Anveshak - A Groundtruth Generation Tool for Foreground Regions of Document Images

We propose a graphical user interface based groundtruth generation tool in this paper. Here, annotation of an input document image is done based on the foreground pixels. Foreground pixels are grouped together with user interaction to form labeling units. These units are then labeled by the user with the user defined labels. The output produced by the tool is an image with an XML file containing its metadata information. This annotated data can be further used in different applications of document image analysis.Comment: Accepted in DAR 201

Research note: The influence of micro-oxygenation on the long-term ageing ability of Pinot noir wine

In this study, Pinot noir wines were bottle aged for 12 and 18 months after micro-oxygenation (MOX) applied before or after malolactic fermentation (MLF) at two doses (10.8 and 52.4 mg/L/month). After ageing, a greater decrease in the total SO₂ concentration was found in wines with the higher MOX dosage, demonstrating a long-term impact of higher oxygen exposure on wines’ SO₂ requirement. Meanwhile, a negative impact of MOX on wine colour development occurred over time, resulting in a large loss of colour measures (i.e., 420 nm for brown hues, 520 nm for red colour, SO₂ resistant pigments, and colour intensity), which was greater with the early oxygen exposure. This was linked to a significantly lower content of large polymeric pigments in MOX treatments. Tannin concentration was, in the end, not affected by the MOX treatments. However, regarding tannin composition, considerably higher (-)-epicatechin extension units but much lower (-)-epicatechin terminal units were found with MOX treatments. In addition, a significant reduction of tannin trihydroxylation (%Tri-OH) but a higher galloylation (%Galloyl) and mean degree of tannin polymerisation (mDP) remained in wines with MOX, indicating a long-term negative influence on astringency intensity

What role for the bioeconomy in an electrified transportation sector?

The growth of the bioeconomy has recently been slowed by over production of petroleum and natural gas from unconventional domestic reserves, which has reduced demand for biofuels. In the longer term, liquid transportation fuels, both petroleum- and bio-based, are threatened by electrification of the transportation sector, which will benefit from the use of low-cost natural gas to generate electricity for battery electric vehicles. Low-cost natural gas in the USA is attractive for other applications as well, including the production of certain petrochemicals. On the other hand, natural gas is not suitable for producing many high molecular weight petrochemicals. Cost-competitive biorenewable versions of these products will need to be commercialized if petroleum is to be displaced without causing substantial economic distortions. This article reviews the available bio-based pathways and the current state of research on their technical and, where available, economic feasibility

Congenic Strain Analysis Reveals Genes That Are Rapidly Evolving Components of a Prezygotic Isolation Mechanism Mediating Incipient Reinforcement

Two decades ago, we developed a congenic strain of Mus musculus, called b-congenic, by replacing the androgen-binding protein Abpa27a allele in the C3H/HeJ genome with the Abpa27b allele from DBA/2J. We and other researchers used this b-congenic strain and its C3H counterpart, the a-congenic strain, to test the hypothesis that, given the choice between signals from two strains with different a27 alleles on the same genetic background, test subjects would prefer the homosubspecific one. It was our purpose in undertaking this study to characterize the segment transferred from DBA to the C3H background in producing the b-congenic strain on which a role for ABPA27 in behavior has been predicated. We determined the size of the chromosome 7 segment transferred from DBA and the genes it contains that might influence preference. We found that the “functional" DBA segment is about 1% the size of the mouse haploid genome and contains at least 29 genes expressed in salivary glands, however, only three of these encode proteins identified in the mouse salivary proteome. At least two of the three genes Abpa27, Abpbg26 and Abpbg27 encoding the subunits of androgen-binding protein ABP dimers evolved under positive selection and the third one may have also. In the sense that they are subunits of the same two functional entities, the ABP dimers, we propose that their evolutionary histories might not be independent of each other

Neither phylogenomic nor palaeontological data support a Palaeogene origin of placental mammals.

O'Leary et al. (O'Leary et al. 2013 Science 339, 662-667. (doi:10.1126/science.1229237)) performed a fossil-only dating analysis of mammals, concluding that the ancestor of placentals post-dated the Cretaceous-Palaeogene boundary, contradicting previous palaeontological and molecular studies that placed the ancestor in the Cretaceous. They incorrectly used fossil ages as species divergence times for crown groups, while in fact the former should merely form minimum-age bounds for the latter. Statistical analyses of the fossil record have shown that crown groups are significantly older than the oldest ingroup fossil, so that fossils do not directly reflect the true ages of clades. Here, we analyse a 20 million nucleotide genome-scale alignment in conjunction with a probabilistic interpretation of the fossil ages from O'Leary et al. Our combined analysis of fossils and molecules demonstrates that Placentalia originated in the Cretaceous.This work was financially supported by BBSRC grant no. BB/J009709/1

Cyclostationary signatures for cognitive radio applications and novel multiple access systems

This paper provides a theoretical discussion of two key and ongoing topics in wireless networks, namely spectrum availability and system capacity. Cognitive radio is the current state-of-the-art technology for tackling the former issue. Solutions for the latter topic are usually interference-limited or come at the cost of impractical computational complexity. The use of cyclostationary signatures for OFDM-based systems has recently been suggested to address the aforementioned research challenges

