cometadata/datacite-rtg-text-other-reclassification-records huggingface dataset:
Towards fully automated analysis of crowd counting in images
Creators: name: Qian, Yifei
Publisher: name: The University of St Andrews
Year: 2024
Subjects: Crowd counting
Pattern recognition
Computer vision
Neural networks

description: Crowd counting is a computer vision task, which involves estimating the number of objects in images and videos. Traditional methods that rely on handcrafted features often fail to produce satisfactory results due to their limited ability to capture the intricate details and variations in real-world scenes. This research studies how to employ deep learning techniques to achieve robust counting system. Furthermore, recognizing the data-hungry nature of deep learning, this research also aims to reduce the need for annotated data, making deep counting models more practical. The research begins with an application in the ecology domain. Manned aircraft have been used in ecological monitoring and wildlife research for decades. However, post-processing the large volumes of data they capture presents significant challenges. We propose a simple method based on density map estimation, which achieves automatic counting with significantly improved accuracy over detection-based methods. The focus then shifts to human counting. Automated crowd counting has made remarkable progress due to the development of convolutional neural networks (CNNs). However, the capability of these systems is limited by the locally attentive receptive fields of CNNs. To address this limitation, we introduce Crowd U-Transformer, a 'U-shaped' multi-scale Transformer network designed to capture long-term dependencies between pixels. Additionally, we propose a novel loss function that improves counting performance in foreground areas. Training a counting system typically requires a large amount of annotated data, which is labor-intensive. Thus, this research extends to developing semi-supervised algorithms for crowd counting. Overfitting to local details is a common issue in semi-supervised crowd counting. To address this, we propose MRC-Crowd, a framework that enhances contextual modeling by guiding the model to make predictions for masked patches based on holistic cues. Finally, to tackle perspective distortion, which causes significant appearance variations and heterogeneity in density distribution, we introduce another semi-supervised learning algorithm based on perspective-assisted prototype-based learning. This approach improves feature learning for patches of varying and similar density levels, enhancing the performance of semi-supervised crowd counting.
RESPONSABILIDADE CIVIL NA INTERNET: DESAFIOS LEGAIS E ESTRATÉGIAS DE MONITORAMENTO DE CONTEÚDO
Creators: name: Jakson da Silva ARAUJO
name: Jefter Martins BRAGA
name: Hildeglan Carneiro de BRITO
name: Jocirley de OLIVEIRA
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2024
Subjects: Responsabilidade Civil
Internet
Marco Civil da Internet
Monitoramento de Conteúdo
Inteligência Artificial

description: RESUMO

Este artigo tem como objetivo analisar os desafios legais relacionados à responsabilidade civil na internet, com foco nas estratégias de monitoramento de conteúdo digital. A expansão das plataformas online e a crescente produção de informações na internet têm levantado questões complexas sobre a responsabilidade de provedores, usuários e plataformas em relação ao conteúdo disseminado. A pesquisa, de natureza bibliográfica e com abordagem qualitativa, revisa a literatura jurídica e casos emblemáticos que ilustram os limites e as possibilidades de responsabilização no ambiente virtual. O estudo contextualiza o papel das legislações vigentes e analisa como diferentes jurisdições têm lidado com a questão da responsabilização por danos decorrentes de conteúdo online. Os resultados indicam que, embora existam marcos regulatórios que buscam equilibrar a liberdade de expressão e a proteção de direitos, ainda há lacunas significativas na aplicação prática dessas normas. As estratégias de monitoramento, quando aliadas a uma regulação clara e eficaz, mostram-se fundamentais para mitigar riscos e proteger os direitos dos indivíduos, porém, a eficácia dessas práticas depende de uma cooperação contínua entre legisladores, plataformas e usuários.
Biomechanical evaluation of novel concepts in soft tissue knee reconstruction
Creators: name: Lord, Breck Raymond
Publisher: name: Imperial College London
Year: 2017

description: Anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) rupture is a common injury associated with a failure to return to sport and early osteoarthritis. The optimal technique for ACL reconstruction (ACLR) is yet to be determined. The aim of this PhD was to investigate novel concepts in ACL anatomy and reconstruction, and thus provide quantifiable data to help clinicians choose the correct graft type, configuration, preparation and augmentation technique. A robotic testing system was utilised to perform cadaveric experiments. The load bearing characteristics of the fibres of the native ACL tibial attachment were quantified and compared to a blinded anatomical assessment. It was found that the most important fibres in resisting tibial displacements attach to the ‘C’-shaped anterior-medial area of the native ACL tibial attachment. The femoral attachment site has the most effect on ACL graft isometry, so a simplified 3-socket (3S) construct utilising two femoral sockets is attractive. The ability of 3S, single- and double-bundle surgery to restore native knee kinematics was assessed. No significant benefit was observed over single-bundle surgery. Smaller tunnels for compressed grafts reduce bone loss. Instron materials testing machines were used to test non-irradiated allograft tendons following graft compression. Graft compression did not cause adverse mechanical effects. The grafts significantly increased in size during joint simulation with no effect on graft stability. Lateral extra-articular tenodesis (LEAT) is a popular adjunct to ACLR. It was not known whether closing the ilio-tibial band (ITB) defect overconstrains tibial rotation. Robotic testing found this was not the case. Therefore, it is advised that surgeons use a ribbon-like single-bundle reconstruction aligned with the anteromedial border of the tibial attachment. Graft compression downsizing should be used if bone loss is to be minimised. When considering an LEAT, the ITB defect can be left open or closed depending on patient or surgeon specific factors.
In vitro erythropoiesis in a 3D bone marrow biomimicry: reproducing physiologic biochemical and microenvironmental factors involved in red blood cell formation
Creators: name: Brito Dos Santos, Susana Isabel
Publisher: name: Imperial College London
Year: 2018

