Showing papers by "University of Central Florida published in 2009"
TL;DR: This work demonstrates experimentally passive PT-symmetry breaking within the realm of optics, which leads to a loss induced optical transparency in specially designed pseudo-Hermitian guiding potentials.
Abstract: In 1998, Bender and Boettcher found that a wide class of Hamiltonians, even though non-Hermitian, can still exhibit entirely real spectra provided that they obey parity-time requirements or PT symmetry. Here we demonstrate experimentally passive PT-symmetry breaking within the realm of optics. This phase transition leads to a loss induced optical transparency in specially designed pseudo-Hermitian guiding potentials.
2,409 citations
20 Jun 2009
TL;DR: A novel method to detect and localize abnormal behaviors in crowd videos using Social Force model and it is shown that the social force approach outperforms similar approaches based on pure optical flow.
Abstract: In this paper we introduce a novel method to detect and localize abnormal behaviors in crowd videos using Social Force model. For this purpose, a grid of particles is placed over the image and it is advected with the space-time average of optical flow. By treating the moving particles as individuals, their interaction forces are estimated using social force model. The interaction force is then mapped into the image plane to obtain Force Flow for every pixel in every frame. Randomly selected spatio-temporal volumes of Force Flow are used to model the normal behavior of the crowd. We classify frames as normal and abnormal by using a bag of words approach. The regions of anomalies in the abnormal frames are localized using interaction forces. The experiments are conducted on a publicly available dataset from University of Minnesota for escape panic scenarios and a challenging dataset of crowd videos taken from the web. The experiments show that the proposed method captures the dynamics of the crowd behavior successfully. In addition, we have shown that the social force approach outperforms similar approaches based on pure optical flow.
1,585 citations
20 Jun 2009
TL;DR: This paper presents a systematic framework for recognizing realistic actions from videos “in the wild”, and uses motion statistics to acquire stable motion features and clean static features, and PageRank is used to mine the most informative static features.
Abstract: In this paper, we present a systematic framework for recognizing realistic actions from videos “in the wild”. Such unconstrained videos are abundant in personal collections as well as on the Web. Recognizing action from such videos has not been addressed extensively, primarily due to the tremendous variations that result from camera motion, background clutter, changes in object appearance, and scale, etc. The main challenge is how to extract reliable and informative features from the unconstrained videos. We extract both motion and static features from the videos. Since the raw features of both types are dense yet noisy, we propose strategies to prune these features. We use motion statistics to acquire stable motion features and clean static features. Furthermore, PageRank is used to mine the most informative static features. In order to further construct compact yet discriminative visual vocabularies, a divisive information-theoretic algorithm is employed to group semantically related features. Finally, AdaBoost is chosen to integrate all the heterogeneous yet complementary features for recognition. We have tested the framework on the KTH dataset and our own dataset consisting of 11 categories of actions collected from YouTube and personal videos, and have obtained impressive results for action recognition and action localization.
982 citations
TL;DR: This publication contains reprint articles for which IEEE does not hold copyright and which are likely to be copyrighted.
Abstract: Information sharing is a central process through which team members collectively utilize their available informational resources. The authors used meta-analysis to synthesize extant research on team information sharing. Meta-analytic results from 72 independent studies (total groups = 4,795; total N = 17,279) demonstrate the importance of information sharing to team performance, cohesion, decision satisfaction, and knowledge integration. Although moderators were identified, information sharing positively predicted team performance across all levels of moderators. The information sharing-team performance relationship was moderated by the representation of information sharing (as uniqueness or openness), performance criteria, task type, and discussion structure by uniqueness (a 3-way interaction). Three factors affecting team information processing were found to enhance team information sharing: task demonstrability, discussion structure, and cooperation. Three factors representing decreasing degrees of member redundancy were found to detract from team information sharing: information distribution, informational interdependence, and member heterogeneity.
964 citations
Book•
19 Feb 2009TL;DR: In this paper, a new framework based on matrix theory is proposed to analyze and design cooperative controls for a group of individual dynamical systems whose outputs are sensed by or communicated to others in an intermittent, dynamically changing, and local manner.
