Visualization of ECG Data on Variant Maps

This chapter presents variant maps for showing potential features in ECG data sets. The variant map is a visualization method different from a traditional ECG. In this chapter, the ECG data sets obtained by clinical ECG monitoring are used as the data source, and the corresponding variant maps are obtained by the variant statistics method. This chapter mainly introduces the variant statistics method about converting ECG data into variant maps. From sample results, various visual properties can be observed, and further explorations are required

Colon cancer knowledge, screening barriers, and information seeking in Northeastern Georgia

Background: The present study assessed utilization of colorectal cancer (CRC) screening and knowledge, barriers, and information-seeking among adults in northeastern Georgia. Methods: A total of 245 people aged 40 years and older from selected rural, suburban, and small towns in northeastern Georgia participated in this cross-sectional survey. Results: Respondents aged 50 years and older were more likely to think that they “don’t need screening at their current age” as compared with those in their 40s. Higher information-seeking correlated with lower screening barriers (p Discussion: Respondents generally had a low level of knowledge about CRC. Individuals with lower perceived screening barriers indicated a higher likelihood to seek more information about CRC and therefore might be more likely to be screened by colonoscopy

Public space, civic dignity and urban resistance in the age of shrinking democracy

Neoliberal urban restructuring constitutes an underlying challenge facing cities and communities around the world. Public space, as a medium of political engagement and social interactions, may represent a vehicle for resistance against patterns of shrinking democracy. In its capacity as a place for active democracy, public spaces – the lived spaces of contemporary societies – deserve greater care, attention, and critical reflection. As movements evolve to confront new challenges, explore new opportunities, negotiate with new actors and circumstances, and utilise new technologies and platforms, our understanding of the agency of democracy – supported through an understanding of civic dignity – must also advance. This paper aims at examining the role of public space in reclaiming and reinstating democracy. By drawing on empirical findings from cities worldwide, explored through the lens of multiple disciplines, it argues that the study of urban protest might show directions for a new, dignified politics of public space. It asks how this study may enable planners and designers to contribute to the spatial emergence of human and civic dignity

Quantitative comparisons on hand motor functional areas determined by resting state and task BOLD fMRI and anatomical MRI for pre-surgical planning of patients with brain tumors

AbstractFor pre-surgical planning we present quantitative comparison of the location of the hand motor functional area determined by right hand finger tapping BOLD fMRI, resting state BOLD fMRI, and anatomically using high resolution T1 weighted images. Data were obtained on 10 healthy subjects and 25 patients with left sided brain tumors. Our results show that there are important differences in the locations (i.e., >20mm) of the determined hand motor voxels by these three MR imaging methods. This can have significant effect on the pre-surgical planning of these patients depending on the modality used. In 13 of the 25 cases (i.e., 52%) the distances between the task-determined and the rs-fMRI determined hand areas were more than 20mm; in 13 of 25 cases (i.e., 52%) the distances between the task-determined and anatomically determined hand areas were >20mm; and in 16 of 25 cases (i.e., 64%) the distances between the rs-fMRI determined and anatomically determined hand areas were more than 20mm. In just three cases, the distances determined by all three modalities were within 20mm of each other. The differences in the location or fingerprint of the hand motor areas, as determined by these three MR methods result from the different underlying mechanisms of these three modalities and possibly the effects of tumors on these modalities

Foreign capital and Earnings Management: International Evidence from Equity Market Opening

The opening of equity markets to foreign investors provides financing opportunities and disrupts the stock ownership structure for firms in these markets. In this paper, we study the effects of equity market opening on firms’ earnings management. Using international firm-level data, we find a significantly positive effect of equity market openness on firms’ income-increasing earnings management. We show that there are substantial heterogeneous effects across industries and firms. The positive effect is more pronounced in industries that are more dependent on external financing and firms that are financially constrained, suggesting that firms’ intrinsic need for equity finance contributes to income-increasing earnings management behaviors. In addition, the effect is weaker in the presence of BigN auditors, indicating the monitoring effect of relatively more reputable auditors. Overall, our results suggest that incentives to attract financing when a country opens its equity market to foreign investors have a detrimental effect on domestic firms’ reporting bias

The glucose transporter 4 FQQI motif is necessary for Akt Substrate of 160-Kilodalton-dependent plasma membrane translocation but not Golgi-localized g-ear-containing Arf-binding protein-dependent entry into the insulin-responsive storage compartment.

