111,923 research outputs found
V&V assessment package instantiation in ICT-based manufacturing - Experiences from ten industrial use cases
No full textThis paper describes the instantiation process of a Verification & Validation (V&V) method developed for evaluating the implementation of Future Internet components in a multi-sectorial environment. ICT systems represent a key competitive factor for enterprises, and new application development paradigms are emerging with e.g. a modular approach based on standard, open and cloud-based components. The utilization of modules coming from different sources emphasizes the need for a sound V&V approach in order to ensure that the final solution is of quality, accords to the existing standard and at the same time addresses the original business needs. The proposed approach is based on a standard V&V methodology characterized by a structured assessment of the software quality at different levels and a reduced set of business indicators able to evaluate the business impact of the integrated solution; all of these are deployed via a configurable V&V Package based on a web interface. At the end of the paper the practical experiences and lessons learned from our work are also described
Large-scale chromatin remodeling in germinal vesicle bovine oocytes: interplay with gap junction functionality and developmental competence
No full textIn mammals, oocyte acquires a series of competencies sequentially during folliculogenesis that play critical roles at fertilization and early stages of embryonic development. In mouse, chromatin in germinal vesicle (GV) undergoes dynamic changes during oocyte growth and its progressive condensation has been related to the achievement of developmental potential. Cumulus cells are essential for the acquisition of meiotic competence and play a role in chromatin remodeling during oocyte growth. This study is aimed to characterize the chromatin configuration of growing and fully grown bovine oocytes, the status of communications between oocyte and cumulus cells and oocyte developmental potential. Following nuclear staining, we identified four discrete stages of GV, characterized by an increase of chromatin condensation. GV0 stage represented 82% of growing oocytes and it was absent in fully grown oocytes. GV1, GV2, and GV3 represented, respectively, 24, 31, and 45% of fully grown oocytes. Our data indicated a moderate but significant increase in oocyte diameter between GV0 and GV3 stage. By dye coupling assay the 98% of GV0 oocytes showed fully open communications while the number of oocytes with functionally closed communications with cumulus cells was significantly higher in GV3 group than GV1 and GV2. However, GV0 oocytes were unable to progress through metaphase II while GV2 and GV3 showed the highest developmental capability. We conclude that in bovine, the progressive chromatin condensation is related to the sequential achievement of meiotic and embryonic developmental competencies during oocyte growth and differentiation. Moreover, gap-junction-mediated communications between oocyte and cumulus cells could be implicated in modulating the chromatin remodeling process
PHOTONUCLEASE ACTIVITY OF FAGOPYRIN, A PERYLENEQUINONE ISOLATED FROM Fagopyrum esculentum FLOWERS
No full textStructural Analysis of Fagopyrin Extracts by HPLC-MS, NMR and CD
No full textFagopyrin is a phenantro-perylenequinone present in the flowers of Fagopyrum aesculentum (buckwheat), endowed with photodynamic activity and responsible of a certain number of photosensitizing syndromes in grazing animals (fagopyrism)1. This molecule was firstly extracted, more than 30 years ago, by Brockmann, who ascertained its chemical constitution.2
More accurate structural investigations, performed on the related compound hypericin, showed that a high degree of structural and conformational complexity might be present,3 as the aromatic system is involved in different equilibria of tautomerism, dissociation, torsional isomerism, and homoassociation. In the case of fagopyrin, the presence of two piperidine rings at positions 2 and 5 introduces two new stereogenic centres, in addition to the axial chirality of the aromatic system. Apart from the fundamental work of Brockmann, who did not establish the absolute configuration of the isolated fagopyrin, no other study has appeared, reporting a detailed analysis of the various stereogenic centres.
Here, we wish to report our results regarding the stereochemistry of fagopyrin, as well as the composition of fagopyrin extracts; which actually proved to be complex mixtures of up to twenty molecules. Some of them are constituted by the same perylene-quinone, linked not only to piperidine, but also to pirrolidine moieties. This generates three different groups of closely related molecules (see Figure), depending on the nature of the linked heterocycles, with the generation of up to 8 stereoisomers within each family. The configuration of each stereocenter has been established by NMR and CD measurements, combined with ab-initio calculations (Gaussian03). Finally, the highly acidic hydroxyl groups allow the formation of zwitterionic species constituted by ion-pairs between the protonated amino groups and the negatively charged hypericinate ion.
1. Wender S. H., Gortner R. A., Inman O. L., J. Am. Chem. Soc., 1943, 65, 1733-1735.
2. Brockmann H., Lackner H., Tetrahedron Lett., 1979, 1575-1578.
3. Falk H., Angew. Chem. Int. Ed., 1999, 38, 3116-3136
author-bios-SRD-19-0063.R1 – Supplemental material for The Network Structure of Police Misconduct
No full textSupplemental material, author-bios-SRD-19-0063.R1 for The Network Structure of Police Misconduct by George Wood, Daria Roithmayr and Andrew V. Papachristos in Socius</p
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
No full textThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
Variations on the Author
No full text“Variations on the Author” discusses two of Eduardo Coutinho’s recent films (Um Dia na Vida, from 2010, and Últimas Conversas, posthumously released in 2015) and their contribution to the general question of documentary authorship. The director’s filmography is characterized by a consistent yet self-effacing form of authorial self-inscription: Coutinho often features as an interviewer that rather than express opinions propels discourses; an interviewer that is good at listening. This mode of self-inscription characterizes him as an author who is not expressive but who is nonetheless markedly present on the screen. In Um Dia na Vida, however, Coutinho is completely absent form the image, while Últimas Conversas, on the contrary, includes a confessional prologue that moves the director from the margins to the center of his films. This article examines the ways in which these works stand out in the filmography of a director who offers new insights into the notion of cinematic authorship
Biomechanical analysis of the muscular and ligament behavior of the knee joint through a subject-specific computational model
No full textThe interaction and load sharing between muscles, ligaments and articulating surfaces is crucial for the stability of the knee. The aim of the present work is to develop an effective multibody dynamics-based model that allows a quick subject-specific assessment of ligaments, muscular behavior and contact forces.
This paper shows the results of ‘quasi-static’ simulations of a squat movement between 0° and 90° of flexion in gravitational force field. During this movement the lengths of anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) and lateral collateral ligament (LCL) decreased up to 21% and 10.5%, respectively, while the lengths of medial collateral ligament (MCL) and posterior cruciate ligament (PCL) increased. Quadriceps muscle force at equilibrium increased during flexion reaching a value of 3.88 body weight (BW) at 90°
of flexion. Tibio-femoral contact forces changed non-linearly with joint angle and achieved a maximum value of 4.58 BW at 90° of flexion.
Once completely developed this model could be used to investigate the effect of several key factors in the surgical planning that could affect the knee biomechanics and the
results of the intervention
Evaluation of new adsorbed coatings when applying chiral capillary electrophoresis and the partial filling technique
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