765 research outputs found
Digitale Literaturwissenschaft: Perspektiven, Probleme und Potentiale der Philologien im ‚digital turn‘:Vortrag auf Einladung der Arbeitsgruppe ‚Digital Humanities‘ der Graduate School ‚Practices of Literature‘ in Münster am 17.07.2013
In einem Vortrag auf Einladung der Arbeitsgruppe ›Digital Humanities‹ (Münster, 17.07.2013) erörtert Earl Jeffrey Richards die Möglichkeiten der digitalen Philologie. In seiner historischen Spurensuche stößt er dabei auf Hypertext-Verfahren, die bereits vor mehreren Jahrhunderten in der Theologie und Editionsphilologie zum Einsatz kamen. Er zeichnet nach, dass digitale philologische Arbeitsweisen sich als optimale Lösungen nicht nur bei Editionen und Vergleichsprojekten erweisen, sondern auch eine De-Hierarchisierung der Kanonbildung ermöglichen
Mapping the species richness and composition of tropical forests from remotely sensed data with neural networks
The understanding and management of biodiversity is often limited by a lack of data. Remote sensing has considerable potential as a source of data on biodiversity at spatial and temporal scales appropriate for biodiversity management. To-date, most remote sensing studies have focused on only one aspect of biodiversity, species richness, and have generally used conventional image analysis techniques that may not fully exploit the data's information content. Here, we report on a study that aimed to estimate biodiversity more fully from remotely sensed data with the aid of neural networks. Two neural network models, feedforward networks to estimate basic indices of biodiversity and Kohonen networks to provide information on species composition, were used. Biodiversity indices of species richness and evenness derived from the remotely sensed data were strongly correlated with those derived from field survey. For example, the predicted tree species richness was significantly correlated with that observed in the field (r=0.69, significant at the 95% level of confidence). In addition, there was a high degree of correspondence (?83%) between the partitioning of the outputs from Kohonen networks applied to tree species and remotely sensed data sets that indicated the potential to map species composition. Combining the outputs of the two sets of neural network based analyses enabled a map of biodiversity to be produce
Identification and mutational analyses of phosphorylation sites of the calcineurin-binding protein CbpA and the identification of domains required for calcineurin binding in Aspergillus fumigatus.
Calcineurin is a key protein phosphatase required for hyphal growth and virulence in Aspergillus fumigatus, making it an attractive antifungal target. However, currently available calcineurin inhibitors, FK506 and cyclosporine A, are immunosuppressive, limiting usage in the treatment of patients with invasive aspergillosis. Therefore, the identification of endogenous inhibitors of calcineurin belonging to the calcipressin family is an important parallel strategy. We previously identified the gene cbpA as the A. fumigatus calcipressin member and showed its involvement in hyphal growth and calcium homeostasis. However, the mechanism of its activation/inhibition through phosphorylation and its interaction with calcineurin remains unknown. Here we show that A. fumigatus CbpA is phosphorylated at three distinct domains, including the conserved SP repeat motif (phosphorylated domain-I; PD-I), a filamentous fungal-specific domain (PD-II), and the C-terminal CIC motif (Calcipressin Inhibitor of Calcineurin; PD-III). While mutation of three phosphorylated residues (Ser208, Ser217, Ser223) in the PD-II did not affect CbpA function in vivo, mutation of the two phosphorylated serines (Ser156, Ser160) in the SP repeat motif caused reduced hyphal growth and sensitivity to oxidative stress. Mutational analysis in the key domains in calcineurin A (CnaA) and proteomic interaction studies confirmed the requirement of PxIxIT motif-binding residues (352-NIR-354) and the calcineurin B (CnaB)-binding helix residue (V371) for the binding of CbpA to CnaA. Additionally, while the calmodulin-binding residues (442-RVF-444) did not affect CbpA binding to CnaA, three mutations (T359P, H361L, and L365S) clustered between the CnaA catalytic and the CnaB-binding helix were also required for CbpA binding. This is the first study to analyze the phosphorylation status of calcipressin in filamentous fungi and identify the domains required for binding to calcineurin
Demagnetization via Nucleation of the Nonequilibrium Metastable Phase in a Model of Disorder
We study both analytically and numerically metastability and nucleation in a
two-dimensional nonequilibrium Ising ferromagnet. Canonical equilibrium is
dynamically impeded by a weak random perturbation which models homogeneous
disorder of undetermined source. We present a simple theoretical description,
in perfect agreement with Monte Carlo simulations, assuming that the decay of
the nonequilibrium metastable state is due, as in equilibrium, to the
competition between the surface and the bulk. This suggests one to accept a
nonequilibrium "free-energy" at a mesoscopic/cluster level, and it ensues a
nonequilibrium "surface tension" with some peculiar low-T behavior. We
illustrate the occurrence of intriguing nonequilibrium phenomena, including:
