cometadata/datacite-rtg-text-other-reclassification-records huggingface dataset:
Health-related Quality of Life After Stroke
Creators: name: Joundi, Raed A
Publisher: name: Science
Year: 2021
Subjects: subject: Stroke
subject: Quality of life
subject: Health Sciences--Epidemiology

description: Background: Health-related quality of life (HRQoL) is increasingly being used to measure outcomes in patients with stroke. Differences in HRQoL with age, impairments in specific domains, and effects of treatments on HRQoL are not very well understood.Objectives: To determine the overall HRQoL in patients post stroke, how HRQoL differs by age, sex, other baseline characteristics, and effects of acute stroke treatment on HRQoL.Methods: A systematic review and meta-analysis was done to pool HRQoL values over the past 25 years of overall stroke survivors and stratify by age, sex, and time since stroke. A population- based study of Canadian respondents with and without stroke was completed to assess the impact of stroke on HRQoL and specific domains, and differences with age. Lastly, data from the ESCAPE randomized trial was used to determine the impact of endovascular thrombectomy on HRQoL and specific domains at 90 days post-stroke with exploration of differences by age.Results: In the meta-analysis of 107 studies, stroke survivors had substantially lower HRQoL compared to population norms as measured by health utility scores, and utility was lower in older individuals, females, and closer to stroke onset. In the population-based study, HRQoL in respondents with prior stroke was significantly lower than controls, overall and in domains of mobility, cognition, pain, and emotion. Those aged 60-74 had the greatest reduction in HRQoL compared to controls. In the ESCAPE trial, endovascular thrombectomy substantially improved HRQoL in patients with acute ischemic stroke, particularly in domains of self-care, usual activities, and mobility, and partially driven by a mortality benefit in the elderly. Among survivors, those aged 60-79 had the greatest benefit to HRQoL.Conclusions: HRQoL is highly impaired in stroke survivors, with particular impact on mobility, self-care, usual activities, cognition, pain, and emotional health. Those at older age and women have lower HRQoL. Endovascular thrombectomy is an effective treatment for improving HRQoL post stroke, with a large effect size when accounting for mortality. HRQoL is an important metric to evaluate stroke outcomes and is complementary to conventional disability scales. These findings may be useful for future analyses of stroke interventions, and clinical or economic studies of HRQoL after stroke.
Grey and White Matter Correlates Underlying Proprioceptive Impairments After Stroke
Creators: name: Chilvers, Matthew J
Publisher: name: Cumming School of Medicine
Year: 2023
Subjects: subject: Stroke
subject: Proprioception
subject: Neuroimaging
subject: Robotics
subject: Predictive Modeling
subject: White matter
subject: Grey matter
subject: Lesion Analysis
subject: Disconnectome
subject: Health Sciences--Rehabilitation and Therapy
subject: Health Sciences--Radiology

description: Proprioception is our sense of limb position and movement and is an important sense for the accurate control of movement. Proprioception is commonly affected post-stroke, with impairments demonstrated in ~50% of individuals. Despite high prevalence rates, the understanding of the neural correlates of these impairments, at both the grey and white matter level, is incomplete. In Chapter Two, a selective lesion analysis was performed to identify other temporoparietal structures that, when lesioned, resulted in impairments on an arm position matching (APM) and kinaesthesia task, even in the absence of lesions to sensory cortex. Participants with lesions to right temporoparietal regions performed worse on both tasks than their left hemisphere counterparts. In Chapter Three, lesions to, and diffusion properties of, the Superior Longitudinal Fasciculus (SLF), Arcuate Fasciculus (AF) and Middle Longitudinal Fasciculus (MdLF) were assessed in relation to performance on an APM task post-stroke (n=26). Lesions to each tract was associated with worse APM performance, while lower fractional anisotropy of the SLF III and AF was also associated with worse performance. In Chapter Four, the association between tract damage and APM performance was assessed, in addition to differences in the disconnectome between participants with and without APM task impairments. The extent of damage to a perisylvian network of white matter was associated with APM performance. Along with a perisylvian network, disconnection of the medial lemniscus, corpus callosum, inferior fronto-occipital fasciculus, inferior longitudinal fasciculus and optic radiations was also associated with impairments on the APM task. In Chapter Five, the ability of clinical, robotic and neuroimaging data, collected in the subacute stage post-stroke (n=133), was assessed for its utility in predicting chronic proprioceptive impairments. Models which combined variables across modalities (clinical, robotic and neuroimaging) were often the highest performing and could accurately predict impairments at six-months post-stroke. Overall, this thesis advances our understanding of the grey and white matter correlates of proprioceptive impairment post-stroke, something which has been under-investigated to date. Developing a better understanding of the neuroanatomy important for proprioception, and identifying participants at risk of long-term proprioceptive impairments, is key to developing better treatments for proprioception post-stroke.
André Gob, Le musée, une institution dépassée? Eléments de réponse
Creators: name: Morgante, Jole
Publisher: name: Università degli  Studi di Milano
Year: 2011

description: André Gob, Le musée, une institution dépassée? Eléments de réponse
(Paris, Colin, 2010, 159 pp., ISBN 978-2-200-25554-1)
par Jole Morgante
description: Altre Modernità, No 5 (2011): Se il museo si fa teatro: la cultura del display tra conservazione e produzione
Integrating Clinician Knowledge with Patient Data for Dementia Risk Prediction in Mild Cognitive Impairment
Creators: name: Wang, Meng
Publisher: name: Cumming School of Medicine
Year: 2023
Subjects: subject: Elicitation
subject: mild cognitive impairment
subject: dementia
subject: risk prediction
subject: routine care
subject: validation
subject: time-to-event outcomes
subject: Cox regression
subject: Machine learning
subject: Bayesian
subject: prior.
subject: Health Sciences--Epidemiology
subject: Health Sciences--Mental Health
subject: Cognitive
subject: Clinical

