University of Oxford

About: University of Oxford is a education organization based out in Oxford, Oxfordshire, United Kingdom. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Context (language use). The organization has 99713 authors who have published 258108 publications receiving 12972806 citations. The organization is also known as: Oxford University & Oxon..

Array Programming with NumPy

Abstract: Array programming provides a powerful, compact, expressive syntax for accessing, manipulating, and operating on data in vectors, matrices, and higher-dimensional arrays. NumPy is the primary array programming library for the Python language. It plays an essential role in research analysis pipelines in fields as diverse as physics, chemistry, astronomy, geoscience, biology, psychology, material science, engineering, finance, and economics. For example, in astronomy, NumPy was an important part of the software stack used in the discovery of gravitational waves and the first imaging of a black hole. Here we show how a few fundamental array concepts lead to a simple and powerful programming paradigm for organizing, exploring, and analyzing scientific data. NumPy is the foundation upon which the entire scientific Python universe is constructed. It is so pervasive that several projects, targeting audiences with specialized needs, have developed their own NumPy-like interfaces and array objects. Because of its central position in the ecosystem, NumPy increasingly plays the role of an interoperability layer between these new array computation libraries.

An analysis of the time-relations of electrocardiograms

Abstract: IN a preliminary attempt (which requires considerable modification) to determine from blood-pressure records the relative influence of the heart action and of vaso-canstriction, I suggestedS that it might be necessary to estimate the duration of ventricular systole for different heart rates. In order to obtain this information a number of measurements have been made of electrocardiographic curves, including some obtained by myself and a selection of curves from Dr. T. Lewis’s collection, which he very kindly put at my disposal. Electrical records have been preferred to mechanical, because it is easier to secure accuracy, and it has been shown by many workers that as a rub the electrical and mechanical changes correspond fairly closely. Lewis ,*7 in a comparison of the heart sounds with the electrical changes, found the first sound to commence 0.011 of a second to 0.039 of a second after the commencement of Q, while the second sound started either before or after the end of T but usually within 0.01 of a second of it. WiggersYS1 working with dogs, found the mechanical systole to commence 0.03 to 0.045 after the rise of R, and to terminate 0.034 to 0.048 after the end of T, so that as a rule the two changes corresponded in duration, but he found that adrenalin shortens the duration of the mechanical change more than the electrical, and under these conditions the ventrical contrsction ended before the end of the T wave. In considering, therefore, the relative duration of systole and diastole, both electrical and mechanical records are useful, if these differences be allowed for. Walleflsgivee the following values for the durebtion of mechanical systole with different heart rates, and it will be seen that almost exactly similar figures are obtained by calculation from the formula systole = K Vcycle, where K hae 8 value of 0.343.

Guidelines for the use and interpretation of assays for monitoring autophagy

Abstract: In 2008 we published the first set of guidelines for standardizing research in autophagy. Since then, research on this topic has continued to accelerate, and many new scientists have entered the field. Our knowledge base and relevant new technologies have also been expanding. Accordingly, it is important to update these guidelines for monitoring autophagy in different organisms. Various reviews have described the range of assays that have been used for this purpose. Nevertheless, there continues to be confusion regarding acceptable methods to measure autophagy, especially in multicellular eukaryotes. A key point that needs to be emphasized is that there is a difference between measurements that monitor the numbers or volume of autophagic elements (e.g., autophagosomes or autolysosomes) at any stage of the autophagic process vs. those that measure flux through the autophagy pathway (i.e., the complete process); thus, a block in macroautophagy that results in autophagosome accumulation needs to be differentiated from stimuli that result in increased autophagic activity, defined as increased autophagy induction coupled with increased delivery to, and degradation within, lysosomes (in most higher eukaryotes and some protists such as Dictyostelium) or the vacuole (in plants and fungi). In other words, it is especially important that investigators new to the field understand that the appearance of more autophagosomes does not necessarily equate with more autophagy. In fact, in many cases, autophagosomes accumulate because of a block in trafficking to lysosomes without a concomitant change in autophagosome biogenesis, whereas an increase in autolysosomes may reflect a reduction in degradative activity. Here, we present a set of guidelines for the selection and interpretation of methods for use by investigators who aim to examine macroautophagy and related processes, as well as for reviewers who need to provide realistic and reasonable critiques of papers that are focused on these processes. These guidelines are not meant to be a formulaic set of rules, because the appropriate assays depend in part on the question being asked and the system being used. In addition, we emphasize that no individual assay is guaranteed to be the most appropriate one in every situation, and we strongly recommend the use of multiple assays to monitor autophagy. In these guidelines, we consider these various methods of assessing autophagy and what information can, or cannot, be obtained from them. Finally, by discussing the merits and limits of particular autophagy assays, we hope to encourage technical innovation in the field.

A Trial of Lopinavir-Ritonavir in Adults Hospitalized with Severe Covid-19.

Abstract: Background No therapeutics have yet been proven effective for the treatment of severe illness caused by SARS-CoV-2. Methods We conducted a randomized, controlled, open-label trial involvin...