description: Erythropoiesis studies have been hampered by the lack of culture systems that accurately reproduce the features of the bone marrow (BM). Existing knowledge has been obtained from 2D studies which do not reflect the complexity of the BM microenvironment, where haematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) and differentiating erythroid cells are exposed to complex stimuli, including cell-cell and cell-extra cellular matrix interactions and soluble factors. These limitations have been overcome by addition of high concentrations of exogenous cytokines, serum and/or stroma feeder layers, which introduce non physiologic signals to the cells. In this study, a 3D BM biomimicry was developed, using collagen-coated polyurethane (PU) scaffolds, to expand and differentiate cord blood mononuclear cells (CBMNCs) under serum-free, near-physiologic conditions. This system mimics BM cellular heterogeneity, sustaining complex stromal cell populations and in situ cytokine production. The dynamic evolution of the erythropoiesis was studied with a focus on the role of the hypoxic environment under near-physiologic cytokine concentrations (SCF and EPO only). A combined hypoxia/nomoxia schedule, in this 3D BM biomimicry, was proposed to enable the establishment of erythroid progenitor/precursor populations and a specialized microenvironment, including stroma cells and endogenous cytokine production, and to recreate physiologic erythropoiesis. It was also verified that addition of dexamethasone was not required at any stage of the 3D culture. Furthermore, CBMNC recharge of cultured scaffolds successfully enhanced erythropoiesis with increased production of biconcave shaped enucleated red blood cells (RBCs), simultaneously with the maintenance of a progenitor pool. In parallel, RGD-modification was proposed as a xeno free, defined alternative to collagen coating in PU scaffolds. Preliminary studies using RGD-modified scaffolds did not show a significant improvement of the microenvironment in erythropoiesis when compared with the results of the previously established CBMNCs single cultures. In summary, this thesis reports the development of a reproducible, robust and near physiologic erythropoiesis model that resembles the physiologic microenvironment and allows for in vitro study of erythropoiesis and sustained RBC production.
The UBE2L3 ubiquitin conjugating enzyme: interplay with inflammasome signalling and bacterial ubiquitin ligases
Creators: name: Eldridge, Matthew James George
Publisher: name: Imperial College London
Year: 2018

description: Inflammasome-controlled immune responses such as IL-1β release and pyroptosis play key roles in antimicrobial immunity and are heavily implicated in multiple hereditary autoimmune diseases. Despite extensive knowledge of the mechanisms regulating inflammasome activation, many downstream responses remain poorly understood or uncharacterised. The cysteine protease caspase-1 is the executor of inflammasome responses, therefore identifying and characterising its substrates is vital for better understanding of inflammasome-mediated effector mechanisms. Using unbiased proteomics, the Shenoy grouped identified the ubiquitin conjugating enzyme UBE2L3 as a target of caspase-1. In this work, I have confirmed UBE2L3 as an indirect target of caspase-1 and characterised its role in inflammasomes-mediated immune responses. I show that UBE2L3 functions in the negative regulation of cellular pro-IL-1beta via the ubiquitin- proteasome system. Following inflammatory stimuli, UBE2L3 assists in the ubiquitylation and degradation of newly produced pro-IL-1b. However, in response to caspase-1 activation, UBE2L3 is itself targeted for degradation by the proteasome in a caspase-1-dependent manner, thereby liberating an additional pool of IL-1beta which may be processed and released. UBE2L3 therefore acts a molecular rheostat, conferring caspase-1 an additional level of control over this potent cytokine, ensuring that it is efficiently secreted only in appropriate circumstances. These findings on UBE2L3 have implications for IL-1-driven pathology in hereditary fever syndromes, and autoinflammatory conditions associated with UBE2L3 polymorphisms.
Structural characterisation and photophysical properties of lanthanoid complexes of a tetra-amide functionalised calix[4]arene
Creators: name: Driscoll, Christopher R.
name: Skelton, Brian W.
name: Massi, Massimiliano
name: Ogden, Mark I.
Publisher: name: Taylor & Francis
Year: 2016
Subjects: subject: Biophysics
subject: Biochemistry
subject: 29999 Physical Sciences not elsewhere classified
subject: FOS: Physical sciences
subject: Medicine
subject: Biotechnology
subject: 39999 Chemical Sciences not elsewhere classified
subject: FOS: Chemical sciences

