cometadata/datacite-rtg-text-other-reclassification-records huggingface dataset:
Probing the anisotropic expansion from supernovae and GRBs in a model-independent way
Creators: name: Wang, J. S.
name: Wang, F. Y.
Publisher: name: arXiv
Year: 2014
Subjects: subject: Cosmology and Nongalactic Astrophysics (astro-ph.CO)
subject: High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena (astro-ph.HE)
subject: FOS: Physical sciences

description: In this paper, we study the anisotropic expansion of the universe using type Ia supernovae Union 2.1 sample and 116 long gamma-ray bursts. The luminosity distance is expanded with model-independent cosmographic parameters as a function of $z/(1+z)$ directly. Thus the results are independent of cosmology model. We find a dipolar anisotropy in the direction ($l=309.2^\circ \pm 15.8^\circ$, $b=-8.6^\circ \pm 10.5^\circ$) in galactic coordinates with a significant evidence $97.29\%$ (more than $2~σ$). The magnitude is $(1.37\pm 0.57) \times 10^{-3}$ for the dipole, and $(2.6\pm 2.1)\times 10^{-4}$ for the monopole, respectively. This dipolar anisotropy is more significant at low redshift from the redshift tomography analysis. We also test whether this preferred direction is caused by bulk flow motion or dark energy dipolar scalar perturbation. We find that the direction and the amplitude of the bulk flow in our results are approximately consistent with the bulk flow surveys. Therefore, bulk flow motion may be the main reason for the anisotropic expansion at low redshift, but the effect of dipolar distribution dark energy can not be excluded, especially at high redshift.
description: 17 pages, 5 figures, 5 tables, accepted for publication in MNRAS
title: Chile Report. Sustainable Governance Indicators 2022
Creators: name: Klein, Fabian
name: Zilla, Claudia
name: Thunert, Martin
Publisher: name: Bertelsmann Stiftung
Year: 2022
Subjects: Governance
Democracy
Regierungshandeln
Demokratie

description: The period under review was characterized by social unrest, political realignment and economic struggles due to the massive, in some cases violent protests that had taken place by the end of 2019, as well as the impact of the coronavirus pandemic.
Systematic Review of the Use of Dried Blood Spots for Monitoring HIV Viral Load and for Early Infant Diagnosis
Creators: name: Landay, Alan
name: Vitoria, Marco
name: Sollis, Kimberly A.
name: Barnett, David
name: Crowe, Suzanne M.
name: Essajee, Shaffiq
name: Habiyambere, Vincent
name: Ford, Nathan
name: Denny, Thomas
name: Fiscus, Susan
name: Stevens, Wendy
name: Smit, Pieter W.
name: Cheng, Ben
name: Peeling, Rosanna W.
name: Perriens, Joseph H.
Publisher: name: The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill University Libraries
Year: 2014

description: BackgroundDried blood spots (DBS) have been used as alternative specimens to plasma to increase access to HIV viral load (VL) monitoring and early infant diagnosis (EID) in remote settings. We systematically reviewed evidence on the performance of DBS compared to plasma for VL monitoring and EID.Methods and FindingsThirteen peer reviewed HIV VL publications and five HIV EID papers were included. Depending on the technology and the viral load distribution in the study population, the percentage of DBS samples that are within 0.5 log of VL in plasma ranged from 52–100%. Because the input sample volume is much smaller in a blood spot, there is a risk of false negatives with DBS. Sensitivity of DBS VL was found to be 78–100% compared to plasma at VL below 1000 copies/ml, but this increased to 100% at a threshold of 5000 copies/ml. Unlike a plasma VL test which measures only cell free HIV RNA, a DBS VL also measures proviral DNA as well as cell-associated RNA, potentially leading to false positive results when using DBS. The systematic review showed that specificity was close to 100% at DBS VL above 5000 copies/ml, and this threshold would be the most reliable for predicting true virologic failure using DBS. For early infant diagnosis, DBS has a sensitivity of 100% compared to fresh whole blood or plasma in all studies.ConclusionsAlthough limited data are available for EID, DBS offer a highly sensitive and specific sampling strategy to make viral load monitoring and early infant diagnosis more accessible in remote settings. A standardized approach for sampling, storing, and processing DBS samples would be essential to allow successful implementation.Trial RegistrationPROSPERO Registration #: CRD42013003621.
Is the orbit of WASP-19 b decaying?
Creators: name: Biswas, Shraddha
name: Bisht, Devendra
name: Jiang, Ing-Guey
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2024

description: Transit timing variations (TTVs) have proven to be a very valuable tool in the field of exoplanetary detection. Currently, WASP-4 and WASP-12 stand out as the most promising candidates exhibiting TTVs. We have presented here the transit timing variation analysis of the exoplanet WASP-19 b, one of the first detected ultra-short-period gas-giant planets. For this, we have considered a total of 250 complete transits, which include 116 light curves from the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS), 62 complete transit light curves from the Exoplanet Transit Database, and 72 others from the literature, covering a 13-year baseline. We found a TTV of amplitude 66.83 s and we further investigated the possible origin of the observed TTV. To assess the short-term TTV, we computed the false alarm probability (FAP) corresponding to the highest power peak using the generalized Lomb-Scargle periodogram: the calculated FAP value is 15%. Due to the lack of periodicity, we excluded short-term TTVs and looked for long-term TTVs. The orbital decay appears to be the most plausible cause for the observed TTV and, in order to confirm these findings, further high-precision transit observations of the system would be worthwhile.
Feature Specification and Refinement with State Transition Diagrams
Creators: name: Klein, Cornel
name: Prehofer, Christian
name: Rumpe, Bernhard
Publisher: name: arXiv
Year: 2014
Subjects: subject: Software Engineering (cs.SE)
subject: FOS: Computer and information sciences

