": 1 }

{ "title": "Using classic problems to teach Java framework design", "abstract": "Abstract All programmers should understand the concept of software families and know the techniques for constructing them. This paper suggests that classic problems, such as well-known algorithms and data structures, are good sources for examples to use in a study of software family design. The paper describes two case studies that can be used to introduce students in a Java software design course to the construction of software families using software frameworks. The first is the family of programs that use the well-known divide and conquer algorithmic strategy. The second is the family of programs that carry out traversals of binary trees.", "corpus_id": 1850975 }

{ "title": "Using Function Generalization to Design a Cosequential Processing Framework", "abstract": "Framework design is a multifaceted endeavor undertaken to promote reuse of software within a family of related applications. Traditional approaches involve either the evolution or the systematic design of the needed generic structure. This paper explores a systematic design approach called function generalization. In this approach, framework design begins with an executable specification expressed as a set of functions in a functional programming language. This set is analyzed to identify the common and variable aspects of the family of related applications. The set of functions is then transformed in a series of steps to produce a generalized application corresponding to the family. Each step generalizes one variable aspect of the family by introducing higher-order (function) parameters or polymorphic parameters into the functions in the set. The resulting set of generalized functions can be converted to Java code using design patterns to guide the framework construction.", "corpus_id": 16700469 }

{ "title": "Application of ionic liquids in the microwave-assisted extraction of polyphenolic compounds from medicinal plants.", "abstract": "Ionic liquids (ILs) solutions as solvents were successfully applied in the microwave-assisted extraction (MAE) of polyphenolic compounds from medicinal plants. ILs, its concentration and MAE conditions were investigated in order to extract polyphenolic compounds effectively from Psidium guajava Linn. (P. guajava) leaves and Smilax china (S. china) tubers. The results obtained indicated that the anions and cations of ILs had influences on the extraction of polyphenolic compounds as well as the ILs with electron-rich aromatic pi-system enhanced extraction ability. Under the optimized conditions, the extraction yields of the polyphenolic compounds were in the range of 79.5-93.8% with one-step extraction, and meanwhile the recoveries were in the range of 85.2-103% with relative standard deviations (R.S.D.s) lower than 5.6%. Compared to conventional extraction procedures, the results suggested that the proposed method was effective and alternative for the extraction of polyphenolic compounds from medicinal plants. In addition, the extraction mechanisms and the structures of samples before and after extraction were also investigated. ILs solutions as green solvents in the MAE of polyphenolic compounds from medicinal plant samples showed a great promising prospect.", "corpus_id": 6321407, "score": 0 }

{ "title": "Iterative Algorithm for Joint Zero Diagonalization With Application in Blind Source Separation", "abstract": "A new iterative algorithm for the nonunitary joint zero diagonalization of a set of matrices is proposed for blind source separation applications. On one hand, since the zero diagonalizer of the proposed algorithm is constructed iteratively by successive multiplications of an invertible matrix, the singular solutions that occur in the existing nonunitary iterative algorithms are naturally avoided. On the other hand, compared to the algebraic method for joint zero diagonalization, the proposed algorithm requires fewer matrices to be zero diagonalized to yield even better performance. The extension of the algorithm to the complex and nonsquare mixing cases is also addressed. Numerical simulations on both synthetic data and blind source separation using time-frequency distributions illustrate the performance of the algorithm and provide a comparison to the leading joint zero diagonalization schemes.", "corpus_id": 9598077 }

{ "title": "A Parallel Dual Matrix Method for Blind Signal Separation", "abstract": "A parallel dual matrix method that considers all cases of numerical relations between a mixing matrix and a separating matrix is proposed in this letter. Different constrained terms are used to construct cost function for every subalgorithm. These constrained terms reflect numerical relation. Therefore, a number of undesired solutions are excluded, the search region is reduced, and the convergence efficiency of the algorithm is ultimately improved. Moreover, any parallel subalgorithm is proven to converge to a desired separating matrix only if its cost function converges to zero. Computer simulations indicate that the algorithm efficiently performs blind signal separation.", "corpus_id": 5430384 }

{ "title": "Multiplicative Nonholonomic/Newton -like Algorithm", "abstract": "Abstract We construct new algorithms, which use the fourth order cumulant of stochastic variables for the cost function. The multiplicative updating rule here constructed is natural from the homogeneous nature of the Lie group and has numerous merits for the rigorous treatment of the dynamics. As one consequence, the second order convergence is shown. For the cost function, functions invariant under the componentwise scaling are chosen. By identifying points which can be transformed to each other by the scaling, we assume that the dynamics is in a coset space. In our method, a point can move toward any direction in this coset. Thus, no prewhitening is required.", "corpus_id": 678, "score": 2 }

{ "title": "Component-Based Robotic Engineering (Part II)", "abstract": "This article discusses the role of software components as architectural units of large, possibly distributed, software-intensive robotic systems. The focus is on technologies to manage the heterogeneity of hardware, computational, and communication resources and on design techniques to assemble components into systems .A component-based system is a composition of components, and the way components interact with other components and with the computational environment greatly affects the flexibility of the entire system and the reusability of individual functionality.", "corpus_id": 15599787 }

{ "title": "A Classification and Comparison Framework for Software Architecture Description Languages", "abstract": "Software architectures shift the focus of developers from lines-of-code to coarser-grained architectural elements and their overall interconnection structure. Architecture description languages (ADLs) have been proposed as modeling notations to support architecture-based development. There is, however, little consensus in the research community on what is an ADL, what aspects of an architecture should be modeled in an ADL, and which of several possible ADLs is best suited for a particular problem. Furthermore, the distinction is rarely made between ADLs on one hand and formal specification, module interconnection, simulation and programming languages on the other. This paper attempts to provide an answer to these questions. It motivates and presents a definition and a classification framework for ADLs. The utility of the definition is demonstrated by using it to differentiate ADLs from other modeling notations. The framework is used to classify and compare several existing ADLs, enabling us, in the process, to identify key properties of ADLs. The comparison highlights areas where existing ADLs provide extensive support and those in which they are deficient, suggesting a research agenda for the future.", "corpus_id": 1261989 }

{ "title": "A Computational Model for Situated Task Learning with Interactive Instruction", "abstract": "Learning novel tasks is a complex cognitive activity requiring the learner to acquire diverse declarative and procedural knowledge. Prior ACT-R models of acquiring task knowledge from instruction focused on learning procedural knowledge from declarative instructions encoded in semantic memory. In this paper, we identify the requirements for designing compu- tational models that learn task knowledge from situated task- oriented interactions with an expert and then describe and evaluate a model of learning from situated interactive instruc- tion that is implemented in the Soar cognitive architecture.", "corpus_id": 12020518, "score": -1 }

{ "title": "Bruton tyrosine kinase inhibitor ONO/GS-4059: from bench to bedside", "abstract": "The Bruton tyrosine kinase (BTK) inhibitor, ibrutinib, has been approved for the treatment of chronic lymphocytic leukemia, mantle cell lymphoma, and Waldenstroms macroglobulinemia. Acquired resistance to ibrutinib due to BTK C481S mutation has been reported. Mutations in PLC?2 can also mediate resistance to ibrutinib. Untoward effects due to off-target effects are also disadvantages of ibrutinib. More selective and potent BTK inhibitors (ACP-196, ONO/GS-4059, BGB-3111, CC-292) are being investigated. This review summarized the preclinical research and clinical data of ONO/GS-4059.", "corpus_id": 3469820 }

{ "title": "Bruton tyrosine kinase is a therapeutic target in stem-like cells from multiple myeloma.", "abstract": "Ibrutinib (Imbruvica), a small-drug inhibitor of Bruton tyrosine kinase (BTK), is currently undergoing clinical testing in patients with multiple myeloma, yet important questions on the role of BTK in myeloma biology and treatment are outstanding. Using flow-sorted side population cells from human myeloma cell lines and multiple myeloma primary samples as surrogate for the elusive multiple myeloma stem cell, we found that elevated expression of BTK in myeloma cells leads to AKT/WNT/β-catenin-dependent upregulation of key stemness genes (OCT4, SOX2, NANOG, and MYC) and enhanced self-renewal. Enforced transgenic expression of BTK in myeloma cells increased features of cancer stemness, including clonogenicity and resistance to widely used myeloma drugs, whereas inducible knockdown of BTK abolished them. Furthermore, overexpression of BTK in myeloma cells promoted tumor growth in laboratory mice and rendered side population-derived tumors that contained high levels of BTK more sensitive to the selective, second-generation BTK inhibitor, CGI1746, than side population-derived tumors that harbored low levels of BTK. Taken together, these findings implicate BTK as a positive regulator of myeloma stemness and provide additional support for the clinical testing of BTK-targeted therapies in patients with myeloma.", "corpus_id": 16605586 }

{ "title": "Bruton’s Tyrosine Kinase Mediates the Synergistic Signalling between TLR9 and the B Cell Receptor by Regulating Calcium and Calmodulin", "abstract": "B cells signal through both the B cell receptor (BCR) which binds antigens and Toll-like receptors (TLRs) including TLR9 which recognises CpG DNA. Activation of TLR9 synergises with BCR signalling when the BCR and TLR9 co-localise within an auto-phagosome-like compartment. Here we report that Bruton’s tyrosine kinase (BTK) is required for synergistic IL6 production and up-regulation of surface expression of MHC-class-II, CD69 and CD86 in primary murine and human B cells. We show that BTK is essential for co-localisation of the BCR and TLR9 within a potential auto-phagosome-like compartment in the Namalwa human B cell line. Downstream of BTK we find that calcium acting via calmodulin is required for this process. These data provide new insights into the role of BTK, an important target for autoimmune diseases, in B cell activation.", "corpus_id": 11111324, "score": 2 }

{ "title": "The extent to which a position-based explanation accounts for binaural release from informational masking.", "abstract": "Detection was measured for a 500 Hz tone masked by noise (an \"energetic\" masker) or sets of ten randomly drawn tones (an \"informational\" masker). Presenting the maskers diotically and the target tone with a variety of interaural differences (interaural amplitude ratios and/or interaural time delays) resulted in reduced detection thresholds relative to when the target was presented diotically (\"binaural release from masking\"). Thresholds observed when time and amplitude differences applied to the target were \"reinforcing\" (favored the same ear, resulting in a lateralized position for the target) were not significantly different from thresholds obtained when differences were \"opposing\" (favored opposite ears, resulting in a centered position for the target). This irrelevance of differences in the perceived location of the target is a classic result for energetic maskers but had not previously been shown for informational maskers. However, this parallellism between the patterns of binaural release for energetic and informational maskers was not accompanied by high correlations between the patterns for individual listeners, supporting the idea that the mechanisms for binaural release from energetic and informational masking are fundamentally different.", "corpus_id": 384715 }

{ "title": "TIME-INTENSITY RELATIONS IN BINAURAL UNMASKING.", "abstract": "Variations in the threshold of a 500‐cps tone masked by random noise are studied as a function of simultaneous shifts in the interaural amplitude ratio and interaural time delay of the tone. The experimental results are found to coincide with the results of computations based on the equalization and cancellation model and are used to define a time‐intensity trade for binaural unmasking.", "corpus_id": 20189920 }

{ "title": "Binaural detection with narrowband and wideband reproducible noise maskers: I. Results for human.", "abstract": "This study investigated binaural detection of tonal targets (500 Hz) using sets of individual masker waveforms with two different bandwidths. Previous studies of binaural detection with wideband noise maskers show that responses to individual noise waveforms are correlated between diotic (N0S0) and dichotic (N0S(pi)) conditions [Gilkey et al., J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 78, 1207-1219 (1985)]; however, results for narrowband maskers are not correlated across interaural configurations [Isabelle and Colburn, J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 89, 352-359 (1991)]. This study was designed to allow direct comparison, in detail, of responses across bandwidths and interaural configurations. Subjects were tested on a binaural detection task using both narrowband (100-Hz bandwidth) and wideband (100 Hz to 3 kHz) noise maskers that had identical spectral components in the 100-Hz frequency band surrounding the tone frequency. The results of this study were consistent with the previous studies: N0S0 and N0S(pi) responses were more strongly correlated for wideband maskers than for narrowband maskers. Differences in the results for these two bandwidths suggest that binaural detection is not determined solely by the masker spectrum within the critical band centered on the target frequency, but rather that remote frequencies must be included in the analysis and modeling of binaural detection with wideband maskers. Results across the set of individual noises obtained with the fixed-level testing were comparable to those obtained with a tracking procedure which was similar to the procedure used in a companion study of rabbit subjects [Zheng et al., J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 111, 346-356 (2002)].", "corpus_id": 25313824, "score": 2 }

{ "title": "Control of Adjustable Compliant Actuators", "abstract": "Adjustable compliance or variable stiffness actuators comprise an additional element to elastically decouple the actuator from the load and are increasingly applied to human-centered robotic systems. The advantages of such actuators are of paramount importance in rehabilitation robotics, where requirements demand safe interaction between the therapy system and the patient. Compliant actuator systems enable the minimization of large contact forces arising, for example, from muscular spasticity and have the ability to periodically store and release energy in cyclic movements. In order to overcome the loss of bandwidth introduced by the elastic element and to guarantee a higher range in force/torque generation, new actuator designs consider variable or nonlinear stiffness elements, respectively. These components cannot only be adapted to the walking speed or the patient condition, but also entail additional challenges for feedback control. This paper introduces a novel design method for an impedance-based controller that fulfills the control objectives and compares the performance and robustness to a classical cascaded control approach. The new procedure is developed using a non-standard positive-real Η2 controller design and is applied to a loop-shaping approach. Robust norm optimal controllers are designed with regard to the passivity of the actuator load-impedance transfer function and the servo control problem. Classical cascaded and positive-real Η2 controller designs are validated and compared in simulations and in a test bench using a passive elastic element of varying stiffness.", "corpus_id": 1270918 }

{ "title": "Stiffness Isn't Everything", "abstract": "Most robot designers make the mechanical interface between an actuator and its load as stiff as possible[9][10]. This makes sense in traditional position-controlled systems, because high interface stiffness maximizes bandwidth and, for non-collocated control, reduces instability. However, lower interface stiffness has advantages as well, including greater shock tolerance, lower reflected inertia, more accurate and stable force control, less damage during inadvertent contact, and the potential for energy storage. The ability of series elasticity (usually in the form of a compliant coating on an end-effector) to stabilize force control during intermittent contact with hard surfaces is well known. This paper proposes that for natural tasks where small-motion bandwidth is not of paramount concern, actuator to load interfaces should be significantly less stiff than in most present designs. Furthermore, by purposefully placing the majority of interface elasticity inside of an actuator package, a new type of actuator is created with performance characteristics more suited to the natural world. Despite common intuition, such a series-elastic actuator is not difficult to control.", "corpus_id": 7004919 }

{ "title": "Intensity of leg and arm training after primary middle-cerebral-artery stroke: a randomised trial", "abstract": "BACKGROUND\nWe investigated the effects of different intensities of arm and leg rehabilitation training on the functional recovery of activities of daily living (ADL), walking ability, and dexterity of the paretic arm, in a single-blind randomised controlled trial.\n\n\nMETHODS\nWithin 14 days after stroke onset, 101 severely disabled patients with a primary middle-cerebral-artery stroke were randomly assigned to: a rehabilitation programme with emphasis on arm training; a rehabilitation programme with emphasis on leg training; or a control programme in which the arm and leg were immobilised with an inflatable pressure splint. Each treatment regimen was applied for 30 min, 5 days a week during the first 20 weeks after stroke. In addition, all patients underwent a basic rehabilitation programme. The main outcome measures were ability in ADL (Barthel index), walking ability (functional ambulation categories), and dexterity of the paretic arm (Action Research arm test) at 6, 12, 20, and 26 weeks. Analyses were by intention to treat.\n\n\nFINDINGS\nAt week 20, the leg-training group (n=31) had higher scores than the control group (n=37) for ADL ability (median 19 [IQR 16-20] vs 16 [10-19], p<0.05), walking ability (4 [3-5] vs 3 [1-4], p<0.05), and dexterity (2 [0-56] vs 0 [0-2], p<0.01). The arm-training group (n=33) differed significantly from the control group only in dexterity (9 [0-39] vs 0 [0-2], p<0.01). There were no significant differences in these endpoints at 20 weeks between the arm-training and leg-training groups.\n\n\nINTERPRETATION\nGreater intensity of leg rehabilitation improves functional recovery and health-related functional status, whereas greater intensity of arm rehabilitation results in small improvements in dexterity, providing further evidence that exercise therapy primarily induces treatment effects on the abilities at which training is specifically aimed.", "corpus_id": 22163599, "score": 2 }

{ "title": "Controlled Rejuvenation of Amorphous Metals with Thermal Processing", "abstract": "Rejuvenation is the configurational excitation of amorphous materials and is one of the more promising approaches for improving the deformability of amorphous metals that usually exhibit macroscopic brittle fracture modes. Here, we propose a method to control the level of rejuvenation through systematic thermal processing and clarify the crucial feasibility conditions by means of molecular dynamics simulations of annealing and quenching. We also experimentally demonstrate rejuvenation level control in Zr55Al10Ni5Cu30 bulk metallic glass. Our local heat-treatment recipe (rising temperature above 1.1Tg, followed by a temperature quench rate exceeding the previous) opens avenue to modifying the glass properties after it has been cast and processed into near component shape, where a higher local cooling rate may be afforded by for example transient laser heating, adding spatial control and great flexibility to the processing.", "corpus_id": 7372687 }

{ "title": "Thermal rejuvenation in metallic glasses", "abstract": "Abstract Structural rejuvenation in metallic glasses by a thermal process (i.e. through recovery annealing) was investigated experimentally and theoretically for various alloy compositions. An increase in the potential energy, a decrease in the density, and a change in the local structure as well as mechanical softening were observed after thermal rejuvenation. Two parameters, one related to the annealing temperature, Ta/Tg, and the other related to the cooling rate during the recovery annealing process, Vc/Vi, were proposed to evaluate the rejuvenation phenomena. A rejuvenation map was constructed using these two parameters. Since the thermal history of metallic glasses is reset above 1.2Tg, accompanied by a change in the local structure, it is essential that the condition of Ta/Tg ≥ 1.2 is satisfied during annealing. The glassy structure transforms into a more disordered state with the decomposition of icosahedral short-range order within this temperature range. Therefore, a new glassy structure (rejuvenation) depending on the subsequent quenching rate is generated. Partial rejuvenation also occurs in a Zr55Al10Ni5Cu30 bulk metallic glass when annealing is performed at a low temperature (Ta/Tg ~ 1.07) followed by rapid cooling. This behavior probably originates from disordering in the weakly bonded (loosely packed) region. This study provides a novel approach to improving the mechanical properties of metallic glasses by controlling their glassy structure.", "corpus_id": 10334727 }

{ "title": "Unique excavated rhombic dodecahedral PtCu3 alloy nanocrystals constructed with ultrathin nanosheets of high-energy {110} facets.", "abstract": "Ultrathin crystalline nanosheets give an extremely high surface area of a specific crystal facet with unique physical and chemical properties compared with normal three-dimensionally polyhedral nanocrystals (NCs). However, the ultrathin metal nanosheets tend to curl themselves or assemble with each other sheet by sheet, which may reduce the effective surface area and accordingly the catalytic activity to a great extent. Here we report a facile wet-chemical route that allows the fabrication of novel excavated rhombic dodecahedral (ERD) PtCu3 alloy NCs with ultrathin nanosheets of high-energy {110} facets. The surface area was measured to be 77 m(2) g(-1) by CO stripping, although the particle size is about 50 nm. Electrochemical characterizations showed that the ERD PtCu3 NCs exhibit excellent electrocatalytic performance and high antipoisoning activity in comparison with commercial Pt black and PtCu3 alloy NCs with {111} surfaces.", "corpus_id": 9247029, "score": 1 }

{ "title": "Exponential stability of a class of linear stochastic interconnected large-scale systems with time delay", "abstract": "The global exponential stability of a class of stochastic linear interconnected large-scale systems with time delay was analyzed based on M-matrix theory and box theory, by constructing a vector Lyapunov function. A criterion was concluded for global exponential stability of the systems by analyzing the stability of differential inequalities. It is obtained that a stochastic large-scale system with time delay is described as global exponential stable if the test matrix is an M-matrix, where the test matrix is constructed by employing the coefficient matrices of the system and the solutions of the Lyapunov equations which are interconnected with the system. The computation is convenient, so it is easy for application.", "corpus_id": 1504396 }

{ "title": "Note on the stability of large-scale systems with delays", "abstract": "Abstract A stability test is proposed for large-scale systems with delays by employing both the aggregation technique and solutions of the complex Lyapunov equation. An example is given to illustrate the application of the results", "corpus_id": 120207372 }

{ "title": "Stabilization of generalized linear systems via the algebraic Riccati equation", "abstract": "Abstract This paper presents results from a study to examine the stabilization properties of linear time delay systems and systems depending on a parameter using techniques associated with the algebraic Riccati equation (ARE). These classes of systems can be viewed as members of a broader class of systems called generalized linear systems (GLS). Techniques of spectral factorization for the GLS play an essential role in the methods for performing this stabilization. Necessary and sufficient conditions for the existence of a polynomial solution to the generalized ARE are derived. Numerical examples are given in order to illustrate and clarify the results.", "corpus_id": 120507611, "score": 2 }

{ "title": "Introducing Dynamic Constraints in B", "abstract": "In B, the expression of dynamic constraints is notoriously missing. In this paper, we make various proposals for introducing them. They all express, in different complementary ways, how a system is allowed to evolve. Such descriptions are independent of the proposed evolutions of the system, which are defined, as usual, by means of a number of operations. Some proof obligations are thus proposed in order to reconcile the two points of view. We have been very careful to ensure that these proposals are compatible with refinement. They are illustrated by several little examples, and a larger one. In a series of small appendices, we also give some theoretical foundations to our approach. In writing this paper, we have been heavily influenced by the pioneering works of Z. Manna and A. Pnueli [11], L. Lamport [10], R. Back [5] and M. Butler [6].", "corpus_id": 956695 }

{ "title": "Fast Abstract : Generating Test cases from Scenario-based Formal Development", "abstract": "R e f i n e d s c e n a r i o ( S A )", "corpus_id": 65695 }

{ "title": "Inflammatory conditions partly impair the mechanically mediated activation of Smad2/3 signaling in articular cartilage", "abstract": "BackgroundJoint trauma, which is frequently related with mechanical overloading of articular cartilage, is a well-established risk for osteoarthritis (OA) development. Additionally, reports show that trauma leads to synovial joint inflammation. In consequence, after joint trauma, cartilage is influenced by deleterious excessive loading combined with the catabolic activity of proinflammatory mediators. Since the activation of TGF-β signaling by loading is considered to be a key regulatory pathway for maintaining cartilage homeostasis, we tested the effect of proinflammatory conditions on mechanically mediated activation of TGF-β/Smad2/3P signaling in cartilage.MethodsCartilage explants were subjected to dynamic mechanical compression in the presence of interleukin-1 beta (IL-1β) or osteoarthritic synovium-conditioned medium (OAS-CM). Subsequently, the activation of the Smad2/3P pathway was monitored with QPCR analysis of reporter genes and additionally the expression of receptors activating the Smad2/3P pathway was analyzed. Finally, the ability for mechanically mediated activation of Smad2/3P was tested in human OA cartilage.ResultsIL-1β presence during compression did not impair the upregulation of Smad2/3P reporter genes, however the results were affected by IL-1β-mediated upregulations in unloaded controls. OAS-CM significantly impaired the compression-mediated upregulation of bSmad7 and Tgbfb1. IL-1β suppressed the compression-mediated bAlk5 upregulation where 12 MPa compression applied in the presence of OAS-CM downregulated the bTgfbr2. Mechanically driven upregulation of Smad2/3P reporter genes was present in OA cartilage.ConclusionsProinflammatory conditions partly impair the mechanically mediated activation of the protective TGF-β/Smad2/3P pathway. Additionally, the excessive mechanical compression, applied in the presence of proinflammatory conditions diminishes the expression of the type II TGF-β receptor, a receptor critical for maintenance of articular cartilage.", "corpus_id": 3293624, "score": 0 }

{ "title": "Effects of Rice Policosanol on Serum Lipoproteins, Homocysteine, Fibrinogen and C-Reactive Protein in Hypercholesterolaemic Patients", "abstract": "AbstractBackground: Policosanol is an agent that includes mixtures of aliphatic primary alcohols extracted primarily from sugar-cane wax. This mixture has been shown to lower total and low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol in animal models, healthy volunteers and hypercholesterolaemic patients.\n Patients and methods: This study investigated the efficacy and tolerability of rice policosanol (Oryza sp.) 10 mg/day in 70 hypercholesterolaemic patients of both sexes aged 20–78 years in a randomised, double-blind, crossover, placebo-controlled, single-centre trial. After an 8-week run-in period during which patients were placed on therapeutic lifestyle changes, in particular a cholesterol-lowering diet, they were randomly assigned to receive rice policosanol 10mg tablets or placebo tablets once daily with the evening meal for 8 weeks. During the next 8 weeks those patients who received policosanol during the first 8 weeks received placebo, and those who received placebo during the first 8 weeks, received policosanol. Total, LDL, high-density lipoprotein (HDL), HDL2 and HDL3 cholesterol, triglycerides, oxidised LDL (ox-LDL), apoproteins (Apos) AI and B, lipoprotein (a) [Lp(a)], fibrinogen, homocysteine and C-reactive protein (CRP) levels were measured.\n Results: Rice policosanol significantly reduced plasma total cholesterol from 7.37 ±1.42 mmol/L to 6.99 ± 1.33 mmol/L (p = 0.007) and increased Apo AI from 1.49 ± 0.39 mmol/L to 1.58 ± 0.38 mmol/L (p = 0.037) but did not change plasma triglycerides, HDL, HDL2, HDL3 and LDL cholesterol, ox-LDL, Lp(a), Apo B, fibrinogen, homocysteine or CRP levels.\n Conclusion: Rice policosanol 10 mg/day moderately decreased plasma total cholesterol and increased Apo AI. Rice policosanol was also well tolerated, with no drug-related effects on safety parameters such as serum aminotransferases and creatine phosphokinase detected or found on physical examination.", "corpus_id": 424635 }

{ "title": "A Long-Term, Open-Label Study of the Efficacy and Tolerability of Policosanol in Patients with High Global Coronary Risk*", "abstract": "Abstract In the present long-term, open-label study, the effects of policosanol (20 mg/d) were investigated in the treatment of type II hypercholesterolemia in patients with high global coronary risk. After dietary stabilization during a 5-week baseline period, 68 patients took policosanol 20 mg once daily with the evening meal for 12 months. All of the patients had nonlipid coronary risk factors, such as a family history of coronary disease (88.2%), hypertension (70.6%), previous coronary events (60.3%), and severe hypercholesterolemia (total cholesterol >7.8 mmol/L) (60.3%). After 2 months of treatment with policosanol, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) and total cholesterol decreased significantly ( P P P", "corpus_id": 72353140 }

{ "title": "SUSTAINABLE GROWTH IN AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTION: POETRY, POLICY AND SCIENCE", "abstract": "In this paper I review the evolution of the sustainability concept. This is followed by a description of three \"classical\" systems of sustainable agriculture. None of these systems were or are capable of generating growth of output consistent with modern rates of growth in demand. I then turn to three unresolved analytical issues that continue to divide the conventional resource economics and the sustainable development communities. In a closing section I argue sustainable growth in agricultural production should be viewed as a research agenda rather than as a package of practices that is available to producers whether in developed or developing countries.", "corpus_id": 154640445, "score": 0 }

{ "title": "Bounded-Variable Fixpoint Queries are PSPACE-complete", "abstract": "We study the complexity of the evaluation of bounded-variable fixpoint queries in relational databases. We exhibit a finite database such that the problem of deciding whether a closed fixpoint formula using only 2 individual variables is satisfied in this database is PSPACE-complete. This clarifies the issues raised by Vardi in [Var95]. We study also the complexity of query evaluation for a number of restrictions of fixpoint logic. In particular we exhibit a sublogic for which the upper bound postulated by Vardi holds.", "corpus_id": 2789888 }

{ "title": "On the complexity of bounded-variable queries (extended abstract)", "abstract": "It is known that the expression complexity and combined complexity of query evaluation in relational databases are in general exponentially higher than the data complexity of query evaluation. This gap in complexity is caused by the fact that evaluating a relational query may involve intermediate results that are exponentially larger than the input. In this paper we study the complexity of query evaluation with intermediate results of polynomial size. This bound is accomplished by restricting the queries to have a bounded number of individual variables. We show that, for bounded-variable queries, the gap between their expression and combined complexities, one one hand, and their data complexity, on the other hand, narrows and in some cases disappears. These results con rm the practice of trying to minimize the size of intermediate relations in database query evaluation, and suggest variable minimization as a query optimization methodology.", "corpus_id": 7130155 }

{ "title": "Video Semantic Content Analysis based on Ontology", "abstract": "The rapid increase in the available amount of video data is creating a growing demand for efficient methods for understanding and managing it at the semantic level. New multimedia standards, such as MPEG-4 and MPEG-7, provide the basic functionalities in order to manipulate and transmit objects and metadata. But importantly, most of the content of video data at a semantic level is out of the scope of the standards. In this paper, a video semantic content analysis framework based on ontology is presented. Domain ontology is used to define high level semantic concepts and their relations in the context of the examined domain. And low-level features (e.g. visual and aural) and video content analysis algorithms are integrated into the ontology to enrich video semantic analysis. OWL is used for the ontology description. Rules in Description Logic are defined to describe how features and algorithms for video analysis should be applied according to different perception content and low-level features. Temporal Description Logic is used to describe the semantic events, and a reasoning algorithm is proposed for events detection. The proposed framework is demonstrated in a soccer video domain and shows promising results.", "corpus_id": 10218875, "score": 1 }

{ "title": "Annotation graphs as a framework for multidimensional linguistic data analysis", "abstract": "In recent work we have presented a formal framework for linguistic annotation based on labeled acyclic digraphs. These `annotation graphs' offer a simple yet powerful method for representing complex annotation structures incorporating hierarchy and overlap. Here, we motivate and illustrate our approach using discourse-level annotations of text and speech data drawn from the CALLHOME, COCONUT, MUC-7, DAMSL and TRAINS annotation schemes. With the help of domain specialists, we have constructed a hybrid multi-level annotation for a fragment of the Boston University Radio Speech Corpus which includes the following levels: segment, word, breath, ToBI, Tilt, Treebank, coreference and named entity. We show how annotation graphs can represent hybrid multi-level structures which derive from a diverse set of file formats. We also show how the approach facilitates substantive comparison of multiple annotations of a single signal based on different theoretical models. The discussion shows how annotation graphs open the door to wide-ranging integration of tools, formats and corpora.", "corpus_id": 58094 }

{ "title": "Spatiotemporal annotation graph (STAG): a data model for composite digital objects", "abstract": "In this demonstration, we present a database over complex documents, which, in addition to a structured text content, also has update information, annotations, and embedded objects. We propose a new data model called spatiotemporal annotation graphs (STAG) for a database of composite digital objects and present a system that shows a query language to efficiently and effectively query such database. The particular application to be demonstrated is a database over annotated MS Word and PowerPoint presentations with embedded multimedia objects.", "corpus_id": 2488682 }

{ "title": "Assessment of motor cortex excitability and inhibition during a cognitive task in individuals with concussion", "abstract": "ABSTRACT Primary objective: To examine the function of the motor cortex during executive function tasks in individuals with concussion, relative to healthy controls. Methods and procedures: Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) was used to assess motor cortex excitability and inhibition acutely, within 72 hours, and over two months, post-concussion in 23 participants, nine individuals with concussion and 14 controls. Participants performed a cognitive task during TMS to determine the impact of cognitive task on the motor cortex. Main outcomes and results: Resting motor threshold (p = 0.02) and motor-evoked potential (MEPRest) amplitude (p = 0.03) were different between groups, both suggesting greater corticospinal excitability in individuals with concussion. Cortical silent period (CSP) duration was greater at 72 hours (p = 0.03), one month (p = 0.003) and two months (p = 0.05) in individuals with concussion, suggesting increased intracortical inhibition. The performance of a cognitive task caused an increase in MEPRest (p = 0.006) and CSP (p = 0.04), compared to baseline in both groups, but no interaction of condition by group (p ≥ 0.91) for either measure. Conclusion: Simultaneously performing a cognitive task during motor cortex assessments increased corticospinal excitability and intracortical inhibition; however, the increase was not different between groups.", "corpus_id": 30327191, "score": 0 }

{ "title": "The Process of Innovation at Oakton High School", "abstract": "Samantha Kwan Kevin Gray, Nick Crossman Acknowledgements Samantha Kwan Nick Crossman Executive Summary Samantha Kwan Nick Crossman 1.0 Introduction Nick Crossman & Kevin Gray Samantha Kwan 2.0 Background Nick Crossman & Kevin Gray Aaron Segal & Samantha Kwan 2.1 Project Setting: Oakton High School’s Progress Samantha Kwan Kevin Gray 2.2 Principles of 21st Century Teaching Samantha Kwan Kevin Gray 2.2.1 21st Century Teaching Samantha Kwan Kevin Gray 2.2.2 Project-Based Learning Samantha Kwan Kevin Gray 2.3 An Obstacle to Innovation Within Oakton High School Samantha Kwan Kevin Gray 2.3.1 Oakton High School & Standardized Testing Nick Crossman Samantha Kwan 2.3.2 Project-Based Learning and Standardized Testing Nick Crossman Samantha Kwan 2.4 Organizational Behavior towards Change Samantha Kwan Kevin Gray 2.4.1 Organizational Dimensions Samantha Kwan Kevin Gray 2.4.2 Organizational Culture and Rooting Factors Samantha Kwan Kevin Gray 2.4.3 Maslow’s Theory of Need Kevin Gray Samantha Kwan", "corpus_id": 154475141 }

