Showing papers by "University of Western Australia published in 2007"
TL;DR: Enhancements to the properties based on Hirshfeld surfaces enable quantitative comparisons between contributions to crystal packing from various types of intermolecular contacts.
2,410 citations
TL;DR: This article proposed a flat-slab subduction model for Mesozoic South China based on both sensitive high-resolution ion microprobe (SHRIMP) U-Pb zircon data and a synthesis of existing structural, geochronological, and sedimentary facies results.
Abstract: We propose a flat-slab subduction model for Mesozoic South China based on both new sensitive high-resolution ion microprobe (SHRIMP) U-Pb zircon data and a synthesis of existing structural, geochronological, and sedimentary facies results. This model not only explains the development of a broad (∼1300-km-wide) intracontinental orogen that migrated from the coastal region into the continental interior between ca. 250 Ma and 190 Ma, but can also account for the puzzling chain of events that followed: the formation of a shallow-marine basin in the wake of the migrating foreland fold-and-thrust belt, and the development of one of the world's largest Basin and Range–style magmatic provinces after the orogeny. The South China record may serve as an example of the multiple effects of flat-slab subduction, including migrating orogenesis and foreland flexure, synorogenic sagging behind the active orogen, postdelamination lithospheric rebound, and the development of a Basin and Range–style broad magmatic province.
1,612 citations
National Institutes of Health1, University of Michigan2, University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston3, Harvard University4, Broad Institute5, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center6, University of Oxford7, University of California, Los Angeles8, Yale University9, deCODE genetics10, University of Western Australia11, Washington University in St. Louis12, Howard University13, University of Washington14
TL;DR: What constitutes replication of a genotype–phenotype association, and how best can it be achieved, is investigated.
Abstract: What constitutes replication of a genotype–phenotype association, and how best can it be achieved?
1,355 citations
TL;DR: The adjuvanted HPV16/18 vaccine showed prophylactic efficacy against cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN) 2+ associated with HPV16 or HPV18 and thus could be used for cervical cancer prevention.
1,303 citations
TL;DR: Patients with moderate-to-severe Crohn's disease who had a response to induction therapy with 400 mg of certolizumab pegol were more likely to have a maintained response and a remission at 26 weeks with continued certolIZumab Pegol treatment than with a switch to placebo.
Abstract: Background Certolizumab pegol is a pegylated humanized Fab′ fragment with a high binding affinity for tumor necrosis factor α that does not induce apoptosis of T cells or monocytes. Methods In our randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial, we evaluated the efficacy of certolizumab pegol maintenance therapy in adults with moderate-to-severe Crohn's disease. As induction therapy, 400 mg of certolizumab pegol was administered subcutaneously at weeks 0, 2, and 4. Patients with a clinical response (defined as reduction of at least 100 from the baseline score on the Crohn's Disease Activity Index [CDAI]) at week 6 were stratified according to their baseline C-reactive protein level and were randomly assigned to receive 400 mg of certolizumab pegol or placebo every 4 weeks through week 24, with follow-up through week 26. Results Among patients with a response to induction therapy at week 6 (428 of 668 [64%]), the response was maintained through week 26 in 62% of patients with a baseline C-reactive prote...
977 citations
TL;DR: Treatment with fenofibrate in individuals with type 2 diabetes mellitus reduces the need for laser treatment for diabetic retinopathy, although the mechanism of this effect does not seem to be related to plasma concentrations of lipids.