Abstract: In this paper, a new framework based on matrix theory is proposed to analyze and design cooperative controls for a group of individual dynamical systems whose outputs are sensed by or communicated to others in an intermittent, dynamically changing, and local manner. In the framework, sensing/communication is described mathematically by a time-varying matrix whose dimension is equal to the number of dynamical systems in the group and whose elements assume piecewise-constant and binary values. Dynamical systems are generally heterogeneous and can be transformed into a canonical form of different, arbitrary, but finite relative degrees. Utilizing a set of new results on augmentation of irreducible matrices and on lower triangulation of reducible matrices, the framework allows a designer to study how a general local-and-output-feedback cooperative control can determine group behaviors of the dynamical systems and to see how changes of sensing/communication would impact the group behaviors over time. A necessary and sufficient condition on convergence of a multiplicative sequence of reducible row-stochastic (diagonally positive) matrices is explicitly derived, and through simple choices of a gain matrix in the cooperative control law, the overall closed-loop system is shown to exhibit cooperative behaviors (such as single group behavior, multiple group behaviors, adaptive cooperative behavior for the group, and cooperative formation including individual behaviors). Examples, including formation control of nonholonomic systems in the chained form, are used to illustrate the proposed framework.
937 citations
20 Jun 2009
TL;DR: This paper presents a systematic framework for recognizing realistic actions from videos “in the wild”, and uses motion statistics to acquire stable motion features and clean static features, and PageRank is used to mine the most informative static features.
Abstract: In this paper, we present a systematic framework for recognizing realistic actions from videos ldquoin the wildrdquo. Such unconstrained videos are abundant in personal collections as well as on the Web. Recognizing action from such videos has not been addressed extensively, primarily due to the tremendous variations that result from camera motion, background clutter, changes in object appearance, and scale, etc. The main challenge is how to extract reliable and informative features from the unconstrained videos. We extract both motion and static features from the videos. Since the raw features of both types are dense yet noisy, we propose strategies to prune these features. We use motion statistics to acquire stable motion features and clean static features. Furthermore, PageRank is used to mine the most informative static features. In order to further construct compact yet discriminative visual vocabularies, a divisive information-theoretic algorithm is employed to group semantically related features. Finally, AdaBoost is chosen to integrate all the heterogeneous yet complementary features for recognition. We have tested the framework on the KTH dataset and our own dataset consisting of 11 categories of actions collected from YouTube and personal videos, and have obtained impressive results for action recognition and action localization.
917 citations
TL;DR: LRP and RALP were more time consuming than RRP, especially in the initial steps of the learning curve, but blood loss, transfusion rates, catheterisation time, hospitalisation duration, and complication rates all favoured LRP, and LRP showed similar continence and potency rates.
910 citations
TL;DR: The main conclusion is that the ability to explore the space of regular connectivity patterns opens up a new class of complex high-dimensional tasks to neuroevolution.
Abstract: Research in neuroevolution---that is, evolving artificial neural networks (ANNs) through evolutionary algorithms---is inspired by the evolution of biological brains, which can contain trillions of connections. Yet while neuroevolution has produced successful results, the scale of natural brains remains far beyond reach. This article presents a method called hypercube-based NeuroEvolution of Augmenting Topologies (HyperNEAT) that aims to narrow this gap. HyperNEAT employs an indirect encoding called connective compositional pattern-producing networks (CPPNs) that can produce connectivity patterns with symmetries and repeating motifs by interpreting spatial patterns generated within a hypercube as connectivity patterns in a lower-dimensional space. This approach can exploit the geometry of the task by mapping its regularities onto the topology of the network, thereby shifting problem difficulty away from dimensionality to the underlying problem structure. Furthermore, connective CPPNs can represent the same connectivity pattern at any resolution, allowing ANNs to scale to new numbers of inputs and outputs without further evolution. HyperNEAT is demonstrated through visual discrimination and food-gathering tasks, including successful visual discrimination networks containing over eight million connections. The main conclusion is that the ability to explore the space of regular connectivity patterns opens up a new class of complex high-dimensional tasks to neuroevolution.
