Fusing MPEG-7 visual descriptors for image classification

This paper proposes three content-based image classification techniques based on fusing various low-level MPEG-7 visual descriptors. Fusion is necessary as descriptors would be otherwise incompatible and inappropriate to directly include e.g. in a Euclidean distance. Three approaches are described: A “merging” fusion combined with an SVM classifier, a back-propagation fusion combined with a KNN classifier and a Fuzzy-ART neurofuzzy network. In the latter case, fuzzy rules can be extracted in an effort to bridge the “semantic gap” between the low-level descriptors and the high-level semantics of an image. All networks were evaluated using content from the repository of the aceMedia project1 and more specifically in a beach/urban scene classification problem

Joint modeling of ChIP-seq data via a Markov random field model

Chromatin ImmunoPrecipitation-sequencing (ChIP-seq) experiments have now become routine in biology for the detection of protein-binding sites. In this paper, we present a Markov random field model for the joint analysis of multiple ChIP-seq experiments. The proposed model naturally accounts for spatial dependencies in the data, by assuming first-order Markov dependence and, for the large proportion of zero counts, by using zero-inflated mixture distributions. In contrast to all other available implementations, the model allows for the joint modeling of multiple experiments, by incorporating key aspects of the experimental design. In particular, the model uses the information about replicates and about the different antibodies used in the experiments. An extensive simulation study shows a lower false non-discovery rate for the proposed method, compared with existing methods, at the same false discovery rate. Finally, we present an analysis on real data for the detection of histone modifications of two chromatin modifiers from eight ChIP-seq experiments, including technical replicates with different IP efficiencies

Three-body correlations in the ground-state decay of 26O

Background: Theoretical calculations have shown that the energy and angular correlations in the three-body decay of the two-neutron unbound O26 can provide information on the ground-state wave function, which has been predicted to have a dineutron configuration and 2n halo structure. Purpose: To use the experimentally measured three-body correlations to gain insight into the properties of O26, including the decay mechanism and ground-state resonance energy. Method: O26 was produced in a one-proton knockout reaction from F27 and the O24+n+n decay products were measured using the MoNA-Sweeper setup. The three-body correlations from the O26 ground-state resonance decay were extracted. The experimental results were compared to Monte Carlo simulations in which the resonance energy and decay mechanism were varied. Results: The measured three-body correlations were well reproduced by the Monte Carlo simulations but were not sensitive to the decay mechanism due to the experimental resolutions. However, the three-body correlations were found to be sensitive to the resonance energy of O26. A 1{\sigma} upper limit of 53 keV was extracted for the ground-state resonance energy of O26. Conclusions: Future attempts to measure the three-body correlations from the ground-state decay of O26 will be very challenging due to the need for a precise measurement of the O24 momentum at the reaction point in the target

Exploiting neutron-rich radioactive ion beams to constrain the symmetry energy

The Modular Neutron Array (MoNA) and 4 Tm Sweeper magnet were used to measure the free neutrons and heavy charged particles from the radioactive ion beam induced 32Mg + 9Be reaction. The fragmentation reaction was simulated with the Constrained Molecular Dynamics model(CoMD), which demonstrated that the of the heavy fragments and free neutron multiplicities were observables sensitive to the density dependence of the symmetry energy at sub-saturation densities. Through comparison of these simulations with the experimental data constraints on the density dependence of the symmetry energy were extracted. The advantage of radioactive ion beams as a probe of the symmetry energy is demonstrated through examination of CoMD calculations for stable and radioactive beam induced reactions

Integrating children's perspectives in policy-making to combat poverty and social exclusion experienced by single-parent families: a transnational comparative approach

This is the final report of a research project that addressed social exclusion and poverty as it relates to single parent families and their children in particular. The rising numbers of single parent families and children throughout the EU and the increased likelihood that these families will live in poverty and experience many different forms of social exclusion in their daily lives brings in sharp focus the need to address the issue as an urgent one in our efforts to eradicate poverty and social exclusion. The focus on the children of single parent families seeks to rectify a long-standing problem in our knowledge and understanding of single parent families and the social problems they face, namely, the fact that little, if anything, is known about how these children experience and understand their lives as members of these families. The research set out to contribute to policy development and the transnational exchange of best practice by adding a much-neglected dimension on single parent families. The project used a cross-national comparative qualitative research design and methods (Mangen 1999) which involved all partners in the design of each research phase including the analysis; partners were England, Cyprus and Greece

