Heuristic Algorithms for the Approximation of Mutual Coherence

Mutual coherence is a measure of similarity between two opinions. Although the notion comes from philosophy, it is essential for a wide range of technologies, e.g., the Wahl-O-Mat system. In Germany, this system helps voters to find candidates that are the closest to their political preferences. The exact computation of mutual coherence is highly time-consuming due to the iteration over all subsets of an opinion. Moreover, for every subset, an instance of the SAT model counting problem has to be solved which is known to be a hard problem in computer science. This work is the first study to accelerate this computation. We model the distribution of the so-called confirmation values as a mixture of three Gaussians and present efficient heuristics to estimate its model parameters. The mutual coherence is then approximated with the expected value of the distribution. Some of the presented algorithms are fully polynomial-time, others only require solving a small number of instances of the SAT model counting problem. The average squared error of our best algorithm lies below 0.0035 which is insignificant if the efficiency is taken into account. Furthermore, the accuracy is precise enough to be used in Wahl-O-Mat-like systems.Comment: Results from 202

Development and characterization of a new human hepatic cell line

The increasing demand and hampered use of primary human hepatocytes for research purposes have urged scientists to search for alternative cell sources, such as immortalized hepatic cell lines. The aim of this study was to develop a human hepatic cell line using the combined overexpression of TERT and the cell cycle regulators cyclin D1 and mutant isoform CDK4R24C. Following transduction of adult human primary hepatocytes with the selected immortalization genes, cell growth was triggered and a cell line was established. When cultured under appropriate conditions, the cell line expressed several hepatocytic markers and liver-enriched transcription factors at the transcriptional and/or translational level, secreted liver-specific proteins and showed glycogen deposition. These results suggest that the immortalization strategy applied to primary human hepatocytes could generate a novel hepatic cell line that seems to retain some key hepatic characteristics

Development and characterization of a new human hepatic cell line

The increasing demand and hampered use of primary human hepatocytes for research purposes have urged scientists to search for alternative cell sources, such as immortalized hepatic cell lines. The aim of this study was to develop a human hepatic cell line using the combined overexpression of TERT and the cell cycle regulators cyclin D1 and mutant isoform CDK4R24C. Following transduction of adult human primary hepatocytes with the selected immortalization genes, cell growth was triggered and a cell line was established. When cultured under appropriate conditions, the cell line expressed several hepatocytic markers and liver-enriched transcription factors at the transcriptional and/or translational level, secreted liver-specific proteins and showed glycogen deposition. These results suggest that the immortalization strategy applied to primary human hepatocytes could generate a novel hepatic cell line that seems to retain some key hepatic characteristics

Relação entre a organização da sala de aula em grupos e a participação dos estudantes em atividades de produção oral nas aulas de inglês como língua estrangeira em uma escola secundaria no Chile

In the Chilean context, classrooms tend to have a vertical distribution of seats and desks, commonly known as rows. This action research aims to investigate the effects of changing this distribution from rows to separate tables in students’ participation in speaking activities in efl lessons. This study was carried out over a month and it consisted of two phases: the first, under the orderly rows, and the second, under the separate-table seating arrangement. Each phase was recorded and a sample of students was interviewed for the analysis of their perception of the two different seating arrangements and their participation in classes. The results showed that separate tables enhance interaction among learners, who had a positive attitude towards the new organization and seemed intrinsically motivated to participate in efl lessons. However, Spanish was mostly used. Nonetheless, the participants cherished the opportunity to interact with their classmates in a relaxed, inviting environment.  En el contexto chileno, las salas de clases tienden a tener una organización vertical, comúnmente conocida como filas. Este trabajo de investigación-acción busca conocer los efectos de cambiar esta distribución de filas a grupos, en la participación de los estudiantes en actividades de producción oral en clases de inglés. Este estudio fue llevado a cabo durante un mes y comprendió dos fases: la primera, con la sala de clases organizada en filas, y la segunda, en grupos. Cada fase fue grabada y se entrevistó a una muestra de estudiantes para analizar sus percepciones sobre los dos tipos de organización y su participación en clases. Los resultados mostraron que la organización en grupos estimula la interacción entre los estudiantes, quienes muestran una actitud positiva hacia la nueva organización de la sala de clases y parecen motivados a participar, aun cuando mayoritariamente hablaron en español. No obstante, los participantes valoraron la oportunidad de interactuar con sus compañeros en un ambiente relajado y acogedor. No chile, as salas de aula têm usualmente uma organização vertical, conhecida como linhas. Esta investigação ação procura conhecer os efeitos ao mudar essa distribuição de linhas para grupos na participação dos estudantes em atividades de produção oral em aulas de inglês. Esse estudo foi desenvolvido durante um mês em duas fases: a primeira, utilizando linhas e a segunda, grupos. Cada fase foi gravada e uma mostra de estudantes foram entrevistados para a análise de suas percepções sobre os tipos de organização e sua participação na aula. Os resultados mostraram que a organização em grupos estimula a interação entre os estudantes, eles exibem uma atitude positiva frente a nova organização da sala de aula e parecem motivados para participar, mesmo se o espanhol foi utilizado a maior parte do tempo. Contudo, os participantes valoraram a oportunidade de interatuar com seus companheiros em um ambiente descontraído e acolhedor.