821 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, a conceptual model that considers the source of leader traits, mediators and moderators of their effects on leader emergence and leadership effectiveness, and distinguish between perceived and actual leadership effectiveness is presented.
Abstract: The leader trait perspective is perhaps the most venerable intellectual tradition in leadership research. Despite its early prominence in leadership research, it quickly fell out of favor among leadership scholars. Thus, despite recent empirical support for the perspective, conceptual work in the area lags behind other theoretical perspectives. Accordingly, the present review attempts to place the leader trait perspective in the context of supporting intellectual traditions, including evolutionary psychology and behavioral genetics. We present a conceptual model that considers the source of leader traits, mediators and moderators of their effects on leader emergence and leadership effectiveness, and distinguish between perceived and actual leadership effectiveness. We consider both the positive and negative effects of specific “bright side” personality traits: the Big Five traits, core self-evaluations, intelligence, and charisma. We also consider the positive and negative effects of “dark side” leader traits: Narcissism, hubris, dominance, and Machiavellianism.
795 citations
TL;DR: The experimental observation of curved plasma channels generated in air using femtosecond Airy beams, where the tightly confined main intensity feature of the axially nonsymmetric laser beam propagates along a bent trajectory, leaving a curved plasma channel behind.
Abstract: Plasma channel generation (or filamentation) using ultraintense laser pulses in dielectric media has a wide spectrum of applications, ranging from remote sensing to terahertz generation to lightning control. So far, laser filamentation has been triggered with the use of ultrafast pulses with axially symmetric spatial beam profiles, thereby generating straight filaments. We report the experimental observation of curved plasma channels generated in air using femtosecond Airy beams. In this unusual propagation regime, the tightly confined main intensity feature of the axially nonsymmetric laser beam propagates along a bent trajectory, leaving a curved plasma channel behind. Secondary channels bifurcate from the primary bent channel at several locations along the beam path. The broadband radiation emanating from different longitudinal sections of the curved filament propagates along angularly resolved trajectories.
746 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors hypothesize that overall justice judgments mediate the relationship between specific justice facets and outcomes, and they present two studies to test this hypothesis and demonstrate the mediating relationship holds for supervisor ratings of employee behavior.
Abstract: Organizational justice research traditionally focuses on the unique predictability of different types of justice (distributive, procedural, and interactional) and the relative importance of these types of justice on outcome variables. Recently, researchers have suggested shifting from this focus on specific types of justice to a consideration of overall justice. The authors hypothesize that overall justice judgments mediate the relationship between specific justice facets and outcomes. They present 2 studies to test this hypothesis. Study 1 demonstrates that overall justice judgments mediate the relationship between specific justice judgments and employee attitudes. Study 2 demonstrates the mediating relationship holds for supervisor ratings of employee behavior. Implications for research on organizational justice are discussed.
21 Jan 2009
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors review the literature to understand the state of play in regards to learning outcomes and game attributes and seek out what specific game attributes have an impact on learning outcomes.
Abstract: Games are an effective and cost-saving method in education and training. Although much is known about games and learning in general, little is known about what components of these games (i.e., game attributes) influence learning outcomes. The purpose of this article is threefold. First, we review the literature to understand the "state of play" in the literature in regards to learning outcomes and game attributes - what is being studied. Second, we seek out what specific game attributes have an impact on learning outcomes. Finally, where gaps in the research exist, we develop a number of theoretically based proposals to guide further research in this area.
TL;DR: In this article, the authors used nanostructured bulk silicon with limited degradation in its electron mobility, leading to an unprecedented increase by a factor of 3.5 in its performance over that of the parent single-crystal material.
Abstract: Thermoelectric power sources have consistently demonstrated their extraordinary reliability and longevity for deep space missions and small unattended terrestrial systems. However, more efficient bulk materials and practical devices are required to improve existing technology and expand into large-scale waste heat recovery applications. Research has long focused on complex compounds that best combine the electrical properties of degenerate semiconductors with the low thermal conductivity of glassy materials. Recently it has been found that nanostructuring is an effective method to decouple electrical and thermal transport parameters. Dramatic reductions in the lattice thermal conductivity are achieved by nanostructuring bulk silicon with limited degradation in its electron mobility, leading to an unprecedented increase by a factor of 3.5 in its performance over that of the parent single-crystal material. This makes nanostructured bulk (nano-bulk) Si an effective high temperature thermoelectric material that performs at about 70% the level of state-of-the-art Si0.8Ge0.2 but without the need for expensive and rare Ge.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors consider the canonical case of lottery choices in a laboratory experiment and assume that the data is generated by expected utility theory and prospect theory decision rules, and jointly estimate the parameters of each theory as well as the fraction of choices characterized by each.
