QDECR: A Flexible, Extensible Vertex-Wise Analysis Framework in R

The cerebral cortex is fundamental to the functioning of the mind and body. In vivo cortical morphology can be studied through magnetic resonance imaging in several ways, including reconstructing surface-based models of the cortex. However, existing software for surface-based statistical analyses cannot accommodate “big data” or commonly used statistical methods such as the imputation of missing data, extensive bias correction, and non-linear modeling. To address these shortcomings, we developed the QDECR package, a flexible and extensible R package for group-level statistical analysis of cortical morphology. QDECR was written with large population-based epidemiological studies in mind and was designed to fully utilize the extensive modeling options in R. QDECR currently supports vertex-wise linear regression. Design matrix generation can be done through simple, familiar R formula specification, and includes user-friendly extensions for R options such as polynomials, splines, interactions and other terms. QDECR can handle unimputed and imputed datasets with thousands of participants. QDECR has a modular design, and new statistical models can be implemented which utilize several aspects from other generic modules which comprise QDECR. In summary, QDECR provides a framework for vertex-wise surface-based analyses that enables flexible statistical modeling and features commonly used in population-based and clinical studies, which have until now been largely absent from neuroimaging research.

Effect of Parapet Lattice on Alteration of Airflow for Convective Cooling of the Roof Surface

For reducing the thermal stress in the environment, studies are being conducted to articulate the building elements for increasing their efficacy. These elements, which are like shading devices, balcony, veranda, walls, windows, etc. are associated with superstructure but are positioned below the roof level[1][2][3]. Here, parapet, which is primarily designed for safety and aesthetics, has been explored for its ability to reduce roof surface temperature. Any modification in the design of a parapet directly influences the amount of solar gain or the pattern of airflow on the roof surface. Though the limited height of a parapet does not have much influence on the amount of solar gain or shade, it can alter the incoming airflow. Traditionally voids have been provided in parapet to facilitate passing air to get in touch with roof surface for convective cooling. So, the paper focus on designing and evaluating an array of generic voids with opening ranging from 0 to 80 per cent for the active cooling of the adjoining roof surface. For the broader benefit of the study, elements like dwelling unit size, climatic conditions, choice of building material, contemporary designs of parapet etc. have been taken consideration. Sixteen generic modules were formed, which were examined in two phases; these include CFD simulation and three-dimensional physical model study. The results established a notable difference in the rate of heat loss among themselves with respect to the timeline. On this basis, the sixteen scenarios were rearranged and grouped following the descending order of the heat loss. The application of this outcome will not only enhance the rooftop living environment but will also facilitate enhanced thermal comfort, especially to those who have either no access or have limited economic resources to manage mechanical appliances.

The protein-specific activities of the transmembrane modules of Ptch1 and Ptch2 are determined by their adjacent protein domains

Signaling through the Hedgehog (Hh) pathway is mediated by the Patched (Ptch) family of proteins. Although the vertebrate Ptch proteins Ptch1 and Ptch2 harbor two closely related transmembrane modules related to sterol-sensing domains (SSDs), the role of these closely related receptors in the Hh pathway are not equivalent. Ptch1 is essential for development and appears to be the principal receptor mediating responses to Hh ligands, whereas Ptch2 is nonessential, and its role in Hh-signaling remains ambiguous. We hypothesized that the SSDs of the Ptch proteins function as generic modules whose protein-specific activities are determined by the adjacent cytoplasmic and luminal domains. We first showed that individual N-terminal and C-terminal halves of Ptch1 associated noncovalently to mediate ligand-dependent regulation of Hh signaling. The analogous regions of Ptch2 also interacted noncovalently but did not repress the Hh pathway. However, the SSD of Ptch2 were capable of repressing Hh signaling, as determined using chimeric proteins where the SSDs of Ptch1 were replaced by those from Ptch2. Replacement of the SSDs of Ptch1 with the analogous regions from the cholesterol transporter NPC1 failed to produce a chimeric protein capable of Hh repression. Further refinement of the specific regions in Ptch1 and Ptch2 revealed that specific cytoplasmic domains of Ptch1 were necessary but not sufficient for repression of Hh signaling and that the two principal luminal domains of Ptch1 and Ptch2 were interchangeable. These data support a model where the SSDs of the Ptch family proteins exhibit generic activities and that the adjacent cytoplasmic and luminal domains determine their protein-specific activities.

GENERIC MODULE FOR COLLECTING DATA IN SMART CITIES

The Future Internet brings new technologies to the common life of people, such as Internet of Things, Cloud Computing or Big Data. All this technologies have change the way people communicate and also the way the devices interact with the context, giving rise to new paradigms, as the case of smart cities. Currently, the mobile devices represent one of main sources of information for new applications that take into account the user context, such as apps for mobility, health, of security. Several platforms have been proposed that consider the development of Future Internet applications, however, no generic modules can be found that implement the collection of context data from smartphones. In this research work we present a generic module to collect data from different sensors of the mobile devices and also to send, in a standard manner, this data to the Open FIWARE Cloud to be stored or analyzed by software tools. The proposed module enables the human-as-a-sensor approach for FIWARE Platform.

On restrictions of generic modules of tame algebras

Given a convex algebra ∧0 in the tame finite-dimensional basic algebra ∧, over an algebraically closed field, we describe a special type of restriction of the generic ∧-modules.