180 research outputs found

    Travel Wait Time Estimation using Rejsekort Data

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    This paper presents a method for estimating passenger wait time at bus terminals and stops during trips with transfers. The method combines data from the danish electronic ticket system, Rejsekort, AVL (Automatic Vehicle Location) systems, and topological data of bus routes and walking paths. To demonstrate the method, it is applied to a selected traffic hub and period of interest and results are presented

    Prevalence of imbedded and ingested shot gun pellets in breeding sea ducks in the Baltic Sea-possible implications for future conservation efforts

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    Several sea duck species in Europe face dwindling population numbers with following increased conservation focus. Shot gun practices may put extra pressure on populations not only by direct hunting mortality but also crippling and lead poisoning from ingestion of pellets. In this study, we examined three sea duck species breeding in the Swedish Archipelago of the Baltic Sea by x-raying trapped incubating females to detect prevalence of imbedded and ingested shot gun pellets. The study was carried out during the 2021 and 2022 breeding seasons and designed to aid our understanding of the role of physical restraints of putative pellets to breeding performance at our study site. A total of 205 individual females of common eider (n = 113), velvet scoter (n = 57), and red-breasted merganser (n = 35) were x-rayed without finding any imbedded or ingested pellets. For this study, a combination of decreasing hunting pressure, remoteness of study site, improved hunters' shooting performance along the flyway and depletion of crippling rates due to life-long negative effects of carrying imbedded pellets may explain our finding on non-detection. For common eider, specific interventions to reduce the negative impacts of shotgun practices have been reported successful, and our data suggest a continuing positive trend. Based on our findings, we advise future conservation efforts for the three species, breeding in this part of the flyway, to focus on other factors that may have negative impact on incubating female survival and reproduction

    Scalable kernels for graphs with continuous attributes

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    While graphs with continuous node attributes arise in many applications, state-of-the-art graph kernels for comparing continuous-attributed graphs suffer from a high runtime complexity. For instance, the popular shortest path kernel scales as O(n4), where n is the number of nodes. In this paper, we present a class of graph kernels with computational complexity O(n 2(m+log n+δ2 +d)), where is the graph diameter, m is the number of edges, and d is the dimension of the node attributes. Due to the sparsity and small diameter of real-world graphs, these kernels typically scale comfortably to large graphs. In our experiments, the presented kernels outperform state-of-the-art kernels in terms of speed and accuracy on classification benchmark datasets

    Layered van der Waals crystals with hyperbolic light dispersion

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    AbstractCompared to artificially structured hyperbolic metamaterials, whose performance is limited by the finite size of the metallic components, the sparse number of naturally hyperbolic materials recently discovered are promising candidates for the next generation of hyperbolic materials. Using first-principles calculations, we extend the number of known naturally hyperbolic materials to the broad class of layered transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs). The diverse electronic properties of the transition metal dichalcogenides result in a large variation of the hyperbolic frequency regimes ranging from the near-infrared to the ultraviolet. Combined with the emerging field of van der Waals heterostructuring, we demonstrate how the hyperbolic properties can be further controlled by stacking different two-dimensional crystals opening new perspectives for atomic-scale design of photonic metamaterials. As an application, we identify candidates for Purcell factor control of emission from diamond nitrogen-vacancy centers.</jats:p

    The role of the P2X7 receptor on bone loss in a mouse model of inflammation-mediated osteoporosis

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    In inflammatory autoimmune diseases, bone loss is frequent. In most cases, secondary osteoporosis is caused by treatment with systemic glucocorticoid. However, the pathogenesis behind the bone loss is presumed multifactorial. We aimed to elucidate the role of the P2X7 receptor on bone mineral density (BMD), microarchitecture, and bone strength in a standardized mouse model of inflammation-mediated osteoporosis (IMO). In total 146 mice completed our protocol, 70 wild type (WT) mice and 76 P2X7−/− (knockout, KO). BMD at the femur and spine decreased significantly from baseline to day 20 in the WT IMO mice (p < 0.01). In the WT vehicle, KO vehicle and KO IMO, no significant BMD changes were found. Bone strength showed a lower mid-shaft max strength (p = 0.038) and also a non-significant trend towards lower strength at the femoral neck of the WT IMO group. Trabecular bone volume fraction (BV/TV) and connectivity density (CD) after 20 days were significantly decreased in the WT IMO group (p = 0.001). In contrast, the WT vehicle and KO vehicle, BV/TV and CD did no change at 20 days. Cortical bone revealed no significant microarchitectural changes after 20 days in the WT IMO group, whereas the total cortical area increased significantly in WT vehicle and KO IMO after 20 days (5.2% and 8.8%, respectively). In conclusion, the P2X7 receptor KO mice did not respond to inflammation with loss of BMD whereas the WT mice had a significant loss of BMD, bone strength and trabecular microarchitecture, demonstrating a role for the P2X7 receptor in inflammatory bone loss

    Publish and subscribe for RDF in enterprise value networks

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    Sharing information securely between business partners and managing large supply chains effciently will be a crucial competitive advantage for enterprises in the near future. In this paper, we present a concept that allows for building value networks between business partners in a distributed manner. Companies are able to publish Linked Data which participants of the network can clone and subscribe to. Subscribers get noticed as soon as new information becomes available. This provides a technical infrastructure for business communication acts such as supply chain communication or master data management. In addition to the conceptual analysis, we provide an implementation enabling companies to create such dynamic semantic value networks

    Structure of the PPARα and -γ Ligand Binding Domain in Complex with AZ 242; Ligand Selectivity and Agonist Activation in the PPAR Family

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    AbstractBackground: The peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors (PPAR) are ligand-activated transcription factors belonging to the nuclear receptor family. The roles of PPARα in fatty acid oxidation and PPARγ in adipocyte differentiation and lipid storage have been characterized extensively. PPARs are activated by fatty acids and eicosanoids and are also targets for antidyslipidemic drugs, but the molecular interactions governing ligand selectivity for specific subtypes are unclear due to the lack of a PPARα ligand binding domain structure.Results: We have solved the crystal structure of the PPARα ligand binding domain (LBD) in complex with the combined PPARα and -γ agonist AZ 242, a novel dihydro cinnamate derivative that is structurally different from thiazolidinediones. In addition, we present the crystal structure of the PPARγ_LBD/AZ 242 complex and provide a rationale for ligand selectivity toward the PPARα and -γ subtypes. Heteronuclear NMR data on PPARα in both the apo form and in complex with AZ 242 shows an overall stabilization of the LBD upon agonist binding. A comparison of the novel PPARα/AZ 242 complex with the PPARγ/AZ 242 complex and previously solved PPARγ structures reveals a conserved hydrogen bonding network between agonists and the AF2 helix.Conclusions: The complex of PPARα and PPARγ with the dual specificity agonist AZ 242 highlights the conserved interactions required for receptor activation. Together with the NMR data, this suggests a general model for ligand activation in the PPAR family. A comparison of the ligand binding sites reveals a molecular explanation for subtype selectivity and provides a basis for rational drug design
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