Abstract: Choice behavior is typically evaluated by assuming that the data is generated by one latent decision-making process or another. What if there are two (or more) latent decision-making processes generating the observed choices? Some choices might then be better characterized as being generated by one process, and other choices by the other process. A finite mixture model can be used to estimate the parameters of each decision process while simultaneously estimating the probability that each process applies to the sample. We consider the canonical case of lottery choices in a laboratory experiment and assume that the data is generated by expected utility theory and prospect theory decision rules. We jointly estimate the parameters of each theory as well as the fraction of choices characterized by each. The methodology provides the wedding invitation, and the data consummates the ceremony followed by a decent funeral for the representative agent model that assumes only one type of decision process. The evidence suggests support for each theory, and goes further to identify under what demographic domains one can expect to see one theory perform better than the other. We therefore propose a reconciliation of the debate over two of the dominant theories of choice under risk, at least for the tasks and samples we consider. The methodology is broadly applicable to a range of debates over competing theories generated by experimental and non-experimental data.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors developed and tested an integrative model to examine the relationships between golf travelers' perceptions of quality, value, equity, and satisfaction and investigate the impacts of the service evaluation variables (i.e., quality, values, equity and satisfaction) on their behavioral intentions (e.g., revisit a destination, word-of-mouth referrals, and search for alternative destinations).
TL;DR: It is concluded that greater research emphasis is needed on large-scale production, purification, functional characterization, oral delivery and preclinical evaluation of plant expression systems for clinical applications.
TL;DR: A critical link between storage-lipid accumulation and development of phenotypic drug-resistance in Mtb was established and Storage lipid biosynthetic genes may be appropriate targets for novel drugs that can kill latent Mtb.
Abstract: Background: Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) becomes dormant and phenotypically drug resistant when it encounters multiple stresses within the host. Inability of currently available drugs to kill latent Mtb is a major impediment to curing and possibly eradicating tuberculosis (TB). Most in vitro dormancy models, using single stress factors, fail to generate a truly dormant Mtb population. An in vitro model that generates truly dormant Mtb cells is needed to elucidate the metabolic requirements that allow Mtb to successfully go through dormancy, identify new drug targets, and to screen drug candidates to discover novel drugs that can kill dormant pathogen. Methodology/Principal Findings: We developed a novel in vitro multiple-stress dormancy model for Mtb by applying combined stresses of low oxygen (5%), high CO2 (10%), low nutrient (10% Dubos medium) and acidic pH (5.0), conditions Mtb is thought to encounter in the host. Under this condition, Mtb stopped replicating, lost acid-fastness, accumulated triacylglycerol (TG) and wax ester (WE), and concomitantly acquired phenotypic antibiotic-resistance. Putative neutral lipid biosynthetic genes were up-regulated. These genes may serve as potential targets for new antilatency drugs. The triacylglycerol synthase1 (tgs1) deletion mutant, with impaired ability to accumulate TG, exhibited a lesser degree of antibiotic tolerance and complementation restored antibiotic tolerance. Transcriptome analysis with microarray revealed the achievement of dormant state showing repression of energy generation, transcription and translation machineries and induction of stress-responsive genes. We adapted this model for drug screening using the Alamar Blue dye to quantify the antibiotic tolerant dormant cells. Conclusions/Significance: The new in vitro multiple stress dormancy model efficiently generates Mtb cells meeting all criteria of dormancy, and this method is adaptable to high-throughput screening for drugs that can kill dormant Mtb .A critical link between storage-lipid accumulation and development of phenotypic drug-resistance in Mtb was established. Storage lipid biosynthetic genes may be appropriate targets for novel drugs that can kill latent Mtb.