description: Lanthanoid complexes of a tetra-amide substituted calix[4]arene in the cone conformation are characterised by single crystal X-ray structure determination. The structural analysis shows that the metal ions are coordinated to the calixarene through the eight O donor atoms, along with one aqua ligand which is located within the cavity of the calixarene. The calixarene ligand was covalently incorporated into a polymethylmethacrylate monolith through p-allyl functional groups, followed by loading with a range of lanthanoid cations giving rise to light-emitting materials. The emission from the hydrid materials was found to be comparable to the solution phase emission.
Carbazole-pyranocoumarin conjugate and two carbazole alkaloids from the stems of Clausena excavata
Creators: name: Suda Chakthong
name: Nitima Bindulem
name: Sirorat Raknai
name: Sariya Yodwaree
name: Soonthorn Kaewsanee
name: Akkharawit Kanjana-Opas
Publisher: name: Taylor & Francis
Year: 2016
Subjects: subject: Biochemistry
subject: Space Science
subject: Pharmacology
subject: Biotechnology
subject: 59999 Environmental Sciences not elsewhere classified
subject: FOS: Earth and related environmental sciences
subject: 39999 Chemical Sciences not elsewhere classified
subject: FOS: Chemical sciences
subject: Ecology
subject: FOS: Biological sciences
subject: 69999 Biological Sciences not elsewhere classified
subject: Cancer

description: A carbazole-pyranocoumarin conjugate, carbazomarin B (1), and two carbazole alkaloids, 6-methoxymukonidine (2) and 2-hydroxy-3-methoxycarbazole (3), together with 27 known compounds (4–30), were isolated from the stems of Clausena excavata. Their structures have been elucidated by spectroscopic analyses. Compound 2 showed moderate cytotoxicity to HuCCA-1, MOLT-3 and HepG2 cancer cell lines with IC50 values of 15.09–28.50 μg/mL, but none to A549 cell line. Heptaphylline (6) and nordentatin (23) were found to show moderate cytotoxic activity against HepG2 cell line with IC50 values of 12.33 and 11.33, respectively, while clausine K (27) exhibited strong cytotoxicity with IC50 value of 1.05 μg/mL, better than a standard drug (etoposide, IC50 13.40 μg/mL).
The use of satellite data, meteorology and land use data to define high resolution temperature exposure for the estimation of health effects in Italy
Creators: name: De' Donato, Francesca Katherine
Publisher: name: Imperial College London
Year: 2018

description: Introduction. Despite the mounting evidence on heat-related health risks, there is limited evidence in suburban and rural areas. The limited spatial resolution of temperature data also hinders the evidence of the differential heat effect within cities due to individual and area-based characteristics. Methods. Satellite land surface temperature (LST), observed meteorological and spatial and spatio-temporal land use data were combined in mixed-effects regression models to estimate daily mean air temperature with a 1x1km resolution for the period 2000-2010. For each day, random intercepts and slopes for LST were estimated to capture the day-to-day temporal variability of the Ta–LST relationship. The models were also nested by climate zones to better capture local climates and daily weather patterns across Italy. The daily exposure data was used to estimate the effects and impacts of heat on cause-specific mortality and hospital admissions in the Lazio region at municipal level in a time series framework. Furthermore, to address the differential effect of heat within an urban area and account for potential effect modifiers a case cross-over study was conducted in Rome. Mean temperature was attributed at the individual level to the Rome Population Cohort and the urban heat island (UHI) intensity using air temperature data was calculated for Rome. Results. Exposure model performance was very good: in the stage 1 model (only on grid cells with both LST and observed data) a mean R2 value of 0.96 and RMSPE of 1.1°C and R2 of 0.89 and 0.97 for the spatial and temporal domains respectively. The model was also validated with regional weather forecasting model data and gave excellent results (R2=0.95 RMSPE=1.8°C. The time series study showed significant effects and impacts on cause-specific mortality in suburban and rural areas of the Lazio region, with risk estimates comparable to those found in urban areas. High temperatures also had an effect on respiratory hospital admissions. Age, gender, pre-existing cardiovascular disease, marital status, education and occupation were found to be effect modifiers of the temperature-mortality association. No risk gradient was found by socio-economic position (SEP) in Rome. Considering the urban heat island (UHI) and SEP combined, differential effects of heat were observed by UHI among same SEP groupings. Impervious surfaces and high urban development were also effect modifiers of the heat-related mortality risk. Finally, the study found that high resolution gridded data provided more accurate effect estimates especially for extreme temperature intervals. Conclusions. Results will help improve heat adaptation and response measures and can be used predict the future heat-related burden under different climate change scenarios.
Exploring the utility of metabolic profiling in stratifying patient groups in Inflammatory Bowel Disease
Creators: name: Hicks, Lucy Charlotte
Publisher: name: Imperial College London
Year: 2018

