171 research outputs found
Strong correlations between text quality and complex networks features
Concepts of complex networks have been used to obtain metrics that were
correlated to text quality established by scores assigned by human judges.
Texts produced by high-school students in Portuguese were represented as
scale-free networks (word adjacency model), from which typical network features
such as the in/outdegree, clustering coefficient and shortest path were
obtained. Another metric was derived from the dynamics of the network growth,
based on the variation of the number of connected components. The scores
assigned by the human judges according to three text quality criteria
(coherence and cohesion, adherence to standard writing conventions and theme
adequacy/development) were correlated with the network measurements. Text
quality for all three criteria was found to decrease with increasing average
values of outdegrees, clustering coefficient and deviation from the dynamics of
network growth. Among the criteria employed, cohesion and coherence showed the
strongest correlation, which probably indicates that the network measurements
are able to capture how the text is developed in terms of the concepts
represented by the nodes in the networks. Though based on a particular set of
texts and specific language, the results presented here point to potential
applications in other instances of text analysis.Comment: 8 pages, 8 figure
Zinc supplementation may recover taste for salt meals
OBJETIVO: Avaliar o efeito do zinco em crianças de 8 meses a 5 anos de idade com falta de apetite para refeições de sal. POPULAÇÃO E MÉTODOS: Estudo duplo-cego com placebo. Dois grupos de crianças apresentando recusa a alimentos de sal foram acompanhados durante 6 meses. As crianças do primeiro grupo receberam 1 mg/kg/dia de zinco sob forma de quelato, durante três meses, enquanto as do segundo grupo receberam uma solução placebo durante o mesmo perÃodo. Os dois grupos eram semelhantes quanto a idade, sexo, peso, duração do aleitamento materno, idade de desmame e exames hetamatológicos e bioquÃmicos. A resposta das crianças ao tratamento foi informada em questionário preenchido regularmente pelas mães. RESULTADOS: 17/20 (85%) das crianças que receberam zinco e 10/20 (50%) das que receberam placebo recuperaram o apetite para refeições de sal. A diferença foi estatisticamente significativa para p < 0,05 (teste do qui-quadrado). CONCLUSÃO: A suplementação com zinco pode melhorar a aceitação de refeições de sal por crianças.OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the effect of zinc on the appetite for salt foods in children aged 8 months to 5 years. METHOD: Double-blind, placebo-controlled study. Two groups of 20 children refusing to eat salt foods were followed during six months. The children in the first group received zinc chelate 1 mg/kg daily for three months. The second group received a placebo solution. The two groups were similar in terms of age, sex, weight, duration of breastfeeding, age at weaning, biochemical and hematological data. The response of children to treatment was informed by their mothers. RESULTS: 17/20 (85%) of the children receiving zinc chelate and 10/20 (50%) of the children receiving placebo improved their appetite for salt foods. The difference was statistically significant (p < 0.05, chi-square test). CONCLUSION: Zinc supplementation may improve the acceptance of salt foods by children
Solar neutrino oscillation parameters after first KamLAND results
We analyze the energy spectrum of reactor neutrino events recently observed
in the Kamioka Liquid scintillator Anti-Neutrino Detector (KamLAND) and combine
them with solar and terrestrial neutrino data, in the context of two- and
three-family active neutrino oscillations. In the 2-neutrino case, we find that
the solution to the solar neutrino problem at large mixing angle (LMA) is
basically split into two sub-regions, that we denote as LMA-I and LMA-II. The
LMA-I solution, characterized by lower values of the squared neutrino mass gap,
is favored by the global data fit. This picture is not significantly modified
in the 3-neutrino mixing case. A brief discussion is given about the
discrimination of the LMA-I and LMA-II solutions with future KamLAND data. In
both the 2- and 3-neutrino cases, we present a detailed analysis of the
post-KamLAND bounds on the oscillation parameters.Comment: Revised version. Two figures adde
Radiative contribution to neutrino masses and mixing in SSM
In an extension of the minimal supersymmetric standard model (popularly known
as the SSM), three right handed neutrino superfields are introduced to
solve the -problem and to accommodate the non-vanishing neutrino masses
and mixing. Neutrino masses at the tree level are generated through parity
violation and seesaw mechanism. We have analyzed the full effect of one-loop
contributions to the neutrino mass matrix. We show that the current three
flavour global neutrino data can be accommodated in the SSM, for both
the tree level and one-loop corrected analyses. We find that it is relatively
easier to accommodate the normal hierarchical mass pattern compared to the
inverted hierarchical or quasi-degenerate case, when one-loop corrections are
included.Comment: 51 pages, 14 figures (58 .eps files), expanded introduction, other
minor changes, references adde
Neutrino Masses and Mixing: Evidence and Implications
Measurements of various features of the fluxes of atmospheric and solar
neutrinos have provided evidence for neutrino oscillations and therefore for
neutrino masses and mixing. We review the phenomenology of neutrino
oscillations in vacuum and in matter. We present the existing evidence from
solar and atmospheric neutrinos as well as the results from laboratory
searches, including the final status of the LSND experiment. We describe the
theoretical inputs that are used to interpret the experimental results in terms
of neutrino oscillations. We derive the allowed ranges for the mass and mixing
parameters in three frameworks: First, each set of observations is analyzed
separately in a two-neutrino framework; Second, the data from solar and
atmospheric neutrinos are analyzed in a three active neutrino framework; Third,
the LSND results are added, and the status of accommodating all three signals
in the framework of three active and one sterile light neutrinos is presented.
