Defining PCOS: A syndrome with an intrinsic heterogeneous nature

2022 ◽  
pp. 3-13
Author(s):  
Héctor F. Escobar-Morreale
Keyword(s):  
Heterogeneous Nature

scholarly journals Emotional Labour and the Autonomy of Dependent Self-Employed Workers: The Limitations of Digital Managerial Control in the Home Credit Sector

2021 ◽  
pp. 095001702097950
Author(s):  
Esme Terry ◽  
Abigail Marks ◽  
Arek Dakessian ◽  
Dimitris Christopoulos
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Digital Control ◽  
Managerial Control ◽  
Emotional Labour ◽  
Labour Process ◽  
Heterogeneous Nature ◽  
Worker Autonomy ◽  
The Impact

Changes to the labour process in the home credit sector have exposed the industry’s agency workforce to increased levels of digital managerial control through the introduction of lending applications and algorithmic decision-making techniques. This article highlights the heterogeneous nature of the impact of digitalisation on the labour process and worker autonomy – specifically, in terms of workers’ engagement in unquantified emotional labour. By considering the limitations of digital control in relation to qualitative elements of the labour process, it becomes evident that emotional labour has the scope to be a source of autonomy for dependent self-employed workers when set against a backdrop of heightened digital control. This article therefore contributes to ongoing labour process debates surrounding digitalisation, quantified workers and digital managerial control.

scholarly journals The Yin and Yang of tumour-derived extracellular vesicles in tumour immunity

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Takayoshi Yamauchi ◽  
Toshiro Moroishi
Keyword(s):  
Extracellular Vesicles ◽  
Tumour Progression ◽  
Tumour Microenvironment ◽  
Host Immunity ◽  
Biological Processes ◽  
Small Particles ◽  
Tumour Immunity ◽  
Heterogeneous Nature ◽  
Yin And Yang ◽  
Cellular Components

Abstract Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are small particles that are naturally released from various types of cells. EVs contain a wide variety of cellular components, such as proteins, nucleic acids, lipids and metabolites, which facilitate intercellular communication in diverse biological processes. In the tumour microenvironment, EVs have been shown to play important roles in tumour progression, including immune system–tumour interactions. Although previous studies have convincingly demonstrated the immunosuppressive functions of tumour-derived EVs, some studies have suggested that tumour-derived EVs can also stimulate host immunity, especially in therapeutic conditions. Recent studies have revealed the heterogeneous nature of EVs with different structural and biological characteristics that may account for the divergent functions of EVs in tumour immunity. In this review article, we provide a brief summary of our current understanding of tumour-derived EVs in immune activation and inhibition. We also highlight the emerging utility of EVs in the diagnosis and treatment of cancers and discuss the potential clinical applications of tumour-derived EVs.

scholarly journals The IEC 61850 Sampled Measured Values Protocol: Analysis, Threat Identification, and Feasibility of Using NN Forecasters to Detect Spoofed Packets

Energies ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 12 (19) ◽  
pp. 3731 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohamad El Hariri ◽  
Eric Harmon ◽  
Tarek Youssef ◽  
Mahmoud Saleh ◽  
Hany Habib ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Smart Grid ◽  
Protocol Analysis ◽  
Data Detection ◽  
Detection Accuracy ◽  
Wide Spread ◽  
Grid Data ◽  
Iec 61850 ◽  
Forecasting Error ◽  
Heterogeneous Nature ◽  
Statistical Indicators

The operation of the smart grid is anticipated to rely profoundly on distributed microprocessor-based control. Therefore, interoperability standards are needed to address the heterogeneous nature of the smart grid data. Since the IEC 61850 emerged as a wide-spread interoperability standard widely accepted by the industry, the Sampled Measured Values method has been used to communicate digitized voltage and current measurements. Realizing that current and voltage measurements (i.e., feedback measurements) are necessary for reliable and secure noperation of the power grid, firstly, this manuscript provides a detailed analysis of the Sampled Measured Values protocol emphasizing its advantages, then, it identifies vulnerabilities in this protocol and explains the cyber threats associated to these vulnerabilities. Secondly, current efforts to mitigate these vulnerabilities are outlined and the feasibility of using neural network forecasters to detect spoofed sampled values is investigated. It was shown that although such forecasters have high spoofed data detection accuracy, they are prone to the accumulation of forecasting error. Accordingly, this paper also proposes an algorithm to detect the accumulation of the forecasting error based on lightweight statistical indicators. The effectiveness of the proposed methods is experimentally verified in a laboratory-scale smart grid testbed.

