In the vertebrates, the BMP/Smad1 and TGF-beta/Smad2 signaling pathways execute antagonistic functions in different contexts of development. The differentiation of specific structures results from the balance between these two pathways. For example, the gastrula organizer/node of the vertebrates requires a region of low Smad1 and high Smad2 signaling. In Drosophila, Mad regulates tissue determi...

This paper presents a revised rate control scheme based on an improved frame complexity measure. Rate control adopted by both MPEG-4 VM18 and H.264/AVC use a quadratic rate-distortion (R-D) model that determines quantization parameters (QPs). Classical quadratic R-D model is suitable for MPEG-4 but it performs poorly for H.264/AVC because one of the important parameters, mean absolute differenc...

In this paper, we consider the problem of incorporating a wide set of real-world trading constraints to the meanvariance portfolio framework. Instead of using the mean-variance model directly, we use the equivalent Mean-Absolute Deviation (MAD) linear programming formulation. The addition of the trading constraints transforms the MAD model to a mixed-integer linear programming problem. We solve...

Rational numbers are used to classify maximal almost disjoint (MAD) families of subsets of the integers. Combinatorial characterization of indestructibility of MAD families by the likes of Cohen, Miller and Sacks forcings are presented. Using these it is shown that Sacks indestructible MAD family exists in ZFC and that b = c implies that there is a Cohen indestructible MAD family. It follows th...

BACKGROUND Using raw acceleration data to assess the intensity of physical activity enables direct comparisons between studies using different accelerometer brands. Mean amplitude deviation (MAD in mg) calculated from resultant tri-axial raw acceleration signal was recently shown to perform best in classifying the intensity of physical activity in adults irrespective of the accelerometer brand....

PURPOSE Current evidence indicates that the common AMPD1 gene variant is associated with improved survival in patients with advanced heart failure. Whilst adenosine has been recognized to mediate the cardioprotective effect of C34T AMPD1, the precise pathophysiologic mechanism involved remains undefined to date. To address this issue, we used cardio-pulmonary exercise testing data (CPX) from su...