Validation of modified forms of the PedsQL generic core scales and cancer module scales for adolescents and young adults (AYA) with cancer or a blood disorder.

PubMed

Ewing, Jane E; King, Madeleine T; Smith, Narelle F

2009-03-01

To validate two health-related quality of life (HRQOL) measures, the PedsQL Generic Core and Cancer Module adolescent forms (13-18 years), after modification for 16-25-year-old adolescents and young adults (AYA) with cancer or a blood disorder. AYA patients and nominated proxies were recruited from three Sydney hospitals. Modified forms were administered by telephone or in clinics/wards. Analyses included correlations, factor analysis, and analysis of variance of known-groups (defined by the Memorial Symptom Assessment Scale). Eighty-eight patients and 79 proxies completed questionnaires. Factor structures consistent with those of the unmodified forms confirmed construct validity. Cronbach's alpha ranged 0.81-0.98. Inter-scale correlations were as hypothesized, confirming discriminant validity. Statistically significant differences between groups with mild, moderate, and severe symptoms (P < 0.05) confirmed clinical validity. These modified forms provide reliable and valid measures of HRQOL in AYA with cancer or a blood disorder, suitable for clinical trials, research, and practice.

Adaptation of the Tinnitus Handicap Inventory into Polish and its testing on a clinical population of tinnitus sufferers.

PubMed

Skarzynski, Piotr H; Raj-Koziak, Danuta; J Rajchel, Joanna; Pilka, Adam; Wlodarczyk, Andrzej W; Skarzynski, Henryk

2017-10-01

To describe how the Tinnitus Handicap Inventory (THI) was translated into Polish (THI-POL) and to present psychometric data on how well it performed in a clinical population of tinnitus sufferers. The original version of THI was adapted into Polish. The reliability of THI-POL was investigated using test-retest, Cronbach's alpha, endorsement rate and item-total correlation. Construct validity and convergent validity were also assessed based on confirmatory factor analysis, inter-item correlation and Pearson product-moment correlations using subscale A (Tinnitus) of the Tinnitus and Hearing Survey (THS-POL); divergent validity was checked using subscale B (Hearing) of THS-POL. A group of 167 adults filled in THI-POL twice over their three-day hospitalisation period. Test-retest reliability for the total THI-POL scores was strong (r = 0.91). Cronbach's alpha coefficient for the total score was high (r = 0.95), confirming the questionnaire's stability. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and inter-item correlation did not confirm the three-factor model. Convergent validity from the Tinnitus subscale of THS showed a positive strong (r = 0.75) correlation. Divergent validity showed only a moderate correlation. All analyses were statistically significant (p <  0.01). THI-POL is a valid and reliable self-administered tool, which allows the overall tinnitus handicap of Polish-speaking patients to be effectively assessed.

Determination of melamine of milk based on two-dimensional correlation infrared spectroscopy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yang, Ren-jie; Liu, Rong; Xu, Kexin

2012-03-01

The adulteration of milk with harmful substances is a threat to public health and beyond question a serious crime. In order to develop a rapid, cost-effective, high-throughput analysis method for detecting of adulterants in milk, the discriminative analysis of melamine is established in milk based on the two-dimensional (2D) correlation infrared spectroscopy in present paper. Pure milk samples and adulterated milk samples with different content of melamine were prepared. Then the Fourier Transform Infrared spectra of all samples were measured at room temperature. The characteristics of pure milk and adulterated milk were studied by one-dimensional spectra. The 2D NIR and 2D IR correlation spectroscopy were calculated under the perturbation of adulteration concentration. In the range from 1400 to 1800 cm-1, two strong autopeaks were aroused by melamine in milk at 1464 cm-1 and 1560 cm-1 in synchronous spectrum. At the same time, the 1560 cm-1 band does not share cross peak with the 1464 cm-1 band, which further confirm that the two bands have the same origin. Also in the range from 4200 to 4800 cm-1, the autopeak was shown at 4648 cm-1 in synchronous spectrum of melamine in milk. 2D NIR-IR hetero-spectral correlation analysis confirmed that the bands at 1464, 1560 and 4648 cm-1 had the same origin. The results demonstrated that the adulterant can be discriminated correctly by 2D correlation infrared spectroscopy.

Convergence of third order correlation energy in atoms and molecules.

PubMed

Kahn, Kalju; Granovsky, Alex A; Noga, Jozef

2007-01-30

We have investigated the convergence of third order correlation energy within the hierarchies of correlation consistent basis sets for helium, neon, and water, and for three stationary points of hydrogen peroxide. This analysis confirms that singlet pair energies converge much slower than triplet pair energies. In addition, singlet pair energies with (aug)-cc-pVDZ and (aug)-cc-pVTZ basis sets do not follow a converging trend and energies with three basis sets larger than aug-cc-pVTZ are generally required for reliable extrapolations of third order correlation energies, making so the explicitly correlated R12 calculations preferable.

Correlation of TBE Incidence with Red Deer and Roe Deer Abundance in Slovenia

PubMed Central

Knap, Nataša; Avšič-Županc, Tatjana

2013-01-01

Tick-borne encephalitis (TBE) is a virus infection which sometimes causes human disease. The TBE virus is found in ticks and certain vertebrate tick hosts in restricted endemic localities termed TBE foci. The formation of natural foci is a combination of several factors: the vectors, a suitable and numerous enough number of hosts and in a habitat with suitable vegetation and climate. The present study investigated the influence of deer on the incidence of tick-borne encephalitis. We were able to obtain data from deer culls. Using this data, the abundance of deer was estimated and temporal and spatial analysis was performed. The abundance of deer has increased in the past decades, as well as the incidence of tick-borne encephalitis. Temporal analysis confirmed a correlation between red deer abundance and tick-borne encephalitis occurrence. Additionally, spatial analysis established, that in areas with high incidence of tick-borne encephalitis red deer density is higher, compared to areas with no or few human cases of tick-borne encephalitis. However, such correlation could not be confirmed between roe deer density and the incidence of tick-borne encephalitis. This is presumably due to roe deer density being above a certain threshold so that availability of tick reproduction hosts has no apparent effect on ticks' host finding and consequently may not be possible to correlate with incidence of human TBE. PMID:23776668

Verification of Anderson Superexchange in MnO via Magnetic Pair Distribution Function Analysis and ab initio Theory.

PubMed

Frandsen, Benjamin A; Brunelli, Michela; Page, Katharine; Uemura, Yasutomo J; Staunton, Julie B; Billinge, Simon J L

2016-05-13

We present a temperature-dependent atomic and magnetic pair distribution function (PDF) analysis of neutron total scattering measurements of antiferromagnetic MnO, an archetypal strongly correlated transition-metal oxide. The known antiferromagnetic ground-state structure fits the low-temperature data closely with refined parameters that agree with conventional techniques, confirming the reliability of the newly developed magnetic PDF method. The measurements performed in the paramagnetic phase reveal significant short-range magnetic correlations on a ∼1  nm length scale that differ substantially from the low-temperature long-range spin arrangement. Ab initio calculations using a self-interaction-corrected local spin density approximation of density functional theory predict magnetic interactions dominated by Anderson superexchange and reproduce the measured short-range magnetic correlations to a high degree of accuracy. Further calculations simulating an additional contribution from a direct exchange interaction show much worse agreement with the data. The Anderson superexchange model for MnO is thus verified by experimentation and confirmed by ab initio theory.

A bright side, facet analysis of histrionic personality disorder: the relationship between the HDS Colourful factor and the NEO-PI-R facets in a large adult sample.

PubMed

Furnham, Adrian

2014-01-01

This study looks at "bright-side," Big Five Personality trait correlates of a "dark-side" Personality Disorder, namely Histrionic Personality Disorder (HPD). More than 5000 British adults completed the Neuroticism Extraversion Openness Personality Inventory-Revised (Costa & McCrae, 1985), which measures the Big Five Personality factors at the Domain (Super Factor) and the Facet (Factor) level, as well as the Hogan Development Survey (HDS; Hogan & Hogan, 2009), which has a measure of HPD, exclusively called "Colourful" in the HDS terminology. Correlation and regression results confirmed many of the associations between these "bright" and "dark" side individual difference variables. The Colourful (HPD) score from the HDS was the criterion variable in all analyses. Colourful individuals are high on Extraversion and Openness, but also Stable and disagreeable. The Facet analysis identified Assertiveness and Immodesty as particularly characteristic of that type. The study confirmed work on HPD using different population groups and different measures, showing that personality traits are predictable and correlated with various personality disorders.

Verification of Anderson superexchange in MnO via magnetic pair distribution function analysis and ab initio theory

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

Benjamin A. Frandsen; Brunelli, Michela; Page, Katharine

Here, we present a temperature-dependent atomic and magnetic pair distribution function (PDF) analysis of neutron total scattering measurements of antiferromagnetic MnO, an archetypal strongly correlated transition-metal oxide. The known antiferromagnetic ground-state structure fits the low-temperature data closely with refined parameters that agree with conventional techniques, confirming the reliability of the newly developed magnetic PDF method. The measurements performed in the paramagnetic phase reveal significant short-range magnetic correlations on a ~1 nm length scale that differ substantially from the low-temperature long-range spin arrangement. Ab initio calculations using a self-interaction-corrected local spin density approximation of density functional theory predict magnetic interactions dominatedmore » by Anderson superexchange and reproduce the measured short-range magnetic correlations to a high degree of accuracy. Further calculations simulating an additional contribution from a direct exchange interaction show much worse agreement with the data. Furthermore, the Anderson superexchange model for MnO is thus verified by experimentation and confirmed by ab initio theory.« less

Verification of Anderson superexchange in MnO via magnetic pair distribution function analysis and ab initio theory

DOE PAGES

Benjamin A. Frandsen; Brunelli, Michela; Page, Katharine; ...

2016-05-11

Here, we present a temperature-dependent atomic and magnetic pair distribution function (PDF) analysis of neutron total scattering measurements of antiferromagnetic MnO, an archetypal strongly correlated transition-metal oxide. The known antiferromagnetic ground-state structure fits the low-temperature data closely with refined parameters that agree with conventional techniques, confirming the reliability of the newly developed magnetic PDF method. The measurements performed in the paramagnetic phase reveal significant short-range magnetic correlations on a ~1 nm length scale that differ substantially from the low-temperature long-range spin arrangement. Ab initio calculations using a self-interaction-corrected local spin density approximation of density functional theory predict magnetic interactions dominatedmore » by Anderson superexchange and reproduce the measured short-range magnetic correlations to a high degree of accuracy. Further calculations simulating an additional contribution from a direct exchange interaction show much worse agreement with the data. Furthermore, the Anderson superexchange model for MnO is thus verified by experimentation and confirmed by ab initio theory.« less

EPPUR SI MUOVE: POSITIONAL AND KINEMATIC CORRELATIONS OF SATELLITE PAIRS IN THE LOW Z UNIVERSE

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

Ibata, Rodrigo A.; Famaey, Benoit; Martin, Nicolas

2015-05-20

We have recently shown that pairs of satellite galaxies located diametrically opposite to each other around their host possess predominantly anti-correlated velocities. This is consistent with a scenario in which ≳50% of satellite galaxies belong to kinematically coherent rotating planar structures. Here we extend this analysis, examining satellites of giant galaxies drawn from an SDSS photometric redshift catalog. We find that there is a ∼17% overabundance (>3σ significance) of candidate satellites at positions diametrically opposite to a spectroscopically confirmed satellite. We show that ΛCDM cosmological simulations do not possess this property when contamination is included. After subtracting contamination, we findmore » ∼2 times more satellites diametrically opposed to a spectroscopically confirmed satellite than at 90° from it, at projected distances ranging from 100 to 150 kpc from the host. This independent analysis thus strongly supports our previous results on anti-correlated velocities. We also find that those satellite pairs with anti-correlated velocities have a strong preference (∼3:1) to align with the major axis of the host whereas those with correlated velocities display the opposite behavior. We finally show that repeating a similar analysis to Ibata et al. with same-side satellites is generally hard to interpret, but is not inconsistent with our previous results when strong quality cuts are applied on the sample. This addresses all of the concerns recently raised by Cautun et al., who did not uncover any flaw in our previous analysis, but may simply have hinted at the physical extent of planar satellite structures by pointing out that the anti-correlation signal weakens at radii >150 kpc. All these unexpected positional and kinematic correlations strongly suggest that a substantial fraction of satellite galaxies are causally linked in their formation and evolution.« less

[Functional tear production indices in thyroid eye disease].

PubMed

Safonova, T N; Likhvantseva, V G; Gontiurova, O A; Rudenko, E I; Vygodin, V A

2013-01-01

Analysis of functional tear production indices in patients with Grave's disease and thyroid eye disease confirmed lacrimal gland involvement in inflammatory autoimmune process. Close direct correlation was found between tear production and main disease characteristics - severity and activity.

A model of adsorption of albumin on the implant surface titanium and titanium modified carbon coatings (MWCNT-EPD). 2D correlation analysis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wesełucha-Birczyńska, Aleksandra; Stodolak-Zych, Ewa; Piś, Wojciech; Długoń, Elżbieta; Benko, Aleksandra; Błażewicz, Marta

2016-11-01

Common materials used as orthopedic implants are titanium and its alloys. To improve its compatibility with the environment of a living organism titanium implant surfaces are covered with bioactive layers of MWCNT. During the insertion into a living organism such material is exposed to direct contact with the patient's blood, which includes proteins - eg. albumin. The adsorption of albumin may constitute one of the early stages of implant surface modification serving cell adhesion. An analysis of this phenomenon in terms of the kinetics of deposition of protein on the surface of the implant confirms its biocompatibility in vivo. The proposed working model of the adsorption of albumin allows for choosing the best of time for the protein to form a stable connection with the surface of the titanium implant. Traditional methods of materials engineering and chemistry allow for the obtaining of information about the presence of a protein on the surface (UV-Vis, the wettability). The application of 2D correlation analysis, in turn, gains insight into the dynamics of the changes associated with the deposition of protein (the formation of a uniform layer, the change in conformation). This analysis has allowed for the selection of an optimal time of protein adsorption to the surface of the implant. Better compatibility with the body of the implant provides its modification by introducing layers that accelerate the material-tissue interactions. Such a composition is a layer of carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) deposited on titanium by the electrophoretic (EPD) method. Using Raman spectroscopy and analyzing the spectra with the 2D correlation method it is possible to gain insight into the molecular structure of this layer. Our studies indicate that albumin in contact with the surface of titanium has obtained stable conformation after 30 min (confirmed by: UV-Vis, Raman). Shifts of the CH2, CH3 stretching bands position as well as an analysis of the amide I band confirms this conformation. The dynamics of these changes are noticed as correlation peaks observed on 2D maps.

SDSS-II Supernova survey. An analysis of the largest sample of type IA supernovae and correlations with host-galaxy spectral properties

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

Wolf, Rachel C.; D’Andrea, Chris B.; Gupta, Ravi R.

2016-04-20

Using the largest single-survey sample of Type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia) to date, we study the relationship between properties of SNe Ia and those of their host galaxies, focusing primarily on correlations with Hubble residuals (HR). Our sample consists of 345 photometrically-classified or spectroscopicallyconfirmed SNe Ia discovered as part of the SDSS-II Supernova Survey (SDSS-SNS). This analysis utilizes host-galaxy spectroscopy obtained during the SDSS-I/II spectroscopic survey and from an ancillary program on the SDSS-III Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey (BOSS) that obtained spectra for nearly all host galaxies of SDSS-II SN candidates. In addition, we use photometric hostgalaxy properties from themore » SDSS-SNS data release (Sako et al. 2014) such as host stellar mass and star-formation rate. We confirm the well-known relation between HR and host-galaxy mass and find a 3.6σ significance of a non-zero linear slope. We also recover correlations between HR and hostgalaxy gas-phase metallicity and specific star-formation rate as they are reported in the literature. With our large dataset, we examine correlations between HR and multiple host-galaxy properties simultaneously and find no evidence of a significant correlation. We also independently analyze our spectroscopically-confirmed and photometrically-classified SNe Ia and comment on the significance of similar combined datasets for future surveys.« less

Human mammary epithelial cells exhibit a bimodal correlated random walk pattern.

PubMed

Potdar, Alka A; Jeon, Junhwan; Weaver, Alissa M; Quaranta, Vito; Cummings, Peter T

2010-03-10

Organisms, at scales ranging from unicellular to mammals, have been known to exhibit foraging behavior described by random walks whose segments confirm to Lévy or exponential distributions. For the first time, we present evidence that single cells (mammary epithelial cells) that exist in multi-cellular organisms (humans) follow a bimodal correlated random walk (BCRW). Cellular tracks of MCF-10A pBabe, neuN and neuT random migration on 2-D plastic substrates, analyzed using bimodal analysis, were found to reveal the BCRW pattern. We find two types of exponentially distributed correlated flights (corresponding to what we refer to as the directional and re-orientation phases) each having its own correlation between move step-lengths within flights. The exponential distribution of flight lengths was confirmed using different analysis methods (logarithmic binning with normalization, survival frequency plots and maximum likelihood estimation). Because of the presence of non-uniform turn angle distribution of move step-lengths within a flight and two different types of flights, we propose that the epithelial random walk is a BCRW comprising of two alternating modes with varying degree of correlations, rather than a simple persistent random walk. A BCRW model rather than a simple persistent random walk correctly matches the super-diffusivity in the cell migration paths as indicated by simulations based on the BCRW model.

Multivariate analysis relating oil shale geochemical properties to NMR relaxometry

USGS Publications Warehouse

Birdwell, Justin E.; Washburn, Kathryn E.

2015-01-01

Low-field nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) relaxometry has been used to provide insight into shale composition by separating relaxation responses from the various hydrogen-bearing phases present in shales in a noninvasive way. Previous low-field NMR work using solid-echo methods provided qualitative information on organic constituents associated with raw and pyrolyzed oil shale samples, but uncertainty in the interpretation of longitudinal-transverse (T1–T2) relaxometry correlation results indicated further study was required. Qualitative confirmation of peaks attributed to kerogen in oil shale was achieved by comparing T1–T2 correlation measurements made on oil shale samples to measurements made on kerogen isolated from those shales. Quantitative relationships between T1–T2 correlation data and organic geochemical properties of raw and pyrolyzed oil shales were determined using partial least-squares regression (PLSR). Relaxometry results were also compared to infrared spectra, and the results not only provided further confidence in the organic matter peak interpretations but also confirmed attribution of T1–T2 peaks to clay hydroxyls. In addition, PLSR analysis was applied to correlate relaxometry data to trace element concentrations with good success. The results of this work show that NMR relaxometry measurements using the solid-echo approach produce T1–T2 peak distributions that correlate well with geochemical properties of raw and pyrolyzed oil shales.

A Psychometric Evaluation of the Santa Clara Strength of Religious Faith Questionnaire among Students from Poland and Chile.

PubMed

Wnuk, Marcin

2017-01-01

This study verifies the psychometric properties of the Santa Clara Strength of Religious Faith Questionnaire (SCSORFQ). This measure consists of 10 items regarding strength of religious faith, regardless of religious denomination or affiliation. Participants were 177 students from Chile and 393 students from Poland. The SCSORFQ method is a reliable measure with good internal consistency evaluated by the α-Cronbach coefficient. Factor analysis statistically confirmed the unidimensional structure of the SCSORFQ. The strength of religious faith in both student groups was moderate to strong correlated with public or private aspects of religiousness and strong correlated with spiritual experiences. It was weakly correlated with the cognitive indicator of well-being as satisfaction with life as well as with existential variables like hope and meaning of life. The results confirm that the SCSORFQ is psychometrically sound and is therefore recommended for use by researchers studying the construct of religiousness.

ADC histogram analysis of muscle lymphoma - Correlation with histopathology in a rare entity.

PubMed

Meyer, Hans-Jonas; Pazaitis, Nikolaos; Surov, Alexey

2018-06-21

Diffusion weighted imaging (DWI) is able to reflect histopathology architecture. A novel imaging approach, namely histogram analysis, is used to further characterize lesion on MRI. The purpose of this study is to correlate histogram parameters derived from apparent diffusion coefficient- (ADC) maps with histopathology parameters in muscle lymphoma. Eight patients (mean age 64.8 years, range 45-72 years) with histopathologically confirmed muscle lymphoma were retrospectively identified. Cell count, total nucleic and average nucleic areas were estimated using ImageJ. Additionally, Ki67-index was calculated. DWI was obtained on a 1.5T scanner by using the b values of 0 and 1000 s/mm2. Histogram analysis was performed as a whole lesion measurement by using a custom-made Matlabbased application. The correlation analysis revealed statistically significant correlation between cell count and ADCmean (p=-0.76, P=0.03) as well with ADCp75 (p=-0.79, P=0.02). Kurtosis and entropy correlated with average nucleic area (p=-0.81, P=0.02, p=0.88, P=0.007, respectively). None of the analyzed ADC parameters correlated with total nucleic area and with Ki67-index. This study identified significant correlations between cellularity and histogram parameters derived from ADC maps in muscle lymphoma. Thus, histogram analysis parameters reflect histopathology in muscle tumors. Advances in knowledge: Whole lesion ADC histogram analysis is able to reflect histopathology parameters in muscle lymphomas.

Multifractal detrended cross-correlation between the Chinese domestic and international gold markets based on DCCA and DMCA methods

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cao, Guangxi; Han, Yan; Chen, Yuemeng; Yang, Chunxia

2014-05-01

Based on the daily price data of Shanghai and London gold spot markets, we applied detrended cross-correlation analysis (DCCA) and detrended moving average cross-correlation analysis (DMCA) methods to quantify power-law cross-correlation between domestic and international gold markets. Results show that the cross-correlations between the Chinese domestic and international gold spot markets are multifractal. Furthermore, forward DMCA and backward DMCA seems to outperform DCCA and centered DMCA for short-range gold series, which confirms the comparison results of short-range artificial data in L. Y. He and S. P. Chen [Physica A 390 (2011) 3806-3814]. Finally, we analyzed the local multifractal characteristics of the cross-correlation between Chinese domestic and international gold markets. We show that multifractal characteristics of the cross-correlation between the Chinese domestic and international gold markets are time-varying and that multifractal characteristics were strengthened by the financial crisis in 2007-2008.

Correlation between uteroplacental three-dimensional power Doppler indices and true uterine blood flow: evaluation in a pregnant sheep model.

PubMed

Morel, O; Pachy, F; Chavatte-Palmer, P; Bonneau, M; Gayat, E; Laigre, P; Evain-Brion, D; Tsatsaris, V

2010-11-01

Three-dimensional (3D) Doppler quantification within the uteroplacental unit could be of great help in understanding and screening for pre-eclampsia and intrauterine growth restriction. Yet the correlation between 3D Doppler indices and true blood flow has not been confirmed in vivo. The aim of this study was to evaluate this correlation in a pregnant sheep model. A blood flow quantitative sensor and a controllable vascular occlusion system were placed around the common uterine artery in seven sheep in late pregnancy, while all the other arterial supplies were ligated. Several occlusion levels were applied, from 0 to 100%, simultaneously with 3D Doppler acquisitions of several placentomes, using standardized settings. Each placentome was analyzed using VOCAL™ (Virtual Organ Computer-aided AnaLysis) software. The correlation between true blood flow and Doppler indices (vascularization index (VI), flow index (FI) and vascularization flow index (VFI)) was evaluated, together with measurement reproducibility. Forty-eight acquisitions were analyzed. All 3D Doppler indices were significantly correlated with true blood flow. Higher correlations were observed for VI and VFI (r = 0.81 (0.74-0.87), P < 0.0001 and r = 0.75 (0.67-0.82), P < 0.0001) compared with FI (r = 0.53 (0.38-0.64) P < 0.0001). Both intra- and interobserver reproducibility were high, with intraclass correlation coefficients of at least 0.799. This is the first in-vivo experimental study confirming a significant correlation between true blood perfusion and quantitative 3D Doppler indices measured within the uteroplacental unit. These results confirm the potential usefulness of 3D Doppler ultrasound for the assessment of placental vascular insufficiency both in clinical cases and in a research setting. Copyright © 2010 ISUOG. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

High correlation of Middle East respiratory syndrome spread with Google search and Twitter trends in Korea.

PubMed

Shin, Soo-Yong; Seo, Dong-Woo; An, Jisun; Kwak, Haewoon; Kim, Sung-Han; Gwack, Jin; Jo, Min-Woo

2016-09-06

The Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) was exported to Korea in 2015, resulting in a threat to neighboring nations. We evaluated the possibility of using a digital surveillance system based on web searches and social media data to monitor this MERS outbreak. We collected the number of daily laboratory-confirmed MERS cases and quarantined cases from May 11, 2015 to June 26, 2015 using the Korean government MERS portal. The daily trends observed via Google search and Twitter during the same time period were also ascertained using Google Trends and Topsy. Correlations among the data were then examined using Spearman correlation analysis. We found high correlations (>0.7) between Google search and Twitter results and the number of confirmed MERS cases for the previous three days using only four simple keywords: "MERS", " ("MERS (in Korean)"), " ("MERS symptoms (in Korean)"), and " ("MERS hospital (in Korean)"). Additionally, we found high correlations between the Google search and Twitter results and the number of quarantined cases using the above keywords. This study demonstrates the possibility of using a digital surveillance system to monitor the outbreak of MERS.

Student failures on first-year medical basic science courses and the USMLE step 1: a retrospective study over a 20-year period.

PubMed

Burns, E Robert; Garrett, Judy

2015-01-01

Correlates of achievement in the basic science years in medical school and on the Step 1 of the United States Medical Licensing Examination® (USMLE®), (Step 1) in relation to preadmission variables have been the subject of considerable study. Preadmissions variables such as the undergraduate grade point average (uGPA) and Medical College Admission Test® (MCAT®) scores, solely or in combination, have previously been found to be predictors of achievement in the basic science years and/or on the Step 1. The purposes of this retrospective study were to: (1) determine if our statistical analysis confirmed previously published relationships between preadmission variables (MCAT, uGPA, and applicant pool size), and (2) study correlates of the number of failures in five M1 courses with those preadmission variables and failures on Step 1. Statistical analysis confirmed previously published relationships between all preadmission variables. Only one course, Microscopic Anatomy, demonstrated significant correlations with all variables studied including the Step 1 failures. Physiology correlated with three of the four variables studied, but not with the Step 1 failures. Analyses such as these provide a tool by which administrators will be able to identify what courses are or are not responding in appropriate ways to changes in the preadmissions variables that signal student performance on the Step 1. © 2014 American Association of Anatomists.

Psychometric properties of the Dutch version of the London Measure of Unplanned Pregnancy in women with pregnancies ending in birth.

PubMed

Goossens, Joline; Verhaeghe, Sofie; Van Hecke, Ann; Barrett, Geraldine; Delbaere, Ilse; Beeckman, Dimitri

2018-01-01

To evaluate the psychometric properties of the Dutch version of the London Measure of Unplanned Pregnancy in women with pregnancies ending in birth. A two-phase psychometric evaluation design was set-up. Phase I comprised the translation from English into Dutch and pretesting with 6 women using cognitive interviews. In phase II, the reliability and validity of the Dutch version of the LMUP was assessed in 517 women giving birth recently. Reliability (internal consistency) was assessed using Cronbach's alpha, inter-item correlations, and corrected item-total correlations. Construct validity was assessed using principal components analysis and hypothesis testing. Exploratory Mokken scale analysis was carried out. 517 women aged 15-45 completed the Dutch version of the LMUP. Reliability testing showed acceptable internal consistency (alpha = 0.74, positive inter-item correlations between all items, all corrected item-total correlations >0.20). Validity testing confirmed the unidimensional structure of the scale and all hypotheses were confirmed. The overall Loevinger's H coefficient was 0.57, representing a 'strong' scale. The Dutch version of the LMUP is a reliable and valid measure that can be used in the Dutch-speaking population in Belgium to assess pregnancy planning. Future research is necessary to assess the stability of the Dutch version of the LMUP, and to evaluate its psychometric properties in women with abortions.

The Development of Extraversion and Ability: Analysis of Data from a Large-Scale Longitudinal Study of Children Tested at 10-11 and 14-15 Years.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Anthony, W. S.

1983-01-01

Results of analysis of correlations collected by Cookson, following Eysenck and Cookson's study of personality and ability in young people, confirm the finding from previous Cattellian test data that the more intelligent children decline in relative extraversion scores and cast doubt on Eysenck's suggestion that introverts gradually show higher…

Calcium-deficiency assessment and biomarker identification by an integrated urinary metabonomics analysis

PubMed Central

2013-01-01

Background Calcium deficiency is a global public-health problem. Although the initial stage of calcium deficiency can lead to metabolic alterations or potential pathological changes, calcium deficiency is difficult to diagnose accurately. Moreover, the details of the molecular mechanism of calcium deficiency remain somewhat elusive. To accurately assess and provide appropriate nutritional intervention, we carried out a global analysis of metabolic alterations in response to calcium deficiency. Methods The metabolic alterations associated with calcium deficiency were first investigated in a rat model, using urinary metabonomics based on ultra-performance liquid chromatography coupled with quadrupole time-of-flight tandem mass spectrometry and multivariate statistical analysis. Correlations between dietary calcium intake and the biomarkers identified from the rat model were further analyzed to confirm the potential application of these biomarkers in humans. Results Urinary metabolic-profiling analysis could preliminarily distinguish between calcium-deficient and non-deficient rats after a 2-week low-calcium diet. We established an integrated metabonomics strategy for identifying reliable biomarkers of calcium deficiency using a time-course analysis of discriminating metabolites in a low-calcium diet experiment, repeating the low-calcium diet experiment and performing a calcium-supplement experiment. In total, 27 biomarkers were identified, including glycine, oxoglutaric acid, pyrophosphoric acid, sebacic acid, pseudouridine, indoxyl sulfate, taurine, and phenylacetylglycine. The integrated urinary metabonomics analysis, which combined biomarkers with regular trends of change (types A, B, and C), could accurately assess calcium-deficient rats at different stages and clarify the dynamic pathophysiological changes and molecular mechanism of calcium deficiency in detail. Significant correlations between calcium intake and two biomarkers, pseudouridine (Pearson correlation, r = 0.53, P = 0.0001) and citrate (Pearson correlation, r = -0.43, P = 0.001), were further confirmed in 70 women. Conclusions To our knowledge, this is the first report of reliable biomarkers of calcium deficiency, which were identified using an integrated strategy. The identified biomarkers give new insights into the pathophysiological changes and molecular mechanisms of calcium deficiency. The correlations between calcium intake and two of the biomarkers provide a rationale or potential for further assessment and elucidation of the metabolic responses of calcium deficiency in humans. PMID:23537001

Correlation Equations for Condensing Heat Exchangers Based on an Algorithmic Performance-Data Classification

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pacheco-Vega, Arturo

2016-09-01

In this work a new set of correlation equations is developed and introduced to accurately describe the thermal performance of compact heat exchangers with possible condensation. The feasible operating conditions for the thermal system correspond to dry- surface, dropwise condensation, and film condensation. Using a prescribed form for each condition, a global regression analysis for the best-fit correlation to experimental data is carried out with a simulated annealing optimization technique. The experimental data were taken from the literature and algorithmically classified into three groups -related to the possible operating conditions- with a previously-introduced Gaussian-mixture-based methodology. Prior to their use in the analysis, the correct data classification was assessed and confirmed via artificial neural networks. Predictions from the correlations obtained for the different conditions are within the uncertainty of the experiments and substantially more accurate than those commonly used.

Analysis of correlation functions in Toda theory and the Alday-Gaiotto-Tachikawa-Wyllard relation for SU(3) quiver

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

Kanno, Shoichi; Matsuo, Yutaka; Shiba, Shotaro

We give some evidences of the Alday-Gaiotto-Tachikawa-Wyllard relation between SU(3) quiver gauge theories and A{sub 2} Toda theory. In particular, we derive the explicit form of 5-point correlation functions in the lower orders and confirm the agreement with Nekrasov's partition function for SU(3)xSU(3) quiver gauge theory. The algorithm to derive the correlation functions can be applied to a general n-point function in A{sub 2} Toda theory, which will be useful to establish the relation for more generic quivers. Partial analysis is also given for the SU(3)xSU(2) case, and we comment on some technical issues that need clarification before establishing themore » relation.« less

Dynamic Functional Connectivity States Between the Dorsal and Ventral Sensorimotor Networks Revealed by Dynamic Conditional Correlation Analysis of Resting-State Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging.

PubMed

Syed, Maleeha F; Lindquist, Martin A; Pillai, Jay J; Agarwal, Shruti; Gujar, Sachin K; Choe, Ann S; Caffo, Brian; Sair, Haris I

2017-12-01

Functional connectivity in resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI) has received substantial attention since the initial findings of Biswal et al. Traditional network correlation metrics assume that the functional connectivity in the brain remains stationary over time. However, recent studies have shown that robust temporal fluctuations of functional connectivity among as well as within functional networks exist, challenging this assumption. In this study, these dynamic correlation differences were investigated between the dorsal and ventral sensorimotor networks by applying the dynamic conditional correlation model to rs-fMRI data of 20 healthy subjects. k-Means clustering was used to determine an optimal number of discrete connectivity states (k = 10) of the sensorimotor system across all subjects. Our analysis confirms the existence of differences in dynamic correlation between the dorsal and ventral networks, with highest connectivity found within the ventral motor network.

Neuroanatomical Correlates of Intelligence

PubMed Central

Luders, Eileen; Narr, Katherine L.; Thompson, Paul M.; Toga, Arthur W.

2009-01-01

With the advancement of image acquisition and analysis methods in recent decades, unique opportunities have emerged to study the neuroanatomical correlates of intelligence. Traditional approaches examining global measures have been complemented by insights from more regional analyses based on pre-defined areas. Newer state-of-the-art approaches have further enhanced our ability to localize the presence of correlations between cerebral characteristics and intelligence with high anatomic precision. These in vivo assessments have confirmed mainly positive correlations, suggesting that optimally increased brain regions are associated with better cognitive performance. Findings further suggest that the models proposed to explain the anatomical substrates of intelligence should address contributions from not only (pre)frontal regions, but also widely distributed networks throughout the whole brain. PMID:20160919

Cross-correlation analysis between Chinese TF contracts and treasury ETF based on high-frequency data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhou, Yu; Chen, Shi

2016-02-01

In this paper, we investigate the high-frequency cross-correlation relationship between Chinese treasury futures contracts and treasury ETF. We analyze the logarithmic return of these two price series, from which we can conclude that both return series are not normally distributed and the futures markets have greater volatility. We find significant cross-correlation between these two series. We further confirm the relationship using the DCCA coefficient and the DMCA coefficient. We quantify the long-range cross-correlation with DCCA method, and we further show that the relationship is multifractal. An arbitrage algorithm based on DFA regression with stable return is proposed in the last part.

Identification, Comparison, and Validation of Robust Rumen Microbial Biomarkers for Methane Emissions Using Diverse Bos Taurus Breeds and Basal Diets

PubMed Central

Auffret, Marc D.; Stewart, Robert; Dewhurst, Richard J.; Duthie, Carol-Anne; Rooke, John A.; Wallace, Robert J.; Freeman, Tom C.; Snelling, Timothy J.; Watson, Mick; Roehe, Rainer

2018-01-01

Previous shotgun metagenomic analyses of ruminal digesta identified some microbial information that might be useful as biomarkers to select cattle that emit less methane (CH4), which is a potent greenhouse gas. It is known that methane production (g/kgDMI) and to an extent the microbial community is heritable and therefore biomarkers can offer a method of selecting cattle for low methane emitting phenotypes. In this study a wider range of Bos Taurus cattle, varying in breed and diet, was investigated to determine microbial communities and genetic markers associated with high/low CH4 emissions. Digesta samples were taken from 50 beef cattle, comprising four cattle breeds, receiving two basal diets containing different proportions of concentrate and also including feed additives (nitrate or lipid), that may influence methane emissions. A combination of partial least square analysis and network analysis enabled the identification of the most significant and robust biomarkers of CH4 emissions (VIP > 0.8) across diets and breeds when comparing all potential biomarkers together. Genes associated with the hydrogenotrophic methanogenesis pathway converting carbon dioxide to methane, provided the dominant biomarkers of CH4 emissions and methanogens were the microbial populations most closely correlated with CH4 emissions and identified by metagenomics. Moreover, these genes grouped together as confirmed by network analysis for each independent experiment and when combined. Finally, the genes involved in the methane synthesis pathway explained a higher proportion of variation in CH4 emissions by PLS analysis compared to phylogenetic parameters or functional genes. These results confirmed the reproducibility of the analysis and the advantage to use these genes as robust biomarkers of CH4 emissions. Volatile fatty acid concentrations and ratios were significantly correlated with CH4, but these factors were not identified as robust enough for predictive purposes. Moreover, the methanotrophic Methylomonas genus was found to be negatively correlated with CH4. Finally, this study confirmed the importance of using robust and applicable biomarkers from the microbiome as a proxy of CH4 emissions across diverse production systems and environments. PMID:29375511

Identification, Comparison, and Validation of Robust Rumen Microbial Biomarkers for Methane Emissions Using Diverse Bos Taurus Breeds and Basal Diets.

PubMed

Auffret, Marc D; Stewart, Robert; Dewhurst, Richard J; Duthie, Carol-Anne; Rooke, John A; Wallace, Robert J; Freeman, Tom C; Snelling, Timothy J; Watson, Mick; Roehe, Rainer

2017-01-01

Previous shotgun metagenomic analyses of ruminal digesta identified some microbial information that might be useful as biomarkers to select cattle that emit less methane (CH 4 ), which is a potent greenhouse gas. It is known that methane production (g/kgDMI) and to an extent the microbial community is heritable and therefore biomarkers can offer a method of selecting cattle for low methane emitting phenotypes. In this study a wider range of Bos Taurus cattle, varying in breed and diet, was investigated to determine microbial communities and genetic markers associated with high/low CH 4 emissions. Digesta samples were taken from 50 beef cattle, comprising four cattle breeds, receiving two basal diets containing different proportions of concentrate and also including feed additives (nitrate or lipid), that may influence methane emissions. A combination of partial least square analysis and network analysis enabled the identification of the most significant and robust biomarkers of CH 4 emissions (VIP > 0.8) across diets and breeds when comparing all potential biomarkers together. Genes associated with the hydrogenotrophic methanogenesis pathway converting carbon dioxide to methane, provided the dominant biomarkers of CH 4 emissions and methanogens were the microbial populations most closely correlated with CH 4 emissions and identified by metagenomics. Moreover, these genes grouped together as confirmed by network analysis for each independent experiment and when combined. Finally, the genes involved in the methane synthesis pathway explained a higher proportion of variation in CH 4 emissions by PLS analysis compared to phylogenetic parameters or functional genes. These results confirmed the reproducibility of the analysis and the advantage to use these genes as robust biomarkers of CH 4 emissions. Volatile fatty acid concentrations and ratios were significantly correlated with CH 4 , but these factors were not identified as robust enough for predictive purposes. Moreover, the methanotrophic Methylomonas genus was found to be negatively correlated with CH 4 . Finally, this study confirmed the importance of using robust and applicable biomarkers from the microbiome as a proxy of CH 4 emissions across diverse production systems and environments.

Synergistic Modification Induced Specific Recognition between Histone and TRIM24 via Fluctuation Correlation Network Analysis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Jinmai; Luo, Huajie; Liu, Hao; Ye, Wei; Luo, Ray; Chen, Hai-Feng

2016-04-01

Histone modification plays a key role in gene regulation and gene expression. TRIM24 as a histone reader can recognize histone modification. However the specific recognition mechanism between TRIM24 and histone modification is unsolved. Here, systems biology method of dynamics correlation network based on molecular dynamics simulation was used to answer the question. Our network analysis shows that the dynamics correlation network of H3K23ac is distinctly different from that of wild type and other modifications. A hypothesis of “synergistic modification induced recognition” is then proposed to link histone modification and TRIM24 binding. These observations were further confirmed from community analysis of networks with mutation and network perturbation. Finally, a possible recognition pathway is also identified based on the shortest path search for H3K23ac. Significant difference of recognition pathway was found among different systems due to methylation and acetylation modifications. The analysis presented here and other studies show that the dynamic network-based analysis might be a useful general strategy to study the biology of protein post-translational modification and associated recognition.

Correlation of gingival thickness with gingival width, probing depth, and papillary fill in maxillary anterior teeth in students of a dental college in Navi Mumbai

PubMed Central

Singh, Jyotsna; Rathod, Varsha J.; Rao, Prajakta R.; Patil, Aardra A.; Langade, Deepak G.; Singh, Roshan K.

2016-01-01

Context: The gingival biotype is of utmost importance for esthetics and biologic function. Anatomical characteristic of periodontium such as gingival thickness (GT), width of keratinized gingiva, and alveolar bone morphology will determine the behavior of periodontium when subjected to physical, chemical, or bacterial insult or during therapeutic procedure. Aims: The aim of this study was to correlate the GT with gingival width (GW), probing depth (PD), and papillary fill (PF) in relation to maxillary anterior region. Settings and Design: Undergraduate dental students and interns from a dental college in Navi Mumbai were enrolled in the study according to the inclusion criteria. Six teeth per subject were assessed; a total of 2178 maxillary anterior teeth were examined. Subjects and Methods: Subjects were examined clinically for GT, width of keratinized gingiva, pocket depth, and interdental PF. The data obtained was tabulated and subjected to statistical analysis. Statistical Analysis Used: Spearman's correlation analysis test was performed to find the correlation of GT with GW, PD, and PF. Results: Positive correlation was found between GT and GW (r = 0.241). No significant correlation could be found between GT and PD; and between GT and PF. Conclusions: The present study confirmed a positive correlation between GT and GW. A weak negative correlation was found between GT and PD. PMID:27994424

Multipole Vector Anomalies in the First-Year WMAP Data: A Cut-Sky Analysis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bielewicz, P.; Eriksen, H. K.; Banday, A. J.; Górski, K. M.; Lilje, P. B.

2005-12-01

We apply the recently defined multipole vector framework to the frequency-specific first-year WMAP sky maps, estimating the low-l multipole coefficients from the high-latitude sky by means of a power equalization filter. While most previous analyses of this type have considered only heavily processed (and foreground-contaminated) full-sky maps, the present approach allows for greater control of residual foregrounds and therefore potentially also for cosmologically important conclusions. The low-l spherical harmonic coefficients and corresponding multipole vectors are tabulated for easy reference. Using this formalism, we reassess a set of earlier claims of both cosmological and noncosmological low-l correlations on the basis of multipole vectors. First, we show that the apparent l=3 and 8 correlation claimed by Copi and coworkers is present only in the heavily processed map produced by Tegmark and coworkers and must therefore be considered an artifact of that map. Second, the well-known quadrupole-octopole correlation is confirmed at the 99% significance level and shown to be robust with respect to frequency and sky cut. Previous claims are thus supported by our analysis. Finally, the low-l alignment with respect to the ecliptic claimed by Schwarz and coworkers is nominally confirmed in this analysis, but also shown to be very dependent on severe a posteriori choices. Indeed, we show that given the peculiar quadrupole-octopole arrangement, finding such a strong alignment with the ecliptic is not unusual.

Coherent variability between seasonal temperatures and rainfalls in the Iberian Peninsula, 1951-2016

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rodrigo, F. S.

2018-02-01

In this work trends of seasonal mean of daily minimum (TN), maximum (TX), mean (TM) temperatures, daily range of temperature (DTR), and total seasonal rainfall (R) in 35 Iberian stations since mid-twentieth century are studied. The interest is focused on the relationships between temperature variables and rainfall, taking into account the correlation coefficients between R and the temperature variables. The negative link between rainfall and temperatures is detected in the four seasons of the year, except in western stations in winter for TN and TM, and in autumn for TN (for this variable a certain annual cycle is detected, with predominance of positive correlation in winter, negative in spring and summer, and the autumn as transition season). The role of cloud cover is confirmed in those stations with total cloud cover data. Using an average peninsular series, the relationship between nighttime temperature and rainfall related to long wave radiation is confirmed for the four seasons of the year, although in spring and summer has minor importance than in the cold half year. The relationships between R, TN, and TX are in general terms stable after a moving correlation analysis, although the negative correlation between TX and R seems be weakened in spring and autumn and reinforced in summer. The role of convective precipitation in autumn is discussed. The analysis of combined extreme indices in four representative stations shows an increase of warm and dry days, and a decrease of cold and wet days.

Inferring a Child's Level of Self-esteem from a Knowledge of Other Personality Factors.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kawash, George F.; Clewes, Janet L.

1986-01-01

Correlation and regression analysis confirmed that there is a high degree of shared variance between Coopersmith's Self-Esteem Inventory (SEI) and the Children's Personality Questionnaire (CPQ), suggesting that self-esteem may be more integrated within an individual's total personality functioning than has been discussed in the literature.…

Percolation analysis for cosmic web with discrete points

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Jiajun; Cheng, Dalong; Chu, Ming-Chung

2016-03-01

Percolation analysis has long been used to quantify the connectivity of the cosmic web. Unlike most of the previous works using density field on grids, we have studied percolation analysis based on discrete points. Using a Friends-of-Friends (FoF) algorithm, we generate the S-bb relation, between the fractional mass of the largest connected group (S) and the FoF linking length (bb). We propose a new model, the Probability Cloud Cluster Expansion Theory (PCCET) to relate the S-bb relation with correlation functions. We show that the S-bb relation reflects a combination of all orders of correlation functions. We have studied the S-bb relation with simulation and find that the S-bb relation is robust against redshift distortion and incompleteness in observation. From the Bolshoi simulation, with Halo Abundance Matching (HAM), we have generated a mock galaxy catalogue. Good matching of the projected two-point correlation function with observation is confirmed. However, comparing the mock catalogue with the latest galaxy catalogue from SDSS DR12, we have found significant differences in their S-bb relations. This indicates that the mock catalogue cannot accurately recover higher order correlation functions than the two-point correlation function, which reveals the limit of HAM method.

Spatial patterns and broad-scale weather cues of beech mast seeding in Europe.

PubMed

Vacchiano, Giorgio; Hacket-Pain, Andrew; Turco, Marco; Motta, Renzo; Maringer, Janet; Conedera, Marco; Drobyshev, Igor; Ascoli, Davide

2017-07-01

Mast seeding is a crucial population process in many tree species, but its spatio-temporal patterns and drivers at the continental scale remain unknown . Using a large dataset (8000 masting observations across Europe for years 1950-2014) we analysed the spatial pattern of masting across the entire geographical range of European beech, how it is influenced by precipitation, temperature and drought, and the temporal and spatial stability of masting-weather correlations. Beech masting exhibited a general distance-dependent synchronicity and a pattern structured in three broad geographical groups consistent with continental climate regimes. Spearman's correlations and logistic regression revealed a general pattern of beech masting correlating negatively with temperature in the summer 2 yr before masting, and positively with summer temperature 1 yr before masting (i.e. 2T model). The temperature difference between the two previous summers (DeltaT model) was also a good predictor. Moving correlation analysis applied to the longest eight chronologies (74-114 yr) revealed stable correlations between temperature and masting, confirming consistency in weather cues across space and time. These results confirm widespread dependency of masting on temperature and lend robustness to the attempts to reconstruct and predict mast years using temperature data. © 2017 The Authors. New Phytologist © 2017 New Phytologist Trust.

Validation of a motivation survey tool for pharmacy students: Exploring a link to professional identity development.

PubMed

Mylrea, Martina F; Sen Gupta, Tarun; Glass, Beverley D

2017-09-01

Self-determination theory (SDT), which describes a continuum of motivation regulators, is proposed as an appropriate framework to study pharmacy student motivation. The aim was to develop a Pharmacy Motivation Scale (Pharm-S) to determine motivation regulators in undergraduate students and explore a possible link to professional identity development. The Pharm-S was adapted from the SDT-based, Sports Motivation Scale (SMS-II), and administered to undergraduate students in an Australian pharmacy course. Convergent validity was assessed by conducting a correlation analysis between the Pharm-S and MacLeod Clark Professional Identity Scale (MCPIS-9). Face, content and construct validity were established for the Pharm-S through the analysis of 327 survey responses. Factor analysis extracted four of the six theoretical subscales as proposed by SDT (variance explained: 65.7%). Support for the SDT structure was confirmed by high factor loadings in each of the subscales and acceptable reliability coefficients. Subscale correlations revealed a simplex pattern, supporting the presence of a motivation continuum, as described by SDT. A moderate positive correlation (0.64) between Pharm-S responses and the validated professional identity instrument, MCPIS-9, indicated a possible link between levels of motivation and professional identity. and conclusions: Content and structural validity and internal consistency of the Pharm-S confirmed the reliability of the Pharm-S as a valid tool to assess motivational regulators. Pharm-S and the MCPIS-9 were positively correlated, lending support to a link between motivation and professional identity. This suggests a potential role for the Pharm-S as a valid tool to measure pharmacy student professional identity development. Crown Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Correlation of Descriptive Analysis and Instrumental Puncture Testing of Watermelon Cultivars.

PubMed

Shiu, J W; Slaughter, D C; Boyden, L E; Barrett, D M

2016-06-01

The textural properties of 5 seedless watermelon cultivars were assessed by descriptive analysis and the standard puncture test using a hollow probe with increased shearing properties. The use of descriptive analysis methodology was an effective means of quantifying watermelon sensory texture profiles for characterizing specific cultivars' characteristics. Of the 10 cultivars screened, 71% of the variation in the sensory attributes was measured using the 1st 2 principal components. Pairwise correlation of the hollow puncture probe and sensory parameters determined that initial slope, maximum force, and work after maximum force measurements all correlated well to the sensory attributes crisp and firm. These findings confirm that maximum force correlates well with not only firmness in watermelon, but crispness as well. The initial slope parameter also captures the sensory crispness of watermelon, but is not as practical to measure in the field as maximum force. The work after maximum force parameter is thought to reflect cellular arrangement and membrane integrity that in turn impact sensory firmness and crispness. Watermelon cultivar types were correctly predicted by puncture test measurements in heart tissue 87% of the time, although descriptive analysis was correct 54% of the time. © 2016 Institute of Food Technologists®

The Correlation between Maternal Exposure to Air Pollution and the Risk of Orofacial Clefts in Infants: a Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

PubMed Central

Rao, Ajit; Ahmed, Mairaj K.; Taub, Peter J.

2016-01-01

ABSTRACT Objectives The authors performed a systematic review and meta-analysis to investigate the possible correlation between ambient air pollution and orofacial cleft anomalies in newborns. Material and Methods A literature search was performed using the PubMed and Google Scholar, using the keywords “air pollution”, “cleft lip”, “cleft palate”, “carbon monoxide”, “ozone”, “sulfur dioxide”, “nitrogen oxide”, “nitrogen dioxide”, and “aerodynamic diameter”. Eight epidemiologic articles met the criteria of correlating either carbon monoxide (CO), ozone (O3), nitrogen oxides (NOx), airborne particulate matter of less than 10 µm in diameter (PM10), or sulfur dioxide (SO2) exposures with clefting of the palate alone, clefting of the lip alone, or clefting of the lip and palate. Odds ratios were extracted from the eight studies and tabulated in this meta-analysis. Quality analysis showed six high quality, one medium quality, and one low quality study. Results Meta-analysis of the combined data confirmed the association of O3 exposure and risk of orofacial cleft anomalies (OR = 1.08; P = 0.02). NOx was consistently associated with decreased risk of cleft lip with or without palate and cleft palate. Conclusions Ozone showed the strongest correlation with cleft lip and cleft palate anomalies. However, the studies overall showed an inconsistent correlation between orofacial clefts and air pollutants. PMID:27099696

Identification of Immunoglobulin E-Binding Proteins of the Xerophilic Fungus Aspergillus penicillioides Crude Mycelial Mat Extract and Serological Reactivity Assessment in Subjects with Different Allergen Reactivity Profiles.

PubMed

González De León, Joenice; González Méndez, Ricardo; Cadilla, Carmen L; Rivera-Mariani, Félix E; Bolaños-Rosero, Benjamín

2018-01-01

Aspergillus penicillioides is a very common indoor xerophilic fungus and potential causative agent of respiratory conditions. Although people are constantly exposed to A. penicillioides, no proteins with allergenic potential have been described. Therefore, we aim to confirm allergic sensitization to A. penicillioides through reactivity in serological assays and detect immunoglobulin E (IgE)-binding proteins. In an indirect ELISA, we compared the serological reactivity to A. penicillioides between subjects with specific IgE (sIgE) (group 1, n = 54) and no sIgE reactivity (group 2, n = 15) against commercial allergens. Correlations and principal component analysis were performed to identify associations between reactivity to commercial allergens and A. penicillioides. IgE-binding proteins in A. penicillioides were visualized using Western blotting (WB) in group 1. The IgE-binding proteins with the highest reactivity were analyzed by mass spectrometry and confirmed by transcript matching. There was no statistical significance (p = 0.1656) between the study groups in serological reactivity. Correlations between reactivity to A. penicillioides, dog epithelia, Aspergillus fumigatus, and Penicillium chrysogenum were observed. WB experiments showed 6 IgE-binding proteins with molecular weights ranging from 45 to 145 kDa. Proteins of 108, 83, and 56 kDa showed higher reactivity. Mass spectrometry analysis of these 3 proteins led to the putative identification of NADP-specific glutamate dehydrogenase and catalase B. This was confirmed with transcriptome analysis. These results provide evidence of the presence of potential allergenic components in A. penicillioides. Further analysis of the putatively identified proteins should reveal their allergenic potential. © 2018 S. Karger AG, Basel.

The measurement of bacterial translation by photon correlation spectroscopy.

PubMed Central

Stock, G B; Jenkins, T C

1978-01-01

Photon correlation spectroscopy is shown to be a practical technique for the accurate determination of translational speeds of bacteria. Though other attempts have been made to use light scattering as a probe of various aspects of bacterial motility, no other comprehensive studies to establish firmly the basic capabilities and limitations of the technique have been published. The intrinsic accuracy of the assay of translational speeds by photon correlation spectroscopy is investigated by analysis of synthetic autocorrelation data; consistently accurate estimates of the mean and second moment of the speed distribution can be calculated. Extensive analyses of experimental preparations of Salmonella typhimurium examine the possible sources of experimental difficulty with the assay. Cinematography confirms the bacterial speed estimates obtained by photon correlation techniques. PMID:346073

Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy and Becker Muscular Dystrophy Confirmed by Multiplex Ligation-Dependent Probe Amplification: Genotype-Phenotype Correlation in a Large Cohort.

PubMed

Vengalil, Seena; Preethish-Kumar, Veeramani; Polavarapu, Kiran; Mahadevappa, Manjunath; Sekar, Deepha; Purushottam, Meera; Thomas, Priya Treesa; Nashi, Saraswathi; Nalini, Atchayaram

2017-01-01

Studies of cases of Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) and Becker muscular dystrophy (BMD) confirmed by multiplex ligation-dependent probe amplification (MLPA) have determined the clinical characteristics, genotype, and relations between the reading frame and phenotype for different countries. This is the first such study from India. A retrospective genotype-phenotype analysis of 317 MLPA-confirmed patients with DMD or BMD who visited the neuromuscular clinic of a quaternary referral center in southern India. The 317 patients comprised 279 cases of DMD (88%), 32 of BMD (10.1%), and 6 of intermediate phenotype (1.9%). Deletions accounted for 91.8% of cases, with duplications causing the remaining 8.2%. There were 254 cases of DMD (91%) with deletions and 25 (9%) due to duplications, and 31 cases (96.8%) of BMD with deletions and 1 (3.2%) due to duplication. All six cases of intermediate type were due to deletions. The most-common mutation was a single-exon deletion. Deletions of six or fewer exons constituted 68.8% of cases. The deletion of exon 50 was the most common. The reading-frame rule held in 90% of DMD and 94% of BMD cases. A tendency toward a lower IQ and earlier wheelchair dependence was observed with distal exon deletions, though a significant correlation was not found. The reading-frame rule held in 90% to 94% of children, which is consistent with reports from other parts of the world. However, testing by MLPA is a limitation, and advanced sequencing methods including analysis of the structure of mutant dystrophin is needed for more-accurate assessments of the genotype-phenotype correlation.

Blastocoele expansion degree predicts live birth after single blastocyst transfer for fresh and vitrified/warmed single blastocyst transfer cycles.

PubMed

Du, Qing-Yun; Wang, En-Yin; Huang, Yan; Guo, Xiao-Yi; Xiong, Yu-Jing; Yu, Yi-Ping; Yao, Gui-Dong; Shi, Sen-Lin; Sun, Ying-Pu

2016-04-01

To evaluate the independent effects of the degree of blastocoele expansion and re-expansion and the inner cell mass (ICM) and trophectoderm (TE) grades on predicting live birth after fresh and vitrified/warmed single blastocyst transfer. Retrospective study. Reproductive medical center. Women undergoing 844 fresh and 370 vitrified/warmed single blastocyst transfer cycles. None. Live-birth rate correlated with blastocyst morphology parameters by logistic regression analysis and Spearman correlations analysis. The degree of blastocoele expansion and re-expansion was the only blastocyst morphology parameter that exhibited a significant ability to predict live birth in both fresh and vitrified/warmed single blastocyst transfer cycles respectively by multivariate logistic regression and Spearman correlations analysis. Although the ICM grade was significantly related to live birth in fresh cycles according to the univariate model, its effect was not maintained in the multivariate logistic analysis. In vitrified/warmed cycles, neither ICM nor TE grade was correlated with live birth by logistic regression analysis. This study is the first to confirm that the degree of blastocoele expansion and re-expansion is a better predictor of live birth after both fresh and vitrified/warmed single blastocyst transfer cycles than ICM or TE grade. Copyright © 2016. Published by Elsevier Inc.

[Correlation analysis and evaluation of inorganic elements in Angelica sinensis and its correspondence soil from different regions].

PubMed

Yan, Hui; Duan, Jin-ao; Qian, Da-wei; Su, Shu-lan; Song, Bing-sheng; He, Zi-qing

2011-04-01

Evaluate the relationship between the inorganic elements and the genuineness, invigoration efficacy of this medicinal material by qualitative and quantitative analysis of the inorganic elements in Angelica sinensis and its correspondence soil. The contents of 14 kinds of inorganic elements from 40 samples from 4 main habits of Angelica sinensis in China were determined by the method of ICP-AES. In Angelica sinensis and its correspondence soil, significant positive correlations existed between each pair of Ca, Na, Ni. The enrichment coefficients of Mg by Angelica sinensis was a certain peculiarity. The analysis showed that Zn, Cu, Mn, Mg were distincter to Angelica sinensis's geo-authentic than other elements. The results seemly confirmed that the Mingui was considered as geo-authentic crude drugs by traditional knowledge. The inorganic elements in Angelica sinensis may be correlated with its geo-authentic certainly. This result can provide scientific basis for understanding of Angelica sinensis's geo-authentic nature and the active material base.

Thematic mapper studies band correlation analysis

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ungar, S. G.; Kiang, R.

1976-01-01

Spectral data representative of thematic mapper candidate bands 1 and 3 to 7 were obtained by selecting appropriate combinations of bands from the JSC 24 channel multispectral scanner. Of all the bands assigned, only candidate bands 4 (.74 mu to .80 mu) and 5 (.80 mu to .91 mu) showed consistently high intercorrelation from region to region and time to time. This extremely high correlation persisted when looking at the composite data set in a multitemporal, multilocation domain. The GISS investigations lend positive confirmation to the hypothesis, that TM bands 4 and 5 are redundant.

Psychometric characteristics and dimensionality of a Persian version of Rosenberg Self-esteem Scale.

PubMed

Shapurian, R; Hojat, M; Nayerahmadi, H

1987-08-01

The Rosenberg Self-esteem scale was translated into Persian and 12 Iranian bilingual judges confirmed the soundness of translation. The psychometric properties of the Persian version of Rosenberg Self-esteem Scale were studied in two samples of Iranian college students separately. Sample I consisted of 232 Iranian students in American universities, and Sample II comprised 305 Iranian students in Iranian universities. Criterion measures of loneliness, depression, anxiety, neuroticism, psychoticism, misanthropy, locus of control, tendency to dissimulate, and measures of relationship with parents, peers, and academic achievement were obtained. Item-total score correlations and alpha reliabilities supported the internal consistency of the scale. Test-retest reliabilities indicated the stability of the scores, and correlations between scores of the scale, and criterion measures supported the concurrent validity of the Rosenberg scale. Factor analysis of the Rosenberg scores confirmed the unidimensionality of the scale.

Inverse expression of survivin and reprimo correlates with poor patient prognosis in gastric cancer

PubMed Central

Cerda-Opazo, Paulina; Valenzuela-Valderrama, Manuel; Wichmann, Ignacio; Rodríguez, Andrés; Contreras-Reyes, Daniel; Fernández, Elmer A.; Carrasco-Aviño, Gonzalo; Corvalán, Alejandro H.; Quest, Andrew F.G.

2018-01-01

BACKGROUND The objective of the study was to determine the relationship between Survivin and Reprimo transcript/protein expression levels, and gastric cancer outcome. METHODS In silico correlations between an agnostic set of twelve p53-dependent apoptosis and cell-cycle genes were explored in the gastric adenocarcinoma TCGA database, using cBioPortal. Findings were validated by regression analysis of RNAseq data. Separate regression analyses were performed to assess the impact of p53 status on Survivin and Reprimo. Quantitative reverse-transcription PCR (RT-qPCR) and immunohistochemistry confirmed in silico findings on fresh-frozen and paraffin-embedded gastric cancer tissues, respectively. Wild-type (AGS, SNU-1) and mutated p53 (NCI-N87) cell lines transfected with pEGFP-Survivin or pCMV6-Reprimo were evaluated by RT-qPCR and Western blotting. Kaplan-Meier method and Long-Rank test were used to assess differences in patient outcome. RESULTS cBioPortal analysis revealed an inverse correlation between Survivin and Reprimo expression (Pearson’s r= −0.3, Spearman’s ρ= −0.55). RNAseq analyses confirmed these findings (Spearman’s ρ= −0.37, p<4.2e-09) and revealed p53 dependence in linear regression models (p<0.05). mRNA and protein levels validated these observations in clinical samples (p<0.001). In vitro analysis in cell lines demonstrated that increasing Survivin reduced Reprimo, while increasing Reprimo reduced Survivin expression, but only did so in p53 wild-type gastric cells (p<0.05). Survivin-positive but Reprimo-negative patients displayed shorter overall survival rates (p=0.047, Long Rank Test) (HR=0.32; 95%IC: 0.11-0.97; p=0.044). CONCLUSIONS TCGA RNAseq data analysis, evaluation of clinical samples and studies in cell lines identified an inverse relationship between Survivin and Reprimo. Elevated Survivin and reduced Reprimo protein expression correlated with poor patient prognosis in gastric cancer. PMID:29560115

Inverse expression of survivin and reprimo correlates with poor patient prognosis in gastric cancer.

PubMed

Cerda-Opazo, Paulina; Valenzuela-Valderrama, Manuel; Wichmann, Ignacio; Rodríguez, Andrés; Contreras-Reyes, Daniel; Fernández, Elmer A; Carrasco-Aviño, Gonzalo; Corvalán, Alejandro H; Quest, Andrew F G

2018-02-27

The objective of the study was to determine the relationship between Survivin and Reprimo transcript/protein expression levels, and gastric cancer outcome. In silico correlations between an agnostic set of twelve p53-dependent apoptosis and cell-cycle genes were explored in the gastric adenocarcinoma TCGA database, using cBioPortal. Findings were validated by regression analysis of RNAseq data. Separate regression analyses were performed to assess the impact of p53 status on Survivin and Reprimo. Quantitative reverse-transcription PCR (RT-qPCR) and immunohistochemistry confirmed in silico findings on fresh-frozen and paraffin-embedded gastric cancer tissues, respectively. Wild-type (AGS, SNU-1) and mutated p53 (NCI-N87) cell lines transfected with pEGFP-Survivin or pCMV6-Reprimo were evaluated by RT-qPCR and Western blotting. Kaplan-Meier method and Long-Rank test were used to assess differences in patient outcome. cBioPortal analysis revealed an inverse correlation between Survivin and Reprimo expression (Pearson's r= -0.3, Spearman's ρ= -0.55). RNAseq analyses confirmed these findings (Spearman's ρ= -0.37, p<4.2e-09) and revealed p53 dependence in linear regression models (p<0.05). mRNA and protein levels validated these observations in clinical samples (p<0.001). In vitro analysis in cell lines demonstrated that increasing Survivin reduced Reprimo, while increasing Reprimo reduced Survivin expression, but only did so in p53 wild-type gastric cells (p<0.05). Survivin-positive but Reprimo-negative patients displayed shorter overall survival rates (p=0.047, Long Rank Test) (HR=0.32; 95%IC: 0.11-0.97; p=0.044). TCGA RNAseq data analysis, evaluation of clinical samples and studies in cell lines identified an inverse relationship between Survivin and Reprimo. Elevated Survivin and reduced Reprimo protein expression correlated with poor patient prognosis in gastric cancer.

Correlation between chronic arthritis patients confirmed with questionnaire and serologic test of Lyme disease

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rotan, H.; Ginting, Y.; Loesnihari, R.; Kembaren, T.; Marpaung, B.

2018-03-01

Lyme borreliosis is the most common tick-borne disease, and frequency of arthritis complication later. The objective of this study was to determine the seroprevalence of Lyme disease and to evaluate its correlation with chronic arthritis. This epidemiologic cross sectional study included 41 healthy individuals who had chronic arthritis and bitten by ticks underwent questionnaires, and laboratory tests consisted of a routine blood sample, serum uric acid, and IgG ELISA for Lyme. There was 7.32% presence of positive IgG for Lyme. Samples with positive IgG for Lyme were further evaluated for rheumatology marker. We found three samples with a positive rheumatoid factor, two samples had positive anti-MCV, and 1 sample had slightly increased CRP. Three Lyme positive samples had normal EULAR scoring. It was the first Lyme disease case found in Indonesia, particularly in 4 villages of Sibolangit, Deli Serdang, North Sumatera. The assessment made by analysis the questionnaire, evaluation the blood test, and confirmed positive Lyme disease, and at last, we found the correlation between chronic arthritis with positive test Lyme.

Lack of Correlation between Metallic Elements Analyzed in Hair by ICP-MS and Autism

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

De Palma, Giuseppe; Catalani, Simona; Franco, Anna; Brighenti, Maurizio; Apostoli, Pietro

2012-01-01

A cross-sectional case-control study was carried out to evaluate the concentrations of metallic elements in the hair of 44 children with diagnosis of autism and 61 age-balanced controls. Unadjusted comparisons showed higher concentrations of molybdenum, lithium and selenium in autistic children. Logistic regression analysis confirmed the role of…

An emerging strategy for evaluating the grades of Keemun black tea by combinatory liquid chromatography-Orbitrap mass spectrometry-based untargeted metabolomics and inhibition effects on α-glucosidase and α-amylase.

PubMed

Guo, Xuemei; Long, Piaopiao; Meng, Qilu; Ho, Chi-Tang; Zhang, Liang

2018-04-25

Quantitative analysis and untargeted liquid chromatography mass spectrum (LC-MS) based metabolomics of different grades of Keemun black tea (KBT) were conducted. Quantitative analysis did not show tight correlation between tea grades and contents of polyphenols, but untargeted metabolomics analysis revealed that high-grades KBT were distinguished from the low-grades. S-plot and Variable Importance (VIP) analysis gave 28 marker compounds responsible for the discrimination of different grades of KBT. The inhibitory effects of KBT on α-amylase and α-glucosidase were positively correlated to tea grades, and the correlation coefficient between each marker compound and inhibitory rate were calculated. Thirteen compounds were positively related to the anti-glycemic activity, and theasinensin A, afzelechin gallate and kaempferol-glucoside were confirmed as grade-related bioactive marker compounds by chemical and bioassay in effective fractions. This study suggested that combinatory metabolomics and bioactivities assay provided a new strategy for the classification of tea grades. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Analysis of EEG activity during sleep - brain hemisphere symmetry of two classes of sleep spindles

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Smolen, Magdalena M.

2009-01-01

This paper presents automatic analysis of some selected human electroencephalographic patterns during deep sleep using the Matching Pursuit (MP) algorithm. The periodicity of deep sleep EEG patterns was observed by calculating autocorrelation functions of their percentage contributions. The study confirmed the increasing trend of amplitude-weighted average frequency of sleep spindles from frontal to posterior derivations. The dominant frequencies from the left and the right brain hemisphere were strongly correlated.

Search for Cross-Correlations of Ultrahigh-Energy Cosmic Rays with BL Lacertae Objects

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Abbasi, R. U.; Abu-Zayyad, T.; Amann, J. F.; Archbold, G.; Belov, K.; Belz, J. W.; BenZvi, S.; Bergman, D. R.; Blake, S. A.; Boyer, J. H.; Burt, G. W.; Cao, Z.; Connolly, B. M.; Deng, W.; Fedorova, Y.; Findlay, J.; Finley, C. B.; Hanlon, W. F.; Hoffman, C. M.; Holzscheiter, M. H.; Hughes, G. A.; Hüntemeyer, P.; Jui, C. C. H.; Kim, K.; Kirn, M. A.; Knapp, B. C.; Loh, E. C.; Maestas, M. M.; Manago, N.; Mannel, E. J.; Marek, L. J.; Martens, K.; Matthews, J. A. J.; Matthews, J. N.; O'Neill, A.; Painter, C. A.; Perera, L.; Reil, K.; Riehle, R.; Roberts, M. D.; Rodriguez, D.; Sasaki, M.; Schnetzer, S. R.; Seman, M.; Sinnis, G.; Smith, J. D.; Snow, R.; Sokolsky, P.; Springer, R. W.; Stokes, B. T.; Thomas, J. R.; Thomas, S. B.; Thomson, G. B.; Tupa, D.; Westerhoff, S.; Wiencke, L. R.; Zech, A.; HIRES Collaboration

2006-01-01

Data taken in stereo mode by the High Resolution Fly's Eye (HiRes) air fluorescence experiment are analyzed to search for correlations between the arrival directions of ultrahigh-energy cosmic rays with the positions of BL Lacertae objects. Several previous claims of significant correlations between BL Lac objects and cosmic rays observed by other experiments are tested. These claims are not supported by the HiRes data. However, we verify a recent analysis of correlations between HiRes events and a subset of confirmed BL Lac objects from the 10th Veron Catalog, and we study this correlation in detail. Due to the a posteriori nature of the search, the significance level cannot be reliably estimated and the correlation must be tested independently before any claim can be made. We identify the precise hypotheses that will be tested with statistically independent data.

Analysis of intraspecific seed diversity in Astragalus aquilanus (Fabaceae), an endemic species of Central Apennine.

PubMed

Di Cecco, V; Di Musciano, M; D'Archivio, A A; Frattaroli, A R; Di Martino, L

2018-05-20

This work aims to study seeds of the endemic species Astragalus aquilanus from four different populations of central Italy. We investigated seed morpho-colorimetric features (shape and size) and chemical differences (through infrared spectroscopy) among populations and between dark and light seeds. Seed morpho-colorimetric quantitative variables, describing shape, size and colour traits, were measured using image analysis techniques. Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy was used to attempt seed chemical characterisation. The measured data were analysed by step-wise linear discriminant analysis (LDA). Moreover, we analysed the correlation between the four most important traits and six climatic variables extracted from WorldClim 2.0. The LDA on seeds traits shows clear differentiation of the four populations, which can be attributed to different chemical composition, as confirmed by Wilk's lambda test (P < 0.001). A strong correlation between morphometric traits and temperature (annual mean temperature, mean temperature of the warmest and coolest quarter), colorimetric traits and precipitation (annual precipitation, precipitation of wettest and driest quarter) was observed. The characterisation of A. aquilanus seeds shows large intraspecific plasticity both in morpho-colorimetric and chemical composition. These results confirm the strong relationship between the type of seed produced and the climatic variables. © 2018 German Society for Plant Sciences and The Royal Botanical Society of the Netherlands.

Singular spectrum decomposition of Bouligand-Minkowski fractal descriptors: an application to the classification of texture Images

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Florindo, João. Batista

2018-04-01

This work proposes the use of Singular Spectrum Analysis (SSA) for the classification of texture images, more specifically, to enhance the performance of the Bouligand-Minkowski fractal descriptors in this task. Fractal descriptors are known to be a powerful approach to model and particularly identify complex patterns in natural images. Nevertheless, the multiscale analysis involved in those descriptors makes them highly correlated. Although other attempts to address this point was proposed in the literature, none of them investigated the relation between the fractal correlation and the well-established analysis employed in time series. And SSA is one of the most powerful techniques for this purpose. The proposed method was employed for the classification of benchmark texture images and the results were compared with other state-of-the-art classifiers, confirming the potential of this analysis in image classification.

Development and validation of the irritable bowel syndrome scale under the system of quality of life instruments for chronic diseases QLICD-IBS: combinations of classical test theory and generalizability theory.

PubMed

Lei, Pingguang; Lei, Guanghe; Tian, Jianjun; Zhou, Zengfen; Zhao, Miao; Wan, Chonghua

2014-10-01

This paper is aimed to develop the irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) scale of the system of Quality of Life Instruments for Chronic Diseases (QLICD-IBS) by the modular approach and validate it by both classical test theory and generalizability theory. The QLICD-IBS was developed based on programmed decision procedures with multiple nominal and focus group discussions, in-depth interview, and quantitative statistical procedures. One hundred twelve inpatients with IBS were used to provide the data measuring QOL three times before and after treatments. The psychometric properties of the scale were evaluated with respect to validity, reliability, and responsiveness employing correlation analysis, factor analyses, multi-trait scaling analysis, t tests and also G studies and D studies of generalizability theory analysis. Multi-trait scaling analysis, correlation, and factor analyses confirmed good construct validity and criterion-related validity when using SF-36 as a criterion. Test-retest reliability coefficients (Pearson r and intra-class correlation (ICC)) for the overall score and all domains were higher than 0.80; the internal consistency α for all domains at two measurements were higher than 0.70 except for the social domain (0.55 and 0.67, respectively). The overall score and scores for all domains/facets had statistically significant changes after treatments with moderate or higher effect size standardized response mean (SRM) ranging from 0.72 to 1.02 at domain levels. G coefficients and index of dependability (Ф coefficients) confirmed the reliability of the scale further with more exact variance components. The QLICD-IBS has good validity, reliability, responsiveness, and some highlights and can be used as the quality of life instrument for patients with IBS.

Correlates of Protective Motivation Theory (PMT) to Adolescents’ Drug Use Intention

PubMed Central

Wu, Cynthia Sau Ting; Wong, Ho Ting; Chou, Lai Yan; To, Bobby Pak Wai; Lee, Wai Lok; Loke, Alice Yuen

2014-01-01

Early onset and increasing proliferation of illicit adolescent drug-use poses a global health concern. This study aimed to examine the correlation between Protective Motivation Theory (PMT) measures and the intention to use drugs among adolescents. An exploratory quantitative correlation design and convenience sampling were adopted. A total of 318 students completed a self-reported questionnaire that solicited information related to their demographics and activities, measures of threat appraisal and coping appraisal, and the intention to use drugs. Logistic regression analysis showed that intrinsic and extrinsic rewards were significant predictors of intention. The odds ratios were equal to 2.90 (p < 0.05) and 8.04 (p < 0.001), respectively. The logistic regression model analysis resulted in a high Nagelkerke R2 of 0.49, which suggests that PMT related measures could be used in predicting drug use intention among adolescents. Further research should be conducted with non-school adolescents to confirm the application. PMID:24394215

Correlates of Protective Motivation Theory (PMT) to adolescents' drug use intention.

PubMed

Wu, Cynthia Sau Ting; Wong, Ho Ting; Chou, Lai Yan; To, Bobby Pak Wai; Lee, Wai Lok; Loke, Alice Yuen

2014-01-03

Early onset and increasing proliferation of illicit adolescent drug-use poses a global health concern. This study aimed to examine the correlation between Protective Motivation Theory (PMT) measures and the intention to use drugs among adolescents. An exploratory quantitative correlation design and convenience sampling were adopted. A total of 318 students completed a self-reported questionnaire that solicited information related to their demographics and activities, measures of threat appraisal and coping appraisal, and the intention to use drugs. Logistic regression analysis showed that intrinsic and extrinsic rewards were significant predictors of intention. The odds ratios were equal to 2.90 (p < 0.05) and 8.04 (p < 0.001), respectively. The logistic regression model analysis resulted in a high Nagelkerke R2 of 0.49, which suggests that PMT related measures could be used in predicting drug use intention among adolescents. Further research should be conducted with non-school adolescents to confirm the application.

Psychometric Properties of the Cyberbullying Test, a Screening Instrument to Measure Cybervictimization, Cyberaggression, and Cyberobservation.

PubMed

Garaigordobil, Maite

2015-08-19

The purpose of the study was to analyze the psychometric properties of the Cyberbullying Test. The sample included 3,026 participants from the Basque Country (northern Spain), aged 12 to 18 years. Results confirmed high internal consistency and moderate temporal stability. Exploratory factor analysis yielded three moderately correlated factors (cyberobserver, cyberaggressor, and cybervictim). Confirmatory factor analysis ratified adequate model fit of the three factors. Convergent and discriminant validity were confirmed: (a) cybervictims use a variety of conflict resolution strategies, scoring high in neuroticism, openness, antisocial behavior, emotional attention, school-academic problems, shyness-withdrawal, psychopathological disorders, anxiety, and psychosomatic complaints, and low in agreeableness, responsibility, self-esteem, and social adjustment and (b) cyberaggressors use many aggressive conflict resolution strategies, scoring high in neuroticism, antisocial behavior, school-academic problems, psychopathological and psychosomatic disorders, and low in empathy, agreeableness, responsibility, emotion regulation, and social adjustment. The study confirms the test's reliability and validity. © The Author(s) 2015.

Citizenship and recovery: two intertwined concepts for civic-recovery.

PubMed

Pelletier, Jean-François; Corbière, Marc; Lecomte, Tania; Briand, Catherine; Corrigan, Patrick; Davidson, Larry; Rowe, Michael

2015-03-04

Validation of the psychometric properties of a new measure of citizenship was required for a research project in the province of Quebec, Canada. This study was meant to study the interplay between recovery- and citizenship-oriented supportive employment. As recovery and citizenship were expected to be two related concepts, convergent validity between the Citizenship Measure (CM) and the Recovery Assessment Scale (RAS) was tested. Study objectives were to: 1) conduct exploratory factor analyses on the CM and confirmatory factor analysis on the RAS tools (construct validity), 2) calculate Cronbach's alphas for each dimension emerging from objective 1 (reliability), and 3) calculate correlations between all dimensions from both tools (convergent validity). Data were collected from 174 individuals with serious mental illness, working in social firms. Serious mental illnesses include major depression, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, obsessive compulsive disorder, panic disorder, post traumatic stress disorder and borderline personality disorder. Five factors emerged from the exploratory factor analysis of the CM, with good reliability. Confirmatory factor analyses showed that the short and the long versions of the RAS present satisfactory results. Finally, the correlation matrix indicated that all dimensions from both tools are significantly correlated, thus confirming their convergent validity. This study confirms the validity and reliability of two tools, CM and RAS. These tools can be used in combination to assess citizenship and recovery, both of which may be combined in the new concept of civic-recovery.

Analysis and modification of defective surface aggregates on PCDTBT:PCBM solar cell blends using combined Kelvin probe, conductive and bimodal atomic force microscopy

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

Noh, Hanaul; Diaz, Alfredo J.; Solares, Santiago D.

Organic photovoltaic systems comprising donor polymers and acceptor fullerene derivatives are attractive for inexpensive energy harvesting. Extensive research on polymer solar cells has provided insight into the factors governing device-level efficiency and stability. However, the detailed investigation of nanoscale structures is still challenging. Here we demonstrate the analysis and modification of unidentified surface aggregates. The aggregates are characterized electrically by Kelvin probe force microscopy and conductive atomic force microscopy (C-AFM), whereby the correlation between local electrical potential and current confirms a defective charge transport. Bimodal AFM modification confirms that the aggregates exist on top of the solar cell structure, andmore » is used to remove them and to reveal the underlying active layer. The systematic analysis of the surface aggregates suggests that the structure consists of PCBM molecules.« less

Analysis and modification of defective surface aggregates on PCDTBT:PCBM solar cell blends using combined Kelvin probe, conductive and bimodal atomic force microscopy

DOE PAGES

Noh, Hanaul; Diaz, Alfredo J.; Solares, Santiago D.

2017-03-08

Organic photovoltaic systems comprising donor polymers and acceptor fullerene derivatives are attractive for inexpensive energy harvesting. Extensive research on polymer solar cells has provided insight into the factors governing device-level efficiency and stability. However, the detailed investigation of nanoscale structures is still challenging. Here we demonstrate the analysis and modification of unidentified surface aggregates. The aggregates are characterized electrically by Kelvin probe force microscopy and conductive atomic force microscopy (C-AFM), whereby the correlation between local electrical potential and current confirms a defective charge transport. Bimodal AFM modification confirms that the aggregates exist on top of the solar cell structure, andmore » is used to remove them and to reveal the underlying active layer. The systematic analysis of the surface aggregates suggests that the structure consists of PCBM molecules.« less

Analysis and modification of defective surface aggregates on PCDTBT:PCBM solar cell blends using combined Kelvin probe, conductive and bimodal atomic force microscopy

PubMed Central

Noh, Hanaul; Diaz, Alfredo J

2017-01-01

Organic photovoltaic systems comprising donor polymers and acceptor fullerene derivatives are attractive for inexpensive energy harvesting. Extensive research on polymer solar cells has provided insight into the factors governing device-level efficiency and stability. However, the detailed investigation of nanoscale structures is still challenging. Here we demonstrate the analysis and modification of unidentified surface aggregates. The aggregates are characterized electrically by Kelvin probe force microscopy and conductive atomic force microscopy (C-AFM), whereby the correlation between local electrical potential and current confirms a defective charge transport. Bimodal AFM modification confirms that the aggregates exist on top of the solar cell structure, and is used to remove them and to reveal the underlying active layer. The systematic analysis of the surface aggregates suggests that the structure consists of PCBM molecules. PMID:28382247

Correlation of gingival thickness with gingival width, probing depth, and papillary fill in maxillary anterior teeth in students of a dental college in Navi Mumbai.

