59 research outputs found
NEW shared & interconnected ASL resources: SignStream® 3 Software; DAI 2 for web access to linguistically annotated video corpora; and a sign bank
2017 marked the release of a new version of SignStream® software, designed to facilitate linguistic analysis of ASL video. SignStream® provides an intuitive interface for labeling and time-aligning manual and non-manual components of the signing. Version 3 has many new features. For example, it enables representation of morpho-phonological information, including display of handshapes. An expanding ASL video corpus, annotated through use of SignStream®, is shared publicly on the Web. This corpus (video plus annotations) is Web-accessible—browsable, searchable, and downloadable—thanks to a new, improved version of our Data Access Interface: DAI 2. DAI 2 also offers Web access to a brand new Sign Bank, containing about 10,000 examples of about 3,000 distinct signs, as produced by up to 9 different ASL signers. This Sign Bank is also directly accessible from within SignStream®, thereby boosting the efficiency and consistency of annotation; new items can also be added to the Sign Bank. Soon to be integrated into SignStream® 3 and DAI 2 are visualizations of computer-generated analyses of the video: graphical display of eyebrow height, eye aperture, an
Synergistic Gravity and the Role of Resonances in GRS-Inspired Braneworlds
We consider 5D braneworld models of quasi-localized gravity in which 4D
gravity is reproduced at intermediate scales while the extra dimension opens up
at both the very short and the very long distances, where the geometry is flat.
Our main interest is the interplay between the zero mode of these models,
whenever a normalizable zero mode exists, and the effects of zero energy
graviton resonant modes coming from the contributions of massive KK modes. We
first consider a compactified version of the GRS model and find that
quasi-localized gravity is characterized by a scale for which both the
resonance and the zero mode have significant contribution to 4D gravity. Above
this scale, gravity is primarily mediated by the zero mode, while the resonance
gives only minor corrections. Next, we consider an asymmetric version of the
standard non-compact GRS model, characterized by different cosmological
constants on each AdS side. We show that a resonance is present but the
asymmetry, through the form of the localizing potential, can weaken it,
resulting in a shorter lifetime and, thus, in a shorter distance scale for 4D
gravity. As a third model exhibiting quasi-localization, we consider a version
of the GRS model in which the central positive tension brane has been replaced
by a configuration of a scalar field propagating in the bulk.Comment: 18 pages, 3 figures, added 1 figure, revised version as published in
Class. Quant. Gra
The value of PRL in predicting prolactinοma in hyperprolactinemic PCOS
Background
To identify a serum prolactin (PRL) cut‐off value indicative of a PRL‐producing adenoma in women with Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS) and hyperprolactinemia and characterize such patients.
Materials and methods
In the present retrospective case‐control study the medical records of 528 PCOS women were reviewed. Pituitary magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) was performed in PCOS patients with PRL levels ≥94.0 ng/mL and/or symptoms suspicious of a pituitary adenoma (PA). Prolactinoma diagnosis was made in the presence of an MRI‐identifiable PA with biochemical and radiological response to dopamine agonists. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis was performed to determine a serum PRL threshold that could identify hyperprolactinemic PCOS subjects with prolactinomas. Clinical, metabolic and endocrine parameters were also analysed.
Results
Among 528 patients with PCOS, 60 (11.4%) had elevated PRL levels. Of 44 (73.3%) patients who had pituitary imaging, 19 had PAs, 18 normal MRI and 7 other abnormalities. Patients harboring prolactinomas had significantly higher PRL levels compared to patients without adenomas (median PRL 95.4 vs. 49.2 ng/mL, p<0.0001). A PRL threshold of 85.2 ng/mL could distinguish patients with prolactinomas with 77% sensitivity and 100% specificity [Area Under the curve (AUC) (95%) 0.91(0.8‐1.018), p=0.0001]. PCOS women with prolactinomas were younger and had lower LH levels compared to women without prolactinomas.
