Estimating weak ratiometric signals in imaging data. II. Meta-analysis with multiple, dual-channel datasets.

PubMed

Sornborger, Andrew; Broder, Josef; Majumder, Anirban; Srinivasamoorthy, Ganesh; Porter, Erika; Reagin, Sean S; Keith, Charles; Lauderdale, James D

2008-09-01

Ratiometric fluorescent indicators are used for making quantitative measurements of a variety of physiological variables. Their utility is often limited by noise. This is the second in a series of papers describing statistical methods for denoising ratiometric data with the aim of obtaining improved quantitative estimates of variables of interest. Here, we outline a statistical optimization method that is designed for the analysis of ratiometric imaging data in which multiple measurements have been taken of systems responding to the same stimulation protocol. This method takes advantage of correlated information across multiple datasets for objectively detecting and estimating ratiometric signals. We demonstrate our method by showing results of its application on multiple, ratiometric calcium imaging experiments.

Building Regression Models: The Importance of Graphics.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dunn, Richard

1989-01-01

Points out reasons for using graphical methods to teach simple and multiple regression analysis. Argues that a graphically oriented approach has considerable pedagogic advantages in the exposition of simple and multiple regression. Shows that graphical methods may play a central role in the process of building regression models. (Author/LS)

Numerical Analysis of Intra-Cavity and Power-Stream Flow Interaction in Multiple Gas-Turbine Disk-Cavities

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Athavale, M. M.; Przekwas, A. J.; Hendricks, R. C.; Steinetz, B. M.

1995-01-01

A numerical analysis methodology and solutions of the interaction between the power stream and multiply-connected multi-cavity sealed secondary flow fields are presented. Flow solutions for a multi-cavity experimental rig were computed and compared with experimental data of Daniels and Johnson. The flow solutions illustrate the complex coupling between the main-path and the cavity flows as well as outline the flow thread that exists throughout the subplatform multiple cavities and seals. The analysis also shows that the de-coupled solutions on single cavities is inadequate. The present results show trends similar to the T-700 engine data that suggests the changes in the CDP seal altered the flow fields throughout the engine and affected the engine performance.

Brain MRI volumetry in a single patient with mild traumatic brain injury.

PubMed

Ross, David E; Castelvecchi, Cody; Ochs, Alfred L

2013-01-01

This letter to the editor describes the case of a 42 year old man with mild traumatic brain injury and multiple neuropsychiatric symptoms which persisted for a few years after the injury. Initial CT scans and MRI scans of the brain showed no signs of atrophy. Brain volume was measured using NeuroQuant®, an FDA-approved, commercially available software method. Volumetric cross-sectional (one point in time) analysis also showed no atrophy. However, volumetric longitudinal (two points in time) analysis showed progressive atrophy in several brain regions. This case illustrated in a single patient the principle discovered in multiple previous group studies, namely that the longitudinal design is more powerful than the cross-sectional design for finding atrophy in patients with traumatic brain injury.

Identification of multiple mRNA and DNA sequences from small tissue samples isolated by laser-assisted microdissection.

PubMed

Bernsen, M R; Dijkman, H B; de Vries, E; Figdor, C G; Ruiter, D J; Adema, G J; van Muijen, G N

1998-10-01

Molecular analysis of small tissue samples has become increasingly important in biomedical studies. Using a laser dissection microscope and modified nucleic acid isolation protocols, we demonstrate that multiple mRNA as well as DNA sequences can be identified from a single-cell sample. In addition, we show that the specificity of procurement of tissue samples is not compromised by smear contamination resulting from scraping of the microtome knife during sectioning of lesions. The procedures described herein thus allow for efficient RT-PCR or PCR analysis of multiple nucleic acid sequences from small tissue samples obtained by laser-assisted microdissection.

Multiple Component Event-Related Potential (mcERP) Estimation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Knuth, K. H.; Clanton, S. T.; Shah, A. S.; Truccolo, W. A.; Ding, M.; Bressler, S. L.; Trejo, L. J.; Schroeder, C. E.; Clancy, Daniel (Technical Monitor)

2002-01-01

We show how model-based estimation of the neural sources responsible for transient neuroelectric signals can be improved by the analysis of single trial data. Previously, we showed that a multiple component event-related potential (mcERP) algorithm can extract the responses of individual sources from recordings of a mixture of multiple, possibly interacting, neural ensembles. McERP also estimated single-trial amplitudes and onset latencies, thus allowing more accurate estimation of ongoing neural activity during an experimental trial. The mcERP algorithm is related to informax independent component analysis (ICA); however, the underlying signal model is more physiologically realistic in that a component is modeled as a stereotypic waveshape varying both in amplitude and onset latency from trial to trial. The result is a model that reflects quantities of interest to the neuroscientist. Here we demonstrate that the mcERP algorithm provides more accurate results than more traditional methods such as factor analysis and the more recent ICA. Whereas factor analysis assumes the sources are orthogonal and ICA assumes the sources are statistically independent, the mcERP algorithm makes no such assumptions thus allowing investigators to examine interactions among components by estimating the properties of single-trial responses.

Method for improving accuracy in full evaporation headspace analysis.

PubMed

Xie, Wei-Qi; Chai, Xin-Sheng

2017-05-01

We report a new headspace analytical method in which multiple headspace extraction is incorporated with the full evaporation technique. The pressure uncertainty caused by the solid content change in the samples has a great impact to the measurement accuracy in the conventional full evaporation headspace analysis. The results (using ethanol solution as the model sample) showed that the present technique is effective to minimize such a problem. The proposed full evaporation multiple headspace extraction analysis technique is also automated and practical, and which could greatly broaden the applications of the full-evaporation-based headspace analysis. © 2017 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Monitoring My Multiple Sclerosis

PubMed Central

Namey, Marie; Halper, June

2011-01-01

Optimal health of people with multiple sclerosis (MS) can be promoted by patients' sharing of health information gained through periodic self-monitoring with their health-care providers. The purpose of this study was to develop a valid and reliable self-administered scale to obtain information about MS patients' health status and the impact of the disease on their daily lives. We named this scale “Monitoring My Multiple Sclerosis” (MMMS). A cross-sectional survey was conducted of 171 MS patients who completed the MMMS and Patient-Determined Disease Steps (PDDS) scales and provided information on their MS disease classification and demographic characteristics. Data analysis included several parametric procedures. Factor analysis of the 26-item MMMS resulted in four factors with satisfactory α reliability coefficients for the total scale (0.90) and factored subscales: Physical (0.85), Relationships (0.80), Energy (0.70), and Cognitive/Mental (0.67). Analysis of variance demonstrated that the total scale and the Physical subscale, but not the Relationships subscale, showed significantly worse functioning for patients with either moderate or severe disability as measured by the PDDS than for patients with mild disability (P < .001). The Cognitive/Mental subscale showed significantly worse functioning for patients with moderate disability than for patients with mild disability (P < .05). However, the Energy subscale showed significantly worse functioning among moderately disabled patients than among severely disabled patients (P < .01). Independent t tests demonstrated that patients classified as having secondary progressive multiple sclerosis had significantly worse scores on the total MMMS (P < .05) and the Physical subscale (P < .001) than those classified as having relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis. The MMMS demonstrated satisfactory reliability and validity and is recommended for use by MS patients and their health-care providers as a mechanism to promote the sharing of health information, to the benefit of both patients and providers. PMID:24453717

Functional analysis screening for multiple topographies of problem behavior.

PubMed

Bell, Marlesha C; Fahmie, Tara A

2018-04-23

The current study evaluated a screening procedure for multiple topographies of problem behavior in the context of an ongoing functional analysis. Experimenters analyzed the function of a topography of primary concern while collecting data on topographies of secondary concern. We used visual analysis to predict the function of secondary topographies and a subsequent functional analysis to test those predictions. Results showed that a general function was accurately predicted for five of six (83%) secondary topographies. A specific function was predicted and supported for a subset of these topographies. The experimenters discuss the implication of these results for clinicians who have limited time for functional assessment. © 2018 Society for the Experimental Analysis of Behavior.

High-accuracy self-mixing interferometer based on multiple reflections using a simple external reflecting mirror

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Xiu-lin; Wei, Zheng; Wang, Rui; Huang, Wen-cai

2018-05-01

A self-mixing interferometer (SMI) with resolution twenty times higher than that of a conventional interferometer is developed by multiple reflections. Only by employing a simple external reflecting mirror, the multiple-pass optical configuration can be constructed. The advantage of the configuration is simple and easy to make the light re-injected back into the laser cavity. Theoretical analysis shows that the resolution of measurement is scalable by adjusting the number of reflections. The experiment shows that the proposed method has the optical resolution of approximate λ/40. The influence of displacement sensitivity gain ( G) is further analyzed and discussed in practical experiments.

Improved H-κ Method by Harmonic Analysis on Ps and Crustal Multiples in Receiver Functions with respect to Dipping Moho and Crustal Anisotropy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, J.; Song, X.; Wang, P.; Zhu, L.

2017-12-01

The H-κ method (Zhu and Kanamori, 2000) has been widely used to estimate the crustal thickness and Vp/Vs ratio with receiver functions. However, in regions where the crustal structure is complicated, the method may produce uncertain or even unrealistic results, arising particularly from dipping Moho and/or crustal anisotropy. Here, we propose an improved H-κ method, which corrects for these effects first before stacking. The effect of dipping Moho and crustal anisotropy on Ps receiver function has been well studied, but not as much on crustal multiples (PpPs and PpSs+PsPs). Synthetic tests show that the effect of crustal anisotropy on the multiples are similar to Ps, while the effect of dipping Moho on the multiples is 5 times that on Ps (same cosine trend but 5 times in time shift). A Harmonic Analysis (HA) method for dipping/anisotropy was developed by Wang et al. (2017) for crustal Ps receiver functions to extract parameters of dipping Moho and crustal azimuthal anisotropy. In real data, the crustal multiples are much more complicated than the Ps. Therefore, we use the HA method (Wang et al., 2017), but apply separately to Ps and the multiples. It shows that although complicated, the trend of multiples can still be reasonably well represented by the HA. We then perform separate azimuthal corrections for Ps and the multiples and stack to obtain a combined receiver function. Lastly, the traditional H-κ procedure is applied to the stacked receiver function. We apply the improved H-κ method on 40 CNDSN (Chinese National Digital Seismic Network) stations distributed in a variety of geological setting across the Chinese continent. The results show apparent improvement compared to the traditional H-κ method, with clearer traces of multiples and stronger stacking energy in the grid search, as well as more reliable H-κ values.

Optical design of multi-multiple expander structure of laser gas analysis and measurement device

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fu, Xiang; Wei, Biao

2018-03-01

The installation and debugging of optical circuit structure in the application of carbon monoxide distributed laser gas analysis and measurement, there are difficult key technical problems. Based on the three-component expansion theory, multi-multiple expander structure with expansion ratio of 4, 5, 6 and 7 is adopted in the absorption chamber to enhance the adaptability of the installation environment of the gas analysis and measurement device. According to the basic theory of aberration, the optimal design of multi-multiple beam expander structure is carried out. By using image quality evaluation method, the difference of image quality under different magnifications is analyzed. The results show that the optical quality of the optical system with the expanded beam structure is the best when the expansion ratio is 5-7.

Analysis of multiple jets in a cross-flow

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Isaac, K. M.; Schetz, J. A.

1982-12-01

The analysis of Campbell and Schetz (1973) is extended to the study of multiple jets in a cross flow, where the interaction of two jets is taken into account by a modification of the drag coefficient that is sensed by each jet. Results show that the rear jet trajectory is significantly modified by the presence of the front one even when the jets are spaced far apart. The analysis is applicable to such phenomena as the exhaust of chimney stack smoke into a wind and the lift jets of a V/STOL aircraft during takeoff or landing in strong winds.

A multiple p-n junction structure obtained from as-grown Czochralski silicon crystals by heat treatment - Application to solar cells

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Chi, J. Y.; Gatos, H. C.; Mao, B. Y.

1980-01-01

Multiple p-n junctions have been prepared in as-grown Czochralski p-type silicon through overcompensation near the oxygen periodic concentration maxima by oxygen thermal donors generated during heat treatment at 450 C. Application of the multiple p-n-junction configuration to photovoltaic energy conversion has been investigated. A new solar-cell structure based on multiple p-n-junctions was developed. Theoretical analysis showed that a significant increase in collection efficiency over the conventional solar cells can be achieved.

Integrative Analysis of Prognosis Data on Multiple Cancer Subtypes

PubMed Central

Liu, Jin; Huang, Jian; Zhang, Yawei; Lan, Qing; Rothman, Nathaniel; Zheng, Tongzhang; Ma, Shuangge

2014-01-01

Summary In cancer research, profiling studies have been extensively conducted, searching for genes/SNPs associated with prognosis. Cancer is diverse. Examining the similarity and difference in the genetic basis of multiple subtypes of the same cancer can lead to a better understanding of their connections and distinctions. Classic meta-analysis methods analyze each subtype separately and then compare analysis results across subtypes. Integrative analysis methods, in contrast, analyze the raw data on multiple subtypes simultaneously and can outperform meta-analysis methods. In this study, prognosis data on multiple subtypes of the same cancer are analyzed. An AFT (accelerated failure time) model is adopted to describe survival. The genetic basis of multiple subtypes is described using the heterogeneity model, which allows a gene/SNP to be associated with prognosis of some subtypes but not others. A compound penalization method is developed to identify genes that contain important SNPs associated with prognosis. The proposed method has an intuitive formulation and is realized using an iterative algorithm. Asymptotic properties are rigorously established. Simulation shows that the proposed method has satisfactory performance and outperforms a penalization-based meta-analysis method and a regularized thresholding method. An NHL (non-Hodgkin lymphoma) prognosis study with SNP measurements is analyzed. Genes associated with the three major subtypes, namely DLBCL, FL, and CLL/SLL, are identified. The proposed method identifies genes that are different from alternatives and have important implications and satisfactory prediction performance. PMID:24766212

PHYSICAL AND CHEMICAL STABILITY ANALYSIS OF COSMETIC MULTI- PLE EMULSIONS LOADED WITH ASCORBYL PALMITATE AND SODIUM ASCORBYL PHOSPHATE SALTS.

PubMed

Khan, Hira; Akhtar, Naveed; Ali, Atif; Khan, Haji M Shoaib; Sohail, Muhammad; Naeem, Muhammad; Nawaz, Zarqa

2016-09-01

Stability of hydrophilic and lipophilic vitamin C derivatives for quenching synergistic antioxidant activities and to treat oxidative related diseases is a major issue. This study was aimed to encapsulate hydrophilic and lipophilic vitamin C derivatives (ascorbyl palmitate and sodium ascorbyl phosphate) as functional ingredients in a newly formulated multiple emulsion of the W//W type to attain the synergistic antioxidant effects and the resultant system's long term physical and chemical stability. Several multiple emulsions using the same concentration of emulsifiers but different concentrations of ascorbyl palmitate and sodium ascorbyl phosphate were developed. Three finally selected multiple emulsions (ME₁, ME₂ and ME₃) were evaluated for physical stability in terms of rheology, microscopy, conductivity, pH, and organoleptic characteristics under different storage conditions for 3 months. Chemical stability was determined by HPLC on Sykam GmbH HPLC system (Germany), equipped with a variable UV detector. Results showed that at accelerated storage conditions all the three multiple emulsions had shear thinning behavior of varying shear stress with no influence of location of functional ingredients in a carrier system. Conductivity values increased and pH values remained within the skin pH range for 3 months. Microscopic analysis showed an increase in globule size with the passage of time, especially at higher temperatures while decreased at low temperatures. Centrifugation test did not cause phase separation till the 45th day, but little effects after 2 months. Chemical stability analysis by HPLC at the end of 3 months showed that ascorbyl palmitate and sodium ascorbyl phosphate were almost stable in all multiple emulsions with no influence of their location in a carrier system. Multiple emulsions were found a stable carrier for hydrophilic and lipophilic vitamin C derivatives to enhance their desired effects. Considering that many topical formulations contain simple vitamin C it is suggested that present study may contribute to the development of more stable formulations with a combination of vitamin C derivatives to enhance their cosmetic benefits.

Features of Coping with Disease in Iranian Multiple Sclerosis Patients: a Qualitative Study.

PubMed

Dehghani, Ali; Dehghan Nayeri, Nahid; Ebadi, Abbas

2018-03-01

Introduction: Coping with disease is of the main components improving the quality of life in multiple sclerosis patients. Identifying the characteristics of this concept is based on the experiences of patients. Using qualitative research is essential to improve the quality of life. This study was conducted to explore the features of coping with the disease in patients with multiple sclerosis. Method: In this conventional content analysis study, eleven multiple sclerosis patients from Iran MS Society in Tehran (Iran) participated. Purposive sampling was used to select participants. Data were gathered using semi structured interviews. To analyze data, a conventional content analysis approach was used to identify meaning units and to make codes and categories. Results: Results showed that features of coping with disease in multiple sclerosis patients consists of (a) accepting the current situation, (b) maintenance and development of human interactions, (c) self-regulation and (d) self-efficacy. Each of these categories is composed of sub-categories and codes that showed the perception and experience of patients about the coping with disease. Conclusion: Accordingly, a unique set of features regarding features of coping with the disease were identified among the patients with multiple sclerosis. Therefore, working to ensure the emergence of, and subsequent reinforcement of these features in MS patients can be an important step in improving the adjustment and quality of their lives.

Effectiveness of virtual reality training for balance and gait rehabilitation in people with multiple sclerosis: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

PubMed

Casuso-Holgado, María Jesús; Martín-Valero, Rocío; Carazo, Ana F; Medrano-Sánchez, Esther M; Cortés-Vega, M Dolores; Montero-Bancalero, Francisco José

2018-04-01

To evaluate the evidence for the use of virtual reality to treat balance and gait impairments in multiple sclerosis rehabilitation. Systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials and quasi-randomized clinical trials. An electronic search was conducted using the following databases: MEDLINE (PubMed), Physiotherapy Evidence Database (PEDro), Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews (CDSR) and (CINHAL). A quality assessment was performed using the PEDro scale. The data were pooled and a meta-analysis was completed. This systematic review was conducted in accordance with the (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses) PRISMA guideline statement. It was registered in the PROSPERO database (CRD42016049360). A total of 11 studies were included. The data were pooled, allowing meta-analysis of seven outcomes of interest. A total of 466 participants clinically diagnosed with multiple sclerosis were analysed. Results showed that virtual reality balance training is more effective than no intervention for postural control improvement (standard mean difference (SMD) = -0.64; 95% confidence interval (CI) = -1.05, -0.24; P = 0.002). However, significant overall effect was not showed when compared with conventional training (SMD = -0.04; 95% CI = -0.70, 0.62; P = 0.90). Inconclusive results were also observed for gait rehabilitation. Virtual reality training could be considered at least as effective as conventional training and more effective than no intervention to treat balance and gait impairments in multiple sclerosis rehabilitation.

Mobile Technology in Second Language Classrooms: Insights into Its Uses, Pedagogical Implications, and Teacher Beliefs

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Van Praag, Benjamin; Sanchez, Hugo Santiago

2015-01-01

Adopting a multiple-case, multiple-method design, this study investigates mobile technology use in the practices of three experienced second language teachers. The findings, based on an analysis of the teachers' rationales, stated beliefs and classroom actions, show that the teachers tend to prohibit or reluctantly tolerate mobile device usage,…

Visual Analysis of Multiple Baseline across Participants Graphs when Change Is Delayed

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lieberman, Rebecca G.; Yoder, Paul J.; Reichow, Brian; Wolery, Mark

2010-01-01

A within-subjects group experimental design was used to test whether three manipulated characteristics of multiple baseline across participants (MBL-P) data showing at least a month delayed change in slope affected experts' inference of a functional relation and agreement on this judgment. Thirty-six experts completed a survey composed of 16 MBL-P…

Estimate the contribution of incubation parameters influence egg hatchability using multiple linear regression analysis

PubMed Central

Khalil, Mohamed H.; Shebl, Mostafa K.; Kosba, Mohamed A.; El-Sabrout, Karim; Zaki, Nesma

2016-01-01

Aim: This research was conducted to determine the most affecting parameters on hatchability of indigenous and improved local chickens’ eggs. Materials and Methods: Five parameters were studied (fertility, early and late embryonic mortalities, shape index, egg weight, and egg weight loss) on four strains, namely Fayoumi, Alexandria, Matrouh, and Montazah. Multiple linear regression was performed on the studied parameters to determine the most influencing one on hatchability. Results: The results showed significant differences in commercial and scientific hatchability among strains. Alexandria strain has the highest significant commercial hatchability (80.70%). Regarding the studied strains, highly significant differences in hatching chick weight among strains were observed. Using multiple linear regression analysis, fertility made the greatest percent contribution (71.31%) to hatchability, and the lowest percent contributions were made by shape index and egg weight loss. Conclusion: A prediction of hatchability using multiple regression analysis could be a good tool to improve hatchability percentage in chickens. PMID:27651666

[Non-linear canonical correlation analysis between anthropometric indicators and multiple metabolic abnormalities].

PubMed

Fu, Xiaoli; Liu, Li; Ping, Zhiguang; Li, Linlin

2013-09-01

To define the general correlation between anthropometric indicators and multiple metabolic abnormalities, and to put forward some particular suggestions for the prevention of multiple metabolic abnormalities. A random cluster sampling was carried out in one county of Henan Province. Questionnaire, physical examination and biochemical tests were admitted to the adult inhabitants. Non-linear canonical correlation analysis (NLCCA) was applied with OVERALS of SPSS 13.0. The coefficients of canonical correlation and multiple correlation were calculated. The plot of centroids labeled by variables showed the correlation among various indicators. In total, 2,914 objects were investigated. It included 1,134 (38.9%) males and 1,780 (61.1%) females (60.0%). The average age was (50.58 +/- 13.70) years old. The fitting result of NLCCA were as follows: the loss of 0.577 accounting for 28.8% of the total variation was relatively small, and indicated that the two sets of variables of this study, namely sets of biochemical indicators (including serum total cholesterol, total triglyceride, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, low density lipoprotein cholesterol and fasting plasma glucose) and sets of others (including gender, BMI and waist circumference) were closely related and often changed synchronously. Multivariate correlation coefficient showed that internal indicators of the above two sets were closely related respectively and often showed the multiple anomalies of the same set. The diagram of the center of gravity of the association of various indicators showed that the symptoms of metabolic abnormalities increased with age. Women were more liable to have metabolic abnormalities. Overweight and obese people often suffer multiple metabolic disorders. Waist circumference was positively correlated with metabolic abnormalities. (1) Biochemical indicators and anthropometric often change in combination. (2) Much attention should be paid to older people especially middle-aged or older men and older women in primary prevention. (3) Overweight and abdominal obesity can be considered the sensitive predictive indicator of multiple metabolic abnormalities. (4) Nonlinear canonical correlation and center of gravity Figure had the advantage of analyze the correlation between multiple sets of variables.

Cluster Analysis of Campylobacter jejuni Genotypes Isolated from Small and Medium-Sized Mammalian Wildlife and Bovine Livestock from Ontario Farms.

PubMed

Viswanathan, M; Pearl, D L; Taboada, E N; Parmley, E J; Mutschall, S K; Jardine, C M

2017-05-01

Using data collected from a cross-sectional study of 25 farms (eight beef, eight swine and nine dairy) in 2010, we assessed clustering of molecular subtypes of C. jejuni based on a Campylobacter-specific 40 gene comparative genomic fingerprinting assay (CGF40) subtypes, using unweighted pair-group method with arithmetic mean (UPGMA) analysis, and multiple correspondence analysis. Exact logistic regression was used to determine which genes differentiate wildlife and livestock subtypes in our study population. A total of 33 bovine livestock (17 beef and 16 dairy), 26 wildlife (20 raccoon (Procyon lotor), five skunk (Mephitis mephitis) and one mouse (Peromyscus spp.) C. jejuni isolates were subtyped using CGF40. Dendrogram analysis, based on UPGMA, showed distinct branches separating bovine livestock and mammalian wildlife isolates. Furthermore, two-dimensional multiple correspondence analysis was highly concordant with dendrogram analysis showing clear differentiation between livestock and wildlife CGF40 subtypes. Based on multilevel logistic regression models with a random intercept for farm of origin, we found that isolates in general, and raccoons more specifically, were significantly more likely to be part of the wildlife branch. Exact logistic regression conducted gene by gene revealed 15 genes that were predictive of whether an isolate was of wildlife or bovine livestock isolate origin. Both multiple correspondence analysis and exact logistic regression revealed that in most cases, the presence of a particular gene (13 of 15) was associated with an isolate being of livestock rather than wildlife origin. In conclusion, the evidence gained from dendrogram analysis, multiple correspondence analysis and exact logistic regression indicates that mammalian wildlife carry CGF40 subtypes of C. jejuni distinct from those carried by bovine livestock. Future studies focused on source attribution of C. jejuni in human infections will help determine whether wildlife transmit Campylobacter jejuni directly to humans. © 2016 Blackwell Verlag GmbH.

Effectively Identifying eQTLs from Multiple Tissues by Combining Mixed Model and Meta-analytic Approaches

PubMed Central

Choi, Ted; Eskin, Eleazar

2013-01-01

Gene expression data, in conjunction with information on genetic variants, have enabled studies to identify expression quantitative trait loci (eQTLs) or polymorphic locations in the genome that are associated with expression levels. Moreover, recent technological developments and cost decreases have further enabled studies to collect expression data in multiple tissues. One advantage of multiple tissue datasets is that studies can combine results from different tissues to identify eQTLs more accurately than examining each tissue separately. The idea of aggregating results of multiple tissues is closely related to the idea of meta-analysis which aggregates results of multiple genome-wide association studies to improve the power to detect associations. In principle, meta-analysis methods can be used to combine results from multiple tissues. However, eQTLs may have effects in only a single tissue, in all tissues, or in a subset of tissues with possibly different effect sizes. This heterogeneity in terms of effects across multiple tissues presents a key challenge to detect eQTLs. In this paper, we develop a framework that leverages two popular meta-analysis methods that address effect size heterogeneity to detect eQTLs across multiple tissues. We show by using simulations and multiple tissue data from mouse that our approach detects many eQTLs undetected by traditional eQTL methods. Additionally, our method provides an interpretation framework that accurately predicts whether an eQTL has an effect in a particular tissue. PMID:23785294

Multiple-path model of spectral reflectance of a dyed fabric.

PubMed

Rogers, Geoffrey; Dalloz, Nicolas; Fournel, Thierry; Hebert, Mathieu

2017-05-01

Experimental results are presented of the spectral reflectance of a dyed fabric as analyzed by a multiple-path model of reflection. The multiple-path model provides simple analytic expressions for reflection and transmission of turbid media by applying the Beer-Lambert law to each path through the medium and summing over all paths, each path weighted by its probability. The path-length probability is determined by a random-walk analysis. The experimental results presented here show excellent agreement with predictions made by the model.

Multiple-input multiple-output causal strategies for gene selection.

PubMed

Bontempi, Gianluca; Haibe-Kains, Benjamin; Desmedt, Christine; Sotiriou, Christos; Quackenbush, John

2011-11-25

Traditional strategies for selecting variables in high dimensional classification problems aim to find sets of maximally relevant variables able to explain the target variations. If these techniques may be effective in generalization accuracy they often do not reveal direct causes. The latter is essentially related to the fact that high correlation (or relevance) does not imply causation. In this study, we show how to efficiently incorporate causal information into gene selection by moving from a single-input single-output to a multiple-input multiple-output setting. We show in synthetic case study that a better prioritization of causal variables can be obtained by considering a relevance score which incorporates a causal term. In addition we show, in a meta-analysis study of six publicly available breast cancer microarray datasets, that the improvement occurs also in terms of accuracy. The biological interpretation of the results confirms the potential of a causal approach to gene selection. Integrating causal information into gene selection algorithms is effective both in terms of prediction accuracy and biological interpretation.

Identification of molecular markers associated with mite resistance in coconut (Cocos nucifera L.).

PubMed

Shalini, K V; Manjunatha, S; Lebrun, P; Berger, A; Baudouin, L; Pirany, N; Ranganath, R M; Prasad, D Theertha

2007-01-01

Coconut mite (Aceria guerreronis 'Keifer') has become a major threat to Indian coconut (Coçcos nucifera L.) cultivators and the processing industry. Chemical and biological control measures have proved to be costly, ineffective, and ecologically undesirable. Planting mite-resistant coconut cultivars is the most effective method of preventing yield loss and should form a major component of any integrated pest management stratagem. Coconut genotypes, and mite-resistant and -susceptible accessions were collected from different parts of South India. Thirty-two simple sequence repeat (SSR) and 7 RAPD primers were used for molecular analyses. In single-marker analysis, 9 SSR and 4 RAPD markers associated with mite resistance were identified. In stepwise multiple regression analysis of SSRs, a combination of 6 markers showed 100% association with mite infestation. Stepwise multiple regression analysis for RAPD data revealed that a combination of 3 markers accounted for 83.86% of mite resistance in the selected materials. Combined stepwise multiple regression analysis of RAPD and SSR data showed that a combination of 5 markers explained 100% of the association with mite resistance in coconut. Markers associated with mite resistance are important in coconut breeding programs and will facilitate the selection of mite-resistant plants at an early stage as well as mother plants for breeding programs.

A combined planning and self-efficacy intervention to promote physical activity: a multiple mediation analysis.

PubMed

Koring, Milena; Richert, Jana; Parschau, Linda; Ernsting, Anna; Lippke, Sonia; Schwarzer, Ralf

2012-01-01

Many individuals are motivated to improve their physical activity levels, but often fail to act upon their intention. Interventions fostering volitional strategies, such as action planning, coping planning, and self-efficacy beliefs, can help to translate intentions into behavior. This study examines the effectiveness and the mechanisms of a combined planning and self-efficacy intervention to promote physical activity among motivated individuals. Participants (N = 883) were randomly assigned to the intervention or to a waiting-list control condition. Multivariate analysis of variance revealed that the intervention resulted in significantly more physical activity, higher levels of action planning, coping planning, and volitional self-efficacy beliefs (p < 0.01). In addition, multiple mediation analysis showed that action planning, coping planning, and volitional self-efficacy mediate between the intervention and physical activity. The study shows that the intervention successfully fostered physical activity and unfolds the underlying self-regulatory mechanisms of the intervention's effectiveness.

Cross reactions elicited by serum 17-OH progesterone and 11-desoxycortisol in cortisol assays.

PubMed

Brossaud, Julie; Barat, Pascal; Gualde, Dominique; Corcuff, Jean-Benoît

2009-09-01

Different pathophysiological situations such as congenital adrenal hyperplasia, adrenocortical carcinoma, metyrapone treatment, etc. elicit specificity problems with serum cortisol assay. We assayed cortisol using 2 kits and performed cross reaction studies as well as multiple regression analysis using 2 other steroids: 11-desoxycortisol and 17-OH progesterone. Analysis showed the existence of an analytical bias. Importantly, significantly different biases were demonstrated in newborns or patients taking metyrapone. Multiple regression analysis and cross reaction studies showed that 11-desoxycortisol level significantly influenced cortisol determination. Moreover, despite using the normal ranges provided by manufacturers discrepant results occurred such as 17% discordance in the diagnosis of hypocorticism in infants. We wish to raise awareness about the consequences of the (lack of) specificity of cortisol assays with regard to the evaluation of hypocorticism in infants or when "unusual" steroids may be increased.

Development of Techniques for Multiple Data Stream Analysis and Short- Term Forecasting. Volume I. Multiple Data Stream Analysis

DTIC Science & Technology

1975-11-15

ir in» l.iit.ii-nlrl-i . i ifr .-Viii ^„,„^>,,,,,.,,.,„.,,,.,™„„,^^^^ I ’Ulis Cable shows great similarity between the NYT and TOL as follows; o...from which the data have been derived. The authors challenge the contention by other data collectors that variation in interaction data derived from...LIC Luxemburg LUX Malagasy MAG Malawi MAW Malaysia MAL Maldive MAD Mali MLI Malta MLT Mauritius MAR Mauritania MAU Mexico MEX Monaco MOC

Prediction of hearing outcomes by multiple regression analysis in patients with idiopathic sudden sensorineural hearing loss.

PubMed

Suzuki, Hideaki; Tabata, Takahisa; Koizumi, Hiroki; Hohchi, Nobusuke; Takeuchi, Shoko; Kitamura, Takuro; Fujino, Yoshihisa; Ohbuchi, Toyoaki

2014-12-01

This study aimed to create a multiple regression model for predicting hearing outcomes of idiopathic sudden sensorineural hearing loss (ISSNHL). The participants were 205 consecutive patients (205 ears) with ISSNHL (hearing level ≥ 40 dB, interval between onset and treatment ≤ 30 days). They received systemic steroid administration combined with intratympanic steroid injection. Data were examined by simple and multiple regression analyses. Three hearing indices (percentage hearing improvement, hearing gain, and posttreatment hearing level [HLpost]) and 7 prognostic factors (age, days from onset to treatment, initial hearing level, initial hearing level at low frequencies, initial hearing level at high frequencies, presence of vertigo, and contralateral hearing level) were included in the multiple regression analysis as dependent and explanatory variables, respectively. In the simple regression analysis, the percentage hearing improvement, hearing gain, and HLpost showed significant correlation with 2, 5, and 6 of the 7 prognostic factors, respectively. The multiple correlation coefficients were 0.396, 0.503, and 0.714 for the percentage hearing improvement, hearing gain, and HLpost, respectively. Predicted values of HLpost calculated by the multiple regression equation were reliable with 70% probability with a 40-dB-width prediction interval. Prediction of HLpost by the multiple regression model may be useful to estimate the hearing prognosis of ISSNHL. © The Author(s) 2014.

Walking execution is not affected by divided attention in patients with multiple sclerosis with no disability, but there is a motor planning impairment.

PubMed

Nogueira, Leandro Alberto Calazans; Santos, Luciano Teixeira Dos; Sabino, Pollyane Galinari; Alvarenga, Regina Maria Papais; Thuler, Luiz Claudio Santos

2013-08-01

We analysed the cognitive influence on walking in multiple sclerosis (MS) patients, in the absence of clinical disability. A case-control study was conducted with 12 MS patients with no disability and 12 matched healthy controls. Subjects were referred for completion a timed walk test of 10 m and a 3D-kinematic analysis. Participants were instructed to walk at a comfortable speed in a dual-task (arithmetic task) condition, and motor planning was measured by mental chronometry. Scores of walking speed and cadence showed no statistically significant differences between the groups in the three conditions. The dual-task condition showed an increase in the double support duration in both groups. Motor imagery analysis showed statistically significant differences between real and imagined walking in patients. MS patients with no disability did not show any influence of divided attention on walking execution. However, motor planning was overestimated as compared with real walking.

How does the use of multiple needles/syringes per injecting episode impact on the measurement of individual level needle and syringe program coverage?

PubMed

O'Keefe, Daniel; McCormack, Angus; Cogger, Shelley; Aitken, Campbell; Burns, Lucinda; Bruno, Raimondo; Stafford, Jenny; Butler, Kerryn; Breen, Courtney; Dietze, Paul

2017-08-01

Recent work by McCormack et al. (2016) showed that the inclusion of syringe stockpiling improves the measurement of individual-level syringe coverage. We explored whether including the use of a new parameter, multiple sterile syringes per injecting episode, further improves coverage measures. Data comes from 838 people who inject drugs, interviewed as part of the 2015 Illicit Drug Reporting System. Along with syringe coverage questions, the survey recorded the number of sterile syringes used on average per injecting episode. We constructed three measures of coverage: one adapted from Bluthenthal et al. (2007), the McCormack et al. measure, and a new coverage measure that included use of multiple syringes. Predictors of multiple syringe use and insufficient coverage (<100% of injecting episodes using a sterile syringe) using the new measure, were tested in logistic regression and the ability of the measures to discriminate key risk behaviours was compared using ROC curve analysis. 134 (16%) participants reported needing multiple syringes per injecting episode. Women showed significantly increased odds of multiple syringe use, as did those reporting injection related injuries/diseases and injecting of opioid substitution drugs or pharmaceutical opioids. Levels of insufficient coverage across the three measures were substantial (20%-28%). ROC curve analysis suggested that our new measure was no better at discriminating injecting risk behaviours than the existing measures. Based on our findings, there appears to be little need for adding a multiple syringe use parameter to existing coverage formulae. Hence, we recommend that multiple syringe use is not included in the measurement of individual-level syringe coverage. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Pleiotropy Analysis of Quantitative Traits at Gene Level by Multivariate Functional Linear Models

PubMed Central

Wang, Yifan; Liu, Aiyi; Mills, James L.; Boehnke, Michael; Wilson, Alexander F.; Bailey-Wilson, Joan E.; Xiong, Momiao; Wu, Colin O.; Fan, Ruzong

2015-01-01

In genetics, pleiotropy describes the genetic effect of a single gene on multiple phenotypic traits. A common approach is to analyze the phenotypic traits separately using univariate analyses and combine the test results through multiple comparisons. This approach may lead to low power. Multivariate functional linear models are developed to connect genetic variant data to multiple quantitative traits adjusting for covariates for a unified analysis. Three types of approximate F-distribution tests based on Pillai–Bartlett trace, Hotelling–Lawley trace, and Wilks’s Lambda are introduced to test for association between multiple quantitative traits and multiple genetic variants in one genetic region. The approximate F-distribution tests provide much more significant results than those of F-tests of univariate analysis and optimal sequence kernel association test (SKAT-O). Extensive simulations were performed to evaluate the false positive rates and power performance of the proposed models and tests. We show that the approximate F-distribution tests control the type I error rates very well. Overall, simultaneous analysis of multiple traits can increase power performance compared to an individual test of each trait. The proposed methods were applied to analyze (1) four lipid traits in eight European cohorts, and (2) three biochemical traits in the Trinity Students Study. The approximate F-distribution tests provide much more significant results than those of F-tests of univariate analysis and SKAT-O for the three biochemical traits. The approximate F-distribution tests of the proposed functional linear models are more sensitive than those of the traditional multivariate linear models that in turn are more sensitive than SKAT-O in the univariate case. The analysis of the four lipid traits and the three biochemical traits detects more association than SKAT-O in the univariate case. PMID:25809955

Pleiotropy analysis of quantitative traits at gene level by multivariate functional linear models.

PubMed

Wang, Yifan; Liu, Aiyi; Mills, James L; Boehnke, Michael; Wilson, Alexander F; Bailey-Wilson, Joan E; Xiong, Momiao; Wu, Colin O; Fan, Ruzong

2015-05-01

In genetics, pleiotropy describes the genetic effect of a single gene on multiple phenotypic traits. A common approach is to analyze the phenotypic traits separately using univariate analyses and combine the test results through multiple comparisons. This approach may lead to low power. Multivariate functional linear models are developed to connect genetic variant data to multiple quantitative traits adjusting for covariates for a unified analysis. Three types of approximate F-distribution tests based on Pillai-Bartlett trace, Hotelling-Lawley trace, and Wilks's Lambda are introduced to test for association between multiple quantitative traits and multiple genetic variants in one genetic region. The approximate F-distribution tests provide much more significant results than those of F-tests of univariate analysis and optimal sequence kernel association test (SKAT-O). Extensive simulations were performed to evaluate the false positive rates and power performance of the proposed models and tests. We show that the approximate F-distribution tests control the type I error rates very well. Overall, simultaneous analysis of multiple traits can increase power performance compared to an individual test of each trait. The proposed methods were applied to analyze (1) four lipid traits in eight European cohorts, and (2) three biochemical traits in the Trinity Students Study. The approximate F-distribution tests provide much more significant results than those of F-tests of univariate analysis and SKAT-O for the three biochemical traits. The approximate F-distribution tests of the proposed functional linear models are more sensitive than those of the traditional multivariate linear models that in turn are more sensitive than SKAT-O in the univariate case. The analysis of the four lipid traits and the three biochemical traits detects more association than SKAT-O in the univariate case. © 2015 WILEY PERIODICALS, INC.

Price competition and equilibrium analysis in multiple hybrid channel supply chain

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kuang, Guihua; Wang, Aihu; Sha, Jin

2017-06-01

The amazing boom of Internet and logistics industry prompts more and more enterprises to sell commodity through multiple channels. Such market conditions make the participants of multiple hybrid channel supply chain compete each other in traditional and direct channel at the same time. This paper builds a two-echelon supply chain model with a single manufacturer and a single retailer who both can choose different channel or channel combination for their own sales, then, discusses the price competition and calculates the equilibrium price under different sales channel selection combinations. Our analysis shows that no matter the manufacturer and retailer choose same or different channel price to compete, the equilibrium price does not necessarily exist the equilibrium price in the multiple hybrid channel supply chain and wholesale price change is not always able to coordinate supply chain completely. We also present the sufficient and necessary conditions for the existence of equilibrium price and coordination wholesale price.

Analysis of the thermal balance characteristics for multiple-connected piezoelectric transformers.

PubMed

Park, Joung-Hu; Cho, Bo-Hyung; Choi, Sung-Jin; Lee, Sang-Min

2009-08-01

Because the amount of power that a piezoelectric transformer (PT) can handle is limited, multiple connections of PTs are necessary for the power-capacity improvement of PT-applications. In the connection, thermal imbalance between the PTs should be prevented to avoid the thermal runaway of each PT. The thermal balance of the multiple-connected PTs is dominantly affected by the electrothermal characteristics of individual PTs. In this paper, the thermal balance of both parallel-parallel and parallel-series connections are analyzed by electrical model parameters. For quantitative analysis, the thermal-balance effects are estimated by the simulation of the mechanical loss ratio between the PTs. The analysis results show that with PTs of similar characteristics, the parallel-series connection has better thermal balance characteristics due to the reduced mechanical loss of the higher temperature PT. For experimental verification of the analysis, a hardware-prototype test of a Cs-Lp type 40 W adapter system with radial-vibration mode PTs has been performed.

A Compact Multiple Notched Ultra-Wide Band Antenna with an Analysis of the CSRR-TO-CSRR Coupling for Portable UWB Applications.

PubMed

Rahman, MuhibUr; Ko, Dong-Sik; Park, Jung-Dong

2017-09-25

We present a compact ultra-wideband (UWB) antenna integrated with sharp notches with a detailed analysis of the mutual coupling of the multiple notch resonators. By utilizing complementary split ring resonators (CSRR) on the radiating semi-circular patch, we achieve the sharp notch-filtering of various bands within the UWB band without increasing the antenna size. The notched frequency bands include WiMAX, INSAT, and lower and upper WLAN. In order to estimate the frequency shifts of the notch due to the coupling of the nearby CSRRs, an analysis of the coupling among the multiple notch resonators is carried out and we construct the lumped-circuit equivalent model. The time domain analysis of the proposed antenna is performed to show its validity on the UWB application. The measured frequency response of the input port corresponds quite well with the calculations and simulations. The radiation pattern of the implemented quad-notched UWB antenna is nearly omnidirectional in the passband.

A Compact Multiple Notched Ultra-Wide Band Antenna with an Analysis of the CSRR-TO-CSRR Coupling for Portable UWB Applications

PubMed Central

Ko, Dong-Sik

2017-01-01

We present a compact ultra-wideband (UWB) antenna integrated with sharp notches with a detailed analysis of the mutual coupling of the multiple notch resonators. By utilizing complementary split ring resonators (CSRR) on the radiating semi-circular patch, we achieve the sharp notch-filtering of various bands within the UWB band without increasing the antenna size. The notched frequency bands include WiMAX, INSAT, and lower and upper WLAN. In order to estimate the frequency shifts of the notch due to the coupling of the nearby CSRRs, an analysis of the coupling among the multiple notch resonators is carried out and we construct the lumped-circuit equivalent model. The time domain analysis of the proposed antenna is performed to show its validity on the UWB application. The measured frequency response of the input port corresponds quite well with the calculations and simulations. The radiation pattern of the implemented quad-notched UWB antenna is nearly omnidirectional in the passband. PMID:28946658

Multivariate meta-analysis using individual participant data

PubMed Central

Riley, R. D.; Price, M. J.; Jackson, D.; Wardle, M.; Gueyffier, F.; Wang, J.; Staessen, J. A.; White, I. R.

2016-01-01

When combining results across related studies, a multivariate meta-analysis allows the joint synthesis of correlated effect estimates from multiple outcomes. Joint synthesis can improve efficiency over separate univariate syntheses, may reduce selective outcome reporting biases, and enables joint inferences across the outcomes. A common issue is that within-study correlations needed to fit the multivariate model are unknown from published reports. However, provision of individual participant data (IPD) allows them to be calculated directly. Here, we illustrate how to use IPD to estimate within-study correlations, using a joint linear regression for multiple continuous outcomes and bootstrapping methods for binary, survival and mixed outcomes. In a meta-analysis of 10 hypertension trials, we then show how these methods enable multivariate meta-analysis to address novel clinical questions about continuous, survival and binary outcomes; treatment–covariate interactions; adjusted risk/prognostic factor effects; longitudinal data; prognostic and multiparameter models; and multiple treatment comparisons. Both frequentist and Bayesian approaches are applied, with example software code provided to derive within-study correlations and to fit the models. PMID:26099484

Prolonged-release fampridine treatment improved subject-reported impact of multiple sclerosis: Item-level analysis of the MSIS-29.

PubMed

Gasperini, Claudio; Hupperts, Raymond; Lycke, Jan; Short, Christine; McNeill, Manjit; Zhong, John; Mehta, Lahar R

2016-11-15

Prolonged-release (PR) fampridine is approved to treat walking impairment in persons with multiple sclerosis (MS); however, treatment benefits may extend beyond walking. MOBILE was a phase 2, 24-week, double-blind, placebo-controlled exploratory study to assess the impact of 10mg PR-fampridine twice daily versus placebo on several subject-assessed measures. This analysis evaluated the physical and psychological health outcomes of subjects with progressing or relapsing MS from individual items of the Multiple Sclerosis Impact Scale (MSIS-29). PR-fampridine treatment (n=68) resulted in greater improvements from baseline in the MSIS-29 physical (PHYS) and psychological (PSYCH) impact subscales, with differences of 89% and 148% in mean score reduction from baseline (n=64) at week 24 versus placebo, respectively. MSIS-29 item analysis showed that a higher percentage of PR-fampridine subjects had mean improvements in 16/20 PHYS and 6/9 PSYCH items versus placebo after 24weeks. Post hoc analysis of the 12-item Multiple Sclerosis Walking Scale (MSWS-12) improver population (≥8-point mean improvement) demonstrated differences in mean reductions from baseline of 97% and 111% in PR-fampridine MSIS-29 PHYS and PSYCH subscales versus the overall placebo group over 24weeks. A higher percentage of MSWS-12 improvers treated with PR-fampridine showed mean improvements in 20/20 PHYS and 8/9 PSYCH items versus placebo at 24weeks. In conclusion, PR-fampridine resulted in physical and psychological benefits versus placebo, sustained over 24weeks. Copyright © 2016 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Multiple acquired portosystemic shunts secondary to primary hypoplasia of the portal vein in a cat.

PubMed

Sugimoto, Satoko; Maeda, Shingo; Tsuboi, Masaya; Saeki, Kohei; Chambers, James K; Yonezawa, Tomohiro; Fukushima, Kenjiro; Fujiwara, Reina; Uchida, Kazuyuki; Tsujimoto, Hajime; Matsuki, Naoaki; Ohno, Koichi

2018-06-06

A 6-year 5-month-old spayed female Scottish Fold cat presented with a one-month history of gait abnormalities, increased salivation, and decreased activity. A blood test showed hyperammonemia and increased serum bile acids. Imaging tests revealed multiple shunt vessels indicating acquired portosystemic shunt. Histopathologic analysis of liver biopsy showed features consistent with liver hypoperfusion, such as a barely recognizable portal vein, increased numbers of small arterioles, and diffuse vacuolar degeneration of hepatocytes. These findings supported the diagnosis of primary hypoplasia of the portal vein/microvascular dysplasia, (PHPV/MVD). To our knowledge, this is the first case of feline PHPV/MVD that developed multiple acquired portosystemic shunts and presented with hepatic encephalopathy.

Eddy current analysis of cracks grown from surface defects and non-metallic particles

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cherry, Matthew R.; Hutson, Alisha; Aldrin, John C.; Shank, Jared

2018-04-01

Eddy current methods are sensitive to any discrete change in conductivity. Traditionally this has been used to determine the presence of a crack. However, other features that are not cracks such as non-metallic inclusions, carbide stringers and surface voids can cause an eddy current indication that could potentially lead to a reject of an in-service component. These features may not actually be lifelimiting, meaning NDE methods could reject components with remaining useful life. In-depth analysis of signals from eddy current sensors could provide a means of sorting between rejectable indications and false-calls from geometric and non-conductive features. In this project, cracks were grown from voids and non-metallic inclusions in a nickel-based super-alloy and eddy current analysis was performed on multiple intermediate steps of fatigue. Data were collected with multiple different ECT probes and at multiple frequencies, and the results were analyzed. The results show how cracks growing from non-metallic features can skew eddy current signals and make characterization a challenge. Modeling and simulation was performed with multiple analysis codes, and the models were found to be in good agreement with the data for cracks growing away from voids and non-metallic inclusions.

Staging of breast cancer and the advanced applications of digital mammogram: what the physician needs to know?

PubMed

Helal, Maha H; Mansour, Sahar M; Zaglol, Mai; Salaleldin, Lamia A; Nada, Omniya M; Haggag, Marwa A

2017-03-01

To study the role of advanced applications of digital mammogram, whether contrast-enhanced spectral mammography (CESM) or digital breast tomosynthesis (DBT), in the "T" staging of histologically proven breast cancer before planning for treatment management. In this prospective analysis, we evaluated 98 proved malignant breast masses regarding their size, multiplicity and the presence of associated clusters of microcalcifications. Evaluation methods included digital mammography (DM), 3D tomosynthesis and CESM. Traditional DM was first performed then in a period of 10-14-day interval; breast tomosynthesis and contrast-based mammography were performed for the involved breast only. Views at tomosynthesis were acquired in a "step-and-shoot" tube motion mode to produce multiple (11-15), low-dose images and in contrast-enhanced study, low-energy (22-33 kVp) and high-energy (44-49 kVp) exposures were taken after the i.v. injection of the contrast agent. Operative data were the gold standard reference. Breast tomosynthesis showed the highest accuracy in size assessment (n = 69, 70.4%) than contrast-enhanced (n = 49, 50%) and regular mammography (n = 59, 60.2%). Contrast-enhanced mammography presented the least performance in assessing calcifications, yet it was most sensitive in the detection of multiplicity (92.3%), followed by tomosynthesis (77%) and regular mammography (53.8%). The combined analysis of the three modalities provided an accuracy of 74% in the "T" staging of breast cancer. The combined application of tomosynthesis and contrast-enhanced digital mammogram enhanced the performance of the traditional DM and presented an informative method in the staging of breast cancer. Advances in knowledge: Staging and management planning of breast cancer can divert according to tumour size, multiplicity and the presence of microcalcifications. DBT shows sharp outlines of the tumour with no overlap tissue and spots microcalcifications. Contrast-enhanced spectral mammogram shows the extent of abnormal contrast uptake and detects multiplicity. Integrated analysis provides optimal findings for proper "T" staging of breast cancer.

Robust decentralized controller for minimizing coupling effect in single inductor multiple output DC-DC converter operating in continuous conduction mode.

PubMed

Medeiros, Renan Landau Paiva de; Barra, Walter; Bessa, Iury Valente de; Chaves Filho, João Edgar; Ayres, Florindo Antonio de Cavalho; Neves, Cleonor Crescêncio das

2018-02-01

This paper describes a novel robust decentralized control design methodology for a single inductor multiple output (SIMO) DC-DC converter. Based on a nominal multiple input multiple output (MIMO) plant model and performance requirements, a pairing input-output analysis is performed to select the suitable input to control each output aiming to attenuate the loop coupling. Thus, the plant uncertainty limits are selected and expressed in interval form with parameter values of the plant model. A single inductor dual output (SIDO) DC-DC buck converter board is developed for experimental tests. The experimental results show that the proposed methodology can maintain a desirable performance even in the presence of parametric uncertainties. Furthermore, the performance indexes calculated from experimental data show that the proposed methodology outperforms classical MIMO control techniques. Copyright © 2018 ISA. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The Research of Multiple Attenuation Based on Feedback Iteration and Independent Component Analysis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xu, X.; Tong, S.; Wang, L.

2017-12-01

How to solve the problem of multiple suppression is a difficult problem in seismic data processing. The traditional technology for multiple attenuation is based on the principle of the minimum output energy of the seismic signal, this criterion is based on the second order statistics, and it can't achieve the multiple attenuation when the primaries and multiples are non-orthogonal. In order to solve the above problems, we combine the feedback iteration method based on the wave equation and the improved independent component analysis (ICA) based on high order statistics to suppress the multiple waves. We first use iterative feedback method to predict the free surface multiples of each order. Then, in order to predict multiples from real multiple in amplitude and phase, we design an expanded pseudo multi-channel matching filtering method to get a more accurate matching multiple result. Finally, we present the improved fast ICA algorithm which is based on the maximum non-Gauss criterion of output signal to the matching multiples and get better separation results of the primaries and the multiples. The advantage of our method is that we don't need any priori information to the prediction of the multiples, and can have a better separation result. The method has been applied to several synthetic data generated by finite-difference model technique and the Sigsbee2B model multiple data, the primaries and multiples are non-orthogonal in these models. The experiments show that after three to four iterations, we can get the perfect multiple results. Using our matching method and Fast ICA adaptive multiple subtraction, we can not only effectively preserve the effective wave energy in seismic records, but also can effectively suppress the free surface multiples, especially the multiples related to the middle and deep areas.

Analysis of the Difficulty and Discrimination Indices of Multiple-Choice Questions According to Cognitive Levels in an Open and Distance Learning Context

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Koçdar, Serpil; Karadag, Nejdet; Sahin, Murat Dogan

2016-01-01

This is a descriptive study which intends to determine whether the difficulty and discrimination indices of the multiple-choice questions show differences according to cognitive levels of the Bloom's Taxonomy, which are used in the exams of the courses in a business administration bachelor's degree program offered through open and distance…

Combination of multiple model population analysis and mid-infrared technology for the estimation of copper content in Tegillarca granosa

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hu, Meng-Han; Chen, Xiao-Jing; Ye, Peng-Chao; Chen, Xi; Shi, Yi-Jian; Zhai, Guang-Tao; Yang, Xiao-Kang

2016-11-01

The aim of this study was to use mid-infrared spectroscopy coupled with multiple model population analysis based on Monte Carlo-uninformative variable elimination for rapidly estimating the copper content of Tegillarca granosa. Copper-specific wavelengths were first extracted from the whole spectra, and subsequently, a least square-support vector machine was used to develop the prediction models. Compared with the prediction model based on full wavelengths, models that used 100 multiple MC-UVE selected wavelengths without and with bin operation showed comparable performances with Rp (root mean square error of Prediction) of 0.97 (14.60 mg/kg) and 0.94 (20.85 mg/kg) versus 0.96 (17.27 mg/kg), as well as ratio of percent deviation (number of wavelength) of 2.77 (407) and 1.84 (45) versus 2.32 (1762). The obtained results demonstrated that the mid-infrared technique could be used for estimating copper content in T. granosa. In addition, the proposed multiple model population analysis can eliminate uninformative, weakly informative and interfering wavelengths effectively, that substantially reduced the model complexity and computation time.

Evidence from intrinsic activity that asymmetry of the human brain is controlled by multiple factors.

PubMed

Liu, Hesheng; Stufflebeam, Steven M; Sepulcre, Jorge; Hedden, Trey; Buckner, Randy L

2009-12-01

Cerebral lateralization is a fundamental property of the human brain and a marker of successful development. Here we provide evidence that multiple mechanisms control asymmetry for distinct brain systems. Using intrinsic activity to measure asymmetry in 300 adults, we mapped the most strongly lateralized brain regions. Both men and women showed strong asymmetries with a significant, but small, group difference. Factor analysis on the asymmetric regions revealed 4 separate factors that each accounted for significant variation across subjects. The factors were associated with brain systems involved in vision, internal thought (the default network), attention, and language. An independent sample of right- and left-handed individuals showed that hand dominance affects brain asymmetry but differentially across the 4 factors supporting their independence. These findings show the feasibility of measuring brain asymmetry using intrinsic activity fluctuations and suggest that multiple genetic or environmental mechanisms control cerebral lateralization.

Computational multiple steady states for enzymatic esterification of ethanol and oleic acid in an isothermal CSTR.

PubMed

Ho, Pang-Yen; Chuang, Guo-Syong; Chao, An-Chong; Li, Hsing-Ya

2005-05-01

The capacity of complex biochemical reaction networks (consisting of 11 coupled non-linear ordinary differential equations) to show multiple steady states, was investigated. The system involved esterification of ethanol and oleic acid by lipase in an isothermal continuous stirred tank reactor (CSTR). The Deficiency One Algorithm and the Subnetwork Analysis were applied to determine the steady state multiplicity. A set of rate constants and two corresponding steady states are computed. The phenomena of bistability, hysteresis and bifurcation are discussed. Moreover, the capacity of steady state multiplicity is extended to the family of the studied reaction networks.

[Survival analysis with competing risks: estimating failure probability].

PubMed

Llorca, Javier; Delgado-Rodríguez, Miguel

2004-01-01

To show the impact of competing risks of death on survival analysis. We provide an example of survival time without chronic rejection after heart transplantation, where death before rejection acts as a competing risk. Using a computer simulation, we compare the Kaplan-Meier estimator and the multiple decrement model. The Kaplan-Meier method overestimated the probability of rejection. Next, we illustrate the use of the multiple decrement model to analyze secondary end points (in our example: death after rejection). Finally, we discuss Kaplan-Meier assumptions and why they fail in the presence of competing risks. Survival analysis should be adjusted for competing risks of death to avoid overestimation of the risk of rejection produced with the Kaplan-Meier method.

Single-visit or multiple-visit root canal treatment: systematic review, meta-analysis and trial sequential analysis

PubMed Central

Schwendicke, Falk; Göstemeyer, Gerd

2017-01-01

Objectives Single-visit root canal treatment has some advantages over conventional multivisit treatment, but might increase the risk of complications. We systematically evaluated the risk of complications after single-visit or multiple-visit root canal treatment using meta-analysis and trial-sequential analysis. Data Controlled trials comparing single-visit versus multiple-visit root canal treatment of permanent teeth were included. Trials needed to assess the risk of long-term complications (pain, infection, new/persisting/increasing periapical lesions ≥1 year after treatment), short-term pain or flare-up (acute exacerbation of initiation or continuation of root canal treatment). Sources Electronic databases (PubMed, EMBASE, Cochrane Central) were screened, random-effects meta-analyses performed and trial-sequential analysis used to control for risk of random errors. Evidence was graded according to GRADE. Study selection 29 trials (4341 patients) were included, all but 6 showing high risk of bias. Based on 10 trials (1257 teeth), risk of complications was not significantly different in single-visit versus multiple-visit treatment (risk ratio (RR) 1.00 (95% CI 0.75 to 1.35); weak evidence). Based on 20 studies (3008 teeth), risk of pain did not significantly differ between treatments (RR 0.99 (95% CI 0.76 to 1.30); moderate evidence). Risk of flare-up was recorded by 8 studies (1110 teeth) and was significantly higher after single-visit versus multiple-visit treatment (RR 2.13 (95% CI 1.16 to 3.89); very weak evidence). Trial-sequential analysis revealed that firm evidence for benefit, harm or futility was not reached for any of the outcomes. Conclusions There is insufficient evidence to rule out whether important differences between both strategies exist. Clinical significance Dentists can provide root canal treatment in 1 or multiple visits. Given the possibly increased risk of flare-ups, multiple-visit treatment might be preferred for certain teeth (eg, those with periapical lesions). PMID:28148534

Missing Data and Multiple Imputation: An Unbiased Approach

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Foy, M.; VanBaalen, M.; Wear, M.; Mendez, C.; Mason, S.; Meyers, V.; Alexander, D.; Law, J.

2014-01-01

The default method of dealing with missing data in statistical analyses is to only use the complete observations (complete case analysis), which can lead to unexpected bias when data do not meet the assumption of missing completely at random (MCAR). For the assumption of MCAR to be met, missingness cannot be related to either the observed or unobserved variables. A less stringent assumption, missing at random (MAR), requires that missingness not be associated with the value of the missing variable itself, but can be associated with the other observed variables. When data are truly MAR as opposed to MCAR, the default complete case analysis method can lead to biased results. There are statistical options available to adjust for data that are MAR, including multiple imputation (MI) which is consistent and efficient at estimating effects. Multiple imputation uses informing variables to determine statistical distributions for each piece of missing data. Then multiple datasets are created by randomly drawing on the distributions for each piece of missing data. Since MI is efficient, only a limited number, usually less than 20, of imputed datasets are required to get stable estimates. Each imputed dataset is analyzed using standard statistical techniques, and then results are combined to get overall estimates of effect. A simulation study will be demonstrated to show the results of using the default complete case analysis, and MI in a linear regression of MCAR and MAR simulated data. Further, MI was successfully applied to the association study of CO2 levels and headaches when initial analysis showed there may be an underlying association between missing CO2 levels and reported headaches. Through MI, we were able to show that there is a strong association between average CO2 levels and the risk of headaches. Each unit increase in CO2 (mmHg) resulted in a doubling in the odds of reported headaches.

Cytogenetic and molecular identification of a wheat-Leymus mollis alien multiple substitution line from octoploid Tritileymus x Triticum durum.

PubMed

Pang, Y H; Zhao, J X; Du, W L; Li, Y L; Wang, J; Wang, L M; Wu, J; Cheng, X N; Yang, Q H; Chen, X H

2014-05-23

Leymus mollis (Trin.) Pilger (NsNsXmXm, 2n = 28), a wild relative of common wheat, possesses many traits that are potentially valuable for wheat improvement. In order to exploit and utilize the useful genes of L. mollis, we developed a multiple alien substitution line, 10DM50, from the progenies of octoploid Tritileymus M842-16 x Triticum durum cv. D4286. Genomic in situ hybridization analysis of mitosis and meiosis (metaphase I), using labeled total DNA of Psathyrostachys huashanica as probe, showed that the substitution line 10DM50 was a cytogenetically stable alien substitution line with 36 chromosomes from wheat and three pairs of Ns genome chromosomes from L. mollis. Simple sequence repeat analysis showed that the chromosomes 3D, 6D, and 7D were absent in 10DM50. Expressed sequence tag-sequence tagged sites analysis showed that new chromatin from 3Ns, 6Ns, and 7Ns of L. mollis were detected in 10DM50. We deduced that the substitution line 10DM50 was a multiple alien substitution line with the 3D, 6D, and 7D chromosomes replaced by 3Ns, 6Ns, and 7Ns from L. mollis. 10DM50 showed high resistance to leaf rust and significantly improved spike length, spikes per plant, and kernels per spike, which are correlated with higher wheat yield. These results suggest that line 10DM50 could be used as intermediate material for transferring desirable traits from L. mollis into common wheat in breeding programs.

[Construction and analysis of a monitoring system with remote real-time multiple physiological parameters based on cloud computing].

PubMed

Zhu, Lingyun; Li, Lianjie; Meng, Chunyan

2014-12-01

There have been problems in the existing multiple physiological parameter real-time monitoring system, such as insufficient server capacity for physiological data storage and analysis so that data consistency can not be guaranteed, poor performance in real-time, and other issues caused by the growing scale of data. We therefore pro posed a new solution which was with multiple physiological parameters and could calculate clustered background data storage and processing based on cloud computing. Through our studies, a batch processing for longitudinal analysis of patients' historical data was introduced. The process included the resource virtualization of IaaS layer for cloud platform, the construction of real-time computing platform of PaaS layer, the reception and analysis of data stream of SaaS layer, and the bottleneck problem of multi-parameter data transmission, etc. The results were to achieve in real-time physiological information transmission, storage and analysis of a large amount of data. The simulation test results showed that the remote multiple physiological parameter monitoring system based on cloud platform had obvious advantages in processing time and load balancing over the traditional server model. This architecture solved the problems including long turnaround time, poor performance of real-time analysis, lack of extensibility and other issues, which exist in the traditional remote medical services. Technical support was provided in order to facilitate a "wearable wireless sensor plus mobile wireless transmission plus cloud computing service" mode moving towards home health monitoring for multiple physiological parameter wireless monitoring.

Kernel canonical-correlation Granger causality for multiple time series

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wu, Guorong; Duan, Xujun; Liao, Wei; Gao, Qing; Chen, Huafu

2011-04-01

Canonical-correlation analysis as a multivariate statistical technique has been applied to multivariate Granger causality analysis to infer information flow in complex systems. It shows unique appeal and great superiority over the traditional vector autoregressive method, due to the simplified procedure that detects causal interaction between multiple time series, and the avoidance of potential model estimation problems. However, it is limited to the linear case. Here, we extend the framework of canonical correlation to include the estimation of multivariate nonlinear Granger causality for drawing inference about directed interaction. Its feasibility and effectiveness are verified on simulated data.

[Efficacy of racecadotril vs. smectite, probiotics or zinc as an integral part of treatment of acute diarrhea in children under five years: A meta-analysis of multiple treatments].

PubMed

Gutiérrez-Castrellón, Pedro; Ortíz-Hernández, Anna Alejandra; Llamosas-Gallardo, Beatriz; Acosta-Bastidas, Mario A; Jiménez-Gutiérrez, Carlos; Diaz-García, Luisa; Anzo-Osorio, Anahí; Estevez-Jiménez, Juliana; Jiménez-Escobar, Irma; Vidal-Vázquez, Rosa Patricia

2015-01-01

Despite major advances in treatment, acute diarrhea continues to be a public health problem in children under five years. There is no systematic approach to treatment and most evidence is assembled comparing active treatment vs. placebo. Systematic review of evidence on efficacy of adjuvants for treatment of acute diarrhea through a network meta-analysis. A systematic search of multiple databases searching clinical trials related to the use of racecadotril, smectite, Lactobacillus GG, Lactobacillus reuteri, Saccharomyces boulardii and zinc as adjuvants in acute diarrhea was done. The primary endpoint was duration of diarrhea. Information is displayed through network meta-analysis.The superiority of each coadjutant was analyzed by Sucra approach. Network meta-analysis showed race cadotril was better when compared with placebo and other adjuvants. Sucra analysis showed racecadotril as the first option followed by smectite and Lactobacillus reuteri. Considering a strategic decision making approach, network meta-analysis allows us to establish the therapeutic superiority of racecadotril as an adjunct for the comprehensive management of acute diarrhea in children aged less than five years.

Simultaneously extracting multiple parameters via multi-distance and multi-exposure diffuse speckle contrast analysis

PubMed Central

Liu, Jialin; Zhang, Hongchao; Lu, Jian; Ni, Xiaowu; Shen, Zhonghua

2017-01-01

Recent advancements in diffuse speckle contrast analysis (DSCA) have opened the path for noninvasive acquisition of deep tissue microvasculature blood flow. In fact, in addition to blood flow index αDB, the variations of tissue optical absorption μa, reduced scattering coefficients μs′, as well as coherence factor β can modulate temporal fluctuations of speckle patterns. In this study, we use multi-distance and multi-exposure DSCA (MDME-DSCA) to simultaneously extract multiple parameters such as μa, μs′, αDB, and β. The validity of MDME-DSCA has been validated by the simulated data and phantoms experiments. Moreover, as a comparison, the results also show that it is impractical to simultaneously obtain multiple parameters by multi-exposure DSCA (ME-DSCA). PMID:29082083

A novel nano-immunoassay method for quantification of proteins from CD138-purified myeloma cells: biological and clinical utility

PubMed Central

Misiewicz-Krzeminska, Irena; Corchete, Luis Antonio; Rojas, Elizabeta A.; Martínez-López, Joaquín; García-Sanz, Ramón; Oriol, Albert; Bladé, Joan; Lahuerta, Juan-José; Miguel, Jesús San; Mateos, María-Victoria; Gutiérrez, Norma C.

2018-01-01

Protein analysis in bone marrow samples from patients with multiple myeloma has been limited by the low concentration of proteins obtained after CD138+ cell selection. A novel approach based on capillary nano-immunoassay could make it possible to quantify dozens of proteins from each myeloma sample in an automated manner. Here we present a method for the accurate and robust quantification of the expression of multiple proteins extracted from CD138-purified multiple myeloma samples frozen in RLT Plus buffer, which is commonly used for nucleic acid preservation and isolation. Additionally, the biological and clinical value of this analysis for a panel of 12 proteins essential to the pathogenesis of multiple myeloma was evaluated in 63 patients with newly diagnosed multiple myeloma. The analysis of the prognostic impact of CRBN/Cereblon and IKZF1/Ikaros mRNA/protein showed that only the protein levels were able to predict progression-free survival of patients; mRNA levels were not associated with prognosis. Interestingly, high levels of Cereblon and Ikaros proteins were associated with longer progression-free survival only in patients who received immunomodulatory drugs and not in those treated with other drugs. In conclusion, the capillary nano-immunoassay platform provides a novel opportunity for automated quantification of the expression of more than 20 proteins in CD138+ primary multiple myeloma samples. PMID:29545347

A novel nano-immunoassay method for quantification of proteins from CD138-purified myeloma cells: biological and clinical utility.

PubMed

Misiewicz-Krzeminska, Irena; Corchete, Luis Antonio; Rojas, Elizabeta A; Martínez-López, Joaquín; García-Sanz, Ramón; Oriol, Albert; Bladé, Joan; Lahuerta, Juan-José; Miguel, Jesús San; Mateos, María-Victoria; Gutiérrez, Norma C

2018-05-01

Protein analysis in bone marrow samples from patients with multiple myeloma has been limited by the low concentration of proteins obtained after CD138 + cell selection. A novel approach based on capillary nano-immunoassay could make it possible to quantify dozens of proteins from each myeloma sample in an automated manner. Here we present a method for the accurate and robust quantification of the expression of multiple proteins extracted from CD138-purified multiple myeloma samples frozen in RLT Plus buffer, which is commonly used for nucleic acid preservation and isolation. Additionally, the biological and clinical value of this analysis for a panel of 12 proteins essential to the pathogenesis of multiple myeloma was evaluated in 63 patients with newly diagnosed multiple myeloma. The analysis of the prognostic impact of CRBN /Cereblon and IKZF1 /Ikaros mRNA/protein showed that only the protein levels were able to predict progression-free survival of patients; mRNA levels were not associated with prognosis. Interestingly, high levels of Cereblon and Ikaros proteins were associated with longer progression-free survival only in patients who received immunomodulatory drugs and not in those treated with other drugs. In conclusion, the capillary nano-immunoassay platform provides a novel opportunity for automated quantification of the expression of more than 20 proteins in CD138 + primary multiple myeloma samples. Copyright © 2018 Ferrata Storti Foundation.

Correcting bias due to missing stage data in the non-parametric estimation of stage-specific net survival for colorectal cancer using multiple imputation.

PubMed

Falcaro, Milena; Carpenter, James R

2017-06-01

Population-based net survival by tumour stage at diagnosis is a key measure in cancer surveillance. Unfortunately, data on tumour stage are often missing for a non-negligible proportion of patients and the mechanism giving rise to the missingness is usually anything but completely at random. In this setting, restricting analysis to the subset of complete records gives typically biased results. Multiple imputation is a promising practical approach to the issues raised by the missing data, but its use in conjunction with the Pohar-Perme method for estimating net survival has not been formally evaluated. We performed a resampling study using colorectal cancer population-based registry data to evaluate the ability of multiple imputation, used along with the Pohar-Perme method, to deliver unbiased estimates of stage-specific net survival and recover missing stage information. We created 1000 independent data sets, each containing 5000 patients. Stage data were then made missing at random under two scenarios (30% and 50% missingness). Complete records analysis showed substantial bias and poor confidence interval coverage. Across both scenarios our multiple imputation strategy virtually eliminated the bias and greatly improved confidence interval coverage. In the presence of missing stage data complete records analysis often gives severely biased results. We showed that combining multiple imputation with the Pohar-Perme estimator provides a valid practical approach for the estimation of stage-specific colorectal cancer net survival. As usual, when the percentage of missing data is high the results should be interpreted cautiously and sensitivity analyses are recommended. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging with Concurrent Urodynamic Testing Identifies Brain Structures Involved in Micturition Cycle in Patients with Multiple Sclerosis.

PubMed

Khavari, Rose; Karmonik, Christof; Shy, Michael; Fletcher, Sophie; Boone, Timothy

2017-02-01

Neurogenic lower urinary tract dysfunction, which is common in patients with multiple sclerosis, has a significant impact on quality of life. In this study we sought to determine brain activity processes during the micturition cycle in female patients with multiple sclerosis and neurogenic lower urinary tract dysfunction. We report brain activity on functional magnetic resonance imaging and simultaneous urodynamic testing in 23 ambulatory female patients with multiple sclerosis. Individual functional magnetic resonance imaging activation maps at strong desire to void and at initiation of voiding were calculated and averaged at Montreal Neuroimaging Institute. Areas of significant activation were identified in these average maps. Subgroup analysis was performed in patients with elicitable neurogenic detrusor overactivity or detrusor-sphincter dyssynergia. Group analysis of all patients at strong desire to void yielded areas of activation in regions associated with executive function (frontal gyrus), emotional regulation (cingulate gyrus) and motor control (putamen, cerebellum and precuneus). Comparison of the average change in activation between previously reported healthy controls and patients with multiple sclerosis showed predominantly stronger, more focal activation in the former and lower, more diffused activation in the latter. Patients with multiple sclerosis who had demonstrable neurogenic detrusor overactivity and detrusor-sphincter dyssynergia showed a trend toward distinct brain activation at full urge and at initiation of voiding respectively. We successfully studied brain activation during the entire micturition cycle in female patients with neurogenic lower urinary tract dysfunction and multiple sclerosis using a concurrent functional magnetic resonance imaging/urodynamic testing platform. Understanding the central neural processes involved in specific parts of micturition in patients with neurogenic lower urinary tract dysfunction may identify areas of interest for future intervention. Copyright © 2017 American Urological Association Education and Research, Inc. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

MALDI imaging mass spectrometry analysis-A new approach for protein mapping in multiple sclerosis brain lesions.

PubMed

Maccarrone, Giuseppina; Nischwitz, Sandra; Deininger, Sören-Oliver; Hornung, Joachim; König, Fatima Barbara; Stadelmann, Christine; Turck, Christoph W; Weber, Frank

2017-03-15

Multiple sclerosis is a disease of the central nervous system characterized by recurrent inflammatory demyelinating lesions in the early disease stage. Lesion formation and mechanisms leading to lesion remyelination are not fully understood. Matrix Assisted Laser Desorption Ionisation Mass Spectrometry imaging (MALDI-IMS) is a technology which analyses proteins and peptides in tissue, preserves their spatial localization, and generates molecular maps within the tissue section. In a pilot study we employed MALDI imaging mass spectrometry to profile and identify peptides and proteins expressed in normal-appearing white matter, grey matter and multiple sclerosis brain lesions with different extents of remyelination. The unsupervised clustering analysis of the mass spectra generated images which reflected the tissue section morphology in luxol fast blue stain and in myelin basic protein immunohistochemistry. Lesions with low remyelination extent were defined by compounds with molecular weight smaller than 5300Da, while more completely remyelinated lesions showed compounds with molecular weights greater than 15,200Da. An in-depth analysis of the mass spectra enabled the detection of cortical lesions which were not seen by routine luxol fast blue histology. An ion mass, mainly distributed at the rim of multiple sclerosis lesions, was identified by liquid chromatography and tandem mass spectrometry as thymosin beta-4, a protein known to be involved in cell migration and in restorative processes. The ion mass of thymosin beta-4 was profiled by MALDI imaging mass spectrometry in brain slides of 12 multiple sclerosis patients and validated by immunohistochemical analysis. In summary, our results demonstrate the ability of the MALDI-IMS technology to map proteins within the brain parenchyma and multiple sclerosis lesions and to identify potential markers involved in multiple sclerosis pathogenesis and/or remyelination. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Double-multiple streamtube model for studying vertical-axis wind turbines

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Paraschivoiu, Ion

1988-08-01

This work describes the present state-of-the-art in double-multiple streamtube method for modeling the Darrieus-type vertical-axis wind turbine (VAWT). Comparisons of the analytical results with the other predictions and available experimental data show a good agreement. This method, which incorporates dynamic-stall and secondary effects, can be used for generating a suitable aerodynamic-load model for structural design analysis of the Darrieus rotor.