PubMed

Singh, Jyotsna; Rathod, Varsha J; Rao, Prajakta R; Patil, Aardra A; Langade, Deepak G; Singh, Roshan K

2016-01-01

The gingival biotype is of utmost importance for esthetics and biologic function. Anatomical characteristic of periodontium such as gingival thickness (GT), width of keratinized gingiva, and alveolar bone morphology will determine the behavior of periodontium when subjected to physical, chemical, or bacterial insult or during therapeutic procedure. The aim of this study was to correlate the GT with gingival width (GW), probing depth (PD), and papillary fill (PF) in relation to maxillary anterior region. Undergraduate dental students and interns from a dental college in Navi Mumbai were enrolled in the study according to the inclusion criteria. Six teeth per subject were assessed; a total of 2178 maxillary anterior teeth were examined. Subjects were examined clinically for GT, width of keratinized gingiva, pocket depth, and interdental PF. The data obtained was tabulated and subjected to statistical analysis. Spearman's correlation analysis test was performed to find the correlation of GT with GW, PD, and PF. Positive correlation was found between GT and GW ( r = 0.241). No significant correlation could be found between GT and PD; and between GT and PF. The present study confirmed a positive correlation between GT and GW. A weak negative correlation was found between GT and PD.

Assessing infertility-related stress: the factor structure of the Fertility Problem Inventory in Italian couples undergoing infertility treatment.

PubMed

Donarelli, Zaira; Gullo, Salvatore; Lo Coco, Gianluca; Marino, Angelo; Scaglione, Piero; Volpes, Aldo; Allegra, Adolfo

2015-01-01

The factor structure of the Fertility Problem Inventory (FPI) and its invariance across gender were examined in Italian couples undergoing infertility treatment. About 1000 subjects (both partners of 500 couples) completed two questionnaires prior to commencing infertility treatment at a private Clinic in Palermo, Italy. Confirmatory Factor Analysis demonstrated that the original factor structure of the FPI was partially confirmed. Two correlated factors (Infertility Life Domains and Importance of Parenthood) were obtained via a post hoc Exploratory Factor Analysis. Finally, the invariance of this factor structure across gender was confirmed. The study supported the relevance of two interrelated factors specific to infertility stress which could help clinicians to focus on the core infertility-related stress domains of infertile couples.

Image analysis to evaluate the browning degree of banana (Musa spp.) peel.

PubMed

Cho, Jeong-Seok; Lee, Hyeon-Jeong; Park, Jung-Hoon; Sung, Jun-Hyung; Choi, Ji-Young; Moon, Kwang-Deog

2016-03-01

Image analysis was applied to examine banana peel browning. The banana samples were divided into 3 treatment groups: no treatment and normal packaging (Cont); CO2 gas exchange packaging (CO); normal packaging with an ethylene generator (ET). We confirmed that the browning of banana peels developed more quickly in the CO group than the other groups based on sensory test and enzyme assay. The G (green) and CIE L(∗), a(∗), and b(∗) values obtained from the image analysis sharply increased or decreased in the CO group. And these colour values showed high correlation coefficients (>0.9) with the sensory test results. CIE L(∗)a(∗)b(∗) values using a colorimeter also showed high correlation coefficients but comparatively lower than those of image analysis. Based on this analysis, browning of the banana occurred more quickly for CO2 gas exchange packaging, and image analysis can be used to evaluate the browning of banana peels. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Price-volume multifractal analysis and its application in Chinese stock markets

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yuan, Ying; Zhuang, Xin-tian; Liu, Zhi-ying

2012-06-01

An empirical research on Chinese stock markets is conducted using statistical tools. First, the multifractality of stock price return series, ri(ri=ln(Pt+1)-ln(Pt)) and trading volume variation series, vi(vi=ln(Vt+1)-ln(Vt)) is confirmed using multifractal detrended fluctuation analysis. Furthermore, a multifractal detrended cross-correlation analysis between stock price return and trading volume variation in Chinese stock markets is also conducted. It is shown that the cross relationship between them is also found to be multifractal. Second, the cross-correlation between stock price Pi and trading volume Vi is empirically studied using cross-correlation function and detrended cross-correlation analysis. It is found that both Shanghai stock market and Shenzhen stock market show pronounced long-range cross-correlations between stock price and trading volume. Third, a composite index R based on price and trading volume is introduced. Compared with stock price return series ri and trading volume variation series vi, R variation series not only remain the characteristics of original series but also demonstrate the relative correlation between stock price and trading volume. Finally, we analyze the multifractal characteristics of R variation series before and after three financial events in China (namely, Price Limits, Reform of Non-tradable Shares and financial crisis in 2008) in the whole period of sample to study the changes of stock market fluctuation and financial risk. It is found that the empirical results verified the validity of R.

Using the load-velocity relationship for 1RM prediction.

PubMed

Jidovtseff, Boris; Harris, Nigel K; Crielaard, Jean-Michel; Cronin, John B

2011-01-01

The purpose of this study was to investigate the ability of the load-velocity relationship to accurately predict a bench press 1 repetition maximum (1RM). Data from 3 different bench press studies (n = 112) that incorporated both 1RM assessment and submaximal load-velocity profiling were analyzed. Individual regression analysis was performed to determine the theoretical load at zero velocity (LD0). Data from each of the 3 studies were analyzed separately and also presented as overall group mean. Thereafter, correlation analysis provided quantification of the relationships between 1RM and LD0. Practically perfect correlations (r = ∼0.95) were observed in our samples, confirming the ability of the load-velocity profile to accurately predict bench press 1RM.

Correlation of Superior Canal Dehiscence Surface Area With Vestibular Evoked Myogenic Potentials, Audiometric Thresholds, and Dizziness Handicap.

PubMed

Hunter, Jacob B; O'Connell, Brendan P; Wang, Jianing; Chakravorti, Srijata; Makowiec, Katie; Carlson, Matthew L; Dawant, Benoit; McCaslin, Devin L; Noble, Jack H; Wanna, George B

2016-09-01

To correlate objective measures of vestibular and audiometric function as well as subjective measures of dizziness handicap with the surface area of the superior canal dehiscence (SCD). Retrospective chart review and radiological analysis. Single tertiary academic referral center. Preoperative computed tomography imaging, patient survey, audiometric thresholds, and vestibular evoked myogenic potential (VEMP) testing in patients with confirmed SCD. Image analysis techniques were developed to measure the surface area of each SCD in computed tomography imaging. Preoperative ocular and cervical VEMPs, air and bone conduction thresholds, air-bone gap, dizziness handicap inventory scores, and surface area of the SCD. Fifty-three patients (mean age 52.7 yr) with 84 SCD were analyzed. The median surface area of dehiscence was 1.44 mm (0.068-8.23 mm). Ocular VEMP amplitudes (r = 0.61, p <0.0001), cervical VEMP amplitudes (r = 0.62, p <0.0001), air conduction thresholds at 250 Hz (r = 0.25, p = 0.043), and air-bone gap at 500 Hz (r = 0.27, p = 0.01) positively correlated with increasing size of dehiscence. An inverse relationship between cervical VEMP thresholds (r = -0.56, p < 0.0001) and surface area of the dehiscence was observed. No association between dizziness handicap and surface area was identified. Among patients with confirmed SCD, ocular and cervical VEMP amplitudes, cervical VEMP thresholds, and air conduction thresholds at 250 Hz are significantly correlated with the surface area of the dehiscence.

Longitudinal Imaging of Cancer Cell Metastases in Two Preclinical Models: A Correlation of Noninvasive Imaging to Histopathology

PubMed Central

Adiseshaiah, Pavan P.; Patel, Nimit L.; Ileva, Lilia V.; Kalen, Joseph D.; Haines, Diana C.; McNeil, Scott E.

2014-01-01

Metastatic spread is the leading cause of death from cancer. Early detection of cancer at primary and metastatic sites by noninvasive imaging modalities would be beneficial for both therapeutic intervention and disease management. Noninvasive imaging modalities such as bioluminescence (optical), positron emission tomography (PET)/X-ray computed tomography (CT), and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) can provide complementary information and accurately measure tumor growth as confirmed by histopathology. Methods. We validated two metastatic tumor models, MDA-MD-231-Luc and B16-F10-Luc intravenously injected, and 4T1-Luc cells orthotopically implanted into the mammary fat pad. Longitudinal whole body bioluminescence imaging (BLI) evaluated metastasis, and tumor burden of the melanoma cell line (B16-F10-Luc) was correlated with (PET)/CT and MRI. In addition, ex vivo imaging evaluated metastasis in relevant organs and histopathological analysis was used to confirm imaging. Results. BLI revealed successful colonization of cancer cells in both metastatic tumor models over a 4-week period. Furthermore, lung metastasis of B16-F10-Luc cells imaged by PET/CT at week four showed a strong correlation (R 2 = 0.9) with histopathology. The presence and degree of metastasis as determined by imaging correlated (R 2 = 0.7) well with histopathology findings. Conclusions. We validated two metastatic tumor models by longitudinal noninvasive imaging with good histopathology correlation. PMID:24724022

Quantitative Evaluation of Head and Neck Cancer Treatment-Related Dysphagia in the Development of a Personalized Treatment Deintensification Paradigm.

PubMed

Quon, Harry; Hui, Xuan; Cheng, Zhi; Robertson, Scott; Peng, Luke; Bowers, Michael; Moore, Joseph; Choflet, Amanda; Thompson, Alex; Muse, Mariah; Kiess, Ana; Page, Brandi; Fakhry, Carole; Gourin, Christine; O'Hare, Jolyne; Graham, Peter; Szczesniak, Michal; Maclean, Julia; Cook, Ian; McNutt, Todd

2017-12-01

To test the hypothesis that quantifying swallow function with multiple patient-reported outcome (PRO) instruments is an important strategy to yield insights in the development of personalized deintensified therapies seeking to reduce the risk of head and neck cancer (HNC) treatment-related dysphagia (HNCTD). Irradiated HNC subjects seen in follow-up care (April 2015 to December 2015) who prospectively completed the Sydney Swallow Questionnaire (SSQ) and the MD Anderson Dysphagia Inventory (MDADI) concurrently on the web interface to our Oncospace database were evaluated. A correlation matrix quantified the relationship between the SSQ and MDADI. Machine-learning unsupervised cluster analysis using the elbow criterion and CLUSPLOT analysis to establish its validity was performed. We identified 89 subjects. The MDADI and SSQ scores were moderately but significantly correlated (correlation coefficient -0.69). K-means cluster analysis demonstrated that 3 unique statistical cohorts (elbow criterion) could be identified with CLUSPLOT analysis, confirming that 100% of variances were accounted for. Correlation coefficients between the individual items in the SSQ and the MDADI demonstrated weak to moderate negative correlation, except for SSQ17 (quality of life question). Pilot analysis demonstrates that the MDADI and SSQ are complementary. Three unique clusters of patients can be defined, suggesting that a unique dysphagia signature for HNCTD may be definable. Longitudinal studies relying on only a single PRO, such as MDADI, may be inadequate for classifying HNCTD. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

A meta-analysis including dose-response relationship between night shift work and the risk of colorectal cancer.

PubMed

Wang, Xiao; Ji, Alin; Zhu, Yi; Liang, Zhen; Wu, Jian; Li, Shiqi; Meng, Shuai; Zheng, Xiangyi; Xie, Liping

2015-09-22

A meta-analysis was conducted to quantitatively evaluate the correlation between night shift work and the risk of colorectal cancer. We searched for publications up to March 2015 using PubMed, Web of Science, Cochrane Library, EMBASE and the Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure databases, and the references of the retrieved articles and relevant reviews were also checked. OR and 95% CI were used to assess the degree of the correlation between night shift work and risk of colorectal cancer via fixed- or random-effect models. A dose-response meta-analysis was performed as well. The pooled OR estimates of the included studies illustrated that night shift work was correlated with an increased risk of colorectal cancer (OR = 1.318, 95% CI 1.121-1.551). No evidence of publication bias was detected. In the dose-response analysis, the rate of colorectal cancer increased by 11% for every 5 years increased in night shift work (OR = 1.11, 95% CI 1.03-1.20). In conclusion, this meta-analysis indicated that night shift work was associated with an increased risk of colorectal cancer. Further researches should be conducted to confirm our findings and clarify the potential biological mechanisms.

Correlation of cancer stem cell markers and immune cell markers in resected non-small cell lung cancer.

PubMed

Huang, Zhaoqin; Yu, Haining; Zhang, Jianbo; Jing, Haiyan; Zhu, Wanqi; Li, Xiaolin; Kong, Lingling; Xing, Ligang; Yu, Jinming; Meng, Xiangjiao

2017-01-01

Background: Recent studies confirmed that immunotherapy showed prominent efficacy in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Cancer stem cells/cancer initiating cells are resistant to anticancer treatment. The purpose of the study was to analyze the correlation of cancer stem cells/cancer initiating cells and tumor-infiltrating immune cells in NSCLC. Methods: CD133, octamer 4 (OCT-4), CD8, CD56, human leukocyte antigen (HLA) class I and programmed death ligand-1 (PD-L1) were assessed in 172 resected NSCLC samples. The staining was analyzed and scored by the pathologist who was blinded to the clinical pathological data of the patients. Results: High CD8+ T cell infiltration was correlated significantly with squamous cell carcinoma histology (p=0.008). High PD-L1 expression (≥10%) was associated with high tumor status (p=0.043). Pearson's correlation test showed that CD56+ cells were negatively correlated with CD133 expression (r=-0.361, p<0.001) and weakly correlated with negative OCT-4 expression (r=-0.180, p=0.018). There was a strong positive correlation between CD8 and HLA class I (r=0.573, p<0.001). In the survival analysis, high CD8+ T cell infiltration is an independent predictor of improved disease-free survival and overall survival. Patients with low CD133 expression and high CD56 expression had a longer overall survival than those with high CD133 expression and/or low CD56 expression (p=0.013). Conclusion: There is a negative correlation between CD56+ cells and cancer stem cell markers. This correlation may confirm the possibility that natural killer cells can target CD133+ cancer stem cells/cancer initiating cells in non-small cell lung cancer.

Intelligence, previous convictions and interrogative suggestibility: a path analysis of alleged false-confession cases.

PubMed

Sharrock, R; Gudjonsson, G H

1993-05-01

The main purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between interrogative suggestibility and previous convictions among 108 defendants in criminal trials, using a path analysis technique. It was hypothesized that previous convictions, which may provide defendants with interrogative experiences, would correlate negatively with 'shift' as measured by the Gudjonsson Suggestibility Scale (Gudjonsson, 1984a), after intelligence and memory had been controlled for. The hypothesis was partially confirmed and the theoretical and practical implications of the findings are discussed.

Material characteristics and equivalent circuit models of stacked graphene oxide for capacitive humidity sensors

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

Han, Kook In; Lee, In Gyu; Hwang, Wan Sik, E-mail: mhshin@kau.ac.kr, E-mail: whwang@kau.ac.kr

The oxidation properties of graphene oxide (GO) are systematically correlated with their chemical sensing properties. Based on an impedance analysis, the equivalent circuit models of the capacitive sensors are established, and it is demonstrated that capacitive operations are related to the degree of oxidation. This is also confirmed by X-ray diffraction and Raman analysis. Finally, highly sensitive stacked GO sensors are shown to detect humidity in capacitive mode, which can be useful in various applications requiring low power consumption.

Tobacco alkaloids reduction by casings added/enzymatic hydrolysis treatments assessed through PLSR analysis.

PubMed

Lin, Shunshun; Zhang, Xiaoming; Song, Shiqing; Hayat, Khizar; Eric, Karangwa; Majeed, Hamid

2016-03-01

Based on encouraged development of potential reduced-exposure products (PREPs) by the US Institute of Medicine, casings (glucose and peptides) added treatments (CAT) and enzymatic (protease and xylanase) hydrolysis treatments (EHT) were developed to study their effect on alkaloids reduction in tobacco and cigarette mainstream smoke (MS) and further investigate the correlation between sensory attributes and alkaloids. Results showed that the developed treatments reduced nicotine by 14.5% and 24.4% in tobacco and cigarette MS, respectively, indicating that both CAT and EHT are potentially effective for developing lower-risk cigarettes. Sensory and electronic nose analysis confirmed the significant influence of treatments on sensory and cigarette MS components. PLSR analysis demonstrated that tobacco alkaloids were positively correlated to the off-taste, irritation and impact attributes, and negatively correlated to the aroma and softness attributes. Additionally, nicotine and anabasine from tobacco leaves positively contributed to the impact attribute, while they negatively contributed to the aroma attribute (P<0.05). Meanwhile, most alkaloids in cigarette MS positively contributed to the impact and irritation attributes (P<0.05). Hence, this study paved a way to better understand the correlation between tobacco alkaloids and sensory attributes. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Deconstructing Hub Drag. Part 2. Computational Development and Anaysis

DTIC Science & Technology

2013-09-30

leveraged a Vertical Lift Consortium ( VLC )-funded hub drag scaling research effort. To confirm this objective, correlations are performed with the...Technology™ Demonstrator aircraft using an unstructured computational solver. These simpler faired elliptical geome- tries can prove to be challenging ...possible. However, additional funding was obtained from the Vertical Lift Consortium ( VLC ) to perform this study. This analysis is documented in

"Fortis/Lenis" Revisited One More Time: The Aerodynamics of Some Oral Stop Contrasts in Three Continents

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Butcher, Andrew

2004-01-01

The terms "fortis" and "lenis" are variously regarded as having one single underlying phonetic correlate or many. An exploratory analysis of acoustic and aerodynamic data on contrasting stop series in a number of European and non-European languages confirms that a significant variation in peak intra-oral pressure and in articulatory stricture…

Learning Style Scales: a valid and reliable questionnaire.

PubMed

Abdollahimohammad, Abdolghani; Ja'afar, Rogayah

2014-01-01

Learning-style instruments assist students in developing their own learning strategies and outcomes, in eliminating learning barriers, and in acknowledging peer diversity. Only a few psychometrically validated learning-style instruments are available. This study aimed to develop a valid and reliable learning-style instrument for nursing students. A cross-sectional survey study was conducted in two nursing schools in two countries. A purposive sample of 156 undergraduate nursing students participated in the study. Face and content validity was obtained from an expert panel. The LSS construct was established using principal axis factoring (PAF) with oblimin rotation, a scree plot test, and parallel analysis (PA). The reliability of LSS was tested using Cronbach's α, corrected item-total correlation, and test-retest. Factor analysis revealed five components, confirmed by PA and a relatively clear curve on the scree plot. Component strength and interpretability were also confirmed. The factors were labeled as perceptive, solitary, analytic, competitive, and imaginative learning styles. Cronbach's α was >0.70 for all subscales in both study populations. The corrected item-total correlations were >0.30 for the items in each component. The LSS is a valid and reliable inventory for evaluating learning style preferences in nursing students in various multicultural environments.

Topography of brain glucose hypometabolism and epileptic network in glucose transporter 1 deficiency.

PubMed

Akman, Cigdem Inan; Provenzano, Frank; Wang, Dong; Engelstad, Kristin; Hinton, Veronica; Yu, Julia; Tikofsky, Ronald; Ichese, Masonari; De Vivo, Darryl C

2015-02-01

(18)F fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography ((18)F FDG-PET) facilitates examination of glucose metabolism. Previously, we described regional cerebral glucose hypometabolism using (18)F FDG-PET in patients with Glucose transporter 1 Deficiency Syndrome (Glut1 DS). We now expand this observation in Glut1 DS using quantitative image analysis to identify the epileptic network based on the regional distribution of glucose hypometabolism. (18)F FDG-PET scans of 16 Glut1 DS patients and 7 healthy participants were examined using Statistical parametric Mapping (SPM). Summed images were preprocessed for statistical analysis using MATLAB 7.1 and SPM 2 software. Region of interest (ROI) analysis was performed to validate SPM results. Visual analysis of the (18)F FDG-PET images demonstrated prominent regional glucose hypometabolism in the thalamus, neocortical regions and cerebellum bilaterally. Group comparison using SPM analysis confirmed that the regional distribution of glucose hypo-metabolism was present in thalamus, cerebellum, temporal cortex and central lobule. Two mildly affected patients without epilepsy had hypometabolism in cerebellum, inferior frontal cortex, and temporal lobe, but not thalamus. Glucose hypometabolism did not correlate with age at the time of PET imaging, head circumference, CSF glucose concentration at the time of diagnosis, RBC glucose uptake, or CNS score. Quantitative analysis of (18)F FDG-PET imaging in Glut1 DS patients confirmed that hypometabolism was present symmetrically in thalamus, cerebellum, frontal and temporal cortex. The hypometabolism in thalamus correlated with the clinical history of epilepsy. Copyright © 2014. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Evaluating Emergent Constraints for Equilibrium Climate Sensitivity

DOE PAGES

Caldwell, Peter M.; Zelinka, Mark D.; Klein, Stephen A.

2018-04-23

Emergent constraints are quantities that are observable from current measurements and have skill predicting future climate. Here, this study explores 19 previously proposed emergent constraints related to equilibrium climate sensitivity (ECS; the global-average equilibrium surface temperature response to CO 2 doubling). Several constraints are shown to be closely related, emphasizing the importance for careful understanding of proposed constraints. A new method is presented for decomposing correlation between an emergent constraint and ECS into terms related to physical processes and geographical regions. Using this decomposition, one can determine whether the processes and regions explaining correlation with ECS correspond to the physicalmore » explanation offered for the constraint. Shortwave cloud feedback is generally found to be the dominant contributor to correlations with ECS because it is the largest source of intermodel spread in ECS. In all cases, correlation results from interaction between a variety of terms, reflecting the complex nature of ECS and the fact that feedback terms and forcing are themselves correlated with each other. For 4 of the 19 constraints, the originally proposed explanation for correlation is borne out by our analysis. These four constraints all predict relatively high climate sensitivity. The credibility of six other constraints is called into question owing to correlation with ECS coming mainly from unexpected sources and/or lack of robustness to changes in ensembles. Another six constraints lack a testable explanation and hence cannot be confirmed. Lastly, the fact that this study casts doubt upon more constraints than it confirms highlights the need for caution when identifying emergent constraints from small ensembles.« less

Evaluating Emergent Constraints for Equilibrium Climate Sensitivity

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

Caldwell, Peter M.; Zelinka, Mark D.; Klein, Stephen A.

Emergent constraints are quantities that are observable from current measurements and have skill predicting future climate. Here, this study explores 19 previously proposed emergent constraints related to equilibrium climate sensitivity (ECS; the global-average equilibrium surface temperature response to CO 2 doubling). Several constraints are shown to be closely related, emphasizing the importance for careful understanding of proposed constraints. A new method is presented for decomposing correlation between an emergent constraint and ECS into terms related to physical processes and geographical regions. Using this decomposition, one can determine whether the processes and regions explaining correlation with ECS correspond to the physicalmore » explanation offered for the constraint. Shortwave cloud feedback is generally found to be the dominant contributor to correlations with ECS because it is the largest source of intermodel spread in ECS. In all cases, correlation results from interaction between a variety of terms, reflecting the complex nature of ECS and the fact that feedback terms and forcing are themselves correlated with each other. For 4 of the 19 constraints, the originally proposed explanation for correlation is borne out by our analysis. These four constraints all predict relatively high climate sensitivity. The credibility of six other constraints is called into question owing to correlation with ECS coming mainly from unexpected sources and/or lack of robustness to changes in ensembles. Another six constraints lack a testable explanation and hence cannot be confirmed. Lastly, the fact that this study casts doubt upon more constraints than it confirms highlights the need for caution when identifying emergent constraints from small ensembles.« less

Healthy Dental Pulp Oxygen Saturation Rates in Subjects with Homozygous Sickle Cell Anemia: A Cross-Sectional Study Nested in a Cohort.

PubMed

Souza, Soraia de Fátima Carvalho; Thomaz, Erika Bárbara Abreu Fonseca; Costa, Cyrene Piazera Silva

2017-12-01

To compare the percentage of arterial oxygen saturation (SpO 2 ) in healthy teeth with confirmed pulp vitality between individuals with sickle cell anemia (HbSS) and normal hemoglobin A (HbAA). This is a cross-sectional study nested within a cohort. Samples (n = 2543) comprised teeth with intact crowns and pulp vitality confirmed by thermal sensitivity tests and no history of caries, periodontal disease, or dental trauma. A total of 728 teeth of 113 individuals with HbSS and 1815 teeth of 246 individuals with HbAA were evaluated. Data analysis was performed using the χ 2 and Mann-Whitney tests and Spearman correlation analysis (α = 0.05). The study groups were comparable in terms of age, race, and sex (P > .05). Subjects with HbSS exhibited lower median SpO 2 levels in the body and upper teeth, excluding canines, than subjects with HbAA (P < .05). There were no significant differences in the evaluated parameters between the 2 groups (P > .05). Compared with individuals with HbAA, those with HbSS exhibited lower SpO 2 in maxillary teeth with confirmed pulp vitality, except in the canines. There was no correlation between SpO 2 levels of the body and dental pulp in individuals with HbSS or HbAA. Copyright © 2017 American Association of Endodontists. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Metals and organic compounds in the biosynthesis of cannabinoids: a chemometric approach to the analysis of Cannabis sativa samples.

PubMed

Radosavljevic-Stevanovic, Natasa; Markovic, Jelena; Agatonovic-Kustrin, Snezana; Razic, Slavica

2014-01-01

Illicit production and trade of Cannabis sativa affect many societies. This drug is the most popular and easy to produce. Important information for the authorities is the production locality and the indicators of a particular production. This work is an attempt to recognise correlations between the metal content in the different parts of C. sativa L., in soils where plants were cultivated and the cannabinoids content, as a potential indicator. The organic fraction of the leaves of Cannabis plants was investigated by GC-FID analysis. In addition, the determination of Cu, Fe, Cr, Mn, Zn, Ca and Mg was realised by spectroscopic techniques (FAAS and GFAAS). In this study, numerous correlations between metal content in plants and soil, already confirmed in previous publications, were analysed applying chemometric unsupervised methods, that is, principal component analysis, factor analysis and cluster analysis, in order to highlight their role in the biosynthesis of cannabinoids.

The Relationship Between Experiences of Lateral Violence and Career Choice Satisfaction Among Nursing Students.

PubMed

Furst, Cari

This article explores associate degree nursing students' experiences with lateral violence and its impact on career choice satisfaction. Lateral violence has been linked to decreased professional identity, increased errors, and poor self-esteem, leading to a negative culture and attrition. A nonexperimental, quantitative, cross-sectional, correlational design was used; 13.4 percent of respondents (n = 32) met the criteria for intermittent bullying. Analysis confirmed a significant negative correlation between experiences of lateral/vertical violence and career choice satisfaction (r = - .140, p < .05) even after controlling for affect and support. Improved efforts are needed to prevent lateral violence.

The Use of Canonical Correlation Analysis to Assess the Relationship Between Executive Functioning and Verbal Memory in Older Adults

PubMed Central

Moreira, Pedro Silva; Santos, Nadine Correia; Sousa, Nuno

2015-01-01

Executive functioning (EF), which is considered to govern complex cognition, and verbal memory (VM) are constructs assumed to be related. However, it is not known the magnitude of the association between EF and VM, and how sociodemographic and psychological factors may affect this relationship, including in normal aging. In this study, we assessed different EF and VM parameters, via a battery of neurocognitive/psychological tests, and performed a Canonical Correlation Analysis (CCA) to explore the connection between these constructs, in a sample of middle-aged and older healthy individuals without cognitive impairment (N = 563, 50+ years of age). The analysis revealed a positive and moderate association between EF and VM independently of gender, age, education, global cognitive performance level, and mood. These results confirm that EF presents a significant association with VM performance. PMID:28138465

Comparison of NASTRAN analysis with ground vibration results of UH-60A NASA/AEFA test configuration

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Idosor, Florentino; Seible, Frieder

1990-01-01

Preceding program flight tests, a ground vibration test and modal test analysis of a UH-60A Black Hawk helicopter was conducted by Sikorsky Aircraft to complement the UH-60A test plan and NASA/ARMY Modern Technology Rotor Airloads Program. The 'NASA/AEFA' shake test configuration was tested for modal frequencies and shapes and compared with its NASTRAN finite element model counterpart to give correlative results. Based upon previous findings, significant differences in modal data existed and were attributed to assumptions regarding the influence of secondary structure contributions in the preliminary NASTRAN modeling. An analysis of an updated finite element model including several secondary structural additions has confirmed that the inclusion of specific secondary components produces a significant effect on modal frequency and free-response shapes and improves correlations at lower frequencies with shake test data.

UPD detection using homozygosity profiling with a SNP genotyping microarray.

PubMed

Papenhausen, Peter; Schwartz, Stuart; Risheg, Hiba; Keitges, Elisabeth; Gadi, Inder; Burnside, Rachel D; Jaswaney, Vikram; Pappas, John; Pasion, Romela; Friedman, Kenneth; Tepperberg, James

2011-04-01

Single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) based chromosome microarrays provide both a high-density whole genome analysis of copy number and genotype. In the past 21 months we have analyzed over 13,000 samples primarily referred for developmental delay using the Affymetrix SNP/CN 6.0 version array platform. In addition to copy number, we have focused on the relative distribution of allele homozygosity (HZ) throughout the genome to confirm a strong association of uniparental disomy (UPD) with regions of isoallelism found in most confirmed cases of UPD. We sought to determine whether a long contiguous stretch of HZ (LCSH) greater than a threshold value found only in a single chromosome would correlate with UPD of that chromosome. Nine confirmed UPD cases were retrospectively analyzed with the array in the study, each showing the anticipated LCSH with the smallest 13.5 Mb in length. This length is well above the average longest run of HZ in a set of control patients and was then set as the prospective threshold for reporting possible UPD correlation. Ninety-two cases qualified at that threshold, 46 of those had molecular UPD testing and 29 were positive. Including retrospective cases, 16 showed complete HZ across the chromosome, consistent with total isoUPD. The average size LCSH in the 19 cases that were not completely HZ was 46.3 Mb with a range of 13.5-127.8 Mb. Three patients showed only segmental UPD. Both the size and location of the LCSH are relevant to correlation with UPD. Further studies will continue to delineate an optimal threshold for LCSH/UPD correlation. Copyright © 2011 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

Identifying technical aliases in SELDI mass spectra of complex mixtures of proteins

PubMed Central

2013-01-01

Background Biomarker discovery datasets created using mass spectrum protein profiling of complex mixtures of proteins contain many peaks that represent the same protein with different charge states. Correlated variables such as these can confound the statistical analyses of proteomic data. Previously we developed an algorithm that clustered mass spectrum peaks that were biologically or technically correlated. Here we demonstrate an algorithm that clusters correlated technical aliases only. Results In this paper, we propose a preprocessing algorithm that can be used for grouping technical aliases in mass spectrometry protein profiling data. The stringency of the variance allowed for clustering is customizable, thereby affecting the number of peaks that are clustered. Subsequent analysis of the clusters, instead of individual peaks, helps reduce difficulties associated with technically-correlated data, and can aid more efficient biomarker identification. Conclusions This software can be used to pre-process and thereby decrease the complexity of protein profiling proteomics data, thus simplifying the subsequent analysis of biomarkers by decreasing the number of tests. The software is also a practical tool for identifying which features to investigate further by purification, identification and confirmation. PMID:24010718

Quantum Monte Carlo analysis of a charge ordered insulating antiferromagnet: The Ti 4O 7 Magneli phase

DOE PAGES

Benali, Anouar; Shulenburger, Luke; Krogel, Jaron T.; ...

2016-06-07

The Magneli phase Ti 4O 7 is an important transition metal oxide with a wide range of applications because of its interplay between charge, spin, and lattice degrees of freedom. At low temperatures, it has non-trivial magnetic states very close in energy, driven by electronic exchange and correlation interactions. We have examined three low- lying states, one ferromagnetic and two antiferromagnetic, and calculated their energies as well as Ti spin moment distributions using highly accurate Quantum Monte Carlo methods. We compare our results to those obtained from density functional theory- based methods that include approximate corrections for exchange and correlation.more » Our results confirm the nature of the states and their ordering in energy, as compared with density-functional theory methods. However, the energy differences and spin distributions differ. Here, a detailed analysis suggests that non-local exchange-correlation functionals, in addition to other approximations such as LDA+U to account for correlations, are needed to simultaneously obtain better estimates for spin moments, distributions, energy differences and energy gaps.« less

Correlation between benzene and testosterone in workers exposed to urban pollution.

PubMed

Rosati, M V; Sancini, A; Tomei, F; Sacco, C; Traversini, V; De Vita, A; De Cesare, D P; Giammichele, G; De Marco, F; Pagliara, F; Massoni, F; Ricci, L; Tomei, G; Ricci, S

2017-01-01

Many studies have examined the effects of benzene on testosterone. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the possible correlation between the blood levels of benzene and the levels of testosterone. The study involved a group of 148 subjects. For every worker have been made out a blood sample for the evaluation of benzene and testosterone levels and an urine analysis for the evaluation of the levels of trans, trans-muconic acid and S-phenylmercapturic acid. We estimated the Pearson correlation coefficient between the variables in the sample and the urinary metabolites, age, length of service, gender, BMI. For the analysis of the major confounding factors it was performed a multiple linear regression. The Pearson correlation coefficiet showed: 1. a significant inverse correlation between the S-phenyl mercapturic acid and free testosterone; 2. a significant direct correlation between trans-trans muconic acid and BMI. After dividing the sample according to the median of blood benzene (161.0 ng / L), Pearson correlation coefficient showed a significant inverse correlation between the S-phenyl mercapturic acid and free testosterone in the group with values below this median. Our results, to be considered preliminary, suggest that occupational exposure to low levels of benzene, present in urban pollution, affect the blood levels of testosterone. These results need to be confirmed in future studies, with the eventual possibility of including more specific fertility tests.

Psychometric properties of the Persian version of satisfaction with care EORTC-in-patsat32 questionnaire among Iranian cancer patients.

PubMed

Pishkuhi, Mahin Ahmadi; Salmaniyan, Soraya; Nedjat, Saharnaz; Zendedel, Kazem; Lari, Mohsen Asadi

2014-01-01

Cancers impose an increasing burden on health of the populations and individuals, but little is known about cancer patient satisfaction with care. The aim of this study was to assess the psychometric properties of the Persian version of European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) In-Patsat32, as a recently developed questionnaire to assess cancer patient satisfaction with care and information provided during hospital admission. Complying with EORTC protocols, the Persian version of Inpatsat32 was translated and piloted in a small group of patients, then applied to 380 cancer patients admitted to different oncology wards in Tehran. Validity (convergent, discriminant, and divergent) and reliability of the tool was assessed through using multitrait analysis, factor analysis, intraclass correlations, Chronbach's alpha and test-retest (on a sample of 70 patients). Good acceptance and high sensitivity of the questionnaire with low floor and ceiling effects were recognized, indicating power of the instrument to detect differences between groups with heterogeneous levels of satisfaction. Multitrait scaling analyses supported the convergent validity of the majority of scales (correlation coefficient >0.4) and favorable discriminant validity (item own scale correlation >0.8). There was no correlation between In-patsat32 scales and the EORTC-C30, which measures different concepts, confirming divergent validity of the tool. Internal consistency for all domains was high (α>0.70) except for the hospital access score and the test-retest reliability was excellent (r=0.86-0.96). There was a weak responsiveness to change except for nurses technical skills. Principle component analysis confirmed five domains with much improved internal consistency (α>0.9). The Persian version of the EORTC-in-patsat32 module is a reliable and valid instrument to measure cancer patient satisfaction with care received during their hospitalization period and can be utilized in clinical cancer research.

The Expression of Inflammatory Mediators in Bladder Pain Syndrome.

PubMed

Offiah, Ifeoma; Didangelos, Athanasios; Dawes, John; Cartwright, Rufus; Khullar, Vik; Bradbury, Elizabeth J; O'Sullivan, Suzanne; Williams, Dic; Chessell, Iain P; Pallas, Kenny; Graham, Gerry; O'Reilly, Barry A; McMahon, Stephen B

2016-08-01

Bladder pain syndrome (BPS) pathology is poorly understood. Treatment strategies are empirical, with limited efficacy, and affected patients have diminished quality of life. We examined the hypothesis that inflammatory mediators within the bladder contribute to BPS pathology. Fifteen women with BPS and 15 women with stress urinary incontinence without bladder pain were recruited from Cork University Maternity Hospital from October 2011 to October 2012. During cystoscopy, 5-mm bladder biopsies were taken and processed for gene expression analysis. The effect of the identified genes was tested in laboratory animals. We studied the expression of 96 inflammation-related genes in diseased and healthy bladders. We measured the correlation between genes and patient clinical profiles using the Pearson correlation coefficient. Analysis revealed 15 differentially expressed genes, confirmed in a replication study. FGF7 and CCL21 correlated significantly with clinical outcomes. Intravesical CCL21 instillation in rats caused increased bladder excitability and increased c-fos activity in spinal cord neurons. CCL21 atypical receptor knockout mice showed significantly more c-fos upon bladder stimulation with CCL21 than wild-type littermates. There was no change in FGF7-treated animals. The variability in patient samples presented as the main limitation. We used principal component analysis to identify similarities within the patient group. Our study identified two biologically relevant inflammatory mediators in BPS and demonstrated an increase in nociceptive signalling with CCL21. Manipulation of this ligand is a potential new therapeutic strategy for BPS. We compared gene expression in bladder biopsies of patients with bladder pain syndrome (BPS) and controls without pain and identified two genes that were increased in BPS patients and correlated with clinical profiles. We tested the effect of these genes in laboratory animals, confirming their role in bladder pain. Manipulating these genes in BPS is a potential treatment strategy. Copyright © 2016 European Association of Urology. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Wavelet analysis for the study of the relations among soil radon anomalies, volcanic and seismic events: the case of Mt. Etna (Italy)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ferrera, Elisabetta; Giammanco, Salvatore; Cannata, Andrea; Montalto, Placido

2013-04-01

From November 2009 to April 2011 soil radon activity was continuously monitored using a Barasol® probe located on the upper NE flank of Mt. Etna volcano, close either to the Piano Provenzana fault or to the NE-Rift. Seismic and volcanological data have been analyzed together with radon data. We also analyzed air and soil temperature, barometric pressure, snow and rain fall data. In order to find possible correlations among the above parameters, and hence to reveal possible anomalies in the radon time-series, we used different statistical methods: i) multivariate linear regression; ii) cross-correlation; iii) coherence analysis through wavelet transform. Multivariate regression indicated a modest influence on soil radon from environmental parameters (R2 = 0.31). When using 100-days time windows, the R2 values showed wide variations in time, reaching their maxima (~0.63-0.66) during summer. Cross-correlation analysis over 100-days moving averages showed that, similar to multivariate linear regression analysis, the summer period is characterised by the best correlation between radon data and environmental parameters. Lastly, the wavelet coherence analysis allowed a multi-resolution coherence analysis of the time series acquired. This approach allows to study the relations among different signals either in time or frequency domain. It confirmed the results of the previous methods, but also allowed to recognize correlations between radon and environmental parameters at different observation scales (e.g., radon activity changed during strong precipitations, but also during anomalous variations of soil temperature uncorrelated with seasonal fluctuations). Our work suggests that in order to make an accurate analysis of the relations among distinct signals it is necessary to use different techniques that give complementary analytical information. In particular, the wavelet analysis showed to be very effective in discriminating radon changes due to environmental influences from those correlated with impending seismic or volcanic events.

Study of the influence of Type Ia supernovae environment on the Hubble diagram

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Henne, Vincent

2016-06-01

The observational cosmology with distant Type Ia supernovae as standard candles claims that the Universe is in accelerated expansion, caused by a large fraction of dark energy. In this report we investigated SNe Ia environment, studying the impact of the nature of their host galaxies and their distance to the host galactic center on the Hubble diagram fitting. The supernovae used in the analysis were extracted from Joint-Light-curves-Analysis compilation of high-redshift and nearby supernovae. The analysis are based on the empirical fact that SN Ia luminosities depend on their light curve shapes and colors. No conclusive correlation between SN Ia light curve parameters and galocentric distance were identified. Concerning the host morphology, we showed that the stretch parameter of Type Ia supernovae is correlated with the host galaxy type. The supernovae with lower stretch mainly exploded in elliptical and lenticular galaxies. The studies show that into old star population and low dust environment, supernovae are fainter. We did not find any significant correlation between Type Ia supernovae color and host morphology. We confirm that supernova properties depend on their environment and propose to incorporate a host galaxy term into the Hubble diagram fit in the future cosmological analysis.

Alternative statistical methods for interpreting airborne Alder (Alnus glutimosa (L.) Gaertner) pollen concentrations.

PubMed

González Parrado, Zulima; Valencia Barrera, Rosa M; Fuertes Rodríguez, Carmen R; Vega Maray, Ana M; Pérez Romero, Rafael; Fraile, Roberto; Fernández González, Delia

2009-01-01

This paper reports on the behaviour of Alnus glutinosa (alder) pollen grains in the atmosphere of Ponferrada (León, NW Spain) from 1995 to 2006. The study, which sought to determine the effects of various weather-related parameters on Alnus pollen counts, was performed using a volumetric method. The main pollination period for this taxon is January-February. Alder pollen is one of the eight major airborne pollen allergens found in the study area. An analysis was made of the correlation between pollen counts and major weather-related parameters over each period. In general, the strongest positive correlation was with temperature, particularly maximum temperature. During each period, peak pollen counts occurred when the maximum temperature fell within the range 9 degrees C-14 degrees C. Finally, multivariate analysis showed that the parameter exerting the greatest influence was temperature, a finding confirmed by Spearman correlation tests. Principal components analysis suggested that periods with high pollen counts were characterised by high maximum temperature, low rainfall and an absolute humidity of around 6 g m(-3). Use of this type of analysis in conjunction with other methods is essential for obtaining an accurate record of pollen-count variations over a given period.

Assessing Knowledge Sharing Among Academics: A Validation of the Knowledge Sharing Behavior Scale (KSBS).

PubMed

Ramayah, T; Yeap, Jasmine A L; Ignatius, Joshua

2014-04-01

There is a belief that academics tend to hold on tightly to their knowledge and intellectual resources. However, not much effort has been put into the creation of a valid and reliable instrument to measure knowledge sharing behavior among the academics. To apply and validate the Knowledge Sharing Behavior Scale (KSBS) as a measure of knowledge sharing behavior within the academic community. Respondents (N = 447) were academics from arts and science streams in 10 local, public universities in Malaysia. Data were collected using the 28-item KSBS that assessed four dimensions of knowledge sharing behavior namely written contributions, organizational communications, personal interactions, and communities of practice. The exploratory factor analysis showed that the items loaded on the dimension constructs that they were supposed to represent, thus proving construct validity. A within-factor analysis revealed that each set of items representing their intended dimension loaded on only one construct, therefore establishing convergent validity. All four dimensions were not perfectly correlated with each other or organizational citizenship behavior, thereby proving discriminant validity. However, all four dimensions correlated with organizational commitment, thus confirming predictive validity. Furthermore, all four factors correlated with both tacit and explicit sharing, which confirmed their concurrent validity. All measures also possessed sufficient reliability (α > .70). The KSBS is a valid and reliable instrument that can be used to formally assess the types of knowledge artifacts residing among academics and the degree of knowledge sharing in relation to those artifacts. © The Author(s) 2014.

Japanese Version of Home Form of the ADHD-RS: An Evaluation of Its Reliability and Validity

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tani, Iori; Okada, Ryo; Ohnishi, Masafumi; Nakajima, Shunji; Tsujii, Masatsugu

2010-01-01

Using the Japanese version of home form of the ADHD-RS, this survey attempted to compare the scores between the US and Japan and examined the correlates of ADHD-RS. We collected responses from parents or rearers of 5977 children (3119 males and 2858 females) in nursery, elementary, and lower-secondary schools. A confirmed factor analysis of…

A hybrid swarm population of Pinus densiflora x P. sylvestris hybrids inferred from sequence analysis of chloroplast DNA and morphological characters

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

To confirm a hybrid swarm population of Pinus densiflora × P. sylvestris in Jilin, China and to study whether shoot apex morphology of 4-year old seedlings can be correlated with the sequence of a chloroplast DNA simple sequence repeat marker (cpDNA SSR), needles and seeds from P. densiflora, P. syl...

Forward-backward multiplicity correlation in high-energy nucleus-nucleus interactions at a few AGeV/c

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bhattacharyya, Swarnapratim; Haiduc, Maria; Neagu, Alina Tania; Firu, Elena

2014-07-01

We have presented a systematic study of two-particle rapidity correlations in terms of investigating the dynamical fluctuation observable \\sigma _c^2 in the forward-backward pseudo-rapidity windows by analyzing the experimental data of {}_{}^{16} O{--}AgBr interactions at 4.5 AGeV/c, {}_{}^{22} Ne{--}AgBr interactions at 4.1 AGeV/c, {}_{}^{28} Si{--}AgBr and {}_{}^{32} S{--}AgBr interactions at 4.5 AGeV/c. The experimental results have been compared with the results obtained from the analysis of event sample simulated (MC-RAND) by generating random numbers and also with the analysis of events generated by the UrQMD and AMPT model. Our study confirms the presence of strong short-range correlations among the produced particles in the forward and the backward pseudo-rapidity region. The analysis of the simple Monte Carlo-simulated (MC-RAND) events signifies that the observed correlations are not due to mere statistics only; explanation of such correlations can be attributed to the presence of dynamical fluctuations during the production of charged pions. Comparisons of the experimental results with the results obtained from analyzing the UrQMD data sample indicate that the UrQMD model cannot reproduce the experimental findings. The AMPT model also cannot explain the experimental results satisfactorily. Comparisons of our experimental results with the results obtained from the analysis of higher energy emulsion data and with the results of the RHIC data have also been presented.

RP-HPLC method using 6-aminoquinolyl-N-hydroxysuccinimidyl carbamate incorporated with normalization technique in principal component analysis to differentiate the bovine, porcine and fish gelatins.

PubMed

Azilawati, M I; Hashim, D M; Jamilah, B; Amin, I

2015-04-01

The amino acid compositions of bovine, porcine and fish gelatin were determined by amino acid analysis using 6-aminoquinolyl-N-hydroxysuccinimidyl carbamate as derivatization reagent. Sixteen amino acids were identified with similar spectral chromatograms. Data pre-treatment via centering and transformation of data by normalization were performed to provide data that are more suitable for analysis and easier to be interpreted. Principal component analysis (PCA) transformed the original data matrix into a number of principal components (PCs). Three principal components (PCs) described 96.5% of the total variance, and 2 PCs (91%) explained the highest variances. The PCA model demonstrated the relationships among amino acids in the correlation loadings plot to the group of gelatins in the scores plot. Fish gelatin was correlated to threonine, serine and methionine on the positive side of PC1; bovine gelatin was correlated to the non-polar side chains amino acids that were proline, hydroxyproline, leucine, isoleucine and valine on the negative side of PC1 and porcine gelatin was correlated to the polar side chains amino acids that were aspartate, glutamic acid, lysine and tyrosine on the negative side of PC2. Verification on the database using 12 samples from commercial products gelatin-based had confirmed the grouping patterns and the variables correlations. Therefore, this quantitative method is very useful as a screening method to determine gelatin from various sources. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Utility of Urinary Protein-Creatinine Ratio and Protein Content in a 24-Hour Urine Collection in Systemic Lupus Erythematosus: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

PubMed

Medina-Rosas, Jorge; Yap, Kristy S; Anderson, Melanie; Su, Jiandong; Touma, Zahi

2016-09-01

To systematically review literature on the utility of spot urinary protein-creatinine ratio (PCR) as a screening test for proteinuria and its ability to accurately measure proteinuria compared with 24-hour urine collection (24H-P) in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). We conducted a literature search (1900-2015) for articles comparing PCR and 24H-P in SLE patients in the databases Medline, Web of Science, and Embase. Included studies and their results were critically appraised and analyzed. Thirteen studies (1,001 patients; 84.01% women) were included. Ten studies reported on Pearson's correlation (range 0.67-0.94), and 3 studies reported on Spearman's correlation (range 0.78-1.00). The meta-analysis of studies with Pearson's correlation showed a high overall correlation of 0.80 between 24H-P and PCR, yet with high heterogeneity (I(2)  = 97.2%). Correlation analysis is not sufficient to evaluate the utility of a new test against the gold standard test, and analysis on agreement is required. Seven studies reported on agreement: 3 studies analyzed concordance correlation coefficient (0.48-0.94), 3 analyzed intraclass correlation coefficient (0.66-0.95), and 1 analyzed kappa coefficient (0.58). These results confirmed that the agreement between 24H-P and PCR was inappropriate. Three studies included Bland-Altman plots, and the results also demonstrated poor agreement between both tests. The PCR has a utility as a screening test for proteinuria in SLE patients. The studies' results of 24H-P and PCR showed poor agreement between both tests, signifying that PCR should not be a substitute for the gold standard test (24H-P) to accurately measure proteinuria. © 2016, American College of Rheumatology.

Development of a job stressor scale for nurses caring for patients with intractable neurological diseases.

PubMed

Ando, Yukako; Kataoka, Tsuyoshi; Okamura, Hitoshi; Tanaka, Katsutoshi; Kobayashi, Toshio

2013-12-01

The purpose of this research is to verify the reliability and validity of a job stressor scale for nurses caring for patients with intractable neurological diseases. A mail survey was conducted using a self-report questionnaire. The subjects were 263 nurses and assistant nurses working in wards specializing in intractable neurological diseases. The response rate was 71.9% (valid response rate, 66.2%). With regard to reliability, internal consistency and stability were assessed. Internal consistency was examined via Cronbach's alpha. For stability, the test-retest method was performed and stability was examined via intraclass correlation coefficients. With regard to validity, factor validity, criterion-related validity, and content validity were assessed. Exploratory factor analysis was used for factor validity. For criterion-related validity, an existing scale was used as an external criterion; concurrent validity was examined via Spearman's rank correlation coefficients. As a result of analysis, there were 26 items in the scale created with an eight factor structure. Cronbach's a for the 26 items was 0.90; with the exception of two factors, alpha for all of the individual sub-factors was high at 0.7 or higher. The intraclass correlation coefficient for the 26 items was 0.89 (p < 0.001). With regard to criterion-related validity, concurrent validity was confirmed and the correlation coefficient with an external criterion was 0.73 (p < 0.001). For content validity, subjects who responded that "The questionnaire represents a stressor well or to a degree" accounted for 81% of the total responses. Reliability and validity were confirmed, so the scale created in the current research is a usable scale.

The Pearson-Readhead Survey of Compact Extragalactic Radio Sources from Space. II. Analysis of Source Properties

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lister, M. L.; Tingay, S. J.; Preston, R. A.

2001-06-01

We have performed a multidimensional correlation analysis on the observed properties of a statistically complete core-selected sample of compact radio-loud active galactic nuclei based on data from the VLBI Space Observing Programme (Paper I) and previously published studies. Our sample is drawn from the well-studied Pearson-Readhead (PR) survey and is ideally suited for investigating the general effects of relativistic beaming in compact radio sources. In addition to confirming many previously known correlations, we have discovered several new trends that lend additional support to the beaming model. These trends suggest that the most highly beamed sources in core-selected samples tend to have (1) high optical polarizations; (2) large parsec- kiloparsec-scale jet misalignments; (3) prominent VLBI core components; (4) one-sided, core, or halo radio morphology on kiloparsec scales; (5) narrow emission line equivalent widths; and (6) a strong tendency for intraday variability at radio wavelengths. We have used higher resolution space and ground-based VLBI maps to confirm the bimodality of the jet misalignment distribution for the PR survey and find that the sources with aligned parsec- and kiloparsec-scale jets generally have arcsecond-scale radio emission on both sides of the core. The aligned sources also have broader emission line widths. We find evidence that the BL Lacertae objects in the PR survey are all highly beamed and have very similar properties to the high optically polarized quasars, with the exception of smaller redshifts. A cluster analysis on our data shows that after partialing out the effects of redshift, the luminosities of our sample objects in various wave bands are generally well correlated with each other but not with other source properties.

The diagnostic value of cytohistological urine analysis and cytokeratin 20 in malignant and atypical urothelial cells.

PubMed

Negri, S; Biavati, P; Bondi, A

2016-09-01

To determine the ability of cytohistology and cytokeratin 20 (CK 20) expression in malignant and atypical cells (AUC) from urine to serve as a diagnostic tool for assessing urothelial carcinoma (UC). Diagnoses from 55 urine cytological samples from 55 patients were analyzed and correlated with subsequent biopsy findings. A total of 50 archived urine slides from patients that received a cytological diagnosis and histological follow-up were selected for immunostaining with monoclonal CK 20 antibodies and elaborated by Z-test for proportions. The majority of all positive or atypical smears (24; 89%) were confirmed through histological analysis. The majority of urinary cytological diagnoses reported as negative (15; 54%) were also confirmed through biopsies. The overall sensitivity, specificity, PPV, and NPV were 65%, 83%, 89%, and 54%, respectively. All 13 smears cytologically determined to contain malignant cells, with subsequent biopsies confirming UC, exhibited strong positive staining with the CK 20 antibody. All cases evaluated as benign both cytologically and histologically had negative CK 20 staining. Of the 15 AUC cases with lesions confirmed through biopsies, 11 (73%) had atypical cells that stained positive for CK 20. Our results demonstrate the diagnostic value of urinary cytology and confirm CK 20 as an adjunct marker for the diagnosis of UC and for the triage of AUC. © Copyright Società Italiana di Anatomia Patologica e Citopatologia Diagnostica, Divisione Italiana della International Academy of Pathology.

The reliability of the newly developed bending tester for the measurement of flexural rigidity of textile materials

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Haji Musa, A. Binti; Malengier, B.; Van Langenhove, L.; Stevens, C.

2017-10-01

A new automated bending tester was developed in Ghent University, Belgium to reduce the human interference in the bending measurement. This paper reports the investigations made on the tester in order to confirm the reliability of its measurement. For that, 11 types of fabrics with different construction parameters were tested for their bending length and flexural rigidity using the new bending tester and the results were compared with that of the standard or manual bending tester, which were conducted in accordance with BS 3356:1990 standard method. Statistical analysis confirms that both measurements are strongly correlated with Pearson’s R≥ 0.90 for all the measurements made. It means that the results from the new automated tester show good correlations with the standard measurement. Nevertheless, this prototype version of the new tester still needs to be adjusted to optimise the functionality of it and further investigations should be done to justify the robustness of the results.

Cross-correlations between West Texas Intermediate crude oil and the stock markets of the BRIC

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ma, Feng; Wei, Yu; Huang, Dengshi; Zhao, Lin

2013-11-01

In this paper, we investigate the cross-correlation properties between West Texas Intermediate crude oil and the stock markets of the BRIC. We use not only the qualitative analysis of the cross-correlation test, but also take the quantitative analysis of the MF-DXA, confirming the cross-correlation relationship between West Texas Intermediate crude oil and the stock markets of the BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India and China) respectively, which have strongly multifractal features, and the cross-correlations are more strongly multifractal in the short term than in the long term. Furthermore, based on the multifractal spectrum, we also find the multifractality strength between the crude oil WTI and Chinese stock market is stronger than the multifractality strength of other pairs. Based on the Iraq war (Mar 20, 2003) and the Financial crisis in 2008, we divide sample period into four segments to research the degree of the multifractal (ΔH) and the market efficiency (and the risk). Finally, we employ the technique of the rolling window to calculate the time-varying EI (efficiency index) and dependent on the EI, we can easily observe the change of stock markets. Furthermore, we explore the relationship between bivariate cross-correlation exponents (Hxy(q)) and the generalized Hurst exponents.

Behavioral Actions of Alcohol: Phenotypic Relations from Multivariate Analysis of Mutant Mouse Data

PubMed Central

Blednov, Yuri A.; Mayfield, R. Dayne; Belknap, John; Harris, R. Adron

2012-01-01

Behavioral studies of genetically diverse mice have proven powerful for determining relationships between phenotypes and have been widely used in alcohol research. Most of these studies rely on naturally occurring genetic polymorphisms among inbred strains and selected lines. Another approach is to introduce variation by engineering single gene mutations in mice. We have tested 37 different mutant mice and their wild type controls for a variety (31) of behaviors and have mined this dataset by K-means clustering and analysis of correlations. We found a correlation between a stress-related response (activity in a novel environment) and alcohol consumption and preference for saccharin. We confirmed several relationships detected in earlier genetic studies including positive correlation of alcohol consumption with saccharin consumption, and negative correlations with conditioned taste aversion and alcohol withdrawal severity. Introduction of single gene mutations either eliminated or greatly diminished these correlations. The three tests of alcohol consumption used (continuous two bottle choice, and two limited access tests: Drinking In the Dark and Sustained High Alcohol Consumption) share a relationship with saccharin consumption, but differ from each other in their correlation networks. We suggest that alcohol consumption is controlled by multiple physiological systems where single gene mutations can disrupt the networks of such systems. PMID:22405477

Correlation of pain relief with physical function in hand osteoarthritis: randomized controlled trial post hoc analysis.

PubMed

Barthel, H Richard; Peniston, John H; Clark, Michael B; Gold, Morris S; Altman, Roy D

2010-01-01

Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs are recommended for the relief of pain associated with hand osteoarthritis (OA) but do not alter the underlying structural changes that contribute to impaired physical function. The current analysis examined the relationship of pain relief with measures of function and global rating of disease in patients with hand OA. This was a combined analysis of 2 prospective, randomized, double-blind, 8-week, multicenter, parallel-group studies comparing diclofenac sodium 1% gel with placebo gel (vehicle) in patients with radiographically confirmed mild to moderate hand OA. Patients (n = 783) aged > or = 40 years applied diclofenac sodium 1% gel (2 g) or vehicle to each hand 4 times daily for 8 weeks. Outcome measures included pain intensity assessed on a 100-mm Visual Analog Scale (VAS); the Australian/Canadian Osteoarthritis Hand Index (AUSCAN) subscales for pain, stiffness, and physical function (100-mm VAS); and a global rating of disease (100-mm VAS). Change in VAS pain intensity from baseline to week 8 was categorized (<0%, 0%-<15%, 15%-<30%, 30%-<50%, 50%-<70%, and > or = 70%) without regard to treatment and compared in each category with the mean change from baseline in each AUSCAN subindex and the global rating of disease. Pearson correlations between changes in outcome measures from baseline to week 8 were calculated. Changes in VAS pain intensity were accompanied by similar changes in AUSCAN scores and global rating of disease. Pearson correlations confirmed significant associations (P < 0.001) between change in VAS pain intensity and changes in AUSCAN pain (correlation coefficient [r] = 0.81), AUSCAN function (r = 0.75), AUSCAN stiffness (r = 0.66), and global rating of disease (r = 0.76). Pain relief correlated with improvements in physical function, stiffness, and global rating of disease in patients with hand OA, irrespective of treatment. This suggests that pain or anticipation of pain inhibits physical function and influences patient perception of disease severity in hand OA. These results also suggest that any intervention to relieve the pain of hand OA may improve function and patient perception of disease severity, despite the absence of a disease-modifying mechanism of action. Clinicaltrials.gov NCT00171652, NCT00171665.

Planck 2015 results. XXIII. The thermal Sunyaev-Zeldovich effect-cosmic infrared background correlation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Planck Collaboration; Ade, P. A. R.; Aghanim, N.; Arnaud, M.; Aumont, J.; Baccigalupi, C.; Banday, A. J.; Barreiro, R. B.; Bartlett, J. G.; Bartolo, N.; Battaner, E.; Benabed, K.; Benoit-Lévy, A.; Bernard, J.-P.; Bersanelli, M.; Bielewicz, P.; Bock, J. J.; Bonaldi, A.; Bonavera, L.; Bond, J. R.; Borrill, J.; Bouchet, F. R.; Burigana, C.; Butler, R. C.; Calabrese, E.; Catalano, A.; Chamballu, A.; Chiang, H. C.; Christensen, P. R.; Churazov, E.; Clements, D. L.; Colombo, L. P. L.; Combet, C.; Comis, B.; Couchot, F.; Coulais, A.; Crill, B. P.; Curto, A.; Cuttaia, F.; Danese, L.; Davies, R. D.; Davis, R. J.; de Bernardis, P.; de Rosa, A.; de Zotti, G.; Delabrouille, J.; Dickinson, C.; Diego, J. M.; Dole, H.; Donzelli, S.; Doré, O.; Douspis, M.; Ducout, A.; Dupac, X.; Efstathiou, G.; Elsner, F.; Enßlin, T. A.; Eriksen, H. K.; Finelli, F.; Flores-Cacho, I.; Forni, O.; Frailis, M.; Fraisse, A. A.; Franceschi, E.; Galeotta, S.; Galli, S.; Ganga, K.; Génova-Santos, R. T.; Giard, M.; Giraud-Héraud, Y.; Gjerløw, E.; González-Nuevo, J.; Górski, K. M.; Gregorio, A.; Gruppuso, A.; Gudmundsson, J. E.; Hansen, F. K.; Harrison, D. L.; Helou, G.; Hernández-Monteagudo, C.; Herranz, D.; Hildebrandt, S. R.; Hivon, E.; Hobson, M.; Hornstrup, A.; Hovest, W.; Huffenberger, K. M.; Hurier, G.; Jaffe, A. H.; Jaffe, T. R.; Jones, W. C.; Keihänen, E.; Keskitalo, R.; Kisner, T. S.; Kneissl, R.; Knoche, J.; Kunz, M.; Kurki-Suonio, H.; Lagache, G.; Lamarre, J.-M.; Langer, M.; Lasenby, A.; Lattanzi, M.; Lawrence, C. R.; Leonardi, R.; Levrier, F.; Lilje, P. B.; Linden-Vørnle, M.; López-Caniego, M.; Lubin, P. M.; Macías-Pérez, J. F.; Maffei, B.; Maggio, G.; Maino, D.; Mak, D. S. Y.; Mandolesi, N.; Mangilli, A.; Maris, M.; Martin, P. G.; Martínez-González, E.; Masi, S.; Matarrese, S.; Melchiorri, A.; Mennella, A.; Migliaccio, M.; Mitra, S.; Miville-Deschênes, M.-A.; Moneti, A.; Montier, L.; Morgante, G.; Mortlock, D.; Munshi, D.; Murphy, J. A.; Nati, F.; Natoli, P.; Noviello, F.; Novikov, D.; Novikov, I.; Oxborrow, C. A.; Paci, F.; Pagano, L.; Pajot, F.; Paoletti, D.; Partridge, B.; Pasian, F.; Pearson, T. J.; Perdereau, O.; Perotto, L.; Pettorino, V.; Piacentini, F.; Piat, M.; Pierpaoli, E.; Plaszczynski, S.; Pointecouteau, E.; Polenta, G.; Ponthieu, N.; Pratt, G. W.; Prunet, S.; Puget, J.-L.; Rachen, J. P.; Reinecke, M.; Remazeilles, M.; Renault, C.; Renzi, A.; Ristorcelli, I.; Rocha, G.; Rosset, C.; Rossetti, M.; Roudier, G.; Rubiño-Martín, J. A.; Rusholme, B.; Sandri, M.; Santos, D.; Savelainen, M.; Savini, G.; Scott, D.; Spencer, L. D.; Stolyarov, V.; Stompor, R.; Sunyaev, R.; Sutton, D.; Suur-Uski, A.-S.; Sygnet, J.-F.; Tauber, J. A.; Terenzi, L.; Toffolatti, L.; Tomasi, M.; Tristram, M.; Tucci, M.; Umana, G.; Valenziano, L.; Valiviita, J.; Van Tent, B.; Vielva, P.; Villa, F.; Wade, L. A.; Wandelt, B. D.; Wehus, I. K.; Welikala, N.; Yvon, D.; Zacchei, A.; Zonca, A.

2016-09-01

We use Planck data to detect the cross-correlation between the thermal Sunyaev-Zeldovich (tSZ) effect and the infrared emission from the galaxies that make up the the cosmic infrared background (CIB). We first perform a stacking analysis towards Planck-confirmed galaxy clusters. We detect infrared emission produced by dusty galaxies inside these clusters and demonstrate that the infrared emission is about 50% more extended than the tSZ effect. Modelling the emission with a Navarro-Frenk-White profile, we find that the radial profile concentration parameter is c500 = 1.00+0.18-0.15 . This indicates that infrared galaxies in the outskirts of clusters have higher infrared flux than cluster-core galaxies. We also study the cross-correlation between tSZ and CIB anisotropies, following three alternative approaches based on power spectrum analyses: (I) using a catalogue of confirmed clusters detected in Planck data; (II) using an all-sky tSZ map built from Planck frequency maps; and (III) using cross-spectra between Planck frequency maps. With the three different methods, we detect the tSZ-CIB cross-power spectrum at significance levels of (I) 6σ; (II) 3σ; and (III) 4σ. We model the tSZ-CIB cross-correlation signature and compare predictions with the measurements. The amplitude of the cross-correlation relative to the fiducial model is AtSZ-CIB = 1.2 ± 0.3. This result is consistent with predictions for the tSZ-CIB cross-correlation assuming the best-fit cosmological model from Planck 2015 results along with the tSZ and CIB scaling relations.

A confirmatory factor analytic validation of the Tinnitus Handicap Inventory.

PubMed

Kleinstäuber, Maria; Frank, Ina; Weise, Cornelia

2015-03-01

Because the postulated three-factor structure of the internationally widely used Tinnitus Handicap Inventory (THI) has not been confirmed yet by a confirmatory factor analytic approach this was the central aim of the current study. From a clinical setting, N=373 patients with chronic tinnitus completed the THI and further questionnaires assessing tinnitus-related and psychological variables. In order to analyze the psychometric properties of the THI, confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and correlational analyses were conducted. CFA provided a statistically significant support for a better fit of the data to the hypothesized three-factor structure (RMSEA=.049, WRMR=1.062, CFI=.965, TLI=.961) than to a general factor model (RMSEA=.062, WRMR=1.258, CFI=.942, TLI=.937). The calculation of Cronbach's alpha as indicator of internal consistency revealed satisfactory values (.80-.91) with the exception of the catastrophic subscale (.65). High positive correlations of the THI and its subscales with other measures of tinnitus distress, anxiety, and depression, high negative correlations with tinnitus acceptance, moderate positive correlations with anxiety sensitivity, sleeping difficulties, tinnitus loudness, and small correlations with the Big Five personality dimensions confirmed construct validity. Results show that the THI is a highly reliable and valid measure of tinnitus-related handicap. In contrast to results of previous exploratory analyses the current findings speak for a three-factor in contrast to a unifactorial structure. Future research is needed to replicate this result in different tinnitus populations. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

A meta-analysis including dose-response relationship between night shift work and the risk of colorectal cancer

PubMed Central

Wang, Xiao; Ji, Alin; Zhu, Yi; Liang, Zhen; Wu, Jian; Li, Shiqi; Meng, Shuai; Zheng, Xiangyi; Xie, Liping

2015-01-01

A meta-analysis was conducted to quantitatively evaluate the correlation between night shift work and the risk of colorectal cancer. We searched for publications up to March 2015 using PubMed, Web of Science, Cochrane Library, EMBASE and the Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure databases, and the references of the retrieved articles and relevant reviews were also checked. OR and 95% CI were used to assess the degree of the correlation between night shift work and risk of colorectal cancer via fixed- or random-effect models. A dose-response meta-analysis was performed as well. The pooled OR estimates of the included studies illustrated that night shift work was correlated with an increased risk of colorectal cancer (OR = 1.318, 95% CI 1.121–1.551). No evidence of publication bias was detected. In the dose-response analysis, the rate of colorectal cancer increased by 11% for every 5 years increased in night shift work (OR = 1.11, 95% CI 1.03–1.20). In conclusion, this meta-analysis indicated that night shift work was associated with an increased risk of colorectal cancer. Further researches should be conducted to confirm our findings and clarify the potential biological mechanisms. PMID:26208480

Analysis of DGGE profiles to explore the relationship between prokaryotic community composition and biogeochemical processes in deep subseafloor sediments from the Peru Margin.

PubMed

Fry, John C; Webster, Gordon; Cragg, Barry A; Weightman, Andrew J; Parkes, R John

2006-10-01

The aim of this work was to relate depth profiles of prokaryotic community composition with geochemical processes in the deep subseafloor biosphere at two shallow-water sites on the Peru Margin in the Pacific Ocean (ODP Leg 201, sites 1228 and 1229). Principal component analysis of denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis banding patterns of deep-sediment Bacteria, Archaea, Euryarchaeota and the novel candidate division JS1, followed by multiple regression, showed strong relationships with prokaryotic activity and geochemistry (R(2)=55-100%). Further correlation analysis, at one site, between the principal components from the community composition profiles for Bacteria and 12 other variables quantitatively confirmed their relationship with activity and geochemistry, which had previously only been implied. Comparison with previously published cell counts enumerated by fluorescent in situ hybridization with rRNA-targeted probes confirmed that these denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis profiles described an active prokaryotic community.

[Phenotypic and genetic analysis of a patient presented with Tietz/Waardenburg type II a syndrome].

PubMed

Wang, Huanhuan; Tang, Lifang; Zhang, Jingmin; Hu, Qin; Chen, Yingwei; Xiao, Bing

2015-08-01

To determine the genetic cause for a patient featuring decreased pigmentation of the skin and iris, hearing loss and multiple congenital anomalies. Routine chromosomal banding was performed to analyze the karyotype of the patient and his parents. Single nucleotide polymorphism array (SNP array) was employed to identify cryptic chromosome aberrations, and quantitative real-time PCR was used to confirm the results. Karyotype analysis has revealed no obvious anomaly for the patient and his parents. SNP array analysis of the patient has demonstrated a 3.9 Mb deletion encompassing 3p13p14.1, which caused loss of entire MITF gene. The deletion was confirmed by quantitative real-time PCR. Clinical features of the patient have included severe bilateral hearing loss, decreased pigmentation of the skin and iris and multiple congenital anomalies. The patient, carrying a 3p13p14.1 deletion, has features of Tietz syndrome/Waardenburg syndrome type IIa. This case may provide additional data for the study of genotype-phenotype correlation of this disease.

Angry Birds, Angry Children, and Angry Meta-Analysts: A Reanalysis.

PubMed

Furuya-Kanamori, Luis; Doi, Suhail A R

2016-05-01

Ferguson's (2015a) meta-analysis assessed a very important and controversial topic about children's mental health and video games. In response to the concerns raised by researchers about the appropriateness of the meta-analytical methods used by Ferguson; we decided to reanalyze the data and discuss two major misconceptions about meta-analysis. We argue that partial correlations can (and should) be meta-analyzed instead of zero-order bivariate correlations if the predictors included in the partial correlation represent a similar construct. We also discuss the fallacy by which the conventional meta-analytical model assumes that the studies' effect sizes came into being according to the same random effect construct used by the analysis. Our replication results using partial correlations, standardized (valid and reliable) outcomes, and an improved meta-analytical model (that does not assume a random effect is the mechanism of data generation) confirmed the main results of Ferguson's meta-analysis. There was a significant yet very small effect on aggressive behavior of exposure to both general, rp = 0.062, 95% CI [0.012, 0.112], and violent, rp = 0.055, 95% CI [0.019, 0.091], video games. A very small effect was seen on reduced prosocial behavior, but this was only in the general video game exposure category, rp = 0.072, 95% CI [0.045, 0.100]. © The Author(s) 2016.

Analysis of Human Proteome Organization Plasma Proteome Project (HUPO PPP) reference specimens using surface enhanced laser desorption/ionization-time of flight (SELDI-TOF) mass spectrometry: multi-institution correlation of spectra and identification of biomarkers.

PubMed

Rai, Alex J; Stemmer, Paul M; Zhang, Zhen; Adam, Bao-Ling; Morgan, William T; Caffrey, Rebecca E; Podust, Vladimir N; Patel, Manisha; Lim, Lih-Yin; Shipulina, Natalia V; Chan, Daniel W; Semmes, O John; Leung, Hon-Chiu Eastwood

2005-08-01

We report on a multicenter analysis of HUPO reference specimens using SELDI-TOF MS. Eight sites submitted data obtained from serum and plasma reference specimen analysis. Spectra from five sites passed preliminary quality assurance tests and were subjected to further analysis. Intralaboratory CVs varied from 15 to 43%. A correlation coefficient matrix generated using data from these five sites demonstrated high level of correlation, with values >0.7 on 37 of 42 spectra. More than 50 peaks were differentially present among the various sample types, as observed on three chip surfaces. Additionally, peaks at approximately 9200 and approximately 15,950 m/z were present only in select reference specimens. Chromatographic fractionation using anion-exchange, membrane cutoff, and reverse phase chromatography, was employed for protein purification of the approximately 9200 m/z peak. It was identified as the haptoglobin alpha subunit after peptide mass fingerprinting and high-resolution MS/MS analysis. The differential expression of this protein was confirmed by Western blot analysis. These pilot studies demonstrate the potential of the SELDI platform for reproducible and consistent analysis of serum/plasma across multiple sites and also for targeted biomarker discovery and protein identification. This approach could be exploited for population-based studies in all phases of the HUPO PPP.

Negative correlation between porosity and hydraulic conductivity in sand-and-gravel aquifers at Cape Cod, Massachusetts, USA

USGS Publications Warehouse

Morin, R.H.

2006-01-01

Although it may be intuitive to think of the hydraulic conductivity K of unconsolidated, coarse-grained sediments as increasing monotonically with increasing porosity ??, studies have documented a negative correlation between these two parameters under certain grain-size distributions and packing arrangements. This is confirmed at two sites on Cape Cod, Massachusetts, USA, where groundwater investigations were conducted in sand-and-gravel aquifers specifically to examine the interdependency of several aquifer properties using measurements from four geophysical well logs. Along with K and ??, the electrical resistivity R0 and the natural gamma activity ?? of saturated deposits were determined as functions of depth. Qualitative examination of results from the first site implies a negative correlation between K and ?? that is substantiated by a rigorous multivariate analysis of log data collected from the second site. A principal components analysis describes an over-determined system of inversion equations, with approximately 92% of the cumulative proportion of the total variance being accounted for by only three of the four eigenvectors. A subsequent R-mode factor analysis projects directional trends among the four variables (K, ??, R0 and ??), and a negative correlation between K and ?? emerges as the primary result. ?? 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Structure of a financial cross-correlation matrix under attack

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lim, Gyuchang; Kim, SooYong; Kim, Junghwan; Kim, Pyungsoo; Kang, Yoonjong; Park, Sanghoon; Park, Inho; Park, Sang-Bum; Kim, Kyungsik

2009-09-01

We investigate the structure of a perturbed stock market in terms of correlation matrices. For the purpose of perturbing a stock market, two distinct methods are used, namely local and global perturbation. The former involves replacing a correlation coefficient of the cross-correlation matrix with one calculated from two Gaussian-distributed time series while the latter reconstructs the cross-correlation matrix just after replacing the original return series with Gaussian-distributed time series. Concerning the local case, it is a technical study only and there is no attempt to model reality. The term ‘global’ means the overall effect of the replacement on other untouched returns. Through statistical analyses such as random matrix theory (RMT), network theory, and the correlation coefficient distributions, we show that the global structure of a stock market is vulnerable to perturbation. However, apart from in the analysis of inverse participation ratios (IPRs), the vulnerability becomes dull under a small-scale perturbation. This means that these analysis tools are inappropriate for monitoring the whole stock market due to the low sensitivity of a stock market to a small-scale perturbation. In contrast, when going down to the structure of business sectors, we confirm that correlation-based business sectors are regrouped in terms of IPRs. This result gives a clue about monitoring the effect of hidden intentions, which are revealed via portfolios taken mostly by large investors.

Correlation analysis of motor current and chatter vibration in grinding using complex continuous wavelet coherence

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Yao; Wang, Xiufeng; Lin, Jing; Zhao, Wei

2016-11-01

Motor current is an emerging and popular signal which can be used to detect machining chatter with its multiple advantages. To achieve accurate and reliable chatter detection using motor current, it is important to make clear the quantitative relationship between motor current and chatter vibration, which has not yet been studied clearly. In this study, complex continuous wavelet coherence, including cross wavelet transform and wavelet coherence, is applied to the correlation analysis of motor current and chatter vibration in grinding. Experimental results show that complex continuous wavelet coherence performs very well in demonstrating and quantifying the intense correlation between these two signals in frequency, amplitude and phase. When chatter occurs, clear correlations in frequency and amplitude in the chatter frequency band appear and the phase difference of current signal to vibration signal turns from random to stable. The phase lead of the most correlated chatter frequency is the largest. With the further development of chatter, the correlation grows up in intensity and expands to higher order chatter frequency band. The analyzing results confirm that there is a consistent correlation between motor current and vibration signals in the grinding chatter process. However, to achieve accurate and reliable chatter detection using motor current, the frequency response bandwidth of current loop of the feed drive system must be wide enough to response chatter effectively.

Relations among soil radon, environmental parameters, volcanic and seismic events at Mt. Etna (Italy)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Giammanco, S.; Ferrera, E.; Cannata, A.; Montalto, P.; Neri, M.

2013-12-01

From November 2009 to April 2011 soil radon activity was continuously monitored using a Barasol probe located on the upper NE flank of Mt. Etna volcano (Italy), close both to the Piano Provenzana fault and to the NE-Rift. Seismic, volcanological and radon data were analysed together with data on environmental parameters, such as air and soil temperature, barometric pressure, snow and rain fall. In order to find possible correlations among the above parameters, and hence to reveal possible anomalous trends in the radon time-series, we used different statistical methods: i) multivariate linear regression; ii) cross-correlation; iii) coherence analysis through wavelet transform. Multivariate regression indicated a modest influence on soil radon from environmental parameters (R2 = 0.31). When using 100-day time windows, the R2 values showed wide variations in time, reaching their maxima (~0.63-0.66) during summer. Cross-correlation analysis over 100-day moving averages showed that, similar to multivariate linear regression analysis, the summer period was characterised by the best correlation between radon data and environmental parameters. Lastly, the wavelet coherence analysis allowed a multi-resolution coherence analysis of the time series acquired. This approach allowed to study the relations among different signals either in the time or in the frequency domain. It confirmed the results of the previous methods, but also allowed to recognize correlations between radon and environmental parameters at different observation scales (e.g., radon activity changed during strong precipitations, but also during anomalous variations of soil temperature uncorrelated with seasonal fluctuations). Using the above analysis, two periods were recognized when radon variations were significantly correlated with marked soil temperature changes and also with local seismic or volcanic activity. This allowed to produce two different physical models of soil gas transport that explain the observed anomalies. Our work suggests that in order to make an accurate analysis of the relations among different signals it is necessary to use different techniques that give complementary analytical information. In particular, the wavelet analysis showed to be the most effective in discriminating radon changes due to environmental influences from those correlated with impending seismic or volcanic events.

Neural correlates of monocular and binocular depth cues based on natural images: a LORETA analysis.

PubMed

Fischmeister, Florian Ph S; Bauer, Herbert

2006-10-01

Functional imaging studies investigating perception of depth rely solely on one type of depth cue based on non-natural stimulus material. To overcome these limitations and to provide a more realistic and complete set of depth cues natural stereoscopic images were used in this study. Using slow cortical potentials and source localization we aimed to identify the neural correlates of monocular and binocular depth cues. This study confirms and extends functional imaging studies, showing that natural images provide a good, reliable, and more realistic alternative to artificial stimuli, and demonstrates the possibility to separate the processing of different depth cues.

Comment on high resolution simulations of cosmic strings. 1: Network evoloution

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Turok, Neil; Albrecht, Andreas

1990-01-01

Comments are made on recent claims (Albrecht and Turok, 1989) regarding simulations of cosmic string evolution. Specially, it was claimed that results were dominated by a numerical artifact which rounds out kinks on a scale of the order of the correlation length on the network. This claim was based on an approximate analysis of an interpolation equation which is solved herein. The typical rounding scale is actually less than one fifth of the correlation length, and comparable with other numerical cutoffs. Results confirm previous estimates of numerical uncertainties, and show that the approximations poorly represent the real solutions to the interpolation equation.

Prospective study on suicidal ideation among Japanese undergraduate students: correlation with stressful life events, depression, and depressogenic cognitive patterns.

PubMed

Hiramura, Hidetoshi; Shono, Masahiro; Tanaka, Nao; Nagata, Toshiaki; Kitamura, Toshinori

2008-01-01

The present study examines the effects of stressful life events, depression, and depressogenic cognitive patterns on suicidal ideation in 500 Japanese undergraduate students. The above factors were assessed at baseline (T1) and two weeks later (T3). At T1, structural equation modeling confirmed that (1) cognitive patterns and depression, but not stressful life events, influence suicidal ideation, and (2) cognitive patterns also influence suicidal ideation through depression. These findings were confirmed in a longitudinal analysis. The results suggest that the effects of stressful life events on suicidal ideation are indirect and are mediated by depressogenic cognitive styles and depressed mood.