{ "title": "Project-based learning", "abstract": "Any teacher or parent can tell you that many students are bored in school. But many of them tend to assume that boredom is not a problem with the best students, and that if students tried harder or learned better they wouldn't be bored. In the 1980s and 1990s, education researchers increasingly realized that when students are bored and unengaged, they are less likely to learn (Blumenfeld et al., 1991). Studies of student experience found that almost all students are bored in school, even the ones who score well on standardized tests (Csikszentmihalyi, Rathunde, & Whalen, 1993). By about 1990, it became obvious to education researchers that the problem wasn't the fault of the students; there was something wrong with the structure of schooling. If we could find a way to engage students in their learning, to restructure the classroom so that students would be motivated to learn, that would be a dramatic change. Also by about 1990, new assessments of college students had shown that the knowledge they acquired in high school remained at a superficial level. Even the best-scoring students, those at the top colleges, often had not acquired a deeper conceptual understanding of material – whether in science, literature, or math (Gardner, 1991). Educators still face these critical problems today.", "corpus_id": 220620078 }

{ "title": "Evidentialität als argumentative Funktion am Beispiel des Deutschen, Russischen und Kasachischen", "abstract": "Summary The present paper is dedicated to evidentiality in the argumentative discourse in the communicative-pragmatic aspect (using the example of German, Russian and Kazakh). The paper contributes to the research of deeper and fundamental issues of a speaker’s point of view in constructing an argumentation. The linguistic features of evidentiality in German, Russian and Kazakh are empirically determined and contrastively investigated. The evidential markings allow the speaker to remain credible and reliable in his arguments.", "corpus_id": 214764898, "score": 1 }

{ "title": "The solution conformation and some spectroscopic properties of 1,N 6 -ethenoadenosine monophosphate, a fluorescent analogue of AMP.", "abstract": "1 \nThe conformation of ethenoadenosine monophosphate in aqueous solution at pH 2.0 has been shown to be very similar to that of AMP through use of the lanthanide-shift proton-magnetic-resonance technique. \n \n2 \nThe pKa, for protonation of the 9-position of etheno-AMP is 4.3 at 298 K, but at all pH values in the range 1.0–9.6, fluorescence is emitted from the protonated form of the heterocyclic ring system. This conclusion is based on the pH, temperature and KI dependence of the emission spectrum. \n \n3 \nWhen dissolved in ethanol the quantum yield of etheno-AMP fluorescence falls to about 40% of its value in water. \n \n4 \nThere are unlikely to be large changes in the energies of the emissions of ethenoadenosine derivatives when bound to biological structures, but their quantum yields may well be reduced, especially if binding affects the ease with which the rings can be protonated.", "corpus_id": 10155777 }

{ "title": "Adenine binding sites of F1‐ATPase are located on the surface of the protein molecule", "abstract": "Besides the active (catalytic) site(s), Fr-ATPase has several other nucleotide binding sites (see [l-3]). These sites differ in the mode of the nucleotide binding. Several sites bind the nucleotides tightly (nucleotides remain bound to Fr-ATPase after gel filtration or repeated precipitation by ammonium sulphate). Fr-ATPase cross-linked with dimethylsuberimidate can tightly bind 5 ADP molecules. This Fr-ATPase preparation containing tightly bound nucleotides exhibited ATPase activity [4]. In Fr-ATPase there is also the site (other than the active site), which exchanged bound nucleotides for the nucleotides of the medium at a high rate [3,5,6]. It is possible that this site, which is referred to as the non-catalytic in this article, may either reversibly or tightly bind nucleotides, depending on the ATPase conformation. It has been shown that the active site of mitochondrial ATPase is localised on the P-subunit [7-121. The results that we obtained using a 2’,3’-dialdehyde ADP derivative indicate that the non-catalytic site of Fr-ATPase is localised on the a-subunit [13]. In this study we have investigated to what extent 1 ,N6-etheno-adenine nucleotides", "corpus_id": 12757358 }

{ "title": "Diamondoid Hydrazones and Hydrazides: Sterically Demanding Ligands for Sn/S Cluster Design", "abstract": "A series of new adamantane and diamantane hydrazides was synthesized and coupled with organo-functionalized Sn/S clusters of the general type [R1Sn4S6] (R1 = CMe2CH2COMe) to form diamondoid-decorated Sn/S clusters. The new ligand precursors as well as the resulting hybrid compounds were analyzed by NMR spectroscopy, mass spectrometry, and single-crystal X-ray diffraction, and first insights were gained in the installation of sterically highly demanding and at the same time rigid mono-, di-, and trifunctionalized diamondoid ligands on tetrelchalcogenide cages.", "corpus_id": 101268987, "score": 1 }

{ "title": "Changes of the cerebral mannitol concentrations in the course of brain death of a rodent model.", "abstract": "Determining the time of brain death is one of the critical issues in forensic examinations. Few authors have attempted to determine the time of brain death using pharmacokinetic approaches. We investigated cerebral concentrations of mannitol of which a single dose (1 g/kg) was administered in the course of brain death. The inflation of an epidural balloon was adopted as a rodent model of brain death. Brain death was determined using ordinary tests. Specimens were collected 4 h after brain death. Brain water content was higher in brain dead (BD) groups than those in control groups. Cerebral concentrations of mannitol in the BD group were significantly higher than those in the control group (P<0.01). In all areas of brain the concentration was the highest at the time when mannitol was administered during balloon inflation. Interhemispheric difference in the cerebrum was observed, followed by balloon inflation (P<0.05). Significant differences were observed in the average concentration of administered mannitol before and after brain death in the contralateral hemisphere (P<0.01) and in the brainstem (P<0.01). As the concentrations of mannitol in the brain are affected by cerebral trauma and brain death follows, mannitol can be used to determine the time of brain death at forensic examinations.", "corpus_id": 2553218 }

{ "title": "Sensitive and simple determination of mannitol in human brain tissues by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry.", "abstract": "A simple, reliable and sensitive gas chromatographic-mass spectrometric method was devised to determine the level of mannitol in various human brain tissues obtained at autopsy. Mannitol was extracted with 10% trichloroacetic acid solution which effectively precipitated brain tissues. The supernatant was washed with tert.-butyl methyl ether to remove other organic compounds and to neutralize the aqueous solution. Mannitol was then derivatized with 1-butaneboronic acid and subjected to GC-MS. Erythritol was used as an internal standard. For quantitation, selected ion monitoring with m/z 127 and 253 for mannitol and m/z 127 for internal standard were used. Calibration curves were linear in concentration range from 0.2 to 20 microg/0.1 g and correlation coefficients exceeded 0.99. The lower detection limit of mannitol in distilled water was 1 ng/0.1 g. Mannitol was detected in control brain tissues, as a biological compound, at a level of 50 ng/0.1 g. The precision of this method was examined with use of two different concentrations, 2 and 20 microg/0.1 g, and the relative standard deviation ranged from 0.8 to 8.3%. We used this method to determine mannitol in brain tissues from an autopsied individual who had been clinically diagnosed as being brain dead. Cardiac arrest occurred 4 days later.", "corpus_id": 22171418 }

{ "title": "SPIN–ORBIT ALIGNMENT OF EXOPLANET SYSTEMS: ENSEMBLE ANALYSIS USING ASTEROSEISMOLOGY", "abstract": "The angle ψ between a planet’s orbital axis and the spin axis of its parent star is an important diagnostic of planet formation, migration, and tidal evolution. We seek empirical constraints on ψ by measuring the stellar inclination is via asteroseismology for an ensemble of 25 solar-type hosts observed with NASA’s Kepler satellite. Our results for is are consistent with alignment at the 2σ level for all stars in the sample, meaning that the system surrounding the red-giant star Kepler-56 remains as the only unambiguous misaligned multiple-planet system detected to date. The availability of a measurement of the projected spin–orbit angle λ for two of the systems allows us to estimate ψ. We find that the orbit of the hot Jupiter HAT-P-7b is likely to be retrograde ( &psgr; = 116 &fdg; 4 − 14.7 + 30.2 ?> ), whereas that of Kepler-25c seems to be well aligned with the stellar spin axis ( &psgr; = 12 &fdg; 6 − 11.0 + 6.7 ?> ). While the latter result is in apparent contradiction with a statement made previously in the literature that the multi-transiting system Kepler-25 is misaligned, we show that the results are consistent, given the large associated uncertainties. Finally, we perform a hierarchical Bayesian analysis based on the asteroseismic sample in order to recover the underlying distribution of ψ. The ensemble analysis suggests that the directions of the stellar spin and planetary orbital axes are correlated, as conveyed by a tendency of the host stars to display large values of inclination.", "corpus_id": 56307453, "score": 0 }

{ "title": "Kimura's disease in a 50-year-old Tunisian man.", "abstract": "INTRODUCTION\nKimura's disease is an uncommon disease of unknown aetiology affecting men in their thirties from Southeast Asia. The authors report a case of Kimura's disease in a 50-year-old Tunisian man that was diagnosed after surgery.\n\n\nCASE REPORT\nThis patient had two 2-cm diameter chronic nodular lesions over the right mandible with no local inflammation and no other clinical findings of systemic disease. Histopathological examination showed germinal centre hyperplasia, eosinophilic micro-abscesses and hyperplasia of postcapillary venules, suggestive of Kimura's disease, which was confirmed by the laboratory work-up: elevated total IgE (519g/L), and eosinophilia (580/mm3). Renal function tests were normal.\n\n\nDISCUSSION\nWe concluded on a probable diagnosis of Kimura's disease in view of male gender, the head and neck site, the suggestive histological appearance, elevated IgE, and eosinophilia. However, this patient's age and ethnic origin were unusual for Kimura's disease. The main differential diagnosis is angiolymphoid hyperplasia with eosinophilia (ALHE) and renal function tests can distinguish between the two entities due to the kidney damage observed in Kimura's disease.", "corpus_id": 3639662 }

{ "title": "Kimura Disease: Diagnosis and Prognostic Factors", "abstract": "OBJECTIVES: To establish a preoperative diagnostic system and examine prognostic factors for Kimura disease. STUDY DESIGN: Retrospective study. SETTING: Hospital records were reviewed for nine cases of Kimura disease treated in our department. Preoperative eosinophil counts for 74 cases with untreated malignancy in the parotid gland were also examined. RESULTS: Parotid swelling with inhomogeneities and subcutaneous invasion on magnetic resonance imaging and eosinophils > 10.5 percent in Asian patients clearly indicates Kimura disease. Eosinophils > 50 percent, serum IgE levels > 10,000 IU/mL, and multifocal lesions outside salivary glands are prognostic factors suggesting disease recurrence. CONCLUSIONS: A preoperative decision based on our diagnostic criteria and prognostic factors should lead to better therapeutic outcomes for Kimura disease, for which a definitive treatment policy has never been determined.", "corpus_id": 42835402 }

{ "title": "Private reliability environments for efficient fault-tolerance in CGRAs", "abstract": "In the era of platforms hosting multiple applications with variable reliability needs, worst-case platform-wide fault-tolerance decisions are neither optimal nor desirable. As a solution to this problem, designs commonly employ adaptive fault-tolerance strategies that provide each application with the reliability level actually needed. However, in the CGRA domain, the existing schemes either only allow to shift between different levels of modular redundancy (duplication, triplication, etc.) or protect only a particular region of a device (e.g. configuration memory, computation, or data memory). To complement these strategies, we propose private fault-tolerance environments which, in addition to modular redundancy, also provide low cost sub-modular (e.g. residue mod 3) redundancy capable of handling both permanent and temporary faults in configuration memory, computation, communication, and data memory. In addition, we also present adaptive configuration scrubbing techniques which prevent fault accumulation in the configuration memory. Simulation results using a few selected algorithms (FFT, matrix multiplication, and FIR filter) show that the approach proposed is capable of providing flexible protection with energy overhead ranging from 3.125 % to 107 % for different reliability levels. Synthesis results have confirmed that the proposed architecture reduces the area overhead for self-checking (58 %) and fault-tolerant (7.1 %) versions, compared to the state of the art adaptive reliability techniques.", "corpus_id": 35018805, "score": 0 }

{ "title": "AgRP Accountants Compute Caloric Cost.", "abstract": "The gut-brain communication underlying energy homeostasis has been a topic of interest for years. In two new papers, Beutler et al. (2017) and Su et al. (2017) delve into the mechanisms by which satiation is represented in a well-studied population of orexigenic neurons.", "corpus_id": 698770 }

{ "title": "Sensory Detection of Food Rapidly Modulates Arcuate Feeding Circuits", "abstract": "Hunger is controlled by specialized neural circuits that translate homeostatic needs into motivated behaviors. These circuits are under chronic control by circulating signals of nutritional state, but their rapid dynamics on the timescale of behavior remain unknown. Here, we report optical recording of the natural activity of two key cell types that control food intake, AgRP and POMC neurons, in awake behaving mice. We find unexpectedly that the sensory detection of food is sufficient to rapidly reverse the activation state of these neurons induced by energy deficit. This rapid regulation is cell-type specific, modulated by food palatability and nutritional state, and occurs before any food is consumed. These data reveal that AgRP and POMC neurons receive real-time information about the availability of food in the external world, suggesting a primary role for these neurons in controlling appetitive behaviors such as foraging that promote the discovery of food.", "corpus_id": 2124922 }

{ "title": "The Effects of Repeated Testing, Simulated Malingering, and Traumatic Brain Injury on High-Precision Measures of Simple Visual Reaction Time", "abstract": "Simple reaction time (SRT), the latency to respond to a stimulus, has been widely used as a basic measure of processing speed. In the current experiments, we examined clinically-relevant properties of a new SRT test that presents visual stimuli to the left or right hemifield at varying stimulus onset asynchronies (SOAs). Experiment 1 examined test-retest reliability in 48 participants who underwent three test sessions at weekly intervals. In the first test, log-transformed (log-SRT) z-scores, corrected for the influence of age and computer-use, were well predicted by regression functions derived from a normative population of 189 control participants. Test-retest reliability of log-SRT z-scores was measured with an intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC = 0.83) and equaled or exceeded those of other SRT tests and other widely used tests of processing speed that are administered manually. No significant learning effects were observed across test sessions. Experiment 2 investigated the same participants when instructed to malinger during a fourth testing session: 94% showed abnormal log-SRT z-scores, with 83% producing log-SRT z-scores exceeding a cutoff of 3.0, a degree of abnormality never seen in full-effort conditions. Thus, a log-SRT z-score cutoff of 3.0 had a sensitivity (83%) and specificity (100%) that equaled or exceeded that of existing symptom validity tests. We argue that even expert malingerers, fully informed of the malingering-detection metric, would be unable to successfully feign impairments on the SRT test because of the precise control of SRT latencies that would be required. Experiment 3 investigated 26 patients with traumatic brain injury (TBI) tested more than 1 year post-injury. The 22 patients with mild TBI showed insignificantly faster SRTs than controls, but a small group of four patients with severe TBI showed slowed SRTs. Simple visual reaction time is a reliable measure of processing speed that is sensitive to the effects of malingering and TBI.", "corpus_id": 14761015, "score": 1 }

{ "title": "Purification and partial characterization of an extracellular ribonuclease from a mutant of Aspergillus niger", "abstract": "A new extracellular ribonuclease (RNase) from a mutant of Aspergillus niger, named A. niger SA-13-20 RNase, was purified to homogeneity by (NH4)2SO4 fractionation (50–85%), DEAE-cellulose anion-exchange chromatography, ultrafiltration and Sephacryl HR-200 chromatography. The enzyme was purified up to 54.4-fold with a final yield of 24.5%. There were differences in the molecular weight, pI value and some physico-chemical properties between A. niger SA-13-20 RNase and that from the parent strain. The enzyme is monomeric and its molecular weight and isoelectric point were 40.1 kDa and 5.3, respectively. The N-terminal amino acid sequence of A. niger SA-13-20 RNase was TIDTYSSDSP. The optimum pH, temperature and buffer concentration for the enzymatic reaction were 3.5, 65°C, and 0.175 M, respectively. Metal ions, such as K+, NH4+, Mg2+, and Ca2+ at the concentration of 1.0 mM had a slight activation effect on the enzyme activity and (NH4)2SO4 activated the enzyme significantly. The enzyme was stable at pH lower than 8.5 and was easy to inactivate in strong alkali solution.", "corpus_id": 19252 }

{ "title": "Selection of biochemical mutants of Aspergillus niger with enhanced extracellular ribonuclease production", "abstract": "Combined with u.v. irradiation and the nitrosoguanidine method, selection of biochemical mutants resistant to metabolic inhibitors (2-deoxy-D-glucose, antimycin A, sodium orthovanadate and sodium azide) was a very efficient method for improvement of ribonuclease production by Aspergillus niger. Resistance to sodium azide produced highest RNase production, greatest frequency of positive mutation and shortest sporulation time. The most active strain, Aspergillus niger SA-13-20 resistant to sodium azide, was obtained, which had a 433% increase in RNase production in comparison with the parent strain and had good subculturing stability. Its dynamic characters were similar to those of the parent strain.", "corpus_id": 85028671 }

{ "title": "Key role of the REC lobe during CRISPR-Cas9 activation by 'sensing', 'regulating', and 'locking' the catalytic HNH domain.", "abstract": "Understanding the conformational dynamics of CRISPR (clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeat)-Cas9 is of the utmost importance for improving its genome editing capability. Here, molecular dynamics simulations performed using Anton-2 - a specialized supercomputer capturing micro-to-millisecond biophysical events in real time and at atomic-level resolution - reveal the activation process of the endonuclease Cas9 toward DNA cleavage. Over the unbiased simulation, we observe that the spontaneous approach of the catalytic domain HNH to the DNA cleavage site is accompanied by a remarkable structural remodeling of the recognition (REC) lobe, which exerts a key role for DNA cleavage. Specifically, the significant conformational changes and the collective conformational dynamics of the REC lobe indicate a mechanism by which the REC1-3 regions 'sense' nucleic acids, 'regulate' the HNH conformational transition, and ultimately 'lock' the HNH domain at the cleavage site, contributing to its catalytic competence. By integrating additional independent simulations and existing experimental data, we provide a solid validation of the activated HNH conformation, which had been so far poorly characterized, and we deliver a comprehensive understanding of the role of REC1-3 in the activation process. Considering the importance of the REC lobe in the specificity of Cas9, this study poses the basis for fully understanding how the REC components control the cleavage of off-target sequences, laying the foundation for future engineering efforts toward improved genome editing.", "corpus_id": 85517322, "score": 1 }

{ "title": "Automated identification of abnormal metaphase chromosome cells for the detection of chronic myeloid leukemia using microscopic images.", "abstract": "Karyotyping is an important process to classify chromosomes into standard classes and the results are routinely used by the clinicians to diagnose cancers and genetic diseases. However, visual karyotyping using microscopic images is time-consuming and tedious, which reduces the diagnostic efficiency and accuracy. Although many efforts have been made to develop computerized schemes for automated karyotyping, no schemes can get be performed without substantial human intervention. Instead of developing a method to classify all chromosome classes, we develop an automatic scheme to detect abnormal metaphase cells by identifying a specific class of chromosomes (class 22) and prescreen for suspicious chronic myeloid leukemia (CML). The scheme includes three steps: (1) iteratively segment randomly distributed individual chromosomes, (2) process segmented chromosomes and compute image features to identify the candidates, and (3) apply an adaptive matching template to identify chromosomes of class 22. An image data set of 451 metaphase cells extracted from bone marrow specimens of 30 positive and 30 negative cases for CML is selected to test the scheme's performance. The overall case-based classification accuracy is 93.3% (100% sensitivity and 86.7% specificity). The results demonstrate the feasibility of applying an automated scheme to detect or prescreen the suspicious cancer cases.", "corpus_id": 2414179 }

{ "title": "The transportation algorithm as an aid to chromosome classification", "abstract": "An algorithm is presented which obtains a constrained maximum likelihood classification of homogeneously stained chromosomes. Significantly improved results over a both context-free and a plausible context-driven classification are obtained. Extension to banded chromosomes and abnormal cells are discussed.", "corpus_id": 10099381 }

{ "title": "Activation of the interleukin-3 gene by chromosome translocation in acute lymphocytic leukemia with eosinophilia [see comments]", "abstract": "The t(5;14)(q31;q32) translocation from B-lineage acute lymphocytic leukemia with eosinophilia has been cloned from two leukemia samples. In both cases, this translocation joined the IgH gene and the interleukin-3 (IL-3) gene. In one patient, excess IL-3 mRNA was produced by the leukemic cells. In the second patient, serum IL-3 levels were measured and shown to correlate with disease activity. There was no evidence of excess granulocyte/macrophage colony stimulating factor (GM-CSF) or IL-5 expression. Our data support the formulation that this subtype of leukemia may arise in part because of a chromosome translocation that activates the IL-3 gene, resulting in autocrine and paracrine growth effects.", "corpus_id": 208373004, "score": 2 }

{ "title": "Scaled molecular models and sculptures", "abstract": "Atomic coordinates and computer graphics are used to compose and define input parameters to a computer program, \"SCULPT\", which generates \"G\" code for a cnc milling machine. Molecular models or sculptures are carved from a single piece of wood or, for more elaborate models of binding sites, are carved from successive planks of wood, which are then laminated. The method is briefly described and examples of recent models and sculptures are given, together with a brief overview of molecular modelling.", "corpus_id": 2828278 }

{ "title": "The matching of physical models to three-dimensional electron-density maps: a simple optical device.", "abstract": "Abstract A simple device is described which permits the optical superposition of skeleton atomic models and three-dimensional electron-density maps. The model of a globular protein can be built directly “into the map”. No measurements of coordinates are required during construction, and the quality of the fit can be assessed easily. Photographs taken with this device may be useful in presenting the interpretation of electron-density maps in a form easily evaluated by the reader.", "corpus_id": 11267551 }

{ "title": "Treatment paths and costs for young adults with acquired brain injury in the United Kingdom", "abstract": "Primary objectives: To identify the health and social care services used by young adults aged 18–25 years with acquired brain injury (ABI) and the costs of these supports. Research methods: A review of existing literature and databases and contact with academics and stakeholders working with people with ABI. Main outcomes and results: The likely care pathways of young adults with ABI were mapped over a notional 1-year period after presentation at hospital accident and emergency departments. Most young adults with ABI will use minimal health and social care support following injury but those with subsequent disabilities may cost the health and social care budget in excess of £47.2 million per year. Conclusion: Lack of available data mean the service use and cost estimates draw from a range of sources. However, the costs may under-estimate the true impact on budgets as incidence rates may be higher than identified and conservative values were selected for unit costs. The model estimates the cost of treatment and support as provided today, but high levels of unmet need remain.", "corpus_id": 43911229, "score": 0 }

{ "title": "Acetylcholinesterase and Its Inhibition in Alzheimer Disease", "abstract": "Until recently, the only established function of acetylcholinesterase (AChE) was the termination of cholinergic neurotransmission. Therefore, the use of AChE inhibitors to treat symptoms caused by cholinergic imbalances in Alzheimer disease (AD) represented a rational approach. However, it is now clear that AChE and the cholinergic system may have broader effects in AD. Of particular interest may be signal transduction pathways mediated through cholinergic receptors that promote nonamyloidogenic amyloid precursor protein processing and decrease tau phosphorylation, and the role of AChE in the aggregation of β-amyloid (Aβ) peptide. In addition, the neuronal and nonneuronal cholinergic systems have important roles in the modulation of regional cerebral blood flow. These findings may modify the overly simplistic cholinergic hypothesis in AD that is limited to symptomatic treatment and ignores the potential of cholinergic therapies as disease-modifying agents. Chronic increases in AChE activity may exacerbate neurodegenerative processes, make clinically relevant levels of AChE inhibition more difficult to achieve, and cause the therapeutic value of cholinesterase inhibitors (ChE-Is) to be limited and temporary. Rapidly reversible ChE-Is appear to increase AChE activity over the longer term whereas, remarkably, irreversible or very slowly reversible ChE-Is do not seem to have this effect. If such differences between ChE-Is are shown to have clinical correlates, this may prompt reconsideration of the rationale and expectations of some agents in the long-term management of AD.", "corpus_id": 3054540 }

{ "title": "Neuronal overexpression of ‘readthrough’ acetylcholinesterase is associated with antisense-suppressible behavioral impairments", "abstract": "Molecular origin(s) of the diverse behavioral responses to anticholinesterases were explored in behaviorally impaired transgenic (Tg) FVB/N mice expressing synaptic human acetylcholinesterase (hAChE-S). Untreated hAChE-S Tg, unlike naïve FVB/N mice, presented variably intense neuronal overexpression of the alternatively spliced, stress-induced mouse ‘readthrough’ mAChE-R mRNA. Both strains displayed similar diurnal patterns of locomotor activity that were impaired 3 days after a day-to-night switch. However, hAChE-S Tg, but not FVB/N mice responded to the circadian switch with irregular, diverse bursts of increased locomotor activity. In social recognition tests, controls displayed short-term recognition, reflected by decreased exploration of a familiar, compared to a novel juvenile conspecific as well as inverse correlation between social recognition and cortical and hippocampal AChE specific activities. In contrast, transgenics presented poor recognition, retrievable by tetrahydroaminoacridine (tacrine, 1.5 mg kg−1). Tacrine's effect was short-lived (<40 min), suggesting its effect was overcome by anticholinesterase-induced overproduction of mache-r. consistent with this hypothesis, antisense oligonucleotides (two daily intracerebroventricular injections of 25 ng) arrested mache-r synthesis, selectively reduced mache-r levels and afforded an extended (>24 h) suppression of the abnormal social recognition pattern in transgenics. Efficacy of antisense treatment was directly correlated with AChE-R levels and the severity of the impaired phenotype, being most apparent in transgenics presenting highly abnormal pre-treatment behavior. These findings demonstrate that neuronal AChE-R overproduction is involved in various behavioral impairments and anticholinesterase responses, and point to the antisense strategy as a potential approach for re-establishing cholinergic balance.", "corpus_id": 9644094 }

{ "title": "Oxidative turnover of auxins in relation to the onset of ripening in bartlett pear.", "abstract": "Pears (Pyrus communis var. Bartlett) kept in 100% O(2) showed an increase in the rate of softening, chlorophyll degradation, and ethylene evolution. The O(2) application could overcome, in part, the inhibition of ripening by 1 mm indoleacetic acid. Ripening of pears was also accelerated by the application of solutions containing indoleacetic acid-oxidation products, obtained by an overnight incubation of 0.1 and 1 mm indoleacetic acid with traces of H(2)O(2) and horseradish peroxidase. Although both treatments stimulated ethylene evolution, the promotion of ripening could not be attributed to an indirect ethylene effect. Indoleacetic acid oxidation products obtained in vivo by high O(2) tensions or in vitro by enzymatic degradation may function in the promotion of fruit ripening and the synthesis of ethylene.", "corpus_id": 38633815, "score": 0 }

{ "title": "Indoor location detection with a RSS-based short term memory technique (KNN-STM)", "abstract": "The interaction between devices and users has changed dramatically with the advances in mobile technologies. User friendly devices and services are offered by utilizing smart sensing capabilities and using context, location and motion sensor data. However, indoor location sensing is mostly achieved by measuring radio signal (WiFi, Bluetooth, GSM etc.) strength and nearest neighbor identification. The algorithm that is most commonly used for Received Signal Strength (RSS) based location detection is the K Nearest Neighbor (KNN). KNN algorithm identifies an estimate location using the K nearest neighboring points. Accordingly, in this paper, we aim to improve the KNN algorithm by integrating a short term memory (STM) where past signal strength readings are stored. Considering the limited movement capabilities of a mobile user in an indoor environment, user's previous locations can be taken into consideration to derive his/her current position. Hence, in the proposed approach, the signal strength readings are refined with the historical data prior to comparison with the environment's radio map. Our evaluation results indicate that the performance of enhanced KNN outperforms KNN algorithm.", "corpus_id": 16364490 }

{ "title": "A Probabilistic Room Location Service for Wireless Networked Environments", "abstract": "The popularity of wireless networks has increased in recent years and is becoming a common addition to LANs. In this paper we investigate a novel use for a wireless network based on the IEEE 802.11 standard: inferring the location of a wireless client from signal quality measures. Similar work has been limited to prototype systems that rely on nearest-neighbor techniques to infer location. In this paper, we describe Nibble, a Wi-Fi location service that uses Bayesian networks to infer the location of a device. We explain the general theory behind the system and how to use the system, along with describing our experiences at a university campus building and at a research lab. We also discuss how probabilistic modeling can be applied to a diverse range of applications that use sensor data.", "corpus_id": 15486156 }

{ "title": "A Simplified Quaternion-Based Algorithm for Orientation Estimation From Earth Gravity and Magnetic Field Measurements", "abstract": "Orientation of a static or slow-moving rigid body can be determined from the measured gravity and local magnetic field vectors. Some formulation of the QUaternion ESTimator (QUEST) algorithm is commonly used to solve this problem. Triads of accelerometers and magnetometers are used to measure gravity and local magnetic field vectors in sensor coordinates. In the QUEST algorithm, local magnetic field measurements affect not only the estimation of yaw but also that of roll and pitch. Due to the deviations in the direction of the magnetic field vector between locations, it is not desirable to use magnetic data in calculations that are related to the determination of roll and pitch. This paper presents a geometrically intuitive 3-degree-of-freedom (3-DOF) orientation estimation algorithm with physical meaning [which is called the factored quaternion algorithm (FQA)], which restricts the use of magnetic data to the determination of the rotation about the vertical axis. The algorithm produces a quaternion output to represent the orientation. Through a derivation based on half-angle formulas and due to the use of quaternions, the computational cost of evaluating trigonometric functions is avoided. Experimental results demonstrate that the proposed algorithm has an overall accuracy that is essentially identical to that of the QUEST algorithm and is computationally more efficient. Additionally, magnetic variations cause only azimuth errors in FQA attitude estimation. A singularity avoidance method is introduced, which allows the algorithm to track through all orientations.", "corpus_id": 15571138, "score": -1 }

{ "title": "The Year in Review: The Surgical Treatment of Valvular Disease—2011", "abstract": "Abstract  This review highlights important advances in techniques, guidelines, outcomes and innovations in valve surgery during 2011. (J Card Surg 2012;27:493‐510)", "corpus_id": 949781 }

{ "title": "Transcatheter aortic valve implantation in patients with severe aortic stenosis and small aortic annulus.", "abstract": "OBJECTIVES\nValve hemodynamics and clinical outcomes among patients with a small aortic annulus who underwent transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) were examined.\n\n\nBACKGROUND\nThe presence of a small aortic annulus may complicate the surgical management of patients with severe aortic stenosis (AS). TAVI is an alternative to aortic valve replacement (AVR) in high-risk patients, but few data exist on the results of TAVI in patients with a small aortic annulus.\n\n\nMETHODS\nBetween 2007 and 2010, 35 patients (mean age 79.2 ± 9.4 years) with severe AS and an aortic annulus diameter <20 mm (mean 18.5 ± 0.9 mm) underwent TAVI with a 23-mm Edwards SAPIEN bioprosthesis (Edwards Lifesciences, Inc., Irvine, California). Echocardiographic parameters and clinical outcomes were assessed prior to discharge and at 6, 12, and 24 months.\n\n\nRESULTS\nProcedural success was achieved in 34 patients (97.1%). There was 1 in-hospital death. Peak and mean transaortic gradients decreased from 76.3 ± 33.0 mm Hg and 45.2 ± 20.6 mm Hg at baseline to 21.8 ± 8.4 mm Hg and 11.7 ± 4.8 mm Hg post-procedure, respectively, both p < 0.0001. Mean indexed effective orifice area (IEOA) increased from 0.35 ± 0.10 cm(2)/m(2) at baseline to 0.90 ± 0.18 cm(2)/m(2) post-procedure, p < 0.0001. Severe prosthesis-patient mismatch (IEOA <0.65 cm(2)/m(2)) occurred in 2 patients (5.9%). At a mean follow-up of 14 ± 11 months, gradients remained low and 30 of the 31 remaining survivors were in New York Heart Association functional class I or II.\n\n\nCONCLUSIONS\nIn high-risk patients with severe AS and a small aortic annulus, TAVI is associated with good post-procedural valve hemodynamics and clinical outcomes. TAVI may provide a reasonable alternative to conventional AVR in elderly patients with a small aortic annulus.", "corpus_id": 1900855 }

{ "title": "[Isolation and identification of Cryptosporidium from various animals in Korea. I. Prevalence of Cryptosporidium in various animals].", "abstract": "Cryptosporidium, a coccidian protozoa, commonly causes a self-limiting diarrheal illness in humans and animals. Fecal samples from various animals in Chonbuk district were observed using Sheather's flotation technique, Kinyoun's modified acid-fast staining, and osmic acid pre-fixed Giemsa staining. The oocysts were detected in 74 cages (29.6%) out of 250 cages of mature mice, 26 (13.3%) out of 195 mature house rats, 75(15.0%) out of 4-week-old 500 fowls, 98(19.9%) out of 6 to 8-month-old 500 pigs, and 111(22.2%) out of 2 to 5-year-old 500 dairy cattle, respectively. The degree of prevalence was slight in general, but actual prevalence was higher than infection rate because the detection rates were higher in repeated-preparation examinations in comparison to the first examination. Meanwhile, large and small types of oocysts were detected from mice, house rats, pigs, and cattle, and medium type from fowls.", "corpus_id": 37500831, "score": 0 }

{ "title": "Annual World Bank Conference on development in Latin America and the Caribbean 1999: decentralization and accountability of the public sector. Proceedings of a Conference held in Valdivia, Chile, 20-22 June, 1999.", "abstract": "entity. They believe it would benefit the country and, thus—an unwarranted deduction—they would be better off. Soon after a concrete proposal is put forth, many realize that, though reform will bring a net gain to society, they will be among the losers. Opposition—not to the abstract reform but to any concrete proposal—always arises. Collectively, economic agents prefer gradual to sudden changes and tax improvements to replacements (as per the saying “good taxes are old taxes”), for they fear deeper reforms may, 353 L O C A L F I N A N C I N G A N D M A N A G E M E N T C A P A C I T Y 05-Part4 5/11/00 12:18 PM Page 353 PortCityPress", "corpus_id": 153100527 }