Conclusions
In women with PCOS, PRL levels exceeding 85.2 ng/mL are highly suggestive of a prolactinoma warranting pituitary imaging. Pituitary MRI could also be considered in young PCOS patients with milder PRL elevation and low LH levels
Stability of the non-extremal enhancon solution I: perturbation equations
We consider the stability of the two branches of non-extremal enhancon
solutions. We argue that one would expect a transition between the two branches
at some value of the non-extremality, which should manifest itself in some
instability. We study small perturbations of these solutions, constructing a
sufficiently general ansatz for linearised perturbations of the non-extremal
solutions, and show that the linearised equations are consistent. We show that
the simplest kind of perturbation does not lead to any instability. We reduce
the problem of studying the more general spherically symmetric perturbation to
solving a set of three coupled second-order differential equations.Comment: 20 pages, 1 figure, references added, typos fixed, version to appear
in PR
DGP Cosmology with a Non-Minimally Coupled Scalar Field on the Brane
We construct a DGP inspired braneworld scenario where a scalar field
non-minimally coupled to the induced Ricci curvature is present on the brane.
First we investigate the status of gravitational potential with non-minimal
coupling and observational constraints on this non-minimal model. Then we
further deepen the idea of embedding of FRW cosmology in this non-minimal
setup. Cosmological implications of this scenario are examined with details and
the quintessence and late-time expansion of the universe within this framework
are examined. Some observational constraints imposed on this non-minimal
scenario are studied and relation of this model with dark radiation formalism
is determined with details.Comment: 26 pages, 3 eps figure
Glyoxalase 1 copy number variation in patients with well differentiated gastroentero-pancreatic neuroendocrine tumours (GEP-NET)
Background: The glyoxalase-1 gene (GLO1) is a hotspot for copy-number variation (CNV) in human genomes. Increased GLO1 copy-number is associated with multidrug resistance in tumour chemotherapy, but prevalence of GLO1 CNV in gastro-entero-pancreatic neuroendocrine tumours (GEP-NET) is unknown.
Methods: GLO1 copy-number variation was measured in 39 patients with GEP-NET (midgut NET, n = 25; pancreatic NET, n = 14) after curative or debulking surgical treatment. Primary tumour tissue, surrounding healthy tissue and, where applicable, additional metastatic tumour tissue were analysed, using real time qPCR. Progression and survival following surgical treatment were monitored over 4.2 ± 0.5 years.
Results: In the pooled GEP-NET cohort, GLO1 copy-number in healthy tissue was 2.0 in all samples but significantly increased in primary tumour tissue in 43% of patients with pancreatic NET and in 72% of patients with midgut NET, mainly driven by significantly higher GLO1 copy-number in midgut NET. In tissue from additional metastases resection (18 midgut NET and one pancreatic NET), GLO1 copy number was also increased, compared with healthy tissue; but was not significantly different compared with primary tumour tissue. During mean 3 - 5 years follow-up, 8 patients died and 16 patients showed radiological progression. In midgut NET, a high GLO1 copy-number was associated with earlier progression. In NETs with increased GLO1 copy number, there was increased Glo1 protein expression compared to non-malignant tissue.
Conclusions: GLO1 copy-number was increased in a large percentage of patients with GEP-NET and correlated positively with increased Glo1 protein in tumour tissue. Analysis of GLO1 copy-number variation particularly in patients with midgut NET could be a novel prognostic marker for tumour progression
Embedding of FRW Cosmology in DGP Scenario with a Non-Minimally Coupled Scalar Field on the Brane
We construct a DGP inspired braneworld scenario where a scalar field
non-minimally coupled to the induced Ricci curvature is present on the brane.