Turbulence-induced persistence in laser beam wandering.

PubMed

Zunino, Luciano; Gulich, Damián; Funes, Gustavo; Pérez, Darío G

2015-07-01

We have experimentally confirmed the presence of long-memory correlations in the wandering of a thin Gaussian laser beam over a screen after propagating through a turbulent medium. A laboratory-controlled experiment was conducted in which coordinate fluctuations of the laser beam were recorded at a sufficiently high sampling rate for a wide range of turbulent conditions. Horizontal and vertical displacements of the laser beam centroid were subsequently analyzed by implementing detrended fluctuation analysis. This is a very well-known and widely used methodology to unveil memory effects from time series. Results obtained from this experimental analysis allow us to confirm that both coordinates behave as highly persistent signals for strong turbulent intensities. This finding is relevant for a better comprehension and modeling of the turbulence effects in free-space optical communication systems and other applications related to propagation of optical signals in the atmosphere.

A Big Five facet analysis of sub-clinical narcissism: understanding boldness in terms of well-known personality traits.

PubMed

Furnham, Adrian; Crump, John

2014-08-01

This study aimed to examine a Big Five 'bright-side' analysis of a sub-clinical personality disorder, i.e. narcissism. A total of 6957 British adults completed the NEO-PI-R, which measures the Big Five Personality factors at the domain and the facet level, as well as the Hogan Development Survey (HDS), which has a measure of Narcissism called Bold as one of its dysfunctional interpersonal tendencies. Correlation and regression results confirmed many of the associations between the Big Five domains and facets (NEO-PI-R) and sub-clinical narcissism. The Bold (Narcissism) scale from the HDS was the criterion variable in all analyses. Bold individuals are disagreeable extraverts with very low scores on facet Modesty but moderately high scores on Assertiveness, Competence and Achievement Striving. The study confirmed work using different population groups and different measures. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Magnetic evidence for heavy metal pollution of topsoil in Shanghai, China

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Guan; Liu, Yuan; Chen, Jiao; Ren, Feifan; Chen, Yuying; Ye, Fangzhou; Zhang, Weiguo

2018-03-01

This study presents the results obtained from magnetic susceptibility and heavy metal (Cu, Zn, Pb, and Cr) concentration measurements of soil profiles collected from arable land and urban parks in Baoshan District, an industrial district of Shanghai, China. The study focuses on the investigation of vertical variations in magnetic susceptibilities and heavy metal concentrations and on correlations between magnetic susceptibilities and heavy metal concentrations in soil profiles. The results demonstrate that magnetic enhancement in the surface layer of the soil profile is associated with increased heavy metal pollution. The enrichment factors (EF) and the Tomlinson Pollution Load Index (PLI-EF) are calculated for estimating the level of heavy metal pollution of soil profiles in the study. The significant positive correlations between heavy metal contents, enrichment factors (EF), Tomlinson pollution load index (PLI-CF), modified Tomlinson pollution load index (PLI-EF), and magnetic susceptibility (c) indicate that much of the heavy metal contamination in the study area is linked to combustion derived particulate emissions. The results confirm that the combined magnetic measurement and heavy metal concentration analysis could provide useful information for soil monitoring in urban environments. However, the use of magnetic technique to locate the heavy metal pollution boundary in the soil profile of this studied area should be confirmed by further geochemical analysis.

Modification of jet-like correlations in Pb-Au collisions at 158A GeV/c

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ceres Collaboration; Adamová, D.; Agakichiev, G.; Antończyk, D.; Appelshäuser, H.; Belaga, V.; Bielčíková, J.; Braun-Munzinger, P.; Busch, O.; Cherlin, A.; Damjanović, S.; Dietel, T.; Dietrich, L.; Drees, A.; Dubitzky, W.; Esumi, S. I.; Filimonov, K.; Fomenko, K.; Fraenkel, Z.; Garabatos, C.; Glässel, P.; Holeczek, J.; Kalisky, M.; Kniege, S.; Kushpil, V.; Maas, A.; Marín, A.; Milošević, J.; Milov, A.; Miśkowiec, D.; Panebrattsev, Yu.; Petchenova, O.; Petráček, V.; Pfeiffer, A.; Płoskoń, M.; Rak, J.; Ravinovich, I.; Rehak, P.; Sako, H.; Schmitz, W.; Schuchmann, S.; Sedykh, S.; Shimansky, S.; Stachel, J.; Šumbera, M.; Tilsner, H.; Tserruya, I.; Wessels, J. P.; Wienold, T.; Wurm, J. P.; Xie, W.; Yurevich, S.; Yurevich, V.

2009-07-01

Results of a two-particle correlation analysis of high-p charged particles in Pb-Au collisions at 158A GeV/c are presented. The data have been recorded by the CERES experiment at the CERN-SPS. The correlations are studied as function of transverse momentum, particle charge and collision centrality. We observe a jet-like structure in the vicinity of a high-p trigger particle and a broad back-to-back distribution. The yields of associated particles per trigger show a strong dependence on the trigger/associate charge combination. A comparison to PYTHIA confirms the jet-like pattern at the near-side but suggests a strong modification at the away-side, implying significant energy transfer of the hard-scattered parton to the medium.

Development and validation of the coronary heart disease scale under the system of quality of life instruments for chronic diseases QLICD-CHD: combinations of classical test theory and Generalizability Theory.

PubMed

Wan, Chonghua; Li, Hezhan; Fan, Xuejin; Yang, Ruixue; Pan, Jiahua; Chen, Wenru; Zhao, Rong

2014-06-04

Quality of life (QOL) for patients with coronary heart disease (CHD) is now concerned worldwide with the specific instruments being seldom and no one developed by the modular approach. This paper is aimed to develop the CHD scale of the system of Quality of Life Instruments for Chronic Diseases (QLICD-CHD) by the modular approach and validate it by both classical test theory and Generalizability Theory. The QLICD-CHD was developed based on programmed decision procedures with multiple nominal and focus group discussions, in-depth interview, pre-testing and quantitative statistical procedures. 146 inpatients with CHD were used to provide the data measuring QOL three times before and after treatments. The psychometric properties of the scale were evaluated with respect to validity, reliability and responsiveness employing correlation analysis, factor analyses, multi-trait scaling analysis, t-tests and also G studies and D studies of Genralizability Theory analysis. Multi-trait scaling analysis, correlation and factor analyses confirmed good construct validity and criterion-related validity when using SF-36 as a criterion. The internal consistency α and test-retest reliability coefficients (Pearson r and Intra-class correlations ICC) for the overall instrument and all domains were higher than 0.70 and 0.80 respectively; The overall and all domains except for social domain had statistically significant changes after treatments with moderate effect size SRM (standardized response mea) ranging from 0.32 to 0.67. G-coefficients and index of dependability (Ф coefficients) confirmed the reliability of the scale further with more exact variance components. The QLICD-CHD has good validity, reliability, and moderate responsiveness and some highlights, and can be used as the quality of life instrument for patients with CHD. However, in order to obtain better reliability, the numbers of items for social domain should be increased or the items' quality, not quantity, should be improved.

Leverage effect and its causality in the Korea composite stock price index

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lee, Chang-Yong

2012-02-01

In this paper, we investigate the leverage effect and its causality in the time series of the Korea Composite Stock Price Index from November of 1997 to September of 2010. The leverage effect, which can be quantitatively expressed as a negative correlation between past return and future volatility, is measured by using the cross-correlation coefficient of different time lags between the two time series of the return and the volatility. We find that past return and future volatility are negatively correlated and that the cross correlation is moderate and decays over 60 trading days. We also carry out a partial correlation analysis in order to confirm that the negative correlation between past return and future volatility is neither an artifact nor influenced by the traded volume. To determine the causality of the leverage effect within the decay time, we additionally estimate the cross correlation between past volatility and future return. With the estimate, we perform a statistical hypothesis test to demonstrate that the causal relation is in favor of the return influencing the volatility rather than the other way around.

The Development of an Instrument to Measure the Project Competences of College Students in Online Project-Based Learning

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lin, Chien-Liang

2018-02-01

This study sought to develop a self-report instrument to be used in the assessment of the project competences of college students engaged in online project-based learning. Three scales of the KIPSSE instrument developed for this study, namely, the knowledge integration, project skills, and self-efficacy scales, were based on related theories and the analysis results of three project advisor interviews. Those items of knowledge integration and project skill scales focused on the integration of different disciplines and technological skills separately. Two samples of data were collected from information technology-related courses taught with an online project-based learning strategy over different semesters at a college in southern Taiwan. The validity and reliability of the KIPSSE instrument were confirmed through item analysis and confirmatory factor analysis using structural equation modeling of two samples of students' online response sets separately. The Cronbach's alpha reliability coefficient for the entire instrument was 0.931; for each scale, the alpha ranged from 0.832 to 0.907. There was also a significant correlation ( r = 0.55, p < 0.01) between the KIPSSE instrument results and the students' product evaluation scores. The findings of this study confirmed the validity and reliability of the KIPSSE instrument. The confirmation process and related implications are also discussed.

Quantitative analysis of lead in aqueous solutions by ultrasonic nebulizer assisted laser induced breakdown spectroscopy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhong, Shi-Lei; Lu, Yuan; Kong, Wei-Jin; Cheng, Kai; Zheng, Ronger

2016-08-01

In this study, an ultrasonic nebulizer unit was established to improve the quantitative analysis ability of laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) for liquid samples detection, using solutions of the heavy metal element Pb as an example. An analytical procedure was designed to guarantee the stability and repeatability of the LIBS signal. A series of experiments were carried out strictly according to the procedure. The experimental parameters were optimized based on studies of the pulse energy influence and temporal evolution of the emission features. The plasma temperature and electron density were calculated to confirm the LTE state of the plasma. Normalizing the intensities by background was demonstrated to be an appropriate method in this work. The linear range of this system for Pb analysis was confirmed over a concentration range of 0-4,150ppm by measuring 12 samples with different concentrations. The correlation coefficient of the fitted calibration curve was as high as 99.94% in the linear range, and the LOD of Pb was confirmed as 2.93ppm. Concentration prediction experiments were performed on a further six samples. The excellent quantitative ability of the system was demonstrated by comparison of the real and predicted concentrations of the samples. The lowest relative error was 0.043% and the highest was no more than 7.1%.

Using the angiogenic factors sFlt-1 and PlGF with Doppler ultrasound of the uterine artery for confirming preeclampsia.

PubMed

Bahlmann, Franz; Al Naimi, Ammar

2016-11-01

The aim of this study is to assess the value of the angiogenic factors for diagnosing preeclampsia and predicting the severity of manifestation. A secondary aim is assessing the combination of the uterine artery Doppler with the angiogenic factors for improving the diagnostic power. This is a prospective single center study in a tertiary referral hospital. This study includes 728 individual patients. Inclusion criteria were singleton pregnancies, a referral to the hospital with suspicion of preeclampsia and any one or combination of the following symptoms: headache, upper abdominal pain, edema, and hypertension. Patients with complications that would affect the course of the pregnancy, such as placenta praevia, premature preterm rupture of membranes, breech presentation, and fetal chromosomal or structural anomalies, were excluded from the study. Blood samples collection and uterine artery Doppler ultrasound were performed at time of recruitment. The differences in sFlt-1, PlGF, and their quotient among normal collective and patients with preeclampsia were analyzed. Doppler ultrasound was performed by one of four highly qualified sonographers. Wilcoxon-Mann-Whitney U test, Spearman's rank correlation, receiver operating characteristic curves, Chi-square test, and logistic regression were used in the analysis. A total of 1003 individual samples for the angiogenic factors were included in the analysis. 584 out of the recruited 728 patients had follow-up data with delivery information at the study hospital. Patients with preeclampsia show a significant increase in sFlt-1, which directly correlate with the increased severity of manifestation (Spearman's ρ 0.49). The sFlt-1 cut-off value of 5424 pg/ml confirms preeclampsia with 83.7 % sensitivity, 68.1 % specificity, and 24 % misclassification rate. Preeclampsia patients also show a significant decrease in PlGF, which negatively correlates with the increased severity of manifestation (Spearman's ρ -0.39). A PlGF cut-off value of 118 pg/ml confirms preeclampsia with 47.6 % sensitivity, 71.4 % specificity, and 27 % misclassification rate. Logistic regression shows that a combination of the quotient from sFlt-1/PlGF with notching and uterine artery PI provides a valid model for diagnosing preeclampsia with a diagnostic power of 74.4 %. The study confirms the use of the sFlt-1 and PlGF for diagnosing preeclampsia. It also shows their significance in differentiating between different categories of preeclampsia according to severity. This study shows that the use of angiogenic factors in combination with ultrasound findings provides valid models for confirming preeclampsia.

Validation of the kidney disease quality of life-short form: a cross-sectional study of a dialysis-targeted health measure in Singapore.

PubMed

Joshi, Veena D; Mooppil, Nandakumar; Lim, Jeremy Fy

2010-12-20

In Singapore, the prevalence of end-stage renal disease (ESRD) and the number of people on dialysis is increasing. The impact of ESRD on patient quality of life has been recognized as an important outcome measure. The Kidney Disease Quality Of Life-Short Form (KDQOL-SF™) has been validated and is widely used as a measure of quality of life in dialysis patients in many countries, but not in Singapore. We aimed to determine the reliability and validity of the KDQOL-SF™ for haemodialysis patients in Singapore. From December 2006 through January 2007, this cross-sectional study gathered data on patients ≥21 years old, who were undergoing haemodialysis at National Kidney Foundation in Singapore. We used exploratory factor analysis to determine construct validity of the eight KDQOL-SF™ sub-scales, Cronbach's alpha coefficient to determine internal consistency reliability, correlation of the overall health rating with kidney disease-targeted scales to confirm validity, and correlation of the eight sub-scales with age, income and education to determine convergent and divergent validity. Of 1980 haemodialysis patients, 1180 (59%) completed the KDQOL-SF™. Full information was available for 980 participants, with a mean age of 56 years. The sample was representative of the total dialysis population in Singapore, except Indian ethnicity that was over-represented. The instrument designers' proposed eight sub-scales were confirmed, which together accounted for 68.4% of the variance. All sub-scales had a Cronbach's α above the recommended minimum value of 0.7 to indicate good reliability (range: 0.72 to 0.95), except for Social function (0.66). Correlation of items within subscales was higher than correlation of items outside subscales in 90% of the cases. The overall health rating positively correlated with kidney disease-targeted scales, confirming validity. General health subscales were found to have significant associations with age, income and education, confirming convergent and divergent validity. The psychometric properties of the KDQOL-SF™ resulting from this first-time administration of the instrument support the validity and reliability of the KDQOL-SF™ as a measure of quality of life of haemodialysis patients in Singapore. It is, however, necessary to determine the test-retest reliability of the KDQOL-SF™ among the haemodialysis population of Singapore.

Percolation analysis for cosmic web with discrete points

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Jiajun; Cheng, Dalong; Chu, Ming-Chung

2018-01-01

Percolation analysis has long been used to quantify the connectivity of the cosmic web. Most of the previous work is based on density fields on grids. By smoothing into fields, we lose information about galaxy properties like shape or luminosity. The lack of mathematical modeling also limits our understanding for the percolation analysis. To overcome these difficulties, we have studied percolation analysis based on discrete points. Using a friends-of-friends (FoF) algorithm, we generate the S -b b relation, between the fractional mass of the largest connected group (S ) and the FoF linking length (b b ). We propose a new model, the probability cloud cluster expansion theory to relate the S -b b relation with correlation functions. We show that the S -b b relation reflects a combination of all orders of correlation functions. Using N-body simulation, we find that the S -b b relation is robust against redshift distortion and incompleteness in observation. From the Bolshoi simulation, with halo abundance matching (HAM), we have generated a mock galaxy catalog. Good matching of the projected two-point correlation function with observation is confirmed. However, comparing the mock catalog with the latest galaxy catalog from Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) Data Release (DR)12, we have found significant differences in their S -b b relations. This indicates that the mock galaxy catalog cannot accurately retain higher-order correlation functions than the two-point correlation function, which reveals the limit of the HAM method. As a new measurement, the S -b b relation is applicable to a wide range of data types, fast to compute, and robust against redshift distortion and incompleteness and contains information of all orders of correlation functions.

A Study of the Structure-Activity Relationship of GABAA-Benzodiazepine Receptor Bivalent Ligands by Conformational Analysis with Low Temperature NMR and X-ray Analysis

PubMed Central

Han, Dongmei; Försterling, F. Holger; Li, Xiaoyan; Deschamps, Jeffrey R.; Parrish, Damon; Cao, Hui; Rallapalli, Sundari; Clayton, Terry; Teng, Yun; Majumder, Samarpan; Sankar, Subramaniam; Roth, Bryan L.; Sieghart, Werner; Furtmuller, Roman; Rowlett, James; Weed, Mike R.; Cook, James M.

2013-01-01

The stable conformations of GABAA-benzodiazepine receptor bivalent ligands were determined by low temperature NMR spectroscopy and confirmed by single crystal X-ray analysis. The stable conformations in solution correlated well with those in the solid state. The linear conformation was important for these dimers to access the binding site and exhibit potent in vitro affinity and was illustrated for α5 subtype selective ligands. Bivalent ligands with an oxygen-containing linker folded back upon themselves both in solution and the solid state. Dimers which are folded do not bind to Bz receptors. PMID:18790643

Advanced driver assistance system: Road sign identification using VIAPIX system and a correlation technique

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ouerhani, Y.; Alfalou, A.; Desthieux, M.; Brosseau, C.

2017-02-01

We present a three-step approach based on the commercial VIAPIX® module for road traffic sign recognition and identification. Firstly, detection in a scene of all objects having characteristics of traffic signs is performed. This is followed by a first-level recognition based on correlation which consists in making a comparison between each detected object with a set of reference images of a database. Finally, a second level of identification allows us to confirm or correct the previous identification. In this study, we perform a correlation-based analysis by combining and adapting the Vander Lugt correlator with the nonlinear joint transformation correlator (JTC). Of particular significance, this approach permits to make a reliable decision on road traffic sign identification. We further discuss a robust scheme allowing us to track a detected road traffic sign in a video sequence for the purpose of increasing the decision performance of our system. This approach can have broad practical applications in the maintenance and rehabilitation of transportation infrastructure, or for drive assistance.

Long-range correlation properties of coding and noncoding DNA sequences: GenBank analysis.

PubMed

Buldyrev, S V; Goldberger, A L; Havlin, S; Mantegna, R N; Matsa, M E; Peng, C K; Simons, M; Stanley, H E

1995-05-01

An open question in computational molecular biology is whether long-range correlations are present in both coding and noncoding DNA or only in the latter. To answer this question, we consider all 33301 coding and all 29453 noncoding eukaryotic sequences--each of length larger than 512 base pairs (bp)--in the present release of the GenBank to dtermine whether there is any statistically significant distinction in their long-range correlation properties. Standard fast Fourier transform (FFT) analysis indicates that coding sequences have practically no correlations in the range from 10 bp to 100 bp (spectral exponent beta=0.00 +/- 0.04, where the uncertainty is two standard deviations). In contrast, for noncoding sequences, the average value of the spectral exponent beta is positive (0.16 +/- 0.05) which unambiguously shows the presence of long-range correlations. We also separately analyze the 874 coding and the 1157 noncoding sequences that have more than 4096 bp and find a larger region of power-law behavior. We calculate the probability that these two data sets (coding and noncoding) were drawn from the same distribution and we find that it is less than 10(-10). We obtain independent confirmation of these findings using the method of detrended fluctuation analysis (DFA), which is designed to treat sequences with statistical heterogeneity, such as DNA's known mosaic structure ("patchiness") arising from the nonstationarity of nucleotide concentration. The near-perfect agreement between the two independent analysis methods, FFT and DFA, increases the confidence in the reliability of our conclusion.

Long-range correlation properties of coding and noncoding DNA sequences: GenBank analysis

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Buldyrev, S. V.; Goldberger, A. L.; Havlin, S.; Mantegna, R. N.; Matsa, M. E.; Peng, C. K.; Simons, M.; Stanley, H. E.

1995-01-01

An open question in computational molecular biology is whether long-range correlations are present in both coding and noncoding DNA or only in the latter. To answer this question, we consider all 33301 coding and all 29453 noncoding eukaryotic sequences--each of length larger than 512 base pairs (bp)--in the present release of the GenBank to dtermine whether there is any statistically significant distinction in their long-range correlation properties. Standard fast Fourier transform (FFT) analysis indicates that coding sequences have practically no correlations in the range from 10 bp to 100 bp (spectral exponent beta=0.00 +/- 0.04, where the uncertainty is two standard deviations). In contrast, for noncoding sequences, the average value of the spectral exponent beta is positive (0.16 +/- 0.05) which unambiguously shows the presence of long-range correlations. We also separately analyze the 874 coding and the 1157 noncoding sequences that have more than 4096 bp and find a larger region of power-law behavior. We calculate the probability that these two data sets (coding and noncoding) were drawn from the same distribution and we find that it is less than 10(-10). We obtain independent confirmation of these findings using the method of detrended fluctuation analysis (DFA), which is designed to treat sequences with statistical heterogeneity, such as DNA's known mosaic structure ("patchiness") arising from the nonstationarity of nucleotide concentration. The near-perfect agreement between the two independent analysis methods, FFT and DFA, increases the confidence in the reliability of our conclusion.

Meta-analysis: low-dose intake of vitamin E combined with other vitamins or minerals may decrease all-cause mortality.

PubMed

Jiang, Shan; Pan, Zhenyu; Li, Hui; Li, Fenglan; Song, Yanyan; Qiu, Yu

2014-01-01

It has been suggested that vitamin E alone or combined with other vitamins or minerals can prevent oxidative stress and slow oxidative injury-related diseases, such as cardiovascular disease and cancer. A comprehensive search of PubMed/MEDLINE, EMBASE and the Cochrane Library was performed. Relative risk was used as an effect measure to compare the intervention and control groups. A total of 33 trials were included in the meta-analysis. Neither vitamin E intake alone (RR=1.01; 95% CI, 0.97 to 1.04; p=0.77) nor vitamin E intake combined with other agents (RR=0.97; 95% CI, 0.89 to 1.06; p=0.55) was correlated with all-cause mortality. Subgroup analyses revealed that low-dose vitamin E supplementation combined with other agents is associated with a statistically significant reduction in all-cause mortality (RR=0.92; 95% CI, 0.86 to 0.98; p=0.01), and vitamin E intake combined with other agents is associated with a statistically significant reduction in mortality rates among individuals without probable or confirmed diseases (RR=0.92; 95% CI, 0.86 to 0.99; p=0.02). Neither vitamin E intake alone nor combined with other agents is associated with a reduction in all-cause mortality. But a low dose (<400 IU/d) of vitamin E combined with other agents is correlated with a reduction in all-cause mortality, and vitamin E intake combined with other agents is correlated with a reduction in the mortality rate among individuals without probable or confirmed diseases.

Planck 2015 results: XXIII. The thermal Sunyaev-Zeldovich effect-cosmic infrared background correlation

DOE PAGES

Ade, P. A. R.; Aghanim, N.; Arnaud, M.; ...

2016-09-20

In this paper, we use Planck data to detect the cross-correlation between the thermal Sunyaev-Zeldovich (tSZ) effect and the infrared emission from the galaxies that make up the the cosmic infrared background (CIB). We first perform a stacking analysis towards Planck-confirmed galaxy clusters. We detect infrared emission produced by dusty galaxies inside these clusters and demonstrate that the infrared emission is about 50% more extended than the tSZ effect. Modelling the emission with a Navarro-Frenk-White profile, we find that the radial profile concentration parameter is c 500 = 1.00 +0.18 -0.15 . This indicates that infrared galaxies in the outskirtsmore » of clusters have higher infrared flux than cluster-core galaxies. We also study the cross-correlation between tSZ and CIB anisotropies, following three alternative approaches based on power spectrum analyses: (i) using a catalogue of confirmed clusters detected in Planck data; (ii) using an all-sky tSZ map built from Planck frequency maps; and (iii) using cross-spectra between Planck frequency maps. With the three different methods, we detect the tSZ-CIB cross-power spectrum at significance levels of (i) 6σ; (ii) 3σ; and (iii) 4σ. We model the tSZ-CIB cross-correlation signature and compare predictions with the measurements. The amplitude of the cross-correlation relative to the fiducial model is A tSZ-CIB = 1.2 ± 0.3. Finally, this result is consistent with predictions for the tSZ-CIB cross-correlation assuming the best-fit cosmological model from Planck 2015 results along with the tSZ and CIB scaling relations.« less

Planck 2015 results: XXIII. The thermal Sunyaev-Zeldovich effect-cosmic infrared background correlation

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

Ade, P. A. R.; Aghanim, N.; Arnaud, M.

In this paper, we use Planck data to detect the cross-correlation between the thermal Sunyaev-Zeldovich (tSZ) effect and the infrared emission from the galaxies that make up the the cosmic infrared background (CIB). We first perform a stacking analysis towards Planck-confirmed galaxy clusters. We detect infrared emission produced by dusty galaxies inside these clusters and demonstrate that the infrared emission is about 50% more extended than the tSZ effect. Modelling the emission with a Navarro-Frenk-White profile, we find that the radial profile concentration parameter is c 500 = 1.00 +0.18 -0.15 . This indicates that infrared galaxies in the outskirtsmore » of clusters have higher infrared flux than cluster-core galaxies. We also study the cross-correlation between tSZ and CIB anisotropies, following three alternative approaches based on power spectrum analyses: (i) using a catalogue of confirmed clusters detected in Planck data; (ii) using an all-sky tSZ map built from Planck frequency maps; and (iii) using cross-spectra between Planck frequency maps. With the three different methods, we detect the tSZ-CIB cross-power spectrum at significance levels of (i) 6σ; (ii) 3σ; and (iii) 4σ. We model the tSZ-CIB cross-correlation signature and compare predictions with the measurements. The amplitude of the cross-correlation relative to the fiducial model is A tSZ-CIB = 1.2 ± 0.3. Finally, this result is consistent with predictions for the tSZ-CIB cross-correlation assuming the best-fit cosmological model from Planck 2015 results along with the tSZ and CIB scaling relations.« less

Method of Individual Adjustment for 3D CT Analysis: Linear Measurement.

PubMed

Kim, Dong Kyu; Choi, Dong Hun; Lee, Jeong Woo; Yang, Jung Dug; Chung, Ho Yun; Cho, Byung Chae; Choi, Kang Young

2016-01-01

Introduction . We aim to regularize measurement values in three-dimensional (3D) computed tomography (CT) reconstructed images for higher-precision 3D analysis, focusing on length-based 3D cephalometric examinations. Methods . We measure the linear distances between points on different skull models using Vernier calipers (real values). We use 10 differently tilted CT scans for 3D CT reconstruction of the models and measure the same linear distances from the picture archiving and communication system (PACS). In both cases, each measurement is performed three times by three doctors, yielding nine measurements. The real values are compared with the PACS values. Each PACS measurement is revised based on the display field of view (DFOV) values and compared with the real values. Results . The real values and the PACS measurement changes according to tilt value have no significant correlations ( p > 0.05). However, significant correlations appear between the real values and DFOV-adjusted PACS measurements ( p < 0.001). Hence, we obtain a correlation expression that can yield real physical values from PACS measurements. The DFOV value intervals for various age groups are also verified. Conclusion . Precise confirmation of individual preoperative length and precise analysis of postoperative improvements through 3D analysis is possible, which is helpful for facial-bone-surgery symmetry correction.

Spanish adaptation of the internal functioning of the Work Teams Scale (QFI-22).

PubMed

Ficapal-Cusí, Pilar; Boada-Grau, Joan; Torrent-Sellens, Joan; Vigil-Colet, Andreu

2014-05-01

The aim of this article is to develop the Spanish adaptation of the internal functioning of Work Teams Scale (QFI-22). The scale was adapted from the French version, and was applied to a sample of 1,055 employees working for firms operating in Spain. The article analyses the internal structure (exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis) and internal consistency, and provides convergent validity evidence of the scale. The QFI-22 scale shows the same internal structure as the original. Factor analysis confirmed the existence of two factors: interpersonal support and team work management, with good internal consistency coefficients (α1 = .93, α2 = .92). Regarding validity evidence, the QFI-22 scale has significant correlations with other correlates and alternative scales used for comparison purposes. The two factors correlated positively with team vision, participation safety, task orientation and support for innovation (Team Climate Inventory, TCI scale), with progressive culture (Organisational Culture, X-Y scale), and with creating change, customer focus and organisational learning (Denison Organizational Culture Survey, DOCS scale). In contrast, the two factors correlated negatively with traditional culture (X-Y scale). The QFI-22 scale is a useful instrument for assessing the internal functioning of work teams.

[Medical and ecological assessment of climate effects on urolithiasis morbidity in population of Primorsky territory].

PubMed

Koval'chuk, V K

2004-01-01

The article presents medicoecological estimation of quantitative relations between monsoon climate and urolithiasis primary morbidity in the Primorsky Territory. Quantitative estimation of the climate was performed by V. I. Rusanov (1973) who calculated daily meteorological data for 1 p.m. throughout 1991-1999. Primary urolithiasis morbidity for this period of time was provided by regional health department. The data were processed by methods of medical mapping and paired correlation analysis. In the Territory, mapping revealed the same location of the zones with high frequency of discomfortable weather of class V and VI causing chilblain in positive air temperatures and zones with elevated primary urolithiasis morbidity in children and adults. Correlation analysis confirmed mapping results and determined significant negative correlations between frequency of relatively comfortable moment weather classes II-IV and morbidity of children and adults, positive correlation between frequency of discomfortable class VI and adult morbidity. Thus, high frequency of days per year with discomfortable classes of moment weather in low positive air temperatures may be one of the factors of urolithiasis risk in population of the Primorsky Territory. Climatic factors should be taken into consideration in planning primary prophylaxis of this disease in the Primorsky Territory.

Density functional theory and phytochemical study of 8-hydroxyisodiospyrin

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ullah, Zakir; Ata-ur-Rahman; Fazl-i-Sattar; Rauf, Abdur; Yaseen, Muhammad; Hassan, Waseem; Tariq, Muhammad; Ayub, Khurshid; Tahir, Asif Ali; Ullah, Habib

2015-09-01

Comprehensive theoretical and experimental studies of a natural product, 8-hydroxyisodiospyrin (HDO) have been carried out. Based on the correlation of experimental and theoretical data, an appropriate computational model was developed for obtaining the electronic, spectroscopic, and thermodynamic parameters of HDO. First of all, the exact structure of HDO is confirmed from the nice correlation of theory and experiment, prior to determination of its electroactive nature. Hybrid density functional theory (DFT) is employed for all theoretical simulations. The experimental and predicted IR and UV-vis spectra [B3LYP/6-31+G(d,p) level of theory] have excellent correlation. Inter-molecular non-covalent interaction of HDO with different gases such as NH3, CO2, CO, H2O is investigated through geometrical counterpoise (gCP) i.e., B3LYP-gCP-D3/6-31G∗ method. Furthermore, the inter-molecular interaction is also supported by geometrical parameters, electronic properties, thermodynamic parameters and charge analysis. All these characterizations have corroborated each other and confirmed the electroactive nature (non-covalent interaction ability) of HDO for the studied gases. Electronic properties such as Ionization Potential (IP), Electron Affinities (EA), electrostatic potential (ESP), density of states (DOS), HOMO, LUMO, and band gap of HDO have been estimated for the first time theoretically.

CT Scanning in Identification of Sheep Cystic Echinococcosis.

PubMed

Mao, Rui; Qi, Hongzhi; Pei, Lei; Hao, Jie; Dong, Jian; Jiang, Tao; Ainiwaer, Abudula; Shang, Ge; Xu, Lin; Shou, Xi; Zhang, Songan; Wu, Ge; Lu, Pengfei; Bao, Yongxing; Li, Haitao

2017-01-01

We aim to determine the efficiency of CT in identification of cystic echinococcosis in sheep. Fifty-three sheep with liver cysts confirmed by ultrasonography were subject to CT scan to evaluate the number, size, and type of the cysts in liver and lung, confirmed using necropsy. The correlation of numbers between liver cysts and lung cysts was calculated using Pearson analysis. Necropsy indicated a 98% consensus on size, location, number, and activity compared with CT scan. The viable cysts were 53.1% and 50.6% in the liver and lung, respectively. Among the cysts in liver, 35.5%, 9.5%, 5.7%, 10.2%, and 39.1% were Types CE1, CE2, CE3, CE4, and CE5, respectively. The cysts in the lungs, 17.4%, 26.9%, 12.1%, 11.6%, and 32.1%, were Types CE1, CE2, CE3, CE4, and CE5, respectively. A significant correlation was noticed between the number of cysts in liver and those in lung ( R = 0.770, P < 0.001). CT scan is a suitable tool in determining the size and type of cystic hydatid cysts in both liver and lung of sheep. A significant correlation was noticed between the numbers in liver and lung, indicating that lung infection was likely due to the expansion of liver cyst burden pressure.

Active fungi amidst a marine subsurface RNA paleome

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Orsi, W.; Biddle, J.; Edgcomb, V.

2012-12-01

The deep marine subsurface is a vast habitat for microbial life where cells may live on geologic timescales. Since extracellular DNA in sediments may be preserved on long timescales, ribosomal RNA (rRNA) is suggested to be a proxy for the active fraction of a microbial community in the subsurface. During an investigation of eukaryotic 18S rRNA signatures by amplicon pyrosequencing, metazoan, plant, and diatom rRNA signatures were recovered from marine sediments up to 2.7 million years old, suggesting that rRNA may be much more stable than previously considered in the marine subsurface. This finding confirms the concept of a paleome, extending it to include rRNA. Within the same dataset, unique profiles of fungi were found across a range of marine subsurface provinces exhibiting statistically significant correlations with total organic carbon (TOC), sulfide, and dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC). Sequences from metazoans, plants and diatoms showed different correlation patterns, consistent with a depth-controlled paleome. The fungal correlations with geochemistry allow the inference that some fungi are active and adapted for survival in the marine subsurface. A metatranscriptomic analysis of fungal derived mRNA confirms that fungi are metabolically active and utilize a range of organic and inorganic substrates in the marine subsurface.

Correlation of tryptophan fluorescence intensity decay parameters with sup 1 H NMR-determined rotamer conformations: (tryptophan sup 2 )oxytocin

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

Ross, J.B.A.; Schwartz, G.P.; Laws, W.R.

1992-02-18

While the fluorescence decay kinetics of tyrosine model compounds can be explained in terms of heterogeneity derived from the three ground-state {chi}{sup 1} rotamers, a similar correlation has yet to be directly observed for a tryptophan residue. In addition, the asymmetric indole ring might also lead to heterogeneity from {chi}{sup 2} rotations. In this paper, the time-resolved and steady-state fluorescence properties of (tryptophan{sup 2})oxytocin at pH 3 are presented and compared with {sup 1}H NMR results. According to the unrestricted analyses of individual fluorescence decay curves taken as a function of emission wavelength-independent decay constants, only three exponential terms aremore » required. In addition, the preexponential weighting factors (amplitudes) have the same relative relationship (weights) as the {sup 1}H NMR-determined {chi}{sup 1} rotamer populations of the indole side chain. {sup 15}N was used in heteronuclear coupling experiments to confirm the rotamer assignments. Inclusion of a linked function restricting the decay amplitudes to the {chi}{sup 1} rotamer populations in the individual decay curve analyses and in the global analysis confirms this correlation. According to qualitative nuclear Overhauser data, there are two {chi}{sup 2} populations.« less

Sustained expression of steroid receptor coactivator SRC-2/TIF-2 is associated with better prognosis in malignant pleural mesothelioma.

PubMed

Jennings, Cormac J; O'Grady, Anthony; Cummins, Robert; Murer, Bruno; Al-Alawi, Mazen; Madden, Stephen F; Mutti, Luciano; Harvey, Brian J; Thomas, Warren; Kay, Elaine W

2012-01-01

Estrogen receptor beta (ERβ) overexpression by malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM) tumor cells correlates with enhanced patient survival. ER-regulated transcription is mediated by the p160 family of steroid receptor coactivators (SRCs), and SRC isoform overexpression is associated with worse prognosis in many steroid-related malignancies. The aim of this study was to establish whether SRC isoform expression varied between individual MPM tumors with positive or negative prognostic significance. Immunohistochemical analysis of tumor biopsies from 89 subjects with confirmed histological diagnosis of MPM and biopsies from 3 normal control subjects was performed to detect the expression of SRC-1, SRC-2 (TIF-2), SRC-3 (AIB-1), and ERβ. Allred scores for expression of ERβ and each of the SRCs were determined, and Kaplan-Meier survival curves were calculated to correlate biomarker expression, gender, and histology type with postdiagnosis survival. ERβ and all the SRCs were expressed at high levels in normal pleural mesothelium, and expression of each biomarker was reduced or lost in a subset of the MPM subjects; however, postdiagnosis survival only significantly correlated with TIF-2 expression. Low or intermediate expression of TIF-2 correlated with reduced median postdiagnosis survival (9 months) compared with those subjects whose tumors highly expressed TIF-2 (20 months) (p = 0.036, log-rank test). Maintained high expression of TIF-2 in tumor cells is a positive prognostic indicator for postdiagnosis survival in patients with confirmed MPM. This is the first clinical study to correlate high TIF-2 expression with improved patient prognosis in any malignancy.

A detailed analysis of codon usage patterns and influencing factors in Zika virus.

PubMed

Singh, Niraj K; Tyagi, Anuj

2017-07-01

Recent outbreaks of Zika virus (ZIKV) in Africa, Latin America, Europe, and Southeast Asia have resulted in serious health concerns. To understand more about evolution and transmission of ZIKV, detailed codon usage analysis was performed for all available strains. A high effective number of codons (ENC) value indicated the presence of low codon usage bias in ZIKV. The effect of mutational pressure on codon usage bias was confirmed by significant correlations between nucleotide compositions at third codon positions and ENCs. Correlation analysis between Gravy values, Aroma values and nucleotide compositions at third codon positions also indicated some influence of natural selection. However, the low codon adaptation index (CAI) value of ZIKV with reference to human and mosquito indicated poor adaptation of ZIKV codon usage towards its hosts, signifying that natural selection has a weaker influence than mutational pressure. Additionally, relative dinucleotide frequencies, geographical distribution, and evolutionary processes also influenced the codon usage pattern to some extent.

Utility of Metabolomics toward Assessing the Metabolic Basis of Quality Traits in Apple Fruit with an Emphasis on Antioxidants

PubMed Central

Cuthbertson, Daniel; Andrews, Preston K.; Reganold, John P.; Davies, Neal M.; Lange, B. Markus

2012-01-01

A gas chromatography–mass spectrometry approach was employed to evaluate the use of metabolite patterns to differentiate fruit from six commercially grown apple cultivars harvested in 2008. Principal component analysis (PCA) of apple fruit peel and flesh data indicated that individual cultivar replicates clustered together and were separated from all other cultivar samples. An independent metabolomics investigation with fruit harvested in 2003 confirmed the separate clustering of fruit from different cultivars. Further evidence for cultivar separation was obtained using a hierarchical clustering analysis. An evaluation of PCA component loadings revealed specific metabolite classes that contributed the most to each principal component, whereas a correlation analysis demonstrated that specific metabolites correlate directly with quality traits such as antioxidant activity, total phenolics, and total anthocyanins, which are important parameters in the selection of breeding germplasm. These data sets lay the foundation for elucidating the metabolic basis of commercially important fruit quality traits. PMID:22881116

Spin-1/2 Heisenberg antiferromagnet on the pyrochlore lattice: An exact diagonalization study

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chandra, V. Ravi; Sahoo, Jyotisman

2018-04-01

We present exact diagonalization calculations for the spin-1/2 nearest-neighbor antiferromagnet on the pyrochlore lattice. We study a section of the lattice in the [111] direction and analyze the Hamiltonian of the breathing pyrochlore system with two coupling constants J1 and J2 for tetrahedra of different orientations and investigate the evolution of the system from the limit of disconnected tetrahedra (J2=0 ) to a correlated state at J1=J2 . We evaluate the low-energy spectrum, two and four spin correlations, and spin chirality correlations for a system size of up to 36 sites. The model shows a fast decay of spin correlations and we confirm the presence of several singlet excitations below the lowest magnetic excitation. We find chirality correlations near J1=J2 to be small at the length scales available at this system size. Evaluation of dimer-dimer correlations and analysis of the nature of the entanglement of the tetrahedral unit shows that the triplet sector of the tetrahedron contributes significantly to the ground-state entanglement at J1=J2 .

Culture in the cockpit: do Hofstede's dimensions replicate?

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Merritt, A.; Helmreich, R. L. (Principal Investigator)

2000-01-01

Survey data collected from 9,400 male commercial airline pilots in 19 countries were used in a replication study of Hofstede's indexes of national culture. The analysis that removed the constraint of item equivalence proved superior, both conceptually and empirically, to the analysis using Hofstede's items and formulae as prescribed, and rendered significant replication correlations for all indexes (Individualism-Collectivism .96, Power Distance .87, Masculinity-Femininity .75, and Uncertainty Avoidance .68). The successful replication confirms that national culture exerts an influence on cockpit behavior over and above the professional culture of pilots, and that "one size fits all" training is inappropriate.

MRI correlates of general intelligence in neurotypical adults.

PubMed

Malpas, Charles B; Genc, Sila; Saling, Michael M; Velakoulis, Dennis; Desmond, Patricia M; O'Brien, Terence J

2016-02-01

There is growing interest in the neurobiological substrate of general intelligence. Psychometric estimates of general intelligence are reduced in a range of neurological disorders, leading to practical application as sensitive, but non-specific, markers of cerebral disorder. This study examined estimates of general intelligence in neurotypical adults using diffusion tensor imaging and resting-state functional connectivity analysis. General intelligence was related to white matter organisation across multiple brain regions, confirming previous work in older healthy adults. We also found that variation in general intelligence was related to a large functional sub-network involving all cortical lobes of the brain. These findings confirm that individual variance in general intelligence is related to diffusely represented brain networks. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Confirmation of the Basic Psychological Needs in Exercise Scale (BPNES) With a Sample of People who do Healthy Exercise

PubMed Central

Moreno-Murcia, Juan A; Martínez-Galindo, Celestina; Moreno-Pérez, Víctor; Marcos, Pablo J.; Borges, Fernanda

2012-01-01

This study aimed to cross-validate the psychometric properties of the Basic Psychological Needs in Exercise Scale (BPNES) by Vlachopoulos and Michailidou, 2006 in a Spanish context. Two studies were conducted. Confirmatory factor analysis results confirmed the hypothesized three-factor solution In addition, we documented evidence of reliability, analysed as internal consistency and temporal stability. Future studies should analyse the scale's validity and reliability with different populations and check their experimental effect. Key pointsThe Basic Psychological Needs in Exercise Scale (BPNES) is valid and reliable for measuring basic psychological needs in healthy physical exercise in the Spanish context.The factor structure of three correlated factors has shown minimal invariance across gender. PMID:24149130

Methylation of MORC1: A possible biomarker for depression?

PubMed

Mundorf, Annakarina; Schmitz, Judith; Güntürkün, Onur; Freund, Nadja; Ocklenburg, Sebastian

2018-05-30

New findings identified the MORC1 gene as a link between early life stress and major depression. In this study, MORC1 methylation was investigated in 60 healthy human adults (30 women, 30 men) between 19 and 33 years of age. For analysis, DNA was isolated from buccal cells. The results show that DNA methylation in the MORC1 promoter region significantly correlates with the Beck Depression Inventory score in the examined non-clinical population. Sum score of birth complications, however, seems to correlate negatively with methylation. These findings further confirm that MORC1 is a stress sensitive gene and a possible biomarker for depression. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

A novel secret sharing with two users based on joint transform correlator and compressive sensing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhao, Tieyu; Chi, Yingying

2018-05-01

Recently, joint transform correlator (JTC) has been widely applied to image encryption and authentication. This paper presents a novel secret sharing scheme with two users based on JTC. Two users must be present during the decryption that the system has high security and reliability. In the scheme, two users use their fingerprints to encrypt plaintext, and they can decrypt only if both of them provide the fingerprints which are successfully authenticated. The linear relationship between the plaintext and ciphertext is broken using the compressive sensing, which can resist existing attacks on JTC. The results of the theoretical analysis and numerical simulation confirm the validity of the system.

Validation of new psychosocial factors questionnaires: a Colombian national study.

PubMed

Villalobos, Gloria H; Vargas, Angélica M; Rondón, Martin A; Felknor, Sarah A

2013-01-01

The study of workers' health problems possibly associated with stressful conditions requires valid and reliable tools for monitoring risk factors. The present study validates two questionnaires to assess psychosocial risk factors for stress-related illnesses within a sample of Colombian workers. The validation process was based on a representative sample survey of 2,360 Colombian employees, aged 18-70 years. Worker response rate was 90%; 46% of the responders were women. Internal consistency was calculated, construct validity was tested with factor analysis and concurrent validity was tested with Spearman correlations. The questionnaires demonstrated adequate reliability (0.88-0.95). Factor analysis confirmed the dimensions proposed in the measurement model. Concurrent validity resulted in significant correlations with stress and health symptoms. "Work and Non-work Psychosocial Factors Questionnaires" were found to be valid and reliable for the assessment of workers' psychosocial factors, and they provide information for research and intervention. Copyright © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Atom Probe Tomography Analysis of Ag Doping in 2D Layered Material (PbSe) 5(Bi 2Se 3) 3

DOE PAGES

Ren, Xiaochen; Singh, Arunima K.; Fang, Lei; ...

2016-09-07

Impurity doping in two-dimensional (2D) materials can provide a route to tuning electronic properties, so it is important to be able to determine the distribution of dopant atoms within and between layers. Here we report the totnographic mapping of dopants in layered 2D materials with atomic sensitivity and subnanometer spatial resolution using atom, probe tomography (APT). Also, APT analysis shows that Ag dopes both Bi 2Se 3 and PbSe layers in (PbSe) 5(Bi 2Se 3) 3, and correlations :in the position of Ag atoms suggest a pairing across neighboring Bi 2Se 3 and PbSe layers. Finally, density functional theory (DFT)more » calculations confirm the favorability of substitutional-doping for both Pb and Bi and provide insights into the,observed spatial correlations in dopant locations.« less

Autonomic nervous activities associated with bruxism events during sleep.

PubMed

Nukazawa, Shinichi; Yoshimi, Hidehiro; Sato, Sadao

2018-03-01

To confirm the relationship between sleep bruxism (SB) and autonomic nervous (AN) activities to elucidate SB physiology. Subjects included 11 healthy males (mean age, 24.7 ± 2.3 years). These data were recorded in the sleep laboratory using a system composed of a two-axis accelerometer, an infrared camera, electroencephalography, electromyography, and electrocardiography. Time lapse analysis confirmed correlations between AN activity and SB events during sleep in subjects. Relationships between SB strength and length and AN activity were evaluated. Sympathetic nerve (SN) and parasympathetic nerve (PSN) activities occurred significantly in 93.3% of cases (p < 0.01), with similar predictable patterns during SB. Furthermore, SB length and SN activity in seven of the subjects (four subjects, p < 0.05; three subjects p < 0.01), and PSN and SB muscle activities (% maximum voluntary contraction) in five subjects (four subjects, p < 0.05; one subject, p < 0.01) were significantly correlated. The authors believe that SB is closely related to SN as well as PSN activities and may control the AN system.

The genetic basis for cognitive ability, memory, and depression symptomatology in middle-aged and elderly chinese twins.

PubMed

Xu, Chunsheng; Sun, Jianping; Ji, Fuling; Tian, Xiaocao; Duan, Haiping; Zhai, Yaoming; Wang, Shaojie; Pang, Zengchang; Zhang, Dongfeng; Zhao, Zhongtang; Li, Shuxia; Hjelmborg, Jacob V B; Christensen, Kaare; Tan, Qihua

2015-02-01

The genetic influences on aging-related phenotypes, including cognition and depression, have been well confirmed in the Western populations. We performed the first twin-based analysis on cognitive performance, memory and depression status in middle-aged and elderly Chinese twins, representing the world's largest and most rapidly aging population. The sample consisted of 384 twin pairs with a median age of 50 years. Cognitive function was measured using the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) scale; memory was assessed using the revised Wechsler Adult Intelligence scale; depression symptomatology was evaluated by the self-reported 30-item Geriatric Depression (GDS-30)scale. Both univariate and multivariate twin models were fitted to the three phenotypes with full and nested models and compared to select the best fitting models. Univariate analysis showed moderate-to-high genetic influences with heritability 0.44 for cognition and 0.56 for memory. Multivariate analysis by the reduced Cholesky model estimated significant genetic (rG = 0.69) and unique environmental (rE = 0.25) correlation between cognitive ability and memory. The model also estimated weak but significant inverse genetic correlation for depression with cognition (-0.31) and memory (-0.28). No significant unique environmental correlation was found for depression with other two phenotypes. In conclusion, there can be a common genetic architecture for cognitive ability and memory that weakly correlates with depression symptomatology, but in the opposite direction.

Inference for binomial probability based on dependent Bernoulli random variables with applications to meta‐analysis and group level studies

PubMed Central

Bakbergenuly, Ilyas; Morgenthaler, Stephan

2016-01-01

We study bias arising as a result of nonlinear transformations of random variables in random or mixed effects models and its effect on inference in group‐level studies or in meta‐analysis. The findings are illustrated on the example of overdispersed binomial distributions, where we demonstrate considerable biases arising from standard log‐odds and arcsine transformations of the estimated probability p^, both for single‐group studies and in combining results from several groups or studies in meta‐analysis. Our simulations confirm that these biases are linear in ρ, for small values of ρ, the intracluster correlation coefficient. These biases do not depend on the sample sizes or the number of studies K in a meta‐analysis and result in abysmal coverage of the combined effect for large K. We also propose bias‐correction for the arcsine transformation. Our simulations demonstrate that this bias‐correction works well for small values of the intraclass correlation. The methods are applied to two examples of meta‐analyses of prevalence. PMID:27192062

Artificial neural network model of the relationship between Betula pollen and meteorological factors in Szczecin (Poland)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Puc, Małgorzata

2012-03-01

Birch pollen is one of the main causes of allergy during spring and early summer in northern and central Europe. The aim of this study was to create a forecast model that can accurately predict daily average concentrations of Betula sp. pollen grains in the atmosphere of Szczecin, Poland. In order to achieve this, a novel data analysis technique—artificial neural networks (ANN)—was used. Sampling was carried out using a volumetric spore trap of the Hirst design in Szczecin during 2003-2009. Spearman's rank correlation analysis revealed that humidity had a strong negative correlation with Betula pollen concentrations. Significant positive correlations were observed for maximum temperature, average temperature, minimum temperature and precipitation. The ANN resulted in multilayer perceptrons 366 8: 2928-7-1:1, time series prediction was of quite high accuracy (SD Ratio between 0.3 and 0.5, R > 0.85). Direct comparison of the observed and calculated values confirmed good performance of the model and its ability to recreate most of the variation.

Genomic and Proteomic Profiling Reveals Reduced Mitochondrial Function and Disruption of the Neuromuscular Junction Driving Rat Sarcopenia

PubMed Central

Ibebunjo, Chikwendu; Chick, Joel M.; Kendall, Tracee; Eash, John K.; Li, Christine; Zhang, Yunyu; Vickers, Chad; Wu, Zhidan; Clarke, Brian A.; Shi, Jun; Cruz, Joseph; Fournier, Brigitte; Brachat, Sophie; Gutzwiller, Sabine; Ma, QiCheng; Markovits, Judit; Broome, Michelle; Steinkrauss, Michelle; Skuba, Elizabeth; Galarneau, Jean-Rene; Gygi, Steven P.

2013-01-01

Molecular mechanisms underlying sarcopenia, the age-related loss of skeletal muscle mass and function, remain unclear. To identify molecular changes that correlated best with sarcopenia and might contribute to its pathogenesis, we determined global gene expression profiles in muscles of rats aged 6, 12, 18, 21, 24, and 27 months. These rats exhibit sarcopenia beginning at 21 months. Correlation of the gene expression versus muscle mass or age changes, and functional annotation analysis identified gene signatures of sarcopenia distinct from gene signatures of aging. Specifically, mitochondrial energy metabolism (e.g., tricarboxylic acid cycle and oxidative phosphorylation) pathway genes were the most downregulated and most significantly correlated with sarcopenia. Also, perturbed were genes/pathways associated with neuromuscular junction patency (providing molecular evidence of sarcopenia-related functional denervation and neuromuscular junction remodeling), protein degradation, and inflammation. Proteomic analysis of samples at 6, 18, and 27 months confirmed the depletion of mitochondrial energy metabolism proteins and neuromuscular junction proteins. Together, these findings suggest that therapeutic approaches that simultaneously stimulate mitochondrogenesis and reduce muscle proteolysis and inflammation have potential for treating sarcopenia. PMID:23109432

Design, analysis and verification of a knee joint oncological prosthesis finite element model.

PubMed

Zach, Lukáš; Kunčická, Lenka; Růžička, Pavel; Kocich, Radim

2014-11-01

The aim of this paper was to design a finite element model for a hinged PROSPON oncological knee endoprosthesis and to verify the model by comparison with ankle flexion angle using knee-bending experimental data obtained previously. Visible Human Project CT scans were used to create a general lower extremity bones model and to compose a 3D CAD knee joint model to which muscles and ligaments were added. Into the assembly the designed finite element PROSPON prosthesis model was integrated and an analysis focused on the PEEK-OPTIMA hinge pin bushing stress state was carried out. To confirm the stress state analysis results, contact pressure was investigated. The analysis was performed in the knee-bending position within 15.4-69.4° hip joint flexion range. The results showed that the maximum stress achieved during the analysis (46.6 MPa) did not exceed the yield strength of the material (90 MPa); the condition of plastic stability was therefore met. The stress state analysis results were confirmed by the distribution of contact pressure during knee-bending. The applicability of our designed finite element model for the real implant behaviour prediction was proven on the basis of good correlation of the analytical and experimental ankle flexion angle data. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Effective equilibrium picture in the x y model with exponentially correlated noise

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Paoluzzi, Matteo; Marconi, Umberto Marini Bettolo; Maggi, Claudio

2018-02-01

We study the effect of exponentially correlated noise on the x y model in the limit of small correlation time, discussing the order-disorder transition in the mean field and the topological transition in two dimensions. We map the steady states of the nonequilibrium dynamics into an effective equilibrium theory. In the mean field, the critical temperature increases with the noise correlation time τ , indicating that memory effects promote ordering. This finding is confirmed by numerical simulations. The topological transition temperature in two dimensions remains untouched. However, finite-size effects induce a crossover in the vortices proliferation that is confirmed by numerical simulations.

Effective equilibrium picture in the xy model with exponentially correlated noise.

PubMed

Paoluzzi, Matteo; Marconi, Umberto Marini Bettolo; Maggi, Claudio

2018-02-01

We study the effect of exponentially correlated noise on the xy model in the limit of small correlation time, discussing the order-disorder transition in the mean field and the topological transition in two dimensions. We map the steady states of the nonequilibrium dynamics into an effective equilibrium theory. In the mean field, the critical temperature increases with the noise correlation time τ, indicating that memory effects promote ordering. This finding is confirmed by numerical simulations. The topological transition temperature in two dimensions remains untouched. However, finite-size effects induce a crossover in the vortices proliferation that is confirmed by numerical simulations.

Integrated cosmological probes: Extended analysis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nicola, Andrina; Refregier, Alexandre; Amara, Adam

2017-04-01

Recent progress in cosmology has relied on combining different cosmological probes. In an earlier work, we implemented an integrated approach to cosmology where the probes are combined into a common framework at the map level. This has the advantage of taking full account of the correlations between the different probes, to provide a stringent test of systematics and of the validity of the cosmological model. We extend this analysis to include not only cosmic microwave background (CMB) temperature, galaxy clustering, and weak lensing from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) but also CMB lensing, weak lensing from Dark Energy Survey Science Verification (DES SV) data, type Ia supernova, and H0 measurements. This yields 12 auto- and cross-power spectra which include the CMB temperature power spectrum, cosmic shear, galaxy clustering, galaxy-galaxy lensing, CMB lensing cross-correlation along with other cross-correlations, as well as background probes. Furthermore, we extend the treatment of systematic uncertainties by studying the impact of intrinsic alignments, baryonic corrections, residual foregrounds in the CMB temperature, and calibration factors for the different power spectra. For Λ CDM , we find results that are consistent with our earlier work. Given our enlarged data set and systematics treatment, this confirms the robustness of our analysis and results. Furthermore, we find that our best-fit cosmological model gives a good fit to all the data we consider with no signs of tensions within our analysis. We also find our constraints to be consistent with those found by the joint analysis of the WMAP9, SPT, and ACT CMB experiments and the KiDS weak lensing survey. Comparing with the Planck Collaboration results, we see a broad agreement, but there are indications of a tension from the marginalized constraints in most pairs of cosmological parameters. Since our analysis includes CMB temperature Planck data at 10 <ℓ<610 , the tension appears to arise between the Planck high-ℓ modes and the other measurements. Furthermore, we find the constraints on the probe calibration parameters to be in agreement with expectations, showing that the data sets are mutually consistent. In particular, this yields a confirmation of the amplitude calibration of the weak lensing measurements from the SDSS, DES SV, and Planck CMB lensing from our integrated analysis.

Molecular genetic studies in Saudi population; identified variants from GWAS and meta-analysis in stroke.

PubMed

Alharbi, Khalid Khalaf; Ali Khan, Imran; Alotaibi, Mohammad Abdullah; Saud Aloyaid, Abdullah; Al-Basheer, Haifa Abdulaziz; Alghamdi, Naelah Abdullah; Al-Baradie, Raid Saleem; Al-Sulaiman, A M

2018-01-01

Stroke is a multifactorial and heterogeneous disorder, correlates with heritability and considered as one of the major diseases. The prior reports performed the variable models such as genome-wide association studies (GWAS), replication, case-control, cross-sectional and meta-analysis studies and still, we lack diagnostic marker in the global world. There are limited studies were carried out in Saudi population, and we aim to investigate the molecular association of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) identified through GWAS and meta-analysis studies in stroke patients in the Saudi population. In this case-control study, we have opted gender equality of 207 cases and 207 controls from the capital city of Saudi Arabia in King Saud University Hospital. The peripheral blood (5 ml) sample will be collected in two different vacutainers, and three mL of the coagulated blood will be used for lipid analysis (biochemical tests) and two mL will be used for DNA analysis (molecular tests). Genomic DNA will be extracted with the collected blood samples, and specific primers will be designed for the opted SNPs ( SORT1 -rs646218 and OLR1 -rs11053646 polymorphisms) and PCR-RFLP will be performed and randomly DNA sequencing will be carried out to cross check the results. The rs646218 and rs11053646 polymorphisms were significantly associated with allele, genotype and dominant models with and without crude odds ratios (OR's) and Multiple logistic regression analysis (p < 0.05). Correlation between lipid profile and genotypes has confirmed the significant relation between triglycerides and rs646218 and rs1105364 6polymorphisms. However, rs11053646 polymorphism was correlated with HDLC (p = 0.04). Genotypes were examined in both males' vs. males and females' vs. females in cases and control and we concluded that in rs11053646 polymorphisms with male subjects compared between cases and controls found to be associated with dominant model heterozygote genotypes (p < 0.05). The results of the current study confirmed the SORT1 and OLR1  SNPs were associated in the Saudi population. The current results were in the association with the prior study results documented through GWAS and meta-analysis association. However, other ethnic population studies should be performed to rule out in the human hereditary diseases.

Citronellal assumes a folded conformation in solution due to dispersion interactions: A joint NMR-DFT analysis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nardini, Viviani; Dias, Luis Gustavo; Palaretti, Vinicius; da Silva, Gil Valdo José

2018-04-01

Citronellal, an acyclic monoterpenoid, is a small molecule suitable for systematic scanning of its conformational geometric parameters in solution or in the gas phase. We have studied the conformational distribution of citronellal by correlating its structure and theoretical chemical shifts with nuclear magnetic resonance data. Interestingly, folded conformations were the most relevant, as confirmed by NOE experiments. We concluded that the conformational distribution is due to intramolecular dispersion interactions.

Teacher Stress Inventory: validation of the Greek version and perceived stress levels among 3,447 educators

PubMed Central

Kourmousi, Ntina; Darviri, Christina; Varvogli, Liza; Alexopoulos, Evangelos C

2015-01-01

Background The Teacher Stress Inventory (TSI) is an instrument for measuring occupational stress in teachers. This study aimed to translate and adapt it for use in Greece, and then assess its reliability and validity. Methods The Greek versions of the TSI and the 14-item Perceived Stress Scale (PSS-14) were posted on all Greek educators’ official sites during May 2012. A nationwide sample of 3,447 teachers of all levels and specialties completed the questionnaires via the Internet. Reliability was determined by the calculation of Cronbach’s alpha coefficient. Confirmatory factor analysis was conducted and validity was further examined by investigating the correlation of the TSI with the PSS-14 and their association with demographics and work-related factors. Results Satisfactory Cronbach’s alpha values (above 0.70) were found for all TSI dimensions. Confirmatory factor analysis confirmed the two-factor construct of TSI (root mean square error of approximation, comparative fit index, and goodness-of-fit index values were 0.079, 0.956, and 0.951, respectively), confirming the pre-established theory for the two latent variables, Stress Sources and Stress Manifestations. Significant correlations were found between TSI subscales, PSS-14 sex, age, lack of support, and students’ difficulties. Conclusion The Greek version of the TSI was found to have satisfactory psychometric properties, and its use for assessing stress in Greek teachers is warranted. PMID:25834469

Teacher Stress Inventory: validation of the Greek version and perceived stress levels among 3,447 educators.

PubMed

Kourmousi, Ntina; Darviri, Christina; Varvogli, Liza; Alexopoulos, Evangelos C

2015-01-01

The Teacher Stress Inventory (TSI) is an instrument for measuring occupational stress in teachers. This study aimed to translate and adapt it for use in Greece, and then assess its reliability and validity. The Greek versions of the TSI and the 14-item Perceived Stress Scale (PSS-14) were posted on all Greek educators' official sites during May 2012. A nationwide sample of 3,447 teachers of all levels and specialties completed the questionnaires via the Internet. Reliability was determined by the calculation of Cronbach's alpha coefficient. Confirmatory factor analysis was conducted and validity was further examined by investigating the correlation of the TSI with the PSS-14 and their association with demographics and work-related factors. Satisfactory Cronbach's alpha values (above 0.70) were found for all TSI dimensions. Confirmatory factor analysis confirmed the two-factor construct of TSI (root mean square error of approximation, comparative fit index, and goodness-of-fit index values were 0.079, 0.956, and 0.951, respectively), confirming the pre-established theory for the two latent variables, Stress Sources and Stress Manifestations. Significant correlations were found between TSI subscales, PSS-14 sex, age, lack of support, and students' difficulties. The Greek version of the TSI was found to have satisfactory psychometric properties, and its use for assessing stress in Greek teachers is warranted.

Association of elevated pretransplant sCD30 levels with graft loss in 206 patients treated with modern immunosuppressive therapies after renal transplantation.

PubMed

Heinemann, Falko M; Rebmann, Vera; Witzke, Oliver; Philipp, Thomas; Broelsch, Christoph E; Grosse-Wilde, Hans

2007-03-27

Recent reports suggest that high pretransplant serum levels of soluble CD30 (sCD30) are a risk factor for rejections after kidney transplantation. The aim of our study was to elucidate the predictive value of pretransplant sCD30 levels for kidney transplantation outcome in a single-center patient cohort that has been treated with modern immunosuppressive therapies after transplantation. We retrospectively analyzed sCD30 in multiple pretransplant sera from 206 patients, of whom 174 were transplanted with a cadaveric kidney and 32 patients received an allograft from a living donor. Renal function after transplantation was estimated by measuring serum creatinine and by rejection diagnosis. We could demonstrate a statistically significant association between increased pretransplant sCD30 values and graft failures (P=0.005). Receiver operating curve analysis revealed a cutoff value of 124 U/mL pretransplant sCD30. A multivariate analysis confirmed pretransplant sCD30 values >124 U/mL (P=0.011) and rejection episodes (P<0.0001) as independent risk factors for graft loss. Our study revealed a strong correlation between pretransplant sCD30 levels and the incidence of graft failure, but we could not confirm that the development of rejection episodes is correlated with pretransplant sCD30 values.

Quantifying Differential Privacy under Temporal Correlations.

PubMed

Cao, Yang; Yoshikawa, Masatoshi; Xiao, Yonghui; Xiong, Li

2017-04-01

Differential Privacy (DP) has received increasing attention as a rigorous privacy framework. Many existing studies employ traditional DP mechanisms (e.g., the Laplace mechanism) as primitives, which assume that the data are independent, or that adversaries do not have knowledge of the data correlations. However, continuous generated data in the real world tend to be temporally correlated, and such correlations can be acquired by adversaries. In this paper, we investigate the potential privacy loss of a traditional DP mechanism under temporal correlations in the context of continuous data release. First, we model the temporal correlations using Markov model and analyze the privacy leakage of a DP mechanism when adversaries have knowledge of such temporal correlations. Our analysis reveals that the privacy loss of a DP mechanism may accumulate and increase over time . We call it temporal privacy leakage . Second, to measure such privacy loss, we design an efficient algorithm for calculating it in polynomial time. Although the temporal privacy leakage may increase over time, we also show that its supremum may exist in some cases. Third, to bound the privacy loss, we propose mechanisms that convert any existing DP mechanism into one against temporal privacy leakage. Experiments with synthetic data confirm that our approach is efficient and effective.

Kinetic and kinematic follow‐up gait analysis in Doberman Pinschers with cervical spondylomyelopathy treated medically and surgically

PubMed Central

Smith, Rebecca L.; da Costa, Ronaldo C.

2018-01-01

Background The efficacy of treatment of dogs with cervical spondylomyelopathy (CSM) is commonly based on the owner's and clinician's perception of the gait, which is highly subjective and suffers from observer bias. Hypothesis/Objectives To compare selected kinetic and kinematic parameters before and after treatments and to correlate the findings of gait analysis to clinical outcome. Animals Eight Doberman Pinschers with CSM confirmed by magnetic resonsance imaging. Methods Patients were prospectively studied and treated with either medical management (n = 5) or surgery (n = 3). Force plate analysis and 3‐D kinematic motion capture were performed at initial presentation and approximately 8 weeks later. Force plate parameters evaluated included peak vertical force (PVF). Kinematic parameters measured included number of pelvic limb strides, stifle flexion and extension, maximum and minimum thoracic limb distance, truncal sway, and thoracic limb stride duration. Results Kinematic analysis showed that deviation of the spine to the right (truncal sway) was significantly smaller (P < .001) and the degree of right stifle flexion was significantly larger (P = .029) after treatment. Force plate analysis indicated that PVF was significantly different after treatment (P = .049) and the difference of the PVF also was significantly larger (P = .027). However, no correlation was found with either method of gait analysis and clinical recovery. Conclusions and Clinical Importance Kinetic and kinematic gait analysis were able to detect differences in dogs with CSM before and after treatment. A correlation of gait analysis to clinical improvement could not be determined. PMID:29572944

Evaluation of the psychometric properties of the Nighttime Symptoms of COPD Instrument.

PubMed

Mocarski, Michelle; Zaiser, Erica; Trundell, Dylan; Make, Barry J; Hareendran, Asha

2015-01-01

Nighttime symptoms can negatively impact the quality of life of patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). The Nighttime Symptoms of COPD Instrument (NiSCI) was designed to measure the occurrence and severity of nighttime symptoms in patients with COPD, the impact of symptoms on nighttime awakenings, and rescue medication use. The objective of this study was to explore item reduction, inform scoring recommendations, and evaluate the psychometric properties of the NiSCI. COPD patients participating in a Phase III clinical trial completed the NiSCI daily. Item analyses were conducted using weekly mean and single day scores. Descriptive statistics (including percentage of respondents at floor/ceiling and inter-item correlations), factor analyses, and Rasch model analyses were conducted to examine item performance and scoring. Test-retest reliability was assessed for the final instrument using the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC). Correlations with assessments conducted during study visits were used to evaluate convergent and known-groups validity. Data from 1,663 COPD patients aged 40-93 years were analyzed. Item analyses supported the generation of four scores. A one-factor structure was confirmed with factor analysis and Rasch analysis for the symptom severity score. Test-retest reliability was confirmed for the six-item symptom severity (ICC, 0.85), number of nighttime awakenings (ICC, 0.82), and rescue medication (ICC, 0.68) scores. Convergent validity was supported by significant correlations between the NiSCI, St George's Respiratory Questionnaire, and Exacerbations of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease Tool-Respiratory Symptoms scores. The results suggest that the NiSCI can be used to determine the severity of nighttime COPD symptoms, the number of nighttime awakenings due to COPD symptoms, and the nighttime use of rescue medication. The NiSCI is a reliable and valid instrument to evaluate these concepts in COPD patients in clinical trials and clinical practice. Scoring recommendations and steps for further research are discussed.

The modified patient enablement instrument: a Portuguese cross-cultural adaptation, validity and reliability study.

PubMed

Remelhe, Mafalda; Teixeira, Pedro M; Lopes, Irene; Silva, Luís; Correia de Sousa, Jaime

2017-01-12

Enabling patients with asthma to obtain the knowledge, confidence and skills they need in order to assume a major role in the management of their disease is cost effective. It should be an integral part of any plan for long-term control of asthma. The modified Patient Enablement Instrument (mPEI) is an easily administered questionnaire that was adapted in the United Kingdom to measure patient enablement in asthma, but its applicability in Portugal is not known. Validity and reliability of questionnaires should be tested before use in settings different from those of the original version. The purpose of this study was to test the applicability of the mPEI to Portuguese asthma patients after translation and cross-cultural adaptation, and to verify the structural validity, internal consistency and reproducibility of the instrument. The mPEI was translated to Portuguese and back translated to English. Its content validity was assessed by a debriefing interview with 10 asthma patients. The translated instrument was then administered to a random sample of 142 patients with persistent asthma. Structural validity and internal consistency were assessed. For reproducibility analysis, 86 patients completed the instrument again 7 days later. Item-scale correlations and exploratory factor analysis were used to assess structural validity. Cronbach's alpha was used to test internal consistency, and the intra-class correlation coefficient was used for the analysis of reproducibility. All items of the Portuguese version of the mPEI were found to be equivalent to the original English version. There were strong item-scale correlations that confirmed construct validity, with a one component structure and good internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha >0.8) as well as high test-retest reliability (ICC=0.85). The mPEI showed sound psychometric properties for the evaluation of enablement in patients with asthma making it a reliable instrument for use in research and clinical practice in Portugal. Further studies are needed to confirm its responsiveness.

Gut microbial metabolites of polyunsaturated fatty acids correlate with specific fecal bacteria and serum markers of metabolic syndrome in obese women.

PubMed

Druart, Céline; Dewulf, Evelyne M; Cani, Patrice D; Neyrinck, Audrey M; Thissen, Jean-Paul; Delzenne, Nathalie M

2014-04-01

The aim of this human study was to assess the influence of prebiotic-induced gut microbiota modulation on PUFA-derived bacterial metabolites production. Therefore, we analyzed the circulating fatty acid profile including CLA/CLnA in obese women treated during 3 months with inulin-type fructan prebiotics. In these patients, we had already determined gut microbiota composition by phylogenetic microarray and qPCR analysis of 16S rDNA. Some PUFA-derived bacterial metabolites were detected in the serum of obese patients. Despite the prebiotic-induced modulation of gut microbiota, including changes in CLA/CLnA-producing bacteria, the treatment did not impact significantly on the circulating level of these metabolites. However, some PUFA-derived bacterial metabolites were positively correlated with specific fecal bacteria (Bifidobacterium spp., Eubacterium ventriosum and Lactobacillus spp.) and inversely correlated with serum cholesterol (total, LDL, HDL). These correlations suggest a potential beneficial effect of some of these metabolites but this remains to be confirmed by further investigation.

Analysis on the correlation between temperature and discharge characteristic of cloud-to-ground lightning discharge plasma with multiple return strokes

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

Qu Haiyan; Chang Zhengshi; Yuan Ping

2011-01-15

The spectra of cloud-to-ground lightning with multiple return strokes have been obtained by using a slitless spectrograph on the Chinese Tibet plateau. Combining the spectra with synchronous electrical information, the correlation among spectral properties, channel temperatures and discharge characteristics, and thermal effects of current is discussed for the first time. The results show that the channel plasma temperature varies significantly from stroke to stroke within a given flash, and the total intensity of spectra is directly proportional to the amplitude of electric field change. Moreover, the positive correlation has been confirmed between the channel plasma temperature and the thermal effectmore » which shows the effect of the electric current accumulation. It is inferred that the total intensity of the spectra should be directly proportional to the intensity of discharge current, and channel temperature is correlated positively with the energy transmission in one return stroke.« less

An Analysis of the Relationship Between Metabolism, Developmental Schedules, and Longevity Using Phylogenetic Independent Contrasts

PubMed Central

de Magalhães, João Pedro; Costa, Joana; Church, George M.

2008-01-01

Comparative studies of aging are often difficult to interpret because of the different factors that tend to correlate with longevity. We used the AnAge database to study these factors, particularly metabolism and developmental schedules, previously associated with longevity in vertebrate species. Our results show that, after correcting for body mass and phylogeny, basal metabolic rate does not correlate with longevity in eutherians or birds, although it negatively correlates with marsupial longevity and time to maturity. We confirm the idea that age at maturity is typically proportional to adult life span, and show that mammals that live longer for their body size, such as bats and primates, also tend to have a longer developmental time for their body size. Lastly, postnatal growth rates were negatively correlated with adult life span in mammals but not in birds. Our work provides a detailed view of factors related to species longevity with implications for how comparative studies of aging are interpreted. PMID:17339640

RAPID3 scores and hand outcome measurements in RA patients: a preliminary study.

PubMed

Qorolli, Merita; Hundozi-Hysenaj, Hajrije; Rexhepi, Sylejman; Rehxepi, Blerta; Grazio, Simeon

2017-06-01

The Routine Assessment of Patient Index Data 3 (RAPID3) is a patient-reported disease activity measure used to assess physical function, pain, and global health in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) without formal joint counts. Since hand involvement and its decreased function are hallmarks of RA, the aim of our study was to investigate the performance of RAPID3 scores with regard to hand function and to confirm previous findings that the RAPID3 score as a disease activity measure is strongly correlated with the DAS28 score. Sixty-eight consecutive patients with RA (85% female), aged 18-75 years, were included in the study and were recruited during their outpatient visit. Apart from demographic and clinical data, the obtained parameters of interest included RAPID3 scores and assessments of the function of the hand, namely, the signal of functional impairment (SOFI)-hand, grip strength, and pulp-to-palm distance, as well the Health Assessment Questionnaire- Disability Index (HAQ-DI) and DAS28 scores. Pearson's correlation coefficient, Student's t test and linear regression were used in the statistical analysis of the results. The significance was set to p < 0.05. A positive correlation was found between RAPID3 scores and HAQ-DI scores, SOFI-hand scores, and pulp-to-palm distance, and negative correlation was observed between RAPID3 scores and grip strength. The order regarding the strength of correlations between RAPID3 scores and other variables (from the strongest to the weakest) was as follows: HAQ-DI, grip strength, SOFI-hand and pulp-to-palm distance. The hand assessment variables had stronger correlations with RAPID3 scores than with DAS28 scores. Our preliminary study showed that RAPID3 scores were strongly correlated with measurements of the functional ability of the hand, demonstrating that RAPID3 can be used as a measure of disease activity in clinical practice and to characterize hand function. Further studies are needed to confirm this result.

Redox properties of biscyclopentadienyl uranium(V) imido-halide complexes: a relativistic DFT study.

PubMed

Elkechai, Aziz; Kias, Farida; Talbi, Fazia; Boucekkine, Abdou

2014-06-01

Calculations of ionization energies (IE) and electron affinities (EA) of a series of biscyclopentadienyl imido-halide uranium(V) complexes Cp*2U(=N-2,6-(i)Pr2-C6H3)(X) with X =  F, Cl, Br, and I, related to the U(IV)/U(V) and U(V)/U(VI) redox systems, were carried out, for the first time, using density functional theory (DFT) in the framework of the relativistic zeroth order regular approximation (ZORA) coupled with the conductor-like screening model (COSMO) solvation approach. A very good linear correlation (R(2) =  0.993) was obtained, between calculated ionization energies at the ZORA/BP86/TZP level, and the experimental half-wave oxidation potentials E1/2. A similar linear correlation between the computed electron affinities and the electrochemical reduction U(IV)/U(III) potentials (R(2) =  0.996) is obtained. The importance of solvent effects and of spin-orbit coupling is definitively confirmed. The molecular orbital analysis underlines the crucial role played by the 5f orbitals of the central metal whereas the Nalewajski-Mrozek (N-M) bond indices explain well the bond distances variations following the redox processes. The IE variation of the complexes, i.e., IE(F) < IE(Cl) < IE(Br) < IE(I) is also well rationalized considering the frontier MO diagrams of these species. Finally, this work confirms the relevance of the Hirshfeld charges analysis which bring to light an excellent linear correlation (R(2) =  0.999) between the variations of the uranium charges and E1/2 in the reduction process of the U(V) species.

Structure-mechanical property correlations in mechanochromic luminescent crystals of boron difluoride dibenzoylmethane derivatives.

PubMed

Krishna, Gamidi Rama; Devarapalli, Ramesh; Prusty, Rajesh; Liu, Tiandong; Fraser, Cassandra L; Ramamurty, Upadrasta; Reddy, Chilla Malla

2015-11-01

The structure and mechanical properties of crystalline materials of three boron difluoride dibenzoylmethane (BF2dbm) derivatives were investigated to examine the correlation, if any, among mechanochromic luminescence (ML) behaviour, solid-state structure, and the mechanical behaviour of single crystals. Qualitative mechanical deformation tests show that the crystals of BF2dbm( (t) Bu)2 can be bent permanently, whereas those of BF2dbm(OMe)2 exhibit an inhomogeneous shearing mode of deformation, and finally BF2dbmOMe crystals are brittle. Quantitative mechanical analysis by nano-indentation on the major facets of the crystals shows that BF2dbm( (t) Bu)2 is soft and compliant with low values of elastic modulus, E, and hardness, H, confirming its superior suceptibility for plastic deformation, which is attributed to the presence of a multitude of slip systems in the crystal structure. In contrast, both BF2dbm(OMe)2 and BF2dbmOMe are considerably stiffer and harder with comparable E and H, which are rationalized through analysis of the structural attributes such as the intermolecular interactions, slip systems and their relative orientation with respect to the indentation direction. As expected from the qualitative mechanical behaviour, prominent ML was observed in BF2dbm( (t) Bu)2, whereas BF2dbm(OMe)2 exhibits only a moderate ML and BF2dbmOMe shows no detectable ML, all examined under identical conditions. These results confirm that the extent of ML in crystalline organic solid-state fluorophore materials can be correlated positively with the extent of plasticity (low recovery). In turn, they offer opportunities to design new and improved efficient ML materials using crystal engineering principles.

Effect of salt intake on blood pressure in patients receiving antihypertensive therapy: Shimane CoHRE Study.

PubMed

Ito, Tomoko; Takeda, Miwako; Hamano, Tsuyoshi; Kijima, Tsunetaka; Yamasaki, Masayuki; Isomura, Minoru; Yano, Shozo; Shiwaku, Kuninori; Nabika, Toru

2016-03-01

Salt intake is recognized as an important risk factor for hypertension in the general population. On the other hand, the availability of various classes of antihypertensive drugs means that it is generally not considered crucial to control the salt intake of hypertensive patients. In this study, we evaluated whether blood pressure (BP) was correlated with 24-hour salt intake in patients receiving antihypertensive therapy. A total of 1496 consecutive participants undergoing health screening examinations were recruited. Subjects were divided into two groups according to their antihypertensive medications checked on prescriptions: 1005 subjects without antihypertensive therapy (untreated subjects) and 491 subjects with antihypertensive therapy (treated subjects). The 24-hour urinary sodium excretion (24h-uNa), a surrogate marker for daily salt intake, was estimated with the formula proposed by Tanaka et al. in 2002. Univariate analysis indicated that 24h-uNa was positively correlated with the systolic BP of both untreated and treated subjects. This was confirmed by multiple linear regression analysis after adjustment for confounding factors (untreated subjects: partial regression coefficient β=1.45 ± 0.26, p<0.001; treated subjects: β=0.75 ± 0.27, p=0.01). Salt intake was also correlated with the pulse pressure in both treated subjects (β=0.55 ± 0.24, p=0.02) and untreated subjects (β=0.93 ± 0.19, p<0.001). These results suggest the importance of reducing salt intake in hypertensive patients on pharmacotherapy, as well as in the general population. Further studies of hypertensive patients employing 24-h urine collection are warranted to confirm the present findings. Copyright © 2015 European Federation of Internal Medicine. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Reliability and validity of the Norwegian WHOQOL-OLD module.