description: In this paper, we introduce a graphic specification technique, called state transition diagrams (STD), and show the application to the feature interaction problem. Using a stream-based formal semantics, we provide refinement rules for STDs. Refinements define an implementation relation on STD specifications. We view features as particular refinements which add previously unspecified behavior to a given STD specification. The refinement relation is then used to add features, and to define the notion of conflicting features. Our techniques are demonstrated by a systematic development of an example given in [25].
description: 15 pages, 7 figures
Variance estimation for high-dimensional regression models
Creators: name: Spokoiny, Vladimir
Publisher: name: Weierstrass Institute
Year: 1999
Subjects: subject: variance estimation
subject: regression
subject: high dimension
subject: 62G05
subject: 62G20

description: The paper is concerned with the problem of variance estimation for a high-dimensional regression model. The results show that the accuracy n-1/2 of variance estimation can be achieved only under some restrictions on smoothness properties of the regression function and on the dimensionality of the model. In particular, for a two times differentiable regression function, the rate n-1/2 is achievable only for dimensionality smaller or equal to 8. For higher dimensional model, the optimal accuracy is n-4/d which is worse than n-1/2. The rate optimal estimating procedure is presented.
Targeted Disruption of LDLR Causes Hypercholesterolemia and Atherosclerosis in Yucatan Miniature Pigs
Creators: name: Rohret, Judy A.
name: Nichols, Timothy C.
name: Rogers, Christopher S.
name: Davis, Bryan T.
name: Struzynski, Jason T.
name: Merricks, Elizabeth P.
name: Rohret, Frank A.
name: Wang, Xiao-Jun
name: Bellinger, Dwight A.
Publisher: name: The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill University Libraries
Year: 2014

description: Recent progress in engineering the genomes of large animals has spurred increased interest in developing better animal models for diseases where current options are inadequate. Here, we report the creation of Yucatan miniature pigs with targeted disruptions of the low-density lipoprotein receptor (LDLR) gene in an effort to provide an improved large animal model of familial hypercholesterolemia and atherosclerosis. Yucatan miniature pigs are well established as translational research models because of similarities to humans in physiology, anatomy, genetics, and size. Using recombinant adeno-associated virus-mediated gene targeting and somatic cell nuclear transfer, male and female LDLR+/− pigs were generated. Subsequent breeding of heterozygotes produced LDLR−/− pigs. When fed a standard swine diet (low fat, no cholesterol), LDLR+/− pigs exhibited a moderate, but consistent increase in total and LDL cholesterol, while LDLR−/− pigs had considerably elevated levels. This severe hypercholesterolemia in homozygote animals resulted in atherosclerotic lesions in the coronary arteries and abdominal aorta that resemble human atherosclerosis. These phenotypes were more severe and developed over a shorter time when fed a diet containing natural sources of fat and cholesterol. LDLR-targeted Yucatan miniature pigs offer several advantages over existing large animal models including size, consistency, availability, and versatility. This new model of cardiovascular disease could be an important resource for developing and testing novel detection and treatment strategies for coronary and aortic atherosclerosis and its complications.
Causal extraction of black hole rotational energy by various kinds of electromagnetic fields
Creators: name: Koide, Shinji
name: Baba, Tamon
Publisher: name: arXiv
Year: 2014
Subjects: subject: High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena (astro-ph.HE)
subject: General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology (gr-qc)
subject: FOS: Physical sciences

description: Recent general relativistic MHD simulations have suggested that relativistic jets from active galactic nuclei (AGNs) have been powered by rotational energy of central black holes. Some mechanisms of extraction of black hole rotational energy have been proposed, like the Penrose process, Blandford-Znajek mechanism, MHD Penrose process, and superradiance. The Blandford-Znajek mechanism is the most promising mechanism for the engines of the relativistic jets from AGNs. However, an intuitive interpretation of this mechanism with causality is not clarified yet, while the Penrose process has a clear interpretation for the causal energy extraction from the black hole with negative energy. In this paper, we present a formula to build physical intuition so that in the Blandford-Znajek mechanism as well as other electromagnetic processes, negative electromagnetic energy plays an important role to extract the rotational energy of the black holes causally.
description: 31 pages, 3 figures
Buddhism and Political Power in Medieval Japan: The Rituals of the Consecration of the Emperor
Creators: name: MATSUMOTO, Ikuyo
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2018

description: Buddhism and Political Power in Medieval Japan: The Rituals of the Consecration of the Emperor
description: Ikuyo Matsumoto is Associate Professor of Japanese Cultural History and Medieval Japanese History at Yokohama City University. Her current research interests address the development of a culture of religious secrecy in medieval Japan as expressed through visual images and texts. Dr. Matsumoto has published widely on medieval Buddhist rituals, including: Chûsei ôken to sokui kanjô: Shogyô no naka no rekishi jujutsu ("Royal Authority in Medieval Japan and the Enthronement Initiation Ritual: Historical Evidence from Buddhist Scriptures"), Tokyo: Shinwasha, 2005; Ten'nô no sokui girei to shinbutsu ("The Emperor's Ascension Rituals and the Kami and Buddhas"),Tokyo: Yoshikawa kobunkan, 2017; Girei no chikara: Chûsei shûkyô no jissen sekai ("The Power of Ritual: The World of Religious Practice in Medieval Japan"),co-ed., Kyoto: Hozokan, 2010. Other publications include Fûzoku kaiga no bunkagaku ("Cultural Studies of Genre Paintings"), 3 vols, co-ed., Kyoto: Shibunkaku, 2009, 2012, 2014 and a database of classical maps from the archives of Yokohama City University, which includes some Bonreki (Buddhist calendar) Maps.
Bayesian inference of sampled ancestor trees for epidemiology and fossil calibration
Creators: name: Gavryushkina, Alexandra
name: Welch, David
name: Stadler, Tanja
name: Drummond, Alexei
Publisher: name: arXiv
Year: 2014
Subjects: subject: Populations and Evolution (q-bio.PE)
subject: FOS: Biological sciences