A SAS Interface for Bayesian Analysis with WinBUGS

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Zhang, Zhiyong; McArdle, John J.; Wang, Lijuan; Hamagami, Fumiaki

2008-01-01

Bayesian methods are becoming very popular despite some practical difficulties in implementation. To assist in the practical application of Bayesian methods, we show how to implement Bayesian analysis with WinBUGS as part of a standard set of SAS routines. This implementation procedure is first illustrated by fitting a multiple regression model…

BlockLogo: visualization of peptide and sequence motif conservation

PubMed Central

Olsen, Lars Rønn; Kudahl, Ulrich Johan; Simon, Christian; Sun, Jing; Schönbach, Christian; Reinherz, Ellis L.; Zhang, Guang Lan; Brusic, Vladimir

2013-01-01

BlockLogo is a web-server application for visualization of protein and nucleotide fragments, continuous protein sequence motifs, and discontinuous sequence motifs using calculation of block entropy from multiple sequence alignments. The user input consists of a multiple sequence alignment, selection of motif positions, type of sequence, and output format definition. The output has BlockLogo along with the sequence logo, and a table of motif frequencies. We deployed BlockLogo as an online application and have demonstrated its utility through examples that show visualization of T-cell epitopes and B-cell epitopes (both continuous and discontinuous). Our additional example shows a visualization and analysis of structural motifs that determine specificity of peptide binding to HLA-DR molecules. The BlockLogo server also employs selected experimentally validated prediction algorithms to enable on-the-fly prediction of MHC binding affinity to 15 common HLA class I and class II alleles as well as visual analysis of discontinuous epitopes from multiple sequence alignments. It enables the visualization and analysis of structural and functional motifs that are usually described as regular expressions. It provides a compact view of discontinuous motifs composed of distant positions within biological sequences. BlockLogo is available at: http://research4.dfci.harvard.edu/cvc/blocklogo/ and http://methilab.bu.edu/blocklogo/ PMID:24001880

The cross-correlation analysis of multi property of stock markets based on MM-DFA

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yang, Yujun; Li, Jianping; Yang, Yimei

2017-09-01

In this paper, we propose a new method called DH-MXA based on distribution histograms of Hurst surface and multiscale multifractal detrended fluctuation analysis. The method allows us to investigate the cross-correlation characteristics among multiple properties of different stock time series. It may provide a new way of measuring the nonlinearity of several signals. It also can provide a more stable and faithful description of cross-correlation of multiple properties of stocks. The DH-MXA helps us to present much richer information than multifractal detrented cross-correlation analysis and allows us to assess many universal and subtle cross-correlation characteristics of stock markets. We show DH-MXA by selecting four artificial data sets and five properties of four stock time series from different countries. The results show that our proposed method can be adapted to investigate the cross-correlation of stock markets. In general, the American stock markets are more mature and less volatile than the Chinese stock markets.

Joint Blind Source Separation by Multi-set Canonical Correlation Analysis

PubMed Central

Li, Yi-Ou; Adalı, Tülay; Wang, Wei; Calhoun, Vince D

2009-01-01

In this work, we introduce a simple and effective scheme to achieve joint blind source separation (BSS) of multiple datasets using multi-set canonical correlation analysis (M-CCA) [1]. We first propose a generative model of joint BSS based on the correlation of latent sources within and between datasets. We specify source separability conditions, and show that, when the conditions are satisfied, the group of corresponding sources from each dataset can be jointly extracted by M-CCA through maximization of correlation among the extracted sources. We compare source separation performance of the M-CCA scheme with other joint BSS methods and demonstrate the superior performance of the M-CCA scheme in achieving joint BSS for a large number of datasets, group of corresponding sources with heterogeneous correlation values, and complex-valued sources with circular and non-circular distributions. We apply M-CCA to analysis of functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) data from multiple subjects and show its utility in estimating meaningful brain activations from a visuomotor task. PMID:20221319

A Bayesian Poisson-lognormal Model for Count Data for Multiple-Trait Multiple-Environment Genomic-Enabled Prediction

PubMed Central

Montesinos-López, Osval A.; Montesinos-López, Abelardo; Crossa, José; Toledo, Fernando H.; Montesinos-López, José C.; Singh, Pawan; Juliana, Philomin; Salinas-Ruiz, Josafhat

2017-01-01

When a plant scientist wishes to make genomic-enabled predictions of multiple traits measured in multiple individuals in multiple environments, the most common strategy for performing the analysis is to use a single trait at a time taking into account genotype × environment interaction (G × E), because there is a lack of comprehensive models that simultaneously take into account the correlated counting traits and G × E. For this reason, in this study we propose a multiple-trait and multiple-environment model for count data. The proposed model was developed under the Bayesian paradigm for which we developed a Markov Chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) with noninformative priors. This allows obtaining all required full conditional distributions of the parameters leading to an exact Gibbs sampler for the posterior distribution. Our model was tested with simulated data and a real data set. Results show that the proposed multi-trait, multi-environment model is an attractive alternative for modeling multiple count traits measured in multiple environments. PMID:28364037

Instrumental variables analysis using multiple databases: an example of antidepressant use and risk of hip fracture.

PubMed

Uddin, Md Jamal; Groenwold, Rolf H H; de Boer, Anthonius; Gardarsdottir, Helga; Martin, Elisa; Candore, Gianmario; Belitser, Svetlana V; Hoes, Arno W; Roes, Kit C B; Klungel, Olaf H

2016-03-01

Instrumental variable (IV) analysis can control for unmeasured confounding, yet it has not been widely used in pharmacoepidemiology. We aimed to assess the performance of IV analysis using different IVs in multiple databases in a study of antidepressant use and hip fracture. Information on adults with at least one prescription of a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) or tricyclic antidepressant (TCA) during 2001-2009 was extracted from the THIN (UK), BIFAP (Spain), and Mondriaan (Netherlands) databases. IVs were created using the proportion of SSRI prescriptions per practice or using the one, five, or ten previous prescriptions by a physician. Data were analysed using conventional Cox regression and two-stage IV models. In the conventional analysis, SSRI (vs. TCA) was associated with an increased risk of hip fracture, which was consistently found across databases: the adjusted hazard ratio (HR) was approximately 1.35 for time-fixed and 1.50 to 2.49 for time-varying SSRI use, while the IV analysis based on the IVs that appeared to satisfy the IV assumptions showed conflicting results, e.g. the adjusted HRs ranged from 0.55 to 2.75 for time-fixed exposure. IVs for time-varying exposure violated at least one IV assumption and were therefore invalid. This multiple database study shows that the performance of IV analysis varied across the databases for time-fixed and time-varying exposures and strongly depends on the definition of IVs. It remains challenging to obtain valid IVs in pharmacoepidemiological studies, particularly for time-varying exposure, and IV analysis should therefore be interpreted cautiously. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Antecedents of Coping with the Disease in Patients with Multiple Sclerosis: A Qualitative Content Analysis

PubMed Central

Dehghani, Ali; Dehghan Nayeri, Nahid; Ebadi, Abbas

2017-01-01

ABSTRACT Background: Due to many physical and mental disorders that occur in multiple sclerosis patients, identifying the factors affecting coping based on the experiences of patients using qualitative study is essential to improve their quality of life. This study was conducted to explore the antecedents of coping with the disease in patients with multiple sclerosis. Methods: This is a qualitative study conducted on 11 patients with multiple sclerosis in 2015 in Tehran, Iran. These patients were selected based on purposive sampling. Data were collected using semi-structured and in-depth interviews and coded. These data were analyzed using the conventional content analysis. The rigor of qualitative data using the criteria proposed by Guba and Lincoln were assessed. Results: Five main categories were revealed: (1) social support, (2) lenience, (3) reliance on faith, (4) knowledge of multiple sclerosis and modeling, and (5) economic and environmental situation. Each category had several distinct sub-categories. Conclusions: The results of this study showed that coping with multiple sclerosis is a complex, multidimensional and contextual concept that is affected by various factors in relation to the context of Iran. The findings of the study can provide the healthcare professionals with deeper recognition and understanding of these antecedents to improve successful coping in Iranian patients suffering from multiple sclerosis. PMID:28097178

Disease-specific molecular events in cortical multiple sclerosis lesions

PubMed Central

Wimmer, Isabella; Höftberger, Romana; Gerlach, Susanna; Haider, Lukas; Zrzavy, Tobias; Hametner, Simon; Mahad, Don; Binder, Christoph J.; Krumbholz, Markus; Bauer, Jan; Bradl, Monika

2013-01-01

Cortical lesions constitute an important part of multiple sclerosis pathology. Although inflammation appears to play a role in their formation, the mechanisms leading to demyelination and neurodegeneration are poorly understood. We aimed to identify some of these mechanisms by combining gene expression studies with neuropathological analysis. In our study, we showed that the combination of inflammation, plaque-like primary demyelination and neurodegeneration in the cortex is specific for multiple sclerosis and is not seen in other chronic inflammatory diseases mediated by CD8-positive T cells (Rasmussen’s encephalitis), B cells (B cell lymphoma) or complex chronic inflammation (tuberculous meningitis, luetic meningitis or chronic purulent meningitis). In addition, we performed genome-wide microarray analysis comparing micro-dissected active cortical multiple sclerosis lesions with those of tuberculous meningitis (inflammatory control), Alzheimer’s disease (neurodegenerative control) and with cortices of age-matched controls. More than 80% of the identified multiple sclerosis-specific genes were related to T cell-mediated inflammation, microglia activation, oxidative injury, DNA damage and repair, remyelination and regenerative processes. Finally, we confirmed by immunohistochemistry that oxidative damage in cortical multiple sclerosis lesions is associated with oligodendrocyte and neuronal injury, the latter also affecting axons and dendrites. Our study provides new insights into the complex mechanisms of neurodegeneration and regeneration in the cortex of patients with multiple sclerosis. PMID:23687122

Effect of slice thickness on brain magnetic resonance image texture analysis

PubMed Central

2010-01-01

Background The accuracy of texture analysis in clinical evaluation of magnetic resonance images depends considerably on imaging arrangements and various image quality parameters. In this paper, we study the effect of slice thickness on brain tissue texture analysis using a statistical approach and classification of T1-weighted images of clinically confirmed multiple sclerosis patients. Methods We averaged the intensities of three consecutive 1-mm slices to simulate 3-mm slices. Two hundred sixty-four texture parameters were calculated for both the original and the averaged slices. Wilcoxon's signed ranks test was used to find differences between the regions of interest representing white matter and multiple sclerosis plaques. Linear and nonlinear discriminant analyses were applied with several separate training and test sets to determine the actual classification accuracy. Results Only moderate differences in distributions of the texture parameter value for 1-mm and simulated 3-mm-thick slices were found. Our study also showed that white matter areas are well separable from multiple sclerosis plaques even if the slice thickness differs between training and test sets. Conclusions Three-millimeter-thick magnetic resonance image slices acquired with a 1.5 T clinical magnetic resonance scanner seem to be sufficient for texture analysis of multiple sclerosis plaques and white matter tissue. PMID:20955567

Optimization of multi response in end milling process of ASSAB XW-42 tool steel with liquid nitrogen cooling using Taguchi-grey relational analysis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Norcahyo, Rachmadi; Soepangkat, Bobby O. P.

2017-06-01

A research was conducted for the optimization of the end milling process of ASSAB XW-42 tool steel with multiple performance characteristics based on the orthogonal array with Taguchi-grey relational analysis method. Liquid nitrogen was applied as a coolant. The experimental studies were conducted under varying the liquid nitrogen cooling flow rates (FL), and the end milling process variables, i.e., cutting speed (Vc), feeding speed (Vf), and axial depth of cut (Aa). The optimized multiple performance characteristics were surface roughness (SR), flank wear (VB), and material removal rate (MRR). An orthogonal array, signal-to-noise (S/N) ratio, grey relational analysis, grey relational grade, and analysis of variance were employed to study the multiple performance characteristics. Experimental results showed that flow rate gave the highest contribution for reducing the total variation of the multiple responses, followed by cutting speed, feeding speed, and axial depth of cut. The minimum surface roughness, flank wear, and maximum material removal rate could be obtained by using the values of flow rate, cutting speed, feeding speed, and axial depth of cut of 0.5 l/minute, 109.9 m/minute, 440 mm/minute, and 0.9 mm, respectively.

The Impact of Problem Sets on Student Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kim, Myeong Hwan; Cho, Moon-Heum; Leonard, Karen Moustafa

2012-01-01

The authors examined the role of problem sets on student learning in university microeconomics. A total of 126 students participated in the study in consecutive years. independent samples t test showed that students who were not given answer keys outperformed students who were given answer keys. Multiple regression analysis showed that, along with…

Genome wide analysis in a discordant monozygotic twin with caudal appendage and multiple congenital anomalies.

PubMed

Cogulu, O; Pariltay, E; Koroglu, O A; Aykut, A; Ozyurek, R; Levent, E; Kultursay, N; Ozkinay, F

2013-01-01

Caudal appendage is a rare dysmorphic feature of which etiologic mechanisms are not well understood. Here we report monozygotic (MZ) twin brothers who are discordant for the caudal appendage and multiple congenital anomalies. Twins were the product of a 33 weeks of gestation, monochorionic-diamniotic pregnancy. On admission the proband had micrognathia, beaked nose, hypospadias, caudal appendage and juxtaductal aorta coarctation. At birth, he was small for gestational age and he had transient hypothyroidism which was detected in the newborn period. Karyotype analysis showed 46,XY. Monozygosity was shown by 15 microsatellite markers plus amelogenin (AmpFlSTR Identifiler PCR Amplification Kit, Applied Biosystems). Genome-wide copy number analysis of the twins by DNA-DNA hybridization of whole genomic DNA (NimbleGen Human CGH 385K WG-T v2.0 array) showed a significant difference at two neighboring probes with Log2 ratio: 0.72088 which are located on chromosome 3p12.3. Further analysis by high resolution of chromosome 3 array (Roche NimbleGen Human HG18 CHR3 FT Median Probe Spacing 475 bp) and quantitative PCR analysis did not confirm the deletion.

Multivariate meta-analysis using individual participant data.

PubMed

Riley, R D; Price, M J; Jackson, D; Wardle, M; Gueyffier, F; Wang, J; Staessen, J A; White, I R

2015-06-01

When combining results across related studies, a multivariate meta-analysis allows the joint synthesis of correlated effect estimates from multiple outcomes. Joint synthesis can improve efficiency over separate univariate syntheses, may reduce selective outcome reporting biases, and enables joint inferences across the outcomes. A common issue is that within-study correlations needed to fit the multivariate model are unknown from published reports. However, provision of individual participant data (IPD) allows them to be calculated directly. Here, we illustrate how to use IPD to estimate within-study correlations, using a joint linear regression for multiple continuous outcomes and bootstrapping methods for binary, survival and mixed outcomes. In a meta-analysis of 10 hypertension trials, we then show how these methods enable multivariate meta-analysis to address novel clinical questions about continuous, survival and binary outcomes; treatment-covariate interactions; adjusted risk/prognostic factor effects; longitudinal data; prognostic and multiparameter models; and multiple treatment comparisons. Both frequentist and Bayesian approaches are applied, with example software code provided to derive within-study correlations and to fit the models. © 2014 The Authors. Research Synthesis Methods published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Inter- and intraobserver agreement in 24-hour combined multiple intraluminal impedance and pH measurement in children.

PubMed

Pilic, Denisa; Höfs, Carolin; Weitmann, Sandra; Nöh, Frank; Fröhlich, Thorsten; Skopnik, Heino; Köhler, Henrik; Wenzl, Tobias G; Schmidt-Choudhury, Anjona

2011-09-01

Assessment of intra- and interobserver agreement in multiple intraluminal impedance (MII) measurement between investigators from different institutions. Twenty-four 18- to 24-hour MII tracings were randomly chosen from 4 different institutions (6 per center). Software-aided automatic analysis was performed. Each result was validated by 2 independent investigators from the 4 different centers (4 investigator combinations). For intraobserver agreement, 6 measurements were analyzed twice by the same investigator. Agreement between investigators was calculated using the Cohen kappa coefficient. Interobserver agreement: 13 measurements showed a perfect agreement (kappa > 0.8); 9 had a substantial (kappa 0.61-0.8), 1 a moderate (kappa coefficient 0.41 to 0.6), and 1 a fair agreement (kappa coefficient 0.11-0.4). Median kappa value was 0.83. Intraobserver agreement: 5 tracings showed perfect and 1 showed a substantial agreement. The median kappa value was 0.88. Most measurements showed substantial to perfect intra- and interobserver agreement. Still, we found a few outliers presumably caused by poorer signal quality in some tracings rather than being observer dependent. An improvement of analysis results may be achieved by using a standard analysis protocol, a standardized method for judging tracing quality, better training options for method users, and more interaction between investigators from different institutions.

Searching for a neurologic injury's Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-Third Edition profile.

PubMed

Gonçalves, Marta A; Moura, Octávio; Castro-Caldas, Alexandre; Simões, Mário R

2017-01-01

This study aimed to investigate the presence of a Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-Third Edition (WAIS-III) cognitive profile in a Portuguese neurologic injured sample. The Portuguese WAIS-III was administered to 81 mixed neurologic patients and 81 healthy matched controls selected from the Portuguese standardization sample. Although the mixed neurologic injury group performed significantly lower than the healthy controls for the majority of the WAIS-III scores (i.e., composite measures, discrepancies, and subtests), the mean scores were within the normal range and, therefore, at risk of being unobserved in a clinical evaluation. ROC curves analysis showed poor to acceptable diagnostic accuracy for the WAIS-III composite measures and subtests (Working Memory Index and Digit Span revealed the highest accuracy for discriminating between participants, respectively). Multiple regression analysis showed that both literacy and the presence of brain injury were significant predictors for all of the composite measures. In addition, multiple regression analysis also showed that literacy, age of injury onset, and years of survival predicted all seven composite measures for the mixed neurologic injured group. Despite the failure to find a WAIS-III cognitive profile for mixed neurologic patients, the results showed a significant influence of brain lesion and literacy in the performance of the WAIS-III.

Borrowing of strength and study weights in multivariate and network meta-analysis.

PubMed

Jackson, Dan; White, Ian R; Price, Malcolm; Copas, John; Riley, Richard D

2017-12-01

Multivariate and network meta-analysis have the potential for the estimated mean of one effect to borrow strength from the data on other effects of interest. The extent of this borrowing of strength is usually assessed informally. We present new mathematical definitions of 'borrowing of strength'. Our main proposal is based on a decomposition of the score statistic, which we show can be interpreted as comparing the precision of estimates from the multivariate and univariate models. Our definition of borrowing of strength therefore emulates the usual informal assessment. We also derive a method for calculating study weights, which we embed into the same framework as our borrowing of strength statistics, so that percentage study weights can accompany the results from multivariate and network meta-analyses as they do in conventional univariate meta-analyses. Our proposals are illustrated using three meta-analyses involving correlated effects for multiple outcomes, multiple risk factor associations and multiple treatments (network meta-analysis).

Fine-mapping identifies multiple prostate cancer risk loci at 5p15, one of which associates with TERT expression

PubMed Central

Kote-Jarai, Zsofia; Saunders, Edward J.; Leongamornlert, Daniel A.; Tymrakiewicz, Malgorzata; Dadaev, Tokhir; Jugurnauth-Little, Sarah; Ross-Adams, Helen; Al Olama, Ali Amin; Benlloch, Sara; Halim, Silvia; Russel, Roslin; Dunning, Alison M.; Luccarini, Craig; Dennis, Joe; Neal, David E.; Hamdy, Freddie C.; Donovan, Jenny L.; Muir, Ken; Giles, Graham G.; Severi, Gianluca; Wiklund, Fredrik; Gronberg, Henrik; Haiman, Christopher A.; Schumacher, Fredrick; Henderson, Brian E.; Le Marchand, Loic; Lindstrom, Sara; Kraft, Peter; Hunter, David J.; Gapstur, Susan; Chanock, Stephen; Berndt, Sonja I.; Albanes, Demetrius; Andriole, Gerald; Schleutker, Johanna; Weischer, Maren; Canzian, Federico; Riboli, Elio; Key, Tim J.; Travis, Ruth C.; Campa, Daniele; Ingles, Sue A.; John, Esther M.; Hayes, Richard B.; Pharoah, Paul; Khaw, Kay-Tee; Stanford, Janet L.; Ostrander, Elaine A.; Signorello, Lisa B.; Thibodeau, Stephen N.; Schaid, Dan; Maier, Christiane; Vogel, Walther; Kibel, Adam S.; Cybulski, Cezary; Lubinski, Jan; Cannon-Albright, Lisa; Brenner, Hermann; Park, Jong Y.; Kaneva, Radka; Batra, Jyotsna; Spurdle, Amanda; Clements, Judith A.; Teixeira, Manuel R.; Govindasami, Koveela; Guy, Michelle; Wilkinson, Rosemary A.; Sawyer, Emma J.; Morgan, Angela; Dicks, Ed; Baynes, Caroline; Conroy, Don; Bojesen, Stig E.; Kaaks, Rudolf; Vincent, Daniel; Bacot, François; Tessier, Daniel C.; Easton, Douglas F.; Eeles, Rosalind A.

2013-01-01

Associations between single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) at 5p15 and multiple cancer types have been reported. We have previously shown evidence for a strong association between prostate cancer (PrCa) risk and rs2242652 at 5p15, intronic in the telomerase reverse transcriptase (TERT) gene that encodes TERT. To comprehensively evaluate the association between genetic variation across this region and PrCa, we performed a fine-mapping analysis by genotyping 134 SNPs using a custom Illumina iSelect array or Sequenom MassArray iPlex, followed by imputation of 1094 SNPs in 22 301 PrCa cases and 22 320 controls in The PRACTICAL consortium. Multiple stepwise logistic regression analysis identified four signals in the promoter or intronic regions of TERT that independently associated with PrCa risk. Gene expression analysis of normal prostate tissue showed evidence that SNPs within one of these regions also associated with TERT expression, providing a potential mechanism for predisposition to disease. PMID:23535824

Borrowing of strength and study weights in multivariate and network meta-analysis

PubMed Central

Jackson, Dan; White, Ian R; Price, Malcolm; Copas, John; Riley, Richard D

2016-01-01

Multivariate and network meta-analysis have the potential for the estimated mean of one effect to borrow strength from the data on other effects of interest. The extent of this borrowing of strength is usually assessed informally. We present new mathematical definitions of ‘borrowing of strength’. Our main proposal is based on a decomposition of the score statistic, which we show can be interpreted as comparing the precision of estimates from the multivariate and univariate models. Our definition of borrowing of strength therefore emulates the usual informal assessment. We also derive a method for calculating study weights, which we embed into the same framework as our borrowing of strength statistics, so that percentage study weights can accompany the results from multivariate and network meta-analyses as they do in conventional univariate meta-analyses. Our proposals are illustrated using three meta-analyses involving correlated effects for multiple outcomes, multiple risk factor associations and multiple treatments (network meta-analysis). PMID:26546254

Study of optoelectronic switch for satellite-switched time-division multiple access

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Su, Shing-Fong; Jou, Liz; Lenart, Joe

1987-01-01

The use of optoelectronic switching for satellite switched time division multiple access will improve the isolation and reduce the crosstalk of an IF switch matrix. The results are presented of a study on optoelectronic switching. Tasks include literature search, system requirements study, candidate switching architecture analysis, and switch model optimization. The results show that the power divided and crossbar switching architectures are good candidates for an IF switch matrix.

Multiple heteroatom substitution to graphene nanoribbon

PubMed Central

Meyer, Ernst

2018-01-01

Substituting heteroatoms into nanostructured graphene elements, such as graphene nanoribbons, offers the possibility for atomic engineering of electronic properties. To characterize these substitutions, functionalized atomic force microscopy (AFM)—a tool to directly resolve chemical structures—is one of the most promising tools, yet the chemical analysis of heteroatoms has been rarely performed. We synthesized multiple heteroatom-substituted graphene nanoribbons and showed that AFM can directly resolve elemental differences and can be correlated to the van der Waals radii, as well as the modulated local electron density caused by the substitution. This elemental-sensitive measurement takes an important step in the analysis of functionalized two-dimensional carbon materials. PMID:29662955

Collapse Causes Analysis and Numerical Simulation for a Rigid Frame Multiple Arch Bridge

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zuo, XinDai

2018-03-01

Following the collapse accident of Baihe Bridge, the author built a plane model of the whole bridge firstly and analyzed the carrying capacity of the structure for a 170-tons lorry load. Then the author built a spatial finite element model which can accurately simulate the bridge collapse course. The collapse course was simulated and the accident scene was reproduced. Spatial analysis showed rotational stiffness of the pier bottom had a large influence on the collapse from of the superstructures. The conclusion was that the170 tons lorry load and multiple arch bridge design were the important factors leading to collapse.

Detecting multiple outliers in linear functional relationship model for circular variables using clustering technique

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mokhtar, Nurkhairany Amyra; Zubairi, Yong Zulina; Hussin, Abdul Ghapor

2017-05-01

Outlier detection has been used extensively in data analysis to detect anomalous observation in data and has important application in fraud detection and robust analysis. In this paper, we propose a method in detecting multiple outliers for circular variables in linear functional relationship model. Using the residual values of the Caires and Wyatt model, we applied the hierarchical clustering procedure. With the use of tree diagram, we illustrate the graphical approach of the detection of outlier. A simulation study is done to verify the accuracy of the proposed method. Also, an illustration to a real data set is given to show its practical applicability.

Fast linear feature detection using multiple directional non-maximum suppression.

PubMed

Sun, C; Vallotton, P

2009-05-01

The capacity to detect linear features is central to image analysis, computer vision and pattern recognition and has practical applications in areas such as neurite outgrowth detection, retinal vessel extraction, skin hair removal, plant root analysis and road detection. Linear feature detection often represents the starting point for image segmentation and image interpretation. In this paper, we present a new algorithm for linear feature detection using multiple directional non-maximum suppression with symmetry checking and gap linking. Given its low computational complexity, the algorithm is very fast. We show in several examples that it performs very well in terms of both sensitivity and continuity of detected linear features.

Multiple malignant extragastrointestinal stromal tumors of the greater omentum and results of immunohistochemistry and mutation analysis: A case report

PubMed Central

Kim, Jong-Han; Boo, Yoon-Jung; Jung, Cheol-Woong; Park, Sung-Soo; Kim, Seung-Joo; Mok, Young-Jae; Kim, Sang-Dae; Chae, Yang-Suk; Kim, Chong-Suk

2007-01-01

To report an extragastrointestinal stromal tumor (EGIST) that occurs outside the gastrointestinal tract and shows unique clinicopathologic and immunohistochemical features. In our case, we experienced multiple soft tissue tumors that originate primarily in the greater omentum, and in immunohistochemical analysis, the tumors showed features that correspond to malignant EGIST. Two large omental masses measured 15 cm x 10 cm and 5 cm × 4 cm sized and several small ovoid fragments were attached to small intestine, mesentery and peritoneum. On histologic findings, the masses were separated from small bowel serosa and had high mitotic count (115/50 HPFs). In the results of immunohistochemical stains, the tumor showed CD117 (c-kit) positive reactivity and high Ki-67 labeling index. On mutation analysis, the c-kit gene mutation was found in the juxtamembrane domain (exon 11) and it was heterozygote. Platelet-derived growth factor receptor (PDGFR) gene mutation was also found in the juxtamemembrane (exon 12) and it was polymorphism. From above findings, we proposed that there may be several mutational pathways to malignant EGIST, so further investigations could be needed to approach this unfavorable disease entity. PMID:17659683

Mixed Models and Reduction Techniques for Large-Rotation, Nonlinear Analysis of Shells of Revolution with Application to Tires

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Noor, A. K.; Andersen, C. M.; Tanner, J. A.

1984-01-01

An effective computational strategy is presented for the large-rotation, nonlinear axisymmetric analysis of shells of revolution. The three key elements of the computational strategy are: (1) use of mixed finite-element models with discontinuous stress resultants at the element interfaces; (2) substantial reduction in the total number of degrees of freedom through the use of a multiple-parameter reduction technique; and (3) reduction in the size of the analysis model through the decomposition of asymmetric loads into symmetric and antisymmetric components coupled with the use of the multiple-parameter reduction technique. The potential of the proposed computational strategy is discussed. Numerical results are presented to demonstrate the high accuracy of the mixed models developed and to show the potential of using the proposed computational strategy for the analysis of tires.

Worldwide prevalence of adverse pregnancy outcomes associated with in vitro fertilization/intracytoplasmic sperm injection among multiple births: a systematic review and meta-analysis based on cohort studies.

PubMed

Qin, Jia-Bi; Sheng, Xiao-Qi; Wang, Hua; Chen, Guo-Chong; Yang, Jing; Yu, Hong; Yang, Tu-Bao

2017-03-01

To perform a systematic review and meta-analysis of reported estimates of adverse pregnancy outcomes among multiple births conceived with in vitro fertilization (IVF)/intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI). PubMed, Google Scholar, Cochrane Libraries and Chinese databases were searched through May 2016 for cohort studies assessing adverse pregnancy outcomes associated with IVF/ICSI multiple births. Random-effects meta-analyses were used to calculate pooled estimates of adverse pregnancy outcomes and, where appropriate, heterogeneity was explored in group-specific analyses. Sixty-four studies, with 60,210 IVF/ICSI multiple births and 146,737 spontaneously conceived multiple births, were selected for analysis. Among IVF/ICSI multiple births, the pooled estimates were 51.5% [95% confidence interval (CI): 48.7-54.3] for preterm birth, 12.1% (95% CI: 10.4-14.1) for very preterm birth, 49.8% (95% CI: 47.6-52.0) for low birth weight, 8.4% (95% CI: 7.1-9.9) for very low birth weight, 16.2% (95% CI: 12.9-20.1) for small for gestational age, 3.0% (95% CI: 2.5-3.7) for perinatal mortality and 4.7% (95% CI: 4.0-5.6) for congenital malformations. When the data were restricted to twins, the pooled estimates also showed a high prevalence of adverse outcomes. There was a similar prevalence of poor outcomes among multiple births conceived with IVF/ICSI and naturally (all P ≥ 0.0792). Significant differences in different continents, countries, and income groups were found. The IVF/ICSI multiple pregnancies have a high prevalence of adverse pregnancy outcomes. However, population-wide prospective adverse outcomes registries covering the entire world population for IVF/ICSI pregnancies are needed to determine the exact perinatal prevalence.

Genetic characterization of Measles Viruses in China, 2004

PubMed Central

Zhang, Yan; Ji, Yixin; Jiang, Xiaohong; Xu, Songtao; Zhu, Zhen; Zheng, Lei; He, Jilan; Ling, Hua; Wang, Yan; Liu, Yang; Du, Wen; Yang, Xuelei; Mao, Naiying; Xu, Wenbo

2008-01-01

Genetic characterization of wild-type measles virus was studied using nucleotide sequencing of the C-terminal region of the N protein gene and phylogenetic analysis on 59 isolates from 16 provinces of China in 2004. The results showed that all of the isolates belonged to genotype H1. 51 isolates were belonged to cluster 1 and 8 isolates were cluster 2 and Viruses from both clusters were distributed throughout China without distinct geographic pattern. The nucleotide sequence and predicted amino acid homologies of the 59 H1 strains were 96.5%–100% and 95.7%–100%, respectively. The report showed that the transmission pattern of genotype H1 viruses in China in 2004 was consistent with ongoing endemic transmission of multiple lineages of a single, endemic genotype. Multiple transmission pathways leaded to multiple lineages within endemic genotype. PMID:18928575

TRANSIT TIMING OBSERVATIONS FROM KEPLER. I. STATISTICAL ANALYSIS OF THE FIRST FOUR MONTHS

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Ford, Eric B.; Rowe, Jason F.; Caldwell, Douglas A.

The architectures of multiple planet systems can provide valuable constraints on models of planet formation, including orbital migration, and excitation of orbital eccentricities and inclinations. NASA's Kepler mission has identified 1235 transiting planet candidates. The method of transit timing variations (TTVs) has already confirmed seven planets in two planetary systems. We perform a transit timing analysis of the Kepler planet candidates. We find that at least {approx}11% of planet candidates currently suitable for TTV analysis show evidence suggestive of TTVs, representing at least {approx}65 TTV candidates. In all cases, the time span of observations must increase for TTVs to providemore » strong constraints on planet masses and/or orbits, as expected based on N-body integrations of multiple transiting planet candidate systems (assuming circular and coplanar orbits). We find the fraction of planet candidates showing TTVs in this data set does not vary significantly with the number of transiting planet candidates per star, suggesting significant mutual inclinations and that many stars with a single transiting planet should host additional non-transiting planets. We anticipate that Kepler could confirm (or reject) at least {approx}12 systems with multiple transiting planet candidates via TTVs. Thus, TTVs will provide a powerful tool for confirming transiting planets and characterizing the orbital dynamics of low-mass planets. If Kepler observations were extended to at least seven years, then TTVs would provide much more precise constraints on the dynamics of systems with multiple transiting planets and would become sensitive to planets with orbital periods extending into the habitable zone of solar-type stars.« less

Unscaled Bayes factors for multiple hypothesis testing in microarray experiments.

PubMed

Bertolino, Francesco; Cabras, Stefano; Castellanos, Maria Eugenia; Racugno, Walter

2015-12-01

Multiple hypothesis testing collects a series of techniques usually based on p-values as a summary of the available evidence from many statistical tests. In hypothesis testing, under a Bayesian perspective, the evidence for a specified hypothesis against an alternative, conditionally on data, is given by the Bayes factor. In this study, we approach multiple hypothesis testing based on both Bayes factors and p-values, regarding multiple hypothesis testing as a multiple model selection problem. To obtain the Bayes factors we assume default priors that are typically improper. In this case, the Bayes factor is usually undetermined due to the ratio of prior pseudo-constants. We show that ignoring prior pseudo-constants leads to unscaled Bayes factor which do not invalidate the inferential procedure in multiple hypothesis testing, because they are used within a comparative scheme. In fact, using partial information from the p-values, we are able to approximate the sampling null distribution of the unscaled Bayes factor and use it within Efron's multiple testing procedure. The simulation study suggests that under normal sampling model and even with small sample sizes, our approach provides false positive and false negative proportions that are less than other common multiple hypothesis testing approaches based only on p-values. The proposed procedure is illustrated in two simulation studies, and the advantages of its use are showed in the analysis of two microarray experiments. © The Author(s) 2011.

Complex interventions can increase osteoporosis investigations and treatment: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

PubMed

Kastner, M; Perrier, L; Munce, S E P; Adhihetty, C C; Lau, A; Hamid, J; Treister, V; Chan, J; Lai, Y; Straus, S E

2018-01-01

Osteoporosis is affecting over 200 million people worldwide. Despite available guidelines, care for these patients remains sub-optimal. We developed an osteoporosis tool to address the multiple dimensions of chronic disease management. Findings from its evaluation showed a significant increase from baseline in osteoporosis investigations and treatment, so we are revising this tool to include multiple chronic conditions including an update of evidence about osteoporosis. Our objectives were to conduct a systematic review of osteoporosis interventions in adults at risk for osteoporosis. We searched bibliometric databases for randomized controlled trials (RCTs) in any language evaluating osteoporosis disease management interventions in adults at risk for osteoporosis. Reviewer pairs independently screened citations and full-text articles, extracted data, and assessed risk of bias. Analysis included random effects meta-analysis. Primary outcomes were osteoporosis investigations and treatment, and fragility fractures. Fifty-five RCTs and one companion report were included in the analysis representing 165,703 patients. Our findings from 55 RCTs and 18 sub-group meta-analyses showed that complex implementation interventions with multiple components consisting of at least education + feedback + follow-up significantly increased the initiation of osteoporosis medications, and interventions with at least education + follow-up significantly increased the initiation of osteoporosis investigations. No significant impact was found for any type of intervention to reduce fracture. Complex interventions that include at least education + follow-up or feedback have the most potential for increasing osteoporosis investigations and treatment. Patient education appears to be an important component in osteoporosis disease management.

Can job redesign interventions influence a broad range of employee outcomes by changing multiple job characteristics? A quasi-experimental study.

PubMed

Holman, David; Axtell, Carolyn

2016-07-01

Many job redesign interventions are based on a multiple mediator-multiple outcome model in which the job redesign intervention indirectly influences a broad range of employee outcomes by changing multiple job characteristics. As this model remains untested, the aim of this study is to test a multiple mediator-multiple outcome model of job redesign. Multilevel analysis of data from a quasi-experimental job redesign intervention in a call center confirmed the hypothesized model and showed that the job redesign intervention affected a broad range of employee outcomes (i.e., employee well-being, psychological contract fulfillment, and supervisor-rated job performance) through changes in 2 job characteristics (i.e., job control and feedback). The results provide further evidence for the efficacy and mechanisms of job redesign interventions. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved).

Using multiple schedules during functional communication training to promote rapid transfer of treatment effects.

PubMed

Fisher, Wayne W; Greer, Brian D; Fuhrman, Ashley M; Querim, Angie C

2015-12-01

Multiple schedules with signaled periods of reinforcement and extinction have been used to thin reinforcement schedules during functional communication training (FCT) to make the intervention more practical for parents and teachers. We evaluated whether these signals would also facilitate rapid transfer of treatment effects across settings and therapists. With 2 children, we conducted FCT in the context of mixed (baseline) and multiple (treatment) schedules introduced across settings or therapists using a multiple baseline design. Results indicated that when the multiple schedules were introduced, the functional communication response came under rapid discriminative control, and problem behavior remained at near-zero rates. We extended these findings with another individual by using a more traditional baseline in which problem behavior produced reinforcement. Results replicated those of the previous participants and showed rapid reductions in problem behavior when multiple schedules were implemented across settings. © Society for the Experimental Analysis of Behavior.

Single-visit or multiple-visit root canal treatment: systematic review, meta-analysis and trial sequential analysis.

PubMed

Schwendicke, Falk; Göstemeyer, Gerd

2017-02-01

Single-visit root canal treatment has some advantages over conventional multivisit treatment, but might increase the risk of complications. We systematically evaluated the risk of complications after single-visit or multiple-visit root canal treatment using meta-analysis and trial-sequential analysis. Controlled trials comparing single-visit versus multiple-visit root canal treatment of permanent teeth were included. Trials needed to assess the risk of long-term complications (pain, infection, new/persisting/increasing periapical lesions ≥1 year after treatment), short-term pain or flare-up (acute exacerbation of initiation or continuation of root canal treatment). Electronic databases (PubMed, EMBASE, Cochrane Central) were screened, random-effects meta-analyses performed and trial-sequential analysis used to control for risk of random errors. Evidence was graded according to GRADE. 29 trials (4341 patients) were included, all but 6 showing high risk of bias. Based on 10 trials (1257 teeth), risk of complications was not significantly different in single-visit versus multiple-visit treatment (risk ratio (RR) 1.00 (95% CI 0.75 to 1.35); weak evidence). Based on 20 studies (3008 teeth), risk of pain did not significantly differ between treatments (RR 0.99 (95% CI 0.76 to 1.30); moderate evidence). Risk of flare-up was recorded by 8 studies (1110 teeth) and was significantly higher after single-visit versus multiple-visit treatment (RR 2.13 (95% CI 1.16 to 3.89); very weak evidence). Trial-sequential analysis revealed that firm evidence for benefit, harm or futility was not reached for any of the outcomes. There is insufficient evidence to rule out whether important differences between both strategies exist. Dentists can provide root canal treatment in 1 or multiple visits. Given the possibly increased risk of flare-ups, multiple-visit treatment might be preferred for certain teeth (eg, those with periapical lesions). Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://www.bmj.com/company/products-services/rights-and-licensing/.

Staging of breast cancer and the advanced applications of digital mammogram: what the physician needs to know?

PubMed Central

Helal, Maha H; Zaglol, Mai; Salaleldin, Lamia A; Nada, Omniya M; Haggag, Marwa A

2017-01-01

Objective: To study the role of advanced applications of digital mammogram, whether contrast-enhanced spectral mammography (CESM) or digital breast tomosynthesis (DBT), in the “T” staging of histologically proven breast cancer before planning for treatment management. Methods: In this prospective analysis, we evaluated 98 proved malignant breast masses regarding their size, multiplicity and the presence of associated clusters of microcalcifications. Evaluation methods included digital mammography (DM), 3D tomosynthesis and CESM. Traditional DM was first performed then in a period of 10–14-day interval; breast tomosynthesis and contrast-based mammography were performed for the involved breast only. Views at tomosynthesis were acquired in a “step-and-shoot” tube motion mode to produce multiple (11–15), low-dose images and in contrast-enhanced study, low-energy (22–33 kVp) and high-energy (44–49 kVp) exposures were taken after the i.v. injection of the contrast agent. Operative data were the gold standard reference. Results: Breast tomosynthesis showed the highest accuracy in size assessment (n = 69, 70.4%) than contrast-enhanced (n = 49, 50%) and regular mammography (n = 59, 60.2%). Contrast-enhanced mammography presented the least performance in assessing calcifications, yet it was most sensitive in the detection of multiplicity (92.3%), followed by tomosynthesis (77%) and regular mammography (53.8%). The combined analysis of the three modalities provided an accuracy of 74% in the “T” staging of breast cancer. Conclusion: The combined application of tomosynthesis and contrast-enhanced digital mammogram enhanced the performance of the traditional DM and presented an informative method in the staging of breast cancer. Advances in knowledge: Staging and management planning of breast cancer can divert according to tumour size, multiplicity and the presence of microcalcifications. DBT shows sharp outlines of the tumour with no overlap tissue and spots microcalcifications. Contrast-enhanced spectral mammogram shows the extent of abnormal contrast uptake and detects multiplicity. Integrated analysis provides optimal findings for proper “T” staging of breast cancer. PMID:28055247

Congenital nevi versus metastatic melanoma in a newborn to a mother with malignant melanoma - diagnosis supported by sex chromosome analysis and Imaging Mass Spectrometry.

PubMed

Alomari, Ahmed K; Glusac, Earl J; Choi, Jennifer; Hui, Pei; Seeley, Erin H; Caprioli, Richard M; Watsky, Kalman L; Urban, Jennifer; Lazova, Rossitza

2015-10-01

A 37-year-old pregnant woman presented with a 2-cm irregular reddish nodule on her left upper arm during pregnancy. A biopsy from the lesion showed a 2.2-mm thick malignant melanoma with intravascular invasion, 25 mitosis/mm(2) and no ulceration. Following induction of labor, the patient underwent re-excision with sentinel lymph node biopsy. This showed no residual melanoma and no lymph node metastasis. The newborn boy had multiple pigmented lesions on the trunk, some of which were large and irregular. Two were biopsied and histologic examination showed dense dermal proliferation of medium sized melanocytes with multiple mitotic figures and no maturation with their descent into the dermis, raising suspicion of transplacental metastases. Examination of the placenta failed to show metastatic lesions. Multiplex polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-based genotyping, including testing for amelogenin locus for sex chromosome determination, demonstrated the presence of Y chromosome material in the melanocytes of the newborn's lesions excluding maternal origin. A diagnosis of congenital nevi was rendered. Subsequently, Imaging Mass Spectrometric analysis of the mother's lesion showed proteomic signature expression indicative of malignant melanoma, whereas the two lesions in the newborn showed changes indicative of nevi. This case demonstrates the utility of genotyping and Mass Spectrometry analysis in this challenging clinical scenario. © 2015 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Multiple electron processes of He and Ne by proton impact

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Terekhin, Pavel Nikolaevich; Montenegro, Pablo; Quinto, Michele; Monti, Juan; Fojon, Omar; Rivarola, Roberto

2016-05-01

A detailed investigation of multiple electron processes (single and multiple ionization, single capture, transfer-ionization) of He and Ne is presented for proton impact at intermediate and high collision energies. Exclusive absolute cross sections for these processes have been obtained by calculation of transition probabilities in the independent electron and independent event models as a function of impact parameter in the framework of the continuum distorted wave-eikonal initial state theory. A binomial analysis is employed to calculate exclusive probabilities. The comparison with available theoretical and experimental results shows that exclusive probabilities are needed for a reliable description of the experimental data. The developed approach can be used for obtaining the input database for modeling multiple electron processes of charged particles passing through the matter.

Effectiveness of applying progressive muscle relaxation technique on quality of life of patients with multiple sclerosis.

PubMed

Ghafari, Somayeh; Ahmadi, Fazlolah; Nabavi, Masoud; Anoshirvan, Kazemnejad; Memarian, Robabe; Rafatbakhsh, Mohamad

2009-08-01

To identify the effects of applying Progressive Muscle Relaxation Technique on Quality of Life of patients with multiple Sclerosis. In view of the growing caring options in Multiple Sclerosis, improvement of quality of life has become increasingly relevant as a caring intervention. Complementary therapies are widely used by multiple sclerosis patients and Progressive Muscle Relaxation Technique is a form of complementary therapies. Quasi-experimental study. Multiple Sclerosis patients (n = 66) were selected with no probability sampling then assigned to experimental and control groups (33 patients in each group). Means of data collection included: Individual Information Questionnaire, SF-8 Health Survey, Self-reported checklist. PMRT performed for 63 sessions by experimental group during two months but no intervention was done for control group. Statistical analysis was done by SPSS software. Student t-test showed that there was no significant difference between two groups in mean scores of health-related quality of life before the study but this test showed a significant difference between two groups, one and two months after intervention (p < 0.05). anova test with repeated measurements showed that there is a significant difference in mean score of whole and dimensions of health-related quality of life between two groups in three times (p < 0.05). Although this study provides modest support for the effectiveness of Progressive Muscle Relaxation Technique on quality of life of multiple sclerosis patients, further research is required to determine better methods to promote quality of life of patients suffer multiple sclerosis and other chronic disease. Progressive Muscle Relaxation Technique is practically feasible and is associated with increase of life quality of multiple sclerosis patients; so that health professionals need to update their knowledge about complementary therapies.

Behavioral and neurochemical consequences of multiple MDMA administrations in the rat: role of individual differences in anxiety-related behavior.

PubMed

Ludwig, V; Mihov, Y; Schwarting, R K W

2008-05-16

Using the elevated plus-maze (EPM), Wistar rats can be distinguished into high (HA) or low anxiety (LA) subjects. These differences seem to reflect traits, since HA and LA rats vary also in other anxiety-dependent tasks, neurochemical mechanisms, and psychopharmacological reactivity, including lasting consequences after single treatment with 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA). Here, we tested whether multiple MDMA treatments also have subject-dependent effects. Based on routine EPM screening, male Wistar rats were divided into HA and LA sub-groups, which received five (i.e. multiple) daily injections of MDMA (5 mg/kg) or saline, followed by a test battery, including a challenge test with MDMA, a retest in the EPM, a novel-object test, and a final neurochemical analysis. Acutely, MDMA led to comparable hyperactivity in HA and LA rats. After multiple MDMA, behavioral sensitization was observed, especially in LA rats. Open arm time during the EPM retest (min 0-5) correlated with that of the initial one only in those rats, which had received a single injection of MDMA. Rats with multiple MDMA, especially LA-rats, showed more open-arm time and locomotion during the subsequent 5-10 min of the retest. In a novel-object test, rats with multiple MDMA, again especially LA subjects, showed more exploratory bouts towards the novel object. Neurochemically, multiple MDMA led to moderately lower serotonin in the ventral striatum, and higher dopamine levels in the frontal cortex as compared to single MDMA; these effects were also moderated by subject-dependent factors. Our data show that low-dosed multiple MDMA can lead to behavioral sensitization and outlasting consequences, which affect behavior in the EPM and a novel object task. Detecting such sequels partly requires consideration of individual differences.

Probing of multiple magnetic responses in magnetic inductors using atomic force microscopy.

PubMed

Park, Seongjae; Seo, Hosung; Seol, Daehee; Yoon, Young-Hwan; Kim, Mi Yang; Kim, Yunseok

2016-02-08

Even though nanoscale analysis of magnetic properties is of significant interest, probing methods are relatively less developed compared to the significance of the technique, which has multiple potential applications. Here, we demonstrate an approach for probing various magnetic properties associated with eddy current, coil current and magnetic domains in magnetic inductors using multidimensional magnetic force microscopy (MMFM). The MMFM images provide combined magnetic responses from the three different origins, however, each contribution to the MMFM response can be differentiated through analysis based on the bias dependence of the response. In particular, the bias dependent MMFM images show locally different eddy current behavior with values dependent on the type of materials that comprise the MI. This approach for probing magnetic responses can be further extended to the analysis of local physical features.

Identification of suitable genes contributes to lung adenocarcinoma clustering by multiple meta-analysis methods.

PubMed

Yang, Ze-Hui; Zheng, Rui; Gao, Yuan; Zhang, Qiang

2016-09-01

With the widespread application of high-throughput technology, numerous meta-analysis methods have been proposed for differential expression profiling across multiple studies. We identified the suitable differentially expressed (DE) genes that contributed to lung adenocarcinoma (ADC) clustering based on seven popular multiple meta-analysis methods. Seven microarray expression profiles of ADC and normal controls were extracted from the ArrayExpress database. The Bioconductor was used to perform the data preliminary preprocessing. Then, DE genes across multiple studies were identified. Hierarchical clustering was applied to compare the classification performance for microarray data samples. The classification efficiency was compared based on accuracy, sensitivity and specificity. Across seven datasets, 573 ADC cases and 222 normal controls were collected. After filtering out unexpressed and noninformative genes, 3688 genes were remained for further analysis. The classification efficiency analysis showed that DE genes identified by sum of ranks method separated ADC from normal controls with the best accuracy, sensitivity and specificity of 0.953, 0.969 and 0.932, respectively. The gene set with the highest classification accuracy mainly participated in the regulation of response to external stimulus (P = 7.97E-04), cyclic nucleotide-mediated signaling (P = 0.01), regulation of cell morphogenesis (P = 0.01) and regulation of cell proliferation (P = 0.01). Evaluation of DE genes identified by different meta-analysis methods in classification efficiency provided a new perspective to the choice of the suitable method in a given application. Varying meta-analysis methods always present varying abilities, so synthetic consideration should be taken when providing meta-analysis methods for particular research. © 2015 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Single, double or multiple-injection techniques for non-ultrasound guided axillary brachial plexus block in adults undergoing surgery of the lower arm.

PubMed

Chin, Ki Jinn; Alakkad, Husni; Cubillos, Javier E

2013-08-08

Regional anaesthesia comprising axillary block of the brachial plexus is a common anaesthetic technique for distal upper limb surgery. This is an update of a review first published in 2006 and updated in 2011. To compare the relative effects (benefits and harms) of three injection techniques (single, double and multiple) of axillary block of the brachial plexus for distal upper extremity surgery. We considered these effects primarily in terms of anaesthetic effectiveness; the complication rate (neurological and vascular); and pain and discomfort caused by performance of the block. We searched the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL) (The Cochrane Library), MEDLINE, EMBASE and reference lists of trials. We contacted trial authors. The date of the last search was March 2013 (updated from March 2011). We included randomized controlled trials that compared double with single-injection techniques, multiple with single-injection techniques, or multiple with double-injection techniques for axillary block in adults undergoing surgery of the distal upper limb. We excluded trials using ultrasound-guided techniques. Independent study selection, risk of bias assessment and data extraction were performed by at least two investigators. We undertook meta-analysis. The 21 included trials involved a total of 2148 participants who received regional anaesthesia for hand, wrist, forearm or elbow surgery. Risk of bias assessment indicated that trial design and conduct were generally adequate; the most common areas of weakness were in blinding and allocation concealment.Eight trials comparing double versus single injections showed a statistically significant decrease in primary anaesthesia failure (risk ratio (RR 0.51), 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.30 to 0.85). Subgroup analysis by method of nerve location showed that the effect size was greater when neurostimulation was used rather than the transarterial technique.Eight trials comparing multiple with single injections showed a statistically significant decrease in primary anaesthesia failure (RR 0.25, 95% CI 0.14 to 0.44) and of incomplete motor block (RR 0.61, 95% CI 0.39 to 0.96) in the multiple injection group.Eleven trials comparing multiple with double injections showed a statistically significant decrease in primary anaesthesia failure (RR 0.28, 95% CI 0.20 to 0.40) and of incomplete motor block (RR 0.55, 95% CI 0.36 to 0.85) in the multiple injection group.Tourniquet pain was significantly reduced with multiple injections compared with double injections (RR 0.53, 95% CI 0.33 to 0.84). Otherwise there were no statistically significant differences between groups in any of the three comparisons on secondary analgesia failure, complications and patient discomfort. The time for block performance was significantly shorter for single and double injections compared with multiple injections. This review provides evidence that multiple-injection techniques using nerve stimulation for axillary plexus block produce more effective anaesthesia than either double or single-injection techniques. However, there was insufficient evidence for a significant difference in other outcomes, including safety.

Multiplicity distributions of charged hadrons in vp and charged current interactions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jones, G. T.; Jones, R. W. L.; Kennedy, B. W.; Morrison, D. R. O.; Mobayyen, M. M.; Wainstein, S.; Aderholz, M.; Hantke, D.; Katz, U. F.; Kern, J.; Schmitz, N.; Wittek, W.; Borner, H. P.; Myatt, G.; Radojicic, D.; Burke, S.

1992-03-01

Using data on vp andbar vp charged current interactions from a bubble chamber experiment with BEBC at CERN, the multiplicity distributions of charged hadrons are investigated. The analysis is based on ˜20000 events with incident v and ˜10000 events with incidentbar v. The invariant mass W of the total hadronic system ranges from 3 GeV to ˜14 GeV. The experimental multiplicity distributions are fitted by the binomial function (for different intervals of W and in different intervals of the rapidity y), by the Levy function and the lognormal function. All three parametrizations give acceptable values for X 2. For fixed W, forward and backward multiplicities are found to be uncorrelated. The normalized moments of the charged multiplicity distributions are measured as a function of W. They show a violation of KNO scaling.

Muon energy estimate through multiple scattering with the MACRO detector

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ambrosio, M.; Antolini, R.; Auriemma, G.; Bakari, D.; Baldini, A.; Barbarino, G. C.; Barish, B. C.; Battistoni, G.; Becherini, Y.; Bellotti, R.; Bemporad, C.; Bernardini, P.; Bilokon, H.; Bloise, C.; Bower, C.; Brigida, M.; Bussino, S.; Cafagna, F.; Calicchio, M.; Campana, D.; Candela, A.; Carboni, M.; Caruso, R.; Cassese, F.; Cecchini, S.; Cei, F.; Chiarella, V.; Choudhary, B. C.; Coutu, S.; Cozzi, M.; de Cataldo, G.; de Deo, M.; Dekhissi, H.; de Marzo, C.; de Mitri, I.; Derkaoui, J.; de Vincenzi, M.; di Credico, A.; Dincecco, M.; Erriquez, O.; Favuzzi, C.; Forti, C.; Fusco, P.; Giacomelli, G.; Giannini, G.; Giglietto, N.; Giorgini, M.; Grassi, M.; Gray, L.; Grillo, A.; Guarino, F.; Gustavino, C.; Habig, A.; Hanson, K.; Heinz, R.; Iarocci, E.; Katsavounidis, E.; Katsavounidis, I.; Kearns, E.; Kim, H.; Kyriazopoulou, S.; Lamanna, E.; Lane, C.; Levin, D. S.; Lindozzi, M.; Lipari, P.; Longley, N. P.; Longo, M. J.; Loparco, F.; Maaroufi, F.; Mancarella, G.; Mandrioli, G.; Margiotta, A.; Marini, A.; Martello, D.; Marzari-Chiesa, A.; Mazziotta, M. N.; Michael, D. G.; Monacelli, P.; Montaruli, T.; Monteno, M.; Mufson, S.; Musser, J.; Nicolo, D.; Nolty, R.; Orth, C.; Osteria, G.; Palamara, O.; Patera, V.; Patrizii, L.; Pazzi, R.; Peck, C. W.; Perrone, L.; Petrera, S.; Pistilli, P.; Popa, V.; Raino, A.; Reynoldson, J.; Ronga, F.; Rrhioua, A.; Satriano, C.; Scapparone, E.; Scholberg, K.; Sciubba, A.; Serra, P.; Sioli, M.; Sirri, G.; Sitta, M.; Spinelli, P.; Spinetti, M.; Spurio, M.; Steinberg, R.; Stone, J. L.; Sulak, L. R.; Surdo, A.; Tarle, G.; Tatananni, E.; Togo, V.; Vakili, M.; Walter, C. W.; Webb, R.; MACRO Collaboration

2002-10-01

Muon energy measurement represents an important issue for any experiment addressing neutrino-induced up-going muon studies. Since the neutrino oscillation probability depends on the neutrino energy, a measurement of the muon energy adds an important piece of information concerning the neutrino system. We show in this paper how the MACRO limited streamer tube system can be operated in drift mode by using the TDCs included in the QTPs, an electronics designed for magnetic monopole search. An improvement of the space resolution is obtained, through an analysis of the multiple scattering of muon tracks as they pass through our detector. This information can be used further to obtain an estimate of the energy of muons crossing the detector. Here we present the results of two dedicated tests, performed at CERN PS-T9 and SPS-X7 beam lines, to provide a full check of the electronics and to exploit the feasibility of such a multiple scattering analysis. We show that by using a neural network approach, we are able to reconstruct the muon energy for E μ<40 GeV. The test beam data provide an absolute energy calibration, which allows us to apply this method to MACRO data.

Broadband ultrafast transient absorption of multiple exciton dynamics in lead sulfide nanocrystals

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gesuele, Felice; Wong, Chee Wei; Sfeir, Matthew; Misewich, James; Koh, Weonkyu; Murray, Christopher

2011-03-01

Multiple exciton generation (MEG) is under intense investigation as potential third-generation solar photovoltaics with efficiencies beyond the Shockley-Queisser limit. We examine PbS nanocrystals, dispersed and vigorously stirred in TCE solution, by means of supercontinuum femtosecond transient absorption (TA). TA spectra show the presence of first and second order bleaches for the 1Sh-Se and 1Ph-Pe excitonic transition while photoinduced absorption for the 1Sh,e-Ph,e transitions. We found evidence of carrier multiplication (MEG for single absorbed photon) from the analysis of the first and second order bleaches, in the limit of low number of absorbed photons (Nabs ~ 0.01), for energy three times and four times the Energy gap. The MEG efficiency, derived from the ratio between early-time to long-time TA signal, presents a strongly dispersive behavior with maximum red shifted respect the first absorption peak. Analysis of population dynamics shows that in presence of biexciton, the 1Sh-Se bleach peak is red-shifted indicating a positive binding energy. MEG efficiency estimation will be discussed with regards to spectral integration, correlated higher-order and first excitonic transitions, as well as the nanocrystal morphologies.

A procedure of multiple period searching in unequally spaced time-series with the Lomb-Scargle method

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Van Dongen, H. P.; Olofsen, E.; VanHartevelt, J. H.; Kruyt, E. W.; Dinges, D. F. (Principal Investigator)

1999-01-01

Periodogram analysis of unequally spaced time-series, as part of many biological rhythm investigations, is complicated. The mathematical framework is scattered over the literature, and the interpretation of results is often debatable. In this paper, we show that the Lomb-Scargle method is the appropriate tool for periodogram analysis of unequally spaced data. A unique procedure of multiple period searching is derived, facilitating the assessment of the various rhythms that may be present in a time-series. All relevant mathematical and statistical aspects are considered in detail, and much attention is given to the correct interpretation of results. The use of the procedure is illustrated by examples, and problems that may be encountered are discussed. It is argued that, when following the procedure of multiple period searching, we can even benefit from the unequal spacing of a time-series in biological rhythm research.

Zero-forcing pre-coding for MIMO WiMAX transceivers: Performance analysis and implementation issues

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cattoni, A. F.; Le Moullec, Y.; Sacchi, C.

Next generation wireless communication networks are expected to achieve ever increasing data rates. Multi-User Multiple-Input-Multiple-Output (MU-MIMO) is a key technique to obtain the expected performance, because such a technique combines the high capacity achievable using MIMO channel with the benefits of space division multiple access. In MU-MIMO systems, the base stations transmit signals to two or more users over the same channel, for this reason every user can experience inter-user interference. This paper provides a capacity analysis of an online, interference-based pre-coding algorithm able to mitigate the multi-user interference of the MU-MIMO systems in the context of a realistic WiMAX application scenario. Simulation results show that pre-coding can significantly increase the channel capacity. Furthermore, the paper presents several feasibility considerations for implementation of the analyzed technique in a possible FPGA-based software defined radio.

[Medicinal laws and application examples of traditional Chinese medicine prescriptions for multiple aorto-arteritis].

PubMed

Zhang, Xin-Gen; Cai, Hai-Ying

2016-05-01

To collect the literature on traditional Chinese medicine treatment for multiple aorto-arteritis from China National Knowledge Infrastructure(CNKI), establish prescriptions database after screening and normalizing the prescriptions reported in these literature, and analyze their medicinal rules by using traditional Chinese medicine inheritance support system. A total of 126 prescriptions for multiple aorto-arteritis were screened, containing 212 kinds of Chinese herbs. 26 core herb combinations were obtained by analysis of the commonly used herbs and their use frequencies. The treatment for multiple aorto-arteritis was manly of tonifying qi to nourish blood, promoting blood circulation to remove blood stasis, warming yang to dredge collaterals, and four new prescriptions were obtained. On this basis, two clinical cases were taken as the examples by analyzing the medicinal rules and the features of multiple aorto-arteritis. The first case showed that the herb combination of this study conformed to the basic core drug application mode and the core pathogenesis of multiple aorto-arteritis. The second case reflected the characteristics of the new prescriptions' herb combinations based on entropy hierarchical clustering. The practical analysis of the two clinical cases further indicated the reliability of the results. This study has certain guiding significance and reference value on new medicine research and development as well as clinical traditional Chinese medicine treatment for multiple aorto-arteritis. Copyright© by the Chinese Pharmaceutical Association.

Comparing multiple competing interventions in the absence of randomized trials using clinical risk-benefit analysis

PubMed Central

2012-01-01

Background To demonstrate the use of risk-benefit analysis for comparing multiple competing interventions in the absence of randomized trials, we applied this approach to the evaluation of five anticoagulants to prevent thrombosis in patients undergoing orthopedic surgery. Methods Using a cost-effectiveness approach from a clinical perspective (i.e. risk benefit analysis) we compared thromboprophylaxis with warfarin, low molecular weight heparin, unfractionated heparin, fondaparinux or ximelagatran in patients undergoing major orthopedic surgery, with sub-analyses according to surgery type. Proportions and variances of events defining risk (major bleeding) and benefit (thrombosis averted) were obtained through a meta-analysis and used to define beta distributions. Monte Carlo simulations were conducted and used to calculate incremental risks, benefits, and risk-benefit ratios. Finally, net clinical benefit was calculated for all replications across a range of risk-benefit acceptability thresholds, with a reference range obtained by estimating the case fatality rate - ratio of thrombosis to bleeding. Results The analysis showed that compared to placebo ximelagatran was superior to other options but final results were influenced by type of surgery, since ximelagatran was superior in total knee replacement but not in total hip replacement. Conclusions Using simulation and economic techniques we demonstrate a method that allows comparing multiple competing interventions in the absence of randomized trials with multiple arms by determining the option with the best risk-benefit profile. It can be helpful in clinical decision making since it incorporates risk, benefit, and personal risk acceptance. PMID:22233221

A Bayesian Poisson-lognormal Model for Count Data for Multiple-Trait Multiple-Environment Genomic-Enabled Prediction.

PubMed

Montesinos-López, Osval A; Montesinos-López, Abelardo; Crossa, José; Toledo, Fernando H; Montesinos-López, José C; Singh, Pawan; Juliana, Philomin; Salinas-Ruiz, Josafhat

2017-05-05

When a plant scientist wishes to make genomic-enabled predictions of multiple traits measured in multiple individuals in multiple environments, the most common strategy for performing the analysis is to use a single trait at a time taking into account genotype × environment interaction (G × E), because there is a lack of comprehensive models that simultaneously take into account the correlated counting traits and G × E. For this reason, in this study we propose a multiple-trait and multiple-environment model for count data. The proposed model was developed under the Bayesian paradigm for which we developed a Markov Chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) with noninformative priors. This allows obtaining all required full conditional distributions of the parameters leading to an exact Gibbs sampler for the posterior distribution. Our model was tested with simulated data and a real data set. Results show that the proposed multi-trait, multi-environment model is an attractive alternative for modeling multiple count traits measured in multiple environments. Copyright © 2017 Montesinos-López et al.

Voxelwise multivariate analysis of multimodality magnetic resonance imaging

PubMed Central

Naylor, Melissa G.; Cardenas, Valerie A.; Tosun, Duygu; Schuff, Norbert; Weiner, Michael; Schwartzman, Armin

2015-01-01

Most brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) studies concentrate on a single MRI contrast or modality, frequently structural MRI. By performing an integrated analysis of several modalities, such as structural, perfusion-weighted, and diffusion-weighted MRI, new insights may be attained to better understand the underlying processes of brain diseases. We compare two voxelwise approaches: (1) fitting multiple univariate models, one for each outcome and then adjusting for multiple comparisons among the outcomes and (2) fitting a multivariate model. In both cases, adjustment for multiple comparisons is performed over all voxels jointly to account for the search over the brain. The multivariate model is able to account for the multiple comparisons over outcomes without assuming independence because the covariance structure between modalities is estimated. Simulations show that the multivariate approach is more powerful when the outcomes are correlated and, even when the outcomes are independent, the multivariate approach is just as powerful or more powerful when at least two outcomes are dependent on predictors in the model. However, multiple univariate regressions with Bonferroni correction remains a desirable alternative in some circumstances. To illustrate the power of each approach, we analyze a case control study of Alzheimer's disease, in which data from three MRI modalities are available. PMID:23408378

Multiple Phenotype Association Tests Using Summary Statistics in Genome-Wide Association Studies

PubMed Central

Liu, Zhonghua; Lin, Xihong

2017-01-01

Summary We study in this paper jointly testing the associations of a genetic variant with correlated multiple phenotypes using the summary statistics of individual phenotype analysis from Genome-Wide Association Studies (GWASs). We estimated the between-phenotype correlation matrix using the summary statistics of individual phenotype GWAS analyses, and developed genetic association tests for multiple phenotypes by accounting for between-phenotype correlation without the need to access individual-level data. Since genetic variants often affect multiple phenotypes differently across the genome and the between-phenotype correlation can be arbitrary, we proposed robust and powerful multiple phenotype testing procedures by jointly testing a common mean and a variance component in linear mixed models for summary statistics. We computed the p-values of the proposed tests analytically. This computational advantage makes our methods practically appealing in large-scale GWASs. We performed simulation studies to show that the proposed tests maintained correct type I error rates, and to compare their powers in various settings with the existing methods. We applied the proposed tests to a GWAS Global Lipids Genetics Consortium summary statistics data set and identified additional genetic variants that were missed by the original single-trait analysis. PMID:28653391

Multiple phenotype association tests using summary statistics in genome-wide association studies.

PubMed

Liu, Zhonghua; Lin, Xihong

2018-03-01

We study in this article jointly testing the associations of a genetic variant with correlated multiple phenotypes using the summary statistics of individual phenotype analysis from Genome-Wide Association Studies (GWASs). We estimated the between-phenotype correlation matrix using the summary statistics of individual phenotype GWAS analyses, and developed genetic association tests for multiple phenotypes by accounting for between-phenotype correlation without the need to access individual-level data. Since genetic variants often affect multiple phenotypes differently across the genome and the between-phenotype correlation can be arbitrary, we proposed robust and powerful multiple phenotype testing procedures by jointly testing a common mean and a variance component in linear mixed models for summary statistics. We computed the p-values of the proposed tests analytically. This computational advantage makes our methods practically appealing in large-scale GWASs. We performed simulation studies to show that the proposed tests maintained correct type I error rates, and to compare their powers in various settings with the existing methods. We applied the proposed tests to a GWAS Global Lipids Genetics Consortium summary statistics data set and identified additional genetic variants that were missed by the original single-trait analysis. © 2017, The International Biometric Society.

Pioneer Mars surface penetrator mission. Mission analysis and orbiter design

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1974-01-01

The Mars Surface Penetrator mission was designed to provide a capability for multiple and diverse subsurface science measurements at a low cost. Equipment required to adapt the Pioneer Venus spacecraft for the Mars mission is described showing minor modifications to hardware. Analysis and design topics which are similar and/or identical to the Pioneer Venus program are briefly discussed.

An evaluation of multiple-schedule variations to reduce high-rate requests in the picture exchange communication system.

PubMed

Landa, Robin; Hanley, Gregory P

2016-06-01

Using procedures similar to those of Tiger, Hanley, and Heal (2006), we compared two multiple-schedule variations (S+/S- and S+ only) to treat high-rate requests for edible items in the Picture Exchange Communication System (PECS). Two individuals with autism participated, after they showed persistent requests for edible items after PECS training. Stimulus control was achieved only with the multiple schedule that involved presentation of a discriminative stimulus during reinforcement components and its removal during extinction components (S+ only). Discriminated requests were maintained for the 1 participant who experienced schedule thinning. © 2016 Society for the Experimental Analysis of Behavior.

Quantitative nanoscopy: Tackling sampling limitations in (S)TEM imaging of polymers and composites.

PubMed

Gnanasekaran, Karthikeyan; Snel, Roderick; de With, Gijsbertus; Friedrich, Heiner

2016-01-01

Sampling limitations in electron microscopy questions whether the analysis of a bulk material is representative, especially while analyzing hierarchical morphologies that extend over multiple length scales. We tackled this problem by automatically acquiring a large series of partially overlapping (S)TEM images with sufficient resolution, subsequently stitched together to generate a large-area map using an in-house developed acquisition toolbox (TU/e Acquisition ToolBox) and stitching module (TU/e Stitcher). In addition, we show that quantitative image analysis of the large scale maps provides representative information that can be related to the synthesis and process conditions of hierarchical materials, which moves electron microscopy analysis towards becoming a bulk characterization tool. We demonstrate the power of such an analysis by examining two different multi-phase materials that are structured over multiple length scales. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Simplified fatigue life analysis for traction drive contacts

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Rohn, D. A.; Loewenthal, S. H.; Coy, J. J.

1980-01-01

A simplified fatigue life analysis for traction drive contacts of arbitrary geometry is presented. The analysis is based on the Lundberg-Palmgren theory used for rolling-element bearings. The effects of torque, element size, speed, contact ellipse ratio, and the influence of traction coefficient are shown. The analysis shows that within the limits of the available traction coefficient, traction contacts exhibit longest life at high speeds. Multiple, load-sharing roller arrangements have an advantageous effect on system life, torque capacity, power-to-weight ratio and size.

Development of Welding Fumes Health Index (WFHI) for Welding Workplace's Safety and Health Assessment.

PubMed

Hariri, Azian; Paiman, Nuur Azreen; Leman, Abdul Mutalib; Md Yusof, Mohammad Zainal

2014-08-01

This study aimed to develop an index that can rank welding workplace that associate well with possible health risk of welders. Welding Fumes Health Index (WFHI) were developed based on data from case studies conducted in Plant 1 and Plant 2. Personal sampling of welding fumes to assess the concentration of metal constituents along with series of lung function tests was conducted. Fifteen metal constituents were investigated in each case study. Index values were derived from aggregation analysis of metal constituent concentration while significant lung functions were recognized through statistical analysis in each plant. The results showed none of the metal constituent concentration was exceeding the permissible exposure limit (PEL) for all plants. However, statistical analysis showed significant mean differences of lung functions between welders and non-welders. The index was then applied to one of the welding industry (Plant 3) for verification purpose. The developed index showed its promising ability to rank welding workplace, according to the multiple constituent concentrations of welding fumes that associates well with lung functions of the investigated welders. There was possibility that some of the metal constituents were below the detection limit leading to '0' value of sub index, thus the multiplicative form of aggregation model was not suitable for analysis. On the other hand, maximum or minimum operator forms suffer from compensation issues and were not considered in this study.

The role of maintenance thalidomide therapy in multiple myeloma: MRC Myeloma IX results and meta-analysis.

PubMed

Morgan, Gareth J; Gregory, Walter M; Davies, Faith E; Bell, Sue E; Szubert, Alexander J; Brown, Julia M; Coy, Nuria N; Cook, Gordon; Russell, Nigel H; Rudin, Claudius; Roddie, Huw; Drayson, Mark T; Owen, Roger G; Ross, Fiona M; Jackson, Graham H; Child, J Anthony

2012-01-05

Thalidomide maintenance has the potential to modulate residual multiple myeloma (MM) after an initial response. This trial compared the effect of thalidomide maintenance and no maintenance on progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) in MM patients. After intensive or nonintensive induction therapy, 820 newly diagnosed MM patients were randomized to open-label thalidomide maintenance until progression, or no maintenance. Interphase FISH (iFISH) analysis was performed at study entry. Median PFS was significantly longer with thalidomide maintenance (log-rank P < .001). Median OS was similar between regimens (log-rank P = .40). Patients with favorable iFISH showed improved PFS (P = .004) and a trend toward a late survival benefit. Patients with adverse iFISH receiving thalidomide showed no significant PFS benefit and worse OS (P = .009). Effective relapse therapy enhanced survival after progression, translating into a significant OS benefit. Meta-analysis of this and other studies show a significant late OS benefit (P < .001, 7-year difference hazard ratio = 12.3; 95% confidence interval, 5.5-19.0). Thalidomide maintenance significantly improves PFS and can be associated with improved OS. iFISH testing is important in assessing the clinical impact of maintenance therapy. Overview analysis demonstrated that thalidomide maintenance was associated with a significant late OS benefit. This trial was registered at www.isrctn.org as #ISRCTN68454111.

The Influence of Tablet PCs on Students' Use of Multiple Representations in Lab Reports

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Guelman, Clarisa Bercovich; De Leone, Charles; Price, Edward

2009-11-01

This study examined how different tools influenced students' use of representations in the Physics laboratory. In one section of a lab course, every student had a Tablet PC that served as a digital-ink based lab notebook. Students could seamlessly create hand-drawn graphics and equations, and write lab reports on the same computer used for data acquisition, simulation, and analysis. In another lab section, students used traditional printed lab guides, kept paper notebooks, and then wrote lab reports on regular laptops. Analysis of the lab reports showed differences between the sections' use of multiple representations, including an increased use of diagrams and equations by the Tablet users.

Solving the problem of comparing whole bacterial genomes across different sequencing platforms.

PubMed

Kaas, Rolf S; Leekitcharoenphon, Pimlapas; Aarestrup, Frank M; Lund, Ole

2014-01-01

Whole genome sequencing (WGS) shows great potential for real-time monitoring and identification of infectious disease outbreaks. However, rapid and reliable comparison of data generated in multiple laboratories and using multiple technologies is essential. So far studies have focused on using one technology because each technology has a systematic bias making integration of data generated from different platforms difficult. We developed two different procedures for identifying variable sites and inferring phylogenies in WGS data across multiple platforms. The methods were evaluated on three bacterial data sets and sequenced on three different platforms (Illumina, 454, Ion Torrent). We show that the methods are able to overcome the systematic biases caused by the sequencers and infer the expected phylogenies. It is concluded that the cause of the success of these new procedures is due to a validation of all informative sites that are included in the analysis. The procedures are available as web tools.

Array-CGH analysis in Rwandan patients presenting development delay/intellectual disability with multiple congenital anomalies.