Search for unbound 15Be states in the 3n+12Be channel

15Be is expected to have low-lying 3/2+ and 5/2+ states. A first search did not observe the 3/2+ [A. Spyrou et al., Phys. Rev. C 84, 044309 (2011)], however, a resonance in 15Be was populated in a second attempt and determined to be unbound with respect to 14Be by 1.8(1) MeV with a tentative spin-parity assignment of 5/2+ [J. Snyder et al., Phys. Rev. C 88, 031303(R) (2013)]. Search for the predicted 15Be 3/2+ state in the three-neutron decay channel. A two-proton removal reaction from a 55 MeV/u 17C beam was used to populate neutron-unbound states in 15Be. The two-, three-, and four-body decay energies of the 12Be + neutron(s) detected in coincidence were reconstructed using invariant mass spectroscopy. Monte Carlo simulations were performed to extract the resonance and decay properties from the observed spectra. The low-energy regions of the decay energy spectra can be described with the first excited unbound state of 14Be (E_x=1.54 MeV, E_r=0.28 MeV). Including a state in 15Be that decays through the first excited 14Be state slightly improves the fit at higher energies though the cross section is small. A 15Be component is not needed to describe the data. If the 3/2+ state in 15Be is populated, the decay by three-neutron emission through 14Be is weak, less than or equal to 11% up to 4 MeV. In the best fit, 15Be is unbound with respect to 12Be by 1.4 MeV (unbound with respect to $14Be by 2.66 MeV) with a strength of 7%.Comment: 6 pages, 5 figures, accepted in Physical Review

Screening enhancement factors for laboratory CNO and rp astrophysical reactions

Cross sections of laboratory CNO and rp astrophysical reactions are enhanced due to the presence of the multi-electron cloud that surrounds the target nuclei. As a result the relevant astrophysical factors are overestimated unless corrected appropriately. This study gives both an estimate of the error committed if screening effects are not taken into account and a rough profile of the laboratory energy thresholds at which the screening effect appears. The results indicate that, for most practical purposes, screening corrections to past relevant experiments can be disregarded. Regarding future experiments, however, screening corrections to the CNO reactions will certainly be of importance as they are closely related to the solar neutrino fluxes and the rp process. Moreover, according to the present results, screening effects will have to be taken into account particularly by the current and future LUNA experiments, where screened astrophysical factors will be enhanced to a significant degree.Comment: 6 RevTex pages + 2 ps figures. (Revised version). Accepted for publication in Journal of Physics

The Effect of Neutron Star Binding Energy on Gravitational-Radiation-Driven Mass-Transfer Binaries

In a relativistic model of a neutron star, the star's mass is less than the mass of the individual component baryons. This is due to the fact that the star's negative binding energy makes a contribution to the star's total energy and its mass. A consequence of this relativistic mass deficit is that a neutron star that is accreting matter increases its mass at a rate which is slower than the mass of a baryon times the rate that baryons are accreted. This difference in the rate of change of the masses has a simple relation with the star's gravitational redshift. We show that this effect has the potential to be observed in binaries where the mass transfer is driven by angular momentum losses from the gravitational radiation emitted by the binary motion.Comment: 9 pages, 3 figures, accepted by Ap

Sptrx-2, a fusion protein composed of one thioredoxin and three tandemly repeated NDP-kinase domains is expressed in human testis germ cells

42 páginas, 9 figuras.Background Thioredoxins (Trx) are small redox proteins that function as general protein disulphide reductases and regulate several cellular processes such as transcription factor DNA binding activity, apoptosis and DNA synthesis. In mammalian organisms, thioredoxins are generally ubiquitously expressed in all tissues, with the exception of Sptrx-1 which is specifically expressed in sperm cells. Results We report here the identification and characterization of a novel member of the thioredoxin family, the second with a tissue-specific distribution in human sperm, termed Sptrx-2. The Sptrx-2 ORF (open reading frame) encodes for a protein of 588 amino acids with two different domains: an N-terminal thioredoxin domain encompassing the first 105 residues and a C-terminal domain composed of three repeats of a NDP kinase domain. The Sptrx-2 gene spans about 51 kb organized in 17 exons and maps at locus 7p13-14. Sptrx-2 mRNA is exclusively expressed in human testis, mainly in primary spermatocytes, while Sptrx-2 protein expression is detected from the pachytene spermatocytes stage onwards, peaking at round spermatids stage. Recombinant full-length Sptrx-2 expressed in bacteria displayed neither thioredoxin nor NDP kinase enzymatic activity. Conclusions The sperm specific expression of Sptrx-2, together with its chromosomal assignment to a position reported as a potential locus for flagellar anomalies and male infertility phenotypes such as primary ciliary dyskinesia, suggests that it might be a novel component of the human sperm axonemal organization.This work was supported by grants from the Swedish Medical Research Council (Projects 03P-14096-01A, 03X-14041-01A and 13X-10370), the Åke Wibergs Stiftelse, the Karolinska Institutet, the Södertörns Högskola and the Medical Research Fund of Tampere University Hospital.Peer reviewe