description: Phylogenetic analyses which include fossils or molecular sequences that are sampled through time require models that allow one sample to be a direct ancestor of another sample. As previously available phylogenetic inference tools assume that all samples are tips, they do not allow for this possibility. We have developed and implemented a Bayesian Markov Chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) algorithm to infer what we call sampled ancestor trees, that is, trees in which sampled individuals can be direct ancestors of other sampled individuals. We use a family of birth-death models where individuals may remain in the tree process after the sampling, in particular we extend the birth-death skyline model [Stadler et al, 2013] to sampled ancestor trees. This method allows the detection of sampled ancestors as well as estimation of the probability that an individual will be removed from the process when it is sampled. We show that sampled ancestor birth-death models where all samples come from different time points are non-identifiable and thus require one parameter to be known in order to infer other parameters. We apply this method to epidemiological data, where the possibility of sampled ancestors enables us to identify individuals that infected other individuals after being sampled and to infer fundamental epidemiological parameters. We also apply the method to infer divergence times and diversification rates when fossils are included among the species samples, so that fossilisation events are modelled as a part of the tree branching process. Such modelling has many advantages as argued in literature. The sampler is available as an open-source BEAST2 package (https://github.com/gavryushkina/sampled-ancestors).
description: 34 pages (including Supporting Information), 8 figures, 1 table. Part of the work presented at Epidemics 2013 and The 18th Annual New Zealand Phylogenomics Meeting, 2014
MIGNEX Case Study Brief NGA1 - Migration and development dynamics in Down Quarters, Nigeria
Creators: name: Umaru Adamu, Aisha
name: Akpokos Amos, James
name: Hagen-Zanker, Jessica
Publisher: name: Peace Research Institute Oslo
Year: 2022

description: Down Quarters is a slum-like settlement in central Kaduna, located close to industry and a new inland dry port. Residents mostly rely on informal livelihoods, without benefiting from these investments.

Key Takeaways

Owing to its convenient location, Down Quarters has a long history of in-migration. One-third of young adults were born elsewhere in Nigeria.

Diverse in terms of ethnicity and religion, residents describe Down Quarters as a peaceful location, despite wider conflict in the north of the country.

The population is highly mobile. Internal migration in search of better livelihoods is very common.
The Antipsychotic Olanzapine Interacts with the Gut Microbiome to Cause Weight Gain in Mouse
Creators: name: Yourstone, Scott
name: Ryan, Allison K.
name: Miller, Cheryl N.
name: Kawula, Thomas H.
name: Morgan, Andrew P.
name: Bogue, Molly A.
name: Nonneman, Randal J.
name: Bower, Maureen A.
name: Quackenbush, Corey R.
name: Carroll, Ian M.
name: Paredes, Sur Herrera
name: Sullivan, Patrick F.
name: Crowley, James J.
name: Sartor, R. Balfour
Publisher: name: The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill University Libraries
Year: 2014

description: The second-generation antipsychotic olanzapine is effective in reducing psychotic symptoms but can cause extreme weight gain in human patients. We investigated the role of the gut microbiota in this adverse drug effect using a mouse model. First, we used germ-free C57BL/6J mice to demonstrate that gut bacteria are necessary and sufficient for weight gain caused by oral delivery of olanzapine. Second, we surveyed fecal microbiota before, during, and after treatment and found that olanzapine potentiated a shift towards an “obesogenic” bacterial profile. Finally, we demonstrated that olanzapine has antimicrobial activity in vitro against resident enteric bacterial strains. These results collectively provide strong evidence for a mechanism underlying olanzapine-induced weight gain in mouse and a hypothesis for clinical translation in human patients.
Mixing of spherical and spheroidal modes in perturbed Kerr black holes
Creators: name: Berti, Emanuele
name: Klein, Antoine
Publisher: name: arXiv
Year: 2014
Subjects: subject: General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology (gr-qc)
subject: High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena (astro-ph.HE)
subject: High Energy Physics - Theory (hep-th)
subject: FOS: Physical sciences