PubMed

Uwineza, Annette; Caberg, Jean-Hubert; Hitayezu, Janvier; Hellin, Anne Cecile; Jamar, Mauricette; Dideberg, Vinciane; Rusingiza, Emmanuel K; Bours, Vincent; Mutesa, Leon

2014-07-12

Array-CGH is considered as the first-tier investigation used to identify copy number variations. Right now, there is no available data about the genetic etiology of patients with development delay/intellectual disability and congenital malformation in East Africa. Array comparative genomic hybridization was performed in 50 Rwandan patients with development delay/intellectual disability and multiple congenital abnormalities, using the Agilent's 180 K microarray platform. Fourteen patients (28%) had a global development delay whereas 36 (72%) patients presented intellectual disability. All patients presented multiple congenital abnormalities. Clinically significant copy number variations were found in 13 patients (26%). Size of CNVs ranged from 0,9 Mb to 34 Mb. Six patients had CNVs associated with known syndromes, whereas 7 patients presented rare genomic imbalances. This study showed that CNVs are present in African population and show the importance to implement genetic testing in East-African countries.

Sparse Group Penalized Integrative Analysis of Multiple Cancer Prognosis Datasets

PubMed Central

Liu, Jin; Huang, Jian; Xie, Yang; Ma, Shuangge

2014-01-01

SUMMARY In cancer research, high-throughput profiling studies have been extensively conducted, searching for markers associated with prognosis. Because of the “large d, small n” characteristic, results generated from the analysis of a single dataset can be unsatisfactory. Recent studies have shown that integrative analysis, which simultaneously analyzes multiple datasets, can be more effective than single-dataset analysis and classic meta-analysis. In most of existing integrative analysis, the homogeneity model has been assumed, which postulates that different datasets share the same set of markers. Several approaches have been designed to reinforce this assumption. In practice, different datasets may differ in terms of patient selection criteria, profiling techniques, and many other aspects. Such differences may make the homogeneity model too restricted. In this study, we assume the heterogeneity model, under which different datasets are allowed to have different sets of markers. With multiple cancer prognosis datasets, we adopt the AFT (accelerated failure time) model to describe survival. This model may have the lowest computational cost among popular semiparametric survival models. For marker selection, we adopt a sparse group MCP (minimax concave penalty) approach. This approach has an intuitive formulation and can be computed using an effective group coordinate descent algorithm. Simulation study shows that it outperforms the existing approaches under both the homogeneity and heterogeneity models. Data analysis further demonstrates the merit of heterogeneity model and proposed approach. PMID:23938111

Better Informing Decision Making with Multiple Outcomes Cost-Effectiveness Analysis under Uncertainty in Cost-Disutility Space

PubMed Central

McCaffrey, Nikki; Agar, Meera; Harlum, Janeane; Karnon, Jonathon; Currow, David; Eckermann, Simon

2015-01-01

Introduction Comparing multiple, diverse outcomes with cost-effectiveness analysis (CEA) is important, yet challenging in areas like palliative care where domains are unamenable to integration with survival. Generic multi-attribute utility values exclude important domains and non-health outcomes, while partial analyses—where outcomes are considered separately, with their joint relationship under uncertainty ignored—lead to incorrect inference regarding preferred strategies. Objective The objective of this paper is to consider whether such decision making can be better informed with alternative presentation and summary measures, extending methods previously shown to have advantages in multiple strategy comparison. Methods Multiple outcomes CEA of a home-based palliative care model (PEACH) relative to usual care is undertaken in cost disutility (CDU) space and compared with analysis on the cost-effectiveness plane. Summary measures developed for comparing strategies across potential threshold values for multiple outcomes include: expected net loss (ENL) planes quantifying differences in expected net benefit; the ENL contour identifying preferred strategies minimising ENL and their expected value of perfect information; and cost-effectiveness acceptability planes showing probability of strategies minimising ENL. Results Conventional analysis suggests PEACH is cost-effective when the threshold value per additional day at home ( 1) exceeds $1,068 or dominated by usual care when only the proportion of home deaths is considered. In contrast, neither alternative dominate in CDU space where cost and outcomes are jointly considered, with the optimal strategy depending on threshold values. For example, PEACH minimises ENL when 1=$2,000 and 2=$2,000 (threshold value for dying at home), with a 51.6% chance of PEACH being cost-effective. Conclusion Comparison in CDU space and associated summary measures have distinct advantages to multiple domain comparisons, aiding transparent and robust joint comparison of costs and multiple effects under uncertainty across potential threshold values for effect, better informing net benefit assessment and related reimbursement and research decisions. PMID:25751629

Prescription-induced jump distributions in multiplicative Poisson processes.

PubMed

Suweis, Samir; Porporato, Amilcare; Rinaldo, Andrea; Maritan, Amos

2011-06-01

Generalized Langevin equations (GLE) with multiplicative white Poisson noise pose the usual prescription dilemma leading to different evolution equations (master equations) for the probability distribution. Contrary to the case of multiplicative Gaussian white noise, the Stratonovich prescription does not correspond to the well-known midpoint (or any other intermediate) prescription. By introducing an inertial term in the GLE, we show that the Itô and Stratonovich prescriptions naturally arise depending on two time scales, one induced by the inertial term and the other determined by the jump event. We also show that, when the multiplicative noise is linear in the random variable, one prescription can be made equivalent to the other by a suitable transformation in the jump probability distribution. We apply these results to a recently proposed stochastic model describing the dynamics of primary soil salinization, in which the salt mass balance within the soil root zone requires the analysis of different prescriptions arising from the resulting stochastic differential equation forced by multiplicative white Poisson noise, the features of which are tailored to the characters of the daily precipitation. A method is finally suggested to infer the most appropriate prescription from the data.

Prescription-induced jump distributions in multiplicative Poisson processes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Suweis, Samir; Porporato, Amilcare; Rinaldo, Andrea; Maritan, Amos

2011-06-01

Generalized Langevin equations (GLE) with multiplicative white Poisson noise pose the usual prescription dilemma leading to different evolution equations (master equations) for the probability distribution. Contrary to the case of multiplicative Gaussian white noise, the Stratonovich prescription does not correspond to the well-known midpoint (or any other intermediate) prescription. By introducing an inertial term in the GLE, we show that the Itô and Stratonovich prescriptions naturally arise depending on two time scales, one induced by the inertial term and the other determined by the jump event. We also show that, when the multiplicative noise is linear in the random variable, one prescription can be made equivalent to the other by a suitable transformation in the jump probability distribution. We apply these results to a recently proposed stochastic model describing the dynamics of primary soil salinization, in which the salt mass balance within the soil root zone requires the analysis of different prescriptions arising from the resulting stochastic differential equation forced by multiplicative white Poisson noise, the features of which are tailored to the characters of the daily precipitation. A method is finally suggested to infer the most appropriate prescription from the data.

The effect of multiple intelligence-based learning towards students’ concept mastery and interest in learning matter

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pratiwi, W. N.; Rochintaniawati, D.; Agustin, R. R.

2018-05-01

This research was focused on investigating the effect of multiple intelligence -based learning as a learning approach towards students’ concept mastery and interest in learning matter. The one-group pre-test - post-test design was used in this research towards a sample which was according to the suitable situation of the research sample, n = 13 students of the 7th grade in a private school in Bandar Seri Begawan. The students’ concept mastery was measured using achievement test and given at the pre-test and post-test, meanwhile the students’ interest level was measured using a Likert Scale for interest. Based on the analysis of the data, the result shows that the normalized gain was .61, which was considered as a medium improvement. in other words, students’ concept mastery in matter increased after being taught using multiple intelligence-based learning. The Likert scale of interest shows that most students have a high interest in learning matter after being taught by multiple intelligence-based learning. Therefore, it is concluded that multiple intelligence – based learning helped in improving students’ concept mastery and gain students’ interest in learning matter.

Integrative Analysis of High-throughput Cancer Studies with Contrasted Penalization

PubMed Central

Shi, Xingjie; Liu, Jin; Huang, Jian; Zhou, Yong; Shia, BenChang; Ma, Shuangge

2015-01-01

In cancer studies with high-throughput genetic and genomic measurements, integrative analysis provides a way to effectively pool and analyze heterogeneous raw data from multiple independent studies and outperforms “classic” meta-analysis and single-dataset analysis. When marker selection is of interest, the genetic basis of multiple datasets can be described using the homogeneity model or the heterogeneity model. In this study, we consider marker selection under the heterogeneity model, which includes the homogeneity model as a special case and can be more flexible. Penalization methods have been developed in the literature for marker selection. This study advances from the published ones by introducing the contrast penalties, which can accommodate the within- and across-dataset structures of covariates/regression coefficients and, by doing so, further improve marker selection performance. Specifically, we develop a penalization method that accommodates the across-dataset structures by smoothing over regression coefficients. An effective iterative algorithm, which calls an inner coordinate descent iteration, is developed. Simulation shows that the proposed method outperforms the benchmark with more accurate marker identification. The analysis of breast cancer and lung cancer prognosis studies with gene expression measurements shows that the proposed method identifies genes different from those using the benchmark and has better prediction performance. PMID:24395534

Assessment of Comprehensive Analysis Calculation of Airloads on Helicopter Rotors

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Yeo, Hyeonsoo; Johnson, Wayne

2004-01-01

Blade section normal force and pitching moment were investigated for six rotors operating at transition and high speeds: H-34 in flight and wind tunnel, SA 330 (research Puma), SA 349/2, UH-60A full-scale and BO-105 model (HART-I). The measured data from flight and wind tunnel tests were compared with calculations obtained using the comprehensive analysis CAMRAD II. The calculations were made using two free wake models: rolled-up and multiple-trailer with consolidation models. At transition speed, there is fair to good agreement for the blade section normal force between the test data and analysis for the H-34, research Puma, and SA 349/2 with the rolled-up wake. The calculated airloads differ significantly from the measurements for the UH-60A and BO-105. Better correlation is obtained for the UH-60A and BO-105 by using the multiple-trailer with consolidation wake model. In the high speed condition, the analysis shows generally good agreement with the research Puma flight data in both magnitude and phase. However, poor agreement is obtained for the other rotors examined. The analysis shows that the aerodynamic tip design (chord length and quarter chord location) of the Puma has an important influence on the phase correlation.

Corneal Structural Changes in Nonneoplastic and Neoplastic Monoclonal Gammopathies.

PubMed

Aragona, Pasquale; Allegra, Alessandro; Postorino, Elisa Imelde; Rania, Laura; Innao, Vanessa; Wylegala, Edward; Nowinska, Anna; Ieni, Antonio; Pisani, Antonina; Musolino, Caterina; Puzzolo, Domenico; Micali, Antonio

2016-05-01

To investigate corneal confocal microscopic changes in nonneoplastic and neoplastic monoclonal gammopathies. Three groups of subjects were considered: group 1, twenty normal subjects; group 2, fifteen patients with monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance (MGUS); group 3, eight patients with smoldering multiple myeloma and eight patients with untreated multiple myeloma. After hematologic diagnosis, patients underwent ophthalmologic exam and in vivo confocal microscopic study. The statistical analysis was performed using ANOVA and Student-Newman-Keuls tests and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis. Epithelial cells of gammopathic patients showed significantly higher reflectivity than controls, demonstrated by optical density (P < 0.001). Subbasal nerve density, branching, and beading were significantly altered in gammopathic patients (P = 0.01, P = 0.02, P = 0.02, respectively). The number of keratocytes was significantly reduced in neoplastic patients (P < 0.001 versus both normal and MGUS) in the anterior, medium, and posterior stroma. The ROC curve analysis showed good sensitivity and specificity for this parameter. Group 2 and 3 keratocytes showed higher nuclear and cytoplasmatic reflectivity in the medium and posterior stroma. Endothelial cells were not affected. Patients with neoplastic gammopathies showed peculiar alterations of the keratocyte number, which appeared significantly reduced. A follow-up with corneal confocal microscopy of patients with MGUS is suggested as a useful tool to identify peripheral tissue alterations linked to possible neoplastic disease development.

Uncertainty analysis of gas flow measurements using clearance-sealed piston provers in the range from 0.0012 g min-1 to 60 g min-1

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bobovnik, G.; Kutin, J.; Bajsić, I.

2016-08-01

This paper deals with an uncertainty analysis of gas flow measurements using a compact, high-speed, clearance-sealed realization of a piston prover. A detailed methodology for the uncertainty analysis, covering the components due to the gas density, dimensional and time measurements, the leakage flow, the density correction factor and the repeatability, is presented. The paper also deals with the selection of the isothermal and adiabatic measurement models, the treatment of the leakage flow and discusses the need for averaging multiple consecutive readings of the piston prover. The analysis is prepared for the flow range (50 000:1) covered by the three interchangeable flow cells. The results show that using the adiabatic measurement model and averaging the multiple readings, the estimated expanded measurement uncertainty of the gas mass flow rate is less than 0.15% in the flow range above 0.012 g min-1, whereas it increases for lower mass flow rates due to the leakage flow related effects. At the upper end of the measuring range, using the adiabatic instead of the isothermal measurement model, as well as averaging multiple readings, proves important.

Introduction and application of the multiscale coefficient of variation analysis.

PubMed

Abney, Drew H; Kello, Christopher T; Balasubramaniam, Ramesh

2017-10-01

Quantifying how patterns of behavior relate across multiple levels of measurement typically requires long time series for reliable parameter estimation. We describe a novel analysis that estimates patterns of variability across multiple scales of analysis suitable for time series of short duration. The multiscale coefficient of variation (MSCV) measures the distance between local coefficient of variation estimates within particular time windows and the overall coefficient of variation across all time samples. We first describe the MSCV analysis and provide an example analytical protocol with corresponding MATLAB implementation and code. Next, we present a simulation study testing the new analysis using time series generated by ARFIMA models that span white noise, short-term and long-term correlations. The MSCV analysis was observed to be sensitive to specific parameters of ARFIMA models varying in the type of temporal structure and time series length. We then apply the MSCV analysis to short time series of speech phrases and musical themes to show commonalities in multiscale structure. The simulation and application studies provide evidence that the MSCV analysis can discriminate between time series varying in multiscale structure and length.

Abdominal girth, vertebral column length, and spread of spinal anesthesia in 30 minutes after plain bupivacaine 5 mg/mL.

PubMed

Zhou, Qing-he; Xiao, Wang-pin; Shen, Ying-yan

2014-07-01

The spread of spinal anesthesia is highly unpredictable. In patients with increased abdominal girth and short stature, a greater cephalad spread after a fixed amount of subarachnoidally administered plain bupivacaine is often observed. We hypothesized that there is a strong correlation between abdominal girth/vertebral column length and cephalad spread. Age, weight, height, body mass index, abdominal girth, and vertebral column length were recorded for 114 patients. The L3-L4 interspace was entered, and 3 mL of 0.5% plain bupivacaine was injected into the subarachnoid space. The cephalad spread (loss of temperature sensation and loss of pinprick discrimination) was assessed 30 minutes after intrathecal injection. Linear regression analysis was performed for age, weight, height, body mass index, abdominal girth, vertebral column length, and the spread of spinal anesthesia, and the combined linear contribution of age up to 55 years, weight, height, abdominal girth, and vertebral column length was tested by multiple regression analysis. Linear regression analysis showed that there was a significant univariate correlation among all 6 patient characteristics evaluated and the spread of spinal anesthesia (all P < 0.039) except for age and loss of temperature sensation (P > 0.068). Multiple regression analysis showed that abdominal girth and the vertebral column length were the key determinants for spinal anesthesia spread (both P < 0.0001), whereas age, weight, and height could be omitted without changing the results (all P > 0.059, all 95% confidence limits < 0.372). Multiple regression analysis revealed that the combination of a patient's 5 general characteristics, especially abdominal girth and vertebral column length, had a high predictive value for the spread of spinal anesthesia after a given dose of plain bupivacaine.

Syndrome of microcephaly, Dandy-Walker malformation, and Wilms tumor caused by mosaic variegated aneuploidy with premature centromere division (PCD): report of a new case and review of the literature.

PubMed

Kawame, H; Sugio, Y; Fuyama, Y; Hayashi, Y; Suzuki, H; Kurosawa, K; Maekawa, K

1999-01-01

We report a male infant with multiple congenital anomalies and mosaic variegated aneuploidy; a rare cytogenetic abnormality characterized by mosaicism for several different aneuploidies involving many different chromosomes. He had prenatal-onset growth retardation, microcephaly, dysmorphic face, seizures, hypotonia, feeding difficulty, and developmental delay. In addition, he developed bilateral Wilms tumors. Neuroradiological examination revealed Dandy-Walker malformation and hypoplasia of the cerebral hemisphere and pons. Cytogenetic analysis revealed various multiple numerical aneuploidies in blood lymphocytes, fibroblasts, and bone marrow cells, together with premature centromere division (PCD). Peripheral blood chromosome analysis from his parents also showed PCD, but no aneuploid cells. The clinical phenotype and multiple aneuploidies of the patient may be a consequence of the homozygous PCD trait inherited from his parents. Comparison with previously reported cases of multiple aneuploidy suggests that mosaic variegated aneuploidy with PCD may be a clinically recognizable syndrome with major phenotypes being mental retardation, microcephaly, structural brain anomalies (including Dandy-Walker malformation), and possible cancer predisposition.

Design and analysis of multiple diseases genome-wide association studies without controls.

PubMed

Chen, Zhongxue; Huang, Hanwen; Ng, Hon Keung Tony

2012-11-15

In genome-wide association studies (GWAS), multiple diseases with shared controls is one of the case-control study designs. If data obtained from these studies are appropriately analyzed, this design can have several advantages such as improving statistical power in detecting associations and reducing the time and cost in the data collection process. In this paper, we propose a study design for GWAS which involves multiple diseases but without controls. We also propose corresponding statistical data analysis strategy for GWAS with multiple diseases but no controls. Through a simulation study, we show that the statistical association test with the proposed study design is more powerful than the test with single disease sharing common controls, and it has comparable power to the overall test based on the whole dataset including the controls. We also apply the proposed method to a real GWAS dataset to illustrate the methodologies and the advantages of the proposed design. Some possible limitations of this study design and testing method and their solutions are also discussed. Our findings indicate that the proposed study design and statistical analysis strategy could be more efficient than the usual case-control GWAS as well as those with shared controls. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Integrated analysis of miRNA and mRNA expression data identifies multiple miRNAs regulatory networks for the tumorigenesis of colorectal cancer.

PubMed

Xu, Peng; Wang, Junhua; Sun, Bo; Xiao, Zhongdang

2018-06-15

Investigating the potential biological function of differential changed genes through integrating multiple omics data including miRNA and mRNA expression profiles, is always hot topic. However, how to evaluate the repression effect on target genes integrating miRNA and mRNA expression profiles are not fully solved. In this study, we provide an analyzing method by integrating both miRNAs and mRNAs expression data simultaneously. Difference analysis was adopted based on the repression score, then significantly repressed mRNAs were screened out by DEGseq. Pathway analysis for the significantly repressed mRNAs shows that multiple pathways such as MAPK signaling pathway, TGF-beta signaling pathway and so on, may correlated to the colorectal cancer(CRC). Focusing on the MAPK signaling pathway, a miRNA-mRNA network that centering the cell fate genes was constructed. Finally, the miRNA-mRNAs that potentially important in the CRC carcinogenesis were screened out and scored by impact index. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Family-Based Rare Variant Association Analysis: A Fast and Efficient Method of Multivariate Phenotype Association Analysis.

PubMed

Wang, Longfei; Lee, Sungyoung; Gim, Jungsoo; Qiao, Dandi; Cho, Michael; Elston, Robert C; Silverman, Edwin K; Won, Sungho

2016-09-01

Family-based designs have been repeatedly shown to be powerful in detecting the significant rare variants associated with human diseases. Furthermore, human diseases are often defined by the outcomes of multiple phenotypes, and thus we expect multivariate family-based analyses may be very efficient in detecting associations with rare variants. However, few statistical methods implementing this strategy have been developed for family-based designs. In this report, we describe one such implementation: the multivariate family-based rare variant association tool (mFARVAT). mFARVAT is a quasi-likelihood-based score test for rare variant association analysis with multiple phenotypes, and tests both homogeneous and heterogeneous effects of each variant on multiple phenotypes. Simulation results show that the proposed method is generally robust and efficient for various disease models, and we identify some promising candidate genes associated with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. The software of mFARVAT is freely available at http://healthstat.snu.ac.kr/software/mfarvat/, implemented in C++ and supported on Linux and MS Windows. © 2016 WILEY PERIODICALS, INC.

Pediatric Disaster Triage: Multiple Simulation Curriculum Improves Prehospital Care Providers' Assessment Skills.

PubMed

Cicero, Mark Xavier; Whitfill, Travis; Overly, Frank; Baird, Janette; Walsh, Barbara; Yarzebski, Jorge; Riera, Antonio; Adelgais, Kathleen; Meckler, Garth D; Baum, Carl; Cone, David Christopher; Auerbach, Marc

2017-01-01

Paramedics and emergency medical technicians (EMTs) triage pediatric disaster victims infrequently. The objective of this study was to measure the effect of a multiple-patient, multiple-simulation curriculum on accuracy of pediatric disaster triage (PDT). Paramedics, paramedic students, and EMTs from three sites were enrolled. Triage accuracy was measured three times (Time 0, Time 1 [two weeks later], and Time 2 [6 months later]) during a disaster simulation, in which high and low fidelity manikins and actors portrayed 10 victims. Accuracy was determined by participant triage decision concordance with predetermined expected triage level (RED [Immediate], YELLOW [Delayed], GREEN [Ambulatory], BLACK [Deceased]) for each victim. Between Time 0 and Time 1, participants completed an interactive online module, and after each simulation there was an individual debriefing. Associations between participant level of training, years of experience, and enrollment site were determined, as were instances of the most dangerous mistriage, when RED and YELLOW victims were triaged BLACK. The study enrolled 331 participants, and the analysis included 261 (78.9%) participants who completed the study, 123 from the Connecticut site, 83 from Rhode Island, and 55 from Massachusetts. Triage accuracy improved significantly from Time 0 to Time 1, after the educational interventions (first simulation with debriefing, and an interactive online module), with a median 10% overall improvement (p < 0.001). Subgroup analyses showed between Time 0 and Time 1, paramedics and paramedic students improved more than EMTs (p = 0.002). Analysis of triage accuracy showed greatest improvement in overall accuracy for YELLOW triage patients (Time 0 50% accurate, Time1 100%), followed by RED patients (Time 0 80%, Time 1 100%). There was no significant difference in accuracy between Time 1 and Time 2 (p = 0.073). This study shows that the multiple-victim, multiple-simulation curriculum yields a durable 10% improvement in simulated triage accuracy. Future iterations of the curriculum can target greater improvements in EMT triage accuracy.

Propensity score analysis with partially observed covariates: How should multiple imputation be used?

PubMed

Leyrat, Clémence; Seaman, Shaun R; White, Ian R; Douglas, Ian; Smeeth, Liam; Kim, Joseph; Resche-Rigon, Matthieu; Carpenter, James R; Williamson, Elizabeth J

2017-01-01

Inverse probability of treatment weighting is a popular propensity score-based approach to estimate marginal treatment effects in observational studies at risk of confounding bias. A major issue when estimating the propensity score is the presence of partially observed covariates. Multiple imputation is a natural approach to handle missing data on covariates: covariates are imputed and a propensity score analysis is performed in each imputed dataset to estimate the treatment effect. The treatment effect estimates from each imputed dataset are then combined to obtain an overall estimate. We call this method MIte. However, an alternative approach has been proposed, in which the propensity scores are combined across the imputed datasets (MIps). Therefore, there are remaining uncertainties about how to implement multiple imputation for propensity score analysis: (a) should we apply Rubin's rules to the inverse probability of treatment weighting treatment effect estimates or to the propensity score estimates themselves? (b) does the outcome have to be included in the imputation model? (c) how should we estimate the variance of the inverse probability of treatment weighting estimator after multiple imputation? We studied the consistency and balancing properties of the MIte and MIps estimators and performed a simulation study to empirically assess their performance for the analysis of a binary outcome. We also compared the performance of these methods to complete case analysis and the missingness pattern approach, which uses a different propensity score model for each pattern of missingness, and a third multiple imputation approach in which the propensity score parameters are combined rather than the propensity scores themselves (MIpar). Under a missing at random mechanism, complete case and missingness pattern analyses were biased in most cases for estimating the marginal treatment effect, whereas multiple imputation approaches were approximately unbiased as long as the outcome was included in the imputation model. Only MIte was unbiased in all the studied scenarios and Rubin's rules provided good variance estimates for MIte. The propensity score estimated in the MIte approach showed good balancing properties. In conclusion, when using multiple imputation in the inverse probability of treatment weighting context, MIte with the outcome included in the imputation model is the preferred approach.

Assessing the validity of discourse analysis: transdisciplinary convergence

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jaipal-Jamani, Kamini

2014-12-01

Research studies using discourse analysis approaches make claims about phenomena or issues based on interpretation of written or spoken text, which includes images and gestures. How are findings/interpretations from discourse analysis validated? This paper proposes transdisciplinary convergence as a way to validate discourse analysis approaches to research. The argument is made that discourse analysis explicitly grounded in semiotics, systemic functional linguistics, and critical theory, offers a credible research methodology. The underlying assumptions, constructs, and techniques of analysis of these three theoretical disciplines can be drawn on to show convergence of data at multiple levels, validating interpretations from text analysis.

Combined Diffusion Tensor Imaging and Apparent Transverse Relaxation Rate Differentiate Parkinson Disease and Atypical Parkinsonism.

PubMed

Du, G; Lewis, M M; Kanekar, S; Sterling, N W; He, L; Kong, L; Li, R; Huang, X

2017-05-01

Both diffusion tensor imaging and the apparent transverse relaxation rate have shown promise in differentiating Parkinson disease from atypical parkinsonism (particularly multiple system atrophy and progressive supranuclear palsy). The objective of the study was to assess the ability of DTI, the apparent transverse relaxation rate, and their combination for differentiating Parkinson disease, multiple system atrophy, progressive supranuclear palsy, and controls. A total of 106 subjects (36 controls, 35 patients with Parkinson disease, 16 with multiple system atrophy, and 19 with progressive supranuclear palsy) were included. DTI and the apparent transverse relaxation rate measures from the striatal, midbrain, limbic, and cerebellar regions were obtained and compared among groups. The discrimination performance of DTI and the apparent transverse relaxation rate among groups was assessed by using Elastic-Net machine learning and receiver operating characteristic curve analysis. Compared with controls, patients with Parkinson disease showed significant apparent transverse relaxation rate differences in the red nucleus. Compared to those with Parkinson disease, patients with both multiple system atrophy and progressive supranuclear palsy showed more widespread changes, extending from the midbrain to striatal and cerebellar structures. The pattern of changes, however, was different between the 2 groups. For instance, patients with multiple system atrophy showed decreased fractional anisotropy and an increased apparent transverse relaxation rate in the subthalamic nucleus, whereas patients with progressive supranuclear palsy showed an increased mean diffusivity in the hippocampus. Combined, DTI and the apparent transverse relaxation rate were significantly better than DTI or the apparent transverse relaxation rate alone in separating controls from those with Parkinson disease/multiple system atrophy/progressive supranuclear palsy; controls from those with Parkinson disease; those with Parkinson disease from those with multiple system atrophy/progressive supranuclear palsy; and those with Parkinson disease from those with multiple system atrophy; but not those with Parkinson disease from those with progressive supranuclear palsy, or those with multiple system atrophy from those with progressive supranuclear palsy. DTI and the apparent transverse relaxation rate provide different but complementary information for different parkinsonisms. Combined DTI and apparent transverse relaxation rate may be a superior marker for the differential diagnosis of parkinsonisms. © 2017 by American Journal of Neuroradiology.

Investigation of marital satisfaction and its relationship with job stress and general health of nurses in Qazvin, Iran.

PubMed

Azimian, Jalil; Piran, Pegah; Jahanihashemi, Hassan; Dehghankar, Leila

2017-04-01

Pressures in nursing can affect family life and marital problems, disrupt common social problems, increase work-family conflicts and endanger people's general health. To determine marital satisfaction and its relationship with job stress and general health of nurses. This descriptive and cross-sectional study was done in 2015 in medical educational centers of Qazvin by using an ENRICH marital satisfaction scale and General Health and Job Stress questionnaires completed by 123 nurses. Analysis was done by SPSS version 19 using descriptive and analytical statistics (Pearson correlation, t-test, ANOVA, Chi-square, regression line, multiple regression analysis). The findings showed that 64.4% of nurses had marital satisfaction. There was significant relationship between age (p=0.03), job experience (p=0.01), age of spouse (p=0.01) and marital satisfaction. The results showed that there was a significant relationship between marital satisfaction and general health (p<0.0001). Multiple regression analysis showed that there was a significant relationship between depression (p=0.012) and anxiety (p=0.001) with marital satisfaction. Due to high levels of job stress and disorder in general health of nurses and low marital satisfaction by running health promotion programs and paying attention to its dimensions can help work and family health of nurses.

Neurofilament light polypeptide gene N98S mutation in mice leads to neurofilament network abnormalities and a Charcot-Marie-Tooth Type 2E phenotype.

PubMed

Adebola, Adijat A; Di Castri, Theo; He, Chui-Zhen; Salvatierra, Laura A; Zhao, Jian; Brown, Kristy; Lin, Chyuan-Sheng; Worman, Howard J; Liem, Ronald K H

2015-04-15

Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease (CMT) is the most commonly inherited neurological disorder with a prevalence of 1 in 2500 people worldwide. Patients suffer from degeneration of the peripheral nerves that control sensory information of the foot/leg and hand/arm. Multiple mutations in the neurofilament light polypeptide gene, NEFL, cause CMT2E. Previous studies in transfected cells showed that expression of disease-associated neurofilament light chain variants results in abnormal intermediate filament networks associated with defects in axonal transport. We have now generated knock-in mice with two different point mutations in Nefl: P8R that has been reported in multiple families with variable age of onset and N98S that has been described as an early-onset, sporadic mutation in multiple individuals. Nefl(P8R/+) and Nefl(P8R/P8R) mice were indistinguishable from Nefl(+/+) in terms of behavioral phenotype. In contrast, Nefl(N98S/+) mice had a noticeable tremor, and most animals showed a hindlimb clasping phenotype. Immunohistochemical analysis revealed multiple inclusions in the cell bodies and proximal axons of spinal cord neurons, disorganized processes in the cerebellum and abnormal processes in the cerebral cortex and pons. Abnormal processes were observed as early as post-natal day 7. Electron microscopic analysis of sciatic nerves showed a reduction in the number of neurofilaments, an increase in the number of microtubules and a decrease in the axonal diameters. The Nefl(N98S/+) mice provide an excellent model to study the pathogenesis of CMT2E and should prove useful for testing potential therapies. © The Author 2014. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Analysis of Gene Expression Profiles of Soft Tissue Sarcoma Using a Combination of Knowledge-Based Filtering with Integration of Multiple Statistics

PubMed Central

Doi, Ayano; Ichinohe, Risa; Ikuyo, Yoriko; Takahashi, Teruyoshi; Marui, Shigetaka; Yasuhara, Koji; Nakamura, Tetsuro; Sugita, Shintaro; Sakamoto, Hiromi; Yoshida, Teruhiko; Hasegawa, Tadashi

2014-01-01

The diagnosis and treatment of soft tissue sarcomas (STS) have been difficult. Of the diverse histological subtypes, undifferentiated pleomorphic sarcoma (UPS) is particularly difficult to diagnose accurately, and its classification per se is still controversial. Recent advances in genomic technologies provide an excellent way to address such problems. However, it is often difficult, if not impossible, to identify definitive disease-associated genes using genome-wide analysis alone, primarily because of multiple testing problems. In the present study, we analyzed microarray data from 88 STS patients using a combination method that used knowledge-based filtering and a simulation based on the integration of multiple statistics to reduce multiple testing problems. We identified 25 genes, including hypoxia-related genes (e.g., MIF, SCD1, P4HA1, ENO1, and STAT1) and cell cycle- and DNA repair-related genes (e.g., TACC3, PRDX1, PRKDC, and H2AFY). These genes showed significant differential expression among histological subtypes, including UPS, and showed associations with overall survival. STAT1 showed a strong association with overall survival in UPS patients (logrank p = 1.84×10−6 and adjusted p value 2.99×10−3 after the permutation test). According to the literature, the 25 genes selected are useful not only as markers of differential diagnosis but also as prognostic/predictive markers and/or therapeutic targets for STS. Our combination method can identify genes that are potential prognostic/predictive factors and/or therapeutic targets in STS and possibly in other cancers. These disease-associated genes deserve further preclinical and clinical validation. PMID:25188299

Efficiency analysis of a multiple axle vehicle with hydrostatic transmission overcoming obstacles

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Comellas, M.; Pijuan, J.; Nogués, M.; Roca, J.

2018-01-01

Transmission configurations in off-road vehicles with multiple driven axles can be a determining factor in the obstacle surmounting capacity and also in the vehicle efficiency. An off-road articulated vehicle with four driven axles, four bogies and two modules has been considered for the global hydrostatic transmission efficiency analysis and for the vehicle functional efficiency analysis. The power flow through the transmission system has been quantified from the combustion engine shaft to each axle of the wheels. It has been done for different the operating conditions and taking into account the wheel-terrain interaction and the transmission configuration, that could lead to a forced slippage of some of the wheels. Results show the influence of the different wheels' requirements, the transmission configuration limitations and the considered control strategy on the global transmission and vehicle functional efficiencies.

Coupling detrended fluctuation analysis for multiple warehouse-out behavioral sequences

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yao, Can-Zhong; Lin, Ji-Nan; Zheng, Xu-Zhou

2017-01-01

Interaction patterns among different warehouses could make the warehouse-out behavioral sequences less predictable. We firstly take a coupling detrended fluctuation analysis on the warehouse-out quantity, and find that the multivariate sequences exhibit significant coupling multifractal characteristics regardless of the types of steel products. Secondly, we track the sources of multifractal warehouse-out sequences by shuffling and surrogating original ones, and we find that fat-tail distribution contributes more to multifractal features than the long-term memory, regardless of types of steel products. From perspective of warehouse contribution, some warehouses steadily contribute more to multifractal than other warehouses. Finally, based on multiscale multifractal analysis, we propose Hurst surface structure to investigate coupling multifractal, and show that multiple behavioral sequences exhibit significant coupling multifractal features that emerge and usually be restricted within relatively greater time scale interval.

Local loss and spatial homogenization of plant diversity reduce ecosystem multifunctionality

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Experimental studies show that local plant species loss decreases ecosystem functioning and services, but it remains unclear how other changes in biodiversity, such as spatial homogenization, alter multiple processes (multifunctionality) in natural ecosystems. We present a global analysis of eight ...

Theory and simulations of covariance mapping in multiple dimensions for data analysis in high-event-rate experiments

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhaunerchyk, V.; Frasinski, L. J.; Eland, J. H. D.; Feifel, R.

2014-05-01

Multidimensional covariance analysis and its validity for correlation of processes leading to multiple products are investigated from a theoretical point of view. The need to correct for false correlations induced by experimental parameters which fluctuate from shot to shot, such as the intensity of self-amplified spontaneous emission x-ray free-electron laser pulses, is emphasized. Threefold covariance analysis based on simple extension of the two-variable formulation is shown to be valid for variables exhibiting Poisson statistics. In this case, false correlations arising from fluctuations in an unstable experimental parameter that scale linearly with signals can be eliminated by threefold partial covariance analysis, as defined here. Fourfold covariance based on the same simple extension is found to be invalid in general. Where fluctuations in an unstable parameter induce nonlinear signal variations, a technique of contingent covariance analysis is proposed here to suppress false correlations. In this paper we also show a method to eliminate false correlations associated with fluctuations of several unstable experimental parameters.

Joint analysis of multiple high-dimensional data types using sparse matrix approximations of rank-1 with applications to ovarian and liver cancer.

PubMed

Okimoto, Gordon; Zeinalzadeh, Ashkan; Wenska, Tom; Loomis, Michael; Nation, James B; Fabre, Tiphaine; Tiirikainen, Maarit; Hernandez, Brenda; Chan, Owen; Wong, Linda; Kwee, Sandi

2016-01-01

Technological advances enable the cost-effective acquisition of Multi-Modal Data Sets (MMDS) composed of measurements for multiple, high-dimensional data types obtained from a common set of bio-samples. The joint analysis of the data matrices associated with the different data types of a MMDS should provide a more focused view of the biology underlying complex diseases such as cancer that would not be apparent from the analysis of a single data type alone. As multi-modal data rapidly accumulate in research laboratories and public databases such as The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA), the translation of such data into clinically actionable knowledge has been slowed by the lack of computational tools capable of analyzing MMDSs. Here, we describe the Joint Analysis of Many Matrices by ITeration (JAMMIT) algorithm that jointly analyzes the data matrices of a MMDS using sparse matrix approximations of rank-1. The JAMMIT algorithm jointly approximates an arbitrary number of data matrices by rank-1 outer-products composed of "sparse" left-singular vectors (eigen-arrays) that are unique to each matrix and a right-singular vector (eigen-signal) that is common to all the matrices. The non-zero coefficients of the eigen-arrays identify small subsets of variables for each data type (i.e., signatures) that in aggregate, or individually, best explain a dominant eigen-signal defined on the columns of the data matrices. The approximation is specified by a single "sparsity" parameter that is selected based on false discovery rate estimated by permutation testing. Multiple signals of interest in a given MDDS are sequentially detected and modeled by iterating JAMMIT on "residual" data matrices that result from a given sparse approximation. We show that JAMMIT outperforms other joint analysis algorithms in the detection of multiple signatures embedded in simulated MDDS. On real multimodal data for ovarian and liver cancer we show that JAMMIT identified multi-modal signatures that were clinically informative and enriched for cancer-related biology. Sparse matrix approximations of rank-1 provide a simple yet effective means of jointly reducing multiple, big data types to a small subset of variables that characterize important clinical and/or biological attributes of the bio-samples from which the data were acquired.

Multiple causes of nonstationarity in the Weihe annual low-flow series

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xiong, Bin; Xiong, Lihua; Chen, Jie; Xu, Chong-Yu; Li, Lingqi

2018-02-01

Under the background of global climate change and local anthropogenic activities, multiple driving forces have introduced various nonstationary components into low-flow series. This has led to a high demand on low-flow frequency analysis that considers nonstationary conditions for modeling. In this study, through a nonstationary frequency analysis framework with the generalized linear model (GLM) to consider time-varying distribution parameters, the multiple explanatory variables were incorporated to explain the variation in low-flow distribution parameters. These variables are comprised of the three indices of human activities (HAs; i.e., population, POP; irrigation area, IAR; and gross domestic product, GDP) and the eight measuring indices of the climate and catchment conditions (i.e., total precipitation P, mean frequency of precipitation events λ, temperature T, potential evapotranspiration (EP), climate aridity index AIEP, base-flow index (BFI), recession constant K and the recession-related aridity index AIK). This framework was applied to model the annual minimum flow series of both Huaxian and Xianyang gauging stations in the Weihe River, China (also known as the Wei He River). The results from stepwise regression for the optimal explanatory variables show that the variables related to irrigation, recession, temperature and precipitation play an important role in modeling. Specifically, analysis of annual minimum 30-day flow in Huaxian shows that the nonstationary distribution model with any one of all explanatory variables is better than the one without explanatory variables, the nonstationary gamma distribution model with four optimal variables is the best model and AIK is of the highest relative importance among these four variables, followed by IAR, BFI and AIEP. We conclude that the incorporation of multiple indices related to low-flow generation permits tracing various driving forces. The established link in nonstationary analysis will be beneficial to analyze future occurrences of low-flow extremes in similar areas.

Methods to increase reproducibility in differential gene expression via meta-analysis

PubMed Central

Sweeney, Timothy E.; Haynes, Winston A.; Vallania, Francesco; Ioannidis, John P.; Khatri, Purvesh

2017-01-01

Findings from clinical and biological studies are often not reproducible when tested in independent cohorts. Due to the testing of a large number of hypotheses and relatively small sample sizes, results from whole-genome expression studies in particular are often not reproducible. Compared to single-study analysis, gene expression meta-analysis can improve reproducibility by integrating data from multiple studies. However, there are multiple choices in designing and carrying out a meta-analysis. Yet, clear guidelines on best practices are scarce. Here, we hypothesized that studying subsets of very large meta-analyses would allow for systematic identification of best practices to improve reproducibility. We therefore constructed three very large gene expression meta-analyses from clinical samples, and then examined meta-analyses of subsets of the datasets (all combinations of datasets with up to N/2 samples and K/2 datasets) compared to a ‘silver standard’ of differentially expressed genes found in the entire cohort. We tested three random-effects meta-analysis models using this procedure. We showed relatively greater reproducibility with more-stringent effect size thresholds with relaxed significance thresholds; relatively lower reproducibility when imposing extraneous constraints on residual heterogeneity; and an underestimation of actual false positive rate by Benjamini–Hochberg correction. In addition, multivariate regression showed that the accuracy of a meta-analysis increased significantly with more included datasets even when controlling for sample size. PMID:27634930

Functional Multiple-Set Canonical Correlation Analysis

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hwang, Heungsun; Jung, Kwanghee; Takane, Yoshio; Woodward, Todd S.

2012-01-01

We propose functional multiple-set canonical correlation analysis for exploring associations among multiple sets of functions. The proposed method includes functional canonical correlation analysis as a special case when only two sets of functions are considered. As in classical multiple-set canonical correlation analysis, computationally, the…

Bomber Deployments: A New Power Projection Strategy

DTIC Science & Technology

2016-08-21

civilian cargo airlift. The second quantitative analysis will assess the B-52 direct aviation support UTCs containing support equipment. B-52 UTCs...troops and cargo back and forth to the theater of operations. Operation IRAQI FREEDOM tested airlift capabilities when multiple services placed their...the quantitative analysis shows, to move all of the support equipment for one bomber squadron can be expensive and tie up valuable cargo aircraft

Application-Level Interoperability Across Grids and Clouds

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jha, Shantenu; Luckow, Andre; Merzky, Andre; Erdely, Miklos; Sehgal, Saurabh

Application-level interoperability is defined as the ability of an application to utilize multiple distributed heterogeneous resources. Such interoperability is becoming increasingly important with increasing volumes of data, multiple sources of data as well as resource types. The primary aim of this chapter is to understand different ways in which application-level interoperability can be provided across distributed infrastructure. We achieve this by (i) using the canonical wordcount application, based on an enhanced version of MapReduce that scales-out across clusters, clouds, and HPC resources, (ii) establishing how SAGA enables the execution of wordcount application using MapReduce and other programming models such as Sphere concurrently, and (iii) demonstrating the scale-out of ensemble-based biomolecular simulations across multiple resources. We show user-level control of the relative placement of compute and data and also provide simple performance measures and analysis of SAGA-MapReduce when using multiple, different, heterogeneous infrastructures concurrently for the same problem instance. Finally, we discuss Azure and some of the system-level abstractions that it provides and show how it is used to support ensemble-based biomolecular simulations.

Neural Correlates of Alerting and Orienting Impairment in Multiple Sclerosis Patients

PubMed Central

Vázquez-Marrufo, Manuel; Galvao-Carmona, Alejandro; González-Rosa, Javier J.; Hidalgo-Muñoz, Antonio R.; Borges, Mónica; Ruiz-Peña, Juan Luis; Izquierdo, Guillermo

2014-01-01

Background A considerable percentage of multiple sclerosis patients have attentional impairment, but understanding its neurophysiological basis remains a challenge. The Attention Network Test allows 3 attentional networks to be studied. Previous behavioural studies using this test have shown that the alerting network is impaired in multiple sclerosis. The aim of this study was to identify neurophysiological indexes of the attention impairment in relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis patients using this test. Results After general slowing had been removed in patients group to isolate the effects of each condition, some behavioral differences between them were obtained. About Contingent Negative Variation, a statistically significant decrement were found in the amplitude for Central and Spatial Cue Conditions for patient group (p<0.05). ANOVAs showed for the patient group a significant latency delay for P1 and N1 components (p<0.05) and a decrease of P3 amplitude for congruent and incongruent stimuli (p<0.01). With regard to correlation analysis, PASAT-3s and SDMT showed significant correlations with behavioral measures of the Attention Network Test (p<0.01) and an ERP parameter (CNV amplitude). Conclusions Behavioral data are highly correlated with the neuropsychological scores and show that the alerting and orienting mechanisms in the patient group were impaired. Reduced amplitude for the Contingent Negative Variation in the patient group suggests that this component could be a physiological marker related to the alerting and orienting impairment in relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis. P1 and N1 delayed latencies are evidence of the demyelination process that causes impairment in the first steps of the visual sensory processing. Lastly, P3 amplitude shows a general decrease for the pathological group probably indexing a more central impairment. These results suggest that the Attention Network Test give evidence of multiple levels of attention impairment, which could help in the assessment and treatment of relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis patients. PMID:24820333

Neural correlates of alerting and orienting impairment in multiple sclerosis patients.

PubMed

Vázquez-Marrufo, Manuel; Galvao-Carmona, Alejandro; González-Rosa, Javier J; Hidalgo-Muñoz, Antonio R; Borges, Mónica; Ruiz-Peña, Juan Luis; Izquierdo, Guillermo

2014-01-01

A considerable percentage of multiple sclerosis patients have attentional impairment, but understanding its neurophysiological basis remains a challenge. The Attention Network Test allows 3 attentional networks to be studied. Previous behavioural studies using this test have shown that the alerting network is impaired in multiple sclerosis. The aim of this study was to identify neurophysiological indexes of the attention impairment in relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis patients using this test. After general slowing had been removed in patients group to isolate the effects of each condition, some behavioral differences between them were obtained. About Contingent Negative Variation, a statistically significant decrement were found in the amplitude for Central and Spatial Cue Conditions for patient group (p<0.05). ANOVAs showed for the patient group a significant latency delay for P1 and N1 components (p<0.05) and a decrease of P3 amplitude for congruent and incongruent stimuli (p<0.01). With regard to correlation analysis, PASAT-3s and SDMT showed significant correlations with behavioral measures of the Attention Network Test (p<0.01) and an ERP parameter (CNV amplitude). Behavioral data are highly correlated with the neuropsychological scores and show that the alerting and orienting mechanisms in the patient group were impaired. Reduced amplitude for the Contingent Negative Variation in the patient group suggests that this component could be a physiological marker related to the alerting and orienting impairment in relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis. P1 and N1 delayed latencies are evidence of the demyelination process that causes impairment in the first steps of the visual sensory processing. Lastly, P3 amplitude shows a general decrease for the pathological group probably indexing a more central impairment. These results suggest that the Attention Network Test give evidence of multiple levels of attention impairment, which could help in the assessment and treatment of relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis patients.

The Multiple Correspondence Analysis Method and Brain Functional Connectivity: Its Application to the Study of the Non-linear Relationships of Motor Cortex and Basal Ganglia.

PubMed

Rodriguez-Sabate, Clara; Morales, Ingrid; Sanchez, Alberto; Rodriguez, Manuel

2017-01-01

The complexity of basal ganglia (BG) interactions is often condensed into simple models mainly based on animal data and that present BG in closed-loop cortico-subcortical circuits of excitatory/inhibitory pathways which analyze the incoming cortical data and return the processed information to the cortex. This study was aimed at identifying functional relationships in the BG motor-loop of 24 healthy-subjects who provided written, informed consent and whose BOLD-activity was recorded by MRI methods. The analysis of the functional interaction between these centers by correlation techniques and multiple linear regression showed non-linear relationships which cannot be suitably addressed with these methods. The multiple correspondence analysis (MCA), an unsupervised multivariable procedure which can identify non-linear interactions, was used to study the functional connectivity of BG when subjects were at rest. Linear methods showed different functional interactions expected according to current BG models. MCA showed additional functional interactions which were not evident when using lineal methods. Seven functional configurations of BG were identified with MCA, two involving the primary motor and somatosensory cortex, one involving the deepest BG (external-internal globus pallidum, subthalamic nucleus and substantia nigral), one with the input-output BG centers (putamen and motor thalamus), two linking the input-output centers with other BG (external pallidum and subthalamic nucleus), and one linking the external pallidum and the substantia nigral. The results provide evidence that the non-linear MCA and linear methods are complementary and should be best used in conjunction to more fully understand the nature of functional connectivity of brain centers.

Improving the evaluation of therapeutic interventions in multiple sclerosis: the role of new psychometric methods.

PubMed

Hobart, J; Cano, S

2009-02-01

In this monograph we examine the added value of new psychometric methods (Rasch measurement and Item Response Theory) over traditional psychometric approaches by comparing and contrasting their psychometric evaluations of existing sets of rating scale data. We have concentrated on Rasch measurement rather than Item Response Theory because we believe that it is the more advantageous method for health measurement from a conceptual, theoretical and practical perspective. Our intention is to provide an authoritative document that describes the principles of Rasch measurement and the practice of Rasch analysis in a clear, detailed, non-technical form that is accurate and accessible to clinicians and researchers in health measurement. A comparison was undertaken of traditional and new psychometric methods in five large sets of rating scale data: (1) evaluation of the Rivermead Mobility Index (RMI) in data from 666 participants in the Cannabis in Multiple Sclerosis (CAMS) study; (2) evaluation of the Multiple Sclerosis Impact Scale (MSIS-29) in data from 1725 people with multiple sclerosis; (3) evaluation of test-retest reliability of MSIS-29 in data from 150 people with multiple sclerosis; (4) examination of the use of Rasch analysis to equate scales purporting to measure the same health construct in 585 people with multiple sclerosis; and (5) comparison of relative responsiveness of the Barthel Index and Functional Independence Measure in data from 1400 people undergoing neurorehabilitation. Both Rasch measurement and Item Response Theory are conceptually and theoretically superior to traditional psychometric methods. Findings from each of the five studies show that Rasch analysis is empirically superior to traditional psychometric methods for evaluating rating scales, developing rating scales, analysing rating scale data, understanding and measuring stability and change, and understanding the health constructs we seek to quantify. There is considerable added value in using Rasch analysis rather than traditional psychometric methods in health measurement. Future research directions include the need to reproduce our findings in a range of clinical populations, detailed head-to-head comparisons of Rasch analysis and Item Response Theory, and the application of Rasch analysis to clinical practice.

Identifying Node Role in Social Network Based on Multiple Indicators

PubMed Central

Huang, Shaobin; Lv, Tianyang; Zhang, Xizhe; Yang, Yange; Zheng, Weimin; Wen, Chao

2014-01-01

It is a classic topic of social network analysis to evaluate the importance of nodes and identify the node that takes on the role of core or bridge in a network. Because a single indicator is not sufficient to analyze multiple characteristics of a node, it is a natural solution to apply multiple indicators that should be selected carefully. An intuitive idea is to select some indicators with weak correlations to efficiently assess different characteristics of a node. However, this paper shows that it is much better to select the indicators with strong correlations. Because indicator correlation is based on the statistical analysis of a large number of nodes, the particularity of an important node will be outlined if its indicator relationship doesn't comply with the statistical correlation. Therefore, the paper selects the multiple indicators including degree, ego-betweenness centrality and eigenvector centrality to evaluate the importance and the role of a node. The importance of a node is equal to the normalized sum of its three indicators. A candidate for core or bridge is selected from the great degree nodes or the nodes with great ego-betweenness centrality respectively. Then, the role of a candidate is determined according to the difference between its indicators' relationship with the statistical correlation of the overall network. Based on 18 real networks and 3 kinds of model networks, the experimental results show that the proposed methods perform quite well in evaluating the importance of nodes and in identifying the node role. PMID:25089823

Reframing Organizations: Artistry, Choice, and Leadership. Jossey-Bass Management Series, Social and Behavioral Science Series, and Higher and Adult Education Series.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bolman, Lee G.; Deal, Terrence E.

This book shows how educators can become more versatile managers and more artistic leaders. In part 1, chapter 1 shows why reframing--the use of multiple lenses--is vital to effective leadership and management. It introduces the four basic lenses for organizational analysis--the structural, human resource, political, and symbolic frames--and show…

Responses of stream microbes to multiple anthropogenic stressors in a mesocosm study.

PubMed

Nuy, Julia K; Lange, Anja; Beermann, Arne J; Jensen, Manfred; Elbrecht, Vasco; Röhl, Oliver; Peršoh, Derek; Begerow, Dominik; Leese, Florian; Boenigk, Jens

2018-08-15

Stream ecosystems are affected by multiple anthropogenic stressors worldwide. Even though effects of many single stressors are comparatively well studied, the effects of multiple stressors are difficult to predict. In particular bacteria and protists, which are responsible for the majority of ecosystem respiration and element flows, are infrequently studied with respect to multiple stressors responses. We conducted a stream mesocosm experiment to characterize the responses of single and multiple stressors on microbiota. Two functionally important stream habitats, leaf litter and benthic phototrophic rock biofilms, were exposed to three stressors in a full factorial design: fine sediment deposition, increased chloride concentration (salinization) and reduced flow velocity. We analyzed the microbial composition in the two habitat types of the mesocosms using an amplicon sequencing approach. Community analysis on different taxonomic levels as well as principle component analyses (PCoAs) based on realtive abundances of operational taxonomic units (OTUs) showed treatment specific shifts in the eukaryotic biofilm community. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) revealed that Bacillariophyta responded positively salinity and sediment increase, while the relative read abundance of chlorophyte taxa decreased. The combined effects of multiple stressors were mainly antagonistic. Therefore, the community composition in multiply stressed environments resembled the composition of the unstressed control community in terms of OTU occurrence and relative abundances. Copyright © 2018 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

X-ray imaging using avalanche multiplication in amorphous selenium: investigation of intrinsic avalanche noise.

PubMed

Hunt, D C; Tanioka, Kenkichi; Rowlands, J A

2007-12-01

The flat-panel detector (FPD) is the state-of-the-art detector for digital radiography. The FPD can acquire images in real-time, has superior spatial resolution, and is free of the problems of x-ray image intensifiers-veiling glare, pin-cushion and magnetic distortion. However, FPDs suffer from poor signal to noise ratio performance at typical fluoroscopic exposure rates where the quantum noise is reduced to the point that it becomes comparable to the fixed electronic noise. It has been shown previously that avalanche multiplication gain in amorphous selenium (a-Se) can provide the necessary amplification to overcome the electronic noise of the FPD. Avalanche multiplication, however, comes with its own intrinsic contribution to the noise in the form of gain fluctuation noise. In this article a cascaded systems analysis is used to present a modified metric related to the detective quantum efficiency. The modified metric is used to study a diagnostic x-ray imaging system in the presence of intrinsic avalanche multiplication noise independently from other noise sources, such as electronic noise. An indirect conversion imaging system is considered to make the study independent of other avalanche multiplication related noise sources, such as the fluctuations arising from the depth of x-ray absorption. In this case all the avalanche events are initiated at the surface of the avalanche layer, and there are no fluctuations in the depth of absorption. Experiments on an indirect conversion x-ray imaging system using avalanche multiplication in a layer of a-Se are also presented. The cascaded systems analysis shows that intrinsic noise of avalanche multiplication will not have any deleterious influence on detector performance at zero spatial frequency in x-ray imaging provided the product of conversion gain, coupling efficiency, and optical quantum efficiency are much greater than a factor of 2. The experimental results show that avalanche multiplication in a-Se behaves as an intrinsic noise free avalanche multiplication, in accordance with our theory. Provided good coupling efficiency and high optical quantum efficiency are maintained, avalanche multiplication in a-Se has the potential to increase the gain and make negligible contribution to the noise, thereby improving the performance of indirect FPDs in fluoroscopy.

X-ray imaging using avalanche multiplication in amorphous selenium: Investigation of intrinsic avalanche noise

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Hunt, D. C.; Tanioka, Kenkichi; Rowlands, J. A.

2007-12-15

The flat-panel detector (FPD) is the state-of-the-art detector for digital radiography. The FPD can acquire images in real-time, has superior spatial resolution, and is free of the problems of x-ray image intensifiers--veiling glare, pin-cushion and magnetic distortion. However, FPDs suffer from poor signal to noise ratio performance at typical fluoroscopic exposure rates where the quantum noise is reduced to the point that it becomes comparable to the fixed electronic noise. It has been shown previously that avalanche multiplication gain in amorphous selenium (a-Se) can provide the necessary amplification to overcome the electronic noise of the FPD. Avalanche multiplication, however, comesmore » with its own intrinsic contribution to the noise in the form of gain fluctuation noise. In this article a cascaded systems analysis is used to present a modified metric related to the detective quantum efficiency. The modified metric is used to study a diagnostic x-ray imaging system in the presence of intrinsic avalanche multiplication noise independently from other noise sources, such as electronic noise. An indirect conversion imaging system is considered to make the study independent of other avalanche multiplication related noise sources, such as the fluctuations arising from the depth of x-ray absorption. In this case all the avalanche events are initiated at the surface of the avalanche layer, and there are no fluctuations in the depth of absorption. Experiments on an indirect conversion x-ray imaging system using avalanche multiplication in a layer of a-Se are also presented. The cascaded systems analysis shows that intrinsic noise of avalanche multiplication will not have any deleterious influence on detector performance at zero spatial frequency in x-ray imaging provided the product of conversion gain, coupling efficiency, and optical quantum efficiency are much greater than a factor of 2. The experimental results show that avalanche multiplication in a-Se behaves as an intrinsic noise free avalanche multiplication, in accordance with our theory. Provided good coupling efficiency and high optical quantum efficiency are maintained, avalanche multiplication in a-Se has the potential to increase the gain and make negligible contribution to the noise, thereby improving the performance of indirect FPDs in fluoroscopy.« less

Interaction between polymorphisms in aspirin metabolic pathways, regular aspirin use and colorectal cancer risk: A case-control study in unselected white European populations.

PubMed

Sheth, Harsh; Northwood, Emma; Ulrich, Cornelia M; Scherer, Dominique; Elliott, Faye; Barrett, Jennifer H; Forman, David; Wolf, C Roland; Smith, Gillian; Jackson, Michael S; Santibanez-Koref, Mauro; Haile, Robert; Casey, Graham; Jenkins, Mark; Win, Aung Ko; Hopper, John L; Marchand, Loic Le; Lindor, Noralane M; Thibodeau, Stephen N; Potter, John D; Burn, John; Bishop, D Timothy

2018-01-01

Regular aspirin use is associated with reduced risk of colorectal cancer (CRC). Variation in aspirin's chemoprevention efficacy has been attributed to the presence of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). We conducted a meta-analysis using two large population-based case-control datasets, the UK-Leeds Colorectal Cancer Study Group and the NIH-Colon Cancer Family Registry, having a combined total of 3325 cases and 2262 controls. The aim was to assess 42 candidate SNPs in 15 genes whose association with colorectal cancer risk was putatively modified by aspirin use, in the literature. Log odds ratios (ORs) and standard errors were estimated for each dataset separately using logistic regression adjusting for age, sex and study site, and dataset-specific results were combined using random effects meta-analysis. Meta-analysis showed association between SNPs rs6983267, rs11694911 and rs2302615 with CRC risk reduction (All P<0.05). Association for SNP rs6983267 in the CCAT2 gene only was noteworthy after multiple test correction (P = 0.001). Site-specific analysis showed association between SNPs rs1799853 and rs2302615 with reduced colon cancer risk only (P = 0.01 and P = 0.004, respectively), however neither reached significance threshold following multiple test correction. Meta-analysis of SNPs rs2070959 and rs1105879 in UGT1A6 gene showed interaction between aspirin use and CRC risk (Pinteraction = 0.01 and 0.02, respectively); stratification by aspirin use showed an association for decreased CRC risk for aspirin users having a wild-type genotype (rs2070959 OR = 0.77, 95% CI = 0.68-0.86; rs1105879 OR = 0.77 95% CI = 0.69-0.86) compared to variant allele cariers. The direction of the interaction however is in contrast to that published in studies on colorectal adenomas. Both SNPs showed potential site-specific interaction with aspirin use and colon cancer risk only (Pinteraction = 0.006 and 0.008, respectively), with the direction of association similar to that observed for CRC. Additionally, they showed interaction between any non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (including aspirin) use and CRC risk (Pinteraction = 0.01 for both). All gene x environment (GxE) interactions however were not significant after multiple test correction. Candidate gene investigation indicated no evidence of GxE interaction between genetic variants in genes involved in aspirin pathways, regular aspirin use and colorectal cancer risk.

Interaction between polymorphisms in aspirin metabolic pathways, regular aspirin use and colorectal cancer risk: A case-control study in unselected white European populations

PubMed Central

Ulrich, Cornelia M.; Scherer, Dominique; Elliott, Faye; Barrett, Jennifer H.; Forman, David; Wolf, C. Roland; Smith, Gillian; Jackson, Michael S.; Santibanez-Koref, Mauro; Haile, Robert; Casey, Graham; Jenkins, Mark; Win, Aung Ko; Hopper, John L.; Marchand, Loic Le; Lindor, Noralane M.; Thibodeau, Stephen N.; Potter, John D.; Burn, John; Bishop, D. Timothy

2018-01-01

Regular aspirin use is associated with reduced risk of colorectal cancer (CRC). Variation in aspirin’s chemoprevention efficacy has been attributed to the presence of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). We conducted a meta-analysis using two large population-based case-control datasets, the UK-Leeds Colorectal Cancer Study Group and the NIH-Colon Cancer Family Registry, having a combined total of 3325 cases and 2262 controls. The aim was to assess 42 candidate SNPs in 15 genes whose association with colorectal cancer risk was putatively modified by aspirin use, in the literature. Log odds ratios (ORs) and standard errors were estimated for each dataset separately using logistic regression adjusting for age, sex and study site, and dataset-specific results were combined using random effects meta-analysis. Meta-analysis showed association between SNPs rs6983267, rs11694911 and rs2302615 with CRC risk reduction (All P<0.05). Association for SNP rs6983267 in the CCAT2 gene only was noteworthy after multiple test correction (P = 0.001). Site-specific analysis showed association between SNPs rs1799853 and rs2302615 with reduced colon cancer risk only (P = 0.01 and P = 0.004, respectively), however neither reached significance threshold following multiple test correction. Meta-analysis of SNPs rs2070959 and rs1105879 in UGT1A6 gene showed interaction between aspirin use and CRC risk (Pinteraction = 0.01 and 0.02, respectively); stratification by aspirin use showed an association for decreased CRC risk for aspirin users having a wild-type genotype (rs2070959 OR = 0.77, 95% CI = 0.68–0.86; rs1105879 OR = 0.77 95% CI = 0.69–0.86) compared to variant allele cariers. The direction of the interaction however is in contrast to that published in studies on colorectal adenomas. Both SNPs showed potential site-specific interaction with aspirin use and colon cancer risk only (Pinteraction = 0.006 and 0.008, respectively), with the direction of association similar to that observed for CRC. Additionally, they showed interaction between any non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (including aspirin) use and CRC risk (Pinteraction = 0.01 for both). All gene x environment (GxE) interactions however were not significant after multiple test correction. Candidate gene investigation indicated no evidence of GxE interaction between genetic variants in genes involved in aspirin pathways, regular aspirin use and colorectal cancer risk. PMID:29425227

Learning in a Changing Environment

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Speekenbrink, Maarten; Shanks, David R.

2010-01-01

Multiple cue probability learning studies have typically focused on stationary environments. We present 3 experiments investigating learning in changing environments. A fine-grained analysis of the learning dynamics shows that participants were responsive to both abrupt and gradual changes in cue-outcome relations. We found no evidence that…

Nursing Scholars, Writing Dimensions, and Productivity.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Megel, Mary Erickson

1987-01-01

A study to describe cognitive, affective, and behavioral dimensions associated with writing among doctorally prepared nurses and to determine relationships between writing dimensions and journal article publication is discussed. Multiple regression analysis showed that five variables accounted for 18 percent of the variance in research article…

Combining multiple features for color texture classification

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cusano, Claudio; Napoletano, Paolo; Schettini, Raimondo

2016-11-01

The analysis of color and texture has a long history in image analysis and computer vision. These two properties are often considered as independent, even though they are strongly related in images of natural objects and materials. Correlation between color and texture information is especially relevant in the case of variable illumination, a condition that has a crucial impact on the effectiveness of most visual descriptors. We propose an ensemble of hand-crafted image descriptors designed to capture different aspects of color textures. We show that the use of these descriptors in a multiple classifiers framework makes it possible to achieve a very high classification accuracy in classifying texture images acquired under different lighting conditions. A powerful alternative to hand-crafted descriptors is represented by features obtained with deep learning methods. We also show how the proposed combining strategy hand-crafted and convolutional neural networks features can be used together to further improve the classification accuracy. Experimental results on a food database (raw food texture) demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed strategy.

Experimental assessment and analysis of super-resolution in fluorescence microscopy based on multiple-point spread function fitting of spectrally demultiplexed images

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nishimura, Takahiro; Kimura, Hitoshi; Ogura, Yusuke; Tanida, Jun

2018-06-01

This paper presents an experimental assessment and analysis of super-resolution microscopy based on multiple-point spread function fitting of spectrally demultiplexed images using a designed DNA structure as a test target. For the purpose, a DNA structure was designed to have binding sites at a certain interval that is smaller than the diffraction limit. The structure was labeled with several types of quantum dots (QDs) to acquire their spatial information as spectrally encoded images. The obtained images are analyzed with a point spread function multifitting algorithm to determine the QD locations that indicate the binding site positions. The experimental results show that the labeled locations can be observed beyond the diffraction-limited resolution using three-colored fluorescence images that were obtained with a confocal fluorescence microscope. Numerical simulations show that labeling with eight types of QDs enables the positions aligned at 27.2-nm pitches on the DNA structure to be resolved with high accuracy.

Development of a simultaneous multiple solid-phase microextraction-single shot-gas chromatography/mass spectrometry method and application to aroma profile analysis of commercial coffee.

PubMed

Lee, Changgook; Lee, Younghoon; Lee, Jae-Gon; Buglass, Alan J

2013-06-21

A simultaneous multiple solid-phase microextraction-single shot-gas chromatography mass spectrometry (smSPME-ss-GC/MS) method has been developed for headspace analysis. Up to four fibers (50/30 μm DVB/CAR/PDMS) were used simultaneously for the extraction of aroma components from the headspace of a single sample chamber in order to increase sensitivity of aroma extraction. To avoid peak broadening and to maximize resolution, a simple cryofocusing technique was adopted during sequential thermal desorption of multiple SPME fibers prior to a 'single shot' chromatographic run. The method was developed and validated on a model flavor mixture, containing 81 known pure components. With the conditions of 10 min of incubation and 30 min of extraction at 50 °C, single, dual, triple and quadruple SPME extractions were compared. The increase in total peak area with increase in the number of fibers showed good linearity (R(2)=0.9917) and the mean precision was 12.0% (RSD) for the total peak sum, with quadruple simultaneous SPME extraction. Using a real sample such as commercial coffee granules, aroma profile analysis was conducted using single, dual, triple and quadruple SPME fibers. The increase in total peak intensity again showed good linearity with increase in the number of SPME fibers used (R(2)=0.9992) and the precision of quadruple SPME extraction was 9.9% (RSD) for the total peak sum. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Who do we think we are? Analysing the content and form of identity work in the English National Health Service.

PubMed

McDermott, Imelda; Checkland, Kath; Harrison, Stephen; Snow, Stephanie; Coleman, Anna

2013-01-01

The language used by National Health Service (NHS) "commissioning" managers when discussing their roles and responsibilities can be seen as a manifestation of "identity work", defined as a process of identifying. This paper aims to offer a novel approach to analysing "identity work" by triangulation of multiple analytical methods, combining analysis of the content of text with analysis of its form. Fairclough's discourse analytic methodology is used as a framework. Following Fairclough, the authors use analytical methods associated with Halliday's systemic functional linguistics. While analysis of the content of interviews provides some information about NHS Commissioners' perceptions of their roles and responsibilities, analysis of the form of discourse that they use provides a more detailed and nuanced view. Overall, the authors found that commissioning managers have a higher level of certainty about what commissioning is not rather than what commissioning is; GP managers have a high level of certainty of their identity as a GP rather than as a manager; and both GP managers and non-GP managers oscillate between multiple identities depending on the different situations they are in. This paper offers a novel approach to triangulation, based not on the usual comparison of multiple data sources, but rather based on the application of multiple analytical methods to a single source of data. This paper also shows the latent uncertainty about the nature of commissioning enterprise in the English NHS.

Analysis of the psychometric properties of the Multiple Sclerosis Impact Scale-29 (MSIS-29) in relapsing–remitting multiple sclerosis using classical and modern test theory

PubMed Central

Wyrwich, KW; Phillips, GA; Vollmer, T; Guo, S

2016-01-01

Background Investigations using classical test theory support the psychometric properties of the original version of the Multiple Sclerosis Impact Scale (MSIS-29v1), a disease-specific measure of multiple sclerosis (MS) impact (physical and psychological subscales). Later, assessments of the MSIS-29v1 in an MS community-based sample using Rasch analysis led to revisions of the instrument’s response options (MSIS-29v2). Objective The objective of this paper is to evaluate the psychometric properties of the MSIS-29v1 in a clinical trial cohort of relapsing–remitting MS patients (RRMS). Methods Data from 600 patients with RRMS enrolled in the SELECT clinical trial were used. Assessments were performed at baseline and at Weeks 12, 24, and 52. In addition to traditional psychometric analyses, Item Response Theory (IRT) and Rasch analysis were used to evaluate the measurement properties of the MSIS-29v1. Results Both MSIS-29v1 subscales demonstrated strong reliability, construct validity, and responsiveness. The IRT and Rasch analysis showed overall support for response category threshold ordering, person-item fit, and item fit for both subscales. Conclusions Both MSIS-29v1 subscales demonstrated robust measurement properties using classical, IRT, and Rasch techniques. Unlike previous research using a community-based sample, the MSIS-29v1 was found to be psychometrically sound to assess physical and psychological impairments in a clinical trial sample of patients with RRMS. PMID:28607741

Analysis of the psychometric properties of the Multiple Sclerosis Impact Scale-29 (MSIS-29) in relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis using classical and modern test theory.

PubMed

Bacci, E D; Wyrwich, K W; Phillips, G A; Vollmer, T; Guo, S

2016-01-01

Investigations using classical test theory support the psychometric properties of the original version of the Multiple Sclerosis Impact Scale (MSIS-29v1), a disease-specific measure of multiple sclerosis (MS) impact (physical and psychological subscales). Later, assessments of the MSIS-29v1 in an MS community-based sample using Rasch analysis led to revisions of the instrument's response options (MSIS-29v2). The objective of this paper is to evaluate the psychometric properties of the MSIS-29v1 in a clinical trial cohort of relapsing-remitting MS patients (RRMS). Data from 600 patients with RRMS enrolled in the SELECT clinical trial were used. Assessments were performed at baseline and at Weeks 12, 24, and 52. In addition to traditional psychometric analyses, Item Response Theory (IRT) and Rasch analysis were used to evaluate the measurement properties of the MSIS-29v1. Both MSIS-29v1 subscales demonstrated strong reliability, construct validity, and responsiveness. The IRT and Rasch analysis showed overall support for response category threshold ordering, person-item fit, and item fit for both subscales. Both MSIS-29v1 subscales demonstrated robust measurement properties using classical, IRT, and Rasch techniques. Unlike previous research using a community-based sample, the MSIS-29v1 was found to be psychometrically sound to assess physical and psychological impairments in a clinical trial sample of patients with RRMS.

Tau-independent Phase Analysis: A Novel Method for Accurately Determining Phase Shifts.

PubMed

Tackenberg, Michael C; Jones, Jeff R; Page, Terry L; Hughey, Jacob J

2018-06-01

Estimations of period and phase are essential in circadian biology. While many techniques exist for estimating period, comparatively few methods are available for estimating phase. Current approaches to analyzing phase often vary between studies and are sensitive to coincident changes in period and the stage of the circadian cycle at which the stimulus occurs. Here we propose a new technique, tau-independent phase analysis (TIPA), for quantifying phase shifts in multiple types of circadian time-course data. Through comprehensive simulations, we show that TIPA is both more accurate and more precise than the standard actogram approach. TIPA is computationally simple and therefore will enable accurate and reproducible quantification of phase shifts across multiple subfields of chronobiology.

Detection of multiple chemicals based on external cavity quantum cascade laser spectroscopy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sun, Juan; Ding, Junya; Liu, Ningwu; Yang, Guangxiang; Li, Jingsong

2018-02-01

A laser spectroscopy system based on a broadband tunable external cavity quantum cascade laser (ECQCL) and a mini quartz crystal tuning fork (QCTF) detector was developed for standoff detection of volatile organic compounds (VOCs). The self-established spectral analysis model based on multiple algorithms for quantitative and qualitative analysis of VOC components (i.e. ethanol and acetone) was detailedly investigated in both closed cell and open path configurations. A good agreement was obtained between the experimentally observed spectra and the standard reference spectra. For open path detection of VOCs, the sensor system was demonstrated at a distance of 30 m. The preliminary laboratory results show that standoff detection of VOCs at a distance of over 100 m is very promising.

Integral criteria for large-scale multiple fingerprint solutions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ushmaev, Oleg S.; Novikov, Sergey O.

2004-08-01

We propose the definition and analysis of the optimal integral similarity score criterion for large scale multmodal civil ID systems. Firstly, the general properties of score distributions for genuine and impostor matches for different systems and input devices are investigated. The empirical statistics was taken from the real biometric tests. Then we carry out the analysis of simultaneous score distributions for a number of combined biometric tests and primary for ultiple fingerprint solutions. The explicit and approximate relations for optimal integral score, which provides the least value of the FRR while the FAR is predefined, have been obtained. The results of real multiple fingerprint test show good correspondence with the theoretical results in the wide range of the False Acceptance and the False Rejection Rates.

West syndrome in a patient with Schinzel-Giedion syndrome.

PubMed

Miyake, Fuyu; Kuroda, Yukiko; Naruto, Takuya; Ohashi, Ikuko; Takano, Kyoko; Kurosawa, Kenji

2015-06-01

Schinzel-Giedion syndrome is a rare recognizable malformation syndrome defined by characteristic facial features, profound developmental delay, severe growth failure, and multiple congenital anomalies. The causative gene of Schinzel-Giedion syndrome, SETBP1, has been identified, but limited cases have been confirmed by molecular analysis. We present a 9-month-old girl affected by West syndrome with Schinzel-Giedion syndrome. Congenital severe hydronephrosis, typical facial features, and multiple anomalies suggested a clinical diagnosis of Schinzel-Giedion syndrome. Hypsarrhythmia occurred at 7 months of age and was temporarily controlled by adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) therapy during 5 weeks. SETBP1 mutational analysis showed the presence of a recurrent mutation, p.Ile871Thr. The implications in management of Schinzel-Giedion syndrome are discussed. © The Author(s) 2014.

Voxelwise multivariate analysis of multimodality magnetic resonance imaging.

PubMed

Naylor, Melissa G; Cardenas, Valerie A; Tosun, Duygu; Schuff, Norbert; Weiner, Michael; Schwartzman, Armin

2014-03-01

Most brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) studies concentrate on a single MRI contrast or modality, frequently structural MRI. By performing an integrated analysis of several modalities, such as structural, perfusion-weighted, and diffusion-weighted MRI, new insights may be attained to better understand the underlying processes of brain diseases. We compare two voxelwise approaches: (1) fitting multiple univariate models, one for each outcome and then adjusting for multiple comparisons among the outcomes and (2) fitting a multivariate model. In both cases, adjustment for multiple comparisons is performed over all voxels jointly to account for the search over the brain. The multivariate model is able to account for the multiple comparisons over outcomes without assuming independence because the covariance structure between modalities is estimated. Simulations show that the multivariate approach is more powerful when the outcomes are correlated and, even when the outcomes are independent, the multivariate approach is just as powerful or more powerful when at least two outcomes are dependent on predictors in the model. However, multiple univariate regressions with Bonferroni correction remain a desirable alternative in some circumstances. To illustrate the power of each approach, we analyze a case control study of Alzheimer's disease, in which data from three MRI modalities are available. Copyright © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

[Comparison of acetonitrile, ethanol and chromatographic column to eliminate high-abundance proteins in human serum].