882 citations
Bradley University1, University of Tartu2, National Institutes of Health3, University of California4, Pontifical Catholic University of Chile5, University of Louisville6, University of Latvia7, Pennsylvania State University8, Slovak Academy of Sciences9, University of San Carlos10, University of Malta11, Ghent University12, Clemson University13, Laval University14, University of Buenos Aires15, Osaka University16, Illinois State University17, National Autonomous University of Mexico18, University of Brasília19, University of Western Australia20, University of Lima21, Boğaziçi University22, University of Kassel23, York University24, University of Queensland25, Åbo Akademi University26, Al Akhawayn University27, University of Hawaii at Manoa28, University of Catania29, University of Otago30, University of Dhaka31, Chemnitz University of Technology32, Knox College33, Comenius University in Bratislava34, University of Rijeka35, University of Malaya36, Vilnius University37, American University of Beirut38, Kwangju Health College39, University of Salzburg40, Utrecht University41, National Computerization Agency42, City University of Hong Kong43, University of Idaho44, University of Zimbabwe45, University of Lisbon46, University of Central Lancashire47, Loyola Marymount University48, University of KwaZulu-Natal49, University of Granada50, University of Botswana51, Babeș-Bolyai University52, University of Cyprus53, University of Belgrade54, KPMG55, University of Montpellier56, University of Zurich57, University of Alabama58, Baylor University59, Queen's University Belfast60, University of Ljubljana61, University of Haifa62, University of La Serena63, Florida Atlantic University64, University of California, Davis65, University of Dar es Salaam66, Ramapo College67, Cyprus College68, Middle East Technical University69, Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń70, University of the South Pacific71, Vrije Universiteit Brussel72, University at Albany, SUNY73, University of the Aegean74, University of Lethbridge75, University of Vienna76, University of Hong Kong77, Yuan Ze University78, Charles University in Prague79, Chonnam National University80, Indian Institutes of Technology81
TL;DR: The Big Five Inventory (BFI) is a self-report measure designed to assess the high-order personality traits of Extraversion, Agreeableness, Conscientiousness, Neuroticism, and Openness as discussed by the authors.
Abstract: The Big Five Inventory (BFI) is a self-report measure designed to assess the high-order personality traits of Extraversion, Agreeableness, Conscientiousness, Neuroticism, and Openness. As part of the International Sexuality Description Project, the BFI was translated from English into 28 languages and administered to 17,837 individuals from 56 nations. The resulting cross-cultural data set was used to address three main questions: Does the factor structure of the English BFI fully replicate across cultures? How valid are the BFI trait profiles of individual nations? And how are personality traits distributed throughout the world? The five-dimensional structure was robust across major regions of the world. Trait levels were related in predictable ways to self-esteem, sociosexuality, and national personality profiles. People from the geographic regions of South America and East Asia were significantly different in openness from those inhabiting other world regions. The discussion focuses on limitations of t...
876 citations
TL;DR: The proposed CPHD implementations not only sidestep the need to perform data association found in traditional methods, but also dramatically improve the accuracy of individual state estimates as well as the variance of the estimated number of targets when compared to the standard PHD filter.
Abstract: The probability hypothesis density (PHD) recursion propagates the posterior intensity of the random finite set (RFS) of targets in time. The cardinalized PHD (CPHD) recursion is a generalization of the PHD recursion, which jointly propagates the posterior intensity and the posterior cardinality distribution. In general, the CPHD recursion is computationally intractable. This paper proposes a closed-form solution to the CPHD recursion under linear Gaussian assumptions on the target dynamics and birth process. Based on this solution, an effective multitarget tracking algorithm is developed. Extensions of the proposed closed-form recursion to accommodate nonlinear models are also given using linearization and unscented transform techniques. The proposed CPHD implementations not only sidestep the need to perform data association found in traditional methods, but also dramatically improve the accuracy of individual state estimates as well as the variance of the estimated number of targets when compared to the standard PHD filter. Our implementations only have a cubic complexity, but simulations suggest favorable performance compared to the standard Joint Probabilistic Data Association (JPDA) filter which has a nonpolynomial complexity.
789 citations
Cleveland Clinic1, Heidelberg University2, New York University3, Women's College, Kolkata4, Brigham and Women's Hospital5, Brown University6, University of Western Australia7, University of California, San Francisco8, University of Rochester9, University of Kentucky10, SUNY Downstate Medical Center11, Case Western Reserve University12
TL;DR: In this analysis of the CHARISMA trial, the large number of patients with documented prior MI, ischemic stroke, or symptomatic PAD appeared to derive significant benefit from dual antiplatelet therapy with clopidogrel plus aspirin.
722 citations
TL;DR: This commentary addresses a number of related new avenues for research in watershed science, including the use of comparative analysis, classification, optimality principles, and network theory, all with the intent of defining, understanding, and predicting watershed function and enunciating important watershed functional traits.
