Search results for "quantitative"
showing 10 items of 2409 documents
Investments in Latvia
2021
The effective attraction of investments to the national economy is a key factor, which provides favourable conditions to perform structural changes in the national economy, regional development as well as promotes technical progress. Therefore, investments in the public and the private sectors conduce development of the national economy and provide conditions to increase the overall competitiveness of a country. The purpose of research is to evaluate investment processes in Latvia before and after the global financial crisis, revealing investment-related problems. Also, to calculate the level of the desired investment, which would ensure the Latvia’s average GDP growth of 5% per year, accor…
Stimuli-responsive hybrid materials: breathing in magnetic layered double hydroxides induced by a thermoresponsive molecule
2014
[EN] A hybrid magnetic multilayer material of micrometric size, with highly crystalline hexagonal crystals consisting of CoAl-LDH ferromagnetic layers intercalated with thermoresponsive 4-(4-anilinophenylazo)benzenesulfonate (AO5) molecules diluted (ratio 9 : 1) with a flexible sodium dodecylsulphate (SDS) surfactant has been obtained. The resulting material exhibits thermochromism attributable to the isomerization between the azo (prevalent at room temperature) and the hydrazone (favoured at higher temperatures) tautomers, leading to a thermomechanical response. In fact, these crystals exhibited thermally induced motion triggering remarkable changes in the crystal morphology and volume. In…
Use of QSAR methods for predicting the chemiluminescent behaviour of organic compounds upon reaction with potassium permanganate in an acid medium
2009
In previous work, molecular connectivity computations were successfully used to predict the chemiluminescent behaviour of organic compounds upon reaction with common strong oxidants and the native fluorescence too; both of them in a liquid phase. The obtained results were used to develop new analytical procedures to the given compounds. For the first time, connectivity methods were used for a purely analytical purpose. In this work, we went deeper into the knowledge of direct chemiluminescence processes by using molecular connectivity in the form of QSAR methods to predict the chemiluminescence intensity produced by reactions between organic compounds (pharmaceuticals mainly) and potassium …
Coevolution of parental investment and sexually selected traits drives sex-role divergence
2016
Sex-role evolution theory attempts to explain the origin and direction of male–female differences. A fundamental question is why anisogamy, the difference in gamete size that defines the sexes, has repeatedly led to large differences in subsequent parental care. Here we construct models to confirm predictions that individuals benefit less from caring when they face stronger sexual selection and/or lower certainty of parentage. However, we overturn the widely cited claim that a negative feedback between the operational sex ratio and the opportunity cost of care selects for egalitarian sex roles. We further argue that our model does not predict any effect of the adult sex ratio (ASR) that is …
Environmental stress affects the expression of a carotenoid-based sexual trait in male zebra finches.
2007
SUMMARY Abiotic factors including thermal stress are suggested to exert constrains on sexual ornaments through trade-offs between sexual displays and physiological functions related to self-maintenance. Given the health properties of carotenoid pigments, carotenoid-based ornaments offer a relevant context in which to investigate the effect of environmental stress, such as ambient temperature, on the production and maintenance of secondary sexual traits and, also, to explore the proximate mechanisms shaping their expression. In this study, we exposed male zebra finches (Taeniopygia guttata) to environmental stress by exposing them to two temperature regimes (6 and 26°C) over a 4 week period.…
Evidence for PTGER4 ,PSCA, and MBOAT7 as risk genes for gastric cancer on the genome and transcriptome level
2018
Genetic associations between variants on chromosome 5p13 and 8q24 and gastric cancer (GC) have been previously reported in the Asian population. We aimed to replicate these findings and to characterize the associations at the genome and transcriptome level. We performed a fine-mapping association study in 1926 GC patients and 2012 controls of European descent using high dense SNP marker sets on both chromosomal regions. Next, we performed expression quantitative trait locus (eQTL) analyses using gastric transcriptome data from 143 individuals focusing on the GC associated variants. On chromosome 5p13 the strongest association was observed at rs6872282 (P = 2.53 x 10(-04)) and on chromosome …
Cognitive resource allocation determines the organization of personal networks
2018
Significance The way we organize our social relationships is key to understanding the structure of our society. We propose a quantitative theory to tackle this issue, assuming that our capacity to maintain relationships is limited and that different types of relationships require different investments. The theory accounts for well-documented empirical evidence on personal networks, such that connections are typically arranged in layers of increasing size and decreasing emotional content. More interestingly, it predicts that when the number of available relationships is small, this structure is inverted, having more close relationships than acquaintances. We provide evidence of the existence…
The LepR-mediated leptin transport across brain barriers controls food reward
2018
Objective Leptin is a key hormone in the control of appetite and body weight. Predominantly produced by white adipose tissue, it acts on the brain to inhibit homeostatic feeding and food reward. Leptin has free access to circumventricular organs, such as the median eminence, but entry into other brain centers is restricted by the blood–brain and blood–CSF barriers. So far, it is unknown for which of its central effects leptin has to penetrate brain barriers. In addition, the mechanisms mediating the transport across barriers are unclear although high expression in brain barriers suggests an important role of the leptin receptor (LepR). Methods We selectively deleted LepR in brain endothelia…
Genome-wide associations for birth weight and correlations with adult disease
2016
Birth weight (BW) has been shown to be influenced by both fetal and maternal factors and in observational studies is reproducibly associated with future risk of adult metabolic diseases including type 2 diabetes (T2D) and cardiovascular disease. These life-course associations have often been attributed to the impact of an adverse early life environment. Here, we performed a multi-ancestry genome-wide association study (GWAS) meta-analysis of BW in 153,781 individuals, identifying 60 loci where fetal genotype was associated with BW (P < 5 × 10(-8)). Overall, approximately 15% of variance in BW was captured by assays of fetal genetic variation. Using genet…
Shared Genetic Etiology of Obesity-Related Traits and Barrett's Esophagus/Adenocarcinoma: Insights from Genome-Wide Association Studies
2020
Abstract Background: Obesity is a major risk factor for esophageal adenocarcinoma (EA) and its precursor Barrett's esophagus (BE). Research suggests that individuals with high genetic risk to obesity have a higher BE/EA risk. To facilitate understanding of biological factors that lead to progression from BE to EA, the present study investigated the shared genetic background of BE/EA and obesity-related traits. Methods: Cross-trait linkage disequilibrium score regression was applied to summary statistics from genome-wide association meta-analyses on BE/EA and on obesity traits. Body mass index (BMI) was used as a proxy for general obesity, and waist-to-hip ratio (WHR) for abdominal obesity. …