170,408 research outputs found
Can we predict firms’ innovativeness? The identification of innovation performers in an Italian region through a supervised learning approach
No full textThe study shows the feasibility of predicting firms’ expenditures in innovation, as reported in the Community Innovation Survey, applying a supervised machine-learning approach on a sample of Italian firms. Using an integrated dataset of administrative records and balance sheet data, designed to include all informative variables related to innovation but also easily accessible for most of the cohort, random forest algorithm is implemented to obtain a classification model aimed to identify firms that are potential innovation performers. The performance of the classifier, estimated in terms of AUC, is 0.794. Although innovation investments do not always result in patenting, the model is able to identify 71.92% of firms with patents. More encouraging results emerge from the analysis of the inner working of the model: predictors identified as most important—such as firm size, sector belonging and investment in intangible assets—confirm previous findings of literature, but in a completely different framework. The outcomes of this study are considered relevant for both economic analysts, because it demonstrates the potential of data-driven models for understanding the nature of innovation behaviour, and practitioners, such as policymakers or venture capitalists, who can benefit by evidence-based tools in the decision-making process
The use of corpus analysis in the research of universals of translation and in the investigation of the style of translators
No full textThe following paper will analyse the aims and the development in the application of corpus analysis in Translation Studies, focusing in particular on the research projects carried out by the Centre for Translation and Intercultural Studies at the University of Manchester (former Centre for Translation Studies at UMIST), between 1993 and 2000. It will explain how these projects applied corpus based methods for the identification of universal features of translation and for the study of individual translators’ style, outlining the results achieved and the future implications related to this type of researches.
The paper will also explore the purposes and the current developments of corpus analysis in Translation Studies by presenting some specific examples of translational corpora and by analysing the questions related to their design, to the interpretation of data and to the limits and constraints involved in the collection and encoding of texts (e.g. copyright permissions, funding restrictions and technical issues).
It will finally suggest some potential applications of corpora to Translation Studies, such as the use of corpus analysis for the investigation of translational features of non-European languages and for the study of the translational features of Languages for Special Purposes (LSPs)
Ladinian conodont apparatuses from Northwestern Sardinia, Italy.
No full textA conodont fauna of Middle Triassi cage (Fassanian) was recorded from Punta del Lavatoio and Contrada Renuzzo setions (Nurra, northwestern Sardinia, Italy). The species are described interms of multielement taxonomy. The presence of "Epigondolella" truempyi is indicative of the upper curionii Xone (Late Fassanian)
A CHEAP AND VERSATILE PERSONAL COMPUTER-BASED SYSTEM FOR THE ANALYSIS OF EVOKED POTENTIALS
No full textAnalisi sullo stato di avanzamento dei progetti di registrazione Emas dei distretti industriali
No full textEvolution of a fault-controlled fissure-ridge type travertine deposit in the western Anatolia extensional province: the Çukurbag fissure-ridge (Pamukkale, Turkey)
No full textIn recent decades various interpretations have been proposed to explain the evolution of fissureridge- type travertine deposits. In this paper, we discuss the relationships between fissure-ridges and brittle structures affecting their substratum, through a detailed analysis of an inactive fissure-ridge (near Çukurbag) located in the Pamukkale geothermal area (western Turkey). The Çukurbag fissure-ridge can be taken as a model as it offers an opportunity to examine its internal structure on the walls of a Roman quarry; in addition, this ridge has been studied by several researchers who have discussed the processes promoting the fissureridge evolution. The Çukurbag fissure-ridge is composed of irregularly alternating travertine laminated facies (bedded travertine) crosscut into rather large lithons by subvertical crystalline veins (banded travertine). The relationships between bedded and banded travertine indicate that the banded veins are diachronous and migrated through time, suggesting a progressive fault zone enlargement in the footwall. Such a fault zone was characterized by polycyclic activity, with normal to transtensional kinematics, and was active during the latest Quaternary. We demonstrate that formation of banded veins is coeval with bedded travertine deposition and strictly depends on fault activity, therefore highlighting the fundamental role of travertine fissure-ridges in reconstructing palaeotectonic activity in a region. © 2014 The Geological Society of London
Spontaneous formation of pigmentary precipitates in bile salt-depleted rat bile and its prevention by micelle-forming bile salts.