TL;DR: A planar homographic occupancy constraint is developed that fuses foreground likelihood information from multiple views, to resolve occlusions and localize people on a reference scene plane in the framework of plane to plane homologies.
Abstract: Occlusion and lack of visibility in crowded and cluttered scenes make it difficult to track individual people correctly and consistently, particularly in a single view. We present a multi-view approach to solving this problem. In our approach we neither detect nor track objects from any single camera or camera pair; rather evidence is gathered from all the cameras into a synergistic framework and detection and tracking results are propagated back to each view. Unlike other multi-view approaches that require fully calibrated views our approach is purely image-based and uses only 2D constructs. To this end we develop a planar homographic occupancy constraint that fuses foreground likelihood information from multiple views, to resolve occlusions and localize people on a reference scene plane. For greater robustness this process is extended to multiple planes parallel to the reference plane in the framework of plane to plane homologies. Our fusion methodology also models scene clutter using the Schmieder and Weathersby clutter measure, which acts as a confidence prior, to assign higher fusion weight to views with lesser clutter. Detection and tracking are performed simultaneously by graph cuts segmentation of tracks in the space-time occupancy likelihood data. Experimental results with detailed qualitative and quantitative analysis, are demonstrated in challenging multi-view, crowded scenes.
Book•
20 Mar 2009TL;DR: In this paper, the authors present a model of driver stress and mental health called Levels of Transaction, which is a Cognitive Science Framework for Operator Stress and Fatigue in the Maritime Industry.
Abstract: Contents: B. Kantowitz, Series Foreword. Preface. Part I:Stress. Section 1:Theory. G. Matthews, Levels of Transaction: A Cognitive Science Framework for Operator Stress. K.C. Hendy, K.P. East, P.S.E. Farrell, An Information-Processing Model of Operator Stress and Performance. Section 2:Research. J.L. Weaver, C. Bowers, E. Salas, Stress and Teams: Performance Effects and Interventions. A.F. Stokes, K. Kite, On Grasping a Nettle and Becoming Emotional. G. Matthews, A Transactional Model of Driver Stress. Section 3:Practice. I. Glendon, F. Coles, Stress in Ambulance Staff. B. Thompson, A. Kirk-Brown, D. Brown, Women Police: The Impact of Work Stress on Family Members. G. Matthews, P.A. Desmond, Stress and Driving Performance: Implications for Design and Training. Section 4:Commentary. C.L. Cooper, S. Cartwright, A Strategic Approach to Organizational Stress Management. M.E. Morphew, The Future of Human Performance and Stress Research: A New Challenge. Part II:Workload. Section 1:Theory. M.W. Scerbo, Stress, Workload, and Boredom in Vigilance: A Problem and an Answer. R.W. Backs, An Autonomic Space Approach to the Psychophysiological Assessment of Mental Workload. D.D. Woods, E.S. Patterson, How Unexpected Events Produce an Escalation of Cognitive and Coordinative Demands. Section 2:Research. R. Parasuraman, P.A. Hancock, Adaptive Control of Mental Workload. K.A. Brookhuis, D. de Waard, Assessment of Drivers' Workload: Performance and Subjective and Physiological Indexes. M. Mouloua, J.M. Hitt, II, J. Deaton, Automation and Workload in Aviation Systems. T.C. Landsdown, Causes, Measures, and Effects of Driver Visual Workload. Section 3:Practice. A.D. Andre, The Value of Workload in the Design and Analysis of Consumer Products. B. Hilburn, P.G.A.M. Jorna, Workload and Air Traffic Control. B.H. Kantowitz, O. Simsek, Secondary-Task Measures of Driver Workload. W.B. Verwey, Evaluating Safety Effects of In-Vehicle Information Systems. Section 4:Commentary. J.M. Flach, G. Kuperman, The Human Capacity for Work: A (Biased) Historical Perspective. C.D. Wickens, Workload and Situation Awareness. Part III:Fatigue. Section 1:Theory. P.A. Desmond, P.A. Hancock, Active and Passive Fatigue States. R.F. Soames-Job, J. Dalziel, Defining Fatigue as a Condition of the Organism and Distinguishing It From Habituation, Adaptation, and Boredom. Section 2:Research. S.H. Fairclough, Mental Effort Regulation and the Functional Impairment of the Driver. P.S. Rau, A Heavy Vehicle Drowsy Driver Detection and Warning System: Scientific Issues and Technical Challenges. R.R. Rosa, Examining Work Schedules for Fatigue: It's Not Just Hours of Work. Section 3:Practice. L.R. Hartley, P. Arnold, Managing Fatigue in the RoadTransport Industry: An Occupational Safety and Health Solution. A-M. Feyer, A.M. Williamson, Broadening Our View of Effective Solutions to Commercial Driver Fatigue. M. Raby, J.D. Lee, Fatigue and Workload in the Maritime Industry. Section 4:Commentary. V.J. Gawron, J. French, D. Funke, An Overview of Fatigue. I. Brown, Coping With Driver Fatigue: Is the Long Journey Nearly Over? D.I. Tepas, J.M. Price, What Is Stress and What Is Fatigue? A.W.K. Gaillard, Stress, Workload, and Fatigue as Three Biobehavioral States: A General Overview.