We review the theoretical implications of these results: the existence of new
physics, the estimate of the scale of this new physics and the lessons for
grand unified theories, for supersymmetric models with R-parity violation, for
models of extra dimensions and singlet fermions in the bulk, and for flavor
models.Comment: Added note on the effects of KamLAND results. Two new figure
A second generation cervico-vaginal lavage device shows similar performance as its preceding version with respect to DNA yield and HPV DNA results
Contains fulltext :
118480.pdf (publisher's version ) (Open Access)BACKGROUND: Attendance rates of cervical screening programs can be increased by offering HPV self-sampling to non-attendees. Acceptability, DNA yield, lavage volumes and choice of hrHPV test can influence effectiveness of the self-sampling procedures and could therefore play a role in recruiting non-attendees. To increase user-friendliness, a frequently used lavage sampler was modified. In this study, we compared this second generation lavage device with the first generation device within similar birth cohorts. METHODS: Within a large self-sampling cohort-study among non-responders of the Dutch cervical screening program, a subset of 2,644 women received a second generation self-sampling lavage device, while 11,977 women, matched for age and ZIP-code, received the first generation model. The second generation device was different in shape, color, lavage volume, and packaging, in comparison to its first generation model. The Cochran's test was used to compare both devices for hrHPV positivity rate and response rate. To correct for possible heterogeneity between age and ZIP codes in both groups the Breslow-Day test of homogeneity was used. A T-test was utilized to compare DNA yields of the obtained material in both groups. RESULTS: Median DNA yields were 90.4 mug/ml (95% CI 83.2-97.5) and 91.1 mug/ml (95% CI 77.8-104.4, p= 0.726) and hrHPV positivity rates were 8.2% and 6.9% (p= 0.419) per sample self-collected by the second - and the first generation of the device (p= 0.726), respectively. In addition, response rates were comparable for the two models (35.4% versus 34.4%, p= 0.654). CONCLUSIONS: Replacing the first generation self-sampling device by an ergonomically improved, second generation device resulted in equal DNA yields, comparable hrHPV positivity rates and similar response rates. Therefore, it can be concluded that the clinical performance of the first and second generation models are similar. Moreover, participation of non-attendees in cervical cancer screening is probably not predominantly determined by the type of self-collection device
Effect of venlafaxine on bone loss associated with ligature-induced periodontitis in Wistar rats
<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The present study investigated the effects of venlafaxine, an antidepressant drug with immunoregulatory properties on the inflammatory response and bone loss associated with experimental periodontal disease (EPD).</p> <p>Materials and Methods</p> <p>Wistar rats were subjected to a ligature placement around the second upper left molar. The treated groups received orally venlafaxine (10 or 50 mg/kg) one hour before the experimental periodontal disease induction and daily for 10 days. Vehicle-treated experimental periodontal disease and a sham-operated (SO) controls were included. Bone loss was analyzed morphometrically and histopathological analysis was based on cell influx, alveolar bone, and cementum integrity. Lipid peroxidation quantification and immunohistochemistry to TNF-α and iNOS were performed.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Experimental periodontal disease rats showed an intense bone loss compared to SO ones (SO = 1.61 ± 1.36; EPD = 4.47 ± 1.98 mm, p < 0.001) and evidenced increased cellular infiltration and immunoreactivity for TNF-α and iNOS. Venlafaxine treatment while at low dose (10 mg/kg) afforded no significant protection against bone loss (3.25 ± 1.26 mm), a high dose (50 mg/kg) caused significantly enhanced bone loss (6.81 ± 3.31 mm, p < 0.05). Venlafaxine effectively decreased the lipid peroxidation but showed no significant change in TNF-α or iNOS immunoreactivity.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The increased bone loss associated with high dose venlafaxine may possibly be a result of synaptic inhibition of serotonin uptake.</p
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