6,833 research outputs found
Compliance as a factor of preserving the reputation of industrial enterprises
When managing reputational risk in an enterprise, trust issues are key. We believe that the mechanism of reputational compliance should be aimed not so much at preventing reputational risk, but at forming trust relationships within business processes. Trust is built primarily on informational openness. Therefore, transparency is considered as one of the principles of good corporate governance
Gamma-Ray Bursts: Temporal Scales and the Bulk Lorentz Factor
For a sample of Swift and Fermi GRBs, we show that the minimum variability
timescale and the spectral lag of the prompt emission is related to the bulk
Lorentz factor in a complex manner: For small 's, the variability
timescale exhibits a shallow (plateau) region. For large 's, the
variability timescale declines steeply as a function of (). Evidence is also presented for an intriguing
correlation between the peak times, t, of the afterglow emission and the
prompt emission variability timescale.Comment: Accepted for publication in Ap
The efficiency of municipal wastewater treatment with the reconstructed activated sludge method
Analysis of Sub-threshold Short Gamma-ray Bursts in Fermi GBM Data
The Fermi Gamma-ray Burst Monitor (GBM) is currently the most prolific
detector of Gamma-Ray Bursts (GRBs). Recently the detection rate of short GRBs
(SGRBs) has been dramatically increased through the use of ground-based
searches that analyze GBM continuous time tagged event (CTTE) data. Here we
examine the efficiency of a method developed to search CTTE data for
sub-threshold transient events in temporal coincidence with LIGO/Virgo compact
binary coalescence triggers. This targeted search operates by coherently
combining data from all 14 GBM detectors by taking into account the complex
spatial and energy dependent response of each detector. We use the method to
examine a sample of SGRBs that were independently detected by the Burst Alert
Telescope on board the Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory, but which were too
intrinsically weak or viewed with unfavorable instrument geometry to initiate
an on-board trigger of GBM. We find that the search can successfully recover a
majority of the BAT detected sample in the CTTE data. We show that the targeted
search of CTTE data will be crucial in increasing the GBM sensitivity, and
hence the gamma-ray horizon, to weak events such as GRB 170817A. We also
examine the properties of the GBM signal possibly associated with the LIGO
detection of GW150914 and show that it is consistent with the observed
properties of other sub-threshold SGRBs in our sample. We find that the
targeted search is capable of recovering true astrophysical signals as weak as
the signal associated with GW150914 in the untriggered data.Comment: 10 pages, 9 figures, 1 table, submitted to Ap
Learning of Signaling Networks: Molecular Mechanisms
Molecular processes of neuronal learning have been well described. However, learning mechanisms of non-neuronal cells are not yet fully understood at the molecular level. Here, we discuss molecular mechanisms of cellular learning, including conformational memory of intrinsically disordered proteins (IDPs) and prions, signaling cascades, protein translocation, RNAs [miRNA and long noncoding RNA (lncRNA)], and chromatin memory. We hypothesize that these processes constitute the learning of signaling networks and correspond to a generalized Hebbian learning process of single, non-neuronal cells, and we discuss how cellular learning may open novel directions in drug design and inspire new artificial intelligence methods. © 2020 The Author
Numerical modeling of the splitting of magnetic droplets by multiphase lattice Boltzmann equation
A multiphase lattice Boltzmann numerical model driven by an isothermal interaction potential is applied for the splitting of magnetic droplets in elctrowetting-on-dielectric devices. A hydrophilic magnetic plug is considered inside the liquid droplet and successive uniform force fields are applied in order to split this droplet. The numerical results are compared with experiments on water droplets containing plugs of superparamagnetic beads and good agreement is obtained.Un mod\ue8le num\ue9rique de type Boltzmann pour les r\ue9seaux multiphasiques dict\ue9 par un potentiel d\u2019interaction isotherme est appliqu\ue9 \ue0 la s\ue9paration de gouttelettes magn\ue9tiques dans des dispositifs d\u2019\ue9lectromouillage sur di\ue9lectrique. On consid\ue8re un bouchon magn\ue9tique hydrophile \ue0 l\u2019int\ue9rieur de la gouttelette et on applique des champs de force uniformes successifs afin de s\ue9parer cette gouttelette. Les r\ue9sultats des calculs sont compar\ue9s \ue0 ceux d\u2019exp\ue9riences sur des gouttelettes d\u2019eau contenant des bouchons de billes superparamagn\ue9tiques, ils sont en bon accord.Peer reviewed: YesNRC publication: Ye
Haptoglobin Polymorphism: A Novel Genetic Risk Factor for Celiac Disease Development and Its Clinical Manifestations
Background: Haptoglobin (Hp) α-chain alleles 1 and 2 account for 3 phenotypes that may influence the course of inflammatory diseases via biologically important differences in their antioxidant, scavenging, and immunomodulatory properties. Hp1-1 genotype results in the production of small dimeric, Hp2-1 linear, and Hp2-2 cyclic polymeric haptoglobin molecules. We investigated the haptoglobin polymorphism in patients with celiac disease and its possible association to the presenting symptoms.
Methods: We studied 712 unrelated, biopsy-proven Hungarian celiac patients (357 children, 355 adults; severe malabsorption 32.9%, minor gastrointestinal symptoms 22.8%, iron deficiency anemia 9.4%, dermatitis herpetiformis 15.6%, silent disease 7.2%, other 12.1%) and 384 healthy subjects. We determined haptoglobin phenotypes by gel electrophoresis and assigned corresponding genotypes.
Results: Hp2-1 was associated with a significant risk for celiac disease (P = 0.0006, odds ratio [OR] 1.54, 95% CI 1.20–1.98; prevalence 56.9% in patients vs 46.1% in controls). It was also overrepresented among patients with mild symptoms (69.2%) or silent disease (72.5%). Hp2-2 was less frequent in patients than in controls (P = 0.0023), but patients having this phenotype were at an increased risk for severe malabsorption (OR 2.21, 95% CI 1.60–3.07) and accounted for 45.3% of all malabsorption cases. Celiac and dermatitis herpetiformis patients showed similar haptoglobin phenotype distributions.
Conclusions: The haptoglobin polymorphism is associated with susceptibility to celiac disease and its clinical presentations. The predominant genotype in the celiac population was Hp2-1, but Hp2-2 predisposed to a more severe clinical course. The phenotype-dependent effect of haptoglobin may result from the molecule’s structural and functional properties
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