description: The angular dependence of the gravitational radiation emitted in compact binary mergers and gravitational collapse is usually separated using spin-weighted spherical harmonics ${}_sY_{\ell m}$ of spin weight $s$, that reduce to the ordinary spherical harmonics $Y_{\ell m}$ when $s=0$. Teukolsky first showed that the perturbations of the Kerr black hole that may be produced as a result of these events are separable in terms of a different set of angular functions: the spin-weighted spheroidal harmonics ${}_sS_{\ell m n}$, where $n$ denotes the "overtone index" of the corresponding Kerr quasinormal mode frequency $ω_{\ell m n}$. In this paper we compute the complex-valued scalar products of the ${}_sS_{\ell m n}$'s with the ${}_sY_{\ell m}$'s ("spherical-spheroidal mixing coefficients") and with themselves ("spheroidal-spheroidal mixing coefficients") as functions of the dimensionless Kerr parameter $j$. Tables of these coefficients and analytical fits of their dependence on $j$ are available online for use in gravitational-wave source modeling and in other applications of black-hole perturbation theory.
description: 8 pages, 6 figures, 1 table. Very minor changes to match version in press in PRD. Tables and fits of the mixing coefficients are available at http://www.phy.olemiss.edu/~berti/qnms.html
Large-scale predictive modeling of confound-prone motor targets with neuroimaging features from UKB
Creators: name: Komeyer, Vera
name: Raimondo, Federico
name: Hoffstaedter, Felix
name: Waite, Laura
name: Wierzba, Malgorzata
name: Wagner, Adina Svenja
name: Hanke, Michael
name: Grefkes, Christian
name: Eickhoff, Simon
name: Patil, Kaustubh
Publisher: name: Forschungzentrum Jülich
Year: 2022

description: Organization for Human Brain Mapping, Glasgow, Scotland, UK, 19 Jun 2022 - 23 Jun 2022
The Cytochrome P450 Epoxygenase Pathway Regulates the Hepatic Inflammatory Response in Fatty Liver Disease
Creators: name: DeGraff, Laura M.
name: Miller, Tricia M.
name: Poloyac, Samuel M.
name: Makowski, Liza
name: Zeldin, Darryl C.
name: Tomer, Kenneth B.
name: Gruzdev, Artiom
name: Edin, Matthew L.
name: Zha, Weibin
name: Lee, Craig R.
name: Jones, H. Michael
name: Vendrov, Kimberly C.
name: Huang, Leaf
name: Schuck, Robert N.
name: Lih, Fred B.
name: Xu, Zhenghong
Publisher: name: The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill University Libraries
Year: 2014

description: Fatty liver disease is an emerging public health problem without effective therapies, and chronic hepatic inflammation is a key pathologic mediator in its progression. Cytochrome P450 (CYP) epoxygenases metabolize arachidonic acid to biologically active epoxyeicosatrienoic acids (EETs), which have potent anti-inflammatory effects. Although promoting the effects of EETs elicits anti-inflammatory and protective effects in the cardiovascular system, the contribution of CYP-derived EETs to the regulation of fatty liver disease-associated inflammation and injury is unknown. Using the atherogenic diet model of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease/non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NAFLD/NASH), our studies demonstrated that induction of fatty liver disease significantly and preferentially suppresses hepatic CYP epoxygenase expression and activity, and both hepatic and circulating levels of EETs in mice. Furthermore, mice with targeted disruption of Ephx2 (the gene encoding soluble epoxide hydrolase) exhibited restored hepatic and circulating EET levels and a significantly attenuated induction of hepatic inflammation and injury. Collectively, these data suggest that suppression of hepatic CYP-mediated EET biosynthesis is an important pathological consequence of fatty liver disease-associated inflammation, and that the CYP epoxygenase pathway is a central regulator of the hepatic inflammatory response in NAFLD/NASH. Future studies investigating the utility of therapeutic strategies that promote the effects of CYP-derived EETs in NAFLD/NASH are warranted.
The Government of Kenya's Cash Transfer Program Reduces the Risk of Sexual Debut among Young People Age 15-25
Creators: name: Pettifor, Audrey
name: Handa, Sudhanshu
name: Halpern, Carolyn Tucker
name: Thirumurthy, Harsha
Publisher: name: The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill University Libraries
Year: 2014

description: The aim of this study is to assess whether the Government of Kenya's Cash Transfer for Orphans and Vulnerable Children (Kenya CT-OVC) can reduce the risk of HIV among young people by postponing sexual debut. The program provides an unconditional transfer of US$20 per month directly to the main caregiver in the household. An evaluation of the program was implemented in 2007–2009 in seven districts. Fourteen Locations were randomly assigned to receive the program and fourteen were assigned to a control arm. A sample of households was enrolled in the evaluation in 2007. We revisited these households in 2011 and collected information on sexual activity among individuals between 15–25 years of age. We used logistic regression, adjusted for the respondent's age, sex and relationship to caregiver, the age, sex and schooling of the caregiver and whether or not the household lived in Nairobi at baseline, to compare rates of sexual debut among young people living in program households with those living in control households who had not yet entered the program. Our results, adjusted for these covariates, show that the program reduced the odds of sexual debut by 31 percent. There were no statistically significant effects on secondary outcomes of behavioral risk such as condom use, number of partners and transactional sex. Since the CT-OVC provides cash to the caregiver and not to the child, and there are no explicit conditions associated with receipt, these impacts are indirect, and may have been achieved by keeping young people in school. Our results suggest that large-scale national social cash transfer programs with poverty alleviation objectives may have potential positive spillover benefits in terms of reducing HIV risk among young people in Eastern and Southern Africa.
State Based Service Description
Creators: name: Paech, Barbara
name: Rumpe, Bernhard
Publisher: name: arXiv
Year: 2014
Subjects: subject: Software Engineering (cs.SE)
subject: FOS: Computer and information sciences

description: In this paper we propose I/O state transition diagrams for service description In contrast to other techniques like for example Statecharts we allow to model non atomic services by sequences of transitions This is especially important in a distributed system where concurrent service invocation cannot be prohibited We give a mathematical model of object behaviour based on concurrent and sequential messages Then we give a precise semantics of the service descriptions in terms of the mathematical model.
description: 10 pages, 3 figures
Topical Administration of Mometasone Is Not Helpful in Post-COVID-19 Olfactory Dysfunction
Creators: name: Hintschich, Constantin A.
name: Dietz, Melanie
name: Haehner, Antje
name: Hummel, Thomas
Publisher: name: Universität Regensburg
Year: 2022
Subjects: subject: COVID-19; smell; olfaction; mometasone; olfactory training
subject: 610 Medizin