We show that this model allows for an embedding of the standard Friedmann
cosmology in the sense that the cosmological evolution of the background metric
on the brane can be described by the standard Friedmann equation. The relation
between our framework and the dark-energy formalism is explored.Comment: 14 pages, no figur
Identification of an optimal prolactin threshold to determine prolactinoma size using receiver operating characteristic analysis
Prolactinomas represent the most common type of secretory pituitary neoplasms, with a therapeutic management that varies considerably based on tumour size and degree of hyperprolactinemia. The aim of the current study was to evaluate the relationship between serum prolactin (PRL) concentrations and prolactinoma size, and to determine a cut-off PRL value that could differentiate micro- from macro-prolactinomas. A retrospective cohort study of 114 patients diagnosed with prolactinomas between 2007 and 2017 was conducted. All patients underwent gadolinium enhanced pituitary MRI and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analyses were performed. 51.8% of patients in this study were men, with a mean age at the time of diagnosis of 42.32 ± 15.04 years. 48.2% of the total cohort were found to have microadenomas. Baseline serum PRL concentrations were strongly correlated to tumour dimension (r = 0.750, p = 0.001). When performing the ROC curve analysis, the area under the curve was 0.976, indicating an excellent accuracy of the diagnostic method. For a value of 204 μg/L (4338 mU/L), sensitivity and specificity were calculated at 0.932 and 0.891, respectively. When a cut off value of 204 μg/L (4338 mU/L) was used, specificity was 93.2%, and sensitivity 89.1%, acceptable to reliably differentiate between micro- and macro- adenomas
Topic Strategies and the Internal Structure of Nominal Arguments in Greek and Italian
In this article, we argue that a set of unexpected contrasts in the interpretation of clitic-left-dislocated indefinites in Greek and Italian derive from structural variation in the nominal syntax of the two languages. Greek resists nonreferential indefinites in clitic left-dislocation, resorting to the topicalization of an often bare noun for nonreferential topics. By contrast, clitic left-dislocation is employed in Italian for topics regardless of their definite/indefinite interpretation. We argue that this contrast is directly linked to the wide availability of bare nouns in Greek, which stems from a structural difference in the nominal syntax of the two languages. In particular, we hypothesize that Greek nominal arguments lack a D layer. Rather, they are Number Phrases. We situate this analysis in the context of Chierchia’s (1998) typology of nominals. We argue that, on a par with Italian nouns, Greek nouns are [−arg, +pred]. However, they do not employ a syntactic head (D) for type-shifting to e . Rather, they resort to covert type-shifting, a hypothesis that is necessary to account for the distribution and interpretations of bare nouns in Greek, vis-à-vis other [−arg, +pred] languages like Italian and French. </jats:p
Evidence for Extended Hydrogen-Poor CSM in the Three-Peaked Light Curve of Stripped Envelope Ib Supernova
We present multi-band ATLAS photometry for SN 2019tsf, a stripped-envelope
Type Ib supernova (SESN). The SN shows a triple-peaked light curve and a late
(re-)brightening, making it unique among stripped-envelope systems. The
re-brightening observations represent the latest photometric measurements of a
multi-peaked Type Ib SN to date. As late-time photometry and spectroscopy
suggest no hydrogen, the potential circumstellar material (CSM) must be H-poor.
Moreover, late (>150 days) spectra show no signs of narrow emission lines,
further disfavouring CSM interaction. On the contrary, an extended CSM
structure is seen through a follow-up radio campaign with Karl G. Jansky Very
Large Array (VLA), indicating a source of bright optically thick radio emission
at late times, which is highly unusual among H-poor SESNe. We attribute this
phenomenology to an interaction of the supernova ejecta with
spherically-asymmetric CSM, potentially disk-like, and we present several
models that can potentially explain the origin of this rare Type Ib supernova.
The warped disc model paints a novel picture, where the tertiary companion
perturbs the progenitors CSM, that can explain the multi-peaked light curves of
SNe, and here we apply it to SN 2019tsf. This SN 2019tsf is likely a member of
a new sub-class of Type Ib SNe and among the recently discovered class of SNe
that undergo mass transfer at the moment of explosionComment: 23 pages, Comments are welcome, Submitted to Ap
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