2,743 research outputs found
Science Models as Value-Added Services for Scholarly Information Systems
The paper introduces scholarly Information Retrieval (IR) as a further
dimension that should be considered in the science modeling debate. The IR use
case is seen as a validation model of the adequacy of science models in
representing and predicting structure and dynamics in science. Particular
conceptualizations of scholarly activity and structures in science are used as
value-added search services to improve retrieval quality: a co-word model
depicting the cognitive structure of a field (used for query expansion), the
Bradford law of information concentration, and a model of co-authorship
networks (both used for re-ranking search results). An evaluation of the
retrieval quality when science model driven services are used turned out that
the models proposed actually provide beneficial effects to retrieval quality.
From an IR perspective, the models studied are therefore verified as expressive
conceptualizations of central phenomena in science. Thus, it could be shown
that the IR perspective can significantly contribute to a better understanding
of scholarly structures and activities.Comment: 26 pages, to appear in Scientometric
Case study in six sigma methadology : manufacturing quality improvement and guidence for managers
This article discusses the successful implementation of Six Sigma methodology in a high precision and critical process in the manufacture of automotive products. The Six Sigma define–measure–analyse–improve–control approach resulted in a reduction of tolerance-related problems and improved the first pass yield from 85% to 99.4%. Data were collected on all possible causes and regression analysis, hypothesis testing, Taguchi methods, classification and regression tree, etc. were used to analyse the data and draw conclusions. Implementation of Six Sigma methodology had a significant financial impact on the profitability of the company. An approximate saving of US$70,000 per annum was reported, which is in addition to the customer-facing benefits of improved quality on returns and sales. The project also had the benefit of allowing the company to learn useful messages that will guide future Six Sigma activities
Privacy in crowdsourcing:a systematic review
The advent of crowdsourcing has brought with it multiple privacy challenges. For example, essential monitoring activities, while necessary and unavoidable, also potentially compromise contributor privacy. We conducted an extensive literature review of the research related to the privacy aspects of crowdsourcing. Our investigation revealed interesting gender differences and also differences in terms of individual perceptions. We conclude by suggesting a number of future research directions.</p
Compensated right ventricular function of the onset of pulmonary hypertension in a rat model depends on chamber remodeling and contractile augmentation.
Right-ventricular function is a good indicator of pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) prognosis; however, how the right ventricle (RV) adapts to the pressure overload is not well understood. Here, we aimed at characterizing the time course of RV early remodeling and discriminate the contribution of ventricular geometric remodeling and intrinsic changes in myocardial mechanical properties in a monocrotaline (MCT) animal model. In a longitudinal study of PAH, ventricular morphology and function were assessed weekly during the first four weeks after MCT exposure. Using invasive measurements of RV pressure and volume, heart performance was evaluated at end of systole and diastole to quantify contractility (end-systolic elastance) and chamber stiffness (end-diastolic elastance). To distinguish between morphological and intrinsic mechanisms, a computational model of the RV was developed and used to determine the level of prediction when accounting for wall masses and unloaded volume measurements changes. By four weeks, mean pulmonary arterial pressure and elastance rose significantly. RV pressures rose significantly after the second week accompanied by significant RV hypertrophy, but RV stroke volume and cardiac output were maintained. The model analysis suggested that, after two weeks, this compensation was only possible due to a significant increase in the intrinsic inotropy of RV myocardium. We conclude that this MCT-PAH rat is a model of RV compensation during the first month after treatment, where geometric remodeling on EDPVR and increased myocardial contractility on ESPVR are the major mechanisms by which stroke volume is preserved in the setting of elevated pulmonary arterial pressure. The mediators of this compensation might themselves promote longer-term adverse remodeling and decompensation in this animal model
Structural basis for the RING catalyzed synthesis of K63 linked ubiquitin chains
This work was supported by grants from Cancer Research UK (C434/A13067), the Wellcome Trust (098391/Z/12/Z) and Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BB/J016004/1).The RING E3 ligase catalysed formation of lysine 63 linked ubiquitin chains by the Ube2V2–Ubc13 E2 complex is required for many important biological processes. Here we report the structure of the RING domain dimer of rat RNF4 in complex with a human Ubc13~Ub conjugate and Ube2V2. The structure has captured Ube2V2 bound to the acceptor (priming) ubiquitin with Lys63 in a position that could lead to attack on the linkage between the donor (second) ubiquitin and Ubc13 that is held in the active “folded back” conformation by the RING domain of RNF4. The interfaces identified in the structure were verified by in vitro ubiquitination assays of site directed mutants. This represents the first view of the synthesis of Lys63 linked ubiquitin chains in which both substrate ubiquitin and ubiquitin-loaded E2 are juxtaposed to allow E3 ligase mediated catalysis.PostprintPeer reviewe
Consistent model of magnetism in ferropnictides
The discovery of superconductivity in LaFeAsO introduced the ferropnictides
as a major new class of superconducting compounds with critical temperatures
second only to cuprates. The presence of magnetic iron makes ferropnictides
radically different from cuprates. Antiferromagnetism of the parent compounds
strongly suggests that superconductivity and magnetism are closely related.