{ "title": "The Politics of Health and Education Reforms: Themes from Latin American Experience", "abstract": "In varying degrees, education and health services in Latin America at the beginning of the l990s faced tremendous problems. Coverage and quality of primary and secondary education and of health care were extremely unequal between city and countryside, wealthy and poor regions, and rich versus poor within each region. In most countries, administration of social services was extremely centralized and highly inefficient. Funding was strongly biased toward universities and hospitals, while preventive health programs, primary care clinics, and primary schools were starved for funds. Improvements would require not only increased resources, but also far-reaching changes in organization, administration, financing mechanisms, and incentive systems – that is, structural reforms. Throughout the world, in rich as well as poorer countries, structural reforms in education and health pose formidable political problems. This paper focuses on the politics of reforming education and health sectors in Latin America, from the early l990s to the present day. The paper draws on many sources, but primarily on a recently completed collegial research project sponsored by the Woodrow Wilson Center of the Smithsonian Institution. The project commissioned six country case studies in each of the two sectors. Both education and health sectors were analyzed for Argentina, Brazil, Colombia and Mexico. In addition, the project studied education reforms in Nicaragua and Venezuela, and health sector reforms in Costa Rica and Peru. These twelve sector studies provided the basis for comparative discussions for each sector, and a broader analysis of dynamic patterns common to both sectors. 1", "corpus_id": 54868837 }

{ "title": "Ethical Challenges Posed by Cluster Randomization", "abstract": "The purpose of this article is to discuss the ethical challenges posed by cluster randomized trials, which is done by revisiting the development of ethical guidelines that have been largely developed in the context of individually randomized clinical trials. A recurring theme underlying the article is that the relative absence of ethical guidelines for cluster randomized trials appears to have created a research environment in which the choice of randomization unit may determine whether informed consent is deemed necessary before random assignment. It seems questionable, on both an ethical level and a methodological level, whether the unit of randomization should play such a critical role in obtaining informed consent. Editors should require all reports of randomized trials to include mention of Institutional Review Board (IRB) approval and to discuss subject consent. For cluster randomized trials, however, additional discussion of procedures used to obtain informed consent is warranted. \n \n \nKeywords: \n \ncluster randomization; \nCONSORT ; \nCIOMS ; \ngroup randomization; \nhelsinki declaration; \ninformed consent; \ninstitutional review board; \nIRB", "corpus_id": 56556747, "score": 1 }

{ "title": "Accuracy of the references in JIAPS", "abstract": "All the 114 references in the articles published in the January–March 2008 issue of JIAPS were listed. An attempt was made to verify the references from the original articles or from the internet sources available. A total of 106 (91%) references could be checked. References from the text books and other publications (n = 8) could not be verified, which included one reference from a journal due to nonavailability.", "corpus_id": 1892377 }

{ "title": "The accuracy of references in paediatric journals", "abstract": "We analysed the reference error rate of four paediatric journals. The overall rate was 29.7%. Individual rates were as follows: Acta Paediatr 36%,Arch Dis Child 22%, J Pediatr 29%, Pediatrics 32%; the rate of major errors was 1%, 1%, 2%, and 4%, respectively.", "corpus_id": 27694545 }

{ "title": "Clinical Evaluation of Bone Strength and Fracture Risk", "abstract": "Purpose of ReviewThis paper seeks to evaluate and compare recent advances in the clinical assessment of the changes in bone mechanical properties that take place as a result of osteoporosis and other metabolic bone diseases and their treatments.Recent FindingsIn addition to the standard of DXA-based areal bone mineral density (aBMD), a variety of methods, including imaging-based structural measurements, finite element analysis (FEA)-based techniques, and alternate methods including ultrasound, bone biopsy, reference point indentation, and statistical shape and density modeling, have been developed which allow for reliable prediction of bone strength and fracture risk. These methods have also shown promise in the evaluation of treatment-induced changes in bone mechanical properties.SummaryContinued technological advances allowing for increasingly high-resolution imaging with low radiation dose, together with the expanding adoption of DXA-based predictions of bone structure and mechanics, as well as the increasing awareness of the importance of bone material properties in determining whole-bone mechanics, lead us to anticipate substantial future advances in this field.", "corpus_id": 2136420, "score": 1 }

{ "title": "Bodily maps of emotions across child development.", "abstract": "Different basic emotions (anger, fear, disgust, happiness, sadness, and surprise) are consistently associated with distinct bodily sensation maps, which may underlie subjectively felt emotions. Here we investigated the development of bodily sensations associated with basic emotions in 6- to 17-year-old children and adolescents (n = 331). Children as young as 6 years of age associated statistically discernible, discrete patterns of bodily sensations with happiness, fear, and surprise, as well as with emotional neutrality. The bodily sensation maps changed from less to more specific, adult-like patterns as a function of age. We conclude that emotion-related bodily sensations become increasingly discrete over child development. Developing awareness of their emotion-related bodily sensations may shape the way children perceive, label, and interpret emotions.", "corpus_id": 3899023 }

{ "title": "Affective influences on startle in five-month-old infants: reactions to facial expressions of emotions.", "abstract": "Convergent methodologies from studies of fear-potentiated startle in animals and studies of affective modulation of reflex blinks in humans were adapted in order to investigate infants' sensitivity to affective information conveyed by facial expressions of emotion. While 5-month-old infants viewed photographic slides of faces posed in happy, neutral, or angry expressions, a brief acoustic noise burst was presented to elicit the blink component of human startle. Blink size was augmented during the viewing of angry expressions and reduced during happy expressions. Infants did not show marked changes in behavioral reactions to the positive, neutral, and negative slides, although motor activity was slightly reduced during negative slides. Results suggest that, by 5 months, infants react to affective information conveyed by unfamiliar human faces. Potential mechanisms mediating the influence of affective stimuli on reflex excitability are considered.", "corpus_id": 44740175 }

{ "title": "Eye-movement assessment of the time course in facial expression recognition: Neurophysiological implications", "abstract": "Happy, surprised, disgusted, angry, sad, fearful, and neutral faces were presented extrafoveally, with fixations on faces allowed or not. The faces were preceded by a cue word that designated the face to be saccaded in a two-alternative forced-choice discrimination task (2AFC; Experiments 1 and 2), or were followed by a probe word for recognition (Experiment 3). Eye tracking was used to decompose the recognition process into stages. Relative to the other expressions, happy faces (1) were identified faster (as early as 160 msec from stimulus onset) in extrafoveal vision, as revealed by shorter saccade latencies in the 2AFC task; (2) required less encoding effort, as indexed by shorter first fixations and dwell times; and (3) required less decision-making effort, as indicated by fewer refixations on the face after the recognition probe was presented. This reveals a happy-face identification advantage both prior to and during overt attentional processing. The results are discussed in relation to prior neurophysiological findings on latencies in facial expression recognition.", "corpus_id": 22986410, "score": 2 }

{ "title": "Design and implementation of a low-cost Arduino-based smart home system", "abstract": "A smart home is the residential extension of building automation. It initially involved the control and automation of systems that ensure human comfort such as lighting, heating, ventilation, air conditioning and security. Recently, it has evolved to encompass most home appliances that use Wi-Fi for remote monitoring. Technological progress has enhanced the ubiquity of smart home systems resulting in improved standards of living. Commercial home automation systems are still unaffordable to a vast majority of the middle and lower class families. However, the emergence of cheap microcontrollers, like the Arduino, has enabled the implementation of low-cost smart home systems, incorporating the majority of features present in commercial systems. In this paper, we present a highly scalable, low-cost and multi-faceted home automation system based on Arduino microcontroller that is capable of integrating appliance and equipment automation, thermal comfort control and energy management.", "corpus_id": 24694842 }

{ "title": "Bluetooth Remote Home Automation System Using Android Application", "abstract": "This paper presents the overall design of Home Automation System (HAS) with low cost and wireless remote control. This system is designed to assist and provide support in order to fulfill the needs of elderly and disabled in home. Also, the smart home concept in the system improves the standard living at home. The main control system implements wireless Bluetooth technology to provide remote access from PC/laptop or smart phone. The design remains the existing electrical switches and provides more safety control on the switches with low voltage activating method. The switches status is synchronized in all the control system whereby every user interface indicates the real time existing switches status. The system intended to control electrical appliances and devices in house with relatively low cost design, user-friendly interface and ease of installation.", "corpus_id": 10022592 }

{ "title": "A systematic review of security requirements engineering", "abstract": "One of the most important aspects in the achievement of secure software systems in the software development process is what is known as Security Requirements Engineering. However, very few reviews focus on this theme in a systematic, thorough and unbiased manner, that is, none of them perform a systematic review of security requirements engineering, and there is not, therefore, a sufficiently good context in which to operate. In this paper we carry out a systematic review of the existing literature concerning security requirements engineering in order to summarize the evidence regarding this issue and to provide a framework/background in which to appropriately position new research activities.", "corpus_id": 3631487, "score": -1 }

{ "title": "Evaluation of seismic performance of pile-supported models in liquefiable soils", "abstract": "The seismic performance of four pile-supported models is studied for two conditions: (i) transient to full liquefaction condition i.e. the phase when excess pore pressure gradually increases during the shaking; (ii) full liquefaction condition i.e. defined as the state where the seismically-induced excess pore pressure equalises to the overburden stress. The paper describes two complementary analyses consisting of an experimental investigation carried out at normal gravity on a shaking table and a simplified numerical analysis, whereby the soil-structure interaction (SSI) is modelled through non-linear Winkler springs (commonly known as p-y curves). The effects of liquefaction on the SSI are taken into account by reducing strength and stiffness of the non-liquefied p-y curves by a factor widely known as p-multiplier and by using a new set of p-y curves. The seismic performance of each of the four models is evaluated by considering two different criteria: (i) strength criterion expressed in terms of bending moment envelopes along the piles; (ii) damage criterion expressed in terms of maximum global displacement. Comparison between experimental results and numerical predictions shows that the proposed p-y curves have the advantage of better predicting the redistribution of bending moments at deeper elevations as the soil liquefies. Furthermore, the proposed method predicts with reasonable accuracy the displacement demand exhibited by the models at the full liquefaction condition. However, disparities between computed and experimental maximum bending moments (in both transient and full liquefaction conditions) and displacement demands (during transient to liquefaction condition) highlight the need for further studies.", "corpus_id": 36437355 }

{ "title": "Nonlinear Static Procedure for Fragility Curve Development", "abstract": "This study examines the fragility curves of a bridge by two different analytical approaches; one utilizes the time-history analysis and the other uses the capacity spectrum method. The latter approach is one of the simplified nonlinear static procedures recently developed for buildings. In this respect, a sample of 10 nominally identical but statistically different bridges and 80 ground-motion time histories are considered to account for the uncertainties related to the structural capacity and ground motion, respectively. The comparison of fragility curves by the nonlinear static procedure with those by time-history analysis indicates that the agreement is excellent for the state of at least minor damage, but not as good for the state of major damage where nonlinear effects clearly play a crucial role. Overall, however, the agreement is adequate even in the state of major damage considering the large number of typical assumptions under which the analyses of fragility characteristics are performed.", "corpus_id": 17087827 }

{ "title": "Indexing multi-dimensional time-series with support for multiple distance measures", "abstract": "Although most time-series data mining research has concentrated on providing solutions for a single distance function, in this work we motivate the need for a single index structure that can support multiple distance measures. Our specific area of interest is the efficient retrieval and analysis of trajectory similarities. Trajectory datasets are very common in environmental applications, mobility experiments, video surveillance and are especially important for the discovery of certain biological patterns. Our primary similarity measure is based on the Longest Common Subsequence (LCSS) model, that offers enhanced robustness, particularly for noisy data, which are encountered very often in real world applications. However, our index is able to accommodate other distance measures as well, including the ubiquitous Euclidean distance, and the increasingly popular Dynamic Time Warping (DTW). While other researchers have advocated one or other of these similarity measures, a major contribution of our work is the ability to support all these measures without the need to restructure the index. Our framework guarantees no false dismissals and can also be tailored to provide much faster response time at the expense of slightly reduced precision/recall. The experimental results demonstrate that our index can help speed-up the computation of expensive similarity measures such as the LCSS and the DTW.", "corpus_id": 1329726, "score": -1 }

{ "title": "Effects of long-term hormone therapy on cholinergic synaptic concentrations in healthy postmenopausal women.", "abstract": "Experimental evidence suggests that gonadal steroids regulate brain neurochemical systems associated with cognitive function, such as the cholinergic system. This study examines the effect of long-term postmenopausal hormone therapy on the brain concentrations of cholinergic synaptic terminals in women using single photon emission computed tomography and the radiotracer [(123)I]iodobenzovesamicol ([(123)I]IBVM). [(123)I]IBVM labels the vesicular acetylcholine transporter (VAChT) located in the presynaptic terminals of these neurons. Sixteen healthy women treated with hormone therapy since the menopause and 12 women not treated with hormones were studied. There were no significant differences in regional IBVM binding indexes between the 2 groups. The length of hormone replacement therapy correlated positively with VAChT binding indexes in multiple cortical areas (P < 0.05): frontal cortex (Spearman rank correlation: rho = 0.79), parietal cortex (rho = 0.62), temporal cortex (rho = 0.80), anterior cingulate (rho = 0.71), and posterior cingulate (rho = 0.63), but not in the basal ganglia (rho = 0.35; P = 0.2). An earlier onset of menopause in hormone-treated women was associated with higher VAChT indexes in the anterior cingulate (rho = -0.56; P = 0.02) and posterior cingulate (rho = -0.63; P = 0.01). The opposite was found in the posterior cingulate of women not treated with hormones (rho = 0.58; P = 0.04). Women treated with estrogen alone also showed higher VAChT indexes than women treated with estrogen and progestin in the posterior cingulate cortex (by Mann-Whitney U test: z = 2.42; P = 0.015). Although an overall effect of postmenopausal hormone therapy was not found, associations between an index of cortical cholinergic terminal concentrations and the length of hormonal replacement suggest that hormone therapy may influence the survival or plasticity of these cells in postmenopausal women. The data also suggest possible differential effects of estrogen and estrogen with progestin treatments in brain areas critical for cognitive processing.", "corpus_id": 778477 }

{ "title": "Interactions between age, sex, and hormones in experimental ischemic stroke", "abstract": "Age, sex, and gonadal hormones have profound effects on ischemic stroke outcomes, although how these factors impact basic stroke pathophysiology remains unclear. There is a plethora of inconsistent data reported throughout the literature, primarily due to differences in the species examined, the timing and methods used to evaluate injury, the models used, and confusion regarding differences in stroke incidence as seen in clinical populations vs. effects on acute neuroprotection or neurorepair in experimental stroke models. Sex and gonadal hormone exposure have considerable independent impact on stroke outcome, but these factors also interact with each other, and the contribution of each differs throughout the lifespan. The contribution of sex and hormones to experimental stroke will be the focus of this review. Recent advances and our current understanding of age, sex, and hormone interactions in ischemic stroke with a focus on inflammation will be discussed.", "corpus_id": 290447 }

{ "title": "The critical role of the central nervous system (pro)renin receptor in regulating systemic blood pressure.", "abstract": "The systemic renin-angiotensin system (RAS) has long been recognized as a critically important system in blood pressure (BP) regulation. However, extensive evidence has shown that a majority of RAS components are also present in many tissues and play indispensable roles in BP regulation. Here, we review evidence that RAS components, notably including the newly identified (pro)renin receptor (PRR), are present in the brain and are essential for the central regulation of BP. Binding of the PRR to its ligand, prorenin or renin, increases BP and promotes progression of cardiovascular diseases in an angiotensin II-dependent and -independent manner, establishing the PRR a promising antihypertensive drug target. We also review the existing PRR blockers, including handle region peptide and PRO20, and propose a rationale for blocking prorenin/PRR activation as a therapeutic approach that does not affect the actions of the PRR in vacuolar H(+)-ATPase and development. Finally, we summarize categories of currently available antihypertensive drugs and consider future perspectives.", "corpus_id": 4578448, "score": 1 }

{ "title": "Small, brief foveal stimuli: an additivity experiment.", "abstract": "In an additivity experiment, increment thresholds were determined for 510 and 660 nm and for 470 and 570 nm. These thresholds were determined for each wavelength separately and for the wavelengths of each pair mixed. These measurements were made against a 1000-Td white background using fields subtending 0.16 degrees and 1.04 degrees visual angles and at 10- and 200-msec durations. For most conditions with the 510- and 660-nm pair, additivity of the reduction type was obtained. Generally, the larger field and longer duration produced larger additivity failures than the smaller field and shorter duration. For the 470- and 570-nm pair, two of the three observers showed additivity for the 0.16 degrees field in both the long- and the short-duration conditions. The larger field with longer durations yielded additivity failure for the three observers, but these failures were smaller than for the 510- and 660-nm pair.", "corpus_id": 2680098 }

{ "title": "The effects of peripheral flicker on foveal spectral sensitivity", "abstract": "A flickering surround reduced sensitivity to large, briefly flashed monochromatic stimuli superimposed on a steady white background, compared to sensitivity measured when the surround was steady. The flickering surround had no effect on stimuli that were large and of long duration or small in size. Increasing the diameter of the background reduced the magnitude of the effect, but did not eliminate it.", "corpus_id": 702154 }

{ "title": "Improved Learning a Coincident Timing Task With a Predictable Resisting Force.", "abstract": "The present study analyzes the learning in a coincident timing task with force perturbation. We aimed to verify whether a predictable load (constant spring) applied to hand movements could facilitate learning and, thus, performance improvement with respect to movements without any external load and an unpredictable load to perform a coincident timing task with a few number of repetitions (n = 28) under acquisition and transfer phases. The results showed that the group with a predictable load had a significant better performance with lower percentage of errors and smaller time variance in the acquisition and transfer phase. The groups with no load and unpredictable load had a similar performance in the transfer phase. It can be concluded that adding a predictable force to the coincident timing task results in performance improvement. Therefore, learning to reach a target at a correct time could be improved with the application of predictable external loads.", "corpus_id": 4034917, "score": 0 }

{ "title": "A single amino acid residue of RNA-dependent RNA polymerase in the Potato virus X genome determines the symptoms in Nicotiana plants.", "abstract": "A Potato virus X (PVX) strain, PVX-OS, causes a necrotic mosaic in Nicotiana benthamiana and ring spot mosaic in N. tabacum cv. SamsunNN. By contrast, strain PVX-BS causes a mild mosaic in N. benthamiana and systemic asymptomatic infection in N. tabacum cv. SamsunNN. To investigate the viral determinant of this difference, we produced various infectious cDNA clones chimeric between these PVX genomes and clones with point mutations introduced by site-directed mutagenesis. Inoculation tests with these clones mapped the symptom determinant in Nicotiana plants to the 1422 amino acid residue in the region of the C-terminus of RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (RdRp). Western blot analysis and local lesion assay indicated that virus accumulation in the infected leaves was similar for these PVX strains, suggesting that the symptom difference was not due to virus accumulation.", "corpus_id": 605045 }

{ "title": "A strain-specific segment of the RNA-dependent RNA polymerase of grapevine fanleaf virus determines symptoms in Nicotiana species.", "abstract": "Factors involved in symptom expression of viruses from the genus Nepovirus in the family Secoviridae such as grapevine fanleaf virus (GFLV) are poorly characterized. To identify symptom determinants encoded by GFLV, infectious cDNA clones of RNA1 and RNA2 of strain GHu were developed and used alongside existing infectious cDNA clones of strain F13 in a reverse genetics approach. In vitro transcripts of homologous combinations of RNA1 and RNA2 induced systemic infection in Nicotiana benthamiana and Nicotiana clevelandii with identical phenotypes to WT virus strains, i.e. vein clearing and chlorotic spots on N. benthamiana and N. clevelandii for GHu, respectively, and lack of symptoms on both hosts for F13. The use of assorted transcripts mapped symptom determinants on RNA1 of GFLV strain GHu, in particular within the distal 408 nt of the RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (1E(Pol)), as shown by RNA1 transcripts for which coding regions or fragments derived thereof were swapped. Semi-quantitative analyses indicated no significant differences in virus titre between symptomatic and asymptomatic plants infected with various recombinants. Also, unlike the nepovirus tomato ringspot virus, no apparent proteolytic cleavage of GFLV protein 1E(Pol) was detected upon virus infection or transient expression in N. benthamiana. In addition, GFLV protein 1E(Pol) failed to suppress silencing of EGFP in transgenic N. benthamiana expressing EGFP or to enhance GFP expression in patch assays in WT N. benthamiana. Together, our results suggest the existence of strain-specific functional domains, including a symptom determinant module, on the RNA-dependent RNA polymerase of GFLV.", "corpus_id": 11892324 }

{ "title": "Recombinant dengue type 1 virus NS5 protein expressed in Escherichia coli exhibits RNA-dependent RNA polymerase activity.", "abstract": "The complete nonstructural NS5 gene of dengue type 1 virus, Singapore strain S275/90 (D1-S275/90) was expressed in Escherichia coli as a glutathione S-transferase (GST) fusion protein (126 kDa). The GST-NS5 fusion protein was purified and the recombinant NS5 protein released from the fusion protein by thrombin cleavage. The recombinant NS5 had a predicted molecular weight of 100 kDa and reacted with antiserum against D1-S275/90 virus in Western blot analysis. The purified recombinant NS5 protein possessed RNA-dependent RNA polymerase activity which was inhibited (>99%) by antibodies against the recombinant NS5 protein. The polymerase product was shown to be a negative-stranded RNA molecule, of template size, which forms a double-stranded complex with the template RNA.", "corpus_id": 13361505, "score": 2 }

{ "title": "3 D models of proximity effects in large FeSi and FeMn furnaces by", "abstract": "required power is supplied by alternating electrical currents (AC). These currents produce electromagnetic fields that induce eddy currents in the conductive materials in the furnace. Two effects can be identified, depending on whether the eddy currents are induced in the conductor itself or in a nearby one: the skin effect, which causes the currents to accumulate near the surface of conductors, and the proximity effect, which induces currents in surrounding conductors (Lupi, 2017). The induced eddy currents can have a high intensity and effectively modify the current distribution. For metal-producing furnaces, the skin and proximity effects have typically been studied in electrodes. Many studies include only one electrode – a strong simplification considering that there are several interacting electrodes in the furnace. Furthermore, models often assume axial symmetry, such that the calculations can be projected to the twodimensional (2D) radial cross-section of the electrode (Larsen, Feldborg, and Halvorsen, 2013; Innvær, Fidje, and Ugland, 1986; Innvær and Olsen, 1980; Innvær, Olsen, and Vatland, 1984; Halvorsen, Valderhaug, and Fors, 1999; Bermúdez et al., 2003; Bermúdez, Bullón, and Pena, 1998; Gunnewiek et al., 2004). The axisymmetric assumption simplifies and speeds up calculations, particularly when more complex situations such as thermoelectric or thermomechanical models are considered. Axisymmetric models will capture the skin effect, given that the AC formulation is used, but they will not capture proximity effects between electrodes. In addition to the axisymmetric models, 3D single-electrode models have been investigated numerically, both for Søderberg and composite ELSA electrodes (McDougall et al., 2004; Innvær, Fidje, and Sira, 1985; Meyjes, Venter, and van Rooyen, 2010; Bermúdez, Rodriguez, and Salgado, 2005; Jonsson and Ingason, 1998). These models typically focus on the electrical, thermal, and mechanical conditions in, and close to, the baking zone. There have also been several publications that focus on capturing the proximity effect between the electrodes in industrial furnaces. Analytical calculations of the skin and proximity effects have been performed in 2D horizontal cross-sections with the typical triangular electrode configuration with a phase shift between the electrodes (Dunski, 1962; Böchmann and Olsen, 1968; Hot, Haznadar, and Majer, 1980). Also, numerical case studies have been published, both in 2D (Larsen, 2006; Bermúdez et al., 1999), and in 3D (Bermúdez, Rodriguez, and Salgado, 2005; McDougall, 2007). The results for the current density in the electrodes capture the asymmetric current distribution that arises when proximity effects are considered. 3D models of proximity effects in large FeSi and FeMn furnaces", "corpus_id": 160034891 }

{ "title": "Electric Slag Furnace Dimensioning", "abstract": "Electric furnaces containing high quantities of slag are applied in many areas of pyrometallurgy, often for smelting or slag cleaning. A variety of ratios or rules of thumb have been employed in the industry for the dimensioning of these vessels, in most cases with no clear technical basis. In this paper, several design guidelines are presented (electrode size, spacing, vessel dimensions, energy intensity, etc.) as an attempt to provide some technical basis for optimal dimensioning. Furnace heat generation is related to side wall copper cooler heat losses, in an attempt to establish a methodical design strategy particularly for minimum electrode to wall spacing for modern furnaces with cooled linings. Issues regarding the true nature of heat production in a slag furnace are discussed with regards to the possible impact on accurate modeling and design.", "corpus_id": 137152761 }

{ "title": "Structural and Optical Properties of Two-Step Dip-Coated CH3NH3PbI3 Films Based on Underlying Dip-Coated PbI2 Films", "abstract": "Thin films of methylammonium lead iodide (MAPbI3) were deposited on glass slides under various preparation conditions by a two-step dip-coating method, using dip-coated lead iodide (PbI2) thin films as the underlying layer. The dip-coating method used involved immersion of a slowly rotating substrate in the required solution. The PbI2 film was immersed into methylammonium iodide (MAI) solution in 2-propanol for 10–60 min. The MAPbI3 films were thermally annealed at 85 °C for 10–30 min. Fundamental properties of the annealed MAPbI3 films were studied by x-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and ultraviolet-visible spectrophotometry. The XRD patterns and SEM micrographs revealed single tetragonal-phase structure, with diffraction peaks became intense and narrow with increasing dipping times and upon thermal annealing. Transmittance spectra of these MAPbI3 film/glass systems declined steeply near 780nm\\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \\usepackage{amsmath} \\usepackage{wasysym} \\usepackage{amsfonts} \\usepackage{amssymb} \\usepackage{amsbsy} \\usepackage{mathrsfs} \\usepackage{upgreek} \\setlength{\\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \\begin{document}$$780\\mathrm{ nm}$$\\end{document}, equivalent to a bandgap energy of 1.55eV\\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \\usepackage{amsmath} \\usepackage{wasysym} \\usepackage{amsfonts} \\usepackage{amssymb} \\usepackage{amsbsy} \\usepackage{mathrsfs} \\usepackage{upgreek} \\setlength{\\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \\begin{document}$$1.55\\mathrm{ eV}$$\\end{document}, assigned to the MAPbI3 with optical absorption coefficient of 105cm-1\\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \\usepackage{amsmath} \\usepackage{wasysym} \\usepackage{amsfonts} \\usepackage{amssymb} \\usepackage{amsbsy} \\usepackage{mathrsfs} \\usepackage{upgreek} \\setlength{\\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \\begin{document}$${10}^{5} {\\mathrm{cm}}^{-1}$$\\end{document}.", "corpus_id": 248436312, "score": 1 }

{ "title": "Fatal human disease from vervet monkeys.", "abstract": "Abstract About thirty cases of acute illness, with 7 deaths, presented in laboratory workers handling tissues from vervet monkeys imported from East Africa. Both blood and tissues from these patients proved infective to guineapigs and the agent has been maintained in nine serial passages in these animals. The most striking pathological changes were found in guineapig livers where intracytoplasmic bodies resembling rickettsias or psittacosis-lymphogranuloma-group viruses were invariably present. These bodies stained purple-red with Giemsa and red with Machiavello stains.", "corpus_id": 1758598 }

{ "title": "Small Animal Models for Studying Filovirus Pathogenesis.", "abstract": "Filovirus small animal disease models have so far been developed in laboratory mice, guinea pigs, and hamsters. Since immunocompetent rodents do not exhibit overt signs of disease following infection with wild-type filoviruses isolated from humans, rodent models have been established using adapted viruses produced through sequential passage in rodents. Rodent-adapted viruses target the same cells/tissues as the wild-type viruses, making rodents invaluable basic research tools for studying filovirus pathogenesis. Moreover, comparative analyses using wild-type and rodent-adapted viruses have provided beneficial insights into the molecular mechanisms of pathogenicity and acquisition of species-specific virulence. Additionally, wild-type filovirus infections in immunodeficient rodents have provided a better understanding of the host factors required for resistance to filovirus infection and of the immune response against the infection. This chapter provides comprehensive information on the filovirus rodent models and rodent-adapted filoviruses. Specifically, we summarize the clinical and pathological features of filovirus infections in all rodent models described to date, including the recently developed humanized and collaborative cross (CC) resource recombinant inbred (RI) intercrossed (CC-RIX) mouse models. We also cover the molecular determinants responsible for adaptation and virulence acquisition in a number of rodent-adapted filoviruses. This chapter clearly defines the characteristic and advantages/disadvantages of rodent models, helping to evaluate the practical use of rodent models in future filovirus studies.", "corpus_id": 2130784 }

{ "title": "The hemagglutinin of St. Louis encephalitis virus. III. Properties of normal inhibitors and specific antibody; use of hemagglutination-inhibition for diagnosis of infection.", "abstract": "To overcome the marked instability of the SLE hemagglutinin at the pH that is optimum for hemagglutination, inhibition tests were performed by mixing hemagglutinin diluted at pH 7.7 and 1 C with serum or tissue suspension adjusted to pH 6.5 at room temperature, and immediately adding the erythrocyte suspension. The normal inhibitor in mouse brain was extracted in larger amounts by hypotonic than by isotonic solutions, and was largely associated with particles sedimentable at 13,000 rpm for 1 hour. The normal inhibitor in brain is not destroyed during the course of infection. Human and rabbit sera contain more normal inhibitor than mouse brain extracts. Normal inhibitor in solution can remove hemagglutinin from erythrocytes and reverse hemagglutination without affecting the receptors on the red cells.\n\nThe SLE normal inhibitor is only partially removed from serum by extracting with chloroform in a manner that removes practically all of the inhibitor for the Japanese B hemagglutinin. Precipitation and extraction with an appropriate amount of acetone yields a fraction which is practically devoid of normal inhibitor, but contains all the specific hemagglutination-inhibition antibody. The SLE hemagglutinin combines with specific antibody in different proportions from normal inhibitor. For each fourfold increase in concentration of hemagglutinin, the 50% inhibitory titer dropped twofold for specific antibody and fourfold for normal inhibitor. Antisera for the West Nile and Japanese B virus contained specific antibody for the SLE hemagglutinin but in much lower titer than antisera for the SLE virus. Specific hemagglutination-inhibition antibody in high titer was found in 8 patients with St. Louis encephalitis during the acute phase of the illness. Tests on human beings, without history of encephalitis, revealed that the hemagglutination-inhibition antibody was absent among residents in a nonendemic area, and present in low titer only among those residents of an endemic area who also possessed neutralizing antibody for the SLE virus.", "corpus_id": 2116743, "score": 2 }

{ "title": "Proximal Policy Optimization Algorithms", "abstract": "We propose a new family of policy gradient methods for reinforcement learning, which alternate between sampling data through interaction with the environment, and optimizing a \"surrogate\" objective function using stochastic gradient ascent. Whereas standard policy gradient methods perform one gradient update per data sample, we propose a novel objective function that enables multiple epochs of minibatch updates. The new methods, which we call proximal policy optimization (PPO), have some of the benefits of trust region policy optimization (TRPO), but they are much simpler to implement, more general, and have better sample complexity (empirically). Our experiments test PPO on a collection of benchmark tasks, including simulated robotic locomotion and Atari game playing, and we show that PPO outperforms other online policy gradient methods, and overall strikes a favorable balance between sample complexity, simplicity, and wall-time.", "corpus_id": 28695052 }

{ "title": "Leveraging Demonstrations for Deep Reinforcement Learning on Robotics Problems with Sparse Rewards", "abstract": "We propose a general and model-free approach for Reinforcement Learning (RL) on real robotics with sparse rewards. We build upon the Deep Deterministic Policy Gradient (DDPG) algorithm to use demonstrations. Both demonstrations and actual interactions are used to fill a replay buffer and the sampling ratio between demonstrations and transitions is automatically tuned via a prioritized replay mechanism. Typically, carefully engineered shaping rewards are required to enable the agents to efficiently explore on high dimensional control problems such as robotics. They are also required for model-based acceleration methods relying on local solvers such as iLQG (e.g. Guided Policy Search and Normalized Advantage Function). The demonstrations replace the need for carefully engineered rewards, and reduce the exploration problem encountered by classical RL approaches in these domains. Demonstrations are collected by a robot kinesthetically force-controlled by a human demonstrator. Results on four simulated insertion tasks show that DDPG from demonstrations out-performs DDPG, and does not require engineered rewards. Finally, we demonstrate the method on a real robotics task consisting of inserting a clip (flexible object) into a rigid object.", "corpus_id": 23192910 }

{ "title": "Building a player strategy model by analyzing replays of real-time strategy games", "abstract": "Developing computer-controlled groups to engage in combat, control the use of limited resources, and create units and buildings in real-time strategy (RTS) games is a novel application in game AI. However, tightly controlled online commercial game pose challenges to researchers interested in observing player activities, constructing player strategy models, and developing practical AI technology in them. Instead of setting up new programming environments or building a large amount of agentpsilas decision rules by playerpsilas experience for conducting real-time AI research, the authors use replays of the commercial RTS game StarCraft to evaluate human player behaviors and to construct an intelligent system to learn human-like decisions and behaviors. A case-based reasoning approach was applied for the purpose of training our system to learn and predict player strategies. Our analysis indicates that the proposed system is capable of learning and predicting individual player strategies, and that players provide evidence of their personal characteristics through their building construction order.", "corpus_id": 8192090, "score": -1 }

{ "title": "Analysis of genetic diversity in Brown Swiss, Jersey and Holstein populations using genome-wide single nucleotide polymorphism markers", "abstract": "BackgroundStudies of genetic diversity are essential in understanding the extent of differentiation between breeds, and in designing successful diversity conservation strategies. The objective of this study was to evaluate the level of genetic diversity within and between North American Brown Swiss (BS, n = 900), Jersey (JE, n = 2,922) and Holstein (HO, n = 3,535) cattle, using genotyped bulls. GENEPOP and FSTAT software were used to evaluate the level of genetic diversity within each breed and between each pair of the three breeds based on genome-wide SNP markers (n = 50,972).ResultsHardy-Weinberg equilibrium (HWE) exact test within breeds showed a significant deviation from equilibrium within each population (P < 0.01), which could be a result of selection, genetic drift and inbreeding within each breed. Hardy-Weinberg test also confirmed significant heterozygote deficit in each breed over several loci. Moreover, results from population differentiation tests showed that the majority of loci have alleles or genotypes drawn from different distributions in each breed. Average gene diversity, expressed in terms of observed heterozygosity, over all loci in BS, JE and HO was 0.27, 0.26 and 0.31, respectively. The proportion of genetic diversity due to allele frequency differences among breeds (Fst) indicated that the combination of BS and HO in an ideally amalgamated population had higher genetic diversity than the other pairs of breeds.ConclusionResults suggest that the three bull populations have substantially different gene pools. BS and HO show the largest gene differentiation and jointly the highest total expected gene diversity compared to when JE is considered. If the loss of genetic diversity within breeds worsens in the future, the use of crossbreeding might be an option to recover genetic diversity, especially for the breeds with small population size.", "corpus_id": 1668921 }

