cometadata/datacite-rtg-text-other-reclassification-records huggingface dataset:
title: Contractile properties of multiple pregnancy myometrium
Creators: name: Ballard, Celia
Publisher: name: University of Liverpool Repository
Year: 2011

description: Multiple pregnancies are associated with higher rates of perinatal mortality than singleton pregnancies. This is due to the higher rates of preterm delivery and its associated complications. However it is not understood why there is a difference in gestation and what mechanism is responsible for this. This thesis explores the possible different myometrial properties between multiple pregnancies and singletons, and the effect of progesterone on the uterine contractility by placing myometrial strips onto a force transducer, which recorded the trace reflecting the contractility of the strip. In a physiological saline solution there were no significant differences between the myometrial contractility properties of multiple pregnancies and singletons. The effect of progesterone showed a dose response relationship in singleton and twin myometrium as when incremental doses of progesterone were applied, greater amounts of reduction in force was exhibited. It was found that there were significant differences between twin and singleton myometrium at 10, 100μM progesterone with there being a significantly greater effect in singleton myometrium. This reduced effect in twins may explain why there was no effect found to prevent preterm birth in twins (Norman et al 2008), and suggests that a higher dose may have more beneficial in twins A possible explanation for this difference in non genomic action could be due to the greater quantities of stretch applied to twin myometrium earlier on in pregnancy, and this reducing the expression of the progesterone membrane receptor. This possible theory was explored by applied stretch on myometrial strips in 100μM progesterone. Although the paired stretched samples displayed a smaller response to progesterone, this was however not significant. Preterm delivery could also be affected by the maternal diet, as poor maternal nutrition leads to poor intrauterine growth, and is more likely to be preterm. A literature search was performed for studies that focused on maternal nutrition, and weight gain. It was found that early weight gain was associated with larger birthweights, and that total weight gain should be directed by maternal Body Mass Index (BMI), however much work is still required to explore how much weight gain is required, due to successful varying suggestions. It became apparent that when dietary supports (e.g. dieticians) were used, there were smaller rates of preterm delivery and preterm birth. Yet it was hard to clarify if this success was down to the dietary interventions or the content of the diet itself. This work has shown that twin and singleton myometrium respond differently to progesterone which plays a key role in uterine quiescence. This difference in response maybe the underlying trigger for preterm labor and that to improve the rates of preterm delivery we also need to think about the mother’s diet as well.
RI4C2 Guidebook
Creators: name: RI4C2 project
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2024

description: This document aims at informing researchers and stakeholders of the EC2U Alliance partner universities about activities led within the framework of the RI4C2 project (Research & Innovation for Cities & Citizens) and how they can benefit from it. Firstly, this document introduces the EC2U Alliance, which initiated the RI4C2 project. Then, an overview of the characteristics and objectives of the RI4C2 project is given. Finally, the document presents the concrete activities led within each Work Package (WP) of the project and their associated resources.
Public land, public places
Creators: name: Serido, Alexis
Publisher: name: No Publisher Supplied
Year: 2023

description: Familiarity with various scientific topics, especially when they are areas of environmental concern, is important for improving science literacy and an audience's willingness to learn, foster community involvement, and finally influence changes for the better of environmental health, safety and wellbeing. Through the research and analysis of eight public lands in the State of New Jersey, a better understanding of an array of themes that makes each site unique has been established. Branching as far south as Cape May County, and as north as Somerset County, a variety of land uses, ecologies, histories, recreational uses, and political influences have been explored and documented. These experiences offer insight on the areas in which a better community-oriented connection can be established to help establish a sense of landscape awareness and inform visitors on the uniqueness of three specific sites as they relate to defined thematic concepts. Concept plans have been created to better inform visitors of key aspects of each site aiding in the familiarity of the landscape, a better relationship with scientific literacy, and an overall redefined personal and emotional relationship with public lands.Responsibility of public land use relates directly to the governing body. This analysis compares various ways landscapes are experienced and offers suggestions of areas where improvements can be made on sites related to Rutgers University. Increased university involvement with these public lands can provide for a more integrated relationship between people and landscape.
A "complex network" perspective on δ Scuti stars
Creators: name: Ziaali, Elham
name: Alipour, Nasibe
name: de Franciscis, Sebastiano
name: Pascual Granado, Javier
name: Safari, Hossein
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2024

description: In order to conduct a more comprehensive study of pulsating stars as nonlinear systems accompanied by asteroseismology, we applied the “complex network” approach by considering δ Scuti stars as “complex systems”. δ Scuti stars are stars with spectral types A0-F5 and intermediate masses that pulsate in low-order pressure modes as well as gravity modes. They have dominant frequencies in the 5−80 c/d range, and they are relevant targets for our study, since they span a broad range of complexity behaviour from Low Amplitude to High Amplitude δ Scuti stars (LADS and HADS, respectively). Complex systems are composed of a large number of highly interconnected dynamical units that exhibit emergent collective properties. The “complex network” idea is applied widely in many different disciplines, ranging from nonlinear science to biology, as well as from statistical mechanics to medicine and engineering. By using the horizontal visibility algorithms, the light curves of 73 δ Scuti stars observed by TESS are mapped to Horizontal Visibility Graphs (HVGs), where the graph nodes represent the light curve points. In the HVG, connections between nodes happen when light curve points are able to see each other along the horizontal lines of sight. We studied the networks' local and global characteristics for HADS and LADS stars. Our analysis of degree distributions shows that these scale-free networks have multiplicative processes, pointing to the necessity of improving the modelling of these stars. The theoretical expression for degree distribution of HVGs can guide us to distinguish stellar pulsations from the background noise.
title: Neurobiological and behavioural studies of individual variation in cue-evoked motivation across rodents and humans
Creators: name: Colom, Morgane
Publisher: name: The Open University
Year: 2023