No full textDuring studies on the effect of bile salt-pool depletion in the bile-fistula rat (adult male Sprague-Dawley), the spontaneous formation of an orange-brown precipitate was noted. The nature of this phenomenon and its relationship to BS and calcium concentration was investigated in depth. Bile from 18 animals was collected in the dark into transparent tubes containing sodium azide, ascorbic acid, and glucaro-1,4-lactone. The tubes were flushed with nitrogen, sealed, and incubated at 37 degrees C. The pigmentary precipitate formed in all the bile salt-depleted (less than 3-5 mM) bile samples (i.e., those collected after 5-7 h of external biliary drainage), but not in bile salt-rich biles. It appeared within 30-240 min after collection, both in bile samples collected at room temperature and at 37 degrees C, initially as a pale flocculation and then slowly sedimenting to form, after centrifugation, a solid, dark-orange pellet. There were no pH changes during incubation, and bile cultures were negative. Under polarizing microscopy, the precipitate appeared amorphous, and there was no evidence of birefringence. High-performance liquid chromatography showed that unconjugated bilirubin was the prevalent pigmentary component, but significant amounts of monoconjugated bilirubin also coprecipitated. Lipid chemistry showed the presence of lecithin (80.1% of total lipids), which was rich in palmitoyl and linoleoyl fatty acids, and of fatty acids (predominantly palmitic and oleic). Infrared spectroscopy and x-ray diffraction showed the presence of calcium bilirubinate and palmitate. In-vivo replenishment of the bile salt pool by intravenous infusion of either taurocholate or taurochenodeoxycholate (1 mumol/min) completely prevented the pigmentary precipitation. In vitro experiments showed inhibition of the precipitate formation by the addition of individual bile salt in concentrations approximating their critical micellar concentration. Precipitate formation was hastened by the addition of calcium chloride (4-12 mM), but only in bile salt-depleted biles. As the composition of the precipitate closely resembles that of human brown-pigment stones and sludge, these findings may provide new insights into an understanding of the pathogenesis of pigment gallstone disease
Monofunctional platinum(II) complexes with potent tumor cell growth inhibitory activity: the effect of a H-bond donor/acceptor N-heterocyclic ligand
No full textIMPROVEMENT OF ESTRADIOL 17-BETA-D-GLUCURONIDE CHOLESTASIS BY INTRAVENOUS ADMINISTRATION OF DIMETHYLETHANOLAMINE IN THE RAT
No full textThe intravenous administration of dimethylethanolamine in the rat promotes a selective enrichment of liver membranes with polyunsaturated phosphatidylcholines. The effect of dimethylethanolamine pretreatment on cholestasis induced by estradiol 17-beta-D-glucuronide, a potent cholestatic agent, was assessed in this study. Dimethylethanolamine, dissolved in sodium-taurocholate was infused intravenously (0.3 mg/kg/min) for 15 hr. One group of control rats (estradiol 17-beta-D-glucuronide controls) received the bile salt only. An estradiol 17-beta-D-glucuronide bolus was then injected intravenously (10.4 mg/kg) into dimethylethanolamine-pretreated and estradiol 17-beta-D-control rats, and its effect on bile flow and biliary lipid secretion was compared for 3 hr. The estradiol 17-beta-D-glucuronide inhibitory effect on bile flow and biliary lipid secretion was significantly antagonized by dimethylethanolamine pretreatment. The maximum inhibition of bile flow was found 30 min after estradiol 17-beta-D-glucuronide administration, when it decreased from 3.5 +/- 0.4-mu-l/min/100 gm (basal) to 0.9 +/- 0.3-mu-l/min/100 gm in estradiol 17-beta-D-glucuronide controls, whereas in dimethylethanolamine-pretreated rats this decreased only from 3.2 +/- 0.4 (basal) to 2.3 +/- 0.4-mu-l/min/100 gm. Bile flow and the biliary secretion of cholesterol, phosphatidylcholine and bile salts were significantly higher in the dimethylethanolamine-pretreated rats than in estradiol 17-beta-D-glucuronide controls (p < 0.02) during the cholestatic phase. The inhibitory effect of estradiol 17-beta-D-glucuronide on bile flow was associated with a marked decrease of membrane fluidity (p < 0.001) assessed by 1,6-diphenyl-1,3,5-hexatriene fluorescence anisotropy and with a cholesterol enrichment of microsomes, sinusoidal and canalicular liver plasma membranes and inhibition of sinusoidal Na+, K+-ATPase activity (p < 0.05). These membrane alterations persisted 180 min after estradiol 17-beta-D-glucuronide administration despite complete normalization of bile flow. Dimethylethanolamine pretreatment significantly counteracted the reduction of membrane fludity (p < 0.001), the cholesterol enrichment and the inhibition of Na+, K+-ATPase (p < 0.05) promoted by estradiol 17-beta-D-glucuronide administration in all membrane subfractions 30 and 180 min after administration. In addition, dimethlethanolamine-pretreated rats had more poly-unsaturated fatty acids in membrane phosphatidylcholine with respect to the control groups. Dilatation of canaliculi and loss of microvilli were evident in estradiol 17-beta-D-glucuronide controls 180 min after estradiol 17-beta-D-glucuronide administration. Dimethylethanolamine pretreatment antagonized the toxic effect of estradiol 17-beta-D-glucuronide cholestasis, particularly in the canalicular zone, which had a normal structure both 30 and 180 min after estradiol 17-beta-D-glucuronide administration. In conclusion, the intravenous administration of dimethylethanolamine improves the biochemical, biophysical and ultra-structural features of estradiol 17-beta-D-glucuronide cholestasis in the rat
Dissolution of human cholesterol gallstones in bile salt/lecithin mixtures: effect of bile salt hydrophobicity and various pHs
No full textUnconjugated bile salts currently available for gallstone dissolution are poorly effective. We evaluated in vitro the litholytic potency of taurine-amidated bile salts against human cholesterol gallstones
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