PubMed

Halvorsrud, Liv; Kalfoss, Mary; Diseth, Age

2008-06-01

The aim of this study was to examine the validity and reliability of the Norwegian WHOQOL-OLD six-facet, 24-item module designed for assessing generic quality of life cross-culturally among the elderly. Using quota-stratified sampling defined on the basis of sex, age and geographical representation, 401 respondents were drawn from Statistics Norway and completed postal surveys. An additional 89 elderly completed personal interviews. Correlation and multivariate analyses partly confirmed the relevance of individual items and facets in both groups. All items correlated significantly higher with their original facets, although almost half of these items correlated with other facets in both groups. Multiple regression analysis of the module and two overall questions (dependent variables) showed that three facets made significant contributions to overall health, with Social Participation (B = 0.09) contributing most strongly in the postal-group. In the interview-group, only Social Participation (B = 0.20) was found to make a significant contribution, and this was in relation to overall health satisfaction. When the WHOQOL-BREF total score was considered as the dependent variable, different facets contributed significantly in both groups. Exploratory factor analysis of the WHOQOL-OLD in the combined group of both postal and interview samples, resulted in a five-factor solution (eigenvalues >1) explaining 65% of the cumulative variance in five of the six originally operationalized facets. The most conceptually clear facets were Death and Dying and Sensory Abilities. Further, confirmatory factor analyses in the combined group demonstrated a model with good fit, but with high covariance between the factors. Acceptable internal consistency was shown except for the Past, Present and Future Activities in both groups. Since construct validity was only partially confirmed, exploration of the scale's conceptual validity needs further testing in Norwegian and international samples.

The stable traits of melanoma genetics: an alternate approach to target discovery

PubMed Central

2012-01-01

Background The weight that gene copy number plays in transcription remains controversial; although in specific cases gene expression correlates with copy number, the relationship cannot be inferred at the global level. We hypothesized that genes steadily expressed by 15 melanoma cell lines (CMs) and their parental tissues (TMs) should be critical for oncogenesis and their expression most frequently influenced by their respective copy number. Results Functional interpretation of 3,030 transcripts concordantly expressed (Pearson's correlation coefficient p-value < 0.05) by CMs and TMs confirmed an enrichment of functions crucial to oncogenesis. Among them, 968 were expressed according to the transcriptional efficiency predicted by copy number analysis (Pearson's correlation coefficient p-value < 0.05). We named these genes, "genomic delegates" as they represent at the transcriptional level the genetic footprint of individual cancers. We then tested whether the genes could categorize 112 melanoma metastases. Two divergent phenotypes were observed: one with prevalent expression of cancer testis antigens, enhanced cyclin activity, WNT signaling, and a Th17 immune phenotype (Class A). This phenotype expressed, therefore, transcripts previously associated to more aggressive cancer. The second class (B) prevalently expressed genes associated with melanoma signaling including MITF, melanoma differentiation antigens, and displayed a Th1 immune phenotype associated with better prognosis and likelihood to respond to immunotherapy. An intermediate third class (C) was further identified. The three phenotypes were confirmed by unsupervised principal component analysis. Conclusions This study suggests that clinically relevant phenotypes of melanoma can be retraced to stable oncogenic properties of cancer cells linked to their genetic back bone, and offers a roadmap for uncovering novel targets for tailored anti-cancer therapy. PMID:22537248

Assessment of Brain Derived Neurotrophic Factor in hair to study stress responses: A pilot investigation.

PubMed

Harb, H; González-de-la-Vara, M; Thalheimer, L; Klein, U; Renz, H; Rose, M; Kruse, J; Potaczek, D P; Peters, E M J

2017-12-01

To study pathogenic stress-effects in health and disease, it is paramount to define easy access parameters for non-invasive analysis of biological change in response to stress. Hair samples successfully provide this access for the study of hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal axis (HPA) changes. In this study, we assess the hair expression and corresponding epigenetic changes of a neurotrophin essential for autonomic nervous system function and mental health: brain derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF). In three independent studies in healthy academic volunteers (study I: German students, N=36; study II, German academic population sample, N=28; study III: Mexican students, N=115), BDNF protein expression or BDNF gene (BDNF) histone acetylation was determined. Simultaneously, mental distress and distress-associated somatic complaints were assessed by self-report. In study I, we found a negative correlation between hair-BDNF protein level and hair-cortisol as well as between hair-BDNF and somatic complaints, while hair-cortisol correlated positively with mental distress. In study II, we found a negative correlation between H4 histone acetylation at the BDNF gene P4-promoter and somatic complaints. Regression analysis confirmed confounder stability of associations in both studies. In study III, we confirmed study I and found lower hair-BDNF protein level in volunteers with high somatic complaints, who also reported higher mental distress during the end of term exams. The results indicate that BDNF protein levels can be detected in clipped hair and are associated with somatic complaints and stress in life. In addition, we concluded that plucked hair can provide material for the study of epigenetic changes in stress-affected tissues. These tools can prove valuable for future studies on distress, both under experimental and field conditions. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Developing a Basic Scale for Workers' Psychological Burden from the Perspective of Occupational Safety and Health.

PubMed

Kim, Kyung Woo; Lim, Ho Chan; Park, Jae Hee; Park, Sang Gyu; Park, Ye Jin; Cho, Hm Hak

2018-06-01

Organizations are pursing complex and diverse aims to generate higher profits. Many workers experience high work intensity such as workload and work pressure in this organizational environment. Especially, psychological burden is a commonly used term in workplace of Republic of Korea. This study focused on defining the psychological burden from the perspective of occupational safety and health and tried to develop a scale for psychological burden. The 48 preliminary questionnaire items for psychological burden were prepared by a focus group interview with 16 workers through the Copenhagen Psychosocial Questionnaire II and Mindful Awareness Attention Scale. The preliminary items were surveyed with 572 workers, and exploratory factor analysis, confirmatory factor analysis, and correlation analysis were conducted for a new scale. As a result of the exploratory factor analysis, five factors were extracted: organizational activity, human error, safety and health workload, work attitude, and negative self-management. These factors had significant correlations and reliability, and the stability of the model for validity was confirmed using confirmatory factor analysis. The developed scale for psychological burden can measure workers' psychological burden in relation to safety and health. Despite some limitations, this study has applicability in the workplace, given the relatively small-sized questionnaire.

Physiochemical Characterization of Briquettes Made from Different Feedstocks

PubMed Central

Karunanithy, C.; Wang, Y.; Muthukumarappan, K.; Pugalendhi, S.

2012-01-01

Densification of biomass can address handling, transportation, and storage problems and also lend itself to an automated loading and unloading of transport vehicles and storage systems. The purpose of this study is to compare the physicochemical properties of briquettes made from different feedstocks. Feedstocks such as corn stover, switchgrass, prairie cord grass, sawdust, pigeon pea grass, and cotton stalk were densified using a briquetting system. Physical characterization includes particle size distribution, geometrical mean diameter (GMD), densities (bulk and true), porosity, and glass transition temperature. The compositional analysis of control and briquettes was also performed. Statistical analyses confirmed the existence of significant differences in these physical properties and chemical composition of control and briquettes. Correlation analysis confirms the contribution of lignin to bulk density and durability. Among the feedstocks tested, cotton stalk had the highest bulk density of 964 kg/m3 which is an elevenfold increase compared to control cotton stalk. Corn stover and pigeon pea grass had the highest (96.6%) and lowest (61%) durability. PMID:22792471

[Prenatal genetic diagnosis for a fetus with atypical neurofibromatosis type 1 microdeletion].

PubMed

Lin, Shaobin; Wu, Jianzhu; Zhang, Zhiqiang; Ji, Yuanjun; Fang, Qun; Chen, Baojiang; Luo, Yanmin

2016-04-01

To analyze the correlation between atypical neurofibromatosis type 1(NF1) microdeletion and fetal phenotype. Fetal blood sampling was carried out for a woman bearing a fetus with talipes equinovarus. G-banded karyotyping and single nucleotide polymorphism array (SNP-array) were performed on the fetal blood sample. Fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) was used to confirm the result of SNP array analysis. FISH assay was also carried out on peripheral blood specimens from the parents to ascertain the origin of mutation. The karyotype of fetus was found to be 46, XY by G-banding analysis. However, a 3.132 Mb microdeletion was detected in chromosome region 17q11.2 by SNP array, which overlaped with the region of NF1 microdeletion syndrome. Analyzing of the specimens from the fetus and its parents with FISH has confirmed it to be a de novo deletion. Talipes equinovarus may be an abnormal sonographic feature of fetus with atypical NF1 microdeletion which can be accurately diagnosed with SNP array.

XMM-Newton observations of the non-thermal supernova remnant HESS J1731-347 (G353.6-0.7)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Doroshenko, V.; Pühlhofer, G.; Bamba, A.; Acero, F.; Tian, W. W.; Klochkov, D.; Santangelo, A.

2017-12-01

We report on the analysis of XMM-Newton observations of the non-thermal shell-type supernova remnant HESS J1731-347 (G353.6-0.7). For the first time the complete remnant shell has been covered in X-rays, which allowed direct comparison with radio and TeV observations. We carried out a spatially resolved spectral analysis of XMM-Newton data and confirmed the previously reported non-thermal power-law X-ray spectrum of the source with negligible variations of spectral index across the shell. On the other hand, the X-ray absorption column is strongly variable and correlates with the CO emission thus confirming that the absorbing material must be in the foreground and reinforcing the previously suggested lower limit on distance. Finally, we find that the X-ray emission of the remnant is suppressed towards the Galactic plane, which points to lower shock velocities in this region, likely due to the interaction of the shock with the nearby molecular cloud.

Benzaldehyde in cherry flavour as a precursor of benzene formation in beverages.

PubMed

Loch, Christine; Reusch, Helmut; Ruge, Ingrid; Godelmann, Rolf; Pflaum, Tabea; Kuballa, Thomas; Schumacher, Sandra; Lachenmeier, Dirk W

2016-09-01

During sampling and analysis of alcohol-free beverages for food control purposes, a comparably high contamination of benzene (up to 4.6μg/L) has been detected in cherry-flavoured products, even when they were not preserved using benzoic acid (which is a known precursor of benzene formation). There has been some speculation in the literature that formation may occur from benzaldehyde, which is contained in natural and artificial cherry flavours. In this study, model experiments were able to confirm that benzaldehyde does indeed degrade to benzene under heating conditions, and especially in the presence of ascorbic acid. Analysis of a large collective of authentic beverages from the market (n=170) further confirmed that benzene content is significantly correlated to the presence of benzaldehyde (r=0.61, p<0.0001). In the case of cherry flavoured beverages, industrial best practices should include monitoring for benzene. Formulations containing either benzoic acid or benzaldehyde in combination with ascorbic acid should be avoided. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Meta-analysis identifies 29 additional ulcerative colitis risk loci, increasing the number of confirmed associations to 47.

PubMed

Anderson, Carl A; Boucher, Gabrielle; Lees, Charlie W; Franke, Andre; D'Amato, Mauro; Taylor, Kent D; Lee, James C; Goyette, Philippe; Imielinski, Marcin; Latiano, Anna; Lagacé, Caroline; Scott, Regan; Amininejad, Leila; Bumpstead, Suzannah; Baidoo, Leonard; Baldassano, Robert N; Barclay, Murray; Bayless, Theodore M; Brand, Stephan; Büning, Carsten; Colombel, Jean-Frédéric; Denson, Lee A; De Vos, Martine; Dubinsky, Marla; Edwards, Cathryn; Ellinghaus, David; Fehrmann, Rudolf S N; Floyd, James A B; Florin, Timothy; Franchimont, Denis; Franke, Lude; Georges, Michel; Glas, Jürgen; Glazer, Nicole L; Guthery, Stephen L; Haritunians, Talin; Hayward, Nicholas K; Hugot, Jean-Pierre; Jobin, Gilles; Laukens, Debby; Lawrance, Ian; Lémann, Marc; Levine, Arie; Libioulle, Cecile; Louis, Edouard; McGovern, Dermot P; Milla, Monica; Montgomery, Grant W; Morley, Katherine I; Mowat, Craig; Ng, Aylwin; Newman, William; Ophoff, Roel A; Papi, Laura; Palmieri, Orazio; Peyrin-Biroulet, Laurent; Panés, Julián; Phillips, Anne; Prescott, Natalie J; Proctor, Deborah D; Roberts, Rebecca; Russell, Richard; Rutgeerts, Paul; Sanderson, Jeremy; Sans, Miquel; Schumm, Philip; Seibold, Frank; Sharma, Yashoda; Simms, Lisa A; Seielstad, Mark; Steinhart, A Hillary; Targan, Stephan R; van den Berg, Leonard H; Vatn, Morten; Verspaget, Hein; Walters, Thomas; Wijmenga, Cisca; Wilson, David C; Westra, Harm-Jan; Xavier, Ramnik J; Zhao, Zhen Z; Ponsioen, Cyriel Y; Andersen, Vibeke; Torkvist, Leif; Gazouli, Maria; Anagnou, Nicholas P; Karlsen, Tom H; Kupcinskas, Limas; Sventoraityte, Jurgita; Mansfield, John C; Kugathasan, Subra; Silverberg, Mark S; Halfvarson, Jonas; Rotter, Jerome I; Mathew, Christopher G; Griffiths, Anne M; Gearry, Richard; Ahmad, Tariq; Brant, Steven R; Chamaillard, Mathias; Satsangi, Jack; Cho, Judy H; Schreiber, Stefan; Daly, Mark J; Barrett, Jeffrey C; Parkes, Miles; Annese, Vito; Hakonarson, Hakon; Radford-Smith, Graham; Duerr, Richard H; Vermeire, Séverine; Weersma, Rinse K; Rioux, John D

2011-03-01

Genome-wide association studies and candidate gene studies in ulcerative colitis have identified 18 susceptibility loci. We conducted a meta-analysis of six ulcerative colitis genome-wide association study datasets, comprising 6,687 cases and 19,718 controls, and followed up the top association signals in 9,628 cases and 12,917 controls. We identified 29 additional risk loci (P < 5 × 10(-8)), increasing the number of ulcerative colitis-associated loci to 47. After annotating associated regions using GRAIL, expression quantitative trait loci data and correlations with non-synonymous SNPs, we identified many candidate genes that provide potentially important insights into disease pathogenesis, including IL1R2, IL8RA-IL8RB, IL7R, IL12B, DAP, PRDM1, JAK2, IRF5, GNA12 and LSP1. The total number of confirmed inflammatory bowel disease risk loci is now 99, including a minimum of 28 shared association signals between Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis.

Prior Study of Cross-Cultural Validation of McGill Quality-of-Life Questionnaire in Mainland Mandarin Chinese Patients With Cancer.

PubMed

Hu, Liya; Li, Jingwen; Wang, Xu; Payne, Sheila; Chen, Yuan; Mei, Qi

2015-11-01

The validation of McGill quality-of-life questionnaire (MQOLQ) in mainland China, which had already been used in multicultural palliative care background including Hong Kong and Taiwan, remained unknown. Eligible patients completed the translated Chinese version of McGill questionnaires (MQOL-C), which had been examined before the study. Construct validity was preliminarily assessed through exploratory factor analysis extracting 4 factors that construct a new hypothesis model and then the original model was proved to be better confirmed by confirmatory factor analysis. Internal consistency of all the subscales was within 0.582 to 0.917. Furthermore, test-retest reliability ranged from 0.509 to 0.859, which was determined by Spearman rank correlation coefficient. Face validation and feasibility also confirm the good validity of MQOL-C. The MQOL-C has satisfied validation in mainland Chinese patients with cancer, although cultural difference should be considered while using it. © The Author(s) 2014.

Correlations between Berg balance scale and gait speed in individuals with stroke wearing ankle-foot orthoses - a pilot study.

PubMed

Kobayashi, Toshiki; Leung, Aaron K L; Akazawa, Yasushi; Hutchins, Stephen W

2016-01-01

The Berg balance scale (BBS) is commonly used to assess balancing ability in patients with stroke. The BBS may be a good candidate for clinical assessment prior to orthotic intervention, if it correlates well with outcome measures such as gait speed. The purpose of this study was to investigate the correlation between the BBS measured prior to walking with an ankle-foot orthosis (AFO) and specific temporal-spatial parameters of gait when walking with an AFO donned. Eight individuals with chronic stroke participated in this study. Balancing ability was assessed using the BBS, while temporal-spatial parameters of gait (gait speed, bilateral step length, stride length and step width) were measured using a three-dimensional motion analysis system. The correlations between the BBS and gait parameters were investigated using a non-parametric Kendall's Tau (τ) correlation analysis. The BBS showed correlations with gait speed (τ = 0.64, p < 0.05), the step length of the affected side (τ = 0.74, p < 0.05), and the stride length (τ = 0.64, p < 0.05). Assessment of the BBS prior to AFO prescription may potentially help clinicians to estimate the gait speed achievable following orthotic intervention in patients with stroke. Implications for Rehabilitation Assessment of the BBS prior to AFO prescription may help orthotists to estimate the gait speed following an orthotic intervention in patients with stroke. Assessment of the BBS prior to AFO prescription may help orthotists to understand overall balance and postural control abilities in patients with stroke. A larger scale multifactorial analysis is warranted to confirm the results of this pilot study.

Modified DFA and DCCA approach for quantifying the multiscale correlation structure of financial markets

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yin, Yi; Shang, Pengjian

2013-12-01

We use multiscale detrended fluctuation analysis (MSDFA) and multiscale detrended cross-correlation analysis (MSDCCA) to investigate auto-correlation (AC) and cross-correlation (CC) in the US and Chinese stock markets during 1997-2012. The results show that US and Chinese stock indices differ in terms of their multiscale AC structures. Stock indices in the same region also differ with regard to their multiscale AC structures. We analyze AC and CC behaviors among indices for the same region to determine similarity among six stock indices and divide them into four groups accordingly. We choose S&P500, NQCI, HSI, and the Shanghai Composite Index as representative samples for simplicity. MSDFA and MSDCCA results and average MSDFA spectra for local scaling exponents (LSEs) for individual series are presented. We find that the MSDCCA spectrum for LSE CC between two time series generally tends to be greater than the average MSDFA LSE spectrum for individual series. We obtain detailed multiscale structures and relations for CC between the four representatives. MSDFA and MSDCCA with secant rolling windows of different sizes are then applied to reanalyze the AC and CC. Vertical and horizontal comparisons of different window sizes are made. The MSDFA and MSDCCA results for the original window size are confirmed and some new interesting characteristics and conclusions regarding multiscale correlation structures are obtained.

Familial aggregation and linkage analysis with covariates for metabolic syndrome risk factors.

PubMed

Naseri, Parisa; Khodakarim, Soheila; Guity, Kamran; Daneshpour, Maryam S

2018-06-15

Mechanisms of metabolic syndrome (MetS) causation are complex, genetic and environmental factors are important factors for the pathogenesis of MetS In this study, we aimed to evaluate familial and genetic influences on metabolic syndrome risk factor and also assess association between FTO (rs1558902 and rs7202116) and CETP(rs1864163) genes' single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) with low HDL_C in the Tehran Lipid and Glucose Study (TLGS). The design was a cross-sectional study of 1776 members of 227 randomly-ascertained families. Selected families contained at least one affected metabolic syndrome and at least two members of the family had suffered a loss of HDL_C according to ATP III criteria. In this study, after confirming the familial aggregation with intra-trait correlation coefficients (ICC) of Metabolic syndrome (MetS) and the quantitative lipid traits, the genetic linkage analysis of HDL_C was performed using conditional logistic method with adjusted sex and age. The results of the aggregation analysis revealed a higher correlation between siblings than between parent-offspring pairs representing the role of genetic factors in MetS. In addition, the conditional logistic model with covariates showed that the linkage results between HDL_C and three marker, rs1558902, rs7202116 and rs1864163 were significant. In summary, a high risk of MetS was found in siblings confirming the genetic influences of metabolic syndrome risk factor. Moreover, the power to detect linkage increases in the one parameter conditional logistic model regarding the use of age and sex as covariates. Copyright © 2018. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Association between social support and health-related quality of life among Chinese rural elders in nursing homes: the mediating role of resilience.

PubMed

Wu, Menglian; Yang, Yang; Zhang, Dan; Zhao, Xia; Sun, Yaoyao; Xie, Hui; Jia, Jihui; Su, Yonggang; Li, Yuqin

2018-03-01

This study aims to confirm the relationship between social support and health-related quality of life (HRQOL) among rural Chinese elders in nursing homes, and to examine the mediating role of resilience in the impact of social support on HRQOL. A cross-sectional survey of 205 elders aged 60 and above was conducted in five rural public nursing homes. Sociodemographic characteristics, the SF-36 questionnaire, and information about social support and resilience were collected. The researchers administered the questionnaires to the participants in a face-to-face setting. Descriptive analysis and a correlation matrix were used to indicate characteristics of the participants and bivariate correlations, respectively. The mediation analyses, composed of regression analysis and PROCESS analysis, were preformed to test both direct and indirect effects of social support on HRQOL, namely the mediating role of resilience. Social support was positively related to HRQOL (β = 0.303, p < 0.001) among Chinese rural elders in nursing homes. The mediating role of resilience in the relationship between social support and HRQOL was confirmed (a*b bootstrapped 95% confidence interval = [0.098, 0.257]), which revealed that social support had an indirect effect on HRQOL through resilience. Resilience partially mediates the relationship between social support and HRQOL. The mediation model provides a better understanding of how social support and resilience work together to affect HRQOL, and it could guide the interventions in health care for promoting HRQOL among Chinese rural elders in nursing homes.

18F-FDG PET/CT in gastric MALT lymphoma: a bicentric experience.

PubMed

Albano, Domenico; Bertoli, Mattia; Ferro, Paola; Fallanca, Federico; Gianolli, Luigi; Picchio, Maria; Giubbini, Raffaele; Bertagna, Francesco

2017-04-01

The role of 18F-FDG-PET/CT in evaluating gastric MALT lymphoma is still controversial. In the literature the detection rate of 18F-FDG-PET/CT in patients with gastric MALT lymphoma is variable, and the reason for this heterogeneity is not still clear. Our aim was to investigate the particular metabolic behavior of these lymphoma. Sixty-nine patients (26 female, 43 male) with histologically confirmed gastric MALT lymphoma who underwent a 18F-FDG-PET/CT for initial staging from two centers were included. The PET images were analyzed visually and semi-quantitatively by measuring the maximum standardized uptake value (SUVmax), lesion-to-liver SUVmax ratio, and lesion-to-blood pool SUVmax ratio and compared with Ann Arbor stage, epidemiological (age, sex), histological (presence of gastritis, ulcer, H. pylori infection, plasmacytic differentiation, Ki-67 index), and morphological (tumor size, superficial lesions or mass-forming) characteristics. Thirty-six patients (52 %) had positive PET/CT (average SUVmax was 9±6.7; lesion-to-liver SUVmax ratio 3.7±2.6, lesion-to-blood pool SUVmax ratio 4.8±3.3) at the corresponding gastric lesion; the remaining 33 were not 18F-FDG-avid. In the univariate analysis, 18F-FDG avidity was significantly associated with morphological features (mass forming p<0.001 and high maximum diameter p<0.001), Ann Arbor stage (p=0.010), and Ki67 index (p<0.001) and not correlated with age, sex, presence of gastritis, ulcer, Helicobacter pylori infection, and plasmacytic differentiation. In the multivariate analysis, the correlations with gross morphological appearance, Ann Arbor stage, and Ki-67 score were confirmed. SUVmax, lesion-to-liver SUVmax ratio, and lesion-to-blood pool SUVmax ratio correlated significantly only with Ki67 index (p=0.047; p=0.012; p=0.042). 18F-FDG avidity was noted in 52 % of gastric MALT lymphoma and this avidity is correlated with gross morphological characteristics, tumor stage, and Ki-67 index. SUVmax, lesion-to-liver SUVmax ratio, and lesion-to-blood pool SUVmax ratio are correlated only with Ki-67 index, and only lesion-to-liver SUVmax ratio was independently associated with Ki-67 score.

C-reactive protein and reactive oxygen metabolites in subjects with metabolic syndrome.

PubMed

Kotani, K; Sakane, N

2012-01-01

This cross-sectional study investigated the correlation between diacron reactive oxygen metabolites (d-ROMs) and high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) in subjects with or without metabolic syndrome. Cardiometabolic risk factors, d-ROMs and hs-CRP were determined in 457 women: 123 with metabolic syndrome and 334 without metabolic syndrome. The correlation between d-ROMs and hs-CRP levels was compared between the two groups. The group with metabolic syndrome had significantly higher d-ROMs and hs-CRP levels than the group without metabolic syndrome. While the d-ROMs level was significantly and positively correlated with the hs-CRP level in both groups, the correlation level between the two groups was significantly different. Multiple linear regression analysis adjusted for other cardiometabolic risk factors also showed significant positive correlation between dROMs and hs-CRP levels in both groups. Subjects with metabolic syndrome may have a closer relationship between inflammation and oxidative stress than subjects without metabolic syndrome, possibly reflecting their increased predisposition to atherosclerosis. Further studies are necessary to confirm the observed relationship.

Perception and psychological evaluation for visual and auditory environment based on the correlation mechanisms

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fujii, Kenji

2002-06-01

In this dissertation, the correlation mechanism in modeling the process in the visual perception is introduced. It has been well described that the correlation mechanism is effective for describing subjective attributes in auditory perception. The main result is that it is possible to apply the correlation mechanism to the process in temporal vision and spatial vision, as well as in audition. (1) The psychophysical experiment was performed on subjective flicker rates for complex waveforms. A remarkable result is that the phenomenon of missing fundamental is found in temporal vision as analogous to the auditory pitch perception. This implies the existence of correlation mechanism in visual system. (2) For spatial vision, the autocorrelation analysis provides useful measures for describing three primary perceptual properties of visual texture: contrast, coarseness, and regularity. Another experiment showed that the degree of regularity is a salient cue for texture preference judgment. (3) In addition, the autocorrelation function (ACF) and inter-aural cross-correlation function (IACF) were applied for analysis of the temporal and spatial properties of environmental noise. It was confirmed that the acoustical properties of aircraft noise and traffic noise are well described. These analyses provided useful parameters extracted from the ACF and IACF in assessing the subjective annoyance for noise. Thesis advisor: Yoichi Ando Copies of this thesis written in English can be obtained from Junko Atagi, 6813 Mosonou, Saijo-cho, Higashi-Hiroshima 739-0024, Japan. E-mail address: atagi\\@urban.ne.jp.

Orthorexia nervosa: Assessment and correlates with gender, BMI, and personality.

PubMed

Oberle, Crystal D; Samaghabadi, Razieh O; Hughes, Elizabeth M

2017-01-01

This study investigated whether orthorexia nervosa (ON; characterized by an obsessive fixation on eating healthy) may be predicted from the demographics variables of gender and BMI, and from the personality variables of self-esteem, narcissism, and perfectionism. Participants were 459 college students, who completed several online questionnaires that assessed these variables. A principal components analysis confirmed that the Eating Habits Questionnaire (Gleaves, Graham, & Ambwani, 2013) assesses three internally-consistent ON components: healthy eating behaviors, problems resulting from those behaviors, and positive feelings associated with those behaviors. A MANOVA and its tests of between subjects effects then revealed significant interactions between gender and BMI, such that for men but not women, a higher BMI was associated with greater symptomatology for all ON components. Partial correlation analyses, after controlling for gender and BMI, revealed that both narcissism and perfectionism were positively correlated with all aspects of ON symptomatology. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The Relationship between Grandiose and Vulnerable (Hypersensitive) Narcissism

PubMed Central

Jauk, Emanuel; Weigle, Elena; Lehmann, Konrad; Benedek, Mathias; Neubauer, Aljoscha C.

2017-01-01

Narcissistic grandiosity is characterized by overt expressions of feelings of superiority and entitlement, while narcissistic vulnerability reflects hypersensitivity and introversive self-absorbedness. Clinical evidence suggests that grandiosity is accompanied by vulnerable aspects, pointing to a common foundation. Subclinical personality research, however, views grandiose and vulnerable narcissism as independent traits. Grandiose narcissism displays substantial correlation with extraversion, while vulnerable narcissism correlates highly with introversion. We investigated if (1) controlling for intro-/extraversion might reveal a “common core” of grandiose and vulnerable narcissism, and if (2) the correlation between both aspects might be higher at higher levels of narcissism. Latent variable structural equation modeling and segmented regression analysis confirmed these hypotheses in a large non-clinical sample (N = 1,006). Interindividual differences in intro-/extraversion mask the common core of grandiose and vulnerable narcissism. The association between both aspects increases at high levels (upper 10%) of grandiose narcissism, which suggests a possible transition to clinically relevant (pathological) narcissism. PMID:28955288

Temporal development of the correlation between ozone and potential vorticity in the Arctic in the winters of 1988/1989, 1989/1990, and 1990/1991

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Knudsen, Bjorn; Vondergathen, Peter; Braathen, Geir O.; Fabian, Rolf; Jorgensen, Torben S.; Kyro, Esko; Neuber, Roland; Rummukainen, Markku

1994-01-01

Ozone sonde data of the winters 1988/89, 1989/90, and 1990/91 from a group of Arctic stations are used in this study. The ozone mixing ratio on several isentropic surfaces is correlated to the potential vorticity (P). The P is based on the initialized analysis data from the European Center for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts. Similar investigations were made by Lait et al. (Geophys. Res. Lett., 17, 521-524, March Supplement 1990) for the AASE campaign (January and February 1989), showing how the ozone mixing ratio varies with the distance to the edge of the vortex. Their findings are confirmed and extended to the following two winters. Furthermore we have studied the temporal development of the P-ozone correlations during these winters in order to recognize any chemical ozone depletion.

Characterising volcanic cycles at Soufriere Hills Volcano, Montserrat: Time series analysis of multi-parameter satellite data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Flower, Verity J. B.; Carn, Simon A.

2015-10-01

The identification of cyclic volcanic activity can elucidate underlying eruption dynamics and aid volcanic hazard mitigation. Whilst satellite datasets are often analysed individually, here we exploit the multi-platform NASA A-Train satellite constellation to cross-correlate cyclical signals identified using complementary measurement techniques at Soufriere Hills Volcano (SHV), Montserrat. In this paper we present a Multi-taper (MTM) Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) analysis of coincident SO2 and thermal infrared (TIR) satellite measurements at SHV facilitating the identification of cyclical volcanic behaviour. These measurements were collected by the Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI) and Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) (respectively) in the A-Train. We identify a correlating cycle in both the OMI and MODIS data (54-58 days), with this multi-week feature attributable to episodes of dome growth. The 50 day cycles were also identified in ground-based SO2 data at SHV, confirming the validity of our analysis and further corroborating the presence of this cycle at the volcano. In addition a 12 day cycle was identified in the OMI data, previously attributed to variable lava effusion rates on shorter timescales. OMI data also display a one week (7-8 days) cycle attributable to cyclical variations in viewing angle resulting from the orbital characteristics of the Aura satellite. Longer period cycles possibly relating to magma intrusion were identified in the OMI record (102-, 121-, and 159 days); in addition to a 238-day cycle identified in the MODIS data corresponding to periodic destabilisation of the lava dome. Through the analysis of reconstructions generated from cycles identified in the OMI and MODIS data, periods of unrest were identified, including the major dome collapse of 20th May 2006 and significant explosive event of 3rd January 2009. Our analysis confirms the potential for identification of cyclical volcanic activity through combined analysis of satellite data, which would be of particular value at poorly monitored volcanic systems.

High-resolution Spectroscopic Abundances of Red Giant Branch Stars in NGC 6681

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

O’Malley, Erin M.; Chaboyer, Brian; Knaizev, Alexei

We obtain high-resolution spectra of nine red giant branch stars in NGC 6681 and perform the first detailed abundance analysis of stars in this cluster. We confirm cluster membership for these stars based on consistent radial velocities of 214.5 ± 3.7 km s{sup −1} and find a mean [Fe/H] = −1.63 ± 0.07 dex and [ α /Fe] = 0.42 ± 0.11 dex. Additionally, we confirm the existence of a Na–O anti-correlation in NGC 6681 and identify two populations of stars with unique abundance trends. With the use of HST photometry from Sarajedini et al. and Piotto et al. wemore » are able to identify these two populations as discrete sequences in the cluster CMD. Although we cannot confirm the nature of the polluter stars responsible for the abundance differences in these populations, these results do help put constraints on possible polluter candidates.« less

Confirmatory factor analysis of the Child Oral Health Impact Profile (Korean version).

PubMed

Cho, Young Il; Lee, Soonmook; Patton, Lauren L; Kim, Hae-Young

2016-04-01

Empirical support for the factor structure of the Child Oral Health Impact Profile (COHIP) has not been fully established. The purposes of this study were to evaluate the factor structure of the Korean version of the COHIP (COHIP-K) empirically using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) based on the theoretical framework and then to assess whether any of the factors in the structure could be grouped into a simpler single second-order factor. Data were collected through self-reported COHIP-K responses from a representative community sample of 2,236 Korean children, 8-15 yr of age. Because a large inter-factor correlation of 0.92 was estimated in the original five-factor structure, the two strongly correlated factors were combined into one factor, resulting in a four-factor structure. The revised four-factor model showed a reasonable fit with appropriate inter-factor correlations. Additionally, the second-order model with four sub-factors was reasonable with sufficient fit and showed equal fit to the revised four-factor model. A cross-validation procedure confirmed the appropriateness of the findings. Our analysis empirically supported a four-factor structure of COHIP-K, a summarized second-order model, and the use of an integrated summary COHIP score. © 2016 Eur J Oral Sci.

Validation of Turkish version of brief negative symptom scale.

PubMed

Polat Nazlı, Irmak; Ergül, Ceylan; Aydemir, Ömer; Chandhoke, Swati; Üçok, Alp; Gönül, Ali Saffet

2016-11-01

Negative symptoms in schizophrenia have been assessed by many instruments. However, a current consensus on these symptoms has been built and new tools, such as the Brief Negative Symptom Scale (BNSS), are generated. This study aimed to evaluate reliability and validity of the Turkish version of BNSS. The scale was translated to Turkish and backtranslated to English. After the approval of the translation, 75 schizophrenia patients were interviewed with BNSS, Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS), Calgary Depression Scale for Schizophrenia (CDSS) and Extrapyramidal Symptom Rating Scale (ESRS). Reliability and validity analyses were then calculated. In the reliability analysis, the Cronbach's alpha coefficient was 0.96 and item-total score correlation coefficients were between 0.655-0.884. The intraclass correlation coefficient was 0.665. The inter-rater reliability was 0.982 (p < 0.0001). In the validity analysis, the total score of BNSS-TR was correlated with PANSS Total Score, Positive Symptoms Subscale, Negative Symptoms Subscale, and General Psychopathology Subscale. CDSS and ESRS were not correlated with BNSS-TR. The factor structure of the scale was consisting the same items as in the original version. Our study confirms that the Turkish version of BNSS is an applicable tool for the evaluation of negative symptoms in schizophrenia.

Langerian mindfulness, quality of life and psychological symptoms in a sample of Italian students.

PubMed

Pagnini, Francesco; Bercovitz, Katherine E; Phillips, Deborah

2018-02-06

Noticing new things, accepting the continuously changing nature of circumstances, and flexibly shifting perspectives in concert with changing contexts constitute the essential features of Langerian mindfulness. This contrasts with a "mindless" approach in which one remains fixed in a singular mindset and is closed off to new possibilities. Despite potentially important clinical applications for this construct, few studies have explored them. The instrument developed to measure Langerian mindfulness is the Langer Mindfulness Scale (LMS), although this tool has been limited primarily to English-speaking populations. The study aimed to test LMS validity in the Italian language and to analyze the relationships between Langerian mindfulness and well-being. We translated the LMS into Italian, analyzed its factor structure, and investigated the correlation between mindfulness and quality of life and psychological well-being in a sample of 248 Italian students (88.7% females, mean age 20.05). A confirmatory factor analysis confirmed the tri-dimensional structure of the English LMS in the Italian version. The primary analysis found a significant negative correlation between mindfulness and psychological symptoms including obsessive-compulsive tendencies, depression, anxiety, and paranoid ideation. There was also a positive correlation between mindfulness and reports of quality of life. The Italian LMS appears reliable and it shows relevant correlations with well-being.

Experimental and theoretical studies on the structural, spectroscopic and hydrogen bonding on 4-nitro-n-(2,4-dinitrophenyl) benzenamine

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Subhapriya, G.; Kalyanaraman, S.; Jeyachandran, M.; Ragavendran, V.; Krishnakumar, V.

2018-04-01

Synthesized 4-nitro-N-(2,4-dinitrophenyl) benzenamine (NDPBA) molecule was confirmed applying the tool of NMR. Theoretical prediction addressed the NMR chemical shifts and correlated well with the experimental data. The molecule subjected to theoretical DFT at 6-311++G** level unraveled the spectroscopic and structural properties of the NDPBA molecule. Moreover the structural features proved the occurrence of intramolecular Nsbnd H· · O hydrogen bonding in the molecule which was further confirmed with the help of Frontier molecular orbital analysis. Vibrational spectroscopic characterization through FT-IR and Raman experimentally and theoretically gave an account for the vibrational properties. An illustration of the topology of the molecule theoretically helped also in finding the hydrogen bonding energy.

Proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy in focal cortical dysplasia at 3T.

PubMed

Tschampa, Henriette J; Urbach, Horst; Träber, Frank; Sprinkart, Alois M; Greschus, Susanne; Malter, Michael P; Surges, Rainer; Gieseke, Jürgen; Block, Wolfgang

2015-11-01

Focal cortical dysplasia (FCD) type II is a frequent cause of medically intractable epilepsy. On conventional MRI diagnosis may be difficult. The purpose of our study was to assess the metabolic characteristics of MRI-typical or neuropathologically confirmed FCD II lesions at 3T. In a prospective study, 13 patients with drug-resistant epilepsy and MRI diagnosis of FCD II (seven neuropathologically confirmed) were investigated by single-volume proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy ((1)H MRS). We performed an intra-individual comparison placing spectroscopic volumes of interest in the lesion and in the apparently normal contralateral hemisphere. Spectroscopic results were correlated with clinical data. Matched pair analysis revealed a significant increase in absolute choline (Cho) concentration in the lesion volume (+32%, p=0.015) compared to the control volume. This increase was associated with a significant decrease in N-acetyl-aspartate (NAA) concentration (-13%; p=0.008). Mean myo-inositol (Ins) levels were distinctly (+36%) but not significantly (p=0.051) elevated. Lesional creatine (Cr) concentration correlated significantly with the frequency of seizures (Spearman-Rho r=0.898; p=0.002), while concentrations of NAA, Cho and Ins did not correlate with clinical or imaging parameters. MR spectroscopy revealed a characteristic metabolic pattern in FCD II lesions that helps to distinguish normal from epileptogenic tissue. Copyright © 2015 British Epilepsy Association. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

CT Scanning in Identification of Sheep Cystic Echinococcosis

PubMed Central

Mao, Rui; Qi, Hongzhi; Pei, Lei; Hao, Jie; Dong, Jian; Jiang, Tao; Ainiwaer, Abudula; Shang, Ge; Xu, Lin; Shou, Xi; Zhang, Songan; Wu, Ge; Lu, Pengfei

2017-01-01

Objective We aim to determine the efficiency of CT in identification of cystic echinococcosis in sheep. Methods Fifty-three sheep with liver cysts confirmed by ultrasonography were subject to CT scan to evaluate the number, size, and type of the cysts in liver and lung, confirmed using necropsy. The correlation of numbers between liver cysts and lung cysts was calculated using Pearson analysis. Results Necropsy indicated a 98% consensus on size, location, number, and activity compared with CT scan. The viable cysts were 53.1% and 50.6% in the liver and lung, respectively. Among the cysts in liver, 35.5%, 9.5%, 5.7%, 10.2%, and 39.1% were Types CE1, CE2, CE3, CE4, and CE5, respectively. The cysts in the lungs, 17.4%, 26.9%, 12.1%, 11.6%, and 32.1%, were Types CE1, CE2, CE3, CE4, and CE5, respectively. A significant correlation was noticed between the number of cysts in liver and those in lung (R = 0.770, P < 0.001). Conclusions CT scan is a suitable tool in determining the size and type of cystic hydatid cysts in both liver and lung of sheep. A significant correlation was noticed between the numbers in liver and lung, indicating that lung infection was likely due to the expansion of liver cyst burden pressure. PMID:29082246

SU-F-P-64: The Impact of Plan Complexity Parameters On the Plan Quality and Deliverability of Volumetric Modulated Arc Therapy with Canonical Correlation Analysis

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

Jin, X; Yi, J; Xie, C

Purpose: To evaluate the impact of complexity indices on the plan quality and deliverability of volumetric modulated arc therapy (VMAT), and to determine the most significant parameters in the generation of an ideal VMAT plan. Methods: A multi-dimensional exploratory statistical method, canonical correlation analysis (CCA) was adopted to study the correlations between VMAT parameters of complexity, quality and deliverability, as well as their contribution weights with 32 two-arc VMAT nasopharyngeal cancer (NPC) patients and 31 one-arc VMAT prostate cancer patients. Results: The MU per arc (MU/Arc) and MU per control point (MU/CP) of NPC were 337.8±25.2 and 3.7±0.3, respectively, whichmore » were significantly lower than those of prostate cancer patients (MU/Arc : 506.9±95.4, MU/CP : 5.6±1.1). The plan complexity indices indicated that two-arc VMAT plans were more complex than one-arc VMAT plans. Plan quality comparison confirmed that one-arc VMAT plans had a high quality than two-arc VMAT plans. CCA results implied that plan complexity parameters were highly correlated with plan quality with the first two canonical correlations of 0.96, 0.88 (both p<0.001) and significantly correlated with deliverability with the first canonical correlation of 0.79 (p<0.001), plan quality and deliverability was also correlated with the first canonical correlation of 0.71 (p=0.02). Complexity parameters of MU/CP, segment area (SA) per CP, percent of MU/CP less 3 and planning target volume (PTV) were weighted heavily in correlation with plan quality and deliveability . Similar results obtained from individual NPC and prostate CCA analysis. Conclusion: Relationship between complexity, quality, and deliverability parameters were investigated with CCA. MU, SA related parameters and PTV volume were found to have strong effect on the plan quality and deliverability. The presented correlation among different quantified parameters could be used to improve the plan quality and the efficiency of the radiotherapy process when creating a complex VMAT plan.« less

Schramm-Loewner evolution and perimeter of percolation clusters of correlated random landscapes.

PubMed

de Castro, C P; Luković, M; Pompanin, G; Andrade, R F S; Herrmann, H J

2018-03-27

Motivated by the fact that many physical landscapes are characterized by long-range height-height correlations that are quantified by the Hurst exponent H, we investigate the statistical properties of the iso-height lines of correlated surfaces in the framework of Schramm-Loewner evolution (SLE). We show numerically that in the continuum limit the external perimeter of a percolating cluster of correlated surfaces with H ∈ [-1, 0] is statistically equivalent to SLE curves. Our results suggest that the external perimeter also retains the Markovian properties, confirmed by the absence of time correlations in the driving function and the fact that the latter is Gaussian distributed for any specific time. We also confirm that for all H the variance of the winding angle grows logarithmically with size.

Negative correlation learning for customer churn prediction: a comparison study.

PubMed

Rodan, Ali; Fayyoumi, Ayham; Faris, Hossam; Alsakran, Jamal; Al-Kadi, Omar

2015-01-01

Recently, telecommunication companies have been paying more attention toward the problem of identification of customer churn behavior. In business, it is well known for service providers that attracting new customers is much more expensive than retaining existing ones. Therefore, adopting accurate models that are able to predict customer churn can effectively help in customer retention campaigns and maximizing the profit. In this paper we will utilize an ensemble of Multilayer perceptrons (MLP) whose training is obtained using negative correlation learning (NCL) for predicting customer churn in a telecommunication company. Experiments results confirm that NCL based MLP ensemble can achieve better generalization performance (high churn rate) compared with ensemble of MLP without NCL (flat ensemble) and other common data mining techniques used for churn analysis.

Influence of deep defects on device performance of thin-film polycrystalline silicon solar cells

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fehr, M.; Simon, P.; Sontheimer, T.; Leendertz, C.; Gorka, B.; Schnegg, A.; Rech, B.; Lips, K.

2012-09-01

Employing quantitative electron-paramagnetic resonance analysis and numerical simulations, we investigate the performance of thin-film polycrystalline silicon solar cells as a function of defect density. We find that the open-circuit voltage is correlated to the density of defects, which we assign to coordination defects at grain boundaries and in dislocation cores. Numerical device simulations confirm the observed correlation and indicate that the device performance is limited by deep defects in the absorber bulk. Analyzing the defect density as a function of grain size indicates a high concentration of intra-grain defects. For large grains (>2 μm), we find that intra-grain defects dominate over grain boundary defects and limit the solar cell performance.

Principals' transformational leadership and teachers' collective efficacy.

PubMed

Dussault, Marc; Payette, Daniel; Leroux, Mathieu

2008-04-01

The study was designed to test the relationship of principals' transformational, transactional, and laissez-faire leadership with teachers' collective efficacy. Bandura's theory of efficacy applied to the group and Bass's transformational leadership theory were used as the theoretical framework. Participants included 487 French Canadian teachers from 40 public high schools. As expected, there were positive and significant correlations between principals' transformational and transactional leadership and teachers' collective efficacy. Also, there was a negative and significant correlation between laissez-faire leadership and teachers' collective efficacy. Moreover, regression analysis showed transformational leadership significantly enhanced the predictive capabilities of transactional leadership on teachers' collective efficacy. These results confirm the importance of leadership to predict collective efficacy and, by doing so, strengthen Bass's theory of leadership.

Asymptotic behaviour of two-point functions in multi-species models

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kozlowski, Karol K.; Ragoucy, Eric

2016-05-01

We extract the long-distance asymptotic behaviour of two-point correlation functions in massless quantum integrable models containing multi-species excitations. For such a purpose, we extend to these models the method of a large-distance regime re-summation of the form factor expansion of correlation functions. The key feature of our analysis is a technical hypothesis on the large-volume behaviour of the form factors of local operators in such models. We check the validity of this hypothesis on the example of the SU (3)-invariant XXX magnet by means of the determinant representations for the form factors of local operators in this model. Our approach confirms the structure of the critical exponents obtained previously for numerous models solvable by the nested Bethe Ansatz.

Biosocial determinants of hysterectomy in New Zealand.

PubMed Central

Dharmalingam, A; Pool, I; Dickson, J

2000-01-01

OBJECTIVES: This study examined the prevalence and biosocial correlates of hysterectomy. METHODS: Data were from a 1995 national survey of women aged 20 to 59 years. We applied piecewise nonparametric exponential hazards models to a subsample aged 25 to 59 to estimate the effects of biosocial correlates on hysterectomy likelihood. RESULTS: Risks of hysterectomy for 1991 through 1995 were lower than those before 1981. University-educated and professional women were less likely to undergo hysterectomy. Higher parity and intrauterine device side effects increased the risk. CONCLUSIONS: This study confirms international results, especially those on education and occupation, but also points to ethnicity's mediating role. Education and occupation covary independently with hysterectomy. Analysis of time variance and periodicity showed declines in likelihood from 1981. PMID:10983207

Electrical conduction in PVDF/ZnO-Ag nanocomposites

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Singh, Utpal; Jha, Anal K.; Chandra, K. P.; Kolte, Jayant; Kulkarni, A. R.; Prasad, K.

2018-05-01

A hybrid combination of Ag and ZnO nanoparticles were utilized to fabricate PVDF/ZnO(90/10)-Ag nanocomposites (with Ag as filler: 0.5, 1 and 1.5%) utilizing melt-mixing technique. X-ray diffraction study confirmed the formations of nanocomposites. Electric modulus analysis indicated the dielectric relaxation in this system to be of non- Debye type. Correlated barrier hopping model successfully explained the charge conduction in PVDF/ZnO-Ag nanocomposites and ac conductivity data followed Jonscher's power law.

Dementia knowledge assessment scale (DKAS): confirmatory factor analysis and comparative subscale scores among an international cohort.

PubMed

Annear, Michael J; Toye, Chris; Elliott, Kate-Ellen J; McInerney, Frances; Eccleston, Claire; Robinson, Andrew

2017-07-31

Dementia is a life-limiting condition that is increasing in global prevalence in line with population ageing. In this context, it is necessary to accurately measure dementia knowledge across a spectrum of health professional and lay populations with the aim of informing targeted educational interventions and improving literacy, care, and support. Building on prior exploratory analysis, which informed the development of the preliminarily valid and reliable version of the Dementia Knowledge Assessment Scale (DKAS), a Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) was performed to affirm construct validity and proposed subscales to further increase the measure's utility for academics and educators. A large, de novo sample of 3649 volunteer respondents to a dementia-related online course was recruited to evaluate the performance of the DKAS and its proposed subscales. Respondents represented diverse cohorts, including health professionals, students, and members of the general public. Analyses included CFA (using structural equation modelling), measures of internal consistency (α), and non-parametric tests of subscale correlation (Spearman Correlation) and score differences between cohorts (Kruskal-Wallis one-way analysis of variance). Findings of the CFA supported a 25-item, four-factor model for the DKAS with two items removed due to poor performance and one item moved between factors. The resultant model exhibited good reliability (α = .85; ω h  = .87; overall scale), with acceptable subscale internal consistency (α ≥ .65; subscales). Subscales showed acceptable correlation without any indication of redundancy. Finally, total and DKAS subscale scores showed good discrimination between cohorts of respondents who would be anticipated to hold different levels of knowledge on the basis of education or experience related to dementia. The DKAS has been confirmed as a reliable and valid measure of dementia knowledge for diverse populations that is capable of elucidating knowledge characteristics across four coherent domains: 1) Causes and Characteristics, 2) Communication and Behaviour, 3) Care Considerations, and 4) Risks and Health Promotion. Importantly, the four confirmed subscales clearly distinguish between groups who might be expected to hold differing levels of knowledge about dementia, allowing for a fine-grained level of detail to be established when evaluating baseline understanding or knowledge change associated with educational intervention.

Diastolic Backward-Traveling Decompression (Suction) Wave Correlates With Simultaneously Acquired Indices of Diastolic Function and Is Reduced in Left Ventricular Stunning.

PubMed

Ladwiniec, Andrew; White, Paul A; Nijjer, Sukhjinder S; O'Sullivan, Michael; West, Nick E J; Davies, Justin E; Hoole, Stephen P

2016-09-01

Wave intensity analysis can distinguish proximal (propulsion) and distal (suction) influences on coronary blood flow and is purported to reflect myocardial performance and microvascular function. Quantifying the amplitude of the peak, backwards expansion wave (BEW) may have clinical utility. However, simultaneously acquired wave intensity analysis and left ventricular (LV) pressure-volume loop data, confirming the origin and effect of myocardial function on the BEW in humans, have not been previously reported. Patients with single-vessel left anterior descending coronary disease and normal ventricular function (n=13) were recruited prospectively. We simultaneously measured LV function with a conductance catheter and derived wave intensity analysis using a pressure-low velocity guidewire at baseline and again 30 minutes after a 1-minute coronary balloon occlusion. The peak BEW correlated with the indices of diastolic LV function: LV dP/dtmin (rs=-0.59; P=0.002) and τ (rs=-0.59; P=0.002), but not with systolic function. In 12 patients with paired measurements 30 minutes post balloon occlusion, LV dP/dtmax decreased from 1437.1±163.9 to 1299.4±152.9 mm Hg/s (median difference, -110.4 [-183.3 to -70.4]; P=0.015) and τ increased from 48.3±7.4 to 52.4±7.9 ms (difference, 4.1 [1.3-6.9]; P=0.01), but basal average peak coronary flow velocity was unchanged, indicating LV stunning post balloon occlusion. However, the peak BEW amplitude decreased from -9.95±5.45 W·m(-2)/s(2)×10(5) to -7.52±5.00 W·m(-2)/s(2)×10(5) (difference 2.43×10(5) [0.20×10(5) to 4.67×10(5); P=0.04]). Peak BEW assessed by coronary wave intensity analysis correlates with invasive indices of LV diastolic function and mirrors changes in LV diastolic function confirming the origin of the suction wave. This may have implications for physiological lesion assessment after percutaneous coronary intervention. URL: http://www.isrctn.org. Unique identifier: ISRCTN42864201. © 2016 American Heart Association, Inc.

Social causes of correlational selection and the resolution of a heritable throat color polymorphism in a lizard.

PubMed

Sinervo, B; Bleay, C; Adamopoulou, C

2001-10-01

When selection acts on social or behavioral traits, the fitness of an individual depends on the phenotypes of its competitors. Here, we describe methods and statistical inference for measuring natural selection in small social groups. We measured selection on throat color alleles that arises from microgeographic variation in allele frequency at natal sites of side-blotched lizards (Uta stansburiana). Previous game-theoretic analysis indicates that two color morphs of female side-blotched lizards are engaged in an offspring quantity-quality game that promotes a density- and frequency-dependent cycle. Orange-throated females are r-strategists. They lay large clutches of small progeny, which have poor survival at high density, but good survival at low density. In contrast, yellow-throated females are K-strategists. They lay small clutches of large progeny, which have good survival at high density. We tested three predictions of the female game: (1) orange progeny should have a fitness advantage at low density; (2) correlational selection acts to couple color alleles and progeny size; and (3) this correlational selection arises from frequency-dependent selection in which large hatchling size confers an advantage, but only when yellow alleles are rare. We also confirmed the heritability of color, and therefore its genetic basis, by producing progeny from controlled matings. A parsimonious cause of the high heritability is that three alleles (o, b, y) segregate as one genetic factor. We review the physiology of color formation to explain the possible genetic architecture of the throat color trait. Heritability of color was nearly additive in our breeding study, allowing us to compute a genotypic value for each individual and thus predict the frequency of progeny alleles released on 116 plots. Rather than study the fitness of individual progeny, we studied how the fitness of their color alleles varied with allele frequency on plots. We confirmed prediction 1: When orange alleles are present in female progeny, they have higher fitness at low density when compared to other alleles. Even though the difference in egg size of the female morphs was small (0.02 g), it led to knife-edged survival effects for their progeny depending on local social context. Selection on hatchling survival was not only dependent on color alleles, but on a fitness interaction between color alleles and hatchling size, which confirmed prediction 2. Sire effects, which are not confounded by maternal phenotype, allowed us to resolve the frequency dependence of correlational selection on egg size and color alleles and thereby confirmed prediction 3. Selection favored large size when yellow sire alleles were rare, but small size when they were common. Correlational selection promotes the formation of a self-reinforcing genetic correlation between the morphs and life-history variation, which causes selection in the next density and frequency cycle to be exacerbated. We discuss general conditions for the evolution of self-reinforcing genetic correlations that arise from social selection associated with frequency-dependent sexual and natural selection.

Examining significant factors in micro and small enterprises performance: case study in Amhara region, Ethiopia

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cherkos, Tomas; Zegeye, Muluken; Tilahun, Shimelis; Avvari, Muralidhar

2017-07-01

Furniture manufacturing micro and small enterprises are confronted with several factors that affect their performance. Some enterprises fail to sustain, some others remain for long period of time without transforming, and most are producing similar and non-standard products. The main aim of this manuscript is on improving the performance and contribution of MSEs by analyzing impact of significant internal and external factors. Data was collected via a questionnaire, group discussion with experts and interviewing process. Randomly selected eight representative main cities of Amhara region with 120 furniture manufacturing enterprises are considered. Data analysis and presentation was made using SPSS tools (correlation, proximity, and T test) and impact-effort analysis matrix tool. The correlation analysis shows that politico-legal with infrastructure, leadership with entrepreneurship skills and finance and credit with marketing factors are those factors, which result in high correlation with Pearson correlation values of r = 0.988, 0.983, and 0.939, respectively. The study investigates that the most critical factors faced by MSEs are work premises, access to finance, infrastructure, entrepreneurship and business managerial problems. The impact of these factors is found to be high and is confirmed by the 50% drop-out rate in 2014/2015. Furthermore, more than 25% work time losses due to power interruption daily and around 65% work premises problems challenged MSEs. Further, an impact-effort matrix was developed to help the MSEs to prioritize the affecting factors.

A powerful score-based test statistic for detecting gene-gene co-association.

PubMed

Xu, Jing; Yuan, Zhongshang; Ji, Jiadong; Zhang, Xiaoshuai; Li, Hongkai; Wu, Xuesen; Xue, Fuzhong; Liu, Yanxun

2016-01-29

The genetic variants identified by Genome-wide association study (GWAS) can only account for a small proportion of the total heritability for complex disease. The existence of gene-gene joint effects which contains the main effects and their co-association is one of the possible explanations for the "missing heritability" problems. Gene-gene co-association refers to the extent to which the joint effects of two genes differ from the main effects, not only due to the traditional interaction under nearly independent condition but the correlation between genes. Generally, genes tend to work collaboratively within specific pathway or network contributing to the disease and the specific disease-associated locus will often be highly correlated (e.g. single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in linkage disequilibrium). Therefore, we proposed a novel score-based statistic (SBS) as a gene-based method for detecting gene-gene co-association. Various simulations illustrate that, under different sample sizes, marginal effects of causal SNPs and co-association levels, the proposed SBS has the better performance than other existed methods including single SNP-based and principle component analysis (PCA)-based logistic regression model, the statistics based on canonical correlations (CCU), kernel canonical correlation analysis (KCCU), partial least squares path modeling (PLSPM) and delta-square (δ (2)) statistic. The real data analysis of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) further confirmed its advantages in practice. SBS is a powerful and efficient gene-based method for detecting gene-gene co-association.

Cross-correlating the γ-ray Sky with Catalogs of Galaxy Clusters

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Branchini, Enzo; Camera, Stefano; Cuoco, Alessandro; Fornengo, Nicolao; Regis, Marco; Viel, Matteo; Xia, Jun-Qing

2017-01-01

We report the detection of a cross-correlation signal between Fermi Large Area Telescope diffuse γ-ray maps and catalogs of clusters. In our analysis, we considered three different catalogs: WHL12, redMaPPer, and PlanckSZ. They all show a positive correlation with different amplitudes, related to the average mass of the objects in each catalog, which also sets the catalog bias. The signal detection is confirmed by the results of a stacking analysis. The cross-correlation signal extends to rather large angular scales, around 1°, that correspond, at the typical redshift of the clusters in these catalogs, to a few to tens of megaparsecs, I.e., the typical scale-length of the large-scale structures in the universe. Most likely this signal is contributed by the cumulative emission from active galactic nuclei (AGNs) associated with the filamentary structures that converge toward the high peaks of the matter density field in which galaxy clusters reside. In addition, our analysis reveals the presence of a second component, more compact in size and compatible with a point-like emission from within individual clusters. At present, we cannot distinguish between the two most likely interpretations for such a signal, I.e., whether it is produced by AGNs inside clusters or if it is a diffuse γ-ray emission from the intracluster medium. We argue that this latter, intriguing, hypothesis might be tested by applying this technique to a low-redshift large-mass cluster sample.

Examining significant factors in micro and small enterprises performance: case study in Amhara region, Ethiopia

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cherkos, Tomas; Zegeye, Muluken; Tilahun, Shimelis; Avvari, Muralidhar

2018-07-01

Furniture manufacturing micro and small enterprises are confronted with several factors that affect their performance. Some enterprises fail to sustain, some others remain for long period of time without transforming, and most are producing similar and non-standard products. The main aim of this manuscript is on improving the performance and contribution of MSEs by analyzing impact of significant internal and external factors. Data was collected via a questionnaire, group discussion with experts and interviewing process. Randomly selected eight representative main cities of Amhara region with 120 furniture manufacturing enterprises are considered. Data analysis and presentation was made using SPSS tools (correlation, proximity, and T test) and impact-effort analysis matrix tool. The correlation analysis shows that politico-legal with infrastructure, leadership with entrepreneurship skills and finance and credit with marketing factors are those factors, which result in high correlation with Pearson correlation values of r = 0.988, 0.983, and 0.939, respectively. The study investigates that the most critical factors faced by MSEs are work premises, access to finance, infrastructure, entrepreneurship and business managerial problems. The impact of these factors is found to be high and is confirmed by the 50% drop-out rate in 2014/2015. Furthermore, more than 25% work time losses due to power interruption daily and around 65% work premises problems challenged MSEs. Further, an impact-effort matrix was developed to help the MSEs to prioritize the affecting factors.

Cross-Cultural Adaptation of the Male Genital Self-Image Scale in Iranian Men.

PubMed

Saffari, Mohsen; Pakpour, Amir H; Burri, Andrea

2016-03-01

Certain sexual health problems in men can be attributed to genital self-image. Therefore, a culturally adapted version of a Male Genital Self-Image Scale (MGSIS) could help health professionals understand this concept and its associated correlates. To translate the original English version of the MGSIS into Persian and to assess the psychometric properties of this culturally adapted version (MGSIS-I) for use in Iranian men. In total, 1,784 men were recruited for this cross-sectional study. Backward and forward translations of the MGSIS were used to produce the culturally adapted version. Reliability of the MGSIS-I was assessed using Cronbach α and intra-class correlation coefficients. Divergent and convergent validities were examined using Pearson correlation and known-group validity was assessed in subgroups of participants with different sociodemographic statuses. Factor validity of the scale was investigated using exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses. Demographic information, the International Index of Erectile Function, the Body Appreciation Scale, the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale, and the MGSIS. Mean age of participants was 38.13 years (SD = 11.45) and all men were married. Cronbach α of the MGSIS-I was 0.89 and interclass correlation coefficients ranged from 0.70 to 0.94. Significant correlations were found between the MGSIS-I and the International Index of Erectile Function (P < .01), whereas correlation of the scale with non-similar scales was lower than with similar scale (confirming convergent and divergent validity). The scale could differentiate between subgroups in age, smoking status, and income (known-group validity). A single-factor solution that explained 70% variance of the scale was explored using exploratory factor analysis (confirming uni-dimensionality); confirmatory factor analysis indicated better fitness for the five-item version than the seven-item version of the MGSIS-I (root mean square error of approximation = 0.05, comparative fit index > 1.00 vs root mean square error of approximation = 0.10, comparative fit index > 0.97, respectively). The MGSIS-I is a useful instrument to assess genital self-image in Iranian men, a concept that has been associated with sexual function. Further investigation is needed to identify the applicability of the scale in other cultures or populations. Copyright © 2016 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

The correlation between serum amyloid A and reactive oxygen metabolites in a young Mongolian population.

PubMed

Kotani, Kazuhiko; Yamada, Toshiyuki; Uurtuya, Shuumarjav; Taniguchi, Nobuyuki

2012-01-01

Chronic inflammation and oxidative stress are associated with lifestyle-related diseases. Research into the pathophysiology of lifestyle-related diseases is important for Mongolian people. Our study investigated the correlation among the d-ROMs test (a measure of the total oxidant capacity of blood), serum amyloid A (SAA) and high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) levels in a young Mongolian population. The data, including anthropometric and biochemical markers, were collected from 78 Mongolian volunteers (male/female = 27/ 51, mean age 21 years). The correlation between the SAA and d-ROMs levels was examined, as well as the correlation between the hs-CRP and d-ROMs levels. The SAA levels were 3.2 microg/mL (median), hs-CRP .04 mg/dL (median) and d-ROMs 309 CARR U, respectively. There was a significant and positive correlation between the SAA and d-ROMs levels (r=.40, P<.01), in addition to a significant and positive correlation between the hs-CRP and d-ROMs levels (r = .32, P < .01). These significant correlations remained independent in a multiple linear regression analysis. A subgroup analysis by sex revealed the positive correlation between the SAA and d-ROMs levels to be greater, relative to that between the hs-CRP and d-ROMs levels, particularly in the female group. The coexistence of chronic inflammation and oxidative stress can be present even in young Mongolian people, suggesting that their coexistence may be a target of early prevention of lifestyle-related diseases. In addition, not only hs-CRP, but also SAA can be used to evaluate the relationship of oxidative stress in this population. Further studies are necessary to confirm the observed relationship.

Monitoring Influenza Activity in the United States: A Comparison of Traditional Surveillance Systems with Google Flu Trends

PubMed Central

Ortiz, Justin R.; Zhou, Hong; Shay, David K.; Neuzil, Kathleen M.; Fowlkes, Ashley L.; Goss, Christopher H.

2011-01-01

Background Google Flu Trends was developed to estimate US influenza-like illness (ILI) rates from internet searches; however ILI does not necessarily correlate with actual influenza virus infections. Methods and Findings Influenza activity data from 2003–04 through 2007–08 were obtained from three US surveillance systems: Google Flu Trends, CDC Outpatient ILI Surveillance Network (CDC ILI Surveillance), and US Influenza Virologic Surveillance System (CDC Virus Surveillance). Pearson's correlation coefficients with 95% confidence intervals (95% CI) were calculated to compare surveillance data. An analysis was performed to investigate outlier observations and determine the extent to which they affected the correlations between surveillance data. Pearson's correlation coefficient describing Google Flu Trends and CDC Virus Surveillance over the study period was 0.72 (95% CI: 0.64, 0.79). The correlation between CDC ILI Surveillance and CDC Virus Surveillance over the same period was 0.85 (95% CI: 0.81, 0.89). Most of the outlier observations in both comparisons were from the 2003–04 influenza season. Exclusion of the outlier observations did not substantially improve the correlation between Google Flu Trends and CDC Virus Surveillance (0.82; 95% CI: 0.76, 0.87) or CDC ILI Surveillance and CDC Virus Surveillance (0.86; 95%CI: 0.82, 0.90). Conclusions This analysis demonstrates that while Google Flu Trends is highly correlated with rates of ILI, it has a lower correlation with surveillance for laboratory-confirmed influenza. Most of the outlier observations occurred during the 2003–04 influenza season that was characterized by early and intense influenza activity, which potentially altered health care seeking behavior, physician testing practices, and internet search behavior. PMID:21556151

Validation of a pregnancy planning measure for Arabic-speaking women.

PubMed

Almaghaslah, Eman; Rochat, Roger; Farhat, Ghada

2017-01-01

The prevalence of unplanned pregnancy in Saudi Arabia has not been thoroughly investigated. To conduct a psychometric evaluation study of the Arabic version of the London Measure of Unplanned Pregnancy (LMUP). To evaluate the psychometric properties of the LMUP, we conducted a self-administered online survey among 796 ever-married Saudi women aged 20-49 years, and a re-test survey among 24 women. The psychometric properties evaluated included content validity measured by content validity index (CVI), structural validity assessed by exploratory factor analysis (EFA), substantive validity assessed by hypothesis testing, contextual stability for the test-retest assessed by weighted Kappa, and internal consistency assessed by Cronbach's alpha. The psychometric analysis of the Arabic version of LMUP exhibited valid and reliable properties. The CVIs for individual items and at the scale level were >0.7. EFA confirmed a unidimensional extraction of the scale item. Hypothesis testing confirmed expected associations. The tool was stable with weighted kappa = 0.78 and Cronbach's alpha = 0.88. In this study, the validity and reliability of the Arabic version of the LMUP were confirmed according to well-known psychometric criteria. This LMUP version can be used in research studies among Arabic-speaking women to measure unplanned pregnancy and investigate correlates and outcomes related to unplanned pregnancy.

Multimodal image analysis of clinical influences on preterm brain development

PubMed Central

Ball, Gareth; Aljabar, Paul; Nongena, Phumza; Kennea, Nigel; Gonzalez‐Cinca, Nuria; Falconer, Shona; Chew, Andrew T.M.; Harper, Nicholas; Wurie, Julia; Rutherford, Mary A.; Edwards, A. David

2017-01-01

Objective Premature birth is associated with numerous complex abnormalities of white and gray matter and a high incidence of long‐term neurocognitive impairment. An integrated understanding of these abnormalities and their association with clinical events is lacking. The aim of this study was to identify specific patterns of abnormal cerebral development and their antenatal and postnatal antecedents. Methods In a prospective cohort of 449 infants (226 male), we performed a multivariate and data‐driven analysis combining multiple imaging modalities. Using canonical correlation analysis, we sought separable multimodal imaging markers associated with specific clinical and environmental factors and correlated to neurodevelopmental outcome at 2 years. Results We found five independent patterns of neuroanatomical variation that related to clinical factors including age, prematurity, sex, intrauterine complications, and postnatal adversity. We also confirmed the association between imaging markers of neuroanatomical abnormality and poor cognitive and motor outcomes at 2 years. Interpretation This data‐driven approach defined novel and clinically relevant imaging markers of cerebral maldevelopment, which offer new insights into the nature of preterm brain injury. Ann Neurol 2017;82:233–246 PMID:28719076

Species composition and morphologic variation of Porites in the Gulf of California

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

López-Pérez, R. A.

2013-09-01

Morphometric analysis of corallite calices confirmed that from the late Miocene to the Recent, four species of Porites have inhabited the Gulf of California: the extinct Porites carrizensis, the locally extirpated Porites lobata and the extant Porites sverdrupi and Porites panamensis. Furthermore, large-scale spatial and temporal phenotypic plasticity was observed in the dominant species P. panamensis. Canonical discriminant analysis and ANOVA demonstrated that the calice structures of P. panamensis experienced size reduction between the late Pleistocene and Recent. Similarly, PERMANOVA, regression and correlation analyses demonstrated that across the 800 km north to south in the gulf, P. panamensis populations displayed a similar reduction in calice structures. Based on correlation analysis with environmental data, these large spatial changes are likely related to changes in nutrient concentration and sea surface temperature. As such, the large-scale spatial and temporal phenotypic variation recorded in populations of P. panamensis in the Gulf of California is likely related to optimization of corallite performance (energy acquisition) within various environmental scenarios. These findings may have relevance to modern conservation efforts within this ecological dominant genus.

Sieve analysis in HIV-1 vaccine efficacy trials

PubMed Central

Edlefsen, Paul T.; Gilbert, Peter B.; Rolland, Morgane

2013-01-01

Purpose of review The genetic characterization of HIV-1 breakthrough infections in vaccine and placebo recipients offers new ways to assess vaccine efficacy trials. Statistical and sequence analysis methods provide opportunities to mine the mechanisms behind the effect of an HIV vaccine. Recent findings The release of results from two HIV-1 vaccine efficacy trials, Step/HVTN-502 and RV144, led to numerous studies in the last five years, including efforts to sequence HIV-1 breakthrough infections and compare viral characteristics between the vaccine and placebo groups. Novel genetic and statistical analysis methods uncovered features that distinguished founder viruses isolated from vaccinees from those isolated from placebo recipients, and identified HIV-1 genetic targets of vaccine-induced immune responses. Summary Studies of HIV-1 breakthrough infections in vaccine efficacy trials can provide an independent confirmation to correlates of risk studies, as they take advantage of vaccine/placebo comparisons while correlates of risk analyses are limited to vaccine recipients. Through the identification of viral determinants impacted by vaccine-mediated host immune responses, sieve analyses can shed light on potential mechanisms of vaccine protection. PMID:23719202

Sieve analysis in HIV-1 vaccine efficacy trials.

PubMed

Edlefsen, Paul T; Gilbert, Peter B; Rolland, Morgane

2013-09-01

The genetic characterization of HIV-1 breakthrough infections in vaccine and placebo recipients offers new ways to assess vaccine efficacy trials. Statistical and sequence analysis methods provide opportunities to mine the mechanisms behind the effect of an HIV vaccine. The release of results from two HIV-1 vaccine efficacy trials, Step/HVTN-502 (HIV Vaccine Trials Network-502) and RV144, led to numerous studies in the last 5 years, including efforts to sequence HIV-1 breakthrough infections and compare viral characteristics between the vaccine and placebo groups. Novel genetic and statistical analysis methods uncovered features that distinguished founder viruses isolated from vaccinees from those isolated from placebo recipients, and identified HIV-1 genetic targets of vaccine-induced immune responses. Studies of HIV-1 breakthrough infections in vaccine efficacy trials can provide an independent confirmation to correlates of risk studies, as they take advantage of vaccine/placebo comparisons, whereas correlates of risk analyses are limited to vaccine recipients. Through the identification of viral determinants impacted by vaccine-mediated host immune responses, sieve analyses can shed light on potential mechanisms of vaccine protection.

Cumulative trauma, hyperarousal, and suicidality in the general population: a path analysis.

PubMed

Briere, John; Godbout, Natacha; Dias, Colin

2015-01-01

Although trauma exposure and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) both have been linked to suicidal thoughts and behavior, the underlying basis for this relationship is not clear. In a sample of 357 trauma-exposed individuals from the general population, younger participant age, cumulative trauma exposure, and all three Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition, PTSD clusters (reexperiencing, avoidance, and hyperarousal) were correlated with clinical levels of suicidality. However, logistic regression analysis indicated that when all PTSD clusters were considered simultaneously, only hyperarousal continued to be predictive. A path analysis confirmed that posttraumatic hyperarousal (but not other components of PTSD) fully mediated the relationship between extent of trauma exposure and degree of suicidal thoughts and behaviors.

White Matter Tract Integrity in Alzheimer's Disease vs. Late Onset Bipolar Disorder and Its Correlation with Systemic Inflammation and Oxidative Stress Biomarkers.

PubMed

Besga, Ariadna; Chyzhyk, Darya; Gonzalez-Ortega, Itxaso; Echeveste, Jon; Graña-Lecuona, Marina; Graña, Manuel; Gonzalez-Pinto, Ana

2017-01-01

Background: Late Onset Bipolar Disorder (LOBD) is the development of Bipolar Disorder (BD) at an age above 50 years old. It is often difficult to differentiate from other aging dementias, such as Alzheimer's Disease (AD), because they share cognitive and behavioral impairment symptoms. Objectives: We look for WM tract voxel clusters showing significant differences when comparing of AD vs. LOBD, and its correlations with systemic blood plasma biomarkers (inflammatory, neurotrophic factors, and oxidative stress). Materials: A sample of healthy controls (HC) ( n = 19), AD patients ( n = 35), and LOBD patients ( n = 24) was recruited at the Alava University Hospital. Blood plasma samples were obtained at recruitment time and analyzed to extract the inflammatory, oxidative stress, and neurotrophic factors. Several modalities of MRI were acquired for each subject, Methods: Fractional anisotropy (FA) coefficients are obtained from diffusion weighted imaging (DWI). Tract based spatial statistics (TBSS) finds FA skeleton clusters of WM tract voxels showing significant differences for all possible contrasts between HC, AD, and LOBD. An ANOVA F -test over all contrasts is carried out. Results of F -test are used to mask TBSS detected clusters for the AD > LOBD and LOBD > AD contrast to select the image clusters used for correlation analysis. Finally, Pearson's correlation coefficients between FA values at cluster sites and systemic blood plasma biomarker values are computed. Results: The TBSS contrasts with by ANOVA F -test has identified strongly significant clusters in the forceps minor, inferior longitudinal fasciculus, inferior fronto-occipital fasciculus, and cingulum gyrus. The correlation analysis of these tract clusters found strong negative correlation of AD with the nerve growth factor (NGF) and brain derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) blood biomarkers. Negative correlation of AD and positive correlation of LOBD with inflammation biomarker IL6 was also found. Conclusion: TBSS voxel clusters tract atlas localizations are consistent with greater behavioral impairment and mood disorders in LOBD than in AD. Correlation analysis confirms that neurotrophic factors (i.e., NGF, BDNF) play a great role in AD while are absent in LOBD pathophysiology. Also, correlation results of IL1 and IL6 suggest stronger inflammatory effects in LOBD than in AD.

Inference for binomial probability based on dependent Bernoulli random variables with applications to meta-analysis and group level studies.

PubMed

Bakbergenuly, Ilyas; Kulinskaya, Elena; Morgenthaler, Stephan

2016-07-01

We study bias arising as a result of nonlinear transformations of random variables in random or mixed effects models and its effect on inference in group-level studies or in meta-analysis. The findings are illustrated on the example of overdispersed binomial distributions, where we demonstrate considerable biases arising from standard log-odds and arcsine transformations of the estimated probability p̂, both for single-group studies and in combining results from several groups or studies in meta-analysis. Our simulations confirm that these biases are linear in ρ, for small values of ρ, the intracluster correlation coefficient. These biases do not depend on the sample sizes or the number of studies K in a meta-analysis and result in abysmal coverage of the combined effect for large K. We also propose bias-correction for the arcsine transformation. Our simulations demonstrate that this bias-correction works well for small values of the intraclass correlation. The methods are applied to two examples of meta-analyses of prevalence. © 2016 The Authors. Biometrical Journal Published by Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA.

Sensor and Methodology for Dielectric Analysis of Vegetal Oils Submitted to Thermal Stress

PubMed Central

Stevan, Sergio Luiz; Paiter, Leandro; Ricardo Galvão, José; Vieira Roque, Daniely; Sidinei Chaves, Eduardo

2015-01-01

Vegetable oils used in frying food represent a social problem as its destination. The residual oil can be recycled and returned to the production line, as biodiesel, as soap, or as putty. The state of the residual oil is determined according to their physicochemical characteristics whose values define its economically viable destination. However, the physicochemical analysis requires high costs, time and general cost of transporting. This study presents the use of a capacitive sensor and a quick and inexpensive method to correlate the physicochemical variables to the dielectric constant of the material undergoing oil samples to thermal cycling. The proposed method allows reducing costs in the characterization of residual oil and the reduction in analysis time. In addition, the method allows an assessment of the quality of the vegetable oil during use. The experimental results show the increasing of the dielectric constant with the temperature, which facilitates measurement and classification of the dielectric constant at considerably higher temperatures. The results also confirm a definitive degradation in used oil and a correlation between the dielectric constant of the sample with the results of the physicochemical analysis (iodine value, acid value, viscosity and refractive index). PMID:26501293

Sensor and methodology for dielectric analysis of vegetal oils submitted to thermal stress.

PubMed

Stevan, Sergio Luiz; Paiter, Leandro; Galvão, José Ricardo; Roque, Daniely Vieira; Chaves, Eduardo Sidinei

2015-10-16

Vegetable oils used in frying food represent a social problem as its destination. The residual oil can be recycled and returned to the production line, as biodiesel, as soap, or as putty. The state of the residual oil is determined according to their physicochemical characteristics whose values define its economically viable destination. However, the physicochemical analysis requires high costs, time and general cost of transporting. This study presents the use of a capacitive sensor and a quick and inexpensive method to correlate the physicochemical variables to the dielectric constant of the material undergoing oil samples to thermal cycling. The proposed method allows reducing costs in the characterization of residual oil and the reduction in analysis time. In addition, the method allows an assessment of the quality of the vegetable oil during use. The experimental results show the increasing of the dielectric constant with the temperature, which facilitates measurement and classification of the dielectric constant at considerably higher temperatures. The results also confirm a definitive degradation in used oil and a correlation between the dielectric constant of the sample with the results of the physicochemical analysis (iodine value, acid value, viscosity and refractive index).

Militarism and mortality. An international analysis of arms spending and infant death rates.

PubMed

Woolhandler, S; Himmelstein, D U

1985-06-15

Examination of data from 141 countries showed that infant mortality rates for 1979 were positively correlated with the proportion of gross national product devoted to military spending (r = 0.23, p less than 0.01) and negatively correlated with indicators of economic development, health resources, and social spending. In a multivariate analysis controlling for per caput gross national product, arms spending remained a significant positive predictor of infant mortality rate (p less than 0.0001), while the proportion of the population with access to clean water, the number of teachers per head, and caloric consumption per head were negative predictors. The multivariate model accounted for much of the observed variance in infant mortality rate (R2 = 0.78, p less than 0.0001), and showed good fit to similar data for the year 1972 (R2 = 0.80, p less than 0.0001). The model was also predictive of infant mortality rates in subgroup analysis of underdeveloped, middle developed, and developed nations. Analysis of time trends confirmed that an increase in military spending presages a poor record of improvement in infant mortality rate. These findings support the hypothesis that arms spending is causally related to infant mortality.

The Bicycle Drawing Test: What Does It Measure in Developmentally Typical Children?

PubMed

Cannoni, Eleonora; Di Norcia, Anna; Bombi, Anna Silvia; Di Giunta, Laura

2015-10-01

To verify the dimensionality of Bicycle Drawing Test (BDT), we applied the coding system of Greenberg, Rodriguez, and Sesta to bicycle drawings made by 295 boys and 320 girls (6-10 years old) with typical development, and submitted the data to item analysis, exploratory factor analysis, and confirmatory factor analysis. These analyses confirmed only two of the original four dimensions of the BDT: spatial reasoning and visual-motor control. The scores in these two factors were correlated with the Colored Progressive Matrices, the Rey Complex Figure (Copy and Memory) and with the teachers' ratings in mathematics, language, and drawing. The correlations, albeit moderate in magnitude, were consistent with the hypothesized convergent and discriminant validity. After checking for measurement invariance across gender and age, we conducted two analyses of variance, the first of which showed a significant difference between younger children (6-8 years old) and older children (9-10 years old); the analysis of variance by gender did not yield significant differences. These data enhance the usefulness of the BDT as a measure of separate cognitive components, but do not support its use as a measure of mechanical reasoning. © The Author(s) 2014.