{ "title": "Deviations from Hardy-Weinberg proportions: sampling variances and use in estimation of inbreeding coefficients.", "abstract": "An analysis is made of the distribution of deviations from Hardy-Weinberg proportions with k alleles and of estimates of inbreeding coefficients (f) obtained from these deviations. If f is small, the best estimate of f in large samples is shown to be 2 sigma i(Tii/Ni)/(k - 1), where Tii is an unbiased measure of the excess of the ith homozygote and Ni the number of the ith allele in the sample [frequency = Ni/(2N)]. No extra information is obtained from the Tij, where these are departures of numbers of heterozygotes from expectation. Alternatively, the best estimator can be computed from the Tij, ignoring the Tii. Also (1) the variance of the estimate of f equals 1/(N(k - 1] when all individuals in the sample are unrelated, and the test for f = 0 with 1 d.f. is given by the ratio of the estimate to its standard error; (2) the variance is reduced if some alleles are rare; and (3) if the sample consists of full-sib families of size n, the variance is increased by a proportion (n - 1)/4 but is not increased by a half-sib relationship. If f is not small, the structure of the population is of critical importance. (1) If the inbreeding is due to a proportion of inbred matings in an otherwise random-breeding population, f as determined from homozygote excess is the same for all genes and expressions are given for its sampling variance. (2) If the homozygote excess is due to population admixture, f is not the same for all genes. The above estimator is probably close to the best for all f values.", "corpus_id": 41008274 }

{ "title": "Bilirubin: A multi‐site inhibitor of mitochondrial respiration", "abstract": "Unconjugated bilirubin is a toxic substance that interferes with the normal cell functions [l-4]. Despite several studies [l-8] that indicate an effect on the terminal oxidative metabolism the mechanism of bilirubin action is not yet known. The pigment, i) affects electron transfer [2], by inhibiting NADHoxidase and succinate oxidase, ii) acts as a typical uncoupler [5], and iii) alters the permeability of mitochondrial membranes, inducing swelling [6, 71. Mustafa and King [8] showed that bilirubin binds to mitochondrial phospholipids, a property that might lead to a general explanation of bilirubin action on mitochondria. In fact, by binding to mitochondrial lipids, bilirubin would produce an alteration of mitochondrial membranes, and consequently, inhibition of electron tranfer, uncoupling and swelling. The observations described here demonstrate that besides the above mentioned effects, bilirubin acts as an effective inhibitor of mitochondrial NADlinked dehydrogenases, namely glutamate dehydrogenase (EC 1.4.1.2) and malate dehydrogenase (EC 1.1.1.37). These latter inhibitions are significant in", "corpus_id": 19524690, "score": 1 }

{ "title": "Alternative approach to anti-windup synthesis for double integrator systems", "abstract": "This paper presents a simple approach for anti-windup synthesis for double integrator systems. The parameters of the anti-windup compensator can be chosen using simple linear-based guidelines which, nevertheless, also provide nonlinear stability guarantees. The results are constructed on the basis of a Popov-like sufficient condition presented in [1]. The advantage of the method is that design and redesign of the anti-windup compensator is exceptionally simple, requires no optimisation and yet offers the engineer great design transparency.", "corpus_id": 172216 }

{ "title": "Integrator Windup and How to Avoid It", "abstract": "This paper describes the phenomenon of integrator windup and various ways of avoiding it. It first covers a number of ad hoc schemes. A general procedure to avoid windup which admits a unification of the ideas is given and the results are illustrated on a number of examples.", "corpus_id": 36848080 }

{ "title": "Global stabilization and restricted tracking for multiple integrators with bounded controls", "abstract": "Abstract Necessary and sufficient conditions for globally stabilizing linear systems with bounded controls are known. However, it has been shown in [5] that, for single-input systems, no saturation of a linear feedback can globally stabilize a chain of integrators of order n , with n ≥ 3 . In this paper, we propose a nonlinear combination of saturation functions of linear feedbacks that globally stabilizes a chain of integrators of arbitrary order. The appealing feature of the proposed control is that it is fairly easy to construct. It is linear near the origin and can also be used to achieve trajectory tracking for a class of trajectories restricted by the absolute on the input.", "corpus_id": 15119412, "score": 2 }

{ "title": "The DEEP2 galaxy redshift survey: evolution of the colour–density relation at 0.4 < z < 1.35", "abstract": "Using a sample of 19464 galaxies drawn from the DEEP2 Galaxy Redshift Survey, we study the relationship between galaxy colour and environment at 0.4 1, being larger in regions of greater galaxy density. At all epochs probed, we also find a small population of red, morphologically early-type galaxies residing in regions of low measured overdensity. The observed correlations between the red fraction and local overdensity are highly significant, with the trend at z > 1 detected at a greater than 5σ level. Over the entire redshift regime studied, we find that the colour-density relation evolves continuously, with red galaxies more strongly favouring overdense regions at low z relative to their red-sequence counterparts at high redshift. At z ≥ 1.3, the red fraction only weakly correlates with overdensity, implying that any colour dependence to the clustering of ∼L* galaxies at that epoch must be small. Our findings add weight to existing evidence that the build-up of galaxies on the red sequence has occurred preferentially in overdense environments (i.e. galaxy groups) at z≤ 1.5. Furthermore, we identify the epoch (z ∼ 2) at which typical ∼L* galaxies began quenching and moved on to the red sequence in significant number. The strength of the observed evolutionary trends at 0 < z < 1.35 suggests that the correlations observed locally, such as the morphology-density and colour-density relations, are the result of environment-driven mechanisms (i.e. 'nurture') and do not appear to have been imprinted (by 'nature') upon the galaxy population during their epoch of formation.", "corpus_id": 7851029 }

{ "title": "Modelling and interpreting the dependence of clustering on the spectral energy distributions of galaxies", "abstract": "We extend our previous physically based halo occupation distribution models to include the dependence of clustering on the spectral energy distributions of galaxies. The high-resolution Millennium Simulation is used to specify the positions and the velocities of the model galaxies. The stellar mass of a galaxy is assumed to depend only on M infall , the halo mass when the galaxy was last the central dominant object of its halo. Star formation histories are parametrized using two additional quantities that are measured from the simulation for each galaxy: its formation time (t from ), and the time when it first becomes a satellite (t infall ). Central galaxies begin forming stars at time t form with an exponential time-scale τ c· If the galaxy becomes a satellite, its star formation declines thereafter with a new time-scale T s· We compute 4000-A break strengths for our model galaxies using stellar population synthesis models. By fitting these models to the observed abundances and projected correlations of galaxies as a function of break strength in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey, we constrain τ c and τ s as functions of galaxy stellar mass. We find that central galaxies with large stellar masses have ceased forming stars. At low stellar masses, central galaxies display a wide range of different star formation histories, with a significant fraction experiencing recent starbursts. Satellite galaxies of all masses have declining star formation rates, with similar e-folding times, τ s ∼ 2.5 Gyr. One consequence of this long e-folding time is that the colour-density relation is predicted to flatten at redshifts > 1.5, because star formation in the majority of satellites has not yet declined by a significant factor. This is consistent with recent observational results from the DEEP and VVDS surveys.", "corpus_id": 1008818 }

{ "title": "Fluctuation-dissipation relations in plaquette spin systems with multi-stage relaxation", "abstract": "We study ageing dynamics in two non-disordered spin models with multi-spin interactions, following a sudden quench to low temperature. The models are relevant to the physics of supercooled liquids. Their low temperature dynamics resemble those of kinetically constrained models, and obey dynamical scaling, controlled by zero-temperature critical points. Dynamics in both models are thermally activated, resulting in multi-stage relaxation towards equilibrium. We study several two-time correlation and response functions. We find that equilibrium fluctuation-dissipation relations are generically not satisfied during the ageing regime, but deviations from them are well described by fluctuation-dissipation ratios, as found numerically in supercooled liquids. These ratios are purely dynamic objects, containing information about the nature of relaxation in the models. They are non-universal, and can even be negative as a result of activated dynamics. Thus, effective temperatures are not well defined in these models.", "corpus_id": 18673054, "score": 1 }

{ "title": "Implementation of Least Significant Bit Steganography and statistical steganalysis", "abstract": "Least Significant Bit (LSB) Steganography is a method for hidden information in such a way that can only be detected by its intended recipient. Steganography in Digital media becomes a challenging discipline, since the Human Auditory System (HAS) is highly sensitive. One of the main obstacles of the number of files hiding in Digital media is to develop a system which has the quality to include number of files and without affectively the Digital media and provides Statistical steganalysis schemes detect the existence of secret information embedded by steganography. The detection and regular singular (RS) attack methods are two well known statistical stegnalysis schemes used against LSB. The embedded message length can be estimated accurately by these two steganalysis schemes. For secret communication, the resistance of steganography against steganalysis is very important for information security. To avoid enemy's attempts, the statistical features between stego-media and cover-media should be as similar as possible for better resistance to steganalysis. In this paper we propose a reversible histogram transformation function based LSB steganographic method to resist statistical steganalysis.\n The cover data should not be significantly degraded by the embedded data and the embedded data should be as imperceptible as possible. The embedded data should be as immune as possible to modifications from intelligent attacks or anticipated manipulations. Thus it is necessary that the hidden message should be encrypted. Steganograph is an application of Digital media(Image, Audio, Video) steganography. It hides data in digital media files.", "corpus_id": 688523 }

{ "title": "MR image texture analysis--an approach to tissue characterization.", "abstract": "The role and value of texture analysis in the quantification of medical images is reviewed and the various methods described. The promise in magnetic resonance imaging is discussed and the coordinated research programme being carried out within the framework of the European Economic Community Concerted Action on Tissue Characterization by MRS and MRI is outlined. Tissue characterization of the human brain has been performed by texture analysis of proton relaxation time images using a standard MR whole body imager operating at 1.5 T and the results are presented.", "corpus_id": 46279143 }

{ "title": "Cross-Layer Design and Analysis of Downlink Communications in Cellular CDMA Systems", "abstract": "A cellular CDMA network with voice and data communications is considered. Focusing on the downlink direction, we seek for the overall performance improvement which can be achieved by cross-layer analysis and design, taking physical layer, link layer, network layer, and transport layer into account. We are concerned with the role of each single layer as well as the interaction among layers, and propose algorithms/schemes accordingly to improve the system performance. These proposals include adaptive scheduling for link layer, priority-based handoff strategy for network admission control, and an algorithm for the avoidance of TCP spurious timeouts at the transport layer. Numerical results show the performance gain of each proposed scheme over independent performance of an individual layer in the wireless mobile network. We conclude that the system performance in terms of capacity, throughput, dropping probability, outage, power efficiency, delay, and fairness can be enhanced by jointly considering the interactions across layers.", "corpus_id": 2788965, "score": 1 }

{ "title": "What may lead you to recommend and revisit a hotel after a service failure instead of complaining", "abstract": "Purpose – The purpose of this study is to determine how a failure in the treatment received by consumers influences their intention to revisit a hotel, to recommend a hotel or to complain to a third party. The authors analyse perceived interpersonal justice, the role played by past encounters and the influence of consumer gender in a hotel recovery process. Design/methodology/approach – Using experimentation methodology applied to the hotel sector, the authors present four scenarios in a 2 × 2 (interpersonal justice/no interpersonal justice, prior experience/no prior experience) design with a sample of 352 consumers. Findings – The results obtained highlight the importance of interpersonal justice in a situation of service failure and the influence that prior experience and gender exert in the context of the hospitality industry. The study provides empirical evidence that, in a service failure setting, behavioural intentions (word of mouth, third-party complaints and intention to revisit) are conditioned ...", "corpus_id": 153952320 }

{ "title": "When Design Goes Wrong? Diagnostic Tools for Detecting and Overcoming Failures in Service Experience", "abstract": "Service recovery is one of the most researched areas in the disciplines of business, marketing, tourism and information systems due to the inevitability of service failures. Despite its increasing attention from scholars and practitioners, the efficacy of relying on recovery strategies for managing customer service experience has long been a great concern. Given that service recovery can only partially compensate the detrimental impact of service failures, this chapter argues that operators should “proactively” detect and redress failures in the current service design as opposed to “reactively” defend service failures and manage service recovery. Following this notion, this chapter aims at introducing five diagnostic tools for deconstructing the structure of an experience and thereby detecting and overcoming failures in service experience. The five tools are service flowcharts, service blueprints, service maps, service failure proofing and the fishbone diagram. In addition to the introduction, this chapter includes the empirical demonstration of applying service maps for service failure detection. Harnessing consumer reviews on TripAdvisor.com of three luxury hotels in Vienna as the data source, the empirical demonstration exhibits the major areas of improvement in each corresponding property. Being one of the first attempts that integrate analysis of online reviews with diagnostic tools for service experience enhancement, this chapter does not only complement service design literature with a demonstration prototype but also provide operators in the service industry with useful tools and examples of how diagnostic tools can assist in detecting service failures and then advising solutions for service design advancement.", "corpus_id": 114245172 }

{ "title": "A Bayesian Network Model of the Consumer Complaint Process", "abstract": "The purpose of this article is to present a Bayesian network model of the consumer complaint process. The outputs of the Bayesian model—conditional probabilities—provide much insight into the determinants and subsequent behavioral outcomes (e.g., full repatronage, limited repatronage, and exit; negative word-of-mouth behavior [WOM], no WOM, and positive WOM) of the complaint process. By distinguishing between (a) noncomplainers, (b) satisfied complainants, and (c) dissatisfied complainants, the model provides a rich, descriptive overview of the broader complaining behavior process. The model revealed several interesting findings; for example, the probability that a noncomplainer or a dissatisfied complainant will completely exit is quite low. The probabilities that a satisfied complainant will intend to fully repatronize the retailer and engage in positive word of mouth, on the other hand, are quite high. The advantages and limitations of Bayesian network models are discussed vis-à-vis structural equations models and partial least squares.", "corpus_id": 16192201, "score": 2 }

{ "title": "Exploring superframe co-occurrence for acoustic event recognition", "abstract": "We introduce in this paper a concept of using acoustic superframes, a mid-level representation which can overcome the drawbacks of both global and simple frame-level representations for acoustic events. Through superframe-level recognition, we explore the phenomenon of superframe co-occurrence across different event categories and propose an efficient classification scheme that takes advantage of this feature sharing to improve the event-wise recognition power. We empirically show that our recognition system results in 2.7% classification error rate on the ITC-Irst database. This state-of-the-art performance demonstrates the efficiency of this proposed approach. Furthermore, we argue that this presentation can pretty much facilitate the event detection task compared to its counterparts, e.g. global and simple frame-level representations.", "corpus_id": 1429494 }

{ "title": "Temporal Acoustic Words for Online Acoustic Event Detection", "abstract": "The Bag-of-Features principle proved successful in many pattern recognition tasks ranging from document analysis and image classification to gesture recognition and even forensic applications. Lately these methods emerged in the field of acoustic event detection and showed very promising results. The detection and classification of acoustic events is an important task for many practical applications like video understanding, surveillance or speech enhancement. In this paper a novel approach for online acoustic event detection is presented that builds on top of the Bag-of-Features principle. Features are calculated for all frames in a given window. Applying the concept of feature augmentation additional temporal information is encoded in each feature vector. These feature vectors are then softly quantized so that a Bag-of-Feature representation is computed. These representations are evaluated by a classifier in a sliding window approach. The experiments on a challenging indoor dataset of acoustic events will show that the proposed method yields state-of-the-art results compared to other online event detection methods. Furthermore, it will be shown that the temporal feature augmentation significantly improves the recognition rates.", "corpus_id": 41956952 }

{ "title": "Erratum: Dependency Parsing of Turkish", "abstract": "The suitability of different parsing methods for different languages is an important topic in syntactic parsing. Especially lesser-studied languages, typologically different from the languages for which methods have originally been developed, pose interesting challenges in this respect. This article presents an investigation of data-driven dependency parsing of Turkish, an agglutinative, free constituent order language that can be seen as the representative of a wider class of languages of similar type. Our investigations show that morphological structure plays an essential role in finding syntactic relations in such a language. In particular, we show that employing sublexical units called inflectional groups, rather than word forms, as the basic parsing units improves parsing accuracy. We test our claim on two different parsing methods, one based on a probabilistic model with beam search and the other based on discriminative classifiers and a deterministic parsing strategy, and show that the usefulness of sublexical units holds regardless of the parsing method. We examine the impact of morphological and lexical information in detail and show that, properly used, this kind of information can improve parsing accuracy substantially. Applying the techniques presented in this article, we achieve the highest reported accuracy for parsing the Turkish Treebank.", "corpus_id": 5558585, "score": 1 }

{ "title": "The problems of route and motion planning for an autonomous flight vehicle in uncertain environment", "abstract": "Major route and motion planning problems for an autonomous flight vehicle (FV) in uncertain environment are considered. The first problem is planning a flight route between two given points with an obligatory mission of visiting all reference points from a given set. The route planning task is complicated by the presence of wind flows that affect the speed and trajectory of a flight vehicle. Time cost required to move between two points is suggested as a generalized optimization criterion. Quasi-optimal route planning algorithm is proposed that use the Hungarian method for the assignment problem as an auxiliary tool. The second problem is dynamic motion planning in the presence of obstacles in unknown environment. An algorithm for planning locally optimal routes for the purposeful low-altitude flight in the yaw plane is proposed. We assume that the map of the area is a priori not known and decisions are made only on the basis of information coming from the environment in real time. The last problem is controlling flight vehicle motion along the given route under wind loads. Simulating aircraft motion in an uncertain environment is performed with allowance for the constant and dynamic (random) components of wind flows. Simulation system is implemented in MATLAB Simulink program and contains mathematical models of a flight vehicle and wind loads, as well as a special intelligent control module for rapid response to changes in the external environment.", "corpus_id": 4955448 }

{ "title": "Controlling the motion of a group of unmanned flight vehicles in a perturbed environment based on the rules", "abstract": "Controlling the motion of a group of unmanned flight vehicles (FVs) in a perturbed environment is considered on the example of two similar problems: tracking of the dynamic target and moving along the given path. The problem of the target tracking implies that a randomly-arranged FV group approaches close to the target and flies near it during a specified time period. The low-velocity target seeks to evade from the pursuers as far as possible. In the path following problem, each FV needs to fly along the trajectory given by the motion of a corresponding reference target. In the process of problem solving, each FV implements behavioral strategies by following the proposed rules of orientation angles and velocity selection. Pontryagin's maximum principle and a geometric approach are applied to construct the control angles. The general simulation scheme of the pursuit process that takes into account the mathematical models of FVs and the wind disturbances is provided. In the experimental part of the paper, the solution of the specified problems is modeled in a perturbed environment.", "corpus_id": 39220402 }

{ "title": "Vibration analysis of a 3-dimensional piping system conveying fluid by wave approach", "abstract": "Vibration analysis of a piping system conveying fluid is investigated by employing the wave approach. In this paper, the inviscid fluid-dynamic forces acting on a pipe due to internal fluid flow are approximated by the plug-flow model with the slender-body theory. The straight pipe elements conveying fluid are formulated using a dynamic stiffness matrix in the frequency domain. The curved pipe sections are treated with a single curved pipe element utilizing the mixed methodology of the dynamic stiffness method and the transfer matrix method. The present approach is applied to the frequency response analysis of the 3-dimensional piping system conveying fluid which is composed of straight and curved pipe sections and is compared to the results from the finite-element formulations.", "corpus_id": 137070838, "score": 1 }

{ "title": "Registration of Increased Risk of Brain Cancer after the Diagnosis of Multiple Sclerosis", "abstract": "Background: We studied the cancer comorbidity of 18,212 Danish Multiple Sclerosis (MS) patients. \nMethods: Using data from the Danish National Patient Registry we identified all persons with a first-time MS diagnosis during 1980-2013. Cancer outcomes of the study cohort were ascertained using diagnoses from the Danish Cancer Registry. Patients with cancer prior to MS were excluded. We computed standardized incidence ratios with 95% confidence intervals calculated as the number of observed cancers relative to the expected based on national incidence rates by sex, age and calendar year. \nResults: All sites of cancers in the CNS were significantly increased, namely cancers of 1) membrane of the brain and spinal meninges, 2) brain, as well as 3) spinal cord, cranial nerves and central nervous system. MS is a disease of the CNS, and the 3 CNS cancer groups were individually significant. Several other cancers were also increased, namely 1) overall cancer, 2) urinary bladder cancer, 3) metastases and non-specified cancer in lymph nodes and 4) basal cell carcinoma. \nConclusion: Multiple sclerosis is associated with increased registration of a range of cancers, in particular in the period following debut of MS. The results may be due to detection bias and misregistration. Finally, the results could be due to confounding.", "corpus_id": 941862 }

{ "title": "Human Endogenous Retrovirus HERV-Fc1 Association with Multiple Sclerosis Susceptibility: A Meta-Analysis", "abstract": "Background Human endogenous retroviruses (HERVs) are repetitive sequences derived from ancestral germ-line infections by exogenous retroviruses and different HERV families have been integrated in the genome. HERV-Fc1 in chromosome X has been previously associated with multiple sclerosis (MS) in Northern European populations. Additionally, HERV-Fc1 RNA levels of expression have been found increased in plasma of MS patients with active disease. Considering the North-South latitude gradient in MS prevalence, we aimed to evaluate the role of HERV-Fc1on MS risk in three independent Spanish cohorts. Methods A single nucleotide polymorphism near HERV-Fc1, rs391745, was genotyped by Taqman chemistry in a total of 2473 MS patients and 3031 ethnically matched controls, consecutively recruited from: Northern (569 patients and 980 controls), Central (883 patients and 692 controls) and Southern (1021 patients and 1359 controls) Spain. Our results were pooled in a meta-analysis with previously published data. Results Significant associations of the HERV-Fc1 polymorphism with MS were observed in two Spanish cohorts and the combined meta-analysis with previous data yielded a significant association [rs391745 C-allele carriers: pM-H = 0.0005; ORM-H (95% CI) = 1.27 (1.11–1.45)]. Concordantly to previous findings, when the analysis was restricted to relapsing remitting and secondary progressive MS samples, a slight enhancement in the strength of the association was observed [pM-H = 0.0003, ORM-H (95% CI) = 1.32 (1.14–1.53)]. Conclusion Association of the HERV-Fc1 polymorphism rs391745 with bout-onset MS susceptibility was confirmed in Southern European cohorts.", "corpus_id": 6299776 }

{ "title": "Hyaluronidase 2 and its intriguing role as a cell-entry receptor for oncogenic sheep retroviruses.", "abstract": "Jaagsiekte sheep retrovirus (JSRV) causes lung adenocarcinoma in sheep and goats, while the closely related enzootic nasal tumor virus (ENTV) causes nasal tumors in the same species. The envelope (Env) protein from either virus can transform fibroblasts and epithelial cells in culture, indicating that the Env proteins are responsible for tumorigenesis. However, the primary function of retroviral Env proteins is to mediate virus entry into cells by interacting with specific cell-surface receptors, suggesting that the virus receptor might be a key player in transformation as well. Thus, identification of Hyaluronidase-2 (Hyal2) as the cell-entry receptor for both JSRV and ENTV suggested a role for Hyal2 in oncogenesis. Furthermore, Hyal2 is located in a key lung cancer tumor suppressor locus on chromosome 3p21.3, suggesting that Hyal2 might have a tumor suppressor activity that was disrupted by Env thereby leading to tumorigenesis. However, recent experiments showing that expression of the JSRV or ENTV Env protein in mouse lung can induce lung tumors, even though the viral Env proteins cannot bind to or utilize mouse Hyal2 as a receptor for virus entry into cells, indicate that Hyal2 plays no role in cancer induction by these retroviruses. Hyal2 remains an enigmatic member of the hyaluronidase family given its very low hyaluronidase activity in purified form or when expressed in cultured cells, suggesting that it may have evolved to perform some other as yet unknown function.", "corpus_id": 25058413, "score": 2 }

{ "title": "Multiple-goal task realization utilizing redundant degrees of freedom of task and tool attachment optimization", "abstract": "Minimizing the task completion time of manipulator systems is essential in order to achieve high productivity. In this paper, this problem is dealt with by utilizing the redundant degrees of freedom (DOF) of a given task and the tool attachment optimization. For example, in a vision-based inspection where a camera is held by a manipulator, the extra DOF can be brought about by allowing the camera to be translated along its approach axis or rotated about this axis when capturing images. Furthermore, the manipulator end-effector position and orientation is optimized by designing an additional linkage at the manipulator end-effector which is called a tool attachment. A 7-DOF manipulator system is used in the simulations to verify the proposed approach. Results showed that this approach can minimize the task completion time by about 17% compared to conducting only motion coordination.", "corpus_id": 2488694 }

{ "title": "A formulation for task based design of robot manipulators", "abstract": "The authors discuss how to design a manipulator from a given task. While the ultimate goal is to design all kinematic and dynamic parameters of a manipulator, they consider only kinematic parameters. Optimal design of a manipulator even for a simple task is difficult because it involves a complex task description and constraints on possible manipulators and many design variables that lead to a combinatorial explosion. For the example of designing a space shuttle tile servicing robot, they introduce a formulation of a given task and manipulator constraints.", "corpus_id": 42549626 }

{ "title": "Optimization of probiotic and lactic acid production by Lactobacillus plantarum in submerged bioreactor systems", "abstract": "Biomass and lactic acid production by a Lactobacillus plantarum strain isolated from Serrano cheese, a microorganism traditionally used in foods and recognized as a potent probiotic, was optimized. Optimization procedures were carried out in submerged batch bioreactors using cheese whey as the main carbon source. Sequential experimental Plackett–Burman designs followed by central composite design (CCD) were used to assess the influence of temperature, pH, stirring, aeration rate, and concentrations of lactose, peptone, and yeast extract on biomass and lactic acid production. Results showed that temperature, pH, aeration rate, lactose, and peptone were the most influential variables for biomass formation. Under optimized conditions, the CCD for temperature and aeration rate showed that the model predicted maximal biomass production of 14.30 g l−1 (dw) of L. plantarum. At the central point of the CCD, a biomass of 10.2 g l−1 (dw), with conversion rates of 0.10 g of cell g−1 lactose and 1.08 g lactic acid g−1 lactose (w/w), was obtained. These results provide useful information about the optimal cultivation conditions for growing L. plantarum in batch bioreactors in order to boost biomass to be used as industrial probiotic and to obtain high yields of conversion of lactose to lactic acid.", "corpus_id": 6139250, "score": 1 }

{ "title": "Photodissociation dynamics in the first absorption band of pyrrole. I. Molecular Hamiltonian and the Herzberg-Teller absorption spectrum for the A21(πσ*)←X̃1 A1(ππ) transition.", "abstract": "This paper opens a series in which the photochemistry of the two lowest πσ* states of pyrrole and their interaction with each other and with the ground electronic state X̃ are studied using ab initio quantum mechanics. New 24-dimensional potential energy surfaces for the photodissociation of the N-H bond and the formation of the pyrrolyl radical are calculated using the multiconfigurational perturbation theory (CASPT2) for the electronic states X̃(ππ), 11A2(πσ*), and 11B1(πσ*) and locally diabatized. In this paper, the ab initio calculations are described and the photodissociation in the state 11A2(πσ*) is analyzed. The excitation 11 A2←X̃ is mediated by the coordinate dependent transition dipole moment functions constructed using the Herzberg-Teller expansion. Nuclear dynamics, including 6, 11, and 15 active degrees of freedom, are studied using the multi-configurational time-dependent Hartree method. The focus is on the frequency resolved absorption spectrum as well as on the dissociation time scales and the resonance lifetimes. Calculations are compared with available experimental data. An approximate convolution method is developed and validated, with which absorption spectra can be calculated and assigned in terms of vibrational quantum numbers. The method represents the total absorption spectrum as a convolution of the diffuse spectrum of the detaching H-atom and the Franck-Condon spectrum of the heteroaromatic ring. Convolution calculation requires a minimal quantum chemical input and is a promising tool for studying the πσ* photodissociation in model biochromophores.", "corpus_id": 3907902 }

{ "title": "Photofragment Translational Spectroscopy Studies of H Atom Loss Following Ultraviolet Photoexcitation of Methimazole in the Gas Phase.", "abstract": "The ultraviolet (UV) photodissociation of gas-phase methimazole has been investigated by H Rydberg atom photofragment translational spectroscopy methods at many wavelengths in the range of 222.5-275 nm and by complementary electronic structure calculations. Methimazole is shown to exist predominantly as the thione tautomer, 1-methyl-2(3 H)-imidazolinethione, rather than the commonly given thiol form, 2-mercapto-1-methylimidazole. The UV absorption spectrum of methimazole is dominated by the S4 ← S0 transition of the thione tautomer, which involves electron promotion from an a' (p y) orbital localized on the sulfur atom to a σ* orbital localized around the N-H bond. Two H atom formation pathways are identified following UV photoexcitation. One, involving prompt, excited-state N-H bond fission, yields vibrationally cold but rotationally excited methimazolyl (Myl) radicals in their first excited (Ã) electronic state. The second yields H atoms with an isotropic recoil velocity distribution peaking at low kinetic energies but extending to the energetic limit allowed by energy conservation given a ground-state dissociation energy D0(Myl-H) ∼24 000 cm-1. These latter H atoms are attributed to the unimolecular decay of highly vibrationally excited S0 parent molecules. The companion electronic structure calculations provide rationales for both fragmentation pathways and the accompanying product energy disposals and highlight similarities and differences between the UV photochemistry of methimazole and that of other azoles (e.g., imidazole) and with molecules like thiourea and thiouracil that contain similar N-C═S motifs.", "corpus_id": 54564712 }

{ "title": "UV photodissociation of N-methylpyrrole: The role of 1πσ* states in non-hydride heteroaromatic systems", "abstract": "Abstract The photophysics of jet-cooled N -methylpyrrole molecules following excitation to their first excited singlet state (the 1 A 2 state, arising from a 3s/σ ∗ ←π electron promotion) has been investigated by resonance enhanced multiphoton ionisation spectroscopy, by measurements of wavelength resolved ‘action’ spectra for forming CH 3 photoproducts, and by velocity map imaging studies of these CH 3 products (in their v = 0 and v 2  = 1 vibrational levels). CH 3 products are observed at all excitation wavelengths within the NMP ( 1 A 2 ← X ∼ 1 A 1 ) absorption band. Direct dissociation on the 1 A 2 potential energy surface (PES) yields ‘fast’ CH 3 fragments, with an average total kinetic energy release (TKER) of ∼6500 cm −1 , but this product channel is only observed in a narrow wavelength range near the absorption band origin. All of the measured CH 3 images also show a broad component, peaking at lower TKER (∼1700 cm −1 ); this component extends beneath the ‘fast’ feature in images recorded at wavelengths near the 1 A 2 ← X ∼ 1 A 1 origin, and accounts for all of the CH 3 products observed at shorter photolysis wavelengths. These products are attributed to decay of highly vibrationally excited ground state molecules formed by radiationless transfer from the 1 A 2 state. Similarities and differences with the results of previous studies of the H + pyrrolyl products arising in the UV photodissociation of pyrrole are discussed in terms of the likely nuclear motions on the relevant ground and excited PESs (along R N – CH 3 / R N – H ), and the possible couplings between these surfaces. The present study confirms that the proposed model of 1 πσ ∗ state induced bond fission in heteroaromatic molecules [A.L. Sobolewski, W. Domcke, Chem. Phys. 259 (2000) 181] is also applicable to non-hydride substituted heteroaromatics, but that mass effects can have an important influence on the subsequent nuclear dynamics.", "corpus_id": 93550861, "score": 2 }

{ "title": "Self-induced optical modulation of the transmission through a high-Q silicon microdisk resonator.", "abstract": "Direct time-domain observations are reported of a low-power, self-induced modulation of the transmitted optical power through a high-Q silicon microdisk resonator. Above a threshold input power of 60 microW the transmission versus wavelength deviates from a simple optical bistability behavior, and the transmission intensity becomes highly oscillatory in nature. The transmission oscillations are seen to consist of a train of sharp transmission dips of width approximately 100 ns and period close to 1 micros. A model of the system is developed incorporating thermal and free-carrier dynamics, and is compared to the observed behavior. Good agreement is found, and the self-induced optical modulation is attributed to a nonlinear interaction between competing free-carrier and phonon populations within the microdisk.", "corpus_id": 5629752 }

{ "title": "Conditions for Parametric and Free-Carrier Oscillation in Silicon Ring Cavities", "abstract": "We model optical parametric oscillation in ring cavities with two-photon absorption, focusing on silicon at 1.55 <inline-formula><tex-math notation=\"LaTeX\">$\\mu$</tex-math></inline-formula>m. Oscillation is possible if free-carrier absorption can be mitigated; this can be achieved using carrier sweep-out in a reverse-biased p-i-n junction to reduce the carrier lifetime. By varying the pump power, detuning, and reverse-bias voltage, it is possible to generate frequency combs in cavities with both normal and anomalous dispersion at a wide range of wavelengths including 1.55 <inline-formula><tex-math notation=\"LaTeX\">$\\mu$</tex-math></inline-formula>m. Furthermore, a free-carrier self-pulsing instability leads to rich dynamics when the carrier lifetime is sufficiently long.", "corpus_id": 4896624 }

{ "title": "Optical properties of phosphorus‐doped polycrystalline silicon layers", "abstract": "The index of refraction and the absorption coefficient of low‐pressure chemical vapor deposited polycrystalline silicon (poly Si) implanted with various doses of phosphorus were obtained by means of transmittance and reflectance measurements. The refractive index of poly Si is relatively insensitive to doping in the visible region of the spectrum and agrees quite well with published values for single‐crystal Si. The absorption coefficient of these films decreases with doping in the visible. Nevertheless, the absorption coefficient corresponding to the highest‐doped film (N≊3×1020/cm3) is almost twice the published values for lightly doped single‐crystal Si. In the infrared, the index of refraction decreases systematically and the absorption coefficient increases systematically with doping. This dependence of the optical parameters on doping is attributed to the presence of free carriers. A free‐carrier dispersion/absorption model is applied to the measured refractive index in the region 1.2–1.8 μm and to ...", "corpus_id": 121173901, "score": 2 }