Abstract: Field studies in watershed hydrology continue to characterize and catalogue the enormous heterogeneity and complexity of rainfall runoff processes in more and more watersheds, in different hydroclimatic regimes, and at different scales. Nevertheless, the ability to generalize these findings to ungauged regions remains out of reach. In spite of their apparent physical basis and complexity, the current generation of detailed models is process weak. Their representations of the internal states and process dynamics are still at odds with many experimental findings. In order to make continued progress in watershed hydrology and to bring greater coherence to the science, we need to move beyond the status quo of having to explicitly characterize or prescribe landscape heterogeneity in our (highly calibrated) models and in this way reproduce process complexity and instead explore the set of organizing principles that might underlie the heterogeneity and complexity. This commentary addresses a number of related new avenues for research in watershed science, including the use of comparative analysis, classification, optimality principles, and network theory, all with the intent of defining, understanding, and predicting watershed function and enunciating important watershed functional traits.
722 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors developed and empirically validated a multidimensional hierarchical scale for measuring health service quality and investigated the scale's ability to predict important service outcomes, namely, service satisfaction and behavioral intentions.
Abstract: This research developed and empirically validated a multidimensional hierarchical scale for measuring health service quality and investigated the scale's ability to predict important service outcomes, namely, service satisfaction and behavioral intentions. Data were collected from a qualitative study and three different field studies of health care patients in two different health care contexts: oncology clinics and a general medical practice. Service quality was found to conform to the structure of the hierarchical model in all three samples. The research identified nine subdimensions driving four primary dimensions, which in turn were found to drive service quality perceptions. The primary dimensions were interpersonal quality, technical quality, environment quality, and administrative quality. The subdimensions were interaction, relationship, outcome, expertise, atmosphere, tangibles, timeliness, operation, and support. The findings also support the hypothesis that service quality has a significant impact on service satisfaction and behavioral intentions and that service quality mediates the relationship between the dimensions and intentions.
TL;DR: This review presents some new data, survey the biochemistry, biophysics and bioinformatics of the LEA proteins and highlights several possible functions, including roles as antioxidants and as membrane and protein stabilisers during water stress, either by direct interaction or by acting as molecular shields.
Abstract: Research into late embryogenesis abundant (LEA) proteins has been ongoing for more than 20 years but, although there is a strong association of LEA proteins with abiotic stress tolerance particularly dehydration and cold stress, for most of that time, their function has been entirely obscure. After their initial discovery in plant seeds, three major groups (numbered 1, 2 and 3) of LEA proteins have been described in a range of different plants and plant tissues. Homologues of groups 1 and 3 proteins have also been found in bacteria and in certain invertebrates. In this review, we present some new data, survey the biochemistry, biophysics and bioinformatics of the LEA proteins and highlight several possible functions. These include roles as antioxidants and as membrane and protein stabilisers during water stress, either by direct interaction or by acting as molecular shields. Along with other hydrophilic proteins and compatible solutes, LEA proteins might also serve as "space fillers" to prevent cellular collapse at low water activities. This multifunctional capacity of the LEA proteins is probably attributable in part to their structural plasticity, as they are largely lacking in secondary structure in the fully hydrated state, but can become more folded during water stress and/or through association with membrane surfaces. The challenge now facing researchers investigating these enigmatic proteins is to make sense of the various in vitro defined functions in the living cell: Are the LEA proteins truly multi-talented, or are they still just misunderstood?
TL;DR: The resting and depressed metabolic rate of animals as a function of their body mass is examined, and anhydrobiosis is the ultimate strategy for eggs or other stages of the life cycle to survive extended periods of environmental stress.