description: For a subset of individuals known as sign-trackers, discrete pavlovian cues associated with rewarding stimuli can acquire incentive properties in their own right. When they do so, cues have the ability to exert control over behaviour, which appears to contribute to specific sets of symptoms within neuropsychiatric conditions such as substance use disorder or post- traumatic stress disorder. Characterising the neurobiological mechanisms mediating variation in cue responsivity is essential to better understand differences in the susceptibility to such disorders. Converging evidence points towards the involvement of dopaminergic neurotransmission in the nucleus accumbens core in the development of sign-tracking; yet, whether this phenotype is associated with specific accumbal postsynaptic properties is unknown. The first section of this thesis investigated the morphology of dendritic spines, presynaptic and postsynaptic markers of activity in the nucleus accumbens core of male and female rats following a pavlovian conditioned approach procedure. Results suggest that individuals who attributed the most incentive salience to a food cue displayed unique dendritic spine organisation; such observations were modulated by the presence or absence of reward. The influence of the oestrous cycle and the altering of sign-tracking by propranolol were also examined. Developing transitional tools to detect sign-tracking in humans might provide a valuable means to identify profiles conferring vulnerability to maladaptive behaviours. The second section of this thesis describes responses of male and female participants in a computerised image-based pavlovian procedure, a virtual room-based pavlovian environment, and a ‘real- life’ pavlovian procedure in which participants physically interacted with the apparatus. The second and third approaches enabled the development of distinct conditioned phenotypes. Because rodent sign-trackers are more impulsive, the relationship between phenotypes and impulsivity was also considered. This thesis provides further insight into the neural underpinnings of motivated behaviours and offers guidance for future translational investigation.
Pengembangan Tong Sampah Penghasil Pupuk Organik untuk Mengelola Limbah Sampah Dapur di Desa Gawanan, Colomadu, Karanganyar
Creators: name: Agy Hafidzah Sukmaningrum, Alysa Putri Aprilia, Anggito Judhanto Suryo Nugroho, Kristina Utari Morhanisa Wibowo, Rio Apriano Saputra, Salma Rohima Assalsabila, Tiara Sarah Saraswati, Tifani Maya Hernina, Tri Giyanto, Yunita Nur Lestari, Djoko Sulaksono
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2024

description: Pertumbuhan suatu daerah ditandai dengan banyaknya jumlah serta aktivitas yang dilakukan oleh penduduk sehingga akan meningkatkan permasalahan sosial, seperti masalah pada sampah. Salah satu dari jenis sampah yang dihasilkan adalah sampah dapur. Limbah sampah dapur atau yang sering disebut dengan sampah organik ini diantaranya ada sisa makanan, sisa potongan sayur, dan kulit buah. Metode yang digunakan yakni metode deskriptif analitis. Berdasarkan hasil analisis didapatkan bahwa 70% sampah yang dihasilkan rumah tangga berupa sampah organik dan Indonesia  menjadi    salah    satu    negara yang memiliki  persentase penghasil sampah  organik  tertinggi, yakni 50% dari total sampah. Oleh karena itu dibuatlah tong sampah organik yang menghasilkan pupuk organik cair (POC) sebagai salah satu solusi efektif dan inovatif  dari pengelolaan limbah sampah dapur.
Accretion Flow Dynamics of MAXI J1659-152 from the Spectral Evolution Study of its 2010 Outburst using the TCAF Solution
Creators: name: Debnath, Dipak
name: Molla, Aslam Ali
name: Chakrabarti, Sandip K.
name: Mondal, Santanu
Publisher: name: arXiv
Year: 2015
Subjects: subject: High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena (astro-ph.HE)
subject: FOS: Physical sciences

description: Transient black hole candidates are interesting objects to study in X-rays as these sources show rapid evolutions in their spectral and temporal properties. In this paper, we study the spectral properties of the Galactic transient X-ray binary MAXI~J1659-152 during its very first outburst after discovery with the archival data of RXTE Proportional Counter Array instruments. We make a detailed study of the evolution of accretion flow dynamics during its 2010 outburst through spectral analysis using the Chakrabarti-Titarchuk two-component advective flow (TCAF) model as an additive table model in XSPEC. Accretion flow parameters (Keplerian disk and sub-Keplerian halo rates, shock location and shock strength) are extracted from our spectral fits with TCAF. We studied variations of these fit parameters during the entire outburst as it passed through three spectral classes: hard, hard-intermediate, and soft-intermediate. We compared our TCAF fitted results with standard combined disk black body (DBB) and power-law (PL) model fitted results and found that variations of disk rate with DBB flux and halo rate with PL flux are generally similar in nature. There appears to be an absence of the soft state unlike what is seen in other similar sources.
description: 8 pages, 4 figures, 1 table
title: Knowledge as commodity and energetic gift : indigenous medical practices and intellectual property rights in the Ecuadorian Amazon
Creators: name: Irene Evans, Sally
Publisher: name: University of Liverpool Repository
Year: 2023

