Pattern of angiogenesis in the healing of composite intramembranous bone and demineralized bone matrix

Abstract no. 3133published_or_final_versio

Using Platform-Generated Content to Stimulate User-Generated Content

This work intends to study the implication of an editorial review program where a review platform starts to supplement the user-generated reviews on its website with editorial review articles that are written by the platform. Our research question is whether platform-generated content (i.e., editorial reviews) influence subsequent user- generated content (i.e., online reviews) both in terms of the quantity and quality of those reviews. We obtain the dataset through a partnership with a restaurant review platform in Asia. Our preliminary analysis suggests that platform-generated content has a positive net effect on subsequent user-generated content. Specifically, users post more reviews for restaurants that have editorial reviews and these reviews tend to be longer on average

Semi-Distributed Demand Response Solutions for Smart Homes

The Internet of Things (IoT) paradigm brings an opportunity for advanced Demand Response (DR) solutions. It enables visibility and control on the various appliances that may consume, store or generate energy within a home. It has been shown that a centralized control on the appliances of a set of households leads to efficient DR mechanisms; unfortunately, such solutions raise privacy and scalability issues. In this chapter we propose an approach that deals with these issues. Specifically, we introduce a scalable two-levels control system where a centralized controller allocates power to each house on one side and, each household implements a DR local solution on the other side. A limited feedback to the centralized controller allows to enhance the performance with little impact on privacy. The solution is proposed for the general framework of capacity markets

A critical review of PMS in construction: towards a research agenda

Performance measurement system (PMS) is a fast evolving and diverse research field attracting many researchers and practitioners from the fields of strategy, accounting, operations, human resource management, and marketing. The characteristics of the construction industry that influence the research and directions adopted in practice significantly contribute to certain weaknesses in application, such as limited focus on business performance measurement, insufficient organisational learning, and difficulty in linking the project PMS with the firm. The aim of this paper is to briefly review the literature of PMS (specifically at the corporate level) for addressing the knowledge gap and presenting a research agenda in the context of construction. The main findings from this review are: (1) the evolution of PMS in construction management literature is much slow; (2) further research should focus on the design and implementation related issues of PMS in construction; and (3) benchmarking is an integral part of PMS but it is insufficient for ‘continuous improvement’. Finally, a research agenda is presented

Light self-focusing in the atmosphere:thin window model

Ultra-high power (exceeding the self-focusing threshold by more than three orders of magnitude) light beams from ground-based laser systems may find applications in space-debris cleaning. The propagation of such powerful laser beams through the atmosphere reveals many novel interesting features compared to traditional light self-focusing. It is demonstrated here that for the relevant laser parameters, when the thickness of the atmosphere is much shorter than the focusing length (that is, of the orbit scale), the beam transit through the atmosphere in lowest order produces phase distortion only. This means that by using adaptive optics it may be possible to eliminate the impact of self-focusing in the atmosphere on the laser beam. The area of applicability of the proposed "thin window" model is broader than the specific physical problem considered here. For instance, it might find applications in femtosecond laser material processing

Assessing awareness in severe Alzheimer’s disease

There is an urgent need to understand the nature of awareness in people with severe Alzheimer’s disease (AD) to ensure effective person-centered care. Objective biomarkers of awareness validated in other clinical groups (e.g., anesthesia, minimally conscious states) offer an opportunity to investigate awareness in people with severe AD. In this article we demonstrate the feasibility of using Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) combined with EEG, event related potentials (ERPs) and fMRI to assess awareness in severe AD. TMS-EEG was performed in six healthy older controls and three people with severe AD. The perturbational complexity index (PCIST) was calculated as a measure of capacity for conscious awareness. People with severe AD demonstrated a PCIST around or below the threshold for consciousness, suggesting reduced capacity for consciousness. ERPs were recorded during a visual perception paradigm. In response to viewing faces, two patients with severe AD provisionally demonstrated similar visual awareness negativity to healthy controls. Using a validated fMRI movie-viewing task, independent component analysis in two healthy controls and one patient with severe AD revealed activation in auditory, visual and fronto-parietal networks. Activation patterns in fronto-parietal networks did not significantly correlate between the patient and controls, suggesting potential differences in conscious awareness and engagement with the movie. Although methodological issues remain, these results demonstrate the feasibility of using objective measures of awareness in severe AD. We raise a number of challenges and research questions that should be addressed using these biomarkers of awareness in future studies to improve understanding and care for people with severe AD

Hybrid Probabilistic Wind Power Forecasting Using Temporally Local Gaussian Process

The demand for sustainable development has resulted in a rapid growth in wind power worldwide. Although various approaches have been proposed to improve the accuracy and to overcome the uncertainties associated with traditional methods, the stochastic and variable nature of wind still remains the most challenging issue in accurately forecasting wind power. This paper presents a hybrid deterministicprobabilistic method where a temporally local moving window technique is used in Gaussian process (GP) to examine estimated forecasting errors. This temporally local GP employs less measurement data with faster and better predictions of wind power from two wind farms, one in the USA and the other in Ireland. Statistical analysis on the results shows that the method can substantially reduce the forecasting error while it is more likely to generate Gaussian-distributed residuals, particularly for short-term forecast horizons due to its capability to handle the time-varying characteristics of wind power

Cell walls of the dimorphic fungal pathogens Sporothrix schenckii and Sporothrix brasiliensis exhibit bilaminate structures and sloughing of extensive and intact layers

This work was supported by the Fundação Carlos Chagas de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado do Rio de Janeiro (FAPERJ), grants E-26/202.974/2015 and Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq), grants 229755/2013-5, Brazil. LMLB is a senior research fellow of CNPq and Faperj. NG acknowledged support from the Wellcome Trust (Trust (097377, 101873, 200208) and MRC Centre for Medical Mycology (MR/N006364/1). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Malignant hypertension and acute aortic dissection associated with caffeine-based ephedra-free dietary supplements: a case report

The use of weight loss dietary supplements is prevalent in the United States, and over the past decade, there has been tremendous growth of the use of these products. It is well documented that ephedra-based products are associated with various cardiovascular adverse effects. With new restrictions placed on such products, companies are now manufacturing caffeine-based ephedra-free herbal supplements. We present the case of 36-year old, previously healthy female who developed malignant hypertension and aortic dissection while taking various caffeine-based dietary supplements. Given the lack of research studies in regards to their safety and efficacy, judicious care should be taken with the use of dietary supplements, including those designated as ephedra-free