PubMed

Li, Yin; Liao, Ming; He, Xiao; Zhou, Yi; Luo, Rong; Li, Hongtao; Wang, Yun; He, Min

2012-11-01

To compare the effects of acetonitrile precipitation, ethanol precipitation and multiple affinity chromatography column Human 14 removal to eliminate high-abundance proteins in human serum. Elimination of serum high-abundance proteins performed with acetonitrile precipitation, ethanol precipitation and multiple affinity chromatography column Human 14 removal. Bis-Tris Mini Gels electrophoresis and two-dimensional gel electrophoresis to detect the effect. Grey value analysis from 1-DE figure showed that after serum processed by acetonitrile method, multiple affinity chromatography column Human 14 removal method and ethanol method, the grey value of albumin changed into 157.2, 40.8 and 8.2 respectively from the original value of 19. 2-DE analysis results indicated that using multiple affinity chromatography column Human 14 method, the protein points noticeable increased by 137 compared to the original serum. After processed by acetonitrile method and ethanol method, the protein point reduced, but the low abundance protein point emerged. The acetonitrile precipitation could eliminate the vast majority of high abundance proteins in serum and gain more proteins of low molecular weight, ethanol precipitation could eliminate part of high abundance proteins in serum, but low abundance proteins less harvested, and multiple affinity chromatography column Human 14 method could effectively removed the high abundance proteins, and keep a large number of low abundance proteins.

Design and characterization of 16-mode PANDA polarization-maintaining few-mode ring-core fiber for spatial division multiplexing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cao, Yuan; Zhao, Yongli; Yu, Xiaosong; Han, Jiawei; Zhang, Jie

2017-11-01

A PANDA polarization-maintaining few-mode ring-core fiber (PM-FM-RCF) structure with two air holes around the ring core is proposed. The relative mode multiplicity factor (RMMF) is defined to evaluate the spatial efficiency of the designed PM-FM-RCF. The performance analysis and comparison of the proposed PANDA PM-FM-RCFs considering three different types of step-index profiles are detailed. Through modal characteristic analysis and numerical simulation, the PM-FM-RCF with a lower refractive index difference (Δnoi=1.5%) between the ring core and the inner central circle can support up to 16 polarization modes with large RMMF at C-band, which shows the optimum modal properties compared with the PM-FM-RCF with higher Δnoi. All the supported polarization modes are effectively separated from their adjacent polarization modes with effective refractive index differences (Δn) larger than 10-4, which also show relatively small chromatic dispersion (-20 to 25 ps/nm/km), low attenuation (<1.4 dB/km), and small bending radius (˜8 mm) over the C-band. The designed PM-FM-RCF can be compatible with standard single-mode fibers and applied in multiple-input multiple-output-free spatial division multiplexing optical networks for short-reach optical interconnection.

Jet-A fuel evaporation analysis in conical tube injectors

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lai, M.-C.; Chue, T.-H.; Zhu, G.; Sun, H.; Tacina, R.; Chun, K.; Hicks, Y.

1991-01-01

A simple one-dimensional drop-life-history analysis and a multidimensional spray calculation using KIVA-II code are applied to the vaporization of Jet-A fuel in multiple tube injectors. Within the assumptions of the analysis, the one-dimensional results are useful for design purposes. The pressure-atomizer breakup models do not accurately predict the dropsize measured experimentally or deduced from the one-dimensional analysis. Cold flow visualization and dropsize measurements show that capillary wave breakup mechanism plays an important role in the spray angle and droplet impingement on the tube wall.

Association between Pesticide Profiles Used on Agricultural Fields near Maternal Residences during Pregnancy and IQ at Age 7 Years.

PubMed

Coker, Eric; Gunier, Robert; Bradman, Asa; Harley, Kim; Kogut, Katherine; Molitor, John; Eskenazi, Brenda

2017-05-09

We previously showed that potential prenatal exposure to agricultural pesticides was associated with adverse neurodevelopmental outcomes in children, yet the effects of joint exposure to multiple pesticides is poorly understood. In this paper, we investigate associations between the joint distribution of agricultural use patterns of multiple pesticides (denoted as "pesticide profiles") applied near maternal residences during pregnancy and Full-Scale Intelligence Quotient (FSIQ) at 7 years of age. Among a cohort of children residing in California's Salinas Valley, we used Pesticide Use Report (PUR) data to characterize potential exposure from use within 1 km of maternal residences during pregnancy for 15 potentially neurotoxic pesticides from five different chemical classes. We used Bayesian profile regression (BPR) to examine associations between clustered pesticide profiles and deficits in childhood FSIQ. BPR identified eight distinct clusters of prenatal pesticide profiles. Two of the pesticide profile clusters exhibited some of the highest cumulative pesticide use levels and were associated with deficits in adjusted FSIQ of -6.9 (95% credible interval: -11.3, -2.2) and -6.4 (95% credible interval: -13.1, 0.49), respectively, when compared with the pesticide profile cluster that showed the lowest level of pesticides use. Although maternal residence during pregnancy near high agricultural use of multiple neurotoxic pesticides was associated with FSIQ deficit, the magnitude of the associations showed potential for sub-additive effects. Epidemiologic analysis of pesticides and their potential health effects can benefit from a multi-pollutant approach to analysis.

A regulation probability model-based meta-analysis of multiple transcriptomics data sets for cancer biomarker identification.

PubMed

Xie, Xin-Ping; Xie, Yu-Feng; Wang, Hong-Qiang

2017-08-23

Large-scale accumulation of omics data poses a pressing challenge of integrative analysis of multiple data sets in bioinformatics. An open question of such integrative analysis is how to pinpoint consistent but subtle gene activity patterns across studies. Study heterogeneity needs to be addressed carefully for this goal. This paper proposes a regulation probability model-based meta-analysis, jGRP, for identifying differentially expressed genes (DEGs). The method integrates multiple transcriptomics data sets in a gene regulatory space instead of in a gene expression space, which makes it easy to capture and manage data heterogeneity across studies from different laboratories or platforms. Specifically, we transform gene expression profiles into a united gene regulation profile across studies by mathematically defining two gene regulation events between two conditions and estimating their occurring probabilities in a sample. Finally, a novel differential expression statistic is established based on the gene regulation profiles, realizing accurate and flexible identification of DEGs in gene regulation space. We evaluated the proposed method on simulation data and real-world cancer datasets and showed the effectiveness and efficiency of jGRP in identifying DEGs identification in the context of meta-analysis. Data heterogeneity largely influences the performance of meta-analysis of DEGs identification. Existing different meta-analysis methods were revealed to exhibit very different degrees of sensitivity to study heterogeneity. The proposed method, jGRP, can be a standalone tool due to its united framework and controllable way to deal with study heterogeneity.

Performance Analysis of a New Coded TH-CDMA Scheme in Dispersive Infrared Channel with Additive Gaussian Noise

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hamdi, Mazda; Kenari, Masoumeh Nasiri

2013-06-01

We consider a time-hopping based multiple access scheme introduced in [1] for communication over dispersive infrared links, and evaluate its performance for correlator and matched filter receivers. In the investigated time-hopping code division multiple access (TH-CDMA) method, the transmitter benefits a low rate convolutional encoder. In this method, the bit interval is divided into Nc chips and the output of the encoder along with a PN sequence assigned to the user determines the position of the chip in which the optical pulse is transmitted. We evaluate the multiple access performance of the system for correlation receiver considering background noise which is modeled as White Gaussian noise due to its large intensity. For the correlation receiver, the results show that for a fixed processing gain, at high transmit power, where the multiple access interference has the dominant effect, the performance improves by the coding gain. But at low transmit power, in which the increase of coding gain leads to the decrease of the chip time, and consequently, to more corruption due to the channel dispersion, there exists an optimum value for the coding gain. However, for the matched filter, the performance always improves by the coding gain. The results show that the matched filter receiver outperforms the correlation receiver in the considered cases. Our results show that, for the same bandwidth and bit rate, the proposed system excels other multiple access techniques, like conventional CDMA and time hopping scheme.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - One of the world’s highest performing visual film analysis systems, developed to review and analyze previous shuttle flight data (shown here) in preparation for the shuttle fleet’s return to flight, is being used today for another purpose. NASA has permitted its use in helping to analyze a film that shows a recent kidnapping in progress in Florida. The system, developed by NASA, United Space Alliance (USA) and Silicon Graphics Inc., allows multiple-person collaboration, highly detailed manipulation and evaluation of specific imagery. The system is housed in the Image Analysis Facility inside the Vehicle Assembly Building. [Photo taken Aug. 15, 2003, courtesy of Terry Wallace, SGI

NASA Image and Video Library

2004-02-04

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - One of the world’s highest performing visual film analysis systems, developed to review and analyze previous shuttle flight data (shown here) in preparation for the shuttle fleet’s return to flight, is being used today for another purpose. NASA has permitted its use in helping to analyze a film that shows a recent kidnapping in progress in Florida. The system, developed by NASA, United Space Alliance (USA) and Silicon Graphics Inc., allows multiple-person collaboration, highly detailed manipulation and evaluation of specific imagery. The system is housed in the Image Analysis Facility inside the Vehicle Assembly Building. [Photo taken Aug. 15, 2003, courtesy of Terry Wallace, SGI

Development of Welding Fumes Health Index (WFHI) for Welding Workplace’s Safety and Health Assessment

PubMed Central

HARIRI, Azian; PAIMAN, Nuur Azreen; LEMAN, Abdul Mutalib; MD. YUSOF, Mohammad Zainal

2014-01-01

Abstract Background This study aimed to develop an index that can rank welding workplace that associate well with possible health risk of welders. Methods Welding Fumes Health Index (WFHI) were developed based on data from case studies conducted in Plant 1 and Plant 2. Personal sampling of welding fumes to assess the concentration of metal constituents along with series of lung function tests was conducted. Fifteen metal constituents were investigated in each case study. Index values were derived from aggregation analysis of metal constituent concentration while significant lung functions were recognized through statistical analysis in each plant. Results The results showed none of the metal constituent concentration was exceeding the permissible exposure limit (PEL) for all plants. However, statistical analysis showed significant mean differences of lung functions between welders and non-welders. The index was then applied to one of the welding industry (Plant 3) for verification purpose. The developed index showed its promising ability to rank welding workplace, according to the multiple constituent concentrations of welding fumes that associates well with lung functions of the investigated welders. Conclusion There was possibility that some of the metal constituents were below the detection limit leading to ‘0’ value of sub index, thus the multiplicative form of aggregation model was not suitable for analysis. On the other hand, maximum or minimum operator forms suffer from compensation issues and were not considered in this study. PMID:25927034

The effectiveness of behaviour change interventions to increase physical activity participation in people with multiple sclerosis: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

PubMed

Sangelaji, Bahram; Smith, Catherin M; Paul, Lorna; Sampath, Kesava Kovanur; Treharne, Gareth J; Hale, Leigh Anne

2016-06-01

A systematic review and meta-analysis was conducted to illustrate whether people with multiple sclerosis engage in more physical activity following behaviour change interventions. MEDLINE, CINAHL, PubMed, Web of Sciences, Cochrane Library, SCOPUS, EMBASE and PEDro were searched from their inception till 30 April 2015. Randomized and clinical controlled trials that used behaviour change interventions to increase physical activity in people with multiple sclerosis were selected, regardless of type or duration of multiple sclerosis or disability severity. Data extraction was conducted by two independent reviewers and the Cochrane Collaboration's recommended method was used to assess the risk of bias of each included study. A total of 19 out of 573 studies were included. Focusing on trials without risk of bias, meta-analysis showed that behaviour change interventions can significantly increase physical activity participation (z = 2.20, p = 0.03, standardised main difference 0.65, 95% confidence interval 0.07 to 1.22, 3 trials, I(2) = 68%) (eight to 12 weeks' duration). Behaviour change interventions did not significantly impact on the physical components of quality of life or fatigue. Behaviour change interventions provided for relatively short duration (eight to 12 weeks) may increase the amount of physical activity people with multiple sclerosis engage in, but appear to have no effect on the physical components of quality of life and fatigue. Further high quality investigations of the efficacy of behaviour change interventions to increase physical activity participation that focus on dose, long-term impact and method of delivery are warranted for people with multiple sclerosis. © The Author(s) 2015.

Use of principal-component, correlation, and stepwise multiple-regression analyses to investigate selected physical and hydraulic properties of carbonate-rock aquifers

USGS Publications Warehouse

Brown, C. Erwin

1993-01-01

Correlation analysis in conjunction with principal-component and multiple-regression analyses were applied to laboratory chemical and petrographic data to assess the usefulness of these techniques in evaluating selected physical and hydraulic properties of carbonate-rock aquifers in central Pennsylvania. Correlation and principal-component analyses were used to establish relations and associations among variables, to determine dimensions of property variation of samples, and to filter the variables containing similar information. Principal-component and correlation analyses showed that porosity is related to other measured variables and that permeability is most related to porosity and grain size. Four principal components are found to be significant in explaining the variance of data. Stepwise multiple-regression analysis was used to see how well the measured variables could predict porosity and (or) permeability for this suite of rocks. The variation in permeability and porosity is not totally predicted by the other variables, but the regression is significant at the 5% significance level. ?? 1993.

Joint Identification of Genetic Variants for Physical Activity in Korean Population

PubMed Central

Kim, Jayoun; Kim, Jaehee; Min, Haesook; Oh, Sohee; Kim, Yeonjung; Lee, Andy H.; Park, Taesung

2014-01-01

There has been limited research on genome-wide association with physical activity (PA). This study ascertained genetic associations between PA and 344,893 single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) markers in 8842 Korean samples. PA data were obtained from a validated questionnaire that included information on PA intensity and duration. Metabolic equivalent of tasks were calculated to estimate the total daily PA level for each individual. In addition to single- and multiple-SNP association tests, a pathway enrichment analysis was performed to identify the biological significance of SNP markers. Although no significant SNP was found at genome-wide significance level via single-SNP association tests, 59 genetic variants mapped to 76 genes were identified via a multiple SNP approach using a bootstrap selection stability measure. Pathway analysis for these 59 variants showed that maturity onset diabetes of the young (MODY) was enriched. Joint identification of SNPs could enable the identification of multiple SNPs with good predictive power for PA and a pathway enriched for PA. PMID:25026172

RACE AS LIVED EXPERIENCE

PubMed Central

Garcia, John A.; Sanchez, Gabriel R.; Sanchez-Youngman, Shannon; Vargas, Edward D.; Ybarra, Vickie D.

2015-01-01

A growing body of social science research has sought to conceptualize race as a multidimensional concept in which context, societal relations, and institutional dynamics are key components. Utilizing a specially designed survey, we develop and use multiple measures of race (skin color, ascribed race, and discrimination experiences) to capture race as “lived experience” and assess their impact on Latinos’ self-rated health status. We model these measures of race as a lived experience to test the explanatory power of race, both independently and as an integrated scale with categorical regression, scaling, and dimensional analyses. Our analyses show that our multiple measures of race have significant and negative effects on Latinos’ self-reported health. Skin color is a dominant factor that impacts self-reported health both directly and indirectly. We then advocate for the utilization of multiple measures of race, adding to those used in our analysis, and their application to other health and social outcomes. Our analysis provides important contributions across a wide range of health, illness, social, and political outcomes for communities of color. PMID:26681972

Field Synopsis and Re-analysis of Systematic Meta-analyses of Genetic Association Studies in Multiple Sclerosis: a Bayesian Approach.

PubMed

Park, Jae Hyon; Kim, Joo Hi; Jo, Kye Eun; Na, Se Whan; Eisenhut, Michael; Kronbichler, Andreas; Lee, Keum Hwa; Shin, Jae Il

2018-07-01

To provide an up-to-date summary of multiple sclerosis-susceptible gene variants and assess the noteworthiness in hopes of finding true associations, we investigated the results of 44 meta-analyses on gene variants and multiple sclerosis published through December 2016. Out of 70 statistically significant genotype associations, roughly a fifth (21%) of the comparisons showed noteworthy false-positive rate probability (FPRP) at a statistical power to detect an OR of 1.5 and at a prior probability of 10 -6 assumed for a random single nucleotide polymorphism. These associations (IRF8/rs17445836, STAT3/rs744166, HLA/rs4959093, HLA/rs2647046, HLA/rs7382297, HLA/rs17421624, HLA/rs2517646, HLA/rs9261491, HLA/rs2857439, HLA/rs16896944, HLA/rs3132671, HLA/rs2857435, HLA/rs9261471, HLA/rs2523393, HLA-DRB1/rs3135388, RGS1/rs2760524, PTGER4/rs9292777) also showed a noteworthy Bayesian false discovery probability (BFDP) and one additional association (CD24 rs8734/rs52812045) was also noteworthy via BFDP computation. Herein, we have identified several noteworthy biomarkers of multiple sclerosis susceptibility. We hope these data are used to study multiple sclerosis genetics and inform future screening programs.

High frequency of telomeric association in a family with multiple congenital neoplasia.

PubMed

Dhaliwal, M K; Satya-Prakash, K L; Davis, P C; Pathak, S

1994-01-01

Chromosomal analysis of the peripheral blood cultures of a married couple whose second pregnancy gave birth to twin daughters with multiple congenital malignancies revealed normal karyotypes of 46,XX and 46,XY, respectively. However, in the father's blood, 23.3% of metaphases showed telomere-telomere associations involving single-single and double-double chromatids. Such associations were not observed in the metaphases of the mother. We speculate from these observations that the father's genotype may somehow be responsible for the congenital malignancies in their twin daughters.

Pairwise Classifier Ensemble with Adaptive Sub-Classifiers for fMRI Pattern Analysis.

PubMed

Kim, Eunwoo; Park, HyunWook

2017-02-01

The multi-voxel pattern analysis technique is applied to fMRI data for classification of high-level brain functions using pattern information distributed over multiple voxels. In this paper, we propose a classifier ensemble for multiclass classification in fMRI analysis, exploiting the fact that specific neighboring voxels can contain spatial pattern information. The proposed method converts the multiclass classification to a pairwise classifier ensemble, and each pairwise classifier consists of multiple sub-classifiers using an adaptive feature set for each class-pair. Simulated and real fMRI data were used to verify the proposed method. Intra- and inter-subject analyses were performed to compare the proposed method with several well-known classifiers, including single and ensemble classifiers. The comparison results showed that the proposed method can be generally applied to multiclass classification in both simulations and real fMRI analyses.

The Use of Multiple Correspondence Analysis to Explore Associations between Categories of Qualitative Variables in Healthy Ageing.

PubMed

Costa, Patrício Soares; Santos, Nadine Correia; Cunha, Pedro; Cotter, Jorge; Sousa, Nuno

2013-01-01

The main focus of this study was to illustrate the applicability of multiple correspondence analysis (MCA) in detecting and representing underlying structures in large datasets used to investigate cognitive ageing. Principal component analysis (PCA) was used to obtain main cognitive dimensions, and MCA was used to detect and explore relationships between cognitive, clinical, physical, and lifestyle variables. Two PCA dimensions were identified (general cognition/executive function and memory), and two MCA dimensions were retained. Poorer cognitive performance was associated with older age, less school years, unhealthier lifestyle indicators, and presence of pathology. The first MCA dimension indicated the clustering of general/executive function and lifestyle indicators and education, while the second association was between memory and clinical parameters and age. The clustering analysis with object scores method was used to identify groups sharing similar characteristics. The weaker cognitive clusters in terms of memory and executive function comprised individuals with characteristics contributing to a higher MCA dimensional mean score (age, less education, and presence of indicators of unhealthier lifestyle habits and/or clinical pathologies). MCA provided a powerful tool to explore complex ageing data, covering multiple and diverse variables, showing if a relationship exists and how variables are related, and offering statistical results that can be seen both analytically and visually.

A Multivariate Genome-Wide Association Analysis of 10 LDL Subfractions, and Their Response to Statin Treatment, in 1868 Caucasians

PubMed Central

Shim, Heejung; Chasman, Daniel I.; Smith, Joshua D.; Mora, Samia; Ridker, Paul M.; Nickerson, Deborah A.; Krauss, Ronald M.; Stephens, Matthew

2015-01-01

We conducted a genome-wide association analysis of 7 subfractions of low density lipoproteins (LDLs) and 3 subfractions of intermediate density lipoproteins (IDLs) measured by gradient gel electrophoresis, and their response to statin treatment, in 1868 individuals of European ancestry from the Pharmacogenomics and Risk of Cardiovascular Disease study. Our analyses identified four previously-implicated loci (SORT1, APOE, LPA, and CETP) as containing variants that are very strongly associated with lipoprotein subfractions (log10Bayes Factor > 15). Subsequent conditional analyses suggest that three of these (APOE, LPA and CETP) likely harbor multiple independently associated SNPs. Further, while different variants typically showed different characteristic patterns of association with combinations of subfractions, the two SNPs in CETP show strikingly similar patterns - both in our original data and in a replication cohort - consistent with a common underlying molecular mechanism. Notably, the CETP variants are very strongly associated with LDL subfractions, despite showing no association with total LDLs in our study, illustrating the potential value of the more detailed phenotypic measurements. In contrast with these strong subfraction associations, genetic association analysis of subfraction response to statins showed much weaker signals (none exceeding log10Bayes Factor of 6). However, two SNPs (in APOE and LPA) previously-reported to be associated with LDL statin response do show some modest evidence for association in our data, and the subfraction response proles at the LPA SNP are consistent with the LPA association, with response likely being due primarily to resistance of Lp(a) particles to statin therapy. An additional important feature of our analysis is that, unlike most previous analyses of multiple related phenotypes, we analyzed the subfractions jointly, rather than one at a time. Comparisons of our multivariate analyses with standard univariate analyses demonstrate that multivariate analyses can substantially increase power to detect associations. Software implementing our multivariate analysis methods is available at http://stephenslab.uchicago.edu/software.html. PMID:25898129

Regional surface soil heat flux estimate from multiple remote sensing data in a temperate and semiarid basin

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Nana; Jia, Li; Lu, Jing; Menenti, Massimo; Zhou, Jie

2017-01-01

The regional surface soil heat flux (G0) estimation is very important for the large-scale land surface process modeling. However, most of the regional G0 estimation methods are based on the empirical relationship between G0 and the net radiation flux. A physical model based on harmonic analysis was improved (referred to as "HM model") and applied over the Heihe River Basin northwest China with multiple remote sensing data, e.g., FY-2C, AMSR-E, and MODIS, and soil map data. The sensitivity analysis of the model was studied as well. The results show that the improved model describes the variation of G0 well. Land surface temperature (LST) and thermal inertia (Γ) are the two key input variables to the HM model. Compared with in situ G0, there are some differences, mainly due to the differences between remote-sensed LST and the in situ LST. The sensitivity analysis shows that the errors from -7 to -0.5 K in LST amplitude and from -300 to 300 J m-2 K-1 s-0.5 in Γ will cause about 20% errors, which are acceptable for G0 estimation.

Detecting robust signals of interannual variability of gross primary productivity in Asia from multiple terrestrial carbon cycle models and long-term satellite-based vegetation data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ichii, K.; Kondo, M.; Ueyama, M.; Kato, T.; Ito, A.; Sasai, T.; Sato, H.; Kobayashi, H.; Saigusa, N.

2014-12-01

Long term record of satellite-based terrestrial vegetation are important to evaluate terrestrial carbon cycle models. In this study, we demonstrate how multiple satellite observation can be used for evaluating past changes in gross primary productivity (GPP) and detecting robust anomalies in terrestrial carbon cycle in Asia through our model-data synthesis analysis, Asia-MIP. We focused on the two different temporal coverages: long-term (30 years; 1982-2011) and decadal (10 years; 2001-2011; data intensive period) scales. We used a NOAA/AVHRR NDVI record for long-term analysis and multiple satellite data and products (e.g. Terra-MODIS, SPOT-VEGETATION) as historical satellite data, and multiple terrestrial carbon cycle models (e.g. BEAMS, Biome-BGC, ORCHIDEE, SEIB-DGVM, and VISIT). As a results of long-term (30 years) trend analysis, satellite-based time-series data showed that approximately 40% of the area has experienced a significant increase in the NDVI, while only a few areas have experienced a significant decreasing trend over the last 30 years. The increases in the NDVI were dominant in the sub-continental regions of Siberia, East Asia, and India. Simulations using the terrestrial biosphere models also showed significant increases in GPP, similar to the results for the NDVI, in boreal and temperate regions. A modeled sensitivity analysis showed that the increases in GPP are explained by increased temperature and precipitation in Siberia. Precipitation, solar radiation, CO2fertilization and land cover changes are important factors in the tropical regions. However, the relative contributions of each factor to GPP changes are different among the models. Year-to-year variations of terrestrial GPP were overall consistently captured by the satellite data and terrestrial carbon cycle models if the anomalies are large (e.g. 2003 summer GPP anomalies in East Asia and 2002 spring GPP anomalies in mid to high latitudes). The behind mechanisms can be consistently explained by the models if the anomalies are caused in the low temperature regions (e.g. spring in Northern Asia). However, water-driven or radiation-driven GPP anomalies lacks consistent explanation among models. Therefore, terrestrial carbon cycle models require improvement of the sensitivity of climate anomalies to carbon cycles.

Symptomatic treatment in multiple sclerosis-interim analysis of a nationwide registry.

PubMed

Skierlo, S; Rommer, P S; Zettl, U K

2017-04-01

To analyze symptomatic treatment in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS). Multiple sclerosis is a chronic inflammatory disease of the central nervous system, with accumulating disability symptoms like spasticity, voiding disorders, depression, and pain might occur. The nationwide German MS registry was initiated 2001 under guidance of the German MS society (Deutsche MS Gesellschaft). This study was performed as an interim analysis to lay foundation for future work on this topic. A subcohort of 5113 patients was assessed for this interim analysis. The mean age of the patients was 45.3 years; mean EDSS was 4.2. More than two-third of the enrolled patients were females (70.9%). Most frequent symptoms were fatigue (60%), followed by spasticity (52.5%) and voiding disorders (51.7%). The likelihood of treatment was highest for epileptic disorders (68.8%), spasticity (68.5%), pain (60.7%), and depression (58.9%). Multivariate regression analysis showed that retirement was the strongest factor predictive for antispastic treatment (β=.061, P=.005). Almost all patients in this analysis suffer from symptoms due to advanced MS. Treatment for the various symptoms differed tremendously. The likelihood of treatment correlated with the availability of effective therapeutic agents. Clinicians should put more awareness on MS symptoms. Symptomatic treatment may improve quality of life. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Impact of treatment heterogeneity on drug resistance and supply chain costs☆

PubMed Central

Spiliotopoulou, Eirini; Boni, Maciej F.; Yadav, Prashant

2013-01-01

The efficacy of scarce drugs for many infectious diseases is threatened by the emergence and spread of resistance. Multiple studies show that available drugs should be used in a socially optimal way to contain drug resistance. This paper studies the tradeoff between risk of drug resistance and operational costs when using multiple drugs for a specific disease. Using a model for disease transmission and resistance spread, we show that treatment with multiple drugs, on a population level, results in better resistance-related health outcomes, but more interestingly, the marginal benefit decreases as the number of drugs used increases. We compare this benefit with the corresponding change in procurement and safety stock holding costs that result from higher drug variety in the supply chain. Using a large-scale simulation based on malaria transmission dynamics, we show that disease prevalence seems to be a less important factor when deciding the optimal width of drug assortment, compared to the duration of one episode of the disease and the price of the drug(s) used. Our analysis shows that under a wide variety of scenarios for disease prevalence and drug cost, it is optimal to simultaneously deploy multiple drugs in the population. If the drug price is high, large volume purchasing discounts are available, and disease prevalence is high, it may be optimal to use only one drug. Our model lends insights to policy makers into the socially optimal size of drug assortment for a given context. PMID:25843982

Impact of treatment heterogeneity on drug resistance and supply chain costs.

PubMed

Spiliotopoulou, Eirini; Boni, Maciej F; Yadav, Prashant

2013-09-01

The efficacy of scarce drugs for many infectious diseases is threatened by the emergence and spread of resistance. Multiple studies show that available drugs should be used in a socially optimal way to contain drug resistance. This paper studies the tradeoff between risk of drug resistance and operational costs when using multiple drugs for a specific disease. Using a model for disease transmission and resistance spread, we show that treatment with multiple drugs, on a population level, results in better resistance-related health outcomes, but more interestingly, the marginal benefit decreases as the number of drugs used increases. We compare this benefit with the corresponding change in procurement and safety stock holding costs that result from higher drug variety in the supply chain. Using a large-scale simulation based on malaria transmission dynamics, we show that disease prevalence seems to be a less important factor when deciding the optimal width of drug assortment, compared to the duration of one episode of the disease and the price of the drug(s) used. Our analysis shows that under a wide variety of scenarios for disease prevalence and drug cost, it is optimal to simultaneously deploy multiple drugs in the population. If the drug price is high, large volume purchasing discounts are available, and disease prevalence is high, it may be optimal to use only one drug. Our model lends insights to policy makers into the socially optimal size of drug assortment for a given context.

Analysis of acoustic emission signals and monitoring of machining processes

PubMed

Govekar; Gradisek; Grabec

2000-03-01

Monitoring of a machining process on the basis of sensor signals requires a selection of informative inputs in order to reliably characterize and model the process. In this article, a system for selection of informative characteristics from signals of multiple sensors is presented. For signal analysis, methods of spectral analysis and methods of nonlinear time series analysis are used. With the aim of modeling relationships between signal characteristics and the corresponding process state, an adaptive empirical modeler is applied. The application of the system is demonstrated by characterization of different parameters defining the states of a turning machining process, such as: chip form, tool wear, and onset of chatter vibration. The results show that, in spite of the complexity of the turning process, the state of the process can be well characterized by just a few proper characteristics extracted from a representative sensor signal. The process characterization can be further improved by joining characteristics from multiple sensors and by application of chaotic characteristics.

Multiple-rule bias in the comparison of classification rules

PubMed Central

Yousefi, Mohammadmahdi R.; Hua, Jianping; Dougherty, Edward R.

2011-01-01

Motivation: There is growing discussion in the bioinformatics community concerning overoptimism of reported results. Two approaches contributing to overoptimism in classification are (i) the reporting of results on datasets for which a proposed classification rule performs well and (ii) the comparison of multiple classification rules on a single dataset that purports to show the advantage of a certain rule. Results: This article provides a careful probabilistic analysis of the second issue and the ‘multiple-rule bias’, resulting from choosing a classification rule having minimum estimated error on the dataset. It quantifies this bias corresponding to estimating the expected true error of the classification rule possessing minimum estimated error and it characterizes the bias from estimating the true comparative advantage of the chosen classification rule relative to the others by the estimated comparative advantage on the dataset. The analysis is applied to both synthetic and real data using a number of classification rules and error estimators. Availability: We have implemented in C code the synthetic data distribution model, classification rules, feature selection routines and error estimation methods. The code for multiple-rule analysis is implemented in MATLAB. The source code is available at http://gsp.tamu.edu/Publications/supplementary/yousefi11a/. Supplementary simulation results are also included. Contact: edward@ece.tamu.edu Supplementary Information: Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online. PMID:21546390

Development of a solenoid actuated planar valveless micropump with single and multiple inlet-outlet arrangements

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kumar, N.; George, D.; Sajeesh, P.; Manivannan, P. V.; Sen, A. K.

2016-07-01

We report a planar solenoid actuated valveless micropump with multiple inlet-outlet configurations. The self-priming characteristics of the multiple inlet-multiple outlet micropump are studied. The filling dynamics of the micropump chamber during start-up and the effects of fluid viscosity, voltage and frequency on the dynamics are investigated. Numerical simulations for multiple inlet-multiple outlet micropumps are carried out using fluid structure algorithm. With DI water and at 5.0 Vp-p, 20 Hz frequency, the two inlet-two outlet micropump provides a maximum flow rate of 336 μl min-1 and maximum back pressure of 441 Pa. Performance characteristics of the two inlet-two outlet micropump are studied for aqueous fluids of different viscosity. Transport of biological cell lines and diluted blood samples are demonstrated; the flow rate-frequency characteristics are studied. Viability of cells during pumping with multiple inlet multiple outlet configuration is also studied in this work, which shows 100% of cells are viable. Application of the proposed micropump for simultaneous pumping, mixing and distribution of fluids is demonstrated. The proposed integrated, standalone and portable micropump is suitable for drug delivery, lab-on-chip and micro-total-analysis applications.

Sweet-spot training for early esophageal cancer detection

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

van der Sommen, Fons; Zinger, Svitlana; Schoon, Erik J.; de With, Peter H. N.

2016-03-01

Over the past decade, the imaging tools for endoscopists have improved drastically. This has enabled physicians to visually inspect the intestinal tissue for early signs of malignant lesions. Besides this, recent studies show the feasibility of supportive image analysis for endoscopists, but the analysis problem is typically approached as a segmentation task where binary ground truth is employed. In this study, we show that the detection of early cancerous tissue in the gastrointestinal tract cannot be approached as a binary segmentation problem and it is crucial and clinically relevant to involve multiple experts for annotating early lesions. By employing the so-called sweet spot for training purposes as a metric, a much better detection performance can be achieved. Furthermore, a multi-expert-based ground truth, i.e. a golden standard, enables an improved validation of the resulting delineations. For this purpose, besides the sweet spot we also propose another novel metric, the Jaccard Golden Standard (JIGS) that can handle multiple ground-truth annotations. Our experiments involving these new metrics and based on the golden standard show that the performance of a detection algorithm of early neoplastic lesions in Barrett's esophagus can be increased significantly, demonstrating a 10 percent point increase in the resulting F1 detection score.

A Multi-Trait, Meta-analysis for Detecting Pleiotropic Polymorphisms for Stature, Fatness and Reproduction in Beef Cattle

PubMed Central

Bolormaa, Sunduimijid; Pryce, Jennie E.; Reverter, Antonio; Zhang, Yuandan; Barendse, William; Kemper, Kathryn; Tier, Bruce; Savin, Keith; Hayes, Ben J.; Goddard, Michael E.

2014-01-01

Polymorphisms that affect complex traits or quantitative trait loci (QTL) often affect multiple traits. We describe two novel methods (1) for finding single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) significantly associated with one or more traits using a multi-trait, meta-analysis, and (2) for distinguishing between a single pleiotropic QTL and multiple linked QTL. The meta-analysis uses the effect of each SNP on each of n traits, estimated in single trait genome wide association studies (GWAS). These effects are expressed as a vector of signed t-values (t) and the error covariance matrix of these t values is approximated by the correlation matrix of t-values among the traits calculated across the SNP (V). Consequently, t'V−1t is approximately distributed as a chi-squared with n degrees of freedom. An attractive feature of the meta-analysis is that it uses estimated effects of SNPs from single trait GWAS, so it can be applied to published data where individual records are not available. We demonstrate that the multi-trait method can be used to increase the power (numbers of SNPs validated in an independent population) of GWAS in a beef cattle data set including 10,191 animals genotyped for 729,068 SNPs with 32 traits recorded, including growth and reproduction traits. We can distinguish between a single pleiotropic QTL and multiple linked QTL because multiple SNPs tagging the same QTL show the same pattern of effects across traits. We confirm this finding by demonstrating that when one SNP is included in the statistical model the other SNPs have a non-significant effect. In the beef cattle data set, cluster analysis yielded four groups of QTL with similar patterns of effects across traits within a group. A linear index was used to validate SNPs having effects on multiple traits and to identify additional SNPs belonging to these four groups. PMID:24675618

Two novel bursting patterns in the Duffing system with multiple-frequency slow parametric excitations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Han, Xiujing; Zhang, Yi; Bi, Qinsheng; Kurths, Jürgen

2018-04-01

This paper aims to report two novel bursting patterns, the turnover-of-pitchfork-hysteresis-induced bursting and the compound pitchfork-hysteresis bursting, demonstrated for the Duffing system with multiple-frequency parametric excitations. Typically, a hysteresis behavior between the origin and non-zero equilibria of the fast subsystem can be observed due to delayed pitchfork bifurcation. Based on numerical analysis, we show that the stable equilibrium branches, related to the non-zero equilibria resulted from the pitchfork bifurcation, may become the ones with twists and turns. Then, the novel bursting pattern turnover-of-pitchfork-hysteresis-induced bursting is revealed accordingly. In particular, we show that additional pitchfork bifurcation points may appear in the fast subsystem under certain parameter conditions. This creates multiple delay-induced hysteresis behavior and helps us to reveal the other novel bursting pattern, the compound pitchfork-hysteresis bursting. Besides, effects of parameters on the bursting patterns are studied to explore the relation of these two novel bursting patterns.

The initial rise method extended to multiple trapping levels in thermoluminescent materials.

PubMed

Furetta, C; Guzmán, S; Ruiz, B; Cruz-Zaragoza, E

2011-02-01

The well known Initial Rise Method (IR) is commonly used to determine the activation energy when only one glow peak is presented and analysed in the phosphor materials. However, when the glow peak is more complex, a wide peak and some holders appear in the structure. The application of the Initial Rise Method is not valid because multiple trapping levels are considered and then the thermoluminescent analysis becomes difficult to perform. This paper shows the case of a complex glow curve structure as an example and shows that the calculation is also possible using the IR method. The aim of the paper is to extend the well known Initial Rise Method (IR) to the case of multiple trapping levels. The IR method is applied to minerals extracted from Nopal cactus and Oregano spices because the thermoluminescent glow curve's shape suggests a trap distribution instead of a single trapping level. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

One-step generation of complete gene knockout mice and monkeys by CRISPR/Cas9-mediated gene editing with multiple sgRNAs.

PubMed

Zuo, Erwei; Cai, Yi-Jun; Li, Kui; Wei, Yu; Wang, Bang-An; Sun, Yidi; Liu, Zhen; Liu, Jiwei; Hu, Xinde; Wei, Wei; Huo, Xiaona; Shi, Linyu; Tang, Cheng; Liang, Dan; Wang, Yan; Nie, Yan-Hong; Zhang, Chen-Chen; Yao, Xuan; Wang, Xing; Zhou, Changyang; Ying, Wenqin; Wang, Qifang; Chen, Ren-Chao; Shen, Qi; Xu, Guo-Liang; Li, Jinsong; Sun, Qiang; Xiong, Zhi-Qi; Yang, Hui

2017-07-01

The CRISPR/Cas9 system is an efficient gene-editing method, but the majority of gene-edited animals showed mosaicism, with editing occurring only in a portion of cells. Here we show that single gene or multiple genes can be completely knocked out in mouse and monkey embryos by zygotic injection of Cas9 mRNA and multiple adjacent single-guide RNAs (spaced 10-200 bp apart) that target only a single key exon of each gene. Phenotypic analysis of F0 mice following targeted deletion of eight genes on the Y chromosome individually demonstrated the robustness of this approach in generating knockout mice. Importantly, this approach delivers complete gene knockout at high efficiencies (100% on Arntl and 91% on Prrt2) in monkey embryos. Finally, we could generate a complete Prrt2 knockout monkey in a single step, demonstrating the usefulness of this approach in rapidly establishing gene-edited monkey models.

Analysis of Ribosome Inactivating Protein (RIP): A Bioinformatics Approach

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jothi, G. Edward Gnana; Majilla, G. Sahaya Jose; Subhashini, D.; Deivasigamani, B.

2012-10-01

In spite of the medical advances in recent years, the world is in need of different sources to encounter certain health issues.Ribosome Inactivating Proteins (RIPs) were found to be one among them. In order to get easy access about RIPs, there is a need to analyse RIPs towards constructing a database on RIPs. Also, multiple sequence alignment was done towards screening for homologues of significant RIPs from rare sources against RIPs from easily available sources in terms of similarity. Protein sequences were retrieved from SWISS-PROT and are further analysed using pair wise and multiple sequence alignment.Analysis shows that, 151 RIPs have been characterized to date. Amongst them, there are 87 type I, 37 type II, 1 type III and 25 unknown RIPs. The sequence length information of various RIPs about the availability of full or partial sequence was also found. The multiple sequence alignment of 37 type I RIP using the online server Multalin, indicates the presence of 20 conserved residues. Pairwise alignment and multiple sequence alignment of certain selected RIPs in two groups namely Group I and Group II were carried out and the consensus level was found to be 98%, 98% and 90% respectively.

Deciphering the associations between gene expression and copy number alteration using a sparse double Laplacian shrinkage approach

PubMed Central

Shi, Xingjie; Zhao, Qing; Huang, Jian; Xie, Yang; Ma, Shuangge

2015-01-01

Motivation: Both gene expression levels (GEs) and copy number alterations (CNAs) have important biological implications. GEs are partly regulated by CNAs, and much effort has been devoted to understanding their relations. The regulation analysis is challenging with one gene expression possibly regulated by multiple CNAs and one CNA potentially regulating the expressions of multiple genes. The correlations among GEs and among CNAs make the analysis even more complicated. The existing methods have limitations and cannot comprehensively describe the regulation. Results: A sparse double Laplacian shrinkage method is developed. It jointly models the effects of multiple CNAs on multiple GEs. Penalization is adopted to achieve sparsity and identify the regulation relationships. Network adjacency is computed to describe the interconnections among GEs and among CNAs. Two Laplacian shrinkage penalties are imposed to accommodate the network adjacency measures. Simulation shows that the proposed method outperforms the competing alternatives with more accurate marker identification. The Cancer Genome Atlas data are analysed to further demonstrate advantages of the proposed method. Availability and implementation: R code is available at http://works.bepress.com/shuangge/49/ Contact: shuangge.ma@yale.edu Supplementary information: Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online. PMID:26342102

Impaired neurosteroid synthesis in multiple sclerosis

PubMed Central

Noorbakhsh, Farshid; Ellestad, Kristofor K.; Maingat, Ferdinand; Warren, Kenneth G.; Han, May H.; Steinman, Lawrence; Baker, Glen B.

2011-01-01

High-throughput technologies have led to advances in the recognition of disease pathways and their underlying mechanisms. To investigate the impact of micro-RNAs on the disease process in multiple sclerosis, a prototypic inflammatory neurological disorder, we examined cerebral white matter from patients with or without the disease by micro-RNA profiling, together with confirmatory reverse transcription–polymerase chain reaction analysis, immunoblotting and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. These observations were verified using the in vivo multiple sclerosis model, experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis. Brains of patients with or without multiple sclerosis demonstrated differential expression of multiple micro-RNAs, but expression of three neurosteroid synthesis enzyme-specific micro-RNAs (miR-338, miR-155 and miR-491) showed a bias towards induction in patients with multiple sclerosis (P < 0.05). Analysis of the neurosteroidogenic pathways targeted by micro-RNAs revealed suppression of enzyme transcript and protein levels in the white matter of patients with multiple sclerosis (P < 0.05). This was confirmed by firefly/Renilla luciferase micro-RNA target knockdown experiments (P < 0.05) and detection of specific micro-RNAs by in situ hybridization in the brains of patients with or without multiple sclerosis. Levels of important neurosteroids, including allopregnanolone, were suppressed in the white matter of patients with multiple sclerosis (P < 0.05). Induction of the murine micro-RNAs, miR-338 and miR-155, accompanied by diminished expression of neurosteroidogenic enzymes and allopregnanolone, was also observed in the brains of mice with experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (P < 0.05). Allopregnanolone treatment of the experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis mouse model limited the associated neuropathology, including neuroinflammation, myelin and axonal injury and reduced neurobehavioral deficits (P < 0.05). These multi-platform studies point to impaired neurosteroidogenesis in both multiple sclerosis and experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis. The findings also indicate that allopregnanolone and perhaps other neurosteroid-like compounds might represent potential biomarkers or therapies for multiple sclerosis. PMID:21908875

Investigation of marital satisfaction and its relationship with job stress and general health of nurses in Qazvin, Iran

PubMed Central

Azimian, Jalil; Piran, Pegah; Jahanihashemi, Hassan; Dehghankar, Leila

2017-01-01

Background Pressures in nursing can affect family life and marital problems, disrupt common social problems, increase work-family conflicts and endanger people’s general health. Aim To determine marital satisfaction and its relationship with job stress and general health of nurses. Methods This descriptive and cross-sectional study was done in 2015 in medical educational centers of Qazvin by using an ENRICH marital satisfaction scale and General Health and Job Stress questionnaires completed by 123 nurses. Analysis was done by SPSS version 19 using descriptive and analytical statistics (Pearson correlation, t-test, ANOVA, Chi-square, regression line, multiple regression analysis). Results The findings showed that 64.4% of nurses had marital satisfaction. There was significant relationship between age (p=0.03), job experience (p=0.01), age of spouse (p=0.01) and marital satisfaction. The results showed that there was a significant relationship between marital satisfaction and general health (p<0.0001). Multiple regression analysis showed that there was a significant relationship between depression (p=0.012) and anxiety (p=0.001) with marital satisfaction. Conclusions Due to high levels of job stress and disorder in general health of nurses and low marital satisfaction by running health promotion programs and paying attention to its dimensions can help work and family health of nurses. PMID:28607660

Illusory Intelligences?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

White, John

2008-01-01

Howard Gardner's theory of Multiple Intelligences has had a huge influence on school education. But its credentials lack justification, as the first section of this paper shows via a detailed philosophical analysis of how the intelligences are identified. If we want to make sense of the theory, we need to turn from a philosophical to a historical…

Seasonal Variation in Epidemiology

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Marrero, Osvaldo

2013-01-01

Seasonality analyses are important in medical research. If the incidence of a disease shows a seasonal pattern, then an environmental factor must be considered in its etiology. We discuss a method for the simultaneous analysis of seasonal variation in multiple groups. The nuts and bolts are explained using simple trigonometry, an elementary…

The genomic landscape of rapid, repeated evolutionary rescue from toxic pollution in wild fish

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Here we describe evolutionary rescue from intense pollution via multiple modes of selection in killifish populations from 4 urban estuaries of the US eastern seaboard. Comparative transcriptomics and analysis of 384 whole genome sequences show that the functioning of a receptor-based signaling pathw...

A Model of Reading Comprehension in Chinese Elementary School Children

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Yeung, Pui-sze; Ho, Connie Suk-han; Chan, David Wai-ock; Chung, Kevin Kien-hoa; Wong, Yau-kai

2013-01-01

The relationships of reading-related skills (rapid naming, morphological awareness, syntactic skills, discourse skills, and verbal working memory) and word reading to reading comprehension were examined among 248 Chinese fourth graders in Hong Kong. Multiple regression analysis results showed that syntactic skills (word order knowledge,…

Job Satisfaction of High School Journalism Educators.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dvorak, Jack; Phillips, Kay D.

Four research questions are posed to explore the job satisfaction of high school journalism educators. A national random sample of 669 respondents shows that journalism educators are generally satisfied with their jobs--more so than teachers in other disciplines. Multiple regression analysis using Herzberg's motivation-hygiene theory as a…

Environmental factors affecting understory diversity in second-growth deciduous forests

Treesearch

Cynthia D. Huebner; J.C. Randolph; G.R. Parker

1995-01-01

The purpose of this study was to determine the most important nonanthropogenic factors affecting understory (herbs, shrubs and low-growing vines) diversity in forested landscapes of southern Indiana. Fourteen environmental variables were measured for 46 sites. Multiple regression analysis showed significant positive correlation between understory diversity and tree...

Weighting and Aggregation in Composite Indicator Construction: A Multiplicative Optimization Approach

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Zhou, P.; Ang, B. W.; Zhou, D. Q.

2010-01-01

Composite indicators (CIs) have increasingly been accepted as a useful tool for benchmarking, performance comparisons, policy analysis and public communication in many different fields. Several recent studies show that as a data aggregation technique in CI construction the weighted product (WP) method has some desirable properties. However, a…

Atmospheric Multiple Scattering Effects on GLAS Altimetry. Part 2; Analysis of Expected Errors in Antarctic Altitude Measurements

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mahesh, Ashwin; Spinhirne, James D.; Duda, David P.; Eloranta, Edwin W.; Starr, David O'C (Technical Monitor)

2001-01-01

The altimetry bias in GLAS (Geoscience Laser Altimeter System) or other laser altimeters resulting from atmospheric multiple scattering is studied in relationship to current knowledge of cloud properties over the Antarctic Plateau. Estimates of seasonal and interannual changes in the bias are presented. Results show the bias in altitude from multiple scattering in clouds would be a significant error source without correction. The selective use of low optical depth clouds or cloudfree observations, as well as improved analysis of the return pulse such as by the Gaussian method used here, are necessary to minimize the surface altitude errors. The magnitude of the bias is affected by variations in cloud height, cloud effective particle size and optical depth. Interannual variations in these properties as well as in cloud cover fraction could lead to significant year-to-year variations in the altitude bias. Although cloud-free observations reduce biases in surface elevation measurements from space, over Antarctica these may often include near-surface blowing snow, also a source of scattering-induced delay. With careful selection and analysis of data, laser altimetry specifications can be met.

Effects of a dairy product fortified with multiple micronutrients and omega-3 fatty acids on birth weight and gestation duration in pregnant Chilean women.

PubMed

Mardones, Francisco; Urrutia, Maria-Teresa; Villarroel, Luis; Rioseco, Alonso; Castillo, Oscar; Rozowski, Jaime; Tapia, Jose-Luis; Bastias, Gabriel; Bacallao, Jorge; Rojas, Ivan

2008-01-01

To test the hypothesis that maternal food fortification with omega-3 fatty acids and multiple micronutrients increases birth weight and gestation duration, as primary outcomes. Non-blinded, randomised controlled study. Pregnant women received powdered milk during their health check-ups at 19 antenatal clinics and delivered at two maternity hospitals in Santiago, Chile. Pregnant women were assigned to receive regular powdered milk (n = 477) or a milk product fortified with multiple micronutrients and omega-3 fatty acids (n = 495). Intention-to-treat analysis showed that mean birth weight was higher in the intervention group than in controls (65.4 g difference, 95% confidence interval (CI) 5-126 g; P = 0.03) and the incidence of very preterm birth (0.80 just for mean birth weight and birth length in the on-treatment analysis; birth length in that analysis had a difference of 0.57 cm (95% CI 0.19-0.96 cm; P = 0.003). The new intervention resulted in increased mean birth weight. Associations with gestation duration and most secondary outcomes need a larger sample size for confirmation.

An Updated Meta-Analysis of Risk of Multiple Sclerosis following Infectious Mononucleosis

PubMed Central

Handel, Adam E.; Williamson, Alexander J.; Disanto, Giulio; Handunnetthi, Lahiru; Giovannoni, Gavin; Ramagopalan, Sreeram V.

2010-01-01

Background Multiple sclerosis (MS) appears to develop in genetically susceptible individuals as a result of environmental exposures. Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) infection is an almost universal finding among individuals with MS. Symptomatic EBV infection as manifested by infectious mononucleosis (IM) has been shown in a previous meta-analysis to be associated with the risk of MS, however a number of much larger studies have since been published. Methods/Principal Findings We performed a Medline search to identify articles published since the original meta-analysis investigating MS risk following IM. A total of 18 articles were included in this study, including 19390 MS patients and 16007 controls. We calculated the relative risk of MS following IM using a generic inverse variance with random effects model. This showed that the risk of MS was strongly associated with IM (relative risk (RR) 2.17; 95% confidence interval 1.97–2.39; p<10−54). Discussion Our results establish firmly that a history of infectious mononucleosis significantly increases the risk of multiple sclerosis. Future work should focus on the mechanism of this association and interaction with other risk factors. PMID:20824132

Dynamic sequence analysis of a decision making task of multielement target tracking and its usage as a learning method

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kang, Ziho

This dissertation is divided into four parts: 1) Development of effective methods for comparing visual scanning paths (or scanpaths) for a dynamic task of multiple moving targets, 2) application of the methods to compare the scanpaths of experts and novices for a conflict detection task of multiple aircraft on radar screen, 3) a post-hoc analysis of other eye movement characteristics of experts and novices, and 4) finding out whether the scanpaths of experts can be used to teach the novices. In order to compare experts' and novices' scanpaths, two methods are developed. The first proposed method is the matrix comparisons using the Mantel test. The second proposed method is the maximum transition-based agglomerative hierarchical clustering (MTAHC) where comparisons of multi-level visual groupings are held out. The matrix comparison method was useful for a small number of targets during the preliminary experiment, but turned out to be inapplicable to a realistic case when tens of aircraft were presented on screen; however, MTAHC was effective with large number of aircraft on screen. The experiments with experts and novices on the aircraft conflict detection task showed that their scanpaths are different. The MTAHC result was able to explicitly show how experts visually grouped multiple aircraft based on similar altitudes while novices tended to group them based on convergence. Also, the MTAHC results showed that novices paid much attention to the converging aircraft groups even if they are safely separated by altitude; therefore, less attention was given to the actual conflicting pairs resulting in low correct conflict detection rates. Since the analysis showed the scanpath differences, experts' scanpaths were shown to novices in order to find out its effectiveness. The scanpath treatment group showed indications that they changed their visual movements from trajectory-based to altitude-based movements. Between the treatment and the non-treatment group, there were no significant differences in terms of number of correct detections; however, the treatment group made significantly fewer false alarms.

Depicting Changes in Multiple Symptoms Over Time.

PubMed

Muehrer, Rebecca J; Brown, Roger L; Lanuza, Dorothy M

2015-09-01

Ridit analysis, an acronym for Relative to an Identified Distribution, is a method for assessing change in ordinal data and can be used to show how individual symptoms change or remain the same over time. The purposes of this article are to (a) describe how to use ridit analysis to assess change in a symptom measure using data from a longitudinal study, (b) give a step-by-step example of ridit analysis, (c) show the clinical relevance of applying ridit analysis, and (d) display results in an innovative graphic. Mean ridit effect sizes were calculated for the frequency and distress of 64 symptoms in lung transplant patients before and after transplant. Results were displayed in a bubble graph. Ridit analysis allowed us to maintain the specificity of individual symptoms and to show how each symptom changed or remained the same over time. The bubble graph provides an efficient way for clinicians to identify changes in symptom frequency and distress over time. © The Author(s) 2014.

Incremental dynamical downscaling for probabilistic analysis based on multiple GCM projections

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wakazuki, Y.

2015-12-01

A dynamical downscaling method for probabilistic regional scale climate change projections was developed to cover an uncertainty of multiple general circulation model (GCM) climate simulations. The climatological increments (future minus present climate states) estimated by GCM simulation results were statistically analyzed using the singular vector decomposition. Both positive and negative perturbations from the ensemble mean with the magnitudes of their standard deviations were extracted and were added to the ensemble mean of the climatological increments. The analyzed multiple modal increments were utilized to create multiple modal lateral boundary conditions for the future climate regional climate model (RCM) simulations by adding to an objective analysis data. This data handling is regarded to be an advanced method of the pseudo-global-warming (PGW) method previously developed by Kimura and Kitoh (2007). The incremental handling for GCM simulations realized approximated probabilistic climate change projections with the smaller number of RCM simulations. Three values of a climatological variable simulated by RCMs for a mode were used to estimate the response to the perturbation of the mode. For the probabilistic analysis, climatological variables of RCMs were assumed to show linear response to the multiple modal perturbations, although the non-linearity was seen for local scale rainfall. Probability of temperature was able to be estimated within two modes perturbation simulations, where the number of RCM simulations for the future climate is five. On the other hand, local scale rainfalls needed four modes simulations, where the number of the RCM simulations is nine. The probabilistic method is expected to be used for regional scale climate change impact assessment in the future.

Retinal layer segmentation in multiple sclerosis: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

PubMed

Petzold, Axel; Balcer, Laura J; Calabresi, Peter A; Costello, Fiona; Frohman, Teresa C; Frohman, Elliot M; Martinez-Lapiscina, Elena H; Green, Ari J; Kardon, Randy; Outteryck, Olivier; Paul, Friedemann; Schippling, Sven; Vermersch, Patrik; Villoslada, Pablo; Balk, Lisanne J

2017-10-01

Structural retinal imaging biomarkers are important for early recognition and monitoring of inflammation and neurodegeneration in multiple sclerosis. With the introduction of spectral domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT), supervised automated segmentation of individual retinal layers is possible. We aimed to investigate which retinal layers show atrophy associated with neurodegeneration in multiple sclerosis when measured with SD-OCT. In this systematic review and meta-analysis, we searched for studies in which SD-OCT was used to look at the retina in people with multiple sclerosis with or without optic neuritis in PubMed, Web of Science, and Google Scholar between Nov 22, 1991, and April 19, 2016. Data were taken from cross-sectional cohorts and from one timepoint from longitudinal studies (at least 3 months after onset in studies of optic neuritis). We classified data on eyes into healthy controls, multiple-sclerosis-associated optic neuritis (MSON), and multiple sclerosis without optic neuritis (MSNON). We assessed thickness of the retinal layers and we rated individual layer segmentation performance by random effects meta-analysis for MSON eyes versus control eyes, MSNON eyes versus control eyes, and MSNON eyes versus MSON eyes. We excluded relevant sources of bias by funnel plots. Of 25 497 records identified, 110 articles were eligible and 40 reported data (in total 5776 eyes from patients with multiple sclerosis [1667 MSON eyes and 4109 MSNON eyes] and 1697 eyes from healthy controls) that met published OCT quality control criteria and were suitable for meta-analysis. Compared with control eyes, the peripapillary retinal nerve fibre layer (RNFL) showed thinning in MSON eyes (mean difference -20·10 μm, 95% CI -22·76 to -17·44; p<0·0001) and in MSNON eyes (-7·41 μm, -8·98 to -5·83; p<0·0001). The macula showed RNFL thinning of -6·18 μm (-8·07 to -4·28; p<0·0001) in MSON eyes and -2·15 μm (-3·15 to -1·15; p<0·0001) in MSNON eyes compared with control eyes. Atrophy of the macular ganglion cell layer and inner plexiform layer (GCIPL) was -16·42 μm (-19·23 to -13·60; p<0·0001) for MSON eyes and -6·31 μm (-7·75 to -4·87; p<0·0001) for MSNON eyes compared with control eyes. A small degree of inner nuclear layer (INL) thickening occurred in MSON eyes compared with control eyes (0·77 μm, 0·25 to 1·28; p=0·003). We found no statistical difference in the thickness of the combined outer nuclear layer and outer plexiform layer when we compared MSNON or MSON eyes with control eyes, but we found a small degree of thickening of the combined layer when we compared MSON eyes with MSNON eyes (1·21 μm, 0·24 to 2·19; p=0·01). The largest and most robust differences between the eyes of people with multiple sclerosis and control eyes were found in the peripapillary RNFL and macular GCIPL. Inflammatory disease activity might be captured by the INL. Because of the consistency, robustness, and large effect size, we recommend inclusion of the peripapillary RNFL and macular GCIPL for diagnosis, monitoring, and research. None. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

A scheme of hidden-structure attribute-based encryption with multiple authorities

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ling, J.; Weng, A. X.

2018-05-01

In the most of the CP-ABE schemes with hidden access structure, both all the user attributes and the key generation are managed by only one authority. The key generation efficiency will decrease as the number of user increases, and the data will encounter security issues as the only authority is attacked. We proposed a scheme of hidden-structure attribute-based encryption with multiple authorities, which introduces multiple semi-trusted attribute authorities, avoiding the threat even though one or more authorities are attacked. We also realized user revocation by managing a revocation list. Based on DBDH assumption, we proved that our scheme is of IND-CMA security. The analysis shows that our scheme improves the key generation efficiency.

Multiple stakeholders in multi-criteria decision-making in the context of Municipal Solid Waste Management: A review

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Soltani, Atousa; Hewage, Kasun; Reza, Bahareh

2015-01-15

Highlights: • We review Municipal Solid Waste Management studies with focus on multiple stakeholders. • We focus on studies with multi-criteria decision analysis methods and discover their trends. • Most studies do not offer solutions for situations where stakeholders compete for more benefits or have unequal voting powers. • Governments and experts are the most participated stakeholders and AHP is the most dominant method. - Abstract: Municipal Solid Waste Management (MSWM) is a complicated process that involves multiple environmental and socio-economic criteria. Decision-makers look for decision support frameworks that can guide in defining alternatives, relevant criteria and their weights, andmore » finding a suitable solution. In addition, decision-making in MSWM problems such as finding proper waste treatment locations or strategies often requires multiple stakeholders such as government, municipalities, industries, experts, and/or general public to get involved. Multi-criteria Decision Analysis (MCDA) is the most popular framework employed in previous studies on MSWM; MCDA methods help multiple stakeholders evaluate the often conflicting criteria, communicate their different preferences, and rank or prioritize MSWM strategies to finally agree on some elements of these strategies and make an applicable decision. This paper reviews and brings together research on the application of MCDA for solving MSWM problems with more focus on the studies that have considered multiple stakeholders and offers solutions for such problems. Results of this study show that AHP is the most common approach in consideration of multiple stakeholders and experts and governments/municipalities are the most common participants in these studies.« less

Which form of assessment provides the best information about student performance in chemistry examinations?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hudson, Ross D.; Treagust, David F.

2013-04-01

Background . This study developed from observations of apparent achievement differences between male and female chemistry performances in a state university entrance examination. Male students performed more strongly than female students, especially in higher scores. Apart from the gender of the students, two other important factors that might influence student performance were format of questions (short-answer or multiple-choice) and type of questions (recall or application). Purpose The research question addressed in this study was: Is there a relationship between performance in state university entrance examinations in chemistry and school chemistry examinations and student gender, format of questions - multiple-choice or short-answer, and conceptual level - recall or application? Sample The two sources of data were: (1) secondary analyses of five consecutive years' data published by the examining authority of chemistry examinations, and (2) tests conducted with 192 students which provided information about all aspects of the three variables (question format, question type and gender) under consideration. Design and methods Both sources of data were analysed using ANOVA to compare means for the variables under consideration and the statistical significance of any differences. The data from the tests were also analysed using Rasch analysis to determine differences in gender performance. Results When overall mean data are considered, both male and female students performed better on multiple-choice questions and recall questions than on short-answer questions and application questions, respectively. When overall mean data are considered, male students outperformed female students in both the university entrance and school tests, particularly in the higher scores. When data were analysed with Rasch, there was no statistically significant difference in performance between males and females of equal ability. Conclusions Both male and female students generally perform better on multiple-choice questions than they do on short-answer questions. However, when the questions are matched in terms of difficulty (using Rasch analysis), the differences in performance between multiple-choice and short-answer are quite small. Rasch analysis showed that there was little difference in performance between males and females of equal ability. This study shows that a simple face-value score analysis of relative student performance - in this case, in chemistry - can be deceptive unless the actual abilities of the students concerned, as measured by a tool such as Rasch, are taken into consideration before reaching any conclusion.

Statistical inference for Hardy-Weinberg proportions in the presence of missing genotype information.

PubMed

Graffelman, Jan; Sánchez, Milagros; Cook, Samantha; Moreno, Victor

2013-01-01

In genetic association studies, tests for Hardy-Weinberg proportions are often employed as a quality control checking procedure. Missing genotypes are typically discarded prior to testing. In this paper we show that inference for Hardy-Weinberg proportions can be biased when missing values are discarded. We propose to use multiple imputation of missing values in order to improve inference for Hardy-Weinberg proportions. For imputation we employ a multinomial logit model that uses information from allele intensities and/or neighbouring markers. Analysis of an empirical data set of single nucleotide polymorphisms possibly related to colon cancer reveals that missing genotypes are not missing completely at random. Deviation from Hardy-Weinberg proportions is mostly due to a lack of heterozygotes. Inbreeding coefficients estimated by multiple imputation of the missings are typically lowered with respect to inbreeding coefficients estimated by discarding the missings. Accounting for missings by multiple imputation qualitatively changed the results of 10 to 17% of the statistical tests performed. Estimates of inbreeding coefficients obtained by multiple imputation showed high correlation with estimates obtained by single imputation using an external reference panel. Our conclusion is that imputation of missing data leads to improved statistical inference for Hardy-Weinberg proportions.

Fusion of magnetometer and gradiometer sensors of MEG in the presence of multiplicative error.

PubMed

Mohseni, Hamid R; Woolrich, Mark W; Kringelbach, Morten L; Luckhoo, Henry; Smith, Penny Probert; Aziz, Tipu Z

2012-07-01

Novel neuroimaging techniques have provided unprecedented information on the structure and function of the living human brain. Multimodal fusion of data from different sensors promises to radically improve this understanding, yet optimal methods have not been developed. Here, we demonstrate a novel method for combining multichannel signals. We show how this method can be used to fuse signals from the magnetometer and gradiometer sensors used in magnetoencephalography (MEG), and through extensive experiments using simulation, head phantom and real MEG data, show that it is both robust and accurate. This new approach works by assuming that the lead fields have multiplicative error. The criterion to estimate the error is given within a spatial filter framework such that the estimated power is minimized in the worst case scenario. The method is compared to, and found better than, existing approaches. The closed-form solution and the conditions under which the multiplicative error can be optimally estimated are provided. This novel approach can also be employed for multimodal fusion of other multichannel signals such as MEG and EEG. Although the multiplicative error is estimated based on beamforming, other methods for source analysis can equally be used after the lead-field modification.

Effect of oxygen on dislocation multiplication in silicon crystals

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fukushima, Wataru; Harada, Hirofumi; Miyamura, Yoshiji; Imai, Masato; Nakano, Satoshi; Kakimoto, Koichi

2018-03-01

This paper aims to clarify the effect of oxygen on dislocation multiplication in silicon single crystals grown by the Czochralski and floating zone methods using numerical analysis. The analysis is based on the Alexander-Haasen-Sumino model and involves oxygen diffusion from the bulk to the dislocation cores during the annealing process in a furnace. The results show that after the annealing process, the dislocation density in silicon single crystals decreases as a function of oxygen concentration. This decrease can be explained by considering the unlocking stress caused by interstitial oxygen atoms. When the oxygen concentration is 7.5 × 1017 cm-3, the total stress is about 2 MPa and the unlocking stress is less than 1 MPa. As the oxygen concentration increases, the unlocking stress also increases; however, the dislocation velocity decreases.

Spinal focal lesion detection in multiple myeloma using multimodal image features

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fränzle, Andrea; Hillengass, Jens; Bendl, Rolf

2015-03-01

Multiple myeloma is a tumor disease in the bone marrow that affects the skeleton systemically, i.e. multiple lesions can occur in different sites in the skeleton. To quantify overall tumor mass for determining degree of disease and for analysis of therapy response, volumetry of all lesions is needed. Since the large amount of lesions in one patient impedes manual segmentation of all lesions, quantification of overall tumor volume is not possible until now. Therefore development of automatic lesion detection and segmentation methods is necessary. Since focal tumors in multiple myeloma show different characteristics in different modalities (changes in bone structure in CT images, hypointensity in T1 weighted MR images and hyperintensity in T2 weighted MR images), multimodal image analysis is necessary for the detection of focal tumors. In this paper a pattern recognition approach is presented that identifies focal lesions in lumbar vertebrae based on features from T1 and T2 weighted MR images. Image voxels within bone are classified using random forests based on plain intensities and intensity value derived features (maximum, minimum, mean, median) in a 5 x 5 neighborhood around a voxel from both T1 and T2 weighted MR images. A test data sample of lesions in 8 lumbar vertebrae from 4 multiple myeloma patients can be classified at an accuracy of 95% (using a leave-one-patient-out test). The approach provides a reasonable delineation of the example lesions. This is an important step towards automatic tumor volume quantification in multiple myeloma.

Detection of burst suppression patterns in EEG using recurrence rate.

PubMed

Liang, Zhenhu; Wang, Yinghua; Ren, Yongshao; Li, Duan; Voss, Logan; Sleigh, Jamie; Li, Xiaoli

2014-01-01

Burst suppression is a unique electroencephalogram (EEG) pattern commonly seen in cases of severely reduced brain activity such as overdose of general anesthesia. It is important to detect burst suppression reliably during the administration of anesthetic or sedative agents, especially for cerebral-protective treatments in various neurosurgical diseases. This study investigates recurrent plot (RP) analysis for the detection of the burst suppression pattern (BSP) in EEG. The RP analysis is applied to EEG data containing BSPs collected from 14 patients. Firstly we obtain the best selection of parameters for RP analysis. Then, the recurrence rate (RR), determinism (DET), and entropy (ENTR) are calculated. Then RR was selected as the best BSP index one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) and multiple comparison tests. Finally, the performance of RR analysis is compared with spectral analysis, bispectral analysis, approximate entropy, and the nonlinear energy operator (NLEO). ANOVA and multiple comparison tests showed that the RR could detect BSP and that it was superior to other measures with the highest sensitivity of suppression detection (96.49%, P = 0.03). Tracking BSP patterns is essential for clinical monitoring in critically ill and anesthetized patients. The purposed RR may provide an effective burst suppression detector for developing new patient monitoring systems.

Multivariate meta-analysis with an increasing number of parameters

PubMed Central

Boca, Simina M.; Pfeiffer, Ruth M.; Sampson, Joshua N.

2017-01-01

Summary Meta-analysis can average estimates of multiple parameters, such as a treatment’s effect on multiple outcomes, across studies. Univariate meta-analysis (UVMA) considers each parameter individually, while multivariate meta-analysis (MVMA) considers the parameters jointly and accounts for the correlation between their estimates. The performance of MVMA and UVMA has been extensively compared in scenarios with two parameters. Our objective is to compare the performance of MVMA and UVMA as the number of parameters, p, increases. Specifically, we show that (i) for fixed-effect meta-analysis, the benefit from using MVMA can substantially increase as p increases; (ii) for random effects meta-analysis, the benefit from MVMA can increase as p increases, but the potential improvement is modest in the presence of high between-study variability and the actual improvement is further reduced by the need to estimate an increasingly large between study covariance matrix; and (iii) when there is little to no between study variability, the loss of efficiency due to choosing random effects MVMA over fixed-effect MVMA increases as p increases. We demonstrate these three features through theory, simulation, and a meta-analysis of risk factors for Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma. PMID:28195655

Identification of predictive markers of cytarabine response in AML by integrative analysis of gene-expression profiles with multiple phenotypes

PubMed Central

Lamba, Jatinder K; Crews, Kristine R; Pounds, Stanley B; Cao, Xueyuan; Gandhi, Varsha; Plunkett, William; Razzouk, Bassem I; Lamba, Vishal; Baker, Sharyn D; Raimondi, Susana C; Campana, Dario; Pui, Ching-Hon; Downing, James R; Rubnitz, Jeffrey E; Ribeiro, Raul C

2011-01-01

Aim To identify gene-expression signatures predicting cytarabine response by an integrative analysis of multiple clinical and pharmacological end points in acute myeloid leukemia (AML) patients. Materials & methods We performed an integrated analysis to associate the gene expression of diagnostic bone marrow blasts from acute myeloid leukemia (AML) patients treated in the discovery set (AML97; n = 42) and in the independent validation set (AML02; n = 46) with multiple clinical and pharmacological end points. Based on prior biological knowledge, we defined a gene to show a therapeutically beneficial (detrimental) pattern of association of its expression positively (negatively) correlated with favorable phenotypes such as intracellular cytarabine 5´-triphosphate levels, morphological response and event-free survival, and negatively (positively) correlated with unfavorable end points such as post-cytarabine DNA synthesis levels, minimal residual disease and cytarabine LC50. Results We identified 240 probe sets predicting a therapeutically beneficial pattern and 97 predicting detrimental pattern (p ≤ 0.005) in the discovery set. Of these, 60 were confirmed in the independent validation set. The validated probe sets correspond to genes involved in PIK3/PTEN/AKT/mTOR signaling, G-protein-coupled receptor signaling and leukemogenesis. This suggests that targeting these pathways as potential pharmacogenomic and therapeutic candidates could be useful for improving treatment outcomes in AML. Conclusion This study illustrates the power of integrated data analysis of genomic data as well as multiple clinical and pharmacologic end points in the identification of genes and pathways of biological relevance. PMID:21449673

A population-based study on the association between rheumatoid arthritis and voice problems.

PubMed

Hah, J Hun; An, Soo-Youn; Sim, Songyong; Kim, So Young; Oh, Dong Jun; Park, Bumjung; Kim, Sung-Gyun; Choi, Hyo Geun

2016-07-01

The objective of this study was to investigate whether rheumatoid arthritis increases the frequency of organic laryngeal lesions and the subjective voice complaint rate in those with no organic laryngeal lesion. We performed a cross-sectional study using the data from 19,368 participants (418 rheumatoid arthritis patients and 18,950 controls) of the 2008-2011 Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. The associations between rheumatoid arthritis and organic laryngeal lesions/subjective voice complaints were analyzed using simple/multiple logistic regression analysis with complex sample adjusting for confounding factors, including age, sex, smoking status, stress level, and body mass index, which could provoke voice problems. Vocal nodules, vocal polyp, and vocal palsy were not associated with rheumatoid arthritis in a multiple regression analysis, and only laryngitis showed a positive association (adjusted odds ratio, 1.59; 95 % confidence interval, 1.01-2.52; P = 0.047). Rheumatoid arthritis was associated with subjective voice discomfort in a simple regression analysis, but not in a multiple regression analysis. Participants with rheumatoid arthritis were older, more often female, and had higher stress levels than those without rheumatoid arthritis. These factors were associated with subjective voice complaints in both simple and multiple regression analyses. Rheumatoid arthritis was not associated with organic laryngeal diseases except laryngitis. Rheumatoid arthritis did not increase the odds ratio for subjective voice complaints. Voice problems in participants with rheumatoid arthritis originated from the characteristics of the rheumatoid arthritis group (higher mean age, female sex, and stress level) rather than rheumatoid arthritis itself.

Multi-threaded Sparse Matrix Sparse Matrix Multiplication for Many-Core and GPU Architectures.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Deveci, Mehmet; Trott, Christian Robert; Rajamanickam, Sivasankaran

Sparse Matrix-Matrix multiplication is a key kernel that has applications in several domains such as scientific computing and graph analysis. Several algorithms have been studied in the past for this foundational kernel. In this paper, we develop parallel algorithms for sparse matrix- matrix multiplication with a focus on performance portability across different high performance computing architectures. The performance of these algorithms depend on the data structures used in them. We compare different types of accumulators in these algorithms and demonstrate the performance difference between these data structures. Furthermore, we develop a meta-algorithm, kkSpGEMM, to choose the right algorithm and datamore » structure based on the characteristics of the problem. We show performance comparisons on three architectures and demonstrate the need for the community to develop two phase sparse matrix-matrix multiplication implementations for efficient reuse of the data structures involved.« less

Multi-threaded Sparse Matrix-Matrix Multiplication for Many-Core and GPU Architectures.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Deveci, Mehmet; Rajamanickam, Sivasankaran; Trott, Christian Robert

Sparse Matrix-Matrix multiplication is a key kernel that has applications in several domains such as scienti c computing and graph analysis. Several algorithms have been studied in the past for this foundational kernel. In this paper, we develop parallel algorithms for sparse matrix-matrix multiplication with a focus on performance portability across different high performance computing architectures. The performance of these algorithms depend on the data structures used in them. We compare different types of accumulators in these algorithms and demonstrate the performance difference between these data structures. Furthermore, we develop a meta-algorithm, kkSpGEMM, to choose the right algorithm and datamore » structure based on the characteristics of the problem. We show performance comparisons on three architectures and demonstrate the need for the community to develop two phase sparse matrix-matrix multiplication implementations for efficient reuse of the data structures involved.« less

Performance Analysis of Direct-Sequence Code-Division Multiple-Access Communications with Asymmetric Quadrature Phase-Shift-Keying Modulation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wang, C.-W.; Stark, W.

2005-01-01

This article considers a quaternary direct-sequence code-division multiple-access (DS-CDMA) communication system with asymmetric quadrature phase-shift-keying (AQPSK) modulation for unequal error protection (UEP) capability. Both time synchronous and asynchronous cases are investigated. An expression for the probability distribution of the multiple-access interference is derived. The exact bit-error performance and the approximate performance using a Gaussian approximation and random signature sequences are evaluated by extending the techniques used for uniform quadrature phase-shift-keying (QPSK) and binary phase-shift-keying (BPSK) DS-CDMA systems. Finally, a general system model with unequal user power and the near-far problem is considered and analyzed. The results show that, for a system with UEP capability, the less protected data bits are more sensitive to the near-far effect that occurs in a multiple-access environment than are the more protected bits.