{ "title": "Stochastic differential equations driven by a Wiener process and fractional Brownian motion: Convergence in Besov space with respect to a parameter", "abstract": "A stochastic differential equation involving both a Wiener process and fractional Brownian motion, with nonhomogeneous coefficients and random initial condition, is considered. The coefficients and initial condition depend on a parameter. The assumptions on the coefficients and the initial condition supplying continuous dependence of the solution on a parameter, with respect to the Besov space norm, are established.", "corpus_id": 2254145 }

{ "title": "Weak Convergence for a Class of Stochastic Fractional Equations Driven by Fractional Noise", "abstract": "We consider a class of stochastic fractional equations driven by fractional noise on , with Dirichlet boundary conditions. We formally replace the random perturbation by a family of sequences based on Kac-Stroock processes in the plane, which approximate the fractional noise in some sense. Under some conditions, we show that the real-valued mild solution of the stochastic fractional heat equation perturbed by this family of noises converges in law, in the space of continuous functions, to the solution of the stochastic fractional heat equation driven by fractional noise.", "corpus_id": 55904667 }

{ "title": "Fractional Brownian motion: theory and applications", "abstract": "We present new theoretical results on the fractional Brownian motion, including different definitions (and their relationships) of the stochastic integral with respect to this process, Girsanov theorem, Clark representation formula, Ito formula and so on. Several applications (such as non-linear filtering theory, queuing networks, mathematical finance) are given as applied examples of these theoretical results.", "corpus_id": 123447395, "score": 2 }

{ "title": "THE POLITICS OF REREGULATION: GLOBALIZATION, DEMOCRATIZATION, AND THE TAIWANESE LABOR MOVEMENT", "abstract": "Since the early 1990s, Taiwanese workers have faced two simultaneous trends: democratization and globalization. These two trends have different, if not exactly opposite, implications for the labor movement. Democratization has empowered the working class and made its members more effective in the political process. Globalization, however, has led to an increase in the flexibility of the labor market and made workers more vulnerable to changes in the economic environment. This paper begins with a discussion of the general characteristics of Taiwan’s labor movement and the general impact of globalization on labor institutions. Then, by examining the transformation of Taiwan’s labor institutions in recent years, and specifically the process of union reorganization and the revisions of the Labor Standards Law, the paper shows how, against the background of globalization, Taiwanese workers have used their newly acquired political power to maneuver between different political forces and set the development course for the labor movement.", "corpus_id": 153330984 }

{ "title": "Issues in democratic consolidation: The New South American democracies in comparative perspective", "abstract": "This volume presents some of the recent research emanating from the increasingly prominent Hellen Kellogg Institute for International Studies at the University of Notre Dame. While much has been written of late on the issue of democratization, the approach here has two advantages over many of its competitors. First, it is tightly focused geographically, confining itself almost entirely to South American cases. Some chapters focus on one country, such as Frances Hagopian's study of Brazil, others focus on a cluster of countries, such as Catherine Conaghan's study of Ecuador, Bolivia and Peru, while still others range more broadly throughout South America. Second, and more importantly, the authors all concern themselves with the same theme, namely what the editors term \"the second transition to democracy.\" In the first transition, authoritarian rule breaks down and governments are elected by universal suffrage and under conditions of respect for civil liberties. The second transition is the process by which these elected governments are consolidated. The book then, as the title states, is a study of the process of democratic consolidation. The term takes on a clearer, more operational definition in the excellent chapter by Adam Przeworski, in which he uses the term \"self-sustaining democracy,\" a developmental stage in which all sides have agreed to accept the inherent uncertainty of electoral contests and abide by their outcomes. Self-sustaining democracies are ones in which opposition parties have a realistic chance of gaining office, policy changes can be affected by the victors and the military is controlled by the civilians.", "corpus_id": 146573992 }

{ "title": "Humor y crítica social en la red en el entorno del 15M", "abstract": "The purpose of this article is to analyse the humor used in the 15M’s demands. We have selected this corpus based on; slogans, Facebook status, tweets, hashtags and performances. It is a multimodal corpus and we have analysed; texts, images, music and dance. Initially, following the Critical Discourse Studies the relationships between humour and power have been studied and humour is the response of the 15M to the dominant acts such as; manipulation, censorship and stereotypes. Secondly, the mechanisms used to provoke humour within the discourse, such as; irony, intertextuality and the play on words have been analysed. The 15M is a peaceful movement and we believe that the use of humour and non-violence are closely related.", "corpus_id": 178666755, "score": 0 }

{ "title": "Scalable Hardware Architecture for Real-Time Dynamic Programming Applications", "abstract": "This paper introduces a novel architecture for performing the core computations required by dynamic programming (DP) techniques. The latter pertain to a vast range of applications that necessitate an optimal sequence of decisions to be issued. An underlying assumption is that a complete model of the environment is provided, whereby the dynamics are governed by a Markov decision process (MDP). Existing DP implementations have traditionally been realized in software. Here, we present a method for exploiting the data parallelism associated with computing both the value function and optimal action set. An optimal policy is obtained four orders of magnitude faster than traditional software-based schemes, establishing the viability of the approach for real-time applications", "corpus_id": 1499188 }

{ "title": "Fabric on a Chip: Towards Consolidating Packet Switching Functions on Silicon", "abstract": "To resolve the high memory bandwidth requirements presented by output-queued switches, several parallel shared-memory architectures have been previously proposed. In this paper, our goal is to extend existing shared-memory architecture results while introducing the notion of Fabric on a Chip (FoC). In taking advantage of recent advancements in integrated circuit technologies, FoC aims to facilitate the consolidation of as many packet switching functions as possible on a single chip. Accordingly, this paper focuses a novel pipelined memory management algorithm which plays a key role in the context of on-chip output-queued switch emulation. We discuss in detail the fundamental properties of the proposed scheme, along with FPGA-based implementation results that illustrate its scalability and performance attributes.", "corpus_id": 6624056 }

{ "title": "Estimates of methane emissions from Chinese rice paddies by linking a model to GIS database", "abstract": "Abstract Methane is one of the principal greenhouse gases. Irrigated rice paddies are recognized as contributing to atmospheric methane concentration. Methane emissions from rice paddies are among the most uncertain estimates in rice-growing countries. Efforts have been made over the last decade to estimate CH 4 emissions from Chinese rice paddies via the model method. However, these estimates are very vague due to different models and upscaling methods. A reduction in these uncertainties may be achieved by coupling field-scale models with regional databases. The objective of this article is to develop a methodology of coupling a CH 4 emission model with regional databases by which CH 4 emissions from Chinese rice paddies can then be estimated. CH4MOD, a model for simulating CH 4 emissions from rice paddies with minimal input by using commonly available parameters, is of great potential in terms of upscaling as it has provided a realistic estimate of the observed results from various soils, climates and agricultural practices. By linking spatial databases to CH4MOD, CH 4 emissions from Chinese rice paddies in the 2000 rice-growing season were simulated on a day-by-day basis. The spatial databases were created by GIS with a spatial resolution of 10km×10km, including soil sand percentage, amounts of crop straw and roots from the previous season and farm manure, the water management pattern, dates of rice transplanting and harvesting, acreage of rice planted, rice grain yield and daily air temperature. ARCGIS software was used to meet all GIS needs, including data access, projection definition, overlaying of different vector layers, creation of grids (a raster format of ARCGIS software) by converting vector data, and the data conversion between grids and ASCII formats. Methane emissions from rice paddies in mainland China in the 2000 rice-growing season were estimated to be 6.02 Tg (1 Tg = 10 9 kg). Of the total, approximately 49% (2.93Tg) is emitted during the single rice-growing season, and 27% (1.63Tg) and 24% (1.46Tg) are from the early and late rice-growing seasons respectively. It was concluded that regional CH 4 emissions from rice paddies could be estimated by coupling CH4MOD with regional databases with a high spatial resolution. A further effort should be made to improve the quality of the spatial databases, especially in terms of the amount of added organic matter and the water regime. It is also necessary to evaluate the uncertainties of the present estimates in order to improve the overall accuracy.", "corpus_id": 84435239, "score": 0 }

{ "title": "Influence of Domain Size on the Scaling Effects in Pb(Mg1/3Nb2/3)O3-PbTiO3 Ferroelectric Crystals.", "abstract": "The property degradation observed in thin Pb(Mg(1/3)Nb(2/3))O(3)-PbTiO(3) (PMN-PT) crystals is believed to relate to large domains and subsequent clamping induced by surface-boundary. In this work, the properties were investigated as function of domain size, using controlled poling. The degraded piezoelectric and dielectric properties of thin PMN-PT were found to increase significantly, by decreasing domain size. Furthermore, the fine domain structure was found to be stable at 3kV/cm after 7.0×10(5) negative-pulse cycles, hence, enabling PMN-PT crystals for high-frequency (>20 MHz) ultrasound-transducers.", "corpus_id": 8820395 }

{ "title": "Evaluation of PMN-PT based crystals for various applications", "abstract": "Pb(Mg<inf>1/3</inf>Nb<inf>2/3</inf>)O<inf>3</inf>-PbTiO<inf>3</inf> based ferroelectric single crystals have been extensively studied for various applications. In this paper, the advantages and issues of crystals are discussed, based on requirements of transducers, actuators and sensors, with emphasis on Pb(In<inf>0.5</inf>Nb<inf>0.5</inf>)O<inf>3</inf>- Pb(Mg<inf>1/3</inf>Nb<inf>2/3</inf>)O<inf>3</inf>-PbTiO<inf>3</inf> crystals.", "corpus_id": 15197001 }

{ "title": "Dyadic Green's functions for multi-layer SAW substrates", "abstract": "Recent formulations of the dyadic (or generalized) Green's function describe the relationship between sources (both mechanical stresses and electrical charge) and waves (both mechanical displacements and acoustic potential) on the surface of a substrate. The 16 elements of the function intrinsically describe all propagation modes, whether Rayleigh or leaky, and are, therefore, extremely useful in the design of surface acoustic wave devices. In addition to requiring little computational effort, the dyadic Green's function provides much more information than the traditional effective permittivity function. In this paper, we extend the calculation of the dyadic Green's function to multi-layer substrates. We show that its computation involves a simple cascaded matrix multiplication. The resulting function fully contains the substrate characteristics and, once obtained, can be used to describe the surface behavior with no further regard to the substrate's composition.", "corpus_id": 27994279, "score": 2 }

{ "title": "Laparoscopy-assisted Completion Total Gastrectomy for Gastric Cancer in Remnant Stomach: Report of 2 Cases", "abstract": "The completion total gastrectomy is often performed in gastric cancer patients who have previously undergone distal gastrectomy owing to benign or malignant disease. This procedure includes not only removal of the remnant stomach, but also a lymphadenectomy in accordance with upper third gastric cancer. Although laparoscopy-assisted gastrectomy has been approved as one of the treatments of choice for early gastric cancer and its application has also been extend to advanced gastric cancer, only a few studies have reported on laparoscopy-assisted completion total gastrectomy. This is probably because the procedure is technically complicated procedure due to the intra-abdominal adhesion and anatomical changes. Recently, we successfully carried out laparoscopy-assisted completion total gastrectomy in 2 patients diagnosed with advanced gastric cancers in the remnant stomach. Distal gastrectomy was initially performed using laparoscopy-assisted and open procedures, respectively. Furthermore, we conducted the curative operations through a sufficiently extended lymphadenectomy or even through the resection of surrounding organs.", "corpus_id": 2939548 }

{ "title": "Minimally invasive surgery for remnant gastric cancer: a comparison with open surgery", "abstract": "AbstractBackground\nCompletion total gastrectomy for remnant gastric cancer (RGC) is technically challenging, especially using the minimally invasive approach. Only a few small case series have reported the technical feasibility of completion total gastrectomy by minimally invasive surgery (MIS). The aim of this study was to compare the efficacy and safety of MIS and open surgery for RGC.MethodsWe retrospectively analyzed 76 completion total gastrectomies for RGC between 2005 and 2012. Indications for MIS were limited to no evidence of serosa invasion or lymph node metastasis to extraperigastric areas on preoperative evaluation. We compared patient characteristics, intraoperative factors, post-operative outcomes, and survival for the MIS and open surgery groups.ResultsEighteen patients underwent completion total gastrectomy with MIS (10 laparoscopic, 8 robotic) and 58 patients underwent open surgery. Operation time was longer in the MIS than the open group (266 vs. 203 min, P = 0.004), but the groups had similar estimated blood loss, frequency of unplanned other organ resection, and number of retrieved lymph nodes. The MIS group had a significantly earlier initiation of soft diet, shorter hospital stay, and fewer pain medication injections. Complication rates, recurrence, and overall 5-year survival were similar for the two groups. When we compared laparoscopy with robotic, similar result was shown in all parameters except operation time.ConclusionsCompared to open surgery, MIS for RGC demonstrated better short-term outcome and comparable oncologic results. MIS for RGC is feasible and safe and maintains advantages of minimal invasiveness. Both laparoscopic and robotic approaches are reasonable to the management of RGC.", "corpus_id": 19767639 }

{ "title": "Chylous ascites in a patient with mesenteric panniculits.", "abstract": "2001;111:2183–2186. 5. Cirak MY, Ozdek A, Yilmaz D, et al. Detection of Helicobacter pylori and its CagA gene in tonsil and adenoid tissues by PCR. Arch Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg. 2003;129:1225–1229. 6. Bulut Y, Agacayak A, Karlidag T, et al. Association of cagA(+) Helicobacter pylori with adenotonsillar hypertrophy. Tohoku J Exp Med. 2006;209:229–233. 7. Morinaka S, Ichimiya M, Nakamura H. Detection of Helicobacter pylori in nasal and maxillary sinus specimens from patients with chronic sinusitis. Laryngoscope. 2003;113: 1557–1563. 8. Karlidag T, Bulut Y, Keles E, et al. Detection of Helicobacter pylori in children with otitis media with effusion: a preliminary report. Laryngoscope. 2005;115:1262–1265. 9. Yilmaz MD, Aktepe O, Cetinkol Y, et al. Does Helicobacter pylori have role in development of otitis media with effusion? Int J Pediatr Otorhinolaryngol. 2005;69:745–749.", "corpus_id": 26291500, "score": 1 }

{ "title": "Cloning and characterization of the galactokinase gene from Streptococcus thermophilus.", "abstract": "The objective of this research was to clone and characterize the galactokinase gene (galK) from Streptococcus thermophilus F410. Partially digested genomic DNA was cloned into pBR322 and transformed into galK Escherichia coli, and a galactose-fermenting transformant was isolated. Restriction analysis revealed that the transformant resulted from a Sau3A-HindIII 4.0-kb fragment. Galactokinase activity in the recombinant was 10 times that of the parent strain. Analysis of the DNA sequence showed the presence of a 1.3-kb open reading frame that had high homology with the galK gene from other organisms. A putative ribosome-binding site, start and stop codons, and -10 and -35 sequences were identified. The predicted protein had a molecular mass of 49 kDa, which corresponded to the estimated size of a band apparent by SDS-PAGE. Amino acid sequence homologies with other galactokinases ranged from 50 to 62% similarity. Northern blots were performed between the galK gene and mRNA from S. thermophilus. No hybridization signals were observed for cells grown in glucose, but cells grown in lactose or galactose gave moderate and strong signals. The results suggest that repression of the galK gene by glucose may be responsible for the galactose-releasing phenotype in these strains.", "corpus_id": 740453 }

{ "title": "Exopolysaccharide‐producing strains of thermophilic lactic acid bacteria cluster into groups according to their EPS structure", "abstract": "Aims: To compare galactose‐negative strains of Streptococcus thermophilus and Lactobacillus delbrueckii subspecies bulgaricus isolated from fermented milk products and known to produce exopolysaccharides (EPSs).", "corpus_id": 31131694 }

{ "title": "Physiological and molecular characterization of the Na+/Ca2+exchanger in human platelets.", "abstract": "In this report, we have demonstrated that Na+/Ca2+exchanger activity in a human megakaryocytic cell line (CHRF-288 cells) is K+ dependent, similar to the properties previously described for Na+/Ca2+exchange activity in human platelets. With the use of RT-PCR techniques and mRNA, the exchanger expressed in CHRF-288 cells was found to be identical to that expressed in human retinal rods. Northern blot analysis of the mRNA for the human retinal rod exchanger in CHRF-288 cells revealed a major transcript at 5.8 kb with two minor bands at 4.9 and 6.8 kb. mRNA for the retinal rod exchanger was also identified in human platelets. Using Ba2+ influx as a measure of Na+/Ca2+exchange activity in human platelets, we have demonstrated that exchange activity is driven by the transmembrane gradient for K+ as well as that for Na+. We propose that the K+ dependence of the platelet Na+/Ca2+exchanger could make platelets especially sensitive to daily fluctuations in salt intake.", "corpus_id": 4393054, "score": 1 }

{ "title": "Does allophonic knowledge of L1 contribute to the correct discrimination of non-native sounds?", "abstract": "The present paper investigated the perception of four Punjabi liquids /ɾ ɽ l ɭ/ and two stops /d ɖ/ by Japanese listeners. It has been reported that Japanese listeners have difficulty in perceiving the two-way liquid contrast of English because Japanese has only one liquid phoneme. Japanese /r/ has, in fact, a rich allophonic inventory. However, no detailed perception studies have been conducted to test whether rich allophonic inventory of Japanese /r/ helps Japanese listeners to perceive the phonemic four-way liquid and two-way stop contrasts of Punjabi. Our results from the forty-eight Japanese listeners suggested that, regardless of rich allophonic inventory of /r/, the liquid-liquid contrasts are still hard to discriminate for the Japanese listeners, but liquid-stop contrasts are easy to discriminate. On the other hand, retroflex stop [ɖ], an allophone of Japanese /r/, has given some advantage in the discrimination of /d-ɖ/ contrast and some disadvantage in liquid-stop contrasts.", "corpus_id": 720624 }

{ "title": "The effects of experimental variables on the perception of American English /r/ and /l/ by Japanese listeners", "abstract": "The effects of variations in response categories, subjects’ perception of natural speech, and stimulus range on the identification of American English /r/ and /l/ by native speakers of Japanese were investigated. Three experiments using a synthesized /rait/-/lait/ series showed that all these variables affected identification and discrimination performance by Japanese-subjects. Furthermore, some of the perceptual characteristics of /r/ and /l/ for Japanese listeners were clarified: (1) Japanese listeners identified some of the stimuli of the series-as/w/.(2). Apositive correlation between the perception of synthesized stimuli and naturally-spoken stimuli was found. Japanese listeners who were able to easily identify naturally spoken stimuli perceived the synthetic series categorically but still perceived a /w/ category on the series. (3) The stimulus range showed a striking effect on identification consistency; identification of /r/ and /l/ was strongly affected by the stimulus range, the /w/ identification less so. This indicates that Japanese listeners tend to make relative judgments between /r/ and /l/.", "corpus_id": 25404752 }

{ "title": "Potentiometric titration of the high- and low-potential 4Fe-4S* centers of Azotobacter vinelandii ferredoxin I", "abstract": "The high-potential 4Fe-4S* center ofAzotobacter vinelandii ferredoxin I has been titrated potentiometrically by a reductive procedure. The absorbance decrease at 510 nm accompanying the reduction of the high-potential center titrated with an Em of 320 mV (n = 1). The low-potential 4Fe-4S* center was titrated by using the absorbance decrease at 410 nm to monitor its reduction. This center exhibited an Em of -424 mV (n = 1).", "corpus_id": 45253182, "score": 0 }

{ "title": "A bidirectional power converter for battery of plug-in hybrid electric vehicles", "abstract": "A novel power converter for battery used in the Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle (PHEV) is proposed, which could charge and discharge the battery effectively. The system is composed of two parts: a three phase full bridge PWM rectifier and a DC/DC converter. The PWM rectifier is utilized to rectify the three phase AC to DC voltage, which should be higher than the battery terminal voltage. The DC/DC converter is constructed by a buck-boost circuit, which is a buck circuit under charge mode and a boost circuit under discharge mode. The direct current control (DCC) algorithm is responsible for rectifying the AC output and diminishing the total harmonics distortion. The proportional-integral (PI) controller and bangbang controller is to control the charging current and voltage. The simulation and experiment results validate the effectiveness of proposed algorithm and the feasibility of system.", "corpus_id": 1023724 }

{ "title": "Battery Charging Station for Multiple Electric Vehicles with Power Conditioning", "abstract": "In this paper, dual active bridge (DAB) converter based off-board charging station is proposed for multiple electric vehicle battery charging. The new feature of improvement in power quality at utility is also added which reduces the cost of grid utility and also, it makes the revenue cheaper for the owners of the charging station. Additionally, this will lead to improvement in climatic conditions caused by pollution caused due to more fuel consumption. This charger lessens the amount of harmonics and also provides reactive power compensation to the non linear loads at the residential installations during the absence of vehicle for charging. The control algorithm consists of constant current and constant voltage charging block along with adaptive transverse filter for the extraction of fundamental component of the load current with the help of LMS algorithm. The Simulink model of DAB based charging station is developed for charging four units of vehicles. To investigate the performance of system, four units of EVs are connected at charging ports in which two vehicle batteries are charged in CC mode and remaining two vehicle batteries are charged in CV mode and provide power to each vehicle of 340W, 56.5V/6A, 360W 60V/6A, 30W 50V/0.6A and 125W 125V/1A respectively through charging ports. Further, a non-linear load is connected to utility grid as local load.", "corpus_id": 209459459 }

{ "title": "Effect of groundwater and sea weathering cycles on the strength of chalk rock from unstable coastal cliffs of NW France", "abstract": "Abstract The aim of this paper is to evaluate the role of groundwater and sea weathering on the strength of the chalk rocks exposed on the coastline of the English Channel in Normandy, NW France. We present a study of the rock strength variations of three representative chalk units (Lewes Chalk, Seaford Chalk and Newhaven Chalk) exposed at various locations on the coastal chalk cliffs. The combination of UCS tests and SEM observations have been used (1) on dry natural chalk samples, (2) on chalk samples at various moisture contents, (3) on dry chalk samples submitted to a 10-day cycle of alternating wetting and drying by distilled water and by sea water. Dry chalk samples show low UCS strength (3.46–4 MPa) indicative of very weak rocks. When chalk samples are submitted to progressive water wetting, they present a decrease of UCS strength and Young's modulus of 40% to 50%. This behaviour begins at low values of water content within the chalk, i.e., for a degree of water saturation ranging between 10% and 17%. When chalk samples are submitted to an artificial weathering cycle with distilled water, a decrease in strength is observed, whereas the Young's modulus increases. SEM observations indicate the occurrence of microcracks and particle aggregates in the sample. When chalk samples are submitted to an artificial weathering with sea water, the decrease of UCS strength and Young's modulus achieves a minimum. SEM observations indicate salt crystals within the chalk. On the coastal cliffs of NW France, weathering processes depend both on chalk lithology, which show a range of sensitivity to weathering and on the location of the chalk in the coastal area. Processes allied to the degree of weathering (e.g., salt crystallisation or fresh water disaggregation) differ in the chalk massif, on the cliff face and on the shore platform.", "corpus_id": 17071810, "score": 0 }

{ "title": "A Restaurant Recommender System Based on User Preference and Location in Mobile Environment", "abstract": "Recommender system is an effective way to help users to obtain the personalized and useful information. However, due to complexity and dynamic, the traditional recommender system cannot work well in mobile environment. In this paper, we propose a restaurant recommender system in mobile environment. This recommender system adopts a user preference model by using the features of user's visited restaurants, and also utilizes the location information of user and restaurants to dynamically generate the recommendation results. Baidu map cloud service is used to implement the proposed recommender system. The result of a case study shows that the proposed restaurant recommender system can effectively utilize user's preference and the location information to recommend the personalized and suitable restaurants for different users.", "corpus_id": 13967287 }

{ "title": "Novelty and Diversity in Top-N Recommendation -- Analysis and Evaluation", "abstract": "For recommender systems that base their product rankings primarily on a measure of similarity between items and the user query, it can often happen that products on the recommendation list are highly similar to each other and lack diversity. In this article we argue that the motivation of diversity research is to increase the probability of retrieving unusual or novel items which are relevant to the user and introduce a methodology to evaluate their performance in terms of novel item retrieval. Moreover, noting that the retrieval of a set of items matching a user query is a common problem across many applications of information retrieval, we formulate the trade-off between diversity and matching quality as a binary optimization problem, with an input control parameter allowing explicit tuning of this trade-off. We study solution strategies to the optimization problem and demonstrate the importance of the control parameter in obtaining desired system performance. The methods are evaluated for collaborative recommendation using two datasets and case-based recommendation using a synthetic dataset constructed from the public-domain Travel dataset.", "corpus_id": 18075416 }

{ "title": "Feasibility of Information Interoperability in the Humanitarian Domain.", "abstract": null, "corpus_id": 50465096, "score": -1 }

{ "title": "Distributed partial evaluation", "abstract": "Partial evaluation is an automatic program transformation that optimizes programs by specialization. We speed up the specialization process by utilizing the natural coarse-grained parallelism inherent in the partial evaluation process. We have supplemented an existing partial evaluation system for the Scheme programming language by a farm-of-workers model for parallel partial evaluation in a network of loosely coupled workstations. Our implementation speeds up specialization by a factor of 2–3 on 6 processors.", "corpus_id": 543195 }

{ "title": "Parallel systems in symbolic and algebraic computation", "abstract": "This thesis describes techniques that exploit the distributed memory in massively parallel processors to satisfy the peak memory requirements of some very large computer algebra problems. Our aim is to achieve balanced memory use, which differentiates this work from other parallel systems whose focus is on gaining speedup. It is widely observed that failures in computer algebra systems are mostly due to memory overload: for several problems in computer algebra, some of the best available algorithms suffer from intermediate expression swell where the result is of reasonable size, but the intermediate calculation encounters severe memory limitations. This observation motivates our memory-centric approach to parallelizing computer algebra algorithms. The memory balancing is based on a randomized hashing algorithm for dynamic distribution of data. Dynamic distribution means that the intermediate data is allocated storage space at the time that it is created and therefore the system can avoid overloading some processing elements. Large scale computer algebra problems with peak memory demands of more than 10 gigabytes are considered. Distributed memory can scale to satisfy these requirements. For example, the Hitachi SR2201 which is the target architecture in this research provides up to 56 gigabytes of memory. The system has fine granularity : tasks sizes are small and data is partitioned in small blocks. The fine granularity provides flexibility in controlling memory balance but incurs higher communication costs. The communication overhead is reduced by an intelligent scheduler which performs asynchronous overlap of communication and computation. The implementation provides a polynomial algebra system with operations on multivariate polynomials and matrices with polynomial entries. Within this framework it is possible to find computations with large memory demands, for example, solving large sparse systems of linear equations and Gröbner base computations. The parallel algorithms that have been implemented are based on the standard algorithms for polynomial algebra. This demonstrates that careful attention to memory management aids solution of very large problems even without the benefit of advanced algorithms. The parallel implementation can be used to solve larger problems than have previously been possible.", "corpus_id": 10788029 }

{ "title": "Underactuated Gripper with Forearm Roll Estimation for Human Limbs Manipulation in Rescue Robotics", "abstract": "The emergence of new robotic technologies such as compliant control and soft robotics, has contributed to safe physical Human-Robot Interaction (pHRI) mainly for assistive applications. However, a robot capable of directly manipulating the human body, which is key for the implementation of autonomous rescue robots, has not been developed so far. In this paper, the development of a gripper and methods for the robotic manipulation of a laying victim’s forearm, initiated by the robot is addressed, and validated based on experimental results. An underactuated gripper with added proprioceptive sensors has been designed, with environment sensing and tactile recognition capabilities. This method provides a stable grasping of a human forearm that lays on a surface and is capable of estimating the roll angle of the grasped arm for precise location and safe manipulation. The roll-angle estimation method is based on Machine Learning and has been trained with experimental data obtained from experiments with human volunteers. The resulting method provides robust and precise grasping, tolerant to location inaccuracy with inexpensive sensors. This is one of the very first works on the robotic human-body manipulation.", "corpus_id": 210970711, "score": 1 }

{ "title": "Characterizing vaccine responses using host genomic and transcriptomic analysis.", "abstract": "Vaccines have had a profound influence on human health with no other health intervention rivaling their impact on the morbidity and mortality associated with infectious disease. However, the magnitude and persistence of vaccine immunity varies considerably between individuals, a phenomenon that is not well understood. Recent studies have used contemporary technologies to correlate variation in the genome and transcriptome to immunological measures of vaccine responsiveness. These approaches have provided fresh insight into the intrinsic factors determining the potency and duration of vaccine-induced immunity. The fundamental challenge will be to translate these findings into innovative and pragmatic strategies to develop new and more effective vaccines.", "corpus_id": 1686889 }

{ "title": "Humoral immunity and transcriptome differences of COVID-19 inactivated vacciane and protein subunit vaccine as third booster dose in human", "abstract": "Under the background of the severe human health and world economic burden caused by COVID-19, the attenuation of vaccine protection efficacy, and the prevalence and immune escape of emerging variants of concern (VOCs), the third dose of booster immunization has been put on the agenda. Systems biology approaches can help us gain new perspectives on the characterization of immune responses and the identification of factors underlying vaccine-induced immune efficacy. We analyzed the antibody signature and transcriptional responses of participants vaccinated with COVID-19 inactivated vaccine and protein subunit vaccine as a third booster dose. The results from the antibody indicated that the third booster dose was effective, and that heterologous vaccination with the protein subunit vaccine as a booster dose induced stronger humoral immune responses than the homologous vaccination with inactivated vaccine, and might be more effective against VOCs. In transcriptomic analysis, protein subunit vaccine induced more differentially expressed genes that were significantly associated with many important innate immune pathways. Both the homologous and heterologous boosters could increase the effectiveness against COVID-19, and compared with the inactivated vaccine, the protein subunit vaccine, mediated a stronger humoral immune response and had a more significant correlation with the innate immune function module, which provided certain data support for the third booster immunization strategy.", "corpus_id": 251291909 }

{ "title": "Sterilizing Activity of Fully Oral Intermittent Regimens against Mycobacterium Ulcerans Infection in Mice", "abstract": "Background The treatment of Buruli ulcer (BU) that is caused by Mycobacterium ulcerans, is currently based on a daily administration of rifampin and streptomycin (RIF-STR). A fully oral intermittent regimen would greatly simplify its treatment on the field. Methodology/Principal findings The objective of this study was to assess the bactericidal and sterilizing activities of intermittent oral regimens in a murine model of established M. ulcerans infection. Regimens combining rifapentine (RFP 20 mg/kg) with either moxifloxacin (MXF 200 mg/kg), clarithromycin (CLR 100 mg/kg) or bedaquiline (BDQ 25 mg/kg) were administrated twice (2/7) or three (only for RFP-CLR 3/7) times weekly during 8 weeks. The bactericidal but also the sterilizing activities of these four intermittent oral regimens were at least as good as those obtained with control weekdays regimens, i.e. RFP-CLR 5/7 or RIF-STR 5/7. A single mouse from the RFP-MFX 2/7 group had culture-positive relapse at the end of the 28 weeks following treatment completion among the 157 mice treated with one of the four intermittent regimens (40 RFP-CLR 2/7, 39 RFP-CLR 3/7, 39 RFP-MXF 2/7, 39 RFP-BDQ 2/7). Conclusions/Significance These results open the door for a fully intermittent oral drug regimen for BU treatment avoiding intramuscular injections and facilitating supervision by health care workers.", "corpus_id": 15439099, "score": 1 }

{ "title": "Human and numerical observer studies of lesion detection in Ga-67 images obtained with MAP-EM reconstructions and anatomical priors", "abstract": "Regularization can be implemented in iterative image reconstruction by using an algorithm such as Maximum-A-Posteriori Ordered-Subsets-Expectation-Maximization (MAP OSEM) which favors a smoother image as the solution. One way of controlling the smoothing is to introduce, during the reconstruction process, a prior knowledge about the slice anatomy. In a previous work, we showed using numerical observers that anatomical priors can improve lesion detection accuracy in simulated Ga-67 images of the chest. The goal of this work is to expand and enhance our previous investigations by conducting human-observer localization receiver observer characteristics (LROC) studies and to compare the results to those of a multiclass channelized non-prewhitening (CNPW) model observer. Phantom images were created using the SIMIND Monte Carlo simulation software from the MCAT phantom. The lesion: background contrast was 27.5:1. The anatomical data employed were the structure boundaries from the original, noise-free slices of the MCAT phantom. Images were reconstructed using the DePierro MAP algorithm with surrogate functions. Images were also reconstructed with no priors using the RBI-EM algorithm, with 4 iterations and 4 projections per subset Two weights (0.005 and 0.04) for the prior were tested. The following reconstruction scheme was used to reach convergence for the anatomical priors: The 120 projections were reconstructed successively with 4, 8, 24, 60, and 120 projections per subset with 1, 1, 1, 1, and finally 50 iterations respectively; the result of each reconstruction was used as an initial estimate for the next reconstruction. The human observer areas-under-the-curves (AUC's) agreed with the numerical observer in ranking use of organ and lesion boundaries highest, a slight decrease with tumor boundaries present when no functional tumor was present, and a further slight decrease when just organ boundaries were employed", "corpus_id": 807769 }

{ "title": "Human-observer LROC study of lesion detection in Ga-67 SPECT images reconstructed using MAP with anatomical priors", "abstract": "We compare the image quality of SPECT reconstruction with and without an anatomical prior. Area under the localization-response operating characteristic (LROC) curve is our figure of merit. Simulated Ga-67 citrate images, a SPECT lymph-nodule imaging agent, were generated using the MCAT digital phantom. Reconstructed images were read by human observers. Several reconstruction strategies are compared, including rescaled block iterative (RBI) and maximum-a-posteriori (MAP) with various priors. We find that MAP reconstruction using prior knowledge of organ and lesion boundaries significantly improves lesion-detection performance (p < 0.05). Pseudo-lesion boundaries, regions without increased uptake which are incorrectly treated as prior knowledge of lesion boundaries, do not decrease performance.", "corpus_id": 6526878 }