description: This thesis examines the relationship between the commodification of indigenous knowledge on one hand and the inalienability of forms of indigenous knowledge that I term energetic gifts on the other hand in order to further scholarly discussion about intellectual property rights and indigenous people. I explore this relationship through the medium of Ecuadorian Amazonian indigenous medical knowledges and intellectual property rights. The arena of intellectual property rights gives rise to various positions, the extremes of which are: indigenous people need to participate in the commodification of knowledge in order to benefit from and protect their medicinal knowledge, or, conversely, commodification is an imposition of alien values and a continuance of colonialism. I argue that current intellectual property rights are unsuitable for indigenous medical knowledge.
Independent effects of HIV infection and cocaine dependence on neurocognitive impairment in a community sample living in the southern United States
Creators: name: Meade, Christina S.
name: Towe, Sheri L.
name: Robertson, Kevin R.
name: Skalski, Linda M.
Publisher: name: The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill University Libraries
Year: 2015

description: Prior studies have established that methamphetamine and HIV can have additive deleterious effects on neurocognitive functioning, but there has been relatively little research on other stimulants like cocaine. This study investigated the effects of cocaine and HIV on neurocognitive impairment in a large, well-characterized sample.
title: Challenges in the management of younger adults with type 1 diabetes in hospital outpatient and inpatient settings
Creators: name: Saunders, Simon
Publisher: name: University of Liverpool Repository
Year: 2011

description: This thesis examines the challenges of managing a population of patients with type 1 diabetes who initially attended a hospital outpatient clinic between 1991 and 1996. These 386 patients are subsequently reviewed in 2001 and 2006. The continued attendance at the clinic, level of glycaemic control and prevalence of microvascular and macrovascular complications are assessed. In demonstrating the outcomes of this cohort of patients they are compared to the patients within the landmark study The Diabetes Control and Complications Trial (DCCT). The DCCT showed conclusively that good glycaemic control decreased the risk of developing microvascular complications when compared to those patients with less tight glycaemic control. The findings of this study definitively demonstrated the benefits of good glycaemic control. What was also apparent, but a less publicised finding of this trial was the increase in episodes of hypoglycaemia and the weight gain seen in the group with intensive control arm. How do patients in the ‘real-world’ compare to those patients within the DCCT study, is such good control achievable outside the setting of a clinical trial? The outcomes of the patients attending the younger adult diabetes clinic are demonstrated to be similar to those patients in the DCCT who were controlled conventionally, despite encouragement to adopt an intensive insulin regime and offered regular clinical review from both diabetes specialist nurses and consultant. The potential causes for the differences in glycaemic control between an outpatient clinic and those patients in the DCCT are explored. The thesis also examines the difficulties in managing the small numbers of patients with type 1 diabetes who are hospital inpatients. In particular, a group of patients with diabetes who are also intravenous drug abusers are studied. This group are compared to other inpatients and the study clearly shows episodes of frequent admissions and very high mortality rates in the study group. In conclusion the thesis highlights the many problems which exist when trying to manage type 1 diabetes in the outpatient setting including clinic non-attendance, prevalence of other medical problems and limiting factors such as weight gain and hypoglycaemia. Discussion is also made of ways in which to address these issues and improve control for this group of patients.
Neighborhood-level and individual-level correlates of cannabis use among young persons living with HIV/AIDS
Creators: name: Shea, Jaclyn
name: Nichols, Sharon L.
name: Heinze, Justin E.
name: Fernández, M. Isabel
name: Hightow-Weidman, Lisa B.
name: Kahana, Shoshana Y.
name: Bruce, Douglas
name: Bauermeister, Jose A.
Publisher: name: The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill University Libraries
Year: 2015

description: In addition to individual characteristics, there may be a wide range of environmental or neighborhood stressors that contribute to elevated cannabis use in groups of youth living with HIV/AIDS (YLHIV); however, the effects of social disorganization on cannabis use in YLHIV to date have not been studied.
Atractides (Atractides) himachali Pesi
Creators: name: Pešić, Vladimir
name: Chatterjee, Tapas
name: Bordoloi, Sabitry
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2010
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Arachnida
Trombidiformes
Hygrobatidae
Atractides
Atractides himachali

description: Atractides (Atractides) himachali Peši ć & Panesar, 2009
Records from the study area: Himachal Pradesh—Pešić & Panesar (2009).
Habitat: Found in a mountain spring and springbrook.
Distribution: India.
description: Published as part of Pešić, Vladimir, Chatterjee, Tapas & Bordoloi, Sabitry, 2010, A checklist of the water mites (Acari: Hydrachnidia) of India, with new records and description of one new species, pp. 1-54 in Zootaxa 2617 (1) on page 25, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.2617.1.1, http://zenodo.org/record/197964
title: Pathological epithelial cell apoptosis and shedding in the murine small intestine
Creators: name: Williams, Jonathan
Publisher: name: University of Liverpool Repository
Year: 2014