Abstract: Depression of metabolic rate has been recorded for virtually all major animal phyla in response to environmental stress. The extent of depression is usually measured as the ratio of the depressed metabolic rate to the normal resting metabolic rate. Metabolic rate is sometimes only depressed to approx. 80% of the resting value (i.e. a depression of approx. 20% of resting); it is more commonly 5-40% of resting (i.e. a depression of approx. 60-95% of resting); extreme depression is to 1% or less of resting, or even to an unmeasurably low metabolic rate (i.e. a depression of approx. 99-100% of resting). We have examined the resting and depressed metabolic rate of animals as a function of their body mass, corrected to a common temperature. This allometric approach allows ready comparison of the absolute level of both resting and depressed metabolic rate for various animals, and suggests three general patterns of metabolic depression. Firstly, metabolic depression to approx. 0.05-0.4 of rest is a common and remarkably consistent pattern for various non-cryptobiotic animals (e.g. molluscs, earthworms, crustaceans, fishes, amphibians, reptiles). This extent of metabolic depression is typical for dormant animals with 'intrinsic' depression, i.e. reduction of metabolic rate in anticipation of adverse environmental conditions but without substantial changes to their ionic or osmotic status, or state of body water. Some of these types of animal are able to survive anoxia for limited periods, and their anaerobic metabolic depression is also to approx. 0.05-0.4 of resting. Metabolic depression to much less than 0.2 of resting is apparent for some 'resting', 'over-wintering' or diapaused eggs of these animals, but this can be due to early developmental arrest so that the egg has a low 'metabolic mass' of developed tissue (compared to the overall mass of the egg) with no metabolic depression, rather than having metabolic depression of the entire cell mass. A profound decrease in metabolic rate occurs in hibernating (or aestivating) mammals and birds during torpor, e.g. to less than 0.01 of pre-torpor metabolic rate, but there is often no intrinsic metabolic depression in addition to that reduction in metabolic rate due to readjustment of thermoregulatory control and a decrease in body temperature with a concommitant Q10 effect. There may be a modest intrinsic metabolic depression for some species in shallow torpor (to approx. 0.86) and a more substantial metabolic depression for deep torpor (approx. 0.6), but any energy saving accruing from this intrinsic depression is small compared to the substantial savings accrued from the readjustment of thermoregulation and the Q10 effect. Secondly, a more extreme pattern of metabolic depression (to < 0.05 of rest) is evident for cryptobiotic animals. For these animals there is a profound change in their internal environment--for anoxybiotic animals there is an absence of oxygen and for osmobiotic, anhydrobiotic or cryobiotic animals there is an alteration of the ionic/osmotic balance or state of body water. Some normally aerobic animals can tolerate anoxia for considerable periods, and their duration of tolerance is inversely related to their magnitude of metabolic depression; anaerobic metabolic rate can be less than 0.005 of resting. The metabolic rate of anhydrobiotic animals is often so low as to be unmeasurable, if not zero. Thus, anhydrobiosis is the ultimate strategy for eggs or other stages of the life cycle to survive extended periods of environmental stress. Thirdly, a pattern of absence of metabolism when normally hydrated (as opposed to anhydrobiotic or cryobiotic) is apparently unique to diapaused eggs of the brine-shrimp (Artemia spp., an anostracan crustacean) during anoxia. The apparent complete metabolic depression of anoxic yet hydrated cysts (and extreme metabolic depression of normoxic, hypoxic, or osmobiotic, yet hydrated cysts), is an obvious exception to the above patterns. (ABST
TL;DR: In this article, the authors investigate the association between the intellectual capital (IC) of firms and their financial performance, and they find that IC and company performance are positively related; IC is correlated to future company performance; the rate of growth of a company's IC is positively related to the company's performance; and the contribution of IC to company performance differs by industry.
Abstract: Purpose – The purpose of the paper is to investigate the association between the intellectual capital (IC) of firms and their financial performance.Design/methodology/approach – The paper uses the Pulic framework, has an Asian focus, and draws on data from 150 publicly listed companies on the Singapore Exchange. It is an empirical study using partial least squares (PLS) for the data analysis. The paper tests four elements of IC and company performance.Findings – The findings show that: IC and company performance are positively related; IC is correlated to future company performance; the rate of growth of a company's IC is positively related to the company's performance; and the contribution of IC to company performance differs by industry.Research limitations/implications – The data sample is restricted to 150 companies listed on the Singapore Exchange between the years 2000 and 2002.Practical implications – IC is an area of interest to numerous parties, such as shareholders, institutional investors, scho...