description: Persistent olfactory dysfunction is a major concern post-COVID-19, affecting up to 5% of all patients. Different therapeutic options, including mometasone nasal spray, have been recommended, only some of which have been validated for post-COVID-19 olfactory dysfunction. In this study we psychophysically assessed the effect of intranasally applied mometasone furoate on the recovery of olfaction. The spray was applied with a long applicator so that the olfactory cleft could be reached effectively. After olfactory dysfunction had been confirmed psychophysically using Sniffin’ Sticks, patients were randomly assigned to two different treatment arms: the study group (n = 40) underwent olfactory training and intranasal administration of mometasone furoate twice daily, whereas the control group (n = 46) performed olfactory training only. After a study duration of three months, psychophysical testing of olfaction was repeated using Sniffin’ Sticks. We found no benefit of an additional topical administration of mometasone furoate compared to olfactory training alone. These results psychophysically confirm two previous studies which were based on patients’ subjective self-ratings. Our findings are in contrast to current recommendations for the management of olfactory dysfunction post-COVID-19, which might have to be adapted accordingly.
The Pre-History of Urban Scaling
Creators: name: Ortman, Scott G.
name: Bettencourt, Luís M. A.
name: Sturm, Jennie O.
name: Cabaniss, Andrew H. F.
Publisher: name: The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill University Libraries
Year: 2014

description: Cities are increasingly the fundamental socio-economic units of human societies worldwide, but we still lack a unified characterization of urbanization that captures the social processes realized by cities across time and space. This is especially important for understanding the role of cities in the history of human civilization and for determining whether studies of ancient cities are relevant for contemporary science and policy. As a step in this direction, we develop a theory of settlement scaling in archaeology, deriving the relationship between population and settled area from a consideration of the interplay between social and infrastructural networks. We then test these models on settlement data from the Pre-Hispanic Basin of Mexico to show that this ancient settlement system displays spatial scaling properties analogous to those observed in modern cities. Our data derive from over 1,500 settlements occupied over two millennia and spanning four major cultural periods characterized by different levels of agricultural productivity, political centralization and market development. We show that, in agreement with theory, total settlement area increases with population size, on average, according to a scale invariant relation with an exponent in the range . As a consequence, we are able to infer aggregate socio-economic properties of ancient societies from archaeological measures of settlement organization. Our findings, from an urban settlement system that evolved independently from its old-world counterparts, suggest that principles of settlement organization are very general and may apply to the entire range of human history.
Rectification and diffusion of self-propelled particles in a two-dimensional corrugated channel
Creators: name: Ai, Bao-quan
name: Chen, Qiu-yan
name: He, Ya-feng
name: Li, Feng-guo
name: Zhong, Wei-rong
Publisher: name: arXiv
Year: 2014
Subjects: subject: Statistical Mechanics (cond-mat.stat-mech)
subject: FOS: Physical sciences

description: Rectification and diffusion of non-interacting self-propelled particles is numerically investigated in a two-dimensional corrugated channel. From numerical simulations, we obtain the average velocity and the effective diffusion coefficient. It is found that the self-propelled particles can be rectified by the self-propelled velocity. There exist optimal values of the parameters (the self-propelled velocity, the translational diffusion constant, and the height of the potential) at which the average velocity takes its maximal value. There exists an optimal translational diffusion at which the effective diffusion constant is maximal. The self-propelled velocity can strongly increase the effective diffusion, while the large rotational diffusion rate can strongly suppress the effective diffusion.
description: 16pages, 11figures
The Prevalence of HIV-1 Drug Resistance among Antiretroviral Treatment Naïve Individuals in Mainland China: A Meta-Analysis
Creators: name: Wu, Jing
name: Smith, M. Kumi
name: Wang, Ning
name: Su, Yingying
name: Liu, Huixin
name: Zhu, Lin
name: Zhang, Fujie
Publisher: name: The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill University Libraries
Year: 2014

description: BackgroundSurveillance of drug resistance in antiretroviral treatment-naïve patients in China is needed to ensure optimal treatment outcomes and control of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) epidemic.MethodsA systematic literature search was conducted in English and Chinese through PubMed (English), China National Knowledge Infrastructure (Chinese), Chinese Biomedical Literature Database (Chinese), and Wanfang (Chinese). Random effects models were used to calculate the pooled prevalence of transmitted drug resistance and subgroup analyses examined prevalence estimates across time periods, study locations, and study populations.ResultsAnalysis of data from 71 studies (47 in Chinese and 24 in English) yielded a pooled prevalence of transmitted HIV drug resistance to any antiretroviral drug class of 3.64% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 3.00%–4.32%). Rates were significantly high at initial stage of free ART program from 2003 to 2005 (5.18%, 95%CI: 3.13%–7.63%), and were much lower among studies conducted in 2006–2008 (3.02%, 95%CI: 2.03%–4.16%). A slight increase was observed again in the most recent study period from 2009 to 2012 (3.68%, 95%CI: 2.78%–4.69%). Subgroup analysis revealed highest prevalence levels of transmitted drug resistance in Beijing city, and Henan and Hubei provinces (above 5%), and although differences in prevalence rates among risk groups were negligible, men who have sex with men were unique in their relatively large portion of protease inhibitor resistance, a second-line drug of limited availability in China.ConclusionsOverall prevalence of transmitted HIV drug resistance in China is classified as “low” by the World Health Organization. However regional and temporal variability suggest a more complex epidemic for which closer HIV drug resistance surveillance is needed. A nationwide HIV drug resistance surveillance system to monitor both treatment-experienced and treatment-naïve patients will be a cornerstone to ensure the effectiveness of treatment scale-up, particularly as China seeks to expand a national policy of antiretroviral treatment as prevention.
The RNA-Binding Protein, ZFP36L2, Influences Ovulation and Oocyte Maturation
Creators: name: Ramos, Silvia B. V.
name: Ribeiro-Neto, Fernando
name: Ball, Christopher B.
name: Blackshear, Perry J.
name: Birnbaumer, Lutz
name: Rodriguez, Karina F.
name: Stumpo, Deborah J.
name: Korach, Kenneth S.
Publisher: name: The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill University Libraries
Year: 2014

