5th Annual NASA Ames Space Science and Astrobiology Jamboree

No abstract availabl

Colour Contrast Occurrence matrix: a vector and perceptual texture feature

International audienceTexture discrimination was the second more important task studied after colour perception and characterization.Nevertheless, few works explore the colour extension of these works and none for vectorial processing ofthis important visual information. In this work we propose a novel and vector processing for colour texturecharacterization, the color contrast occurrence matrix C2O. This new texture feature is based on the colourdierence assessment. To be link to the human perception, the colour dierence is expressed using a perceptualdistance expressed in CIELab and two angles characterizing the chromaticity and darker or lighter direction.Through this new attribute, we analyze the stability to changes in illumination, viewpoint and spectrum of thelight source in front of dierent texture image databases . Thanks to our construction, we avoid the main limit ofexisting texture features requiring an initial colour quantization or a binarization inside the texture construction.Keeping the small local contrast, we obtain a more accurate texture feature description explaining the obtainedresults. Then we carry out the construction of a features vector by occurrence quantization, keeping the initialideas of Julesz, Haralick and Ojala, for the classication purposes. The results show best correct classicationpercentages in databases that with important spatio-chromatic complexity as ALOT

Bridging the Semantic Gap in Multimedia Information Retrieval: Top-down and Bottom-up approaches

Semantic representation of multimedia information is vital for enabling the kind of multimedia search capabilities that professional searchers require. Manual annotation is often not possible because of the shear scale of the multimedia information that needs indexing. This paper explores the ways in which we are using both top-down, ontologically driven approaches and bottom-up, automatic-annotation approaches to provide retrieval facilities to users. We also discuss many of the current techniques that we are investigating to combine these top-down and bottom-up approaches

Metformin as a Therapeutic Target in Endometrial Cancers.

Endometrial cancer is the most common gynecologic malignancy in developed countries. Its increasing incidence is thought to be related in part to the rise of metabolic syndrome, which has been shown to be a risk factor for the development of hyperestrogenic and hyperinsulinemic states. This has consequently lead to an increase in other hormone-responsive cancers as well e.g., breast and ovarian cancer. The correlation between obesity, hyperglycemia, and endometrial cancer has highlighted the important role of metabolism in cancer establishment and persistence. Tumor-mediated reprogramming of the microenvironment and macroenvironment can range from induction of cytokines and growth factors to stimulation of surrounding stromal cells to produce energy-rich catabolites, fueling the growth, and survival of cancer cells. Such mechanisms raise the prospect of the metabolic microenvironment itself as a viable target for treatment of malignancies. Metformin is a biguanide drug that is a first-line treatment for type 2 diabetes that has beneficial effects on various markers of the metabolic syndrome. Many studies suggest that metformin shows potential as an adjuvant treatment for uterine and other cancers. Here, we review the evidence for metformin as a treatment for cancers of the endometrium. We discuss the available clinical data and the molecular mechanisms by which it may exert its effects, with a focus on how it may alter the tumor microenvironment. The pleiotropic effects of metformin on cellular energy production and usage as well as intercellular and hormone-based interactions make it a promising candidate for reprogramming of the cancer ecosystem. This, along with other treatments aimed at targeting tumor metabolic pathways, may lead to novel treatment strategies for endometrial cancer

The Study of PPAL and its Role in the Development of Physcomitrella patens

Protein Prenylation is the addition of lipids to select proteins that play a key role during the development of plants. There are three enzymes that play a role in protein prenylation: protein farnesyltransferase (PFT), protein geranylgeranyl-transferase-I (PGGT), and Rab geranylgeranyltransferase (Rab-GGT). However, there is a protein called PPAL that has a similar alpha subunit of PFT, PGGT, and RAB-GGT but its biochemical function is unknown. Physconmitrella patens, a type of moss, was chosen to explore the role of PpPPAL in the development process. There are two copies of PPAL found in moss. PPAL1 and PPAL2. To study the role of these genes, a partial knockdown line was created where one or both alpha and beta subunit genes was reduced. An artificial microRNA was created to target the PpPPAL1 and PpPPAL2 genes and was introduced into the moss via a plasmid. Once the microRNA was inserted into the moss, the moss was grown in DMSO/ beta-estradiol medium to start the suppression of gene expression. The results showed that the knockout of PpPPAL 1 and PpPPAL 2 inhibits the growth and propagation of physconmitrella patens. They also resulted in a few gametophore contents. The result indicates that PPAL plays an important role in the developmental process in P.patents. The role of PPAL in protein prenylation of physconmitrella patens give insights into how prenylation works in humans since defects in prenylation can lead to health problemshttps://ir.library.louisville.edu/uars/1069/thumbnail.jp

Semantyczno-pragmatyczna analiza kolokacji w polu leksykalnym écologie (ekologia) w języku francuskim i ich polskie odpowiedniki

The aim of the article is to present some collocations as well as the profile of these lexicalised expressions commonly used in the French media. A semantic-discursive approach to some col­locations (Sablayrolles, 2000, 2011; Sablayrolles & Mejri, 2011; Tutin & Grossmann, 2002; Tutin, 2005) allows us to create a lexical-discursive profile (Veniard, 2013). We will restrict ourselves to the semantic-pragmatic level of the profile (Veniard, 2013: 55). Bearing in mind that the profile is one of the aspects of discourse analysis, especially in French linguistics, and that it is immanent of French/francophone corpus, we will try to see if the profile of some collocations anchored in the French media have their equivalents in Polish.Le lexique de l’écologie est un domaine très actuel qui développe de nombreux phrasèmes. Nous souhaitons présenter dans cet article le profil lexical (Veniard, 2013) de certaines collocations employées au quotidien dans les médias français. Nous proposons de voir la combinatoire ainsi que le fonctionnement discursif de certaines expressions lexicalisées pour pourvoir mettre en exergue les « traits sémiotiques » ressortant de notre analyse. Notre corpus est composé d’expressions figées ancrées dans les médias français que nous décortiquerons pour les comparer aux équivalents polo­nais. L’ambition de cette étude est de démontrer les buts discursifs divergents d’une culture à l’autre – d’un habitus discursif divergent dans l’emploi des expressions lexicalisées d’un domaine spécialisé.Celem artykułu jest analiza niektórych kolokacji należących do pola leksykalnego écologie (ekologia) oraz opracowanie profilu utrwalonych wyrażeń, używanych powszechnie we francu­skich mediach. Semantyczno-dyskursywny opis wymienionych połączeń (Sablayrolles, 2000, 2011; Sablayrolles, Mejri, 2011; Grossmann, Tutin, 2002; Tutin, 2005) pozwolił stworzyć ich profil leksykalno-dyskursywny (Veniard, 2013). W badaniach ograniczono się do poziomu semantycz­no-pragmatycznego (Veniard, 2013: 55). Wiedząc, że profil jest jednym z możliwych aspektów analizy dyskursu, zwłaszcza w lingwistyce francuskiej, oraz jest immamentny dla korpusu języka francuskiego, starano się sprawdzić, czy profile analizowanych kolokacji w mediach francuskich mają odpowiedniki w języku polskim