Biomarkers of basal cell carcinoma resistance to methyl-aminolevulinate photodynamic therapy

This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. Background Methyl-aminolevulinate photodynamic therapy (MAL-PDT) is an excellent option for the treatment of basal cell carcinoma (BCC). However, up to 25% of cases are resistant to this treatment modality. Objective The aim of this study was to identify potential biomarkers of BCC response to MAL-PDT. Material and methods Clinical, histological, and immunohistochemical (p53, Ki-67, CD-31, COX2, β-catenin, EGFR, and survivin) variables were analyzed in a retrospective study of consecutive BCC patients treated with MAL-PDT at the San Jorge Hospital, Huesca, Spain between January 2006 and December 2015. To deepen on these markers, the effects on p53 and cyclin D1 expression, in vitro response to MAL-PDT of 2 murine BCC cell lines (ASZ and BSZ), was also evaluated. Results The retrospective study examined the response to MAL-PDT of 390 BCCs from 182 patients. The overall clinical response rate was 82.8%, with a mean follow-up time of 35.96 months (SD = 23.46). Immunohistochemistry revealed positive p53 in 84.6% of responders but only 15.4% of nonresponsive tumors (p = 0.011). Tumors with increased peripheral palisading of basal cell islands to immunostaining β-catenin responded poorly to PDT (p = 0.01). In line with our findings in patients, in vitro studies revealed a better response to PDT in the p53-positive ASZ cell line than the p53-negative BSZ cell line (p<0.01). Multivariate analysis revealed that the following variables were significantly associated with response to PDT: age, nBCC, presence of peritumoral inflammatory infiltrate, and p53 immunopositivity. Patients with positive p53 immunostaining were 68.54 times more likely to achieve cure than p53-negative patients (CI95% 2.94–159.8) Conclusion Our finding suggest that certain clinicopathological and immunohistochemical variables, particularly p53 expression, may serve as indicators of BCC response to MAL-PDT, and thus facilitate the selection of patients who are most likely to benefit from this therapyThis project received support from the Instituto de Salud Carlos III and Fondos Feder Europeos, MINECO (FIS PI15/00974). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscrip

Performance of UK wastewater treatment works with respect to trace contaminants

This is the post-print version of the final paper published in Science of Total Environment. The published article is available from the link below. Changes resulting from the publishing process, such as peer review, editing, corrections, structural formatting, and other quality control mechanisms may not be reflected in this document. Changes may have been made to this work since it was submitted for publication. Copyright @ 2013 Elsevier B.V.This study examined the performance of 16 wastewater treatment works to provide an overview of trace substance removal in relation to meeting the objectives of the Water Framework Directive (WFD). Collection and analysis of over 2400 samples including sewage influent, process samples at different stages in the treatment process and final effluent has provided data on the performance of current wastewater treatment processes and made it possible to evaluate the need for improved effluent quality. Results for 55 substances, including metals, industrial chemicals and pharmaceuticals are reported. Data for sanitary parameters are also provided. A wide range of removal efficiencies was observed. Removal was not clearly related to the generic process type, indicating that other operational factors tend to be important. Nonetheless, removals for many substances of current concern were high. Despite this, current proposals for stringent water quality standards mean that further improvements in effluent quality are likely to be required

