5 CFR 842.602 - Definitions.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

... employee's, Member's, or retiree's death. Current spouse annuity means a recurring benefit under FERS that is payable (after the employee's, Member's or retiree's death) to a current spouse who meets the... initially adjudicated the regular rate of annuity payable under FERS and has paid the annuity accrued since...

5 CFR 842.602 - Definitions.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... employee's, Member's, or retiree's death. Current spouse annuity means a recurring benefit under FERS that is payable (after the employee's, Member's or retiree's death) to a current spouse who meets the... initially adjudicated the regular rate of annuity payable under FERS and has paid the annuity accrued since...

5 CFR 842.602 - Definitions.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

... employee's, Member's, or retiree's death. Current spouse annuity means a recurring benefit under FERS that is payable (after the employee's, Member's or retiree's death) to a current spouse who meets the... initially adjudicated the regular rate of annuity payable under FERS and has paid the annuity accrued since...

5 CFR 842.602 - Definitions.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

... employee's, Member's, or retiree's death. Current spouse annuity means a recurring benefit under FERS that is payable (after the employee's, Member's or retiree's death) to a current spouse who meets the... initially adjudicated the regular rate of annuity payable under FERS and has paid the annuity accrued since...

5 CFR 842.602 - Definitions.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... employee's, Member's, or retiree's death. Current spouse annuity means a recurring benefit under FERS that is payable (after the employee's, Member's or retiree's death) to a current spouse who meets the... initially adjudicated the regular rate of annuity payable under FERS and has paid the annuity accrued since...

5 CFR 841.702 - Definitions.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... of this chapter and payable to retirees. Basic employee death benefit means the basic employee death... receiving a recurring benefit under FERS that is payable (after the employee's, Members, or retiree's death... COLA begin to accrue at the higher rate. FERS means the Federal Employees Retirement System as defined...

5 CFR 841.702 - Definitions.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... of this chapter and payable to retirees. Basic employee death benefit means the basic employee death... receiving a recurring benefit under FERS that is payable (after the employee's, Members, or retiree's death... COLA begin to accrue at the higher rate. FERS means the Federal Employees Retirement System as defined...

5 CFR 841.702 - Definitions.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

... of this chapter and payable to retirees. Basic employee death benefit means the basic employee death... receiving a recurring benefit under FERS that is payable (after the employee's, Members, or retiree's death... COLA begin to accrue at the higher rate. FERS means the Federal Employees Retirement System as defined...

5 CFR 841.702 - Definitions.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

... of this chapter and payable to retirees. Basic employee death benefit means the basic employee death... receiving a recurring benefit under FERS that is payable (after the employee's, Members, or retiree's death... COLA begin to accrue at the higher rate. FERS means the Federal Employees Retirement System as defined...

5 CFR 839.102 - Definitions.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

..., United States Code. OPM means the Office of Personnel Management. Present value factor has the same... the same meaning as in § 846.702 of this chapter, referring to court orders that affect CSRS or FERS payments following a divorce or legal separation. Qualifying retirement coverage error means an erroneous...

Social functioning and facial expression recognition in children with neurofibromatosis type 1.

PubMed

Allen, T; Willard, V W; Anderson, L M; Hardy, K K; Bonner, M J

2016-03-01

This study examined social functioning and facial expression recognition (FER) in children with neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1) compared to typically developing peers. Specifically, the current research aimed to identify hypothesised relationships between neurocognitive ability, FER and social functioning. Children, ages 8 to 16, with NF1 (n = 23) and typically developing peers (n = 23) were recruited during regularly scheduled clinic visits and through advertisements on an institutional clinical trials website, respectively. Participants completed a measure of FER, an abbreviated intelligence test and questionnaires regarding their quality of life and behavioural functioning. Parents were also asked to complete questionnaires regarding the social-emotional and cognitive functioning of their child. As expected, there were significant differences between children with NF1 and typically developing peers across domains of social functioning and FER. Within the sample of children with NF1, there were no significant associations observed between cognitive measures, social functioning and facial recognition skills. Children with NF1 exhibited high rates of social impairment and weak FER skills compared to controls. The absence of associations between FER with cognitive and social variables, however, suggests something unique about this skill in children with NF1. Theoretical comparisons are made to children with autism spectrum disorders, as this condition may serve as a potentially useful model in better understanding FER in children with NF1. © 2016 MENCAP and International Association of the Scientific Study of Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

"Now I see it, now I don't": Determining Threshold Levels of Facial Emotion Recognition for Use in Patient Populations.