description: The intestinal epithelium represents a critical component of the gut barrier and is composed of a single layer of intestinal epithelial cells (IECs) held together by tight junctions. This epithelium prevents the entrance of harmful microorganisms, antigens and toxins from the gut lumen into the circulation. Small intestinal homeostasis is maintained by the rate of shedding of senescent enterocytes from the villus tip exactly matching the rate of generation of new cells in the crypt. However, in various localised and systemic inflammatory conditions, intestinal homeostasis may be disturbed as a result of increased IEC shedding. Such pathological IEC shedding may cause transient gaps to develop in the epithelial barrier and result in increased intestinal permeability. Although pathological IEC shedding has been implicated in the pathogenesis of inflammatory bowel disease, understanding of the underlying mechanisms remains limited. This thesis describes the development of a murine model to study this phenomenon, as IEC shedding in this species is morphologically analogous to humans. IEC shedding was induced by systemic lipopolysaccharide (LPS) administration in wild-type C57BL/6 mice, and mice deficient in TNF-receptor 1 (Tnfr1-/-), Tnfr2-/-, Nuclear Factor kappa B1 (Nfkb1-/-) or Nfkb2-/-. IEC apoptosis and cell shedding was quantified using immunohistochemistry for active Caspase-3 and gut lumen to systemic circulation permeability was assessed by measuring plasma fluorescence following fluorescein isothiocyanate-dextran gavage. LPS at doses ≥0.125mg/kg induced rapid villus IEC apoptosis and cell shedding which was maximal at 1.5h. This coincided with significant villus shortening, fluid exudation into the gut lumen and diarrhoea. A significant increase in gut to circulation permeability was observed at 5h. TNFR1 was essential for LPS-induced IEC apoptosis and shedding and the fate of the IEC was also dependent on NFκB, with signalling via NFκB1 favouring cell survival, and via NFκB2 favouring apoptosis. This model will enable investigation of the importance and regulation of pathological IEC apoptosis and cell shedding in intestinal and systemic diseases.
title: Perovskite Microwave Dielectric Ceramics: Structure, Properties and Processing
Creators: name: Martin Mallinson, Phillip
Publisher: name: University of Liverpool Repository
Year: 2023

description: Perovskite Microwave Dielectric Ceralnics: Structure, Properties and Processing PhD thesis, Phillip M. Mallinson, University of Liverpool This thesis describes the synthesis and characterisation of several new hexagonal perovskite materials and the investigation into the processing of a commercial microwave dielectric. Chapter 1 is in two parts, the first gives an introduction to the perovskite and hexagonal perovskite structural types, and reviews the structure and properties of reported hexagonal perovskites with the AnBn-\03n general formula. The second part reviews the literature on the microwave dielectric material Ba3ZnTa209 (BZT). In Chapter 2 the details of the synthetic and analytical techniques employed are described. Chapter 3 describes the synthesis and characterisation of a number of new hexagonal perovskite materials. The eight layer compounds BagCoNb60 24 and BagCoTa6024 were found to crystallise with different structures in the space groups P 3ml and P63c11l respectively. A detailed structural description and comparison of the structures of the materials is given along with the dielectric and magnetic properties. The structure and dielectric properties of the six layer material Ba6Ca1l3Nb\4/30\g are also presented. Chapter 4 describes the synthesis and characterisation of two isostructural ten layer hexagonal perovskites with the formulas BalOMgo.25Ta7.903o and BaIOCoO.25Ta7.903o. Refinement of combined synchrotron X-ray and neutron powder diffraction data is used to determine the structures of the materials. The dielectric properties of the materials are reported and the links between dielectric loss and ordering and microstructure discussed. In Chapter 5 the results of an in-situ X-ray powder diffraction study of the ordering and domain growth ofBZT at temperatures between 1200 and 1500 Ã‚Â°C is presented. The degree of ordering is quantified using two different methods and a rate of ordering calculated at each of the temperatures studied, from the rates of ordering the activation energy for cation transport is calculated. The ordered domain size is also quantified from the diffraction data and the dynamics compared to domain growth in other systems. Supplied by The British Library - 'The world's knowledge'
title: The effect of selection pressure on the genotype and phenotype of acaricide resistance in Phipicephalus (Boophilus) microplus
Creators: name: Iván Rodríguez-Vivas, Roger
Publisher: name: University of Liverpool Repository
Year: 2023

description: Acaricides have played a pivotal role in the control of the tick Rhipicephalus (Boophilus) microplus. As a consequence of extensive use, R. (B.) microplus has developed resistance to all major classes of acaricides, especially to pyrethroids. The thesis describes field and laboratory research undertaken in Yucatan, Mexico and Liverpool, UK to investigate pyrethroid resistance (PR) in R. (B.) microplus. For the first time gDNA of R. (B.) microplus was sequenced around the target single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) in the sodium channel gene associated with PR and three new SNPs were identified.
Asteroseismic measurement of core and envelope rotation rates for 2006 red-giant branch stars
Creators: name: Li, Gang
name: Deheuvels, Sébastien
name: Ballot, Jérôme
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2024