TL;DR: In this paper, the basic mechanism of vegetable oil autoxidation is presented, along with methods used to monitor and analyse the products of oxidation, and the potential impact of such oxidation products on lubrication performance is discussed.
TL;DR: A systematic literature review was conducted to explore the use of depression scales in PD and determine which scales should be selected, and found that the complex and time‐consuming task of developing a new scale to measure depression specifically for patients with PD is currently not warranted.
Abstract: Depression is a common comorbid condition in Parkinson's disease (PD) and a major contributor to poor quality of life and disability. However, depression can be difficult to assess in patients with PD due to overlapping symptoms and difficulties in the assessment of depression in cognitively impaired patients. As several rating scales have been used to assess depression in PD (dPD), the Movement Disorder Society commissioned a task force to assess their clinimetric properties and make clinical recommendations regarding their use. A systematic literature review was conducted to explore the use of depression scales in PD and determine which scales should be selected for this review. The scales reviewed were the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), Hamilton Depression Scale (Ham-D), Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS), Zung Self-Rating Depression Scale (SDS), Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS), Montgomery-Asberg Depression Rating Scale (MADRS), Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS) Part I, Cornell Scale for the Assessment of Depression in Dementia (CSDD), and the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D). Seven clinical researchers with clinical and research experience in the assessment of dPD were assigned to review the scales using a structured format. The most appropriate scale is dependent on the clinical or research goal. However, observer-rated scales are preferred if the study or clinical situation permits. For screening purposes, the HAM-D, BDI, HADS, MADRS, and GDS are valid in dPD. The CES-D and CSDD are alternative instruments that need validation in dPD. For measurement of severity of depressive symptoms, the Ham-D, MADRS, BDI, and SDS scales are recommended. Further studies are needed to validate the CSDD, which could be particularly useful for the assessment of severity of dPD in patients with comorbid dementia. To account for overlapping motor and nonmotor symptoms of depression, adjusted instrument cutoff scores may be needed for dPD, and scales to assess severity of motor symptoms (e.g., UPDRS) should also be included to help adjust for confounding factors. The HADS and the GDS include limited motor symptom assessment and may, therefore, be most useful in rating depression severity across a range of PD severity; however, these scales appear insensitive in severe depression. The complex and time-consuming task of developing a new scale to measure depression specifically for patients with PD is currently not warranted.
TL;DR: In this paper, the ages of the Nankunshan alkaline granite and the Fogang granitic batholith are reported. But the authors do not identify the type of granites.
TL;DR: Whether aspects of face perception are "automatic", in that they are especially rapid, non-conscious, mandatory and capacity-free, and whether limited-capacity selective attention mechanisms are preferentially recruited by faces and facial expressions is examined.
TL;DR: The authors synthesize a large body of information from the scientific literature and consider key theoretical principles for examining and predicting effects; examines the range of effects that can arise; explores ways of mitigating impacts; reviews approaches to studying the problem; and discusses knowledge gaps and future areas for research and management.
Abstract: Habitat loss and degradation that comes as a result of human activity is the single biggest threat to biodiversity in the world today. \"Habitat Fragmentation and Landscape Change\" is a groundbreaking work that brings together a wealth of information from a wide range of sources to define the ecological problems caused by landscape change and to highlight the relationships among landscape change, habitat fragmentation, and biodiversity conservation. The book: synthesizes a large body of information from the scientific literature; considers key theoretical principles for examining and predicting effects; examines the range of effects that can arise; explores ways of mitigating impacts; reviews approaches to studying the problem; and discusses knowledge gaps and future areas for research and management. \"Habitat Fragmentation and Landscape Change\" offers a unique mix of theoretical and practical information, outlining general principles and approaches and illustrating those principles with case studies from around the world. It represents a definitive overview and synthesis on the full range of topics that fall under the widely used but often vaguely defined term \"habitat fragmentation.\
TL;DR: The dissipation limited flow regime is found to be consistent with precessional domain-wall motion, analysis of which yields values for the damping parameter, alpha, which is consistent with general theories for driven elastic interfaces in weakly disordered media.