Exploration of a potent PI3 kinase/mTOR inhibitor as a novel anti-fibrotic agent in IPF

© 2016 BMJ Publishing Group Ltd & British Thoracic Society.Rationale Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is the most rapidly progressive and fatal of all fibrotic conditions with no curative therapies. Common pathomechanisms between IPF and cancer are increasingly recognised, including dysfunctional pan-PI3 kinase (PI3K) signalling as a driver of aberrant proliferative responses. GSK2126458 is a novel, potent, PI3K/mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) inhibitor which has recently completed phase I trials in the oncology setting. Our aim was to establish a scientific and dosing framework for PI3K inhibition with this agent in IPF at a clinically developable dose. Methods We explored evidence for pathway signalling in IPF lung tissue and examined the potency of GSK2126458 in fibroblast functional assays and precision-cut IPF lung tissue. We further explored the potential of IPF patient-derived bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) cells to serve as pharmacodynamic biosensors to monitor GSK2126458 target engagement within the lung. Results We provide evidence for PI3K pathway activation in fibrotic foci, the cardinal lesions in IPF. GSK2126458 inhibited PI3K signalling and functional responses in IPF-derived lung fibroblasts, inhibiting Akt phosphorylation in IPF lung tissue and BAL derived cells with comparable potency. Integration of these data with GSK2126458 pharmacokinetic data from clinical trials in cancer enabled modelling of an optimal dosing regimen for patients with IPF. Conclusions Our data define PI3K as a promising therapeutic target in IPF and provide a scientific and dosing framework for progressing GSK2126458 to clinical testing in this disease setting. A proof-ofmechanism trial of this agent is currently underway. Trial registration number NCT01725139, pre-clinical

Anomalous structure in the single particle spectrum of the fractional quantum Hall effect

The two-dimensional electron system (2DES) is a unique laboratory for the physics of interacting particles. Application of a large magnetic field produces massively degenerate quantum levels known as Landau levels. Within a Landau level the kinetic energy of the electrons is suppressed, and electron-electron interactions set the only energy scale. Coulomb interactions break the degeneracy of the Landau levels and can cause the electrons to order into complex ground states. In the high energy single particle spectrum of this system, we observe salient and unexpected structure that extends across a wide range of Landau level filling fractions. The structure appears only when the 2DES is cooled to very low temperature, indicating that it arises from delicate ground state correlations. We characterize this structure by its evolution with changing electron density and applied magnetic field. We present two possible models for understanding these observations. Some of the energies of the features agree qualitatively with what might be expected for composite Fermions, which have proven effective for interpreting other experiments in this regime. At the same time, a simple model with electrons localized on ordered lattice sites also generates structure similar to those observed in the experiment. Neither of these models alone is sufficient to explain the observations across the entire range of densities measured. The discovery of this unexpected prominent structure in the single particle spectrum of an otherwise thoroughly studied system suggests that there exist core features of the 2DES that have yet to be understood.Comment: 15 pages, 10 figure

Cardiac action of the first G protein biased small molecule apelin agonist.

Apelin peptide analogues displaying bias towards G protein signalling pathways have beneficial cardiovascular actions compared with the native peptide in humans in vivo. Our aim was to determine whether small molecule agonists could retain G protein bias. We have identified a biased small molecule, CMF-019, and characterised it in vitro and in vivo. In competition radioligand binding experiments in heart homogenates, CMF-019 bound to the human, rat and mouse apelin receptor with high affinity (pKi=8.58±0.04, 8.49±0.04 and 8.71±0.06 respectively). In cell-based functional assays, whereas, CMF-019 showed similar potency for the Gαi pathway to the endogenous agonist [Pyr(1)]apelin-13 (pD2=10.00±0.13 vs 9.34±0.15), in β-arrestin and internalisation assays it was less potent (pD2=6.65±0.15 vs 8.65±0.10 and pD2=6.16±0.21 vs 9.28±0.10 respectively). Analysis of these data demonstrated a bias of ∼400 for the Gαi over the β-arrestin pathway and ∼6000 over receptor internalisation. CMF-019 was tested for in vivo activity using intravenous injections into anaesthetised male Sprague-Dawley rats fitted with a pressure-volume catheter in the left ventricle. CMF-019 caused a significant increase in cardiac contractility of 606±112mmHg/s (p<0.001) at 500nmol. CMF-019 is the first biased small molecule identified at the apelin receptor and increases cardiac contractility in vivo. We have demonstrated that Gαi over β-arrestin/internalisation bias can be retained in a non-peptide analogue and predict that such bias will have the therapeutic benefit following chronic use. CMF-019 is suitable as a tool compound and provides the basis for design of biased agonists with improved pharmacokinetics for treatment of cardiovascular conditions such as pulmonary arterial hypertension.British Heart Foundation [FS/14/59/31282]; Wellcome Trust [WT107715/Z/15/Z], Wellcome Trust Programme in Metabolic and Cardiovascular Disease [096822/Z/11/Z]; Medical Research Council [MRC MC PC 14116]; Pulmonary Hypertension Association UK; Cambridge Biomedical Research Centre Biomedical Resources Grant University of Cambridge [099156/Z/12/Z]; Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council [EP/M506552/1]; Biomedical Health Research Centre, University of Leed