description: Dementia is a global concern and typically preceded by mild cognitive impairment (MCI). Individuals with MCI often request information about their risk of developing dementia, and risk scores may assist clinicians with quantifying patients’ risk. However, there are few dementia risk scores for individuals with MCI that are suitable for application in routine clinical practice. When empirical evidence is limited, clinicians must depend on their knowledge or heuristics to reach a dementia prognosis. Clinical decision making is a complex process with many uncertainties. Structured expert elicitation (SEE) can help quantify expert knowledge and potentially reduce bias in the process. The overarching aim of this thesis is to develop and validate clinically useful risk indices that combine clinician knowledge with patient data to estimate dementia risk in individuals with MCI. The objectives of this dissertation are to: 1) develop and validate clinically useful risk scores to predict dementia risk; 2) elicit and quantify clinician expert knowledge about prognostic risk factors for progression to dementia through SEE; and 3) integrate patient data with elicited expert knowledge to predict dementia risks in individuals with MCI. To achieve these objectives, we first compared the predictive accuracy of Cox regression and machine learning models for survival outcomes using Monte Carlo simulation and found that Cox models had comparable performance. Therefore, we used Cox models to develop and validate the Mild Cognitive Impairment to Dementia Risk (CIDER) score, using data from a dementia registry and two research cohorts. Next, we elicited expert knowledge about predictors for the progression of MCI to dementia from 11 experts using SEE. Finally, the combination of expert knowledge with patient data for predicting dementia resulted in similar predictive accuracy as noninformative priors, using Bayesian models. The CIDER score could be used to inform dementia risk in individuals with MCI. Our expert elicitation addressed knowledge gaps for evaluating experts' beliefs about important predictors of dementia risk. Moreover, the proposed Bayesian risk prediction can mirror clinical decision-making process, potentially enhance the use of expert knowledge, reduce variability in decision making, and improve clinical utility of risk scores.
María Rosa Lojo, La musa ribelle. Il romanzo di Victoria Ocampo.
Creators: name: Cattarulla, Camilla
Publisher: name: Università degli  Studi di Milano
Year: 2011

description: María Rosa Lojo, La musa ribelle. Il romanzo di Victoria Ocampo. Traduzione di Immacolata Forlano. Introduzione di Rosa Maria Grillo, (Salerno, Oèdipus, 2010, 187 pp., ISBN – 10 8873411352)
di Camilla Cattarulla
description: Altre Modernità, No 5 (2011): Se il museo si fa teatro: la cultura del display tra conservazione e produzione
Chromosome-scale genome assemblies of two Hypnales mosses
Creators: name: 余进(Jin Yu)
Publisher: name: CNGB
Year: 2021
Subjects: Genome sequencing and assembly
Raw sequence reads
Genome sequencing
Assembly
Monoisolate
Evolution

description: Mosses compose one of the oldest lineages of extant land plants (embryophytes). We sequenced and de novo assembled two moss genomes belonging to the orderfrom Hypnales, namely Entodon seductrix and Hypnum curvifolium, with the 10x genomics and the Hi-C data.
Numerical radius and distance from unitary operators
Creators: name: Badea, Catalin
name: Crouzeix, Michel
Publisher: name: arXiv
Year: 2011
Subjects: subject: Functional Analysis (math.FA)
subject: Spectral Theory (math.SP)
subject: FOS: Mathematics

description: Denote by w(A) the numerical radius of a bounded linear operator A acting on Hilbert space. Suppose that A is invertible and that the numerical radius of A and of its inverse are no greater than 1+e for some non-negative e. It is shown that the distance of A from unitary operators is less or equal than a constant times $e^{1/4}$. This generalizes a result due to J.G. Stampfli, which is obtained for e = 0. An example is given showing that the exponent 1/4 is optimal. The more general case of the operator $ρ$-radius is discussed for $ρ$ between 1 and 2.
description: Final version : new title and several other changes
Measurements and Modeling of Gas Dissolution and Exsolution Kinetics of Heptane/Ethane and Bitumen/Methane Systems
Creators: name: Khan, Mansoor A
Publisher: name: Schulich School of Engineering
Year: 2023
Subjects: subject: Exsolution kinetics
subject: Dissolution kinetics
subject: Bitumen
subject: Diffusion coefficient
subject: Activation energy
subject: Swelling
subject: Shrinkage
subject: Chemistry--Analytical
subject: Chemistry--Inorganic
subject: Chemistry--Organic