Deficiencies of Circulating Mucosal-associated Invariant T Cells and Natural Killer T Cells in Patients with Multiple Trauma.

PubMed

Jo, Young Goun; Choi, Hyun Jung; Kim, Jung Chul; Cho, Young Nan; Kang, Jeong Hwa; Jin, Hye Mi; Kee, Seung Jung; Park, Yong Wook

2017-05-01

Mucosal-associated invariant T (MAIT) cells and natural killer T (NKT) cells are known to play important roles in autoimmunity, infectious diseases and cancers. However, little is known about the roles of these invariant T cells in multiple trauma. The purposes of this study were to examine MAIT and NKT cell levels in patients with multiple trauma and to investigate potential relationships between these cell levels and clinical parameters. The study cohort was composed of 14 patients with multiple trauma and 22 non-injured healthy controls (HCs). Circulating MAIT and NKT cell levels in the peripheral blood were measured by flow cytometry. The severity of injury was categorised according to the scoring systems, such as Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation (APACHE) II score, Simplified Acute Physiology Score (SAPS) II, and Injury Severity Score (ISS). Circulating MAIT and NKT cell numbers were significantly lower in multiple trauma patients than in HCs. Linear regression analysis showed that circulating MAIT cell numbers were significantly correlated with age, APACHE II, SAPS II, ISS category, hemoglobin, and platelet count. NKT cell numbers in the peripheral blood were found to be significantly correlated with APACHE II, SAPS II, and ISS category. This study shows numerical deficiencies of circulating MAIT cells and NKT cells in multiple trauma. In addition, these invariant T cell deficiencies were found to be associated with disease severity. These findings provide important information for predicting the prognosis of multiple trauma. © 2017 The Korean Academy of Medical Sciences.

A Class of Manifold Regularized Multiplicative Update Algorithms for Image Clustering.

PubMed

Yang, Shangming; Yi, Zhang; He, Xiaofei; Li, Xuelong

2015-12-01

Multiplicative update algorithms are important tools for information retrieval, image processing, and pattern recognition. However, when the graph regularization is added to the cost function, different classes of sample data may be mapped to the same subspace, which leads to the increase of data clustering error rate. In this paper, an improved nonnegative matrix factorization (NMF) cost function is introduced. Based on the cost function, a class of novel graph regularized NMF algorithms is developed, which results in a class of extended multiplicative update algorithms with manifold structure regularization. Analysis shows that in the learning, the proposed algorithms can efficiently minimize the rank of the data representation matrix. Theoretical results presented in this paper are confirmed by simulations. For different initializations and data sets, variation curves of cost functions and decomposition data are presented to show the convergence features of the proposed update rules. Basis images, reconstructed images, and clustering results are utilized to present the efficiency of the new algorithms. Last, the clustering accuracies of different algorithms are also investigated, which shows that the proposed algorithms can achieve state-of-the-art performance in applications of image clustering.

Enhanced thermal and structural properties of partially phosphorylated polyvinyl alcohol - Aluminum phosphate (PPVA-Alpo4) nanocomposites with aluminium nitrate source

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Saat, Asmalina Mohamed; Johan, Mohd Rafie

2017-12-01

Synthesis of AlPO4 nanocomposite depends on the ratio of aluminum to phosphate, method of synthesis and the source for aluminum and phosphate source used. Variation of phosphate and aluminum source used will form multiple equilibria reactions and affected by ions variability and concentration, stoichiometry, temperature during reaction process and especially the precipitation pH. Aluminum nitrate was used to produce a partially phosphorylated poly vinyl alcohol-aluminum phosphate (PPVA-AlPO4) nanocomposite with various nanoparticle shapes, structural and properties. Synthesis of PPVA-AlPO4 nanocomposite with aluminum nitrate shows enhancement of thermal and structural in comparison with pure PVA and modified PPVA. Thermogravimetric (TGA) analysis shows that the weight residue of PPVA-AlPO4 composite was higher than PPVA and PVA. X-ray diffraction (XRD) pattern of PVA shows a single peak broadening after the addition of phosphoric acid. Meanwhile, XRD pattern of PPVA-AlPO4 demonstrates multiple phases of AlPO4 in the nanocomposite. Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscopy (FESEM) confirmed the existence of multiple geometrical phases and nanosize of spherical particles.

An ImmunoChip study of multiple sclerosis risk in African Americans

PubMed Central

Isobe, Noriko; Madireddy, Lohith; Khankhanian, Pouya; Matsushita, Takuya; Caillier, Stacy J.; Moré, Jayaji M.; Gourraud, Pierre-Antoine; McCauley, Jacob L.; Beecham, Ashley H.; Piccio, Laura; Herbert, Joseph; Khan, Omar; Cohen, Jeffrey; Stone, Lael; Santaniello, Adam; Cree, Bruce A. C.; Onengut-Gumuscu, Suna; Rich, Stephen S.; Hauser, Stephen L.; Sawcer, Stephen

2015-01-01

The aims of this study were: (i) to determine to what degree multiple sclerosis-associated loci discovered in European populations also influence susceptibility in African Americans; (ii) to assess the extent to which the unique linkage disequilibrium patterns in African Americans can contribute to localizing the functionally relevant regions or genes; and (iii) to search for novel African American multiple sclerosis-associated loci. Using the ImmunoChip custom array we genotyped 803 African American cases with multiple sclerosis and 1516 African American control subjects at 130 135 autosomal single nucleotide polymorphisms. We conducted association analysis with rigorous adjustments for population stratification and admixture. Of the 110 non-major histocompatibility complex multiple sclerosis-associated variants identified in Europeans, 96 passed stringent quality control in our African American data set and of these, >70% (69) showed over-representation of the same allele amongst cases, including 21 with nominally significant evidence for association (one-tailed test P < 0.05). At a further eight loci we found nominally significant association with an alternate correlated risk-tagging single nucleotide polymorphism from the same region. Outside the regions known to be associated in Europeans, we found seven potentially associated novel candidate multiple sclerosis variants (P < 10−4), one of which (rs2702180) also showed nominally significant evidence for association (one-tailed test P = 0.034) in an independent second cohort of 620 African American cases and 1565 control subjects. However, none of these novel associations reached genome-wide significance (combined P = 6.3 × 10−5). Our data demonstrate substantial overlap between African American and European multiple sclerosis variants, indicating common genetic contributions to multiple sclerosis risk. PMID:25818868

An ImmunoChip study of multiple sclerosis risk in African Americans.

PubMed

Isobe, Noriko; Madireddy, Lohith; Khankhanian, Pouya; Matsushita, Takuya; Caillier, Stacy J; Moré, Jayaji M; Gourraud, Pierre-Antoine; McCauley, Jacob L; Beecham, Ashley H; Piccio, Laura; Herbert, Joseph; Khan, Omar; Cohen, Jeffrey; Stone, Lael; Santaniello, Adam; Cree, Bruce A C; Onengut-Gumuscu, Suna; Rich, Stephen S; Hauser, Stephen L; Sawcer, Stephen; Oksenberg, Jorge R

2015-06-01

The aims of this study were: (i) to determine to what degree multiple sclerosis-associated loci discovered in European populations also influence susceptibility in African Americans; (ii) to assess the extent to which the unique linkage disequilibrium patterns in African Americans can contribute to localizing the functionally relevant regions or genes; and (iii) to search for novel African American multiple sclerosis-associated loci. Using the ImmunoChip custom array we genotyped 803 African American cases with multiple sclerosis and 1516 African American control subjects at 130 135 autosomal single nucleotide polymorphisms. We conducted association analysis with rigorous adjustments for population stratification and admixture. Of the 110 non-major histocompatibility complex multiple sclerosis-associated variants identified in Europeans, 96 passed stringent quality control in our African American data set and of these, >70% (69) showed over-representation of the same allele amongst cases, including 21 with nominally significant evidence for association (one-tailed test P < 0.05). At a further eight loci we found nominally significant association with an alternate correlated risk-tagging single nucleotide polymorphism from the same region. Outside the regions known to be associated in Europeans, we found seven potentially associated novel candidate multiple sclerosis variants (P < 10(-4)), one of which (rs2702180) also showed nominally significant evidence for association (one-tailed test P = 0.034) in an independent second cohort of 620 African American cases and 1565 control subjects. However, none of these novel associations reached genome-wide significance (combined P = 6.3 × 10(-5)). Our data demonstrate substantial overlap between African American and European multiple sclerosis variants, indicating common genetic contributions to multiple sclerosis risk. © The Author (2015). Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Guarantors of Brain. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Older age, higher perceived disability and depressive symptoms predict the amount and severity of work-related difficulties in persons with multiple sclerosis.

PubMed

Raggi, Alberto; Giovannetti, Ambra Mara; Schiavolin, Silvia; Brambilla, Laura; Brenna, Greta; Confalonieri, Paolo Agostino; Cortese, Francesca; Frangiamore, Rita; Leonardi, Matilde; Mantegazza, Renato Emilio; Moscatelli, Marco; Ponzio, Michela; Torri Clerici, Valentina; Zaratin, Paola; De Torres, Laura

2018-04-16

This cross-sectional study aims to identify the predictors of work-related difficulties in a sample of employed persons with multiple sclerosis as addressed with the Multiple Sclerosis Questionnaire for Job Difficulties. Hierarchical linear regression analysis was conducted to identify predictors of work difficulties: predictors included demographic variables (age, formal education), disease duration and severity, perceived disability and psychological variables (cognitive dysfunction, depression and anxiety). The targets were the questionnaire's overall score and its six subscales. A total of 177 participants (108 females, aged 21-63) were recruited. Age, perceived disability and depression were direct and significant predictors of the questionnaire total score, and the final model explained 43.7% of its variation. The models built on the questionnaire's subscales show that perceived disability and depression were direct and significant predictors of most of its subscales. Our results show that, among patients with multiple sclerosis, those who were older, with higher perceived disability and higher depression symptoms have more and more severe work-related difficulties. The Multiple Sclerosis Questionnaire for Job Difficulties can be fruitfully exploited to plan tailored actions to limit the likelihood of near-future job loss in persons of working age with multiple sclerosis. Implications for rehabilitation Difficulties with work are common among people with multiple sclerosis and are usually addressed in terms of unemployment or job loss. The Multiple Sclerosis Questionnaire for Job Difficulties is a disease-specific questionnaire developed to address the amount and severity of work-related difficulties. We found that work-related difficulties were associated to older age, higher perceived disability and depressive symptoms. Mental health issues and perceived disability should be consistently included in future research targeting work-related difficulties.

A systematic review of nonsurgical single-visit versus multiple-visit endodontic treatment

PubMed Central

Wong, Amy WY; Zhang, Chengfei; Chu, Chun-hung

2014-01-01

Conventional endodontic treatment used to require multiple visits, but some clinicians have suggested that single-visit treatment is superior. Single-visit endodontic treatment and multiple-visit endodontic treatment both have their advantages and disadvantages. This paper is a literature review of the research on nonsurgical single-visit versus multiple-visit endodontic treatment. The PubMed database was searched using the keywords (endodontic treatment OR endodontic therapy OR root canal treatment OR root canal therapy) AND (single-visit OR one-visit OR 1-visit). Review papers, case reports, data studies, and irrelevant reports were excluded, and 47 papers on clinical trials were reviewed. The studies generally had small sample sizes, and the endodontic procedures varied among the studies. Meta-analysis on the selected studies was performed, and the results showed that the postoperative complications of the single-visit and multiple-visit endodontic treatment were similar. Furthermore, neither single-visit endodontic treatment nor multiple-visit treatment had superior results over the other in terms of healing or success rate. Results of limited studies on disinfection of the root canals using low-energy laser photodynamic therapy is inconclusive, and further studies are necessary to show whether laser should be used in endodontic treatment. This review also found that that neither single-visit endodontic treatment nor multiple-visit treatment could guarantee the absence of postoperative pain. Since the study design of many studies displayed significant limitation and the materials and equipment used in endodontic treatment have dramatically changed in recent years, prospective randomized clinical trials are needed to further verify the postoperative pain and success rates of single-visit versus multiple-visit endodontic treatment. PMID:24855389

Interactions between cadmium and decabrominated diphenyl ether on blood cells count in rats-Multiple factorial regression analysis.

PubMed

Curcic, Marijana; Buha, Aleksandra; Stankovic, Sanja; Milovanovic, Vesna; Bulat, Zorica; Đukić-Ćosić, Danijela; Antonijević, Evica; Vučinić, Slavica; Matović, Vesna; Antonijevic, Biljana

2017-02-01

The objective of this study was to assess toxicity of Cd and BDE-209 mixture on haematological parameters in subacutely exposed rats and to determine the presence and type of interactions between these two chemicals using multiple factorial regression analysis. Furthermore, for the assessment of interaction type, an isobologram based methodology was applied and compared with multiple factorial regression analysis. Chemicals were given by oral gavage to the male Wistar rats weighing 200-240g for 28days. Animals were divided in 16 groups (8/group): control vehiculum group, three groups of rats were treated with 2.5, 7.5 or 15mg Cd/kg/day. These doses were chosen on the bases of literature data and reflect relatively high Cd environmental exposure, three groups of rats were treated with 1000, 2000 or 4000mg BDE-209/kg/bw/day, doses proved to induce toxic effects in rats. Furthermore, nine groups of animals were treated with different mixtures of Cd and BDE-209 containing doses of Cd and BDE-209 stated above. Blood samples were taken at the end of experiment and red blood cells, white blood cells and platelets counts were determined. For interaction assessment multiple factorial regression analysis and fitted isobologram approach were used. In this study, we focused on multiple factorial regression analysis as a method for interaction assessment. We also investigated the interactions between Cd and BDE-209 by the derived model for the description of the obtained fitted isobologram curves. Current study indicated that co-exposure to Cd and BDE-209 can result in significant decrease in RBC count, increase in WBC count and decrease in PLT count, when compared with controls. Multiple factorial regression analysis used for the assessment of interactions type between Cd and BDE-209 indicated synergism for the effect on RBC count and no interactions i.e. additivity for the effects on WBC and PLT counts. On the other hand, isobologram based approach showed slight antagonism for the effects on RBC and WBC while no interactions were proved for the joint effect on PLT count. These results confirm that the assessment of interactions between chemicals in the mixture greatly depends on the concept or method used for this evaluation. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Fast discovery and visualization of conserved regions in DNA sequences using quasi-alignment

PubMed Central

2013-01-01

Background Next Generation Sequencing techniques are producing enormous amounts of biological sequence data and analysis becomes a major computational problem. Currently, most analysis, especially the identification of conserved regions, relies heavily on Multiple Sequence Alignment and its various heuristics such as progressive alignment, whose run time grows with the square of the number and the length of the aligned sequences and requires significant computational resources. In this work, we present a method to efficiently discover regions of high similarity across multiple sequences without performing expensive sequence alignment. The method is based on approximating edit distance between segments of sequences using p-mer frequency counts. Then, efficient high-throughput data stream clustering is used to group highly similar segments into so called quasi-alignments. Quasi-alignments have numerous applications such as identifying species and their taxonomic class from sequences, comparing sequences for similarities, and, as in this paper, discovering conserved regions across related sequences. Results In this paper, we show that quasi-alignments can be used to discover highly similar segments across multiple sequences from related or different genomes efficiently and accurately. Experiments on a large number of unaligned 16S rRNA sequences obtained from the Greengenes database show that the method is able to identify conserved regions which agree with known hypervariable regions in 16S rRNA. Furthermore, the experiments show that the proposed method scales well for large data sets with a run time that grows only linearly with the number and length of sequences, whereas for existing multiple sequence alignment heuristics the run time grows super-linearly. Conclusion Quasi-alignment-based algorithms can detect highly similar regions and conserved areas across multiple sequences. Since the run time is linear and the sequences are converted into a compact clustering model, we are able to identify conserved regions fast or even interactively using a standard PC. Our method has many potential applications such as finding characteristic signature sequences for families of organisms and studying conserved and variable regions in, for example, 16S rRNA. PMID:24564200

Fast discovery and visualization of conserved regions in DNA sequences using quasi-alignment.

PubMed

Nagar, Anurag; Hahsler, Michael

2013-01-01

Next Generation Sequencing techniques are producing enormous amounts of biological sequence data and analysis becomes a major computational problem. Currently, most analysis, especially the identification of conserved regions, relies heavily on Multiple Sequence Alignment and its various heuristics such as progressive alignment, whose run time grows with the square of the number and the length of the aligned sequences and requires significant computational resources. In this work, we present a method to efficiently discover regions of high similarity across multiple sequences without performing expensive sequence alignment. The method is based on approximating edit distance between segments of sequences using p-mer frequency counts. Then, efficient high-throughput data stream clustering is used to group highly similar segments into so called quasi-alignments. Quasi-alignments have numerous applications such as identifying species and their taxonomic class from sequences, comparing sequences for similarities, and, as in this paper, discovering conserved regions across related sequences. In this paper, we show that quasi-alignments can be used to discover highly similar segments across multiple sequences from related or different genomes efficiently and accurately. Experiments on a large number of unaligned 16S rRNA sequences obtained from the Greengenes database show that the method is able to identify conserved regions which agree with known hypervariable regions in 16S rRNA. Furthermore, the experiments show that the proposed method scales well for large data sets with a run time that grows only linearly with the number and length of sequences, whereas for existing multiple sequence alignment heuristics the run time grows super-linearly. Quasi-alignment-based algorithms can detect highly similar regions and conserved areas across multiple sequences. Since the run time is linear and the sequences are converted into a compact clustering model, we are able to identify conserved regions fast or even interactively using a standard PC. Our method has many potential applications such as finding characteristic signature sequences for families of organisms and studying conserved and variable regions in, for example, 16S rRNA.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Patton, Robert M; Potok, Thomas E

Assessing the potential property and social impacts of an event, such as tornado or wildfire, continues to be a challenging research area. From financial markets to disaster management to epidemiology, the importance of understanding the impacts that events create cannot be understated. Our work describes an approach to fuse information from multiple sources, then to analyze the information cycles to identify prior temporal patterns related to the impact of an event. This approach is then applied to the analysis of news reports from multiple news sources pertaining to several different natural disasters. Results show that our approach can project themore » severity of the impacts of certain natural disasters, such as heat waves on droughts and wild fires. In addition, results show that specific types of disaster consistently produce similar impacts when each time they occur.« less

Metabolomic analysis reveals key metabolites related to the rapid adaptation of Saccharomyce cerevisiae to multiple inhibitors of furfural, acetic acid, and phenol.

PubMed

Wang, Xin; Li, Bing-Zhi; Ding, Ming-Zhu; Zhang, Wei-Wen; Yuan, Ying-Jin

2013-03-01

During hydrolysis of lignocellulosic biomass, a broad range of inhibitors are generated, which interfere with yeast growth and bioethanol production. In order to improve the strain tolerance to multiple inhibitors--acetic acid, furfural, and phenol (three representative lignocellulose-derived inhibitors) and uncover the underlying tolerant mechanism, an adaptation experiment was performed in which the industrial Saccharomyces cerevisiae was cultivated repeatedly in a medium containing multiple inhibitors. The adaptation occurred quickly, accompanied with distinct increase in growth rate, glucose utilization rate, furfural metabolism rate, and ethanol yield, only after the first transfer. A similar rapid adaptation was also observed for the lab strains of BY4742 and BY4743. The metabolomic analysis was employed to investigate the responses of the industrial S. cereviaise to three inhibitors during the adaptation. The results showed that higher levels of 2-furoic acid, 2, 3-butanediol, intermediates in glycolytic pathway, and amino acids derived from glycolysis, were discovered in the adapted strains, suggesting that enhanced metabolic activity in these pathways may relate to resistance against inhibitors. Additionally, through single-gene knockouts, several genes related to alanine metabolism, GABA shunt, and glycerol metabolism were verified to be crucial for the resistance to multiple inhibitors. This study provides new insights into the tolerance mechanism against multiple inhibitors, and guides for the improvement of tolerant ethanologenic yeast strains for lignocellulose-bioethanol fermentation.

Pitfalls in velocity analysis for strongly contrasting, layered media - Example from the Chalk Group, North Sea

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Montazeri, Mahboubeh; Uldall, Anette; Moreau, Julien; Nielsen, Lars

2018-02-01

Knowledge about the velocity structure of the subsurface is critical in key seismic processing sequences, for instance, migration, depth conversion, and construction of initial P- and S-wave velocity models for full-waveform inversion. Therefore, the quality of subsurface imaging is highly dependent upon the quality of the seismic velocity analysis. Based on a case study from the Danish part of the North Sea, we show how interference caused by multiples, converted waves, and thin-layer effects may lead to incorrect velocity estimation, if such effects are not accounted for. Seismic wave propagation inside finely layered reservoir rocks dominated by chalk is described by two-dimensional finite-difference wave field simulation. The rock physical properties used for the modeling are based on an exploration well from the Halfdan field in the Danish sector of the North Sea. The modeling results are compared to seismic data from the study area. The modeling shows that interference of primaries with multiples, converted waves and thin-bed effects can give rise to strong anomalies in standard velocity analysis plots. Consequently, root-mean-square (RMS) velocity profiles may be erroneously picked. In our study area, such mis-picking can introduce errors in, for example, the thickness estimation of the layers near the base of the studied sedimentary strata by 11% to 26%. Tests show that front muting and bandpass filtering cannot significantly improve the quality of velocity analysis in our study. However, we notice that spiking deconvolution applied before velocity analysis may to some extent reduce the impact of interference and, therefore, reduce the risk of erroneous picking of the velocity function.

Prognostic Implications of Monosomies in Patients With Multiple Myeloma.

PubMed

Shin, Sang-Yong; Eom, Hyeon-Seok; Sohn, Ji Yeon; Lee, Hyewon; Park, Boram; Joo, Jungnam; Jang, Ja-Hyun; Lee, Mi-Na; Kim, Jung Kwon; Kong, Sun-Young

2017-03-01

Cytogenetic analysis aides in risk stratification for patients with multiple myeloma (MM). Although several cytogenetic aberrations have been reported to be prognostic, less is known about the association between the presence of monosomies and prognosis. The present study evaluated the prevalence and prognostic implications of monosomies in patients with MM. Karyotypes were determined using conventional cytogenetics and fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH). The prognostic effect of monosomies was evaluated by comparison with the clinical factors in MM patients with normal karyotypes. Karyotypes were successfully determined in 167 of the 170 patients with MM. Of these 167 patients, 52 (31.1%) had abnormal karyotypes. Univariable analyses showed that a normal karyotype, hypodiploidy, monosomies of chromosomes 13 and 16, deletion or monosomy of 13q14, and loss of X detected by metaphase analysis were each associated with reduced progression-free survival (P < .05 for each). Univariable analyses showed that a normal karyotype, hypodiploidy, monosomies of chromosomes 13 and 16, deletion or monosomy of 13q14 detected by metaphase analysis and FISH-determined RB1 (13q)/TP53 (17p) deletion were each associated with reduced overall survival (P < .05 for each). Multivariable analysis showed that hypodiploidy detected by metaphase analysis was independently prognostic of shorter progression-free survival (P < .05 for each) and that hypodiploidy, monosomy 16, and loss of Y chromosome and FISH-determined TP53 (17p) deletion were associated with reduced overall survival (P < .05 for each). In addition to known cytogenetic abnormalities, such as monosomy 13, hypodiploidy, and TP53 (17p) deletion, monosomy 16 and loss of the Y chromosome have adverse prognostic implications in patients with MM. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Association between Pesticide Profiles Used on Agricultural Fields near Maternal Residences during Pregnancy and IQ at Age 7 Years

PubMed Central

Coker, Eric; Gunier, Robert; Bradman, Asa; Harley, Kim; Kogut, Katherine; Molitor, John; Eskenazi, Brenda

2017-01-01

We previously showed that potential prenatal exposure to agricultural pesticides was associated with adverse neurodevelopmental outcomes in children, yet the effects of joint exposure to multiple pesticides is poorly understood. In this paper, we investigate associations between the joint distribution of agricultural use patterns of multiple pesticides (denoted as “pesticide profiles”) applied near maternal residences during pregnancy and Full-Scale Intelligence Quotient (FSIQ) at 7 years of age. Among a cohort of children residing in California’s Salinas Valley, we used Pesticide Use Report (PUR) data to characterize potential exposure from use within 1 km of maternal residences during pregnancy for 15 potentially neurotoxic pesticides from five different chemical classes. We used Bayesian profile regression (BPR) to examine associations between clustered pesticide profiles and deficits in childhood FSIQ. BPR identified eight distinct clusters of prenatal pesticide profiles. Two of the pesticide profile clusters exhibited some of the highest cumulative pesticide use levels and were associated with deficits in adjusted FSIQ of −6.9 (95% credible interval: −11.3, −2.2) and −6.4 (95% credible interval: −13.1, 0.49), respectively, when compared with the pesticide profile cluster that showed the lowest level of pesticides use. Although maternal residence during pregnancy near high agricultural use of multiple neurotoxic pesticides was associated with FSIQ deficit, the magnitude of the associations showed potential for sub-additive effects. Epidemiologic analysis of pesticides and their potential health effects can benefit from a multi-pollutant approach to analysis. PMID:28486423

Novel fMRI working memory paradigm accurately detects cognitive impairment in multiple sclerosis.

PubMed

Nelson, Flavia; Akhtar, Mohammad A; Zúñiga, Edward; Perez, Carlos A; Hasan, Khader M; Wilken, Jeffrey; Wolinsky, Jerry S; Narayana, Ponnada A; Steinberg, Joel L

2017-05-01

Cognitive impairment (CI) cannot be diagnosed by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) paradigms, such as the immediate/delayed memory task (I/DMT), detect varying degrees of working memory (WM). Preliminary findings using I/DMT showed differences in blood oxygenation level dependent (BOLD) activation between impaired (MSCI, n = 12) and non-impaired (MSNI, n = 9) multiple sclerosis (MS) patients. The aim of the study was to confirm CI detection based on I/DMT BOLD activation in a larger cohort of MS patients. The role of T2 lesion volume (LV) and Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS) in magnitude of BOLD signal was also sought. A total of 50 patients (EDSS mean ( m) = 3.2, disease duration (DD) m = 12 years, and age m = 40 years) underwent the Minimal Assessment of Cognitive Function in Multiple Sclerosis (MACFIMS) and I/DMT. Working memory activation (WMa) represents BOLD signal during DMT minus signal during IMT. CI was based on MACFIMS. A total of 10 MSNI, 30 MSCI, and 4 borderline patients were included in the analyses. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) showed MSNI had significantly greater WMa than MSCI, in the left prefrontal cortex and left supplementary motor area ( p = 0.032). Regression analysis showed significant inverse correlations between WMa and T2 LV/EDSS in similar areas ( p = 0.005, 0.004, respectively). I/DMT-based BOLD activation detects CI in MS. Larger studies are needed to confirm these findings.

Multiple Score Comparison: a network meta-analysis approach to comparison and external validation of prognostic scores.

PubMed

Haile, Sarah R; Guerra, Beniamino; Soriano, Joan B; Puhan, Milo A

2017-12-21

Prediction models and prognostic scores have been increasingly popular in both clinical practice and clinical research settings, for example to aid in risk-based decision making or control for confounding. In many medical fields, a large number of prognostic scores are available, but practitioners may find it difficult to choose between them due to lack of external validation as well as lack of comparisons between them. Borrowing methodology from network meta-analysis, we describe an approach to Multiple Score Comparison meta-analysis (MSC) which permits concurrent external validation and comparisons of prognostic scores using individual patient data (IPD) arising from a large-scale international collaboration. We describe the challenges in adapting network meta-analysis to the MSC setting, for instance the need to explicitly include correlations between the scores on a cohort level, and how to deal with many multi-score studies. We propose first using IPD to make cohort-level aggregate discrimination or calibration scores, comparing all to a common comparator. Then, standard network meta-analysis techniques can be applied, taking care to consider correlation structures in cohorts with multiple scores. Transitivity, consistency and heterogeneity are also examined. We provide a clinical application, comparing prognostic scores for 3-year mortality in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease using data from a large-scale collaborative initiative. We focus on the discriminative properties of the prognostic scores. Our results show clear differences in performance, with ADO and eBODE showing higher discrimination with respect to mortality than other considered scores. The assumptions of transitivity and local and global consistency were not violated. Heterogeneity was small. We applied a network meta-analytic methodology to externally validate and concurrently compare the prognostic properties of clinical scores. Our large-scale external validation indicates that the scores with the best discriminative properties to predict 3 year mortality in patients with COPD are ADO and eBODE.

Cluster Analysis of Acute Care Use Yields Insights for Tailored Pediatric Asthma Interventions.

PubMed

Abir, Mahshid; Truchil, Aaron; Wiest, Dawn; Nelson, Daniel B; Goldstick, Jason E; Koegel, Paul; Lozon, Marie M; Choi, Hwajung; Brenner, Jeffrey

2017-09-01

We undertake this study to understand patterns of pediatric asthma-related acute care use to inform interventions aimed at reducing potentially avoidable hospitalizations. Hospital claims data from 3 Camden city facilities for 2010 to 2014 were used to perform cluster analysis classifying patients aged 0 to 17 years according to their asthma-related hospital use. Clusters were based on 2 variables: asthma-related ED visits and hospitalizations. Demographics and a number of sociobehavioral and use characteristics were compared across clusters. Children who met the criteria (3,170) were included in the analysis. An examination of a scree plot showing the decline in within-cluster heterogeneity as the number of clusters increased confirmed that clusters of pediatric asthma patients according to hospital use exist in the data. Five clusters of patients with distinct asthma-related acute care use patterns were observed. Cluster 1 (62% of patients) showed the lowest rates of acute care use. These patients were least likely to have a mental health-related diagnosis, were less likely to have visited multiple facilities, and had no hospitalizations for asthma. Cluster 2 (19% of patients) had a low number of asthma ED visits and onetime hospitalization. Cluster 3 (11% of patients) had a high number of ED visits and low hospitalization rates, and the highest rates of multiple facility use. Cluster 4 (7% of patients) had moderate ED use for both asthma and other illnesses, and high rates of asthma hospitalizations; nearly one quarter received care at all facilities, and 1 in 10 had a mental health diagnosis. Cluster 5 (1% of patients) had extreme rates of acute care use. Differences observed between groups across multiple sociobehavioral factors suggest these clusters may represent children who differ along multiple dimensions, in addition to patterns of service use, with implications for tailored interventions. Copyright © 2017 American College of Emergency Physicians. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Evaluating Composite Sampling Methods of Bacillus Spores at Low Concentrations

PubMed Central

Hess, Becky M.; Amidan, Brett G.; Anderson, Kevin K.; Hutchison, Janine R.

2016-01-01

Restoring all facility operations after the 2001 Amerithrax attacks took years to complete, highlighting the need to reduce remediation time. Some of the most time intensive tasks were environmental sampling and sample analyses. Composite sampling allows disparate samples to be combined, with only a single analysis needed, making it a promising method to reduce response times. We developed a statistical experimental design to test three different composite sampling methods: 1) single medium single pass composite (SM-SPC): a single cellulose sponge samples multiple coupons with a single pass across each coupon; 2) single medium multi-pass composite: a single cellulose sponge samples multiple coupons with multiple passes across each coupon (SM-MPC); and 3) multi-medium post-sample composite (MM-MPC): a single cellulose sponge samples a single surface, and then multiple sponges are combined during sample extraction. Five spore concentrations of Bacillus atrophaeus Nakamura spores were tested; concentrations ranged from 5 to 100 CFU/coupon (0.00775 to 0.155 CFU/cm2). Study variables included four clean surface materials (stainless steel, vinyl tile, ceramic tile, and painted dry wallboard) and three grime coated/dirty materials (stainless steel, vinyl tile, and ceramic tile). Analysis of variance for the clean study showed two significant factors: composite method (p< 0.0001) and coupon material (p = 0.0006). Recovery efficiency (RE) was higher overall using the MM-MPC method compared to the SM-SPC and SM-MPC methods. RE with the MM-MPC method for concentrations tested (10 to 100 CFU/coupon) was similar for ceramic tile, dry wall, and stainless steel for clean materials. RE was lowest for vinyl tile with both composite methods. Statistical tests for the dirty study showed RE was significantly higher for vinyl and stainless steel materials, but lower for ceramic tile. These results suggest post-sample compositing can be used to reduce sample analysis time when responding to a Bacillus anthracis contamination event of clean or dirty surfaces. PMID:27736999

Evaluating Composite Sampling Methods of Bacillus Spores at Low Concentrations.

PubMed

Hess, Becky M; Amidan, Brett G; Anderson, Kevin K; Hutchison, Janine R

2016-01-01

Restoring all facility operations after the 2001 Amerithrax attacks took years to complete, highlighting the need to reduce remediation time. Some of the most time intensive tasks were environmental sampling and sample analyses. Composite sampling allows disparate samples to be combined, with only a single analysis needed, making it a promising method to reduce response times. We developed a statistical experimental design to test three different composite sampling methods: 1) single medium single pass composite (SM-SPC): a single cellulose sponge samples multiple coupons with a single pass across each coupon; 2) single medium multi-pass composite: a single cellulose sponge samples multiple coupons with multiple passes across each coupon (SM-MPC); and 3) multi-medium post-sample composite (MM-MPC): a single cellulose sponge samples a single surface, and then multiple sponges are combined during sample extraction. Five spore concentrations of Bacillus atrophaeus Nakamura spores were tested; concentrations ranged from 5 to 100 CFU/coupon (0.00775 to 0.155 CFU/cm2). Study variables included four clean surface materials (stainless steel, vinyl tile, ceramic tile, and painted dry wallboard) and three grime coated/dirty materials (stainless steel, vinyl tile, and ceramic tile). Analysis of variance for the clean study showed two significant factors: composite method (p< 0.0001) and coupon material (p = 0.0006). Recovery efficiency (RE) was higher overall using the MM-MPC method compared to the SM-SPC and SM-MPC methods. RE with the MM-MPC method for concentrations tested (10 to 100 CFU/coupon) was similar for ceramic tile, dry wall, and stainless steel for clean materials. RE was lowest for vinyl tile with both composite methods. Statistical tests for the dirty study showed RE was significantly higher for vinyl and stainless steel materials, but lower for ceramic tile. These results suggest post-sample compositing can be used to reduce sample analysis time when responding to a Bacillus anthracis contamination event of clean or dirty surfaces.

Enhanced Tolerance of Transgenic Potato Plants Over-Expressing Non-specific Lipid Transfer Protein-1 (StnsLTP1) against Multiple Abiotic Stresses

PubMed Central

Gangadhar, Baniekal H.; Sajeesh, Kappachery; Venkatesh, Jelli; Baskar, Venkidasamy; Abhinandan, Kumar; Yu, Jae W.; Prasad, Ram; Mishra, Raghvendra K.

2016-01-01

Abiotic stresses such as heat, drought, and salinity are major environmental constraints that limit potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) production worldwide. Previously, we found a potential thermo-tolerance gene, named StnsLTP1 from potato using yeast functional screening. Here, we report the functional characterization of StnsLTP1 and its role in multiple abiotic stresses in potato plants. Computational analysis of StnsLTP1 with other plant LTPs showed eight conserved cysteine residues, and four α-helices stabilized by four disulfide bridges. Expression analysis of StnsLTP1 gene showed differential expression under heat, water-deficit and salt stresses. Transgenic potato lines over-expressing StnsLTP1 gene displayed enhanced cell membrane integrity under stress conditions, as indicated by reduced membrane lipid per-oxidation, and hydrogen peroxide content relative to untransformed (UT) control plants. In addition, transgenic lines over-expressing StLTP1 also exhibited increased antioxidant enzyme activity with enhanced accumulation of ascorbates, and up-regulation of stress-related genes including StAPX, StCAT, StSOD, StHsfA3, StHSP70, and StsHSP20 compared with the UT plants. These results suggests that StnsLTP1 transgenic plants acquired improved tolerance to multiple abiotic stresses through enhanced activation of antioxidative defense mechanisms via cyclic scavenging of reactive oxygen species and regulated expression of stress-related genes. PMID:27597854

Versican and its associated molecules: potential diagnostic markers for multiple myeloma.

PubMed

Gupta, Nidhi; Khan, Rehan; Kumar, Raman; Kumar, Lalit; Sharma, Alpana

2015-03-10

Multiple myeloma (MM) represents a malignancy of B-cells characterized by proliferation of malignant plasma cells in the bone marrow (BM). Versican (VCAN), an extracellular matrix (ECM) protein, appears to be involved in multiple processes in several cancers. Identifying optimum diagnostic markers and delineating its association with disease severity might be important for controlling MM. Expression of VCAN and its associated molecules (β-catenin, β1 integrin and FAK) were investigated in 60 subjects to evaluate their usefulness as diagnostic marker. Circulatory and molecular levels of above molecules were analyzed in their BM and Blood using ELISA, Q-PCR and western blotting along with their ROC curve analysis. Circulatory levels of VCAN, β-catenin and FAK were significantly higher in patients with varying significance in each stage. β-Catenin and FAK intracellular levels were significantly elevated in patients. mRNA levels of all molecules were significantly higher in BMMNCs while VCAN and β-catenin also showed increase in PBMCs. Upregulation of these molecules was also observed at protein level. ROC curve analysis for VCAN showed absolute combination of sensitivity and specificity for diagnosis in serum. Significant elevation of VCAN and its associated molecules imply their role in MM. Optimal sensitivity and specificity of VCAN might utilize its importance as potential marker for active disease. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Concordant integrative gene set enrichment analysis of multiple large-scale two-sample expression data sets.

PubMed

Lai, Yinglei; Zhang, Fanni; Nayak, Tapan K; Modarres, Reza; Lee, Norman H; McCaffrey, Timothy A

2014-01-01

Gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA) is an important approach to the analysis of coordinate expression changes at a pathway level. Although many statistical and computational methods have been proposed for GSEA, the issue of a concordant integrative GSEA of multiple expression data sets has not been well addressed. Among different related data sets collected for the same or similar study purposes, it is important to identify pathways or gene sets with concordant enrichment. We categorize the underlying true states of differential expression into three representative categories: no change, positive change and negative change. Due to data noise, what we observe from experiments may not indicate the underlying truth. Although these categories are not observed in practice, they can be considered in a mixture model framework. Then, we define the mathematical concept of concordant gene set enrichment and calculate its related probability based on a three-component multivariate normal mixture model. The related false discovery rate can be calculated and used to rank different gene sets. We used three published lung cancer microarray gene expression data sets to illustrate our proposed method. One analysis based on the first two data sets was conducted to compare our result with a previous published result based on a GSEA conducted separately for each individual data set. This comparison illustrates the advantage of our proposed concordant integrative gene set enrichment analysis. Then, with a relatively new and larger pathway collection, we used our method to conduct an integrative analysis of the first two data sets and also all three data sets. Both results showed that many gene sets could be identified with low false discovery rates. A consistency between both results was also observed. A further exploration based on the KEGG cancer pathway collection showed that a majority of these pathways could be identified by our proposed method. This study illustrates that we can improve detection power and discovery consistency through a concordant integrative analysis of multiple large-scale two-sample gene expression data sets.

Earth Observatory Satellite system definition study. Report 1: Orbit/launch vehicle trade-off studies and recommendations

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1974-01-01

A summary of the constraints and requirements on the Earth Observatory Satellite (EOS-A) orbit and launch vehicle analysis is presented. The propulsion system (hydrazine) and the launch vehicle (Delta 2910) selected for EOS-A are examined. The rationale for the selection of the recommended orbital altitude of 418 nautical miles is explained. The original analysis was based on the EOS-A mission with the Thematic Mapper and the High Resolution Pointable Imager. The impact of the revised mission model is analyzed to show how the new mission model affects the previously defined propulsion system, launch vehicle, and orbit. A table is provided to show all aspects of the EOS multiple mission concepts. The subjects considered include the following: (1) mission orbit analysis, (2) spacecraft parametric performance analysis, (3) launch system performance analysis, and (4) orbits/launch vehicle selection.

Experiences in autotuning matrix multiplication for energy minimization on GPUs

DOE PAGES

Anzt, Hartwig; Haugen, Blake; Kurzak, Jakub; ...

2015-05-20

In this study, we report extensive results and analysis of autotuning the computationally intensive graphics processing units kernel for dense matrix–matrix multiplication in double precision. In contrast to traditional autotuning and/or optimization for runtime performance only, we also take the energy efficiency into account. For kernels achieving equal performance, we show significant differences in their energy balance. We also identify the memory throughput as the most influential metric that trades off performance and energy efficiency. Finally, as a result, the performance optimal case ends up not being the most efficient kernel in overall resource use.

Evidence for multiple paternity in the school shark Galeorhinus galeus found in New Zealand waters.

PubMed

Hernández, S; Duffy, C; Francis, M P; Ritchie, P A

2014-11-01

This study assessed the levels of relatedness of Galeorhinus galeus of progeny arrays using six microsatellite DNA markers. A parentage analysis from five families (mother and litter) from the North Island of New Zealand suggested the occurrence of genetic polyandry in G. galeus with two of the five litters showing multiple sires involved in the progeny arrays. This finding may be consistent with the reproductive characteristics of G. galeus, in which females can potentially store sperm for long periods of time after the mating season. © 2014 The Fisheries Society of the British Isles.

An Analysis of Response-Contingent Learning Experiences for Young Children.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hanson, Marci J.; Hanline, Mary Frances

1985-01-01

Three children with severe and multiple disabilities (8-25 months old) were provided contingent learning experiences via electromechanical apparatus. Results indicated that all three children increased the frequency of the target behavior. The data are equivocal as to whether or not children showed an awareness of the response-contingent feedback.…

Girls in Primary School Science Classrooms: Theorising beyond Dominant Discourses of Gender

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cervoni, Cleti; Ivinson, Gabrielle

2011-01-01

The paper explores the ways girls appropriate gender through actions, gesture and talk to achieve things in primary school science classrooms. It draws on socio-cultural approaches to show that when everyday classroom practices are viewed from multiple planes of analysis, historical, institutional and in the micro dynamics of classroom…

Phylogenetic Analysis of Klebsiella pneumoniae from Hospitalized Children, Pakistan.

PubMed

Ejaz, Hasan; Wang, Nancy; Wilksch, Jonathan J; Page, Andrew J; Cao, Hanwei; Gujaran, Shruti; Keane, Jacqueline A; Lithgow, Trevor; Ul-Haq, Ikram; Dougan, Gordon; Strugnell, Richard A; Heinz, Eva

2017-11-01

Klebsiella pneumoniae shows increasing emergence of multidrug-resistant lineages, including strains resistant to all available antimicrobial drugs. We conducted whole-genome sequencing of 178 highly drug-resistant isolates from a tertiary hospital in Lahore, Pakistan. Phylogenetic analyses to place these isolates into global context demonstrate the expansion of multiple independent lineages, including K. quasipneumoniae.

The Role of Attention in Somatosensory Processing: A Multi-Trait, Multi-Method Analysis

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wodka, Ericka L.; Puts, Nicolaas A. J.; Mahone, E. Mark; Edden, Richard A. E.; Tommerdahl, Mark; Mostofsky, Stewart H.

2016-01-01

Sensory processing abnormalities in autism have largely been described by parent report. This study used a multi-method (parent-report and measurement), multi-trait (tactile sensitivity and attention) design to evaluate somatosensory processing in ASD. Results showed multiple significant within-method (e.g., parent report of different…

Identifying Aspects of Parental Involvement that Affect the Academic Achievement of High School Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Roulette-McIntyre, Ovella; Bagaka's, Joshua G.; Drake, Daniel D.

2005-01-01

This study identified parental practices that relate positively to high school students' academic performance. Parents of 643 high school students participated in the study. Data analysis, using a multiple linear regression model, shows parent-school connection, student gender, and race are significant predictors of student academic performance.…

What Disengages Doctoral Students in the Biological and Environmental Sciences from Their Doctoral Studies?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Virtanen, V.; Taina, J.; Pyhältö, K.

2017-01-01

This study explored the causes of student disengagement from their doctoral studies in the biological and environmental sciences. The data came from interviews of 40 doctoral students (male = 15, female = 25) and underwent qualitative analysis for content. Our results showed that doctoral studies provide multiple contexts for disengagement, such…

Overexpressing the Multiple-Stress Responsive Gene At1g74450 Reduces Plant Height and Male Fertility in Arabidopsis thaliana

PubMed Central

Visscher, Anne M.; Belfield, Eric J.; Vlad, Daniela; Irani, Niloufer; Moore, Ian; Harberd, Nicholas P.

2015-01-01

A subset of genes in Arabidopsis thaliana is known to be up-regulated in response to a wide range of different environmental stress factors. However, not all of these genes are characterized as yet with respect to their functions. In this study, we used transgenic knockout, overexpression and reporter gene approaches to try to elucidate the biological roles of five unknown multiple-stress responsive genes in Arabidopsis. The selected genes have the following locus identifiers: At1g18740, At1g74450, At4g27652, At4g29780 and At5g12010. Firstly, T-DNA insertion knockout lines were identified for each locus and screened for altered phenotypes. None of the lines were found to be visually different from wildtype Col-0. Secondly, 35S-driven overexpression lines were generated for each open reading frame. Analysis of these transgenic lines showed altered phenotypes for lines overexpressing the At1g74450 ORF. Plants overexpressing the multiple-stress responsive gene At1g74450 are stunted in height and have reduced male fertility. Alexander staining of anthers from flowers at developmental stage 12–13 showed either an absence or a reduction in viable pollen compared to wildtype Col-0 and At1g74450 knockout lines. Interestingly, the effects of stress on crop productivity are most severe at developmental stages such as male gametophyte development. However, the molecular factors and regulatory networks underlying environmental stress-induced male gametophytic alterations are still largely unknown. Our results indicate that the At1g74450 gene provides a potential link between multiple environmental stresses, plant height and pollen development. In addition, ruthenium red staining analysis showed that At1g74450 may affect the composition of the inner seed coat mucilage layer. Finally, C-terminal GFP fusion proteins for At1g74450 were shown to localise to the cytosol. PMID:26485022

The manager's financial handbook. Cost concepts and breakeven analysis.

PubMed

Butros, F A

1997-01-01

As the health-care environment becomes more competitive, laboratory managers need to become skillful in using and controlling their resources. Controlling resources usually means managing cost. By analyzing cost and understanding its different components, the laboratory manager can make rational decisions. This article describes and analyzes different categories within which cost can be characterized and shows how breakeven analysis can be used when dealing with fixed-price payers or multiple payment purchases of health-care services.

Discovery and analysis of an active long terminal repeat-retrotransposable element in Aspergillus oryzae.

PubMed

Jie Jin, Feng; Hara, Seiichi; Sato, Atsushi; Koyama, Yasuji

2014-01-01

Wild-type Aspergillus oryzae RIB40 contains two copies of the AO090005001597 gene. We previously constructed A. oryzae RIB40 strain, RKuAF8B, with multiple chromosomal deletions, in which the AO090005001597 copy number was found to be increased significantly. Sequence analysis indicated that AO090005001597 is part of a putative 6,000-bp retrotransposable element, flanked by two long terminal repeats (LTRs) of 669 bp, with characteristics of retroviruses and retrotransposons, and thus designated AoLTR (A. oryzae LTR-retrotransposable element). AoLTR comprised putative reverse transcriptase, RNase H, and integrase domains. The deduced amino acid sequence alignment of AoLTR showed 94% overall identity with AFLAV, an A. flavus Tf1/sushi retrotransposon. Quantitative real-time RT-PCR showed that AoLTR gene expression was significantly increased in the RKuAF8B, in accordance with the increased copy number. Inverse PCR indicated that the full-length retrotransposable element was randomly integrated into multiple genomic locations. However, no obvious phenotypic changes were associated with the increased AoLTR gene copy number.

Study on the recent severe thunderstorms in northern India

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vishwanathan, Gokul; Narayanan, Sunanda; Mrudula, G.

2016-05-01

Thunderstorm, resulting from vigorous convective activity, is one of the most spectacular weather phenomena in the atmosphere which is associated with thunder, squall lines and lightening. On 13 April 2010, a severe storm struck parts of Bangladesh and eastern India which lasted about 90 minutes, with the most intense portion spanning 30-40 minutes. The severe Thunderstorm on 13th April 2010 spawned a large tornado, which lasted about 20 minutes and was the first tornado recorded in Bihar history. In the year 2015, Bihar experienced a similar storm on 21 April during which multiple microbursts were observed. Various meteorological parameters have been analyzed to study the factors affecting the development of the thunderstorm. Satellite images from KALPANA and Meteosat has been analyzed to capture the temporal and spatial evolution of these storms. The satellite images show the development of a convective clouds system in the early afternoon hours which developed further into the severe storms by late evening. The analysis carried out further using K-index, lifted index, CAPE etc also shows the development of multiple cells of convection. Further analysis of these storms is presented in the paper.

Significant Linkage for Tourette Syndrome in a Large French Canadian Family

PubMed Central

Mérette, Chantal; Brassard, Andrée; Potvin, Anne; Bouvier, Hélène; Rousseau, François; Émond, Claudia; Bissonnette, Luc; Roy, Marc-André; Maziade, Michel; Ott, Jurg; Caron, Chantal

2000-01-01

Family and twin studies provide strong evidence that genetic factors are involved in the transmission of Gilles de la Tourette syndrome (TS) and related psychiatric disorders. To detect the underlying susceptibility gene(s) for TS, we performed linkage analysis in one large French Canadian family (127 members) from the Charlevoix region, in which 20 family members were definitely affected by TS and 20 others showed related tic disorders. Using model-based linkage analysis, we observed a LOD score of 3.24 on chromosome 11 (11q23). This result was obtained in a multipoint approach involving marker D11S1377, the marker for which significant linkage disequilibrium with TS recently has been detected in an Afrikaner population. Altogether, 25 markers were studied, and, for level of significance, we derived a criterion that took into account the multiple testing arising from the use of three phenotype definitions and three modes of inheritance, a procedure that yielded a LOD score of 3.18. Hence, even after adjustment for multiple testing, the present study shows statistically significant evidence for genetic linkage with TS. PMID:10986045

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - These towers are part of one of the world’s highest performing visual film analysis systems, developed to review and analyze previous shuttle flight data in preparation for the shuttle fleet’s return to flight. The system is being used today for another purpose. NASA has permitted its use in helping to analyze a film that shows a recent kidnapping in progress in Florida. Developed by NASA, United Space Alliance (USA) and Silicon Graphics Inc., the system allows multiple-person collaboration, highly detailed manipulation and evaluation of specific imagery. The system is housed in the Image Analysis Facility inside the Vehicle Assembly Building. [Photo taken Aug. 15, 2003, courtesy of Terry Wallace, SGI

NASA Image and Video Library

2004-02-04

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - These towers are part of one of the world’s highest performing visual film analysis systems, developed to review and analyze previous shuttle flight data in preparation for the shuttle fleet’s return to flight. The system is being used today for another purpose. NASA has permitted its use in helping to analyze a film that shows a recent kidnapping in progress in Florida. Developed by NASA, United Space Alliance (USA) and Silicon Graphics Inc., the system allows multiple-person collaboration, highly detailed manipulation and evaluation of specific imagery. The system is housed in the Image Analysis Facility inside the Vehicle Assembly Building. [Photo taken Aug. 15, 2003, courtesy of Terry Wallace, SGI

Multiple regression analysis of anthropometric measurements influencing the cephalic index of male Japanese university students.

PubMed

Hossain, Md Golam; Saw, Aik; Alam, Rashidul; Ohtsuki, Fumio; Kamarul, Tunku

2013-09-01

Cephalic index (CI), the ratio of head breadth to head length, is widely used to categorise human populations. The aim of this study was to access the impact of anthropometric measurements on the CI of male Japanese university students. This study included 1,215 male university students from Tokyo and Kyoto, selected using convenient sampling. Multiple regression analysis was used to determine the effect of anthropometric measurements on CI. The variance inflation factor (VIF) showed no evidence of a multicollinearity problem among independent variables. The coefficients of the regression line demonstrated a significant positive relationship between CI and minimum frontal breadth (p < 0.01), bizygomatic breadth (p < 0.01) and head height (p < 0.05), and a negative relationship between CI and morphological facial height (p < 0.01) and head circumference (p < 0.01). Moreover, the coefficient and odds ratio of logistic regression analysis showed a greater likelihood for minimum frontal breadth (p < 0.01) and bizygomatic breadth (p < 0.01) to predict round-headedness, and morphological facial height (p < 0.05) and head circumference (p < 0.01) to predict long-headedness. Stepwise regression analysis revealed bizygomatic breadth, head circumference, minimum frontal breadth, head height and morphological facial height to be the best predictor craniofacial measurements with respect to CI. The results suggest that most of the variables considered in this study appear to influence the CI of adult male Japanese students.

Prognostic impact of the level of nodal involvement: retrospective analysis of patients with advanced oral squamous cell carcinoma.

PubMed

Murakami, R; Nakayama, H; Semba, A; Hiraki, A; Nagata, M; Kawahara, K; Shiraishi, S; Hirai, T; Uozumi, H; Yamashita, Y

2017-01-01

We retrospectively evaluated the prognostic impact of the level of nodal involvement in patients with advanced oral squamous cell carcinoma (SCC). Between 2005 and 2010, 105 patients with clinical stage III or IV oral SCC had chemoradiotherapy preoperatively. Clinical (cN) and pathological nodal (pN) involvement was primarily at levels Ib and II. We defined nodal involvement at levels Ia and III-V as anterior and inferior extensions, respectively, and recorded such findings as extensive. With respect to pretreatment variables (age, clinical stage, clinical findings of the primary tumour, and nodal findings), univariate analysis showed that extensive cN was the only significant factor for overall survival (hazard ratio [HR], 3.27; 95% CI 1.50 to 7.13; p=0.001). Univariate analysis showed that all pN findings, including the nodal classification (invaded nodes, multiple, and contralateral) and extensive involvement were significant, and multivariate analysis confirmed that extensive pN (HR 4.71; 95% CI 1.85 to 11.97; p=0.001) and multiple pN (HR 2.59; 95% CI 1.10 to 6.09; p=0.029) were independent predictors of overall survival. Assessment based on the level of invaded neck nodes may be a better predictor of survival than the current nodal classification. Copyright © 2016 The British Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Cellular response of pulp fibroblast to single or multiple photobiomodulation applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fernandes, Amanda; Lourenço Neto, Natalino; Teixeira Marques, Nadia Carolina; Lourenço Ribeiro Vitor, Luciana; Tavares Oliveira Prado, Mariel; Cardoso Oliveira, Rodrigo; Moreira Machado, Maria Aparecida Andrade; Marchini Oliveira, Thais

2018-06-01

This study aimed to evaluate in vitro the effects of single or multiple photobiomodulation (PBM) applications on the viability and proliferation of pulp fibroblasts. Pulp fibroblasts from human deciduous teeth were obtained from a biorepository, plated into 96-well plates, and irradiated according to the experimental groups. At 24 h, 48 h, and 72 h after irradiation, cell viability and proliferation were assessed through MTT and Crystal Violet assays, respectively. The intragroup comparison revealed statistically significant differences for 2.5 J cm‑2 (3×) with increasing viability at 72 h over 48 h (p  =  0.027). The intergroup analysis showed a greater viability of the multiple PBM applications 2.5 J cm‑2 (3×) over the single application 7.5 J cm‑2 (1×) at 72 h. The application of 5 J cm‑2 (1×) exhibited greater proliferation than the application of 7.5 J cm‑2 (1×), 2.5 J cm‑2 (2×) and 2.5 J cm‑2 (3×). Single or multiple PBM applications demonstration different stimulatory effects on pulp fibroblast. The results show that the group submitted to multiple irradiation presented significantly higher cell viability than the groups with single irradiation at 72 h. However, the photobiomodulation therapy with single irradiations was more effective on cell proliferation at 24 h.

Extrinsic extinction cross-section in the multiple acoustic scattering by fluid particles

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mitri, F. G.

2017-04-01

Cross-sections (and their related energy efficiency factors) are physical parameters used in the quantitative analysis of different phenomena arising from the interaction of waves with a particle (or multiple particles). Earlier works with the acoustic scattering theory considered such quadratic (i.e., nonlinear) quantities for a single scatterer, although a few extended the formalism for a pair of scatterers but were limited to the scattering cross-section only. Therefore, the standard formalism applied to viscous particles is not suitable for the complete description of the cross-sections and energy balance of the multiple-particle system because both absorption and extinction phenomena arise during the multiple scattering process. Based upon the law of the conservation of energy, this work provides a complete comprehensive analysis for the extrinsic scattering, absorption, and extinction cross-sections (i.e., in the far-field) of a pair of viscous scatterers of arbitrary shape, immersed in a nonviscous isotropic fluid. A law of acoustic extinction taking into consideration interparticle effects in wave propagation is established, which constitutes a generalized form of the optical theorem in multiple scattering. Analytical expressions for the scattering, absorption, and extinction cross-sections are derived for plane progressive waves with arbitrary incidence. The mathematical expressions are formulated in partial-wave series expansions in cylindrical coordinates involving the angle of incidence, the addition theorem for the cylindrical wave functions, and the expansion coefficients of the scatterers. The analysis shows that the multiple scattering cross-section depends upon the expansion coefficients of both scatterers in addition to an interference factor that depends on the interparticle distance. However, the extinction cross-section depends on the expansion coefficients of the scatterer located in a particular system of coordinates, in addition to the interference term. Numerical examples illustrate the analysis for two viscous fluid circular cylindrical cross-sections immersed in a non-viscous fluid. Computations for the (non-dimensional) scattering, absorption, and extinction cross-section factors are performed with particular emphasis on varying the angle of incidence, the interparticle distance, and the sizes, and the physical properties of the particles. A symmetric behavior is observed for the dimensionless multiple scattering cross-section, while asymmetries arise for both the dimensionless absorption and extinction cross-sections with respect to the angle of incidence. The present analysis provides a complete analytical and computational method for the prediction of cross-section and energy efficiency factors in multiple acoustic scattering of plane waves of arbitrary incidence by a pair of scatterers. The results can be used as a priori information in the direct or inverse characterization of multiple scattering systems such as acoustically engineered fluid metamaterials with reconfigurable periodicities, cloaking devices, liquid crystals, and other applications.

Discovering transnosological molecular basis of human brain diseases using biclustering analysis of integrated gene expression data.

PubMed

Cha, Kihoon; Hwang, Taeho; Oh, Kimin; Yi, Gwan-Su

2015-01-01

It has been reported that several brain diseases can be treated as transnosological manner implicating possible common molecular basis under those diseases. However, molecular level commonality among those brain diseases has been largely unexplored. Gene expression analyses of human brain have been used to find genes associated with brain diseases but most of those studies were restricted either to an individual disease or to a couple of diseases. In addition, identifying significant genes in such brain diseases mostly failed when it used typical methods depending on differentially expressed genes. In this study, we used a correlation-based biclustering approach to find coexpressed gene sets in five neurodegenerative diseases and three psychiatric disorders. By using biclustering analysis, we could efficiently and fairly identified various gene sets expressed specifically in both single and multiple brain diseases. We could find 4,307 gene sets correlatively expressed in multiple brain diseases and 3,409 gene sets exclusively specified in individual brain diseases. The function enrichment analysis of those gene sets showed many new possible functional bases as well as neurological processes that are common or specific for those eight diseases. This study introduces possible common molecular bases for several brain diseases, which open the opportunity to clarify the transnosological perspective assumed in brain diseases. It also showed the advantages of correlation-based biclustering analysis and accompanying function enrichment analysis for gene expression data in this type of investigation.

Discovering transnosological molecular basis of human brain diseases using biclustering analysis of integrated gene expression data

PubMed Central

2015-01-01

Background It has been reported that several brain diseases can be treated as transnosological manner implicating possible common molecular basis under those diseases. However, molecular level commonality among those brain diseases has been largely unexplored. Gene expression analyses of human brain have been used to find genes associated with brain diseases but most of those studies were restricted either to an individual disease or to a couple of diseases. In addition, identifying significant genes in such brain diseases mostly failed when it used typical methods depending on differentially expressed genes. Results In this study, we used a correlation-based biclustering approach to find coexpressed gene sets in five neurodegenerative diseases and three psychiatric disorders. By using biclustering analysis, we could efficiently and fairly identified various gene sets expressed specifically in both single and multiple brain diseases. We could find 4,307 gene sets correlatively expressed in multiple brain diseases and 3,409 gene sets exclusively specified in individual brain diseases. The function enrichment analysis of those gene sets showed many new possible functional bases as well as neurological processes that are common or specific for those eight diseases. Conclusions This study introduces possible common molecular bases for several brain diseases, which open the opportunity to clarify the transnosological perspective assumed in brain diseases. It also showed the advantages of correlation-based biclustering analysis and accompanying function enrichment analysis for gene expression data in this type of investigation. PMID:26043779

A novel visual saliency analysis model based on dynamic multiple feature combination strategy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lv, Jing; Ye, Qi; Lv, Wen; Zhang, Libao

2017-06-01

The human visual system can quickly focus on a small number of salient objects. This process was known as visual saliency analysis and these salient objects are called focus of attention (FOA). The visual saliency analysis mechanism can be used to extract the salient regions and analyze saliency of object in an image, which is time-saving and can avoid unnecessary costs of computing resources. In this paper, a novel visual saliency analysis model based on dynamic multiple feature combination strategy is introduced. In the proposed model, we first generate multi-scale feature maps of intensity, color and orientation features using Gaussian pyramids and the center-surround difference. Then, we evaluate the contribution of all feature maps to the saliency map according to the area of salient regions and their average intensity, and attach different weights to different features according to their importance. Finally, we choose the largest salient region generated by the region growing method to perform the evaluation. Experimental results show that the proposed model cannot only achieve higher accuracy in saliency map computation compared with other traditional saliency analysis models, but also extract salient regions with arbitrary shapes, which is of great value for the image analysis and understanding.

Candidate genetic pathways for attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) show association to hyperactive/impulsive symptoms in children with ADHD.

PubMed

Bralten, Janita; Franke, Barbara; Waldman, Irwin; Rommelse, Nanda; Hartman, Catharina; Asherson, Philip; Banaschewski, Tobias; Ebstein, Richard P; Gill, Michael; Miranda, Ana; Oades, Robert D; Roeyers, Herbert; Rothenberger, Aribert; Sergeant, Joseph A; Oosterlaan, Jaap; Sonuga-Barke, Edmund; Steinhausen, Hans-Christoph; Faraone, Stephen V; Buitelaar, Jan K; Arias-Vásquez, Alejandro

2013-11-01

Because multiple genes with small effect sizes are assumed to play a role in attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) etiology, considering multiple variants within the same analysis likely increases the total explained phenotypic variance, thereby boosting the power of genetic studies. This study investigated whether pathway-based analysis could bring scientists closer to unraveling the biology of ADHD. The pathway was described as a predefined gene selection based on a well-established database or literature data. Common genetic variants in pathways involved in dopamine/norepinephrine and serotonin neurotransmission and genes involved in neuritic outgrowth were investigated in cases from the International Multicentre ADHD Genetics (IMAGE) study. Multivariable analysis was performed to combine the effects of single genetic variants within the pathway genes. Phenotypes were DSM-IV symptom counts for inattention and hyperactivity/impulsivity (n = 871) and symptom severity measured with the Conners Parent (n = 930) and Teacher (n = 916) Rating Scales. Summing genetic effects of common genetic variants within the pathways showed a significant association with hyperactive/impulsive symptoms ((p)empirical = .007) but not with inattentive symptoms ((p)empirical = .73). Analysis of parent-rated Conners hyperactive/impulsive symptom scores validated this result ((p)empirical = .0018). Teacher-rated Conners scores were not associated. Post hoc analyses showed a significant contribution of all pathways to the hyperactive/impulsive symptom domain (dopamine/norepinephrine, (p)empirical = .0004; serotonin, (p)empirical = .0149; neuritic outgrowth, (p)empirical = .0452). The present analysis shows an association between common variants in 3 genetic pathways and the hyperactive/impulsive component of ADHD. This study demonstrates that pathway-based association analyses, using quantitative measurements of ADHD symptom domains, can increase the power of genetic analyses to identify biological risk factors involved in this disorder. Copyright © 2013 American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Multiple imputation for IPD meta-analysis: allowing for heterogeneity and studies with missing covariates.

PubMed

Quartagno, M; Carpenter, J R

2016-07-30

Recently, multiple imputation has been proposed as a tool for individual patient data meta-analysis with sporadically missing observations, and it has been suggested that within-study imputation is usually preferable. However, such within study imputation cannot handle variables that are completely missing within studies. Further, if some of the contributing studies are relatively small, it may be appropriate to share information across studies when imputing. In this paper, we develop and evaluate a joint modelling approach to multiple imputation of individual patient data in meta-analysis, with an across-study probability distribution for the study specific covariance matrices. This retains the flexibility to allow for between-study heterogeneity when imputing while allowing (i) sharing information on the covariance matrix across studies when this is appropriate, and (ii) imputing variables that are wholly missing from studies. Simulation results show both equivalent performance to the within-study imputation approach where this is valid, and good results in more general, practically relevant, scenarios with studies of very different sizes, non-negligible between-study heterogeneity and wholly missing variables. We illustrate our approach using data from an individual patient data meta-analysis of hypertension trials. © 2015 The Authors. Statistics in Medicine Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd. © 2015 The Authors. Statistics in Medicine Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Accidental Water Pollution Risk Analysis of Mine Tailings Ponds in Guanting Reservoir Watershed, Zhangjiakou City, China.

PubMed

Liu, Renzhi; Liu, Jing; Zhang, Zhijiao; Borthwick, Alistair; Zhang, Ke

2015-12-02

Over the past half century, a surprising number of major pollution incidents occurred due to tailings dam failures. Most previous studies of such incidents comprised forensic analyses of environmental impacts after a tailings dam failure, with few considering the combined pollution risk before incidents occur at a watershed-scale. We therefore propose Watershed-scale Tailings-pond Pollution Risk Analysis (WTPRA), designed for multiple mine tailings ponds, stemming from previous watershed-scale accidental pollution risk assessments. Transferred and combined risk is embedded using risk rankings of multiple routes of the "source-pathway-target" in the WTPRA. The previous approach is modified using multi-criteria analysis, dam failure models, and instantaneous water quality models, which are modified for application to multiple tailings ponds. The study area covers the basin of Gutanting Reservoir (the largest backup drinking water source for Beijing) in Zhangjiakou City, where many mine tailings ponds are located. The resultant map shows that risk is higher downstream of Gutanting Reservoir and in its two tributary basins (i.e., Qingshui River and Longyang River). Conversely, risk is lower in the midstream and upstream reaches. The analysis also indicates that the most hazardous mine tailings ponds are located in Chongli and Xuanhua, and that Guanting Reservoir is the most vulnerable receptor. Sensitivity and uncertainty analyses are performed to validate the robustness of the WTPRA method.

Accidental Water Pollution Risk Analysis of Mine Tailings Ponds in Guanting Reservoir Watershed, Zhangjiakou City, China

PubMed Central

Liu, Renzhi; Liu, Jing; Zhang, Zhijiao; Borthwick, Alistair; Zhang, Ke

2015-01-01

Over the past half century, a surprising number of major pollution incidents occurred due to tailings dam failures. Most previous studies of such incidents comprised forensic analyses of environmental impacts after a tailings dam failure, with few considering the combined pollution risk before incidents occur at a watershed-scale. We therefore propose Watershed-scale Tailings-pond Pollution Risk Analysis (WTPRA), designed for multiple mine tailings ponds, stemming from previous watershed-scale accidental pollution risk assessments. Transferred and combined risk is embedded using risk rankings of multiple routes of the “source-pathway-target” in the WTPRA. The previous approach is modified using multi-criteria analysis, dam failure models, and instantaneous water quality models, which are modified for application to multiple tailings ponds. The study area covers the basin of Gutanting Reservoir (the largest backup drinking water source for Beijing) in Zhangjiakou City, where many mine tailings ponds are located. The resultant map shows that risk is higher downstream of Gutanting Reservoir and in its two tributary basins (i.e., Qingshui River and Longyang River). Conversely, risk is lower in the midstream and upstream reaches. The analysis also indicates that the most hazardous mine tailings ponds are located in Chongli and Xuanhua, and that Guanting Reservoir is the most vulnerable receptor. Sensitivity and uncertainty analyses are performed to validate the robustness of the WTPRA method. PMID:26633450

An efficient Bayesian meta-analysis approach for studying cross-phenotype genetic associations

PubMed Central

Majumdar, Arunabha; Haldar, Tanushree; Bhattacharya, Sourabh; Witte, John S.

2018-01-01

Simultaneous analysis of genetic associations with multiple phenotypes may reveal shared genetic susceptibility across traits (pleiotropy). For a locus exhibiting overall pleiotropy, it is important to identify which specific traits underlie this association. We propose a Bayesian meta-analysis approach (termed CPBayes) that uses summary-level data across multiple phenotypes to simultaneously measure the evidence of aggregate-level pleiotropic association and estimate an optimal subset of traits associated with the risk locus. This method uses a unified Bayesian statistical framework based on a spike and slab prior. CPBayes performs a fully Bayesian analysis by employing the Markov Chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) technique Gibbs sampling. It takes into account heterogeneity in the size and direction of the genetic effects across traits. It can be applied to both cohort data and separate studies of multiple traits having overlapping or non-overlapping subjects. Simulations show that CPBayes can produce higher accuracy in the selection of associated traits underlying a pleiotropic signal than the subset-based meta-analysis ASSET. We used CPBayes to undertake a genome-wide pleiotropic association study of 22 traits in the large Kaiser GERA cohort and detected six independent pleiotropic loci associated with at least two phenotypes. This includes a locus at chromosomal region 1q24.2 which exhibits an association simultaneously with the risk of five different diseases: Dermatophytosis, Hemorrhoids, Iron Deficiency, Osteoporosis and Peripheral Vascular Disease. We provide an R-package ‘CPBayes’ implementing the proposed method. PMID:29432419

Using multiple group modeling to test moderators in meta-analysis.

PubMed

Schoemann, Alexander M

2016-12-01

Meta-analysis is a popular and flexible analysis that can be fit in many modeling frameworks. Two methods of fitting meta-analyses that are growing in popularity are structural equation modeling (SEM) and multilevel modeling (MLM). By using SEM or MLM to fit a meta-analysis researchers have access to powerful techniques associated with SEM and MLM. This paper details how to use one such technique, multiple group analysis, to test categorical moderators in meta-analysis. In a multiple group meta-analysis a model is fit to each level of the moderator simultaneously. By constraining parameters across groups any model parameter can be tested for equality. Using multiple groups to test for moderators is especially relevant in random-effects meta-analysis where both the mean and the between studies variance of the effect size may be compared across groups. A simulation study and the analysis of a real data set are used to illustrate multiple group modeling with both SEM and MLM. Issues related to multiple group meta-analysis and future directions for research are discussed. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

MANGO: a new approach to multiple sequence alignment.

PubMed

Zhang, Zefeng; Lin, Hao; Li, Ming

2007-01-01

Multiple sequence alignment is a classical and challenging task for biological sequence analysis. The problem is NP-hard. The full dynamic programming takes too much time. The progressive alignment heuristics adopted by most state of the art multiple sequence alignment programs suffer from the 'once a gap, always a gap' phenomenon. Is there a radically new way to do multiple sequence alignment? This paper introduces a novel and orthogonal multiple sequence alignment method, using multiple optimized spaced seeds and new algorithms to handle these seeds efficiently. Our new algorithm processes information of all sequences as a whole, avoiding problems caused by the popular progressive approaches. Because the optimized spaced seeds are provably significantly more sensitive than the consecutive k-mers, the new approach promises to be more accurate and reliable. To validate our new approach, we have implemented MANGO: Multiple Alignment with N Gapped Oligos. Experiments were carried out on large 16S RNA benchmarks showing that MANGO compares favorably, in both accuracy and speed, against state-of-art multiple sequence alignment methods, including ClustalW 1.83, MUSCLE 3.6, MAFFT 5.861, Prob-ConsRNA 1.11, Dialign 2.2.1, DIALIGN-T 0.2.1, T-Coffee 4.85, POA 2.0 and Kalign 2.0.

False Discovery Control in Large-Scale Spatial Multiple Testing

PubMed Central

Sun, Wenguang; Reich, Brian J.; Cai, T. Tony; Guindani, Michele; Schwartzman, Armin

2014-01-01

Summary This article develops a unified theoretical and computational framework for false discovery control in multiple testing of spatial signals. We consider both point-wise and cluster-wise spatial analyses, and derive oracle procedures which optimally control the false discovery rate, false discovery exceedance and false cluster rate, respectively. A data-driven finite approximation strategy is developed to mimic the oracle procedures on a continuous spatial domain. Our multiple testing procedures are asymptotically valid and can be effectively implemented using Bayesian computational algorithms for analysis of large spatial data sets. Numerical results show that the proposed procedures lead to more accurate error control and better power performance than conventional methods. We demonstrate our methods for analyzing the time trends in tropospheric ozone in eastern US. PMID:25642138

Efficacy of Self-Hypnosis in Pain Management in Female Patients with Multiple Sclerosis.

PubMed

Hosseinzadegan, Fariba; Radfar, Moloud; Shafiee-Kandjani, Ali Reza; Sheikh, Naser

2017-01-01

Pain is common in patients with multiple sclerosis. This study evaluated self-hypnosis for pain control in that population. A randomized clinical trial was conducted on 60 patients, who were assigned to either a control group or to a self-hypnosis group, in which patients performed self-hypnosis at least 10 times a day. All patients were trained to score the perceived pain twice daily on a numerical rating scale and also reported the quality of pain with the McGill Pain questionnaire. Repeated-measures analysis showed a significant difference between the groups; pain was lower in the self-hypnosis group but was not maintained after 4 weeks. Self-hypnosis could effectively decrease the intensity and could modify quality of pain in female patients with multiple sclerosis.

Dynamic analysis, circuit implementation and passive control of a novel four-dimensional chaotic system with multiscroll attractor and multiple coexisting attractors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lai, Bang-Cheng; He, Jian-Jun

2018-03-01

In this paper, we construct a novel 4D autonomous chaotic system with four cross-product nonlinear terms and five equilibria. The multiple coexisting attractors and the multiscroll attractor of the system are numerically investigated. Research results show that the system has various types of multiple attractors, including three strange attractors with a limit cycle, three limit cycles, two strange attractors with a pair of limit cycles, two coexisting strange attractors. By using the passive control theory, a controller is designed for controlling the chaos of the system. Both analytical and numerical studies verify that the designed controller can suppress chaotic motion and stabilise the system at the origin. Moreover, an electronic circuit is presented for implementing the chaotic system.

An improved procedure for the validation of satellite-based precipitation estimates

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tang, Ling; Tian, Yudong; Yan, Fang; Habib, Emad

2015-09-01

The objective of this study is to propose and test a new procedure to improve the validation of remote-sensing, high-resolution precipitation estimates. Our recent studies show that many conventional validation measures do not accurately capture the unique error characteristics in precipitation estimates to better inform both data producers and users. The proposed new validation procedure has two steps: 1) an error decomposition approach to separate the total retrieval error into three independent components: hit error, false precipitation and missed precipitation; and 2) the hit error is further analyzed based on a multiplicative error model. In the multiplicative error model, the error features are captured by three model parameters. In this way, the multiplicative error model separates systematic and random errors, leading to more accurate quantification of the uncertainties. The proposed procedure is used to quantitatively evaluate the recent two versions (Version 6 and 7) of TRMM's Multi-sensor Precipitation Analysis (TMPA) real-time and research product suite (3B42 and 3B42RT) for seven years (2005-2011) over the continental United States (CONUS). The gauge-based National Centers for Environmental Prediction (NCEP) Climate Prediction Center (CPC) near-real-time daily precipitation analysis is used as the reference. In addition, the radar-based NCEP Stage IV precipitation data are also model-fitted to verify the effectiveness of the multiplicative error model. The results show that winter total bias is dominated by the missed precipitation over the west coastal areas and the Rocky Mountains, and the false precipitation over large areas in Midwest. The summer total bias is largely coming from the hit bias in Central US. Meanwhile, the new version (V7) tends to produce more rainfall in the higher rain rates, which moderates the significant underestimation exhibited in the previous V6 products. Moreover, the error analysis from the multiplicative error model provides a clear and concise picture of the systematic and random errors, with both versions of 3B42RT have higher errors in varying degrees than their research (post-real-time) counterparts. The new V7 algorithm shows obvious improvements in reducing random errors in both winter and summer seasons, compared to its predecessors V6. Stage IV, as expected, surpasses the satellite-based datasets in all the metrics over CONUS. Based on the results, we recommend the new procedure be adopted for routine validation of satellite-based precipitation datasets, and we expect the procedure will work effectively for higher resolution data to be produced in the Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) era.

