3,425 research outputs found
Accelerating Google PageRank by applying Aitken Extrapolation and Quadratic Extrapolation
No full textGoogle PageRank is an algorithm incorporated by Google to rank websites, using the amount of links a website has as well as the importance of each link. This process can be calculated using the power method. As the amount of websites grows it is essential to speed up this process. Two extrapolation methods, Aitken Extrapolation and Quadratic Extrapolation, have been researched to see if they can speed up the power method and if they are always applicable.Applied MathematicsElectrical Engineering, Mathematics and Computer Scienc
Melatonin prevents postovulatory oocyte aging in the mouse and extends the window for optimal fertilization in vitro
No full textThe quality of metaphase II oocytes deteriorates rapidly following ovulation as the result of an aging process associated with impaired fertilizing potential, disrupted developmental competence and an increased likelihood of embryonic resorption. As oxidative stress has been shown to accelerate the onset of apoptosis in oocytes and influence their capacity for fertilization, this study aimed to characterize the significance of such stress in the post-ovulatory aging of mouse oocytes in vitro. In the course of these studies, we investigated the ability of the potent antioxidant, melatonin, to arrest the aging process when used to supplement oocyte culture medium. This study demonstrated that oxidative stress may occur in oocytes after as little as 8 h in culture and coincides with the appearance of early apoptotic markers such as phosphatidylserine externalization, and is followed 16 h later by caspase activation (P < 0.05) and morphological evidence of oocyte senescence (P < 0.001). Importantly, supplementation of oocyte culture medium with 1 mM melatonin was able to significantly relieve the time-dependent appearance of oxidative stress in oocytes (P < 0.05) and, as a result, significantly delay the onset of apoptosis (P < 0.05). Furthermore, melatonin supplementation extended the optimal window for fertilization of oocytes aged for 8 h and 16 h in vitro (P < 0.05), and significantly improved the quality of the resulting embryos (P < 0.01). We conclude that melatonin may be a useful tool in a clinical setting to prevent the time-dependent deterioration of oocyte quality following prolonged culture in vitro.Summary: Addition of the antioxidant melatonin to oocyte culture media delays the onset of post-ovulatory oocyte apoptosis; it not only extends the window for optimum fertilization but also improves the quality of resulting blastocysts
R.J. Sommers
No full textThe single-spaced paragraph on the “About the Author” page of R.J. Sommers’ latest novel says she lives in a one-story house on the edge of a city. It says she is renowned for writing relatable characters and compelling relationships. It says nothing about her own friends.
Gazing from a photo at the top of the page, R.J. Sommers appears to point a camera toward her readers..
A novel approach to non-surgical sterilization
No full textMicroscope images, phage binding and gonocyte vitality data to support “A novel approach to nonsurgical sterilization; application of menadione-modified gonocyte-targeting M13 bacteriophage for germ cell ablation in utero”, a research article published in the journal “Pharmacology Research and Perspectives” in September 2020. This work was funded by ARC Discovery Grant funded by the Australian Government. Grant details are: Title: Use of quinone adducted peptides in the regulation of fertility CIs: R.J. Aitken, B. Nixon. Awarded: Jan 2015. Years: 3 years; Amount: $417,344; Grant number: DP15010323
Author Co-Citation Analysis (ACA): a powerful tool for representing implicit knowledge of scholar knowledge workers
No full textIn the last decade, knowledge has emerged as one of the most important and valuable organizational assets. Gradually this importance caused to emergence of new discipline entitled ―knowledge management‖. However one of the major challenges of knowledge management is conversion implicit or tacit knowledge to explicit knowledge. Thus Making knowledge visible so that it can be better accessed, discussed, valued or generally managed is a long-standing objective in knowledge management. Accordingly in this paper author co- citation analysis (ACA) will be proposed as an efficient technique of knowledge visualization in academia (Scholar knowledge workers)
Report on industrial attachment with R.J. Crocker Consultants Pte Ltd