description: Modeling the diffusive mass transfer in various processes such as oil recovery, pharmaceutical, food, and chemical industries requires the accurate measurement of the molecular diffusion coefficient. In heavy oil and bitumen recovery, the injected gaseous solvent dissolves across the gas-oil interface and aids in higher oil recovery. On the other hand, a pressure drop in heavy oil causes the exsolution (degassing) of the light hydrocarbon from the heavy oil phase, whereby the supersaturation promotes the oil recovery. Hence, the exsolution and dissolution diffusion coefficients are the vital parameters used in the design and simulation of the bitumen and heavy oil recovery. Despite the significance of the exsolution and dissolution kinetics in bitumen recovery, relevant experimental data is lacking in the literature. While the dissolution kinetics of the gas-liquid systems are studied to some extent, there is an evident gap in the quantity and quality of the exsolution diffusivity data in the literature. In this study, a novel experimental setup was developed and validated for conducting the exsolution and dissolution experiments of the gas-liquid systems. The developed experimental setup allows performing a pair of constant-pressure exsolution/dissolution experiments, gas-liquid saturation (equilibration), and liquid phase density measurement. An analytical model was adapted for analyzing the experimental data. The model uses the measured rates of gas exsolution and dissolution to estimate the exsolution and dissolution diffusion coefficients, respectively. The developed methodology was used to report the first datasets on the exsolution and dissolution diffusivity and kinetics of the ethane/n-heptane and methane/bitumen systems. The results indicated that the gas exsolution is a faster process compared to the gas dissolution. Analysis of the experimental data using the Arrhenius equation revealed lower activation energy for exsolution compared to dissolution. The molecular diffusion coefficients of gas exsolution in ethane/n-heptane and methane/bitumen were found in the range of (2.02-5.44)×10-6 m2/s and (1.13-14.2)×10-8 m2/s, respectively. Also, the molecular diffusion coefficients of gas dissolution in ethane/n-heptane and methane/bitumen were found in the range of (1.76-11.80)×10-8 m2/s and (1.95-56.9)×10-9 m2/s, respectively.
Impact of Breastfeeding Cultural and Religious Beliefs, Attitudes, and Practices on Breastfeeding Initiation and Exclusivity Among Muslim Women in Qatar
Creators: name: Chaabna, Nabila M.
Publisher: name: Nursing (Qatar) Faculty
Year: 2021
Subjects: subject: Postnatal Muslim women
subject: religious and cultural beliefs and practices
subject: breastfeeding initiation and exclusivity.
subject: Health Sciences--Public Health

description: Low rates of breastfeeding initiation, exclusivity, and duration are a global concern. Muslim women in Qatar do not breastfeed their babies as per the international recommendations. Many factors impact breastfeeding practice; however, the impact of cultural or religious beliefs and practices on breastfeeding is not fully understood. The purpose of this study is to describe and examine the impact of socio-cultural and religious beliefs, knowledge, attitudes, and practices of Arab and non-Arab Muslim women on breastfeeding initiation and exclusivity. A convenience sample of 414 postpartum Arab and non-Arab Muslim women were recruited and data was collected using a pre-developed questionnaire and the Iowa Infant Feeding Attitude Score questionnaire. Telephone interviews at six weeks postpartum were also conducted to further assess breastfeeding practices of the participants. Statistically significant associations were found between the participants’ socio-cultural and religious beliefs and practices and participants’ ethnicity as well as breastfeeding knowledge. Although no statistically significant impact of socio-cultural and religious beliefs and practices on breastfeeding initiation and exclusivity within 48 hours and at six weeks postpartum was detected, several predictors have been identified. Findings of this study may assist in the development and implementation of culturally-tailored interventions including perinatal education programs, proper implementation of breastfeeding friendly hospital environment, and the use of social media and public policies to promote breastfeeding practices in Qatar and globally.
Matos Moctezuma Eduardo, Messico. La scoperta del passato
Creators: name: Domenici, Davide
Publisher: name: Università degli  Studi di Milano
Year: 2011

description: Matos Moctezuma Eduardo, Messico. La scoperta del passato, (Corpus Precolombiano, Jaca Book, Milano, 2010, 386 pp. ISBN 9788816604360)
di Davide Domenici
description: Altre Modernità, No 5 (2011): Se il museo si fa teatro: la cultura del display tra conservazione e produzione
La Storia tra Memoria e Narrazione
Creators: name: Spicci, Mauro
Publisher: name: Università degli  Studi di Milano
Year: 2011

description: La Storia tra Memoria e Narrazione (Eviatar Zerubavel, Mappe del Tempo, Bologna, Il Mulino, 2010, 233 pp. ISBN 978-88-15-09834-4)
di Mauro Spicci
description: Altre Modernità, No 5 (2011): Se il museo si fa teatro: la cultura del display tra conservazione e produzione
Observation of an isotropic superconducting gap at the Brillouin zone center of Tl$_{0.63}$K$_{0.37}$Fe$_{1.78}$Se$_2$
Creators: name: Wang, X. -P.
name: Richard, P.
name: van Roekeghem, A.
name: Huang, Y. -B.
name: Razzoli, E.
name: Qian, T.
name: Rienks, E.
name: Thirupathaiah, S.
name: Wang, H. -D.
name: Dong, C. -H.
name: Fang, M. -H.
name: Shi, M.
name: Ding, H.
Publisher: name: arXiv
Year: 2012
Subjects: subject: Superconductivity (cond-mat.supr-con)
subject: Strongly Correlated Electrons (cond-mat.str-el)
subject: FOS: Physical sciences

description: We performed a high-resolution angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy study on superconducting (SC) Tl$_{0.63}$K$_{0.37}$Fe$_{1.78}$Se$_2$ ($T_c=29$ K) in the whole Brillouin zone (BZ). In addition to a nearly isotropic $\sim$ 8.2 meV 2-dimensional (2D) SC gap ($2Δ/k_BT_c\sim7$) on quasi-2D electron Fermi surfaces (FSs) located around M$(π,0,0)$-A$(π,0,π)$, we observe a $\sim 6.2$ meV isotropic SC gap ($2Δ/k_BT_c\sim5$) on the Z-centered electron FS that rules out any d-wave pairing symmetry and rather favors an s-wave symmetry. All isotropic SC gap amplitudes can be fit by a single gap function derived from a local strong coupling approach suggesting an enhancement of the next-next neighbor exchange interaction in the ferrochalcogenide superconductors.
description: 5 pages, 4 figures
Il metodo orlandiano come strumento per interpretare controversie comparativiste: il caso di Griboedov e Molière
Creators: name: Cioni, Lorenzo
Publisher: name: Università degli Studi di Milano
Year: 2011