PubMed

Chiu, Isabelle; Gfrörer, Regina I; Piguet, Olivier; Berres, Manfred; Monsch, Andreas U; Sollberger, Marc

2015-08-01

The importance of including measures of emotion processing, such as tests of facial emotion recognition (FER), as part of a comprehensive neuropsychological assessment is being increasingly recognized. In clinical settings, FER tests need to be sensitive, short, and easy to administer, given the limited time available and patient limitations. Current tests, however, commonly use stimuli that either display prototypical emotions, bearing the risk of ceiling effects and unequal task difficulty, or are cognitively too demanding and time-consuming. To overcome these limitations in FER testing in patient populations, we aimed to define FER threshold levels for the six basic emotions in healthy individuals. Forty-nine healthy individuals between 52 and 79 years of age were asked to identify the six basic emotions at different intensity levels (25%, 50%, 75%, 100%, and 125% of the prototypical emotion). Analyses uncovered differing threshold levels across emotions and sex of facial stimuli, ranging from 50% up to 100% intensities. Using these findings as "healthy population benchmarks", we propose to apply these threshold levels to clinical populations either as facial emotion recognition or intensity rating tasks. As part of any comprehensive social cognition test battery, this approach should allow for a rapid and sensitive assessment of potential FER deficits.

Outage probability of a relay strategy allowing intra-link errors utilizing Slepian-Wolf theorem

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cheng, Meng; Anwar, Khoirul; Matsumoto, Tad

2013-12-01

In conventional decode-and-forward (DF) one-way relay systems, a data block received at the relay node is discarded, if the information part is found to have errors after decoding. Such errors are referred to as intra-link errors in this article. However, in a setup where the relay forwards data blocks despite possible intra-link errors, the two data blocks, one from the source node and the other from the relay node, are highly correlated because they were transmitted from the same source. In this article, we focus on the outage probability analysis of such a relay transmission system, where source-destination and relay-destination links, Link 1 and Link 2, respectively, are assumed to suffer from the correlated fading variation due to block Rayleigh fading. The intra-link is assumed to be represented by a simple bit-flipping model, where some of the information bits recovered at the relay node are the flipped version of their corresponding original information bits at the source. The correlated bit streams are encoded separately by the source and relay nodes, and transmitted block-by-block to a common destination using different time slots, where the information sequence transmitted over Link 2 may be a noise-corrupted interleaved version of the original sequence. The joint decoding takes place at the destination by exploiting the correlation knowledge of the intra-link (source-relay link). It is shown that the outage probability of the proposed transmission technique can be expressed by a set of double integrals over the admissible rate range, given by the Slepian-Wolf theorem, with respect to the probability density function ( pdf) of the instantaneous signal-to-noise power ratios (SNR) of Link 1 and Link 2. It is found that, with the Slepian-Wolf relay technique, so far as the correlation ρ of the complex fading variation is | ρ|<1, the 2nd order diversity can be achieved only if the two bit streams are fully correlated. This indicates that the diversity order exhibited in the outage curve converges to 1 when the bit streams are not fully correlated. Moreover, the Slepian-Wolf outage probability is proved to be smaller than that of the 2nd order maximum ratio combining (MRC) diversity, if the average SNRs of the two independent links are the same. Exact as well as asymptotic expressions of the outage probability are theoretically derived in the article. In addition, the theoretical outage results are compared with the frame-error-rate (FER) curves, obtained by a series of simulations for the Slepian-Wolf relay system based on bit-interleaved coded modulation with iterative detection (BICM-ID). It is shown that the FER curves exhibit the same tendency as the theoretical results.