description: Mixed modes of RGB stars enable us to study the internal physics from core to surface, such as differential rotation. However, envelope rotation rates have been measured for only a dozen RGB stars so far. The limited sample hinders the theoretical interpretation of angular momentum (AM) transport in post-main-sequence phases. We apply a new approach to calculate the asymptotic frequencies of mixed modes, which accounts for the near-degeneracy effects and leads to more proper measurements of envelope rotation rates. By fitting these asymptotic expressions to the observations, we obtain measurements of the properties of g modes in about 2500 stars. Among these, we measured the core and envelope rotation rates in 2006 stars, doubling the size of pre-existing catalogues. We find a bimodal distribution of the core rotation rates, implying that some stars could experience a different AM transport. We also increase the sample of stars with measured envelope rotation rates by two orders of magnitude, and find a decreasing trend between envelope rotation rates and evolution, implying that the envelopes slow down with expansion, as expected. We find that the core-to-envelope rotation ratios are of about 20 and show a large spread with evolution. Several stars show core-to-surface ratios between 1 and 2, suggesting peculiar AM transport in their progenitors. We also discovered more stars below the degeneracy sequence, providing the opportunity to study stellar mergers.
Differentiation of human primary testicular cells in the presence of SCF using the organoid culture system
Creators: name: Nikmahzar, Aghbibi
name: Koruji, Morteza
name: Jahanshahi, Mehrdad
name: Khadivi, Farnaz
name: Shabani, Maryam
name: Dehghani, Sanaz
name: Forouzesh, Mehdi
name: Jabari, Ayob
name: Feizollahi, Narjes
name: Salem, Maryam
name: Ghanami Gashti, Nasrin
name: Abbasi, Yasaman
name: Abbasi, Mehdi
Publisher: name: University of Limerick
Year: 2023
Subjects: classificationCode: 40
subject: Engineering

description: Purpose: Development of organoids using human primary testicular cells has remained a challenge due to the complexity of the mammalian testicular cyto-architecture and culture methods. In this study, we generated testicular organoids derived from human primary testicular cells. Then, we evaluated the effect of stem cell factor (SCF) on cell differentiation and apoptosis in the testicular organoid model.Methods: The testicular cells were harvested from the three brain-dead donors. Human spermatogonial stem cells (SSCs) were characterized using immunocytochemistry (ICC), RT-PCR and flow cytometry. Testicular organoids were generated from primary testicular cells by hanging drop culture method and were cultured in three groups: control group, experimental group 1 (treated FSH and retinoic acid (RA)), and experimental group 2 (treated FSH, RA and SCF), for five weeks. We assessed the expression of SCP3 (Synaptonemal Complex Protein 3) as a meiotic gene, PRM2 (Protamine 2) as a post-meiotic marker and apoptotic genes of Bax (BCL2-Associated X Protein) and Bcl-2 (B-cell lymphoma 2), respectively by using RT-qPCR. In addition, we identified the expression of PRM2 by immunohistochemistry (IHC).Results: Relative expression of SCP3, PRM2 and Bcl-2 were highest in group 2 after five weeks of culture. In contrast, BAX expression level was lower in experimental group 2 in comparison with other groups. IHC analyses indicated the highest expression of PRM2 as a postmeiotic marker in group 2 in comparison to 2D culture and control groups but not find significant differences between experimental group 1 and experimental group 2 groups. Morphological evaluations revealed that organoids are compact spherical structures and in the peripheral region composed of uncharacterized elongated fibroblast-like cells.Conclusion: Our findings revealed that the testicular organoid culture system promote the spermatogonial stem cell (SSC) differentiation, especially in presence SCF. Developed organoids are capable of recapitulating many important prop?erties of a stem cell niche.
Proximal point algorithm, Douglas-Rachford algorithm and alternating projections: a case study
Creators: name: Bauschke, Heinz H.
name: Dao, Minh N.
name: Noll, Dominikus
name: Phan, Hung M.
Publisher: name: arXiv
Year: 2015
Subjects: subject: Optimization and Control (math.OC)
subject: FOS: Mathematics
subject: Primary 65K05, Secondary 65K10, 90C25

description: Many iterative methods for solving optimization or feasibility problems have been invented, and often convergence of the iterates to some solution is proven. Under favourable conditions, one might have additional bounds on the distance of the iterate to the solution leading thus to worst case estimates, i.e., how fast the algorithm must converge. Exact convergence estimates are typically hard to come by. In this paper, we consider the complementary problem of finding best case estimates, i.e., how slow the algorithm has to converge, and we also study exact asymptotic rates of convergence. Our investigation focuses on convex feasibility in the Euclidean plane, where one set is the real axis while the other is the epigraph of a convex function. This case study allows us to obtain various convergence rate results. We focus on the popular method of alternating projections and the Douglas-Rachford algorithm. These methods are connected to the proximal point algorithm which is also discussed. Our findings suggest that the Douglas-Rachford algorithm outperforms the method of alternating projections in the absence of constraint qualifications. Various examples illustrate the theory.
Atractides (Atractides) ootacamundis Cook 1967
Creators: name: Pešić, Vladimir
name: Chatterjee, Tapas
name: Bordoloi, Sabitry
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2010
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Arachnida
Trombidiformes
Hygrobatidae
Atractides
Atractides ootacamundis