TL;DR: There is the need for a reassessment of the ongoing strategies to target STAT3 intended not only for refinement, but also for incorporating some new technologies to strengthen the efforts and ensure the success of identifying suitable anti-STAT3 agents for development into clinically useful anticancer therapeutics.
Abstract: Background: Aberrant activation of the signal transducer and activator of transcription (STAT)3 occurs in many human tumors. Moreover, studies utilizing genetic and pharmacological approaches to mo...
Posted Content•
TL;DR: This research proposes an online community self-disclosure model, tested in a cross-cultural setting using data provided by French and British working professionals, based on social exchange theory and social penetration theory, and finds that French participants had higher scores on horizontal individualism than British participants.
Abstract: The global use of online communities has exploded to involve hundreds of millions of users. Despite the tremendous social impact and business opportunities afforded by these communities, little information systems (IS) research has addressed them - especially in a cross-cultural context. Our research proposes an online community self-disclosure model, tested in a cross-cultural setting using data provided by French and British working professionals. Our model is based on social exchange theory (SET) and social penetration theory (SPT), as well as on cross-cultural theory related to individualism-collectivism. SET explains that individuals engage in relationships when the perceived costs associated with the relationship are less than the expected benefits. SPT extends SET to explain that individuals participate in self-disclosure to foster relationships - reciprocation is the primary benefit of self-disclosure, whereas risk is the foundational cost of self-disclosure. Our study established several important findings: Positive social influence to use an online community increases online community self-disclosure; reciprocity increases self-disclosure; online community trust increases self-disclosure; and privacy risk beliefs decrease self-disclosure. Meanwhile, a tendency toward collectivism increases self-disclosure. We further found that French participants had higher scores on horizontal individualism than British participants. Several other findings and their implications for practice are also discussed.
TL;DR: The study shows that the higher intellectual functioning in children with HFA does not compensate for the stress associated with parenting children with autism spectrum disorders, and treatment programs may need to address parental stress, which in turn will help optimize treatment outcome.
Abstract: The article discusses a study conducted to investigate the impact of children with high-functioning autism (HFA) on parental stress, sibling adjustment, and family functioning; the study involves a sample of parents of 15 children with HFA and parents of 15 matched control children who completed questionnaires measuring the dependent variables. The results indicate parents of children with HFA experience significantly more parenting stress than parents of children with no psychological disorder, which was found to be directly related to characteristics of the children. The study further shows that the higher intellectual functioning in children with HFA does not compensate for the stress associated with parenting children with autism spectrum disorders. Because the intervention efforts directed at children with HFA will not eliminate the child's primary symptoms, treatment programs may need to address parental stress, which in turn will help optimize treatment outcome for the child and the family.
TL;DR: The miRNA-based body fluid identification assays were highly specific because the miRNA expression profile for each body fluid was different from that obtained from 21 human tissues.
TL;DR: For the first time, DLS is able to directly and quantitatively measure the binding stoichiometry between a protein-conjugated GNP probe and a target analyte protein in solution.