Features of the structural organization and biomorphology of dominant plant species of Holarctic seas’ coasts along the tidal gradient

Investigations of the population and biomorphology of dominant species Plantago maritima L. (fam. Plantaginaceae) and Triglochin maritima L. (fam. Juncaginaceae) along the tidal gradient of the coasts of the White Sea are presented. The western coast of the White Sea has been chosen as a sample of Holarctic seas’ coasts. These 2 euhalophyte species represent a group of the allochthonous elements that came from to the Arctic coasts the Middle Asia in the Pliocene-Pleistocene time. In our study, we evaluated structural and functional characteristics of populations of the two species along the tidal gradient. We found that vitality-ontogenetic structure of the populations and their biomorphological characteristics significantly differ depending on the tidal level and substrate structure. The different adaptive peculiarities of these species growing in these habitats were observed. Along the gradient from sea level to the native shore, the biomorphological indexes (number of shoots per plant, number of leaves per shoots, leaves parameters, length of the floriferous stem and spike, dry mass of aboveground shoots of plants) of the Triglochin maritima populations significantly decreased, while the same indexes of the Plantago maritima populations increased. The obtained results show the significant variability of all morphometric parameters of vegetative organs as well as generative features along the tidal gradient of these circumpolar plant species

Moscow youth non-governmental organizations as a youth behavior regulator

The Russian youth of today are inhomogeneous in terms of their composition, deeply polarized as to their social, national and ethnic characteristics and have unequal opportunities for starting their lives and careers.   The objective of this research is to identify the preventive influence of youth non-governmental organizations on the illegal activities of students and reduction of the manifestations of destructive behavior patterns. The obtained results have shown that the general mood of participants of youth non-governmental organizations consists in preservation of the identity of each non-governmental organization, defining it as a unique establishment with its own elaborated solutions and effectiveness. It has been found that the main focus areas of Moscow youth non-governmental organizations are very diverse and embrace nearly all spheres of social life

Fideicomiso operativo

El presente trabajo de investigación tiene por objeto estudiar los fideicomisos operativos y los efectos de su utilización en Argentina en la actualidad, sirviendo como guía a los Contadores Públicos, ya que escasea la bibliografía en sus aspectos contables e impositivos. El tema de estudio fue elegido debido a que a partir de la crisis del 2001 que sufrió la Argentina, la utilización de fideicomisos fue un excelente medio para garantizar el cumplimiento de los distintos proyectos, que a su vez generaron un importante desarrollo económico. El fideicomiso se encuentra dentro de las figuras jurídicas que buscan darle al sistema económico una herramienta que permita hacer cumplir funciones tales como: limitación de la responsabilidad, mediante la afectación de un patrimonio a un objeto específico, resultando ese patrimonio la única fuente de garantía de los acreedores del fideicomiso, asegurar el cumplimiento del negocio subyacente a través de la separación patrimonial.Fil: Giménez Vera, Carla Denis. Universidad Nacional de Cuyo. Facultad de Ciencias Económicas.Fil: Martín, Tamara Elisabeth. Universidad Nacional de Cuyo. Facultad de Ciencias Económicas.Fil: Martínez, Andrés Damián. Universidad Nacional de Cuyo. Facultad de Ciencias Económicas

Effects of Trichostatin A on drug uptake transporters in primary rat hepatocyte cultures

The present study was set up to investigate the effects of Trichostatin A (TSA), a prototypical epigenetic modifier, on the expression and activity of hepatic drug uptake transporters in primary cultured rat hepatocytes. To this end, the expression of the sinusoidal transporters sodium-dependent taurocholate cotransporting polypeptide (Ntcp) and organic anion transporting polypeptide 4 (Oatp4) was monitored by real-time quantitative reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction analysis and immunoblotting. The activity of the uptake transporters was analyzed using radiolabeled substrates and chemical inhibitors. Downregulation of the expression and activity of Oatp4 and Ntcp was observed as a function of the cultivation time and could not be counteracted by TSA. In conclusion, the epigenetic modifier TSA does not seem to exert a positive effect on the expression and activity of the investigated uptake transporters in primary rat hepatocyte cultures