description: Atractides (Atractides) ootacamundis Cook, 1967
Records from the study area: Tamil Nadu—Cook (1967); Prasad (1974).
Habitat: Streams.
Distribution: India.
description: Published as part of Pešić, Vladimir, Chatterjee, Tapas & Bordoloi, Sabitry, 2010, A checklist of the water mites (Acari: Hydrachnidia) of India, with new records and description of one new species, pp. 1-54 in Zootaxa 2617 (1) on page 25, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.2617.1.1, http://zenodo.org/record/197964
Prevalence and characteristics of fetal alcohol syndrome and partial fetal alcohol syndrome in a Rocky Mountain Region City
Creators: name: Gossage, J. Phillip
name: Manning, Melanie
name: Hasken, Julie
name: Keaster, Carol
name: Goodover, Joelene
name: Bozeman, Rosemary
name: Robinson, Luther K.
name: Buckley, David
name: Brooks, Marita
name: Blankenship, Jason
name: Kalberg, Wendy O.
name: Hoyme, H. Eugene
name: May, Philip A.
Publisher: name: The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill University Libraries
Year: 2015

description: The prevalence and characteristics of fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS) and partial FAS (PFAS) in the United States (US) are not well known.
title: A study of the relationship of abnormal reward processing and dopamine signalling in adults with high functioning autistic spectrum disorder
Creators: name: Hassan, Eusra
Publisher: name: University of Liverpool Repository
Year: 2012

description: Introduction: Autistic spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental condition which is defined by language and communication difficulties, impairment in social skills and restrictive and repetitive patterns of behaviour. Functional deficits have often been observed in individuals with autistic spectrum disorder, which could be partially due to an early failure of the amygdala. Motor activity, attentional skills, social behaviour and perception of the outside world are all implicated in autism and are all also modulated by the neurotransmitter dopamine. Past evidence has suggested that dopamine neuron activation aids a person on learning to identify the association of particular stimuli with reward. Aims: The main objective of this preliminary study is to examine the neural activation during the visualisation of grouped images from the IAPS library in normal participants and to observe if the activation follows a pattern in the neural reward circuitary. Methodology: Participants underwent functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), during which they performed four tasks to test their reward processing; a visual paradigm, in which the participants saw a display of images with differing emotional weightings, a gambling paradigm, a soft touch paradigm and a materials paradigm. The visual paradigm fMRI data was analysed using Brain Voyager version 1.3. Results: The limbic lobe, anterior cingulate gyrus and the frontal lobe were the regions of the brain most activated for all of the visual conditions in the control participants. The ASD participant activated more neural regions, especially the limbic regions, than the control participant in the Case vs. Control comparison. Discussion: Common areas of activation in the control group were the anterior cingulate gyrus, the limbic lobe and the medial frontal gyrus. These areas all modulate facial and image recognition, emotional processes and the evaluation of reward. The ASD participant demonstrated more activation in limbic regions of the brain than the control participant. These results support the idea that individuals with ASD have difficulties in controlling their arousal state and often have high levels of arousal. This can have implications on the processing of rewarding and non rewarding stimuli in people with ASD.
The interacting effect of depressive symptoms, gender, and distress tolerance on substance use problems among residential treatment-seeking substance users
Creators: name: Ali, Bina
name: Daughters, Stacey B.
name: Seitz-Brown, C.J.
Publisher: name: The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill University Libraries
Year: 2015

description: Depression is associated with substance use problems; however, the specific individual characteristics influencing this association are not well identified. Empirical evidence and theory suggest that gender and distress tolerance—defined behaviorally as an individual’s ability to persist in goal-directed behavior while experiencing negative affective states—are important underlying factors in this relationship. Hence, the purpose of the current study was to examine whether gender and distress tolerance moderate the relationship between depressive symptoms and substance use problems.
Hepatic RNA interference: delivery by synthetic vectors
Creators: name: Haynes, Matthew T.
name: Huang, Leaf
Publisher: name: The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill University Libraries
Year: 2014

description: Though the pharmaceutical industry’s infatuation with the therapeutic potential of RNA interference (RNAi) technology has finally come down from its initial lofty levels,[1] hope is by no means lost for the once-burgeoning enterprise, as recent clinical trials are beginning to show efficacy in areas ranging from amyloidosis to hypercholesterolemia to muscular dystrophy. With such resurgence comes a more informed perspective on the needs of such therapeutics: a renewed focus on true RNA drug development, and a desire for enhanced site-specific delivery.[2] In this review, we will discuss the latter with regard to hepatic targeting by synthetic vectors, covering the implications of organ and cellular physiology on conjugate structure, particle morphology, and active targeting. In presenting efficacy in a variety of disease models, we emphasize as well the extraordinary degree to which synthetic formulation improves upon and coordinates efforts with oligonucleotide development. Such advances in the understanding of and the technology behind RNAi have the potential to finally stabilize the long-term prospects RNA therapeutic development.
Roots: climate change and Korean agriculture in the US
Creators: name: Lee, James Hyojoon
Publisher: name: No Publisher Supplied
Year: 2023