description: L’articolo, nato nel 2009 sotto la supervisione del prof. Francesco Orlando, ha come scopo di mostrare come il metodo orlandiano, o meglio alcune sue parti (soprattutto il concetto di ritorno del represso nella sfera dei contenuti) possano nella pratica dell’analisi letteraria essere strumento prezioso per risolvere complesse diatribe interpretative, anche non immediatamente legate a letture di tipo freudiano dei testi. Nella fattispecie, l’articolo mostra come il lungo dibattito attorno al legame tra la commedia di Griboedov L’ingegno che guaio e la sua lontana antenata francese, il celeberrimo Misantropo di Molière, possa essere visto in una nuova luce analizzando il rapporto repressione sociale-represso che vigeva nelle società che partorirono questi testi, e prescindendo dunque dal corto circuito causato dall’eccessiva insistenza sulla parallelenjägerei testuale a favore di una visione più globale (e, soprattutto, sociale) delle due pièce.
description: ENTHYMEMA, No 4 (2011)
I cataloghi nella letteratura americana della Grande Depressione
Creators: name: Scarpino, Cinzia
Publisher: name: Università degli Studi di Milano
Year: 2011

description: Il presente saggio si propone di analizzare alcune opere letterarie in senso lato (poesie, libri-documentario, script di film-documetario) scritte negli Stati Uniti negli anni della Grande Depressione (1929-1941) alla luce della presenza ricorrente di cataloghi, liste e inventari. Partendo da un excursus storico circa la centralità del catalogo come forma narrativa atta a rendere l’abbondanza del Nuovo Mondo nella cultura e nella letteratura dell’Ottocento (dai diari dei primi esploratori agli scritti di Thomas Jefferson, dalle geremiadi puritane agli almanacchi e ai diari rurali, dalle teorizzazioni estetiche di Ralph Waldo Emerson al «poeta catalogatore» Walt Whitman e al Walden di H. D. Thoreau), il saggio si sofferma su alcune opere-documentario degli anni Trenta del Novecento; un periodo che, segnato profondamente dalla crisi economica e testimone di una riconfigurazione della geografia reale e simbolica del territorio nazionale, punta nuovamente a cataloghi e inventari, secondo una scelta retorica funzionale alla rappresentazione del rovescio del mito di abbondanza delle origini.
description: ENTHYMEMA, No 4 (2011)
First publication of the e-magazine D5.2
Creators: name: Gértrudix-Barrio, Manuel
name: Rivas-Rebaque, Begoña
name: Romero-Luis, Juan
name: Carbonell-Alcocer, Alejandro
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2021
Subjects: Citizen Science; e-Magazine; EU project; Horizon 2020

description: This deliverable explains and documents the process followed from the preparation of Deliverable 5.1 to the launch of the e-Magazine and the publication of the first issue.
An isotope mass balance approach to measure variability in nitrogen fluxes, allocation and assimilation in balsam poplar (Populus balsamifera L.) and other plants
Creators: name: Kalcsits, Lee Anthony
Publisher: name: University of British Columbia
Year: 2013

description: Populus species or their hybrids are being increasingly used as feedstock for the growing bioenergy industry. To optimize carbon uptake efficiencies, fertilizer inputs must be minimized while, at the same time, achieving rapid growth. The complexity of nitrogen uptake and assimilation in plants and environmental heterogeneity force simplifications that limit improvements in nitrogen-use efficiency. In particular, a lack of integration limits the applicability of many traditional nitrogen-use assays to whole plant nitrogen use. Net nitrogen isotope discrimination has potential to act as a time-integrated process indicator of nitrogen-use in plants grown under steady-state conditions. The objective of this thesis was to further develop an isotope discrimination-based integrated measure of nitrogen-use that reflects whole plant and organ level nitrogen use. Observed differences in nitrogen isotope discrimination were proposed to be a function of nitrogen isotope discrimination of the assimilatory enzymes, fluxes across the root plasma membrane and translocation of inorganic nitrogen to the shoot. As a test, nitrogen supply and demand was environmentally varied in black cottonwood (Populus trichocarpa (Torr & Gray)) and genetically manipulated with knockout lines of Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana L.). Changes in isotopic composition (δ¹⁵N) were interpretable within the context of the proposed model. Furthermore, efflux/influx (E/I) across the root plasma membrane calculated from the isotope mass balance approach was positively correlated with E/I measured using an established ¹⁵N compartmental analysis approach indicating that the isotope mass balance approach produced a reliable measure of E/I. The isotope mass balance approach was then used to determine intraspecific variability in balsam poplar (Populus balsamifera L.), a species used for hybrid poplar breeding. Nitrogen use traits were calculated for 25 genotypes from five climatically dispersed provenances grown hydroponically under steady-state nitrogen conditions with either ammonium or nitrate. Genotypic variation exceeded provenance level variation in most cases and significant variation was observed in growth, nitrogen isotope composition and calculated nitrogen-use traits indicating that there is potential for breeding for nitrogen-use using balsam poplar. The isotope mass balance model presented here provides a new approach for probing integrated nitrogen-use traits in plants, which are often technically difficult to measure.
Dal racconto allo stage: percorsi della memoria in Brian Friel
Creators: name: Cambria, Mariavita
Publisher: name: Università degli Studi di Milano
Year: 2011