Abstract: Dynamic light scattering (DLS) is an analytical tool used routinely for measuring the hydrodynamic size of nanoparticles and colloids in a liquid environment. Gold nanoparticles (GNPs) are extraordinary light scatterers at or near their surface plasmon resonance wavelength. In this study, we demonstrate that DLS can be used as a very convenient and powerful tool for gold nanoparticle bioconjugation and biomolecular binding studies. The conjugation process between protein A and gold nanoparticles under different experimental conditions and the quality as well as the stability of the prepared conjugates were monitored and characterized systematically by DLS. Furthermore, the specific interactions between protein A-conjugated gold nanoparticles and a target protein, human IgG, can be detected and monitored in situ by measuring the average particle size change of the assay solution. For the first time, we demonstrate that DLS is able to directly and quantitatively measure the binding stoichiometry between a protein-conjugated GNP probe and a target analyte protein in solution.
TL;DR: A biocompatible, multimodal, and theranostic functional iron oxide nanoparticle is synthesized using a novel water-based method and exerts excellent properties for targeted cancer therapy, and optical and magnetic resonance imaging.
Abstract: A biocompatible, multimodal, and theranostic functional iron oxide nanoparticle is synthesized using a novel water-based method and exerts excellent properties for targeted cancer therapy, and optical and magnetic resonance imaging. For the first time, a facile, modified solvent diffusion method is used for the co-encapsulation of both an anticancer drug and near-infrared dyes. The resulting folate-derivatized theranostics nanoparticles could allow for targeted optical/magnetic resonance imaging and targeted killing of folate-expressing cancer cells.
TL;DR: In this paper, a review of the current status and main outstanding issues related to precipitation forecasting are discussed, providing a basic structure for research coordination aimed at the improvement of modeling, observation and data assimilation applicable to global and regional scales.
TL;DR: The idea of recursive partitioning is adapted and an interaction tree (IT) procedure is introduced to conduct subgroup analysis to determine the heterogeneity of the treatment effect across subpopulations.
Abstract: Subgroup analysis is an integral part of comparative analysis where assessing the treatment effect on a response is of central interest. Its goal is to determine the heterogeneity of the treatment effect across subpopulations. In this paper, we adapt the idea of recursive partitioning and introduce an interaction tree (IT) procedure to conduct subgroup analysis. The IT procedure automatically facilitates a number of objectively defined subgroups, in some of which the treatment effect is found prominent while in others the treatment has a negligible or even negative effect. The standard CART (Breiman et al., 1984) methodology is inherited to construct the tree structure. Also, in order to extract factors that contribute to the heterogeneity of the treatment effect, variable importance measure is made available via random forests of the interaction trees. Both simulated experiments and analysis of census wage data are presented for illustration.
TL;DR: It is suggested that simulation-based training (SBT) offers many advantages as an approach for management education, and in an effort to guide and encourage its appropriate use, several practices are provided.
Abstract: We suggest that simulation-based training (SBT) offers many advantages as an approach for management education, and in an effort to guide and encourage its appropriate use, we provide several pract...
TL;DR: PEGylated CNPs acted as efficient radical scavengers, and superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity of CNPs synthesized in various concentration of PEG did not reduce compared to bare nanoceria.
Abstract: We report the direct synthesis of cerium oxide nanoparticles (CNPs) in polyethylene glycol (PEG) based solutions with efficient radical scavenging properties. Synthesis of CNPs in PEG demonstrated a concentration dependent (of PEG) redox activity characterized by UV−visible spectroscopy. PEGylated CNPs acted as efficient radical scavengers, and superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity of CNPs synthesized in various concentration of PEG did not reduce compared to bare nanoceria. In addition to superoxide, PEGylated nanoceria demonstrated quenching of peroxide radicals as well. It was observed that the reaction with hydrogen peroxide leads to the formation of a charge transfer complex governed by the concentration of PEG. The stability of the charge transfer complex provides the tunable oxidation state of CNPs. The stability of this complex influences the regenerative capacity of the active 3+ oxidation state of CNPs. The cell viability as well as SOD activity of PEGylated CNPs is compared to those of bare CNPs,...