description: Arianna Lindberg The effects of global warming have had dramatic effects upon the agricultural landscape, and will only continue to increase in future years, in no small part due to industrial agricultural activities themselves. As such, it is more important now than ever to find ways for farmers to prepare for these changes in adaptable and sustainable ways. However, despite a wide assortment of sustainable practices, few are actually implemented due to their lack of profitability.The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) has identified three key areas of major climate change vulnerability: water health, soil health, and pest and disease pressures. While these are not new issues, they are greatly exacerbated by climate change to reach unprecedented levels of damage.Compared to the US, agriculture on the Korean peninsula has historically been more difficult on average, due to the mountainous terrain and seaside proximity. Their historical issues resemble the state of modern day agricultural conditions in the US. There are three sites within Korea that have dealt with these in using notable techniques and practices. These techniques were developed by adapting farming methods to the land, rather than the other way around, thus creating more sustainable systems in tune with natural processes. By examining these, the farming industry can better understand how they succeeded in both an ecological and economic sense, paving the way for similar practices to be used in the United States. Driving the thesis are these two questions: What techniques have Korean farmers developed to adapt to the extreme conditions of the Korean peninsula?And can those be translated to effective measures in the US, to mitigate effects of climate change?
Performance analysis and optimization on HPX Rotate algorithm
Creators: name: Chuanqiu He
name: Syskakis, Panagiotis
name: Kaiser, Hartmut
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2023
Subjects: HPX parallel algorithm, rotate algorithm, performance optimization, core partition functionality

description: HPX is a C++ Standard Library for Parallelism and Concurrency, which implements parallel versions of all C++ Standard algorithms. This poster presents the optimization of the HPX parallel rotate algorithm. The original implementation failed to effectively distribute work among CPU cores and caused un-needed overhead due to redundant usage of a hpx::future. The optimization consists of introducing core partitioning functionality and removing unnecessary overhead. The results show significant performance gain, averaging a 2x improvement for input sizes smaller than 2^22 compared to the original implementation.
Atractides (Atractides) sabulonis Cook 1967
Creators: name: Pešić, Vladimir
name: Chatterjee, Tapas
name: Bordoloi, Sabitry
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2010
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Arachnida
Trombidiformes
Hygrobatidae
Atractides
Atractides sabulonis

description: Atractides (Atractides) sabulonis Cook, 1967
Records from the study area: Maharashtra—Cook (1967); Prasad (1974); Pešić & Ranga Reddy (2009).
Compared material: NHMB 3556 ‘ Atractides sabulonis ’, Ƥ, Indien 19 [probably: Maharashtra, Bhima River at Khed, see: Cook 1967].
Remarks: In the orginal description (Cook 1967) no information is given on the integument structure and the shape of excretory pore and Vgl-1 and -2. Re-examination of the specimen of Atractides sabulonis lodged in NHMB shows that this species is characterized by the presence of a striated integument, sclerotized excretory pore and fused Vgl-1 and -2.
Habitat: Hyporheic interstitial.
Distribution: India.
description: Published as part of Pešić, Vladimir, Chatterjee, Tapas & Bordoloi, Sabitry, 2010, A checklist of the water mites (Acari: Hydrachnidia) of India, with new records and description of one new species, pp. 1-54 in Zootaxa 2617 (1) on page 26, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.2617.1.1, http://zenodo.org/record/197964
Vaginal deployment and tenofovir delivery by microbicide gels
Creators: name: Yang, K. H.
name: Gao, Y.
name: Yuan, A.
name: Katz, D. F.
name: Ham, A.
name: Chuchuen, O.
Publisher: name: The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill University Libraries
Year: 2015

description: Gels are one of the soft material platforms being evaluated to deliver topically acting anti-HIV drugs (microbicides) to the vaginal environment. For each drug, its loaded concentration, gel properties and applied volume, and frequency of dosing can be designed to optimize PK and, thence, PD. These factors also impact user sensory perceptions and acceptability. Deterministic compartmental modeling of vaginal deployment and drug delivery achieved by test gels can help delineate how multiple parameters characterizing drug, vehicle, vaginal environment, and dosing govern details of PK and PD and also gel leakage from the canal. Such microbicide delivery is a transport process combining convection, e.g., from gel spreading along the vaginal canal, with drug diffusion in multiple compartments, including gel, mucosal epithelium, and stroma. The present work builds upon prior models of gel coating flows and drug diffusion (without convection) in the vaginal environment. It combines and extends these initial approaches in several key ways, including: (1) linking convective drug transport due to gel spreading with drug diffusion and (2) accounting for natural variations in dimensions of the canal and the site of gel placement therein. Results are obtained for a leading microbicide drug, tenofovir, delivered by three prototype microbicide gels, with a range of rheological properties. The model includes phosphorylation of tenofovir to tenofovir diphosphate (which manifests reverse transcriptase activity in host cells), the stromal concentration distributions of which are related to reference prophylactic values against HIV. This yields a computed summary measure related to gel protection (“percent protected”). Analyses illustrate tradeoffs amongst gel properties, drug loading, volume and site of placement, and vaginal dimensions, in the time and space history of gel distribution and tenofovir transport to sites of its anti-HIV action and concentrations and potential prophylactic actions of tenofovir diphosphate therein.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1007/s13346-015-0227-1) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
title: The interaction of water with metal surfaces
Creators: name: Hussein Omer, Ahmed
Publisher: name: University of Liverpool Repository
Year: 2023