description: Numerosi scrittori sono arrivati alla stesura di testi teatrali dopo aver sperimentato altri mezzi espressivi, che spesso hanno costituito una sorta di laboratorio artistico ed esperienziale di tematiche, metodi e strumenti. Tra questi, l’irlandese Brian Friel (1929-), che, dopo un’iniziale carriera come scrittore di racconti brevi, si è affermato sulla scena internazionale grazie ai suoi plays. Attraverso l’analisi di elementi di continuità tra Foundry House, un racconto breve del 1962, e il dramma Aristocrats (1979), questo contributo si propone di mettere in luce il fil rouge che lega i due testi costituito da una riflessione sui processi di memoria collettiva ed individuale che permea i lavori di Friel.
description: ENTHYMEMA, No 4 (2011)
On the reality of the quantum state
Creators: name: Pusey, Matthew F.
name: Barrett, Jonathan
name: Rudolph, Terry
Publisher: name: arXiv
Year: 2011
Subjects: subject: Quantum Physics (quant-ph)
subject: FOS: Physical sciences

description: Quantum states are the key mathematical objects in quantum theory. It is therefore surprising that physicists have been unable to agree on what a quantum state truly represents. One possibility is that a pure quantum state corresponds directly to reality. However, there is a long history of suggestions that a quantum state (even a pure state) represents only knowledge or information about some aspect of reality. Here we show that any model in which a quantum state represents mere information about an underlying physical state of the system, and in which systems that are prepared independently have independent physical states, must make predictions which contradict those of quantum theory.
description: 5+3 pages, 3+2 figures. v3: Minor improvements, now closely approximates journal version
Testing the imposition of the Spin Foam Simplicity Constraints
Creators: name: Geiller, Marc
name: Noui, Karim
Publisher: name: arXiv
Year: 2011
Subjects: subject: General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology (gr-qc)
subject: High Energy Physics - Theory (hep-th)
subject: FOS: Physical sciences

description: We introduce a three-dimensional Plebanski action for the gauge group SO(4). In this model, the $B$ field satisfies quadratic simplicity constraints similar to that of the four-dimensional Plebanski theory, but with the difference that the $B$ field is now a one-form. We exhibit a natural notion of "simple one-form", and identify a gravitational sector, a topological sector and a degenerate sector in the space of solutions to the simplicity constraints. Classically, in the gravitational sector, the action is shown to be equivalent to that of three-dimensional first order Riemannian gravity. This enables us to perform the complete spin foam quantization of the theory once the simplicity constraints are solved at the classical level, and to compare this result with the various models that have been proposed for the implementation of the constraints after quantization. In particular, we impose the simplicity constraints following the prescriptions of the so-called BC and EPRL models. We observe that the BC prescription cannot lead to the proper vertex amplitude. The EPRL prescription allows to recover the expected result when, in this three-dimensional model, it is supplemented with additional secondary second class constraints.
description: 30 pages. 18 figures. References added. New paragraph in the conclusion
Automatic Mapping of Residential Rooftops with High-Resolution Thermal Imagery
Creators: name: Ghaffarian, Salar
Publisher: name: Science
Year: 2022
Subjects: subject: Aerial Thermal Imagery
subject: Semantic Segmentation
subject: Building Extraction
subject: Object-based Image Analysis
subject: Earth Sciences

description: This study reports on the use of the commercially available ENVI Deep Learning module to (i) automatically extract GIS ready rooftop polygons directly from high-resolution night-time thermal infrared (TIR) airborne imagery and (ii) define the optimal spatial resolution for deep learning rooftop delineation. It also (iii) compares results from multi-spatial resolution models based on a single TIR image vs. a derived three channel image and (iv) introduces two new object-based accuracy assessment methods for comparing the visual fit of the segmented rooftops.
Physiological and genomic characterization of Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli-infecting Tequintavirus and their long tail fibers for host recognition
Creators: name: Nguyen, Nghi
Publisher: name: Veterinary Medicine
Year: 2023
Subjects: subject: bacteriophages
subject: phage – host interaction
subject: whole genome characteriztion
subject: phage characterization
subject: tail fiber
subject: receptor-binding protein
subject: host range
subject: virulence index.
subject: Biological Sciences
subject: Health And Environmental Sciences