Abstract: We report on magnetic domain-wall velocity measurements in ultrathin $\mathrm{Pt}/\mathrm{Co}(0.5--0.8\text{ }\text{ }\mathrm{nm})/\mathrm{Pt}$ films with perpendicular anisotropy over a large range of applied magnetic fields. The complete velocity-field characteristics are obtained, enabling an examination of the transition between thermally activated creep and viscous flow: motion regimes predicted from general theories for driven elastic interfaces in weakly disordered media. The dissipation limited flow regime is found to be consistent with precessional domain-wall motion, analysis of which yields values for the damping parameter, $\ensuremath{\alpha}$.
TL;DR: To highlight the usefulness of this much-enlarged map of cis-regulated transcripts for the discovery of genes that influence complex traits in humans, as an example, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol concentration is selected as a phenotype of clinical importance and the cis- regulated vanin 1 (VNN1) gene is identified as harboring sequence variants that influence high- density lipop protein cholesterol concentrations.
Abstract: Quantitative differences in gene expression are thought to contribute to phenotypic differences between individuals. We generated genome-wide transcriptional profiles of lymphocyte samples from 1,240 participants in the San Antonio Family Heart Study. The expression levels of 85% of the 19,648 detected autosomal transcripts were significantly heritable. Linkage analysis uncovered >1,000 cis-regulated transcripts at a false discovery rate of 5% and showed that the expression quantitative trait loci with the most significant linkage evidence are often located at the structural locus of a given transcript. To highlight the usefulness of this much-enlarged map of cis-regulated transcripts for the discovery of genes that influence complex traits in humans, as an example we selected high-density lipoprotein cholesterol concentration as a phenotype of clinical importance, and identified the cis-regulated vanin 1 (VNN1) gene as harboring sequence variants that influence high-density lipoprotein cholesterol concentrations.
TL;DR: Early probiotic supplementation with L acidophilus did not reduce the risk of AD in high-risk infants and was associated with increased allergen sensitization in infants receiving supplements.
Abstract: Background Despite preliminary evidence, the role of probiotics in allergy prevention is unclear. Objective To determine whether early probiotic supplementation prevents allergic disease in high-risk infants. Methods Newborns of women with allergy (n = 231) received either Lactobacillus acidophilus (LAVRI-A1) or placebo daily for the first 6 months of life. Children were assessed for atopic dermatitis (AD) and other symptoms at 6 and 12 months and had allergen skin prick tests (SPT) at 12 months of age. Results A total of 178 infants completed the supplementation period. Those in the probiotic group showed significantly higher rates of Lactobacillus colonization ( P = .039). At 6 months, AD rates were similar in the probiotic (n = 23/89; 25.8%) and placebo (n = 20/88; 22.7%) groups ( P = .629). There was also no difference at 12 months, although the proportion of children with SPT+AD was significantly higher in the probiotic group ( P = .045). At 12 months, the rate of sensitization was significantly higher in the probiotic group ( P = .030). The presence of culturable Lactobacilli or Bifidobacterium in stools in the first month of life was not associated with the risk of subsequent sensitization or disease; however, the presence of Lactobacillus at 6 months of age was associated with increased risk of subsequent cow's milk sensitization ( P = .012). Conclusion Early probiotic supplementation with L acidophilus did not reduce the risk of AD in high-risk infants and was associated with increased allergen sensitization in infants receiving supplements. The long-term significance of the increased rate of sensitization needs to be investigated in further studies. Clinical implications These findings challenge the role of probiotics in allergy prevention.
TL;DR: Kroner, A., Windley, B.T. as discussed by the authors, 2007, Accretionary growth and crust formation in the Central Asian Orogenic Belt and comparison with the Arabian-Nubian shield, in Hatcher, R.D., Jr., Carlson, M.M., Gruschka, S., Khain, E.V., Demoux, A.