description: ZFP36L2 protein destabilizes AU-rich element-containing transcripts and has been implicated in female fertility. In the C57BL/6NTac mouse, a mutation in Zfp36l2 that results in the decreased expression of a form of ZFP36L2 in which the 29 N-terminal amino acid residues have been deleted, ΔN-ZFP36L2, leads to fertilized eggs that arrest at the two-cell stage. Interestingly, homozygous ΔN-Zfp36l2 females in the C57BL/6NTac strain release 40% fewer eggs than the WT littermates (Ramos et al., 2004), suggesting an additional defect in ovulation and/or oocyte maturation. Curiously, the same ΔN-Zfp36l2 mutation into the SV129 strain resulted in anovulation, prompting us to investigate a potential problem in ovulation and oocyte maturation. Remarkably, only 20% of ΔN-Zfp36l2 oocytes in the 129S6/SvEvTac strain matured ex vivo, suggesting a defect on the oocyte meiotic maturation process. Treatment of ΔN-Zfp36l2 oocytes with a PKA inhibitor partially rescued the meiotic arrested oocytes. Furthermore, cAMP levels were increased in ΔN-Zfp36l2 oocytes, linking the cAMP/PKA pathway and ΔN-Zfp36l2 with meiotic arrest. Since ovulation and oocyte maturation are both triggered by LHR signaling, the downstream pathway was investigated. Adenylyl cyclase activity was increased in ΔN-Zfp36l2 ovaries only upon LH stimulation. Moreover, we discovered that ZFP36L2 interacts with the 3′UTR of LHR mRNA and that decreased expression levels of Zfp36l2 correlates with higher levels of LHR mRNA in synchronized ovaries. Furthermore, overexpression of ZFP36L2 decreases the endogenous expression of LHR mRNA in a cell line. Therefore, we propose that lack of the physiological down regulation of LHR mRNA levels by ZFP36L2 in the ovaries is associated with anovulation and oocyte meiotic arrest.
Coulomb blockade with neutral modes
Creators: name: Kamenev, Alex
name: Gefen, Yuval
Publisher: name: arXiv
Year: 2014
Subjects: subject: Mesoscale and Nanoscale Physics (cond-mat.mes-hall)
subject: FOS: Physical sciences

description: We study transport through a quantum dot in the fractional quantum Hall regime with filling factors ν=2/3 and ν=5/2, weakly coupled to the leads. We account for both injection of electrons to/from the leads, and quasiparticle rearrangement processes between the edge and the bulk of the quantum dot. The presence of neutral modes introduces topological constraints that modify qualitatively the features of the Coulomb blockade (CB). The periodicity of CB peak spacings doubles and the ratio of spacing between adjacent peaks approaches (in the low temperature and large dot limit) a universal value: 2:1 for ν=2/3 and 3:1 for ν=5/2. The corresponding CB diamonds alternate their width in the direction of the bias voltage and allow for the determination of the neutral mode velocity, and of the topological numbers associated with it.
description: 5 pages, 4 figures
The Role of Lipolysis Stimulated Lipoprotein Receptor in Breast Cancer and Directing Breast Cancer Cell Behavior
Creators: name: Scott, David W.
name: Dunphy, Karen
name: Fleming, Jodie M.
name: Oliver, Shannon D.
name: Fagan-Solis, Katerina D.
name: Reaves, Denise K.
Publisher: name: The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill University Libraries
Year: 2014

description: The claudin-low molecular subtype of breast cancer is of particular interest for clinically the majority of these tumors are poor prognosis, triple negative, invasive ductal carcinomas. Claudin-low tumors are characterized by cancer stem cell-like features and low expression of cell junction and adhesion proteins. Herein, we sought to define the role of lipolysis stimulated lipoprotein receptor (LSR) in breast cancer and cancer cell behavior as LSR was recently correlated with tumor-initiating features. We show that LSR was expressed in epithelium, endothelium, and stromal cells within the healthy breast tissue, as well as in tumor epithelium. In primary breast tumor bioposies, LSR expression was significantly correlated with invasive ductal carcinomas compared to invasive lobular carcinomas, as well as ERα positive tumors and breast cancer cell lines. LSR levels were significantly reduced in claudin-low breast cancer cell lines and functional studies illustrated that re-introduction of LSR into a claudin-low cell line suppressed the EMT phenotype and reduced individual cell migration. However, our data suggest that LSR may promote collective cell migration. Re-introduction of LSR in claudin-low breast cancer cell lines reestablished tight junction protein expression and correlated with transepithelial electrical resistance, thereby reverting claudin-low lines to other intrinsic molecular subtypes. Moreover, overexpression of LSR altered gene expression of pathways involved in transformation and tumorigenesis as well as enhanced proliferation and survival in anchorage independent conditions, highlighting that reestablishment of LSR signaling promotes aggressive/tumor initiating cell behaviors. Collectively, these data highlight a direct role for LSR in driving aggressive breast cancer behavior.
Homogenization of Scalar Wave Equations with Hysteresis
Creators: name: Franců, Jan
name: Krejčí, Pavel
Publisher: name: Weierstrass Institute
Year: 1999
Subjects: subject: Prandtl-Ishlinskii operator
subject: hysteresis
subject: homogenization
subject: nonlinear scalar wave equation
subject: 35B27
subject: 73B27
subject: 73E50
subject: 47H30