New prospects of VESUVIO applied to measurements in water mixtures

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rodríguez Palomino, L. A.; Dawidowski, J.; Blostein, J. J.; Cuello, G. J.

2014-12-01

We present new measurements on mixtures of light and heavy water in the spectrometer VESUVIO (Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, UK), and analyze them from the perspective of different kind of applications. We perform a single detector analysis and show the multiple scattering and attenuation corrections with the aim to employ them in mass- spectrometry. We also show the capabilities to perform transmission measurements to determine total cross sections of an acceptable quality by means of its transmission monitor.

Multiple fault separation and detection by joint subspace learning for the health assessment of wind turbine gearboxes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Du, Zhaohui; Chen, Xuefeng; Zhang, Han; Zi, Yanyang; Yan, Ruqiang

2017-09-01

The gearbox of a wind turbine (WT) has dominant failure rates and highest downtime loss among all WT subsystems. Thus, gearbox health assessment for maintenance cost reduction is of paramount importance. The concurrence of multiple faults in gearbox components is a common phenomenon due to fault induction mechanism. This problem should be considered before planning to replace the components of the WT gearbox. Therefore, the key fault patterns should be reliably identified from noisy observation data for the development of an effective maintenance strategy. However, most of the existing studies focusing on multiple fault diagnosis always suffer from inappropriate division of fault information in order to satisfy various rigorous decomposition principles or statistical assumptions, such as the smooth envelope principle of ensemble empirical mode decomposition and the mutual independence assumption of independent component analysis. Thus, this paper presents a joint subspace learning-based multiple fault detection (JSL-MFD) technique to construct different subspaces adaptively for different fault patterns. Its main advantage is its capability to learn multiple fault subspaces directly from the observation signal itself. It can also sparsely concentrate the feature information into a few dominant subspace coefficients. Furthermore, it can eliminate noise by simply performing coefficient shrinkage operations. Consequently, multiple fault patterns are reliably identified by utilizing the maximum fault information criterion. The superiority of JSL-MFD in multiple fault separation and detection is comprehensively investigated and verified by the analysis of a data set of a 750 kW WT gearbox. Results show that JSL-MFD is superior to a state-of-the-art technique in detecting hidden fault patterns and enhancing detection accuracy.

Noise Reduction Effect of Multiple-Sampling-Based Signal-Readout Circuits for Ultra-Low Noise CMOS Image Sensors.

PubMed

Kawahito, Shoji; Seo, Min-Woong

2016-11-06

This paper discusses the noise reduction effect of multiple-sampling-based signal readout circuits for implementing ultra-low-noise image sensors. The correlated multiple sampling (CMS) technique has recently become an important technology for high-gain column readout circuits in low-noise CMOS image sensors (CISs). This paper reveals how the column CMS circuits, together with a pixel having a high-conversion-gain charge detector and low-noise transistor, realizes deep sub-electron read noise levels based on the analysis of noise components in the signal readout chain from a pixel to the column analog-to-digital converter (ADC). The noise measurement results of experimental CISs are compared with the noise analysis and the effect of noise reduction to the sampling number is discussed at the deep sub-electron level. Images taken with three CMS gains of two, 16, and 128 show distinct advantage of image contrast for the gain of 128 (noise(median): 0.29 e - rms ) when compared with the CMS gain of two (2.4 e - rms ), or 16 (1.1 e - rms ).

Multi-template tensor-based morphometry: Application to analysis of Alzheimer's disease

PubMed Central

Koikkalainen, Juha; Lötjönen, Jyrki; Thurfjell, Lennart; Rueckert, Daniel; Waldemar, Gunhild; Soininen, Hilkka

2012-01-01

In this paper methods for using multiple templates in tensor-based morphometry (TBM) are presented and comparedtothe conventional single-template approach. TBM analysis requires non-rigid registrations which are often subject to registration errors. When using multiple templates and, therefore, multiple registrations, it can be assumed that the registration errors are averaged and eventually compensated. Four different methods are proposed for multi-template TBM. The methods were evaluated using magnetic resonance (MR) images of healthy controls, patients with stable or progressive mild cognitive impairment (MCI), and patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD) from the ADNI database (N=772). The performance of TBM features in classifying images was evaluated both quantitatively and qualitatively. Classification results show that the multi-template methods are statistically significantly better than the single-template method. The overall classification accuracy was 86.0% for the classification of control and AD subjects, and 72.1%for the classification of stable and progressive MCI subjects. The statistical group-level difference maps produced using multi-template TBM were smoother, formed larger continuous regions, and had larger t-values than the maps obtained with single-template TBM. PMID:21419228

Noise Reduction Effect of Multiple-Sampling-Based Signal-Readout Circuits for Ultra-Low Noise CMOS Image Sensors

PubMed Central

Kawahito, Shoji; Seo, Min-Woong

2016-01-01

This paper discusses the noise reduction effect of multiple-sampling-based signal readout circuits for implementing ultra-low-noise image sensors. The correlated multiple sampling (CMS) technique has recently become an important technology for high-gain column readout circuits in low-noise CMOS image sensors (CISs). This paper reveals how the column CMS circuits, together with a pixel having a high-conversion-gain charge detector and low-noise transistor, realizes deep sub-electron read noise levels based on the analysis of noise components in the signal readout chain from a pixel to the column analog-to-digital converter (ADC). The noise measurement results of experimental CISs are compared with the noise analysis and the effect of noise reduction to the sampling number is discussed at the deep sub-electron level. Images taken with three CMS gains of two, 16, and 128 show distinct advantage of image contrast for the gain of 128 (noise(median): 0.29 e−rms) when compared with the CMS gain of two (2.4 e−rms), or 16 (1.1 e−rms). PMID:27827972

The Impact of Drug Use in Social Networks of Patients with Substance Use and Bipolar Disorders

PubMed Central

McDonald, Leah J.; Griffin, Margaret L.; Kolodziej, Monika E.; Fitzmaurice, Garrett M.; Weiss, Roger D.

2011-01-01

In this exploratory analysis, we assessed the effect of drug use among social network members on recovery from drug dependence in patients with co-occurring bipolar disorder. Patients (n=57) enrolled in a group therapy study completed assessments over 15 months. Patients with 0–1 drug users in their social networks at intake had few days of drug use during treatment and follow-up, whereas those with ≥ 2 drug users had significantly more days of drug use. Multivariate analysis showed that patients who consistently named multiple drug users in their social networks had a marked increase in drug use over 15 months, while those who never or occasionally named multiple drug users had a small decline in drug use over time. Multiple drug users in social networks of treatment-seeking drug dependent patients with co-occurring bipolar disorder may indicate poor drug use outcomes; efforts to reduce the association with drug users may be useful. This clinical trial has been registered in a public trials registry at clinicaltrials.gov (identifier is NCT00227838). PMID:21314751

From Principal Component to Direct Coupling Analysis of Coevolution in Proteins: Low-Eigenvalue Modes are Needed for Structure Prediction

PubMed Central

Cocco, Simona; Monasson, Remi; Weigt, Martin

2013-01-01

Various approaches have explored the covariation of residues in multiple-sequence alignments of homologous proteins to extract functional and structural information. Among those are principal component analysis (PCA), which identifies the most correlated groups of residues, and direct coupling analysis (DCA), a global inference method based on the maximum entropy principle, which aims at predicting residue-residue contacts. In this paper, inspired by the statistical physics of disordered systems, we introduce the Hopfield-Potts model to naturally interpolate between these two approaches. The Hopfield-Potts model allows us to identify relevant ‘patterns’ of residues from the knowledge of the eigenmodes and eigenvalues of the residue-residue correlation matrix. We show how the computation of such statistical patterns makes it possible to accurately predict residue-residue contacts with a much smaller number of parameters than DCA. This dimensional reduction allows us to avoid overfitting and to extract contact information from multiple-sequence alignments of reduced size. In addition, we show that low-eigenvalue correlation modes, discarded by PCA, are important to recover structural information: the corresponding patterns are highly localized, that is, they are concentrated in few sites, which we find to be in close contact in the three-dimensional protein fold. PMID:23990764

iGC-an integrated analysis package of gene expression and copy number alteration.

PubMed

Lai, Yi-Pin; Wang, Liang-Bo; Wang, Wei-An; Lai, Liang-Chuan; Tsai, Mong-Hsun; Lu, Tzu-Pin; Chuang, Eric Y

2017-01-14

With the advancement in high-throughput technologies, researchers can simultaneously investigate gene expression and copy number alteration (CNA) data from individual patients at a lower cost. Traditional analysis methods analyze each type of data individually and integrate their results using Venn diagrams. Challenges arise, however, when the results are irreproducible and inconsistent across multiple platforms. To address these issues, one possible approach is to concurrently analyze both gene expression profiling and CNAs in the same individual. We have developed an open-source R/Bioconductor package (iGC). Multiple input formats are supported and users can define their own criteria for identifying differentially expressed genes driven by CNAs. The analysis of two real microarray datasets demonstrated that the CNA-driven genes identified by the iGC package showed significantly higher Pearson correlation coefficients with their gene expression levels and copy numbers than those genes located in a genomic region with CNA. Compared with the Venn diagram approach, the iGC package showed better performance. The iGC package is effective and useful for identifying CNA-driven genes. By simultaneously considering both comparative genomic and transcriptomic data, it can provide better understanding of biological and medical questions. The iGC package's source code and manual are freely available at https://www.bioconductor.org/packages/release/bioc/html/iGC.html .

Performance Analysis of MIMO Relay Network via Propagation Measurement in L-Shaped Corridor Environment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lertwiram, Namzilp; Tran, Gia Khanh; Mizutani, Keiichi; Sakaguchi, Kei; Araki, Kiyomichi

Setting relays can address the shadowing problem between a transmitter (Tx) and a receiver (Rx). Moreover, the Multiple-Input Multiple-Output (MIMO) technique has been introduced to improve wireless link capacity. The MIMO technique can be applied in relay network to enhance system performance. However, the efficiency of relaying schemes and relay placement have not been well investigated with experiment-based study. This paper provides a propagation measurement campaign of a MIMO two-hop relay network in 5GHz band in an L-shaped corridor environment with various relay locations. Furthermore, this paper proposes a Relay Placement Estimation (RPE) scheme to identify the optimum relay location, i.e. the point at which the network performance is highest. Analysis results of channel capacity show that relaying technique is beneficial over direct transmission in strong shadowing environment while it is ineffective in non-shadowing environment. In addition, the optimum relay location estimated with the RPE scheme also agrees with the location where the network achieves the highest performance as identified by network capacity. Finally, the capacity analysis shows that two-way MIMO relay employing network coding has the best performance while cooperative relaying scheme is not effective due to shadowing effect weakening the signal strength of the direct link.

Cerebrovascular pattern improved by ozone autohemotherapy: an entropy-based study on multiple sclerosis patients.

PubMed

Molinari, Filippo; Rimini, Daniele; Liboni, William; Acharya, U Rajendra; Franzini, Marianno; Pandolfi, Sergio; Ricevuti, Giovanni; Vaiano, Francesco; Valdenassi, Luigi; Simonetti, Vincenzo

2017-08-01

Ozone major autohemotherapy is effective in reducing the symptoms of multiple sclerosis (MS) patients, but its effects on brain are still not clear. In this work, we have monitored the changes in the cerebrovascular pattern of MS patients and normal subjects during major ozone autohemotherapy by using near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) as functional and vascular technique. NIRS signals are analyzed using a combination of time, time-frequency analysis and nonlinear analysis of intrinsic mode function signals obtained from empirical mode decomposition technique. Our results show that there is an improvement in the cerebrovascular pattern of all subjects indicated by increasing the entropy of the NIRS signals. Hence, we can conclude that the ozone therapy increases the brain metabolism and helps to recover from the lower activity levels which is predominant in MS patients.

Analyzing Multiple Outcomes in Clinical Research Using Multivariate Multilevel Models

PubMed Central

Baldwin, Scott A.; Imel, Zac E.; Braithwaite, Scott R.; Atkins, David C.

2014-01-01

Objective Multilevel models have become a standard data analysis approach in intervention research. Although the vast majority of intervention studies involve multiple outcome measures, few studies use multivariate analysis methods. The authors discuss multivariate extensions to the multilevel model that can be used by psychotherapy researchers. Method and Results Using simulated longitudinal treatment data, the authors show how multivariate models extend common univariate growth models and how the multivariate model can be used to examine multivariate hypotheses involving fixed effects (e.g., does the size of the treatment effect differ across outcomes?) and random effects (e.g., is change in one outcome related to change in the other?). An online supplemental appendix provides annotated computer code and simulated example data for implementing a multivariate model. Conclusions Multivariate multilevel models are flexible, powerful models that can enhance clinical research. PMID:24491071

Aging effects on DNA methylation modules in human brain and blood tissue

PubMed Central

2012-01-01

Background Several recent studies reported aging effects on DNA methylation levels of individual CpG dinucleotides. But it is not yet known whether aging-related consensus modules, in the form of clusters of correlated CpG markers, can be found that are present in multiple human tissues. Such a module could facilitate the understanding of aging effects on multiple tissues. Results We therefore employed weighted correlation network analysis of 2,442 Illumina DNA methylation arrays from brain and blood tissues, which enabled the identification of an age-related co-methylation module. Module preservation analysis confirmed that this module can also be found in diverse independent data sets. Biological evaluation showed that module membership is associated with Polycomb group target occupancy counts, CpG island status and autosomal chromosome location. Functional enrichment analysis revealed that the aging-related consensus module comprises genes that are involved in nervous system development, neuron differentiation and neurogenesis, and that it contains promoter CpGs of genes known to be down-regulated in early Alzheimer's disease. A comparison with a standard, non-module based meta-analysis revealed that selecting CpGs based on module membership leads to significantly increased gene ontology enrichment, thus demonstrating that studying aging effects via consensus network analysis enhances the biological insights gained. Conclusions Overall, our analysis revealed a robustly defined age-related co-methylation module that is present in multiple human tissues, including blood and brain. We conclude that blood is a promising surrogate for brain tissue when studying the effects of age on DNA methylation profiles. PMID:23034122

Hypofractionated Whole-Brain Radiotherapy for Multiple Brain Metastases From Transitional Cell Carcinoma of the Bladder

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Rades, Dirk, E-mail: Rades.Dirk@gmx.ne; Department of Radiation Oncology, University of Hamburg; Meyners, Thekla

2010-10-01

Purpose: Brain metastases in bladder cancer patients are extremely rare. Most patients with multiple lesions receive longer-course whole-brain radiotherapy (WBRT) with 10 x 3 Gy/2 weeks or 20 x 2 Gy/4 weeks. Because its radiosensitivity is relatively low, metastases from bladder cancer may be treated better with hypofractionated radiotherapy. This study compared short-course hypofractionated WBRT (5 x 4 Gy/1 week) to longer-course WBRT. Methods and Materials: Data for 33 patients receiving WBRT alone for multiple brain metastases from transitional cell bladder carcinoma were retrospectively analyzed. Short-course WBRT with 5 x 4 Gy (n = 12 patients) was compared to longer-coursemore » WBRT with 10 x 3 Gy/20 x 2 Gy (n = 21 patients) for overall survival (OS) and local (intracerebral) control (LC). Five additional potential prognostic factors were investigated: age, gender, Karnofsky performance score (KPS), number of brain metastases, and extracranial metastases. The Bonferroni correction for multiple tests was used to adjust the p values derived from the multivariate analysis. p values of <0.025 were considered significant. Results: At 6 months, OS was 42% after 5 x 4 Gy and 24% after 10 x 3/20 x 2 Gy (p = 0.31). On univariate analysis, improved OS was associated with less than four brain metastases (p = 0.021) and almost associated with a lack of extracranial metastases (p = 0.057). On multivariate analysis, both factors were not significant. At 6 months, LC was 83% after 5 x 4 Gy and 27% after 10 x 3/20 x 2 Gy (p = 0.035). Improved LC was almost associated with a KPS of {>=}70 (p = 0.051). On multivariate analysis, WBRT regimen was almost significant (p = 0.036). KPS showed a trend (p = 0.07). Conclusions: Short-course WBRT with 5 x 4 Gy should be seriously considered for most patients with multiple brain metastases from bladder cancer, as it resulted in improved LC.« less

Applied immuno-epidemiological research: an approach for integrating existing knowledge into the statistical analysis of multiple immune markers.

PubMed

Genser, Bernd; Fischer, Joachim E; Figueiredo, Camila A; Alcântara-Neves, Neuza; Barreto, Mauricio L; Cooper, Philip J; Amorim, Leila D; Saemann, Marcus D; Weichhart, Thomas; Rodrigues, Laura C

2016-05-20

Immunologists often measure several correlated immunological markers, such as concentrations of different cytokines produced by different immune cells and/or measured under different conditions, to draw insights from complex immunological mechanisms. Although there have been recent methodological efforts to improve the statistical analysis of immunological data, a framework is still needed for the simultaneous analysis of multiple, often correlated, immune markers. This framework would allow the immunologists' hypotheses about the underlying biological mechanisms to be integrated. We present an analytical approach for statistical analysis of correlated immune markers, such as those commonly collected in modern immuno-epidemiological studies. We demonstrate i) how to deal with interdependencies among multiple measurements of the same immune marker, ii) how to analyse association patterns among different markers, iii) how to aggregate different measures and/or markers to immunological summary scores, iv) how to model the inter-relationships among these scores, and v) how to use these scores in epidemiological association analyses. We illustrate the application of our approach to multiple cytokine measurements from 818 children enrolled in a large immuno-epidemiological study (SCAALA Salvador), which aimed to quantify the major immunological mechanisms underlying atopic diseases or asthma. We demonstrate how to aggregate systematically the information captured in multiple cytokine measurements to immunological summary scores aimed at reflecting the presumed underlying immunological mechanisms (Th1/Th2 balance and immune regulatory network). We show how these aggregated immune scores can be used as predictors in regression models with outcomes of immunological studies (e.g. specific IgE) and compare the results to those obtained by a traditional multivariate regression approach. The proposed analytical approach may be especially useful to quantify complex immune responses in immuno-epidemiological studies, where investigators examine the relationship among epidemiological patterns, immune response, and disease outcomes.

Correlation between blink reflex abnormalities and magnetic resonance imaging findings in patients with multiple sclerosis.

PubMed

Degirmenci, Eylem; Erdogan, Cagdas; Bir, Levent Sinan

2013-09-01

This study investigates the correlation between brain magnetic resonance imaging findings and blink reflex abnormalities in patients with relapsing remitting multiple sclerosis. Twenty-six patients and 17 healthy subjects were included in this study. Blink reflex test (BRT) results were obtained using right and left stimulations; thus, 52 BRT results were recorded for the patient group, and 34 BRT results were recorded for the control group. The magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) findings were classified based on the existence of brainstem lesions (hyperintense lesion on T2 weighted (W) and fast fluid-attenuated inversion recovery MRI or contrast-enhancing lesion on T1W MRI). Correlation analysis was performed for the BRT and MRI findings. The percentage of individuals with abnormal BRT results (including R1 latency, ipsilateral R2 latency, and contralateral R2 latency) was significantly higher in the patient group as compared to the control group (p values: 0.015, 0.001, and 0.002, respectively). Correlation analysis revealed significant correlations between contralateral R2 latency abnormalities and brainstem lesions (p value: 0.011). Our results showed significant correlation correlations between contralateral R2 latency abnormalities and brainstem lesions and these results may be explained the effects of multiple demyelinating lesions of the brain stem of patients with relapsing remitting multiple sclerosis.

Performance analysis of cross-layer design with average PER constraint over MIMO fading channels

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dang, Xiaoyu; Liu, Yan; Yu, Xiangbin

2015-12-01

In this article, a cross-layer design (CLD) scheme for multiple-input and multiple-output system with the dual constraints of imperfect feedback and average packet error rate (PER) is presented, which is based on the combination of the adaptive modulation and the automatic repeat request protocols. The design performance is also evaluated over wireless Rayleigh fading channel. With the constraint of target PER and average PER, the optimum switching thresholds (STs) for attaining maximum spectral efficiency (SE) are developed. An effective iterative algorithm for finding the optimal STs is proposed via Lagrange multiplier optimisation. With different thresholds available, the analytical expressions of the average SE and PER are provided for the performance evaluation. To avoid the performance loss caused by the conventional single estimate, multiple outdated estimates (MOE) method, which utilises multiple previous channel estimation information, is presented for CLD to improve the system performance. It is shown that numerical simulations for average PER and SE are in consistent with the theoretical analysis and that the developed CLD with average PER constraint can meet the target PER requirement and show better performance in comparison with the conventional CLD with instantaneous PER constraint. Especially, the CLD based on the MOE method can obviously increase the system SE and reduce the impact of feedback delay greatly.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Hegman, K.; Spikes, A.S.; Orr-Urteger, A.

A genetic evaluation was requested for a 6 week old infant with multiple congenital malformations including mild craniofacial anomalies, truncal hypotonia, hypospadias and a VSD. Blood obtained for chromosome analysis revealed an abnormal chromosome 4. Paternal chromosome analysis showed a 46,XY,inv ins(3;4)(p21.32;q25q21.2),inv(4)(p15.3q21.3) karyotype. Therefore, the proband`s chromosome 4 was the unbalanced product of this insertional translocation from the father resulting in partial monosomy 4q. Additionally, the derivative 4 had a pericentric inversion which was also seen in the father`s chromosome 4. During genetic counseling, the proband`s 2 year-old brother was evaluated. Although he was not felt to be dysmorphic, hemore » was described as having impulsive behavior. Chromosome analysis on this child revealed 46,XY,der(3)inv ins(3;4)(p21.32;q25q21.2)pat. This karyotype results in partial trisomy 4q. FISH using two-color {open_quotes}painting{close_quotes} probes for chromosomes 3 and 4 confirmed the G-banded interpretation in this family. The segregation seen in this family was due to adjacent I segregation with both reciprocal products observed in the two children. Few patients with partial 4q trisomy or partial 4q monosomy have been described in the literature. This family revealed both possible unbalanced products from adjacent I segregation with partial 4q monosomy showing multiple congenital anomalies and partial 4q trisomy showing very few phenotypic abnormalities.« less

Segregation of a paternal insertional translocation results in partial 4q monosomy or 4q trisomy in two siblings

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Hegmann, K.M.; Spikes, A.S.; Orr-Urtreger, A.

A genetics evaluation was requested for a 6-week-old infant with multiple congenital malformations including mild craniofacial anomalies, truncal hypotonia, hypospadias, and a ventriculoseptal defect. Blood obtained for chromosome analysis revealed an abnormal chromosome 4. Paternal chromosome analysis showed a 46,XY, inv ins (3;4)(p21.32;q25q21.2), inv(4)(p15.3q21.2) karyotype. Therefore, the proband`s chromosome 4 was the unbalanced product of this insertional translocation from the father resulting in partial monosomy 4q. Additionally, the derivative 4 had a pericentric inversion which was also seen in the father`s chromosome 4. During genetic counseling, the proband`s 2-year-old brother was evaluated. He was not felt to be abnormal inmore » appearance, but was described as having impulsive behavior. Chromosome analysis on this child revealed 46, XY, der(3) inv ins(3;4)(p21.32;q25q21.2)pat. This karyotype results in partial trisomy 4q. FISH using two-color {open_quotes}painting{close_quotes} probes for chromosomes 3 and 4 confirmed the G-banded interpretation in this family. The segregation seen in this family resulted in both reciprocal products being observed in the two children, with partial 4q monosomy showing multiple congenital anomalies, and partial 4q trisomy showing very few phenotypic abnormalities. 13 refs., 5 figs.« less

Association of Emotional Labor and Occupational Stressors with Depressive Symptoms among Women Sales Workers at a Clothing Shopping Mall in the Republic of Korea: A Cross-Sectional Study

PubMed Central

Chung, Yuh-Jin; Jung, Woo-Chul

2017-01-01

In the distribution service industry, sales people often experience multiple occupational stressors such as excessive emotional labor, workplace mistreatment, and job insecurity. The present study aimed to explore the associations of these stressors with depressive symptoms among women sales workers at a clothing shopping mall in Korea. A cross sectional study was conducted on 583 women who consist of clothing sales workers and manual workers using a structured questionnaire to assess demographic factors, occupational stressors, and depressive symptoms. Multiple regression analyses were performed to explore the association of these stressors with depressive symptoms. Scores for job stress subscales such as job demand, job control, and job insecurity were higher among sales workers than among manual workers (p < 0.01). The multiple regression analysis revealed the association between occupation and depressive symptoms after controlling for age, educational level, cohabiting status, and occupational stressors (sβ = 0.08, p = 0.04). A significant interaction effect between occupation and social support was also observed in this model (sβ = −0.09, p = 0.02). The multiple regression analysis stratified by occupation showed that job demand, job insecurity, and workplace mistreatment were significantly associated with depressive symptoms in both occupations (p < 0.05), although the strength of statistical associations were slightly different. We found negative associations of social support (sβ = −0.22, p < 0.01) and emotional effort (sβ = −0.17, p < 0.01) with depressive symptoms in another multiple regression model for sales workers. Emotional dissonance (sβ = 0.23, p < 0.01) showed positive association with depressive symptoms in this model. The result of this study indicated that reducing occupational stressors would be effective for women sales workers to prevent depressive symptoms. In particular, promoting social support could be the most effective way to promote women sales workers’ mental health. PMID:29168777

Effect of multiple-micronutrient supplementation on maternal nutrient status, infant birth weight and gestational age at birth in a low-income, multi-ethnic population.

PubMed

Brough, Louise; Rees, Gail A; Crawford, Michael A; Morton, R Hugh; Dorman, Edgar K

2010-08-01

Poor nutrient intake during pregnancy can adversely affect both infant and maternal health. The aim was to investigate the efficacy of multiple-micronutrient supplementation during pregnancy in a socially deprived population in the developed world. We conducted a randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial of multiple-micronutrient supplementation including 20 mg Fe and 400 microg folic acid, from the first trimester of pregnancy in 402 mothers, in East London, UK. Nutrient status was measured at recruitment, and at 26 and 34 weeks of gestation. Infants were weighed at birth. At recruitment the prevalence of anaemia was 13 %, vitamin D insufficiency 72 %, thiamin deficiency 12 % and folate deficiency 5 %, with no differences between groups. Only 39 % of women completed the study; rates of non-compliance were similar in both groups. Intention-to-treat analysis showed that participants receiving treatment had higher mean Hb at 26 weeks of gestation (110 (sd 10) v.108 (sd 10) g/l; P = 0.041) and 34 weeks of gestation (113 (sd 12) v.109 (sd 10) g/l; P = 0.003) and packed cell volume concentrations at 26 weeks of gestation (0.330 (sd 0.025) v. 0.323 (sd 0.026) l/l; P = 0.011) and 34 weeks of gestation (0.338 (sd 0.029) v. 0.330 (sd 0.028) l/l; P = 0.014) compared with controls. Analysis of compliant women showed supplemented women had higher median concentrations of serum ferritin, erythrocyte folate and 25-hydroxyvitamin D later in gestation than controls. In the compliant subset (n 149), placebo mothers had more small-for-gestational age (SGA) infants (eight SGA v. thirteen; P = 0.042) than treatment mothers. Baseline micronutrient deficiencies were common; the multiple-micronutrient supplement was well-tolerated and improved nutrient status. Multiple-micronutrient supplements from early pregnancy may be beneficial and larger studies are required to assess impact on birth outcomes and infant development.

Association of Emotional Labor and Occupational Stressors with Depressive Symptoms among Women Sales Workers at a Clothing Shopping Mall in the Republic of Korea: A Cross-Sectional Study.

PubMed

Chung, Yuh-Jin; Jung, Woo-Chul; Kim, Hyunjoo; Cho, Seong-Sik

2017-11-23

In the distribution service industry, sales people often experience multiple occupational stressors such as excessive emotional labor, workplace mistreatment, and job insecurity. The present study aimed to explore the associations of these stressors with depressive symptoms among women sales workers at a clothing shopping mall in Korea. A cross sectional study was conducted on 583 women who consist of clothing sales workers and manual workers using a structured questionnaire to assess demographic factors, occupational stressors, and depressive symptoms. Multiple regression analyses were performed to explore the association of these stressors with depressive symptoms. Scores for job stress subscales such as job demand, job control, and job insecurity were higher among sales workers than among manual workers ( p < 0.01). The multiple regression analysis revealed the association between occupation and depressive symptoms after controlling for age, educational level, cohabiting status, and occupational stressors (sβ = 0.08, p = 0.04). A significant interaction effect between occupation and social support was also observed in this model (sβ = -0.09, p = 0.02). The multiple regression analysis stratified by occupation showed that job demand, job insecurity, and workplace mistreatment were significantly associated with depressive symptoms in both occupations ( p < 0.05), although the strength of statistical associations were slightly different. We found negative associations of social support (sβ = -0.22, p < 0.01) and emotional effort (sβ = -0.17, p < 0.01) with depressive symptoms in another multiple regression model for sales workers. Emotional dissonance (sβ = 0.23, p < 0.01) showed positive association with depressive symptoms in this model. The result of this study indicated that reducing occupational stressors would be effective for women sales workers to prevent depressive symptoms. In particular, promoting social support could be the most effective way to promote women sales workers' mental health.

Understanding cracking failures of coatings: A fracture mechanics approach

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kim, Sung-Ryong

A fracture mechanics analysis of coating (paint) cracking was developed. A strain energy release rate (G(sub c)) expression due to the formation of a new crack in a coating was derived for bending and tension loadings in terms of the moduli, thicknesses, Poisson's ratios, load, residual strain, etc. Four-point bending and instrumented impact tests were used to determine the in-situ fracture toughness of coatings as functions of increasing baking (drying) time. The system used was a thin coating layer on a thick substrate layer. The substrates included steel, aluminum, polycarbonate, acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene (ABS), and Noryl. The coatings included newly developed automotive paints. The four-point bending configuration promoted nice transversed multiple coating cracks on both steel and polymeric substrates. The crosslinked type automotive coatings on steel substrates showed big cracks without microcracks. When theoretical predictions for energy release rate were compared to experimental data for coating/steel substrate samples with multiple cracking, the agreement was good. Crosslinked type coatings on polymeric substrates showed more cracks than theory predicted and the G(sub c)'s were high. Solvent evaporation type coatings on polymeric substrates showed clean multiple cracking and the G(sub c)'s were higher than those obtained by tension analysis of tension experiments with the same substrates. All the polymeric samples showed surface embrittlement after long baking times using four-point bending tests. The most apparent surface embrittlement was observed in the acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene (ABS) substrate system. The impact properties of coatings as a function of baking time were also investigated. These experiments were performed using an instrumented impact tester. There was a rapid decrease in G(sub c) at short baking times and convergence to a constant value at long baking times. The surface embrittlement conditions and an embrittlement toughness were found upon impact loading. This analysis provides a basis for a quantitative approach to measuring coating toughness.

Using Protein Dimers to Maximize the Protein Hybridization Efficiency with Multisite DNA Origami Scaffolds

PubMed Central

Verma, Vikash; Mallik, Leena; Hariadi, Rizal F.; Sivaramakrishnan, Sivaraj; Skiniotis, Georgios; Joglekar, Ajit P.

2015-01-01

DNA origami provides a versatile platform for conducting ‘architecture-function’ analysis to determine how the nanoscale organization of multiple copies of a protein component within a multi-protein machine affects its overall function. Such analysis requires that the copy number of protein molecules bound to the origami scaffold exactly matches the desired number, and that it is uniform over an entire scaffold population. This requirement is challenging to satisfy for origami scaffolds with many protein hybridization sites, because it requires the successful completion of multiple, independent hybridization reactions. Here, we show that a cleavable dimerization domain on the hybridizing protein can be used to multiplex hybridization reactions on an origami scaffold. This strategy yields nearly 100% hybridization efficiency on a 6-site scaffold even when using low protein concentration and short incubation time. It can also be developed further to enable reliable patterning of a large number of molecules on DNA origami for architecture-function analysis. PMID:26348722

[A novel method of multi-channel feature extraction combining multivariate autoregression and multiple-linear principal component analysis].

PubMed

Wang, Jinjia; Zhang, Yanna

2015-02-01

Brain-computer interface (BCI) systems identify brain signals through extracting features from them. In view of the limitations of the autoregressive model feature extraction method and the traditional principal component analysis to deal with the multichannel signals, this paper presents a multichannel feature extraction method that multivariate autoregressive (MVAR) model combined with the multiple-linear principal component analysis (MPCA), and used for magnetoencephalography (MEG) signals and electroencephalograph (EEG) signals recognition. Firstly, we calculated the MVAR model coefficient matrix of the MEG/EEG signals using this method, and then reduced the dimensions to a lower one, using MPCA. Finally, we recognized brain signals by Bayes Classifier. The key innovation we introduced in our investigation showed that we extended the traditional single-channel feature extraction method to the case of multi-channel one. We then carried out the experiments using the data groups of IV-III and IV - I. The experimental results proved that the method proposed in this paper was feasible.

Six Degree-of-Freedom Entry Dispersion Analysis for the METEOR Recovery Module

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Desai, Prasun N.; Braun, Robert D.; Powell, Richard W.; Engelund, Walter C.; Tartabini, Paul V.

1996-01-01

The present study performs a six degree-of-freedom entry dispersion analysis for the Multiple Experiment Transporter to Earth Orbit and Return (METEOR) mission. METEOR offered the capability of flying a recoverable science package in a microgravity environment. However, since the Recovery Module has no active control system, an accurate determination of the splashdown position is difficult because no opportunity exists to remove any errors. Hence, uncertainties in the initial conditions prior to deorbit burn initiation, during deorbit burn and exo-atmospheric coast phases, and during atmospheric flight impact the splashdown location. This investigation was undertaken to quantify the impact of the various exo-atmospheric and atmospheric uncertainties. Additionally, a Monte-Carlo analysis was performed to statistically assess the splashdown dispersion footprint caused by the multiple mission uncertainties. The Monte-Carlo analysis showed that a 3-sigma splashdown dispersion footprint with axes of 43.3 nm (long), -33.5 nm (short), and 10.0 nm (crossrange) can be constructed. A 58% probability exists that the Recovery Module will overshoot the nominal splashdown site.

Multiscale Medical Image Fusion in Wavelet Domain

PubMed Central

Khare, Ashish

2013-01-01

Wavelet transforms have emerged as a powerful tool in image fusion. However, the study and analysis of medical image fusion is still a challenging area of research. Therefore, in this paper, we propose a multiscale fusion of multimodal medical images in wavelet domain. Fusion of medical images has been performed at multiple scales varying from minimum to maximum level using maximum selection rule which provides more flexibility and choice to select the relevant fused images. The experimental analysis of the proposed method has been performed with several sets of medical images. Fusion results have been evaluated subjectively and objectively with existing state-of-the-art fusion methods which include several pyramid- and wavelet-transform-based fusion methods and principal component analysis (PCA) fusion method. The comparative analysis of the fusion results has been performed with edge strength (Q), mutual information (MI), entropy (E), standard deviation (SD), blind structural similarity index metric (BSSIM), spatial frequency (SF), and average gradient (AG) metrics. The combined subjective and objective evaluations of the proposed fusion method at multiple scales showed the effectiveness and goodness of the proposed approach. PMID:24453868

Validated Metrics of Quick Flow Improve Assessments of Streamflow Generation Processes at the Long-Term Sleepers River Research Site

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sebestyen, S. D.; Shanley, J. B.

2015-12-01

There are multiple approaches to quantify quick flow components of streamflow. Physical hydrograph separations of quick flow using recession analysis (RA) are objective, reproducible, and easily calculated for long-duration streamflow records (years to decades). However, this approach has rarely been validated to have a physical basis for interpretation. In contrast, isotopic hydrograph separation (IHS) and end member mixing analysis using multiple solutes (EMMA) have been used to identify flow components and flowpath routing through catchment soils. Nonetheless, these two approaches are limited by data from limited and isolated periods (hours to weeks) during which more-intensive grab samples were analyzed. These limitations oftentimes make IHS and EMMA difficult to generalize beyond brief windows of time. At the Sleepers River Research Watershed (SRRW) in northern Vermont, USA, we have data from multiple snowmelt events over a two decade period and from multiple nested catchments to assess relationships among RA, IHS, and EMMA. Quick flow separations were highly correlated among the three techniques, which shows links among metrics of quick flow, water sources, and flow path routing in a small (41 ha), forested catchment (W-9) The similarity in responses validates a physical interpretation for a particular RA approach (the Ekhardt recursive RA filter). This validation provides a new tool to estimate new water inputs and flowpath routing for more and longer periods when chemical or isotopic tracers may not have been measured. At three other SRRW catchments, we found similar strong correlations among the three techniques. Consistent responses across four catchments provide evidence to support other research at the SRRW that shows that runoff generation mechanisms are similar despite differences in catchment sizes and land covers.

Multiple regression and Artificial Neural Network for long-term rainfall forecasting using large scale climate modes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mekanik, F.; Imteaz, M. A.; Gato-Trinidad, S.; Elmahdi, A.

2013-10-01

In this study, the application of Artificial Neural Networks (ANN) and Multiple regression analysis (MR) to forecast long-term seasonal spring rainfall in Victoria, Australia was investigated using lagged El Nino Southern Oscillation (ENSO) and Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD) as potential predictors. The use of dual (combined lagged ENSO-IOD) input sets for calibrating and validating ANN and MR Models is proposed to investigate the simultaneous effect of past values of these two major climate modes on long-term spring rainfall prediction. The MR models that did not violate the limits of statistical significance and multicollinearity were selected for future spring rainfall forecast. The ANN was developed in the form of multilayer perceptron using Levenberg-Marquardt algorithm. Both MR and ANN modelling were assessed statistically using mean square error (MSE), mean absolute error (MAE), Pearson correlation (r) and Willmott index of agreement (d). The developed MR and ANN models were tested on out-of-sample test sets; the MR models showed very poor generalisation ability for east Victoria with correlation coefficients of -0.99 to -0.90 compared to ANN with correlation coefficients of 0.42-0.93; ANN models also showed better generalisation ability for central and west Victoria with correlation coefficients of 0.68-0.85 and 0.58-0.97 respectively. The ability of multiple regression models to forecast out-of-sample sets is compatible with ANN for Daylesford in central Victoria and Kaniva in west Victoria (r = 0.92 and 0.67 respectively). The errors of the testing sets for ANN models are generally lower compared to multiple regression models. The statistical analysis suggest the potential of ANN over MR models for rainfall forecasting using large scale climate modes.

Induction regimens for transplant-eligible patients with newly diagnosed multiple myeloma: a network meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials

PubMed Central

Zeng, Zi-Hang; Chen, Jia-Feng; Li, Yi-Xuan; Zhang, Ran; Xiao, Ling-Fei; Meng, Xiang-Yu

2017-01-01

Objective The aim of this study was to compare the early efficacy and survivals of induction regimens for transplant-eligible patients with untreated multiple myeloma. Materials and methods A comprehensive literature search in electronic databases was conducted for relevant randomized controlled trials (RCTs). Eligible studies were selected according to the predefined selection criteria, before they were evaluated for methodological quality. Basic characteristics and data for network meta-analysis (NMA) were extracted from included trials and pooled in our meta-analysis. The end points were the overall response rate (ORR), progression-free survival (PFS), and overall survival (OS). Results A total of 14 RCTs that included 4,763 patients were analyzed. The post-induction ORR was higher with bortezomib plus thalidomide plus dexamethasone (VTD) regimens, and VTD was better than the majority of other regimens. For OS, VTD plus cyclophosphamide (VTDC) regimens showed potential superiority over other regimens, but the difference was not statistically significant. The PFS was longer with thalidomide plus doxorubicin plus dexamethasone (TAD) regimens for transplant-eligible patients with newly diagnosed multiple myeloma (NDMM). Conclusion The NMA demonstrated that the VTD, VTDC, and TAD regimens are most beneficial in terms of ORR, OS, and PFS for transplant-eligible patients with NDMM, respectively. PMID:28744159

Multi-site genetic analysis of diffusion images and voxelwise heritability analysis: A pilot project of the ENIGMA–DTI working group

PubMed Central

Jahanshad, Neda; Kochunov, Peter; Sprooten, Emma; Mandl, René C.; Nichols, Thomas E.; Almassy, Laura; Blangero, John; Brouwer, Rachel M.; Curran, Joanne E.; de Zubicaray, Greig I.; Duggirala, Ravi; Fox, Peter T.; Hong, L. Elliot; Landman, Bennett A.; Martin, Nicholas G.; McMahon, Katie L.; Medland, Sarah E.; Mitchell, Braxton D.; Olvera, Rene L.; Peterson, Charles P.; Starr, John M.; Sussmann, Jessika E.; Toga, Arthur W.; Wardlaw, Joanna M.; Wright, Margaret J.; Hulshoff Pol, Hilleke E.; Bastin, Mark E.; McIntosh, Andrew M.; Deary, Ian J.; Thompson, Paul M.; Glahn, David C.

2013-01-01

The ENIGMA (Enhancing NeuroImaging Genetics through Meta-Analysis) Consortium was set up to analyze brain measures and genotypes from multiple sites across the world to improve the power to detect genetic variants that influence the brain. Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) yields quantitative measures sensitive to brain development and degeneration, and some common genetic variants may be associated with white matter integrity or connectivity. DTI measures, such as the fractional anisotropy (FA) of water diffusion, may be useful for identifying genetic variants that influence brain microstructure. However, genome-wide association studies (GWAS) require large populations to obtain sufficient power to detect and replicate significant effects, motivating a multi-site consortium effort. As part of an ENIGMA–DTI working group, we analyzed high-resolution FA images from multiple imaging sites across North America, Australia, and Europe, to address the challenge of harmonizing imaging data collected at multiple sites. Four hundred images of healthy adults aged 18–85 from four sites were used to create a template and corresponding skeletonized FA image as a common reference space. Using twin and pedigree samples of different ethnicities, we used our common template to evaluate the heritability of tract-derived FA measures. We show that our template is reliable for integrating multiple datasets by combining results through meta-analysis and unifying the data through exploratory mega-analyses. Our results may help prioritize regions of the FA map that are consistently influenced by additive genetic factors for future genetic discovery studies. Protocols and templates are publicly available at (http://enigma.loni.ucla.edu/ongoing/dti-working-group/). PMID:23629049

Using Module Analysis for Multiple Choice Responses: A New Method Applied to Force Concept Inventory Data

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Brewe, Eric; Bruun, Jesper; Bearden, Ian G.

2016-01-01

We describe "Module Analysis for Multiple Choice Responses" (MAMCR), a new methodology for carrying out network analysis on responses to multiple choice assessments. This method is used to identify modules of non-normative responses which can then be interpreted as an alternative to factor analysis. MAMCR allows us to identify conceptual…

Bon-EV: an improved multiple testing procedure for controlling false discovery rates.

PubMed

Li, Dongmei; Xie, Zidian; Zand, Martin; Fogg, Thomas; Dye, Timothy

2017-01-03

Stability of multiple testing procedures, defined as the standard deviation of total number of discoveries, can be used as an indicator of variability of multiple testing procedures. Improving stability of multiple testing procedures can help to increase the consistency of findings from replicated experiments. Benjamini-Hochberg's and Storey's q-value procedures are two commonly used multiple testing procedures for controlling false discoveries in genomic studies. Storey's q-value procedure has higher power and lower stability than Benjamini-Hochberg's procedure. To improve upon the stability of Storey's q-value procedure and maintain its high power in genomic data analysis, we propose a new multiple testing procedure, named Bon-EV, to control false discovery rate (FDR) based on Bonferroni's approach. Simulation studies show that our proposed Bon-EV procedure can maintain the high power of the Storey's q-value procedure and also result in better FDR control and higher stability than Storey's q-value procedure for samples of large size(30 in each group) and medium size (15 in each group) for either independent, somewhat correlated, or highly correlated test statistics. When sample size is small (5 in each group), our proposed Bon-EV procedure has performance between the Benjamini-Hochberg procedure and the Storey's q-value procedure. Examples using RNA-Seq data show that the Bon-EV procedure has higher stability than the Storey's q-value procedure while maintaining equivalent power, and higher power than the Benjamini-Hochberg's procedure. For medium or large sample sizes, the Bon-EV procedure has improved FDR control and stability compared with the Storey's q-value procedure and improved power compared with the Benjamini-Hochberg procedure. The Bon-EV multiple testing procedure is available as the BonEV package in R for download at https://CRAN.R-project.org/package=BonEV .

SigmaS controls multiple pathways associated with intracellular multiplication of Legionella pneumophila.

PubMed

Hovel-Miner, Galadriel; Pampou, Sergey; Faucher, Sebastien P; Clarke, Margaret; Morozova, Irina; Morozov, Pavel; Russo, James J; Shuman, Howard A; Kalachikov, Sergey

2009-04-01

Legionella pneumophila is the causative agent of the severe and potentially fatal pneumonia Legionnaires' disease. L. pneumophila is able to replicate within macrophages and protozoa by establishing a replicative compartment in a process that requires the Icm/Dot type IVB secretion system. The signals and regulatory pathways required for Legionella infection and intracellular replication are poorly understood. Mutation of the rpoS gene, which encodes sigma(S), does not affect growth in rich medium but severely decreases L. pneumophila intracellular multiplication within protozoan hosts. To gain insight into the intracellular multiplication defect of an rpoS mutant, we examined its pattern of gene expression during exponential and postexponential growth. We found that sigma(S) affects distinct groups of genes that contribute to Legionella intracellular multiplication. We demonstrate that rpoS mutants have a functional Icm/Dot system yet are defective for the expression of many genes encoding Icm/Dot-translocated substrates. We also show that sigma(S) affects the transcription of the cpxR and pmrA genes, which encode two-component response regulators that directly affect the transcription of Icm/Dot substrates. Our characterization of the L. pneumophila small RNA csrB homologs, rsmY and rsmZ, introduces a link between sigma(S) and the posttranscriptional regulator CsrA. We analyzed the network of sigma(S)-controlled genes by mutational analysis of transcriptional regulators affected by sigma(S). One of these, encoding the L. pneumophila arginine repressor homolog gene, argR, is required for maximal intracellular growth in amoebae. These data show that sigma(S) is a key regulator of multiple pathways required for L. pneumophila intracellular multiplication.

MAGMA: Generalized Gene-Set Analysis of GWAS Data

PubMed Central

de Leeuw, Christiaan A.; Mooij, Joris M.; Heskes, Tom; Posthuma, Danielle

2015-01-01

By aggregating data for complex traits in a biologically meaningful way, gene and gene-set analysis constitute a valuable addition to single-marker analysis. However, although various methods for gene and gene-set analysis currently exist, they generally suffer from a number of issues. Statistical power for most methods is strongly affected by linkage disequilibrium between markers, multi-marker associations are often hard to detect, and the reliance on permutation to compute p-values tends to make the analysis computationally very expensive. To address these issues we have developed MAGMA, a novel tool for gene and gene-set analysis. The gene analysis is based on a multiple regression model, to provide better statistical performance. The gene-set analysis is built as a separate layer around the gene analysis for additional flexibility. This gene-set analysis also uses a regression structure to allow generalization to analysis of continuous properties of genes and simultaneous analysis of multiple gene sets and other gene properties. Simulations and an analysis of Crohn’s Disease data are used to evaluate the performance of MAGMA and to compare it to a number of other gene and gene-set analysis tools. The results show that MAGMA has significantly more power than other tools for both the gene and the gene-set analysis, identifying more genes and gene sets associated with Crohn’s Disease while maintaining a correct type 1 error rate. Moreover, the MAGMA analysis of the Crohn’s Disease data was found to be considerably faster as well. PMID:25885710

MAGMA: generalized gene-set analysis of GWAS data.

PubMed

de Leeuw, Christiaan A; Mooij, Joris M; Heskes, Tom; Posthuma, Danielle

2015-04-01

By aggregating data for complex traits in a biologically meaningful way, gene and gene-set analysis constitute a valuable addition to single-marker analysis. However, although various methods for gene and gene-set analysis currently exist, they generally suffer from a number of issues. Statistical power for most methods is strongly affected by linkage disequilibrium between markers, multi-marker associations are often hard to detect, and the reliance on permutation to compute p-values tends to make the analysis computationally very expensive. To address these issues we have developed MAGMA, a novel tool for gene and gene-set analysis. The gene analysis is based on a multiple regression model, to provide better statistical performance. The gene-set analysis is built as a separate layer around the gene analysis for additional flexibility. This gene-set analysis also uses a regression structure to allow generalization to analysis of continuous properties of genes and simultaneous analysis of multiple gene sets and other gene properties. Simulations and an analysis of Crohn's Disease data are used to evaluate the performance of MAGMA and to compare it to a number of other gene and gene-set analysis tools. The results show that MAGMA has significantly more power than other tools for both the gene and the gene-set analysis, identifying more genes and gene sets associated with Crohn's Disease while maintaining a correct type 1 error rate. Moreover, the MAGMA analysis of the Crohn's Disease data was found to be considerably faster as well.

GRB-081029: A Step Towards Understanding Multiple Afterglow Components

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Holland Stephen T.

2010-01-01

We present an analysis of the unusual optical light curve of the gamma-ray burst-081029 at a redshift of z = 3.8474. We combine X-ray and optical observations from (Swift) with optical and infrared data from REM to obtain a detailed data set extending from approx 10(exp 2)s to approx 10(exp 5)s after the BAT trigger, and from approx.10 keV to 16,000 AA. The X-ray afterglow showed a shallow initial decay followed by u rapid decay after about 18,000 s. The optical afterglow, however, shows an uncharecteristic rise at about 5000 s that has no corresponding feature in the X-ray light curve. The data are not consistent with a single-component jet. It is possible that there are multiple physical components contributing to the afterglow of GRB-081029.

Meta-analysis of quantitative pleiotropic traits for next-generation sequencing with multivariate functional linear models

PubMed Central

Chiu, Chi-yang; Jung, Jeesun; Chen, Wei; Weeks, Daniel E; Ren, Haobo; Boehnke, Michael; Amos, Christopher I; Liu, Aiyi; Mills, James L; Ting Lee, Mei-ling; Xiong, Momiao; Fan, Ruzong

2017-01-01

To analyze next-generation sequencing data, multivariate functional linear models are developed for a meta-analysis of multiple studies to connect genetic variant data to multiple quantitative traits adjusting for covariates. The goal is to take the advantage of both meta-analysis and pleiotropic analysis in order to improve power and to carry out a unified association analysis of multiple studies and multiple traits of complex disorders. Three types of approximate F -distributions based on Pillai–Bartlett trace, Hotelling–Lawley trace, and Wilks's Lambda are introduced to test for association between multiple quantitative traits and multiple genetic variants. Simulation analysis is performed to evaluate false-positive rates and power of the proposed tests. The proposed methods are applied to analyze lipid traits in eight European cohorts. It is shown that it is more advantageous to perform multivariate analysis than univariate analysis in general, and it is more advantageous to perform meta-analysis of multiple studies instead of analyzing the individual studies separately. The proposed models require individual observations. The value of the current paper can be seen at least for two reasons: (a) the proposed methods can be applied to studies that have individual genotype data; (b) the proposed methods can be used as a criterion for future work that uses summary statistics to build test statistics to meta-analyze the data. PMID:28000696

Meta-analysis of quantitative pleiotropic traits for next-generation sequencing with multivariate functional linear models.

PubMed

Chiu, Chi-Yang; Jung, Jeesun; Chen, Wei; Weeks, Daniel E; Ren, Haobo; Boehnke, Michael; Amos, Christopher I; Liu, Aiyi; Mills, James L; Ting Lee, Mei-Ling; Xiong, Momiao; Fan, Ruzong

2017-02-01

To analyze next-generation sequencing data, multivariate functional linear models are developed for a meta-analysis of multiple studies to connect genetic variant data to multiple quantitative traits adjusting for covariates. The goal is to take the advantage of both meta-analysis and pleiotropic analysis in order to improve power and to carry out a unified association analysis of multiple studies and multiple traits of complex disorders. Three types of approximate F -distributions based on Pillai-Bartlett trace, Hotelling-Lawley trace, and Wilks's Lambda are introduced to test for association between multiple quantitative traits and multiple genetic variants. Simulation analysis is performed to evaluate false-positive rates and power of the proposed tests. The proposed methods are applied to analyze lipid traits in eight European cohorts. It is shown that it is more advantageous to perform multivariate analysis than univariate analysis in general, and it is more advantageous to perform meta-analysis of multiple studies instead of analyzing the individual studies separately. The proposed models require individual observations. The value of the current paper can be seen at least for two reasons: (a) the proposed methods can be applied to studies that have individual genotype data; (b) the proposed methods can be used as a criterion for future work that uses summary statistics to build test statistics to meta-analyze the data.

Effect of magnetic field on the optical properties of an inhomogeneously broadened multilevel Λ-system in Rb vapor

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kaur, Paramjit; Wasan, Ajay

2017-03-01

We present a theoretical model, using density matrix approach, to study the effect of external longitudinal and transverse magnetic fields on the optical properties of an inhomogeneously broadened multilevel Λ-system using the D2 line in 85Rb and 87Rb atoms. The presence of closely spaced multiple excited states causes asymmetry in the absorption and dispersion profiles. We observe a wide EIT window with a positive slope at the line center for a stationary atom. While for a moving atom, the linewidth of EIT window reduces and positive dispersion becomes steeper. When magnetic field is applied, our calculations show multiple EIT subwindows that are significantly narrower and shallow than single EIT window. The number of EIT subwindows depend on the orientation of the magnetic field. We also obtain multiple positive dispersive regions for subluminal propagation in the medium. The anomalous dispersion exists in between two subwindows showing the superluminal light propagation. Our theoretical analysis explain the experiments performed by Wei et al. [Phys. Rev. A 72, 023806 (2005)] and Iftiquar et al. [Phys. Rev. A 79, 013808 (2009)].

A spatial analysis of health-related resources in three diverse metropolitan areas

PubMed Central

Smiley, Melissa J.; Diez Roux, Ana V.; Brines, Shannon J.; Brown, Daniel G.; Evenson, Kelly R.; Rodriguez, Daniel A.

2010-01-01

Few studies have investigated the spatial clustering of multiple health-related resources. We constructed 0.5-mile kernel densities of resources for census areas in New York City, NY (n=819 block groups), Baltimore, MD (n=737), and Winston-Salem, NC (n=169). Three of the four resource densities (supermarkets/produce stores, retail areas, and recreational facilities) tended to be correlated with each other, whereas park density was less consistently and sometimes negatively correlated with the others. Blacks were more likely to live in block groups with multiple low resource densities. Spatial regression models showed that block groups with higher proportions of black residents tended to have lower supermarket/produce, retail, and recreational facility densities, although these associations did not always achieve statistical significance. A measure that combined local and neighboring block group racial composition was often a stronger predictor of resources than the local measure alone. Overall, our results from three diverse U.S. cities show that health-related resources are not randomly distributed across space and that disadvantage in multiple domains often clusters with residential racial patterning. PMID:20478737

The impact of self-transcendence on physical health status promotion in multiple sclerosis patients attending peer support groups.

PubMed

JadidMilani, Maryam; Ashktorab, Tahereh; AbedSaeedi, Zhila; AlaviMajd, Hamid

2015-12-01

This study aimed to investigate the effect of self-transcendence on the physical health of multiple sclerosis (MS) patients attending peer support groups. This study was a quasi-experimental before-and-after design including 33 MS patients in three groups: 10 men in the men-only group, 11 women in the women-only group, and 12 men and women in the mixed group. Participants were required to attend eight weekly sessions of 2 h each. Instruments included the physical health section of the Multiple Sclerosis Quality of Life Inventory and Reed's Self-Transcendence Scale. Peer support group attendance was found to have a significant positive effect on the physical health and self-transcendence of MS patients when comparing average scores before and after attendance. Regression analysis showed that improvement in self-transcendence predicted improvement in physical health. Results show the positive effects of peer support groups on self-transcendence and physical health in MS patients, and suggest that improvement in well-being can be gained by promoting self-transcendence and physical health. © 2015 Wiley Publishing Asia Pty Ltd.

Long-term forecasting of internet backbone traffic.

PubMed

Papagiannaki, Konstantina; Taft, Nina; Zhang, Zhi-Li; Diot, Christophe

2005-09-01

We introduce a methodology to predict when and where link additions/upgrades have to take place in an Internet protocol (IP) backbone network. Using simple network management protocol (SNMP) statistics, collected continuously since 1999, we compute aggregate demand between any two adjacent points of presence (PoPs) and look at its evolution at time scales larger than 1 h. We show that IP backbone traffic exhibits visible long term trends, strong periodicities, and variability at multiple time scales. Our methodology relies on the wavelet multiresolution analysis (MRA) and linear time series models. Using wavelet MRA, we smooth the collected measurements until we identify the overall long-term trend. The fluctuations around the obtained trend are further analyzed at multiple time scales. We show that the largest amount of variability in the original signal is due to its fluctuations at the 12-h time scale. We model inter-PoP aggregate demand as a multiple linear regression model, consisting of the two identified components. We show that this model accounts for 98% of the total energy in the original signal, while explaining 90% of its variance. Weekly approximations of those components can be accurately modeled with low-order autoregressive integrated moving average (ARIMA) models. We show that forecasting the long term trend and the fluctuations of the traffic at the 12-h time scale yields accurate estimates for at least 6 months in the future.

Using multi-scale entropy and principal component analysis to monitor gears degradation via the motor current signature analysis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Aouabdi, Salim; Taibi, Mahmoud; Bouras, Slimane; Boutasseta, Nadir

2017-06-01

This paper describes an approach for identifying localized gear tooth defects, such as pitting, using phase currents measured from an induction machine driving the gearbox. A new tool of anomaly detection based on multi-scale entropy (MSE) algorithm SampEn which allows correlations in signals to be identified over multiple time scales. The motor current signature analysis (MCSA) in conjunction with principal component analysis (PCA) and the comparison of observed values with those predicted from a model built using nominally healthy data. The Simulation results show that the proposed method is able to detect gear tooth pitting in current signals.

The renal protective effect of angiotensin receptor blockers depends on intra-individual response variation in multiple risk markers.

PubMed

Schievink, Bauke; de Zeeuw, Dick; Parving, Hans-Henrik; Rossing, Peter; Lambers Heerspink, Hiddo Jan

2015-10-01

Angiotensin receptor blockers (ARBs) are renoprotective and targeted to blood pressure. However, ARBs have multiple other (off-target) effects which may affect renal outcome. It is unknown whether on-target and off-target effects are congruent within individuals. If not, this variation in short term effects may have important implications for the prediction of individual long term renal outcomes. Our aim was to assess intra-individual variability in multiple parameters in response to ARBs in type 2 diabetes. Changes in systolic blood pressure (SBP), albuminuria, potassium, haemoglobin, cholesterol and uric acid after 6 months of losartan treatment were assessed in the RENAAL database. Improvement in predictive performance of renal outcomes (ESRD or doubling serum creatinine) for each individual using ARB-induced changes in all risk markers was assessed by the relative integrative discrimination index (RIDI). SBP response showed high variability (mean -5.7 mmHg, 5(th) to 95(th) percentile -36.5 to +24.0 mmHg) between individuals. Changes in off-target parameters also showed high variability between individuals. No congruency was observed between responses to losartan in multiple parameters within individuals. Using individual responses in all risk markers significantly improved renal risk prediction (RIDI 30.4%, P < 0.01) compared with using only SBP changes. Results were successfully replicated in two independent trials with irbesartan, IDNT and IRMA-2. In this post hoc analysis we showed that ARBs have multiple off-target effects which vary between and within individuals. Combining all ARB-induced responses beyond SBP provides a more accurate prediction of who will benefit from ARB therapy. Prospective trials are required to validate these findings. © 2015 The British Pharmacological Society.

Multiple window spatial registration error of a gamma camera: 133Ba point source as a replacement of the NEMA procedure.

PubMed

Bergmann, Helmar; Minear, Gregory; Raith, Maria; Schaffarich, Peter M

2008-12-09

The accuracy of multiple window spatial resolution characterises the performance of a gamma camera for dual isotope imaging. In the present study we investigate an alternative method to the standard NEMA procedure for measuring this performance parameter. A long-lived 133Ba point source with gamma energies close to 67Ga and a single bore lead collimator were used to measure the multiple window spatial registration error. Calculation of the positions of the point source in the images used the NEMA algorithm. The results were validated against the values obtained by the standard NEMA procedure which uses a liquid 67Ga source with collimation. Of the source-collimator configurations under investigation an optimum collimator geometry, consisting of a 5 mm thick lead disk with a diameter of 46 mm and a 5 mm central bore, was selected. The multiple window spatial registration errors obtained by the 133Ba method showed excellent reproducibility (standard deviation < 0.07 mm). The values were compared with the results from the NEMA procedure obtained at the same locations and showed small differences with a correlation coefficient of 0.51 (p < 0.05). In addition, the 133Ba point source method proved to be much easier to use. A Bland-Altman analysis showed that the 133Ba and the 67Ga Method can be used interchangeably. The 133Ba point source method measures the multiple window spatial registration error with essentially the same accuracy as the NEMA-recommended procedure, but is easier and safer to use and has the potential to replace the current standard procedure.

Statistical detection of EEG synchrony using empirical bayesian inference.

PubMed

Singh, Archana K; Asoh, Hideki; Takeda, Yuji; Phillips, Steven

2015-01-01

There is growing interest in understanding how the brain utilizes synchronized oscillatory activity to integrate information across functionally connected regions. Computing phase-locking values (PLV) between EEG signals is a popular method for quantifying such synchronizations and elucidating their role in cognitive tasks. However, high-dimensionality in PLV data incurs a serious multiple testing problem. Standard multiple testing methods in neuroimaging research (e.g., false discovery rate, FDR) suffer severe loss of power, because they fail to exploit complex dependence structure between hypotheses that vary in spectral, temporal and spatial dimension. Previously, we showed that a hierarchical FDR and optimal discovery procedures could be effectively applied for PLV analysis to provide better power than FDR. In this article, we revisit the multiple comparison problem from a new Empirical Bayes perspective and propose the application of the local FDR method (locFDR; Efron, 2001) for PLV synchrony analysis to compute FDR as a posterior probability that an observed statistic belongs to a null hypothesis. We demonstrate the application of Efron's Empirical Bayes approach for PLV synchrony analysis for the first time. We use simulations to validate the specificity and sensitivity of locFDR and a real EEG dataset from a visual search study for experimental validation. We also compare locFDR with hierarchical FDR and optimal discovery procedures in both simulation and experimental analyses. Our simulation results showed that the locFDR can effectively control false positives without compromising on the power of PLV synchrony inference. Our results from the application locFDR on experiment data detected more significant discoveries than our previously proposed methods whereas the standard FDR method failed to detect any significant discoveries.

Identification of Variable-Number Tandem-Repeat (VNTR) Sequences in Acinetobacter baumannii and Interlaboratory Validation of an Optimized Multiple-Locus VNTR Analysis Typing Scheme▿†

PubMed Central

Pourcel, Christine; Minandri, Fabrizia; Hauck, Yolande; D'Arezzo, Silvia; Imperi, Francesco; Vergnaud, Gilles; Visca, Paolo

2011-01-01

Acinetobacter baumannii is an important opportunistic pathogen responsible for nosocomial outbreaks, mostly occurring in intensive care units. Due to the multiplicity of infection sources, reliable molecular fingerprinting techniques are needed to establish epidemiological correlations among A. baumannii isolates. Multiple-locus variable-number tandem-repeat analysis (MLVA) has proven to be a fast, reliable, and cost-effective typing method for several bacterial species. In this study, an MLVA assay compatible with simple PCR- and agarose gel-based electrophoresis steps as well as with high-throughput automated methods was developed for A. baumannii typing. Preliminarily, 10 potential polymorphic variable-number tandem repeats (VNTRs) were identified upon bioinformatic screening of six annotated genome sequences of A. baumannii. A collection of 7 reference strains plus 18 well-characterized isolates, including unique types and representatives of the three international A. baumannii lineages, was then evaluated in a two-center study aimed at validating the MLVA assay and comparing it with other genotyping assays, namely, macrorestriction analysis with pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) and PCR-based sequence group (SG) profiling. The results showed that MLVA can discriminate between isolates with identical PFGE types and SG profiles. A panel of eight VNTR markers was selected, all showing the ability to be amplified and good amounts of polymorphism in the majority of strains. Independently generated MLVA profiles, composed of an ordered string of allele numbers corresponding to the number of repeats at each VNTR locus, were concordant between centers. Typeability, reproducibility, stability, discriminatory power, and epidemiological concordance were excellent. A database containing information and MLVA profiles for several A. baumannii strains is available from http://mlva.u-psud.fr/. PMID:21147956

Urinary excretion of uric acid is negatively associated with albuminuria in patients with chronic kidney disease: a cross-sectional study.

PubMed

Li, Fengqin; Guo, Hui; Zou, Jianan; Chen, Weijun; Lu, Yijun; Zhang, Xiaoli; Fu, Chensheng; Xiao, Jing; Ye, Zhibin

2018-04-24

Increasing evidence has shown that albuminuria is related to serum uric acid. Little is known about whether this association may be interrelated via renal handling of uric acid. Therefore, we aim to study urinary uric acid excretion and its association with albuminuria in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD). A cross-sectional study of 200 Chinese CKD patients recruited from department of nephrology of Huadong hospital was conducted. Levels of 24 h urinary excretion of uric acid (24-h Uur), fractional excretion of uric acid (FEur) and uric acid clearance rate (Cur) according to gender, CKD stages, hypertension and albuminuria status were compared by a multivariate analysis. Pearson and Spearman correlation and multiple regression analyses were used to study the correlation of 24-h Uur, FEur and Cur with urinary albumin to creatinine ratio (UACR). The multivariate analysis showed that 24-h Uur and Cur were lower and FEur was higher in the hypertension group, stage 3-5 CKD and macro-albuminuria group (UACR> 30 mg/mmol) than those in the normotensive group, stage 1 CKD group and the normo-albuminuria group (UACR< 3 mg/mmol) (all P < 0.05). Moreover, males had higher 24-h Uur and lower FEur than females (both P < 0.05). Multiple linear regression analysis showed that UACR was negatively associated with 24-h Uur and Cur (P = 0.021, P = 0.007, respectively), but not with FEur (P = 0.759), after adjusting for multiple confounding factors. Our findings suggested that urinary excretion of uric acid is negatively associated with albuminuria in patients with CKD. This phenomenon may help to explain the association between albuminuria and serum uric acid.

Specific responsible environmental behavior among boaters on the Chesapeake Bay: a predictive model part II

Treesearch

Stuart P. Cottrell; Alan R. Graefe

1995-01-01

This paper examines predictors of boater behavior in a specific behavior situation, namely the percentage of raw sewage discharged from recreational vessels in a sanitation pumpout facility on the Chesapeake Bay. Results of a multiple regression analysis show knowledge predicts behavior in specific issue situations. In addition, the more specific the...

Predicting and Explaining Intentions to Participate in Continuing Education: An Application of the Theory of Reasoned Action.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pryor, Brandt W.

1990-01-01

To test the predictive utility of the theory of reasoned action, 110 oral surgeons completed a questionnaire regarding participation in continuing education. Multiple regression analysis showed that the theory accounted for over 41 percent of variance in intention to participate. Intention appeared controlled by attitude, determined by strength of…

The Welfare State and Relative Poverty in Rich Western Democracies, 1967-1997

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Brady, David

2005-01-01

This study investigates the relationship between the welfare state and poverty with multiple measures of the welfare state and poverty in an unbalanced panel of 18 Western nations from 1967 to 1997. While addressing the limitations of past research, the analysis shows that social security transfers and public health spending significantly reduce…

Improving Student Interest and Achievement in Social Studies Using a Multiple Intelligence Approach.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hanley, Chris; Hermiz, Carmen; Lagioia-Peddy, Jennifer; Levine-Albuck, Valerie

This action research paper describes a program initiated by teacher researchers to improve academic achievement and interest in social studies. The targeted group consisted of fifth graders in a lower middle class community in the Midwest. Analysis of the problem-causes data show three main factors: curriculum, attitude, and effect. In regard to…

Choosing the Best Enzyme Complex Structure Made Easy.

PubMed

Das, Sayoni; Orengo, Christine

2018-04-03

In this issue of Structure, Tyzack et al. (2018) present a study of enzyme-ligand complexes in the PDB and show that the molecular similarity of bound and cognate ligands can be used to choose the most biologically appropriate complex structure for analysis when multiple structures are available. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Influence of Particle Theory Conceptions on Pre-Service Science Teachers' Understanding of Osmosis and Diffusion

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

AlHarbi, Nawaf N. S.; Treagust, David F.; Chandrasegaran, A. L.; Won, Mihye

2015-01-01

This study investigated the understanding of diffusion, osmosis and particle theory of matter concepts among 192 pre-service science teachers in Saudi Arabia using a 17-item two-tier multiple-choice diagnostic test. The data analysis showed that the pre-service teachers' understanding of osmosis and diffusion concepts was mildly correlated with…

A Preliminary Analysis of Teaching Improvisation with the Picture Exchange Communication System to Children with Autism

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Marckel, Julie M.; Neef, Nancy A.; Ferreri, Summer J.

2006-01-01

Two young boys with autism who used the picture exchange communication system were taught to solve problems (improvise) by using descriptors (functions, colors, and shapes) to request desired items for which specific pictures were unavailable. The results of a multiple baseline across descriptors showed that training increased the number of…

Phylogenetic Analysis of Klebsiella pneumoniae from Hospitalized Children, Pakistan

PubMed Central

Ejaz, Hasan; Wang, Nancy; Wilksch, Jonathan J.; Page, Andrew J.; Cao, Hanwei; Gujaran, Shruti; Keane, Jacqueline A.; Lithgow, Trevor; ul-Haq, Ikram; Dougan, Gordon

2017-01-01

Klebsiella pneumoniae shows increasing emergence of multidrug-resistant lineages, including strains resistant to all available antimicrobial drugs. We conducted whole-genome sequencing of 178 highly drug-resistant isolates from a tertiary hospital in Lahore, Pakistan. Phylogenetic analyses to place these isolates into global context demonstrate the expansion of multiple independent lineages, including K. quasipneumoniae. PMID:29048298

Multivariate meta-analysis with an increasing number of parameters.

PubMed

Boca, Simina M; Pfeiffer, Ruth M; Sampson, Joshua N

2017-05-01

Meta-analysis can average estimates of multiple parameters, such as a treatment's effect on multiple outcomes, across studies. Univariate meta-analysis (UVMA) considers each parameter individually, while multivariate meta-analysis (MVMA) considers the parameters jointly and accounts for the correlation between their estimates. The performance of MVMA and UVMA has been extensively compared in scenarios with two parameters. Our objective is to compare the performance of MVMA and UVMA as the number of parameters, p, increases. Specifically, we show that (i) for fixed-effect (FE) meta-analysis, the benefit from using MVMA can substantially increase as p increases; (ii) for random effects (RE) meta-analysis, the benefit from MVMA can increase as p increases, but the potential improvement is modest in the presence of high between-study variability and the actual improvement is further reduced by the need to estimate an increasingly large between study covariance matrix; and (iii) when there is little to no between-study variability, the loss of efficiency due to choosing RE MVMA over FE MVMA increases as p increases. We demonstrate these three features through theory, simulation, and a meta-analysis of risk factors for non-Hodgkin lymphoma. © Published 2017. This article is a U.S. Government work and is in the public domain in the USA.

Multiple stakeholders in multi-criteria decision-making in the context of Municipal Solid Waste Management: A review.

PubMed

Soltani, Atousa; Hewage, Kasun; Reza, Bahareh; Sadiq, Rehan

2015-01-01

Municipal Solid Waste Management (MSWM) is a complicated process that involves multiple environmental and socio-economic criteria. Decision-makers look for decision support frameworks that can guide in defining alternatives, relevant criteria and their weights, and finding a suitable solution. In addition, decision-making in MSWM problems such as finding proper waste treatment locations or strategies often requires multiple stakeholders such as government, municipalities, industries, experts, and/or general public to get involved. Multi-criteria Decision Analysis (MCDA) is the most popular framework employed in previous studies on MSWM; MCDA methods help multiple stakeholders evaluate the often conflicting criteria, communicate their different preferences, and rank or prioritize MSWM strategies to finally agree on some elements of these strategies and make an applicable decision. This paper reviews and brings together research on the application of MCDA for solving MSWM problems with more focus on the studies that have considered multiple stakeholders and offers solutions for such problems. Results of this study show that AHP is the most common approach in consideration of multiple stakeholders and experts and governments/municipalities are the most common participants in these studies. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Multivariate Analysis As a Support for Diagnostic Flowcharts in Allergic Bronchopulmonary Aspergillosis: A Proof-of-Concept Study.

PubMed

Vitte, Joana; Ranque, Stéphane; Carsin, Ania; Gomez, Carine; Romain, Thomas; Cassagne, Carole; Gouitaa, Marion; Baravalle-Einaudi, Mélisande; Bel, Nathalie Stremler-Le; Reynaud-Gaubert, Martine; Dubus, Jean-Christophe; Mège, Jean-Louis; Gaudart, Jean

2017-01-01

Molecular-based allergy diagnosis yields multiple biomarker datasets. The classical diagnostic score for allergic bronchopulmonary aspergillosis (ABPA), a severe disease usually occurring in asthmatic patients and people with cystic fibrosis, comprises succinct immunological criteria formulated in 1977: total IgE, anti- Aspergillus fumigatus ( Af ) IgE, anti- Af "precipitins," and anti- Af IgG. Progress achieved over the last four decades led to multiple IgE and IgG(4) Af biomarkers available with quantitative, standardized, molecular-level reports. These newly available biomarkers have not been included in the current diagnostic criteria, either individually or in algorithms, despite persistent underdiagnosis of ABPA. Large numbers of individual biomarkers may hinder their use in clinical practice. Conversely, multivariate analysis using new tools may bring about a better chance of less diagnostic mistakes. We report here a proof-of-concept work consisting of a three-step multivariate analysis of Af IgE, IgG, and IgG4 biomarkers through a combination of principal component analysis, hierarchical ascendant classification, and classification and regression tree multivariate analysis. The resulting diagnostic algorithms might show the way for novel criteria and improved diagnostic efficiency in Af -sensitized patients at risk for ABPA.

Continuous subcutaneous insulin infusion versus multiple daily injections in individuals with type 1 diabetes: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

PubMed

Benkhadra, Khalid; Alahdab, Fares; Tamhane, Shrikant U; McCoy, Rozalina G; Prokop, Larry J; Murad, Mohammad Hassan

2017-01-01

The relative efficacy of continuous subcutaneous insulin infusion and multiple daily injections in individuals with type 1 diabetes is unclear. We sought to synthesize the existing evidence about the effect of continuous subcutaneous insulin infusion on glycosylated hemoglobin, hypoglycemic events, and time spent in hypoglycemia compared to multiple daily injections. We searched MEDLINE, EMBASE, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials and Database of Systematic Reviews, and Scopus from January 2008 through November 2015 for randomized controlled trials that enrolled children or adults with type 1 diabetes. Trials identified in a previous systematic review and published prior to 2008 were also included. We included 25 randomized controlled trials at moderate risk of bias. Meta-analysis showed a significant reduction in glycosylated hemoglobin in patients treated with continuous subcutaneous insulin infusion compared to multiple daily injections (mean difference 0.37; 95 % confidence interval, 0.24-0.51). This effect was demonstrated in both children and adults. There was no significant difference in minor or severe hypoglycemic events. Continuous subcutaneous insulin infusion was associated with lower incidence of nocturnal hypoglycemia. There was no significant difference in the time spent in hypoglycemia. In children and adults with type 1 diabetes and compared to multiple daily injections, continuous subcutaneous insulin infusion is associated with a modest reduction in glycosylated hemoglobin. There was no difference in severe or minor hypoglycemia, but likely a lower incidence of nocturnal hypoglycemia with continuous subcutaneous insulin infusion.