Overexpression of native ferritin gene MusaFer1 enhances iron content and oxidative stress tolerance in transgenic banana plants

PubMed Central

Yadav, Karuna; Patel, Prashanti; Srivastava, Ashish Kumar

2017-01-01

Iron is an indispensable element for plant growth and defense and hence it is essential to improve the plant’s ability to accumulate iron. Besides, it is also an important aspect for human health. In view of this, we attempted to increase the iron content in banana cultivar Rasthali using MusaFer1 as a candidate gene. Initially, the expression of all five genes of the MusaFer family (MusaFer1-5) was quantified under iron-excess and -deficient conditions. The supplementation of 250 and 350 μM iron enhanced expression of all MusaFer genes; however, MusaFer1 was increased maximally by 2- and 4- fold in leaves and roots respectively. Under iron deficient condition, all five MusaFer genes were downregulated, indicating their iron dependent regulation. In MusaFer1 overexpressing lines, iron content was increased by 2- and 3-fold in leaves and roots respectively, as compared with that of untransformed lines. The increased iron was mainly localized in the epidermal regions of petiole. The analysis of MusaFer1 promoter indicated that it might control the expression of iron metabolism related genes and also other genes of MusaFer family. MusaFer1 overexpression led to downregulated expression of MusaFer3, MusaFer4 and MusaFer5 in transgenic leaves which might be associated with the plant’s compensatory mechanism in response to iron flux. Other iron metabolism genes like Ferric reductase (FRO), transporters (IRT, VIT and YSL) and chelators (NAS, DMAS and NAAT) were also differentially expressed in transgenic leaf and root, suggesting the multifaceted impact of MusaFer1 towards iron uptake and organ distribution. Additionally, MusaFer1 overexpression increased plant tolerance against methyl viologen and excess iron which was quantified in terms of photosynthetic efficiency and malondialdehyde content. Thus, the study not only broadens our understanding about iron metabolism but also highlights MusaFer1 as a suitable candidate gene for iron fortification in banana. PMID:29190821

Overexpression of wheat ferritin gene TaFER-5B enhances tolerance to heat stress and other abiotic stresses associated with the ROS scavenging.

PubMed

Zang, Xinshan; Geng, Xiaoli; Wang, Fei; Liu, Zhenshan; Zhang, Liyuan; Zhao, Yue; Tian, Xuejun; Ni, Zhongfu; Yao, Yingyin; Xin, Mingming; Hu, Zhaorong; Sun, Qixin; Peng, Huiru

2017-01-14

The yield of wheat (Triticum aestivum L.), an important crop, is adversely affected by heat stress in many regions of the world. However, the molecular mechanisms underlying thermotolerance are largely unknown. A novel ferritin gene, TaFER, was identified from our previous heat stress-responsive transcriptome analysis of a heat-tolerant wheat cultivar (TAM107). TaFER was mapped to chromosome 5B and named TaFER-5B. Expression pattern analysis revealed that TaFER-5B was induced by heat, polyethylene glycol (PEG), H 2 O 2 and Fe-ethylenediaminedi(o-hydroxyphenylacetic) acid (Fe-EDDHA). To confirm the function of TaFER-5B in wheat, TaFER-5B was transformed into the wheat cultivar Jimai5265 (JM5265), and the transgenic plants exhibited enhanced thermotolerance. To examine whether the function of ferritin from mono- and dico-species is conserved, TaFER-5B was transformed into Arabidopsis, and overexpression of TaFER-5B functionally complemented the heat stress-sensitive phenotype of a ferritin-lacking mutant of Arabidopsis. Moreover, TaFER-5B is essential for protecting cells against heat stress associated with protecting cells against ROS. In addition, TaFER-5B overexpression also enhanced drought, oxidative and excess iron stress tolerance associated with the ROS scavenging. Finally, TaFER-5B transgenic Arabidopsis and wheat plants exhibited improved leaf iron content. Our results suggest that TaFER-5B plays an important role in enhancing tolerance to heat stress and other abiotic stresses associated with the ROS scavenging.