Abstract: Kroner, A., Windley, B.F., Badarch, G., Tomurtogoo, O., Hegner, E., Jahn, B.M., Gruschka, S., Khain, E.V., Demoux, A., and Wingate, M.T.D., 2007, Accretionary growth and crust formation in the Central Asian Orogenic Belt and comparison with the Arabian-Nubian shield, in Hatcher, R.D., Jr., Carlson, M.P., McBride, J.H., and Martinez Catalan, J.R., eds., 4-D Framework of Continental Crust: Geological Society of America Memoir 200, p. 181–209, doi: 10.1130/2007.1200(11). For permission to copy, contact editing@geosociety.org. ©2007 The Geological Society of America. All rights reserved. *Kroner: kroener@mail.uni-mainz.de; Windley: brian.windley@btinternet.com; Tomurtogoo: igmr@magicnet.mn; Hegner: hegner@lmu.de; Jahn: jahn@earth. sinica.edu.tw; Khain: khain@ginras.ru; Demoux: demoux@uni-mainz.de; Wingate: mwingate@tsrc.uwa.edu.au.
TL;DR: The design and synthesis of a new diazotransfer reagent, imidazole-1-sulfonyl azide hydrochloride, are reported, which has proven to equal triflyl azides in its ability to act as a "diazo donor" in the conversion of both primary amines into azides and activated methylene substrates into diazo compounds.
TL;DR: A fully automatic face recognition algorithm that is multimodal (2D and 3D) and performs hybrid (feature based and holistic) matching in order to achieve efficiency and robustness to facial expressions is presented.
Abstract: We present a fully automatic face recognition algorithm and demonstrate its performance on the FRGC v2.0 data. Our algorithm is multimodal (2D and 3D) and performs hybrid (feature based and holistic) matching in order to achieve efficiency and robustness to facial expressions. The pose of a 3D face along with its texture is automatically corrected using a novel approach based on a single automatically detected point and the Hotelling transform. A novel 3D spherical face representation (SFR) is used in conjunction with the scale-invariant feature transform (SIFT) descriptor to form a rejection classifier, which quickly eliminates a large number of candidate faces at an early stage for efficient recognition in case of large galleries. The remaining faces are then verified using a novel region-based matching approach, which is robust to facial expressions. This approach automatically segments the eyes- forehead and the nose regions, which are relatively less sensitive to expressions and matches them separately using a modified iterative closest point (ICP) algorithm. The results of all the matching engines are fused at the metric level to achieve higher accuracy. We use the FRGC benchmark to compare our results to other algorithms that used the same database. Our multimodal hybrid algorithm performed better than others by achieving 99.74 percent and 98.31 percent verification rates at a 0.001 false acceptance rate (FAR) and identification rates of 99.02 percent and 95.37 percent for probes with a neutral and a nonneutral expression, respectively.
TL;DR: In this article, a combined study of Hf and O isotopes in zircons from Neoproterozoic granitoids in South China provides evidence for growth and reworking of juvenile and ancient crusts with different styles of water-rock interactions along rift tectonic zones.
TL;DR: Further research is needed to improve the understanding of the role of diabetes and glycaemic control in the pathogenesis and management of community‐ and hospital‐acquired infections.
Abstract: Specific defects in innate and adaptive immune function have been identified in diabetic patients in a range of in vitro studies. However, the relevance of these findings to the integrated response to infection in vivo remains unclear, especially in patients with good glycaemic control. Vaccine efficacy seems adequate in most diabetic patients, but those with type 1 diabetes and high glycosylated haemoglobin levels are most likely to exhibit hypo-responsiveness. While particular infections are closely associated with diabetes, this is usually in the context of extreme metabolic disturbances such as ketoacidosis. The link between glycaemic control and the risk of common community-acquired infections is less well established but could be clarified if infection data from large community-based observational or intervention studies were available. The relationship between hospital-acquired infections and diabetes is well recognized, particularly among post-operative cardiac and critically ill surgical patients in whom intensive insulin therapy improves clinical outcome independent of glycaemia. Nevertheless, further research is needed to improve our understanding of the role of diabetes and glycaemic control in the pathogenesis and management of community- and hospital-acquired infections.
TL;DR: In this paper, a proof-of-concept example for a method that allows the calculation of a similarity index between whole molecular crystal structures; this has been termed "structural genetic fingerprinting" is described.