Phytochemical, spectroscopic and density functional theory study of Diospyrin, and non-bonding interactions of Diospyrin with atmospheric gases

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fazl-i-Sattar; Ullah, Zakir; Ata-ur-Rahman; Rauf, Abdur; Tariq, Muhammad; Tahir, Asif Ali; Ayub, Khurshid; Ullah, Habib

2015-04-01

Density functional theory (DFT) and phytochemical study of a natural product, Diospyrin (DO) have been carried out. A suitable level of theory was developed, based on correlating the experimental and theoretical data. Hybrid DFT method at B3LYP/6-31G (d,p) level of theory is employed for obtaining the electronic, spectroscopic, inter-molecular interaction and thermodynamic properties of DO. The exact structure of DO is confirmed from the nice validation of the theory and experiment. Non-covalent interactions of DO with different atmospheric gases such as NH3, CO2, CO, and H2O were studied to find out its electroactive nature. The experimental and predicted geometrical parameters, IR and UV-vis spectra (B3LYP/6-31+G (d,p) level of theory) show excellent correlation. Inter-molecular non-bonding interaction of DO with atmospheric gases is investigated through geometrical parameters, electronic properties, charge analysis, and thermodynamic parameters. Electronic properties include, ionization potential (I.P.), electron affinities (E.A.), electrostatic potential (ESP), density of states (DOS), HOMO, LUMO, and band gap. All these characterizations have corroborated each other and confirmed the presence of non-covalent nature in DO with the mentioned gases.

K-mer Content, Correlation, and Position Analysis of Genome DNA Sequences for the Identification of Function and Evolutionary Features

PubMed Central

Sievers, Aaron; Bosiek, Katharina; Bisch, Marc; Dreessen, Chris; Riedel, Jascha; Froß, Patrick; Hausmann, Michael; Hildenbrand, Georg

2017-01-01

In genome analysis, k-mer-based comparison methods have become standard tools. However, even though they are able to deliver reliable results, other algorithms seem to work better in some cases. To improve k-mer-based DNA sequence analysis and comparison, we successfully checked whether adding positional resolution is beneficial for finding and/or comparing interesting organizational structures. A simple but efficient algorithm for extracting and saving local k-mer spectra (frequency distribution of k-mers) was developed and used. The results were analyzed by including positional information based on visualizations as genomic maps and by applying basic vector correlation methods. This analysis was concentrated on small word lengths (1 ≤ k ≤ 4) on relatively small viral genomes of Papillomaviridae and Herpesviridae, while also checking its usability for larger sequences, namely human chromosome 2 and the homologous chromosomes (2A, 2B) of a chimpanzee. Using this alignment-free analysis, several regions with specific characteristics in Papillomaviridae and Herpesviridae formerly identified by independent, mostly alignment-based methods, were confirmed. Correlations between the k-mer content and several genes in these genomes have been found, showing similarities between classified and unclassified viruses, which may be potentially useful for further taxonomic research. Furthermore, unknown k-mer correlations in the genomes of Human Herpesviruses (HHVs), which are probably of major biological function, are found and described. Using the chromosomes of a chimpanzee and human that are currently known, identities between the species on every analyzed chromosome were reproduced. This demonstrates the feasibility of our approach for large data sets of complex genomes. Based on these results, we suggest k-mer analysis with positional resolution as a method for closing a gap between the effectiveness of alignment-based methods (like NCBI BLAST) and the high pace of standard k-mer analysis. PMID:28422050

Family's difficulty scale in end-of-life home care: a new measure of the family's difficulties in caring for patients with cancer at the end of life at home from bereaved family's perspective.

PubMed

Ishii, Yoko; Miyashita, Mitsunori; Sato, Kazuki; Ozawa, Taketoshi

2012-02-01

The aim of this study was to develop a tool to measure the family's difficulties in caring for cancer patients at the end of life at home: Family's Difficulty Scale in end-of-life home care (FDS). The draft of the FDS was derived from a pilot interview survey and literature reviews. The questionnaires were sent to 395 bereaved family caregivers whose family members were patients with terminal cancer receiving home service. We obtained 306 responses (response rate, 81%). Factor analysis resulted in 29 items and 8 factors: Burden of Care, Concerns about Home Care Doctor, Balance of Work and Care, Patient's Pain and Condition, Concerns about Visiting Nurse, Concerns about Home Care Service, Relationship between Family Caregivers and their Families, and Funeral Preparations. The cumulative rate of contribution was 71.8%. Cronbach coefficient α for the FDS was 0.73-0.75; the intraclass correlation coefficient in the test-retest examination was 0.75-0.85. Evidence for construct validity was confirmed by convergent and divergent validity. Concurrent validity was confirmed by significant correlations between identified factors and concurrent measures. The validity and reliability of this new instrument were confirmed. This scale should help home care providers to assess and focus on family difficulties and provide individualized care for the family who cares for a patient with terminal cancer at home.

Excimer laser calibration system.

PubMed

Gottsch, J D; Rencs, E V; Cambier, J L; Hall, D; Azar, D T; Stark, W J

1996-01-01

Excimer laser photoablation for refractive and therapeutic keratectomies has been demonstrated to be feasible and practicable. However, corneal laser ablations are not without problems, including the delivery and maintenance of a homogeneous beam. We have developed an excimer laser calibration system capable of characterizing a laser ablation profile. Beam homogeneity is determined by the analysis of a polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA)-based thin-film using video capture and image processing. The ablation profile is presented as a color-coded map. Interpolation of excimer calibration system analysis provides a three-dimensional representation of elevation profiles that correlates with two-dimensional scanning profilometry. Excimer calibration analysis was performed before treating a monkey undergoing phototherapeutic keratectomy and two human subjects undergoing myopic spherocylindrical photorefractive keratectomy. Excimer calibration analysis was performed before and after laser refurbishing. Laser ablation profiles in PMMA are resolved by the excimer calibration system to .006 microns/pulse. Correlations with ablative patterns in a monkey cornea were demonstrated with preoperative and postoperative keratometry using corneal topography, and two human subjects using video-keratography. Excimer calibration analysis predicted a central-steep-island ablative pattern with the VISX Twenty/Twenty laser, which was confirmed by corneal topography immediately postoperatively and at 1 week after reepithelialization in the monkey. Predicted central steep islands in the two human subjects were confirmed by video-keratography at 1 week and at 1 month. Subsequent technical refurbishing of the laser resulted in a beam with an overall increased ablation rate measured as microns/pulse with a donut ablation profile. A patient treated after repair of the laser electrodes demonstrated no central island. This excimer laser calibration system can precisely detect laser-beam ablation profiles. The calibration system correctly predicted central islands after excimer photoablation in a treated monkey cornea and in two treated human subjects. Detection of excimer-laser-beam ablation profiles may be useful for precise calibration of excimer lasers before human photorefractive and therapeutic surgery.

Intimate partner violence victimization and parenting: A systematic review.

PubMed

Chiesa, Antonia E; Kallechey, Leigh; Harlaar, Nicole; Rashaan Ford, C; Garrido, Edward F; Betts, William R; Maguire, Sabine

2018-06-01

Early studies examining parenting in the setting of intimate partner violence (IPV) often focus on abuse by the IPV perpetrator or effects of long term exposure. This review addresses how intimate partner violence impacts victim parenting. Seven databases were searched for the time period 1970-2015. Included were comparative studies involving children 11 years or younger. Quality ranking was based on: confirmation of victim status, consideration of co-perpetration, heterogeneity of the population, and standardization of measurements. Of 13,038 studies reviewed, 33 included studies showed that victimization is associated with negative parenting practices. Based on data presented within individual studies, 21 studies were eligible for meta-analysis which demonstrated modest effect sizes with high levels of heterogeneity. There was a negative correlation between IPV and positive parenting (r = -0.08; 95% CI: -.12, - .04); positive correlation between IPV and physical aggression (r = .17; 95% CI: .11, .23) and neglect (r = .12; 95% CI: .01, .23); and a trend toward positive correlation between IPV and psychological aggression (r = .23; 95% CI: -.94, .47). A synthesis of studies unsuitable for meta-analysis reinforced these findings. The review demonstrated ongoing methodological issues with extant literature. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Characterization of atrazine binding to dissolved organic matter of soil under different types of land use.

PubMed

Zhu, Long-Ji; Zhao, Yue; Chen, Yan-Ni; Cui, Hong-Yang; Wei, Yu-Quan; Liu, Hai-Long; Chen, Xiao-Meng; Wei, Zi-Min

2018-01-01

Atrazine is widely used in agriculture. In this study, dissolved organic matter (DOM) from soils under four types of land use (forest (F), meadow (M), cropland (C) and wetland (W)) was used to investigate the binding characteristics of atrazine. Fluorescence excitation-emission matrix-parallel factor (EEM-PARAFAC) analysis, two-dimensional correlation spectroscopy (2D-COS) and Stern-Volmer model were combined to explore the complexation between DOM and atrazine. The EEM-PARAFAC indicated that DOM from different sources had different structures, and humic-like components had more obvious quenching effects than protein-like components. The Stern-Volmer model combined with correlation analysis showed that log K values of PARAFAC components had a significant correlation with the humification of DOM, especially for C3 component, and they were all in the same order as follows: meadow soil (5.68)>wetland soil (5.44)>cropland soil (5.35)>forest soil (5.04). The 2D-COS further confirmed that humic-like components firstly combined with atrazine followed by protein-like components. These findings suggest that DOM components can significantly influence the bioavailability, mobility and migration of atrazine in different land uses. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Patient-based outcomes in patients with primary tinnitus undergoing tinnitus retraining therapy.

PubMed

Berry, Julie A; Gold, Susan L; Frederick, Ellen Alvarez; Gray, William C; Staecker, Hinrich

2002-10-01

To determine whether the Tinnitus Handicap Inventory (THI), a validated patient-based outcomes measure, may improve our ability to quantify impact and assess therapy for patients with tinnitus. Nonrandomized, prospective analysis of 32 patients undergoing tinnitus retraining therapy (TRT). Assessment tools included comprehensive audiology, a subjective self-assessment survey of tinnitus characteristics, and the THI. Tinnitus Handicap Inventory scores were assessed at baseline and 6 months following TRT. Baseline analysis revealed significant correlation between the subjective presence of hyperacusis and higher total, emotional, and catastrophic THI scores. Tinnitus Handicap Inventory scores correlated with subjective perception of overall tinnitus effect (P<.001). Mean pure-tone threshold average was 17.4 dB, and mean speech discrimination was 97.0%. There were no consistent correlations between baseline audiologic parameters and THI scores. Following 6 months of TRT, the total, emotional, functional, and catastrophic THI scores significantly improved (P<.001). Loudness discomfort levels also significantly improved (P< or =.02). There is significant improvement in self-perceived disability following TRT as measured by the THI. The results confirm the utility of the THI as a patient-based outcomes measure for quantifying treatment status in patients with primary tinnitus.

Quantifying Differential Privacy under Temporal Correlations

PubMed Central

Cao, Yang; Yoshikawa, Masatoshi; Xiao, Yonghui; Xiong, Li

2017-01-01

Differential Privacy (DP) has received increasing attention as a rigorous privacy framework. Many existing studies employ traditional DP mechanisms (e.g., the Laplace mechanism) as primitives, which assume that the data are independent, or that adversaries do not have knowledge of the data correlations. However, continuous generated data in the real world tend to be temporally correlated, and such correlations can be acquired by adversaries. In this paper, we investigate the potential privacy loss of a traditional DP mechanism under temporal correlations in the context of continuous data release. First, we model the temporal correlations using Markov model and analyze the privacy leakage of a DP mechanism when adversaries have knowledge of such temporal correlations. Our analysis reveals that the privacy loss of a DP mechanism may accumulate and increase over time. We call it temporal privacy leakage. Second, to measure such privacy loss, we design an efficient algorithm for calculating it in polynomial time. Although the temporal privacy leakage may increase over time, we also show that its supremum may exist in some cases. Third, to bound the privacy loss, we propose mechanisms that convert any existing DP mechanism into one against temporal privacy leakage. Experiments with synthetic data confirm that our approach is efficient and effective. PMID:28883711

Exploring the physics of the accretion and jet in nearby narrow-line Seyfert 1 galaxies

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yao, Su; Qiao, Erlin; Wu, Xue-Bing; You, B.

2018-06-01

In this paper, we explore the physics of the accretion and jet in narrow-line Seyfert 1 (NLS1) galaxy. Specifically, we compile a sample composed of 16 nearby NLS1 with Lbol/LEdd ≳ 0.1. We investigate the mutual correlation between their radio luminosity LR, X-ray luminosity LX, optical luminosity L5100, and black hole mass MBH. By adopting partial correlation analysis, we find (1) a positive correlation between LX and MBH and (2) a weak positive correlation between LR and L5100. However, we don't find significant correlations between LR and LX or between LX and L5100 after considering the effect of the black hole mass, which leads to a finding that LX/LEdd is independent of L5100/LEdd. Interestingly, the findings that LX is correlated with MBH and LX/LEdd is not correlated with L5100/LEdd support that the X-ray emission is saturated with increasing \\dot{M} for Lbol/LEdd ≳ 0.1 in NLS1, which may be understood in the framework of slim disc scenario. Finally, we suggest that a larger NLS1 sample with high-quality radio and X-ray data is needed to further confirm this result in the future.

Spatio-temporal pattern of sylvatic rabies in the Sultanate of Oman, 2006-2010.

PubMed

Hussain, Muhammad Hammad; Ward, Michael P; Body, Mohammed; Al-Rawahi, Abdulmajeed; Wadir, Ali Awlad; Al-Habsi, Saif; Saqib, Muhammad; Ahmed, Mohammed Sayed; Almaawali, Mahir Gharib

2013-07-01

Rabies was first reported in the Sultanate of Oman is 1990. We analysed passive surveillance data (444 samples) collected and reported between 2006 and 2010. During this period, between 45 and 75% of samples submitted from suspect animals were subsequently confirmed (fluorescent antibody test, histopathology and reverse transcription PCR) as rabies cases. Overall, 63% of submitted samples were confirmed as rabies cases. The spatial distribution of species-specific cases were similar (centred in north-central Oman with a northeast-southwest distribution), although fox cases had a wider distribution and an east-west orientation. Clustering of cases was detected using interpolation, local spatial autocorrelation and scan statistical analysis. Several local government areas (wilayats) in north-central Oman were identified where higher than expected numbers of laboratory-confirmed rabies cases were reported. For fox rabies, more clusters (local spatial autocorrelation analysis) and a larger clustered area (scan statistical analysis) were detected. In Oman, monthly reports of fox rabies cases were highly correlated (rSP>0.5) with reports of camel, cattle, sheep and goat rabies. The best-fitting ARIMA model included a seasonality component. Fox rabies cases reported 6 months previously best explained rabies reported cases in other animal species. Despite likely reporting bias, results suggest that rabies exists as a sylvatic cycle of transmission in Oman and an opportunity still exists to prevent establishment of dog-mediated rabies. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Structure, stability, and properties of the trans peroxo nitrate radical: the importance of nondynamic correlation.

PubMed

Dutta, Achintya Kumar; Dar, Manzoor; Vaval, Nayana; Pal, Sourav

2014-02-27

We report a comparative single-reference and multireference coupled-cluster investigation on the structure, potential energy surface, and IR spectroscopic properties of the trans peroxo nitrate radical, one of the key intermediates in stratospheric NOX chemistry. The previous single-reference ab initio studies predicted an unbound structure for the trans peroxo nitrate radical. However, our Fock space multireference coupled-cluster calculation confirms a bound structure for the trans peroxo nitrate radical, in accordance with the experimental results reported earlier. Further, the analysis of the potential energy surface in FSMRCC method indicates a well-behaved minima, contrary to the shallow minima predicted by the single-reference coupled-cluster method. The harmonic force field analysis, of various possible isomers of peroxo nitrate also reveals that only the trans structure leads to the experimentally observed IR peak at 1840 cm(-1). The present study highlights the critical importance of nondynamic correlation in predicting the structure and properties of high-energy stratospheric NOx radicals.

The Permian palynological Lueckisporites-Weylandites Biozone in the San Rafael Block and its correlation in Western Gondwana

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vázquez, María Soledad; Césari, Silvia N.

2017-07-01

A palynological study of the Yacimiento Los Reyunos Formation (San Rafael Block) Argentina was carried out in order to correlate the palynological data with other Permian assemblages and biozones from South America. The unit is included in the Cochicó Group deposited under the volcanic influence of the Choiyoi event. The palynological assemblages recovered from subsurface samples show a dominance of taeniate bisaccates like Corisaccites, Lueckisporites, Lunatisporites, Protohaploxypinus, Vittatina and Weylandites. A Lueckisporites complex, which would have biostratigraphical value, is established to include species of Lueckisporites, Corisaccites and Staurosaccites showing a wide morphological variation. The composition of the assemblages allows their inclusion in the Lueckisporites/Weylandites Biozone of Argentina, which is closely related to other biozones from southern South America. Analysis of the distribution of the species using cluster analysis confirms its similarity with the biozones from Bolivia and Brazil. Radiometric datings suggest an age not older than Kungurian for the occurrence of these assemblages in the Southern Hemisphere.

Developing a Psychometric Instrument to Measure Physical Education Teachers' Job Demands and Resources.

PubMed

Zhang, Tan; Chen, Ang

2017-01-01

Based on the job demands-resources model, the study developed and validated an instrument that measures physical education teachers' job demands-resources perception. Expert review established content validity with the average item rating of 3.6/5.0. Construct validity and reliability were determined with a teacher sample ( n = 397). Exploratory factor analysis established a five-dimension construct structure matching the theoretical construct deliberated in the literature. The composite reliability scores for the five dimensions range from .68 to .83. Validity coefficients (intraclass correlational coefficients) are .69 for job resources items and .82 for job demands items. Inter-scale correlational coefficients range from -.32 to .47. Confirmatory factor analysis confirmed the construct validity with high dimensional factor loadings (ranging from .47 to .84 for job resources scale and from .50 to .85 for job demands scale) and adequate model fit indexes (root mean square error of approximation = .06). The instrument provides a tool to measure physical education teachers' perception of their working environment.

Developing a Psychometric Instrument to Measure Physical Education Teachers’ Job Demands and Resources

PubMed Central

Zhang, Tan; Chen, Ang

2017-01-01

Based on the job demands–resources model, the study developed and validated an instrument that measures physical education teachers’ job demands–resources perception. Expert review established content validity with the average item rating of 3.6/5.0. Construct validity and reliability were determined with a teacher sample (n = 397). Exploratory factor analysis established a five-dimension construct structure matching the theoretical construct deliberated in the literature. The composite reliability scores for the five dimensions range from .68 to .83. Validity coefficients (intraclass correlational coefficients) are .69 for job resources items and .82 for job demands items. Inter-scale correlational coefficients range from −.32 to .47. Confirmatory factor analysis confirmed the construct validity with high dimensional factor loadings (ranging from .47 to .84 for job resources scale and from .50 to .85 for job demands scale) and adequate model fit indexes (root mean square error of approximation = .06). The instrument provides a tool to measure physical education teachers’ perception of their working environment. PMID:29200808

Peculiarities of the statistics of spectrally selected fluorescence radiation in laser-pumped dye-doped random media

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yuvchenko, S. A.; Ushakova, E. V.; Pavlova, M. V.; Alonova, M. V.; Zimnyakov, D. A.

2018-04-01

We consider the practical realization of a new optical probe method of the random media which is defined as the reference-free path length interferometry with the intensity moments analysis. A peculiarity in the statistics of the spectrally selected fluorescence radiation in laser-pumped dye-doped random medium is discussed. Previously established correlations between the second- and the third-order moments of the intensity fluctuations in the random interference patterns, the coherence function of the probe radiation, and the path difference probability density for the interfering partial waves in the medium are confirmed. The correlations were verified using the statistical analysis of the spectrally selected fluorescence radiation emitted by a laser-pumped dye-doped random medium. Water solution of Rhodamine 6G was applied as the doping fluorescent agent for the ensembles of the densely packed silica grains, which were pumped by the 532 nm radiation of a solid state laser. The spectrum of the mean path length for a random medium was reconstructed.

[Analysis of dermatoglyphics of the digito-palmar and plantar complex in families].

PubMed

Letinić, D; Milicić, J

1998-01-01

This research was made in order to find out if there is an inherited component which determines the features of dermatoglyphics by transmitting inherited information from parents to children. The article shows the results of a research into 22 quantitative features of the digito-palmar complex, and 2 features of the plantar area in 400 persons. No significant differences were found in the parameters of the observed variables between fathers and sons, nor mothers and daughters. The differences were found, however, between fathers and daughters, and mothers and sons. The analysis of the correlation coefficients within the families showed that only the variables TRC and TPRC have polygenic hereditary model. The correlative analyses have shown close links between parents and children, the link between parents and sons being stronger than the link between parents and daughters. The research has not confirmed the thesis about greater overlap between mother and children, than between father and children, set forth by Knussmann in 1973.

Exploratory factor analysis of signalment and conformational measurements in Thoroughbred horses with and without recurrent laryngeal neuropathy.

PubMed

McGivney, C L; Gough, K F; McGivney, B A; Farries, G; Hill, E W; Katz, L M

2018-06-23

Conflicting results have been reported for risk factors for recurrent laryngeal neuropathy (RLN) based on resting endoscopic evaluation and comparison of single conformation traits, with many traits correlated to one another. To simplify identification of signalment and conformation traits (i.e. variables) associated with RLN cases and controls diagnosed with exercising overground endoscopy (OGE) using exploratory factor analysis (EFA). Prospective cohort. Pearson's rank correlation was used to establish significance and association between variables collected from n = 188 Thoroughbreds from one stable by observers blinded to OGE results. Exploratory factor analysis was conducted on 9 variables for cases and controls; common elements between variables developed a factor, with variables grouped into 3 factors for cases and controls, respectively. Correlation (loading) between each variable and factor was calculated to rank relationships between variables and cases/controls, with factors retrospectively named based on their underlying correlations with variables. Numerous inter-correlations were present between variables. Most strongly correlated in cases were wither height with body weight (r = 0.70) and ventral neck length (r = 0.68) and in controls body weight with rostral neck circumference (r = 0.58). Wither height (r = 0.61) significantly loaded the top-ranked factor for cases ('height RLN '), explaining 25% of conformational variance. Ventral neck length (r = 0.69) and age (r = 0.57) significantly loaded the second-ranked factor for cases ('neck length RLN '), explaining 16% of conformational variance. Rostral neck circumference (r = 0.86) and body weight (r = 0.6) significantly loaded the top-ranked factor for controls ('body size CON '), explaining 19% of the variance. Wither height (r = 0.84) significantly loaded the second-ranked factor for controls ('height CON '), explaining 13% of the variance. Horses had not reached skeletal maturity. Exploratory factor analysis allowed weightings to be determined for each variable. Wither height was the predominant conformational feature associated with RLN. Exploratory factor analysis confirms aggregated conformational differences exist between RLN cases and controls, suitable for future evaluations. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

Active interrogation of highly enriched uranium

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fairrow, Nannette Lea

Safeguarding special nuclear material (SNM) in the Department of Energy Complex is vital to the national security of the United States. Active and passive nondestructive assays are used to confirm the presence of SNM in various configurations ranging from waste to nuclear weapons. Confirmation measurements for nuclear weapons are more challenging because the design complicates the detection of a distinct signal for highly enriched uranium. The emphasis of this dissertation was to investigate a new nondestructive assay technique that provides an independent and distinct signal to confirm the presence of highly enriched uranium (HEU). Once completed and tested this assay method could be applied to confirmation measurements of nuclear weapons. The new system uses a 14-MeV neutron source for interrogation and records the arrival time of neutrons between the pulses with a high efficiency detection system. The data is then analyzed by the Feynman reduced variance method. The analysis determined the amount of correlation in the data and provided a unique signature of correlated fission neutrons. Measurements of HEU spheres were conducted at Los Alamos with the new system. Then, Monte Carlo calculations were performed to verify hypothesis made about the behavior of the neutrons in the experiment. Comparisons of calculated counting rates by the Monte Carlo N-Particle Transport Code (MCNP) were made with the experimental data to confirm that the measured response reflected the desired behavior of neutron interactions in the highly enriched uranium. In addition, MCNP calculations of the delayed neutron build-up were compared with the measured data. Based on the results obtained from this dissertation, this measurement method has the potential to be expanded to include mass determinations of highly enriched uranium. Although many safeguards techniques exist for measuring special nuclear material, the number of assays that can be used to confirm HEU in shielded systems is limited. These assays also rely on secondary characteristics of the material to be measured. A review of the nondestructive techniques with potential applications for nuclear weapons confirmatory measurements were evaluated with summaries of the pros and cons involved in implementing the methods at production type facilities.

No apparent correlation between honey bee forager gut microbiota and honey production.

PubMed

Horton, Melissa A; Oliver, Randy; Newton, Irene L

2015-01-01

One of the best indicators of colony health for the European honey bee (Apis mellifera) is its performance in the production of honey. Recent research into the microbial communities naturally populating the bee gut raise the question as to whether there is a correlation between microbial community structure and colony productivity. In this work, we used 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing to explore the microbial composition associated with forager bees from honey bee colonies producing large amounts of surplus honey (productive) and compared them to colonies producing less (unproductive). As supported by previous work, the honey bee microbiome was found to be dominated by three major phyla: the Proteobacteria, Bacilli and Actinobacteria, within which we found a total of 23 different bacterial genera, including known "core" honey bee microbiome members. Using discriminant function analysis and correlation-based network analysis, we identified highly abundant members (such as Frischella and Gilliamella) as important in shaping the bacterial community; libraries from colonies with high quantities of these Orbaceae members were also likely to contain fewer Bifidobacteria and Lactobacillus species (such as Firm-4). However, co-culture assays, using isolates from these major clades, were unable to confirm any antagonistic interaction between Gilliamella and honey bee gut bacteria. Our results suggest that honey bee colony productivity is associated with increased bacterial diversity, although this mechanism behind this correlation has yet to be determined. Our results also suggest researchers should not base inferences of bacterial interactions solely on correlations found using sequencing. Instead, we suggest that depth of sequencing and library size can dramatically influence statistically significant results from sequence analysis of amplicons and should be cautiously interpreted.

Motor function outcomes of pediatric patients with hemiplegic cerebral palsy after rehabilitation treatment: a diffusion tensor imaging study

PubMed Central

Kim, Jin Hyun; Kwon, Yong Min; Son, Su Min

2015-01-01

Previous diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) studies regarding pediatric patients with motor dysfunction have confirmed the correlation between DTI parameters of the injured corticospinal tract and the severity of motor dysfunction. There is also evidence that DTI parameters can help predict the prognosis of motor function of patients with cerebral palsy. But few studies are reported on the DTI parameters that can reflect the motor function outcomes of pediatric patients with hemiplegic cerebral palsy after rehabilitation treatment. In the present study, 36 pediatric patients with hemiplegic cerebral palsy were included. Before and after rehabilitation treatment, DTI was used to measure the fiber number (FN), fractional anisotropy (FA) and apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) of bilateral corticospinal tracts. Functional Level of Hemiplegia scale (FxL) was used to assess the therapeutic effect of rehabilitative therapy on clinical hemiplegia. Correlation analysis was performed to assess the statistical interrelationship between the change amount of DTI parameters and FxL. DTI findings obtained at the initial and follow-up evaluations demonstrated that more affected corticospinal tract yielded significantly decreased FN and FA values and significantly increased ADC value compared to the less affected corticospinal tract. Correlation analysis results showed that the change amount of FxL was positively correlated to FN and FA values, and the correlation to FN was stronger than the correlation to FA. The results suggest that FN and FA values can be used to evaluate the motor function outcomes of pediatric patients with hemiplegic cerebral palsy after rehabilitation treatment and FN is of more significance for evaluation. PMID:26170825

Verification and extension of the MBL technique for photo resist pattern shape measurement

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Isawa, Miki; Tanaka, Maki; Kazumi, Hideyuki; Shishido, Chie; Hamamatsu, Akira; Hasegawa, Norio; De Bisschop, Peter; Laidler, David; Leray, Philippe; Cheng, Shaunee

2011-03-01

In order to achieve pattern shape measurement with CD-SEM, the Model Based Library (MBL) technique is in the process of development. In this study, several libraries which consisted by double trapezoid model placed in optimum layout, were used to measure the various layout patterns. In order to verify the accuracy of the MBL photoresist pattern shape measurement, CDAFM measurements were carried out as a reference metrology. Both results were compared to each other, and we confirmed that there is a linear correlation between them. After that, to expand the application field of the MBL technique, it was applied to end-of-line (EOL) shape measurement to show the capability. Finally, we confirmed the possibility that the MBL could be applied to more local area shape measurement like hot-spot analysis.

Synergistic Allosteric Mechanism of Fructose-1,6-bisphosphate and Serine for Pyruvate Kinase M2 via Dynamics Fluctuation Network Analysis.

PubMed

Yang, Jingxu; Liu, Hao; Liu, Xiaorui; Gu, Chengbo; Luo, Ray; Chen, Hai-Feng

2016-06-27

Pyruvate kinase M2 (PKM2) plays a key role in tumor metabolism and regulates the rate-limiting final step of glycolysis. In tumor cells, there are two allosteric effectors for PKM2: fructose-1,6-bisphosphate (FBP) and serine. However, the relationship between FBP and serine for allosteric regulation of PKM2 is unknown. Here we constructed residue/residue fluctuation correlation network based on all-atom molecular dynamics simulations to reveal the regulation mechanism. The results suggest that the correlation network in bound PKM2 is distinctly different from that in the free state, FBP/PKM2, or Ser/PKM2. The community network analysis indicates that the information can freely transfer from the allosteric sites of FBP and serine to the substrate site in bound PKM2, while there exists a bottleneck for information transfer in the network of the free state. Furthermore, the binding free energy between the substrate and PKM2 for bound PKM2 is significantly lower than either of FBP/PKM2 or Ser/PKM2. Thus, a hypothesis of "synergistic allosteric mechanism" is proposed for the allosteric regulation of FBP and serine. This hypothesis was further confirmed by the perturbational and mutational analyses of community networks and binding free energies. Finally, two possible synergistic allosteric pathways of FBP-K433-T459-R461-A109-V71-R73-MG2-OXL and Ser-I47-C49-R73-MG2-OXL were identified based on the shortest path algorithm and were confirmed by the network perturbation analysis. Interestingly, no similar pathways could be found in the free state. The process targeting on the allosteric pathways can better regulate the glycolysis of PKM2 and significantly inhibit the progression of tumor.

The association between lower educational attainment and depression owing to shared genetic effects? Results in ~25,000 subjects.

PubMed

Peyrot, W J; Lee, S H; Milaneschi, Y; Abdellaoui, A; Byrne, E M; Esko, T; de Geus, E J C; Hemani, G; Hottenga, J J; Kloiber, S; Levinson, D F; Lucae, S; Martin, N G; Medland, S E; Metspalu, A; Milani, L; Noethen, M M; Potash, J B; Rietschel, M; Rietveld, C A; Ripke, S; Shi, J; Willemsen, G; Zhu, Z; Boomsma, D I; Wray, N R; Penninx, B W J H

2015-06-01

An association between lower educational attainment (EA) and an increased risk for depression has been confirmed in various western countries. This study examines whether pleiotropic genetic effects contribute to this association. Therefore, data were analyzed from a total of 9662 major depressive disorder (MDD) cases and 14,949 controls (with no lifetime MDD diagnosis) from the Psychiatric Genomics Consortium with additional Dutch and Estonian data. The association of EA and MDD was assessed with logistic regression in 15,138 individuals indicating a significantly negative association in our sample with an odds ratio for MDD 0.78 (0.75-0.82) per standard deviation increase in EA. With data of 884,105 autosomal common single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), three methods were applied to test for pleiotropy between MDD and EA: (i) genetic profile risk scores (GPRS) derived from training data for EA (independent meta-analysis on ~120,000 subjects) and MDD (using a 10-fold leave-one-out procedure in the current sample), (ii) bivariate genomic-relationship-matrix restricted maximum likelihood (GREML) and (iii) SNP effect concordance analysis (SECA). With these methods, we found (i) that the EA-GPRS did not predict MDD status, and MDD-GPRS did not predict EA, (ii) a weak negative genetic correlation with bivariate GREML analyses, but this correlation was not consistently significant, (iii) no evidence for concordance of MDD and EA SNP effects with SECA analysis. To conclude, our study confirms an association of lower EA and MDD risk, but this association was not because of measurable pleiotropic genetic effects, which suggests that environmental factors could be involved, for example, socioeconomic status.

BICD1 expression, as a potential biomarker for prognosis and predicting response to therapy in patients with glioblastomas

PubMed Central

Huang, Shang-Pen; Chang, Yu-Chan; Low, Qie Hua; Wu, Alexander T.H.; Chen, Chi-Long; Lin, Yuan-Feng; Hsiao, Michael

2017-01-01

There is variation in the survival and therapeutic outcome of patients with glioblastomas (GBMs). Therapy resistance is an important challenge in the treatment of GBM patients. The aim of this study was to identify Temozolomide (TMZ) related genes and confirm their clinical relevance. The TMZ-related genes were discovered by analysis of the gene-expression profiling in our cell-based microarray. Their clinical relevance was verified by in silico meta-analysis of the Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) and the Chinese Glioma Genome Atlas (CGGA) datasets. Our results demonstrated that BICD1 expression could predict both prognosis and response to therapy in GBM patients. First, high BICD1 expression was correlated with poor prognosis in the TCGA GBM cohort (n=523) and in the CGGA glioma cohort (n=220). Second, high BICD1 expression predicted poor outcome in patients with TMZ treatment (n=301) and radiation therapy (n=405). Third, multivariable Cox regression analysis confirmed BICD1 expression as an independent factor affecting the prognosis and therapeutic response of TMZ and radiation in GBM patients. Additionally, age, MGMT and BICD1 expression were combinedly utilized to stratify GBM patients into more distinct risk groups, which may provide better outcome assessment. Finally, we observed a strong correlation between BICD1 expression and epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) in GBMs, and proposed a possible mechanism of BICD1-associated survival or therapeutic resistance in GBMs accordingly. In conclusion, our study suggests that high BICD1 expression may result in worse prognosis and could be a predictor of poor response to TMZ and radiation therapies in GBM patients. PMID:29371945

miRNA-135b Contributes to Triple Negative Breast Cancer Molecular Heterogeneity: Different Expression Profile in Basal-like Versus non-Basal-like Phenotypes.

PubMed

Uva, Paolo; Cossu-Rocca, Paolo; Loi, Federica; Pira, Giovanna; Murgia, Luciano; Orrù, Sandra; Floris, Matteo; Muroni, Maria Rosaria; Sanges, Francesca; Carru, Ciriaco; Angius, Andrea; De Miglio, Maria Rosaria

2018-01-01

The clinical and genetic heterogeneity of Triple Negative Breast Cancer (TNBC) and the lack of unambiguous molecular targets contribute to the inadequacy of current therapeutic options for these variants. MicroRNAs (miRNA) are a class of small highly conserved regulatory endogenous non-coding RNA, which can alter the expression of genes encoding proteins and may play a role in the dysregulation of cellular pathways. Our goal was to improve the knowledge of the molecular pathogenesis of TNBC subgroups analyzing the miRNA expression profile, and to identify new prognostic and predictive biomarkers. We conducted a human miRNome analysis by TaqMan Low Density Array comparing different TNBC subtypes, defined by immunohistochemical basal markers EGFR and CK5/6. RT-qPCR confirmed differential expression of microRNAs. To inspect the function of the selected targets we perform Gene Ontology and KEGG enrichment analysis. We identified a single miRNA signature given by miR-135b expression level, which was strictly related to TNBC with basal-like phenotype. miR-135b target analysis revealed a role in the TGF-beta, WNT and ERBB pathways. A significant positive correlation was identified between neoplastic proliferative index and miR-135b expression. These findings confirm the oncogenic roles of miR-135b in the pathogenesis of TNBC expressing basal markers. A potential negative prognostic role of miR-135b overexpression might be related to the positive correlation with high proliferative index. Our study implies potential clinical applications: miR-135b could be a potential therapeutic target in basal-like TNBCs.

miRNA-135b Contributes to Triple Negative Breast Cancer Molecular Heterogeneity: Different Expression Profile in Basal-like Versus non-Basal-like Phenotypes

PubMed Central

Uva, Paolo; Cossu-Rocca, Paolo; Loi, Federica; Pira, Giovanna; Murgia, Luciano; Orrù, Sandra; Floris, Matteo; Muroni, Maria Rosaria; Sanges, Francesca; Carru, Ciriaco; Angius, Andrea; De Miglio, Maria Rosaria

2018-01-01

The clinical and genetic heterogeneity of Triple Negative Breast Cancer (TNBC) and the lack of unambiguous molecular targets contribute to the inadequacy of current therapeutic options for these variants. MicroRNAs (miRNA) are a class of small highly conserved regulatory endogenous non-coding RNA, which can alter the expression of genes encoding proteins and may play a role in the dysregulation of cellular pathways. Our goal was to improve the knowledge of the molecular pathogenesis of TNBC subgroups analyzing the miRNA expression profile, and to identify new prognostic and predictive biomarkers. We conducted a human miRNome analysis by TaqMan Low Density Array comparing different TNBC subtypes, defined by immunohistochemical basal markers EGFR and CK5/6. RT-qPCR confirmed differential expression of microRNAs. To inspect the function of the selected targets we perform Gene Ontology and KEGG enrichment analysis. We identified a single miRNA signature given by miR-135b expression level, which was strictly related to TNBC with basal-like phenotype. miR-135b target analysis revealed a role in the TGF-beta, WNT and ERBB pathways. A significant positive correlation was identified between neoplastic proliferative index and miR-135b expression. These findings confirm the oncogenic roles of miR-135b in the pathogenesis of TNBC expressing basal markers. A potential negative prognostic role of miR-135b overexpression might be related to the positive correlation with high proliferative index. Our study implies potential clinical applications: miR-135b could be a potential therapeutic target in basal-like TNBCs. PMID:29725243

SmallWorld Behavior of the Worldwide Active Volcanoes Network: Preliminary Results

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Spata, A.; Bonforte, A.; Nunnari, G.; Puglisi, G.

2009-12-01

We propose a preliminary complex networks based approach in order to model and characterize volcanoes activity correlation observed on a planetary scale over the last two thousand years. Worldwide volcanic activity is in fact related to the general plate tectonics that locally drives the faults activity, that in turn controls the magma upraise beneath the volcanoes. To find correlations among different volcanoes could indicate a common underlying mechanism driving their activity and could help us interpreting the deeper common dynamics controlling their unrest. All the first evidences found testing the procedure, suggest the suitability of this analysis to investigate global volcanism related to plate tectonics. The first correlations found, in fact, indicate that an underlying common large-scale dynamics seems to drive volcanic activity at least around the Pacific plate, where it collides and subduces beneath American, Eurasian and Australian plates. From this still preliminary analysis, also more complex relationships among volcanoes lying on different tectonic margins have been found, suggesting some more complex interrelationships between different plates. The understanding of eventually detected correlations could be also used to further implement warning systems, relating the unrest probabilities of a specific volcano also to the ongoing activity to the correlated ones. Our preliminary results suggest that, as for other many physical and biological systems, an underlying organizing principle of planetary volcanoes activity might exist and it could be a small-world principle. In fact we found that, from a topological perspective, volcanoes correlations are characterized by the typical features of small-world network: a high clustering coefficient and a low characteristic path length. These features confirm that global volcanoes activity is characterized by both short and long-range correlations. We stress here the fact that numerical simulation carried out in this work seems to agree with geological evidences (eg. the Pacific plate, South America volcanoes activity and so on). However a detailed analysis of numerical correlation pointed out in this work and geological implication requires a lot of effort and is still running. Thus this work represents preliminary contribution to better understand and clarify, from a geophysical point of view, the nature of planetary correlations among active volcanoes. Further work is still needed.

Negative Correlation Learning for Customer Churn Prediction: A Comparison Study

PubMed Central

Faris, Hossam

2015-01-01

Recently, telecommunication companies have been paying more attention toward the problem of identification of customer churn behavior. In business, it is well known for service providers that attracting new customers is much more expensive than retaining existing ones. Therefore, adopting accurate models that are able to predict customer churn can effectively help in customer retention campaigns and maximizing the profit. In this paper we will utilize an ensemble of Multilayer perceptrons (MLP) whose training is obtained using negative correlation learning (NCL) for predicting customer churn in a telecommunication company. Experiments results confirm that NCL based MLP ensemble can achieve better generalization performance (high churn rate) compared with ensemble of MLP without NCL (flat ensemble) and other common data mining techniques used for churn analysis. PMID:25879060

Correlated continuous time random walk and option pricing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lv, Longjin; Xiao, Jianbin; Fan, Liangzhong; Ren, Fuyao

2016-04-01

In this paper, we study a correlated continuous time random walk (CCTRW) with averaged waiting time, whose probability density function (PDF) is proved to follow stretched Gaussian distribution. Then, we apply this process into option pricing problem. Supposing the price of the underlying is driven by this CCTRW, we find this model captures the subdiffusive characteristic of financial markets. By using the mean self-financing hedging strategy, we obtain the closed-form pricing formulas for a European option with and without transaction costs, respectively. At last, comparing the obtained model with the classical Black-Scholes model, we find the price obtained in this paper is higher than that obtained from the Black-Scholes model. A empirical analysis is also introduced to confirm the obtained results can fit the real data well.

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

Ren, Xiaochen; Singh, Arunima K.; Fang, Lei

Impurity doping in two-dimensional (2D) materials can provide a route to tuning electronic properties, so it is important to be able to determine the distribution of dopant atoms within and between layers. Here we report the totnographic mapping of dopants in layered 2D materials with atomic sensitivity and subnanometer spatial resolution using atom, probe tomography (APT). Also, APT analysis shows that Ag dopes both Bi 2Se 3 and PbSe layers in (PbSe) 5(Bi 2Se 3) 3, and correlations :in the position of Ag atoms suggest a pairing across neighboring Bi 2Se 3 and PbSe layers. Finally, density functional theory (DFT)more » calculations confirm the favorability of substitutional-doping for both Pb and Bi and provide insights into the,observed spatial correlations in dopant locations.« less

Multivariate analysis of fears in dental phobic patients according to a reduced FSS-II scale.

PubMed

Hakeberg, M; Gustafsson, J E; Berggren, U; Carlsson, S G

1995-10-01

This study analyzed and assessed dimensions of a questionnaire developed to measure general fears and phobias. A previous factor analysis among 109 dental phobics had revealed a five-factor structure with 22 items and an explained total variance of 54%. The present study analyzed the same material using a multivariate statistical procedure (LISREL) to reveal structural latent variables. The LISREL analysis, based on the correlation matrix, yielded a chi-square of 216.6 with 195 degrees of freedom (P = 0.138) and showed a model with seven latent variables. One was a general fear factor correlated to all 22 items. The other six factors concerned "Illness & Death" (5 items), "Failures & Embarrassment" (5 items), "Social situations" (5 items), "Physical injuries" (4 items), "Animals & Natural phenomena" (4 items). One item (opposite sex) was included in both "Failures & Embarrassment" and "Social situations". The last factor, "Social interaction", combined all the items in "Failures & Embarrassment" and "Social situations" (9 items). In conclusion, this multivariate statistical analysis (LISREL) revealed and confirmed a factor structure similar to our previous study, but added two important dimensions not shown with a traditional factor analysis. This reduced FSS-II version measures general fears and phobias and may be used on a routine clinical basis as well as in dental phobia research.

A meta-analysis of the validity of FFQ targeted to adolescents.

PubMed

Tabacchi, Garden; Filippi, Anna Rita; Amodio, Emanuele; Jemni, Monèm; Bianco, Antonino; Firenze, Alberto; Mammina, Caterina

2016-05-01

The present work is aimed at meta-analysing validity studies of FFQ for adolescents, to investigate their overall accuracy and variables that can affect it negatively. A meta-analysis of sixteen original articles was performed within the ASSO Project (Adolescents and Surveillance System in the Obesity prevention). The articles assessed the validity of FFQ for adolescents, compared with food records or 24 h recalls, with regard to energy and nutrient intakes. Pearson's or Spearman's correlation coefficients, means/standard deviations, kappa agreement, percentiles and mean differences/limits of agreement (Bland-Altman method) were extracted. Pooled estimates were calculated and heterogeneity tested for correlation coefficients and means/standard deviations. A subgroup analysis assessed variables influencing FFQ accuracy. An overall fair/high correlation between FFQ and reference method was found; a good agreement, measured through the intake mean comparison for all nutrients except sugar, carotene and K, was observed. Kappa values showed fair/moderate agreement; an overall good ability to rank adolescents according to energy and nutrient intakes was evidenced by data of percentiles; absolute validity was not confirmed by mean differences/limits of agreement. Interviewer administration mode, consumption interval of the previous year/6 months and high number of food items are major contributors to heterogeneity and thus can reduce FFQ accuracy. The meta-analysis shows that FFQ are accurate tools for collecting data and could be used for ranking adolescents in terms of energy and nutrient intakes. It suggests how the design and the validation of a new FFQ should be addressed.

A reduced factor structure for the PROQOL-HIV questionnaire provided reliable indicators of health-related quality of life.

PubMed

Lalanne, Christophe; Chassany, Olivier; Carrieri, Patrizia; Marcellin, Fabienne; Armstrong, Andrew R; Lert, France; Spire, Bruno; Dray-Spira, Rosemary; Duracinsky, Martin

2016-04-01

To identify a simplified factor structure for the PROQOL-human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) questionnaire to improve the measurement of the health-related quality of life (HRQL) of HIV-positive patients in clinical care and research settings. HRQL data were collected using the eight-dimension PROQOL-HIV questionnaire from 2,537 patients (VESPA2 study). Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) validated a simpler four-factor structure and assessed measurement invariance (MI). Multigroup analysis assessed the effect of sex, age, and antiretroviral therapy (ART) on the resulting factor scores. Correlations with symptom and Short Form (SF)-12 self-reports assessed convergent validity. Item analysis, EFA, and CFAs confirmed the validity [comparative fit index (CFI), 0.948; root mean square error of approximation, 0.064] and reliability (α's ≥ 0.8) of four dimensions: physical health and symptoms, health concerns and mental distress, social and intimate relationships, and treatment-related impact. Strong MI was demonstrated across sex and age (decrease in CFI <0.01). A multiple-cause multiple-indicator model indicated that HRQL correlated as expected with sex, age, and the ART status. Correlations of HRQL, symptom reports, and SF-12 scores evidenced convergent validity criterion. The simplified factor structure and scoring scheme for PROQOL-HIV will allow clinicians to monitor with greater reliability the HRQL of patients in clinical care and research settings. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Mitochondrial DNA haplogroup D4a is a marker for extreme longevity in Japan.

PubMed

Bilal, Erhan; Rabadan, Raul; Alexe, Gabriela; Fuku, Noriyuki; Ueno, Hitomi; Nishigaki, Yutaka; Fujita, Yasunori; Ito, Masafumi; Arai, Yasumichi; Hirose, Nobuyoshi; Ruckenstein, Andrei; Bhanot, Gyan; Tanaka, Masashi

2008-06-11

We report results from the analysis of complete mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) sequences from 112 Japanese semi-supercentenarians (aged above 105 years) combined with previously published data from 96 patients in each of three non-disease phenotypes: centenarians (99-105 years of age), healthy non-obese males, obese young males and four disease phenotypes, diabetics with and without angiopathy, and Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease patients. We analyze the correlation between mitochondrial polymorphisms and the longevity phenotype using two different methods. We first use an exhaustive algorithm to identify all maximal patterns of polymorphisms shared by at least five individuals and define a significance score for enrichment of the patterns in each phenotype relative to healthy normals. Our study confirms the correlations observed in a previous study showing enrichment of a hierarchy of haplogroups in the D clade for longevity. For the extreme longevity phenotype we see a single statistically significant signal: a progressive enrichment of certain "beneficial" patterns in centenarians and semi-supercentenarians in the D4a haplogroup. We then use Principal Component Spectral Analysis of the SNP-SNP Covariance Matrix to compare the measured eigenvalues to a Null distribution of eigenvalues on Gaussian datasets to determine whether the correlations in the data (due to longevity) arises from some property of the mutations themselves or whether they are due to population structure. The conclusion is that the correlations are entirely due to population structure (phylogenetic tree). We find no signal for a functional mtDNA SNP correlated with longevity. The fact that the correlations are from the population structure suggests that hitch-hiking on autosomal events is a possible explanation for the observed correlations.

Mitochondrial DNA Haplogroup D4a Is a Marker for Extreme Longevity in Japan

PubMed Central

Bilal, Erhan; Rabadan, Raul; Alexe, Gabriela; Fuku, Noriyuki; Ueno, Hitomi; Nishigaki, Yutaka; Fujita, Yasunori; Ito, Masafumi; Arai, Yasumichi; Hirose, Nobuyoshi; Ruckenstein, Andrei; Bhanot, Gyan; Tanaka, Masashi

2008-01-01

We report results from the analysis of complete mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) sequences from 112 Japanese semi-supercentenarians (aged above 105 years) combined with previously published data from 96 patients in each of three non-disease phenotypes: centenarians (99–105 years of age), healthy non-obese males, obese young males and four disease phenotypes, diabetics with and without angiopathy, and Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease patients. We analyze the correlation between mitochondrial polymorphisms and the longevity phenotype using two different methods. We first use an exhaustive algorithm to identify all maximal patterns of polymorphisms shared by at least five individuals and define a significance score for enrichment of the patterns in each phenotype relative to healthy normals. Our study confirms the correlations observed in a previous study showing enrichment of a hierarchy of haplogroups in the D clade for longevity. For the extreme longevity phenotype we see a single statistically significant signal: a progressive enrichment of certain “beneficial” patterns in centenarians and semi-supercentenarians in the D4a haplogroup. We then use Principal Component Spectral Analysis of the SNP-SNP Covariance Matrix to compare the measured eigenvalues to a Null distribution of eigenvalues on Gaussian datasets to determine whether the correlations in the data (due to longevity) arises from some property of the mutations themselves or whether they are due to population structure. The conclusion is that the correlations are entirely due to population structure (phylogenetic tree). We find no signal for a functional mtDNA SNP correlated with longevity. The fact that the correlations are from the population structure suggests that hitch-hiking on autosomal events is a possible explanation for the observed correlations. PMID:18545700

Correlation and registration of ERTS multispectral imagery. [by a digital processing technique

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bonrud, L. O.; Henrikson, P. J.

1974-01-01

Examples of automatic digital processing demonstrate the feasibility of registering one ERTS multispectral scanner (MSS) image with another obtained on a subsequent orbit, and automatic matching, correlation, and registration of MSS imagery with aerial photography (multisensor correlation) is demonstrated. Excellent correlation was obtained with patch sizes exceeding 16 pixels square. Qualities which lead to effective control point selection are distinctive features, good contrast, and constant feature characteristics. Results of the study indicate that more than 300 degrees of freedom are required to register two standard ERTS-1 MSS frames covering 100 by 100 nautical miles to an accuracy of 0.6 pixel mean radial displacement error. An automatic strip processing technique demonstrates 600 to 1200 degrees of freedom over a quater frame of ERTS imagery. Registration accuracies in the range of 0.3 pixel to 0.5 pixel mean radial error were confirmed by independent error analysis. Accuracies in the range of 0.5 pixel to 1.4 pixel mean radial error were demonstrated by semi-automatic registration over small geographic areas.

Correlated Signatures of Gravitational-wave and Neutrino Emission in Three-dimensional General-relativistic Core-collapse Supernova Simulations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kuroda, Takami; Kotake, Kei; Hayama, Kazuhiro; Takiwaki, Tomoya

2017-12-01

We present results from general-relativistic (GR) three-dimensional (3D) core-collapse simulations with approximate neutrino transport for three nonrotating progenitors (11.2, 15, and 40 M ⊙) using different nuclear equations of state (EOSs). We find that the combination of progenitor’s higher compactness at bounce and the use of softer EOS leads to stronger activity of the standing accretion shock instability (SASI). We confirm previous predications that the SASI produces characteristic time modulations both in neutrino and gravitational-wave (GW) signals. By performing a correlation analysis of the SASI-modulated neutrino and GW signals, we find that the correlation becomes highest when we take into account the time-delay effect due to the advection of material from the neutrino sphere to the proto-neutron star core surface. Our results suggest that the correlation of the neutrino and GW signals, if detected, would provide a new signature of the vigorous SASI activity in the supernova core, which can be hardly seen if neutrino-convection dominates over the SASI.

Self-similarity of waiting times in fracture systems

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

Niccolini, G.; Bosia, F.; Carpinteri, A.

2009-08-15

Experimental and numerical results are presented for a fracture experiment carried out on a fiber-reinforced element under flexural loading, and a statistical analysis is performed for acoustic emission waiting-time distributions. By an optimization procedure, a recently proposed scaling law describing these distributions for different event magnitude scales is confirmed by both experimental and numerical data, thus reinforcing the idea that fracture of heterogeneous materials has scaling properties similar to those found for earthquakes. Analysis of the different scaling parameters obtained for experimental and numerical data leads us to formulate the hypothesis that the type of scaling function obtained depends onmore » the level of correlation among fracture events in the system.« less

Validation of general job satisfaction in the Korean Labor and Income Panel Study.

PubMed

Park, Shin Goo; Hwang, Sang Hee

2017-01-01

The purpose of this study is to assess the validity and reliability of general job satisfaction (JS) in the Korean Labor and Income Panel Study (KLIPS). We used the data from the 17th wave (2014) of the nationwide KLIPS, which selected a representative panel sample of Korean households and individuals aged 15 or older residing in urban areas. We included in this study 7679 employed subjects (4529 males and 3150 females). The general JS instrument consisted of five items rated on a scale from 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree). The general JS reliability was assessed using the corrected item-total correlation and Cronbach's alpha coefficient. The validity of general JS was assessed using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and Pearson's correlation. The corrected item-total correlations ranged from 0.736 to 0.837. Therefore, no items were removed. Cronbach's alpha for general JS was 0.925, indicating excellent internal consistency. The CFA of the general JS model showed a good fit. Pearson's correlation coefficients for convergent validity showed moderate or strong correlations. The results obtained in our study confirm the validity and reliability of general JS.

Decision making of heavy cannabis users on the Iowa Gambling Task: stronger association with THC of hair analysis than with personality traits of the Tridimensional Personality Questionnaire.

PubMed

Hermann, Derik; Leménager, Tagrid; Gelbke, Jan; Welzel, Helga; Skopp, Gisela; Mann, Karl

2009-01-01

It is unclear whether impairment in decision making, measured by the Iowa Gambling Task (IGT), in addiction is substance-induced or the consequence of personality structure. Analysis of the IGT, the Tridimensional Personality Questionnaire (TPQ) and cannabinoids in hair and urine were performed in 13 cannabis users and matched controls. Hair Delta(9)-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) correlated negatively with the last subtrial (cards 80-100) of the IGT (R = -0.67). In all participants (n = 26) the TPQ dimension, harm avoidance, correlated negatively with the total IGT score (R = -0.46). The last IGT-subtrial correlated with adventure seeking (R = 0.43), harm avoidance (R = -0.39) and reward dependence (R = -0.44). The last subtrial gives information on whether a participant has learned the IGT strategy. Multiple regression confirmed the impact of THC on the last subtrial, whereas TPQ personality traits did not additionally explain variance. Former indications of the IGT performance depending on the amount of cannabis consumed were replicated with an objective measurement of chronic cannabis consumption (hair THC). Multiple regression analysis argues for a stronger impact of chronic THC consumption than personality traits, but does not provide a causal relationship. Other factors (e.g. genetic) may also play a role. 2009 S. Karger AG, Basel.

Three-dimensional gender differences in facial form of children in the North East of England.

PubMed

Bugaighis, Iman; Mattick, Clare R; Tiddeman, Bernard; Hobson, Ross

2013-06-01

The aim of the prospective cross-sectional morphometric study was to explore three dimensional (3D) facial shape and form (shape plus size) variation within and between 8- and 12-year-old Caucasian children; 39 males age-matched with 41 females. The 3D images were captured using a stereophotogrammeteric system, and facial form was recorded by digitizing 39 anthropometric landmarks for each scan. The x, y, z coordinates of each landmark were extracted and used to calculate linear and angular measurements. 3D landmark asymmetry was quantified using Generalized Procrustes Analysis (GPA) and an average face was constructed for each gender. The average faces were superimposed and differences were visualized and quantified. Shape variations were explored using GPA and PrincipalComponent Analysis. Analysis of covariance and Pearson correlation coefficients were used to explore gender differences and to determine any correlation between facial measurements and height or weight. Multivariate analysis was used to ascertain differences in facial measurements or 3D landmark asymmetry. There were no differences in height or weight between genders. There was a significant positive correlation between facial measurements and height and weight and statistically significant differences in linear facial width measurements between genders. These differences were related to the larger size of males rather than differences in shape. There were no age- or gender-linked significant differences in 3D landmark asymmetry. Shape analysis confirmed similarities between both males and females for facial shape and form in 8- to 12-year-old children. Any differences found were related to differences in facial size rather than shape.

Stochastic epigenetic mutations (DNA methylation) increase exponentially in human aging and correlate with X chromosome inactivation skewing in females.

PubMed

Gentilini, Davide; Garagnani, Paolo; Pisoni, Serena; Bacalini, Maria Giulia; Calzari, Luciano; Mari, Daniela; Vitale, Giovanni; Franceschi, Claudio; Di Blasio, Anna Maria

2015-08-01

In this study we applied a new analytical strategy to investigate the relations between stochastic epigenetic mutations (SEMs) and aging. We analysed methylation levels through the Infinium HumanMethylation27 and HumanMethylation450 BeadChips in a population of 178 subjects ranging from 3 to 106 years. For each CpG probe, epimutated subjects were identified as the extreme outliers with methylation level exceeding three times interquartile ranges the first quartile (Q1-(3 x IQR)) or the third quartile (Q3+(3 x IQR)). We demonstrated that the number of SEMs was low in childhood and increased exponentially during aging. Using the HUMARA method, skewing of X chromosome inactivation (XCI) was evaluated in heterozygotes women. Multivariate analysis indicated a significant correlation between log(SEMs) and degree of XCI skewing after adjustment for age (β = 0.41; confidence interval: 0.14, 0.68; p-value = 0.0053). The PATH analysis tested the complete model containing the variables: skewing of XCI, age, log(SEMs) and overall CpG methylation. After adjusting for the number of epimutations we failed to confirm the well reported correlation between skewing of XCI and aging. This evidence might suggest that the known correlation between XCI skewing and aging could not be a direct association but mediated by the number of SEMs.

Characterizing the interaction of groundwater and surface water in the karst aquifer of Fangshan, Beijing (China)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chu, Haibo; Wei, Jiahua; Wang, Rong; Xin, Baodong

2017-03-01

Correct understanding of groundwater/surface-water (GW-SW) interaction in karst systems is of greatest importance for managing the water resources. A typical karst region, Fangshan in northern China, was selected as a case study. Groundwater levels and hydrochemistry analyses, together with isotope data based on hydrogeological field investigations, were used to assess the GW-SW interaction. Chemistry data reveal that water type and the concentration of cations in the groundwater are consistent with those of the surface water. Stable isotope ratios of all samples are close to the local meteoric water line, and the 3H concentrations of surface water and groundwater samples are close to that of rainfall, so isotopes also confirm that karst groundwater is recharged by rainfall. Cross-correlation analysis reveals that rainfall leads to a rise in groundwater level with a lag time of 2 months and groundwater exploitation leads to a fall within 1 month. Spectral analysis also reveals that groundwater level, groundwater exploitation and rainfall have significantly similar response periods, indicating their possible inter-relationship. Furthermore, a multiple nonlinear regression model indicates that groundwater level can be negatively correlated with groundwater exploitation, and positively correlated with rainfall. The overall results revealed that groundwater level has a close correlation with groundwater exploitation and rainfall, and they are indicative of a close hydraulic connection and interaction between surface water and groundwater in this karst system.

Correlates of comorbid depression, anxiety and helplessness with obsessive-compulsive disorder in Chinese adolescents.

PubMed

Sun, Jing; Li, Zhanjiang; Buys, Nicholas; Storch, Eric A

2015-03-15

Youth with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) are at risk of experiencing comorbid psychiatric conditions, such as depression and anxiety. Studies of Chinese adolescents with OCD are limited. The aim of this study was to investigate the association of depression, anxiety, and helplessness with the occurrence of OCD in Chinese adolescents. This study consisted of two stages. The first stage used a cross-sectional design involving a stratified clustered non-clinical sample of 3174 secondary school students. A clinical interview procedure was then employed to diagnose OCD in students who had a Leyton 'yes' score of 15 or above. The second phase used a case-control study design to examine the relationship of OCD to depression, anxiety and helplessness in a matched sample of 288 adolescents with clinically diagnosed OCD and 246 students without OCD. Helplessness, depression and anxiety scores were directly associated with the probability of OCD caseness. Canonical correlation analysis indicated that the OCD correlated significantly with depression, anxiety, and helplessness. Cluster analysis further indicated that the degree of the OCD is also associated with severity of depression and anxiety, and the level of helplessness. These findings suggest that depression, anxiety and helplessness are important correlates of OCD in Chinese adolescents. Future studies using longitudinal and prospective designs are required to confirm these relationships as causal. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Diagnosis-Specific Prognostic Factors, Indexes, and Treatment Outcomes for Patients With Newly Diagnosed Brain Metastases: A Multi-Institutional Analysis of 4,259 Patients

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

Sperduto, Paul W., E-mail: psperduto@mropa.co; Chao, Samuel T.; Sneed, Penny K.

2010-07-01

Purpose: Controversy endures regarding the optimal treatment of patients with brain metastases (BMs). Debate persists, despite many randomized trials, perhaps because BM patients are a heterogeneous population. The purpose of the present study was to identify significant diagnosis-specific prognostic factors and indexes (Diagnosis-Specific Graded Prognostic Assessment [DS-GPA]). Methods and Materials: A retrospective database of 5,067 patients treated for BMs between 1985 and 2007 was generated from 11 institutions. After exclusion of the patients with recurrent BMs or incomplete data, 4,259 patients with newly diagnosed BMs remained eligible for analysis. Univariate and multivariate analyses of the prognostic factors and outcomes bymore » primary site and treatment were performed. The significant prognostic factors were determined and used to define the DS-GPA prognostic indexes. The DS-GPA scores were calculated and correlated with the outcomes, stratified by diagnosis and treatment. Results: The significant prognostic factors varied by diagnosis. For non-small-cell lung cancer and small-cell lung cancer, the significant prognostic factors were Karnofsky performance status, age, presence of extracranial metastases, and number of BMs, confirming the original GPA for these diagnoses. For melanoma and renal cell cancer, the significant prognostic factors were Karnofsky performance status and the number of BMs. For breast and gastrointestinal cancer, the only significant prognostic factor was the Karnofsky performance status. Two new DS-GPA indexes were thus designed for breast/gastrointestinal cancer and melanoma/renal cell carcinoma. The median survival by GPA score, diagnosis, and treatment were determined. Conclusion: The prognostic factors for BM patients varied by diagnosis. The original GPA was confirmed for non-small-cell lung cancer and small-cell lung cancer. New DS-GPA indexes were determined for other histologic types and correlated with the outcome, and statistical separation between the groups was confirmed. These data should be considered in the design of future randomized trials and in clinical decision-making.« less

Psychometric Validation of the Academic Motivation Scale in a Dental Student Sample.

PubMed

Orsini, Cesar; Binnie, Vivian; Evans, Phillip; Ledezma, Priscilla; Fuentes, Fernando; Villegas, Maria J

2015-08-01

The Academic Motivation Scale is one of the most frequently used instruments to assess academic motivation. It relies on the self-determination theory of human motivation. However, motivation has been understudied in dental education. Therefore, to address the lack of valid instruments to assess academic motivation in dental education and contribute to future research in the field, the aim of this study was to analyze the psychometric properties of this instrument in a sample of dental students. Participants were 989 Chilean undergraduate dental students (86% response rate) who completed a survey containing a Chilean face-valid version of the Spanish Academic Motivation Scale and three other motivation-related instruments to assess the survey's construct and criterion validity. Later, 76 of the students (out of 100 invited) took the survey again to assess its test-retest stability. The instrument's construct validity was supported by the superior goodness of fit of the seven-subscale Academic Motivation Scale over competing models through confirmatory factor analysis and by the expected correlations among its subscales. The concurrent criterion validity was supported by the confirmation of correlations between its subscales and external criteria. Adequate internal consistency and test-retest correlations were also found. The evidence from this study suggests that the Academic Motivation Scale is a preliminarily valid and reliable instrument to assess motivation in the predoctoral dental context. Future research in this area is needed to confirm or refute these results.

Delayed complications of sulfur mustard poisoning in the skin and the immune system of Iranian veterans 16-20 years after exposure.

PubMed

Hefazi, Mehrdad; Maleki, Masoud; Mahmoudi, Mahmoud; Tabatabaee, Abbas; Balali-Mood, Mahdi

2006-09-01

Extensive cutaneous burns caused by alkylating chemical warfare agent sulfur mustard (SM) have been associated with the severe suppression of the immune system in humans. We aimed to study the association between late cutaneous and immunological complications of SM poisoning. Skin examination was performed on all SM-poisoned Iranian veterans in the province of Khorasan, Iran, who had significant clinical complications, and their SM intoxication was confirmed by toxicological analysis. Light microscopy was performed on eight skin biopsies. Blood cell counts, serum immunoglobulin and complement factor, as well as flow cytometric, analyses were performed on all the patients. The severity of cutaneous complications were classified into four grades and compared with hematological and immunological parameters, using Spearman's rank correlation test. Forty male subjects, confirmed with SM poisoning 16-20 years earlier, were studied. The main objective findings were hyperpigmentation (55%), dry skin (40%), multiple cherry angiomas (37.5%), atrophy (27.5%), and hypopigmentation (25%). Histopathologic findings were nonspecific and compatible with hyperpigmented old atrophic scars. Except for the hematocrit and C4 levels, hematological and immunological parameters revealed no significant correlation with the severity grades of cutaneous complications. Sulfur mustard is an alkylating agent with prolonged adverse effects on both the skin and the immune system. Although skin is a major transporting system for SM's systemic absorption, there is probably no correlation between the severity of late cutaneous and immunological complications of SM poisoning.

Analysis of the shapes of hemocytes of Callista brevisiphonata in vitro (Bivalvia, Veneridae).

PubMed

Karetin, Yu A; Pushchin, I I

2015-08-01

Fractal formalism in conjunction with linear methods of image analysis is suitable for the comparative analysis of such "irregular" shapes (from the point of view of classical Euclidean geometry) as flattened amoeboid cells of invertebrates in vitro. Cell morphology of in vitro spreading hemocytes from the bivalve mollusc Callista brevisiphonata was analyzed using correlation, factor and cluster analysis. Four significantly different cell types were identified on the basis of 36 linear and nonlinear parameters. The analysis confirmed the adequacy of the selected methodology for numerical description of the shape and the adequacy of classification of nonlinear shapes of spread hemocytes belonging to the same species. Investigation has practical significance for the description of the morphology of cultured cells, since cell shape is a result of summation of a number of extracellular and intracellular factors. © 2015 International Society for Advancement of Cytometry.

Structure and Dynamics Analysis on Plexin-B1 Rho GTPase Binding Domain as a Monomer and Dimer

PubMed Central

2015-01-01

Plexin-B1 is a single-pass transmembrane receptor. Its Rho GTPase binding domain (RBD) can associate with small Rho GTPases and can also self-bind to form a dimer. In total, more than 400 ns of NAMD molecular dynamics simulations were performed on RBD monomer and dimer. Different analysis methods, such as root mean squared fluctuation (RMSF), order parameters (S2), dihedral angle correlation, transfer entropy, principal component analysis, and dynamical network analysis, were carried out to characterize the motions seen in the trajectories. RMSF results show that after binding, the L4 loop becomes more rigid, but the L2 loop and a number of residues in other regions become slightly more flexible. Calculating order parameters (S2) for CH, NH, and CO bonds on both backbone and side chain shows that the L4 loop becomes essentially rigid after binding, but part of the L1 loop becomes slightly more flexible. Backbone dihedral angle cross-correlation results show that loop regions such as the L1 loop including residues Q25 and G26, the L2 loop including residue R61, and the L4 loop including residues L89–R91, are highly correlated compared to other regions in the monomer form. Analysis of the correlated motions at these residues, such as Q25 and R61, indicate two signal pathways. Transfer entropy calculations on the RBD monomer and dimer forms suggest that the binding process should be driven by the L4 loop and C-terminal. However, after binding, the L4 loop functions as the motion responder. The signal pathways in RBD were predicted based on a dynamical network analysis method using the pathways predicted from the dihedral angle cross-correlation calculations as input. It is found that the shortest pathways predicted from both inputs can overlap, but signal pathway 2 (from F90 to R61) is more dominant and overlaps all of the routes of pathway 1 (from F90 to P111). This project confirms the allosteric mechanism in signal transmission inside the RBD network, which was in part proposed in the previous experimental study. PMID:24901636

Syntheses, characterisation and crystal structures of ferrocenyl β-diketones and their Schiff base Nsbnd Nsbnd O ligand derivatives with 2-picolylamine

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Artigas, Vania; González, Deborah; Fuentealba, Mauricio

2017-02-01

Ferrocenyl β-diketones compounds β3-4 were synthesised by Claisen condensation reaction between acetylferrocene and ethyl benzoate or 4-bromoethyl benzoate. We also synthesised four new Schiff base ligands L1-4 by condensation reaction between β1-4 and 2-picolylamine. Identities of all these compounds were confirmed by satisfactory elemental analysis, 1H nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) correlation and infrared (IR) spectroscopy. In addition, all these compounds were authenticated by a single-crystal X-ray diffraction analysis. In solution, 1H NMR spectra of β3 and β4 exhibit a mixture of keto:enol tautomer ratios of 12:88 and 8:92, respectively, calculated by the integration of the free cyclopentadienyl ring. In contrast, the proton NMR spectra of L1-4 showed only the keto-enamine tautomer displacements. In addition, decoupled 13C NMR spectrum clearly confirmed the existence of these tautomers. These results are in accordance with X-ray crystallographic studies, in which the enol and keto-enamine forms were elucidated for β-diketones and Schiff base ligands, respectively.

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

Jiang, Fujin; Department of Urinary Surgery, Huai'an Hospital to Xuzhou Medical University, Huai'an, Jiangsu; Ma, Song

Lactate dehydrogenase-A(LDH-A) is an important rate-limiting enzyme in the Warburg effect. Survival analysis indicated poor clinical outcomes in MIBC with high LDH-A expression. The results of in vitro experiment indicated that LDH-A promotes MIBC cells proliferation, invasion and migration. The positive relationship between LDH-A expression and CSC/EMT markers was confirmed both in invasive bladder cell line and in 136 MIBC specimens. Thus, we conclude that LDH-A may be a promising target for MIBC. - Highlights: • Survival analysis indicated poor clinical outcomes in MIBC with high LDH-A expression. • IHC analysis of 136 MIBC specimens revealed increased LDH-A is correlated withmore » positive Oct4 and negative E-cadherin. • In vitro experiments demonstrated LDH-A promotes MIBC progression by positive regulation of EMT/CSC.« less

Processes and subdivisions in diogenites, a multivariate statistical analysis

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Harriott, T. A.; Hewins, R. H.

1984-01-01

Multivariate statistical techniques used on diogenite orthopyroxene analyses show the relationships that occur within diogenites and the two orthopyroxenite components (class I and II) in the polymict diogenite Garland. Cluster analysis shows that only Peckelsheim is similar to Garland class I (Fe-rich) and the other diogenites resemble Garland class II. The unique diogenite Y 75032 may be related to type I by fractionation. Factor analysis confirms the subdivision and shows that Fe does not correlate with the weakly incompatible elements across the entire pyroxene composition range, indicating that igneous fractionation is not the process controlling total diogenite composition variation. The occurrence of two groups of diogenites is interpreted as the result of sampling or mixing of two main sequences of orthopyroxene cumulates with slightly different compositions.

Correlation of Foreshock Occurrence with Mainshock Depth, Rake, and Magnitude from the High Precision Catalog for Northern California

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schaff, D. P.; Waldhauser, F.; Lerner-Lam, A.

2010-12-01

Foreshocks are perhaps the best-documented and most undisputed precursors to some large earthquakes. The question remains, however, if foreshocks have any more predictive power for future mainshocks than any other earthquake. Several researchers argue for a single unifying triggering law for foreshocks, mainshocks, and aftershocks. An alternate model is that foreshocks are the byproduct of an aseismic pre-slip phase that scales with mainshock magnitude. In this case foreshocks are different than other earthquakes and have predictive value for the mainshock location, origin time, and magnitude. We examine 612 mainshocks with M ≥ 4 from the cross-correlation double-difference catalog for northern California. 235 (44%) of these had foreshock sequences, providing us with a data set more than an order of magnitude larger than those used in previous studies. We are able to confirm with improved accuracy correlations of foreshock occurrence and characteristics with depth. The proportion of mainshocks with associated foreshocks, the number of foreshocks in the sequence, the foreshock duration, and the foreshock radius in map view all decrease with increasing depth, all with statistical significance above 95%. This supports models where increasing normal stress due to lithostatic load inhibits foreshock occurrence. Other M ≥ 4 events that were classified as aftershocks of larger events did not show the depth dependence. However, our analysis does not confirm a previous observation that increased normal stress due to tectonic loading appears to inhibit foreshock occurrence. We observe a negative correlation of foreshock magnitude with foreshock duration which is consistent with a model of mainshocks triggered by increased pore pressure. We observe a statistically significant relationship between foreshock magnitude and mainshock magnitude, lending support to the pre-slip model.

Short health scale: A valid measure of health-related quality of life in Korean-speaking patients with inflammatory bowel disease

PubMed Central

Park, Soo-Kyung; Ko, Bong Min; Goong, Hyeon Jeong; Seo, Jeong Yeon; Lee, Sang Hyuk; Baek, Hae Lim; Lee, Moon Sung; Park, Dong Il

2017-01-01

AIM To evaluate the short health scale (SHS), a new, simple, four-part visual analogue scale questionnaire that is designed to assess the impact of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) on health-related quality of life (HRQOL), in Korean-speaking patients with IBD. METHODS The SHS was completed by 256 patients with Crohn’s disease (CD) and ulcerative colitis (UC). Individual SHS items were correlated with inflammatory bowel disease questionnaire (IBDQ) dimensions and with disease activity to assess validity. Test-retest reliability, responsiveness and patient or disease characteristics with probable association with high SHS scores were analyzed. RESULTS Of 256 patients with IBD, 139 (54.3%) had UC and 117 (45.7%) had CD. The correlation coefficients between SHS questions about “symptom burden”, “activities of daily living”, and “disease-related worry” and their corresponding dimensions in the IBDQ ranged from 0.62 to 0.71, compared with correlation coefficients ranging from -0.45 to -0.61 for their non-corresponding dimensions. There was a stepwise increase in SHS scores, with increasing disease activity in both CD and UC (all P values < 0.001). Reliability was confirmed with test-retest correlations ranging from 0.68 to 0.90 (all P values < 0.001). Responsiveness was confirmed with the patients who remained in remission. Their SHS scores remained unchanged, except for the SHS dimension “disease-related worry”. In the multivariate analysis, female sex was associated with worse “general well-being” (OR = 2.28, 95%CI: 1.02-5.08) along with worse disease activity. CONCLUSION The SHS is a valid and reliable measure of HRQOL in Korean-speaking patients with IBD. PMID:28596689

Gray matter-changes and correlates of disease severity in schizophrenia: a statistical parametric mapping study.

PubMed

Wilke, M; Kaufmann, C; Grabner, A; Pütz, B; Wetter, T C; Auer, D P

2001-05-01

Voxel-based morphometry has recently been used successfully to detect gray matter volume reductions in schizophrenic patients. The aim of the present study was to confirm the findings on gray-matter changes and to complement these by applying the methodology to CSF-differences. Also, we wanted to determine whether a correlation exists between a clinically defined parameter of disease severity and brain morphology in schizophrenic patients. We investigated 48 schizophrenic patients and compared them with 48 strictly age- and sex-matched controls. High-resolution whole-brain MR-images were segmented and analyzed using SPM99. In a further analysis, the covariate effect of the global assessment of functioning-score (GAF) was calculated. Main findings were (i) left-dominant frontal, temporal, and insular GM-reductions and (ii) GM-increases in schizophrenic patients in the right basal ganglia and bilaterally in the superior cerebellum; (iii) CSF-space increases in patients complementary to some GM-reductions; (iv) a correlation between the GAF-score and local GM-volume in the left inferior frontal and inferior parietal lobe of schizophrenic patients. This study confirms and extends some earlier findings on GM-reduction and detected distinct GM-increases in schizophrenic patients. These changes were corroborated by complementary CSF-increases. Most importantly, a correlation could be established between two particular gray matter-regions and the overall disease severity, with more severely ill patients displaying a local GM-deficit. These findings may be of potentially large importance for both the future interpretation and design of neuroimaging studies in schizophrenia and the further elucidation of possible pathophysiological processes occurring in this disease. Copyright 2001 Academic Press.

Short health scale: A valid measure of health-related quality of life in Korean-speaking patients with inflammatory bowel disease.

PubMed

Park, Soo-Kyung; Ko, Bong Min; Goong, Hyeon Jeong; Seo, Jeong Yeon; Lee, Sang Hyuk; Baek, Hae Lim; Lee, Moon Sung; Park, Dong Il

2017-05-21

To evaluate the short health scale (SHS), a new, simple, four-part visual analogue scale questionnaire that is designed to assess the impact of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) on health-related quality of life (HRQOL), in Korean-speaking patients with IBD. The SHS was completed by 256 patients with Crohn's disease (CD) and ulcerative colitis (UC). Individual SHS items were correlated with inflammatory bowel disease questionnaire (IBDQ) dimensions and with disease activity to assess validity. Test-retest reliability, responsiveness and patient or disease characteristics with probable association with high SHS scores were analyzed. Of 256 patients with IBD, 139 (54.3%) had UC and 117 (45.7%) had CD. The correlation coefficients between SHS questions about "symptom burden", "activities of daily living", and "disease-related worry" and their corresponding dimensions in the IBDQ ranged from 0.62 to 0.71, compared with correlation coefficients ranging from -0.45 to -0.61 for their non-corresponding dimensions. There was a stepwise increase in SHS scores, with increasing disease activity in both CD and UC (all P values < 0.001). Reliability was confirmed with test-retest correlations ranging from 0.68 to 0.90 (all P values < 0.001). Responsiveness was confirmed with the patients who remained in remission. Their SHS scores remained unchanged, except for the SHS dimension "disease-related worry". In the multivariate analysis, female sex was associated with worse "general well-being" (OR = 2.28, 95%CI: 1.02-5.08) along with worse disease activity. The SHS is a valid and reliable measure of HRQOL in Korean-speaking patients with IBD.

Single-Photon Emission from InAs/AlGaAs Quantum Dots

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rakhlin, M. V.; Belyaev, K. G.; Klimko, G. V.; Mukhin, I. S.; Ivanov, S. V.; Toropov, A. A.

2018-04-01

The results of investigation of the radiative characteristics of heterostructures with InAs/AlGaAs quantum dots (QDs) grown by molecular beam epitaxy have been presented. The properties of single QDs were determined by spectroscopy of micro-photoluminescence in cylindrical mesa-structures with a diameter of 200-1000 nm or columnar microresonators with distributed Bragg mirrors. The single-photon nature of the radiation is confirmed by measurements and analysis of the second-order correlation function g 2(τ) in a wide spectral range from 630 to 730 nm.

Relationship between Participation in Patient- and Family-Centered Care Training and Communication Adaptability among Medical Students: Changing Hearts, Changing Minds.

PubMed

Rossignol, Lisa

2015-01-01

A census of 43 third-year medical students at the University of New Mexico School of Medicine participated in Parents Reaching Out: Families as Faculty program during their pediatric rotation. Analysis of variance revealed statistical significance for the factor "appropriate disclosure" (meaning students have become more sensitive to the level of intimacy that the other person is seeking and the student is willing to offer more information). There was a positive correlation between pretest and posttests in social experience, wit, and social confirmation.

A meta-analysis on the relationship between self-reported presence and anxiety in virtual reality exposure therapy for anxiety disorders.

PubMed

Ling, Yun; Nefs, Harold T; Morina, Nexhmedin; Heynderickx, Ingrid; Brinkman, Willem-Paul

2014-01-01

In virtual reality exposure therapy (VRET) for anxiety disorders, sense of presence in the virtual environment is considered the principal mechanism that enables anxiety to be felt. Existing studies on the relation between sense of presence and level of anxiety, however, have yielded mixed results on the correlation between the two. In this meta-analysis, we reviewed publications on VRET for anxiety that included self-reported presence and anxiety. The comprehensive search of the literature identified 33 publications with a total of 1196 participants. The correlation between self-reported sense of presence and anxiety was extracted and meta-analyzed. Potential moderators such as technology characteristics, sample characteristics including age, gender and clinical status, disorder characteristics and study design characteristics such as measurements were also examined. The random effects analysis showed a medium effect size for the correlation between sense of presence and anxiety (r = .28; 95% CI: 0.18-0.38). Moderation analyses revealed that the effect size of the correlation differed across different anxiety disorders, with a large effect size for fear of animals (r = .50; 95% CI: 0.30-0.66) and a no to small effect size for social anxiety disorder (r = .001; 95% CI: -0.19-0.19). Further, the correlation between anxiety and presence was stronger in studies with participants who met criteria for an anxiety disorder than in studies with a non-clinical population. Trackers with six degrees of freedom and displays with a larger field of view resulted in higher effect sizes, compared to trackers with three degrees of freedom and displays with a smaller field of view. In addition, no difference in effect size was found for the type of presence measurement and the type of anxiety measurement. This meta-analysis confirms the positive relation between sense of presence and anxiety and demonstrates that this relation can be affected by various moderating factors.