description: Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) continually challenges the food safety system worldwide. Bacteriophages demonstrate great potential as a biocontrol agent for STEC in food supply chain. This study characterized lytic activity and genomics of six STEC – infecting phages isolated from commercial feedlot in Alberta and elucidating the function of tail proteins in host recognition and attachment. Overall, the six phages (e.g., AHF125, AXO103A/B/C, AXO45B and AXO26A) had a relatively broad host range and strong lytic activity against STEC serogroups O26, O45, O103, O145 and O157 in laboratory settings. Additionally, the estimated adsorption rate of these phages ranged from 5.2×10-10 to 2.2×10-9 ml/min. Taxonomically, they belonged to Tequintavurus genus of Markadamsvirinae subfamily, containing 106 – 109 kb dsDNA (155 – 173 coding sequences, 22-24 tRNAs). Comparative genomic analysis revealed that the genomes of the studied phages were 86–89% similar to each other. However, their L-shaped tail fibers (LTFs) and receptor binding proteins (RBP), which were known to be responsible for host attachment varied (e.g., as low as 24% identity of LtfA of phage AXO45B to that of reference phage AKFV33) at the amino acid level. Especially, unlike typical Ltf structure of Tequinatavirus, Ltfs of STEC phages consist of 2–3 gene products, namely LtfA, LtfB with or without hypothetical protein in between. To determine function of these unique Ltf and RBP toward host adsorption, Ltfs and RBP of O157-infecting phage were cloned, expressed, and purified for phage adsorption inhibition assay. In the presence of LtfA (?0.05 mg/ml) and orf136 (?0.1 mg/ml), 66 – 82% unabsorbed phage particles were found. These numbers of unabsorbed phages were statistically higher than that of the protein-free control (~ 0.2 % phages after 15 min) (p<0.001). This observation indicates that LtfA and orf136 bound to the same bacterial receptors that their parent phages use for attachment and blocked them from initiating adsorption. Environmental Tequintavirus were efficacious against multiple clinically important STEC serogroups. Variations of genes encoding for Ltfs and RBP from Tequintavirus may be responsible for STEC infectivity.
Topological Crystalline Insulators in the SnTe Material Class
Creators: name: Hsieh, Timothy H.
name: Lin, Hsin
name: Liu, Junwei
name: Duan, Wenhui
name: Bansil, Arun
name: Fu, Liang
Publisher: name: arXiv
Year: 2012
Subjects: subject: Materials Science (cond-mat.mtrl-sci)
subject: Mesoscale and Nanoscale Physics (cond-mat.mes-hall)
subject: FOS: Physical sciences

description: Topological crystalline insulators are new states of matter in which the topological nature of electronic structures arises from crystal symmetries. Here we predict the first material realization of topological crystalline insulator in the semiconductor SnTe, by identifying its nonzero topological index. We predict that as a manifestation of this nontrivial topology, SnTe has metallic surface states with an even number of Dirac cones on high-symmetry crystal surfaces such as {001}, {110} and {111}. These surface states form a new type of high-mobility chiral electron gas, which is robust against disorder and topologically protected by reflection symmetry of the crystal with respect to {110} mirror plane. Breaking this mirror symmetry via elastic strain engineering or applying an in-plane magnetic field can open up a continuously tunable band gap on the surface, which may lead to wide-ranging applications in thermoelectrics, infrared detection, and tunable electronics. Closely related semiconductors PbTe and PbSe also become topological crystalline insulators after band inversion by pressure, strain and alloying.
description: submitted on Feb. 10, 2012; to appear in Nature Communications; 5 pages, 4 figures
Annotation of Vascular Plant Structures using Haptic Assistance
Creators: name: Gu, Philmo
Publisher: name: Science
Year: 2022
Subjects: subject: Haptics
subject: Image Analysis
subject: Visualization
subject: Annotation
subject: Segmentation
subject: Tracing
subject: Computer Science

description: The vascular structure within a plant is a network of vascular bundles that transport nutrients and water. Analyzing the organization of vascular bundles can lead to a better understanding of the vascular structure's role in the development of plants. One way to analyze the vascular structure is by scanning plant samples using X-ray micro-CT and then annotate the volumetric data digitally. However, this process is challenging due to the complex arrangement of vascular bundles and lack of contrast from other nearby anatomic structures. To address these problems, we developed a system to annotate the vascular structure of plant samples using force feedback to interact with the surface of objects and along the centerline of tubular structures. This system annotated the vascular structure of flower heads such as Gerbera hybrida, and inflorescences such as Arabidopsis thaliana. User study participants found the haptic assistance helpful for interacting with and annotating plant samples.
Nikolaj Ivanovič Nikolaev, La critica non ufficiale al «metodo formale» nella cultura russa degli anni ’20
Creators: name: Larocca, Giuseppina
Publisher: name: Università degli Studi di Milano
Year: 2011

description: La complessa e multiforme storia del formalismo russo è da tempo oggetto di ricerche che ne mettono a nudo tanto le contraddizioni e dispute interne quanto l’intricata rete di relazioni con personalità di circoli e gruppi critico-letterari contemporanei. Lo studio che viene qui presentato in traduzione – la seconda di tre parti – mira a far luce sulla storia della critica non ufficiale al formalismo, ovvero sulla storia di tutti quegli intellettuali – singoli o appartenenti a precise correnti estetico-letterarie – che, ora a Mosca, ora a Pietrogrado/Leningrado, hanno offerto un’alternativa metodologica alla pratica critica del gruppo di Ėjchenbaum. Attenzione privilegiata viene qui riservata all’attività di studiosi come Grigorij Vinokur e Viktor Žirmunskij, così come anche a quella dei seguaci e allievi del filosofo Gustav Špet operanti presso la GAChN moscovita.
description: ENTHYMEMA, No 4 (2011)
Non-Abelian statistics of vortices with multiple Majorana fermions
Creators: name: Hirono, Yuji
name: Yasui, Shigehiro
name: Itakura, Kazunori
name: Nitta, Muneto
Publisher: name: arXiv
Year: 2012
Subjects: subject: Superconductivity (cond-mat.supr-con)
subject: High Energy Physics - Phenomenology (hep-ph)
subject: High Energy Physics - Theory (hep-th)
subject: FOS: Physical sciences