scholarly journals Measuring the vulnerability of sub-national regions: Integrating relative location

2017 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephanie Rossouw
Keyword(s):  
South African ◽  
Spatial Association ◽  
Relative Location ◽  
Spatial Spillovers ◽  
Economic Vulnerability ◽  
Heterogeneous Nature ◽  
Urban Rural ◽  
Components Analysis ◽  
National Perspective ◽  
S Model

Background: The authors of this article ‘Measuring the vulnerability of sub-national regions in South Africa’ (Naudé, McGillivray and Rossouw 2009b) present an exploration into economic vulnerability from a sub-national perspective. It is an important contribution because it recognises the heterogeneous nature of vulnerability across areas within a country, but its analysis is aspatial because it does not explicitly account for the relative location of or the potential for spillovers between areas.Aim: This article aims to provide a purely methodological contribution towards the debate surrounding the measurement of multidimensional vulnerability by: (1) augmenting Naudé et al. (2009b)’s model to take account of spatial contiguity, (2) comparing spatial and aspatial local vulnerability indices estimates to illustrate the presence and importance of spatial spillovers between contiguous areas and (3) extending their methodology on the Vulnerability Intervention Index to present results which highlight areas that are performing better and worse than expected.Methods: Principal components analysis, queen-contiguity weight matrix and local indication of spatial association (LISA) maps were utilised.Results: Application of the methodological extensions to South African Magisterial District data illustrates the presence and importance of spatial spillovers in shaping local vulnerability.Conclusions: Our results illustrate a clear urban–rural vulnerability divide and the need for appropriate policy. It is argued that account of spatial spillovers is an important issue if full and accurate vulnerability indices are to be identified.

Lithofacies Analysis and Qualitative Minerology of the Sediments of #3 Well in the Greater Ughelli Depobelt, Niger Delta Basin

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 601-610
Author(s):  
K. Itiowe ◽  
R. Oghonyon ◽  
B. K. Kurah
Keyword(s):  
Physical Properties ◽  
Clay Minerals ◽  
Niger Delta ◽  
Reservoir Quality ◽  
X Ray Diffraction ◽  
X Ray ◽  
Sandy Shale ◽  
Heterogeneous Nature ◽  
Niger Delta Basin ◽  
Shaly Sandstone

The sediment of #3 Well of the Greater Ughelli Depobelt are represented by sand and shale intercalation. In this study, lithofacies analysis and X-ray diffraction technique were used to characterize the sediments from the well. The lithofacies analysis was based on the physical properties of the sediments encountered from the ditch cuttings.  Five lithofacies types of mainly sandstone, clayey sandstone, shaly sandstone, sandy shale and shale and 53 lithofacies zones were identified from 15 ft to 11295 ft. The result of the X-ray diffraction analysis identified that the following clay minerals – kaolinite, illite/muscovite, sepiolite, chlorite, calcite, dolomite; with kaolinite in greater percentage. The non-clay minerals include quartz, pyrite, anatase, gypsum, plagioclase, microcline, jarosite, barite and fluorite; with quartz having the highest percentage. Therefore, due to the high percentage of kaolinite in #3 well, the pore filing kaolinite may have more effect on the reservoir quality than illite/muscovite, chlorite and sepiolite. By considering the physical properties, homogenous and heterogeneous nature of the #3 Well, it would be concluded that #3 Well has some prospect for petroleum and gas exploration.

scholarly journals The epidemiology of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis and interstitial lung diseases at risk of a progressive-fibrosing phenotype