description: The pathogenesis of IBD, involving dynamic interactions between the microbiome, innate and adaptive immune systems, genetics and environmental factors, is a major focus of academic interest, in order to reveal more about the heterogeneous clinical course of the disease and in pursuit of improved therapeutic targets. Metabonomics has been previously used with a variety of biofluids to successfully distinguish IBD from controls, but the complex metabolic data also have potential to unlock insights into pathogenesis and better understand how to better stratify patients for personalised clinical care. In the largest urinary metabonomics IBD study to date, changes in the white European cohort confirmed previous published findings, highlighting discriminatory metabolites of gut microbial and inflammatory pathway sources. Significant metabolic differences were seen when comparing IBD patients and controls from South Asia to white North Europeans, demonstrating the influence of ethnicity on the metabolic profile and showing metabolite changes related to host-nutrition-microbiome interactions. Results from longitudinal measurements of the IBD metabolome in the same individuals over several years indicate relative stability despite the relapsing-remitting course of the disease and different treatments. This early finding suggests clinical outcomes may only have subtly discernible changes on metabolic profiles, potentially limiting its application as a disease-monitoring tool. 16S rRNA profiling, employed to characterise the microbiome, showed reduced microbial diversity in IBD and 4 key bacterial genera - Veillonella, Acidaminococcus, Lactobacillus and Streptococcus - associated with disease. Significant urinary and faecal metabolites in the same patients were correlated with these bacteria to demonstrate the feasibility of multi-omic integration in IBD. Furthermore, the breath VOC profiles of IBD patients obtained by SIFT-MS were distinct from those of heathy controls, with the significant compounds originating from microbial sources, and inflammatory pathways, demonstrating the potential of this technology and another facet to metabolic profiling in IBD.
title: Contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) in the diagnosis of malignant portal vein thrombus
Creators: name: Pyrrou, Nikoletta
name: Rafailidis, Vasileios
Publisher: name: EURORAD
Year: 2024
Subjects: subject: Abdominal imaging
subject: Abdomen
subject: Liver
subject: Ultrasound
subject: Neoplasia
subject: Clinical Case

description: Clinical History: A 60-year-old male patient with history of chronic HCV hepatitis and alcohol uptake presented with raised alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) (460ng/ml).

description: 60 years, male
Catálogo de Padrões de Requisitos de Privacidade (CPRP)
Creators: name: Melo
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2024

description: Artefatos para construção e avaliação de um Catálogo de Padrões de Requisitos de Privacidade  baseado na Lei Geral de Proteção de Dados Pessoais (LGPD).
THE EXTRADITION CONVENTION BETWEEN MEMBER STATES OF THE COMMUNITY OF PORTUGUESE LANGUAGE COUNTRIES AND FEATURES OF EXTRADITION BETWEEN BRAZIL AND PORTUGAL
Creators: name: Furquim, Saulo Ramos
Publisher: name: figshare
Year: 2016
Subjects: subject: Law
subject: FOS: Law

description: With a strict basis for international cooperation in criminal subject, the Convention of Extradition between the Member States of the Community of Portuguese Speaking Countries directed to the reciprocal delivery of duty claimed people. This paper denotes the new possibilities of extradition between Brazil and Portugal, offering significant changes regarding the inadmissibility and the voluntary refusal of extradition with the entry into force in both countries to the Convention, including addressing conflicts on competitors with respect to Warrant European Arrest.
DISPLACED BY ENVIRONMENTAL
Creators: name: Silva, Jose Carlos Loureiro Da
Publisher: name: figshare
Year: 2016
Subjects: subject: Law
subject: FOS: Law

description: This work aims to analyze the tutelage that international law gives people displaced by environmental problems. By examining the consequences of major environmental disasters, the finding of the presence of the vulnerability factor of populations affected
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by them, as well as the inadequacy of the the Status of Refugees to give shelter to
victims of such events. The proposed establishment of a proper system to protect such
people seems to be the appropriate solution to this huge problem of contemporaneity
Improved scope and diastereoselectivity of C–H activation in an expanded supramolecular host
Creators: name: Brown, Casey J.
name: Akos Kokai
name: Miller, Gregory M.
name: Bergman, Robert G.
name: Raymond, Kenneth N.
Publisher: name: Taylor & Francis
Year: 2016
Subjects: subject: Biochemistry
subject: Microbiology
subject: FOS: Biological sciences
subject: Cell Biology
subject: Genetics
subject: Molecular Biology
subject: Neuroscience
subject: Pharmacology
subject: Evolutionary Biology
subject: 39999 Chemical Sciences not elsewhere classified
subject: FOS: Chemical sciences
subject: 111714 Mental Health
subject: FOS: Health sciences
subject: Plant Biology

description: Chiral Ga4L6 assembly Ga4(LN)6 encapsulates cationic iridium half-sandwich complexes that activate aldehyde C–H bonds to form chiral, strongly bound piano-stool complexes. Herein, we report the expanded scope of the larger Ga4(LP)6 host in mediating this transformation. The larger assembly significantly improves both the scope and the diastereoselectivity of this organometallic transformation generally, while substrate-specific interactions demonstrate that host size is an important, but not definitive, factor in determining diastereoselectivity.
Investigation of luminescent zinc and copper complexes as emitters in organic light emitting diodes (OLEDs)
Creators: name: Marafie, Jameel
Publisher: name: Imperial College London
Year: 2018