Technical assistance for law-enforcement communications: Case study report

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Reilly, N. B.; Mustain, J. A.

1979-01-01

Methods developed to improve police communications systems are described. Use of queueing analysis shows several ways of improving time of response to inquiries made from the field for license plate checks and for information on current wants and warrants, through a state multiple switcher network. Design criteria for more efficient centralized switching equipment are developed. A message load problem experienced in a dispatch center is analyzed, showing that communications could be improved by adding communications channels, not by adding people.

Origin of the subepidermal tissue in Piper L. leaves.

PubMed

Nakamura, A T; Simão, E; Silva, L; Torres, G A

2015-05-01

Studies on the anatomy of Piper leaves demonstrate the presence of a subepidermal tissue distinct from the adjacent epidermis, which cells show thin walls and hyaline contents. Some authors consider such cells a hypodermal tissue, while others refer to them as components of a multiple epidermis. In this study, the nature of this subepidermal tissue was investigated through the analysis of leaf ontogeny in three Piper species. The analysis showed that the referred tissue originates from the ground meristem and, thus, should be considered a hypodermis. The studied species suggests that the role of the hypodermis would be to protect the photosynthetic apparatus from excess light, regulating the intensity of light reaching the chlorophyll parenchyma.

MaRAP2-4, a waterlogging-responsive ERF from Mentha, regulates bidirectional sugar transporter AtSWEET10 to modulate stress response in Arabidopsis.

PubMed

Phukan, Ujjal J; Jeena, Gajendra Singh; Tripathi, Vineeta; Shukla, Rakesh Kumar

2018-01-01

As waterlogging and successive events severely influence growth and development of economically important plants, we attempted to characterize the role of a waterlogging-responsive group I (A-6) ethylene response factor (MaRAP2-4) from Mentha arvensis. Waterlogging, ethylene and methyl jasmonate rapidly induced the expression of MaRAP2-4. MaRAP2-4 interacted with multiple cis-elements like dehydration response elements (DRE1/2), anoxia/jasmonic acid response element (JARE) and GCC box showing its involvement in multiple responses. MaRAP2-4 localizes in the nucleus and acts as a transcriptional activator. Truncation and internal deletion identified a 20 amino acids potential transactivation domain (PLPSSVDAKLEAICQSLAIN) in MaRAP2-4. MaRAP2-4 transgenic Arabidopsis showed enhanced waterlogging and subsequent oxidative stress tolerance. Microarray analysis revealed that within up-regulated genes 483, 212 and 132 promoters carry either single or multiple copies of DRE, JARE and GCC cis-element/s, respectively. Within these promoters, a large section belongs to carbohydrate metabolism/transport, including many SWEET transporters. Further analysis showed MaRAP2-4 specifically targets two positions in AtSWEEET10 promoter carrying DRE and/or GCC box that might regulate carbohydrate availability and waterlogging tolerance. These results demonstrate that MaRAP2-4 is a positive regulator of waterlogging tolerance, and as energy-consuming processes such as carbohydrate biosynthesis are reduced under waterlogging-induced hypoxia, sugar transport through SWEETs may be the primary option to make sugar available to the required tissue. © 2017 The Authors. Plant Biotechnology Journal published by Society for Experimental Biology and The Association of Applied Biologists and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

[A wrong move in an amateur football player reveals a light chain myeloma].

PubMed

Peyneau, Marine; Nassiri, Shiva; Myara, Anne; Ohana, Salomon; Laplanche, Sophie

2016-01-01

Light chain multiple myeloma is a hematologic malignancy characterized by an excess of tumor plasma cells in the bone marrow and a monoclonal light chain in blood. It is generally diagnosed in patients aged 60-75 years old. Hypercalcemia, anemia, kidney failure, and bone pains are the main clinical and biological signs. Here is an atypical case report about a 30 year-old man who was diagnosed a light chain multiple myeloma. This patient had been suffering from back pain for 5 months. Osteolytic lesions were discovered on X-rays prescribed by the family practitioner. Admitted to the Emergency department, all blood tests showed results within the normal range. The serum protein electrophoresis was also normal. Only the urine analysis showed proteinuria. The urine immunofixation electrophoresis showed a massive κ light chain. The bone marrow aspiration cell count confirmed the myeloma diagnosis with an infiltration of dystrophic plasma cells. The patient was transferred to the hematology ward of Necker Hospital for treatment of light chain myeloma.

The Effect of Amplifier Bias Drift on Differential Magnitude Estimation in Multiple-Star Systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tyler, David W.; Muralimanohar, Hariharan; Borelli, Kathy J.

2007-02-01

We show how the temporal drift of CCD amplifier bias can cause significant relative magnitude estimation error in speckle interferometric observations of multiple-star systems. When amplifier bias varies over time, the estimation error arises if the time between acquisition of dark-frame calibration data and science data is long relative to the timescale over which the bias changes. Using analysis, we show that while detector-temperature drift over time causes a variation in accumulated dark current and a residual bias in calibrated imagery, only amplifier bias variations cause a residual bias in the estimated energy spectrum. We then use telescope data taken specifically to investigate this phenomenon to show that for the detector used, temporal bias drift can cause residual energy spectrum bias as large or larger than the mean value of the noise energy spectrum. Finally, we use a computer simulation to demonstrate the effect of residual bias on differential magnitude estimation. A supplemental calibration technique is described in the appendices.

Analysis of perceived risk among construction workers: a cross-cultural study and reflection on the Hofstede model.

PubMed

Martinez-Fiestas, Myriam; Rodríguez-Garzón, Ignacio; Delgado-Padial, Antonio; Lucas-Ruiz, Valeriano

2017-09-01

This article presents a cross-cultural study on perceived risk in the construction industry. Worker samples from three different countries were studied: Spain, Peru and Nicaragua. The main goal was to explain how construction workers perceive their occupational hazard and to analyze how this is related to their national culture. The model used to measure perceived risk was the psychometric paradigm. The results show three very similar profiles, indicating that risk perception is independent of nationality. A cultural analysis was conducted using the Hofstede model. The results of this analysis and the relation to perceived risk showed that risk perception in construction is independent of national culture. Finally, a multiple lineal regression analysis was conducted to determine what qualitative attributes could predict the global quantitative size of risk perception. All of the findings have important implications regarding the management of safety in the workplace.

Meta-Analysis of Effect Sizes Reported at Multiple Time Points Using General Linear Mixed Model.

PubMed

Musekiwa, Alfred; Manda, Samuel O M; Mwambi, Henry G; Chen, Ding-Geng

2016-01-01

Meta-analysis of longitudinal studies combines effect sizes measured at pre-determined time points. The most common approach involves performing separate univariate meta-analyses at individual time points. This simplistic approach ignores dependence between longitudinal effect sizes, which might result in less precise parameter estimates. In this paper, we show how to conduct a meta-analysis of longitudinal effect sizes where we contrast different covariance structures for dependence between effect sizes, both within and between studies. We propose new combinations of covariance structures for the dependence between effect size and utilize a practical example involving meta-analysis of 17 trials comparing postoperative treatments for a type of cancer, where survival is measured at 6, 12, 18 and 24 months post randomization. Although the results from this particular data set show the benefit of accounting for within-study serial correlation between effect sizes, simulations are required to confirm these results.

Using Student Writing and Lexical Analysis to Reveal Student Thinking about the Role of Stop Codons in the Central Dogma

PubMed Central

Prevost, Luanna B.; Smith, Michelle K.; Knight, Jennifer K.

2016-01-01

Previous work has shown that students have persistent difficulties in understanding how central dogma processes can be affected by a stop codon mutation. To explore these difficulties, we modified two multiple-choice questions from the Genetics Concept Assessment into three open-ended questions that asked students to write about how a stop codon mutation potentially impacts replication, transcription, and translation. We then used computer-assisted lexical analysis combined with human scoring to categorize student responses. The lexical analysis models showed high agreement with human scoring, demonstrating that this approach can be successfully used to analyze large numbers of student written responses. The results of this analysis show that students’ ideas about one process in the central dogma can affect their thinking about subsequent and previous processes, leading to mixed models of conceptual understanding. PMID:27909016

An Extension of Multiple Correspondence Analysis for Identifying Heterogeneous Subgroups of Respondents

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hwang, Heungsun; Montreal, Hec; Dillon, William R.; Takane, Yoshio

2006-01-01

An extension of multiple correspondence analysis is proposed that takes into account cluster-level heterogeneity in respondents' preferences/choices. The method involves combining multiple correspondence analysis and k-means in a unified framework. The former is used for uncovering a low-dimensional space of multivariate categorical variables…

Multiple-Group Analysis Using the sem Package in the R System

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Evermann, Joerg

2010-01-01

Multiple-group analysis in covariance-based structural equation modeling (SEM) is an important technique to ensure the invariance of latent construct measurements and the validity of theoretical models across different subpopulations. However, not all SEM software packages provide multiple-group analysis capabilities. The sem package for the R…

Simultaneous Two-Way Clustering of Multiple Correspondence Analysis

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hwang, Heungsun; Dillon, William R.

2010-01-01

A 2-way clustering approach to multiple correspondence analysis is proposed to account for cluster-level heterogeneity of both respondents and variable categories in multivariate categorical data. Specifically, in the proposed method, multiple correspondence analysis is combined with k-means in a unified framework in which "k"-means is…

Aging and Intermittent Fasting Impact on Transcriptional Regulation and Physiological Responses of Adult Drosophila Neuronal and Muscle Tissues

PubMed Central

Zhang, Sharon; Ratliff, Eric P.; Molina, Brandon; El-Mecharrafie, Nadja; Mastroianni, Jessica; Kotzebue, Roxanne W.; Achal, Madhulika; Mauntz, Ruth E.; Gonzalez, Arysa; Barekat, Ayeh; Bray, William A.; Macias, Andrew M.; Daugherty, Daniel; Harris, Greg L.; Edwards, Robert A.; Finley, Kim D.

2018-01-01

The progressive decline of the nervous system, including protein aggregate formation, reflects the subtle dysregulation of multiple functional pathways. Our previous work has shown intermittent fasting (IF) enhances longevity, maintains adult behaviors and reduces aggregates, in part, by promoting autophagic function in the aging Drosophila brain. To clarify the impact that IF-treatment has upon aging, we used high throughput RNA-sequencing technology to examine the changing transcriptome in adult Drosophila tissues. Principle component analysis (PCA) and other analyses showed ~1200 age-related transcriptional differences in head and muscle tissues, with few genes having matching expression patterns. Pathway components showing age-dependent expression differences were involved with stress response, metabolic, neural and chromatin remodeling functions. Middle-aged tissues also showed a significant increase in transcriptional drift-variance (TD), which in the CNS included multiple proteolytic pathway components. Overall, IF-treatment had a demonstrably positive impact on aged transcriptomes, partly ameliorating both fold and variance changes. Consistent with these findings, aged IF-treated flies displayed more youthful metabolic, behavioral and basal proteolytic profiles that closely correlated with transcriptional alterations to key components. These results indicate that even modest dietary changes can have therapeutic consequences, slowing the progressive decline of multiple cellular systems, including proteostasis in the aging nervous system. PMID:29642630

Aging and Intermittent Fasting Impact on Transcriptional Regulation and Physiological Responses of Adult Drosophila Neuronal and Muscle Tissues.

PubMed

Zhang, Sharon; Ratliff, Eric P; Molina, Brandon; El-Mecharrafie, Nadja; Mastroianni, Jessica; Kotzebue, Roxanne W; Achal, Madhulika; Mauntz, Ruth E; Gonzalez, Arysa; Barekat, Ayeh; Bray, William A; Macias, Andrew M; Daugherty, Daniel; Harris, Greg L; Edwards, Robert A; Finley, Kim D

2018-04-10

The progressive decline of the nervous system, including protein aggregate formation, reflects the subtle dysregulation of multiple functional pathways. Our previous work has shown intermittent fasting (IF) enhances longevity, maintains adult behaviors and reduces aggregates, in part, by promoting autophagic function in the aging Drosophila brain. To clarify the impact that IF-treatment has upon aging, we used high throughput RNA-sequencing technology to examine the changing transcriptome in adult Drosophila tissues. Principle component analysis (PCA) and other analyses showed ~1200 age-related transcriptional differences in head and muscle tissues, with few genes having matching expression patterns. Pathway components showing age-dependent expression differences were involved with stress response, metabolic, neural and chromatin remodeling functions. Middle-aged tissues also showed a significant increase in transcriptional drift-variance (TD), which in the CNS included multiple proteolytic pathway components. Overall, IF-treatment had a demonstrably positive impact on aged transcriptomes, partly ameliorating both fold and variance changes. Consistent with these findings, aged IF-treated flies displayed more youthful metabolic, behavioral and basal proteolytic profiles that closely correlated with transcriptional alterations to key components. These results indicate that even modest dietary changes can have therapeutic consequences, slowing the progressive decline of multiple cellular systems, including proteostasis in the aging nervous system.

Cancer Patients Enrolled in a Smoking Cessation Clinical Trial: Characteristics and Correlates of Smoking Rate and Nicotine Dependence.

PubMed

Miele, Andrew; Thompson, Morgan; Jao, Nancy C; Kalhan, Ravi; Leone, Frank; Hogarth, Lee; Hitsman, Brian; Schnoll, Robert

2018-01-01

A substantial proportion of cancer patients continue to smoke after their diagnosis but few studies have evaluated correlates of nicotine dependence and smoking rate in this population, which could help guide smoking cessation interventions. This study evaluated correlates of smoking rate and nicotine dependence among 207 cancer patients. A cross-sectional analysis using multiple linear regression evaluated disease, demographic, affective, and tobacco-seeking correlates of smoking rate and nicotine dependence. Smoking rate was assessed using a timeline follow-back method. The Fagerström Test for Nicotine Dependence measured levels of nicotine dependence. A multiple linear regression predicting nicotine dependence showed an association with smoking to alleviate a sense of addiction from the Reasons for Smoking scale and tobacco-seeking behavior from the concurrent choice task ( p < .05), but not with affect measured by the HADS and PANAS ( p > .05). Multiple linear regression predicting prequit showed an association with smoking to alleviate addiction ( p < .05). ANOVA showed that Caucasian participants reported greater rates of smoking compared to other races. The results suggest that behavioral smoking cessation interventions that focus on helping patients to manage tobacco-seeking behavior, rather than mood management interventions, could help cancer patients quit smoking.

The temporal representation of the delay of dynamic iterated rippled noise with positive and negative gain by single units in the ventral cochlear nucleus.

PubMed

Sayles, Mark; Winter, Ian Michael

2007-09-26

Spike trains were recorded from single units in the ventral cochlear nucleus of the anaesthetised guinea-pig in response to dynamic iterated rippled noise with positive and negative gain. The short-term running waveform autocorrelation functions of these stimuli show peaks at integer multiples of the time-varying delay when the gain is +1, and troughs at odd-integer multiples and peaks at even-integer multiples of the time-varying delay when the gain is -1. In contrast, the short-term autocorrelation of the Hilbert envelope shows peaks at integer multiples of the time-varying delay for both positive and negative gain stimuli. A running short-term all-order interspike interval analysis demonstrates the ability of single units to represent the modulated pitch contour in their short-term interval statistics. For units with low best frequency (approximate < or = 1.1 kHz) the temporal discharge pattern reflected the waveform fine structure regardless of unit classification (Primary-like, Chopper). For higher best frequency units the pattern of response varied according to unit type. Chopper units with best frequency approximate > or = 1.1 kHz responded to envelope modulation; showing no difference between their response to stimuli with positive and negative gain. Primary-like units with best frequencies in the range 1-3 kHz were still able to represent the difference in the temporal fine structure between dynamic rippled noise with positive and negative gain. No unit with a best frequency above 3 kHz showed a response to the temporal fine structure. Chopper units in this high frequency group showed significantly greater representation of envelope modulation relative to primary-like units with the same range of best frequencies. These results show that at the level of the cochlear nucleus there exists sufficient information in the time domain to represent the time-varying pitch associated with dynamic iterated rippled noise.

The biomechanical stability of a novel spacer with integrated plate in contiguous two-level and three-level ACDF models: an in vitro cadaveric study.

PubMed

Clavenna, Andrew L; Beutler, William J; Gudipally, Manasa; Moldavsky, Mark; Khalil, Saif

2012-02-01

Anterior cervical plating increases stability and hence improves fusion rates to treat cervical spine pathologies, which are often symptomatic at multiple levels. However, plating is not without complications, such as dysphagia, injury to neural elements, and plate breakage. The biomechanics of a spacer with integrated plate system combined with posterior instrumentation (PI), in two-level and three-level surgical models, has not yet been investigated. The purpose of the study was to biomechanically evaluate the multidirectional rigidity of spacer with integrated plate (SIP) at multiple levels as comparable to traditional spacers and plating. An in vitro cervical cadaveric model. Eight fresh human cervical (C2-C7) cadaver spines were tested under pure moments of ±1.5 Nm on spine simulator test frame. Each spine was tested in intact condition, with only anterior fixation and with both anterior and PI. Range of motion (ROM) was measured using Optotrak Certus (NDI, Inc., Waterloo, Ontario, Canada) motion analysis system in flexion-extension (FE), lateral bending (LB), and axial rotation (AR) at the instrumented levels (C3-C6). Repeated-measures analysis of variance was used for statistical analysis. All the surgical constructs showed significant reduction in motion compared with intact condition. In two-level fusion, SIP (C4-C6) construct significantly reduced ROM by 66.5%, 65.4%, and 60.3% when compared with intact in FE, LB, and AR, respectively. In three-level fusion, SIP (C3-C6) construct significantly reduced ROM by 65.8%, 66%, and 49.6% when compared with intact in FE, LB, and AR, respectively. Posterior instrumentation showed significant stability only in three-level fusion when compared with their respective anterior constructs. In both two-level and three-level fusion, SIP showed comparable stability to traditional spacer and plate constructs in all loading modes. The anatomically profiled spacer with integrated plate allows treatment of cervical disorders with fewer steps and less impact to cervical structures. In this biomechanical study, spacer with integrated plate construct showed comparable stability to traditional spacer and plate for two-level and three-level fusion. Posterior instrumentation showed significant effect only in three-level fusion. Clinical data are required for further validation of using spacer with integrated plate at multiple levels. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Development of multiple W/O/W emulsions as dermal carrier system for oligonucleotides: effect of additives on emulsion stability.

PubMed

Schmidts, T; Dobler, D; Schlupp, P; Nissing, C; Garn, H; Runkel, F

2010-10-15

Multiple water-in-oil-in-water (W/O/W) emulsions are of major interest as potential skin delivery systems for water-soluble drugs like oligonucleotides due to their distinct encapsulation properties. However, multiple emulsions are highly sensitive in terms of variations of the individual components. The presence of osmotic active ingredients in the inner water phase is crucial for the generation of stable multiple emulsions. In order to stabilize the emulsions the influence of NaCl, MgSO(4), glucose and glycine and two cellulose derivatives was investigated. Briefly, multiple W/O/W emulsions using Span 80 as a lipophilic emulsifier and different hydrophilic emulsifiers (PEG-40/50 stearate, steareth-20 and polysorbate 80) were prepared. Stability of the emulsions was analyzed over a period of time using rheological measurements, droplet size observations and conductivity analysis. In this study we show that additives strongly influence the properties stability of multiple emulsions. By increasing the concentration of the osmotic active ingredients, smaller multiple droplets are formed and the viscosity is significantly increased. The thickening agents resulted in a slightly improved stability. The most promising emulsions were chosen and further evaluated for their suitability and compatibility to incorporate a DNAzyme oligonucleotide as active pharmaceutical ingredient. Copyright 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Effects of automatically delivered stimulation on persons with multiple disabilities during their use of a stationary bicycle.

PubMed

Lancioni, G E; Singh, N N; O'Reilly, M F; Campodonico, F; Oliva, D; Groeneweg, J

2004-06-01

We assessed the effects of automatically delivered favorite stimulation on engagement and indices of happiness of two adults with multiple disabilities during their use of a stationary bicycle. The participants typically received four 5-min. sessions per day over a period of about 3.5 mo. Analysis showed that one participant had a significant increase in both those measures while the other participant had a significant increase in engagement during the intervention phases of the study (when the stimulation was present) as opposed to the baseline periods (when the stimulation did not occur). Implications of the findings are discussed.

On board processing for future satellite communications systems: Comparison of FDM, TDM and hybrid accessing schemes

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Berk, G.; Jean, P. N.; Rotholz, E.

1982-01-01

Several satellite uplink and downlink accessing schemes for customer premises service are compared. Four conceptual system designs are presented: satellite-routed frequency division multiple access (FDMA), satellite-switched time division multiple access (TDMA), processor-routed TDMA, and frequency-routed TDMA, operating in the 30/20 GHz band. The designs are compared on the basis of estimated satellite weight, system capacity, power consumption, and cost. The systems are analyzed for fixed multibeam coverage of the continental United States. Analysis shows that the system capacity is limited by the available satellite resources and by the terminal size and cost.

Intrathecal oligoclonal IgG synthesis in multiple sclerosis.

PubMed

Petzold, Axel

2013-09-15

The diagnosis of multiple sclerosis is based on dissemination in time and space. Before 2010 lack of evidence for dissemination in space could be substituted by a paraclinical test, cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) oligoclonal bands (OCBs). The present meta-analysis (13,467 patients) shows that the diagnostic specificity of OCB drops from 94% to 61% if inflammatory etiologies are considered. Importantly, this was not caused by poor laboratory practice. This review on CSF OCB further illustrates the conceptional problem of substituting dissemination in space with a biomarker. The potential prognostic value of intrathecal OCB will need to be tested prospectively. © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Statistical hadronization with exclusive channels in e +e - annihilation

DOE PAGES

Ferroni, L.; Becattini, F.

2012-01-01

We present a systematic analysis of exclusive hadronic channels in e +e - collisions at centre-of-mass energies between 2.1 and 2.6 GeV within the statistical hadronization model. Because of the low multiplicities involved, calculations have been carried out in the full microcanonical ensemble, including conservation of energy-momentum, angular momentum, parity, isospin, and all relevant charges. We show that the data is in an overall good agreement with the model for an energy density of about 0.5 GeV/fm 3 and an extra strangeness suppression parameter γ S 0:7, essentially the same values found with fits to inclusive multiplicities at higher energy.

Hip fracture risk and cadmium in erythrocytes: a nested case-control study with prospectively collected samples.

PubMed

Sommar, Johan Nilsson; Pettersson-Kymmer, Ulrika; Lundh, Thomas; Svensson, Olle; Hallmans, Göran; Bergdahl, Ingvar A

2014-02-01

Several studies have investigated the relation between bone mass density and cadmium exposure, but only few studies have been performed on fractures and biomarkers of cadmium. This study analyzed the association between hip fracture risk and cadmium in erythrocytes (Ery-Cd). Prospective samples from the Northern Sweden Health and Disease Study's biobank were used for 109 individuals who later in life had sustained a low-trauma hip fracture, matched with two controls of the same age and gender. The mean concentration of Ery-Cd (±SD) in case samples was 1.3 ± 1.4 versus 0.9 ± 1.0 μg/L in controls. The odds ratio (OR) was 1.63 [95% confidence interval (CI) 1.10-2.42] for suffering a hip fracture for each microgram per liter increase in Ery-Cd. However, when taking smoking into consideration (never, former, or current), neither Ery-Cd nor smoking showed a statistically significant increase in fracture risk. Using multiple conditional logistic regression with BMI, height, and smoking, the estimated OR for a 1-μg/L increase in Ery-Cd was 1.52 (95% CI 0.77-2.97). Subgroup analysis showed an increased fracture risk among women (OR = 1.94, 95% CI 1.18-3.20, for a 1 μg/L increase), which also remained in the multiple analysis (OR = 3.33, 95% CI 1.29-8.56). This study shows that fracture risk is associated with Ery-Cd. It is, however, not possible to draw firm conclusions on whether cadmium is the causal factor or whether other smoking-related factors cause this association. Subgroup analysis shows that cadmium is a risk factor for hip fracture among women.

Homonuclear Hartmann-Hahn transfer with reduced relaxation losses by use of the MOCCA-XY16 multiple pulse sequence

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Furrer, Julien; Kramer, Frank; Marino, John P.; Glaser, Steffen J.; Luy, Burkhard

2004-01-01

Homonuclear Hartmann-Hahn transfer is one of the most important building blocks in modern high-resolution NMR. It constitutes a very efficient transfer element for the assignment of proteins, nucleic acids, and oligosaccharides. Nevertheless, in macromolecules exceeding ˜10 kDa TOCSY-experiments can show decreasing sensitivity due to fast transverse relaxation processes that are active during the mixing periods. In this article we propose the MOCCA-XY16 multiple pulse sequence, originally developed for efficient TOCSY transfer through residual dipolar couplings, as a homonuclear Hartmann-Hahn sequence with improved relaxation properties. A theoretical analysis of the coherence transfer via scalar couplings and its relaxation behavior as well as experimental transfer curves for MOCCA-XY16 relative to the well-characterized DIPSI-2 multiple pulse sequence are given.

Homonuclear Hartmann-Hahn transfer with reduced relaxation losses by use of the MOCCA-XY16 multiple pulse sequence.

PubMed

Furrer, Julien; Kramer, Frank; Marino, John P; Glaser, Steffen J; Luy, Burkhard

2004-01-01

Homonuclear Hartmann-Hahn transfer is one of the most important building blocks in modern high-resolution NMR. It constitutes a very efficient transfer element for the assignment of proteins, nucleic acids, and oligosaccharides. Nevertheless, in macromolecules exceeding approximately 10 kDa TOCSY-experiments can show decreasing sensitivity due to fast transverse relaxation processes that are active during the mixing periods. In this article we propose the MOCCA-XY16 multiple pulse sequence, originally developed for efficient TOCSY transfer through residual dipolar couplings, as a homonuclear Hartmann-Hahn sequence with improved relaxation properties. A theoretical analysis of the coherence transfer via scalar couplings and its relaxation behavior as well as experimental transfer curves for MOCCA-XY16 relative to the well-characterized DIPSI-2 multiple pulse sequence are given.

Multiple Consecutive Infections Might Explain the Lack of Protection by BCG

PubMed Central

Cardona, Pere-Joan; Vilaplana, Cristina

2014-01-01

Although contacts between tuberculosis patients may result in multiple consecutive infections (MCI), no experimental animal models consider this fact when used in basic studies. Moreover, the current TB vaccine (BCG) has demonstrated a limited protection in humans. In this study we evaluate the effect of tuberculosis MCI by way of a simple mathematical analysis using data from the low dose aerosol murine experimental model. The results show that a higher number of, or shorter intervals between, multiple consecutive infections reduce the protective effect of BCG. This is due to both the increase in bacillary load at the stationary level of the infection, and the protective immune response induced by the infection itself. This factor must therefore be taken into account when designing new prophylactic strategies as candidate vaccines for the replacement of BCG. PMID:24740286

Multiple consecutive infections might explain the lack of protection by BCG.

PubMed

Cardona, Pere-Joan; Vilaplana, Cristina

2014-01-01

Although contacts between tuberculosis patients may result in multiple consecutive infections (MCI), no experimental animal models consider this fact when used in basic studies. Moreover, the current TB vaccine (BCG) has demonstrated a limited protection in humans. In this study we evaluate the effect of tuberculosis MCI by way of a simple mathematical analysis using data from the low dose aerosol murine experimental model. The results show that a higher number of, or shorter intervals between, multiple consecutive infections reduce the protective effect of BCG. This is due to both the increase in bacillary load at the stationary level of the infection, and the protective immune response induced by the infection itself. This factor must therefore be taken into account when designing new prophylactic strategies as candidate vaccines for the replacement of BCG.

Micropropagation and Biomass Production of True-to-Type Stevia rebaudiana Bertoni.

PubMed

Modi, Arpan R; Sharma, Vikas; Patil, Ghanshyam; Singh, Amritpal S; Subhash, N; Kumar, Nitish

2016-01-01

Here we describe an efficient micropropagation protocol for Stevia rebaudiana Bertoni. We present experiments carried out to optimize the suitable media for in vitro shoot multiplication and root induction and to study the effect of culture vessel on shoot multiplication. Among all different media tested for in vitro shoot multiplication, hormone-free liquid medium is most suitable. The highest number of nodes per shoot (5.4) and length of shoot (4.76 cm) at 4 weeks after subculturing are observed when single node explants are placed on modified MS medium supplemented with 1 % sucrose and 0.7 % agar. The highest response of multiplication rate (9.56) is observed on half strength of macroelement of MS with full strength of microelement of MS and 170 mg/l KH2PO4, and 185 mg/l MgSO4 in plastic growth container. Further, RAPD marker analysis of in vitro-raised plants maintained their clonal fidelity and true-to-type without showing any somaclonal variation.

Double-multiple streamtube model for Darrieus in turbines

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Paraschivoiu, I.

1981-01-01

An analytical model is proposed for calculating the rotor performance and aerodynamic blade forces for Darrieus wind turbines with curved blades. The method of analysis uses a multiple-streamtube model, divided into two parts: one modeling the upstream half-cycle of the rotor and the other, the downstream half-cycle. The upwind and downwind components of the induced velocities at each level of the rotor were obtained using the principle of two actuator disks in tandem. Variation of the induced velocities in the two parts of the rotor produces larger forces in the upstream zone and smaller forces in the downstream zone. Comparisons of the overall rotor performance with previous methods and field test data show the important improvement obtained with the present model. The calculations were made using the computer code CARDAA developed at IREQ. The double-multiple streamtube model presented has two major advantages: it requires a much shorter computer time than the three-dimensional vortex model and is more accurate than multiple-streamtube model in predicting the aerodynamic blade loads.

Cooperative MIMO communication at wireless sensor network: an error correcting code approach.

PubMed

Islam, Mohammad Rakibul; Han, Young Shin

2011-01-01

Cooperative communication in wireless sensor network (WSN) explores the energy efficient wireless communication schemes between multiple sensors and data gathering node (DGN) by exploiting multiple input multiple output (MIMO) and multiple input single output (MISO) configurations. In this paper, an energy efficient cooperative MIMO (C-MIMO) technique is proposed where low density parity check (LDPC) code is used as an error correcting code. The rate of LDPC code is varied by varying the length of message and parity bits. Simulation results show that the cooperative communication scheme outperforms SISO scheme in the presence of LDPC code. LDPC codes with different code rates are compared using bit error rate (BER) analysis. BER is also analyzed under different Nakagami fading scenario. Energy efficiencies are compared for different targeted probability of bit error p(b). It is observed that C-MIMO performs more efficiently when the targeted p(b) is smaller. Also the lower encoding rate for LDPC code offers better error characteristics.

Cooperative MIMO Communication at Wireless Sensor Network: An Error Correcting Code Approach

PubMed Central

Islam, Mohammad Rakibul; Han, Young Shin

2011-01-01

Cooperative communication in wireless sensor network (WSN) explores the energy efficient wireless communication schemes between multiple sensors and data gathering node (DGN) by exploiting multiple input multiple output (MIMO) and multiple input single output (MISO) configurations. In this paper, an energy efficient cooperative MIMO (C-MIMO) technique is proposed where low density parity check (LDPC) code is used as an error correcting code. The rate of LDPC code is varied by varying the length of message and parity bits. Simulation results show that the cooperative communication scheme outperforms SISO scheme in the presence of LDPC code. LDPC codes with different code rates are compared using bit error rate (BER) analysis. BER is also analyzed under different Nakagami fading scenario. Energy efficiencies are compared for different targeted probability of bit error pb. It is observed that C-MIMO performs more efficiently when the targeted pb is smaller. Also the lower encoding rate for LDPC code offers better error characteristics. PMID:22163732

Glutamatergic and GABAergic gene sets in attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder: association to overlapping traits in ADHD and autism.

PubMed

Naaijen, J; Bralten, J; Poelmans, G; Glennon, J C; Franke, B; Buitelaar, J K

2017-01-10

Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and autism spectrum disorders (ASD) often co-occur. Both are highly heritable; however, it has been difficult to discover genetic risk variants. Glutamate and GABA are main excitatory and inhibitory neurotransmitters in the brain; their balance is essential for proper brain development and functioning. In this study we investigated the role of glutamate and GABA genetics in ADHD severity, autism symptom severity and inhibitory performance, based on gene set analysis, an approach to investigate multiple genetic variants simultaneously. Common variants within glutamatergic and GABAergic genes were investigated using the MAGMA software in an ADHD case-only sample (n=931), in which we assessed ASD symptoms and response inhibition on a Stop task. Gene set analysis for ADHD symptom severity, divided into inattention and hyperactivity/impulsivity symptoms, autism symptom severity and inhibition were performed using principal component regression analyses. Subsequently, gene-wide association analyses were performed. The glutamate gene set showed an association with severity of hyperactivity/impulsivity (P=0.009), which was robust to correcting for genome-wide association levels. The GABA gene set showed nominally significant association with inhibition (P=0.04), but this did not survive correction for multiple comparisons. None of single gene or single variant associations was significant on their own. By analyzing multiple genetic variants within candidate gene sets together, we were able to find genetic associations supporting the involvement of excitatory and inhibitory neurotransmitter systems in ADHD and ASD symptom severity in ADHD.

Gene of a new X-linked syndrome with multiple congenital anomalies and severe mental retardation maps in Xp22-pter

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Wittwer, B.; Kircheisen, R.; Leutelt, J.

1994-09-01

We report on a family with 3 males presenting with a not yet described new X-chromosomal syndrome of multiple congenital anomalies and severe mental retardation. Two sisters have (with 3 different partners) 3 severely handicapped sons. In each case, oligohydramnios and intrauterine growth retardation were observed. Delivery was in the 34th, 31st, and 38th gestational week, respectively. Two of the patients had microcephaly (head circumference of the third case at birth is unknown). On physical examination, high and broad forehead, frontal bossing, downslanting palpebral fissures, long philtrum, thin upper lip, high arched palate, and deeply set anteverted ears were seen.more » One of the boys has microphthalmos and sclerocornea, while his cousin shows atrophy of the optic nerve. All three patients show a severe statomotor and mental retardation, they are most likely deaf and blind, have pathologic EEG, and seizures. Important additional findings are hydronephrosis, renal duplication, vesicorenal reflux, and agenesis of corpus callosum. The karyotype is normal (46,XY). We performed a segregation analysis in the family using more than 20 DNA polymorphisms distributed over the X chromosome. Linkage without recombination was found to KAL, DXS278, and DXS16 in Xp22. Analysis of multiple informative meioses suggested a location of the disease locus distal to DXS207. Recombinants were identified with all other marker loci from Xp22-Xpter.« less

Direct and conceptual replications of the taxometric analysis of type a behavior.

PubMed

Wilmot, Michael P; Haslam, Nick; Tian, Jingyuan; Ones, Deniz S

2018-05-17

We present direct and conceptual replications of the influential taxometric analysis of Type A Behavior (TAB; Strube, 1989), which reported evidence for the latent typology of the construct. Study 1, the direct replication (N = 2,373), duplicated sampling and methodological procedures of the original study, but results showed that the item indicators used in the original study lacked sufficient validity to unambiguously determine latent structure. Using improved factorial subscale indicators to further test the question, multiple taxometric procedures, in combination with parallel analyses of simulated data, failed to replicate the original typological finding. Study 2, the conceptual replication, tested the latent structure of the wider construct of TAB using the sample from the Caerphilly Prospective Study (N = 2,254), which contains responses to the three most widely used self-report measures of TAB: the Jenkins Activity Survey, Bortner scale, and Framingham scale. Factorial subscale indicators were derived from the measures and submitted to multiple taxometric procedures. Results of Study 2 converged with those of Study 1, providing clear evidence of latent dimensional structure. Overall, results suggest there is no evidence for the type in TAB. Findings imply that theoretical models of TAB, assessment practices, and data analytic procedures that assume a typology should be replaced by dimensional models, factorial subscale measures, and corresponding statistical approaches. Specific subscale measures that tap multiple Big Five trait domains, and show evidence of predictive utility, are also recommended. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2018 APA, all rights reserved).

Association study of four polymorphisms in the interleukin-7 receptor alpha gene with multiple sclerosis in Eastern Iran.

PubMed

Haj, Mehrdad Sadeghi; Nikravesh, Abbas; Kakhki, Majid Pahlevan; Rakhshi, Nahid

2015-06-01

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is an autoimmune demyelinating disease of the central nervous system (CNS) with unknown etiology. Various genetics and environmental factors contribute to the pathogenesis of the disease. The interleukin-7 receptor alpha chain (IL-7Ra) was identified as the first non-major histocompatibility complex (non-MHC) MS susceptibility locus. In this study we are trying to find the association of IL-7Ra gene polymorphisms with MS susceptibility in Eastern Iran. A case-control study was performed in two provinces Sistan & Baluchistan and Khorasan with 219 patients and 258 unrelated matched healthy controls, using PCR-RFLP method for four single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) rs7718919, rs11567685, rs11567686 and rs6897932 of IL-7Ra gene. We found a tendency toward association with genotyping analyses in SNP rs7718919 (P=0.048, OR=4.344, and 95% CI=0.892-21.146); also genotype and allele frequency in gender and MS subtype stratification were shown to have significant association with MS. Analysis of two provinces separately showed a significant difference in results of the allele and genotype frequencies. Moreover, haplotyping analysis showed that (GTGC) has an association only in the male secondary-progressive multiple sclerosis (SPMS) patients in comparison to the healthy controls (P=0.043, OR=0.413, and 95% CI=0.179-0.955). IL7-Ra could be a susceptible gene to MS within the Eastern Iran population especially after MS and gender stratification.

Maternally derived trypsin may have multiple functions in the early development of turbot (Scopthalmus maximus).

PubMed

Chi, Liang; Liu, Qinghua; Xu, Shihong; Xiao, Zhizhong; Ma, Daoyuan; Li, Jun

2015-10-01

Trypsin is an important serine protease that is considered to be involved in digestion of protein in teleost fish. Nevertheless, studies on trypsin/trypsinogen in fish embryos are very limited. In this study, the trypsinogen of turbot (Scophthalmus maximus) (tTG) was identified and the expression patterns and activity of trypsinogen/trypsin were investigated. The results showed that the tTG mRNA was evenly distributed in the oocytes and was also expressed along the yolk periphery in early embryos. At later embryo stages and 1 days after hatching (dph), the tTG mRNA concentrated at the alimentary tract and head. Quantitative expression analysis showed that the tTG transcripts decreased after fertilization until the gastrula stage, then increased with the embryo and larvae development. This result was also confirmed by the specific activity analysis of trypsin and in-situ-hybridization (ISH). All of the results indicated that tTG in early embryo stages was maternally derived and expressed by itself after gastrula stages. Additionally, location of tTG mRNA in embryos and larvae was investigated; we considered that trypsin may have multiple functions during the embryo development process. Based on our results regarding trypsinogen in embryos and early development, we concluded that the trypsin/trypsinogen in turbot embryos was inherited from a maternal source and we suggested that trypsin in early development has multiple functions in the process of development. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

MULTIPOLAR SPINDLE 1 (MPS1), a novel coiled-coil protein of Arabidopsis thaliana, is required for meiotic spindle organization.

PubMed

Jiang, Hua; Wang, Fen-Fei; Wu, Yu-Ting; Zhou, Xi; Huang, Xue-Yong; Zhu, Jun; Gao, Ju-Fang; Dong, Rui-Bin; Cao, Kai-Ming; Yang, Zhong-Nan

2009-09-01

The spindle is essential for chromosome segregation during meiosis, but the molecular mechanism of meiotic spindle organization in higher plants is still not well understood. Here, we report on the identification and characterization of a plant-specific protein, MULTIPOLAR SPINDLE 1 (MPS1), which is involved in spindle organization in meiocytes of Arabidopsis thaliana. The homozygous mps1 mutant exhibits male and female sterility. Light microscopy showed that mps1 mutants produced multiple uneven spores during anther development, most of which aborted in later stages. Cytological analysis showed that chromosome segregation was abnormal in mps1 meiocytes. Immunolocalization showed unequal bipolar or multipolar spindles in mps1 meiocytes, which indicated that aberrant spindles resulted in disordered chromosome segregation. MPS1 encodes a 377-amino-acid protein with putative coiled-coil motifs. In situ hybridization analysis showed that MPS1 is strongly expressed in meiocytes.

Delayed P100-Like Latencies in Multiple Sclerosis: A Preliminary Investigation Using Visual Evoked Spread Spectrum Analysis

PubMed Central

Kiiski, Hanni S. M.; Ní Riada, Sinéad; Lalor, Edmund C.; Gonçalves, Nuno R.; Nolan, Hugh; Whelan, Robert; Lonergan, Róisín; Kelly, Siobhán; O'Brien, Marie Claire; Kinsella, Katie; Bramham, Jessica; Burke, Teresa; Ó Donnchadha, Seán; Hutchinson, Michael; Tubridy, Niall; Reilly, Richard B.

2016-01-01

Conduction along the optic nerve is often slowed in multiple sclerosis (MS). This is typically assessed by measuring the latency of the P100 component of the Visual Evoked Potential (VEP) using electroencephalography. The Visual Evoked Spread Spectrum Analysis (VESPA) method, which involves modulating the contrast of a continuous visual stimulus over time, can produce a visually evoked response analogous to the P100 but with a higher signal-to-noise ratio and potentially higher sensitivity to individual differences in comparison to the VEP. The main objective of the study was to conduct a preliminary investigation into the utility of the VESPA method for probing and monitoring visual dysfunction in multiple sclerosis. The latencies and amplitudes of the P100-like VESPA component were compared between healthy controls and multiple sclerosis patients, and multiple sclerosis subgroups. The P100-like VESPA component activations were examined at baseline and over a 3-year period. The study included 43 multiple sclerosis patients (23 relapsing-remitting MS, 20 secondary-progressive MS) and 42 healthy controls who completed the VESPA at baseline. The follow-up sessions were conducted 12 months after baseline with 24 MS patients (15 relapsing-remitting MS, 9 secondary-progressive MS) and 23 controls, and again at 24 months post-baseline with 19 MS patients (13 relapsing-remitting MS, 6 secondary-progressive MS) and 14 controls. The results showed P100-like VESPA latencies to be delayed in multiple sclerosis compared to healthy controls over the 24-month period. Secondary-progressive MS patients had most pronounced delay in P100-like VESPA latency relative to relapsing-remitting MS and controls. There were no longitudinal P100-like VESPA response differences. These findings suggest that the VESPA method is a reproducible electrophysiological method that may have potential utility in the assessment of visual dysfunction in multiple sclerosis. PMID:26726800

On Transform Domain Communication Systems under Spectrum Sensing Mismatch: A Deterministic Analysis.

PubMed

Jin, Chuanxue; Hu, Su; Huang, Yixuan; Luo, Qu; Huang, Dan; Li, Yi; Gao, Yuan; Cheng, Shaochi

2017-07-08

Towards the era of mobile Internet and the Internet of Things (IoT), numerous sensors and devices are being introduced and interconnected. To support such an amount of data traffic, traditional wireless communication technologies are facing challenges both in terms of the increasing shortage of spectrum resources and massive multiple access. The transform-domain communication system (TDCS) is considered as an alternative multiple access system, where 5G and mobile IoT are mainly focused. However, previous studies about TDCS are under the assumption that the transceiver has the global spectrum information, without the consideration of spectrum sensing mismatch (SSM). In this paper, we present the deterministic analysis of TDCS systems under arbitrary given spectrum sensing scenarios, especially the influence of the SSM pattern to the signal to noise ratio (SNR) performance. Simulation results show that arbitrary SSM pattern can lead to inferior bit error rate (BER) performance.

Genome-wide network analysis of Wnt signaling in three pediatric cancers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bao, Ju; Lee, Ho-Jin; Zheng, Jie J.

2013-10-01

Genomic structural alteration is common in pediatric cancers, and analysis of data generated by the Pediatric Cancer Genome Project reveals such tumor-related alterations in many Wnt signaling-associated genes. Most pediatric cancers are thought to arise within developing tissues that undergo substantial expansion during early organ formation, growth and maturation, and Wnt signaling plays an important role in this development. We examined three pediatric tumors--medullobastoma, early T-cell precursor acute lymphoblastic leukemia, and retinoblastoma--that show multiple genomic structural variations within Wnt signaling pathways. We mathematically modeled this pathway to investigate the effects of cancer-related structural variations on Wnt signaling. Surprisingly, we found that an outcome measure of canonical Wnt signaling was consistently similar in matched cancer cells and normal cells, even in the context of different cancers, different mutations, and different Wnt-related genes. Our results suggest that the cancer cells maintain a normal level of Wnt signaling by developing multiple mutations.

Analyzing multiple data sets by interconnecting RSAT programs via SOAP Web services: an example with ChIP-chip data.

PubMed

Sand, Olivier; Thomas-Chollier, Morgane; Vervisch, Eric; van Helden, Jacques

2008-01-01

This protocol shows how to access the Regulatory Sequence Analysis Tools (RSAT) via a programmatic interface in order to automate the analysis of multiple data sets. We describe the steps for writing a Perl client that connects to the RSAT Web services and implements a workflow to discover putative cis-acting elements in promoters of gene clusters. In the presented example, we apply this workflow to lists of transcription factor target genes resulting from ChIP-chip experiments. For each factor, the protocol predicts the binding motifs by detecting significantly overrepresented hexanucleotides in the target promoters and generates a feature map that displays the positions of putative binding sites along the promoter sequences. This protocol is addressed to bioinformaticians and biologists with programming skills (notions of Perl). Running time is approximately 6 min on the example data set.

What counts as knowing: Constructing a communicative repertoire for student demonstration of knowledge in science

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Crawford, Teresa

2005-02-01

The purpose of this study was twofold. One purpose was to identify the locally negotiated literate practices that defined ways of communicating information and knowledge across the curriculum in a fourth/fifth grade classroom. Through an ethnographic and sociolinguistic set of analyses, this investigation illustrated how the teacher worked to construct a learning environment that valued the use of multiple discourses as a way of communicating competence as a learner. Another purpose was specifically to address the ways that these practices contributed to student demonstration of knowledge in science. This was accomplished by an analysis of one student's presentation of science knowledge after a study of simple machines. A comparative analysis between his use of two discourses, written and oral, showed that the opportunity to choose between multiple discourses led to his success in demonstrating competence in ways that may have otherwise remained questionable.

Perturbative stability of SFT-based cosmological models

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Galli, Federico; Koshelev, Alexey S., E-mail: fgalli@tena4.vub.ac.be, E-mail: alexey.koshelev@vub.ac.be

2011-05-01

We review the appearance of multiple scalar fields in linearized SFT based cosmological models with a single non-local scalar field. Some of these local fields are canonical real scalar fields and some are complex fields with unusual coupling. These systems only admit numerical or approximate analysis. We introduce a modified potential for multiple scalar fields that makes the system exactly solvable in the cosmological context of Friedmann equations and at the same time preserves the asymptotic behavior expected from SFT. The main part of the paper consists of the analysis of inhomogeneous cosmological perturbations in this system. We show numericallymore » that perturbations corresponding to the new type of complex fields always vanish. As an example of application of this model we consider an explicit construction of the phantom divide crossing and prove the perturbative stability of this process at the linear order. The issue of ghosts and ways to resolve it are briefly discussed.« less

The dimensions of mobilities: the spatial relationships between corporeal and digital mobilities.

PubMed

Taipale, Sakari

2014-01-01

The aim of this article is to study how the corporeal and digital mobilities are spatially organised in relation to each other in everyday life. The dimensions of mobilities are modelled by using survey data (N=612) collected from Finland in 2011, Multiple Correspondence Analysis (MCA) and Multiple Regression Analysis (MRA). The results show that the combined use of corporeal and digital means of mobility affect the spatial organisation of mobilities only little. The results indicate that young people and students are more likely to benefit from their mobility in networking activities as they are equipped with a larger variety of mobility means than older people and pensioners. Lastly, women and people living in essentially urban areas are more likely to augment their physical travelling practices by using small-sized digital mobilities than men and people living in rural locations. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

High-level language ability in healthy individuals and its relationship with verbal working memory.

PubMed

Antonsson, Malin; Longoni, Francesca; Einald, Christina; Hallberg, Lina; Kurt, Gabriella; Larsson, Kajsa; Nilsson, Tina; Hartelius, Lena

2016-01-01

The aims of the study were to investigate healthy subjects' performance on a clinical test of high-level language (HLL) and how it is related to demographic characteristics and verbal working memory (VWM). One hundred healthy subjects (20-79 years old) were assessed with the Swedish BeSS test (Laakso, Brunnegård, Hartelius, & Ahlsén, 2000) and two digit span tasks. Relationships between the demographic variables, VWM and BeSS were investigated both with bivariate correlations and multiple regression analysis. The results present the norms for BeSS. The correlations and multiple regression analysis show that demographic variables had limited influence on test performance. Measures of VWM were moderately related to total BeSS score and weakly to moderately correlated with five of the seven subtests. To conclude, education has an influence on the test as a whole but measures of VWM stood out as the most robust predictor of HLL.

Analysis on trust influencing factors and trust model from multiple perspectives of online Auction

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yu, Wang

2017-10-01

Current reputation models lack the research on online auction trading completely so they cannot entirely reflect the reputation status of users and may cause problems on operability. To evaluate the user trust in online auction correctly, a trust computing model based on multiple influencing factors is established. It aims at overcoming the efficiency of current trust computing methods and the limitations of traditional theoretical trust models. The improved model comprehensively considers the trust degree evaluation factors of three types of participants according to different participation modes of online auctioneers, to improve the accuracy, effectiveness and robustness of the trust degree. The experiments test the efficiency and the performance of our model under different scale of malicious user, under environment like eBay and Sporas model. The experimental results analysis show the model proposed in this paper makes up the deficiency of existing model and it also has better feasibility.

Methods for consistent forewarning of critical events across multiple data channels

DOEpatents

Hively, Lee M.

2006-11-21

This invention teaches further method improvements to forewarn of critical events via phase-space dissimilarity analysis of data from biomedical equipment, mechanical devices, and other physical processes. One improvement involves conversion of time-serial data into equiprobable symbols. A second improvement is a method to maximize the channel-consistent total-true rate of forewarning from a plurality of data channels over multiple data sets from the same patient or process. This total-true rate requires resolution of the forewarning indications into true positives, true negatives, false positives and false negatives. A third improvement is the use of various objective functions, as derived from the phase-space dissimilarity measures, to give the best forewarning indication. A fourth improvement uses various search strategies over the phase-space analysis parameters to maximize said objective functions. A fifth improvement shows the usefulness of the method for various biomedical and machine applications.

On Transform Domain Communication Systems under Spectrum Sensing Mismatch: A Deterministic Analysis

PubMed Central

Jin, Chuanxue; Hu, Su; Huang, Yixuan; Luo, Qu; Huang, Dan; Li, Yi; Cheng, Shaochi

2017-01-01

Towards the era of mobile Internet and the Internet of Things (IoT), numerous sensors and devices are being introduced and interconnected. To support such an amount of data traffic, traditional wireless communication technologies are facing challenges both in terms of the increasing shortage of spectrum resources and massive multiple access. The transform-domain communication system (TDCS) is considered as an alternative multiple access system, where 5G and mobile IoT are mainly focused. However, previous studies about TDCS are under the assumption that the transceiver has the global spectrum information, without the consideration of spectrum sensing mismatch (SSM). In this paper, we present the deterministic analysis of TDCS systems under arbitrary given spectrum sensing scenarios, especially the influence of the SSM pattern to the signal to noise ratio (SNR) performance. Simulation results show that arbitrary SSM pattern can lead to inferior bit error rate (BER) performance. PMID:28698477

Depression-related differences in lean body mass distribution from National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2005-2006.

PubMed

Li, Ying; Meng, Lu; Li, Yue; Sato, Yasuto

2014-03-01

Although the association between depression and body composition has been widely discussed, the effects of depression on lean body mass (LBM) are unclear. The present study aimed to investigate the association of depression with LBM. The study included 2406 participants aged 18-69 years. The sex and body mass index (BMI) stratified analysis of covariance was performed to compare total LBM and percentage LBM (%LBM) in subjects with different depression score levels. Multiple linear regression analysis was conducted to estimate the association between depression score and serum albumin level. An analysis of covariance stratified by sex showed that participants with moderate-to-severe depression had significantly decreased total LBM and total and regional %LBM in men, except for total LBM and percentage gynoid LBM, which was observed in women. In the BMI stratified analysis of covariance, depression was significantly associated with decreased total and regional %LBM and with increased total and regional percentage fat body mass. In people with BMI≥25kg/m(2), the associations between depression or depressive syndrome and LBM, and total and regional %LBM are stronger compared to those with BMI<25kg/m(2). Multiple linear regression analysis showed that depression score was significantly negatively associated with serum albumin level. This is a cross-sectional study based on a general population, some information about clinical diagnosis and medication use is not available. Depression had a significant negative association with LBM and serum albumin level. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Optimization of multiple quality characteristics in bone drilling using grey relational analysis

PubMed Central

Pandey, Rupesh Kumar; Panda, Sudhansu Sekhar

2014-01-01

Purpose Drilling of bone is common during bone fracture treatment to fix the fractured parts with screws wires or plates. Minimally invasive drilling of the bone has a great demand as it helps in better fixation and quick healing of the broken bones. The purpose of the present investigation is to determine the optimum cutting condition for the minimization of the temperature, force and surface roughness simultaneously during bone drilling. Method In this study, drilling experiments have been performed on bovine bone with different conditions of feed rate and drill rotational speed using full factorial design. Optimal level of the drilling parameters is determined by the grey relational grade (GRG) obtained from the GRA as the performance index of multiple quality characteristics. The effect of each drilling parameter on GRG is determined using analysis of variance (ANOVA) and the results obtained are validated by confirmation experiment. Results Grey relational analysis showed that the investigation with feed rate of 40 mm/min and spindle speed of 500 rpm has the highest grey relational grade and is recommended setting for minimum temperature, force and surface roughness simultaneously during bone drilling. Feed rate has the highest contribution (59.49%) on the multiple performance characteristics followed by the spindle speed (37.69%) as obtained from ANOVA analysis. Conclusions The use of grey relational analysis will simplify the complex process of optimization of the multi response characteristics in bone drilling by converting them into a single grey relational grade. The use of the above suggested methodology can greatly minimize the bone tissue injury during drilling. PMID:25829751

Optimization of multiple quality characteristics in bone drilling using grey relational analysis.

PubMed

Pandey, Rupesh Kumar; Panda, Sudhansu Sekhar

2015-03-01

Drilling of bone is common during bone fracture treatment to fix the fractured parts with screws wires or plates. Minimally invasive drilling of the bone has a great demand as it helps in better fixation and quick healing of the broken bones. The purpose of the present investigation is to determine the optimum cutting condition for the minimization of the temperature, force and surface roughness simultaneously during bone drilling. In this study, drilling experiments have been performed on bovine bone with different conditions of feed rate and drill rotational speed using full factorial design. Optimal level of the drilling parameters is determined by the grey relational grade (GRG) obtained from the GRA as the performance index of multiple quality characteristics. The effect of each drilling parameter on GRG is determined using analysis of variance (ANOVA) and the results obtained are validated by confirmation experiment. Grey relational analysis showed that the investigation with feed rate of 40 mm/min and spindle speed of 500 rpm has the highest grey relational grade and is recommended setting for minimum temperature, force and surface roughness simultaneously during bone drilling. Feed rate has the highest contribution (59.49%) on the multiple performance characteristics followed by the spindle speed (37.69%) as obtained from ANOVA analysis. The use of grey relational analysis will simplify the complex process of optimization of the multi response characteristics in bone drilling by converting them into a single grey relational grade. The use of the above suggested methodology can greatly minimize the bone tissue injury during drilling.

Prognostic Value of microRNA-9 in Various Cancers: a Meta-analysis.

PubMed

Zhang, Yunyuan; Zhou, Jun; Sun, Meiling; Sun, Guirong; Cao, Yongxian; Zhang, Haiping; Tian, Runhua; Zhou, Lan; Duan, Liang; Chen, Xian; Lun, Limin

2017-07-01

Recently, there are more and more evidences from studies have revealed the association between microRNA-9 (miR-9) expression and outcome in multiple cancers, but inconsistent results have also been reported. It is necessary to rationalize a meta analysis of all available data to clarify the prognostic role of miR-9. Eligible studies were selected through multiple search strategies and the quality was assessed by MOOSE. Data was extracted from studies according to the key statistics index. All analyses were performed using STATA software. Twenty studies were selected in the meta-analysis to evaluate the prognostic role of miR-9 in multiple tumors. MiR-9 expression level was an independent prognostic biomarker for OS in tumor patients using multivariate and univariate analyses. High expression levels of miR-9 was demonstrated to associated with poor overall survival (OS) (HR = 2.23, 95 % CI: 1.56-3.17, P < 0.05) and recurrence free survival/progress free survival (RFS/PFS) (HR = 2.08, 95 % CI: 1.33-3.27, P < 0.05). Subgroup analysis showed that residence region (China and Japan), sample size, cancer type (solid or leukemia), follow-up months and analysis method (qPCR) did not alter the predictive value of miR-9 on OS in various cancers. Furthermore, no significant associations were detected for miR-9 expression and lymph node metastasis or distant metastasis. The present results suggest that promoted miR-9 expression is associated with poor OS in patients with general cancers.

MGAS: a powerful tool for multivariate gene-based genome-wide association analysis.

PubMed

Van der Sluis, Sophie; Dolan, Conor V; Li, Jiang; Song, Youqiang; Sham, Pak; Posthuma, Danielle; Li, Miao-Xin

2015-04-01

Standard genome-wide association studies, testing the association between one phenotype and a large number of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), are limited in two ways: (i) traits are often multivariate, and analysis of composite scores entails loss in statistical power and (ii) gene-based analyses may be preferred, e.g. to decrease the multiple testing problem. Here we present a new method, multivariate gene-based association test by extended Simes procedure (MGAS), that allows gene-based testing of multivariate phenotypes in unrelated individuals. Through extensive simulation, we show that under most trait-generating genotype-phenotype models MGAS has superior statistical power to detect associated genes compared with gene-based analyses of univariate phenotypic composite scores (i.e. GATES, multiple regression), and multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA). Re-analysis of metabolic data revealed 32 False Discovery Rate controlled genome-wide significant genes, and 12 regions harboring multiple genes; of these 44 regions, 30 were not reported in the original analysis. MGAS allows researchers to conduct their multivariate gene-based analyses efficiently, and without the loss of power that is often associated with an incorrectly specified genotype-phenotype models. MGAS is freely available in KGG v3.0 (http://statgenpro.psychiatry.hku.hk/limx/kgg/download.php). Access to the metabolic dataset can be requested at dbGaP (https://dbgap.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/). The R-simulation code is available from http://ctglab.nl/people/sophie_van_der_sluis. Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online. © The Author 2014. Published by Oxford University Press.

Conformational dynamics of L-lysine, L-arginine, L-ornithine binding protein reveals ligand-dependent plasticity.

PubMed

Silva, Daniel-Adriano; Domínguez-Ramírez, Lenin; Rojo-Domínguez, Arturo; Sosa-Peinado, Alejandro

2011-07-01

The molecular basis of multiple ligand binding affinity for amino acids in periplasmic binding proteins (PBPs) and in the homologous domain for class C G-protein coupled receptors is an unsolved question. Here, using unrestrained molecular dynamic simulations, we studied the ligand binding mechanism present in the L-lysine, L-arginine, L-ornithine binding protein. We developed an analysis based on dihedral angles for the description of the conformational changes upon ligand binding. This analysis has an excellent correlation with each of the two main movements described by principal component analysis (PCA) and it's more convenient than RMSD measurements to describe the differences in the conformational ensembles observed. Furthermore, an analysis of hydrogen bonds showed specific interactions for each ligand studied as well as the ligand interaction with the aromatic residues Tyr-14 and Phe-52. Using uncharged histidine tautomers, these interactions are not observed. On the basis of these results, we propose a model in which hydrogen bond interactions place the ligand in the correct orientation to induce a cation-π interaction with Tyr-14 and Phe-52 thereby stabilizing the closed state. Our results also show that this protein adopts slightly different closed conformations to make available specific hydrogen bond interactions for each ligand thus, allowing a single mechanism to attain multiple ligand specificity. These results shed light on the experimental evidence for ligand-dependent conformational plasticity not explained by the previous crystallographic data. Copyright © 2011 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

EDS1 contributes to nonhost resistance of Arabidopsis thaliana against Erwinia amylovora.

PubMed

Moreau, Manon; Degrave, Alexandre; Vedel, Régine; Bitton, Frédérique; Patrit, Oriane; Renou, Jean-Pierre; Barny, Marie-Anne; Fagard, Mathilde

2012-03-01

Erwinia amylovora causes fire blight in rosaceous plants. In nonhost Arabidopsis thaliana, E. amylovora triggers necrotic symptoms associated with transient bacterial multiplication, suggesting either that A. thaliana lacks a susceptibility factor or that it actively restricts E. amylovora growth. Inhibiting plant protein synthesis at the time of infection led to an increase in necrosis and bacterial multiplication and reduced callose deposition, indicating that A. thaliana requires active protein synthesis to restrict E. amylovora growth. Analysis of the callose synthase-deficient pmr4-1 mutant indicated that lack of callose deposition alone did not lead to increased sensitivity to E. amylovora. Transcriptome analysis revealed that approximately 20% of the genes induced following E. amylovora infection are related to defense and signaling. Analysis of mutants affected in NDR1 and EDS1, two main components of the defense-gene activation observed, revealed that E. amylovora multiplied ten times more in the eds1-2 mutant than in the wild type but not in the ndr1-1 mutant. Analysis of mutants affected in three WRKY transcription factors showing EDS1-dependent activation identified WRKY46 and WRKY54 as positive regulators and WRKY70 as a negative regulator of defense against E. amylovora. Altogether, we show that EDS1 is a positive regulator of nonhost resistance against E. amylovora in A. thaliana and hypothesize that it controls the production of several effective defenses against E. amylovora through the action of WRKY46 and WRKY54, while WRKY70 acts as a negative regulator.

A Factor Analytic Model of Drug-Related Behavior in Adolescence and Its Impact on Arrests at Multiple Stages of the Life Course

PubMed Central

2016-01-01

Objectives Recognizing the inherent variability of drug-related behaviors, this study develops an empirically-driven and holistic model of drug-related behavior during adolescence using factor analysis to simultaneously model multiple drug behaviors. Methods The factor analytic model uncovers latent dimensions of drug-related behaviors, rather than patterns of individuals. These latent dimensions are treated as empirical typologies which are then used to predict an individual’s number of arrests accrued at multiple phases of the life course. The data are robust enough to simultaneously capture drug behavior measures typically considered in isolation in the literature, and to allow for behavior to change and evolve over the period of adolescence. Results Results show that factor analysis is capable of developing highly descriptive patterns of drug offending, and that these patterns have great utility in predicting arrests. Results further demonstrate that while drug behavior patterns are predictive of arrests at the end of adolescence for both males and females, the impacts on arrests are longer lasting for females. Conclusions The various facets of drug behaviors have been a long-time concern of criminological research. However, the ability to model multiple behaviors simultaneously is often constrained by data that do not measure the constructs fully. Factor analysis is shown to be a useful technique for modeling adolescent drug involvement patterns in a way that accounts for the multitude and variability of possible behaviors, and in predicting future negative life outcomes, such as arrests. PMID:28435183

Partial genome assembly for a candidate division OP11 single cell from an anoxic spring (Zodletone Spring, Oklahoma).

PubMed

Youssef, Noha H; Blainey, Paul C; Quake, Stephen R; Elshahed, Mostafa S

2011-11-01

Members of candidate division OP11 are widely distributed in terrestrial and marine ecosystems, yet little information regarding their metabolic capabilities and ecological role within such habitats is currently available. Here, we report on the microfluidic isolation, multiple-displacement-amplification, pyrosequencing, and genomic analysis of a single cell (ZG1) belonging to candidate division OP11. Genome analysis of the ∼270-kb partial genome assembly obtained showed that it had no particular similarity to a specific phylum. Four hundred twenty-three open reading frames were identified, 46% of which had no function prediction. In-depth analysis revealed a heterotrophic lifestyle, with genes encoding endoglucanase, amylopullulanase, and laccase enzymes, suggesting a capacity for utilization of cellulose, starch, and, potentially, lignin, respectively. Genes encoding several glycolysis enzymes as well as formate utilization were identified, but no evidence for an electron transport chain was found. The presence of genes encoding various components of lipopolysaccharide biosynthesis indicates a Gram-negative bacterial cell wall. The partial genome also provides evidence for antibiotic resistance (β-lactamase, aminoglycoside phosphotransferase), as well as antibiotic production (bacteriocin) and extracellular bactericidal peptidases. Multiple mechanisms for stress response were identified, as were elements of type I and type IV secretion systems. Finally, housekeeping genes identified within the partial genome were used to demonstrate the OP11 affiliation of multiple hitherto unclassified genomic fragments from multiple database-deposited metagenomic data sets. These results provide the first glimpse into the lifestyle of a member of a ubiquitous, yet poorly understood bacterial candidate division.

Rectal Bleeding After High-Dose-Rate Brachytherapy Combined With Hypofractionated External-Beam Radiotherapy for Localized Prostate Cancer: The Relationship Between Dose-Volume Histogram Parameters and the Occurrence Rate

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Okamoto, Masahiko, E-mail: masaoka@showa.gunma-u.ac.jp; Ishikawa, Hitoshi; Ebara, Takeshi

2012-02-01

Purpose: To determine the predictive risk factors for Grade 2 or worse rectal bleeding after high-dose-rate brachytherapy (HDR-BT) combined with hypofractionated external-beam radiotherapy (EBRT) for prostate cancer using dose-volume histogram analysis. Methods and Materials: The records of 216 patients treated with HDR-BT combined with EBRT were analyzed. The treatment protocols for HDR-BT were 5 Gy Multiplication-Sign five times in 3 days or 7 Gy Multiplication-Sign three, 10.5 Gy Multiplication-Sign two, or 9 Gy Multiplication-Sign two in 2 days. The EBRT doses ranged from 45 to 51 Gy with a fractional dose of 3 Gy. Results: In 20 patients Grade 2more » or worse rectal bleeding developed, and the cumulative incidence rate was 9% at 5 years. By converting the HDR-BT and EBRT radiation doses into biologic effective doses (BED), the BED{sub 3} at rectal volumes of 5% and 10% in the patients who experienced bleeding were significantly higher than those in the remaining 196 patients. Univariate analysis showed that a higher rectal BED{sub 3-5%} and the use of fewer needles in brachytherapy were correlated with the incidence of bleeding, but BED{sub 3-5%} was found to be the only significant factor on multivariate analysis. Conclusions: The radiation dose delivered to small rectal lesions as 5% is important for predicting Grade 2 or worse rectal bleeding after HDR-BT combined with EBRT for prostate cancer.« less

Combining data from multiple sources using the CUAHSI Hydrologic Information System

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tarboton, D. G.; Ames, D. P.; Horsburgh, J. S.; Goodall, J. L.

2012-12-01

The Consortium of Universities for the Advancement of Hydrologic Science, Inc. (CUAHSI) has developed a Hydrologic Information System (HIS) to provide better access to data by enabling the publication, cataloging, discovery, retrieval, and analysis of hydrologic data using web services. The CUAHSI HIS is an Internet based system comprised of hydrologic databases and servers connected through web services as well as software for data publication, discovery and access. The HIS metadata catalog lists close to 100 web services registered to provide data through this system, ranging from large federal agency data sets to experimental watersheds managed by University investigators. The system's flexibility in storing and enabling public access to similarly formatted data and metadata has created a community data resource from governmental and academic data that might otherwise remain private or analyzed only in isolation. Comprehensive understanding of hydrology requires integration of this information from multiple sources. HydroDesktop is the client application developed as part of HIS to support data discovery and access through this system. HydroDesktop is founded on an open source GIS client and has a plug-in architecture that has enabled the integration of modeling and analysis capability with the functionality for data discovery and access. Model integration is possible through a plug-in built on the OpenMI standard and data visualization and analysis is supported by an R plug-in. This presentation will demonstrate HydroDesktop, showing how it provides an analysis environment within which data from multiple sources can be discovered, accessed and integrated.

Evaluation of longitudinal tracking and data mining for an imaging informatics-based multiple sclerosis e-folder (Conference Presentation)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ma, Kevin C.; Forsyth, Sydney; Amezcua, Lilyana; Liu, Brent J.

2017-03-01

We have designed and developed a multiple sclerosis eFolder system for patient data storage, image viewing, and automatic lesion quantification results to allow patient tracking. The web-based system aims to be integrated in DICOM-compliant clinical and research environments to aid clinicians in patient treatments and data analysis. The system quantifies lesion volumes, identify and register lesion locations to track shifts in volume and quantity of lesions in a longitudinal study. We aim to evaluate the two most important features of the system, data mining and longitudinal lesion tracking, to demonstrate the MS eFolder's capability in improving clinical workflow efficiency and outcome analysis for research. In order to evaluate data mining capabilities, we have collected radiological and neurological data from 72 patients, 36 Caucasian and 36 Hispanic matched by gender, disease duration, and age. Data analysis on those patients based on ethnicity is performed, and analysis results are displayed by the system's web-based user interface. The data mining module is able to successfully separate Hispanic and Caucasian patients and compare their disease profiles. For longitudinal lesion tracking, we have collected 4 longitudinal cases and simulated different lesion growths over the next year. As a result, the eFolder is able to detect changes in lesion volume and identifying lesions with the most changes. Data mining and lesion tracking evaluation results show high potential of eFolder's usefulness in patientcare and informatics research for multiple sclerosis.

Single Molecule Analysis of Replicated DNA Reveals the Usage of Multiple KSHV Genome Regions for Latent Replication

PubMed Central

Verma, Subhash C.; Lu, Jie; Cai, Qiliang; Kosiyatrakul, Settapong; McDowell, Maria E.; Schildkraut, Carl L.; Robertson, Erle S.

2011-01-01

Kaposi's sarcoma associated herpesvirus (KSHV), an etiologic agent of Kaposi's sarcoma, Body Cavity Based Lymphoma and Multicentric Castleman's Disease, establishes lifelong latency in infected cells. The KSHV genome tethers to the host chromosome with the help of a latency associated nuclear antigen (LANA). Additionally, LANA supports replication of the latent origins within the terminal repeats by recruiting cellular factors. Our previous studies identified and characterized another latent origin, which supported the replication of plasmids ex-vivo without LANA expression in trans. Therefore identification of an additional origin site prompted us to analyze the entire KSHV genome for replication initiation sites using single molecule analysis of replicated DNA (SMARD). Our results showed that replication of DNA can initiate throughout the KSHV genome and the usage of these regions is not conserved in two different KSHV strains investigated. SMARD also showed that the utilization of multiple replication initiation sites occurs across large regions of the genome rather than a specified sequence. The replication origin of the terminal repeats showed only a slight preference for their usage indicating that LANA dependent origin at the terminal repeats (TR) plays only a limited role in genome duplication. Furthermore, we performed chromatin immunoprecipitation for ORC2 and MCM3, which are part of the pre-replication initiation complex to determine the genomic sites where these proteins accumulate, to provide further characterization of potential replication initiation sites on the KSHV genome. The ChIP data confirmed accumulation of these pre-RC proteins at multiple genomic sites in a cell cycle dependent manner. Our data also show that both the frequency and the sites of replication initiation vary within the two KSHV genomes studied here, suggesting that initiation of replication is likely to be affected by the genomic context rather than the DNA sequences. PMID:22072974

Performance of an Axisymmetric Rocket Based Combined Cycle Engine During Rocket Only Operation Using Linear Regression Analysis

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Smith, Timothy D.; Steffen, Christopher J., Jr.; Yungster, Shaye; Keller, Dennis J.

1998-01-01

The all rocket mode of operation is shown to be a critical factor in the overall performance of a rocket based combined cycle (RBCC) vehicle. An axisymmetric RBCC engine was used to determine specific impulse efficiency values based upon both full flow and gas generator configurations. Design of experiments methodology was used to construct a test matrix and multiple linear regression analysis was used to build parametric models. The main parameters investigated in this study were: rocket chamber pressure, rocket exit area ratio, injected secondary flow, mixer-ejector inlet area, mixer-ejector area ratio, and mixer-ejector length-to-inlet diameter ratio. A perfect gas computational fluid dynamics analysis, using both the Spalart-Allmaras and k-omega turbulence models, was performed with the NPARC code to obtain values of vacuum specific impulse. Results from the multiple linear regression analysis showed that for both the full flow and gas generator configurations increasing mixer-ejector area ratio and rocket area ratio increase performance, while increasing mixer-ejector inlet area ratio and mixer-ejector length-to-diameter ratio decrease performance. Increasing injected secondary flow increased performance for the gas generator analysis, but was not statistically significant for the full flow analysis. Chamber pressure was found to be not statistically significant.

The Diagnostic Performance of Stool DNA Testing for Colorectal Cancer: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

PubMed

Zhai, Rong-Lin; Xu, Fei; Zhang, Pei; Zhang, Wan-Li; Wang, Hui; Wang, Ji-Liang; Cai, Kai-Lin; Long, Yue-Ping; Lu, Xiao-Ming; Tao, Kai-Xiong; Wang, Guo-Bin

2016-02-01

This meta-analysis was designed to evaluate the diagnostic performance of stool DNA testing for colorectal cancer (CRC) and compare the performance between single-gene and multiple-gene tests.MEDLINE, Cochrane, EMBASE databases were searched using keywords colorectal cancers, stool/fecal, sensitivity, specificity, DNA, and screening. Sensitivity analysis, quality assessments, and performance bias were performed for the included studies.Fifty-three studies were included in the analysis with a total sample size of 7524 patients. The studies were heterogeneous with regard to the genes being analyzed for fecal genetic biomarkers of CRC, as well as the laboratory methods being used for each assay. The sensitivity of the different assays ranged from 2% to 100% and the specificity ranged from 81% to 100%. The meta-analysis found that the pooled sensitivities for single- and multigene assays were 48.0% and 77.8%, respectively, while the pooled specificities were 97.0% and 92.7%. Receiver operator curves and diagnostic odds ratios showed no significant difference between both tests with regard to sensitivity or specificity.This meta-analysis revealed that using assays that evaluated multiple genes compared with single-gene assays did not increase the sensitivity or specificity of stool DNA testing in detecting CRC.

16q24.1 microdeletion in a premature newborn: usefulness of array-based comparative genomic hybridization in persistent pulmonary hypertension of the newborn.