2018 ◽  
Vol 27 (150) ◽  
pp. 180077 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amy L. Olson ◽  
Alex H. Gifford ◽  
Naohiko Inase ◽  
Evans R. Fernández Pérez ◽  
Takafumi Suda
Keyword(s):  
At Risk ◽  
Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis ◽  
Pulmonary Fibrosis ◽  
Lung Diseases ◽  
Epidemiological Data ◽  
Interstitial Lung Diseases ◽  
Global Distribution ◽  
Clinical Classification ◽  
Heterogeneous Nature ◽  
Broad Overview

The availability of epidemiological data relating to interstitial lung diseases (ILDs) has increased over recent years, but information on the prevalence and incidence of ILDs of different aetiologies remains limited. Despite global distribution, the proportion of patients who develop a progressive phenotype across different ILDs is not well known. Disease behaviour is well documented in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis but idiosyncratic in other ILDs that may present a progressive fibrosing phenotype. Possible reasons may include the heterogeneous nature of the aetiology, the complexity of diagnosis (and subsequent documentation of cases) and the methods employed to retrospectively analyse patient databases. This review presents a broad overview of the epidemiological data available for ILDs that may present a progressive-fibrosing phenotype, collectively and stratified according to clinical classification. We also note where further data are needed in comparison to the well-studied IPF indication.

scholarly journals Electrical Behaviour of Finely Divided Ice

1978 ◽  
Vol 21 (85) ◽  
pp. 173-191 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. G. Paren ◽  
J. W. Glen
Keyword(s):  
Relaxation Times ◽  
Surface Adsorption ◽  
Frequency Dispersion ◽  
Polar Regions ◽  
Electrical Behaviour ◽  
Heterogeneous Nature ◽  
Glacier Ice ◽  
Bulk Relaxation ◽  
Adsorption Of Co ◽  
The Mean

Abstract The electrical behaviour of ice which has been finely ground and compressed was investigated during ageing in air and over a range of temperatures. The dielectric behaviour may be accurately represented as the sum of two elliptical relaxation spectra. The behaviour eventually stabilizes with similar activation energies for the mean relaxation time of each spectrum c. 0.25 eV, and the ratio of the relaxation times is ten in samples of density c. 0.42 Mg m-3. Arguments are presented on whether the higher-frequency dispersion is a consequence of the heterogeneous nature of the samples or is a bulk relaxation process. The similarities between the behaviour of such finely ground ice and of deposited snow and polar glacier ice are discussed. The extent to which the results may be attributed to surface adsorption of CO2 are examined by reference to measurements of the CO2 content of finely divided ice and ice from polar regions.

scholarly journals Optimization of the balance between effort and yield in unilateral surgical transfer of mouse embryos

2017 ◽  
Vol 51 (6) ◽  
pp. 622-628 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pablo González-Jara ◽  
Tomás Fontela ◽  
Esther López-Mimbela ◽  
Marta Cereceda ◽  
Daniel Del Olmo ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Embryo Transfer ◽  
Mouse Embryos ◽  
Mouse Strains ◽  
Optimization Approach ◽  
Use Of Resources ◽  
Heterogeneous Nature ◽  
Laboratory Manuals ◽  
The Mean ◽  
Transfer Procedures

Surgical transfer of embryos is carried out daily in animal facilities worldwide for the rederivation of mouse strains/lines, among other purposes. Current protocols described in laboratory manuals recommend using a high number of embryos during transfer, typically in the range of 15 up to 25. To optimize the use of resources it is necessary to estimate and relate the effort required and the yield obtained. Here, we analyse the balance between the number of embryos transferred (the effort), and the yield as the number of born pups obtained from surgical embryo transfer. To accomplish this, we have analyzed data obtained during rederivation of nearly one hundred lines of mice to a new animal facility. Our results confirm that the use of increasing numbers of embryos per transfer increases the yields of born pups, as has been described previously in the literature, but they also highlight the disproportionate effort required, i.e. in the number of embryos that needed to be transferred. An estimate of the mean expected yields of surgical transfers and their comparison with the actual observed yields indicated that the balance between effort and yield is optimized when using lower numbers of embryos than in currently used protocols, in the range of 8 to 12. Given the heterogeneous nature of the data presented and analyzed here, which is from a population of mice that may be considered as representative of any animal facility, our optimization approach should help save resources in similar facilities and improve the yields of embryo transfer procedures.

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