description: This thesis investigates a range of dinuclear zinc(II), copper(I) bis-imine, and copper(I) NHC complexes as emitters within OLEDs. The syntheses and photophysical properties of seven dinuclear zinc(II) disalphen macrocycles are described in Chapter 2. Five are weakly luminescent in solution (λem = 531 – 597 nm, PLQE < 1 %), moderately luminescent in the solid state (λem = 569 – 630 nm, PLQE = 1 – 5 %), and display aggregation induced enhanced emission (AIEE), however, are unsuitable candidates for OLEDs due to their low PLQE values. The syntheses and photophysical properties of eight dinuclear zinc(II) bis-salphens and one mononuclear zinc(II) salphen complex are described in Chapter 3. The complexes are moderately luminescent in solution (λem = 531 – 700 nm, PLQE = 2 – 27 %), and show weaker emission in the solid state (λem = 584 – 625 nm, PLQE < 1 – 4 %). Significant colour tuning (green to red emission) is reported across the dinuclear complexes. Two dinuclear zinc(II) bis-salphens are used as emitters in three OLED devices (up to 1.1 cd/A and 0.35 lm/W). A study of the solid state emission of copper(I) bis-imines and copper(I) NHCs is presented in Chapter 4. The emission from three copper(I) NHCs is further investigated (λem = 441 – 509 nm, PLQE = 3 – 45 %), and one displays bright blue emission (λem = 441 nm, PLQE = 45 %), and is trialled as an emitter in four OLED devices. A synthetic and photophysical investigation of several novel organic compounds and dinuclear zinc(II) complexes is presented in Chapter 5, however, the dinuclear complexes are not isolated. Four mononuclear zinc(II) complexes, five diimines, and one organic compound are presented. The organic compound has highly efficient, deep blue emission in solution (λem = 388 – 456 nm, PLQE = 83 %), and is further investigated as an emitter for OLEDs.
Mathematical modelling of fluid flows in textured and autophoretic microchannels
Creators: name: Game, Simon
Publisher: name: Imperial College London
Year: 2018

description: Further advancement in the field of microfluidics relies on the improved understanding and exploitation of fluid phenomena at the micro-scale. Such phenomena may influence the design of microfluidic devices, to achieve desirable effects in the fluid. This thesis specifically concerns itself with superhydrophobic drag reduction and self-diffusiophoretic (autophoretic) motion. The former can be achieved in practice by texturing microchannel boundaries with grooves parallel to the flow direction. Such grooves contain an inert gas and/or vapor, the low viscosity of which results in apparent slip flow in the liquid phase. With applications of textured microchannels including direct liquid cooling of microelectronics, there is a need for predictive mathematical models that can be used for design and optimization. This thesis is comprised of the motivation, development and discussion of such models, including analysis and numerical computations. In the context of textured channels, we study the effects of gas viscosity (interfacial shear), meniscus protrusion, channel aspect ratio, thermal transport and slowly varying three-dimensional geometry and show how to generate accurate predictions using Chebyshev collocation and domain decomposition numerical methods. In addition, we use the same numerical formulation to study autophoretic (self-diffusiophoretic) channels, in the presence of advection. Such channels rely on a chemical interaction between its boundaries and a solute (e.g. adsorption, repulsion) to generate an effective slip velocity at the solid-liquid interface proportional to the concentration gradient. We study the general case of corrugated boundaries, showing how advection can lead to flow enhancement, or flow reversal. We also study channels with flat boundaries, and demonstrate that advection can lead to the spontaneous emergence of non-trivial flow fields.
Placebo-controlled, randomised clinical trial: high-dose resveratrol treatment for non-alcoholic fatty liver disease
Creators: name: Heebøll, Sara
name: Kreuzfeldt, Martin
name: Hamilton-Dutoit, Stephen
name: Poulsen, Marianne Kjær
name: Stødkilde-Jørgensen, Hans
name: Møller, Holger Jon
name: Jessen, Niels
name: Thorsen, Kasper
name: Hellberg, Ylva Kristina
name: Pedersen, Steen Bønløkke
name: Grønbæk, Henning
Publisher: name: Taylor & Francis
Year: 2016
Subjects: subject: Biochemistry
subject: Medicine
subject: Cell Biology
subject: Genetics
subject: FOS: Biological sciences
subject: Physiology
subject: Pharmacology
subject: Biotechnology
subject: 39999 Chemical Sciences not elsewhere classified
subject: FOS: Chemical sciences
subject: Immunology
subject: FOS: Clinical medicine
subject: Cancer

description: Objective “The obesity epidemic” has led to an increase in obesity-related conditions including non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), for which effective treatments are in demand. The polyphenol resveratrol prevents the development of experimental NAFLD through modulation of cellular pathways involved in calorie restriction. We aimed to test the hypothesis that resveratrol alleviates NAFLD in a randomised, clinical trial. Materials and methods A total of 28 overweight patients with transaminasemia and histological NAFLD were randomised 1:1 to placebo or resveratrol 1.5 g daily for 6 months. Twenty-six participants completed the trial and underwent repeated clinical investigation, blood work, MR spectroscopy; and 19 participants agreed to a repeat liver biopsy. Results Resveratrol treatment was generally not superior to placebo in improving plasma markers of liver injury (primary outcome: alanine transaminase, p = 0.51). Resveratrol-treated patients showed a 3.8% decrease in liver lipid content (p = 0.03), with no difference between the two treatment arms (p = 0.38) and no improvement of histological features. Resveratrol treatment was not associated with improvements in insulin sensitivity or markers of the metabolic syndrome, except for a transient decrease in systolic BP. Microarray analysis and qRT-PCR revealed no major changes in expression profile. Also, we report a serious adverse event in a patient who developed fever and bicytopenia. Conclusions In this placebo-controlled, high-dose and long-term study, resveratrol treatment had no consistent therapeutic effect in alleviating clinical or histological NAFLD, though there may be a small ameliorating effect on liver function tests and liver fat accumulation.
Understanding microstructurally-sensitive fatigue crack nucleation in superalloys
Creators: name: Chen, Bo
Publisher: name: Imperial College London
Year: 2018