PubMed

Zufferey, Flore; Martinet, Danielle; Osterheld, Maria-Chiara; Niel-Bütschi, Florence; Giannoni, Eric; Schmutz, Nathalie Besuchet; Xia, Zhilian; Beckmann, Jacques S; Shaw-Smith, Charles; Stankiewicz, Pawel; Langston, Claire; Fellmann, Florence

2011-11-01

Report of a 16q24.1 deletion in a premature newborn, demonstrating the usefulness of array-based comparative genomic hybridization in persistent pulmonary hypertension of the newborn and multiple congenital malformations. Descriptive case report. Genetic department and neonatal intensive care unit of a tertiary care children's hospital. None. We report the case of a preterm male infant, born at 26 wks of gestation. A cardiac malformation and bilateral hydronephrosis were diagnosed at 19 wks of gestation. Karyotype analysis was normal, and a 22q11.2 microdeletion was excluded by fluorescence in situ hybridization analysis. A cesarean section was performed due to fetal distress. The patient developed persistent pulmonary hypertension unresponsive to mechanical ventilation and nitric oxide treatment and expired at 16 hrs of life. An autopsy revealed partial atrioventricular canal malformation and showed bilateral dilation of the renal pelvocaliceal system with bilateral ureteral stenosis and annular pancreas. Array-based comparative genomic hybridization analysis (Agilent oligoNT 44K, Agilent Technologies, Santa Clara, CA) showed an interstitial microdeletion encompassing the forkhead box gene cluster in 16q24.1. Review of the pulmonary microscopic examination showed the characteristic features of alveolar capillary dysplasia with misalignment of pulmonary veins. Some features were less prominent due to the gestational age. Our review of the literature shows that alveolar capillary dysplasia with misalignment of pulmonary veins is rare but probably underreported. Prematurity is not a usual presentation, and histologic features are difficult to interpret. In our case, array-based comparative genomic hybridization revealed a 16q24.1 deletion, leading to the final diagnosis of alveolar capillary dysplasia with misalignment of pulmonary veins. It emphasizes the usefulness of array-based comparative genomic hybridization analysis as a diagnostic tool with implications for both prognosis and management decisions in newborns with refractory persistent pulmonary hypertension and multiple congenital malformations.

MultiMetEval: Comparative and Multi-Objective Analysis of Genome-Scale Metabolic Models

PubMed Central

Gevorgyan, Albert; Kierzek, Andrzej M.; Breitling, Rainer; Takano, Eriko

2012-01-01

Comparative metabolic modelling is emerging as a novel field, supported by the development of reliable and standardized approaches for constructing genome-scale metabolic models in high throughput. New software solutions are needed to allow efficient comparative analysis of multiple models in the context of multiple cellular objectives. Here, we present the user-friendly software framework Multi-Metabolic Evaluator (MultiMetEval), built upon SurreyFBA, which allows the user to compose collections of metabolic models that together can be subjected to flux balance analysis. Additionally, MultiMetEval implements functionalities for multi-objective analysis by calculating the Pareto front between two cellular objectives. Using a previously generated dataset of 38 actinobacterial genome-scale metabolic models, we show how these approaches can lead to exciting novel insights. Firstly, after incorporating several pathways for the biosynthesis of natural products into each of these models, comparative flux balance analysis predicted that species like Streptomyces that harbour the highest diversity of secondary metabolite biosynthetic gene clusters in their genomes do not necessarily have the metabolic network topology most suitable for compound overproduction. Secondly, multi-objective analysis of biomass production and natural product biosynthesis in these actinobacteria shows that the well-studied occurrence of discrete metabolic switches during the change of cellular objectives is inherent to their metabolic network architecture. Comparative and multi-objective modelling can lead to insights that could not be obtained by normal flux balance analyses. MultiMetEval provides a powerful platform that makes these analyses straightforward for biologists. Sources and binaries of MultiMetEval are freely available from https://github.com/PiotrZakrzewski/MetEval/downloads. PMID:23272111

Identification of faulty sensor using relative partial decomposition via independent component analysis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Z.; Quek, S. T.

2015-07-01

Performance of any structural health monitoring algorithm relies heavily on good measurement data. Hence, it is necessary to employ robust faulty sensor detection approaches to isolate sensors with abnormal behaviour and exclude the highly inaccurate data in the subsequent analysis. The independent component analysis (ICA) is implemented to detect the presence of sensors showing abnormal behaviour. A normalized form of the relative partial decomposition contribution (rPDC) is proposed to identify the faulty sensor. Both additive and multiplicative types of faults are addressed and the detectability illustrated using a numerical and an experimental example. An empirical method to establish control limits for detecting and identifying the type of fault is also proposed. The results show the effectiveness of the ICA and rPDC method in identifying faulty sensor assuming that baseline cases are available.

Simultaneous Determination of Multiple Classes of Hydrophilic and Lipophilic Components in Shuang-Huang-Lian Oral Liquid Formulations by UPLC-Triple Quadrupole Linear Ion Trap Mass Spectrometry.

PubMed

Liang, Jun; Sun, Hui-Min; Wang, Tian-Long

2017-11-24

The Shuang-Huang-Lian (SHL) oral liquid is a combined herbal prescription used in the treatment of acute upper respiratory tract infection, acute bronchitis and pneumonia. Multiple constituents are considered to be responsible for the therapeutic effects of SHL. However, the quantitation of the multi-components from multiple classes is still unsatisfactory because of the high complexity of constituents in SHL. In this study, an accurate, rapid, and specific UPLC-MS/MS method was established for simultaneous quantification of 18 compounds from multiple classes in SHL oral liquid formulations. Chromatographic separation was performed on a HSS T3 (1.8 μm, 2.1 mm × 100 mm) column, using a gradient mobile phase system of 0.1% formic acid in acetonitrile and 0.1% formic acid in water at a flow rate of 0.2 mL·min -1 ; the run time was 23 min. The MS was operated in negative electrospray ionization (ESI - ) for analysis of 18 compounds using multiple reaction monitoring (MRM) mode. UPLC-ESI - -MRM-MS/MS method showed good linear relationships ( R ² > 0.999), repeatability (RSD < 3%), precisions (RSD < 3%) and recovery (84.03-101.62%). The validated method was successfully used to determine multiple classes of hydrophilic and lipophilic components in the SHL oral liquids. Finally, principal component analysis (PCA) was used to classify and differentiate SHL oral liquid samples attributed to different manufacturers of China. The proposed UPLC-ESI - -MRM-MS/MS coupled with PCA has been elucidated to be a simple and reliable method for quality evaluation of SHL oral liquids.

Impact of non-anticoagulant therapy on patients with sepsis-induced disseminated intravascular coagulation: A multicenter, case-control study.

PubMed

Kudo, Daisuke; Hayakawa, Mineji; Ono, Kota; Yamakawa, Kazuma

2018-03-01

Anticoagulant therapy for patients with sepsis is not recommended in the latest Surviving Sepsis Campaign guidelines, and non-anticoagulant therapy is the global standard treatment approach at present. We aimed at elucidating the effect of non-anticoagulant therapy on patients with sepsis-induced disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC), as evidence on this topic has remained inconclusive. Data from 3195 consecutive adult patients admitted to 42 intensive care units for the treatment of severe sepsis were retrospectively analyzed via propensity score analyses with and without multiple imputation. The primary outcome was in-hospital all-cause mortality. Among 1784 patients with sepsis-induced DIC, 745 (41.8%) were not treated with anticoagulants. The inverse probability of treatment-weighted (with and without multiple imputation) and quintile-stratified propensity score analyses (without multiple imputation) indicated a significant association between non-anticoagulant therapy and higher in-hospital all-cause mortality (odds ratio [95% confidence interval]: 1.59 [1.19-2.12], 1.32 [1.02-1.81], and 1.32 [1.03-1.69], respectively). However, quintile-stratified propensity score analyses with multiple imputation and propensity score matching analysis with and without multiple imputation did not show this association. Survival duration was not significantly different between patients in the propensity score-matched non-anticoagulant therapy group and those in the anticoagulant therapy group (Cox regression analysis with and without multiple imputation: hazard ratio [95% confidence interval]: 1.26 [1.00-1.60] and 1.22 [0.93-1.59], respectively). It remains controversial if non-anticoagulant therapy is harmful, equivalent, or beneficial compared with anticoagulant therapy in the treatment of patients with sepsis-induced DIC. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Development and Validation of a POSIT-Short Form: Screening for Problem Behaviors among Adolescents at Risk for Substance Use.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Danseco, Evangeline R.; Marques, Paul R.

2002-01-01

The Problem-Oriented Screening Instrument for Teenagers (POSIT) screens for multiple problems among adolescents at risk for substance use. A shortened version of the POSIT was developed, using factor analysis, and correlational and reliability analyses. The POSIT-SF shows potential for a reliable and cost-efficient screen for youth with substance…

Rapid 3-D analysis of rockfalls

USGS Publications Warehouse

Stock, Greg M.; Guerin, A.; Avdievitch, Nikita N.; Collins, Brian D.; Jaboyedoff, Michel

2018-01-01

Recent fatal and damaging rockfalls in Yosemite National Park indicate the need for rapid response data collection methods to inform public safety and assist with management response. Here we show the use of multiple-platform remote sensing methods to rapidly capture pertinent data needed to inform management and the public following a several large rockfalls from El Capitan cliff in Yosemite Valley, California.

Exploring Adolescents' Multimodal Responses to "The Kite Runner": Understanding How Students Use Digital Media for Academic Purposes

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jocius, Robin

2013-01-01

This qualitative study explores how adolescent high school students in an AP English class used multiple forms of media (the internet, digital video, slide show software, video editing tools, literary texts, and writing) to respond to and analyze a contemporary novel, "The Kite Runner". Using a multimodal analysis framework, the author explores…

Improved security monitoring method for network bordary

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gao, Liting; Wang, Lixia; Wang, Zhenyan; Qi, Aihua

2013-03-01

This paper proposes a network bordary security monitoring system based on PKI. The design uses multiple safe technologies, analysis deeply the association between network data flow and system log, it can detect the intrusion activities and position invasion source accurately in time. The experiment result shows that it can reduce the rate of false alarm or missing alarm of the security incident effectively.

Electrospun fibrinogen-PLA nanofibres for vascular tissue engineering.

PubMed

Gugutkov, D; Gustavsson, J; Cantini, M; Salmeron-Sánchez, M; Altankov, G

2017-10-01

Here we report on the development of a new type of hybrid fibrinogen-polylactic acid (FBG-PLA) nanofibres (NFs) with improved stiffness, combining the good mechanical properties of PLA with the excellent cell recognition properties of native FBG. We were particularly interested in the dorsal and ventral cell response to the nanofibres' organization (random or aligned), using human umbilical endothelial cells (HUVECs) as a model system. Upon ventral contact with random NFs, the cells developed a stellate-like morphology with multiple projections. The well-developed focal adhesion complexes suggested a successful cellular interaction. However, time-lapse analysis shows significantly lowered cell movements, resulting in the cells traversing a relatively short distance in multiple directions. Conversely, an elongated cell shape and significantly increased cell mobility were observed in aligned NFs. To follow the dorsal cell response, artificial wounds were created on confluent cell layers previously grown on glass slides and covered with either random or aligned NFs. Time-lapse analysis showed significantly faster wound coverage (within 12 h) of HUVECs on aligned samples vs. almost absent directional migration on random ones. However, nitric oxide (NO) release shows that endothelial cells possess lowered functionality on aligned NFs compared to random ones, where significantly higher NO production was found. Collectively, our studies show that randomly organized NFs could support the endothelization of implants while aligned NFs would rather direct cell locomotion for guided neovascularization. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Microcontroller-based real-time QRS detection.

PubMed

Sun, Y; Suppappola, S; Wrublewski, T A

1992-01-01

The authors describe the design of a system for real-time detection of QRS complexes in the electrocardiogram based on a single-chip microcontroller (Motorola 68HC811). A systematic analysis of the instrumentation requirements for QRS detection and of the various design techniques is also given. Detection algorithms using different nonlinear transforms for the enhancement of QRS complexes are evaluated by using the ECG database of the American Heart Association. The results show that the nonlinear transform involving multiplication of three adjacent, sign-consistent differences in the time domain gives a good performance and a quick response. When implemented with an appropriate sampling rate, this algorithm is also capable of rejecting pacemaker spikes. The eight-bit single-chip microcontroller provides sufficient throughput and shows a satisfactory performance. Implementation of multiple detection algorithms in the same system improves flexibility and reliability. The low chip count in the design also favors maintainability and cost-effectiveness.

Dithiol amino acids can structurally shape and enhance the ligand-binding properties of polypeptides

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, Shiyu; Gopalakrishnan, Ranganath; Schaer, Tifany; Marger, Fabrice; Hovius, Ruud; Bertrand, Daniel; Pojer, Florence; Heinis, Christian

2014-11-01

The disulfide bonds that form between two cysteine residues are important in defining and rigidifying the structures of proteins and peptides. In polypeptides containing multiple cysteine residues, disulfide isomerization can lead to multiple products with different biological activities. Here, we describe the development of a dithiol amino acid (Dtaa) that can form two disulfide bridges at a single amino acid site. Application of Dtaas to a serine protease inhibitor and a nicotinic acetylcholine receptor inhibitor that contain disulfide constraints enhanced their inhibitory activities 40- and 7.6-fold, respectively. X-ray crystallographic and NMR structure analysis show that the peptide ligands containing Dtaas have retained their native tertiary structures. We furthermore show that replacement of two cysteines by Dtaas can avoid the formation of disulfide bond isomers. With these properties, Dtaas are likely to have broad application in the rational design or directed evolution of peptides and proteins with high activity and stability.

[Multi-causality in nursing work accidents with biological material].

PubMed

Soares, Leticia Gramazio; Sarquis, Leila Maria Mansano; Kirchhof, Ana Lúcia Cardoso; Felli, Vanda Elisa Andres

2013-12-01

In order to analyze the multiple causes of occupational accidents with biological exposure among nursing staff was carried out a descriptive and exploratory research in a medium-sized hospital in the State of Paraná, in the period between January 2008 and January 2009. The population was 26 nursing staff of the medical clinic. Data collection was performed by semi-structured interviews with five of the eight injured in the period and its contents were analyzed by Causes and Effects Diagram. The categories of causes material, organizational, institutional and worker's behavior, showed the inappropriate disposal of sharps, work overload, no use of bio-security standards and poor supervision and training of workers, as factors for the occurrence of these accidents. The adoption of the tool of Causes and Effects Diagram provided an analysis of accidents in its multiple causes, showing the interaction between them.

On the effect of ballistic overflow on the temperature dependence of the quantum efficiency of InGaN/GaN multiple quantum well light-emitting diodes

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Prudaev, I. A., E-mail: funcelab@gmail.com; Kopyev, V. V.; Romanov, I. S.

The dependences of the quantum efficiency of InGaN/GaN multiple quantum well light-emitting diodes on the temperature and excitation level are studied. The experiment is performed for two luminescence excitation modes. A comparison of the results obtained during photo- and electroluminescence shows an additional (to the loss associated with Auger recombination) low-temperature loss in the high-density current region. This causes inversion of the temperature dependence of the quantum efficiency at temperatures lower than 220–300 K. Analysis shows that the loss is associated with electron leakage from the light-emitting-diode active region. The experimental data are explained using the ballistic-overflow model. The simulationmore » results are in qualitative agreement with the experimental dependences of the quantum efficiency on temperature and current density.« less

Clinical features, endoscopic polypectomy and STK11 gene mutation in a nine-month-old Peutz-Jeghers syndrome Chinese infant

PubMed Central

Huang, Zhi-Heng; Song, Zai; Zhang, Ping; Wu, Jie; Huang, Ying

2016-01-01

AIM: To investigate multiple polyps in a Chinese Peutz-Jeghers syndrome (PJS) infant. METHODS: A nine-month-old PJS infant was admitted to our hospital for recurrent prolapsed rectal polyps for one month. The clinical characteristics, a colonoscopic image, the pathological characteristics of the polyps and X-ray images of the intestinal perforation were obtained. Serine threonine-protein kinase 11 (STK11) gene analysis was also performed using a DNA sample from this infant. RESULTS: Here we describe the youngest known Chinese infant with PJS. Five polyps, including a giant polyp of approximately 4 cm × 2 cm in size, were removed from the infant’s intestine. Laparotomy was performed to repair a perforation caused by pneumoperitoneum. The pathological results showed that this child had PJS. Molecular analysis of the STK11 gene further revealed a novel frameshift mutation (c.64_65het_delAT) in exon 1 in this PJS infant. CONCLUSION: The appropriate treatment method for multiple polyps in an infant must be carefully considered. Our results also show that the STK11 gene mutation is the primary cause of PJS. PMID:27004004

Multisignal control of expression of the LHCX protein family in the marine diatom Phaeodactylum tricornutum

PubMed Central

Taddei, Lucilla; Stella, Giulio Rocco; Rogato, Alessandra; Bailleul, Benjamin; Fortunato, Antonio Emidio; Annunziata, Rossella; Sanges, Remo; Thaler, Michael; Lepetit, Bernard; Lavaud, Johann; Jaubert, Marianne; Finazzi, Giovanni; Bouly, Jean-Pierre; Falciatore, Angela

2016-01-01

Diatoms are phytoplanktonic organisms that grow successfully in the ocean where light conditions are highly variable. Studies of the molecular mechanisms of light acclimation in the marine diatom Phaeodactylum tricornutum show that carotenoid de-epoxidation enzymes and LHCX1, a member of the light-harvesting protein family, both contribute to dissipate excess light energy through non-photochemical quenching (NPQ). In this study, we investigate the role of the other members of the LHCX family in diatom stress responses. Our analysis of available genomic data shows that the presence of multiple LHCX genes is a conserved feature of diatom species living in different ecological niches. Moreover, an analysis of the levels of four P. tricornutum LHCX transcripts in relation to protein expression and photosynthetic activity indicates that LHCXs are differentially regulated under different light intensities and nutrient starvation, mostly modulating NPQ capacity. We conclude that multiple abiotic stress signals converge to regulate the LHCX content of cells, providing a way to fine-tune light harvesting and photoprotection. Moreover, our data indicate that the expansion of the LHCX gene family reflects functional diversification of its members which could benefit cells responding to highly variable ocean environments. PMID:27225826

Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Orbit Determination Accuracy Analysis

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Slojkowski, Steven E.

2014-01-01

Results from operational OD produced by the NASA Goddard Flight Dynamics Facility for the LRO nominal and extended mission are presented. During the LRO nominal mission, when LRO flew in a low circular orbit, orbit determination requirements were met nearly 100% of the time. When the extended mission began, LRO returned to a more elliptical frozen orbit where gravity and other modeling errors caused numerous violations of mission accuracy requirements. Prediction accuracy is particularly challenged during periods when LRO is in full-Sun. A series of improvements to LRO orbit determination are presented, including implementation of new lunar gravity models, improved spacecraft solar radiation pressure modeling using a dynamic multi-plate area model, a shorter orbit determination arc length, and a constrained plane method for estimation. The analysis presented in this paper shows that updated lunar gravity models improved accuracy in the frozen orbit, and a multiplate dynamic area model improves prediction accuracy during full-Sun orbit periods. Implementation of a 36-hour tracking data arc and plane constraints during edge-on orbit geometry also provide benefits. A comparison of the operational solutions to precision orbit determination solutions shows agreement on a 100- to 250-meter level in definitive accuracy.

Sociodemographic predictors of elderly's psychological well-being in Malaysia.

PubMed

Momtaz, Yadollah A; Ibrahim, Rahimah; Hamid, Tengku A; Yahaya, Nurizan

2011-05-01

Psychological well-being as one of the most important indicators of successful aging has received substantial attention in the gerontological literature. Prior studies show that sociodemographic factors influencing elderly's psychological well-being are multiple and differ across cultures. The aim of this study was to identify significant sociodemographic predictors of psychological well-being among Malay elders. The study included 1415 older Malays (60-100 years, 722 women), randomly selected through a multistage stratified random method from Peninsular Malaysia. WHO-Five well-being index was used to measure psychological well-being. Data analysis was conducted using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 13.0. Using multiple regression analysis a significant model emerged (F(7, 1407) = 20.14, p ≤ 0.001), where age, sex, marital status, and household income were significant predictor variables of psychological well-being among Malay elders. However, level of education, employment status, and place of residence failed to predict psychological well-being. This study showed that the oldest old, elderly women, unmarried, and the poor elderly people are at risk for experiencing low psychological well-being. Therefore, they need special attention from family, policy makers, and those who work with elderly people.

Forced bachelors, migration and HIV transmission risk in the context of China's gender imbalance: a meta-analysis.

PubMed

Liu, Huijun; Li, Shuzhuo; Feldman, M W

2012-01-01

China has experienced continual increase in the sex ratio at birth (SRB) since the 1980s, which has led to a serious gender imbalance. To identify whether the future forced bachelors, especially those who migrate to cities, will increase the risk of HIV spread, a systematic review was carried out of studies published since 2000 that include the sexual risks of male migrants of China. Five studies comparing risk differences between migrants and non-migrants showed male migrants had greater risk of having multiple sexual partners and engaging in commercial sex. Ten studies concerning the relationship between sexual risks and socio-demographic characteristics showed that unmarried male migrants were more likely to engage in commercial sex and be infected with STDs than married migrants, while male migrants with higher income were more likely to have multiple sexual partners and be infected with STDs. In an analysis stratified by sample characteristics, the association between marriage and sexual risk was greater among samples with lower mean age, higher average income and education. In addition, the risk selection on education and income disappeared in the samples of migrants of whom more than half were unmarried.

Directions of arrival estimation with planar antenna arrays in the presence of mutual coupling

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Akkar, Salem; Harabi, Ferid; Gharsallah, Ali

2013-06-01

Directions of arrival (DoAs) estimation of multiple sources using an antenna array is a challenging topic in wireless communication. The DoAs estimation accuracy depends not only on the selected technique and algorithm, but also on the geometrical configuration of the antenna array used during the estimation. In this article the robustness of common planar antenna arrays against unaccounted mutual coupling is examined and their DoAs estimation capabilities are compared and analysed through computer simulations using the well-known MUltiple SIgnal Classification (MUSIC) algorithm. Our analysis is based on an electromagnetic concept to calculate an approximation of the impedance matrices that define the mutual coupling matrix (MCM). Furthermore, a CRB analysis is presented and used as an asymptotic performance benchmark of the studied antenna arrays. The impact of the studied antenna arrays geometry on the MCM structure is also investigated. Simulation results show that the UCCA has more robustness against unaccounted mutual coupling and performs better results than both UCA and URA geometries. The performed simulations confirm also that, although the UCCA achieves better performance under complicated scenarios, the URA shows better asymptotic (CRB) behaviour which promises more accuracy on DoAs estimation.

In situ visualization and data analysis for turbidity currents simulation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Camata, Jose J.; Silva, Vítor; Valduriez, Patrick; Mattoso, Marta; Coutinho, Alvaro L. G. A.

2018-01-01

Turbidity currents are underflows responsible for sediment deposits that generate geological formations of interest for the oil and gas industry. LibMesh-sedimentation is an application built upon the libMesh library to simulate turbidity currents. In this work, we present the integration of libMesh-sedimentation with in situ visualization and in transit data analysis tools. DfAnalyzer is a solution based on provenance data to extract and relate strategic simulation data in transit from multiple data for online queries. We integrate libMesh-sedimentation and ParaView Catalyst to perform in situ data analysis and visualization. We present a parallel performance analysis for two turbidity currents simulations showing that the overhead for both in situ visualization and in transit data analysis is negligible. We show that our tools enable monitoring the sediments appearance at runtime and steer the simulation based on the solver convergence and visual information on the sediment deposits, thus enhancing the analytical power of turbidity currents simulations.

Temporal profile of inflammatory response to fracture and hemorrhagic shock: Proposal of a novel long-term survival murine multiple trauma model.

PubMed

Kleber, Christian; Becker, Christopher A; Malysch, Tom; Reinhold, Jens M; Tsitsilonis, Serafeim; Duda, Georg N; Schmidt-Bleek, Katharina; Schaser, Klaus D

2015-07-01

Hemorrhagic shock (hS) interacts with the posttraumatic immune response and fracture healing in multiple trauma. Due to the lack of a long-term survival multiple trauma animal models, no standardized analysis of fracture healing referring the impact of multiple trauma on fracture healing was performed. We propose a new long-term survival (21 days) murine multiple trauma model combining hS (microsurgical cannulation of carotid artery, withdrawl of blood and continuously blood pressure measurement), femoral (osteotomy/external fixation) and tibial fracture (3-point bending technique/antegrade nail). The posttraumatic immune response was measured via IL-6, sIL-6R ELISA. The hS was investigated via macrohemodynamics, blood gas analysis, wet-dry lung ration and histologic analysis of the shock organs. We proposed a new murine long-term survival (21 days) multiple trauma model mimicking clinical relevant injury patterns and previously published human posttraumatic immune response. Based on blood gas analysis and histologic analysis of shock organs we characterized and standardized our murine multiple trauma model. Furthermore, we revealed hemorrhagic shock as a causative factor that triggers sIL-6R formation underscoring the fundamental pathophysiologic role of the transsignaling mechanism in multiple trauma. © 2015 Orthopaedic Research Society. Published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Multiplication factor versus regression analysis in stature estimation from hand and foot dimensions.

PubMed

Krishan, Kewal; Kanchan, Tanuj; Sharma, Abhilasha

2012-05-01

Estimation of stature is an important parameter in identification of human remains in forensic examinations. The present study is aimed to compare the reliability and accuracy of stature estimation and to demonstrate the variability in estimated stature and actual stature using multiplication factor and regression analysis methods. The study is based on a sample of 246 subjects (123 males and 123 females) from North India aged between 17 and 20 years. Four anthropometric measurements; hand length, hand breadth, foot length and foot breadth taken on the left side in each subject were included in the study. Stature was measured using standard anthropometric techniques. Multiplication factors were calculated and linear regression models were derived for estimation of stature from hand and foot dimensions. Derived multiplication factors and regression formula were applied to the hand and foot measurements in the study sample. The estimated stature from the multiplication factors and regression analysis was compared with the actual stature to find the error in estimated stature. The results indicate that the range of error in estimation of stature from regression analysis method is less than that of multiplication factor method thus, confirming that the regression analysis method is better than multiplication factor analysis in stature estimation. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd and Faculty of Forensic and Legal Medicine. All rights reserved.

Cartilage oligomeric matrix protein-deficient mice have normal skeletal development.

PubMed

Svensson, Liz; Aszódi, Attila; Heinegård, Dick; Hunziker, Ernst B; Reinholt, Finn P; Fässler, Reinhard; Oldberg, Ake

2002-06-01

Cartilage oligomeric matrix protein (COMP) belongs to the thrombospondin family and is a homopentamer primarily expressed in cartilage. Mutations in the COMP gene result in the autosomal dominant chondrodysplasias pseudoachondroplasia (PSACH) and some types of multiple epiphyseal dysplasia (MED), which are characterized by mild to severe short-limb dwarfism and early-onset osteoarthritis. We have generated COMP-null mice to study the role of COMP in vivo. These mice show no anatomical, histological, or ultrastructural abnormalities and show none of the clinical signs of PSACH or MED. Northern blot analysis and immunohistochemical analysis of cartilage indicate that the lack of COMP is not compensated for by any other member of the thrombospondin family. The results also show that the phenotype in PSACH/MED cartilage disorders is not caused by the reduced amount of COMP.

Using Robust Standard Errors to Combine Multiple Regression Estimates with Meta-Analysis

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Williams, Ryan T.

2012-01-01

Combining multiple regression estimates with meta-analysis has continued to be a difficult task. A variety of methods have been proposed and used to combine multiple regression slope estimates with meta-analysis, however, most of these methods have serious methodological and practical limitations. The purpose of this study was to explore the use…

Application of Item Analysis to Assess Multiple-Choice Examinations in the Mississippi Master Cattle Producer Program

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Parish, Jane A.; Karisch, Brandi B.

2013-01-01

Item analysis can serve as a useful tool in improving multiple-choice questions used in Extension programming. It can identify gaps between instruction and assessment. An item analysis of Mississippi Master Cattle Producer program multiple-choice examination responses was performed to determine the difficulty of individual examinations, assess the…

Transforming Parent-Child Interaction in Family Routines: Longitudinal Analysis with Families of Children with Developmental Disabilities.

PubMed

Lucyshyn, Joseph M; Fossett, Brenda; Bakeman, Roger; Cheremshynski, Christy; Miller, Lynn; Lohrmann, Sharon; Binnendyk, Lauren; Khan, Sophia; Chinn, Stephen; Kwon, Samantha; Irvin, Larry K

2015-12-01

The efficacy and consequential validity of an ecological approach to behavioral intervention with families of children with developmental disabilities was examined. The approach aimed to transform coercive into constructive parent-child interaction in family routines. Ten families participated, including 10 mothers and fathers and 10 children 3-8 years old with developmental disabilities. Thirty-six family routines were selected (2 to 4 per family). Dependent measures included child problem behavior, routine steps completed, and coercive and constructive parent-child interaction. For each family, a single case, multiple baseline design was employed with three phases: baseline, intervention, and follow-up. Visual analysis evaluated the functional relation between intervention and improvements in child behavior and routine participation. Nonparametric tests across families evaluated the statistical significance of these improvements. Sequential analyses within families and univariate analyses across families examined changes from baseline to intervention in the percentage and odds ratio of coercive and constructive parent-child interaction. Multiple baseline results documented functional or basic effects for 8 of 10 families. Nonparametric tests showed these changes to be significant. Follow-up showed durability at 11 to 24 months postintervention. Sequential analyses documented the transformation of coercive into constructive processes for 9 of 10 families. Univariate analyses across families showed significant improvements in 2- and 4-step coercive and constructive processes but not in odds ratio. Results offer evidence of the efficacy of the approach and consequential validity of the ecological unit of analysis, parent-child interaction in family routines. Future studies should improve efficiency, and outcomes for families experiencing family systems challenges.

Prediction of Biological Motion Perception Performance from Intrinsic Brain Network Regional Efficiency

PubMed Central

Wang, Zengjian; Zhang, Delong; Liang, Bishan; Chang, Song; Pan, Jinghua; Huang, Ruiwang; Liu, Ming

2016-01-01

Biological motion perception (BMP) refers to the ability to perceive the moving form of a human figure from a limited amount of stimuli, such as from a few point lights located on the joints of a moving body. BMP is commonplace and important, but there is great inter-individual variability in this ability. This study used multiple regression model analysis to explore the association between BMP performance and intrinsic brain activity, in order to investigate the neural substrates underlying inter-individual variability of BMP performance. The resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI) and BMP performance data were collected from 24 healthy participants, for whom intrinsic brain networks were constructed, and a graph-based network efficiency metric was measured. Then, a multiple linear regression model was used to explore the association between network regional efficiency and BMP performance. We found that the local and global network efficiency of many regions was significantly correlated with BMP performance. Further analysis showed that the local efficiency rather than global efficiency could be used to explain most of the BMP inter-individual variability, and the regions involved were predominately located in the Default Mode Network (DMN). Additionally, discrimination analysis showed that the local efficiency of certain regions such as the thalamus could be used to classify BMP performance across participants. Notably, the association pattern between network nodal efficiency and BMP was different from the association pattern of static directional/gender information perception. Overall, these findings show that intrinsic brain network efficiency may be considered a neural factor that explains BMP inter-individual variability. PMID:27853427

Insight into Genotype-Phenotype Associations through eQTL Mapping in Multiple Cell Types in Health and Immune-Mediated Disease

PubMed Central

Peters, James E.; Lyons, Paul A.; Lee, James C.; Richard, Arianne C.; Fortune, Mary D.; Newcombe, Paul J.; Richardson, Sylvia; Smith, Kenneth G. C.

2016-01-01

Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have transformed our understanding of the genetics of complex traits such as autoimmune diseases, but how risk variants contribute to pathogenesis remains largely unknown. Identifying genetic variants that affect gene expression (expression quantitative trait loci, or eQTLs) is crucial to addressing this. eQTLs vary between tissues and following in vitro cellular activation, but have not been examined in the context of human inflammatory diseases. We performed eQTL mapping in five primary immune cell types from patients with active inflammatory bowel disease (n = 91), anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic antibody-associated vasculitis (n = 46) and healthy controls (n = 43), revealing eQTLs present only in the context of active inflammatory disease. Moreover, we show that following treatment a proportion of these eQTLs disappear. Through joint analysis of expression data from multiple cell types, we reveal that previous estimates of eQTL immune cell-type specificity are likely to have been exaggerated. Finally, by analysing gene expression data from multiple cell types, we find eQTLs not previously identified by database mining at 34 inflammatory bowel disease-associated loci. In summary, this parallel eQTL analysis in multiple leucocyte subsets from patients with active disease provides new insights into the genetic basis of immune-mediated diseases. PMID:27015630

Forward-backward multiplicity fluctuation and longitudinal harmonics in high-energy nuclear collisions

DOE PAGES

Jia, Jiangyong; Radhakrishnan, Sooraj; Zhou, Mingliang

2016-04-18

In this paper, an analysis method is proposed to study the forward-backward (FB) multiplicity fluctuation in high-energy nuclear collisions, built on the earlier work of Bzdak and Teaney [Phys. Rev. C 87, 024906 (2013)]. The method allows the decomposition of the centrality dependence of average multiplicity from the dynamical event-by-event (EbyE) fluctuation of multiplicity in pseudorapidity. Application of the method to AMPT (A Multi-Phase Transport model) and HIJING (Heavy Ion Jet INteraction Generator) models shows that the long-range component of the FB correlation is captured by a few longitudinal harmonics, with the first component driven by the asymmetry in themore » number of participating nucleons in the two colliding nuclei. The higher-order longitudinal harmonics are found to be strongly damped in AMPT compared to HIJING, due to weaker short-range correlations as well as the final-state effects present in the AMPT model. Two-particle pseudorapidity correlation reveals interesting charge-dependent short-range structures that are absent in HIJING model. Lastly, the proposed method opens an avenue to elucidate the particle production mechanism and early time dynamics in heavy-ion collisions. Future analysis directions and prospects of using the pseudorapidity correlation function to understand the centrality bias in p + p, p + A, and A + A collisions are discussed.« less

Short-term, high-dose glucocorticoid treatment does not contribute to reduced bone mineral density in patients with multiple sclerosis.

PubMed

Olsson, A; Oturai, D B; Sørensen, P S; Oturai, P S; Oturai, A B

2015-10-01

Patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) are at increased risk of reduced bone mineral density (BMD). A contributing factor might be treatment with high-dose glucocorticoids (GCs). The objective of this paper is to assess bone mass in patients with MS and evaluate the importance of short-term, high-dose GC treatment and other risk factors that affect BMD in patients with MS. A total of 260 patients with MS received short-term high-dose GC treatment and had their BMD measured by dual x-ray absorptiometry. BMD was compared to a healthy age-matched reference population (Z-scores). Data regarding GCs, age, body mass index (BMI), serum 25(OH)D, disease duration and severity were collected retrospectively and analysed in a multiple linear regression analysis to evaluate the association between each risk factor and BMD. Osteopenia was present in 38% and osteoporosis in 7% of the study population. Mean Z-score was significantly below zero, indicating a decreased BMD in our MS patients. Multiple linear regression analysis showed no significant association between GCs and BMD. In contrast, age, BMI and disease severity were independently associated with both lumbar and femoral BMD. Reduced BMD was prevalent in patients with MS. GC treatment appears not to be the primary underlying cause of secondary osteoporosis in MS patients. © The Author(s), 2015.

Assessing Risk Prediction Models Using Individual Participant Data From Multiple Studies

PubMed Central

Pennells, Lisa; Kaptoge, Stephen; White, Ian R.; Thompson, Simon G.; Wood, Angela M.; Tipping, Robert W.; Folsom, Aaron R.; Couper, David J.; Ballantyne, Christie M.; Coresh, Josef; Goya Wannamethee, S.; Morris, Richard W.; Kiechl, Stefan; Willeit, Johann; Willeit, Peter; Schett, Georg; Ebrahim, Shah; Lawlor, Debbie A.; Yarnell, John W.; Gallacher, John; Cushman, Mary; Psaty, Bruce M.; Tracy, Russ; Tybjærg-Hansen, Anne; Price, Jackie F.; Lee, Amanda J.; McLachlan, Stela; Khaw, Kay-Tee; Wareham, Nicholas J.; Brenner, Hermann; Schöttker, Ben; Müller, Heiko; Jansson, Jan-Håkan; Wennberg, Patrik; Salomaa, Veikko; Harald, Kennet; Jousilahti, Pekka; Vartiainen, Erkki; Woodward, Mark; D'Agostino, Ralph B.; Bladbjerg, Else-Marie; Jørgensen, Torben; Kiyohara, Yutaka; Arima, Hisatomi; Doi, Yasufumi; Ninomiya, Toshiharu; Dekker, Jacqueline M.; Nijpels, Giel; Stehouwer, Coen D. A.; Kauhanen, Jussi; Salonen, Jukka T.; Meade, Tom W.; Cooper, Jackie A.; Cushman, Mary; Folsom, Aaron R.; Psaty, Bruce M.; Shea, Steven; Döring, Angela; Kuller, Lewis H.; Grandits, Greg; Gillum, Richard F.; Mussolino, Michael; Rimm, Eric B.; Hankinson, Sue E.; Manson, JoAnn E.; Pai, Jennifer K.; Kirkland, Susan; Shaffer, Jonathan A.; Shimbo, Daichi; Bakker, Stephan J. L.; Gansevoort, Ron T.; Hillege, Hans L.; Amouyel, Philippe; Arveiler, Dominique; Evans, Alun; Ferrières, Jean; Sattar, Naveed; Westendorp, Rudi G.; Buckley, Brendan M.; Cantin, Bernard; Lamarche, Benoît; Barrett-Connor, Elizabeth; Wingard, Deborah L.; Bettencourt, Richele; Gudnason, Vilmundur; Aspelund, Thor; Sigurdsson, Gunnar; Thorsson, Bolli; Kavousi, Maryam; Witteman, Jacqueline C.; Hofman, Albert; Franco, Oscar H.; Howard, Barbara V.; Zhang, Ying; Best, Lyle; Umans, Jason G.; Onat, Altan; Sundström, Johan; Michael Gaziano, J.; Stampfer, Meir; Ridker, Paul M.; Michael Gaziano, J.; Ridker, Paul M.; Marmot, Michael; Clarke, Robert; Collins, Rory; Fletcher, Astrid; Brunner, Eric; Shipley, Martin; Kivimäki, Mika; Ridker, Paul M.; Buring, Julie; Cook, Nancy; Ford, Ian; Shepherd, James; Cobbe, Stuart M.; Robertson, Michele; Walker, Matthew; Watson, Sarah; Alexander, Myriam; Butterworth, Adam S.; Angelantonio, Emanuele Di; Gao, Pei; Haycock, Philip; Kaptoge, Stephen; Pennells, Lisa; Thompson, Simon G.; Walker, Matthew; Watson, Sarah; White, Ian R.; Wood, Angela M.; Wormser, David; Danesh, John

2014-01-01

Individual participant time-to-event data from multiple prospective epidemiologic studies enable detailed investigation into the predictive ability of risk models. Here we address the challenges in appropriately combining such information across studies. Methods are exemplified by analyses of log C-reactive protein and conventional risk factors for coronary heart disease in the Emerging Risk Factors Collaboration, a collation of individual data from multiple prospective studies with an average follow-up duration of 9.8 years (dates varied). We derive risk prediction models using Cox proportional hazards regression analysis stratified by study and obtain estimates of risk discrimination, Harrell's concordance index, and Royston's discrimination measure within each study; we then combine the estimates across studies using a weighted meta-analysis. Various weighting approaches are compared and lead us to recommend using the number of events in each study. We also discuss the calculation of measures of reclassification for multiple studies. We further show that comparison of differences in predictive ability across subgroups should be based only on within-study information and that combining measures of risk discrimination from case-control studies and prospective studies is problematic. The concordance index and discrimination measure gave qualitatively similar results throughout. While the concordance index was very heterogeneous between studies, principally because of differing age ranges, the increments in the concordance index from adding log C-reactive protein to conventional risk factors were more homogeneous. PMID:24366051

Assessing risk prediction models using individual participant data from multiple studies.

PubMed

Pennells, Lisa; Kaptoge, Stephen; White, Ian R; Thompson, Simon G; Wood, Angela M

2014-03-01

Individual participant time-to-event data from multiple prospective epidemiologic studies enable detailed investigation into the predictive ability of risk models. Here we address the challenges in appropriately combining such information across studies. Methods are exemplified by analyses of log C-reactive protein and conventional risk factors for coronary heart disease in the Emerging Risk Factors Collaboration, a collation of individual data from multiple prospective studies with an average follow-up duration of 9.8 years (dates varied). We derive risk prediction models using Cox proportional hazards regression analysis stratified by study and obtain estimates of risk discrimination, Harrell's concordance index, and Royston's discrimination measure within each study; we then combine the estimates across studies using a weighted meta-analysis. Various weighting approaches are compared and lead us to recommend using the number of events in each study. We also discuss the calculation of measures of reclassification for multiple studies. We further show that comparison of differences in predictive ability across subgroups should be based only on within-study information and that combining measures of risk discrimination from case-control studies and prospective studies is problematic. The concordance index and discrimination measure gave qualitatively similar results throughout. While the concordance index was very heterogeneous between studies, principally because of differing age ranges, the increments in the concordance index from adding log C-reactive protein to conventional risk factors were more homogeneous.

Psychological impact of sports activity in spinal cord injury patients.

PubMed

Gioia, M C; Cerasa, A; Di Lucente, L; Brunelli, S; Castellano, V; Traballesi, M

2006-12-01

To investigate whether sports activity is associated with better psychological profiles in patients with spinal cord injury (SCI) and to evaluate the effect of demographic factors on psychological benefits. The State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, Form X2 (STAI-X2), the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire for extraversion (EPQ-R (E)) and the questionnaire for depression (QD) were administered in a cross-sectional study of 137 males with spinal cord injury including 52 tetraplegics and 85 paraplegics. The subjects were divided into two groups according to sports activity participation (high frequency vs no sports participation). Moreover, multiple regression analysis was adopted to investigate the influence of demographic variables, such as age, educational level, occupational status and marital status, on psychological variables. Analysis of variance revealed significant differences among the groups for anxiety (STAI-X2), extraversion (EPQ-R (E)) and depression (QD). In particular, SCI patients who did not practice sports showed higher anxiety and depression scores and lower extraversion scores than sports participants. In addition, with respect to the paraplegics, the tetraplegic group showed the lowest depression scores. Following multiple regression analysis, only the sports activity factor remained as an independent factor of anxiety scores. These findings demonstrate that sports activity is associated with better psychological status in SCI patients, irrespective of tetraplegia and paraplegia, and that psychological benefits are not emphasized by demographic factors.

Correlates of willingness to engage in residential gardening: implications for health optimization in ibadan, Nigeria.

PubMed

Motunrayo Ibrahim, Fausat

2013-01-01

Gardening is a worthwhile adventure which engenders health op-timization. Yet, a dearth of evidences that highlights motivations to engage in gardening exists. This study examined willingness to engage in gardening and its correlates, including some socio-psychological, health related and socio-demographic variables. In this cross-sectional survey, 508 copies of a structured questionnaire were randomly self administered among a group of civil servants of Oyo State, Nigeria. Multi-item measures were used to assess variables. Step wise multiple regression analysis was used to identify predictors of willingness to engage in gar-dening Results: Simple percentile analysis shows that 71.1% of respondents do not own a garden. Results of step wise multiple regression analysis indicate that descriptive norm of gardening is a good predictor, social support for gardening is better while gardening self efficacy is the best predictor of willingness to engage in gardening (P< 0.001). Health consciousness, gardening response efficacy, education and age are not predictors of this willingness (P> 0.05). Results of t-test and ANOVA respectively shows that gender is not associated with this willingness (P> 0.05), but marital status is (P< 0.05).  Socio-psychological characteristics and being married are very rele-vant in motivations to engage in gardening. The nexus between gardening and health optimization appears to be highly obscured in this population.

Correlates of Willingness to Engage in Residential Gardening: Implications for Health Optimization in Ibadan, Nigeria

PubMed Central

Motunrayo Ibrahim, Fausat

2013-01-01

Background: Gardening is a worthwhile adventure which engenders health op­timization. Yet, a dearth of evidences that highlights motivations to engage in gardening exists. This study examined willingness to engage in gardening and its correlates, including some socio-psychological, health related and socio-demographic variables. Methods: In this cross-sectional survey, 508 copies of a structured questionnaire were randomly self administered among a group of civil servants of Oyo State, Nigeria. Multi-item measures were used to assess variables. Step wise multiple regression analysis was used to identify predictors of willingness to engage in gar­dening Results: Simple percentile analysis shows that 71.1% of respondents do not own a garden. Results of step wise multiple regression analysis indicate that descriptive norm of gardening is a good predictor, social support for gardening is better while gardening self efficacy is the best predictor of willingness to engage in gardening (P< 0.001). Health consciousness, gardening response efficacy, education and age are not predictors of this willingness (P> 0.05). Results of t-test and ANOVA respectively shows that gender is not associated with this willingness (P> 0.05), but marital status is (P< 0.05).  Conclusion: Socio-psychological characteristics and being married are very rele­vant in motivations to engage in gardening. The nexus between gardening and health optimization appears to be highly obscured in this population. PMID:24688974

An evaluation of new and established methods to determine T‐DNA copy number and homozygosity in transgenic plants.

PubMed Central

Głowacka, Katarzyna; Kromdijk, Johannes; Leonelli, Lauriebeth; Niyogi, Krishna K.; Clemente, Tom E.

2016-01-01

Abstract Stable transformation of plants is a powerful tool for hypothesis testing. A rapid and reliable evaluation method of the transgenic allele for copy number and homozygosity is vital in analysing these transformations. Here the suitability of Southern blot analysis, thermal asymmetric interlaced (TAIL‐)PCR, quantitative (q)PCR and digital droplet (dd)PCR to estimate T‐DNA copy number, locus complexity and homozygosity were compared in transgenic tobacco. Southern blot analysis and ddPCR on three generations of transgenic offspring with contrasting zygosity and copy number were entirely consistent, whereas TAIL‐PCR often underestimated copy number. qPCR deviated considerably from the Southern blot results and had lower precision and higher variability than ddPCR. Comparison of segregation analyses and ddPCR of T1 progeny from 26 T0 plants showed that at least 19% of the lines carried multiple T‐DNA insertions per locus, which can lead to unstable transgene expression. Segregation analyses failed to detect these multiple copies, presumably because of their close linkage. This shows the importance of routine T‐DNA copy number estimation. Based on our results, ddPCR is the most suitable method, because it is as reliable as Southern blot analysis yet much faster. A protocol for this application of ddPCR to large plant genomes is provided. PMID:26670088

Confirmation of the pathogenicity of a mutation p.G337C in the COL1A2 gene associated with osteogenesis imperfecta

PubMed Central

Jia, Mingrui; Shi, Ranran; Zhao, Xuli; Fu, Zhijian; Bai, Zhijing; Sun, Tao; Zhao, Xuejun; Wang, Wenbo; Xu, Chao; Yan, Fang

2017-01-01

Abstract Mutation analysis as the gold standard is particularly important in diagnosis of osteogenesis imperfecta (OI) and it may be preventable upon early diagnosis. In this study, we aimed to analyze the clinical and genetic materials of an OI pedigree as well as to confirm the deleterious property of the mutation. A pedigree with OI was identified. All family members received careful clinical examinations and blood was drawn for genetic analyses. Genes implicated in OI were screened for mutation. The function and structure of the mutant protein were predicted using bioinformatics analysis. The proband, a 9-month fetus, showed abnormal sonographic images. Disproportionately short and triangular face with blue sclera was noticed at birth. She can barely walk and suffered multiple fractures till 2-year old. Her mother appeared small stature, frequent fractures, blue sclera, and deformity of extremities. A heterozygous missense mutation c.1009G>T (p.G337C) in the COL1A2 gene was identified in her mother and her. Bioinformatics analysis showed p.G337 was well-conserved among multiple species and the mutation probably changed the structure and damaged the function of collagen. We suggest that the mutation p.G337C in the COL1A2 gene is pathogenic for OI by affecting the protein structure and the function of collagen. PMID:28953610

Regional patterns of grey matter atrophy and magnetisation transfer ratio abnormalities in multiple sclerosis clinical subgroups: a voxel-based analysis study.

PubMed

Mallik, Shahrukh; Muhlert, Nils; Samson, Rebecca S; Sethi, Varun; Wheeler-Kingshott, Claudia A M; Miller, David H; Chard, Declan T

2015-04-01

In multiple sclerosis (MS), demyelination and neuro-axonal loss occur in the brain grey matter (GM). We used magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) measures of GM magnetisation transfer ratio (MTR) and volume to assess the regional localisation of reduced MTR (reflecting demyelination) and atrophy (reflecting neuro-axonal loss) in relapsing-remitting MS (RRMS), secondary progressive MS (SPMS) and primary progressive MS (PPMS). A total of 98 people with MS (51 RRMS, 28 SPMS, 19 PPMS) and 29 controls had T1-weighted volumetric and magnetisation transfer scans. SPM8 was used to undertake voxel-based analysis (VBA) of GM tissue volumes and MTR. MS subgroups were compared with controls, adjusting for age and gender. A voxel-by-voxel basis correlation analysis between MTR and volume within each subject group was performed, using biological parametric mapping. MTR reduction was more extensive than atrophy. RRMS and SPMS patients showed proportionately more atrophy in the deep GM. SPMS and PPMS patients showed proportionately greater cortical MTR reduction. RRMS patients demonstrated the most correlation of MTR reduction and atrophy in deep GM. In SPMS and PPMS patients, there was less extensive correlation. These results suggest that in the deep GM of RRMS patients, demyelination and neuro-axonal loss may be linked, while in SPMS and PPMS patients, neuro-axonal loss and demyelination may occur mostly independently. © The Author(s), 2014.

6C polarization analysis - seismic direction finding in coherent noise, automated event identification, and wavefield separation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schmelzbach, C.; Sollberger, D.; Greenhalgh, S.; Van Renterghem, C.; Robertsson, J. O. A.

2017-12-01

Polarization analysis of standard three-component (3C) seismic data is an established tool to determine the propagation directions of seismic waves recorded by a single station. A major limitation of seismic direction finding methods using 3C recordings, however, is that a correct propagation-direction determination is only possible if the wave mode is known. Furthermore, 3C polarization analysis techniques break down in the presence of coherent noise (i.e., when more than one event is present in the analysis time window). Recent advances in sensor technology (e.g., fibre-optical, magnetohydrodynamic angular rate sensors, and ring laser gyroscopes) have made it possible to accurately measure all three components of rotational ground motion exhibited by seismic waves, in addition to the conventionally recorded three components of translational motion. Here, we present an extension of the theory of single station 3C polarization analysis to six-component (6C) recordings of collocated translational and rotational ground motions. We demonstrate that the information contained in rotation measurements can help to overcome some of the main limitations of standard 3C seismic direction finding, such as handling multiple arrivals simultaneously. We show that the 6C polarisation of elastic waves measured at the Earth's free surface does not only depend on the seismic wave type and propagation direction, but also on the local P- and S-wave velocities just beneath the recording station. Using an adaptation of the multiple signal classification algorithm (MUSIC), we demonstrate how seismic events can univocally be identified and characterized in terms of their wave type. Furthermore, we show how the local velocities can be inferred from single-station 6C data, in addition to the direction angles (inclination and azimuth) of seismic arrivals. A major benefit of our proposed 6C method is that it also allows the accurate recovery of the wave type, propagation directions, and phase velocities of multiple, interfering arrivals in one time window. We demonstrate how this property can be exploited to separate the wavefield into its elastic wave-modes and to isolate or suppress waves arriving from specific directions (directional filtering), both in a fully automated fashion.

A diverse virome in kidney transplant patients contains multiple viral subtypes with distinct polymorphisms

PubMed Central

Rani, Asha; Ranjan, Ravi; McGee, Halvor S.; Metwally, Ahmed; Hajjiri, Zahraa; Brennan, Daniel C.; Finn, Patricia W.; Perkins, David L.

2016-01-01

Recent studies have established that the human urine contains a complex microbiome, including a virome about which little is known. Following immunosuppression in kidney transplant patients, BK polyomavirus (BKV) has been shown to induce nephropathy (BKVN), decreasing graft survival. In this study we investigated the urine virome profile of BKV+ and BKV− kidney transplant recipients. Virus-like particles were stained to confirm the presence of VLP in the urine samples. Metagenomic DNA was purified, and the virome profile was analyzed using metagenomic shotgun sequencing. While the BK virus was predominant in the BKV+ group, it was also found in the BKV− group patients. Additional viruses were also detected in all patients, notably including JC virus (JCV) and Torque teno virus (TTV) and interestingly, we detected multiple subtypes of the BKV, JCV and TTV. Analysis of the BKV subtypes showed that nucleotide polymorphisms were detected in the VP1, VP2 and Large T Antigen proteins, suggesting potential functional effects for enhanced pathogenicity. Our results demonstrate a complex urinary virome in kidney transplant patients with multiple viruses with several distinct subtypes warranting further analysis of virus subtypes in immunosuppressed hosts. PMID:27633952

Residual Strength Prediction of Fuselage Structures with Multiple Site Damage

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Chen, Chuin-Shan; Wawrzynek, Paul A.; Ingraffea, Anthony R.

1999-01-01

This paper summarizes recent results on simulating full-scale pressure tests of wide body, lap-jointed fuselage panels with multiple site damage (MSD). The crack tip opening angle (CTOA) fracture criterion and the FRANC3D/STAGS software program were used to analyze stable crack growth under conditions of general yielding. The link-up of multiple cracks and residual strength of damaged structures were predicted. Elastic-plastic finite element analysis based on the von Mises yield criterion and incremental flow theory with small strain assumption was used. A global-local modeling procedure was employed in the numerical analyses. Stress distributions from the numerical simulations are compared with strain gage measurements. Analysis results show that accurate representation of the load transfer through the rivets is crucial for the model to predict the stress distribution accurately. Predicted crack growth and residual strength are compared with test data. Observed and predicted results both indicate that the occurrence of small MSD cracks substantially reduces the residual strength. Modeling fatigue closure is essential to capture the fracture behavior during the early stable crack growth. Breakage of a tear strap can have a major influence on residual strength prediction.

Principal network analysis: identification of subnetworks representing major dynamics using gene expression data

PubMed Central

Kim, Yongsoo; Kim, Taek-Kyun; Kim, Yungu; Yoo, Jiho; You, Sungyong; Lee, Inyoul; Carlson, George; Hood, Leroy; Choi, Seungjin; Hwang, Daehee

2011-01-01

Motivation: Systems biology attempts to describe complex systems behaviors in terms of dynamic operations of biological networks. However, there is lack of tools that can effectively decode complex network dynamics over multiple conditions. Results: We present principal network analysis (PNA) that can automatically capture major dynamic activation patterns over multiple conditions and then generate protein and metabolic subnetworks for the captured patterns. We first demonstrated the utility of this method by applying it to a synthetic dataset. The results showed that PNA correctly captured the subnetworks representing dynamics in the data. We further applied PNA to two time-course gene expression profiles collected from (i) MCF7 cells after treatments of HRG at multiple doses and (ii) brain samples of four strains of mice infected with two prion strains. The resulting subnetworks and their interactions revealed network dynamics associated with HRG dose-dependent regulation of cell proliferation and differentiation and early PrPSc accumulation during prion infection. Availability: The web-based software is available at: http://sbm.postech.ac.kr/pna. Contact: dhhwang@postech.ac.kr; seungjin@postech.ac.kr Supplementary information: Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online. PMID:21193522

The rank-heat plot is a novel way to present the results from a network meta-analysis including multiple outcomes.

PubMed

Veroniki, Areti Angeliki; Straus, Sharon E; Fyraridis, Alexandros; Tricco, Andrea C

2016-08-01

To present a novel and simple graphical approach to improve the presentation of the treatment ranking in a network meta-analysis (NMA) including multiple outcomes. NMA simultaneously compares many relevant interventions for a clinical condition from a network of trials, and allows ranking of the effectiveness and/or safety of each intervention. There are numerous ways to present the NMA results, which can challenge their interpretation by research users. The rank-heat plot is a novel graph that can be used to quickly recognize which interventions are most likely the best or worst interventions with respect to their effectiveness and/or safety for a single or multiple outcome(s) and may increase interpretability. Using empirical NMAs, we show that the need for a concise and informative presentation of results is imperative, particularly as the number of competing treatments and outcomes in an NMA increases. The rank-heat plot is an efficient way to present the results of ranking statistics, particularly when a large amount of data is available, and it is targeted to users from various backgrounds. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Monitoring heavy metal Cr in soil based on hyperspectral data using regression analysis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Ningyu; Xu, Fuyun; Zhuang, Shidong; He, Changwei

2016-10-01

Heavy metal pollution in soils is one of the most critical problems in the global ecology and environment safety nowadays. Hyperspectral remote sensing and its application is capable of high speed, low cost, less risk and less damage, and provides a good method for detecting heavy metals in soil. This paper proposed a new idea of applying regression analysis of stepwise multiple regression between the spectral data and monitoring the amount of heavy metal Cr by sample points in soil for environmental protection. In the measurement, a FieldSpec HandHeld spectroradiometer is used to collect reflectance spectra of sample points over the wavelength range of 325-1075 nm. Then the spectral data measured by the spectroradiometer is preprocessed to reduced the influence of the external factors, and the preprocessed methods include first-order differential equation, second-order differential equation and continuum removal method. The algorithms of stepwise multiple regression are established accordingly, and the accuracy of each equation is tested. The results showed that the accuracy of first-order differential equation works best, which makes it feasible to predict the content of heavy metal Cr by using stepwise multiple regression.

Normalized Rotational Multiple Yield Surface Framework (NRMYSF) stress-strain curve prediction method based on small strain triaxial test data on undisturbed Auckland residual clay soils

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Noor, M. J. Md; Ibrahim, A.; Rahman, A. S. A.

2018-04-01

Small strain triaxial test measurement is considered to be significantly accurate compared to the external strain measurement using conventional method due to systematic errors normally associated with the test. Three submersible miniature linear variable differential transducer (LVDT) mounted on yokes which clamped directly onto the soil sample at equally 120° from the others. The device setup using 0.4 N resolution load cell and 16 bit AD converter was capable of consistently resolving displacement of less than 1µm and measuring axial strains ranging from less than 0.001% to 2.5%. Further analysis of small strain local measurement data was performed using new Normalized Multiple Yield Surface Framework (NRMYSF) method and compared with existing Rotational Multiple Yield Surface Framework (RMYSF) prediction method. The prediction of shear strength based on combined intrinsic curvilinear shear strength envelope using small strain triaxial test data confirmed the significant improvement and reliability of the measurement and analysis methods. Moreover, the NRMYSF method shows an excellent data prediction and significant improvement toward more reliable prediction of soil strength that can reduce the cost and time of experimental laboratory test.

SD-MSAEs: Promoter recognition in human genome based on deep feature extraction.

PubMed

Xu, Wenxuan; Zhang, Li; Lu, Yaping

2016-06-01

The prediction and recognition of promoter in human genome play an important role in DNA sequence analysis. Entropy, in Shannon sense, of information theory is a multiple utility in bioinformatic details analysis. The relative entropy estimator methods based on statistical divergence (SD) are used to extract meaningful features to distinguish different regions of DNA sequences. In this paper, we choose context feature and use a set of methods of SD to select the most effective n-mers distinguishing promoter regions from other DNA regions in human genome. Extracted from the total possible combinations of n-mers, we can get four sparse distributions based on promoter and non-promoters training samples. The informative n-mers are selected by optimizing the differentiating extents of these distributions. Specially, we combine the advantage of statistical divergence and multiple sparse auto-encoders (MSAEs) in deep learning to extract deep feature for promoter recognition. And then we apply multiple SVMs and a decision model to construct a human promoter recognition method called SD-MSAEs. Framework is flexible that it can integrate new feature extraction or new classification models freely. Experimental results show that our method has high sensitivity and specificity. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Cluster analysis for determining distribution center location

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lestari Widaningrum, Dyah; Andika, Aditya; Murphiyanto, Richard Dimas Julian

2017-12-01

Determination of distribution facilities is highly important to survive in the high level of competition in today’s business world. Companies can operate multiple distribution centers to mitigate supply chain risk. Thus, new problems arise, namely how many and where the facilities should be provided. This study examines a fast-food restaurant brand, which located in the Greater Jakarta. This brand is included in the category of top 5 fast food restaurant chain based on retail sales. There were three stages in this study, compiling spatial data, cluster analysis, and network analysis. Cluster analysis results are used to consider the location of the additional distribution center. Network analysis results show a more efficient process referring to a shorter distance to the distribution process.

Gene Expression Profiling of Multiple Leiomyomata Uteri and Matched Normal Tissue from a Single Patient

PubMed Central

Dimitrova, Irina K.; Richer, Jennifer K.; Rudolph, Michael C.; Spoelstra, Nicole S.; Reno, Elaine M.; Medina, Theresa M.; Bradford, Andrew P.

2009-01-01

Objective To identify differentially expressed genes between fibroid and adjacent normal myometrium in an identical hormonal and genetic background. Design Array analysis of 3 leiomyomata and matched adjacent normal myometrium in a single patient. Setting University of Colorado Hospital. Patient(s) A single female undergoing medically indicated hysterectomy for symptomatic fibroids. Interventions(s) mRNA isolation and microarray analysis, reverse-transcriptase polymerase chain reaction, western blotting and immunohistochemistry. Main Outcome Measure(s) Changes in mRNA and protein levels in leiomyomata and matched normal myometrium. Result(s) Expression of 197 genes was increased and 619 decreased, significantly by at least 2 fold, in leiomyomata relative to normal myometrium. Expression profiles between tumors were similar and normal myometrial samples showed minimal variation. Changes in, and variation of, expression of selected genes were confirmed in additional normal and leiomyoma samples from multiple patients. Conclusion(s) Analysis of multiple tumors from a single patient confirmed changes in expression of genes described in previous, apparently disparate, studies and identified novel targets. Gene expression profiles in leiomyomata are consistent with increased activation of mitogenic pathways and inhibition of apoptosis. Down-regulation of genes implicated in invasion and metastasis, of cancers, was observed in fibroids. This expression pattern may underlie the benign nature of uterine leiomyomata and may aid in the differential diagnosis of leiomyosarcoma. PMID:18672237

LncRNA/DNA binding analysis reveals losses and gains and lineage specificity of genomic imprinting in mammals.

PubMed

Liu, Haihua; Shang, Xiaoxiao; Zhu, Hao

2017-05-15

Genomic imprinting is regulated by lncRNAs and is important for embryogenesis, physiology and behaviour in mammals. Aberrant imprinting causes diseases and disorders. Experimental studies have examined genomic imprinting primarily in humans and mice, thus leaving some fundamental issues poorly addressed. The cost of experimentally examining imprinted genes in many tissues in diverse species makes computational analysis of lncRNAs' DNA binding sites valuable. We performed lncRNA/DNA binding analysis in imprinting clusters from multiple mammalian clades and discovered the following: (i) lncRNAs and imprinting sites show significant losses and gains and distinct lineage-specificity; (ii) binding of lncRNAs to promoters of imprinted genes may occur widely throughout the genome; (iii) a considerable number of imprinting sites occur in only evolutionarily more derived species; and (iv) multiple lncRNAs may bind to the same imprinting sites, and some lncRNAs have multiple DNA binding motifs. These results suggest that the occurrence of abundant lncRNAs in mammalian genomes makes genomic imprinting a mechanism of adaptive evolution at the epigenome level. The data and program are available at the database LongMan at lncRNA.smu.edu.cn. zhuhao@smu.edu.cn. Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online. © The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com

Meta-Analysis of Multiple Sclerosis Microarray Data Reveals Dysregulation in RNA Splicing Regulatory Genes.

PubMed

Paraboschi, Elvezia Maria; Cardamone, Giulia; Rimoldi, Valeria; Gemmati, Donato; Spreafico, Marta; Duga, Stefano; Soldà, Giulia; Asselta, Rosanna

2015-09-30

Abnormalities in RNA metabolism and alternative splicing (AS) are emerging as important players in complex disease phenotypes. In particular, accumulating evidence suggests the existence of pathogenic links between multiple sclerosis (MS) and altered AS, including functional studies showing that an imbalance in alternatively-spliced isoforms may contribute to disease etiology. Here, we tested whether the altered expression of AS-related genes represents a MS-specific signature. A comprehensive comparative analysis of gene expression profiles of publicly-available microarray datasets (190 MS cases, 182 controls), followed by gene-ontology enrichment analysis, highlighted a significant enrichment for differentially-expressed genes involved in RNA metabolism/AS. In detail, a total of 17 genes were found to be differentially expressed in MS in multiple datasets, with CELF1 being dysregulated in five out of seven studies. We confirmed CELF1 downregulation in MS (p=0.0015) by real-time RT-PCRs on RNA extracted from blood cells of 30 cases and 30 controls. As a proof of concept, we experimentally verified the unbalance in alternatively-spliced isoforms in MS of the NFAT5 gene, a putative CELF1 target. In conclusion, for the first time we provide evidence of a consistent dysregulation of splicing-related genes in MS and we discuss its possible implications in modulating specific AS events in MS susceptibility genes.

Aerosol analysis with the Coastal Zone Color Scanner: a simple method for including multiple scattering effects.

PubMed

Gordon, H R; Castaño, D J

1989-04-01

For measurement of aerosols over the ocean, the total radiance L(t) backscattered from the top of a stratified atmosphere which contains both stratospheric and tropospheric aerosols of various types has been computed. A similar computation is carried out for an aerosol-free atmosphere yielding the Rayleigh scattered radiance L(r). The difference L(t) - L(r) is shown to be linearly related to the radiance L(as), which the aerosol would produce in the single scattering approximation. This greatly simplifies the application of aerosol models to aerosol analysis by satellite since adding to, or in some way changing, the aerosol model requires no additional multiple scattering computations. In fact, the only multiple computations required for aerosol analysis are those for determining L(r), which can be performed once and for all. The computations are explicitly applied to Band 4 of the CZCS, which, because of its high radiometric sensitivity and excellent calibration, is ideal for studying aerosols over the ocean. Specifically, the constant A in the relationship L(as) = A(-1)(L(t) - L(r)) is given as a function of position along the scan for four typical orbital-solar position scenarios. The computations show that L(as) can be retrieved from L(t) - L(r) with an average error of no more than 5-7% except at the very edges of the scan.

Genomic identification, phylogeny, and expression analysis of MLO genes involved in susceptibility to powdery mildew in Fragaria vesca.

PubMed

Miao, L X; Jiang, M; Zhang, Y C; Yang, X F; Zhang, H Q; Zhang, Z F; Wang, Y Z; Jiang, G H

2016-08-05

The MLO (powdery mildew locus O) gene family is important in resistance to powdery mildew (PM). In this study, all of the members of the MLO family were identified and analyzed in the strawberry (Fragaria vesca) genome. The strawberry contains at least 20 members of the MLO family, and the protein sequence contained between 171 and 1485 amino acids, with 0-34 introns. Chromosomal localization showed that the MLOs were unevenly distributed on each of the chromosomes, except for chromosome 4. The greatest number of MLOs (seven) was found on chromosome 3. A phylogenetic tree showed that the MLOs were divided into seven groups (I-VII), four of which consisted of MLOs from strawberry, Arabidopsis thaliana, rice, and maize, suggesting that these genes may have evolved after the divergence of monocots and dicots. Multiple sequence alignment showed that strawberry MLO candidates related to powdery mildew resistance possessed seven highly conserved transmembrane domains, a calmodulin-binding domain, and two conserved regions, all of which are important domains for powdery mildew resistance genes. Expressed sequence tag analysis revealed that the MLOs were induced by multiple abiotic stressors, including low and high temperature, drought, and high salinity. These findings will contribute to the functional characterization of MLOs related to PM susceptibility, and will assist in the development of disease resistance in strawberries.

TV watching, soap opera and happiness.

PubMed

Lu, L; Argyle, M

1993-09-01

One hundred and fourteen subjects reported the amount of time they spent watching television in general, and soap opera in particular. They also completed scales measuring happiness and other personality variables, such as extraversion and cooperativeness. In the multiple regression analysis, having controlled for the demographic variables, watching TV was related to unhappiness, whereas watching soap opera was related to happiness. Discriminant analysis showed that females, higher happiness and extraversion distinguished regular soap watchers (who nevertheless watched little TV in general) from irregular soap watchers (who nevertheless watched a lot of TV in general).

Analysis of quality of life and influencing factors in 197 Chinese patients with port-wine stains

PubMed Central

Wang, Juan; Zhu, Yu-you; Wang, Zhong-ying; Yao, Xiu-hua; Zhang, Lan-fang; Lv, Hong; Zhang, Si-ping; Hu, Bai

2017-01-01

Abstract Port-wine stains (PWS) are congenital capillary malformations, usually occurring on the face, neck, and other exposed parts of the skin, that have serious psychological and social impact on the patient. Most researchers focus on the treatment of PWS, but the quality of life (QoL) of PWS patients is seldom researched. The objective of this study is to evaluate the QoL of patients with PWS on exposed parts and explore the factors influencing the QoL of PWS patients. The QoL of 197 cases with PWS on exposed parts were prospectively studied using the Dermatology Life Quality Index questionnaire (DLQI), and the factors influencing the patients’ QoL were analyzed by single-factor analysis and multiple-factor logistic regression analysis. The reliability and validity of the QoL of PWS patients were then assessed by DLQI. A total of 197 valid questionnaires were collected. The DLQI scores in PWS cases ranged from 2 to 16, with 2 to 5 in 52.29% (103/197), 6 to 10 in 42.13% (83/197), and 11 to 20 in 5.58% (11/197). The main score elements of the DLQI focused on symptoms and feelings, daily activities, and social entertainment. Single-factor analysis and multiple-factor logistic regression analysis showed that the main influencing factors were female sex, skin hypertrophy, and lesion area >30 cm2. The inter-item correlation averaged 47.46% and the Cronbach α was 0.740, indicating high internal consistency. Correlation of the 6 dimensions of the DLQI questionnaires with the total scores showed that the Spearman correlation coefficient r ranged from 0.550 to 0.782 (P < .001), with symptoms and feelings having a correlation coefficient of 0.782 and a high correlation with total scores. This study shows that PWS has mild to moderate influence on the QoL of most patients, mainly on daily activities, social entertainment, and feelings. PMID:29390578

Multiple timescales of cyclical behaviour observed at two dome-forming eruptions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lamb, Oliver D.; Varley, Nick R.; Mather, Tamsin A.; Pyle, David M.; Smith, Patrick J.; Liu, Emma J.

2014-09-01

Cyclic behaviour over a range of timescales is a well-documented feature of many dome-forming volcanoes, but has not previously been identified in high resolution seismic data from Volcán de Colima (Mexico). Using daily seismic count datasets from Volcán de Colima and Soufrière Hills volcano (Montserrat), this study explores parallels in the long-term behaviour of seismicity at two long-lived systems. Datasets are examined using multiple techniques, including Fast-Fourier Transform, Detrended Fluctuation Analysis and Probabilistic Distribution Analysis, and the comparison of results from two systems reveals interesting parallels in sub-surface processes operating at both systems. Patterns of seismicity at both systems reveal complex but broadly similar long-term temporal patterns with cycles on the order of ~ 50- to ~ 200-days. These patterns are consistent with previously published spectral analyses of SO2 flux time-series at Soufrière Hills volcano, and are attributed to variations in the movement of magma in each system. Detrended Fluctuation Analysis determined that both volcanic systems showed a systematic relationship between the number of seismic events and the relative ‘roughness' of the time-series, and explosions at Volcán de Colima showed a 1.5-2 year cycle; neither observation has a clear explanatory mechanism. At Volcán de Colima, analysis of repose intervals between seismic events shows long-term behaviour that responds to changes in activity at the system. Similar patterns for both volcanic systems suggest a common process or processes driving the observed signal but it is not clear from these results alone what those processes may be. Further attempts to model conduit processes at each volcano must account for the similarities and differences in activity within each system. The identification of some commonalities in the patterns of behaviour during long-lived dome-forming eruptions at andesitic volcanoes provides a motivation for investigating further use of time-series analysis as a monitoring tool.

The Geoscience Concept Test: A New Assessment Tool Based on Student Misconceptions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Libarkin, J.; Anderson, S. W.; Boone, W. J.; Beilfuss, M.; Dahl, J.

2002-12-01

We developed and began pilot testing of an earth science assessment tool called the geoscience concept test (GCT). The GCT uses student misconceptions as distractors in a 30 item multiple-choice instrument. Student misconceptions were first assessed through the analysis of nearly 300 questionnaires administered in introductory geology courses at three institutions. Results from the questionnaires guided the development of an interview protocol that was used by four interviewers at four different institutions. Over 100 in-depth student interviews lasting from 0.5 to 1 hour probed topics related to the Earth's interior, geologic time, and the formation of Earth surface features such as mountains and volcanoes to better define misconceptions. Thematic content analysis of the interviews identified a number of widely held misconceptions, which were then incorporated into the GCT as multiple-choice distractors (wrong answers). For content validity, the initial GCT was reviewed by seven experts (3 geoscientists and 4 science educators) and revised before pilot testing. Approximately 100 introductory and non-science major college students from four institutions were assessed with the GCT pilot in the spring of 2002. Rasch model analysis of this data showed that students found the pilot test difficult, and the level of difficulty was consistent between the four institutions. Analysis of individual items showed that students had fewer misconceptions regarding the locations of earthquakes, and many misconceptions regarding the locations of volcanoes on the Earth's surface, suggesting a disconnect in their understanding of the role of plate tectonics in these phenomena. Analysis of the misfit statistic for each item showed that none of the questions misfit, although we dropped one question and modified the wording of another for clarity in the next round of piloting. A second round of piloting scheduled for the fall of 2002 includes nearly 3000 students from 34 institutions in 19 states.

Automated macromolecular crystallization screening

DOEpatents

Segelke, Brent W.; Rupp, Bernhard; Krupka, Heike I.

2005-03-01

An automated macromolecular crystallization screening system wherein a multiplicity of reagent mixes are produced. A multiplicity of analysis plates is produced utilizing the reagent mixes combined with a sample. The analysis plates are incubated to promote growth of crystals. Images of the crystals are made. The images are analyzed with regard to suitability of the crystals for analysis by x-ray crystallography. A design of reagent mixes is produced based upon the expected suitability of the crystals for analysis by x-ray crystallography. A second multiplicity of mixes of the reagent components is produced utilizing the design and a second multiplicity of reagent mixes is used for a second round of automated macromolecular crystallization screening. In one embodiment the multiplicity of reagent mixes are produced by a random selection of reagent components.

Incidence of multiple myeloma in Olmsted County, Minnesota: Trend over 6 decades.

PubMed

Kyle, Robert A; Therneau, Terry M; Rajkumar, S Vincent; Larson, Dirk R; Plevak, Matthew F; Melton, L Joseph

2004-12-01

Previous studies have indicated that the incidence and mortality rates for multiple myeloma have increased in the United States. The authors reported on the incidence of multiple myeloma in Olmsted County, Minnesota, between 1991 and 2001 and on trends in multiple myeloma incidence over the last 56 years. Using the files of the Mayo Clinic and the Olmsted Medical Center (Rochester, MN), the authors identified all residents of Olmsted County who had multiple myeloma, suspected myeloma, or a related disorder. Reports of all laboratory determinations, in addition to autopsy findings and death certificates, were obtained. The criteria for the diagnosis of multiple myeloma have not changed during the last 6 decades. All but 1 of the 47 residents with multiple myeloma first diagnosed between 1991 and 2001 were recognized antemortem. Fifty-five percent had a previous monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance, smoldering multiple myeloma, or solitary plasmacytoma before multiple myeloma was diagnosed. From 1991 to 2001, the overall annual incidence rate, age-adjusted to the 2000 U.S. population, was 4.3 per 100,000 (95% confidence interval, 3.0-5.5 per 100,000). Poisson regression analysis showed no statistically significant trend in Olmsted County incidence rates over 56 years. In similar fashion, the authors adjusted multiple myeloma incidence rates from nine other studies worldwide for which adequate data were available and documented similar findings in each case, except for one study that included patients with smoldering multiple myeloma. The overall incidence of multiple myeloma in Olmsted County, Minnesota, has not changed in almost 6 decades. The apparent increase in incidence elsewhere is unexplained but probably is attributable to improvements in diagnostic techniques, particularly in older patients. (c) 2004 American Cancer Society