However, the character of magnetic interactions and spin fluctuations in
ferropnictides, in spite of vigorous efforts, has until now resisted
understanding within any conventional model of magnetism. Here we show that the
most puzzling features can be naturally reconciled within a rather simple
effective spin model with biquadratic interactions, which is consistent with
electronic structure calculations. By going beyond the Heisenberg model, this
description explains numerous experimentally observed properties, including the
peculiarities of the spin wave spectrum, thin domain walls, crossover from
first to second order phase transition under doping in some compounds, and
offers new insight in the occurrence of the nematic phase above the
antiferromagnetic phase transition.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figures, revtex
Occupational Exposure to Benzene and Chromosomal Structural Aberrations in the Sperm of Chinese Men
Background: Benzene is an industrial chemical that causes blood disorders, including acute myeloid leukemia. We previously reported that occupational exposures near the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration permissible exposure limit (8 hr) of 1 ppm was associated with sperm aneuploidy
Association between HIV replication and serum leptin levels: an observational study of a cohort of HIV-1-infected South African women
<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Advanced HIV infection can result in lipoatrophy and wasting, even in the absence of ongoing opportunistic infections, suggesting that HIV may directly affect adipose tissue amount and distribution.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>We assessed the relationship of fat (measured using anthropometry, DEXA, MRI scans) or markers related to glucose and lipid metabolism with viral load in a cross-sectional sample of 83 antiretroviral-naïve HIV-1-infected South African women. A multivariable linear model was fitted to log<sub>10</sub>VL to assess the combined effect of these variables.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>In addition to higher T cell activation, women with viral load greater than the population median had lower waist circumference, body mass index and subcutaneous abdominal fat, as well as lower serum leptin. We demonstrate that leptin serum levels are inversely associated with viral replication, independent of the amount of adipose tissue. This association is maintained after adjusting for multiple variables associated with disease progression (i.e., cellular activation and innate immunity effector levels).</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Our results demonstrate that serum leptin levels are inversely associated with viral replication, independent of disease progression: we postulate that leptin may affect viral replication.</p
The ‘new normality’ in research? What message are we conveying our medical students?
The impact of COVID-19
on medical education has been
mainly viewed from the perspective of the imposed transition
from face-to-
face
to online delivery of information and
the inforced stopping of practical teaching in hospitals.1-5
However, unfortunately, the deleterious effects of COVID-19
on how research findings are obtained, communicated and
valued needs also careful consideration. Whilst teaching students
that it is a genuinely exciting and unique time to be
in medicine, as teachers of a subject entitled ‘Introduction
to Research’ to second-year
medical students, we feel particularly
worried about what the handling of the pandemia
is transmitting our future physicians. Now, more than ever
before, scholars need to reaffirm the importance on how research
findings are obtained and communicated
Magnetism and its microscopic origin in iron-based high-temperature superconductors
High-temperature superconductivity in the iron-based materials emerges from,
or sometimes coexists with, their metallic or insulating parent compound
states. This is surprising since these undoped states display dramatically
different antiferromagnetic (AF) spin arrangements and Nel
temperatures. Although there is general consensus that magnetic interactions
are important for superconductivity, much is still unknown concerning the
microscopic origin of the magnetic states. In this review, progress in this
area is summarized, focusing on recent experimental and theoretical results and
discussing their microscopic implications. It is concluded that the parent
compounds are in a state that is more complex than implied by a simple Fermi
surface nesting scenario, and a dual description including both itinerant and
localized degrees of freedom is needed to properly describe these fascinating
materials.Comment: 14 pages, 4 figures, Review article, accepted for publication in
Nature Physic
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