description: This PhD project is concerned with fatigue crack nucleation in a range of superalloys, including single, oligo, and polycrystalline. An integrated experimental, characterisation and computational crystal plasticity study of cyclic plastic beam loading has been carried out on these alloys in order to assess quantitatively the mechanistic drivers for fatigue crack nucleation. The experimentally validated modelling provides knowledge of key microstructural quantities (accumulated slip, stress and GND density) at experimentally observed fatigue crack nucleation sites and it is shown that while each of these quantities is potentially important in crack nucleation, none of them in its own right is sufficient to be predictive. However, the local (elastic) stored energy density, measured over a length scale determined by the density of SSDs and GNDs, has been shown to predict crack nucleation sites in the mechanical tests. In addition, the stored energy is also able to correctly identify where secondary fatigue cracks are observed to nucleate in experiments. Further, experimental and crystal plasticity modelling studies have also been carried out to investigate non-proportionality and stress state effects in fatigue in a 316 stainless steel and Ni-based alloy RR1000 which have been shown to have substantial effects on fatigue life. Stored energy density has provided a consistent and unifying explanation for the experimental observations of fatigue life in differing loading regimes (both proportional and non-proportional). A single fatigue property (the critical stored energy density, equating to new surface energy) determined from axial fatigue data alone has been shown to provide good qualitative and reasonable quantitative prediction of the experimental observations of the complex loading, providing a mechanistic explanation for the fatigue behaviour.
Eliseu Raphael Venturi.pdf
Creators: name: Venuti, Eliseu Raphael
Publisher: name: figshare
Year: 2016
Subjects: subject: Law
subject: FOS: Law

description: Starting from the context of the Corporate Citizenship, the object of this article consists in the approach on the management tools of socioenvironmental liability – as means of administration that consolidate legal precepts. In this point of view are discussed juridical elements and also discussed empirical studies which demonstrates the practical viability of the constitutional and legal precepts of socioenvironmental protection, when implemented by management tools. Study’s problem consists in the questioning about normativity deriving from socioenvironmental protection in practical terms, i.e., not only within the legal structure, which is fundamental, but in the specificity of its effects on the business modes of management. The general objective of this proposal, thereby, is to expose the central Law and Administration interdisciplinary in achieving socioenvironmental responsibility, and the specific objectives for this are to investigate both legal precepts and management tools, and, also, results of empirical studies. The methodology used is bibliographical studies related. It is intended to contribute to the comprehension of a legal possibility of achieving other results than just punitive ones, especially preventive actions, which are the tonic “par excellence” of Environmental Law.
Flow estimation and fault diagnosis for automatic control valves in water supply networks
Creators: name: Changklom, Jiramate
Publisher: name: Imperial College London
Year: 2018

description: Dynamic adaptability of water supply networks (WSNs) in terms of connectivity and hydraulic conditions is essential for their operation as there are increasing demands on serviceability (leakage, water quality, incident management and fire flow), resilience and cost efficiency. A common approach to achieve multiple control functions throughout networks is to employ automatic control valves (ACVs). Advances in low-powered electronics and micro-actuators enable a wide range of novel control methods in WSNs, including the flow-based pressure control (or flow modulation control (FM)). The implementation of FM schemes has been steadily increasing as it has a major advantage of a closed-loop (feedback) control by utilising measurements to define the flow-pressure control profile. The performance of the FM scheme relies on continuous and accurate flow measurements. Hence, to achieve robust control in WSNs, high-level reliability of the control solution is required. Herein, two methods for the reliable operation of ACVs are investigated, namely (i) Flow estimation and (ii) Fault detection and diagnosis. A novel flow estimation method for diaphragm-actuated globe valves has been developed and experimentally investigated. The method utilises three pressure measurements, namely the valve inlet pressure, the valve outlet pressure and the control chamber pressure (the 3P flow estimation method). The method relies upon the accurate computation of the valve stem position, the measured pressure differential across the valve and the flow coefficients of the valve (Cv, Kv). The developed valve stem position estimation model results in multiple solutions. Advances in signal processing are combined with a machine learning technique (support vector machine) to distinguish the correct solution. The proposed 3P method is compared with a method which uses sensor measurements of the valve stem position (the 2P&Pos method), and its performance validated against measurements from an electromagnetic flowmeter. The uncertainty bounds of the flow estimation methods are also derived. For fault diagnosis, methods for early fault detection and diagnosis (FDD) are investigated. Potential faults are categorised, and residuals and feature variables are defined to detect a fault and diagnose its likely cause. Experimental data have been generated and utilised from controlled laboratory conditions, from an operational network and also from a numerical simulation. The performance of the proposed schemes has been validated.
Viral dsRNA and killer system in Saccharomyces paradoxus
Creators: name: Nematbakhsh, Mahsan
Publisher: name: Imperial College London
Year: 2018