description: This thesis describes experimental studies of water adsorption on the Ru (0001) and Ni (111) single crystal surfaces. On the model Ru(OOO1) surface, H₂O and D₂O form intact wetting layers that are very sensitive to the preparation conditions, electron beam irradiation and surface contamination.
Formulating a Sulfonated Antiviral Dendrimer in a Vaginal Microbicidal Gel Having Dual Mechanisms of Action
Creators: name: Paull, Jeremy R. A.
name: Bell, Michael A.
name: Mumper, Russell J.
name: Cone, Richard A.
name: Lewis, Gareth R.
name: Moench, Thomas R.
name: Worthen, David R.
Publisher: name: The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill University Libraries
Year: 2009

description: SPL7013 is the sodium salt of a sulfonated dendrimer that has potent antiviral properties. VivaGel®, a topical gel containing 3% w/w SPL7013, has been shown to be safe and well-tolerated in human clinical studies. BufferGel® is a Carbopol®-based acidic buffering gel that enhances the natural protective action of the vagina to produce a broad-spectrum microbicidal environment. The positive attributes of both gels were combined into a combination vaginal microbicidal gel having dual mechanisms of action. A 3% w/w SPL7013 combination gel, pH 3.7, was developed and fully characterized, and was shown to have more than 2-fold greater acidic buffering capacity than BufferGel. Ultracentrifugation experiments demonstrated that SPL7013 was not sequestered or entropically trapped in the viscous gel, thereby confirming, along with viral challenge studies, that SPL7013 has sufficient mobility in the viscous gel to exert antiviral properties.
Structure activity relationships for derivatives of adenosine-5?-triphosphate as agonists at P2 purinoceptors: Heterogeneity within P2x and P2y subtypes
Creators: name: von Isakovics, Amy
name: Maillard, Michel
name: Jacobson, Kenneth A.
name: Harden, T. Kendall
name: Hoyle, Charles H. V.
name: Boyer, Josufffd L.
name: Ziganshin, Airat U.
name: Brizzolara, Antonia L.
name: Burnstock, Geoffrey
name: Fischer, Bilha
Publisher: name: The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill University Libraries
Year: 1994

description: The structure-activity relationships for a variety of adenine nucleotide analogues at P2x- and P2Y-purinoceptors were investigated. Compounds formed by structural modifications of the ATP molecule including substitutions of the purine ring (C2, C8, N1, and N6-substituents, and a uridine base instead of adenine), the ribose moiety (2′ and 3′-positions), and the triphosphate group (lower phosphates, bridging oxygen substitution, and cyclization) were prepared. Pharmacological activity at P2Y-purinoceptors was assayed in the guinea pig taenia coli, endothelial cells of the rabbit aorta, smooth muscle of the rabbit mesenteric artery, and turkey erythrocyte membranes. Activity at P2X-purinoceptors was assayed in the rabbit saphenous artery and the guinea-pig vas deferens and urinary bladder. Some of the analogues displayed selectivity, or even specificity, for either the P2X- or the P2Y-purinoceptors. Certain analogues displayed selectivity or specificity within the P2X- or P2Y-purinoceptor superfamilies, giving hints about possible subclasses. For example, 8-(6-aminohexylamino)ATP and 2′,3′-isopropylidene-AMP were selective for endothelial Pzypurinoceptors over P2Y-purinoceptors in the guinea pig taenia coli, rabbit aorta, and turkey erythrocytes. These compounds were both inactive at P2X-purinoceptors. The potent agonist N6-methyl ATP and the somewhat less potent agonist 2′-deoxy-ATP were selective for P2Y-purinoceptors in the guinea pig taenia coli, but were inactive at P2X-purinoceptors and the vascular P2Y-purinoceptors. 3′-Benzylamino-3′-deoxyATP was very potent at the P2X-purinoceptors in the guinea pig vas deferens and bladder, but not in the rabbit saphenous artery and was inactive at P2Y receptors. These data suggest that specific compounds can be developed that can be utilized to activate putative subtypes of the P2X- and P2Y-purinoceptor classes.
title: The interaction between missiology and Christology in late nineteenth century and early twentieth century British theology : with reference to the Edinburgh World Missionary Conference, 1910
Creators: name: Patrick O'Callaghan, Sean
Publisher: name: University of Liverpool Repository
Year: 2023

description: The Edinburgh World Missionary Conference, 1910 has long been regarded as a central event in the history of world missions. A great deal of christological debate had been taking place in the decades prior to Edinburgh 1910. Theologians in Britain, North America and on the continent of Europe had been subjecting the Bible and the person of Christ to unprecedented historical and philosophical scrutiny. Developments within science, particularly the influence of evolution, were used by theologians to explain the action and influence of God in the world and this had profound implications for mission theology since it impacted directly on the issues surrounding the revelation of God in non-Christian faiths and the uniqueness and finality of Christ himself. Many missionaries were falling under the influence of immanentist thought which was changing their own understanding of the value and validity of non-Christian faiths. Fulfilment theology drew on Hegelian influences and evolutionary concepts to construct a theory of religions which viewed Christianity as the fulfilment of other world faiths.