{ "title": "Histologic evaluation of root-surface healing after root contact or approximation during placement of mini-implants.", "abstract": "INTRODUCTION\nPlacement of mini-implants carries with it the risk of iatrogenic damage to the adjacent root surfaces. The aims of this study were to assess the type of trauma incurred on tooth roots after contact or approximation with mini-implants during placement, and to observe and analyze the healing responses via histologic analysis.\n\n\nMETHODS\nFour male minipigs were used as experimental subjects. Twenty mini-implants (1.6 × 8 mm) were implanted in each minipig into the buccal sides of all 4 quadrants between the roots of teeth so that contact or approximation between the mini-implant and root surface occurred, with the aid of dental fluoroscopy. All mini-implants on the left side of the mouth were left in situ, and all mini-implants on the right side were removed immediately after placement. The minipigs were killed at 4-week intervals up to week 16, and histologic sections were made.\n\n\nRESULTS\nWhen mini-implants were left in situ, the root surface was mostly resorbed away from the mini-implant thread. Partial repair started at 8 weeks. When the mini-implant thread was left touching the root, there was no normal healing response. If the mini-implant was placed less than 1 mm from the periodontal ligament, resorption was evident on the root surface. Abnormal healing responses were seen when the pulp tissue was ruptured, mostly through osteodentin formation. In all instances after mini-implant removal immediately after placement, varying degrees of cementum repair was observed.\n\n\nCONCLUSIONS\nImmediate removal of the mini-implant leads to cementum repair, whereas leaving the mini-implant in place will cause either a delay in repair or no repair. Placing mini-implants less than 1 mm from the root surface causes root-surface resorption.", "corpus_id": 6095667, "score": 1 }

{ "title": "Object oriented implementation monitoring method of zone feature in land consolidation engineering using SPOT 5 imagery", "abstract": "Land consolidation is an effective activity realizing the sustainable utilization of land use, and implementation monitoring of zone type land consolidation engineering. Funded by National High Technology Research and Development Program of China, an object oriented monitoring method is produced in this research. Object correlation images(OCIs) are used to measure if a zonal objects is consolidated (i. e., changed). There are three correction parameters are used in this study: correlation, slope and intercept in correction analysis process, and spectral and textural (4 Grey Level Co-occurrence matrix (GLCM) features such as Homogeneity, Contrast, Angular second moment, Entropy) information are used in caculation of objects correction value. This approach consists in three phases: (1) multi-resulition image segmentation, (2) correlation analysis of two phase remote sensing images, and (3) implementation monitoring based on segmented correction results. Firstly, the temote sensing images before and after land consolidation are partitioned into objects using multi-resolution segmentation method. Secondly, correlation analysis is done between these images. Finally, focused on these regions, implementation monitoring is done based on the comparability of image objects in the same area resulting from these two phase remote sensing images. Accuracy assessment results indicate that this method can be used to monitor land consolidation engineering implementation status, total accuracy up to 86.30%.", "corpus_id": 1101244 }

{ "title": "A hierarchical object oriented method for land cover classification of SPOT 5 imagery", "abstract": "Land cover classification with a high accuracy is necessary, especially in waste dump area, accurate land cover information is very important to eco-environment research, vegetation condition study and soil recovery destination. Funded by the international cooperation project Novel Indicator Technologies for Minesite Rehabilitation and sustainable development, a hierarchical object oriented land cover classification is produced in this study. The ample spectral information, textural information, structure and shape information of high resolution SPOT 5 imagery are used synthetically in this method. There are two steps in object oriented information extraction: image segmentation and classification. First, the image is segmented using chessboard segmentation and multi-resolution segmentation method. Second, NDVI is used to distinguish vegetation and non-vegetation; vegetation is classified as high density vegetation, middling density vegetation and low density vegetation using spectral information, object oriented image texture analysis; non-vegetation is classified as vacant land and main road using length/width. Accuracy assessment indicate that this hierarchical method can be used to do land cover classification in waste dump area, the total accuracy increases to 86.53%, and Kappa coefficient increases to 0.7907.", "corpus_id": 17993672 }

{ "title": "A Comparison of Four Algorithms for Change Detection in an Urban Environment", "abstract": "Abstract Four digital change detection algorithms are applied to 1986 and 1990 Landsat Thematic Mapper (TM) images of a portion of the Salt Lake Valley area to determine the land-cover/land-use changes between the two dates. Image differencing and image regression are used with the six reflective TM bands to create 12 change images. A tassled cap transformation is also used to create three change images (change in brightness, greenness, and wetness). A new method—a Chi square transformation—is proposed and used with the six reflective bands to create a single band change image. A thresholding strategy is applied to the change images to separate the pixels of change from those of no change. Five hundred eighty-five samples are selected through a combination of stratified random sampling and systematic sampling procedure. Ground truth information on the sample sites is obtained from the interpretation of color aerial photo slides of the two dates. Three indices are used to assess the accuracies of the sixteen change images for land-cover/land-use change detection. The regression of TM Band 3 is found to be most accurate for detecting change vs. no change in all three indices, while the difference image of TM4 is found to be least accurate. The kind of change in land-cover/land-use is also examined. The results are compared and summarized. Changes involving construction sites and farmlands are found to be accurately detected by several change images.", "corpus_id": 129007944, "score": 2 }

{ "title": "A compliant, underactuated hand for robust manipulation", "abstract": "This paper introduces the i-HY Hand, an underactuated hand driven by 5 actuators that is capable of performing a wide range of grasping and in-hand manipulation tasks. This hand was designed to address the need for a durable, inexpensive, moderately dexterous hand suitable for use on mobile robots. The primary focus of this paper will be on the novel minimalistic design of i-HY, which was developed by choosing a set of target tasks around which the design of the hand was optimized. Particular emphasis is placed on the development of underactuated fingers that are capable of both firm power grasps and low- stiffness fingertip grasps using only the passive mechanics of the finger mechanism. Experimental results demonstrate successful grasping of a wide range of target objects, the stability of fingertip grasping, as well as the ability to adjust the force exerted on grasped objects using the passive finger mechanics.", "corpus_id": 1022095 }

{ "title": "Design of a tendon-driven robotic hand with an embedded camera", "abstract": "This paper designs a new five-fingered robotic hand with a camera. Several morphological features of the human hand are integrated to improve the appearance of the hand. The drive system of this hand is under-actuated to eliminate the weight of the hand and to embed all the actuators inside the palm. Despite of this under-actuation, this hand can grasp objects in several different ways. In addition, the two different transmissions are adopted to drive the fingers according to their roles. These transmissions help not only to improve drive efficiency but also to secure the space of the embedded camera.", "corpus_id": 17083642 }

{ "title": "BigHand2.2M Benchmark: Hand Pose Dataset and State of the Art Analysis", "abstract": "In this paper we introduce a large-scale hand pose dataset, collected using a novel capture method. Existing datasets are either generated synthetically or captured using depth sensors: synthetic datasets exhibit a certain level of appearance difference from real depth images, and real datasets are limited in quantity and coverage, mainly due to the difficulty to annotate them. We propose a tracking system with six 6D magnetic sensors and inverse kinematics to automatically obtain 21-joints hand pose annotations of depth maps captured with minimal restriction on the range of motion. The capture protocol aims to fully cover the natural hand pose space. As shown in embedding plots, the new dataset exhibits a significantly wider and denser range of hand poses compared to existing benchmarks. Current state-of-the-art methods are evaluated on the dataset, and we demonstrate significant improvements in cross-benchmark performance. We also show significant improvements in egocentric hand pose estimation with a CNN trained on the new dataset.", "corpus_id": 4662035, "score": -1 }

{ "title": "The size of lymph nodes in the neck on sonograms as a radiologic criterion for metastasis: how reliable is it?", "abstract": "PURPOSE\nA definition of cut-off points for nodal size is essential to determine whether cervical lymph nodes are metastatic or not. Because the currently used size criteria are defined for random populations of patients with head and neck cancer, we set out to study whether these criteria are optimal for patients without palpable metastases in different levels of the neck We defined optimal size criteria for sonography by calculating the sensitivity and specificity of different size cut-off points.\n\n\nMETHODS\nWe compared the sensitivity and specificity of different size cut-off points as measured on sonograms for various levels in the neck in a series of 117 patients with and 131 patients without palpable neck metastases.\n\n\nRESULTS\nA minimum axial diameter of 7 mm for level II and 6 mm for the rest of the neck revealed the optimal compromise between sensitivity and specificity in necks without palpable metastases. For all necks together (with and without palpable metastases), the criteria were 1 to 2 mm larger.\n\n\nCONCLUSION\nOur findings indicate that the current sonographic size criteria used for random patient populations are not optimal for necks without palpable metastases, nor can the same cut-off points be used for all levels in the neck.", "corpus_id": 2479789 }

{ "title": "Lymph Node Staging", "abstract": "Cancers of the head and neck (HNC) include cancers of the larynx, nasal passages/nose, oral cavity, pharynx, salivary glands, buccal regions, and thyroid. In these cancers, lymph node staging and localization of pathological lymph nodes are necessary to decide on either (neo) adjuvant or surgical therapy and are a major factor for the prognosis in HNC patients. Cervical node metastases have different incidence, and their presence is associated with a decrease in global survival to roughly half and with higher recurrence rates. The node metastases can be categorized in the following 2 groups: overt (clinical) or nonovert (occult). The latter can be subcategorized as metastases detectable by traditional methods (eg, staining) or \"submicroscopic\" metastases, only evident with immunohistochemical or molecular analysis. Compared with clinical invasive and laboratory examinations, which may have complications and are expensive, radiology plays an important role in lymph node staging. Mainly, the overt node metastases are the field of radiological imaging, and second, the detection of nonovert metastases is important and holds promise for the future because many patients of those initially classified as cN0 have, in fact, occult metastatic disease (pN1). Vice versa, radiological imaging has to avoid false-positive results that can lead to an elective or radical neck dissection, which are associated with increased morbidity and mortality and thus overshadow the improvement in survival. Radiological imaging plays a role not only as an initial staging of N+ but also in the case of N0 due to the continuing controversy for the treatment of N0 patients. A close observation of the patient may reveal a positive node in the follow-up. The imaging modalities used for the node staging in HNC patients include ultrasound, contrast-enhanced computed tomography, contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and positron emission tomography scans. None of the above-mentioned methods reaches a 100% sensitivity or specificity, and the accuracy of the exact number of metastases or levels involved has not been studied; thus, neck dissection with subsequent pathological examination remains the gold standard for node staging. Among the described cross-sectional imaging modalities, MRI presents a lot of advantages mainly due to the increased soft tissue contrast and the ability to obtain tissue characteristics in different sequences, including diffusion- and perfusion-weighted sequences and proton spectroscopy imaging. The lack of the radiation burden makes MRI suitable for a close follow-up of the patient, and the imaging with the use of new intravenous contrast material (such as ultrasmall iron oxide particles) seems superior to the conventional. In this article, we will focus on the lymph node MRI staging in HNC patients and the MR anatomy of the nodes, the necessary diagnostic workup, and the advantages of the method over computed tomography. The possibilities of the new imaging sequences and the treatment implications will be addressed as well.", "corpus_id": 1233668 }

{ "title": "Fast spin-echo imaging in the evaluation of intradural disease of the spine.", "abstract": "PURPOSE\nFast spin echo (FSE) images were compared with conventional images in 46 patients with intradural spinal disease to determine their accuracy in the detection and delineation of lesions.\n\n\nMATERIALS AND METHODS\nThe images were interpreted by two neuroradiologists, who read individually. A total of 720 blinded readings formed the basis for this evaluation. A gold standard for each patient was selected, based on the blinded readings of the conventional studies.\n\n\nRESULTS\nIn the sagittal plane, the FSE sequences were found to have an accuracy of 93% and 93% for the first reader and 93% and 85% for the second reader. For the axial plane, the corresponding figures were 86% and 82% for the first reader and 64% and 77% for the second reader. These figures compared favorably with conventional sequences. Similar delineation of lesions was noted in 78% of cases. In the remaining cases, there were no significant trends.\n\n\nCONCLUSION\nBecause of these findings, FSE sequences appear as accurate as conventional sequences. In this study, they were capable of supplanting conventional sequences in the evaluation of intradural pathology of the spine in the sagittal plane, although conventional sequences were still preferred in the axial plane.", "corpus_id": 21353166, "score": 2 }

{ "title": "Dynamic Control of Explore/Exploit Trade-Off In Bayesian Optimization", "abstract": "Bayesian optimization offers the possibility of optimizing black-box operations not accessible through traditional techniques. The success of Bayesian optimization methods such as Expected Improvement (EI) are significantly affected by the degree of trade-off between exploration and exploitation. Too much exploration can lead to inefficient optimization protocols, whilst too much exploitation leaves the protocol open to strong initial biases, and a high chance of getting stuck in a local minimum. Typically, a constant margin is used to control this trade-off, which results in yet another hyper-parameter to be optimized. We propose contextual improvement as a simple, yet effective heuristic to counter this - achieving a one-shot optimization strategy. Our proposed heuristic can be swiftly calculated and improves both the speed and robustness of discovery of optimal solutions. We demonstrate its effectiveness on both synthetic and real world problems and explore the unaccounted for uncertainty in the pre-determination of search hyperparameters controlling explore-exploit trade-off.", "corpus_id": 49564966 }

{ "title": "Batch Normalized Deep Kernel Learning for Weight Uncertainty", "abstract": null, "corpus_id": 52000689 }

{ "title": "62.Research on digital vectorization of artistic graphics and figures based on spline curve fitting and computer aided technology", "abstract": null, "corpus_id": 59469329, "score": -1 }

{ "title": "Blocking Adult Images Based on Statistical Skin Detection", "abstract": "This work is aimed at the detection of adult images that appear in Internet. Skin detection is of the paramount importance in the detection of adult images. We build a maximum entropy model for this task. This model, called the First Order Model in this paper, is subject to constraints on the color gradients of neighboring pixels. Parameter estimation as well as optimization cannot be tackled without approximations. With Bethe tree approximation, parameter estimation is eradicated and the Belief Propagation algorithm permits to obtain exact and fast solution for skin probabilities at pixel locations. We show by the Receiver Operating Characteristics (ROC) curves that our skin detection improves the performance in the previous work in the context of skin pixel detecton rate and false positive rate. The output of skin detection is a grayscale skin map with the gray level indicating the belief of skin. We then calculate 9 simple features from this map which form a feature vector. We use the fit ellipses to catch the characteristics of skin distribution. Two fit ellipses are used for each skin map---the fit ellipse of all skin regions and the fit ellipse of the largest skin region. They are called respectively Global Fit Ellipse and Local Fit Ellipse in this paper. A multi-layer perceptron classifier is trained for these features. Plenty of experimental results are presented including photographs and a ROC curve calculated over a test set of 5,084 photographs, which show stimulating performance for such simple features.", "corpus_id": 2828902 }

{ "title": "Does colorspace transformation make any difference on skin detection?", "abstract": "Skin detection is an important process in many of computer vision algorithms. It usually is a process that starts at a pixel-level, and that involves a pre-process of colorspace transformation followed by a classification process. A colorspace transformation is assumed to increase separability between skin and non-skin classes, to increase similarity among different skin tones, and to bring a robust performance under varying illumination conditions, without any sound reasonings. In this work, we examine if the colorspace transformation does bring those benefits by measuring four separability measurements on a large dataset of 805 images with different skin tones and illumination. Surprising results indicate that most of the colorspace transformations do not bring the benefits which have been assumed.", "corpus_id": 2629563 }

{ "title": "Advances in Photopletysmography Signal Analysis for Biomedical Applications", "abstract": "Heart Rate Variability (HRV) is an important tool for the analysis of a patient’s physiological conditions, as well a method aiding the diagnosis of cardiopathies. Photoplethysmography (PPG) is an optical technique applied in the monitoring of the HRV and its adoption has been growing significantly, compared to the most commonly used method in medicine, Electrocardiography (ECG). In this survey, definitions of these technique are presented, the different types of sensors used are explained, and the methods for the study and analysis of the PPG signal (linear and nonlinear methods) are described. Moreover, the progress, and the clinical and practical applicability of the PPG technique in the diagnosis of cardiovascular diseases are evaluated. In addition, the latest technologies utilized in the development of new tools for medical diagnosis are presented, such as Internet of Things, Internet of Health Things, genetic algorithms, artificial intelligence and biosensors which result in personalized advances in e-health and health care. After the study of these technologies, it can be noted that PPG associated with them is an important tool for the diagnosis of some diseases, due to its simplicity, its cost⁻benefit ratio, the easiness of signals acquisition, and especially because it is a non-invasive technique.", "corpus_id": 48359104, "score": -1 }

{ "title": "The highly variable microbiota associated to intestinal mucosa correlates with growth and hypoxia resistance of sea bass, Dicentrarchus labrax, submitted to different nutritional histories", "abstract": "BackgroundThe better understanding of how intestinal microbiota interacts with fish health is one of the key to sustainable aquaculture development. The present experiment aimed at correlating active microbiota associated to intestinal mucosa with Specific Growth Rate (SGR) and Hypoxia Resistance Time (HRT) in European sea bass individuals submitted to different nutritional histories: the fish were fed either standard or unbalanced diets at first feeding, and then mixed before repeating the dietary challenge in a common garden approach at the juvenile stage.ResultsA diet deficient in essential fatty acids (LH) lowered both SGR and HRT in sea bass, especially when the deficiency was already applied at first feeding. A protein-deficient diet with high starch supply (HG) reduced SGR to a lesser extent than LH, but it did not affect HRT. In overall average, 94 % of pyrosequencing reads corresponded to Proteobacteria, and the differences in Operational Taxonomy Units (OTUs) composition were mildly significant between experimental groups, mainly due to high individual variability. The highest and the lowest Bray-Curtis indices of intra-group similarity were observed in the two groups fed standard starter diet, and then mixed before the final dietary challenge with fish already exposed to the nutritional deficiency at first feeding (0.60 and 0.42 with diets HG and LH, respectively). Most noticeably, the median percentage of Escherichia-Shigella OTU_1 was less in the group LH with standard starter diet. Disregarding the nutritional history of each individual, strong correlation appeared between (1) OTU richness and SGR, and (2) dominance index and HRT. The two physiological traits correlated also with the relative abundance of distinct OTUs (positive correlations: Pseudomonas sp. OTU_3 and Herbaspirillum sp. OTU_10 with SGR, Paracoccus sp. OTU_4 and Vibrio sp. OTU_7 with HRT; negative correlation: Rhizobium sp. OTU_9 with HRT).ConclusionsIn sea bass, gut microbiota characteristics and physiological traits of individuals are linked together, interfering with nutritional history, and resulting in high variability among individual microbiota. Many samples and tank replicates seem necessary to further investigate the effect of experimental treatments on gut microbiota composition, and to test the hypothesis whether microbiotypes may be delineated in fish.", "corpus_id": 792953 }

{ "title": "Effects of partial substitution of dietary fish oil with blends of vegetable oils, on blood leucocyte fatty acid compositions, immune function and histology in European sea bass (Dicentrarchus labrax L).", "abstract": "Within a decade or so insufficient fish oil (FO) will be available to meet the requirements for aquaculture growth. Consequently, alternative sources are being investigated to reduce reliance on wild fish as a source of FO. Vegetable oils (VO) are a feasible alternative to FO. However, it is important to establish that alternative dietary lipids are not only supplied in the correct quantities and balance for optimal growth, but can maintain immune function and prevent infection, since it is known that the nutritional state of the fish can influence their immune function and disease resistance. A way of maintaining immune function, while replacing dietary FO, is by using a blend of VO rather than a single oil. In this study, juvenile European sea bass (Dicentrarchus labrax) were fed diets with a 60 % substitution of FO with a blend of rapeseed, linseed and palm oils. Two oil blends were used to achieve a fatty acid composition similar to FO, in terms of energy content, and provide a similar balance of SFA, MUFA and PUFA. Fish were fed the diets for 64 weeks, after which time growth and fatty acid compositions of liver and blood leucocytes were monitored. The impact of the dietary blends on selected innate immune responses and histopathology were also assessed, together with levels of plasma prostaglandin E2. The results suggest that potential exists for replacing FO with a VO blend in farmed sea bass feeds without compromising growth, non-specific immune function or histology.", "corpus_id": 25838770 }

{ "title": "Microbiological Survey of the Human Gastric Ecosystem Using Culturing and Pyrosequencing Methods", "abstract": "Stomach mucosa biopsies and gastric juices samples of 12 healthy persons were analysed by culturing in selective- and non-selective-rich media. Microbial DNA from four mucosal samples was also amplified by nested PCR using universal bacterial primers, and the 16S rDNA amplicons pyrosequenced. The total number of cultivable microorganisms recovered from the samples ranged from 102 to 104 cfu/g or ml. The isolates were identified at the species level by PCR amplification and sequencing of the 16S rDNA. Isolates belonged mainly to four genera; Propionibacterium, Lactobacillus, Streptococcus and Staphylococcus. A total of 15,622 high-quality 16S rDNA sequence reads were obtained by pyrosequencing from the four mucosal samples. Sequence analysis grouped the reads into 59 families and 69 genera, revealing wide bacterial diversity. Considerable differences in the composition of the gastric microbiota were observed among the subjects, although in all samples the most abundant operational taxonomic units belonged to Streptococcus, Propionibacterium and Lactobacillus. Comparison of the stomach microbiota with that present in other parts of the human gastrointestinal tract revealed distinctive microbial communities. This is the first study in which a combination of culture and culture-independent techniques has been used to explore the bacterial diversity of the human stomach.", "corpus_id": 1012653, "score": 2 }

{ "title": "Hyper-network based Change Point Detection in Dynamic Networks", "abstract": null, "corpus_id": 52380451 }

{ "title": "Statistical properties of community structure in large social and information networks", "abstract": "A large body of work has been devoted to identifying community structure in networks. A community is often though of as a set of nodes that has more connections between its members than to the remainder of the network. In this paper, we characterize as a function of size the statistical and structural properties of such sets of nodes. We define the network community profile plot, which characterizes the \"best\" possible community - according to the conductance measure - over a wide range of size scales, and we study over 70 large sparse real-world networks taken from a wide range of application domains. Our results suggest a significantly more refined picture of community structure in large real-world networks than has been appreciated previously. Our most striking finding is that in nearly every network dataset we examined, we observe tight but almost trivial communities at very small scales, and at larger size scales, the best possible communities gradually \"blend in\" with the rest of the network and thus become less \"community-like.\" This behavior is not explained, even at a qualitative level, by any of the commonly-used network generation models. Moreover, this behavior is exactly the opposite of what one would expect based on experience with and intuition from expander graphs, from graphs that are well-embeddable in a low-dimensional structure, and from small social networks that have served as testbeds of community detection algorithms. We have found, however, that a generative model, in which new edges are added via an iterative \"forest fire\" burning process, is able to produce graphs exhibiting a network community structure similar to our observations.", "corpus_id": 931284 }

{ "title": "Sleeping beauties in meme diffusion", "abstract": "A sleeping beauty in diffusion indicates that the information, can be ideas or innovations, will experience a hibernation before a sudden spike of popularity and it is widely found in citation history of scientific publications. However, in this study, we demonstrate that the sleeping beauty is an interesting and unexceptional phenomenon in information diffusion and even more inspiring, there exist two consecutive sleeping beauties in the entire lifetime of propagation, suggesting that the information, including scientific topics, search queries or Wikipedia entries, which we call memes, will go unnoticed for a period and suddenly attracts some attention, and then it falls asleep again and later wakes up with another unexpected popularity peak. Further explorations on this phenomenon show that intervals between two wake ups follow an exponential distribution and the second wake up generally reaches its peak at a higher velocity. In addition, higher volume of the first wake up will lead to even much higher popularity of the second wake up with great odds. Taking these findings into consideration, an upgraded Bass model is presented to well describe the diffusion dynamics of memes on different media. Our results can help understand the common mechanism behind propagation of different memes and are instructive to locate the tipping point in marketing or find innovative publications in science.", "corpus_id": 11175887, "score": -1 }

{ "title": "Immunocytochemical localization of acyl-CoA oxidase in the rat central nervous system", "abstract": "Peroxisomal β-oxidation, consisting of four steps catalysed by an acyl-CoA oxidase, a multifunctional protein and a thiolase, is responsible for the shortening of a variety of lipid compounds. The first reaction of this pathway is catalysed by a FAD-containing acyl-CoA oxidase, three isotypes of which have been so far recognised. Among these, straight-chain acyl-CoA oxidase (ACOX) acts on long and very long chain fatty acids, prostaglandins and some xenobiotics. We investigated ACOX localisation by means of a sensitive, tyramide based, immunocytochemical technique, thus obtaining a complete distribution atlas of the enzyme in adult rat CNS. Granular immunoreaction product was found in the cytoplasm of neuronal and glial cells, both in the perikarya and in the cell processes. ACOX immunoreactive neurons were present to variable extent, in either forebrain or hindbrain areas. Specifically, the strongest signal was detected in the pallidum, septum, red nucleus, reticular formation, nuclei of the cranial nerves, and motoneurons of the spinal cord. We then compared the ACOX immunoreactivity pattern with our previous distribution maps of other peroxisomal enzymes in the adult rat brain. While ACOX appeared to colocalise with catalase in the majority of cerebral regions, some differences with respect to d-amino acid oxidase were noted. These observations support the hypothesis of heterogeneous peroxisomal populations in the nervous tissue. The wide distribution of the enzyme in the brain is consistent with the severe and generalised neurological alterations characterising the peroxisomal disorder caused by ACOX deficiency (pseudo-neonatal adrenoleukodystrophy).", "corpus_id": 2132324 }

{ "title": "PPARs in Human Neuroepithelial Tumors: PPAR Ligands as Anticancer Therapies for the Most Common Human Neuroepithelial Tumors", "abstract": "Neuroepithelial tumors represent a heterogeneous class of human tumors including benignant and malignant tumors. The incidence of central nervous system neoplasms ranges from 3.8 to 5.1 cases per 100,000 in the population. Among malignant neuroepithelial tumors, with regard to PPAR ligands, the most extensively studied were tumors of astrocytic origin and neuroblastoma. PPARs are expressed in developing and adult neuroepithelial cells, even if with different localization and relative abundance. The majority of malignant neuroepithelial tumors have poor prognosis and do not respond to conventional therapeutic protocols, therefore, new therapeutic approaches are needed. Natural and synthetic PPAR ligands may represent a starting point for the formulation of new therapeutic approaches to be used as coadjuvants to the standard therapeutic protocols. This review will focus on the major studies dealing with PPAR expression in gliomas and neuroblastoma and the therapeutic implications of using PPAR agonists for the treatment of these neoplasms.", "corpus_id": 2829334 }

{ "title": "Diode-Pumped Violet Energy Upconversion in BaF(2):Er(3+).", "abstract": "Under 805-nm diode-laser excitation we detected intense upconversion signals at 410, 380, and 275 nm in BaF(2):Er(3+). Energy upconversion schemes and efficiencies are discussed in detail. Intensity parameters of Er(3+) in BaF(2) were derived as Omega(2) = 1.048 ? 0.117 x 10(-20) cm(2), Omega(4) = 1.478 ? 0.180 x 10(-20) cm(2), and Omega(6) = 1.009 ? 0.127 x 10(-20) cm(2).", "corpus_id": 30599206, "score": 0 }

{ "title": "Convolutional Random Walk Networks for Semantic Image Segmentation", "abstract": "Most current semantic segmentation methods rely on fully convolutional networks (FCNs). However, their use of large receptive fields and many pooling layers cause low spatial resolution inside the deep layers. This leads to predictions with poor localization around the boundaries. Prior work has attempted to address this issue by post-processing predictions with CRFs or MRFs. But such models often fail to capture semantic relationships between objects, which causes spatially disjoint predictions. To overcome these problems, recent methods integrated CRFs or MRFs into an FCN framework. The downside of these new models is that they have much higher complexity than traditional FCNs, which renders training and testing more challenging. ::: In this work we introduce a simple, yet effective Convolutional Random Walk Network (RWN) that addresses the issues of poor boundary localization and spatially fragmented predictions with very little increase in model complexity. Our proposed RWN jointly optimizes the objectives of pixelwise affinity and semantic segmentation. It combines these two objectives via a novel random walk layer that enforces consistent spatial grouping in the deep layers of the network. Our RWN is implemented using standard convolution and matrix multiplication. This allows an easy integration into existing FCN frameworks and it enables end-to-end training of the whole network via standard back-propagation. Our implementation of RWN requires just $131$ additional parameters compared to the traditional FCNs, and yet it consistently produces an improvement over the FCNs on semantic segmentation and scene labeling.", "corpus_id": 12151033 }

{ "title": "Gaussian Conditional Random Field Network for Semantic Segmentation", "abstract": "In contrast to the existing approaches that use discrete Conditional Random Field (CRF) models, we propose to use a Gaussian CRF model for the task of semantic segmentation. We propose a novel deep network, which we refer to as Gaussian Mean Field (GMF) network, whose layers perform mean field inference over a Gaussian CRF. The proposed GMF network has the desired property that each of its layers produces an output that is closer to the maximum a posteriori solution of the Gaussian CRF compared to its input. By combining the proposed GMF network with deep Convolutional Neural Networks (CNNs), we propose a new end-to-end trainable Gaussian conditional random field network. The proposed Gaussian CRF network is composed of three sub-networks: (i) a CNN-based unary network for generating unary potentials, (ii) a CNN-based pairwise network for generating pairwise potentials, and (iii) a GMF network for performing Gaussian CRF inference. When trained end-to-end in a discriminative fashion, and evaluated on the challenging PASCALVOC 2012 segmentation dataset, the proposed Gaussian CRF network outperforms various recent semantic segmentation approaches that combine CNNs with discrete CRF models.", "corpus_id": 5806785 }

{ "title": "Seeing Behind the Camera: Identifying the Authorship of a Photograph", "abstract": "We introduce the novel problem of identifying the photographer behind a photograph. To explore the feasibility of current computer vision techniques to address this problem, we created a new dataset of over 180,000 images taken by 41 well-known photographers. Using this dataset, we examined the effectiveness of a variety of features (low and high-level, including CNN features) at identifying the photographer. We also trained a new deep convolutional neural network for this task. Our results show that high-level features greatly outperform low-level features. We provide qualitative results using these learned models that give insight into our method's ability to distinguish between photographers, and allow us to draw interesting conclusions about what specific photographers shoot. We also demonstrate two applications of our method.", "corpus_id": 14289376, "score": -1 }

{ "title": "Does laser type impact myocardial function following transmyocardial laser revascularization?", "abstract": "Transmyocardial laser revascularization (TMR) is currently clinically performed with either a CO2 or Ho:YAG laser for the treatment of severe angina. While both lasers provide symptomatic relief, there are significant differences in the laser–tissue interactions specific to each device that may impact their ability to enhance the perfusion of myocardium and thereby improve contractile function of the ischemic heart.", "corpus_id": 1979659 }

{ "title": "A proposed alternative mechanism of action for transmyocardial revascularization prefaced by a review of the accepted explanations.", "abstract": "Laser transmyocardial revascularization, a procedure originally intended to simulate the perfusion mechanism of the reptilian heart, has evolved into an effective but poorly understood treatment for angina when traditional revascularization is not an option. Herein, we review the explanations that have been proposed over the years and suggest a new one. We hypothesize that the long-term mechanism of action of transmyocardial revascularization is the redistribution of stresses on the ventricular wall through the creation of fibrous transmyocardial scars, which penetrate the various layers of muscle that surround the left ventricular cavity. The stress redistribution of a load in an otherwise unchanged ventricular wall reduces the wall stress per unit of wall volume, which in turn decreases the workload for the hyperkinetic compensating areas. This reduces both oxygen demand and local metabolite production, lowering the level of angina.", "corpus_id": 22013705 }

{ "title": "Investment Decisions and Tax Revenues Under an Allowance for Corporate Equity", "abstract": "In recent years, some European countries have relied on elements of an allowance for corporate equity (ACE) in the design of their tax systems. We analyse the effects of ACE-based taxation on rates of return and effective tax rates. Investment neutrality is lost if the imputed interest rate deviates from the market interest rate. With increasing profitability, the relative importance of the ACE compared with the statutory tax rate decreases. This might induce disadvantages for countries that compete for profitable, multinational companies. Revenue effects indicate that tax rates under an ACE-based tax system should not exceed those in competing countries by much.", "corpus_id": 53369, "score": 0 }

{ "title": "Robust Structured Subspace Learning for Data Representation", "abstract": "To uncover an appropriate latent subspace for data representation, in this paper we propose a novel Robust Structured Subspace Learning (RSSL) algorithm by integrating image understanding and feature learning into a joint learning framework. The learned subspace is adopted as an intermediate space to reduce the semantic gap between the low-level visual features and the high-level semantics. To guarantee the subspace to be compact and discriminative, the intrinsic geometric structure of data, and the local and global structural consistencies over labels are exploited simultaneously in the proposed algorithm. Besides, we adopt the $\\ell _{2,1}$ -norm for the formulations of loss function and regularization respectively to make our algorithm robust to the outliers and noise. An efficient algorithm is designed to solve the proposed optimization problem. It is noted that the proposed framework is a general one which can leverage several well-known algorithms as special cases and elucidate their intrinsic relationships. To validate the effectiveness of the proposed method, extensive experiments are conducted on diversity datasets for different image understanding tasks, i.e., image tagging, clustering, and classification, and the more encouraging results are achieved compared with some state-of-the-art approaches.", "corpus_id": 19021594 }

{ "title": "Locality Preserving Projections", "abstract": "Many problems in information processing involve some form of dimensionality reduction. In this paper, we introduce Locality Preserving Projections (LPP). These are linear projective maps that arise by solving a variational problem that optimally preserves the neighborhood structure of the data set. LPP should be seen as an alternative to Principal Component Analysis (PCA) – a classical linear technique that projects the data along the directions of maximal variance. When the high dimensional data lies on a low dimensional manifold embedded in the ambient space, the Locality Preserving Projections are obtained by finding the optimal linear approximations to the eigenfunctions of the Laplace Beltrami operator on the manifold. As a result, LPP shares many of the data representation properties of nonlinear techniques such as Laplacian Eigenmaps or Locally Linear Embedding. Yet LPP is linear and more crucially is defined everywhere in ambient space rather than just on the training data points. This is borne out by illustrative examples on some high dimensional data sets.", "corpus_id": 10726702 }