description: The paper deals with a scalar wave equation of the form ρutt = (퓕[ux])x + ƒ, where 퓕 is a Prandtl-Ishlinskii operator and ρ, ƒ are given functions. This equation describes longitudinal vibrations of an elastoplastic rod. The mass density ρ and the Prandtl-Ishlinskii distribution function η are allowed to depend on the space variable x. We prove existence, uniqueness and regularity of solution to a corresponding initial-boundary value problem. The system is then homogenized by considering a sequence of equations of the above type with spatially periodic data ρε and ηε, where the spatial period ε tends to 0. We identify the homogenized limits ρ* and η* and prove the convergence of solutions uε to the solution u* of the homogenized equation.
The Science of Style: In Fashion, Colors Should Match Only Moderately
Creators: name: Kassam, Karim S.
name: Schmitt, Peter
name: Gray, Kurt
name: Strohminger, Nina
Publisher: name: The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill University Libraries
Year: 2014

description: Fashion is an essential part of human experience and an industry worth over $1.7 trillion. Important choices such as hiring or dating someone are often based on the clothing people wear, and yet we understand almost nothing about the objective features that make an outfit fashionable. In this study, we provide an empirical approach to this key aesthetic domain, examining the link between color coordination and fashionableness. Studies reveal a robust quadratic effect, such that that maximum fashionableness is attained when outfits are neither too coordinated nor too different. In other words, fashionable outfits are those that are moderately matched, not those that are ultra-matched (“matchy-matchy”) or zero-matched (“clashing”). This balance of extremes supports a broader hypothesis regarding aesthetic preferences–the Goldilocks principle–that seeks to balance simplicity and complexity.
Simulation of Rare Events by the Stochastic Weighted Particle Method for the Boltzmann Equation
Creators: name: Rjasanow, Sergej
name: Wagner, Wolfgang
Publisher: name: Weierstrass Institute
Year: 1999
Subjects: subject: Boltzmann equation
subject: stochastic particle method
subject: rare events
subject: variance reduction
subject: numerical experiments
subject: 65C05
subject: 76P05
subject: 82C80

description: An extension of the stochastic weighted particle method for the numerical treatment of the Boltzmann equation is presented. A new procedure for modelling the inflow boundary condition is introduced and its performance is tested in a two-dimensional example with strong density gradients. A gain factor in computing time of several orders of magnitude is achieved in specific situations.
The Teratogenic Effects of Prenatal Ethanol Exposure Are Exacerbated by Sonic Hedgehog or Gli2 Haploinsufficiency in the Mouse
Creators: name: Kietzman, Henry W.
name: Everson, Joshua L.
name: Sulik, Kathleen K.
name: Lipinski, Robert J.
Publisher: name: The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill University Libraries
Year: 2014

description: Disruption of the Hedgehog signaling pathway has been implicated as an important molecular mechanism in the pathogenesis of fetal alcohol syndrome. In severe cases, the abnormalities of the face and brain that result from prenatal ethanol exposure fall within the spectrum of holoprosencephaly. Single allele mutations in the Hh pathway genes Sonic Hedgehog (SHH) and GLI2 cause holoprosencephaly with extremely variable phenotypic penetrance in humans. Here, we tested whether mutations in these genes alter the frequency or severity of ethanol-induced dysmorphology in a mouse model. Timed pregnancies were established by mating Shh+/− or Gli2+/− male mice backcrossed to C57BL/6J strain, with wildtype females. On gestational day 7, dams were treated with two ip doses of 2.9 g/kg ethanol (or vehicle alone), administered four hrs apart. Fetuses were then genotyped and imaged, and the severity of facial dysmorphology was assessed. Following ethanol exposure, mean dysmorphology scores were increased by 3.2- and 6.6-fold in Shh+/− and Gli2+/− groups, respectively, relative to their wildtype littermates. Importantly, a cohort of heterozygous fetuses exhibited phenotypes not typically produced in this model but associated with severe holoprosencephaly, including exencephaly, median cleft lip, otocephaly, and proboscis. As expected, a correlation between the severity of facial dysmorphology and medial forebrain deficiency was observed in affected animals. While Shh+/− and Gli2+/− mice have been described as phenotypically normal, these results illustrate a functional haploinsufficiency of both genes in combination with ethanol exposure. By demonstrating an interaction between specific genetic and environmental risk factors, this study provides important insights into the multifactorial etiology and complex pathogenesis of fetal alcohol syndrome and holoprosencephaly.
MIGNEX Case Study Brief - Migration and development dynamics in Kombolcha, Ethiopia
Creators: name: Kasavan, Camille
name: Hagen-Zanker, Jessica
name: Hannah, Murray
Publisher: name: Peace Research Institute Oslo
Year: 2022

description: Industrial growth and international investment led to rapid urbanisation in Kombolcha, yet there are few good jobs. Migration abroad for livelihood opportunities is common, though most would prefer to stay in Ethiopia.