description: We consider the exchange statistics of vortices, each of which traps an odd number ($N$) of Majorana fermions. We assume that the fermions in a vortex transform in the vector representation of the SO(N) group. Exchange of two vortices turns out to be non-Abelian, and the corresponding operator is further decomposed into two parts: a part that is essentially equivalent to the exchange operator of vortices having a single Majorana fermion in each vortex, and a part representing the Coxeter group. Similar decomposition was already found in the case with N=3, and the result shown here is a generalization to the case with an arbitrary odd $N$. We can obtain the matrix representation of the exchange operators in the Hilbert space that is constructed by using Dirac fermions non-locally defined by Majorana fermions trapped in separated vortices. We also show that the decomposition of the exchange operator implies tensor product structure in its matrix representation.
description: 23 pages; v2: published version in Phys. Rev. B
Hydrodynamic Signatures of Nanoparticle-Laden Oil-Water-Solid Interfaces
Creators: name: Bazazi, Parisa
Publisher: name: Schulich School of Engineering
Year: 2021
Subjects: subject: Emulsion
subject: Nannoparticle
subject: Droplet pinch-off
subject: Droplet spreading
subject: Liquid-in-liquid printing
subject: Engineering--Chemical

description: This research scrutinizes a multidisciplinary subject focusing on the in-situ formation of materials at oil-water interfaces and their effects on dynamics of liquid-liquid and liquid-solid interfaces. In particular, the formation of emulsions at oil-water interfaces is investigated in the presence of silica nanoparticles in the water and sorbitan monooleate surfactants in the oil. Then, the influence of in-situ generated emulsions on dynamics of (i) double emulsion/bicontinuous phase formation, (ii) drop pinch-off, and (iii) drop spreading are thoroughly examined. In the low viscosity oil, the spontaneous formation of multiple core-shell emulsions is reported. However, for the oils with a viscosity higher than 60 mPa.s, interconnected structures of oil and microemulsion phases are formed in a fraction of a second. The classical Plateau-Rayleigh instability in the presence of in-situ generated emulsions at the silica dispersion-high viscosity surfactant solution interfaces is revisited. The aqueous phase is injected vertically through a nozzle into a surfactant solution reservoir. The injection of DI-water generates single droplets. While in the presence of silica nanoparticles, a variety of flow morphologies from single droplets to straight liquid columns are observed. It is shown that the pinch-off of the silica nanoparticle dispersion droplet occurs in an elasto-capillary regime. The viscoelastic emulsion layer resists the capillary force and attenuates Plateau-Rayleigh instability, forming silica dispersion filaments. A scaling analysis based on the evaluation of the relative importance of the residence time to the required time for forming emulsions and the diffusion of emulsions from interface to bulk is conducted to identify required conditions for generating liquid filaments. Finally, filaments are used as inks for creating liquid letters and liquid-fluidic channels.In the last part of this dissertation, the effect of surfactants and nanoparticles on the spreading dynamics is examined. Silica nanoparticles at a concentration above 2.0 wt. % increase the early time spreading rate and the final wetted area. Increasing the surfactant concentration in the oil phase results in a plethora of wetting conditions from fully spreading to non-sticking. In the non-wetting system, the droplet levitates on a layer of oil which is used as a transport vehicle for depositing interfacial nanodroplets.
Searching for Signatures of Cosmic String Wakes in 21cm Redshift Surveys using Minkowski Functionals
Creators: name: McDonough, Evan
name: Brandenberger, Robert H.
Publisher: name: arXiv
Year: 2011
Subjects: subject: Cosmology and Nongalactic Astrophysics (astro-ph.CO)
subject: General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology (gr-qc)
subject: High Energy Physics - Phenomenology (hep-ph)
subject: High Energy Physics - Theory (hep-th)
subject: FOS: Physical sciences

description: Minkowski Functionals are a powerful tool for analyzing large scale structure, in particular if the distribution of matter is highly non-Gaussian, as it is in models in which cosmic strings contribute to structure formation. Here we apply Minkowski functionals to 21cm maps which arise if structure is seeded by a scaling distribution of cosmic strings embeddded in background fluctuations, and then test for the statistical significance of the cosmic string signals using the Fisher combined probability test. We find that this method allows for detection of cosmic strings with $G μ> 5 \times 10^{-8}$, which would be improvement over current limits by a factor of about 3.
description: Matches published version
Epifania dell’astanza. Brandi, Joyce e il modernismo tradito
Creators: name: Borsa, Davide
Publisher: name: Università degli Studi di Milano
Year: 2011

description: Davide Borsa analizza prestiti terminologici, riuso, invenzioni e ‘fossili’ lessicali come epifania, fulgurazione, astanza, nell’opera, nell’estetica e nel linguaggio di Cesare Brandi, individuando alcune caratteristiche dell’archetipo letterario italiano nel delicato momento di transizione dal postcrocianesimo allo strutturalismo, approfondendone alcune costanti ideologiche. Pur muovendosi nel segno della ricerca della continuità nei valori tradizionali, Brandi compie un’originale rilettura dell’avanguardia europea modernista e di Joyce che gli consentirà di sviluppare un originale approccio terminologico al restauro e all’estetica.
description: ENTHYMEMA, No 4 (2011)
Optimization and Validation of the Derivation and Use of HoxB8 Transgenic Murine Phagocytes in In Vitro Studies
Creators: name: Lail, Shranjit
Publisher: name: Cumming School of Medicine
Year: 2022
Subjects: subject: HoxB8
subject: conditional immortalization
subject: differentiation
subject: macrophages
subject: mass spectrometry-based proteomics
subject: flow cytometry
subject: phagosomes
subject: Health Sciences--Immunology
subject: Biology--Molecular