description: Some yeast strains (killer strains) release killer toxins which kill other strains of the same or different species of yeast but not the strain producing the toxin itself. In Saccharomyces cerevisiae, killer toxins are encoded by either dsRNA viruses or nuclear genes. This study aims to characterise the genetic basis of the killer toxin synthesised in Saccharomyces paradoxus, a wild non-domesticated relative of S. cerevisiae. One hundred and nine stains of S. paradoxus gathered from Silwood Park, Continental Europe, Far East, and North America were screened for the killer-immune phenotype against killer and sensitive yeast strains. In order to find whether the killer toxin is encoded by dsRNA or a nuclear gene, the killer strains were treated by cyclohexamide that removes the dsRNA which carries the killer toxin gene. The strains were also screened for presence and absence of dsRNA by directly visualising the dsRNA on the agarose gel and also by Next Generation Sequencing (NGS). Several strains were found to have the killer phenotype (30% of the screened strains). In the majority of killer strains the toxins were encoded by dsRNA except the strains from Canada and one strain from continental Europe, which seems to have other genetic bases. Sixteen full sequences of large dsRNA variants (L-A; with the length of about 4.5 kb) composed of L-A-Q, L-A-D1, L-A-C, L-A-P1.1, L-A-P1.2, L-A-P1.3, L-A-P1.4, L-A-P1.5, L-A-P1.6, L-A-P1.7, L-A-P2.1, L-A-P2.2, L-A-P2.3, L-A-P2.4, L-A-P2.5, and L-A-P2.6, and seven new types of medium size dsRNA (M; with the length between 0.8 and 2kb) composed of MQ, MC, M-P1G1, M-P1G2, M-P1G3-1, M-P1G3-2, M-P1G5, and M-P1SG, have been identified in this study. M28 was the only M dsRNA in S. paradoxus which was nearly identical to the M28 from S. cerevisiae; therefore likely to have been transferred between the two species. To test whether the killer toxins were encoded from the new types of M dsRNAs, the MQ ORF sequence from S. paradoxus was cloned and expressed into S. cerevisiae and then tested for the killer phenotype. The S. paradoxus MQ protein was successfully expressed in the S. cerevisiae strain and a positive killer response in the killer assay confirmed its function as a killer toxin.
title: 01_2350
Creators: name: Wesley Baldwin, John
name: Baldwin, John W.
Publisher: name: NAKALA - https://nakala.fr (Huma-Num - CNRS)
publisherIdentifier: https://ror.org/04ces3204
publisherIdentifierScheme: ROR
Year: 2018
Subjects: subject: LaMOP
subject: Laboratoire de Médiévistique Occidentale de Paris

description: L'ensemble de ces notes ont été crée par John Baldwin lors d'une de ses premières périodes de résidence à Paris. Ces documents comprennent tous les magistri qu’il avait pu rencontrer dans ses sources. Aux XIIème et XIIIème siècles, les universités n'existant pas encore, le titre de magister s'il évoque certainement une compétence n'est pas rattaché de façon systématique au passage par les écoles. De surcroît, les magistris sont le plus souvent désignés par leur seul prénom. La lecture de ces données est donc difficile et suppose un long travail pour tenter d'identifier un individu auquel on pourrait rattacher plusieurs mentions. John Baldwin avait donc renoncé à utiliser ces données pour donner un prolongement à sa magnifique étude sur les gradués d'université et leur emploi par les Capétiens et les Plantagenêts. Néanmoins, il a conservé ces données et elles sont potentiellement très utile dans le cadre de Studium, comme le sont toutes les mentions dans les volumes des Fasti Ecclesiae Gallicanae de chanoines portant ce titre de magister sans autres précisions. L'ampleur des dépouillements rend ces données très utiles et nous devons une grande reconnaissance à John Baldwin pour avoir pris la peine de faire photocopier ses fiches et de nous les avoir transmises amicalement.
Les données ainsi que les images des fiches sont accessibles sur le site Internet à l'adresse suivante : http://studium-baldwin.lamop.fr/.
Les transcriptions des fiches ont été effectuées par des étudiants de Paris 1 Panthéon - Sorbonne mais elles n'ont pas été corrigées par la suite.
description: Relation: https://lamop.hypotheses.org/
Disentangling tropical forest stand characteristics in terms of cation availability and functional traits
Creators: name: Lira Martins, Demetrius
Publisher: name: Imperial College London
Year: 2018

description: Nutrient dynamics underpin the ecological processes in tropical forests. The soils in which these forests are based on are held as being generally poor given their weathered nature and therefore, plants evolved a diversity of ecological strategies to cope with these nutritional limitations. The woody tissues of trees are important in this sense as they reflect the life history of trees as well as their performance. Furthermore, wood is the dominant forest biomass component and harbours the majority of the nutrient stocks present in a forest ecosystem. This thesis investigates the causes of nutrient variation, not only at the tree level but also across species and spatial scales to understand how these chemical portfolios of plants are associated. I start by investigating how nutrient concentrations in plant tissues are associated across spatial scales and evaluated the environmental underpinnings of nutrient tissue variation (Chapter 2). I detected strong influences of climatic and edaphic properties on the variation of nutrient concentration in leaf and woody tissues. Wood density emerged as an important trait associated with nutrient content in wood as well as in leaves. The link between specific nutrients across the spatial scale stimulated the question of how nutrients varied along the whole plant, thus scaling down to the individual level (Chapter 3). Nutritional profiles of entire trees were created and tree size, wood density as well as differences between sites were taken into consideration for this assessment. Once again, wood density varied along with specific nutrients in stems and branches. The patterns found in the first two analytical chapters motivated the examination on how nutrients and water content were associated in the woody tissues and how these relationships varied across environment and species (Chapter 4). This time I scaled down to the tissue level and contextualized these relationships into the ecosystem level, thus establishing a link between the individual’s traits and forest stands. Here I have demonstrated that the wood of these tropical trees not only stores a large amount of nutrients, but that wood cation composition varies according to plot location and species identity. It also correlates with other wood traits such as water storage capacity which was found to be strongly related to increased K concentrations and with denser woods storing less water in their tissues, thus requiring less potassium per unit volume.
Calix[4]pyrroles bearing quinolinium moiety for halide sensing in aqueous solution
Creators: name: Kataev, Evgeny A.
name: Nanett Backmann
name: Shumilova, Tatiana A.
name: Rüffer, Tobias
name: Lang, Heinrich
Publisher: name: Taylor & Francis
Year: 2016
Subjects: subject: Biophysics
subject: Biochemistry
subject: 29999 Physical Sciences not elsewhere classified
subject: FOS: Physical sciences
subject: Cell Biology
subject: Biotechnology
subject: 39999 Chemical Sciences not elsewhere classified
subject: FOS: Chemical sciences
subject: Inorganic Chemistry