Abstract: This paper describes a proof-of-concept example for a method that allows the calculation of a similarity index between whole molecular crystal structures; this has been termed ‘structural genetic fingerprinting’. It is based on the use of fingerprint plots derived from Hirshfeld surfaces coupled with cluster analysis and associated multivariate statistics. Using this formalism, it is possible to show quantitatively (using correlation coefficients) that, for example naphthalene is more similar to anthracene than to benzene, and moreover that benzodicoronene is more similar to anthrabenzonaphthopentacene than naphthalene is to anthracene. Whereas the correlation coefficients themselves obtained say nothing about the ways in which the patterns of intermolecular interactions are similar or different for two different structures, the fingerprint plots do contain such information. In principle this method for quantifying structural similarities of whole molecular crystal structures should be both robust and generally applicable. This method is potentially applicable to datasets consisting of many hundreds or even thousands of structures.
TL;DR: The localisation data in SUBA encompasses 10 distinct subcellular locations, >6743 non-redundant proteins and represents the proteins encoded in the transcripts responsible for 51% of Arabidopsis expressed sequence tags.
Abstract: Knowledge of protein localisation contributes towards our understanding of protein function and of biological inter-relationships. A variety of experimental methods are currently being used to produce localisation data that need to be made accessible in an integrated manner. Chimeric fluorescent fusion proteins have been used to define subcellular localisations with at least 1100 related experiments completed in Arabidopsis. More recently, many studies have employed mass spectrometry to undertake proteomic surveys of subcellular components in Arabidopsis yielding localisation information for approximately 2600 proteins. Further protein localisation information may be obtained from other literature references to analysis of locations (AmiGO: approximately 900 proteins), location information from Swiss-Prot annotations (approximately 2000 proteins); and location inferred from gene descriptions (approximately 2700 proteins). Additionally, an increasing volume of available software provides location prediction information for proteins based on amino acid sequence. We have undertaken to bring these various data sources together to build SUBA, a SUBcellular location database for Arabidopsis proteins. The localisation data in SUBA encompasses 10 distinct subcellular locations, >6743 non-redundant proteins and represents the proteins encoded in the transcripts responsible for 51% of Arabidopsis expressed sequence tags. The SUBA database provides a powerful means by which to assess protein subcellular localisation in Arabidopsis (http://www.suba.bcs.uwa.edu.au).
Johns Hopkins University1, University of British Columbia2, University of Vermont3, University of Sydney4, University of Genoa5, Duke University6, Harvard University7, Chongqing University8, University of Chicago9, McGill University10, Dalhousie University11, Indiana University – Purdue University Indianapolis12, University of Nevada, Reno13, University of Manitoba14, Emory University15, Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital16, Woolcock Institute of Medical Research17, Boston University18, University of São Paulo19, University of Western Australia20, University of Massachusetts Medical School21, Case Western Reserve University22, University of Amsterdam23, University of Melbourne24, Albany Medical College25
TL;DR: A central role for airway smooth muscle in the pathogenesis of airway hyperresponsiveness in asthma is explored and an attempt is made to address a fundamental abnormality of asthma, that of exaggerated airway narrowing due to excessive shortening of ASM.
Abstract: Excessive airway obstruction is the cause of symptoms and abnormal lung function in asthma. As airway smooth muscle (ASM) is the effecter controlling airway calibre, it is suspected that dysfunction of ASM contributes to the pathophysiology of asthma. However, the precise role of ASM in the series of events leading to asthmatic symptoms is not clear. It is not certain whether, in asthma, there is a change in the intrinsic properties of ASM, a change in the structure and mechanical properties of the noncontractile components of the airway wall, or a change in the interdependence of the airway wall with the surrounding lung parenchyma. All these potential changes could result from acute or chronic airway inflammation and associated tissue repair and remodelling. Anti-inflammatory therapy, however, does not "cure" asthma, and airway hyperresponsiveness can persist in asthmatics, even in the absence of airway inflammation. This is perhaps because the therapy does not directly address a fundamental abnormality of asthma, that of exaggerated airway narrowing due to excessive shortening of ASM. In the present study, a central role for airway smooth muscle in the pathogenesis of airway hyperresponsiveness in asthma is explored.