Концепция моделирования проектного управления информационными ресурсами на основе показателей финансового состояния предприятия

В статье рассматриваются две составляющие доходной части информационных ресурсов – увеличение оборачиваемости оборотных средств предприятия за счет сокращения времени на принятие решения и сокращения резервных фондов за счет снижения уровня неопределенности

Generating multimedia presentations: from plain text to screenplay

In many Natural Language Generation (NLG) applications, the output is limited to plain text – i.e., a string of words with punctuation and paragraph breaks, but no indications for layout, or pictures, or dialogue. In several projects, we have begun to explore NLG applications in which these extra media are brought into play. This paper gives an informal account of what we have learned. For coherence, we focus on the domain of patient information leaflets, and follow an example in which the same content is expressed first in plain text, then in formatted text, then in text with pictures, and finally in a dialogue script that can be performed by two animated agents. We show how the same meaning can be mapped to realisation patterns in different media, and how the expanded options for expressing meaning are related to the perceived style and tone of the presentation. Throughout, we stress that the extra media are not simple added to plain text, but integrated with it: thus the use of formatting, or pictures, or dialogue, may require radical rewording of the text itself

Fire and plant evolution

3 páginas, 1 figura.Peer reviewe

Segmenting accelerometer data from daily life with unsupervised machine learning

PURPOSE: Accelerometers are increasingly used to obtain valuable descriptors of physical activity for health research. The cut-points approach to segment accelerometer data is widely used in physical activity research but requires resource expensive calibration studies and does not make it easy to explore the information that can be gained for a variety of raw data metrics. To address these limitations, we present a data-driven approach for segmenting and clustering the accelerometer data using unsupervised machine learning. METHODS: The data used came from five hundred fourteen-year-old participants from the Millennium cohort study who wore an accelerometer (GENEActiv) on their wrist on one weekday and one weekend day. A Hidden Semi-Markov Model (HSMM), configured to identify a maximum of ten behavioral states from five second averaged acceleration with and without addition of x, y, and z-angles, was used for segmenting and clustering of the data. A cut-points approach was used as comparison. RESULTS: Time spent in behavioral states with or without angle metrics constituted eight and five principal components to reach 95% explained variance, respectively; in comparison four components were identified with the cut-points approach. In the HSMM with acceleration and angle as input, the distributions for acceleration in the states showed similar groupings as the cut-points categories, while more variety was seen in the distribution of angles. CONCLUSION: Our unsupervised classification approach learns a construct of human behavior based on the data it observes, without the need for resource expensive calibration studies, has the ability to combine multiple data metrics, and offers a higher dimensional description of physical behavior. States are interpretable from the distributions of observations and by their duration

Effects of Hybrid Cycle and Handcycle Exercise on Cardiovascular Disease Risk Factors in People with Spinal Cord Injury:A Randomized Controlled Trial

Objective: To examine the effects of a 16-week exercise programme, using either a hybrid cycle or a handcycle, on cardiovascular disease risk factors in people with spinal cord injury.Participants: Nineteen individuals with spinal cord injury &gt;= 8 years.Design: Multicentre randomized controlled trial. Both the hybrid cycle group (n = 9) and the handcycle group (n = 10) trained twice a week for 16 weeks on the specific cycle. Outcome measures obtained pre and post the programme were: metabolic syndrome components (waist circumference, systolic and diastolic blood pressure, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, triglycerides and insulin resistance), inflammatory status (C-reactive protein (CRP), interleukin (1)-6 and -10), and visceral adiposity (trunk and android fat).Results: For all outcome measures, there were no significant differences over time between the 2 training groups. Overall significant reductions were found for waist circumference (p = 0.001), diastolic blood pressure (p = 0.03), insulin resistance (p = 0.006), CRP (p = 0.05), IL-6 (p = 0.04), IL-6/IL-10 ratio (p = 0.03), and trunk (p = 0.04) and android (p = 0.02) fat percentage. No significant main effects for time were observed for systolic blood pressure, triglycerides, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, IL-10, and trunk and android fat mass.Conclusion: The 16-week exercise programme, using either a hybrid cycle or a handcycle, found similar beneficial effects on metabolic syndrome components, inflammatory status and visceral adiposity, indicating that there were no additional benefits of functional electrical stimulation-induced leg exercise over handcycle exercise alone.</p

Ocean Colour Remote Sensing of Flood Plumes in the Great Barrier Reef

The objective of the research reported in this thesis was to develop a technique to monitor the dynamics of sediments and nutrients entering the coastal ocean with river plumes associated with high intensity low frequency events (e.g. floods), using ocean colour remote sensing. To achieve this objective, an inverse bio-optical model was developed, based on analytical and empirical relationships between concentrations of optically significant substances and remote sensing of water-leaving radiance. The model determines concentrations of water-colouring substances such as chlorophyll, suspended sediments, and coloured dissolved organic matter, as well as the values of optical parameters using water-leaving radiances derived from the Sea-viewing Wide Field-of-view Sensor (SeaWiFS). To solve atmospheric correction in coastal waters, the aerosol type over clear waters is transferred to adjacent turbid water pixels. The vicinity of the Herbert River, central Great Barrier Reef zone, Australia, was used as a case study for the application of the algorithm developed. The satellite ocean colour technique was successfully validated using sea-truth measurements of water-colouring constituents acquired in the area during various seasons throughout 2002-2004. A high correlation between chlorophyll and dissolved organic matter was found in the coastal waters of the region, and when the bio-optical model was constrained to make chlorophyll a function of dissolved organic matter, the relationship between in situ and satellite-derived data was substantially improved. With reliable retrieval of the major water-colouring constituents, the technique was subsequently applied to study fluxes of particulate and dissolved organic and inorganic matter following a flood event in the Herbert River during the austral summer of 1999. Extensive field observations covering a seasonal flood in the Herbert River in February 2004 revealed high sediment and nutrient exports from the river to the adjacent coastal waters during the flood event. Due to rapid settling, the bulk of the sediment-rich influx was deposited close inshore, while the majority of nutrients exported from the river were consumed by phytoplankton in a relatively small area of the coastal ocean. With the help of ocean colour remote sensing, it was demonstrated that river-borne sediments and nutrients discharged by a typical flood in the Herbert River are mostly precipitated or consumed within the first 20 km from the coast and therefore are unlikely to reach and possibly affect the midshelf coral reefs of this section of the Great Barrier Reef lagoon