{ "title": "Design of 6 × 6 dual-band MIMO antenna array for 4.5G/5G smartphone applications", "abstract": "A dual-band 6 × 6 antenna array operating in the LTE band7 downlink (2620–2690 MHz) and LTE band46 (5150–5925 MHz) for 4.5G/5G communication multi-input multi-output (MIMO) operation in the smartphone is presented. The proposed dual-band antenna array elements are symmetrically placed along the long edges of the smartphone, and the antenna element is composed of three parts: a L-shaped feeding monopole, a grounded monopole and a cuboid-shaped carrier. Acceptable isolation (better than about 10 dB), good efficiency of more than 60% and good envelop correlation coefficient (ECC) of less than 0.05 for any two antennas in the proposed array are obtained.", "corpus_id": 50783017, "score": -1 }

{ "title": "Comparison of Agar Dilution, Broth Dilution, Cylinder Plate and Disk Diffusion Methods for Evaluation of Anti-leishmanial Drugs on Leishmania promastigotes", "abstract": "Background Leishmaniases are a group of diseases caused by Leishmania parasites. Growing of drug unresponsiveness in leishmaniasis patients necessitates the development of new drugs and accordingly a suitable assay is needed for evaluation of any modalities. The aim of this study was to compare four drug assays methods, agar dilution, broth dilution, cylinder plate and disk diffusion, for evaluation of anti-leishmanial drugs on Leishmania promastigotes, using glucantime as a currently available drug for treatment of leishmaniasis. Methods For broth dilution method, different concentration of glucantime was added to the parasite culture (promastigotes of Leishmania), while in cylinder plate method wells were punched in agar gel and filled with different concentration of drug and zone of inhibition was measured in each well. In disk diffusion method, the parasites were cultivated on the surface of agar; filter paper disks were enriched with various concentration of glucantime and were placed on the surface of agar. In agar dilution method, various concentrations of drug were incorporated onto blood agar and the parasites were cultivated on the surface of the agar. Results A direct correlation was found between the drug concentration and size of inhibitory zones in cylinder plate and disk diffusion methods. These two drug assays methods provided much better performance in comparison with broth and agar dilution methods. Conclusion Cylinder plate and disk diffusion methods seem to be acceptable methods for susceptibility testing of anti-leishmanial compounds on Leishmania promastigotes.", "corpus_id": 508301 }

{ "title": "Antimony susceptibility of Leishmania isolates collected over a 30-year period in Algeria", "abstract": "Background In Algeria, the treatment of visceral and cutaneous leishmanioses (VL and CL) has been and continues to be based on antimony-containing drugs. It is suspected that high drug selective pressure might favor the emergence of chemoresistant parasites. Although treatment failure is frequently reported during antimonial therapy of both CL and VL, antimonial resistance has never been thoroughly investigated in Algeria. Determining the level of antimonial susceptibility, amongst Leishmania transmitted in Algeria, is of great importance for the development of public health policies. Methodology/Principal findings Within the framework of the knowledge about the epidemiology of VL and CL amassed during the last 30 years, we sampled Leishmania isolates to determine their susceptibility to antimony. We analyzed a total of 106 isolates including 88 isolates collected between 1976 and 2013 in Algeria from humans, dogs, rodents, and phlebotomines and 18 collected from dogs in France. All the Algerian isolates were collected in 14 localities where leishmaniasis is endemic. The 50% inhibitory concentrations (IC50) of potassium antimony tartrate (the trivalent form of antimony, Sb(III)) and sodium stibogluconate (the pentavalent form of antimony, Sb(V)) were determined in promastigotes and intramacrophage amastigotes, respectively. The epidemiological cutoff (ECOFF) that allowed us to differentiate between Leishmania species causing cutaneous or visceral leishmaniases that were susceptible (S+) or insusceptible (S-) to the trivalent form of antimony was determined. The computed IC50 cutoff values were 23.83 μg/mL and 15.91 μg/mL for VL and CL, respectively. We report a trend of increasing antimony susceptibility in VL isolates during the 30-year period. In contrast, an increase in the frequency of S- phenotypes in isolates causing CL was observed during the same period. In our study, the emergence of S- phenotypes correlates with the inclusion of L. killicki (syn: L. tropica) isolates that cause cutaneous leishmaniasis and that have emerged in Algeria during the last decade. Conclusion/Significance Our results provide insight into the spatiotemporal dynamics of Leishmania antimony susceptibility in Algeria. We highlight the need for the future implementation of an effective methodology to determine the antimony susceptibility status of Leishmania isolates to detect the emergence of and prevent the dissemination of drug-resistant strains.", "corpus_id": 4997079 }

{ "title": "Oral miltefosine for Indian visceral leishmaniasis.", "abstract": "BACKGROUND\nThere are 500,000 cases per year of visceral leishmaniasis, which occurs primarily in the Indian subcontinent. Almost all untreated patients die, and all the effective agents have been parenteral. Miltefosine is an oral agent that has been shown in small numbers of patients to have a favorable therapeutic index for Indian visceral leishmaniasis. We performed a clinical trial in India comparing miltefosine with the most effective standard treatment, amphotericin B.\n\n\nMETHODS\nThe study was a randomized, open-label comparison, in which 299 patients 12 years of age or older received orally administered miltefosine (50 or 100 mg [approximately 2.5 mg per kilogram of body weight] daily for 28 days) and 99 patients received intravenously administered amphotericin B (1 mg per kilogram every other day for a total of 15 injections).\n\n\nRESULTS\nThe groups were well matched in terms of age, weight, proportion with previous failure of treatment for leishmaniasis, parasitologic grade of splenic aspirate, and splenomegaly. At the end of treatment, splenic aspirates were obtained from 293 patients in the miltefosine group and 98 patients in the amphotericin B group. No parasites were identified, for an initial cure rate of 100 percent. By six months after the completion of treatment, 282 of the 299 patients in the miltefosine group (94 percent [95 percent confidence interval, 91 to 97]) and 96 of the 99 patients in the amphotericin B group (97 percent) had not had a relapse; these patients were classified as cured. Vomiting and diarrhea, generally lasting one to two days, occurred in 38 percent and 20 percent of the patients in the miltefosine group, respectively.\n\n\nCONCLUSIONS\nOral miltefosine is an effective and safe treatment for Indian visceral leishmaniasis. Miltefosine may be particularly advantageous because it can be administered orally. It may also be helpful in regions where parasites are resistant to current agents.", "corpus_id": 46327768, "score": 2 }

{ "title": "An Advanced Technique for User Identification Using Partial Fingerprint", "abstract": "User identification is a very interesting and complex task. Invasive biometrics is based on traits uniqueness and immutability over time. In forensic field, fingerprints have always been considered an essential element for personal recognition. The traditional issue is focused on full fingerprint images matching. In this paper an advanced technique for personal recognition based on partial fingerprint is proposed. This system is based on fingerprint local analysis and micro-features, endpoints and bifurcations, extraction. The proposed approach starts from minutiae extraction from a partial fingerprint image and ends with the final matching score between fingerprint pairs. The computation of likelihood ratios in fingerprint identification is computed by trying every possible overlapping of the partial image with complete image. The first experimental results conducted on the PolyU (Hong Kong Polytechnic University) free database show an encouraging performance in terms of identification accuracy.", "corpus_id": 1815667 }

{ "title": "Partial fingerprint identification through checkerboard sampling method using ANN", "abstract": "This paper presents a straightforward method of fingerprint identification considering partial fingerprints through neural network system. The fingerprint templates constitute the largest data in the biometric field. By considering partial fingerprint samples, the amount of data in the database shall be decreased and this will consequently lead to a faster processing for fingerprint identification. To address the problem on database capacity, sampling the full fingerprint is done through checkerboard algorithm. A standard 8×8 checkerboard is adopted wherein selected blocks are considered as samples for Artificial Neural Network (ANN) training. This will reduce the memory size of a fingerprint template to 50%. Also, 25% of the whole fingerprint is done to further reduce the memory size. The fingerprint images underwent the usual image enhancement by FFT and histogram equalization. Then, image binarization is done to be able to use pattern identification tool in an artificial neural network system available in MATLAB.", "corpus_id": 6288496 }

{ "title": "An algorithm for distorted fingerprint matching based on local triangle feature set", "abstract": "Coping with nonlinear distortions in fingerprint matching is a challenging task. This paper proposes a novel method, a fuzzy feature match (FFM) based on a local triangle feature set to match the deformed fingerprints. The fingerprint is represented by the fuzzy feature set: the local triangle feature set. The similarity between the fuzzy feature set is used to characterize the similarity between fingerprints. A fuzzy similarity measure for two triangles is introduced and extended to construct a similarity vector including the triangle-level similarities for all triangles in two fingerprints. Accordingly, a similarity vector pair is defined to illustrate the similarities between two fingerprints. The FFM method maps the similarity vector pair to a normalized value which quantifies the overall image to image similarity. The proposed algorithm has been evaluated with NIST 24 and FVC2004 fingerprint databases. Experimental results confirm that the proposed FFM based on the local triangle feature set is a reliable and effective algorithm for fingerprint matching with nonlinear distortions.", "corpus_id": 8955288, "score": 2 }

{ "title": "On the redundancy of DNA complementary to amino acid tranfer RNA and its absence from the nucleolar organizer region of Drosophila melanogaster.", "abstract": "MOLECULAR hybridization (HALL and SPIEGELMAN 1961 ) of labeled ribosomal RNA (r-RNA) with DNA in D. mlanogaster has revealed (VER-MEULEN and ATWOOD 1965; RITOSSA and SPIEGELMAN 1965) that, as in the bacteria (YANKOFSKY and SPIEGELMAN 1962a, b, 1963), approximately 0.27% of the DNA is complementary to r-RNA. This DNA is believed to constitute the ensemble of templates for the transcription of r-RNA and may be referred to as the r-DNA. The amount of r-DNA per haploid Drosophila genome is sufficient to complement at least 130 molecules each of 18s and 28s r-RNA. Inversions in the X chromosome of Drosophila melanoguster are available (SIDOROV 1930; STURTEVANT and BEADLE 1936; MULLER et al. 1937) from which one can derive X chromosomes possessing duplications or deletions of a heterochromatic region which includes the nucleolus organizer (NO). With these chromosomes, flies can be obtained which have from one to four doses of the NO region. With DNA from such flies, annealing experiments demonstrated ( RITOSSA and SPIEGELMAN 1965) that the amount of r-RNA hybridizable per unit of DNA was directly proportional to the dosage of the NO region per genome. These data indicated then that the DNA sequences complementary to the ribosomal RNA are confined to the segment contained in the deletion or duplication employed. The existence in bacteria of DNA complementary to amino acid transfer RNA (t-RNA) has been established ( GIACOMONI and 1962; GOODMAN and RICH 1962). However, this issue has thus far not been taken up in the higher forms. It is, in principle, readily resolvable by molecular hybridization with suitably labeled and purified t-RNA. The D.", "corpus_id": 2009947 }

{ "title": "Isolation and mapping of a cloned ribosomal protein gene of Drosophila melanogaster", "abstract": "Molecular cloning techniques are particularly well suited to the study of gene organization in Drosophila melanogaster because recombinant DNA can easily be localized in the genome by in situ hybridization to salivary gland polytene chromosomes. We report here the isolation and preliminary characterization of a recombinant phage, designated C25, containing a bona fide D. melanogaster ribosomal protein gene. In situ hybridization demonstrates that this sequence maps to region 99D on chromosome 3.", "corpus_id": 922788 }

{ "title": "Inert Regions of Chromosomes as the Temporary Products of Individual Genes.", "abstract": "Soon after the phenomenon of no crossing-over in the male was discovered, it was pointed out (Muller 1914, 1918), that this circumstance must lead to the accumulation of recessive mutations, and even losses of some genes and duplications of others, in any chromosome which, like the Y, is constantly carried in heterozygous condition in a sex in which no crossing-over occurs. The lack of active genes in the Y was thus interpreted. It was then taken for granted, however, that the visible material of the Y chromosome was of a nature fundamentally similar to that composing the bulk of other chromosomes, and consisted of more or less inactivated genes together with the usual amount of accessory chromatin and other substances that may normally accompany genes in the chromosome as seen at metaphase. When later it was shown (Muller and Painter, 1932), that the X chromosome had a similarly inert region, homologous to that of a part of the Y, it was concluded that the former had probably been derived from the latter by a kind of translocation, and it was naturally assumed that the inert region of the X, like that of the Y, consisted of inactivated or \"degenerated\" chromatin. At this later date, it was, to be sure, realized that the chromosome material of both the Y and XI (the inert region of the X), might really be relatively devoid of genes, rather than full of degenerated genes, and that the actual gene-string in the inert regions might therefore be much smaller, in proportion to the bulk of visible chromatin, than it was in the \"active\" regions of the chromatin. But it was found by Oliver (1932) that, in the case of inversions, breaks probably occur in the inert region, as compared with the active region of the X, in somewhat the same ratio as that which the bulk of the inert region as seen at metaphase bears to the bulk of the active region (further evidence of this sort will be referred to below), and this was taken by Muller and Oliver as an indication that the inert and active regions were probably constituted in a similar way, an inert region", "corpus_id": 46554027, "score": 2 }

{ "title": "Inhibitory effect of esterified lactoferin and lactoferrin against tobacco mosaic virus (TMV) in tobacco seedlings.", "abstract": "The inhibitory effects of esterified lactoferrin (ELF) and lactoferrin (LF) against tobacco mosaic virus (TMV) in tobacco seedlings and the underlying mechanism were investigated. ELF and LF significantly inhibited viral infection and TMV multiplication in tobacco plants. ELF showed a higher inhibition effect against TMV than LF treatment in a dose and time-dependent way. Moreover, ELF induced a higher increase in the levels of transcription of pathogenesis-related (PR) protein genes [acidic PRs (PR-1a, PR-2, PR-3, PR-5) and basic PR-1] and defense-related enzymes [phenylalanine ammonia lyase (PAL, EC 4.3.1.5), and 5-epi-aristolochene synthase (EAS, EC 2.5.1.35)] both locally and systemically, in correlation with the induction of resistance against tobacco mosaic virus. Furthermore, ELF also induced accumulation of salicylic acid, SA 2-O-β-D-glucoside and H2O2. These results suggested that ELF and LF could control TMV incidence and the mechanism might attribute to activate the expression of a number of defense genes.", "corpus_id": 7683649 }

{ "title": "Induction of systemic resistance against tobacco mosaic virus by Ningnanmycin in tobacco.", "abstract": "Ningnanmycin (NNM) is an antiviral agent firstly isolated from Strepcomces noursei var·xichangensisn. Studies have shown that NNM promotes PAL, POD and SOD activity and possesses antiviral activity against tobacco mosaic virus (TMV). In this study, our results demonstrated that NNM inhibited the polymerization process of TMV coat protein (TMV-CP) in vitro and promoted the systemic accumulation of pathogenesis-related proteins (PRs), which are the markers of systemic acquired resistance (SAR). An non-expressor, pathogenesis-related genes 1 (NPR1) that regulates SAR and induces systemic resistance (ISR), increased. In addition, the Jaz3 expression increase showed that NNM also induced ISR. Based on the results of this work and earlier reports, it is suggesting that NNM induces tobacco systemic resistance against TMV via activating multiple plant defense signaling pathways.", "corpus_id": 7935630 }

{ "title": "The Development of Awareness of Iron-Withholding Defense", "abstract": "In William Shakespeare's tragedy King Lear, the Earl of Gloucester is attacked by the king's enemies who, in Act III, Scene 7, proceed to gouge out Gloucester's eyes. Gloucester's servant exclaims: \"I'll fetch some flax, and whites of eggs,/To apply to his bleeding face.\" That raw egg white contains an anti-infective principle presumably was known to many persons of Shakespeare's day. Indeed, egg-laying creatures have been employing the principle for countless millenia. In 1944, microbiologists Arthur Schade and Leona Caroline observed that the antimicrobial action of the principle could be neutralized by iron [I]. The anti-infective factor subsequently was determined to be an 80 kDa ironbinding protein that is now termed ovotransferrin (OTf). The hen's egg, a perishable commodity in a semipermeable membrane within a fragile porous shell, is deposited in an environment heavily contaminated with bacteria, fungi, and protozoa. For thousands of years, hens successfully have employed the concept of ironwithholding defense to protect their precious legacy from infectious rot. The birds place a generous quantity of iron in the yolk for the developing embryo to use as a catalyst for DNA synthesis and for a variety of energy-yielding enzymatic systems. To prevent potential microbial invaders that migrate through the porous shell from obtaining lifeessential iron, the hens place none of the metal in the white, while including OTf as 12 percent of the solids. Moreover, OTffunctions best in an alkaline milieu, thus our biochemically erudite birds adjust the pH of the white to 9.5. When Schade and Caroline observed the great potency and very broad spectrum of the antimicrobial activity of OTf, they predicted that additional examples of host iron-withholding defense would be found.", "corpus_id": 11326554, "score": 2 }

{ "title": "N-(6-Amino-3,4-dihydro-3-methyl-5-nitroso-4-oxopyrimidin-2-yl)leucine: a three-dimensional hydrogen-bonded framework structure.", "abstract": "In the title compound, C11H17N5O4, the bond distances show evidence of a highly polarized molecular-electronic structure. The molecules are linked into a three-dimensional framework by a combination of O-H...O and N-H...O hydrogen bonds, including a very short O-H...O hydrogen bond [H...O=1.67 A, O...O=2.494 (2) A and O-H...O=166 degrees].", "corpus_id": 65006 }

{ "title": "Patterns in Hydrogen Bonding: Functionality and Graph Set Analysis in Crystals", "abstract": "Whereas much of organic chemistry has classically dealt with the preparation and study of the properties of individual molecules, an increasingly significant portion of the activity in chemical research involves understanding and utilizing the nature of the interactions between molecules. Two representative areas of this evolution are supramolecular chemistry and molecular recognition. The interactions between molecules are governed by intermolecular forces whose energetic and geometric properties are much less well understood than those of classical chemical bonds between atoms. Among the strongest of these interactions, however, are hydrogen bonds, whose directional properties are better understood on the local level (that is, for a single hydrogen bond) than many other types of non-bonded interactions. Nevertheless, the means by which to characterize, understand, and predict the consequences of many hydrogen bonds among molecules, and the resulting formation of molecular aggregates (on the microscopic scale) or crystals (on the macroscopic scale) has remained largely enigmatic. One of the most promising systematic approaches to resolving this enigma was initially developed by the late M. C. Etter, who applied graph theory to recognize, and then utilize, patterns of hydrogen bonding for the understanding and design of molecular crystals. In working with Etter's original ideas the power and potential utility of this approach on one hand, and on the other, the need to develop and extend the initial Etter formalism was generally recognized. It with that latter purpose that we originally undertook the present review.", "corpus_id": 95088540 }

{ "title": "Combination of canister and solid adsorbent sampling techniques for determination of volatile organic hydrocarbons", "abstract": "Abstract A canister-based sampling technique was combined with solid adsorbents to develop a method for the determination of 52 volatile organic hydrocarbons (VOCs), including alkanes, alkenes, aromatics and terpenes, in ambient air at pptv levels of concentration. The volatility of components ranged from propane to that of 1,2,4-trimethylbenzene. The samples were collected into stainless steel canisters. A 200-ml sample volume was drawn through a multilayer adsorbent bed. Three different adsorbents, 300 mg of Carbosieve S-III 60/80, 300 mg of Carbotrap 20/40 and 300 mg of Carbotrap C 20/40 were used for collecting large variety of hydrocarbons (C 3 –C 10 ). Qualitative analysis was carried out by combining thermal desorption and cryogenic enrichment with high resolution gas chromatography and mass spectrometry. The technique was suitable for determination of low pptv-concentrations of VOCs. A detailed description of working procedures and methods is given including blanks, calibrations, limit of quantification and reproducibility of measurements. Ambient atmospheric sampling was conducted in Berlin in July, 1998. n -Hexane, benzene, toluene and m -, p -xylene presented in the air at the highest concentration at ppbv level, the concentration of the other compounds were in the order of 10–100 pptv level. Precision of parallel measurements was calculated. As expected, the precision was deteriorated with decreasing concentration. At concentrations >100 pptv, most duplicates differed by ±10–30%, below this value they were larger.", "corpus_id": 93706469, "score": 1 }

{ "title": "Atrial septal defect with termination of left superior vena cava in the left atrium and absence of the coronary sinus. Recognition and correction.", "abstract": "Abstract An unusual type of atrial septal defect differing in location from the ostium secundum and ostium primum types is described. This defect is part of a developmental complex which includes absence of the coronary sinus and termination of a persistent left superior vena cava in the left atrium. Recognition of this complex is important so that interruption or diversion of the left superior vena cava may be done to prevent subsequent central nervous system complications. Surgical correction uses an intraatrial baffle of pericardium to divert flow from the left superior vena cava to the right atrium and to close the atrial septal defect.", "corpus_id": 2392918 }

{ "title": "Masked cor triatriatum.", "abstract": "When cor triatriatum is the only abnormality in the heart, the features of left atrial obstruction are usually obvious (Belcher and Somerville, 1959). However, when it is complicated by other anomalies such as atrial septal defect or anomalous pulmonary venous drainage, the signs of left atrial obstruction may be masked. It is imperative to recognize the cor triatriatum in such patients, and it has been considered worth while to report two illustrative cases in which the correct diagnosis was made in life, and surgical treatment was planned accordingly.", "corpus_id": 30051197 }

{ "title": "The current state of medical education in Japan: a system under reform", "abstract": "Context  Not since just after World War II has there been as dramatic a change in the system of medical education in Japan as in the last several years. Medical school curricula are including more education that mimics clinical practice through problem‐based learning, organ‐based curricula and implementation of the objective structured clinical examination (OSCE). In response to criticism and concerns, the Japanese government has also implemented 2 major changes in the system of postgraduate medical education. First, a 2‐year structured internship has been required of all medical school graduates; the first cohort to undertake this completed it in April 2006. Second, an internship matching system was adopted and first implemented in 2003.", "corpus_id": 24029422, "score": 1 }

{ "title": "Magnetic structure of CuCrO2: a single crystal neutron diffraction study", "abstract": "This paper presents results of a recent study of multiferroic CuCrO2 by means of single crystal neutron diffraction. This system has two close magnetic phase transitions at TN = 24.2 K and Tmf = 23.6 K. The low temperature magnetic structure below Tmf is unambiguously determined to be a fully three-dimensional proper screw. Between TN and Tmf antiferromagnetic order is found that is essentially two-dimensional. In this narrow temperature range, magnetic near neighbor correlations are still long range in the (H,K) plane, whereas nearest neighbors along the L direction are uncorrelated. Thus, the multiferroic state is realized only in the low temperature three-dimensional state and not in the two-dimensional state.", "corpus_id": 19710327 }

{ "title": "Spin and orbital orderings behind multiferroicity in delafossite and related compounds", "abstract": "Coupling between noncollinear magnetic ordering and ferroelectricicty in magnetoelectric multiferroics has been extensively studied in the last decade. Delafossite family compounds with triangular lattice structure provide a great opportunity to study the coupling between spin and electric dipole in multiferroics due to the variety of magnetic phases with different symmetry. This review introduces the magnetic and ferroelectric phase transitions in delafossite ferrites, CuFe1−xXxO2 (X = Al, Ga), AgFeO2 and the related compound α–NaFeO2. In CuFeO2, the ferroelectric phase appears under a magnetic field or chemical substitution. The proper screw magnetic ordering with the magnetic point group 21′, which has been determined by detailed analysis in neutron diffraction experiments, induces the ferroelectric polarization along the monoclinic b axis in CuFeO2. The cycloidal magnetic orderings are realized in AgFeO2 and α–NaFeO2, which are of the point group m1′ allowing polarization in the ac plane. The emergence of ferroelectric polarization can be explained by both the extended inverse Dzyaloshinsky–Moriya effect and the d − p hybridization mechanism. These mechanisms are supported by experimental evidence in CuFe1−xGaxO2. The polarized neutron diffraction experiment demonstrated one-to-one correspondence between ferroelectric polarization and spin helicity, . The incommensurate orbital ordering with wave vector, observed by the soft x-ray resonant diffraction experiment, proved that the spin–orbit interaction ties spin and orbital orders to each other, playing a crucial role for the emergence of ferroelectricity in CuFe1−xGaxO2.", "corpus_id": 37549707 }

{ "title": "Synthesis and Structures of [((Me3Si)3CAlF2)2(μ-O)Li2(THF)4] and [{Li(Me3Si)3CAlF3(THF)}3LiF(THF)]", "abstract": "The synthesis of [((Me3Si)3CAlF2)2(μ-O)Li2(THF)4] (1) and [{Li(Me3Si)3CAlF3(THF)}3LiF(THF)] (2) is reported. Compound 1 was obtained either by the reaction of (Me3Si)3CAlMe2·THF and Me3SnF in the presence of Li2O or by the reaction of [(Me3Si)3CAlF2]3 and Li2O. 1 is an interesting example of an oxygen- and fluorine-containing alkyl aluminum compound. Complex 2 was prepared by the reaction of (Me3Si)3CAlF2·THF with LiOCH(CF3)2 as an unexpected result that illustrates the variety of possible structures obtainable by the combination of [(Me3Si)3CAlF2]3 and LiF.", "corpus_id": 101329704, "score": 2 }

{ "title": "Synthesis of nanomedicines by nanohybrids conjugating ginsenosides with auto-targeting and enhanced MRI contrast for liver cancer therapy", "abstract": "Abstract A new methodology has been developed with conjugating nanoparticles (NPs) with an active ingredient of Chinese herbs for nanomedicines with auto-targeting and enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) for liver cancer therapy. Fe@Fe3O4 NPs are first synthesized via the programed microfluidic process, whose surfaces are first modified with –NH2 groups using a silane coupling technique that uses (3-aminopropyl)trimethoxysilane (APTMS) as the coupling reagent and are subsequently activated by the bifunctional amine-active cross-linker [e.g. disuccinimidyl suberate (DSS)]. The model medicines of ginsenosides pre-activated by APTMS are further cross-linked with activated NPs, forming the desired nanomedicines (Nano-Fe-GSS). Sizes and structures of Fe@Fe3O4 NPs were characterized by transmission electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction, revealing that their core-shell structures consist of amorphous boron doped Fe cores and partial crystalline Fe3O4 shells. The accomplishment of coupling reactions in the final nanomedicines is confirmed by the characterization of the composition of NPs and Nano-Fe-GSS via X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy. The nanoparticles’ effects as MRI contrast agents are further investigated by comparing the T2 weighted spin echo imaging (T2WI) in livers before and after intravenous injection and intragastric administration of nanomedicines. The results indicate that these nanomedicines possess enhanced MRI effects. Investigation of the toxicity and metabolism of Nano-Fe-GSS suggests that they are safe to related vital organs. The results provide an efficient alternative route to synthesize desired multi-functional nanomedicines based on NPs and the active ingredients of Chinese herbs, which can promote their potential synergistic effects in anti-tumor therapy.", "corpus_id": 4059069 }

{ "title": "Pharmacological potential of ginseng and its major component ginsenosides", "abstract": "Ginseng has been used as a traditional herb in Asian countries for thousands of years. It contains a large number of active ingredients including steroidal saponins, protopanaxadiols, and protopanaxatriols, collectively known as ginsenosides. In the last few decades, the antioxidative and anticancer effects of ginseng, in addition to its effects on improving immunity, energy and sexuality, and combating cardiovascular diseases, diabetes mellitus, and neurological diseases, have been studied in both basic and clinical research. Ginseng could be a valuable resource for future drug development; however, further higher quality evidence is required. Moreover, ginseng may have drug interactions although the available evidence suggests it is a relatively safe product. This article reviews the bioactive compounds, global distribution, and therapeutic potential of plants in the genus Panax.", "corpus_id": 216178492 }

{ "title": "Contribution of intestinal calcium absorption to 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3-induced calcium action in the total parenteral nutrition rat.", "abstract": "To investigate the contribution of intestinal calcium (Ca) absorption to 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D(3) (1,25(OH) (2)D(3))-induced Ca action, we assessed parameters related to Ca metabolism after a single dosing of 1,25(OH)(2)D (3) in the total parenteral nutrition (TPN) solution or 5% D-mannitol (MAN) solution treatment with rats. Animals were divided into 6 groups (vehicle, 100 microg/kg p.o. and 25 microg/kg i.v.; n=8) in Experiment 1 and 8 groups (vehicle, 1, 10 and 100 microg/kg p.o.; n=6) in Experiment 2 at TPN or MAN solution treatment. In both experiments, the parameters related to Ca metabolisms, urinary Ca and urinary deoxypyridinoline on 0-24 hr or serum Ca, osteocalcin and parathyroid hormone at 24 hr were measured after 1,25(OH)(2)D (3) dosing. 1,25(OH)(2)D(3)-related increased urinary Ca or serum Ca were observed in both experiments. Decrease rates in change of urinary Ca in TPN solution treatment rats were 36.3% (100 microg/kg p.o.) or 47.1% (25 microg/kg i.v.) of MAN solution treatment rats in Experiment 1, and 29.0% (1 microg/kg), 56.2% (10 microg/kg) or 35.3% (100 microg/kg) of MAN solution treatment rats in Experiment 2. Decrease rates in change of serum Ca at 72 hr in TPN solution treatment rats were 57.3% (100 microg/kg p.o.) or 44.5% (25 microg/kg i.v.) of MAN solution treatment rats in Experiment 1, and were 57.0% (100 microg/kg) of MAN solution treatment rats in Experiment 2. There were no differences in the change of serum Ca in the 1,25(OH)(2)D(3) 1 or 10-microg/kg group in Experiment 2. Our results suggest that differences in urinary Ca or serum Ca between MAN solution treatment rats and TPN solution treatment rats express the contribution of intestinal Ca absorption to 1,25(OH)(2)D(3)-induced Ca action in the conditions of the study.", "corpus_id": 2107782, "score": 1 }

{ "title": "Economic Impact Assessment from the Use of a Mobile App for the Self-management of Heart Diseases by Patients with Heart Failure in a Spanish Region", "abstract": "Currently, cardiovascular diseases are the deadliest diseases with a total of 17 million deaths worldwide. Hence, they are the focus of many mobile applications for smartphones and tablets. This paper will assess the ex-ante economic impact as well as will determine the cost-effectiveness analysis that the use of one of this app, CardioManager, by patients with heart failure will have in a Spanish community, Castile and Leon. For this, a cost-effectiveness analysis using the hidden Markov model were performed in a hypothetical cohort of patients diagnosed with heart failure, based on the information of epidemiological parameters and the costs derived from the management and care of heart failure patients by the Public Health Care System of Castile and Leon. The costs of patient care were estimated from the perspective of the Ministry of Health of Spain using a discount rate of 3 %. Finally, an estimation of the ex-ante impact that would suppose the introduction of CardioManager in the Health Care System is performed. It is concluded that the introduction of CardioManager may generate a 33 % reduction in the cost of management and treatment of the disease. This means that CardioManager may be able to save more than 9,000 € per patient to the local Health Care System of Castile and Leon, which can be translated in a saving of 0.31 % of the total health expenditure of the region.", "corpus_id": 805926 }

{ "title": "Provider Stakeholders’ Perceived Benefit from a Nascent Health Information Exchange: A Qualitative Analysis", "abstract": "We sought to better understand the perceived costs and benefits of joining a nascent health information exchange (HIE) from the perspective of potential provider organization participants. We therefore conducted semi-structured interviews with organizational representatives. Interview transcriptions were thematically coded, and coded text was subsequently aggregated to summarize the breadth and depth of responses. Although no respondents expected HIE to result in net financial benefit to their organization, all respondents recognized some potential benefits, and some respondents expected HIE to result in overall organizational benefit. Disproportionate benefit was expected for the poorest, sickest patients. Many respondents had concerns about HIE increasing the risk of data security breaches, and these concerns were most pronounced at larger organizations. We found little evidence of organizational concern regarding loss of patients to other organizations or publication of unfavorable quality data. If HIE’s greatest benefactors are indeed the poorest, sickest patients, our current health care financing environment will make it difficult to align HIE costs with benefits. To sustain HIE, state and federal governments may need to consider ongoing subsidies. Furthermore, these governments will need to ensure that policies regulating data exchange have sufficient nationwide coordination and liability limitations that the perceived organizational risks of joining HIEs do not outweigh perceived benefits. HIE founders can address organizational concerns by attempting to coordinate HIE policies with those of their largest founding organizations, particularly for data security policies. Early HIE development and promotional efforts should not only focus on potential benefits, but should also address organizational concerns.", "corpus_id": 7558794 }

{ "title": "Matrix Analysis of the Digital Divide in eHealth Services Using Awareness, Want, and Adoption Gap", "abstract": "Background The digital divide usually refers to access or usage, but some studies have identified two other divides: awareness and demand (want). Given that the hierarchical stages of the innovation adoption process of a customer are interrelated, it is necessary and meaningful to analyze the digital divide in eHealth services through three main stages, namely, awareness, want, and adoption. Objective By following the three main integrated stages of the innovation diffusion theory, from the customer segment viewpoint, this study aimed to propose a new matrix analysis of the digital divide using the awareness, want, and adoption gap ratio (AWAG). I compared the digital divide among different groups. Furthermore, I conducted an empirical study on eHealth services to present the practicability of the proposed methodology. Methods Through a review and discussion of the literature, I proposed hypotheses and a new matrix analysis. To test the proposed method, 3074 Taiwanese respondents, aged 15 years and older, were surveyed by telephone. I used the stratified simple random sampling method, with sample size allocation proportioned by the population distribution of 23 cities and counties (strata). Results This study proposed the AWAG segment matrix to analyze the digital divide in eHealth services. First, awareness and want rates were divided into two levels at the middle point of 50%, and then the 2-dimensional cross of the awareness and want segment matrix was divided into four categories: opened group, desire-deficiency group, perception-deficiency group, and closed group. Second, according to the degrees of awareness and want, each category was further divided into four subcategories. I also defined four possible strategies, namely, hold, improve, evaluate, and leave, for different regions in the proposed matrix. An empirical test on two recently promoted eHealth services, the digital medical service (DMS) and the digital home care service (DHCS), was conducted. Results showed that for both eHealth services, the digital divides of awareness, want, and adoption existed across demographic variables, as well as between computer owners and nonowners, and between Internet users and nonusers. With respect to the analysis of the AWAG segment matrix for DMS, most of the segments, except for people with marriage status of Other or without computers, were positioned in the opened group. With respect to DHCS, segments were separately positioned in the opened, perception-deficiency, and closed groups. Conclusions Adoption does not closely follow people’s awareness or want, and a huge digital divide in adoption exists in DHS and DHCS. Thus, a strategy to promote adoption should be used for most demographic segments.", "corpus_id": 548549, "score": 2 }