Newly synthesized glucose transporter 4 (GLUT4) enters into the insulin-responsive storage compartment in a process that is Golgi-localized γ-ear-containing Arf-binding protein (GGA) dependent, whereas insulin-stimulated translocation is regulated by Akt substrate of 160 kDa (AS160). In the present study, using a variety of GLUT4/GLUT1 chimeras, we have analyzed the specific motifs of GLUT4 that are important for GGA and AS160 regulation of GLUT4 trafficking. Substitution of the amino terminus and the large intracellular loop of GLUT4 into GLUT1 (chimera 1-441) fully recapitulated the basal state retention, insulin-stimulated translocation, and GGA and AS160 sensitivity of wild-type GLUT4 (GLUT4-WT). GLUT4 point mutation (GLUT4-F5A) resulted in loss of GLUT4 intracellular retention in the basal state when coexpressed with both wild-type GGA and AS160. Nevertheless, similar to GLUT4-WT, the insulin-stimulated plasma membrane localization of GLUT4-F5A was significantly inhibited by coexpression of dominant-interfering GGA. In addition, coexpression with a dominant-interfering AS160 (AS160-4P) abolished insulin-stimulated GLUT4-WT but not GLUT4-F5A translocation. GLUT4 endocytosis and intracellular sequestration also required both the amino terminus and large cytoplasmic loop of GLUT4. Furthermore, both the FQQI and the SLL motifs participate in the initial endocytosis from the plasma membrane; however, once internalized, unlike the FQQI motif, the SLL motif is not responsible for intracellular recycling of GLUT4 back to the specialized compartment. Together, we have demonstrated that the FQQI motif within the amino terminus of GLUT4 is essential for GLUT4 endocytosis and AS160-dependent intracellular retention but not for the GGA-dependent sorting of GLUT4 into the insulin-responsive storage compartment

Cytotoxicity in the Age of Nano: The Role of Fourth Period Transition Metal Oxide Nanoparticle Physicochemical Properties

A clear understanding of physicochemical factors governing nanoparticle toxicity is still in its infancy. We used a systematic approach to delineate physicochemical properties of nanoparticles that govern cytotoxicity. The cytotoxicity of fourth period metal oxide nanoparticles (NPs): TiO2, Cr2O3, Mn2O3, Fe2O3, NiO, CuO, and ZnO increases with the atomic number of the transition metal oxide. This trend was not cell-type specific, as observed in non-transformed human lung cells (BEAS-2B) and human bronchoalveolar carcinoma-derived cells (A549). Addition of NPs to the cell culture medium did not significantly alter pH. Physiochemical properties were assessed to discover the determinants of cytotoxicity: (1) point-of-zero charge (PZC) (i.e., isoelectric point) described the surface charge of NPs in cytosolic and lysosomal compartments; (2) relative number of available binding sites on the NP surface quantified by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy was used to estimate the probability of biomolecular interactions on the particle surface; (3) band-gap energy measurements to predict electron abstraction from NPs which might lead to oxidative stress and subsequent cell death; and (4) ion dissolution. Our results indicate that cytotoxicity is a function of particle surface charge, the relative number of available surface binding sites, and metal ion dissolution from NPs. These findings provide a physicochemical basis for both risk assessment and the design of safer nanomaterials

Mapping the Milky Way with LAMOST II: the stellar halo

The radial number density and flattening of the Milky Way's stellar halo is measured with $\mathrm{5351}$ metal-poor ([Fe/H]$<-1$) K giants from LAMOST DR3, using a nonparametric method which is model independent and largely avoids the influence of halo substucture. The number density profile is well described by a single power law with index $5.03^{+0.64}_{-0.64}$, and flattening that varies with radius. The stellar halo traced by LAMOST K giants is more flattened at smaller radii, and becomes nearly spherical at larger radii. The flattening, $q$, is about 0.64, 0.8, 0.96 at $r=15$, 20 and 30 kpc (where $r=\sqrt{R^2+\left[Z/q\left(r\right)\right]^2}$), respectively. Moreover, the leading arm of the Sagittarius dwarf galaxy tidal stream in the north, and the trailing arm in the south, are significant in the residual map of density distribution. In addition, an unknown overdensity is identified in the residual map at (R,Z)=(30,15) kpc.Comment: 16 pages, 24 figures, accepted by MNRA