description: Sensing of chloride in aqueous solution with high selectivity is a challenging task and has a great potential for cellular imaging and analytical applications in food chemistry. Supramolecular binding motif calix[4]pyrrole has been conjugated with a known fluorescent probe for chloride – a quinolinium dye - through conformationally flexible and rigid linkers. Effects of the supramolecular host on the properties of the fluorescent dye and vice versa have been investigated by NMR, X-ray crystallographic and spectroscopic methods. New fluorescent probes have demonstrated better binding and quenching properties towards chloride, bromide and iodide in a 1:1 water-methanol mixture as compared to free calix[4]pyrrole and the quinolinium dye.
Triazole–containing zinc(II)dipicolylamine-functionalised peptides as highly selective pyrophosphate sensors in physiological media
Creators: name: Zwicker, Vincent E.
name: Xuejian Liu
name: Yuen, Karen K.Y.
name: Jolliffe, Katrina A.
Publisher: name: Taylor & Francis
Year: 2016
Subjects: subject: Biophysics
subject: Biochemistry
subject: 29999 Physical Sciences not elsewhere classified
subject: FOS: Physical sciences
subject: Molecular Biology
subject: Neuroscience
subject: 39999 Chemical Sciences not elsewhere classified
subject: FOS: Chemical sciences
subject: 110309 Infectious Diseases
subject: FOS: Health sciences
subject: 60506 Virology
subject: FOS: Biological sciences
subject: Computational Biology

description: A small family of linear bis[zinc(II)dipicolylamine] (bis[Zn(II)-DPA])-functionalised peptidic anion receptors has been prepared where the Zn(II)-DPA binding sites have been installed via either a reductive amination reaction or a copper(I)-catalysed azide-alkyne cycloaddition reaction. The latter reaction connects the Zn(II)-DPA binding site and the peptide backbone through a 1,2,3-triazole linkage. Subsequent anion binding studies using indicator displacement assays were conducted to elucidate the effect of the triazole linker on the anion-binding properties of these novel receptors and it was found that the triazole-containing receptors exhibited stronger affinity and slightly improved selectivity for pyrophosphate over adenosine triphosphate and adenosine diphosphate compared to the analogous receptors which did not bear the triazole linker.
α,α′,α″,α′″-meso-tetrahexyltetramethyl-calix[4]pyrrole: an easy-to-prepare, isomerically pure anion extractant with enhanced solubility in organic solvents
Creators: name: Williams, Neil J.
name: Bryanstev, Vyacheslav S.
name: Custelcean, Radu
name: Seipp, Charles A.
name: Moyer, Bruce A.
Publisher: name: Taylor & Francis
Year: 2016
Subjects: subject: Biophysics
subject: Biochemistry
subject: Biotechnology
subject: 39999 Chemical Sciences not elsewhere classified
subject: FOS: Chemical sciences

description: α,α′,α″,α′″-meso-Tetrahexyltetramethyl-calix[4]pyrrole is easily obtained as a single diastereomer in a one-pot reaction. It exhibits enhanced solubility in organic solvents, including aliphatic solvents, relative to its parent meso-octamethylcalix[4]pyrrole (1). Somewhat surprisingly, the tetrahexyl derivative 2 complexes with tributylmethylammonium chloride in chloroform more strongly than does 1 as shown by NMR titrations. However, 1 and 2 exhibit comparable complexation strength in extraction experiments, the difference between the NMR and extraction results being attributed to the effect of organic-phase water in the extraction systems. Mass-action analysis indicates the formation of the predominant complex TBMA+(1 or 2)Cl− in both NMR and extraction systems, and equilibrium constants are reported. x-Ray crystal structures were obtained for the free ligand 2 and its complex with tetramethylammonium chloride. The free ligand crystallises in the 1,3-alt conformation with equatorial hexyl arms. In the chloride complex with 2 in its cone conformation, the hexyl arms adopt an axial orientation, enveloping the anion. DFT calculations show this binding conformation to be the most stable, mostly owing to destabilising steric interactions involving the pyrrole C–H and alkyl C–H groups positioned equatorially.