{ "title": "Cyclic AMP negatively controls c-myc transcription and G1 cell cycle progression in p210 BCR-ABL transformed cells: inhibitory activity exerted through cyclin D1 and cdk4", "abstract": "Raised intracellular cyclic AMP (cAMP) has been demonstrated to exert an antiproliferative effect in myeloid cells. How the antiproliferative activity of cAMP is exerted in p210 BCR-ABL transformed myeloid cells was the subject of this investigation. It was hypothesized that cyclin dependent kinase 4, cdk4, might be a critical target enzyme to affect the related events of c-myc transcription and progression through G1 phase of the cell cycle within cells transformed by p210 BCR-ABL, and further, that cdk4 might be downregulated by cAMP to inhibit proliferation. In order to investigate the regulatory role of cdk4, synchronized cells were studied. In p210 BCR-ABL transformed cells transiting early G1 phase, treatment with a cAMP analogue led to inhibition of cyclin D1 synthesis, and marked reduction of cdk4 kinase activity. Within cells in which cdk4 was inhibited by cAMP, there was augmented interaction of E2F1 with the retinoblastoma protein, pRb in a nuclear matrix-associated cell fraction. As a result of E2F1 sequestration, raised intracellular cAMP was found to inhibit c-myc transcription in p210 BCR-ABL transformed myeloid cells synchronously transiting the early G1 phase of the cell cycle. A target of this transcriptional suppression exerted by cAMP was the E2F site of the c-myc P2 promoter. On the other hand, cyclin D1 content was not reduced by cAMP in these cells when it was applied at a later cell cycle stage at the interface between G1 and S. Corresponding to lack of cyclin D1 inhibition in these later G1-to-S phase cells, cdk4 activity was only modestly suppressed, and c-myc mRNA expression was also inhibited to a lesser degree. These studies show that Rb interaction with E2F1 is regulated by cdk4 and cyclin D1 within p210 BCR-ABL transformed leukemia cells in early G1 phase of the cell cycle. In this context, both cyclin D1 and cdk4 are subject to the level of intracellular cAMP. This interaction between Rb and E2F1, which is subject to the level of cAMP, is critical to transcriptional control of c-myc. Further, pRb regulation of E2F activity affects cellular potential for G1-S phase transition in p210 BCR-ABL transformed myeloid cells, in part, via its effect on c-myc transcription.", "corpus_id": 1404869 }

{ "title": "Cyclin D2 is a moderately oscillating nucleoprotein required for G1 phase progression in specific cell types.", "abstract": "To explore regulation and function of cyclin D2, a candidate cell cycle-regulatory proto-oncogene, we examined subcellular localisation, cell type- and cell cycle-dependent expression, and requirement of cyclin D2 protein for G1 progression, in a panel of 40 human normal and cancer cell types. Except for lymphoid cells and sarcoma cell lines, expression of cyclin D2 was considerably more restricted than that of cyclin D1, whereas both D-type cyclin proteins were low or undetectable in cells lacking functional retinoblastoma gene product. In G1 cells, the cyclin D2 protein was more resistant to extraction and localised predominantly to nuclei, whereas it became more soluble and distributed in both nuclei and cytoplasm from G1/S transition onwards. Centrifugal elutriation and multiparameter flow cytometry analyses of several cell types showed moderate cell cycle oscillation with maximum levels of the cyclin D2 protein reached in late G1. Microinjection and/or electroporation of antibodies to cyclin D2 during G1 arrested the cyclin D2-expressing lymphocytes, breast myoepithelium, and U-2-OS sarcoma cells in G1 phase, whereas cyclin D2-negative cell types were unaffected by such treatment. Consistent with the putative proto-oncogenic role of cyclin D2 in specific cell types, our data show that this G1 cyclin has properties closely resembling those of cyclin D1, including the essential positive role in regulation of G1.", "corpus_id": 19388488 }

{ "title": "Self-assembling oligothiophene-bolaamphiphiles for loading and controlled release of doxorubicin into living cells.", "abstract": "Design and synthesis of symmetric mannose-functionalized oligothiophenes is reported. Self-organization of these bolaamphiphiles in solution and in the solid state was investigated by optical and AFM experiments. Fluorescence measurements revealed efficient loading and pH-dependent release of the anti-cancer drug doxorubicin. Delivery and release of the active drug into viable A549 cells as well as chirality-dependent cellular toxicity of the bolaamphiphilic transporter were evident from in vitro experiments.", "corpus_id": 32531378, "score": 1 }

{ "title": "Contrasting Ecosystem-Effects of Morphologically Similar Copepods", "abstract": "Organisms alter the biotic and abiotic conditions of ecosystems. They can modulate the availability of resources to other species (ecosystem engineering) and shape selection pressures on other organisms (niche construction). Very little is known about how the engineering effects of organisms vary among and within species, and, as a result, the ecosystem consequences of species diversification and phenotypic evolution are poorly understood. Here, using a common gardening experiment, we test whether morphologically similar species and populations of Diaptomidae copepods (Leptodiaptomus ashlandi, Hesperodiaptomus franciscanus, Skistodiaptomus oregonensis) have similar or different effects on the structure and function of freshwater ecosystems. We found that copepod species had contrasting effects on algal biomass, ammonium concentrations, and sedimentation rates, and that copepod populations had contrasting effects on prokaryote abundance, sedimentation rates, and gross primary productivity. The average size of ecosystem-effect contrasts between species was similar to those between populations, and was comparable to those between fish species and populations measured in previous common gardening experiments. Our results suggest that subtle morphological variation among and within species can cause multifarious and divergent ecosystem-effects. We conclude that using morphological trait variation to assess the functional similarity of organisms may underestimate the importance of species and population diversity for ecosystem functioning.", "corpus_id": 3846926 }

{ "title": "Morphometric variability of Arctodiaptomus salinus (Copepoda) in the Mediterranean-Black Sea region.", "abstract": "Inter-species variability in morphological traits creates a need to know the range of variability of characteristics in the species for taxonomic and ecological tasks. Copepoda Arctodiaptomus salinus, which inhabits water bodies across Eurasia and North Africa, plays a dominant role in plankton of different water bodies-from fresh to hypersaline. This work assesses the intra- and inter-population morphometric variability of A. salinus in the Mediterranean-Black Sea region and discusses some observed regularities. The variability of linear body parameters and proportions was studied. The impacts of salinity, temperature, and population density on morphological characteristics and their variability can manifest themselves in different ways at the intra- and inter-population levels. A significant effect of salinity, pH and temperature on the body proportions was not found. Their intra-population variability is dependent on temperature and salinity. Sexual dimorphism of A. salinus manifests in different linear parameters, proportions, and their variability. There were no effects of temperature, pH and salinity on the female/male parameter ratio. There were significant differences in the body proportions of males and females in different populations. The influence of temperature, salinity, and population density can be attributed to 80%-90% of intra-population variability of A. salinus. However, these factors can explain less than 40% of inter-population differences. Significant differences in the body proportions of males and females from different populations may suggest that some local populations of A. salinus in the Mediterranean-Black Sea region are in the initial stages of differentiation.", "corpus_id": 25278681 }

{ "title": "Regulatory Innovation by Leninist Means: Communist Party Supervision in China's Financial Industry", "abstract": "Pervasive government interference and cronyism in China's financial sector resemble the deficiencies displayed by many other political economies. But in its regulatory efforts, China's government has means at its disposal that are very different. The rise and demise of the Central Financial Work Commission (CFWC) is an outstanding example of the innovative potential and also the limits of Communist Party institutional engineering in China's economy. The creation of the CFWC was a strategy to arrest the breakdown of hierarchies in the financial industry and to restore central policy decisiveness. By means of Party control over senior financial executives and Party-sponsored institutional reorganization, China's political leadership pushed through a centralization of financial market supervision and a series of regulatory innovations starting in 1998. Leninist institutions provided China's politicians with a reserve capacity for responding to perceived organizational crises and for innovating economic regulation. Leninist means of control were conducive to establishing centralized supervision and more uniform regulation. But they failed to introduce market-driven incentive structures for financial executives, did not raise the efficiency in allocating capital and mismatched with the emerging new forms of corporate governance. The new Wen Jiabao government therefore tried a different approach to financial sector reform, redefined the role of Party bodies and dissolved the CWFC. By laying the foundations for national market regulation, this Communist Party body however paved the way for the efforts at dismantling old socialist institutions in China's financial sector that have been under way since 2003.", "corpus_id": 154782033, "score": 0 }

{ "title": "A fast voltage sag detector based on peak detection", "abstract": "In this paper, a fast voltage sag detector based on peak detection is proposed. In the proposed method, the (-90)-degree phase shifter is used to generate an orthogonal AC voltage (cosine wave, Vcos) from the existing AC supply voltage (sine wave, Vsin). The differentiator is designed to function as this phase shifter. The AC supply voltage can be accurately tracked by the synthetic cosine wave. The both of sine wave and cosine wave are used to calculate the DC voltage (Vav) which is reflected to the amplitude of the AC supply voltage. Lastly, the voltage sag can be observed by comparing this DC voltage to the reference DC voltage. The performance of this proposed voltage sag detector is verified by the computer simulations. It can be seen that the proposed method can detect the voltage sag in a very short time.", "corpus_id": 6556554 }

{ "title": "A detailed comparison of system topologies for dynamic voltage restorers", "abstract": "In this paper, four different system topologies for dynamic voltage restorers (DVRs) are analyzed and tested, with particular focus on the methods used to acquire the necessary energy during a voltage sag. Comparisons are made between two topologies that can be realized with a minimum amount of energy storage, with energy taken from the grid during the voltage sag, and two topologies that take energy from stored energy devices during the voltage sag. Experimental tests using a 10-kVA DVR show that the no-energy storage concept is feasible, but an improved performance can be achieved for certain voltage sags using stored energy topologies. The results of this comparison rank the no-storage topology with a passive shunt converter on the load side first, followed by the stored energy topology with a constant dc-link voltage.", "corpus_id": 6953704 }

{ "title": "Multiangle remote sensing: Past, present and future", "abstract": "Multiangle remote sensing has many new and important applications in the study of the earth's land, ocean, and atmosphere. For land studies, multiangle remote sensing samples the bidirectional reflectance distribution function (BRDF) of land surfaces. The modeling and observation of land surface BRDFs has thus been an area of active research for the past decade. The International Forum on BRDF (IFB) was organized in December, 1998, in San Francisco to summarize recent progress in BRDF research, and to identify important future research topics and determine their priorities. This special issue of Remote Sensing Reviews presents a series of summary papers outlined at the IFB that focus on specific BRDF research areas. This paper provides an overview of the special issue by summarizing IFB discussions and individual papers. It also presents five primary courses of action for the BRDF community identified during the IFB. These include (1) identifying a set of key scientific questions to which multiangle remote sensing provides a qualitative and quantitative advances over more traditional approaches, as well as organizing case studies to show the value added by multiangle remote sensing; (2) exploring different inversion techniques, including data fusion and assimilation, to estimate land surface variables that are highly relevant to climate, environmental and ecological studies; (3) continuing the development of simpler BRDF models for analyzing satellite observations; (4) developing a benchmark validation database; and (5) strengthening graduate education program and outreach activities.", "corpus_id": 129021954, "score": 1 }

{ "title": "A two factor long memory stochastic volatility model", "abstract": "In this paper we fit the main features of financial returns by means of a two factor long memory stochastic volatility model (2FLMSV). Volatility, which is not observable, is explained by both a short-run and a long-run factor. The first factor follows a stationary AR(1) process whereas the second one, whose purpose is to fit the persistence of volatility observable in data, is a fractional integrated process as proposed by Breidt et al. (1998) and Harvey (1998). We show formally that this model (1) creates more kurtosis than the long memory stochastic volatility (LMSV) of Breidt et al. (1998) and Harvey (1998), (2) deals with volatility persistence and (3) produces small first order autocorrelations of squared observations. In the empirical analysis, we use the estimation procedure of Gallant and Tauchen (1996), the Efficient Method of Moments (EMM), and we provide evidence that our specification performs better than the LMSV model in capturing the empirical facts of data.", "corpus_id": 153223620 }

{ "title": "Semiparametric inference in correlated long memory signal plus noise models", "abstract": "This paper proposes an extension of the log periodogram regression in perturbed long memory series that accounts for the added noise, also allowing for correlation between signal and noise, which represents a common situation in many economic and financial series. Consistency (for d < 1) and asymptotic normality (for d < 3/4) are shown with the same bandwidth restriction as required for the original log periodogram regression in a fully observable series, with the corresponding gain in asymptotic efficiency and faster convergence over competitors. Local Wald, Lagrange Multiplier and Hausman type tests of the hypothesis of no correlation between the latent signal and noise are also proposed.", "corpus_id": 58913278 }

{ "title": "Determinants of Management Forecast Precision", "abstract": "Pownall, et. al. (1993) document that nearly 80% of their sample of voluntary management earnings forecasts are not precise point forecasts. Imprecise forecast forms include closed-interval forecasts (i.e., ranges), open-interval forecasts (i.e., minimums and maximums), and general impressions about firms' earnings prospects. Given analytical predictions that a signal's precision is important in belief development (Kim and Verrecchia, 1991; Morse, et al., 1991) and the empirical evidence that management forecast precision affects the beliefs of traders and financial analysts (Baginski, et al., 1993), the question arises as to what factors motivate a manager's choice of forecast precision. We perform cross-sectional logistic regressions to document determinants of forecast precision. Our sample consists of 1,212 annual and interim management forecasts. After controlling for firm-specific and horizon-specific earnings uncertainty, we find that managers produce more precise forecasts of annual earnings for firms with greater analyst following (our proxy for private information) and for smaller firms (our proxy for public information). The results are robust across subsamples. The majority of the results do not, however, hold for interim forecasts.", "corpus_id": 168019189, "score": 1 }

{ "title": "Contribution of adipose tissue and de novo lipogenesis to nonalcoholic fatty liver disease.", "abstract": "Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is a component of the metabolic syndrome, with a clinical spectrum ranging from simple fatty liver to steatohepatitis, cirrhosis, and hepatocellular carcinoma. The primary event of NAFLD is the accumulation of triacylglycerols (TAGs) in hepatocytes. In this issue of the JCI, Donnelly et al. report on their use of stable isotope methodology to show that fatty acids stored in adipose tissue and fatty acids newly made within the liver through de novo lipogenesis are the major sources of TAGs in the liver and are secreted as lipoproteins in NAFLD.", "corpus_id": 2865053 }

{ "title": "Effect of Dietary Monosodium Glutamate on HFCS‐Induced Hepatic Steatosis: Expression Profiles in the Liver and Visceral Fat", "abstract": "It has previously been shown that patients with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) exhibit alterations in both hepatic and adipose tissue metabolism, and the dietary factors that contribute to the pathogenesis of NAFLD are likely to be multifactorial. Using C57BL/6J mice, we examined whether chronic exposure to low‐dose dietary monosodium glutamate (MSG), high‐fructose corn syrup (HFCS), or a combination of the two, vs. control would affect metabolism and hepatic and visceral fat gene expression in adult male progeny. A maternal diet containing 20% HFCS and/or dietary MSG (97.2 ± 6.3 mg/kg body weight (bw), provided in the drinking water) was offered ad libitum from 3 weeks before mating, and continued throughout gestation and weaning until the progeny reached 32 weeks of age. Liver and abdominal fat gene expression was compared with control animals fed isocaloric standard chow under identical conditions. HFCS induced hepatic steatosis and increased the expression of genes involved in carbohydrate and lipid metabolism. Conversely, dietary MSG elevated serum free fatty acids (FFAs), triglycerides (TGs), high‐density lipoprotein‐cholesterol (HDL‐C), and insulin, together with the expression of hepatic genes involved in lipid metabolism and bile synthesis. The HFCS+MSG combination elevated hepatic TGs, serum FFAs, and TG levels. In visceral white adipose tissue, both MSG and HFCS diets increased the expression of transcription factor Srebf2 and decreased expression of Ppargc1a, while downregulating the expression of mitochondrial respiratory chain components. MSG increased the expression of several genes implicated in adipocytes differentiation. We hypothesize that HFCS may promote hepatic steatosis, whereas dietary MSG induces dyslipidemia and markers of insulin resistance.", "corpus_id": 1568264 }

{ "title": "Production of 10-hydroxystearic acid from oleic acid and olive oil hydrolyzate by an oleate hydratase from Lysinibacillus fusiformis", "abstract": "A recombinant enzyme from Lysinibacillus fusiformis was expressed, purified, and identified as an oleate hydratase because the hydration activity of the enzyme was the highest for oleic acid (with a kcat of 850 min−1 and a Km of 540 μM), followed by palmitoleic acid, γ-linolenic acid, linoleic acid, myristoleic acid, and α-linolenic acid. The optimal reaction conditions for the enzymatic production of 10-hydroxystearic acid were pH 6.5, 35 °C, 4% (v/v) ethanol, 2,500 U ml−1 (8.3 mg ml−1) of enzyme, and 40 g l−1 oleic acid. Under these conditions, 40 g l−1 (142 mM) oleic acid was converted into 40 g l−1 (133 mM) 10-hydroxystearic acid for 150 min, with a molar yield of 94% and a productivity of 16 g l−1 h−1, and olive oil hydrolyzate containing 40 g l−1 oleic acid was converted into 40 g l−1 10-hydroxystearic acid for 300 min, with a productivity of 8 g l−1 h−1.", "corpus_id": 17718761, "score": 0 }

{ "title": "Internationalization Strategies of Emerging Asian MNEs – Case Study Evidence on Singaporean and Malaysian Firms", "abstract": "Empirical research on the internationalization processes, strategies and operations of Asian multinational enterprises (MNEs) from countries at different levels of development is limited to date. Drawing on primary data from ten matched case studies of emerging Singaporean and Malaysian MNEs in five industrial sectors, this research examines and analyses their internationalization characteristics and strategies and evaluates them within the IDP (investment development path) perspective. The findings indicate that the emerging Singaporean and Malaysian MNEs, while exhibiting characteristics such as that described in extant theories also suggest some differences. The empirical findings, limitations, implications and areas for further research are discussed.", "corpus_id": 154689387 }

{ "title": "Bio-technology international strategic alliances: The managerial perspectives of Malaysian firms", "abstract": "Problem statement: Biotechnology is becoming one of the major concerns among large emerging economies including Malaysia. International strategic alliances may be one way to integrate emerging economies in their development with developed economies. The use of various forms of cooperation between firms of emerging economies and firms of developed countries can accelerate the process of transfer and adaptation of advances already reached in developed countries, as well as the development of new products and processes. However, there are few empirical studies on international strategic alliances of biotechnology firms have been conducted in emerging countries’ environment. In this study, the authors examine the views of Malaysian managing directors of prospective bio-tech international strategic alliances with European or US firms. Approach: Data examined in this study were collected using questionnaires filled in during executive face to face semi-structured interviews. Twenty-three firms associated with biotechnology were included. It represents approximately 20% of the estimated 120 firms operating in the biotechnology area in Malaysia. The authors also use a panel of specialists in order to classify independently two groups of firms: The most suitable and the least suitable to international strategic alliances. Results: Several differences concerning the perceived importance of prospective contributions were identified between the two groups of local firms. Conclusion: This study provides insights on the importance of contributions from a typical local (Malaysian) partner firm, as well as from a typical foreign (European or US) partner firm.", "corpus_id": 28237714 }

{ "title": "Transitional Growth and World Industrialisation", "abstract": "In the past 25 years, world population has nearly doubled and world output has tripled. This rapid growth has been accompanied by an accelerated shift of economic activity, and particularly of industry, from the old industrial centres to newly developed countries and to countries in the process of development. The reallocation of economic activity can be thought of both as reflecting the internal dynamics of national growth, as well as the international spread of technology and changing comparative advantage. An integrated treatment of the international allocation of production and trade must deal with both of these aspects.", "corpus_id": 152788171, "score": 2 }

{ "title": "Improving the reliability and safety of automotive electronics", "abstract": "The activities of the European Prometheus project's PRO-CHIP research groups, which have studied the problem of improving automotive electronic reliability while respecting the specifications of low-cost, high-volume production, light weight, compactness, and short time-to-market imposed by the automotive industry, are reviewed. The reliability problems most frequently encountered by electronic devices for automotive applications, including failure mechanisms due to the package or to the assembling technology, different kinds of electrical overstress, electrostatic discharge, electromagnetic interference, breakdown and burnout of power devices, and failure mechanisms accelerated by high temperatures and high current densities, and the procedures the manufacturers use to evaluate and improve the reliability of their products are discussed.<<ETX>>", "corpus_id": 2688697 }

{ "title": "Study of Circuit-Specific Error Bounds for Fault-Tolerant Computation using Maximum a posteriori (MAP) Hypothesis", "abstract": "The application of current generation computing machines in safety-centric applications like implantable biomedical chips and automobile safety has immensely increased the need for reviewing the worst-case error behavior of computing devices for fault-tolerant computation. In this work, we propose an exact probabilistic error model that can compute the maximum error over all possible input space in a circuit specific manner and can handle various types of structural dependencies in the circuit. We also provide the worst-case input vector, which has the highest probability to generate an erroneous output, for any given logic circuit. We also present a study of circuit-specific error bounds for fault-tolerant computation in heterogeneous circuits using the maximum error computed for each circuit. We model the error estimation problem as a maximum a posteriori (MAP) estimate, over the joint error probability function of the entire circuit, calculated efficiently through an intelligent search of the entire input space using probabilistic traversal of a binary join tree using Shenoy-Shafer algorithm. We demonstrate this model using MCNC and ISCAS benchmark circuits and validate it using an equivalent HSpice model. Both results yield the same worst-case input vectors and the highest % difference of our error model over HSpice is just 1.23%. We observe that the maximum error probabilities are significantly larger than the average error probabilities, and provides a much tighter error bounds for fault-tolerant computation. We also find that the error estimates depend on the specific circuit structure and the maximum error probabilities are sensitive to the individual gate failure probabilities.", "corpus_id": 5913626 }

{ "title": "Packaging technology for IBM's latest mainframe computers (S/390/ES9000)", "abstract": "The IBM system 390/ES9000 mainframe computers are significantly enhanced by a set of packaging materials, glass ceramic and copper conductors. The substrate is based on the crystallization of an unique glass to form a glass-ceramic with a dielectric constant of 5.2 relative to 9.4 with the previous alumina material. The copper conductor exhibits a three-fold improvement in electrical conductivity over molybdenum used in the alumina vintage substrates. The thermal expansion of the substrate, 30*10/sup -7// degrees C, closely matches the silicon chip to which it is solder bonded, thereby enhancing the reliability of the 648 chip-to-substrate connections. A novel sintering process provides the industry's best dimensional control, and results in the closest placement of metal vias to date. The cooling technology has been enhanced to accommodate 16.7 W/cm/sup 2/. The design is comprised of a multifaceted cooling system and an attached cold plate. The model's ability to dissipate heat is augmented by use of oil rather than the helium used in previous models.<<ETX>>", "corpus_id": 110224667, "score": 2 }

{ "title": "Psychological well-being and perceptions of stress amongst Japanese dental students.", "abstract": "The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between Psychological General Well Being (PGWB) and perceived sources of stress amongst dental students in Japan. Second to sixth year dental students of Tokyo Medical and Dental University were invited to participate in the questionnaire survey. The questionnaire collected information on demographic and social background, lifestyle behaviours, the PGWB index and the Dental Environment Stress (DES) questionnaire. A total of 320 students (56% male) participated, with a response rate of 91%. Male students had significantly higher PGWB scores and lower DES scores than female students (P < 0.05). There were no significant differences in the year of study for DES mean score and PGWB total score. Students whose first choice of admission was dentistry experienced less stress than those whose first choice was another discipline (P < 0.05). Students who regularly exercised showed significantly lower stress levels and higher well-being status than those students who did not exercise (P < 0.01). Correlational analysis showed an inverse relationship between PGWB and DES scores (r = -0.544, P < 0.001). Multiple regression analysis revealed that DES mean score was significantly related to gender, first choice of admission and PGWB total score. It is suggested that perception of stress amongst Japanese dental students is influenced by gender, dentistry as first choice for admission and students' general well-being.", "corpus_id": 65260 }

{ "title": "Occupational stress and dentistry: theory and practice. Part I. Recognition", "abstract": "Dental practice has been considered to be the most stressful of the health care professions. Increasingly dentists in general practice seem to experience more physical and mental ill health compared with other health professionals and this has been recognised to be a consequence of occupational stress. Occupational stress has been related to changes in clinical dental practice with many of the perceived causes being within the dentist's own control. Since dentists are faced daily with these potential occupational stressors one way of controlling stress is through its recognition. This paper highlights experiences common to all those in dental practice as a first step in reducing occupational stress", "corpus_id": 27155202 }

{ "title": "Benefit and risk of intrathecal morphine without local anaesthetic in patients undergoing major surgery: meta-analysis of randomized trials.", "abstract": "Intrathecal morphine without local anaesthetic is often added to a general anaesthetic to prevent pain after major surgery. Quantification of benefit and harm and assessment of dose-response are needed. We performed a meta-analysis of randomized trials testing intrathecal morphine alone (without local anaesthetic) in adults undergoing major surgery under general anaesthesia. Twenty-seven studies (15 cardiac-thoracic, nine abdominal, and three spine surgery) were included; 645 patients received intrathecal morphine (dose-range, 100-4000 microg). Pain intensity at rest was decreased by 2 cm on the 10 cm visual analogue scale up to 4 h after operation and by about 1 cm at 12 and 24 h. Pain intensity on movement was decreased by 2 cm at 12 and 24 h. Opioid requirement was decreased intraoperatively, and up to 48 h after operation. Morphine-sparing at 24 h was significantly greater after abdominal surgery {weighted mean difference, -24.2 mg [95% confidence interval (CI) -29.5 to -19.0]}, compared with cardiac-thoracic surgery [-9.7 mg (95% CI -17.6 to -1.80)]. The incidence of respiratory depression was increased with intrathecal morphine [odds ratio (OR) 7.86 (95% CI 1.54-40.3)], as was the incidence of pruritus [OR 3.85 (95% CI 2.40-6.15)]. There was no evidence of linear dose-responsiveness for any of the beneficial or harmful outcomes. In conclusion, intrathecal morphine decreases pain intensity at rest and on movement up to 24 h after major surgery. Morphine-sparing is more pronounced after abdominal than after cardiac-thoracic surgery. Respiratory depression remains a major safety concern.", "corpus_id": 6766595, "score": 1 }

{ "title": "Discrete Cosserat Approach for Multi-Section Soft Robots Dynamics", "abstract": "Nowadays, the most adopted model for the design and control of soft robots is the piecewise constant curvature model, with its consolidated benefits and drawbacks. In this work, an alternative model for multisection soft manipulator dynamics is presented based on a discrete Cosserat approach, in which the continuous Cosserat model is discretized by assuming a piecewise constant strain along the soft arm. As a consequence, the soft manipulator state is described by a finite set of constant strains. This approach has several advantages with respect to the existing models. First, it takes into account shear and torsional deformations, which are both essential to cope with out-of-plane external loads. Furthermore, it inherits desirable geometrical and mechanical properties of the continuous Cosserat model, such as intrinsic parameterization and greater generality. Finally, this approach allows to extend to soft manipulators, the recursive composite-rigid-body and articulated-body algorithms, whose performances are compared through a cantilever beam simulation. The soundness of the model is demonstrated through extensive simulation and experimental results.", "corpus_id": 18180588 }

{ "title": "Stiffness Control With Shape Memory Polymer in Underactuated Robotic Origamis", "abstract": "Underactuated systems offer compact design with easy actuation and control but at the cost of limited stable configurations and reduced dexterity compared to the directly driven and fully actuated systems. Here, we propose a compact origami-based design in which we can modulate the material stiffness of the joints and thereby control the stable configurations and the overall stiffness in an underactuated robot. The robotic origami, robogami, design uses multiple functional layers in nominally two-dimensional robots to achieve the desired functionality. To control the stiffness of the structure, we adjust the elastic modulus of a shape memory polymer using an embedded customized stretchable heater. We study the actuation of a robogami finger with three joints and determine its stable configurations and contact forces at different stiffness settings. We monitor the configuration of the finger using feedback from customized curvature sensors embedded in each joint. A scaled down version of the design is used in a two-fingered gripper and different grasp modes are achieved by activating different sets of joints.", "corpus_id": 13216349 }

{ "title": "Better than pre-commitment mean-variance portfolio allocation 1 strategies : a semi-self-financing", "abstract": null, "corpus_id": 9199721, "score": -1 }

{ "title": "An fMRI study of causal judgments", "abstract": "The capacity to evaluate causal relations is fundamental to human cognition, and yet little is known of its neurocognitive underpinnings. A functional magnetic resonance imaging study was performed to investigate an hypothesized dissociation between the use of semantic knowledge to evaluate specifically causal relations in contrast to general associative relations. Identical pairs of words were judged for causal or associative relations in different blocks of trials. Causal judgments, beyond associative judgments, generated distinct activation in left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and right precuneus. These findings indicate that the evaluation of causal relations in semantic memory involves additional neural mechanisms relative to those required to evaluate associative relations.", "corpus_id": 1184819 }

{ "title": "Dissociating the neural correlates of tactile temporal order and simultaneity judgements", "abstract": "Perceiving temporal relationships between sensory events is a key process for recognising dynamic environments. Temporal order judgement (TOJ) and simultaneity judgement (SJ) are used for probing this perceptual process. TOJ and SJ exhibit identical psychometric parameters. However, there is accumulating psychophysical evidence that distinguishes TOJ from SJ. Some studies have proposed that the perceptual processes for SJ (e.g., detecting successive/simultaneity) are also included in TOJ, whereas TOJ requires more processes (e.g., determination of the temporal order). Other studies have proposed two independent processes for TOJ and SJ. To identify differences in the neural activity associated with TOJ versus SJ, we performed functional magnetic resonance imaging of participants during TOJ and SJ with identical tactile stimuli. TOJ-specific activity was observed in multiple regions (e.g., left ventral and bilateral dorsal premotor cortices and left posterior parietal cortex) that overlap the general temporal prediction network for perception and motor systems. SJ-specific activation was observed only in the posterior insular cortex. Our results suggest that TOJ requires more processes than SJ and that both TOJ and SJ implement specific process components. The neural differences between TOJ and SJ thus combine features described in previous psychophysical hypotheses that proposed different mechanisms.", "corpus_id": 2273419 }

{ "title": "THE RELATION BETWEEN MUSIC AND PHONOLOGICAL PROCESSING IN NORMAL-READING CHILDREN AND CHILDREN WITH DYSLEXIA", "abstract": "PAST RESEARCH HAS SHOWN THAT MUSIC and language skills are related in normal-reading children as well as in children with dyslexia. In both an ongoing longitudinal study with normal-reading children and a pilot study with children with dyslexia, we found a strong relationship between musical discrimination abilities and language-related skills. In normal-reading children, musical discrimination predicted phonological and reading skills (Studies 1 and 2). These relationships were stronger in children with music training than in control children without music training. In children with dyslexia,musical discrimination predicted phonological skills, which in turn predicted reading abilities (Study 3). Furthermore, normal-reading children with music training surpassed both normal-reading controls and children with dyslexia in melodic discrimination. Controls also outperformed children with dyslexia (Study 4). Taken together, these findings suggest that a music intervention that strengthens the basic auditory music perception skills of children with dyslexia may also remediate some of their language deficits.", "corpus_id": 50576523, "score": 1 }

{ "title": "Anomalies of the craniovertebral junction - a very rare case report", "abstract": "A very rare case of anomalies of the craniovertebral junction (CVJ) is reported owing to its clinical significance and rarity. MRI and CT scan studies of the CVJ of a 52-year-old female patient revealed a hypoplastic clivus, an occipital vertebra, partial occipitalization of the atlas and atlas posterior rachischisis. The presence of an occipital vertebra and occipitalization of the atlas in the same case has not been reported previously. The signs and symptoms of CVJ abnormalities are varied, typically begin insidiously, and arise fairly late, progress slowly, remain stationary and rarely relapse. Congenital and developmental osseous abnormalities and anomalies affecting the craniovertebral junction complex can result in neural compression and vascular compromise and may manifest with abnormal cerebrospinal fluid dynamics. An understanding of the development of the craniovertebral junction is essential for the recognition of pathological abnormalities.", "corpus_id": 2849598 }

{ "title": "Occipitalization of the atlas.", "abstract": "Occipitalization of the atlas, or atlanto-occipital fusion, is one of the most common skeletal abnormalities of the upper cervical spine. According to Yochum, 1 occipitalization represents the most cephalic \"blocked\" vertebra encountered in the spine. The onset of neurological symptoms is usually in the third or fourth decade. Younger patients are commonly asymptomatic. Symptoms usually begin insidiously and progress slowly, although sudden onset and instantaneous deaths have been reported with trauma to the region of the craniocervical junction. Trauma has been implicated as a precipitating factor in at least half of reported symptomatic cases, although symptoms associated with trauma may not be as severe as previously mentioned.", "corpus_id": 58001559 }

{ "title": "CT recognition of anomalies of the posterior arch of the atlas vertebra: differentiation from fracture.", "abstract": "Apres un traumatisme, si l'examen initial par radiographie simple de la colonne cervicale ne differencie pas clairement une fracture de l'atlas d'une anomalie congenitale, une tomodensitometrie (TD) doit etre realisee. Dans la plupart des circonstances la TD levera l'incertitude", "corpus_id": 2036019, "score": 2 }