A Meta-Analysis on the Relationship between Self-Reported Presence and Anxiety in Virtual Reality Exposure Therapy for Anxiety Disorders

PubMed Central

Ling, Yun; Nefs, Harold T.; Morina, Nexhmedin; Heynderickx, Ingrid; Brinkman, Willem-Paul

2014-01-01

In virtual reality exposure therapy (VRET) for anxiety disorders, sense of presence in the virtual environment is considered the principal mechanism that enables anxiety to be felt. Existing studies on the relation between sense of presence and level of anxiety, however, have yielded mixed results on the correlation between the two. In this meta-analysis, we reviewed publications on VRET for anxiety that included self-reported presence and anxiety. The comprehensive search of the literature identified 33 publications with a total of 1196 participants. The correlation between self-reported sense of presence and anxiety was extracted and meta-analyzed. Potential moderators such as technology characteristics, sample characteristics including age, gender and clinical status, disorder characteristics and study design characteristics such as measurements were also examined. The random effects analysis showed a medium effect size for the correlation between sense of presence and anxiety (r = .28; 95% CI: 0.18–0.38). Moderation analyses revealed that the effect size of the correlation differed across different anxiety disorders, with a large effect size for fear of animals (r = .50; 95% CI: 0.30–0.66) and a no to small effect size for social anxiety disorder (r = .001; 95% CI: −0.19–0.19). Further, the correlation between anxiety and presence was stronger in studies with participants who met criteria for an anxiety disorder than in studies with a non-clinical population. Trackers with six degrees of freedom and displays with a larger field of view resulted in higher effect sizes, compared to trackers with three degrees of freedom and displays with a smaller field of view. In addition, no difference in effect size was found for the type of presence measurement and the type of anxiety measurement. This meta-analysis confirms the positive relation between sense of presence and anxiety and demonstrates that this relation can be affected by various moderating factors. PMID:24801324

Multifractal cross-correlations between crude oil and tanker freight rate

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, Feier; Miao, Yuqi; Tian, Kang; Ding, Xiaoxu; Li, Tingyi

2017-05-01

Analysis of crude oil price and tanker freight rate volatility attract more attention as the mechanism is not only the basis of industrialization but also a vital role in economics, especially after the year 2008 when financial crisis notably blew the maritime transportation. In this paper, we studied the cross-correlations between the West Texas International crude oil (WTI) and Baltic Exchange Dirty Tanker Index (BDTI) employing the Multifractal Detrended Cross-Correlation Analysis (MF-DCCA). Empirical results show that the degree of short-term cross-correlation is higher than that in the long term and that the strength of multifractality after financial crisis is larger than that before. Moreover, the components of multifractal spectrum are quantified with the finite-size effect taken into consideration and an improved method in terms of constructing the surrogated time series provided. Numerical results show that the multifractality is generated mostly from the nonlinear and the fat-tailed probability distribution (PDF) part. Also, it is apparent that the PDF part changes a lot after the financial crisis. The research is contributory to risk management by providing various instructions for participants in shipping markets. Our main contribution is that we investigated both the multifractal features and the origin of multifractality and provided confirming evidence of multifractality through numerical results while applying quantitative analysis based on MF-DCCA; furthermore, the research is contributory to risk management since it provides instructions in both economic market and stock market simultaneously. However, constructing the surrogated series in order to obtain consistence seems less convincing which requires further discussion and attempts.

Identification of authentic and adulterated Aquilariae Lignum Resinatum by Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy and two-dimensional correlation analysis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Qu, Lei; Chen, Jian-bo; Zhou, Qun; Zhang, Gui-jun; Sun, Su-qin; Guo, Yi-zhen

2016-11-01

As a kind of expensive perfume and valuable herb, the commercial Aquilariae Lignum Resinatum (ALR) is often adulterated for economic motivations. In this research, Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy and two-dimensional (2D) correlation analysis are employed to establish a simple and quick identification method for the authentic and adulterated ALR. In the conventional infrared spectra, the standard ALR has a strong peak at 1658 cm-1 referring to the conjugated carbonyl of resin, while this peak is absent in the adulterated samples. The position, intensity, and shape of the auto-peaks and cross-peaks of the authentic and adulterated ALR are much different in the synchronous 2D correlation spectra with thermal perturbation. In the range of 1700-1500 cm-1, the standard ALR has four obvious auto-peaks, while the strongest one is at 1659 cm-1. The adulterated sample w-1 has three obvious auto-peaks and the strongest one is at 1647 cm-1. The adulterated sample w-2 has three obvious auto-peaks and the strongest one is at 1519 cm-1. The adulterated sample w-3 has four obvious auto-peaks and the strongest one is at 1690 cm-1. The above auto-peaks confirm that the standard ALR contains a certain content of resin compounds, while the three counterfeits contain little or different resins. The results show the potential of FT-IR spectroscopy and 2D correlation analysis in the simple and quick identification of authentic and adulterated ALR.

CROSS-CORRELATING THE γ-RAY SKY WITH CATALOGS OF GALAXY CLUSTERS

DOE PAGES

Branchini, Enzo; Camera, Stefano; Cuoco, Alessandro; ...

2017-01-18

In this article, we report the detection of a cross-correlation signal between Fermi Large Area Telescope diffuse γ-ray maps and catalogs of clusters. In our analysis, we considered three different catalogs: WHL12, redMaPPer, and PlanckSZ. They all show a positive correlation with different amplitudes, related to the average mass of the objects in each catalog, which also sets the catalog bias. The signal detection is confirmed by the results of a stacking analysis. The cross-correlation signal extends to rather large angular scales, around 1°, that correspond, at the typical redshift of the clusters in these catalogs, to a few tomore » tens of megaparsecs, i.e., the typical scale-length of the large-scale structures in the universe. Most likely this signal is contributed by the cumulative emission from active galactic nuclei (AGNs) associated with the filamentary structures that converge toward the high peaks of the matter density field in which galaxy clusters reside. In addition, our analysis reveals the presence of a second component, more compact in size and compatible with a point-like emission from within individual clusters. At present, we cannot distinguish between the two most likely interpretations for such a signal, i.e., whether it is produced by AGNs inside clusters or if it is a diffuse γ-ray emission from the intracluster medium. Lastly, we argue that this latter, intriguing, hypothesis might be tested by applying this technique to a low-redshift large-mass cluster sample.« less

Brain Structural Concomitants of Resting State Heart Rate Variability in the Young and Old – Evidence from Two Independent Samples

PubMed Central

Yoo, Hyun Joo; Thayer, Julian F; Greening, Steven; Lee, Tae-Ho; Ponzio, Allison; Min, Jungwon; Sakaki, Michiko; Nga, Lin; Mather, Mara; Koenig, Julian

2018-01-01

Previous research has shown associations between brain structure and resting state high-frequency heart rate variability (HF-HRV). Age affects both brain structure and HF-HRV. Therefore we sought to examine the relationship between brain structure and HF-HRV as a function of age. Data from two independent studies were used for the present analysis. Study 1 included 19 older adults (10 males, age range 62–78 years) and 19 younger adults (12 males, age range 19–37). Study 2 included 23 older adults (12 males; age range 55–75) and 27 younger adults (17 males; age range 18–34). The root-mean-square of successive R-R-interval differences (RMSSD) from ECG recordings was used as time-domain measure of HF-HRV. MRI scans were performed on a 3.0-T Siemens Magnetom Trio scanner. Cortical reconstruction and volumetric segmentation were performed with the Freesurfer image analysis suite, including 12 regions as regions-of-interests (ROI). Zero-order and partial correlations were used to assess the correlation of RMSSD with cortical thickness in selected ROIs. Lateral orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) cortical thickness was significantly associated with RMSSD. Further, both studies, in line with previous research, showed correlations between RMSSD and anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) cortical thickness. Meta-analysis on adjusted correlation coefficients from individual studies confirmed an association of RMSSD with the left rostral ACC and the left lateral OFC. Future longitudinal studies are necessary to trace individual trajectories in the association of HRV and brain structure across aging. PMID:28921167

Large-scale structure of randomly jammed spheres

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ikeda, Atsushi; Berthier, Ludovic; Parisi, Giorgio

2017-05-01

We numerically analyze the density field of three-dimensional randomly jammed packings of monodisperse soft frictionless spherical particles, paying special attention to fluctuations occurring at large length scales. We study in detail the two-point static structure factor at low wave vectors in Fourier space. We also analyze the nature of the density field in real space by studying the large-distance behavior of the two-point pair correlation function, of density fluctuations in subsystems of increasing sizes, and of the direct correlation function. We show that such real space analysis can be greatly improved by introducing a coarse-grained density field to disentangle genuine large-scale correlations from purely local effects. Our results confirm that both Fourier and real space signatures of vanishing density fluctuations at large scale are absent, indicating that randomly jammed packings are not hyperuniform. In addition, we establish that the pair correlation function displays a surprisingly complex structure at large distances, which is however not compatible with the long-range negative correlation of hyperuniform systems but fully compatible with an analytic form for the structure factor. This implies that the direct correlation function is short ranged, as we also demonstrate directly. Our results reveal that density fluctuations in jammed packings do not follow the behavior expected for random hyperuniform materials, but display instead a more complex behavior.

Electrical conductivity of graphite oxide nanoplatelets obtained from bamboo: Effect of the deoxidation degree

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gross, K.; Prias-Barragan, J. J.; Sangiao, S.; de Teresa, J. M.; Lajaunie, L.; Arenal, R.; Ariza-Calderón, H.; Prieto, P.

Given the high interest in the fabrication and application of carbon-based materials, we present a new and cost-effective method for the synthesis of graphite oxide nanoplatelets (GONP) using bamboo pyroligneous acid (BPA) as source. GONP-BPA present lateral dimensions of 5-100 micro-meter and thickness less than 80 nm, as confirmed by TEM. EEL spectra show that locally the carbon is mainly in sp2 bonding configuration and confirm a short/medium range crystalline order. Elemental analysis by EDX confirms the presence of oxygen in an atomic percentage ranging from 17 to 5%. For electrical characterization, single platelets were contacted by focused-ion-beam-induced deposition of Pt nanowires. The four-point probe electrical conductivity shows a direct correlation with the oxygen percentage. Three orders of magnitude conductivity rise is observed by the oxygen reduction, reaching a value of 2.3x103 S/m at the final deoxidation degree. The results suggest that GONP-BPA could be used in the development of advanced devices and sensors.

High-resolution Spectroscopic Abundances of Red Giant Branch Stars in NGC 6584 and NGC 7099

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

O’Malley, Erin M.; Chaboyer, Brian

2018-04-01

We obtain high-resolution spectra of red giant branch stars in NGC 6584 and NGC 7099 to perform a detailed abundance analysis. We confirm cluster membership for these stars based on consistent radial velocities measured in this study and small pixel offsets between the observations of Sarajedini et al. and Piotto et al. We find mean metallicities of [Fe/H] = ‑1.53 ± 0.08 dex and [Fe/H] = ‑2.29 ± 0.07 dex for NGC 6584 and NGC 7099, respectively. We also find these clusters to be enhanced in their [α/Fe] ratios, consistent with what is expected for metal-poor globular clusters. Additionally, we find evidence of a statistically significant Na–O anti-correlation in both clusters. Finally, with the use of HST photometry, we compare the location of the enhanced and pristine populations in chromosome maps of the clusters to confirm previous photometric evidence of multiple stellar populations. Although we cannot confirm the nature of the polluter stars responsible for the abundance differences, our results can be used to constrain pollution models.

Human avian influenza in Indonesia: are they really clustered?

PubMed

Eyanoer, Putri Chairani; Singhasivanon, Pratap; Kaewkungwal, Jaranit; Apisarnthanarak, Anucha

2011-05-01

Understanding the epidemiology of human H5N1 cases in Indonesia is important. The question of whether cases are clustered or not is unclear. An increase in clustered cases suggests greater transmissibility. In the present study, 107 confirmed and 302 suspected human H5N1 cases in Indonesia during 2005-2007 were analyzed for spatial and temporal distribution. Most confirmed cases (97.2%) occurred on two main islands (Java and Sumatera). There were no patterns of disease occurrence over time. There were also no correlations between occurrence patterns in humans and poultry. Statistical analysis showed confirmed cases were clustered within an area on Java island covered by 8 districts along the border of three neighboring provinces (Jakarta, West Java, and Banten). This study shows human H5N1 cases in Indonesia were clustered at two sites where there was a high rate of infection among poultry. These findings are important since they highlight areas of high risk for possible human H5N1 infection in Indonesia, thus, preventive measures may be taken.

A study on p53 gene alterations in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma and their correlation to common dietary risk factors among population of the Kashmir valley.

PubMed

Murtaza, Imtiyaz; Mushtaq, Dhuha; Margoob, Mushtaq A; Dutt, Amit; Wani, Nisar Ahmad; Ahmad, Ishfaq; Bhat, Mohan Lal

2006-07-07

To systematically examine the extent of correlation of risk factors, such as age, consumed dietary habit and familial predisposition with somatic Tp53 molecular lesion causal to elevate carcinogenesis severity of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) among the Kashmiri population of Northern India. All cases (n = 51) and controls (n = 150) were permanent residents of the Kashmir valley. Genetic alterations were determined in exons 5-8 of Tp53 tumor suppressor gene among 45 ESCC cases histologically confirmed by PCR-SSCP analysis. Data for individual cancer cases (n = 45) and inpatient controls (n = 150) with non-cancer disease included information on family history of cancer, thirty prevailing common dietary risk factors along with patient's age group. Correlation of genetic lesion in p53 exons to animistic data from these parameters was generated by Chi-square test to all 45 histologically confirmed ESCC cases along with healthy controls. Thirty-five of 45 (77.8%) histologically characterized tumor samples had analogous somatic mutation as opposed to 1 of 45 normal sample obtained from adjacent region from the same patient showed germline mutation. The SSCP analysis demonstrated that most common p53 gene alterations were found in exon 6 (77.7%), that did not correlate with the age of the individual and clinicopathological parameters but showed significant concordance (P<0.05) with familial history of cancer (CD = 58), suggesting germline predisposition at an unknown locus, and dietary habit of consuming locally grown Brassica vegetable "Hakh" (CD = 19.5), red chillies (CD = 20.2), hot salty soda tea (CD = 2.37) and local baked bread (CD = 1.1). Our study suggests that somatic chromosomal mutations, especially in exon 6 of Tp53 gene, among esophageal cancer patients of an ethnically homogenous population of Kashmir valley are closely related to continued exposure to various common dietary risk factors, especially hot salty tea, meat, baked bread and "Hakh", that are rich in nitrosoamines and familial cancer history.

An Analysis on the Correlation and Gender Difference between College Students' Internet Addiction and Mobile Phone Addiction in Taiwan

PubMed Central

Chiu, Su-Lin

2013-01-01

This study is aimed at constructing a correlative model between Internet addiction and mobile phone addiction; the aim is to analyse the correlation (if any) between the two traits and to discuss the influence confirming that the gender has difference on this fascinating topic; taking gender into account opens a new world of scientific study to us. The study collected 448 college students on an island as study subjects, with 61.2% males and 38.8% females. Moreover, this study issued Mobile Phone Addiction Scale and Internet Addiction Scale to conduct surveys on the participants and adopts the structural equation model (SEM) to process the collected data. According to the study result, (1) mobile phone addiction and Internet addiction are positively related; (2) female college students score higher than male ones in the aspect of mobile addiction. Lastly, this study proposes relevant suggestions to serve as a reference for schools, college students, and future studies based on the study results. PMID:25938115

Erosive Augmentation of Solid Propellant Burning Rate: Motor Size Scaling Effect

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Strand, L. D.; Cohen, Norman S.

1990-01-01

Two different independent variable forms, a difference form and a ratio form, were investigated for correlating the normalized magnitude of the measured erosive burning rate augmentation above the threshold in terms of the amount that the driving parameter (mass flux or Reynolds number) exceeds the threshold value for erosive augmentation at the test condition. The latter was calculated from the previously determined threshold correlation. Either variable form provided a correlation for each of the two motor size data bases individually. However, the data showed a motor size effect, supporting the general observation that the magnitude of erosive burning rate augmentation is reduced for larger rocket motors. For both independent variable forms, the required motor size scaling was attained by including the motor port radius raised to a power in the independent parameter. A boundary layer theory analysis confirmed the experimental finding, but showed that the magnitude of the scale effect is itself dependent upon scale, tending to diminish with increasing motor size.

Digestive and urologic hemorrhage after intravenous thrombolysis for acute ischemic stroke: Data from a Chinese stroke center.

PubMed

Chang, Hong; Wang, Xiaojuan; Yang, Xin; Song, Haiqing; Qiao, Yuchen; Liu, Jia

2017-02-01

Objective Intravenous thrombolysis with recombinant tissue plasminogen activator (rt-PA) is considered the most effective treatment method for AIS; however, it is associated with a risk of hemorrhage. We analyzed the risk factors for digestive and urologic hemorrhage during rt-PA therapy. Methods We retrospectively analyzed patients with AIS who underwent intravenous thrombolysis with rt-PA during a 5-year period in a Chinese stroke center. Data on the demographics, medical history, laboratory test results, and clinical outcomes were collected. Results 338 patients with AIS were eligible and included. Logistic regression multivariate analysis showed that gastric catheter was significantly correlated with digestive hemorrhage, while age and urinary catheter were significantly correlated with urologic hemorrhage. Most hemorrhagic events were associated with catheterization after 1 to 24 hours of rt-PA therapy. Conclusions In summary, gastric and urinary catheters were correlated with digestive and urologic hemorrhage in patients with AIS undergoing rt-PA therapy. Well-designed controlled studies with large samples are required to confirm our findings.

[What is the purpose of the German Aptitude Test for Medical Studies (TMS)?].

PubMed

Kadmon, Guni; Kirchner, Anna; Duelli, Roman; Resch, Franz; Kadmon, Martina

2012-01-01

The German Aptitude Test for Medical Studies (TMS) was implemented in 2007. 12,194 persons registered for this test in 2011, which represents a 91% increase over 2007. The male/female ratio remained constant at 38:62. Its reliability among applicants to Heidelberg Medical Faculty was confirmed by Cronbach's α (≥ 0.75) and inter-item correlation (≥ 0.25, p < 10(-7)). The TMS contains nine items; using factor analysis these were allocated to the two components verbal-mathematical and spatial-figural ability. The verbal-mathematical items moderately correlate with the German Baccalaureate GPA (r = 0.33), while the spatial-figural items do not correlate (r = 0.07). Thus, the TMS is an admission instrument that appraise different cognitive abilities than the GPA. For the admission of students to our faculty their TMS scores are weighted at 39%, which has resulted in a diversification of our student cohorts. Copyright © 2011. Published by Elsevier GmbH.

An Analysis on the Correlation and Gender Difference between College Students' Internet Addiction and Mobile Phone Addiction in Taiwan.

PubMed

Chiu, Shao-I; Hong, Fu-Yuan; Chiu, Su-Lin

2013-01-01

This study is aimed at constructing a correlative model between Internet addiction and mobile phone addiction; the aim is to analyse the correlation (if any) between the two traits and to discuss the influence confirming that the gender has difference on this fascinating topic; taking gender into account opens a new world of scientific study to us. The study collected 448 college students on an island as study subjects, with 61.2% males and 38.8% females. Moreover, this study issued Mobile Phone Addiction Scale and Internet Addiction Scale to conduct surveys on the participants and adopts the structural equation model (SEM) to process the collected data. According to the study result, (1) mobile phone addiction and Internet addiction are positively related; (2) female college students score higher than male ones in the aspect of mobile addiction. Lastly, this study proposes relevant suggestions to serve as a reference for schools, college students, and future studies based on the study results.

Analysis of artifacts suggests DGGE should not be used for quantitative diversity analysis.

PubMed

Neilson, Julia W; Jordan, Fiona L; Maier, Raina M

2013-03-01

PCR-denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (PCR-DGGE) is widely used in microbial ecology for the analysis of comparative community structure. However, artifacts generated during PCR-DGGE of mixed template communities impede the application of this technique to quantitative analysis of community diversity. The objective of the current study was to employ an artificial bacterial community to document and analyze artifacts associated with multiband signatures and preferential template amplification and to highlight their impacts on the use of this technique for quantitative diversity analysis. Six bacterial species (three Betaproteobacteria, two Alphaproteobacteria, and one Firmicutes) were amplified individually and in combinations with primers targeting the V7/V8 region of the 16S rRNA gene. Two of the six isolates produced multiband profiles demonstrating that band number does not correlate directly with α-diversity. Analysis of the multiple bands from one of these isolates confirmed that both bands had identical sequences which lead to the hypothesis that the multiband pattern resulted from two distinct structural conformations of the same amplicon. In addition, consistent preferential amplification was demonstrated following pairwise amplifications of the six isolates. DGGE and real time PCR analysis identified primer mismatch and PCR inhibition due to 16S rDNA secondary structure as the most probable causes of preferential amplification patterns. Reproducible DGGE community profiles generated in this study confirm that PCR-DGGE provides an excellent high-throughput tool for comparative community structure analysis, but that method-specific artifacts preclude its use for accurate comparative diversity analysis. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Possible Causes of a Harbour Porpoise Mass Stranding in Danish Waters in 2005

PubMed Central

Wright, Andrew J.; Maar, Marie; Mohn, Christian; Nabe-Nielsen, Jacob; Siebert, Ursula; Jensen, Lasse Fast; Baagøe, Hans J.; Teilmann, Jonas

2013-01-01

An unprecedented 85 harbour porpoises stranded freshly dead along approximately 100 km of Danish coastline from 7–15 April, 2005. This total is considerably above the mean weekly stranding rate for the whole of Denmark, both for any time of year, 1.23 animals/week (ranging from 0 to 20 during 2003–2008, excluding April 2005), and specifically in April, 0.65 animals/week (0 to 4, same period). Bycatch was established as the cause of death for most of the individuals through typical indications of fisheries interactions, including net markings in the skin and around the flippers, and loss of tail flukes. Local fishermen confirmed unusually large porpoise bycatch in nets set for lumpfish (Cyclopterus lumpus) and the strandings were attributed to an early lumpfish season. However, lumpfish catches for 2005 were not unusual in terms of season onset, peak or total catch, when compared to 2003–2008. Consequently, human activity was combined with environmental factors and the variation in Danish fisheries landings (determined through a principal component analysis) in a two-part statistical model to assess the correlation of these factors with both the presence of fresh strandings and the numbers of strandings on the Danish west coast. The final statistical model (which was forward selected using Akaike information criterion; AIC) indicated that naval presence is correlated with higher rates of porpoise strandings, particularly in combination with certain fisheries, although it is not correlated with the actual presence of strandings. Military vessels from various countries were confirmed in the area from the 7th April, en route to the largest naval exercise in Danish waters to date (Loyal Mariner 2005, 11–28 April). Although sonar usage cannot be confirmed, it is likely that ships were testing various equipment prior to the main exercise. Thus naval activity cannot be ruled out as a possible contributing factor. PMID:23460787

Numerical development of a new correlation between biaxial fracture strain and material fracture toughness for small punch test

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kumar, Pradeep; Dutta, B. K.; Chattopadhyay, J.

2017-04-01

The miniaturized specimens are used to determine mechanical properties of the materials, such as yield stress, ultimate stress, fracture toughness etc. Use of such specimens is essential whenever limited quantity of material is available for testing, such as aged/irradiated materials. The miniaturized small punch test (SPT) is a technique which is widely used to determine change in mechanical properties of the materials. Various empirical correlations are proposed in the literature to determine the value of fracture toughness (JIC) using this technique. bi-axial fracture strain is determined using SPT tests. This parameter is then used to determine JIC using available empirical correlations. The correlations between JIC and biaxial fracture strain quoted in the literature are based on experimental data acquired for large number of materials. There are number of such correlations available in the literature, which are generally not in agreement with each other. In the present work, an attempt has been made to determine the correlation between biaxial fracture strain (εqf) and crack initiation toughness (Ji) numerically. About one hundred materials are digitally generated by varying yield stress, ultimate stress, hardening coefficient and Gurson parameters. Such set of each material is then used to analyze a SPT specimen and a standard TPB specimen. Analysis of SPT specimen generated biaxial fracture strain (εqf) and analysis of TPB specimen generated value of Ji. A graph is then plotted between these two parameters for all the digitally generated materials. The best fit straight line determines the correlation. It has been also observed that it is possible to have variation in Ji for the same value of biaxial fracture strain (εqf) within a limit. Such variation in the value of Ji has been also ascertained using the graph. Experimental SPT data acquired earlier for three materials were then used to get Ji by using newly developed correlation. A reasonable comparison of calculated Ji with the values quoted in literature confirmed usefulness of the correlation.

Extracting the sovereigns’ CDS market hierarchy: A correlation-filtering approach

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

León, Carlos; Leiton, Karen; Pérez, Jhonatan

2014-12-01

This paper employs correlation-into-distance mapping techniques and a minimal spanning tree-based correlation-filtering methodology on 36 sovereign CDS spread time-series in order to identify the sovereigns’ informational hierarchy. The resulting hierarchy (i) concurs with sovereigns’ eigenvector centrality; (ii) confirms the importance of geographical and credit rating clustering; (iii) identifies Russia, Turkey and Brazil as regional benchmarks; (iv) reveals the idiosyncratic nature of Japan and United States; (v) confirms that a small set of common factors affects the system; (vi) suggests that lower-medium grade rated sovereigns are the most influential, but also the most prone to contagion; and (vii) suggests the existence of a “Latin American common factor”.

Identification of stress responsive genes by studying specific relationships between mRNA and protein abundance.

PubMed

Morimoto, Shimpei; Yahara, Koji

2018-03-01

Protein expression is regulated by the production and degradation of mRNAs and proteins but the specifics of their relationship are controversial. Although technological advances have enabled genome-wide and time-series surveys of mRNA and protein abundance, recent studies have shown paradoxical results, with most statistical analyses being limited to linear correlation, or analysis of variance applied separately to mRNA and protein datasets. Here, using recently analyzed genome-wide time-series data, we have developed a statistical analysis framework for identifying which types of genes or biological gene groups have significant correlation between mRNA and protein abundance after accounting for potential time delays. Our framework stratifies all genes in terms of the extent of time delay, conducts gene clustering in each stratum, and performs a non-parametric statistical test of the correlation between mRNA and protein abundance in a gene cluster. Consequently, we revealed stronger correlations than previously reported between mRNA and protein abundance in two metabolic pathways. Moreover, we identified a pair of stress responsive genes ( ADC17 and KIN1 ) that showed a highly similar time series of mRNA and protein abundance. Furthermore, we confirmed robustness of the analysis framework by applying it to another genome-wide time-series data and identifying a cytoskeleton-related gene cluster (keratin 18, keratin 17, and mitotic spindle positioning) that shows similar correlation. The significant correlation and highly similar changes of mRNA and protein abundance suggests a concerted role of these genes in cellular stress response, which we consider provides an answer to the question of the specific relationships between mRNA and protein in a cell. In addition, our framework for studying the relationship between mRNAs and proteins in a cell will provide a basis for studying specific relationships between mRNA and protein abundance after accounting for potential time delays.

Differential protein abundance of a basolateral MCT1 transporter in the human gastrointestinal tract.

PubMed

Al-Mosauwi, Hashemeya; Ryan, Elizabeth; McGrane, Alison; Riveros-Beltran, Stefanie; Walpole, Caragh; Dempsey, Eugene; Courtney, Danielle; Fearon, Naomi; Winter, Desmond; Baird, Alan; Stewart, Gavin

2016-12-01

Bacterially derived short chain fatty acids (SCFAs), such as butyrate, are vital in maintaining the symbiotic relationship that exists between humans and their gastrointestinal microbial populations. A key step in this process is the transport of SCFAs across colonic epithelial cells via MCT1 transporters. This study investigated MCT1 protein abundance in various human intestinal tissues. Initial RT-PCR analysis confirmed the expected MCT1 RNA expression pattern of colon > small intestine > stomach. Using surgical resection samples, immunoblot analysis detected higher abundance of a 45 kDa MCT1 protein in colonic tissue compared to ileum tissue (P < 0.001, N = 4, unpaired t-test). Importantly, MCT1 abundance was found to be significantly lower in sigmoid colon compared to ascending colon (P < 0.01, N = 8-11, ANOVA). Finally, immunolocalization studies confirmed MCT1 to be abundant in the basolateral membranes of surface epithelial cells of the ascending, transverse, and descending colon, but significantly less prevalent in the sigmoid colon (P < 0.05, N = 5-21, ANOVA). In conclusion, these data confirm that basolateral MCT1 protein abundance is correlated to levels of bacterially derived SCFAs along the human gastrointestinal tract. These findings highlight the importance of precise tissue location in studies comparing colonic MCT1 abundance between normal and diseased states. © 2016 International Federation for Cell Biology.

Standardization of the NEO-PI-3 in the Greek general population.

PubMed

Fountoulakis, Konstantinos N; Siamouli, Melina; Moysidou, Stefania; Pantoula, Eleonora; Moutou, Katerina; Panagiotidis, Panagiotis; Kemeridou, Marina; Mavridou, Eirini; Loli, Efimia; Batsiari, Elena; Preti, Antonio; Tondo, Leonardo; Gonda, Xenia; Mobayed, Nisreen; Akiskal, Kareen; Akiskal, Hagop; Costa, Paul; McCrae, Robert

2014-01-01

The revised NEO Personality Inventory (NEO-PI-3) includes 240 items corresponding to the Big Five personality traits (Extraversion, Agreeableness, Conscientiousness, Neuroticism, and Openness to Experience) and subordinate dimensions (facets). It is suitable for use with adolescents and adults (12 years or older). The aim of the current study was to validate the Greek translation of the NEO-PI-3 in the general Greek population. The study sample included 734 subjects from the general Greek population of whom 59.4% were females and 40.6% males aged 40.80 ± 11.48. The NEO-PI-3 was translated into Greek and back-translated into English, and the accuracy of the translation was confirmed and established. The statistical analysis included descriptive statistics, confirmatory factorial analysis (CFA), the calculation of Cronbach's alpha, and the calculation of Pearson product-moment correlations. Sociodemographics groups were compared by ANOVA. Most facets had Cronbach's alpha above 0.60. Confirmatory factor analysis showed acceptable loading of the facets on their own hypothesized factors and very good estimations of Cronbach's alphas for the hypothesized factors, so it was partially supportive of the five-factor structure of the NEO-PI-3.The factors extracted with Procrustes rotation analysis can be considered reasonably homologous to the factors of the American normative sample. Correlations between dimensions were as expected and similar to those reported in the literature. The literature suggests that overall, the psychometric properties of NEO-PI-3 scales have been found to generalize across ages, cultures, and methods of measurement. In accord with this, the results of the current study confirm the reliability of the Greek translation and adaptation of the NEO-PI-3. The inventory has comparable psychometric properties in its Greek version in comparison to the original and other national translations, and it is suitable for clinical as well as research use.

Hypermethylation of testis derived transcript gene promoter significantly correlates with worse outcomes in glioblastoma patients.

PubMed

Wang, Li-jia; Bai, Yu; Bao, Zhao-shi; Chen, Yan; Yan, Zhuo-hong; Zhang, Wei; Zhang, Quan-geng

2013-01-01

Glioblastoma is the most common and lethal cancer of the central nervous system. Global genomic hypomethylation and some CpG island hypermethylation are common hallmarks of these malignancies, but the effects of these methylation abnormalities on glioblastomas are still largely unclear. Methylation of the O6-methylguanine-DNA methyltransferase promoter is currently an only confirmed molecular predictor of better outcome in temozolomide treatment. To better understand the relationship between CpG island methylation status and patient outcome, this study launched DNA methylation profiles for thirty-three primary glioblastomas (pGBMs) and nine secondary glioblastomas (sGBMs) with the expectation to identify valuable prognostic and therapeutic targets. We evaluated the methylation status of testis derived transcript (TES) gene promoter by microarray analysis of glioblastomas and the prognostic value for TES methylation in the clinical outcome of pGBM patients. Significance analysis of microarrays was used for genes significantly differently methylated between 33 pGBM and nine sGBM. Survival curves were calculated according to the Kaplan-Meier method, and differences between curves were assessed using the log-rank test. Then, we treated glioblastoma cell lines (U87 and U251) with 5-aza-2-deoxycytidines (5-aza-dC) and detected cell biological behaviors. Microarray data analysis identified TES promoter was hypermethylated in pGBMs compared with sGBMs (P < 0.05). Survival curves from the Kaplan-Meier method analysis revealed that the patients with TES hypermethylation had a short overall survival (P < 0.05). This abnormality is also confirmed in glioblastoma cell lines (U87 and U251). Treating these cells with 5-aza-dC released TES protein expression resulted in significant inhibition of cell growth (P = 0.013). Hypermethylation of TES gene promoter highly correlated with worse outcome in pGBM patients. TES might represent a valuable prognostic marker for glioblastoma.

Molecular Identification of Paramecium bursaria Syngens and Studies on Geographic Distribution using Mitochondrial Cytochrome C Oxidase Subunit I (COI).

PubMed

Zagata, Patrycja; Greczek-Stachura, Magdalena; Tarcz, Sebastian; Rautian, Maria

2015-01-01

Paramecium bursaria is composed of five syngens that are morphologically indistinguishable but sexually isolated. The aim of the present study was to confirm by molecular methods (analyses of mitochondrial COI) the identification of P. bursaria syngens originating from different geographical locations. Phylograms constructed using both the neighbor-joining and maximum-likelihood methods based on a comparison of 34 sequences of P. bursaria strains and P. multimicronucleatum, P. caudatum and P.calkinsi strains used as outgroups revealed five clusters which correspond to results obtained previously by mating reaction. Our analysis shows the existence of 24 haplotypes for the COI gene sequence in the studied strains. The interspecies haplotype diversity was Hd = 0.967. We confirmed genetic differentiation between strains of P. bursaria and the occurrence of a correlation between geographical distribution and the correspondent syngen.

An Experimental Evaluation of Advanced Rotorcraft Airfoils in the NASA Ames Eleven-foot Transonic Wind Tunnel

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Flemming, Robert J.

1984-01-01

Five full scale rotorcraft airfoils were tested in the NASA Ames Eleven-Foot Transonic Wind Tunnel for full scale Reynolds numbers at Mach numbers from 0.3 to 1.07. The models, which spanned the tunnel from floor to ceiling, included two modern baseline airfoils, the SC1095 and SC1094 R8, which have been previously tested in other facilities. Three advanced transonic airfoils, designated the SSC-A09, SSC-A07, and SSC-B08, were tested to confirm predicted performance and provide confirmation of advanced airfoil design methods. The test showed that the eleven-foot tunnel is suited to two-dimensional airfoil testing. Maximum lift coefficients, drag coefficients, pitching moments, and pressure coefficient distributions are presented. The airfoil analysis codes agreed well with the data, with the Grumman GRUMFOIL code giving the best overall performance correlation.

Correlating defect density with growth time in continuous graphene films.

PubMed

Kang, Cheong; Jung, Da Hee; Nam, Ji Eun; Lee, Jin Seok

2014-12-01

We report that graphene flakes and films which were synthesized by copper-catalyzed atmospheric pressure chemical vapor deposition (APCVD) method using a mixture of Ar, H2, and CH4 gases. It was found that variations in the reaction parameters, such as reaction temperature, annealing time, and growth time, influenced the domain size of as-grown graphene. Besides, the reaction parameters influenced the number of layers, degree of defects and uniformity of the graphene films. The increase in growth temperature and annealing time tends to accelerate the graphene growth rate and increase the diffusion length, respectively, thereby increasing the average size of graphene domains. In addition, we confirmed that the number of pinholes reduced with increase in the growth time. Micro-Raman analysis of the as-grown graphene films confirmed that the continuous graphene monolayer film with low defects and high uniformity could be obtained with prolonged reaction time, under the appropriate annealing time and growth temperature.

Specific prognostic factors for secondary pancreatic infection in severe acute pancreatitis.

PubMed

Armengol-Carrasco, M; Oller, B; Escudero, L E; Roca, J; Gener, J; Rodríguez, N; del Moral, P; Moreno, P

1999-01-01

The aim of the present study was to investigate whether there are specific prognostic factors to predict the development of secondary pancreatic infection (SPI) in severe acute pancreatitis in order to perform a computed tomography-fine needle aspiration with bacteriological sampling at the right moment and confirm the diagnosis. Twenty-five clinical and laboratory parameters were determined sequentially in 150 patients with severe acute pancreatitis (SAP) and univariate, and multivariate regression analyses were done looking for correlation with the development of SPI. Only APACHE II score and C-reactive protein levels were related to the development of SPI in the multivariate analysis. A regression equation was designed using these two parameters, and empiric cut-off points defined the subgroup of patients at high risk of developing secondary pancreatic infection. The results showed that it is possible to predict SPI during SAP allowing bacteriological confirmation and early treatment of this severe condition.

Factor structure of the Japanese Interpersonal Competence Scale.

PubMed

Matsudaira, Tomomi; Fukuhara, Taihei; Kitamura, Toshinori

2008-04-01

Assessing social competence is important for clinical and preventive interventions of depression. The aim of the present paper was to examine the factor structure of the Japanese Interpersonal Competence Scale (JICS). Exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis was performed on the survey responses of 730 participants. Simultaneous multigroup analyses were conducted to confirm factor stability across psychological health status and sex differences. Two factors, which represent Perceptive Ability and Self-Restraint, were confirmed to show a moderate correlation. Perceptive Ability involves a more cognitive aspect of social competence, while Self-Restraint involves a more behavioral aspect, both of which are considered to reflect the emotion-based relating style specific to the Japanese people: indulgent dependence (amae) and harmony (wa). In addition, Self-Restraint may be linked to social functioning. Both constructs may confound a respondent's perceived confidence. Despite its shortcomings, the JICS is a unique measure of social competence in the Japanese cultural context.

Photonics: From target recognition to lesion detection

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Henry, E. Michael

1994-01-01

Since 1989, Martin Marietta has invested in the development of an innovative concept for robust real-time pattern recognition for any two-dimensioanal sensor. This concept has been tested in simulation, and in laboratory and field hardware, for a number of DOD and commercial uses from automatic target recognition to manufacturing inspection. We have now joined Rose Health Care Systems in developing its use for medical diagnostics. The concept is based on determining regions of interest by using optical Fourier bandpassing as a scene segmentation technique, enhancing those regions using wavelet filters, passing the enhanced regions to a neural network for analysis and initial pattern identification, and following this initial identification with confirmation by optical correlation. The optical scene segmentation and pattern confirmation are performed by the same optical module. The neural network is a recursive error minimization network with a small number of connections and nodes that rapidly converges to a global minimum.

Semantic processing in connected speech at a uniformly early stage of autopsy-confirmed Alzheimer's disease.

PubMed

Ahmed, Samrah; de Jager, Celeste A; Haigh, Anne-Marie; Garrard, Peter

2013-01-01

The aim of the present study was to quantify the semantic content of connected speech produced by patients at a uniformly early stage of pathologically proven Alzheimer's disease (AD). A secondary aim was to establish whether semantic units were reduced globally, or whether there was a disproportionate reduction of specific classes of information. Discourse samples were obtained from 18 AD patients and 18 matched controls, all pathologically confirmed. Semantic unit identification was scored overall and for four subclasses: subjects, locations, objects, and actions. Idea density and efficiency were calculated. AD transcripts showed significantly reduced units overall, particularly actions and subjects, as well as reduced efficiency. Total semantic units and a combination of subject-, location-, and object-related units ("noun" units) correlated with the Expression subscore on the Cambridge Cognitive Examination (CAMCOG). Subject related units correlated with the CAMCOG Abstract Thinking scale. Logistic regression analyses confirmed that all measures that were lower in AD than controls were predictive of group membership. An exploratory comparison between units expressed mainly using nouns and those mainly using verbs showed that the latter was the stronger of these two predictors. The present study adds a lexico-semantic dimension to the linguistic profile based on discourse analysis in typical AD, recently described by the same authors. 2012, 83(11): 1056-1062). The suggestion of differential importance of verb and noun use in the present study may be related to the reduction in syntactic complexity that was reported, using the same set of discourse samples, in the earlier study.

Efficacy of a Newly Designed Cephalometric Analysis Software for McNamara Analysis in Comparison with Dolphin Software.

PubMed

Nouri, Mahtab; Hamidiaval, Shadi; Akbarzadeh Baghban, Alireza; Basafa, Mohammad; Fahim, Mohammad

2015-01-01

Cephalometric norms of McNamara analysis have been studied in various populations due to their optimal efficiency. Dolphin cephalometric software greatly enhances the conduction of this analysis for orthodontic measurements. However, Dolphin is very expensive and cannot be afforded by many clinicians in developing countries. A suitable alternative software program in Farsi/English will greatly help Farsi speaking clinicians. The present study aimed to develop an affordable Iranian cephalometric analysis software program and compare it with Dolphin, the standard software available on the market for cephalometric analysis. In this diagnostic, descriptive study, 150 lateral cephalograms of normal occlusion individuals were selected in Mashhad and Qazvin, two major cities of Iran mainly populated with Fars ethnicity, the main Iranian ethnic group. After tracing the cephalograms, the McNamara analysis standards were measured both with Dolphin and the new software. The cephalometric software was designed using Microsoft Visual C++ program in Windows XP. Measurements made with the new software were compared with those of Dolphin software on both series of cephalograms. The validity and reliability were tested using intra-class correlation coefficient. Calculations showed a very high correlation between the results of the Iranian cephalometric analysis software and Dolphin. This confirms the validity and optimal efficacy of the newly designed software (ICC 0.570-1.0). According to our results, the newly designed software has acceptable validity and reliability and can be used for orthodontic diagnosis, treatment planning and assessment of treatment outcome.

Comprehensive Analysis of RXTE Data from Cyg X-1. Spectral Index-Quasi-Periodic Oscillation Frequency-Luminosity Correlations

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Shaposhnikov, Nickolai; Titarchuk, Lev

2006-01-01

We present timing and spectral analysis of approx. 2.2 Ms of Rossi X-ray Time Explorer (RXTE) archival data from Cyg X-1. Using the generic Comptonization model we reveal that the spectrum of Cyg X-1 consists of three components: a thermal seed photon spectrum, a Comptonized part of the seed photon spectrum and the iron line. We find a strong correlation between 0.1-20 Hz frequencies of quasiperiodic oscillations (QPOs) and the spectral power-law index. Presence of two spectral phases (states) are clearly seen in the data when the spectral indices saturate at low and high values of QPO frequencies. This saturation effect was discovered earlier in a number of black hole candidate (BHC) sources and now we strongly confirm this phenomenon in Cyg X-1. In the soft state this index- QPO frequency correlation shows a saturation of the photon index Gamma approx. 2.1 at high values of the low frequency upsilon(sub L). The saturation level of Gamma approx. 2.1 is the lowest value found yet in BHCs. The bolometric luminosity does not show clear correlation with the index. We also show that Fe K(sub alpha) emission line strength (equivalent width, EW) correlates with the QPO frequency. EW increases from 200 eV in the low/hard state to 1.5 keV in the high/soft state. The revealed observational correlations allow us to propose a scenario for the spectral transition and iron line formation which occur in BHC sources. We also present the spectral state (the power-law index) evolution for eight years of Cyg X-1 observations by RXTE.

Health, well-being, and psychopathology in a clinical population: Structure and discriminant validity of Mental Health Continuum Short Form (MHC-SF).

PubMed

van Erp Taalman Kip, Rogier M; Hutschemaekers, Giel J M

2018-03-30

The literature suggests a distinction between illness (negative health) and the ability to cope with challenges such as illness (positive health). The two continua model of mental health distinguishes psychiatric symptoms (illness) from well-being (positive health). Well-being consists of hedonic, eudaimonic, and social well-being, constituting one factor that is moderately correlated with psychopathology in the general population. In a mental health care population, we examined whether the three dimensions of well-being are distinguishable and whether well-being is also moderately correlated with symptoms. A representative sample of 1,069 patients (63% female, 47% male; mean age: 42 years) voluntarily completed the Mental Health Continuum-Short Form (MHC-SF), a 14-item test that assesses three components of well-being. Confirmatory factor analysis revealed a model with strong correlations between the three subscales of the MHC-SF, indicating poor discriminant validity. Furthermore, the MHC-SF was strongly correlated (r = -.71) with the symptomatic distress scale of the OQ-45. Exploratory factor analysis permitted a two-factor solution, providing support for the two continua model of mental health. However, the explained variance of the second factor (well-being) was meager in comparison with the first factor (psychopathology). The results of a canonic correlation did not confirm the two continua model, and only a model with one common canonical factor was significant. For patients with clinical levels of psychopathology, the level of well-being and psychopathology correlate much higher than in the general population. Well-being and psychopathology are so entwined that the supposed distinction should be seriously questioned. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

PDPR Gene Expression Correlates with Exercise-Training Insulin Sensitivity Changes

PubMed Central

Barberio, Matthew D.; Huffman, Kim M.; Giri, Mamta; Hoffman, Eric P.; Kraus, William E.; Hubal, Monica J.

2016-01-01

Purpose Whole body insulin sensitivity (Si) typically improves following aerobic exercise training; however, individual responses can be highly variable. The purpose of this study was to use global gene expression to identify skeletal muscle genes that correlate with exercise-induced Si changes. Methods Longitudinal cohorts from the Studies of Targeted Risk Reduction Intervention through Defined Exercise (STRRIDE) were utilized as Discovery (Affymetrix) and Confirmation (Illumina) of vastus lateralis gene expression profiles. Discovery (n=39; 21 men) and Confirmation (n=42; 19 men) cohorts were matched for age (52 ± 8 vs. 51 ± 10 yr), BMI (30.4 ± 2.8 vs. 29.7 ± 2.8 kg*m-2), and VO2max (30.4 ± 2.8 vs. 29.7 ± 2.8 mL/kg/min). Si was determined via intravenous glucose tolerance test pre- and post-training. Pearson product-moment correlation coefficients determined relationships between a) baseline and b) training-induced changes in gene expression and %ΔSi after training. Results Expression of 2454 (Discovery) and 1778 genes (Confirmation) at baseline were significantly (P<0.05) correlated to %ΔSi; 112 genes overlapped. Pathway analyses identified Ca2+-signaling-related transcripts in this 112-gene list. Expression changes of 1384 (Discovery) and 1288 genes (Confirmation) following training were significantly (P<0.05) correlated to % ΔSi; 33 genes overlapped, representing contractile apparatus of skeletal and smooth muscle genes. Pyruvate dehydrogenase phosphatase regulatory subunit (PDPR) expression at baseline (p=0.01, r=0.41) and post-training (p=0.01, r=0.43) were both correlated with %ΔSi. Conclusion Exercise-induced adaptations in skeletal muscle Si are related to baseline levels of Ca+2-regulating transcripts, which may prime the muscle for adaptation. Relationships between %ΔSi and PDPR, a regulatory subunit of the pyruvate dehydrogenase complex, indicate that the Si response is strongly related to key steps in metabolic regulation. PMID:27846149

High correlation of double Debye model parameters in skin cancer detection.

PubMed

Truong, Bao C Q; Tuan, H D; Fitzgerald, Anthony J; Wallace, Vincent P; Nguyen, H T

2014-01-01

The double Debye model can be used to capture the dielectric response of human skin in terahertz regime due to high water content in the tissue. The increased water proportion is widely considered as a biomarker of carcinogenesis, which gives rise of using this model in skin cancer detection. Therefore, the goal of this paper is to provide a specific analysis of the double Debye parameters in terms of non-melanoma skin cancer classification. Pearson correlation is applied to investigate the sensitivity of these parameters and their combinations to the variation in tumor percentage of skin samples. The most sensitive parameters are then assessed by using the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) plot to confirm their potential of classifying tumor from normal skin. Our positive outcomes support further steps to clinical application of terahertz imaging in skin cancer delineation.

Use of Landsat Thematic Mapper images in regional correlation of syntectonic strata, Colorado river extensional corridor, California and Arizona

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Beratan, K. K.; Blom, R. G.; Crippen, R. E.; Nielson, J. E.

1990-01-01

Enhanced Landsat TM images were used in conjunction with field work to investigate the regional correlation of Miocene rocks in the Colorado River extensional corridor of California and Arizona. Based on field investigations, four sequences of sedimentary and volcanic strata could be recognized in the Mohave Mountains (Arizona) and the eastern Whipple Mountains (California), which display significantly different relative volumes and organization of lithologies. The four sequences were also found to have distinctive appearances on the TM image. The recognition criteria derived from field mapping and image interpretation in the Mohave Mountains and Whipple Mountains were applied to an adjacent area in which stratigraphic affinities were less well known. The results of subsequent field work confirmed the stratigraphic and structural relations suggested by the Tm image analysis.

Free and Forced Rossby Waves in the Western South China Sea Inferred from Jason-1 Satellite Altimetry Data

PubMed Central

Wu, Xiangyu; Xie, Qiang; He, Zhigang; Wang, Dongxiao

2008-01-01

Data from a subsurface mooring deployed in the western South China Sea shows clear intra-seasonal oscillations (ISO) at the period of 40∼70 days. Analysis of remotely-sensed sea surface height (SSH) anomalies in the same area indicates that these ISO signals propagate both eastward and westward. Time-longitude diagrams of ISO signals in SSH anomalies and wind-stress curl indicate that the eastward propagating SSH anomalies is forced by wind-stress curl. This is also confirmed by lag correlation between SSH anomalies and the wind-stress-curl index (wind stress curl averaged over 109.5°E -115°E and 12°N -13.5°N). Lag correlation of SSH anomaly suggests that the westward propagating signals are free Rossby waves. PMID:27879897

Regional spatial-temporal spread of citrus huanglongbing is affected by rain in Florida.

PubMed

Shimwela, Mpoki; Schubert, Timothy S; Albritton, Matthew; Halbert, Susan E; Jones, Debra J; Sun, Xiaoan; Roberts, Pamela; Singer, Burton; Lee, Wen Suk; Jones, Jeffrey B; Ploetz, Randy; van Bruggen, Ariena H C

2018-06-06

Citrus huanglongbing (HLB), associated with Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus (Las), disseminated by Asian Citrus Psyllid (ACP), has devastated citrus in Florida since 2005. Data on HLB occurrence were stored in databases (2005-2012). Cumulative HLB-positive citrus blocks were subjected to kernel density analysis and kriging. Relative disease incidence per county was calculated by dividing HLB numbers by relative tree numbers and maximum incidence. Spatio-temporal HLB distributions were correlated with weather. Relative HLB incidence correlated positively with rainfall. The focus expansion rate was 1626 m month-1, similar to that in Brazil. Relative HLB incidence in counties with primarily large groves increased at a lower rate (0.24 year-1) than in counties with smaller groves in hotspot areas (0.67 year-1), confirming reports that large-scale HLB management may slow epidemic progress.

Ceramic debris in hip prosthesis: correlation between synovial fluid and joint capsule.

PubMed

De Pasquale, Dalila; Stea, Susanna; Beraudi, Alina; Montesi, Monica; Squarzoni, Stefano; Toni, Aldo

2013-05-01

Detection of ceramic particles in synovial fluids allows early diagnosis of ceramic damage, but there is no evidence of a relationship between ceramic debris in the articular space and in the joint capsule. The aim of the present study is to verify if the particles isolated in the synovial fluid are comparable with those stored in the capsular tissue. Twenty-one patients were enrolled. Both synovial fluid and capsular samples were collected during revision surgery and ceramic particles were isolated and analyzed by scanning electron microscopy and energy-dispersive X-ray microanalysis. It resulted a significant correlation between the samples couples (18 out of 21). This study confirms that the synovial fluid analysis can give a clear definition of the presence of particles in the joint capsule. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

New data on Berriasian biostratigraphy, magnetostratigraphy, and sedimentology in the Belogorsk area (Central Crimea)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Arkadiev, V. V.; Baraboshkin, E. Yu.; Bagaeva, M. I.; Bogdanova, T. N.; Guzhikov, A. Yu.; Manikin, A. G.; Piskunov, V. K.; Platonov, E. S.; Savel'eva, Yu. N.; Feodorova, A. A.; Shurekova, O. V.

2015-03-01

The most complete composite Berriasian bio- and magnetostratigraphic section of central Crimea is characterized for the first time with a description of the contact between the carbonate Bedenekyr and terrigenous Bechku formations. The section contains all the standard ammonite zones: jacobi, occitanica, and boissieri. The Malbosiceras chaperi Beds are attributed to the occitanica Zone. The Berriasian section is characterized by six foraminiferal assemblages, ostracods (Costacythere khiamii-Hechticythere belbekensis and Costaythere drushchitzi-Reticythere marfenini beds), and dinocysts (Phobercysta neocomica Beds). The magnetostratigraphic section contains analogs of Chrons M17 and M16 reliably correlated with ammonite zones. On the basis of paleomagnetic data, the Berriasian section of central Crimea is correlated with coeval sections of the Mediterranean Region. The sedimenological analysis confirms accumulation of Berriasian sediments mostly in shallow shelf environments of the carbonate platform.

Correlation Between the Effective Neutrino Number and Curvature

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Smith, Aaron; Archidiacono, M.; Cooray, A.; De Bernardis, F.; Melchiorri, A.; Smidt, J.

2012-01-01

Cosmological data seems to favor models with more than three neutrinos. This poster focuses on recent discussion regarding additional sterile neutrinos and neutrino mass constraints in cosmology. We present a theoretical argument for correlation between the number of effective neutrinos and the curvature of the universe. This naturally arises from simple considerations of distance measurements. For example, with the degree of damping prior to recombination fixed by observation, we find that if we allow for an open universe then the angular diameter distance increases. To counterbalance this effect the sound horizon distance must increase as well which corresponds to decreasing the effective neutrino number. This qualitative argument is confirmed by statistical analysis with CosmoMC adapted to include CMB anisotropy measurements from a variety of experiments. This research was supported by Asantha Cooray at the University of California, Irvine.

The antagonistic effect between STAT1 and Survivin and its clinical significance in gastric cancer.

PubMed

Deng, Hao; Zhen, Hongyan; Fu, Zhengqi; Huang, Xuan; Zhou, Hongyan; Liu, Lijiang

2012-01-01

In previous studies, we observed that STAT1 and Survivin correlated negatively with gastric cancer tissues, and that the functions of the IFN-γ-STAT1 pathway and Survivin in gastric cancer are the same as those reported for other types of cancer. In this study, the SGC7901 gastric cancer cell line and 83 gastric cancer specimens were used to confirm the relationship between STAT1 and Survivin, as well as the clinical significance of this relationship in gastric cancer. IFN-γ and STAT1 and Survivin antisense oligonucleotides (ASONs) were used to knock down the expression in SGC7901 cells. The protein expression of STAT1 and Survivin was tested by immunocytochemical and image analysis methods. A gastric cancer tissue microarray was prepared and tested by immunohistochemical methods. Data were analyzed by the Spearman's rank correlation analysis, the χ(2) test and Cox's multivariate regression analysis. Upon knockdown of IFN-γ, STAT1 and Survivin expression by ASON in the SGC7901 cell line, an antagonistic effect was observed between STAT1 and Survivin. In gastric cancer tissues, STAT1 showed a negative correlation with depth of invasion (p<0.05) in gastric cancer tissues exhibiting a negative Survivin protein expression. Furthermore, in tissues exhibiting a negative STAT1 protein expression, Survivin correlated negatively with N stage (p<0.05). Pathological and molecular markers were used to conduct Cox's multivariate regression analysis, and depth of invasion and N stage were found to be prognostic factors (p<0.05). On the other hand, in tissues exhibiting a negative Survivin protein expression, Cox's multivariate regression analysis revealed that the differentiation type and STAT1 protein expression were prognostic factors (p<0.05). There is an antagonistic effect between STAT1 and Survivin in gastric cancer, and this antagonistic effect is of clinical significance in gastric cancer.

Combinations of elevated tissue miRNA-17-92 cluster expression and serum prostate-specific antigen as potential diagnostic biomarkers for prostate cancer.

PubMed

Feng, Sujuan; Qian, Xiaosong; Li, Han; Zhang, Xiaodong

2017-12-01

The aim of the present study was to investigate the effectiveness of the miR-17-92 cluster as a disease progression marker in prostate cancer (PCa). Reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction analysis was used to detect the microRNA (miR)-17-92 cluster expression levels in tissues from patients with PCa or benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH), in addition to in PCa and BPH cell lines. Spearman correlation was used for comparison and estimation of correlations between miRNA expression levels and clinicopathological characteristics such as the Gleason score and prostate-specific antigen (PSA). Receiver operating curve (ROC) analysis was performed for evaluation of specificity and sensitivity of miR-17-92 cluster expression levels for discriminating patients with PCa from patients with BPH. Kaplan-Meier analysis was plotted to investigate the predictive potential of miR-17-92 cluster for PCa biochemical recurrence. Expression of the majority of miRNAs in the miR-17-92 cluster was identified to be significantly increased in PCa tissues and cell lines. Bivariate correlation analysis indicated that the high expression of unregulated miRNAs was positively correlated with Gleason grade, but had no significant association with PSA. ROC curves demonstrated that high expression of miR-17-92 cluster predicted a higher diagnostic accuracy compared with PSA. Improved discriminating quotients were observed when combinations of unregulated miRNAs with PSA were used. Survival analysis confirmed a high combined miRNA score of miR-17-92 cluster was associated with shorter biochemical recurrence interval. miR-17-92 cluster could be a potential diagnostic and prognostic biomarker for PCa, and the combination of the miR-17-92 cluster and serum PSA may enhance the accuracy for diagnosis of PCa.

Phytochemical, spectroscopic and density functional theory study of Diospyrin, and non-bonding interactions of Diospyrin with atmospheric gases.

PubMed

Fazl-i-Sattar; Ullah, Zakir; Ata-ur-Rahman; Rauf, Abdur; Tariq, Muhammad; Tahir, Asif Ali; Ayub, Khurshid; Ullah, Habib

2015-04-15

Density functional theory (DFT) and phytochemical study of a natural product, Diospyrin (DO) have been carried out. A suitable level of theory was developed, based on correlating the experimental and theoretical data. Hybrid DFT method at B3LYP/6-31G (d,p) level of theory is employed for obtaining the electronic, spectroscopic, inter-molecular interaction and thermodynamic properties of DO. The exact structure of DO is confirmed from the nice validation of the theory and experiment. Non-covalent interactions of DO with different atmospheric gases such as NH3, CO2, CO, and H2O were studied to find out its electroactive nature. The experimental and predicted geometrical parameters, IR and UV-vis spectra (B3LYP/6-31+G (d,p) level of theory) show excellent correlation. Inter-molecular non-bonding interaction of DO with atmospheric gases is investigated through geometrical parameters, electronic properties, charge analysis, and thermodynamic parameters. Electronic properties include, ionization potential (I.P.), electron affinities (E.A.), electrostatic potential (ESP), density of states (DOS), HOMO, LUMO, and band gap. All these characterizations have corroborated each other and confirmed the presence of non-covalent nature in DO with the mentioned gases. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

The effects of pore structure on the behavior of water in lignite coal and activated carbon.

PubMed

Nwaka, Daniel; Tahmasebi, Arash; Tian, Lu; Yu, Jianglong

2016-09-01

The effects of physical structure (pore structure) on behavior of water in lignite coal and activated carbon (AC) samples were investigated by using Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC) and low-temperature X-ray diffraction (XRD) techniques. AC samples with different pore structures were prepared at 800°C in steam and the results were compared with that of parent lignite coal. The DSC results confirmed the presence of two types of freezable water that freeze at -8°C (free water) and -42°C (freezable bound water). A shift in peak position of free water (FW) towards lower temperature was observed in AC samples compared to the lignite coal with decreasing water loading. The amount of free water (FW) increased with increasing gasification conversion. The amounts of free and freezable bound water (FBW) in AC samples were calculated and correlated to pore volume and average pore size. The amount of FW in AC samples is well correlated to the pore volume and average pore size of the samples, while an opposite trend was observed for FBW. The low-temperature XRD analysis confirmed the existence of non-freezable water (NFW) in coal and AC with the boundary between the freezable and non-freezable water (NFW) determined. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Reliability of the Music in Everyday Life (MEL) Scale: A Parent-Report Assessment for Children on the Autism Spectrum.

PubMed

Gottfried, Tali; Thompson, Grace; Elefant, Cochavit; Gold, Christian

2018-06-07

For young children on the autism spectrum, the inclusion of shared parent-child music activities in everyday life may provide additional opportunities for social interactions in the home. However, no psychometrically validated assessment exists to measure the extent of shared music activity within family or community contexts. This study aimed to develop and test the reliability of a self-report assessment to measure the use of Music in Everyday Life (MEL) by parents with young children on the autism spectrum. A total of 45 mothers of children with autism aged between 4 and 7 years completed the MEL questionnaire. Internal consistency and item-total correlation were examined. Analysis confirmed the reliability of two predetermined subscales: Music in Everyday Life-Joint Activities using Music (MEL-JAM) and Music in Everyday Life-Routine Activities using Music (MEL-RAM). Internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha 0.63 and 0.75) and positive item-total correlation (Pearson's r between .23 to .62 for MEL-JAM and between .30 to .67 for MEL-RAM) were demonstrated. The reliability of the MEL assessment to measure the use of music in everyday life by parents with their children with autism was confirmed, filling an important gap in the availability of assessment tools.

[Prader Willi syndrome patients: study of 77 patients].

PubMed

Poyatos, David; Camprubí, Cristina; Gabau, Elisabeth; Nosas, Ramón; Villatoro, Sergi; Coll, María Dolores; Guitart, Miriam

2009-11-07

The Prader-Willi syndrome (PWS) is a disease of genetic origin. It is characterized by neonatal hypotonia, hypogonadism, hiperfagia leading to obesity, low stature, developmental delay, moderate mental retardation, abnormal behavior and characteristic facial appearance. It is caused by the loss or the inactivation of paternal genes of the imprinted region 15q11-13. There are different genetic causes: paternal 15q11-q13 deletion in 70% of patients, maternal uniparental disomy in the 20-25% and less than 5% have an imprinting defect. We present the results obtained in the transverse clinical - genetic study of 77 PWS patients. There has been realized the study of 374 suspected PWS patients. Cytogenetics studies of bands G and hybridization in situ fluorescent (FISH) and molecular genetics analysis of microsatellites, Southern blot, MS-PCR and sequenciation were carried out. Holm's criteria use for the correlation phenotype - genotype in 48 patients. PWS was confirmed in 77 patients, 46 deletion, 16 uniparental disomy, two imprinting defect and 13 only PWS methylation pattern. Significant differences do not observe in the correlation phenotype - genotype. The frequencies of the molecular alterations, 71.87 % deletion, 25 % UPD and 3.12 % DI, they are similar to described in the literature. It presents the algorithm of diagnosis used with the MS-PCR as rapid technology to confirm PWS.

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.

More powerful virus inhibitors from structure-based analysis of HEV71 capsid-binding molecules

PubMed Central

Spyrou, John A. B.; Kelly, James; Ren, Jingshan; Grimes, Jonathan; Puerstinger, Gerhard; Stonehouse, Nicola; Walter, Thomas S.; Hu, Zhongyu; Wang, Junzhi; Li, Xuemei; Peng, Wei; Rowlands, David; Fry, Elizabeth E.; Rao, Zihe; Stuart, David I.

2014-01-01

Enterovirus 71 (HEV71) epidemics amongst children and infants result mainly in mild symptoms, however, especially in the Asia-Pacific region, infection can be fatal. At present no therapies are available. We have used structural analysis of the complete virus to guide the design of HEV71 inhibitors. Analysis of complexes with four 3-(-4-pyridyl)-2-imidazolidinone derivatives with varying anti-HEV71 activities, pinpointed key structure-activity correlates. We then identified additional potentially beneficial substitutions, developed methods to reliably triage compounds by quantum mechanics-enhanced ligand docking, and synthesized two candidates. Structural analysis and in vitro assays confirmed the predicted binding modes and their ability to block viral infection. One ligand (IC50 = 25 pM) is an order of magnitude more potent than the best previously reported inhibitor, and is also more soluble. Our approach may be useful in the design of effective drugs for enterovirus infections. PMID:24509833

[Development and evaluation of the reliability and validity of an empowerment scale for health promotion volunteers].

PubMed

Koyama, Utako; Murayama, Nobuko

2011-08-01

This qualitative and quantitative research was conducted to develop an empowerment scale for health promotion volunteers (hereinafter referred to as the ESFHPV), key persons responsible for creating healthy communities. A focus group interview was conducted with four groups of health promotion volunteers from two cities in S Public Health Center of N Prefecture. A qualitative analysis was employed and a 32-item draft scale was created. The reliability and validity of this scale were then evaluated using quantitative methods. A questionnaire survey was conducted in 2009 for all 660 health promotion volunteers across the 2 cities. Of 401 respondents (response rate, 60.8%), 356 (53.9%) provided valid responses and were thus included in the analysis. 1) Internal consistency was confirmed by item-total correlation analysis (I-T analysis), assessment of Cronbach's coefficient alpha for all except one item and good-poor analysis (G-P analysis). Four items were excluded from the 32-item draft scale because of correlation coefficients more than 0.7, leaving 28 items for analysis. 2) Based on the results obtained from the factor analysis performed on the 28 provisional empowerment questions, 28 items were chosen for inclusion in the ESFHPV. These items consisted of four sub-scales, namely 'activity for healthy community' (10 items), 'intention for solving health problems of the community' (10 items), 'democratic organization activity' (four items) and 'growth as individual health promotion volunteers' (four items). 3) The Cronbach's coefficient alpha for the ESFHPV and its four sub-scales were 0.93, 0.88, 0.89, 0.84 and 0.79 respectively. The coefficients of I-T analysis were between 0.33 and 0.69. 4) The health promotion volunteers who attended other community activities demonstrated significantly high scores for the ESFHPV and the four sub-scales. Persons who were above 60 years, had a longer duration of activity as a health promotion volunteer and were housewives showed significantly high scores on the first sub-scale, 'growth as individual health promotion volunteers' To measure the empowerment levels of health promotion volunteers, a 28-item scale was developed and its reliability and validity were confirmed. Health promotion volunteers as well as the public health nurses who assist them can use this scale to assess the empowerment levels of other health promotion volunteers.

Ethylene Glycol - Polyethylene Glycol (EG-PEG) Mixtures: Infrared Spectra Wavelet Cross-Correlation Analysis.

PubMed

Caccamo, Maria Teresa; Magazù, Salvatore

2017-03-01

Infrared spectra were collected on mixtures of ethylene glycol (EG) and polyethylene glycol 600 (PEG600) as a function of weight fraction from pure EG to pure PEG600. In this paper, it will be shown that while the OH vibrational contribution drastically reduces its center frequency from 3450 cm -1 to 3300 cm -1 in the weight fraction range 0-25%, the displacement of the mixture spectral features of the mixtures from ideal behavior, i.e., in the absence of interaction, shows the presence of a non-ideal mixing process. Furthermore, wavelet cross-correlation analysis of the registered pairs of spectra and of the intramolecular O-H stretching contributions reveals how the addition of a small amount of pure EG to PEG600 dramatically influences the structural properties of the polymeric matrix, owing to an increase the intermolecular connectivity. In particular, the wavelet cross-correlation parameters, evaluated between each pair of the registered data as a function of weight fraction, in a linear-logarithmic plot, reveals an inflection point for a weight fraction of about 25% of EG, which confirms that, within the three-dimensional networks of hydrogen-bonded EG-PEG600 molecules, a key role is played by EG in determining an increase in the hydrogen-bond network density.

Use of a brief version of the self-compassion inventory with an international sample of people with HIV/AIDS

PubMed Central

Brion, John M.; Leary, Mark; Wantland, Dean; Sullivan, K.; Nokes, Kathleen; Bain, Catherine A; Chaiphibalsarisdi, Puangtip; Chen, Wei-ti; Holzemer, William L.; Eller, Lucille Sanzero; Iipinge, Scholastika; Johnson, Mallory O.; Portillo, Carmen; Voss, Joachim; Tyer-Viola, Lynda; Corless, Inge B; Nicholas, Patrice K; Rose, Carol Dawson; Phillips, J. Craig; Sefcik, Elizabeth; Mendez, Marta Rivero; Kirksey, Kenn M.

2013-01-01

The objective of this study was to extend the psychometric evaluation of a brief version of the Self Compassion Scale (SCS). A secondary analysis of data from an international sample of 1,967 English-speaking persons living with HIV disease was used to examine the factor structure, and reliability of the 12-item Brief Version Self Compassion Inventory (BVSCI). A Maximum Likelihood factor analysis and Oblimin with Kaiser Normalization confirmed a two-factor solution, accounting for 42.58% of the variance. The BVSCI supported acceptable internal consistencies, with .714 for the total scale and .822 for Factor I and .774 for Factor II. Factor I (lower self compassion) demonstrated strongly positive correlations with measures of anxiety and depression while Factor II (high self compassion) was inversely correlated with the measures. No significant differences were found in the BVSCI scores for gender, age, or having children. Levels of self-compassion were significantly higher in persons with HIV disease and other physical and psychological health conditions. The scale shows promise for the assessment of self-compassion in persons with HIV without taxing participants, and may prove essential in investigating future research aimed at examining correlates of self-compassion, as well as providing data for tailoring self-compassion interventions for persons with HIV. PMID:23527887

Sp1-CD147 positive feedback loop promotes the invasion ability of ovarian cancer.

PubMed

Zhao, Jing; Ye, Wei; Wu, Juan; Liu, Lijuan; Yang, Lina; Gao, Lu; Chen, Biliang; Zhang, Fanglin; Yang, Hong; Li, Yu

2015-07-01

CD147 is a novel cancer biomarker that has been confirmed to be overexpressed in ovarian carcinoma, which is significantly associated with poor prognosis. Although the Sp1 protein regulates the expression level of CD147, it remains unclear whether Sp1 phosphorylation plays a role in this regulation. A dual-luciferase assay revealed that T453 and T739 mutations decreased the activity of Sp1 binding to the promoter of CD147, followed by a decrease in CD147 mRNA and protein expression. Western blot analysis showed that CD147 promoted Sp1 phosphorylation at T453 and T739 through the PI3K/AKT and MAPK/ERK pathways. In addition, blocking the Sp1-CD147 positive feedback loop reduced the invasion ability of HO-8910pm cells. Immunohistochemical staining showed that the components of the feedback loop were overexpressed in ovarian cancer tissues. The correlation analysis revealed a significant correlation between phospho-Sp1 (T453), phospho-Sp1 (T739) and CD147 expression levels, with correlation coefficients of r=0.477 and r=0.461, respectively. Collectively, our results suggest that a Sp1-CD147 positive feedback loop plays a critical role in the invasion ability of ovarian cancer cells.

Echocardiographic indexes of rejection in pediatric cardiac transplant recipients managed without maintenance steroid immunosuppression.

PubMed

Harada, K; Reller, M D; Shiota, T; Marcella, C P; Sahn, D J

1997-03-01

Several noninvasive echocardiographic indexes were found to correlate with biopsy-confirmed cardiac rejection. Of these, changes in the diastolic flow profile across the mitral valve showed the best correlation.

Neural Systems Underlying Individual Differences in Intertemporal Decision-making.

PubMed

Elton, Amanda; Smith, Christopher T; Parrish, Michael H; Boettiger, Charlotte A

2017-03-01

Excessively choosing immediate over larger future rewards, or delay discounting (DD), associates with multiple clinical conditions. Individual differences in DD likely depend on variations in the activation of and functional interactions between networks, representing possible endophenotypes for associated disorders, including alcohol use disorders (AUDs). Numerous fMRI studies have probed the neural bases of DD, but investigations of large-scale networks remain scant. We addressed this gap by testing whether activation within large-scale networks during Now/Later decision-making predicts individual differences in DD. To do so, we scanned 95 social drinkers (18-40 years old; 50 women) using fMRI during hypothetical choices between small monetary amounts available "today" or larger amounts available later. We identified neural networks engaged during Now/Later choice using independent component analysis and tested the relationship between component activation and degree of DD. The activity of two components during Now/Later choice correlated with individual DD rates: A temporal lobe network positively correlated with DD, whereas a frontoparietal-striatal network negatively correlated with DD. Activation differences between these networks predicted individual differences in DD, and their negative correlation during Now/Later choice suggests functional competition. A generalized psychophysiological interactions analysis confirmed a decrease in their functional connectivity during decision-making. The functional connectivity of these two networks negatively correlates with alcohol-related harm, potentially implicating these networks in AUDs. These findings provide novel insight into the neural underpinnings of individual differences in impulsive decision-making with potential implications for addiction and related disorders in which impulsivity is a defining feature.

Which echocardiographic parameter is a better marker of volume status in hemodialysis patients?

PubMed

Sabaghian, Tahereh; Hajibaratali, Bahareh; Samavat, Shiva

2016-11-01

Bio-impedance analysis (BIA) is a preferred method for estimating the volume status. However, it cannot be utilized in daily practice. Since the assessment of the volume status is important and challenging for hemodialysis (HD) patients, the aim of study was to determine the volume status in chronic HD patients using echocardiographic parameters and assess its correlation with BIA. In this cross-sectional analysis, echocardiography and BIA were performed on 30 chronic HD patients 30 min before and 30 min after dialysis. All the cases of dialysis were performed in the middle of the week. This study also assessed the correlation between echocardiographic parameters and BIA parameters. There were significant differences between ECW, TBW, and TBW% (TBW/W) before and after HD. Significant differences were observed between echocardiographic parameters of IVCD, IVCDi min , IVCDi max before and after the HD. LVEDD, LVESD, LA area, mitral valve inflow, E/E', and IVRT, were improved after dialysis, too. There was a significant correlation between IVCDi min as an index of volume status, ECW% and TBW% before HD and IVCDi min change after dialysis had a significant correlation with %ECW change after dialysis. Comparison between hypertensive and non-hypertensive groups indicated IVCDi min was significantly lower in non-hypertensive group after dialysis. Our results showed a correlation between IVCDi min and BIA parameters before HD. So, it seems that IVCDi min can be a good parameter for determining the volume status of HD patients. However, further studies, with larger sample size and with a prospective study design, are required to confirm these results.

Lower urinary tract symptoms are associated with low levels of serum serotonin, high levels of adiponectin and fasting glucose, and benign prostatic enlargement.

PubMed

Haghsheno, Mohammad-Ali; Mellström, Dan; Peeker, Ralph; Hammarsten, Jan; Lorentzon, Mattias; Sundh, Valter; Karlsson, Magnus; Ohlsson, Claes; Damber, Jan-Erik

2015-04-01

The aim of this study was to test whether lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) and urinary incontinence are associated with the metabolic syndrome (MetS). The association between LUTS and benign prostatic enlargement (BPE) was also investigated. A cross-sectional, representative risk factor analysis of LUTS, as measured by the International Prostate Symptom Score (IPSS), and urinary incontinence was conducted. Among 950 representative individuals, aged 69-81 years, the association between clinical, anthropometric, endocrine, metabolic and inflammatory factors on the one hand, as both major and minor aspects of MetS, and LUTS and urinary incontinence, on the other hand, was analysed. The prostate gland volume was measured in a subgroup of 155 randomly selected individuals and the association between LUTS and BPE was estimated. No significant association was found between LUTS or urinary incontinence and the major aspects of the MetS. However, in a multivariate analysis, serum serotonin showed an independent negative correlation with LUTS and with urinary incontinence while fasting serum glucose and serum adiponectin showed a positive correlation with LUTS. Furthermore, in a subgroup of 155 individuals, the prostate gland volume correlated positively with LUTS. The study did not show an association between LUTS or urinary incontinence and the major components of the MetS. However, serum serotonin showed an independent negative correlation with LUTS and with urinary incontinence while fasting serum glucose and serum adiponectin showed a positive correlation with LUTS. The data confirm the general knowledge that BPE may be one of the causative factors of LUTS.

Chemical correlation of some late Cenozoic tuffs of Northern and Central California by neutron activation analysis of glass and comparison with X-ray fluorescence analysis

USGS Publications Warehouse

Sarna-Wojcicki, Andrei M.; Bowman, Harry W.; Russell, Paul C.

1979-01-01

Glasses separated from several dacitic and rhyolitic late Cenozoic tuffs of northern and central California were analyzed by neutron activation for more than 43 elemental abundances. Eighteen elements--scandiurn, manganese, iron, zinc, rubidium, cesium, barium, lanthanum, cerium, samarium, europium, terbiurn, dysprosiurn, ytterbiurn, hafniurn, tantalurn, thorium and uranium--were selected as most suitable for purposes of chemical correlation on the basis of their natural variability in silicic tuffs and the precision obtainable in analysis. Stratigraphic relations between tuffs and replicate chemical analyses on individual tuffs make it possib1e to calibrate a quantitative parameter, the similarity coefficient, which indicates the degree of correlation for the tuffs studied. The highest similarity coefficient (0.99) was obtained for analyses of two tuffs (potassium-argon dated at about' 6.0 m.y.) exposed in the Merced(?) and Petaluma Formations of Sonoma County, which represent different paleoenvironments, shallow-water marine and fresh water or brackish marine, respectively. Corre1ation of these formations on the basis of criteria other than tephrochronoloqy would be difficult. Results of neutron activation analysis in general confirm earlier correlations made on the basis of analysis by X-ray fluorescence but also make it possible to resolve small compositional differences between chemically simi1ar tuffs in stratigraphic proximity. The Lawlor Tuff (potassium-argon dated at about 4.0 m.y.) is identified at two new localities: in a core sample obtained from a bore hole east of Suisun Bay, and from the Kettleman Hills of western San Joaquin Valley. This identification permits correlation of the uppermost part of the marine Etchegoin Formation in the San Joaquin Valley with the continental Livermore Gravels of Clark, the Tassajara Formation, and the upper part of the Sonoma Volcanics in the cel1tral Coast Ranges of California. A younger tuff near the top of the marine San Joaquin Formation in the Kettleman Hills has been identified at both new 1oca1ities .

Contribution of Bacillus Isolates to the Flavor Profiles of Vanilla Beans Assessed through Aroma Analysis and Chemometrics.

PubMed

Gu, Fenglin; Chen, Yonggan; Fang, Yiming; Wu, Guiping; Tan, Lehe

2015-10-09

Colonizing Bacillus in vanilla (Vanilla planifolia Andrews) beans is involved in glucovanillin hydrolysis and vanillin formation during conventional curing. The flavor profiles of vanilla beans under Bacillus-assisted curing were analyzed through gas chromatography-mass spectrometry, electronic nose, and quantitative sensory analysis. The flavor profiles were analytically compared among the vanilla beans under Bacillus-assisted curing, conventional curing, and non-microorganism-assisted curing. Vanilla beans added with Bacillus vanillea XY18 and Bacillus subtilis XY20 contained higher vanillin (3.58%±0.05% and 3.48%±0.10%, respectively) than vanilla beans that underwent non-microorganism-assisted curing and conventional curing (3.09%±0.14% and 3.21%±0.15%, respectively). Forty-two volatiles were identified from endogenous vanilla metabolism. Five other compounds were identified from exogenous Bacillus metabolism. Electronic nose data confirmed that vanilla flavors produced through the different curing processes were easily distinguished. Quantitative sensory analysis confirmed that Bacillus-assisted curing increased vanillin production without generating any unpleasant sensory attribute. Partial least squares regression further provided a correlation model of different measurements. Overall, we comparatively analyzed the flavor profiles of vanilla beans under Bacillus-assisted curing, indirectly demonstrated the mechanism of vanilla flavor formation by microbes.

Linear error analysis of slope-area discharge determinations

USGS Publications Warehouse

Kirby, W.H.

1987-01-01

The slope-area method can be used to calculate peak flood discharges when current-meter measurements are not possible. This calculation depends on several quantities, such as water-surface fall, that are subject to large measurement errors. Other critical quantities, such as Manning's n, are not even amenable to direct measurement but can only be estimated. Finally, scour and fill may cause gross discrepancies between the observed condition of the channel and the hydraulic conditions during the flood peak. The effects of these potential errors on the accuracy of the computed discharge have been estimated by statistical error analysis using a Taylor-series approximation of the discharge formula and the well-known formula for the variance of a sum of correlated random variates. The resultant error variance of the computed discharge is a weighted sum of covariances of the various observational errors. The weights depend on the hydraulic and geometric configuration of the channel. The mathematical analysis confirms the rule of thumb that relative errors in computed discharge increase rapidly when velocity heads exceed the water-surface fall, when the flow field is expanding and when lateral velocity variation (alpha) is large. It also confirms the extreme importance of accurately assessing the presence of scour or fill. ?? 1987.

Experimental and Numerical Study of the Influence of Substrate Surface Preparation on Adhesion Mechanisms of Aluminum Cold Spray Coatings on 300M Steel Substrates

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nastic, A.; Vijay, M.; Tieu, A.; Rahmati, S.; Jodoin, B.

2017-10-01

The effect of substrate surface topography on the creation of metallurgical bonds and mechanical anchoring points has been studied for the cold spray deposition of pure aluminum on 300M steel substrate material. The coatings adhesion strength showed a significant decrease from 31.0 ± 5.7 MPa on polished substrates to 6.9 ± 2.0 MPa for substrates with roughness of 2.2 ± 0.5 μm. Strengths in the vicinity of 45 MPa were reached for coatings deposited onto forced pulsed waterjet treated surfaces with roughnesses larger than 33.8 μm. Finite element analysis has confirmed the sole presence of mechanical anchoring in coating adhesion strength for all surface treatment except polished surfaces. Grit embedment has been shown to be non-detrimental to coating adhesion for the current deposited material combination. The particle deformation process during impacts has been studied through finite element analysis using the Preston-Tonks-Wallace (PTW) constitutive model. The obtained equivalent plastic strain (PEEQ), temperature, contact pressure and velocity vector were correlated to the particle ability to form metallurgical bonds. Favorable conditions for metallurgical bonding were found to be highest for particles deposited on polished substrates, as confirmed by fracture surface analysis.