No full textThis report documents the undertaking of the author’s six months of industrial attachment. It was the industrial attachment that gave him the opportunity to discover the innovative skills and expertise from his fellow colleagues working the organization. Throughout the attachment, the author had learnt a great deal from various trained and experienced engineers. He had been exposed to a variety of training namely (1) reinforcement concrete design, (2) steel and connection design, (3) modelling structures for design and analysis using software, (4) visual inspections for buildings, (5) preparing tender documents, (6) drawing, presentation and attending and (7) handling online submissions for building inspections, structural plans, design calculations, etc. Furthermore, by attending project meetings, preparing materials for presentations, tendering documents and drawings to privatized companies and public sectors all bestowed the author a concrete understanding of the type and quality of work required of and produced by a qualified engineer. Without the industrial attachment, all these practical skills and knowledge might not have been attainable by learning in the university alone. It was overall a fruitful experience
Information Circular 12. Selected Bibliography of Cuyuna Range Geology, Mining and Metallurgy
No full textThis work is an extension of a bibliography prepared by the author as part of a final report submitted to the U.S. Bureau of Mines for grant # G026/t002 entitled "Manganese-bearing ores of the Cuyuna iron range, east-central Minnesota, Phase 1". This bibliography, though directed primarily towards the geologic and mining literature of the Cuyuna range, does include the major works on the metallurgical aspects of the Cuyuna ores. For historical interest the very earliest publications are included. This list of abbreviations given on pages 2-4 are consistent with those from the "Bibliography and Index of Geology".Beltrame, R.J.. (1977). Information Circular 12. Selected Bibliography of Cuyuna Range Geology, Mining and Metallurgy. Retrieved from the University Digital Conservancy, https://hdl.handle.net/11299/59304
The Late Fifteenth-Century Utrecht Chronicle of the Teutonic Order: Manuscripts, Sources, and Authorship
No full textBy studying the Utrecht Chronicle of the Teutonic Order, also known as the ‘Jüngere Hochmeisterchronik’, I aimed to examine the circulation of (historical) knowledge within the Teutonic Order at the end of the fifteenth century. Only decades earlier, the order suffered major defeats in Prussia and its former heathen enemies had become Christians. It has been the underlying aim of this study to gain an understanding of the introduction of the order’s tradition of history writing to the Dutch Low Countries, far removed from the traditional production centres in Prussia and Livonia, as well as the effects this change of location, and accompanying change of perspective had on the content and purpose of such historical production within the order. In this dissertation, I have been able to establish that the chronicle was written in Utrecht, in various phases from 1480 to 1491 and possibly the mid-1490s, by the Utrecht land commander Johan van Drongelen and his personal secretary. The material product of their collaboration is a manuscript kept in Vienna, which can now be classified as an author’s copy. I have also shown in detail how the text was constructed, and that the author(s) managed to collect a wide selection of sources – including from locations hundreds of kilometres away from the city of Utrecht. We have therefore come much closer to understanding the specific circumstances under which the chronicle was written, as well as the preconditions of that environment which made it possible to undertake such an ambitious project
Financial structures and economic development
No full textThe author constructs a model that captures the two-way nature of the relationship between financial and economic development - and allows societies at different levels of economic development and with different policies to choose different financial services. In this model, various types of financial contracts and institutions arise in response to the economic environment. Incentives for financial structures to emerge are generated by liquidity and productivity risk, the costs of gathering information and mobilizing resources, and the costs of financial transactions. The emergence and development of financial arrangements in response to the economic environment can alter investment decisions and per capita growth rates - while the level of per capita income helps determine the types of financial services a particular society chooses to develop and use. The author not only reconciles more empirical regularities than past theoretical studies have done, but highlights the role of public policies on financial activities. Policy has important implications for the rate of economic growth, the level of financial development, and the types of institutions providing financial services. The model also predicts that per capita growth rates should be related to the types of financial services provided by the financial sector. Thus, the most common empirical measure of financial development may not appropriately capture fundamental features of financial development.Economic Theory&Research,Environmental Economics&Policies,Banks&Banking Reform,Financial Intermediation,Governance Indicators
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