description: The research conducted under the supervision of Dr. Robin Yates focuses on the microenvironment within phagosomes in macrophages. The research in this area is limited due to the use of bone marrow-derived macrophages that are short-lived, require the constant sacrifice of mice, and are very difficult to genetically manipulate. To overcome these shortcomings, we explored the use of another system that utilizes HoxB8 conditionally immortalized progenitor cells. The work presented in my thesis further explores the validation that conditionally immortalized phagocyte progenitors are comparable to those obtained through current methods which will ensure that this system can be used to advance research in the understudied area of phagocyte biology. To do this I finished a comprehensive tool/resource paper on HoxB8 and HoxA9-mediated immortalization. Further, I compared macrophages derived from HoxB8 conditionally immortalized progenitor cells, bone marrow-derived macrophages, and J774A.1 cells (herein referred to as J774 cells) (commonly used macrophage-like cell line) via morphology, flow cytometry, mass spectrometry-based proteomics analysis, and comparison of key phagosomal parameters (phagocytic index, phagosomal maturation (intra-phagosomal proteolysis), and phagosomal NOX2 activity). I also demonstrated the genetic mutability of macrophages derived from HoxB8 conditionally immortalized progenitor cells by assessing the transduction efficiency and generating genetically modified macrophages. Additionally, I explored a strategy where we can utilize the HoxB8 system in vivo. While the estrogen-regulated HoxB8 system works well in vitro, in vivo the endogenous estrogen interferes with the HoxB8 system, and also adding exogenous estrogen will cause physiological changes in the mice. Therefore, I explored the development of a novel HoxB8 system that uses either tamoxifen or doxycycline. Overall, the work presented in this thesis suggests macrophages derived from HoxB8 conditionally immortalized progenitor cells seem to be phenotypically and functionally equivalent to bone-marrow derived macrophages, unlike other macrophage-like cell lines (ex. J774). Taken together with previous studies, the findings reported in this body of work suggest that phagocytes derived from HoxB8 conditionally immortalized progenitor cells are more similar to primary phagocytes as compared to other immortalized phagocyte-like cell lines.
Il campo dell'arte: regole e valori dell'istituzione letteraria
Creators: name: Avella, Paola
Publisher: name: Università degli Studi di Milano
Year: 2011

description: Si considera in questo articolo il campo artistico, descritto da Pierre Bourdieu, come il teatro di una lotta per la conquista del monopolio della legittimità letteraria tra (dis)posizioni sociali, a cui corrispondono precise strategie simboliche, concorrenti. Viene, così, messo in discussione il mito della gratuità e del disinteresse del lavoro intellettuale insieme a quello dell’esperienza estetica come identificazione immediata e contemplazione dell’opera. Le istanze di legittimazione interne al campo, infatti, determinano i modi della produzione, ma anche quelli dell’appropriazione. Solo un fruitore dotato della competenza adeguata sarà in grado di riconoscere il valore esemplificazionale inscritto nel testo.
description: ENTHYMEMA, No 4 (2011)
Hope For a Better Day: An Arts-Based Engagement Ethnography on the Resettlement and School Integration of an Immigrant Muslim Family in Western Canada
Creators: name: Khan, Mahnoor
Publisher: name: Werklund School of Education
Year: 2022
Subjects: subject: Muslim
subject: Family
subject: Immigrant
subject: School
subject: Arts-Based Engagement Ethnography
subject: Education
subject: Alberta
subject: Canada
subject: Psychology
subject: FOS: Psychology
subject: Education--Educational Psychology
subject: Sociology--Public and Social Welfare
subject: Sociology--Individual and Family Studies
subject: Sociology--Ethnic and Racial Studies
subject: Social
subject: Religion--General
subject: Health Sciences--Mental H

description: The global political climate has left a large number of individuals seeking asylum in various countries, with nearly half of these individuals being school aged-children (United Nations Refugee Agency, 2019). Although immigrant families have been reported to face a number of challenges navigating their new host country, these challenges can be pronounced for immigrant families carrying a Muslim identity. This thesis answered two research questions in two manuscripts. Manuscript 1’s research question was: What are the experiences of an immigrant Muslim family integrating into a public school board located in urban Alberta? Manuscript 2’s research question was: What are the collective and individual resettlement experiences of an immigrant Muslim family with a complex migration trajectory? In this arts¬-based engagement ethnography (ABEE; Goopy & Kassan, 2019; Kassan et al., 2020), set within a transformative framework (Mertens, 2007, 2012), we used artifacts created by participants using cultural probes as well as qualitative individual and family interviews to document school integration and resettlement experiences. In Manuscript 1, a three-stage process of analysis revealed two structures regarding school integration experiences: (a) challenges navigating a public school board, and (b) recommendations for school boards. Manuscript 2 revealed two structures highlighting collective and individual experiences of resettlement into broader Canadian society: (a) identity exploration post-migration, and (b) sources of strength and resilience. The results and implications of both research questions are presented in the two manuscripts.
Mean-field and stability analysis of two-dimensional flowing soft-core bosons modeling a supersolid
Creators: name: Kunimi, Masaya
name: Kato, Yusuke
Publisher: name: arXiv
Year: 2012
Subjects: subject: Quantum Gases (cond-mat.quant-gas)
subject: FOS: Physical sciences

description: The soft-core boson system is one of the simplest models of supersolids, which have both off-diagonal long-range order (Bose-Einstein condensation) and diagonal long-range order (crystalline order). Although this model has been studied from various points of view, studies of the stability of current-flowing states are lacking. Solving the Gross-Pitaevskii and Bogoliubov equations, we obtain excitation spectra in superfluid, supersolid, and stripe phases. On the basis of the results of the excitation spectra, we present a stability phase diagram that shows the region of the metastable superflow states for each phase.
description: 7 pages, 5 figures