Expression and prognostic relevance of MET and phospho-BAD in non-small cell lung cancer.

PubMed

Sun, Wenze; Ai, Ting; Gao, Ying; Zhang, Yingbing; Cui, Jie; Song, Liping

2013-01-01

MET is involved in the progression of several types of human cancers, while phospho-BAD(Ser-136) is a key molecule in apoptosis and might be regulated by MET. The aim of this study was to investigate the correlation between altered expression of MET and phospho-BAD in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and their association with clinicopathologic parameters and overall survival. MET and phospho-BAD(Ser-136) proteins were evaluated by immunohistochemical analysis in 183 paraffin-embedded specimens and were also assessed by Western blotting analysis in 12 frozen tumor tissue samples, which were representative examples of immunohistochemical staining. Positive expression of MET and phospho-BAD(Ser-136) occurred in 67.2% and 49.2% of the 183 cases of NSCLC, respectively. However, neither MET expression nor phospho-BAD(Ser-136) expression was associated with any clinicopathologic parameter. A significant correlation was found between MET and phospho-BAD(Ser-136) expression levels evaluated by immunohistochemistry (r = 0.268, P < 0.001). Overexpression of MET was significantly associated with shortened overall survival in univariate analysis (P < 0.001). Moreover, patients with a MET+/phospho-BAD(Ser-136)+ phenotype had a poorer prognosis than others (P < 0.001). Multivariate Cox proportional hazard analysis confirmed that MET expression is a prognostic factor for NSCLC. MET expression might be correlated with phospho-BAD(Ser-136) expression, and may be an adverse predictor for NSCLC. Activation of the MET/phospho-BAD(Ser-136) signaling pathway might play a role in the development and progression of NSCLC.

Dengue vaccine acceptance and associated factors in Indonesia: A community-based cross-sectional survey in Aceh.

PubMed

Harapan, Harapan; Anwar, Samsul; Setiawan, Abdul Malik; Sasmono, R Tedjo

2016-07-12

The first dengue vaccine (DV) has been licensed in some countries, but an assessment of the public's acceptance of DV is widely lacking. This study aimed to explore and understand DV acceptance and its associated explanatory variables among healthy inhabitants of Aceh, Indonesia. A community-based cross-sectional survey was conducted from November 2014 to March 2015 in nine regencies of Aceh that were selected randomly. A set of validated questionnaires covering a range of explanatory variables and DV acceptance was used to conduct the interviews. A multi-step logistic regression analysis and Spearman's rank correlation were employed to assess the role of explanatory variables in DV acceptance. We included 652 community members in the final analysis and found that 77.3% of them were willing to accept the DV. Gender, monthly income, socioeconomic status (SES), attitude toward dengue fever (DF) and attitude toward vaccination practice were associated with DV acceptance in bivariate analyses (P<0.05). A correlation analysis confirmed that attitude toward vaccination practice and attitude toward DF were strongly correlated with DV acceptance, rs=0.41 and rs=0.39, respectively (P<0.001). The multivariate analysis revealed that a high monthly income, high SES, and a good attitude toward vaccination practice and toward DF were independent predictors of DV acceptance. The acceptance rate of the DV among inhabitants of Aceh, Indonesia was relatively high, and the strongest associated factors of higher support for the DV were a good attitude toward vaccination practices and a good attitude toward DF. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Stress and adult smartphone addiction: Mediation by self-control, neuroticism, and extraversion.

PubMed

Cho, Hea-Young; Kim, Dai Jin; Park, Jae Woo

2017-12-01

This study employed descriptive statistics and correlation analysis to examine the influence of stress on smartphone addiction as well as the mediating effects of self-control, neuroticism, and extraversion using 400 men and women in their 20s to 40s followed by structural equation analysis. Our findings indicate that stress had a significant influence on smartphone addiction, and self-control mediates the influence of stress on smartphone addiction. As stress increases, self-control decreases, which subsequently leads to increased smartphone addiction. Self-control was confirmed as an important factor in the prevention of smartphone addiction. Finally, among personality factors, neuroticism, and extraversion mediate the influence of stress on smartphone addiction. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Analysis of artificial opals by scanning near field optical microscopy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Barrio, J.; Lozano, G.; Lamela, J.; Lifante, G.; Dorado, L. A.; Depine, R. A.; Jaque, F.; Míguez, H.

2011-04-01

Herein we present a detailed analysis of the optical response of artificial opal films realized employing a near-field scanning optical microscope in collection and transmission modes. Near-field patterns measured at the rear surface when a plane wave impinges on the front face are presented with the finding that optical intensity maps present a clear correlation with the periodic arrangement of the outer surface. Calculations based on the vector Korringa-Kohn-Rostoker method reproduce the different profiles experimentally observed as well as the response to the polarization of the incident field. These observations constitute the first experimental confirmation of the collective lattice resonances that give rise to the optical response of these three dimensional periodic structures in the high-energy range.

A psychometric examination of the Interpersonal Sexual Objectification Scale among college men.

PubMed

Davidson, M Meghan; Gervais, Sarah J; Canivez, Gary L; Cole, Brian P

2013-04-01

Whereas sexual objectification has most commonly been studied among women, recent calls by counseling psychologists have urged for an extension of objectification research to more fully include men (e.g., Heimerdinger-Edwards, Vogel, & Hammer, 2011). The present study examined the factor structure of the Interpersonal Sexual Objectification Scale (ISOS; Kozee, Tylka, Augustus-Horvath, & Denchik, 2007) with men. Specifically, analyses included exploratory factor analysis (EFA) with a sample of 287 college men and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) with an independent sample of 221 college men. A correlated 3-factor structure was suggested by multiple criteria in EFA and was further confirmed by CFA with a bifactor model illustrating the most item variance associated with a general interpersonal sexual objectification dimension for men.

Empathy, loneliness, burnout, and life satisfaction in Chilean nurses of palliative care and homecare services.

PubMed

Marilaf Caro, Magdalena; San-Martín, Montserrat; Delgado-Bolton, Roberto; Vivanco, Luis

Empathy has been described as an essential competence of healthcare professionals who are working in palliative care and homecare services. In these services, usually accompanied by a high risk of physical and emotional burnout, empathy can play an important role in the improvement of occupational wellbeing. The aim of this study was to confirm the role of empathy in the prevention of loneliness and burn out, and in the promotion of life satisfaction. In 2016, an observational study was carried out in Chile with professional nurses who were working in palliative care and homecare services. Empathy with the patients, loneliness, life satisfaction, and burnout were measured using psychometric scales. Correlation analyses were applied to confirm relationships among the elements measured. In a sample of 64 participants, positive correlations were confirmed between empathy and life satisfaction (P = 0.40; p = 0.003), and between empathy and professional experience (P = 0.29; p = 0.04). On the other hand, inverse correlations were confirmed between empathy and burnout (P = -0.38; p = 0. 01), and between empathy and loneliness (P = -0.41; p = 0.004). These findings confirm the important role that empathy plays in the prevention of loneliness and burnout, and in the promotion of life satisfaction. Evidence found suggests that empathetic abilities can be improved by the professional experience. Copyright © 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier España, S.L.U. All rights reserved.

Emotion Recognition - the need for a complete analysis of the phenomenon of expression formation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bobkowska, Katarzyna; Przyborski, Marek; Skorupka, Dariusz

2018-01-01

This article shows how complex emotions are. This has been proven by the analysis of the changes that occur on the face. The authors present the problem of image analysis for the purpose of identifying emotions. In addition, they point out the importance of recording the phenomenon of the development of emotions on the human face with the use of high-speed cameras, which allows the detection of micro expression. The work that was prepared for this article was based on analyzing the parallax pair correlation coefficients for specific faces. In the article authors proposed to divide the facial image into 8 characteristic segments. With this approach, it was confirmed that at different moments of emotion the pace of expression and the maximum change characteristic of a particular emotion, for each part of the face is different.

Bayesian and Phylogenic Approaches for Studying Relationships among Table Olive Cultivars.

PubMed

Ben Ayed, Rayda; Ennouri, Karim; Ben Amar, Fathi; Moreau, Fabienne; Triki, Mohamed Ali; Rebai, Ahmed

2017-08-01

To enhance table olive tree authentication, relationship, and productivity, we consider the analysis of 18 worldwide table olive cultivars (Olea europaea L.) based on morphological, biological, and physicochemical markers analyzed by bioinformatic and biostatistic tools. Accordingly, we assess the relationships between the studied varieties, on the one hand, and the potential productivity-quantitative parameter links on the other hand. The bioinformatic analysis based on the graphical representation of the matrix of Euclidean distances, the principal components analysis, unweighted pair group method with arithmetic mean, and principal coordinate analysis (PCoA) revealed three major clusters which were not correlated with the geographic origin. The statistical analysis based on Kendall's and Spearman correlation coefficients suggests two highly significant associations with both fruit color and pollinization and the productivity character. These results are confirmed by the multiple linear regression prediction models. In fact, based on the coefficient of determination (R 2 ) value, the best model demonstrated the power of the pollinization on the tree productivity (R 2  = 0.846). Moreover, the derived directed acyclic graph showed that only two direct influences are detected: effect of tolerance on fruit and stone symmetry on side and effect of tolerance on stone form and oil content on the other side. This work provides better understanding of the diversity available in worldwide table olive cultivars and supplies an important contribution for olive breeding and authenticity.

Perceived and desired facilitativeness of one's closest friend, need for approval and self-esteem.

PubMed

Cramer, D

1993-03-01

The hypothesis that the positive association between self-esteem and the perceived facilitativeness of one's closest friend can be explained by the presumed greater desire of low self-esteem individuals for a facilitative relationship was not confirmed in 262 16-17-year-old females, who completed the Rosenberg (1965) Self-Esteem Scale and a shortened version of the Barrett-Lennard (1964) Relationship Inventory. Although desired facilitativeness correlated significantly positively with self-esteem, the correlation between perceived facilitativeness and self-esteem remained significantly positive when desired facilitativeness was partialled out. The further prediction that the correlation between perceived facilitativeness and self-esteem would be more positive for those scoring higher on the Jones' (1969) Need for Approval Scale was also not confirmed. The opposite result was obtained in that this correlation was significantly positive for those with low need for approval but not for those with a high need.

Vine Water Deficit Impacts Aging Bouquet in Fine Red Bordeaux Wine.

PubMed

Picard, Magali; van Leeuwen, Cornelis; Guyon, François; Gaillard, Laetitia; de Revel, Gilles; Marchand, Stéphanie

2017-01-01

The aim of this study was to investigate the influence of vine water status on bouquet typicality, revealed after aging, and the perception of three aromatic notes (mint, truffle, and undergrowth) in bottled fine red Bordeaux wines. To address the issue of the role of vine water deficit in the overall quality of fine aged wines, a large set of wines from four Bordeaux appellations were subjected to sensory analysis. As vine water status can be characterized by carbon isotope discrimination (δ 13 C), this ratio was quantified for each wine studied. Statistical analyses combining δ 13 C and sensory data highlighted that δ 13 C-values discriminated effectively between the most- and least-typical wines. In addition, Principal Component Analysis (PCA) revealed correlations between δ 13 C-values and truffle, undergrowth, and mint aromatic notes, three characteristics of the red Bordeaux wine aging bouquet. These correlations were confirmed to be significant using a Spearman statistical test. This study highlighted for the first time that vine water deficit positively relates to the perception of aging bouquet typicality, as well as the expression of its key aromatic nuances.

Effects of eye artifact removal methods on single trial P300 detection, a comparative study.

PubMed

Ghaderi, Foad; Kim, Su Kyoung; Kirchner, Elsa Andrea

2014-01-15

Electroencephalographic signals are commonly contaminated by eye artifacts, even if recorded under controlled conditions. The objective of this work was to quantitatively compare standard artifact removal methods (regression, filtered regression, Infomax, and second order blind identification (SOBI)) and two artifact identification approaches for independent component analysis (ICA) methods, i.e. ADJUST and correlation. To this end, eye artifacts were removed and the cleaned datasets were used for single trial classification of P300 (a type of event related potentials elicited using the oddball paradigm). Statistical analysis of the results confirms that the combination of Infomax and ADJUST provides a relatively better performance (0.6% improvement on average of all subject) while the combination of SOBI and correlation performs the worst. Low-pass filtering the data at lower cutoffs (here 4 Hz) can also improve the classification accuracy. Without requiring any artifact reference channel, the combination of Infomax and ADJUST improves the classification performance more than the other methods for both examined filtering cutoffs, i.e., 4 Hz and 25 Hz. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

A Principle Component Analysis of Galaxy Properties from a Large, Gas-Selected Sample

DOE PAGES

Chang, Yu-Yen; Chao, Rikon; Wang, Wei-Hao; ...

2012-01-01

Disney emore » t al. (2008) have found a striking correlation among global parameters of H i -selected galaxies and concluded that this is in conflict with the CDM model. Considering the importance of the issue, we reinvestigate the problem using the principal component analysis on a fivefold larger sample and additional near-infrared data. We use databases from the Arecibo Legacy Fast Arecibo L -band Feed Array Survey for the gas properties, the Sloan Digital Sky Survey for the optical properties, and the Two Micron All Sky Survey for the near-infrared properties. We confirm that the parameters are indeed correlated where a single physical parameter can explain 83% of the variations. When color ( g - i ) is included, the first component still dominates but it develops a second principal component. In addition, the near-infrared color ( i - J ) shows an obvious second principal component that might provide evidence of the complex old star formation. Based on our data, we suggest that it is premature to pronounce the failure of the CDM model and it motivates more theoretical work.« less

Correlating two-photon excited fluorescence imaging of breast cancer cellular redox state with seahorse flux analysis of normalized cellular oxygen consumption

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hou, Jue; Wright, Heather J.; Chan, Nicole; Tran, Richard; Razorenova, Olga V.; Potma, Eric O.; Tromberg, Bruce J.

2016-06-01

Two-photon excited fluorescence (TPEF) imaging of the cellular cofactors nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide and oxidized flavin adenine dinucleotide is widely used to measure cellular metabolism, both in normal and pathological cells and tissues. When dual-wavelength excitation is used, ratiometric TPEF imaging of the intrinsic cofactor fluorescence provides a metabolic index of cells-the "optical redox ratio" (ORR). With increased interest in understanding and controlling cellular metabolism in cancer, there is a need to evaluate the performance of ORR in malignant cells. We compare TPEF metabolic imaging with seahorse flux analysis of cellular oxygen consumption in two different breast cancer cell lines (MCF-7 and MDA-MB-231). We monitor metabolic index in living cells under both normal culture conditions and, for MCF-7, in response to cell respiration inhibitors and uncouplers. We observe a significant correlation between the TPEF-derived ORR and the flux analyzer measurements (R=0.7901, p<0.001). Our results confirm that the ORR is a valid dynamic index of cell metabolism under a range of oxygen consumption conditions relevant for cancer imaging.

Does the 1H-NMR plasma metabolome reflect the host-tumor interactions in human breast cancer?

PubMed

Richard, Vincent; Conotte, Raphaël; Mayne, David; Colet, Jean-Marie

2017-07-25

Breast cancer (BC) is the most common diagnosed cancer and the leading cause of cancer death in women worldwide. There is an obvious need for a better understanding of BC biology. Alterations in the serum metabolome of BC patients have been identified but their clinical significance remains elusive. We evaluated by 1H-Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (1H-NMR) spectroscopy, filtered plasma metabolome of 50 early (EBC) and 15 metastatic BC (MBC) patients. Using Principal Component Analysis, Partial Least-Squares Discriminant Analysis and Hierarchical Clustering we show that plasma levels of glucose, lactate, pyruvate, alanine, leucine, isoleucine, glutamate, glutamine, valine, lysine, glycine, threonine, tyrosine, phenylalanine, acetate, acetoacetate, β-hydroxy-butyrate, urea, creatine and creatinine are modulated across patients clusters. In particular lactate levels are inversely correlated with the tumor size in the EBC cohort (Pearson correlation r = -0.309; p = 0.044). We suggest that, in BC patients, tumor cells could induce modulation of the whole patient's metabolism even at early stages. If confirmed in a lager study these observations could be of clinical importance.

Scale of Unpredictability Beliefs: Reliability and Validity.

PubMed

Ross, Lisa Thomson; Short, Stephen D; Garofano, Marina

2016-11-16

Experiencing unpredictability in the environment has a variety of negative outcomes. However, these are difficult to ascertain due to the lack of a psychometrically sound measure of unpredictability beliefs. This article summarizes the development of the Scale of Unpredictability Beliefs (SUB), which assesses perceptions about unpredictability in one's life, in other people, and in the world. In Study I, college students (N = 305) responded to 68 potential items as well as other scales. Exploratory factor analysis yielded three internally consistent subscales (Self, People, and World; 16 items total). Higher SUB scores correlated with more childhood family unpredictability, greater likelihood of parental alcohol abuse, stronger causal uncertainty, and lower self-efficacy. In Study II, a confirmatory factor analysis supported the three-factor solution (N = 186 college students). SUB scores correlated with personality, childhood family unpredictability, and control beliefs. In most instances the SUB predicted family unpredictability and control beliefs beyond existing unpredictability measures. Study III confirmed the factor structure and replicated family unpredictability associations in an adult sample (N = 483). This article provides preliminary support for this new multi-dimensional, self-report assessment of unpredictability beliefs, and ideas for future research are discussed.

Comparison of Lateral Flow Assay, Kidney Inhibition Swab, and Liquid Chromatography-Tandem Mass Spectrometry for the Detection of Penicillin G Residues in Sow Urine.

PubMed

Shelver, Weilin L; Chakrabarty, Shubhashis; Smith, David J

2017-03-01

Sows (n = 126) were administered penicillin G; urine, collected at slaughter, was screened by kidney inhibition swab (KIS; 4 h testing time) and then stored at -80 °C (∼1200 days) until analysis by lateral flow assay (LF, ∼5 min testing time) and tandem quadrupole LC-MS/MS (TQ) analysis. The stability of penicillin in urine during storage was verified using TQ analyses. Quantitative results were well-correlated (R 2 = 0.98) with only a ∼10% decrease in penicillin concentration during the 3-year storage period. KIS retesting of stored samples returned results consistent with the original analyses. Lateral flow assay results were highly correlated with the KIS and TQ results. A KIS positive sample, which was not confirmed by TQ or LF, was assayed by Triple-TOF LC-MS to determine the cause of the apparent false positive. This study suggests LF can be used to quickly and efficiently screen for penicillin G residues before slaughter.

Vine water deficit impacts aging bouquet in fine red Bordeaux wine

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Picard, Magali; van Leeuwen, Cornelis; Guyon, François; Gaillard, Laetitia; de Revel, Gilles; Marchand, Stéphanie

2017-08-01

The aim of this study was to investigate the influence of vine water status on bouquet typicality, revealed after aging, and the perception of three aromatic notes (mint, truffle, and undergrowth) in bottled fine red Bordeaux wines. To address the issue of the role of vine water deficit in the overall quality of fine aged wines, a large set of wines from four Bordeaux appellations were subjected to sensory analysis. As vine water status can be characterized by carbon isotope discrimination (δ13C), this ratio was quantified for each wine studied. Statistical analyses combining δ13C and sensory data highlighted that δ13C values discriminated effectively between the most- and least-typical wines. In addition, Principal Component Analysis revealed correlations between δ13C values and truffle, undergrowth, and mint aromatic notes, three characteristics of the red Bordeaux wine aging bouquet. These correlations were confirmed to be significant using a Spearman statistical test. This study highlighted for the first time that vine water deficit positively relates to the perception of aging bouquet typicality, as well as the expression of its key aromatic nuances.

Multi-technical analysis as a tool to investigate structural species in the "replica" of First Mass in Brazil painting by Sebastião Vieira Fernandes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Costa, Thiago G.; Ritcher, Fabio A.; de M. Correia, Marcelino D.; Escorteganha, Márcia R.; Santiago, Alina G.; Gonçalves, Samantha; Spudeit, Daniel A.; Micke, Gustavo A.; Miranda, Fábio S.

2016-09-01

Constituent materials of the painting ;Primeira Missa no Brasil; by Sebastião Vieira Fernandes, which belongs to the Historical Museum of Santa Catarina, were analyzed by using imaging through UV-induced visible luminescence, FTIR, μ-FTIR, EDX and GC-MS with the aim of characterizing the materials and correlating them with Victor Meirelles' pigment elemental analysis reported in the literature. The images obtained under ultraviolet light showed alterations in the painting's aging process and instances of possible repainting confirmed by μ-FTIR, where characteristic bands of barium sulfate were identified. EDS analyses showed that there is a correlation between the elemental composition of pigments used by Meirelles and Fernandes, especially for lead, associated with lead white and proven by FTIR, used for giving a light tone to the paint, and found in all the analyzed samples. The GC-MS results revealed the presence of the mixture of linseed and animal oil as the main binding components with the predominance of palmitic, stearic, oleic, and linolenic acids.

Diagnosis of Lung Cancer by Fractal Analysis of Damaged DNA

PubMed Central

Namazi, Hamidreza; Kiminezhadmalaie, Mona

2015-01-01

Cancer starts when cells in a part of the body start to grow out of control. In fact cells become cancer cells because of DNA damage. A DNA walk of a genome represents how the frequency of each nucleotide of a pairing nucleotide couple changes locally. In this research in order to study the cancer genes, DNA walk plots of genomes of patients with lung cancer were generated using a program written in MATLAB language. The data so obtained was checked for fractal property by computing the fractal dimension using a program written in MATLAB. Also, the correlation of damaged DNA was studied using the Hurst exponent measure. We have found that the damaged DNA sequences are exhibiting higher degree of fractality and less correlation compared with normal DNA sequences. So we confirmed this method can be used for early detection of lung cancer. The method introduced in this research not only is useful for diagnosis of lung cancer but also can be applied for detection and growth analysis of different types of cancers. PMID:26539245

Raman spectroscopy based screening of IgG positive and negative sera for dengue virus infection

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bilal, M.; Saleem, M.; Bial, Maria; Khan, Saranjam; Ullah, Rahat; Ali, Hina; Ahmed, M.; Ikram, Masroor

2017-11-01

A quantitative analysis for the screening of immunoglobulin-G (IgG) positive human sera samples is presented for the dengue virus infection. The regression model was developed using 79 samples while 20 samples were used to test the performance of the model. The R-square (r 2) value of 0.91 was found through a leave-one-sample-out cross validation method, which shows the validity of this model. This model incorporates the molecular changes associated with IgG. Molecular analysis based on regression coefficients revealed that myristic acid, coenzyme-A, alanine, arabinose, arginine, vitamin C, carotene, fumarate, galactosamine, glutamate, lactic acid, stearic acid, tryptophan and vaccenic acid are positively correlated with IgG; while amide III, collagen, proteins, fatty acids, phospholipids and fucose are negatively correlated. For blindly tested samples, an excellent agreement has been found between the model predicted, and the clinical values of IgG. The parameters, which include sensitivity, specificity, accuracy and the area under the receiver operator characteristic curve, are found to be 100%, 83.3%, 95% and 0.99, respectively, which confirms the high quality of the model.

Quantification of the effects of quality investment on the Cost of Poor Quality: A quasi-experimental study

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tamimi, Abdallah Ibrahim

Quality management is a fundamental challenge facing businesses. This research attempted to quantify the effect of quality investment on the Cost of Poor Quality (COPQ) in an aerospace company utilizing 3 years of quality data at United Launch Alliance, a Boeing -- Lockheed Martin Joint Venture Company. Statistical analysis tools, like multiple regressions, were used to quantify the relationship between quality investments and COPQ. Strong correlations were evident by the high correlation coefficient R2 and very small p-values in multiple regression analysis. The models in the study helped produce an Excel macro that based on preset constraints, optimized the level of quality spending to minimize COPQ. The study confirmed that as quality investments were increased, the COPQ decreased steadily until a point of diminishing return was reached. The findings may be used to develop an approach to reduce the COPQ and enhance product performance. Achieving superior quality in rocket launching enhances the accuracy, reliability, and mission success of delivering satellites to their precise orbits in pursuit of knowledge, peace, and freedom while assuring safety for the end user.

The utility of clinical findings to predict laboratory values in hypertensive disorders of pregnancy.

PubMed

So, Jane; Young, Elizabeth; Crnosija, Natalie; Chappelle, Joseph

2016-04-01

Preeclampsia is the 2nd leading cause of maternal mortality in the United States. Women with new-onset or worsening hypertension are commonly evaluated for laboratory abnormalities. We aim to investigate whether demographic and/or clinical findings correlate with abnormal laboratory values. A retrospective chart review of women who presented for evaluation of hypertension in pregnancy during 2010. Demographic information, medical history, symptoms, vital signs, and laboratory results were collected. Bivariate analysis was used to investigate associations between predictors and the outcome. Of the 481 women in the sample, 22 were identified as having abnormal laboratory test results (4.6%). Women who reported right upper quadrant pain or tenderness had significantly increased likelihood of having laboratory abnormalities compared to those without the complaint. Only a small percentage of women evaluated were determined to have abnormal laboratory findings, predominantly among women with severe preeclampsia. Right upper quadrant pain or tenderness was positively correlated with laboratory abnormalities. The restriction of laboratory analysis in women with clinical evidence of severe disease may be warranted - a broader study should, however, first be used to confirm our findings.

Comparison of additives amendment for mitigation of greenhouse gases and ammonia emission during sewage sludge co-composting based on correlation analysis.

PubMed

Wang, Meijing; Awasthi, Mukesh Kumar; Wang, Quan; Chen, Hongyu; Ren, Xiuna; Zhao, Junchao; Li, Ronghua; Zhang, Zengqiang

2017-11-01

In this study, the pilot scale co-composting of sewage sludge (SS)+wheat straw amended with 10% (dry weight ratio of basis) of three different additives (zeolite, Ca-bentonite and medical stone) was conducted for 56days to evaluate the greenhouse gases (GHGs) and nitrogen conservation efficacy and its correlation with analyzed physicochemical, gaseous and biological parameters. The results indicated that all of three additives could adequately buffer pH, considerably increase temperature, and enhance organic matter degradation as well as reduce ammonia and GHGs emission. Particularly, zeolite amended treatment showed the maximum reduction of CH 4 emission by 88.45% and less amount of nitrogen loss by 28.80%, meanwhile reduced the maturity period by 2weeks. In addition, the redundancy analysis was confirmed most significant relationship between biological, GHGs, bacterial community and nutrients concentration in 10% zeolite applied treatment than other treatments. The result suggested 10% zeolite could be a suitable additive to improve the quality of sewage sludge composting. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Novel PAX3 mutations causing Waardenburg syndrome type 1 in Tunisian patients.

PubMed

Trabelsi, Mediha; Nouira, Malek; Maazoul, Faouzi; Kraoua, Lilia; Meddeb, Rim; Ouertani, Ines; Chelly, Imen; Benoit, Valérie; Besbes, Ghazi; Mrad, Ridha

2017-12-01

Waardenburg syndrome (WS) is an auditory-pigmentary disease characterized by a clinical and genetic variability. WS is classified into four types depending on the presence or absence of additional symptoms: WS1, WS2, WS3 and WS4. Type 1 and 3 are mostly caused by PAX3 mutations, while type 2 and type 4 are genetically heterogeneous. The aims of this study are to confirm the diagnostic of WS1 by the sequencing of PAX3 gene and to evaluate the genotype phenotype correlation. A clinical classification was established for 14 patients WS, as proposed by the Waardenburg Consortium, and noted a predominance of type 1 and type 2 with 6 patients WS1, 7 patients WS2 and 1 patient WS3. A significant inter and intra-familial clinical heterogeneity was also observed. A sequencing of PAX3 gene in the 6 patients WS1 confirmed the diagnosis in 4 of them by revealing three novel mutations that modify two functional domains of the protein: the c.942delC; the c.933_936dupTTAC and the c.164delTCCGCCACA. These three variations are most likely responsible for the phenotype, however their pathogenic effects need to be confirmed by functional studies. The MLPA analysis of the 2 patients who were sequence negative for PAX3 gene revealed, in one of them, a heterozygous deletion of exons 5 to 9 confirming the WS1 diagnosis. Both clinical and molecular approaches led to the conclusion that there is a lack of genotype-phenotype correlation in WS1, an element that must be taken into account in genetic counseling. The absence of PAX3 mutation in one patient WS1 highlights the fact that the clinical classification is sometimes insufficient to distinguish WS1 from other types WS hence the interest of sequencing the other WS genes in this patient. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Thoracic Idiopathic Scoliosis Severity Is Highly Correlated with 3D Measures of Thoracic Kyphosis.

PubMed

Sullivan, T Barrett; Reighard, Fredrick G; Osborn, Emily J; Parvaresh, Kevin C; Newton, Peter O

2017-06-07

Loss of thoracic kyphosis has been associated with thoracic idiopathic scoliosis. Modern 3-dimensional (3D) imaging systems allow more accurate characterization of the scoliotic deformity than traditional radiographs. In this study, we utilized 3D calculations to characterize the association between increasing scoliosis severity and changes in the sagittal and axial planes. Patients evaluated in a scoliosis clinic and determined to have either a normal spine or idiopathic scoliosis were included in the analysis. All underwent upright, biplanar radiography with 3D reconstructions. Two-dimensional (2D) measurements of the magnitude of the thoracic major curve and the thoracic kyphosis were recorded. Image processing and MATLAB analysis were utilized to produce a 3D calculation of thoracic kyphosis and apical vertebral axial rotation. Regression analysis was performed to determine the correlation of 2D kyphosis, 3D kyphosis, and apical axial rotation with the magnitude of the thoracic major curve. The 442 patients for whom 2D and 3D data were collected had a main thoracic curve magnitude ranging from 1° to 118°. Linear regression analysis of the 2D and 3D T5-T12 kyphosis versus main thoracic curve magnitude yielded significant models (p < 0.05). The 2D model had a minimally negative slope (-0.07), a small R value (0.02), and a poor correlation coefficient (-0.14). In contrast, the 3D model had a strongly negative slope (-0.54), a high R value (0.56), and a strong correlation coefficient (-0.75). Curve magnitude also had a strong correlation with loss of 3D T1-T12 kyphosis and increasing apical axial rotation. Segmentally calculated 3D thoracic kyphosis had a strongly negative correlation with the magnitude of the main thoracic curve. With near uniformity, 3D thoracic kyphosis progressively decreased as scoliosis magnitude increased, at a rate of more than half the increase in the main thoracic curve magnitude. Analysis confirmed a surprisingly strong correlation between scoliosis severity and loss of 3D kyphosis that was absent in the 2D analysis. A similarly strong correlation between curve magnitude and apical axial rotation was evident. These findings lend further credence to the concept that scoliosis progresses in the coronal, sagittal, and axial planes simultaneously. The findings of this study suggest that 3D assessment is critical for adequate characterization of the multiplanar deformity of idiopathic scoliosis and deformity in the sagittal plane is linked to deformity in the coronal plane. Increasing severity of coronal plane curvature is associated with a progressive loss of thoracic kyphosis that should be anticipated so that the appropriate intraoperative techniques for correction of idiopathic scoliosis can be applied in all 3 planes.

Evaluation of the collaborative network of highly correlating skin proteins and its change following treatment with glucocorticoids

PubMed Central

2010-01-01

Background Glucocorticoids (GC) represent the core treatment modality for many inflammatory diseases. Its mode of action is difficult to grasp, not least because it includes direct modulation of many components of the extracellular matrix as well as complex anti-inflammatory effects. Protein expression profile of skin proteins is being changed with topical application of GC, however, the knowledge about singular markers in this regard is only patchy and collaboration is ill defined. Material/Methods Scar formation was observed under different doses of GC, which were locally applied on the back skin of mice (1 to 3 weeks). After euthanasia we analyzed protein expression of collagen I and III (picrosirius) in scar tissue together with 16 additional protein markers, which are involved in wound healing, with immunhistochemistry. For assessing GC's effect on co-expression we compared our results with a model of random figures to estimate how many significant correlations should be expected by chance. Results GC altered collagen and protein expression with distinct results in different areas of investigation. Most often we observed a reduced expression after application of low dose GC. In the scar infiltrate a multivariate analysis confirmed the significant impact of both GC concentrations. Calculation of Spearman's correlation coefficient similarly resulted in a significant impact of GC, and furthermore, offered the possibility to grasp the entire interactive profile in between all variables studied. The biological markers, which were connected by significant correlations could be arranged in a highly cross-linked network that involved most of the markers measured. A marker highly cross-linked with more than 3 significant correlations was indicated by a higher variation of all its correlations to the other variables, resulting in a standard deviation of > 0.2. Conclusion In addition to immunohistochemical analysis of single protein markers multivariate analysis of co-expressions by use of correlation coefficients reveals the complexity of biological relationships and identifies complex biological effects of GC on skin scarring. Depiction of collaborative clusters will help to understand functional pathways. The functional importance of highly cross-linked proteins will have to be proven in subsequent studies. PMID:20509951

Abnormal rsFC and GMV changes in parahippocampal and DLPFC for high Déjà vu experienced subjects.

PubMed

Qiu, Jiang; Xia, Yunman; He, Li; Chen, Qunlin; Sang, Na; Liu, Wei; Li, Hong

2018-03-01

How déjà vu works has long been a mystery, partially because of its characteristics of unpredictable occurrences and quick disappearances, which make it difficult to be explored. Previous studies have described the anatomical structures underlying déjà vu in healthy subjects; however, the functional mechanism of déjà vu remains unclear. Therefore, this study investigated the brain structural and functional components underlying déjà vu by combining voxel-based morphometry analysis (VBM) with resting-state functional connectivity (rsFC). The VBM analysis revealed that the anterior parahippocampal gyrus (PHG) had significantly less grey matter volume (GMV) in high déjà vu group than low group, confirming previous studies. Further functional connectivity analysis revealed that the frequency of déjà vu experiences was negatively correlated with the strength of the rsFC between anterior dorsal lateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) and anterior PHG but positively correlated with the strength of the rsFC between posterior DLPFC and posterior PHG. Moreover, the frequency of déjà vu experiences was negatively correlated with the strength of the rsFC between the anterior and posterior regions of the PHG. These findings indicated that familiarity without recollection (PHG) and superior context monitoring (DLPFC) are critical for real-life déjà vu experiences. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

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

Branchini, Enzo; Camera, Stefano; Cuoco, Alessandro

In this article, we report the detection of a cross-correlation signal between Fermi Large Area Telescope diffuse γ-ray maps and catalogs of clusters. In our analysis, we considered three different catalogs: WHL12, redMaPPer, and PlanckSZ. They all show a positive correlation with different amplitudes, related to the average mass of the objects in each catalog, which also sets the catalog bias. The signal detection is confirmed by the results of a stacking analysis. The cross-correlation signal extends to rather large angular scales, around 1°, that correspond, at the typical redshift of the clusters in these catalogs, to a few tomore » tens of megaparsecs, i.e., the typical scale-length of the large-scale structures in the universe. Most likely this signal is contributed by the cumulative emission from active galactic nuclei (AGNs) associated with the filamentary structures that converge toward the high peaks of the matter density field in which galaxy clusters reside. In addition, our analysis reveals the presence of a second component, more compact in size and compatible with a point-like emission from within individual clusters. At present, we cannot distinguish between the two most likely interpretations for such a signal, i.e., whether it is produced by AGNs inside clusters or if it is a diffuse γ-ray emission from the intracluster medium. Lastly, we argue that this latter, intriguing, hypothesis might be tested by applying this technique to a low-redshift large-mass cluster sample.« less

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

Branchini, Enzo; Camera, Stefano; Cuoco, Alessandro

We report the detection of a cross-correlation signal between Fermi Large Area Telescope diffuse γ -ray maps and catalogs of clusters. In our analysis, we considered three different catalogs: WHL12, redMaPPer, and PlanckSZ. They all show a positive correlation with different amplitudes, related to the average mass of the objects in each catalog, which also sets the catalog bias. The signal detection is confirmed by the results of a stacking analysis. The cross-correlation signal extends to rather large angular scales, around 1°, that correspond, at the typical redshift of the clusters in these catalogs, to a few to tens ofmore » megaparsecs, i.e., the typical scale-length of the large-scale structures in the universe. Most likely this signal is contributed by the cumulative emission from active galactic nuclei (AGNs) associated with the filamentary structures that converge toward the high peaks of the matter density field in which galaxy clusters reside. In addition, our analysis reveals the presence of a second component, more compact in size and compatible with a point-like emission from within individual clusters. At present, we cannot distinguish between the two most likely interpretations for such a signal, i.e., whether it is produced by AGNs inside clusters or if it is a diffuse γ -ray emission from the intracluster medium. We argue that this latter, intriguing, hypothesis might be tested by applying this technique to a low-redshift large-mass cluster sample.« less

Real-space investigation of short-range magnetic correlations in fluoride pyrochlores NaCaCo 2F 7 and NaSrCo 2F 7 with magnetic pair distribution function analysis

DOE PAGES

Frandsen, Benjamin A.; Billinge, Simon J. L.; Ross, Kathryn A.; ...

2017-12-29

Here, we present time-of-flight neutron total scattering and polarized neutron scattering measurements of the magnetically frustrated compounds NaCaCo 2F 7 and NaSrCo 2F 7, which belong to a class of recently discovered pyrochlore compounds based on transition metals and fluorine. The magnetic pair distribution function (mPDF) technique is used to analyze and model the total scattering data in real space. We find that a previously-proposed model of short-range XY-like correlations with a length scale of 10-15 Å, combined with nearest-neighbor collinear antiferromagnetic correlations, accurately describes the mPDF data at low temperature, confirming the magnetic ground state in these materials. Thismore » model is further verified by the polarized neutron scattering data. From an analysis of the temperature dependence of the mPDF and polarized neutron scattering data, we find that short-range correlations persist on the nearest-neighbor length scale up to 200 K, approximately two orders of magnitude higher than the spin freezing temperatures of these compounds. These results highlight the opportunity presented by these new pyrochlore compounds to study the effects of geometric frustration at relatively high temperatures, while also advancing the mPDF technique and providing a novel opportunity to investigate a genuinely short-range-ordered magnetic ground state directly in real space.« less

Which has a Greater Influence on Smile Esthetics Perception: Teeth or Lips?

PubMed

Farzanegan, Fahimeh; Jahanbin, Arezoo; Darvishpour, Hadi; Salari, Soheil

2013-09-01

The aim of this study was to evaluate the role of teeth and lips in the perception of smile esthetics. Thirty women, ranging between 20 and 30 years of age, all with Class I canine and molar relationships and no history of orthodontic treatment, were chosen. Five black and white photographs were taken of each participant in a natural head position while smiling. The most natural photo, demonstrating a social smile, was selected. Two other photographs were also taken from a dental frontal view of each subject using a retractor, as well as a lip-together smile. Three groups of judges including 20 orthodontists, 20 restorative specialists, and 20 laypersons were selected. The judges were then asked to confirm the esthetics of each picture on a visual analogue scale. An analysis of variance (ANOVA) and the Pearson correlation test were used for statistical analysis. For the orthodontists group, correlation between the scores given to the full smile and each of its components was significant (α=0.05), with equal correlation of each component with the full smile. In contrast to laypersons, the correlation between the scores given to the full smile and each of its components among restorative specialists was significant. For orthodontists and restorative specialists, esthetic details and the components of the smile (teeth and perioral soft tissues) were important in esthetics perception. In contrast, laypersons perceived no effect of esthetics detail or smile components.

TROP2 correlates with microvessel density and poor prognosis in hilar cholangiocarcinoma.

PubMed

Ning, Shanglei; Guo, Sen; Xie, Jianjun; Xu, Yunfei; Lu, Xiaofei; Chen, Yuxin

2013-02-01

Trophoblast cell surface antigen 2 (TROP2) was found to be associated with tumor progression and poor prognosis in a variety of epithelial carcinomas. The aim of the study was to investigate TROP2 expression and its prognostic impact in hilar cholangiocarcinoma. Immunohistochemistry and quantitative real-time PCR were used to determine TROP2 expression in surgical specimens from 70 hilar cholangiocarcinoma patients receiving radical resection. The relationship between TROP2 expression and microvessel density was investigated and standard statistical analysis was used to evaluate TROP2 prognosis significance in hilar cholangiocarcinoma. High TROP2 expression by immunohistochemistry was found in 43 (61.4 %) of the 70 tumor specimens. Quantitative real-time PCR confirmed that TROP2 level in tumor was significantly higher than in non-tumoral biliary tissues (P = 0.001). Significant correlations were found between TROP2 expression and histological differentiation (P = 0.016) and tumor T stage (P = 0.031) in hilar cholangiocarcinoma. TROP2 expression correlated with microvessel density in hilar cholangiocarcinoma (P = 0.026). High TROP2 expression patients had a significantly poorer overall survival rate than those with low TROP2 expression (30 vs. 68.5 %, P = 0.001), and multivariate Cox regression analysis indicated TROP2 as an independent prognostic factor for hilar cholangiocarcinoma (P = 0.004). TROP2 expression correlates with microvessel density significantly and is an independent prognostic factor in human hilar cholangiocarcinoma.

Real-space investigation of short-range magnetic correlations in fluoride pyrochlores NaCaCo 2F 7 and NaSrCo 2F 7 with magnetic pair distribution function analysis

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

Frandsen, Benjamin A.; Billinge, Simon J. L.; Ross, Kathryn A.

Here, we present time-of-flight neutron total scattering and polarized neutron scattering measurements of the magnetically frustrated compounds NaCaCo 2F 7 and NaSrCo 2F 7, which belong to a class of recently discovered pyrochlore compounds based on transition metals and fluorine. The magnetic pair distribution function (mPDF) technique is used to analyze and model the total scattering data in real space. We find that a previously-proposed model of short-range XY-like correlations with a length scale of 10-15 Å, combined with nearest-neighbor collinear antiferromagnetic correlations, accurately describes the mPDF data at low temperature, confirming the magnetic ground state in these materials. Thismore » model is further verified by the polarized neutron scattering data. From an analysis of the temperature dependence of the mPDF and polarized neutron scattering data, we find that short-range correlations persist on the nearest-neighbor length scale up to 200 K, approximately two orders of magnitude higher than the spin freezing temperatures of these compounds. These results highlight the opportunity presented by these new pyrochlore compounds to study the effects of geometric frustration at relatively high temperatures, while also advancing the mPDF technique and providing a novel opportunity to investigate a genuinely short-range-ordered magnetic ground state directly in real space.« less

Exciton transport in the PE545 complex: insight from atomistic QM/MM-based quantum master equations and elastic network models

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pouyandeh, Sima; Iubini, Stefano; Jurinovich, Sandro; Omar, Yasser; Mennucci, Benedetta; Piazza, Francesco

2017-12-01

In this paper, we work out a parameterization of environmental noise within the Haken-Strobl-Reinenker (HSR) model for the PE545 light-harvesting complex, based on atomic-level quantum mechanics/molecular mechanics (QM/MM) simulations. We use this approach to investigate the role of various auto- and cross-correlations in the HSR noise tensor, confirming that site-energy autocorrelations (pure dephasing) terms dominate the noise-induced exciton mobility enhancement, followed by site energy-coupling cross-correlations for specific triplets of pigments. Interestingly, several cross-correlations of the latter kind, together with coupling-coupling cross-correlations, display clear low-frequency signatures in their spectral densities in the 30-70 cm-1 region. These slow components lie at the limits of validity of the HSR approach, which requires that environmental fluctuations be faster than typical exciton transfer time scales. We show that a simple coarse-grained elastic-network-model (ENM) analysis of the PE545 protein naturally spotlights collective normal modes in this frequency range that represent specific concerted motions of the subnetwork of cysteines covalenty linked to the pigments. This analysis strongly suggests that protein scaffolds in light-harvesting complexes are able to express specific collective, low-frequency normal modes providing a fold-rooted blueprint of exciton transport pathways. We speculate that ENM-based mixed quantum classical methods, such as Ehrenfest dynamics, might be promising tools to disentangle the fundamental designing principles of these dynamical processes in natural and artificial light-harvesting structures.

Breakdown of interdependent directed networks.

PubMed

Liu, Xueming; Stanley, H Eugene; Gao, Jianxi

2016-02-02

Increasing evidence shows that real-world systems interact with one another via dependency connectivities. Failing connectivities are the mechanism behind the breakdown of interacting complex systems, e.g., blackouts caused by the interdependence of power grids and communication networks. Previous research analyzing the robustness of interdependent networks has been limited to undirected networks. However, most real-world networks are directed, their in-degrees and out-degrees may be correlated, and they are often coupled to one another as interdependent directed networks. To understand the breakdown and robustness of interdependent directed networks, we develop a theoretical framework based on generating functions and percolation theory. We find that for interdependent Erdős-Rényi networks the directionality within each network increases their vulnerability and exhibits hybrid phase transitions. We also find that the percolation behavior of interdependent directed scale-free networks with and without degree correlations is so complex that two criteria are needed to quantify and compare their robustness: the percolation threshold and the integrated size of the giant component during an entire attack process. Interestingly, we find that the in-degree and out-degree correlations in each network layer increase the robustness of interdependent degree heterogeneous networks that most real networks are, but decrease the robustness of interdependent networks with homogeneous degree distribution and with strong coupling strengths. Moreover, by applying our theoretical analysis to real interdependent international trade networks, we find that the robustness of these real-world systems increases with the in-degree and out-degree correlations, confirming our theoretical analysis.

Which has a Greater Influence on Smile Esthetics Perception: Teeth or Lips?

PubMed Central

Farzanegan, Fahimeh; Jahanbin, Arezoo; Darvishpour, Hadi; Salari, Soheil

2013-01-01

Introduction: The aim of this study was to evaluate the role of teeth and lips in the perception of smile esthetics. Materials and Methods: Thirty women, ranging between 20 and 30 years of age, all with Class I canine and molar relationships and no history of orthodontic treatment, were chosen. Five black and white photographs were taken of each participant in a natural head position while smiling. The most natural photo, demonstrating a social smile, was selected. Two other photographs were also taken from a dental frontal view of each subject using a retractor, as well as a lip-together smile. Three groups of judges including 20 orthodontists, 20 restorative specialists, and 20 laypersons were selected. The judges were then asked to confirm the esthetics of each picture on a visual analogue scale. An analysis of variance (ANOVA) and the Pearson correlation test were used for statistical analysis. Results: For the orthodontists group, correlation between the scores given to the full smile and each of its components was significant (α=0.05), with equal correlation of each component with the full smile. In contrast to laypersons, the correlation between the scores given to the full smile and each of its components among restorative specialists was significant. Conclusion: For orthodontists and restorative specialists, esthetic details and the components of the smile (teeth and perioral soft tissues) were important in esthetics perception. In contrast, laypersons perceived no effect of esthetics detail or smile components. PMID:24303447

Blood-brain barrier integrity, intrathecal immunoactivation, and neuronal injury in HIV.

PubMed

Anesten, Birgitta; Yilmaz, Aylin; Hagberg, Lars; Zetterberg, Henrik; Nilsson, Staffan; Brew, Bruce J; Fuchs, Dietmar; Price, Richard W; Gisslén, Magnus

2016-12-01

Although blood-brain barrier (BBB) impairment has been reported in HIV-infected individuals, characterization of this impairment has not been clearly defined. BBB integrity was measured by CSF/plasma albumin ratio in this cross-sectional study of 631 HIV-infected individuals and 71 controls. We also analyzed CSF and blood HIV RNA and neopterin, CSF leukocyte count, and neurofilament light chain protein (NFL) concentrations. The HIV-infected participants included untreated neuroasymptomatic patients, patients with untreated HIV-associated dementia (HAD), and participants on suppressive antiretroviral treatment (ART). The albumin ratio was significantly increased in patients with HAD compared to all other groups. There were no significant differences between untreated neuroasymptomatic participants, treated participants, and controls. BBB integrity, however, correlated significantly with CSF leukocyte count, CSF HIV RNA, serum and CSF neopterin, and age in untreated neuroasymptomatic participants. In a multiple linear regression analysis, age, CSF neopterin, and CSF leukocyte count stood out as independent predictors of albumin ratio. A significant correlation was found between albumin ratio and CSF NFL in untreated neuroasymptomatic patients and in participants on ART. Albumin ratio, age, and CD4 cell count were confirmed as independent predictors of CSF NFL in multivariable analysis. BBB disruption was mainly found in patients with HAD, where BBB damage correlated with CNS immunoactivation. Albumin ratios also correlated with CSF inflammatory markers and NFL in untreated neuroasymptomatic participants. These findings give support to the association among BBB deterioration, intrathecal immunoactivation, and neuronal injury in untreated neuroasymptomatic HIV-infected individuals.

Real-space investigation of short-range magnetic correlations in fluoride pyrochlores NaCaCo2F7 and NaSrCo2F7 with magnetic pair distribution function analysis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Frandsen, Benjamin A.; Ross, Kate A.; Krizan, Jason W.; Nilsen, Gøran J.; Wildes, Andrew R.; Cava, Robert J.; Birgeneau, Robert J.; Billinge, Simon J. L.

2017-12-01

We present time-of-flight neutron total scattering and polarized neutron scattering measurements of the magnetically frustrated compounds NaCaCo2F7 and NaSrCo2F7 , which belong to a class of recently discovered pyrochlore compounds based on transition metals and fluorine. The magnetic pair distribution function (mPDF) technique is used to analyze and model the total scattering data in real space. We find that a previously proposed model of short-range XY-like correlations with a length scale of 10-15 Å, combined with nearest-neighbor collinear antiferromagnetic correlations, accurately describes the mPDF data at low temperature, confirming the magnetic ground state in these materials. This model is further verified by the polarized neutron scattering data. From an analysis of the temperature dependence of the mPDF and polarized neutron scattering data, we find that short-range correlations persist on the nearest-neighbor length scale up to 200 K, approximately two orders of magnitude higher than the spin freezing temperatures of these compounds. These results highlight the opportunity presented by these new pyrochlore compounds to study the effects of geometric frustration at relatively high temperatures, while also advancing the mPDF technique and providing an opportunity to investigate a genuinely short-range-ordered magnetic ground state directly in real space.

Implications of the plastid genome sequence of typha (typhaceae, poales) for understanding genome evolution in poaceae.

PubMed

Guisinger, Mary M; Chumley, Timothy W; Kuehl, Jennifer V; Boore, Jeffrey L; Jansen, Robert K

2010-02-01

Plastid genomes of the grasses (Poaceae) are unusual in their organization and rates of sequence evolution. There has been a recent surge in the availability of grass plastid genome sequences, but a comprehensive comparative analysis of genome evolution has not been performed that includes any related families in the Poales. We report on the plastid genome of Typha latifolia, the first non-grass Poales sequenced to date, and we present comparisons of genome organization and sequence evolution within Poales. Our results confirm that grass plastid genomes exhibit acceleration in both genomic rearrangements and nucleotide substitutions. Poaceae have multiple structural rearrangements, including three inversions, three genes losses (accD, ycf1, ycf2), intron losses in two genes (clpP, rpoC1), and expansion of the inverted repeat (IR) into both large and small single-copy regions. These rearrangements are restricted to the Poaceae, and IR expansion into the small single-copy region correlates with the phylogeny of the family. Comparisons of 73 protein-coding genes for 47 angiosperms including nine Poaceae genera confirm that the branch leading to Poaceae has significantly accelerated rates of change relative to other monocots and angiosperms. Furthermore, rates of sequence evolution within grasses are lower, indicating a deceleration during diversification of the family. Overall there is a strong correlation between accelerated rates of genomic rearrangements and nucleotide substitutions in Poaceae, a phenomenon that has been noted recently throughout angiosperms. The cause of the correlation is unknown, but faulty DNA repair has been suggested in other systems including bacterial and animal mitochondrial genomes.

MRI quantitative morphologic analysis of patellofemoral region: lack of correlation with chondromalacia patellae at surgery.

PubMed

Endo, Yoshimi; Schweitzer, Mark E; Bordalo-Rodrigues, Marcelo; Rokito, Andrew S; Babb, James S

2007-11-01

In numerous studies, the morphologic features of the patellofemoral joint have been analyzed on radiographs. The objective of this study was to assess patellofemoral measurements on MR images and to correlate the measurements with the presence or absence of chondromalacia patellae confirmed at surgery. Axial and sagittal MR images of 98 knees (97 patients) were evaluated. Lateral and medial patellar facet lengths, lateral-to-medial facet length ratio, and interfacet angle were measured at three levels through the patella. Trochlear depth was measured on an axial slice. Patella and patellar tendon lengths, patellar tendon-to-patella ratio, and overlap of the patellar and trochlear articular cartilages were measured on sagittal slices. These measurements in knees with chondromalacia patellae were compared with those in knees without chondromalacia patellae. For assessment of reproducibility, axial measurements were repeated by a second observer. There was no statistically significant difference in any of the axial and sagittal slice measurements between knees with and those without chondromalacia patellae. Interobserver reliability was excellent for measurements of trochlear depth and measurements in the superior and middle aspects of the patella. Measurements through the inferior patella were slightly less reproducible. The results of our study with MRI confirmed many previous radiographic findings. Although we did not find correlation between the presence of chondromalacia patellae and the patellofemoral indexes we analyzed, it is possible that the results of further investigations incorporating different grades of chondromalacia and different locations along the patellar articular surface may lead to further insight regarding the morphologic risk factors for chondromalacia patellae.

Validation of World Health Organization Assessment Schedule 2.0 in specialized somatic rehabilitation services in Norway.

PubMed

Moen, Vegard Pihl; Drageset, Jorunn; Eide, Geir Egil; Klokkerud, Mari; Gjesdal, Sturla

2017-02-01

The World Health Organization Disability Assessment Schedule (WHODAS) 2.0 is a generic instrument to assess disability covering six domains. The purpose of this study was to investigate the potential of the instrument for monitoring disability in specialized somatic rehabilitation by testing reliability, construct validity and responsiveness of WHODAS 2.0, Norwegian version, among patients with various health conditions. For taxonomy, terminology and definitions, the Consensus-based Standards for the Selection of Health Measurement Instruments were followed. Reproducibility was investigated by the intra-class correlation coefficient (ICC) in a randomly selected sample. Internal consistency was assessed by Cronbach's alpha. Construct validity was evaluated by correlations between WHODAS 2.0 and the Medical Outcomes Study 36-item Short Form, and fit of the hypothesized structure using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). Responsiveness was evaluated in another randomly selected sample by testing a priori formulated hypotheses. Nine hundred seventy patients were included in the study. Reproducibility and responsiveness were evaluated in 53 and 104 patients, respectively. The ICC for the WHODAS 2.0 domains ranged from 0.63 to 0.84 and was 0.87 for total score. Cronbach's alpha for domains ranged from 0.75 to 0.94 and was 0.93 for total score. For construct validity, 6 of 12 expected correlations were confirmed and CFA did not achieve satisfactory fit indices. For responsiveness, 3 of 8 hypotheses were confirmed. The Norwegian version of WHODAS 2.0 showed moderate to satisfactory reliability and moderate validity in rehabilitation patients. However, the present study indicated possible limitations in terms of responsiveness.

[Development of a scale for work motivation of home care workers and influencing factors].

PubMed

Nakatani, Yasuhisa; Sugiura, Keiko; Mikami, Hiroshi

2009-02-01

To develop a scale for home care workers focusing on work motivation and to determine influential underlying factors. This study was an anonymous mailed survey of home care workers who provided home help services in July 2007. We collected information in the following areas: demographics of home care workers and care-recipients, burnout, stress, job satisfaction, life satisfaction, and self-esteem (SE). Hierarchical regression analysis was performed in order to identify factors related to work motivation. Construct validity was analyzed by factor analysis. Two subscales were obtained by the analysis and designated as "positive appraisal of the current state" (9 items) and "uplift of morale" (3 items). Content validity was analyzed by good-poor and item-total, and all correlations were strongly positive. Reliability was analyzed by internal consistency. Cronbach's ? values were 0.94 and 0.77, respectively. Concurrent validity was analyzed by correlation coefficient and a significant negative correlation was seen between the two subscales and burnout (r = -0.23--0.50), while positive correlations were noted for job or life satisfaction (r= 0.24-0.49). The positive influential factors on "positive appraisal of the current state" were satisfaction in 1) relation to care-recipients, 2) work environment for skill improvement and 3) the wages. The positive influential factors on "uplift of morale" were satisfaction with relation to care-recipients and their own life. This scale has sufficient reliability and validity. "Positive appraisal of the current state" and "uplift of morale" were confirmed as appropriate work motivation subscales for home care workers. Thus, support to augment job satisfaction with the work environment and wages appears to enhance "positive appraisal of the current state" and support to augment life satisfaction appears to enhance "uplift of morale".

Real-life assessment of the validity of patient global impression of change in fibromyalgia.

PubMed

Rampakakis, Emmanouil; Ste-Marie, Peter A; Sampalis, John S; Karellis, Angeliki; Shir, Yoram; Fitzcharles, Mary-Ann

2015-01-01

Patient Global Rating of Change (GRC) scales are commonly used in routine clinical care given their ease of use, availability and short completion time. This analysis aimed at assessing the validity of Patient Global Impression of Change (PGIC), a GRC scale commonly used in fibromyalgia, in a Canadian real-life setting. 167 fibromyalgia patients with available PGIC data were recruited in 2005-2013 from a Canadian tertiary-care multidisciplinary clinic. In addition to PGIC, disease severity was assessed with: pain visual analogue scale (VAS); Patient Global Assessment (PGA); Fibromyalgia Impact Questionnaire (FIQ); Health Assessment Questionnaire (HAQ); McGill Pain Questionnaire; body map. Multivariate linear regression assessed the PGIC relationship with disease parameter improvement while adjusting for follow-up duration and baseline parameter levels. The Spearman's rank coefficient assessed parameter correlation. Higher PGIC scores were significantly (p<0.001) associated with greater improvement in pain, PGA, FIQ, HAQ and the body map. A statistically significant moderate positive correlation was observed between PGIC and FIQ improvement (r=0.423; p<0.001); correlation with all remaining disease severity measures was weak. Regression analysis confirmed a significant (p<0.001) positive association between improvement in all disease severity measures and PGIC. Baseline disease severity and follow-up duration were identified as significant independent predictors of PGIC rating. Despite that only a weak correlation was identified between PGIC and standard fibromyalgia outcomes improvement, in the absence of objective outcomes, PGIC remains a clinically relevant tool to assess perceived impact of disease management. However, our analysis suggests that outcome measures data should not be considered in isolation but, within the global clinical context.

Correlation of Cytokine Levels and Microglial Cell Infiltration during Retinal Degeneration in RCS Rats

PubMed Central

Liu, Yong; Yang, Xuesen; Utheim, Tor Paaaske; Guo, Chenying; Xiao, Mingchun; Liu, Yan; Yin, Zhengqin; Ma, Jie

2013-01-01

Microglial cells, which are immunocompetent cells, are involved in all diseases of the central nervous system. During their activation in various diseases, a variety of soluble factors are released. In the present study, the correlation between cytokine levels and microglial cell migration in the course of retinal degeneration of Royal College of Surgeons (RCS) rats was evaluated. MFG-E8 and CD11b were used to confirm the microglial cells. In the retina of RCS rats, the mRNA expression of seven genes (MFG-E8 and its integrins αυ and ß5, CD11b and the cytokines TNF-α, IL-1ß, and MCP-1) formed almost similar bimodal peak distributions, which were centred at P7 and P45 to P60. In contrast, in rdy rats, which comprised the control group, a unimodal peak distribution centred at P14 was observed. The gene expression accompanied the activation and migration of microglial cells from the inner to the outer layer of the retina during the process of degeneration. Principal component analysis and discriminant function analysis revealed that the expression of these seven genes, especially TNF-α and CD11b, positively correlated with retinal degeneration and microglial activity during retinal degeneration in RCS rats, but not in the control rats. Furthermore, linear regression analysis demonstrated a significant correlation between the expression of these genes and the activation of microglial cells in the dystrophic retina. Our findings suggest that the suppression of microglial cells and the blockade of their cytotoxic effects may constitute a novel therapeutic strategy for treating photoreceptor death in various retinal disorders. PMID:24349184

Correlation of cytokine levels and microglial cell infiltration during retinal degeneration in RCS rats.

PubMed

Liu, Yong; Yang, Xuesen; Utheim, Tor Paaaske; Guo, Chenying; Xiao, Mingchun; Liu, Yan; Yin, Zhengqin; Ma, Jie

2013-01-01

Microglial cells, which are immunocompetent cells, are involved in all diseases of the central nervous system. During their activation in various diseases, a variety of soluble factors are released. In the present study, the correlation between cytokine levels and microglial cell migration in the course of retinal degeneration of Royal College of Surgeons (RCS) rats was evaluated. MFG-E8 and CD11b were used to confirm the microglial cells. In the retina of RCS rats, the mRNA expression of seven genes (MFG-E8 and its integrins αυ and ß5, CD11b and the cytokines TNF-α, IL-1ß, and MCP-1) formed almost similar bimodal peak distributions, which were centred at P7 and P45 to P60. In contrast, in rdy rats, which comprised the control group, a unimodal peak distribution centred at P14 was observed. The gene expression accompanied the activation and migration of microglial cells from the inner to the outer layer of the retina during the process of degeneration. Principal component analysis and discriminant function analysis revealed that the expression of these seven genes, especially TNF-α and CD11b, positively correlated with retinal degeneration and microglial activity during retinal degeneration in RCS rats, but not in the control rats. Furthermore, linear regression analysis demonstrated a significant correlation between the expression of these genes and the activation of microglial cells in the dystrophic retina. Our findings suggest that the suppression of microglial cells and the blockade of their cytotoxic effects may constitute a novel therapeutic strategy for treating photoreceptor death in various retinal disorders.

Epidemiological study of hazelnut bacterial blight in central Italy by using laboratory analysis and geostatistics.

PubMed

Lamichhane, Jay Ram; Fabi, Alfredo; Ridolfi, Roberto; Varvaro, Leonardo

2013-01-01

Incidence of Xanthomonas arboricola pv. corylina, the causal agent of hazelnut bacterial blight, was analyzed spatially in relation to the pedoclimatic factors. Hazelnut grown in twelve municipalities situated in the province of Viterbo, central Italy was studied. A consistent number of bacterial isolates were obtained from the infected tissues of hazelnut collected in three years (2010-2012). The isolates, characterized by phenotypic tests, did not show any difference among them. Spatial patterns of pedoclimatic data, analyzed by geostatistics showed a strong positive correlation of disease incidence with higher values of rainfall, thermal shock and soil nitrogen; a weak positive correlation with soil aluminium content and a strong negative correlation with the values of Mg/K ratio. No correlation of the disease incidence was found with soil pH. Disease incidence ranged from very low (<1%) to very high (almost 75%) across the orchards. Young plants (4-year old) were the most affected by the disease confirming a weak negative correlation of the disease incidence with plant age. Plant cultivars did not show any difference in susceptibility to the pathogen. Possible role of climate change on the epidemiology of the disease is discussed. Improved management practices are recommended for effective control of the disease.

Epidemiological Study of Hazelnut Bacterial Blight in Central Italy by Using Laboratory Analysis and Geostatistics

PubMed Central

Lamichhane, Jay Ram; Fabi, Alfredo; Ridolfi, Roberto; Varvaro, Leonardo

2013-01-01

Incidence of Xanthomonas arboricola pv. corylina, the causal agent of hazelnut bacterial blight, was analyzed spatially in relation to the pedoclimatic factors. Hazelnut grown in twelve municipalities situated in the province of Viterbo, central Italy was studied. A consistent number of bacterial isolates were obtained from the infected tissues of hazelnut collected in three years (2010–2012). The isolates, characterized by phenotypic tests, did not show any difference among them. Spatial patterns of pedoclimatic data, analyzed by geostatistics showed a strong positive correlation of disease incidence with higher values of rainfall, thermal shock and soil nitrogen; a weak positive correlation with soil aluminium content and a strong negative correlation with the values of Mg/K ratio. No correlation of the disease incidence was found with soil pH. Disease incidence ranged from very low (<1%) to very high (almost 75%) across the orchards. Young plants (4-year old) were the most affected by the disease confirming a weak negative correlation of the disease incidence with plant age. Plant cultivars did not show any difference in susceptibility to the pathogen. Possible role of climate change on the epidemiology of the disease is discussed. Improved management practices are recommended for effective control of the disease. PMID:23424654

Effects of transient high temperature treatment on the intestinal flora of the silkworm Bombyx mori.

PubMed

Sun, Zhenli; Kumar, Dhiraj; Cao, Guangli; Zhu, Liyuan; Liu, Bo; Zhu, Min; Liang, Zi; Kuang, Sulan; Chen, Fei; Feng, Yongjie; Hu, Xiaolong; Xue, Renyu; Gong, Chengliang

2017-06-13

The silkworm Bombyx mori is a poikilotherm and is therefore sensitive to various climatic conditions. The influence of temperature on the intestinal flora and the relationship between the intestinal flora and gene expression in the silkworm remain unknown. In the present study, changes of the intestinal flora at 48, 96 and 144 h following transient high temperature treatment (THTT) of 37 °C for 8 h were investigated. According to principal component analysis, the abundances of Enterococcus and Staphylococcus showed a negative correlation with other dominant genera. After THTT, the gene expression levels of spatzle-1 and dicer-2 were increased and decreased, respectively, which suggested that the Toll and RNAi pathways were activated and suppressed, respectively. The species-gene expression matrix confirmed that the spatzle-1 and dicer-2 gene expression levels were negatively and positively correlated, respectively, with the abundance of Enterococcus and Staphylococcus in the control. The abundance of Variovorax post-THTT was positively correlated with the spatzle-1 gene expression level, whereas the community richness of Enterococcus was negatively correlated with the spatzle-1 gene expression level and positively correlated with the dicer-2. The results of the present investigation provide new evidence for understanding the relationships among THTT, intestinal flora and host gene expression.

Correlating Emotional Intelligence and Job Performance Among Jordanian Hospitals' Registered Nurses.

PubMed

Al-Hamdan, Zaid; Oweidat, Islam Ali; Al-Faouri, Ibrahim; Codier, Estelle

2017-01-01

Emotional intelligence (EI) is an ability to recognize our and others' emotions, and manage emotions in ourselves and in relationships with other people. A large body of research evidence outside nursing shows that measured (EI) abilities correlated with employee performance, motivation, and job satisfaction; and preliminary nursing research evidence shows the correlation between EI ability and nurses' clinical performance. There is less research on the EI ability of Jordanian nurses, and the present study was undertaken to address this gap. A descriptive, cross-sectional, correlation comparative design (nonexperimental) was employed. Six Jordanian hospitals were included in the study. Two hundred fifty questionnaires were distributed to prospective participants. One hundred ninety-four questionnaires were returned, giving a response rate of 78%. EI was measured using the Genos Instrument. Clinical performance was measured using a self-report measure. Findings demonstrated significant positive relationships between all subscales of EI and job performance, ranging from r = .250, p = .000 to r = .193, p = .007. Regression analysis indicated working in medical-surgical wards, recognizing and expressing emotions scores (β = 0.186, p = .048), and controlling emotions (β = 0.255, p = .027) explained 19.1% of variance in nurses' job performance. The study findings confirm the correlation between nurse EI ability and clinical performance. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Computed tomography pulmonary embolism index for the assessment of survival in patients with pulmonary embolism.

PubMed

Pech, Maciej; Wieners, Gero; Dul, Przemyslaw; Fischbach, Frank; Dudeck, Oliver; Lopez Hänninen, Enrique; Ricke, Jens

2007-08-01

This study was an analysis of the correlation between pulmonary embolism (PE) and patient survival. Among 694 consecutive patients referred to our institution with clinical suspicion of acute PE who underwent CT pulmonary angiography, 188 patients comprised the study group: 87 women (46.3%, median age: 60.7; age range: 19-88 years) and 101 men (53.7%, median age: 66.9; age range: 21-97 years). PE was assessed by two radiologist who were blinded to the results from the follow-up. A PE index was derived for each set of images on the basis of the embolus size and location. Results were analyzed using logistic regression, and correlation with risk factors and patient outcome (survival or death) was calculated. We observed no significant correlation between the CTPE index and patient outcome (p = 0.703). The test of logistic regression with the sum of heart and liver disease or presence of cancer was significantly (p< 0.05) correlated with PE and overall patient outcome. Interobserver agreement showed a significant correlation rate for the assessment of the PE index (0.993; p< 0.001). In our study the CT PE index did not translate into patient outcome. Prospective larger scale studies are needed to confirm the predictive value of the index and refine the index criteria.

Calculation of correlation times for the. gamma. -alumina-supported molybdenum subcarbonyl, Mo(CO) sub 3 (ads)

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

Wagner, G.W.; Hanson, B.E.

1989-07-05

The theory of carbon-13 NMR line widths in the solid state for molecules with large chemical shift anisotropies is applied to the adsorbed molybdenum subcarbonyls Mo(CO){sub 3}(ads) and Mo(CO){sub 5}(ads). Correlation times for the rotation of the molybdenum subcarbonyl groups Mo(CO){sub 3}(ads) and Mo(CO){sub 5}(ads) on partially dehydroxylated alumina are calculated. Good agreement is obtained between data reported at observation frequencies of 15 to 75.5 MHz for carbon-13 for Mo(CO){sub 3}(ads). The correlation time for this adsorbed species is calculated to have a lower limit of 4.6 {plus minus} 0.5 ms. The presence of broad lines in the room temperaturemore » spectra for Mo(CO){sub 3}(ads) is thus explained by a slow molecular motion. Data for Mo(CO){sub 5}(ads) are available at observation frequencies of 15 to 90.5 MHz. A good fit to the experimental data is obtained assuming either long or short correlation times for this species. Thus literature estimates of <10{sup {minus}6}s for the correlation time for this species cannot be confirmed with certainty from the analysis presented here.« less

Shared genetic determinants of axial length and height in children: the Guangzhou twin eye study.

PubMed

Zhang, Jian; Hur, Yoon-Mi; Huang, Wenyong; Ding, Xiaohu; Feng, Ke; He, Mingguang

2011-01-01

To describe the association between axial length (AL) and height and to estimate the extent to which shared genetic or environmental factors influence this covariance. Study participants were recruited from the Guangzhou Twin Registry. Axial length was measured using partial coherence laser interferometry. Height was measured with the participants standing without shoes. We computed twin pairwise correlations and cross-twin cross-trait correlations between AL and height for monozygotic and dizygotic twins and performed model-fitting analyses using a multivariate Cholesky model. The right eye was arbitrarily selected to represent AL of participants. Five hundred sixty-five twin pairs (359 monozygotic and 206 dizygotic) aged 7 to 15 years were available for analysis. Phenotypic correlation between AL and height was 0.46 but decreased to 0.19 after adjusting for age, sex, and age × sex interaction. Bivariate Cholesky model-fitting analyses revealed that 89% of phenotypic correlation was due to shared genetic factors and 11% was due to shared random environmental factors, which includes measurement error. Covariance of AL and height is largely attributable to shared genes. Given that AL is a key determinant of myopia, further work is needed to confirm gene sharing between myopia and stature.

Psychometric properties of revised Thought-Action Fusion questionnaire (TAF-R) in an Iranian population.

PubMed

Pourfaraj, Majid; Mohammadi, Nourallah; Taghavi, Mohammadreza

2008-12-01

The purpose of this study is to examine the psychometric properties of Thought-Action Fusion revised scale (TAF-R; Amir, N., freshman, M., Ramsey, B., Neary, E., & Brigidi, B. (2001). Thought-action fusion in individuals with OCD symptoms. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 39, 765-776) in a sample of 565 (321 female) students of Shiraz university. The results of factor analysis with using varimax rotation yielded eight factors that explained 80% variances of total scale. These factors are labeled: moral TAF, responsibility for positive thoughts, likelihood negative events, likelihood positive events, responsibility for negative thoughts, responsibility for harm avoidance, likelihood harm avoidance and likelihood self, respectively. The reliability coefficients of total scale are calculated by two methods: internal consistency and test-retest, which were 0.81 and 0.61, respectively. Concurrent validity showed that TAF-R scores positively and significantly correlate with responsibility, guilt and obsessive-compulsive symptoms. Confirming the expectations, there were people with high obsessive-compulsive symptoms having higher TAF-R scores than those with low symptoms. Moreover, subscales-total correlations showed that the correlations between subscales were low, but subscales correlating with total score of TAF-R were moderated.

Regional homogeneity of the resting-state brain activity correlates with individual intelligence.

PubMed

Wang, Leiqiong; Song, Ming; Jiang, Tianzi; Zhang, Yunting; Yu, Chunshui

2011-01-25

Resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging has confirmed that the strengths of the long distance functional connectivity between different brain areas are correlated with individual differences in intelligence. However, the association between the local connectivity within a specific brain region and intelligence during rest remains largely unknown. The aim of this study is to investigate the relationship between local connectivity and intelligence. Fifty-nine right-handed healthy adults participated in the study. The regional homogeneity (ReHo) was used to assess the strength of local connectivity. The associations between ReHo and full-scale intelligence quotient (FSIQ) scores were studied in a voxel-wise manner using partial correlation analysis controlling for age and sex. We found that the FSIQ scores were positively correlated with the ReHo values of the bilateral inferior parietal lobules, middle frontal, parahippocampal and inferior temporal gyri, the right thalamus, superior frontal and fusiform gyri, and the left superior parietal lobule. The main findings are consistent with the parieto-frontal integration theory (P-FIT) of intelligence, supporting the view that general intelligence involves multiple brain regions throughout the brain. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Patterns of Novel Alleles and Genotype/Phenotype Correlations Resulting from the Analysis of 108 Previously Undetected Mutations in Patients Affected by Neurofibromatosis Type I

PubMed Central

Bonatti, Francesco; Adorni, Alessia; Matichecchia, Annalisa; Mozzoni, Paola; Uliana, Vera; Pisani, Francesco; Garavelli, Livia; Graziano, Claudio; Gnoli, Maria; Bigoni, Stefania; Boschi, Elena; Martorana, Davide; Percesepe, Antonio

2017-01-01

Neurofibromatosis type I, a genetic disorder due to mutations in the NF1 gene, is characterized by a high mutation rate (about 50% of the cases are de novo) but, with the exception of whole gene deletions associated with a more severe phenotype, no specific hotspots and few solid genotype/phenotype correlations. After retrospectively re-evaluating all NF1 gene variants found in the diagnostic activity, we studied 108 patients affected by neurofibromatosis type I who harbored mutations that had not been previously reported in the international databases, with the aim of analyzing their type and distribution along the gene and of correlating them with the phenotypic features of the affected patients. Out of the 108 previously unreported variants, 14 were inherited by one of the affected parents and 94 were de novo. Twenty-nine (26.9%) mutations were of uncertain significance, whereas 79 (73.2%) were predicted as pathogenic or probably pathogenic. No differential distribution in the exons or in the protein domains was observed and no statistically significant genotype/phenotype correlation was found, confirming previous evidences. PMID:28961165

Tactile sensor is useful for estimating liver hardness and liver fibrosis compared with ultrasonography and computed tomography.

PubMed

Suzuki, Satoshi; Watanabe, Yohei; Yazawa, Takashi; Ishigame, Teruhide; Sassa, Motoki; Monma, Tomoyuki; Takawa, Tadashi; Kumamoto, Kensuke; Nakamura, Izumi; Ohoki, Shinji; Hatakeyama, Yuichi; Sakuma, Hiroshi; Ono, Toshiyuki; Omata, Sadao; Takenoshita, Seiichi

2014-01-01

We examined whether conventional ultrasonography (US) and computed tomography (CT) were useful to evaluate liver hardness and hepatic fibrosis by comparing the results with those obtained by a tactile sensor using rats with liver fibrosis. We used 44 Wistar rats in which liver fibrosis was induced by intraperitoneal administration of thioacetamide. The CT and US values of each liver were measured before laparotomy. After laparotomy, a tactile sensor was used to measure liver hardness. We prepared Azan stained sections of each excised liver specimen and calculated the degree of liver fibrosis (HFI: hepatic fibrosis index) by computed color image analysis. The stiffness values and HFI showed a positive correlation (r=0.690, p<0.001), as did the tactile values and HFI (r=0.709, p<0.001).In addition, the stiffness and tactile values correlated positively with each other (r=0.814, p<0.001). There was no correlation between the CT values and HFI, as well as no correlation between the US values and HFI. We confirmed that it was difficult to evaluate liver hardness and HFI by CT or US examination, and considered that, at present, a tactile sensor is useful method for evaluating HFI.

Correlation based networks of equity returns sampled at different time horizons

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tumminello, M.; di Matteo, T.; Aste, T.; Mantegna, R. N.

2007-01-01

We investigate the planar maximally filtered graphs of the portfolio of the 300 most capitalized stocks traded at the New York Stock Exchange during the time period 2001 2003. Topological properties such as the average length of shortest paths, the betweenness and the degree are computed on different planar maximally filtered graphs generated by sampling the returns at different time horizons ranging from 5 min up to one trading day. This analysis confirms that the selected stocks compose a hierarchical system progressively structuring as the sampling time horizon increases. Finally, a cluster formation, associated to economic sectors, is quantitatively investigated.

Molecular characterization of Coxiella burnetii isolates.

PubMed Central

Jäger, C.; Willems, H.; Thiele, D.; Baljer, G.

1998-01-01

Restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) was used for the differentiation of 80 Coxiella burnetii isolates derived from animals and humans in Europe, USA, Africa and Asia. After NotI restriction of total C. burnetii DNA and pulsed field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) 20 different restriction patterns were distinguished. The index of discrimination for this typing system was 0.86. Comparison and phylogenetic analysis of the different RFLP patterns revealed evolutionary relationships among groups that corresponded to the geographical origin of the isolates. This finding was confirmed by genetic mapping. No correlation between restriction group and virulence of isolates was detected. PMID:9593485

Core-Shell Magnetic Morphology of Structurally Uniform Magnetite Nanoparticles

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Krycka, K. L.; Booth, R. A.; Hogg, C. R.; Ijiri, Y.; Borchers, J. A.; Chen, W. C.; Watson, S. M.; Laver, M.; Gentile, T. R.; Dedon, L. R.; Harris, S.; Rhyne, J. J.; Majetich, S. A.

2010-05-01

A new development in small-angle neutron scattering with polarization analysis allows us to directly extract the average spatial distributions of magnetic moments and their correlations with three-dimensional directional sensitivity in any magnetic field. Applied to a collection of spherical magnetite nanoparticles 9.0 nm in diameter, this enhanced method reveals uniformly canted, magnetically active shells in a nominally saturating field of 1.2 T. The shell thickness depends on temperature, and it disappears altogether when the external field is removed, confirming that these canted nanoparticle shells are magnetic, rather than structural, in origin.

Exploitation and Optimization of Reservoir Performance in Hunton Formation, Oklahoma, Budget Period I, Class Revisit

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

Kelkar, Mohan

2002-04-02

This report explains the unusual characteristics of West Carney Field based on detailed geological and engineering analyses. A geological history that explains the presence of mobile water and oil in the reservoir was proposed. The combination of matrix and fractures in the reservoir explains the reservoir?s flow behavior. We confirm our hypothesis by matching observed performance with a simulated model and develop procedures for correlating core data to log data so that the analysis can be extended to other, similar fields where the core coverage may be limited.

Multifractal Behaviors in Foreign Exchange Markets

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kim, Kyungsik; Kim, Soo Yong; Lim, Gyuchang; Scalas, Enrico; Lee, Dong-In

2008-03-01

The market information and its intensity for the context of two-phase phenomenon is introduced in financial exchange markets. To find the underlying process of the formation of market information, we investigate the multifractal properties of the market information in terms of the multifractal and the detrended fluctuation analysis and also examine the higher order correlations between successive pieces of market information. Although the multifractal properties of the market information process is clearly confirmed, the simple binomial multiplicative process is not appropriate to catch its dynamics. It means that the market information process can be essentially different from the fully developed turbulence.

Myofibroblastoma of the male breast: a rare entity with radiologic-pathologic correlation

PubMed Central

Comer, John D.; Cui, Xiaoyan; Eisen, Carolyn Sharyn; Abbey, Genevieve; Arleo, Elizabeth Kagan

2016-01-01

A 73-year old man with a history of multiple genitourinary malignancies was found to have a left retroareolar soft tissue mass on CT assessment of disease, and dedicated breast imaging was recommended. Diagnostic mammography and ultrasonography confirmed a solid mass, for which biopsy was recommended. Pathologic analysis demonstrated a spindle cell neoplasm with an immunoreactivity pattern consistent with myofibroblastoma. While this entity is benign, nonspecific imaging features necessitate tissue sampling for pathologic diagnosis, and, given pathologic rarity, open communication between the radiologist and pathologist is important to establish the correct diagnosis and to recommend appropriate management. PMID:27936420

Theory-Based Parameterization of Semiotics for Measuring Pre-literacy Development

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bezruczko, N.

2013-09-01

A probabilistic model was applied to problem of measuring pre-literacy in young children. First, semiotic philosophy and contemporary cognition research were conceptually integrated to establish theoretical foundations for rating 14 characteristics of children's drawings and narratives (N = 120). Then ratings were transformed with a Rasch model, which estimated linear item parameter values that accounted for 79 percent of rater variance. Principle Components Analysis of item residual matrix confirmed variance remaining after item calibration was largely unsystematic. Validation analyses found positive correlations between semiotic measures and preschool literacy outcomes. Practical implications of a semiotics dimension for preschool practice were discussed.