Membrane permeation of arginine-rich cell-penetrating peptides independent of transmembrane potential as a function of lipid composition and membrane fluidity

Cell-penetrating peptides (CPPs) are prominent delivery vehicles to confer cellular entry of (bio-) macromolecules. Internalization efficiency and uptake mechanism depend, next to the type of CPP and cargo, also on cell type. Direct penetration of the plasma membrane is the preferred route of entry as this circumvents endolysosomal sequestration. However, the molecular parameters underlying this import mechanism are still poorly defined. Here, we make use of the frequently used HeLa and HEK cell lines to address the role of lipid composition and membrane potential. In HeLa cells, at low concentrations, the CPP nona-arginine (R9) enters cells by endocytosis. Direct membrane penetration occurs only at high peptide concentrations through a mechanism involving activation of sphingomyelinase which converts sphingomyelin into ceramide. In HEK cells, by comparison, R9 enters the cytoplasm through direct membrane permeation already at low concentrations. This direct permeation is strongly reduced at room temperature and upon cholesterol depletion, indicating a complex dependence on membrane fluidity and microdomain organisation. Lipidomic analyses show that in comparison to HeLa cells HEK cells have an endogenously low sphingomyelin content. Interestingly, direct permeation in HEK cells and also in HeLa cells treated with exogenous sphingomyelinase is independent of membrane potential. Membrane potential is only required for induction of sphingomyelinase-dependent uptake which is then associated with a strong hyperpolarization of membrane potential as shown by whole-cell patch clamp recordings. Next to providing new insights into the interplay of membrane composition and direct permeation, these results also refute the long-standing paradigm that transmembrane potential is a driving force for CPP uptake

Characterization of anticoagulant heparinoids by immunoprofiling

Heparinoids are used in the clinic as anticoagulants. A specific pentasaccharide in heparinoids activates antithrombin III, resulting in inactivation of factor Xa and–when additional saccharides are present–inactivation of factor IIa. Structural and functional analysis of the heterogeneous heparinoids generally requires advanced equipment, is time consuming, and needs (extensive) sample preparation. In this study, a novel and fast method for the characterization of heparinoids is introduced based on reactivity with nine unique anti-heparin antibodies. Eight heparinoids were biochemically analyzed by electrophoresis and their reactivity with domain-specific anti-heparin antibodies was established by ELISA. Each heparinoid displayed a distinct immunoprofile matching its structural characteristics. The immunoprofile could also be linked to biological characteristics, such as the anti-Xa/anti-IIa ratio, which was reflected by reactivity of the heparinoids with antibodies HS4C3 (indicative for 3-O-sulfates) and HS4E4 (indicative for domains allowing anti-factor IIa activity). In addition, the immunoprofile could be indicative for heparinoid-induced side-effects, such as heparin-induced thrombocytopenia, as illustrated by reactivity with antibody NS4F5, which defines a very high sulfated domain. In conclusion, immunoprofiling provides a novel, fast, and simple methodology for the characterization of heparinoids, and allows high-throughput screening of (new) heparinoids for defined structural and biological characteristics

Abnormalities in reparative function of lung-derived mesenchymal stromal cells in emphysema

Mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) may provide crucial support in the regeneration of destructed alveolar tissue (emphysema) in COPD. We hypothesized that lung-derived MSCs (LMSCs) from emphysema patients are hampered in their repair capacity, either intrinsically or due to their interaction with the damaged micro-environment. LMSCs were isolated from lung tissue of controls and severe emphysema patients, and characterized at baseline. Additionally, LMSCs were seeded onto control and emphysematous decellularized lung tissue scaffolds and assessed for deposition of extracellular matrix (ECM). We observed no differences in surface markers, differentiation/proliferation potential and expression of ECM genes between control- and COPD-derived LMSCs. Notably, COPD-derived LMSCs displayed lower expression of FGF10 and HGF mRNA, and HGF and decorin protein. When seeded on control decellularized lung tissue scaffolds, control and COPD-derived LMSCs showed no differences in engraftment, proliferation or survival within 2 weeks, with similar ability to deposit new matrix on the scaffolds. Moreover, LMSC numbers and ability to deposit new matrix was not compromised on emphysematous scaffolds. Collectively, our data show that LMSCs from COPD patients compared to controls show less expression of FGF10 mRNA, HGF mRNA and protein and decorin protein, while other features including the mRNA expression of various ECM molecules are unaffected. Furthermore, COPD-derived LMSCs are capable of engraftment, proliferation and functioning on native lung tissue scaffolds. The damaged, emphysematous micro-environment as such does not hamper the potential of LMSCs. Thus, specific intrinsic deficiencies in growth factor production by diseased LMSCs may contribute to impaired alveolar repair in emphysema