(i) Noise-enhanced stabilization of nonequilibrium metastable states; (ii)
reentrance of the limit of metastability under strong nonequilibrium
conditions; and (iii) resonant propagation of domain walls. The cooperative
behavior of our system may also be understood in terms of a Langevin equation
with additive and multiplicative noises. We also studied metastability in the
case of open boundaries as it may correspond to a magnetic nanoparticle. We
then observe burst-like relaxation at low T, triggered by the additional
surface randomness, with scale-free avalanches which closely resemble the type
of relaxation reported for many complex systems. We show that this results from
the superposition of many demagnetization events, each with a well- defined
scale which is determined by the curvature of the domain wall at which it
originates. This is an example of (apparent) scale invariance in a
nonequilibrium setting which is not to be associated with any familiar kind of
criticality.Comment: 26 pages, 22 figure
Monitoring local well-being in environmental interventions: a consideration of practical trade-offs
Within the field of environmental management and conservation, the concept of well-being is starting to gain traction in monitoring the socio-economic and cultural impact of interventions on local people. Here we consider the practical trade-offs policy makers and practitioners must navigate when utilizing the concept of well-being in environmental interventions. We first review current concepts of well-being before considering the need to balance the complexity and practical applicability of the definition used and to consider both positive and negative components of well-being. A key determinant of how well-being is operationalized is the identity of the organization wishing to monitor it. We describe the trade-offs around the external and internal validity of different approaches to measuring well-being and the relative contributions of qualitative and quantitative information to understanding well-being. We explore how these trade-offs may be decided as a result of a power struggle between stakeholders. Well-being is a complex, multi-dimensional, dynamic concept that cannot be easily defined and measured. Local perspectives are often missed during the project design process as a result of the more powerful voices of national governments and international NGOs, so for equity and local relevance it is important to ensure these perspectives are represented at a high level in project design and implementation
A comparison of the pharmacokinetics of Aspen Ceftriaxone and Rocephin in community-acquired meningitis
BACKGROUND. Community-acquired bacterial meningitis (CABM) is a life-threatening condition that is common among immunocompromised
individuals. Intravenous ceftriaxone, of which Rocephin (ROC) is the originator brand, is recommended as first-line therapy in South
Africa. Despite concerns regarding therapeutic equivalence with generic agents, this is the first study that has been conducted comparing
clinical pharmacokinetics (PK) of a generic ceftriaxone formulation with the originator.
OBJECTIVE. To compare the PK and safety of Aspen Ceftriaxone (AC) and ROC in the treatment of adult CABM.
METHODS. A total of 63 eligible patients were randomised 1:1 to receive 2 g of either medication twice daily for a duration based on the
identity of the causative organism and their physician’s clinical judgment. The primary endpoint of this study was the comparison of clinical
PK, specifically the concentrations of each drug in the cerebrospinal fluid with corresponding paired plasma samples. While this study was
underpowered to assess efficacy, safety could be evaluated on the basis of reported adverse events.
RESULTS. The two patient groups were epidemiologically similar. There were no statistically significant differences in PK between either agent,
nor any difference with regard to safety.
CONCLUSION. AC can be considered as equivalent to ROC with regard to PK and safety in patients with CABM.Aspen Pharmacare Ltd, SA.http://www.samj.org.zaam2014ay201
Neonatal intervention
Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/68335/2/10.1177_027112148300300105.pd
Search for displaced vertices arising from decays of new heavy particles in 7 TeV pp collisions at ATLAS
We present the results of a search for new, heavy particles that decay at a
significant distance from their production point into a final state containing
charged hadrons in association with a high-momentum muon. The search is
conducted in a pp-collision data sample with a center-of-mass energy of 7 TeV
and an integrated luminosity of 33 pb^-1 collected in 2010 by the ATLAS
detector operating at the Large Hadron Collider. Production of such particles
is expected in various scenarios of physics beyond the standard model. We
observe no signal and place limits on the production cross-section of
supersymmetric particles in an R-parity-violating scenario as a function of the
neutralino lifetime. Limits are presented for different squark and neutralino
masses, enabling extension of the limits to a variety of other models.Comment: 8 pages plus author list (20 pages total), 8 figures, 1 table, final
version to appear in Physics Letters
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