Validation of two scales for measuring participation and perceived stigma in Chinese community-based rehabilitation programs.

PubMed

Chung, Eva Yin-Han; Lam, Gigi

2018-05-29

The World Health Organization has asserted the importance of enhancing participation of people with disabilities within the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health framework. Participation is regarded as a vital outcome in community-based rehabilitation. The actualization of the right to participate is limited by social stigma and discrimination. To date, there is no validated instrument for use in Chinese communities to measure participation restriction or self-perceived stigma. This study aimed to translate and validate the Participation Scale and the Explanatory Model Interview Catalogue (EMIC) Stigma Scale for use in Chinese communities with people with physical disabilities. The Chinese versions of the Participation Scale and the EMIC stigma scale were administered to 264 adults with physical disabilities. The two scales were examined separately. The reliability analysis was studied in conjunction with the construct validity. Reliability analysis was conducted to assess the internal consistency and item-total correlation. Exploratory factor analysis was conducted to investigate the latent patterns of relationships among variables. A Rasch model analysis was conducted to test the dimensionality, internal validity, item hierarchy, and scoring category structure of the two scales. Both the Participation Scale and the EMIC stigma scale were confirmed to have good internal consistency and high item-total correlation. Exploratory factor analysis revealed the factor structure of the two scales, which demonstrated the fitting of a pattern of variables within the studied construct. The Participation Scale was found to be multidimensional, whereas the EMIC stigma scale was confirmed to be unidimensional. The item hierarchies of the Participation Scale and the EMIC stigma scale were discussed and were regarded as compatible with the cultural characteristics of Chinese communities. The Chinese versions of the Participation Scale and the EMIC stigma scale were thoroughly tested in this study to demonstrate their robustness and feasibility in measuring the participation restriction and perceived stigma of people with physical disabilities in Chinese communities. This is crucial as it provides valid measurements to enable comprehensive understanding and assessment of the participation and stigma among people with physical disabilities in Chinese communities.

Empirical modelling to predict the refractive index of human blood.

PubMed

Yahya, M; Saghir, M Z

2016-02-21

Optical techniques used for the measurement of the optical properties of blood are of great interest in clinical diagnostics. Blood analysis is a routine procedure used in medical diagnostics to confirm a patient's condition. Measuring the optical properties of blood is difficult due to the non-homogenous nature of the blood itself. In addition, there is a lot of variation in the refractive indices reported in the literature. These are the reasons that motivated the researchers to develop a mathematical model that can be used to predict the refractive index of human blood as a function of concentration, temperature and wavelength. The experimental measurements were conducted on mimicking phantom hemoglobin samples using the Abbemat Refractometer. The results analysis revealed a linear relationship between the refractive index and concentration as well as temperature, and a non-linear relationship between refractive index and wavelength. These results are in agreement with those found in the literature. In addition, a new formula was developed based on empirical modelling which suggests that temperature and wavelength coefficients be added to the Barer formula. The verification of this correlation confirmed its ability to determine refractive index and/or blood hematocrit values with appropriate clinical accuracy.

Repeatability and reproducibility of measurements of the suburethral tape location obtained in pelvic floor ultrasound performed with a transvaginal probe

PubMed Central

Dresler, Maria Magdalena; Kociszewski, Jacek; Pędraszewski, Piotr; Trzeciak, Agnieszka; Surkont, Grzegorz

2017-01-01

Introduction Implants used to treat patients with urogynecological conditions are well visible in US examination. The position of the suburethral tape (sling) is determined in relation to the urethra or the pubic symphysis. Aim of the study The study was aimed at assessing the accuracy of measurements determining suburethral tape location obtained in pelvic US examination performed with a transvaginal probe. Material and methods The analysis covered the results of sonographic measurements obtained according to a standardized technique in women referred for urogynecological diagnostics. Data from a total of 68 patients were used to analyse the repeatability and reproducibility of results obtained on the same day. Results The intraclass correlation coefficient for the repeatability and reproducibility of the sonographic measurements of suburethral tape location obtained with a transvaginal probe ranged from 0.6665 to 0.9911. The analysis of the measurements confirmed their consistency to be excellent or good. Conclusions Excellent and good repeatability and reproducibility of the measurements of the suburethral tape location obtained in a pelvic ultrasound performed with a transvaginal probe confirm the test’s validity and usefulness for clinical and academic purposes. PMID:28856017

Measuring motivation for medical treatment: confirming the factor structure of the Achievement Motivation Index for Medical Treatment (AMI-MeT).

PubMed

Hatta, Taichi; Narita, Keiichi; Naria, Keiichi; Yanagihara, Kazuhiro; Ishiguro, Hiroshi; Murayama, Toshinori; Yokode, Masayuki

2016-02-19

Developments in chemotherapy have led to changes in cancer care in Japan, with the government promoting a transition to outpatient chemotherapy. This requires patients and their families to participate more actively in treatment than in the past. However, it remains unclear how patients' motivation for medical treatment affects clinical consultations with their physicians. To investigate this, we developed a psychological index called the Achievement Motive Index for Medical Treatment (AMI-MeT), which comprises self-derived achievement motivation (AMS) and achievement motivation derived from others (AMO). However, its factor structure has not yet been confirmed in populations other than healthy university students. Thus, the aims of this study were to confirm the factor structure of the AMI-MeT in other groups and to determine the convergent and divergent validity of the AMI-MeT. The AMI-MeT was administered to university students (n = 414), apparently healthy workers (n = 154), and cancer patients (n = 51). Multi-group confirmatory factor analysis was conducted and the mean scores of the AMI-MeT were compared between the groups. Correlations between the AMI-MeT and the Self-Construal Scale, comprising independent self-construal (IndSC) and interdependent self-construal (InterSC) subscales, were investigated in another group of students (n = 335). The multi-group confirmatory factor analysis supported a two-factor structure of the AMI-MeT: the weak invariance model was the best fit for the data. The mean scores of the AMI-MeT in apparently healthy workers and cancer patients were significantly higher than that in students (P < .01). The correlation analysis revealed that AMS scores were associated with IndSC scores (r = .25, P < .01) and AMO scores with InterSC scores (r = .30, P < .01). The two-factor model of the AMI-MeT was deemed appropriate for all three groups, and the subscales of the AMI-MeT successfully reflected the self and other dimensions. The AMI-MeT appears to be an effective tool for measuring medical treatment motivation, making it useful in participant observational research on medical consultations for Japanese cancer treatment.

Gas chromatography/chemical ionization triple quadrupole mass spectrometry analysis of anabolic steroids: ionization and collision-induced dissociation behavior.

PubMed

Polet, Michael; Van Gansbeke, Wim; Van Eenoo, Peter; Deventer, Koen

2016-02-28

The detection of new anabolic steroid metabolites and new designer steroids is a challenging task in doping analysis. Switching from electron ionization gas chromatography triple quadrupole mass spectrometry (GC/EI-MS/MS) to chemical ionization (CI) has proven to be an efficient way to increase the sensitivity of GC/MS/MS analyses and facilitate the detection of anabolic steroids. CI also extends the possibilities of GC/MS/MS analyses as the molecular ion is retained in its protonated form due to the softer ionization. In EI it can be difficult to find previously unknown but expected metabolites due to the low abundance or absence of the molecular ion and the extensive (and to a large extent unpredictable) fragmentation. The main aim of this work was to study the CI and collision-induced dissociation (CID) behavior of a large number of anabolic androgenic steroids (AAS) as their trimethylsilyl derivatives in order to determine correlations between structures and CID fragmentation. Clarification of these correlations is needed for the elucidation of structures of unknown steroids and new metabolites. The ionization and CID behavior of 65 AAS have been studied using GC/CI-MS/MS with ammonia as the reagent gas. Glucuronidated AAS reference standards were first hydrolyzed to obtain their free forms. Afterwards, all the standards were derivatized to their trimethylsilyl forms. Full scan and product ion scan analyses were used to examine the ionization and CID behavior. Full scan and product ion scan analyses revealed clear correlations between AAS structure and the obtained mass spectra. These correlations were confirmed by analysis of multiple hydroxylated, methylated, chlorinated and deuterated analogs. AAS have been divided into three groups according to their ionization behavior and into seven groups according to their CID behavior. Correlations between fragmentation and structure were revealed and fragmentation pathways were postulated. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

SRG110 Stirling Generator Dynamic Simulator Vibration Test Results and Analysis Correlation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Suarez, Vicente J.; Lewandowski, Edward J.; Callahan, John

2006-01-01

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), Lockheed Martin (LM), and NASA Glenn Research Center (GRC) have been developing the Stirling Radioisotope Generator (SRG110) for use as a power system for space science missions. The launch environment enveloping potential missions results in a random input spectrum that is significantly higher than historical RPS launch levels and is a challenge for designers. Analysis presented in prior work predicted that tailoring the compliance at the generator-spacecraft interface reduced the dynamic response of the system thereby allowing higher launch load input levels and expanding the range of potential generator missions. To confirm analytical predictions, a dynamic simulator representing the generator structure, Stirling convertors and heat sources was designed and built for testing with and without a compliant interface. Finite element analysis was performed to guide the generator simulator and compliant interface design so that test modes and frequencies were representative of the SRG110 generator. This paper presents the dynamic simulator design, the test setup and methodology, test article modes and frequencies and dynamic responses, and post-test analysis results. With the compliant interface, component responses to an input environment exceeding the SRG110 qualification level spectrum were all within design allowables. Post-test analysis included finite element model tuning to match test frequencies and random response analysis using the test input spectrum. Analytical results were in good overall agreement with the test results and confirmed previous predictions that the SRG110 power system may be considered for a broad range of potential missions, including those with demanding launch environments.

SRG110 Stirling Generator Dynamic Simulator Vibration Test Results and Analysis Correlation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lewandowski, Edward J.; Suarez, Vicente J.; Goodnight, Thomas W.; Callahan, John

2007-01-01

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), Lockheed Martin (LM), and NASA Glenn Research Center (GRC) have been developing the Stirling Radioisotope Generator (SRG110) for use as a power system for space science missions. The launch environment enveloping potential missions results in a random input spectrum that is significantly higher than historical radioisotope power system (RPS) launch levels and is a challenge for designers. Analysis presented in prior work predicted that tailoring the compliance at the generator-spacecraft interface reduced the dynamic response of the system thereby allowing higher launch load input levels and expanding the range of potential generator missions. To confirm analytical predictions, a dynamic simulator representing the generator structure, Stirling convertors and heat sources were designed and built for testing with and without a compliant interface. Finite element analysis was performed to guide the generator simulator and compliant interface design so that test modes and frequencies were representative of the SRG110 generator. This paper presents the dynamic simulator design, the test setup and methodology, test article modes and frequencies and dynamic responses, and post-test analysis results. With the compliant interface, component responses to an input environment exceeding the SRG110 qualification level spectrum were all within design allowables. Post-test analysis included finite element model tuning to match test frequencies and random response analysis using the test input spectrum. Analytical results were in good overall agreement with the test results and confirmed previous predictions that the SRG110 power system may be considered for a broad range of potential missions, including those with demanding launch environments.

Raman and Fourier Transform Infrared (FT-IR) Mineral to Matrix Ratios Correlate with Physical Chemical Properties of Model Compounds and Native Bone Tissue.

PubMed

Taylor, Erik A; Lloyd, Ashley A; Salazar-Lara, Carolina; Donnelly, Eve

2017-10-01

Raman and Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopic imaging techniques can be used to characterize bone composition. In this study, our objective was to validate the Raman mineral:matrix ratios (ν 1 PO 4 :amide III, ν 1 PO 4 :amide I, ν 1 PO 4 :Proline + hydroxyproline, ν 1 PO 4 :Phenylalanine, ν 1 PO 4 :δ CH 2 peak area ratios) by correlating them to ash fraction and the IR mineral:matrix ratio (ν 3 PO 4 :amide I peak area ratio) in chemical standards and native bone tissue. Chemical standards consisting of varying ratios of synthetic hydroxyapatite (HA) and collagen, as well as bone tissue from humans, sheep, and mice, were characterized with confocal Raman spectroscopy and FT-IR spectroscopy and gravimetric analysis. Raman and IR mineral:matrix ratio values from chemical standards increased reciprocally with ash fraction (Raman ν 1 PO 4 /Amide III: P < 0.01, R 2  = 0.966; Raman ν 1 PO 4 /Amide I: P < 0.01, R 2  = 0.919; Raman ν 1 PO 4 /Proline + Hydroxyproline: P < 0.01, R 2  = 0.976; Raman ν 1 PO 4 /Phenylalanine: P < 0.01, R 2  = 0.911; Raman ν 1 PO 4 /δ CH 2 : P < 0.01, R 2  = 0.894; IR P < 0.01, R 2  = 0.91). Fourier transform infrared mineral:matrix ratio values from native bone tissue were also similar to theoretical mineral:matrix ratio values for a given ash fraction. Raman and IR mineral:matrix ratio values were strongly correlated ( P < 0.01, R 2  = 0.82). These results were confirmed by calculating the mineral:matrix ratio for theoretical IR spectra, developed by applying the Beer-Lambert law to calculate the relative extinction coefficients of HA and collagen over the same range of wavenumbers (800-1800 cm -1 ). The results confirm that the Raman mineral:matrix bone composition parameter correlates strongly to ash fraction and to its IR counterpart. Finally, the mineral:matrix ratio values of the native bone tissue are similar to those of both chemical standards and theoretical values, confirming the biological relevance of the chemical standards and the characterization techniques.

Analysis of microdissected neurons by 18O mass spectrometry reveals altered protein expression in Alzheimer's disease

PubMed Central

Hashimoto, Masakazu; Bogdanovic, Nenad; Nakagawa, Hiroyuki; Volkmann, Inga; Aoki, Mikio; Winblad, Bengt; Sakai, Jun; Tjernberg, Lars O

2012-01-01

Abstract It is evident that the symptoms of Alzheimer's disease (AD) are derived from severe neuronal damage, and especially pyramidal neurons in the hippocampus are affected pathologically. Here, we analysed the proteome of hippocampal neurons, isolated from post-mortem brains by laser capture microdissection. By using 18O labelling and mass spectrometry, the relative expression levels of 150 proteins in AD and controls were estimated. Many of the identified proteins are involved in transcription and nucleotide binding, glycolysis, heat-shock response, microtubule stabilization, axonal transport or inflammation. The proteins showing the most altered expression in AD were selected for immunohistochemical analysis. These analyses confirmed the altered expression levels, and showed in many AD cases a pathological pattern. For comparison, we also analysed hippocampal sections by Western blot. The expression levels found by this method showed poor correlation with the neuron-specific analysis. Hence, we conclude that cell-specific proteome analysis reveals differences in the proteome that cannot be detected by bulk analysis. PMID:21883897

Space Shuttle Main Engine structural analysis and data reduction/evaluation. Volume 1: Aft Skirt analysis

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Berry, David M.; Stansberry, Mark

1989-01-01

Using the ANSYS finite element program, a global model of the aft skirt and a detailed nonlinear model of the failure region was made. The analysis confirmed the area of failure in both STA-2B and STA-3 tests as the forging heat affected zone (HAZ) at the aft ring centerline. The highest hoop strain in the HAZ occurs in this area. However, the analysis does not predict failure as defined by ultimate elongation of the material equal to 3.5 percent total strain. The analysis correlates well with the strain gage data from both the Wyle influence test of the original design aft sjirt and the STA-3 test of the redesigned aft skirt. it is suggested that the sensitivity of the failure area material strength and stress/strain state to material properties and therefore to small manufacturing or processing variables is the most likely cause of failure below the expected material ultimate properties.

The Somatic Genomic Landscape of Glioblastoma

PubMed Central

Brennan, Cameron W.; Verhaak, Roel G.W.; McKenna, Aaron; Campos, Benito; Noushmehr, Houtan; Salama, Sofie R.; Zheng, Siyuan; Chakravarty, Debyani; Sanborn, J. Zachary; Berman, Samuel H.; Beroukhim, Rameen; Bernard, Brady; Wu, Chang-Jiun; Genovese, Giannicola; Shmulevich, Ilya; Barnholtz-Sloan, Jill; Zou, Lihua; Vegesna, Rahulsimham; Shukla, Sachet A.; Ciriello, Giovanni; Yung, WK; Zhang, Wei; Sougnez, Carrie; Mikkelsen, Tom; Aldape, Kenneth; Bigner, Darell D.; Van Meir, Erwin G.; Prados, Michael; Sloan, Andrew; Black, Keith L.; Eschbacher, Jennifer; Finocchiaro, Gaetano; Friedman, William; Andrews, David W.; Guha, Abhijit; Iacocca, Mary; O’Neill, Brian P.; Foltz, Greg; Myers, Jerome; Weisenberger, Daniel J.; Penny, Robert; Kucherlapati, Raju; Perou, Charles M.; Hayes, D. Neil; Gibbs, Richard; Marra, Marco; Mills, Gordon B.; Lander, Eric; Spellman, Paul; Wilson, Richard; Sander, Chris; Weinstein, John; Meyerson, Matthew; Gabriel, Stacey; Laird, Peter W.; Haussler, David; Getz, Gad; Chin, Lynda

2013-01-01

We describe the landscape of somatic genomic alterations based on multi-dimensional and comprehensive characterization of more than 500 glioblastoma tumors (GBMs). We identify several novel mutated genes as well as complex rearrangements of signature receptors including EGFR and PDGFRA. TERT promoter mutations are shown to correlate with elevated mRNA expression, supporting a role in telomerase reactivation. Correlative analyses confirm that the survival advantage of the proneural subtype is conferred by the G-CIMP phenotype, and MGMT DNA methylation may be a predictive biomarker for treatment response only in classical subtype GBM. Integrative analysis of genomic and proteomic profiles challenges the notion of therapeutic inhibition of a pathway as an alternative to inhibition of the target itself. These data will facilitate the discovery of therapeutic and diagnostic target candidates, the validation of research and clinical observations and the generation of unanticipated hypotheses that can advance our molecular understanding of this lethal cancer. PMID:24120142

Relationships between Speech Intelligibility and Word Articulation Scores in Children with Hearing Loss

PubMed Central

Ertmer, David J.

2012-01-01

Purpose This investigation sought to determine whether scores from a commonly used word-based articulation test are closely associated with speech intelligibility in children with hearing loss. If the scores are closely related, articulation testing results might be used to estimate intelligibility. If not, the importance of direct assessment of intelligibility would be reinforced. Methods Forty-four children with hearing losses produced words from the Goldman-Fristoe Test of Articulation-2 and sets of 10 short sentences. Correlation analyses were conducted between scores for seven word-based predictor variables and percent-intelligible scores derived from listener judgments of stimulus sentences. Results Six of seven predictor variables were significantly correlated with percent-intelligible scores. However, regression analysis revealed that no single predictor variable or multi- variable model accounted for more than 25% of the variability in intelligibility scores. Implications The findings confirm the importance of assessing connected speech intelligibility directly. PMID:20220022

Genetic relatedness of Trichoderma isolates antagonistic against Fusarium oxysporum f.sp. dianthi inflicting carnation wilt.

PubMed

Shanmugam, V; Sharma, Vivek; Ananthapadmanaban

2008-01-01

Twenty-eight isolates of Trichoderma belonging to four different species were screened in vitro for their antagonistic ability against Fusarium oxysporum f.sp. dianthi causing carnation wilt. Three different levels of antagonism observed in dual plate assay were further confirmed by cell-free culture filtrate experiments. Isolates showing class I level of antagonism produced maximum lytic enzymes, chitinases and beta-1,3-glucanases. Genetic variability of 25 selected isolates was assessed by random amplified polymorphic DNA technique and the amplified products were correlated for their level of antagonism. Unweighed pair-group method with arithmetical averages cluster analysis revealed prominent inter-and intraspecific genetic variation among the isolates. Based on their genetic relationship, the isolates were mainly distributed into 3 major groups representing T. atroviride, T. pseudokoningii and T. harzianum, with 20-35% interspecific dissimilarity. However, the polymorphism shown by the isolates did not correlate to their level of antagonism.

Characterization of humic acids by two-dimensional correlation fluorescence spectroscopy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nakashima, K.; Xing, Shaoyong; Gong, Yongkuan; Miyajima, Toru

2008-07-01

We have investigated interaction between humic acids and heavy metal ions by fluorescence spectroscopy. The humic acids examined are Aldrich humic acid (AHA) and Dando humic acid (DHA), and heavy metal ions are Cu 2+ and Pb 2+. The binding constants between the humic acids and the heavy metal ions are obtained by a conventional fluorescence quenching technique. The two prominent bands in the fluorescence spectra of the humic acids give different binding constants, implying that the two bands are originated from different fluorescent species in the matrices of the humic acids. This was confirmed by two-dimensional correlation analysis based on the quenching perturbation on the fluorescence spectra. Two prominent cross peaks corresponding to the two fluorescence bands are obtained in the asynchronous maps, indicating that the two fluorescence bands belong to different species. The order of the response of the two fluorescence bands to the quenching perturbation is also elucidated based on Noda's rule.

The somatic genomic landscape of glioblastoma.

PubMed

Brennan, Cameron W; Verhaak, Roel G W; McKenna, Aaron; Campos, Benito; Noushmehr, Houtan; Salama, Sofie R; Zheng, Siyuan; Chakravarty, Debyani; Sanborn, J Zachary; Berman, Samuel H; Beroukhim, Rameen; Bernard, Brady; Wu, Chang-Jiun; Genovese, Giannicola; Shmulevich, Ilya; Barnholtz-Sloan, Jill; Zou, Lihua; Vegesna, Rahulsimham; Shukla, Sachet A; Ciriello, Giovanni; Yung, W K; Zhang, Wei; Sougnez, Carrie; Mikkelsen, Tom; Aldape, Kenneth; Bigner, Darell D; Van Meir, Erwin G; Prados, Michael; Sloan, Andrew; Black, Keith L; Eschbacher, Jennifer; Finocchiaro, Gaetano; Friedman, William; Andrews, David W; Guha, Abhijit; Iacocca, Mary; O'Neill, Brian P; Foltz, Greg; Myers, Jerome; Weisenberger, Daniel J; Penny, Robert; Kucherlapati, Raju; Perou, Charles M; Hayes, D Neil; Gibbs, Richard; Marra, Marco; Mills, Gordon B; Lander, Eric; Spellman, Paul; Wilson, Richard; Sander, Chris; Weinstein, John; Meyerson, Matthew; Gabriel, Stacey; Laird, Peter W; Haussler, David; Getz, Gad; Chin, Lynda

2013-10-10

We describe the landscape of somatic genomic alterations based on multidimensional and comprehensive characterization of more than 500 glioblastoma tumors (GBMs). We identify several novel mutated genes as well as complex rearrangements of signature receptors, including EGFR and PDGFRA. TERT promoter mutations are shown to correlate with elevated mRNA expression, supporting a role in telomerase reactivation. Correlative analyses confirm that the survival advantage of the proneural subtype is conferred by the G-CIMP phenotype, and MGMT DNA methylation may be a predictive biomarker for treatment response only in classical subtype GBM. Integrative analysis of genomic and proteomic profiles challenges the notion of therapeutic inhibition of a pathway as an alternative to inhibition of the target itself. These data will facilitate the discovery of therapeutic and diagnostic target candidates, the validation of research and clinical observations and the generation of unanticipated hypotheses that can advance our molecular understanding of this lethal cancer. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

A multivariate twin study of early literacy in Japanese Kana

PubMed Central

Fujisawa, Keiko K.; Wadsworth, Sally J.; Kakihana, Shinichiro; Olson, Richard K.; DeFries, John C.; Byrne, Brian; Ando, Juko

2013-01-01

This first Japanese twin study of early literacy development investigated the extent to which genetic and environmental factors influence individual differences in prereading skills in 238 pairs of twins at 42 months of age. Twin pairs were individually tested on measures of phonological awareness, kana letter name/sound knowledge, receptive vocabulary, visual perception, nonword repetition, and digit span. Results obtained from univariate behavioral-genetic analyses yielded little evidence for genetic influences, but substantial shared-environmental influences, for all measures. Phenotypic confirmatory factor analysis suggested three correlated factors: phonological awareness, letter name/sound knowledge, and general prereading skills. Multivariate behavioral genetic analyses confirmed relatively small genetic and substantial shared environmental influences on the factors. The correlations among the three factors were mostly attributable to shared environment. Thus, shared environmental influences play an important role in the early reading development of Japanese children. PMID:23997545

Ebola Virus Disease, Democratic Republic of the Congo, 2014.

PubMed

Nanclares, Carolina; Kapetshi, Jimmy; Lionetto, Fanshen; de la Rosa, Olimpia; Tamfun, Jean-Jacques Muyembe; Alia, Miriam; Kobinger, Gary; Bernasconi, Andrea

2016-09-01

During July-November 2014, the Democratic Republic of the Congo underwent its seventh Ebola virus disease (EVD) outbreak. The etiologic agent was Zaire Ebola virus; 66 cases were reported (overall case-fatality rate 74.2%). Through a retrospective observational study of confirmed EVD in 25 patients admitted to either of 2 Ebola treatment centers, we described clinical features and investigated correlates associated with death. Clinical features were mainly generic. At admission, 76% of patients had >1 gastrointestinal symptom and 28% >1 hemorrhagic symptom. The case-fatality rate in this group was 48% and was higher for female patients (67%). Cox regression analysis correlated death with initial low cycle threshold, indicating high viral load. Cycle threshold was a robust predictor of death, as were fever, hiccups, diarrhea, dyspnea, dehydration, disorientation, hematemesis, bloody feces during hospitalization, and anorexia in recent medical history. Differences from other outbreaks could suggest guidance for optimizing clinical management and disease control.

SCUD: fast structure clustering of decoys using reference state to remove overall rotation.

PubMed

Li, Hongzhi; Zhou, Yaoqi

2005-08-01

We developed a method for fast decoy clustering by using reference root-mean-squared distance (rRMSD) rather than commonly used pairwise RMSD (pRMSD) values. For 41 proteins with 2000 decoys each, the computing efficiency increases nine times without a significant change in the accuracy of near-native selections. Tests on additional protein decoys based on different reference conformations confirmed this result. Further analysis indicates that the pRMSD and rRMSD values are highly correlated (with an average correlation coefficient of 0.82) and the clusters obtained from pRMSD and rRMSD values are highly similar (the representative structures of the top five largest clusters from the two methods are 74% identical). SCUD (Structure ClUstering of Decoys) with an automatic cutoff value is available at http://theory.med.buffalo.edu. (c) 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

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

Parkin, William M.; Balan, Adrian; Liang, Liangbo

Here, we report how the presence of electron-beam-induced sulfur vacancies affects first-order Raman modes and correlate the effects with the evolution of the in situ transmission-electron microscopy (TEM) two-terminal conductivity of monolayer MoS 2 under electron irradiation. We observe a redshift in the E Raman peak and a less pronounced blueshift in the A' 1 peak with increasing electron dose. Using energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS), we show that irradiation causes partial removal of sulfur and correlate the dependence of the Raman peak shifts with S vacancy density (a few %), which is confirmed by first-principles density functional theory calculations. Inmore » situ device current measurements show exponential decrease in channel current upon irradiation. Our analysis demonstrates that the observed frequency shifts are intrinsic properties of the defective systems and that Raman spectroscopy can be used as a quantitative diagnostic tool to characterize MoS 2-based transport channels.« less

Atomically precise edge chlorination of nanographenes and its application in graphene nanoribbons

PubMed Central

Tan, Yuan-Zhi; Yang, Bo; Parvez, Khaled; Narita, Akimitsu; Osella, Silvio; Beljonne, David; Feng, Xinliang; Müllen, Klaus

2013-01-01

Chemical functionalization is one of the most powerful and widely used strategies to control the properties of nanomaterials, particularly in the field of graphene. However, the ill-defined structure of the present functionalized graphene inhibits atomically precise structural characterization and structure-correlated property modulation. Here we present a general edge chlorination protocol for atomically precise functionalization of nanographenes at different scales from 1.2 to 3.4 nm and its application in graphene nanoribbons. The well-defined edge chlorination is unambiguously confirmed by X-ray single-crystal analysis, which also discloses the characteristic non-planar molecular shape and detailed bond lengths of chlorinated nanographenes. Chlorinated nanographenes and graphene nanoribbons manifest enhanced solution processability associated with decreases in the optical band gap and frontier molecular orbital energy levels, exemplifying the structure-correlated property modulation by precise edge chlorination. PMID:24212200

Psychometric properties and clinical cut-off scores of the Spanish version of the Social Anxiety Scale for Adolescents.

PubMed

Garcia-Lopez, Luis J; Inglés, Cándido J; García-Fernández, José M; Hidalgo, María D; Bermejo, Rosa; Puklek Levpušček, Melita

2011-01-01

This study examined the reliability and validity evidence drawn from the scores of the Spanish version of the Slovenian-developed Social Anxiety Scale for Adolescents (SASA; Puklek, 1997; Puklek & Vidmar, 2000) using a community sample (Study 1) and a clinical sample (Study 2). Confirmatory factor analysis in Study 1 replicated the 2-factor structure found by the original authors in a sample of Slovenian adolescents. Test-retest reliability was adequate. Furthermore, the SASA correlated significantly with other social anxiety scales, supporting concurrent validity evidence in Spanish adolescents. The results of Study 2 confirmed the correlations between the SASA and other social anxiety measures in a clinical sample. In addition, findings revealed that the SASA can effectively discriminate between adolescents with a clinical diagnosis of social anxiety disorder (SAD) and those without this disorder. Finally, cut-off scores for the SASA are provided for Spanish adolescents.

Evaluating the accuracy of SHAPE-directed RNA secondary structure predictions

PubMed Central

Sükösd, Zsuzsanna; Swenson, M. Shel; Kjems, Jørgen; Heitsch, Christine E.

2013-01-01

Recent advances in RNA structure determination include using data from high-throughput probing experiments to improve thermodynamic prediction accuracy. We evaluate the extent and nature of improvements in data-directed predictions for a diverse set of 16S/18S ribosomal sequences using a stochastic model of experimental SHAPE data. The average accuracy for 1000 data-directed predictions always improves over the original minimum free energy (MFE) structure. However, the amount of improvement varies with the sequence, exhibiting a correlation with MFE accuracy. Further analysis of this correlation shows that accurate MFE base pairs are typically preserved in a data-directed prediction, whereas inaccurate ones are not. Thus, the positive predictive value of common base pairs is consistently higher than the directed prediction accuracy. Finally, we confirm sequence dependencies in the directability of thermodynamic predictions and investigate the potential for greater accuracy improvements in the worst performing test sequence. PMID:23325843

Cavitation occurrence around ultrasonic dental scalers.

PubMed

Felver, Bernhard; King, David C; Lea, Simon C; Price, Gareth J; Damien Walmsley, A

2009-06-01

Ultrasonic scalers are used in dentistry to remove calculus and other contaminants from teeth. One mechanism which may assist in the cleaning is cavitation generated in cooling water around the scaler. The vibratory motion of three designs of scaler tip in a water bath has been characterised by laser vibrometry, and compared with the spatial distribution of cavitation around the scaler tips observed using sonochemiluminescence from a luminol solution. The type of cavitation was confirmed by acoustic emission analysed by a 'Cavimeter' supplied by NPL. A node/antinode vibration pattern was observed, with the maximum displacement of each type of tip occurring at the free end. High levels of cavitation activity occurred in areas surrounding the vibration antinodes, although minimal levels were observed at the free end of the tip. There was also good correlation between vibration amplitude and sonochemiluminescence at other points along the scaler tip. 'Cavimeter' analysis correlated well with luminol observations, suggesting the presence of primarily transient cavitation.

Surveillance of Hantaviruses in Poland: A Study of Animal Reservoirs and Human Hantavirus Disease in Subcarpathia

PubMed Central

Niemcewicz, Marcin; Bielawska-Drózd, Agata; Nowakowska, Anna; Gaweł, Jerzy; Pitucha, Grzegorz; Joniec, Justyna; Zielonka, Katarzyna; Marciniak-Niemcewicz, Anna; Kocik, Janusz

2014-01-01

Abstract The first cluster of hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome (HFRS) in Poland was identified in 2007 in the Subcarpathian region. The natural environment of this area is a key habitat for hantavirus vectors. The animal reservoir of existing human HFRS clusters was studied to assess the occurrence of viruses (including Tula virus, Puumala virus, and Dobrava–Belgrade virus) among rodents. We examined 70 suspected human cases with symptoms corresponding to the clinical picture of HFRS. Serological analysis (indirect immunofluorescence assay and immunoblot) confirmed the presence of anti-hantavirus antibodies in 18 patients, which were surveyed with regard to developed symptoms and presumed rodent contact. Seroepidemiological analysis of newly confirmed human cases was performed, putative areas of human exposure were studied, and 194 rodents were subsequently captured from identified areas. Internal organs (lungs, heart, spleen, bladder, and kidneys) were collected from 64 Apodemus flavicollis, 55 Apodemus agrarius, 40 Myodes glareolus, 21 Mus musculus, and 14 Microtus arvalis and tested for the presence of hantavirus RNA by reverse transcription and subsequent real-time PCR. Positive samples were also tested by indirect immunofluorescence. Animal reservoir surveillance enabled the first detection of Puumala virus and Dobrava–Belgrade virus among animals in Poland. Furthermore, some places where rodents were captured correlated with areas of residence of laboratory-confirmed human cases and likely detected virus species. Moreover, three species of hantaviruses coexisting in a relatively small area were identified. PMID:24902039

Comparison of single serum progesterone and endometrial biopsy for confirmation of ovulation in infertile Nigerian women.

PubMed

Ilesanmi, A O; Adeleye, J A; Osotimehin, B O

1995-03-01

Infertility remains a medico-social problem in Nigeria and it accounts for a large percentage of outpatient gynecological consultations. The evaluation of the infertile couple remains a continuing challenge to the practising doctor in this part of the world. The need to evaluate the two methods commonly used for determining ovulation in these patients is indicated. Endometrial biopsy specimen and a single sample for serum progesterone estimation were obtained simultaneously in the luteal phase from 50 normally menstruating infertile Nigerian women. Subsequent analysis showed that a serum progesterone value of 6.6 nmol/l (2.2 ng/ml) or above was always associated with a secretory endometrium. Forty-six cycles yielded sufficient information to compare the two methods for confirmation of ovulation. Patients who ovulated with a progesterone value of 6.6 nmol/l (2.2 ng/ml) were 91.3% (42/46) or above, while 89% (41/46) showed secretory endometrium. Forty-six of the cases 86.9% (40/46) were judged to have ovulated by both parameters while 6.5% demonstrated anovulatory cycle using both criteria. From the study, a significant correlation was obtained between endometrial biopsy and progesterone assay methods in confirming ovulation.

Prognostic and clinical significance of histone deacetylase 1 expression in breast cancer: A meta-analysis.

PubMed

Qiao, Weiqiang; Liu, Heyang; Liu, Ruidong; Liu, Qipeng; Zhang, Ting; Guo, Wanying; Li, Peng; Deng, Miao

2018-05-05

There are conflicting reports about the role of histone deacetylase 1 (HDAC1) in breast cancer prognosis. Here, we conducted a meta-analysis to investigate the prognostic significance of HDAC1 in breast cancer. We searched different databases to identify studies evaluating the association between HDAC1 expression and its prognostic value in breast cancer. The pooled hazard ratios (HRs) and odds radios (ORs) with 95% confidence intervals (95% CIs) were calculated from these studies to assess specific correlation. Our meta-analysis of four databases identified 7 eligible studies with 1429 total patients. We found that HDAC1 over-expression did not correlate with disease-free survival (DFS) and overall survival (OS) in breast cancer. Subgroup analysis indicated an association between up-regulated HDAC1 expression and better OS (HR = 0.47, 95% CI: 0.23-0.97; P = 0.04) in Asian breast cancer patients. However, false-positive report probability (FPRP) analysis and trial sequential analysis (TSA) indicated that the results need further validation. Furthermore, HDAC1 over-expression was associated with positive estrogen receptor (ER) expression (OR, 3.30; 95% CI, 1.11-9.83; P = 0.03) and negative human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) expression (OR, 1.79; 95% CI, 1.22-2.61; P = 0.003), but there were no significant differences between patients based on age, tumor size, lymph node metastasis, nuclear grade, or progesterone receptor (PR) expression. Overall, our meta-analysis demonstrated an association between increased HDAC1 expression and better OS in Asian breast cancer patients. In addition, HDAC1 over-expression correlated with positive ER and negative HER2 expression in breast cancer. However, researches in large patients' randomised controlled trials (RCTs) are needed to confirm the results. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Cathepsin D in normal and neoplastic thyroid tissues.

PubMed

Kraimps, J L; Métayé, T; Millet, C; Margerit, D; Ingrand, P; Goujon, J M; Levillain, P; Babin, P; Begon, F; Barbier, J

1995-12-01

Cathepsin D is a widely distributed lysosomal acidic endopeptidase. It is an estrogen-regulated protein that is a prognostic factor in breast cancer. The aim of this study was to measure cathepsin D concentrations in thyroid tissues and to correlate these concentrations with clinical and pathologic parameters. Cathepsin D and thyroglobulin concentrations were measured in the cytosol of normal thyroid tissues (n = 14), benign nodules (n = 6), and thyroid carcinomas (n = 32) with an immunoradiometric assay. Statistical analysis was based on the Kruskal-Wallis and Wilcoxon tests and on the Spearman rank correlation coefficient. The mean level of cathepsin D, expressed as picomoles per milligram protein minus thyroglobulin, was higher in the 32 carcinomas, 29.1 +/- 15.5, than in the 14 normal thyroid tissues, 8.4 +/- 2.5 (p < 0.001) or in the 6 benign nodules, 11.2 +/- 7.3 (p = 0.003). Cathepsin D concentrations correlated with tumor size; Spearman rank correlation coefficient was rs = 0.44 (p = 0.012). No significant difference was found regarding histologic type. Cathepsin D concentrations were inversely correlated with the thyroglobulin level in the tumor; Spearman rank correlation coefficient was rs = -0.60 (p < 0.001). Cathepsin D concentration is higher in thyroid carcinoma than in normal thyroid tissue. Increased cathepsin D concentrations correlate with thyroid tumor size but not with histologic type. Further studies should be done to confirm the potential prognostic value of cathepsin D in patients with thyroid carcinomas.

Antiviral Potential of ERK/MAPK and PI3K/AKT/mTOR Signaling Modulation for Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus Infection as Identified by Temporal Kinome Analysis

PubMed Central

Ork, Britini; Hart, Brit J.; Holbrook, Michael R.; Frieman, Matthew B.; Traynor, Dawn; Johnson, Reed F.; Dyall, Julie; Olinger, Gene G.; Hensley, Lisa E.

2014-01-01

Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) is a lineage C betacoronavirus, and infections with this virus can result in acute respiratory syndrome with renal failure. Globally, MERS-CoV has been responsible for 877 laboratory-confirmed infections, including 317 deaths, since September 2012. As there is a paucity of information regarding the molecular pathogenesis associated with this virus or the identities of novel antiviral drug targets, we performed temporal kinome analysis on human hepatocytes infected with the Erasmus isolate of MERS-CoV with peptide kinome arrays. bioinformatics analysis of our kinome data, including pathway overrepresentation analysis (ORA) and functional network analysis, suggested that extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK)/mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) and phosphoinositol 3-kinase (PI3K)/serine-threonine kinase (AKT)/mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) signaling responses were specifically modulated in response to MERS-CoV infection in vitro throughout the course of infection. The overrepresentation of specific intermediates within these pathways determined by pathway and functional network analysis of our kinome data correlated with similar patterns of phosphorylation determined through Western blot array analysis. In addition, analysis of the effects of specific kinase inhibitors on MERS-CoV infection in tissue culture models confirmed these cellular response observations. Further, we have demonstrated that a subset of licensed kinase inhibitors targeting the ERK/MAPK and PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathways significantly inhibited MERS-CoV replication in vitro whether they were added before or after viral infection. Taken together, our data suggest that ERK/MAPK and PI3K/AKT/mTOR signaling responses play important roles in MERS-CoV infection and may represent novel drug targets for therapeutic intervention strategies. PMID:25487801

A factor confirmation and convergent validity of the “areas of worklife scale” (AWS) to Spanish translation

PubMed Central

2013-01-01

Background Perceived incongruity between the individual and the job on work-life areas such as workload, control, reward, fairness, community and values have implications for the dimensions of burnout syndrome. The “Areas of Work-life Scale” (AWS) is a practical instrument to measure employees´ perceptions of their work environments. AIMS: Validate a Spanish translation of the AWS, and it relationship with Masclach Burnout Inventory dimensions. Methods The study was conducted in three medium-sized hospitals and seven rural and urban Primary Care centres (N = 871) in Spain. The “Maslach Burnout Inventory General Survey” (MBI-GS) and AWS were applied. We developed a complete psychometric analysis of its reliability, and validity. Results Data on the reliability supported a good internal consistency (Cronbach α between .71, and .85). Construct validity was confirmed by a six factor model of the AWS as a good measure of work environments (χ2(352) = 806.21, p < 0.001; χ2/df = 2.29; CFI = 0.935, RMSEA = 0.039); concurrent validity was analysed for its relationship with other measures (opposing dimensions to burnout, and MBI), and each correlation between dimensions and sub-dimensions were statistically significant; as well, predictive validity, by a series of Multiple Regression Analysis examined the resulting patterns of the Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) confirms the relationship between the work-life areas and burnout dimensions. Conclusions Leiter and Maslach’s AWS has been an important instrument in exploring several work-life factors that contribute to burnout. This scale can now be used to assess the quality of work-life in order to design and assess the need for intervention programs in Spanish-speaking countries. PMID:23596987

Characterization of the Bacterial Diversity in Indo-West Pacific Loliginid and Sepiolid Squid Light Organs

PubMed Central

Guerrero-Ferreira, Ricardo; Gorman, Clayton; Chavez, Alba A.; Willie, Shantell

2013-01-01

Loliginid and sepiolid squid light organs are known to host a variety of bacterial species from the family Vibrionaceae, yet little is known about the species diversity and characteristics among different host squids. Here we present a broad-ranging molecular and physiological analysis of the bacteria colonizing light organs in loliginid and sepiolid squids from various field locations of the Indo-West Pacific (Australia and Thailand). Our PCR-RFLP analysis, physiological characterization, carbon utilization profiling, and electron microscopy data indicate that loliginid squid in the Indo-West Pacific carry a consortium of bacterial species from the families Vibrionaceae and Photobacteriaceae. This research also confirms our previous report of the presence of Vibrio harveyi as a member of the bacterial population colonizing light organs in loliginid squid. pyrH sequence data were used to confirm isolate identity, and indicates that Vibrio and Photobacterium comprise most of the light organ colonizers of squids from Australia, confirming previous reports for Australian loliginid and sepiolid squids. In addition, combined phylogenetic analysis of PCR-RFLP and 16S rDNA data from Australian and Thai isolates associated both Photobacterium and Vibrio clades with both loliginid and sepiolid strains, providing support that geographical origin does not correlate with their relatedness. These results indicate that both loliginid and sepiolid squids demonstrate symbiont specificity (Vibrionaceae), but their distribution is more likely due to environmental factors that are present during the infection process. This study adds significantly to the growing evidence for complex and dynamic associations in nature and highlights the importance of exploring symbiotic relationships in which non-virulent strains of pathogenic Vibrio species could establish associations with marine invertebrates. PMID:22885637

Sector Identification in a Set of Stock Return Time Series Traded at the London Stock Exchange

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Coronnello, C.; Tumminello, M.; Lillo, F.; Micciche, S.; Mantegna, R. N.

2005-09-01

We compare some methods recently used in the literature to detect the existence of a certain degree of common behavior of stock returns belonging to the same economic sector. Specifically, we discuss methods based on random matrix theory and hierarchical clustering techniques. We apply these methods to a portfolio of stocks traded at the London Stock Exchange. The investigated time series are recorded both at a daily time horizon and at a 5-minute time horizon. The correlation coefficient matrix is very different at different time horizons confirming that more structured correlation coefficient matrices are observed for long time horizons. All the considered methods are able to detect economic information and the presence of clusters characterized by the economic sector of stocks. However, different methods present a different degree of sensitivity with respect to different sectors. Our comparative analysis suggests that the application of just a single method could not be able to extract all the economic information present in the correlation coefficient matrix of a stock portfolio.

Statistical study of the correlation of hard X-ray and type 3 radio bursts in solar flares

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hamilton, Russell J.; Petrosian, Vahe

1989-01-01

A large number of hard X-ray events which were recorded by the Hard X-Ray Burst Spectrometer (HXRBS) on the Solar Maximum Mission (SMM) during the maximum of the 21st solar cycle (circa 1980) are analyzed in order to study their statistical correlation with type 3 bursts. The earlier finding by Kane (1981) are confirmed qualitatively that flares with stronger hard X-ray emission, especially those with harder spectra, are more likely to produce a type 3 burst. The observed distribution of hard X-ray and type 3 events and their correlations are shown to be satisfactorily described by a bivariate distribution consistent with the assumption of statistical linear dependence of X-ray and radio burst intensities. From this analysis it was determined that the distribution of the ratio of X-ray intensity (in counts/s) to type 3 intensity (in solar flux units) which has a wide range and a typical value for this ratio of about 10. The implications of the results for impulsive phase models are discussed.

The Reactive–Proactive Aggression Questionnaire: Differential Correlates of Reactive and Proactive Aggression in Adolescent Boys

PubMed Central

Raine, Adrian; Dodge, Kenneth; Loeber, Rolf; Gatzke-Kopp, Lisa; Lynam, Don; Reynolds, Chandra; Stouthamer-Loeber, Magda; Liu, Jianghong

2009-01-01

This study reports the development of the Reactive–Proactive Aggression Questionnaire (RPQ), and the differential correlates of these two forms of aggression. Antisocial, psychosocial and personality measures were obtained at ages 7 and 16 years in schoolboys, while the RPQ was administered to 334 of the boys at age 16 years. Confirmatory factor analysis indicated a significant fit for a two-factor proactive–reactive model that replicated from one independent subsample to another. Proactive aggression was uniquely characterized at age 7 by initiation of fights, strong-arm tactics, delinquency, poor school motivation, poor peer relationships, single-parent status, psychosocial adversity, substance-abusing parents, and hyperactivity, and at age 16 by a psychopathic personality, blunted affect, delinquency, and serious violent offending. Reactive aggression was uniquely characterized at age 16 by impulsivity, hostility, social anxiety, lack of close friends, unusual perceptual experiences, and ideas of reference. Findings confirm and extend the differential correlates of proactive–reactive aggression, and demonstrate that this brief but reliable and valid self-report instrument can be used to assess proactive and reactive aggression in child and adolescent samples. PMID:20798781

Revisiting crash spatial heterogeneity: A Bayesian spatially varying coefficients approach.

PubMed

Xu, Pengpeng; Huang, Helai; Dong, Ni; Wong, S C

2017-01-01

This study was performed to investigate the spatially varying relationships between crash frequency and related risk factors. A Bayesian spatially varying coefficients model was elaborately introduced as a methodological alternative to simultaneously account for the unstructured and spatially structured heterogeneity of the regression coefficients in predicting crash frequencies. The proposed method was appealing in that the parameters were modeled via a conditional autoregressive prior distribution, which involved a single set of random effects and a spatial correlation parameter with extreme values corresponding to pure unstructured or pure spatially correlated random effects. A case study using a three-year crash dataset from the Hillsborough County, Florida, was conducted to illustrate the proposed model. Empirical analysis confirmed the presence of both unstructured and spatially correlated variations in the effects of contributory factors on severe crash occurrences. The findings also suggested that ignoring spatially structured heterogeneity may result in biased parameter estimates and incorrect inferences, while assuming the regression coefficients to be spatially clustered only is probably subject to the issue of over-smoothness. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Correlation between experimental human and murine skin sensitization induction thresholds.

PubMed

Api, Anne Marie; Basketter, David; Lalko, Jon

2015-01-01

Quantitative risk assessment for skin sensitization is directed towards the determination of levels of exposure to known sensitizing substances that will avoid the induction of contact allergy in humans. A key component of this work is the predictive identification of relative skin sensitizing potency, achieved normally by the measurement of the threshold (the "EC3" value) in the local lymph node assay (LLNA). In an extended series of studies, the accuracy of this murine induction threshold as the predictor of the absence of a sensitizing effect has been verified by conduct of a human repeated insult patch test (HRIPT). Murine and human thresholds for a diverse set of 57 fragrance chemicals spanning approximately four orders of magnitude variation in potency have been compared. The results confirm that there is a useful correlation, with the LLNA EC3 value helping particularly to identify stronger sensitizers. Good correlation (with half an order of magnitude) was seen with three-quarters of the dataset. The analysis also helps to identify potential outlier types of (fragrance) chemistry, exemplified by hexyl and benzyl salicylates (an over-prediction) and trans-2-hexenal (an under-prediction).

[Rapid screening and confirmation of 205 pesticide residues in rice by QuEChERS and liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry].

PubMed

Chen, Xi; Cheng, Lei; Qu, Shichao; Huang, Daliang; Liu, Jiacheng; Cui, Han; Jia, Yanbo; Ji, Mingshan

2015-10-01

A method for rapid screening and confirmation of 205 pesticide residues in rice was developed by combining QuEChERS and high performance liquid chromatography-triple quadrupole-linear ion trap mass spectrometry (LC-Q-TRAP/MS). The rice samples were extracted with acetonitrile, and then cleaned up with primary secondary amine (PSA), anhydrous magnesium sulfate (MgSO4) and C18 adsorbent. Finally, the samples were detected by LC-Q-TRAP/MS in multiple reaction monitoring with information-dependent acquisition of enhanced product ion (MRM-IDA-EPI) mode followed with database searching. A total of 205 pesticide residues were confirmed by retention times, ion pairs and the database searching using EPI library, and quantified by external standard method. All the pesticides showed good linearities with linear correlation coefficients all above 0.995. The limits of quantification (LOQs) for the 205 pesticides were 0.5-10.0 μg/kg. The average recoveries of the 205 pesticides ranged from 62.4% to 127.1% with the relative standard deviations (RSDs) of 1.0% - 20.0% at spiked levels of 10 μg/kg and 50 μg/kg, and only 20 min were needed for the analysis of an actual rice sample. In brief, the method is fast, accurate and highly sensitive, and is suitable for the screening and confirmation of pesticide residues in rice.

Genetic correlations between intraocular pressure, blood pressure and primary open-angle glaucoma: a multi-cohort analysis.

PubMed

Aschard, Hugues; Kang, Jae H; Iglesias, Adriana I; Hysi, Pirro; Cooke Bailey, Jessica N; Khawaja, Anthony P; Allingham, R Rand; Ashley-Koch, Allison; Lee, Richard K; Moroi, Sayoko E; Brilliant, Murray H; Wollstein, Gadi; Schuman, Joel S; Fingert, John H; Budenz, Donald L; Realini, Tony; Gaasterland, Terry; Scott, William K; Singh, Kuldev; Sit, Arthur J; Igo, Robert P; Song, Yeunjoo E; Hark, Lisa; Ritch, Robert; Rhee, Douglas J; Gulati, Vikas; Haven, Shane; Vollrath, Douglas; Zack, Donald J; Medeiros, Felipe; Weinreb, Robert N; Cheng, Ching-Yu; Chasman, Daniel I; Christen, William G; Pericak-Vance, Margaret A; Liu, Yutao; Kraft, Peter; Richards, Julia E; Rosner, Bernard A; Hauser, Michael A; Klaver, Caroline C W; vanDuijn, Cornelia M; Haines, Jonathan; Wiggs, Janey L; Pasquale, Louis R

2017-11-01

Primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG) is the most common chronic optic neuropathy worldwide. Epidemiological studies show a robust positive relation between intraocular pressure (IOP) and POAG and modest positive association between IOP and blood pressure (BP), while the relation between BP and POAG is controversial. The International Glaucoma Genetics Consortium (n=27 558), the International Consortium on Blood Pressure (n=69 395), and the National Eye Institute Glaucoma Human Genetics Collaboration Heritable Overall Operational Database (n=37 333), represent genome-wide data sets for IOP, BP traits and POAG, respectively. We formed genome-wide significant variant panels for IOP and diastolic BP and found a strong relation with POAG (odds ratio and 95% confidence interval: 1.18 (1.14-1.21), P=1.8 × 10 -27 ) for the former trait but no association for the latter (P=0.93). Next, we used linkage disequilibrium (LD) score regression, to provide genome-wide estimates of correlation between traits without the need for additional phenotyping. We also compared our genome-wide estimate of heritability between IOP and BP to an estimate based solely on direct measures of these traits in the Erasmus Rucphen Family (ERF; n=2519) study using Sequential Oligogenic Linkage Analysis Routines (SOLAR). LD score regression revealed high genetic correlation between IOP and POAG (48.5%, P=2.1 × 10 -5 ); however, genetic correlation between IOP and diastolic BP (P=0.86) and between diastolic BP and POAG (P=0.42) were negligible. Using SOLAR in the ERF study, we confirmed the minimal heritability between IOP and diastolic BP (P=0.63). Overall, IOP shares genetic basis with POAG, whereas BP has limited shared genetic correlation with IOP or POAG.

A retrospective study: Multivariate logistic regression analysis of the outcomes after pressure sores reconstruction with fasciocutaneous, myocutaneous, and perforator flaps.

PubMed

Chiu, Yu-Jen; Liao, Wen-Chieh; Wang, Tien-Hsiang; Shih, Yu-Chung; Ma, Hsu; Lin, Chih-Hsun; Wu, Szu-Hsien; Perng, Cherng-Kang

2017-08-01

Despite significant advances in medical care and surgical techniques, pressure sore reconstruction is still prone to elevated rates of complication and recurrence. We conducted a retrospective study to investigate not only complication and recurrence rates following pressure sore reconstruction but also preoperative risk stratification. This study included 181 ulcers underwent flap operations between January 2002 and December 2013 were included in the study. We performed a multivariable logistic regression model, which offers a regression-based method accounting for the within-patient correlation of the success or failure of each flap. The overall complication and recurrence rates for all flaps were 46.4% and 16.0%, respectively, with a mean follow-up period of 55.4 ± 38.0 months. No statistically significant differences of complication and recurrence rates were observed among three different reconstruction methods. In subsequent analysis, albumin ≤3.0 g/dl and paraplegia were significantly associated with higher postoperative complication. The anatomic factor, ischial wound location, significantly trended toward the development of ulcer recurrence. In the fasciocutaneous group, paraplegia had significant correlation to higher complication and recurrence rates. In the musculocutaneous flap group, variables had no significant correlation to complication and recurrence rates. In the free-style perforator group, ischial wound location and malnourished status correlated with significantly higher complication rates; ischial wound location also correlated with significantly higher recurrence rate. Ultimately, our review of a noteworthy cohort with lengthy follow-up helped identify and confirm certain risk factors that can facilitate a more informed and thoughtful pre- and postoperative decision-making process for patients with pressure ulcers. Copyright © 2017 British Association of Plastic, Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgeons. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Increased expression of Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome protein family verprolin-homologous protein 2 correlated with poor prognosis of hepatocellular carcinoma.

PubMed

Yang, Lian-Yue; Tao, Yi-Ming; Ou, Di-Peng; Wang, Wei; Chang, Zhi-Gang; Wu, Fan

2006-10-01

Because of its role in cell migration, the Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome protein family verprolin-homologous protein (WAVE) 2 has been implicated in cancer metastasis. Evidence to support such a role of WAVE2 in human cancer, however, is lacking. We thus examined the expression of WAVE2 in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) tissues to test whether the levels of WAVE2 expression correlated to the progression of HCC. Samples of 112 HCC patients were determined immunohistochemically for WAVE2 expression and the correlation of WAVE2 levels with prognosis was analyzed. Among the 112 cases, 31 paired HCC and paracarcinomatous liver tissue specimens were analyzed for WAVE2 levels by reverse transcription-PCR and Western blotting, respectively. Among 112 cases of HCCs, the immunohistochemistry data indicated significant increase of WAVE2 expression levels in 71 cases. Importantly, the increased WAVE2 expression correlated with the multiple tumor nodules (P = 0.008), the absence of capsular formation (P = 0.035), Edmondson-Steiner grade (P = 0.009), vein invasion (P = 0.023), and a shortened median survival time (326 versus 512 days; P = 0.003). Multivariable Cox regression analysis revealed the WAVE2 expression level was an independent factor for prognosis. The immunohistochemistry data were further confirmed by results of reverse transcription-PCR and Western analysis of 31 HCC cases, in which the WAVE2 mRNA and protein in HCC tissues were significantly elevated when compared with paracarcinomatous liver tissue (P < 0.001). WAVE2 expression is elevated in HCC tissues, which correlates with a poor prognosis, suggesting WAVE2 as a candidate prognostic marker of HCC.

Association of umbilical hernia with volume of ascites in liver cirrhosis: a retrospective observational study.

PubMed

Wang, Ran; Qi, Xingshun; Peng, Ying; Deng, Han; Li, Jing; Ning, Zheng; Dai, Junna; Hou, Feifei; Zhao, Jiancheng; Guo, Xiaozhong

2016-11-01

Umbilical hernia is a common abdominal complication in cirrhotic patients with ascites. Our study aimed to evaluate the correlation of umbilical hernia with the volume of ascites. Cirrhotic patients that underwent axial abdominopelvic computed tomography (CT) scans at our hospital between June 2012 and June 2014 were eligible. All CT images were reviewed to confirm the presence of umbilical hernia. The volume of ascites was estimated by five-point method. One hundred and fifty-seven patients were enrolled into this study. Among them, 101 patients had ascites and 6 patients had umbilical hernia. Alkaline phosphatase (AKP) and serum sodium were significantly lower in patients with umbilical hernia (P = 0.008, P = 0.011, respectively). Child-Pugh scores and the volume of ascites were significantly higher in patients with umbilical hernia (P = 0.03, P < 0.0001, respectively). Correlation analysis demonstrated that the volume of ascites, Child-Pugh scores, and blood ammonia had positive correlations with umbilical hernia (r = 0.4579, P < 0.0001; r = 0.175, P = 0.03; r = 0.342, P = 0.001, respectively) and that serum sodium had a negative correlation with umbilical hernia (r = -0.203, P = 0.011). In patients with ascites ≥2000 mL, only AKP was significantly associated with umbilical hernia (P = 0.0497). No variables were significantly associated with umbilical hernia in a subgroup analysis of patients matched according to the volume of ascites. The volume of ascites has a positive correlation with umbilical hernia. However, the factors associated with umbilical hernia in patients with severe ascites remain unclear. © 2016 Chinese Cochrane Center, West China Hospital of Sichuan University and John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd.

Volcanic Gases and Hot Spring Water to Evaluate the Volcanic Activity of the Mt. Baekdusan

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yun, S. H.; Lee, S.; Chang, C.

2017-12-01

This study performed the analysis on the volcanic gases and hot spring waters from the Julong hot spring at Mt. Baekdu, also known as Changbaishan on the North Korea(DPRK)-China border, during the period from July 2015 to August 2016. Also, we confirmed the errors that HCO3- concentrations of hot spring waters in the previous study (Lee et al. 2014) and tried to improve the problem. Dissolved CO2 in hot spring waters was analyzed using gas chromatograph in Lee et al.(2014). Improving this, from 2015, we used TOC-IC to analysis dissolved CO2. Also, we analyzed the Na2CO3 standard solutions of different concentrations using GC, and confirmed the correlation between the analytical concentrations and the real concentrations. However, because the analytical results of the Julong hot spring water were in discord with the estimated values based on this correlation, we can't estimate the HCO3-concentrations of 2014 samples. During the period of study, CO2/CH4 ratios in volcanic gases are gradually decreased, and this can be interpreted in two different ways. The first interpretation is that the conditions inside the volcanic edifice are changing into more reduction condition, and carbon in volcanic gases become more favorable to distribute into CH4 or CO than CO2. The second interpretation is that the interaction between volcanic gases and water becomes greater than past, and the concentrations of CO2which have much higher solubility in water decreased, relatively. In general, the effect of scrubbing of volcanic gas is strengthened during the quiet periods of volcanic activity rather than active periods. Meanwhile, the analysis of hot spring waters was done on the anion of acidic gases species, the major cations, and some trace elements (As, Cd, Re).This work was funded by the Korea Meteorological Administration Research and Development Program under Grant KMIPA 2015-3060.

Lymphovascular invasion in clear cell renal cell carcinoma--association with disease-free and cancer-specific survival.

PubMed

Belsante, Michael; Darwish, Oussama; Youssef, Ramy; Bagrodia, Aditya; Kapur, Payal; Sagalowsky, Arthur I; Lotan, Yair; Margulis, Vitaly

2014-01-01

The objective is to evaluate the effect of lymphovascular invasion (LVI) on disease-free survival (DFS) and cancer-specific survival (CSS) in patients with clinically localized clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC). Patients with ccRCC who were treated surgically in 1997 to 2010 were identified. Retrospective chart review was performed to identify clinical outcomes. Independent pathologic re-review was performed by a single pathologist to confirm LVI status. Pathologic features were correlated with clinical outcomes using Kaplan-Meier and Cox regression analyses. Four hundred and nineteen patients with nonmetastatic ccRCC comprised the study cohort. Three hundred and thirty-three of these patients had an organ-confined (pT1-2, N any, and M0) disease. LVI was present in 14.3% of all nonmetastatic patients. In all patients with nonmetastatic ccRCC, presence of LVI was correlated with significantly shorter DFS (P <0.001) and CSS (P = 0.001) on Kaplan-Meier analysis. In cases of organ-confined, nonmetastatic ccRCC, presence of LVI was a significant predictor of DFS (hazard ratio = 4.0, P = 0.026) and CSS (hazard ratio = 12.7, P = 0.01) on multivariate analysis. Patients with organ-confined RCC who were LVI positive had similar DFS (P = 0.957) and CSS (P = 0.799) to patients with locally advanced tumors (pT3-pT4, N any, and M0) on Kaplan-Meier analysis. The presence of LVI is an independent predictor of both DFS and CSS in organ-confined, nonmetastatic ccRCC. LVI positivity in patients with otherwise pathologically organ-confined ccRCC confers oncologic outcomes similar to those of patients with locally advanced disease. If confirmed by others, future revisions to the tumor-node-metastasis staging system may incorporate LVI status into the prognostic algorithm of patients with RCC. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Stress Inducible Expression of AtDREB1A Transcription Factor in Transgenic Peanut (Arachis hypogaea L.) Conferred Tolerance to Soil-Moisture Deficit Stress

PubMed Central

Sarkar, Tanmoy; Thankappan, Radhakrishnan; Kumar, Abhay; Mishra, Gyan P.; Dobaria, Jentilal R.

2016-01-01

Peanut, an important oilseed crop, is gaining priority for the development of drought tolerant genotypes in recent times, since the area under drought is constantly on the rise. To achieve this, one of the important strategies is to genetically engineer the ruling peanut varieties using transcription factor regulating the expression of several downstream, abiotic-stress responsive gene(s). In this study, eight independent transgenic peanut (cv. GG20) lines were developed using AtDREB1A gene, encoding for a transcription factor, through Agrobacterium-mediated genetic transformation. The transgene insertion was confirmed in (T0) using PCR and Dot-blot analysis, while copy-number(s) was ascertained using Southern-blot analysis. The inheritance of AtDREB1A gene in individual transgenic plants (T1 and T2) was confirmed using PCR. In homozygous transgenic plants (T2), under soil-moisture deficit stress, elevated level of AtDREB1A transgene expression was observed by RT-PCR assay. The transgenic plants at 45-d or reproductive growth stage showed tolerance to severe soil-moisture deficit stress. Physio-biochemical parameters such as proline content, osmotic potential, relative water content, electrolytic leakage, and total-chlorophyll content were found positively correlated with growth-related traits without any morphological abnormality, when compared to wild-type. qPCR analysis revealed consistent increase in expression of AtDREB1A gene under progressive soil-moisture deficit stress in two homozygous transgenic plants. The transgene expression showed significant correlation with improved physio-biochemical traits. The improvement of drought-stress tolerance in combination with improved growth-related traits is very essential criterion for a premium peanut cultivar like GG20, so that marginal farmers of India can incur the economic benefits during seasonal drought and water scarcity. PMID:27446163

Temporal Analysis of the Magnaporthe Oryzae Proteome During Conidial Germination and Cyclic AMP (cAMP)-mediated Appressorium Formation*

PubMed Central

Franck, William L.; Gokce, Emine; Oh, Yeonyee; Muddiman, David C.; Dean, Ralph A.

2013-01-01

Rice blast disease caused by Magnaporthe oryzae is one of the most serious threats to global rice production. During the earliest stages of rice infection, M. oryzae conidia germinate on the leaf surface and form a specialized infection structure termed the appressorium. The development of the appressorium represents the first critical stage of infectious development. A total of 3200 unique proteins were identified by nanoLC-MS/MS in a temporal study of conidial germination and cAMP-induced appressorium formation in M. oryzae. Using spectral counting based label free quantification, observed changes in relative protein abundance during the developmental process revealed changes in the cell wall biosynthetic machinery, transport functions, and production of extracellular proteins in developing appressoria. One hundred and sixty-six up-regulated and 208 down-regulated proteins were identified in response to cAMP treatment. Proteomic analysis of a cAMP-dependent protein kinase A mutant that is compromised in the ability to form appressoria identified proteins whose developmental regulation is dependent on cAMP signaling. Selected reaction monitoring was used for absolute quantification of four regulated proteins to validate the global proteomics data and confirmed the germination or appressorium specific regulation of these proteins. Finally, a comparison of the proteome and transcriptome was performed and revealed little correlation between transcript and protein regulation. A subset of regulated proteins were identified whose transcripts show similar regulation patterns and include many of the most strongly regulated proteins indicating a central role in appressorium formation. A temporal quantitative RT-PCR analysis confirmed a strong correlation between transcript and protein abundance for some but not all genes. Collectively, the data presented here provide the first comprehensive view of the M. oryzae proteome during early infection-related development and highlight biological processes important for pathogenicity. PMID:23665591

Role of OSGIN1 in mediating smoking-induced autophagy in the human airway epithelium.

PubMed

Wang, Guoqing; Zhou, Haixia; Strulovici-Barel, Yael; Al-Hijji, Mohammed; Ou, Xuemei; Salit, Jacqueline; Walters, Matthew S; Staudt, Michelle R; Kaner, Robert J; Crystal, Ronald G

2017-07-03

Enhanced macroautophagy/autophagy is recognized as a component of the pathogenesis of smoking-induced airway disease. Based on the knowledge that enhanced autophagy is linked to oxidative stress and the DNA damage response, both of which are linked to smoking, we used microarray analysis of the airway epithelium to identify smoking upregulated genes known to respond to oxidative stress and the DNA damage response. This analysis identified OSGIN1 (oxidative stress induced growth inhibitor 1) as significantly upregulated by smoking, in both the large and small airway epithelium, an observation confirmed by an independent small airway microarray cohort, TaqMan PCR of large and small airway samples and RNA-Seq of small airway samples. High and low OSGIN1 expressors have different autophagy gene expression patterns in vivo. Genome-wide correlation of RNAseq analysis of airway basal/progenitor cells showed a direct correlation of OSGIN1 mRNA levels to multiple classic autophagy genes. In vitro cigarette smoke extract exposure of primary airway basal/progenitor cells was accompanied by a dose-dependent upregulation of OSGIN1 and autophagy induction. Lentivirus-mediated expression of OSGIN1 in human primary basal/progenitor cells induced puncta-like staining of MAP1LC3B and upregulation of MAP1LC3B mRNA and protein and SQSTM1 mRNA expression level in a dose and time-dependent manner. OSGIN1-induction of autophagosome, amphisome and autolysosome formation was confirmed by colocalization of MAP1LC3B with SQSTM1 or CD63 (endosome marker) and LAMP1 (lysosome marker). Both OSGIN1 overexpression and knockdown enhanced the smoking-evoked autophagic response. Together, these observations support the concept that smoking-induced upregulation of OSGIN1 is one link between smoking-induced stress and enhanced-autophagy in the human airway epithelium.

The Use of EST Expression Matrixes for the Quality Control of Gene Expression Data

PubMed Central

Milnthorpe, Andrew T.; Soloviev, Mikhail

2012-01-01

EST expression profiling provides an attractive tool for studying differential gene expression, but cDNA libraries' origins and EST data quality are not always known or reported. Libraries may originate from pooled or mixed tissues; EST clustering, EST counts, library annotations and analysis algorithms may contain errors. Traditional data analysis methods, including research into tissue-specific gene expression, assume EST counts to be correct and libraries to be correctly annotated, which is not always the case. Therefore, a method capable of assessing the quality of expression data based on that data alone would be invaluable for assessing the quality of EST data and determining their suitability for mRNA expression analysis. Here we report an approach to the selection of a small generic subset of 244 UniGene clusters suitable for identification of the tissue of origin for EST libraries and quality control of the expression data using EST expression information alone. We created a small expression matrix of UniGene IDs using two rounds of selection followed by two rounds of optimisation. Our selection procedures differ from traditional approaches to finding “tissue-specific” genes and our matrix yields consistency high positive correlation values for libraries with confirmed tissues of origin and can be applied for tissue typing and quality control of libraries as small as just a few hundred total ESTs. Furthermore, we can pick up tissue correlations between related tissues e.g. brain and peripheral nervous tissue, heart and muscle tissues and identify tissue origins for a few libraries of uncharacterised tissue identity. It was possible to confirm tissue identity for some libraries which have been derived from cancer tissues or have been normalised. Tissue matching is affected strongly by cancer progression or library normalisation and our approach may potentially be applied for elucidating the stage of normalisation in normalised libraries or for cancer staging. PMID:22412959

The Chinese version of Instrument of Professional Attitude for Student Nurses (IPASN): Assessment of reliability and validity.

PubMed

Xiao, Yu-Ying; Li, Ting; Xiao, Lin; Wang, Su-Wei; Wang, Si-Qi; Wang, Han-Xiao; Wang, Bei-Bei; Gao, Yu-Lin

2017-02-01

Professional attitude is of great importance for nursing talents in the modern society. To develop an effective educational program for student nurses in China, an appropriate instrument is required for the assessment of their professional attitude. To assess the validity and reliability of the Instrument of Professional Attitude for Student Nurses (IPASN) in Chinese version. The original version of IPASN was translated through Brislin model (translation, back translation, culture adaption and pilot study) with the authorization from the developer. A total of 681 nursing students were chosen by stratified convenience sampling to assess construct validity using exploratory factor analysis (EFA). Besides, item analysis, Cronbach's alpha coefficients, test-retest reliability were conducted to test the psychometric properties in this part. A total of 204 nursing undergraduate trainees were selected by cluster convenience sampling to confirm the structure using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) in another time. Corrected item-total correlations, alpha if item deleted were between 0.33 and 0.69, 0.906 and 0.913, respectively, indicating no item should be deleted. Cronbach alpha value was 0.91 for the total scale and Cronbach alpha coefficient for subscales ranged from 0.67 to 0.89. Test-retest reliability estimated from intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) was 0.74 (P<0.05). Differences in item scores between the high-score group (the first 27%) and low-score group (the last 27%) were significant (P<0.001), indicating that the item discrimination ability was good. Seven subscales (contribution to increase of scientific information load, autonomy, community service, continuous education, to promote professional development, cooperation and theory guiding practice) were identified in EFA and confirmed in CFA, and explained 65.5% of the total variance. It indicated that the Chinese version of IPASN was valid and reliable for the evaluation of nursing students' professional attitude. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Development of a scale to measure adherence to self-monitoring of blood glucose with latent variable measurement.

PubMed

Wagner, J A; Schnoll, R A; Gipson, M T

1998-07-01

Adherence to self-monitoring of blood glucose (SMBG) is problematic for many people with diabetes. Self-reports of adherence have been found to be unreliable, and existing paper-and-pencil measures have limitations. This study developed a brief measure of SMBG adherence with good psychometric properties and a useful factor structure that can be used in research and in practice. A total of 216 adults with diabetes responded to 30 items rated on a 9-point Likert scale that asked about blood monitoring habits. In part I of the study, items were evaluated and retained based on their psychometric properties. The sample was divided into exploratory and confirmatory halves. Using the exploratory half, items with acceptable psychometric properties were subjected to a principal components analysis. In part II of the study, structural equation modeling was used to confirm the component solution with the entire sample. Structural modeling was also used to test the relationship between these components. It was hypothesized that the scale would produce four correlated factors. Principal components analysis suggested a two-component solution, and confirmatory factor analysis confirmed this solution. The first factor measures the degree to which patients rely on others to help them test and thus was named "social influence." The second component measures the degree to which patients use physical symptoms of blood glucose levels to help them test and thus was named "physical influence." Results of the structural model show that the components are correlated and make up the higher-order latent variable adherence. The resulting 15-item scale provides a short, reliable way to assess patient adherence to SMBG. Despite the existence of several aspects of adherence, this study indicates that the construct consists of only two components. This scale is an improvement on previous measures of adherence because of its good psychometric properties, its interpretable factor structure, and its rigorous empirical development.

Clinical significance of TC21 overexpression in oral cancer.

PubMed

Macha, Muzafar A; Matta, Ajay; Sriram, Uma; Thakkar, Alok; Shukla, N K; Datta Gupta, Siddhartha; Ralhan, Ranju

2010-07-01

In search of novel molecular markers for oral cancer, we reported increased levels of TC21/R-Ras2 transcripts in oral squamous cell carcinoma by differential display. The aim of this study was to determine the clinical significance of TC21 in oral cancer. Immunohistochemical analysis of TC21 protein expression was carried out in 120 leukoplakias, 83 OSCCs and 30 non-malignant tissues, confirmed by immunoblotting, and correlated with clinicopathological parameters as well as disease prognosis. Co-immunoprecipitation assays were carried out to identify the interaction partners of TC21 protein in oral cancer cells and tissues. TC21 nuclear expression increased from normal oral tissues to leukoplakia and frank malignancy (P < 0.001). TC21 overexpression was observed in 74.2% leukoplakia with no dysplasia, 75.9% dysplasias and 79.5% OSCCs in comparison with normal oral tissues. Receiver operating characteristic analysis showed that the area-under-the curve values were 0.895, 0.885, and 0.919, while the positive predictive values were 95.8%, 95.6%, and 97.1%, for nuclear immunostaining for normal versus leukoplakia with no dysplasia, leukoplakic lesions with dysplasia, and OSCCs, respectively. Immunoblotting confirmed overexpression of TC21 in oral lesions. Using co-immunoprecipitation assays, we showed interactions of TC21 with Erk2, PI3-K, 14-3-3zeta and 14-3-3sigma proteins in oral cancer cells. Our findings suggested that alteration in TC21 expression is an early event in oral cancer and correlates with poor prognosis of OSCCs. TC21 interactions with Erk2, PI3-K, 14-3-3zeta and 14-3-3sigma proteins in oral cancer cells and tissues suggests the involvement of TC21 in signaling pathways in oral cancer.

Psychophysical and Neural Correlates of Auditory Attraction and Aversion

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Patten, Kristopher Jakob

This study explores the psychophysical and neural processes associated with the perception of sounds as either pleasant or aversive. The underlying psychophysical theory is based on auditory scene analysis, the process through which listeners parse auditory signals into individual acoustic sources. The first experiment tests and confirms that a self-rated pleasantness continuum reliably exists for 20 various stimuli (r = .48). In addition, the pleasantness continuum correlated with the physical acoustic characteristics of consonance/dissonance (r = .78), which can facilitate auditory parsing processes. The second experiment uses an fMRI block design to test blood oxygen level dependent (BOLD) changes elicited by a subset of 5 exemplar stimuli chosen from Experiment 1 that are evenly distributed over the pleasantness continuum. Specifically, it tests and confirms that the pleasantness continuum produces systematic changes in brain activity for unpleasant acoustic stimuli beyond what occurs with pleasant auditory stimuli. Results revealed that the combination of two positively and two negatively valenced experimental sounds compared to one neutral baseline control elicited BOLD increases in the primary auditory cortex, specifically the bilateral superior temporal gyrus, and left dorsomedial prefrontal cortex; the latter being consistent with a frontal decision-making process common in identification tasks. The negatively-valenced stimuli yielded additional BOLD increases in the left insula, which typically indicates processing of visceral emotions. The positively-valenced stimuli did not yield any significant BOLD activation, consistent with consonant, harmonic stimuli being the prototypical acoustic pattern of auditory objects that is optimal for auditory scene analysis. Both the psychophysical findings of Experiment 1 and the neural processing findings of Experiment 2 support that consonance is an important dimension of sound that is processed in a manner that aids auditory parsing and functional representation of acoustic objects and was found to be a principal feature of pleasing auditory stimuli.

Relationship Between Successful Extracranial-Intracranial Bypass Surgeries and Ischemic White Matter Hyperintensities.

PubMed

Nagm, Alhusain; Horiuchi, Tetsuyoshi; Ito, Kiyoshi; Hongo, Kazuhiro

2016-07-01

Few studies have described regression of white matter hyperintensities (WMHs); however, no studies have described their recurrence or fluctuation. Thus, we aimed to study the course of WMHs on fluid-attenuated inversion recovery (FLAIR) magnetic resonance image (MRI) after extracranial-intracranial (EC-IC) bypass surgery and its correlation with the clinical outcome. We enrolled perioperative FLAIR MRIs of 12 patients with WMHs who underwent EC-IC bypass surgeries because of ischemic-vascular stenosis with postoperative improvement of the cerebral blood flow confirmed by (123)I-iodoamphetamine single-photon emission computed tomography. Correlation between WMHs and cerebral blood flow was confirmed by perioperative single-photon emission computed tomography and diffusion-weighted imaging MRI. The WMHs were assessed visually with meticulous volumetric grading. Depending on postoperative changes among different grades, the WMHs course was determined to be improved, fluctuating, worsened, or unchanged. A statistical analysis was performed on the course of WMHs over time. Imaging analysis was done with FLAIR MRI in 12 patients. The course of WMHs over time was 41.7% improvement, 33.3% fluctuation, 16.7% unchanged, and 8.3% worsening of the deep WMHs. After unilateral bypass surgery, 80% of the improved WMHs occurred bilaterally. Among patients with improved clinical outcomes, 16.7% showed improvement and 33.3% showed fluctuation, whereas in patients with unchanged clinical outcomes, 25% showed improvement of their WMHs on follow-up FLAIR MRIs. This study might be considered the first step to find a relationship between successful EC-IC bypass surgeries and the course of ischemic WMHs. It could also open the door for further studies to make more solid conclusions. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Validation of the Arabic Version of the Infant Feeding Intentions Scale Among Lebanese Women.

PubMed

Yehya, Nadine; Tamim, Hani; Shamsedine, Lama; Ayash, Soumaya; Abdel Khalek, Lama; Abou Ezzi, Amanda; Nabulsi, Mona

2017-05-01

The Infant Feeding Intentions (IFI) scale was shown to reliably measure maternal intentions to initiate breastfeeding and continue exclusive breastfeeding until 1, 3, or 6 months in English and Spanish but not in Arab contexts. Research aim: This study aimed to validate an Arabic version of the IFI scale (IFI-A) and examine its ability to predict exclusive breastfeeding at 1, 3, or 6 months in pregnant Lebanese women. The internal consistency reliability and construct validity of the IFI-A scale were tested on 50 pregnant women (Group 1), whereas its predictive ability was tested on 196 pregnant women (Group 2), who were surveyed monthly about their infants' nutrition method until 6 months. The IFI-A scale's Cronbach's alpha internal consistency reliability is .82. Its corrected item-total correlations ranged from .26 for Item 2 ("at least give breastfeeding a try") to .86 for Item 4 ("will be exclusively breastfeeding at 3 months"). Exploratory factor analysis revealed that it is unidimensional. IFI-A scores correlated significantly with exclusive breastfeeding duration in Group 1 ( r = .624; p = .001) and with participants' breastfeeding attitude ( r = .390; p < .001) and previous breastfeeding duration ( r = .237; p = .011) in Group 2, thus confirming its external construct validity. In adjusted analysis, the IFI-A scale predicted exclusive breastfeeding at 3 months, albeit weakly (odds ratio = 1.16; 95% confidence interval [0.99, 1.36]), but not at 1 or 6 months. The IFI-A scale is a reliable and valid tool to assess maternal feeding intentions and predict exclusive breastfeeding at 3 months in the Arab context. Further studies are needed in other Arab contexts to confirm our findings.

Ceramic-like wear behaviour of human dental enamel.

PubMed

Arsecularatne, J A; Hoffman, M

2012-04-01

This paper reports a transmission electron microscopy (TEM) analysis of subsurfaces of enamel specimens following in vitro reciprocating wear tests with an enamel cusp sliding on a flat enamel specimen under hydrated conditions. The obtained results show that crack formation occurred in the wear scar subsurface. The path followed by these cracks seems to be dictated either by the histological structure of enamel or by the contact stress field. Moreover, the analysis of a set of enamel wear results obtained from the literature and application of fracture-based models, originally developed for ceramics, correlate well, confirming the similar wear processes taking place in these materials. This analysis also reveals a marked influence of coefficient of friction on the enamel wear rate: for a higher coefficient of friction value, enamel wear can be severe even under forces generated during normal operation of teeth. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.