Key Takeaways

Rural-urban in-migration is on the rise, some 40% of young adults living in Kombolcha are internal migrants.

There are clear gender patterns for out-migration. International out-migration has been prominent among young women, who move to Gulf countries for paid domestic work.

The majority of young adults (80%) expect to stay in Kombolcha over the next five years, around one quarter (24%) would prefer to leave.
Towards a Formalization of the Unified Modeling Language
Creators: name: Breu, Ruth
name: Hinkel, Ursula
name: Hofmann, Christoph
name: Klein, Cornel
name: Paech, Barbara
name: Rumpe, Bernhard
name: Thurner, V.
Publisher: name: arXiv
Year: 2014
Subjects: subject: Software Engineering (cs.SE)
subject: FOS: Computer and information sciences

description: The Unified Modeling Language UML is a language for specifying visualizing and documenting object oriented systems UML combines the concepts of OOA OODOMT and OOSE and is intended as a standard in the domain of object oriented analysis and design Due to the missing formal mathematical foundation of UML the syntax and the semantics of a number of UML constructs are not precisely defined.This paper outlines a proposal for the formal foundation of UML that is based on a mathematical system model
description: 23 pages, 5 figures
The Ubiquitin Ligase ASB4 Promotes Trophoblast Differentiation through the Degradation of ID2
Creators: name: Townley-Tilson, W. H. Davin
name: Patterson, Cam
name: Ferguson, James E.
name: Wu, Yaxu
Publisher: name: The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill University Libraries
Year: 2014

description: Vascularization of the placenta is a critical developmental process that ensures fetal viability. Although the vascular health of the placenta affects both maternal and fetal well being, relatively little is known about the early stages of placental vascular development. The ubiquitin ligase Ankyrin repeat, SOCS box-containing 4 (ASB4) promotes embryonic stem cell differentiation to vascular lineages and is highly expressed early in placental development. The transcriptional regulator Inhibitor of DNA binding 2 (ID2) negatively regulates vascular differentiation during development and is a target of many ubiquitin ligases. Due to their overlapping spatiotemporal expression pattern in the placenta and contrasting effects on vascular differentiation, we investigated whether ASB4 regulates ID2 through its ligase activity in the placenta and whether this activity mediates vascular differentiation. In mouse placentas, ASB4 expression is restricted to a subset of cells that express both stem cell and endothelial markers. Placentas that lack Asb4 display immature vascular patterning and retain expression of placental progenitor markers, including ID2 expression. Using JAR placental cells, we determined that ASB4 ubiquitinates and represses ID2 expression in a proteasome-dependent fashion. Expression of ASB4 in JAR cells and primary isolated trophoblast stem cells promotes the expression of differentiation markers. In functional endothelial co-culture assays, JAR cells ectopically expressing ASB4 increased endothelial cell turnover and stabilized endothelial tube formation, both of which are hallmarks of vascular differentiation within the placenta. Co-transfection of a degradation-resistant Id2 mutant with Asb4 inhibits both differentiation and functional responses. Lastly, deletion of Asb4 in mice induces a pathology that phenocopies human pre-eclampsia, including hypertension and proteinuria in late-stage pregnant females. These results indicate that ASB4 mediates vascular differentiation in the placenta via its degradation of ID2.
The mechanism of phagocytosis: two stages of engulfment
Creators: name: Richards, David M.
name: Endres, Robert G.
Publisher: name: arXiv
Year: 2014
Subjects: subject: Cell Behavior (q-bio.CB)
subject: Biological Physics (physics.bio-ph)
subject: FOS: Biological sciences
subject: FOS: Physical sciences

description: Despite being of vital importance to the immune system, the mechanism by which cells engulf relatively large solid particles during phagocytosis is still poorly understood. From movies of neutrophil phagocytosis of polystyrene beads, we measure the fractional engulfment as a function of time and demonstrate that phagocytosis occurs in two distinct stages. During the first stage, engulfment is relatively slow and progressively slows down as phagocytosis proceeds. However, at approximately half-engulfment, the rate of engulfment increases dramatically, with complete engulfment attained soon afterwards. By studying simple mathematical models of phagocytosis, we suggest that the first stage is due to a passive mechanism, determined by receptor diffusion and capture, whereas the second stage is more actively controlled, perhaps with receptors being driven towards the site of engulfment. We then consider a more advanced model that includes signaling and captures both stages of engulfment. This model predicts that there is an optimum ligand density for quick engulfment. Further, we show how this model explains why non-spherical particles engulf quickest when presented tip-first. Our findings suggest that active regulation may be a later evolutionary innovation, allowing fast and robust engulfment even for large particles.
description: 21 pages, 7 figures
Adaptive drift estimation for nonparametric diffusion model
Creators: name: Spokoiny, Vladimir
Publisher: name: Weierstrass Institute
Year: 1999
Subjects: subject: drift and diffusion coefficients
subject: nonparametric estimation
subject: bandwidth selection
subject: 62G05
subject: 62M99

description: We consider a nonparametric diffusion process whose drift and diffusion coefficients are nonparametric functions of the state variable. The goal is to estimate the unknown drift coefficient. We apply a locally linear smoother with a data-driven bandwidth choice. The procedure is fully adaptive and nearly optimal up to a log log log factor. The results about the quality of estimation are nonasymptotic and do not require any ergodic or mixing properties of the observed process.