Assessing pigmented pericarp of maize kernels as possible source of resistance to fusarium ear rot, Fusarium spp. infection and fumonisin accumulation.

PubMed

Venturini, Giovanni; Babazadeh, Laleh; Casati, Paola; Pilu, Roberto; Salomoni, Daiana; Toffolatti, Silvia L

2016-06-16

One of the purposes of maize genetic improvement is the research of genotypes resistant to fusarium ear rot (FER) and fumonisin accumulation. Flavonoids in the pericarp of the kernels are considered particularly able to reduce the fumonisin accumulation (FUM). The aim of this field study was to assess the effect of flavonoids, associated with anti-insect protection and Fusarium verticillioides inoculation, on FER symptoms and fumonisin contamination in maize kernels. Two isogenic hybrids, one having pigmentation in the pericarp (P1-rr) and the other without it (P1-wr), were compared. P1-rr showed lower values of FER symptoms and FUM contamination than P1-wr only if the anti-insect protection and the F. verticillioides inoculations were applied in combination. Fusarium spp. kernel infection was not influenced by the presence of flavonoids in the pericarp. Artificial F. verticillioides inoculation was more effective than anti-insect protection in enhancing the inhibition activity of flavonoids toward FUM contamination. The interactions between FUM contamination levels and FER ratings were better modeled in the pigmented hybrid than in the unpigmented one. The variable role that the pigment played in kernel defense against FER and FUM indicates that flavonoids alone may not be completely effective in the resistance of fumonisin contamination in maize. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Coastal single-beam bathymetry data collected in 2015 from Raccoon Point to Point Au Fer Island, Louisiana

USGS Publications Warehouse

Stalk, Chelsea A.; DeWitt, Nancy T.; Kindinger, Jack L.; Flocks, James G.; Reynolds, Billy J.; Kelso, Kyle W.; Fredericks, Joseph J.; Tuten, Thomas M.

2017-03-10

As part of the Barrier Island Comprehensive Monitoring Program (BICM), scientists from the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center conducted a nearshore single-beam bathymetry survey along the south-central coast of Louisiana, from Raccoon Point to Point Au Fer Island, in July 2015. The goal of the BICM program is to provide long-term data on Louisiana’s coastline and use this data to plan, design, evaluate, and maintain current and future barrier island restoration projects. The data described in this report will provide baseline bathymetric information for future research investigating island evolution, sediment transport, and recent and long-term geomorphic change, and will support modeling of future changes in response to restoration and storm impacts. The survey area encompasses more than 300 square kilometers of nearshore environment from Raccoon Point to Point Au Fer Island. This data series serves as an archive of processed single-beam bathymetry data, collected from July 22–29, 2015, under USGS Field Activity Number 2015-320-FA. Geographic information system data products include a 200-meter-cell-size interpolated bathymetry grid, trackline maps, and point data files. Additional files include error analysis maps, Field Activity Collection System logs, and formal Federal Geographic Data Committee metadata.

"Replicability and other features of a high-quality science: Toward a balanced and empirical approach": Correction to Finkel et al. (2017).

PubMed

2017-11-01

Reports an error in "Replicability and other features of a high-quality science: Toward a balanced and empirical approach" by Eli J. Finkel, Paul W. Eastwick and Harry T. Reis ( Journal of Personality and Social Psychology , 2017[Aug], Vol 113[2], 244-253). In the commentary, there was an error in the References list. The publishing year for the 18th article was cited incorrectly as 2016. The in-text acronym associated with this citation should read instead as LCL2017. The correct References list citation should read as follows: LeBel, E. P., Campbell, L., & Loving, T. J. (2017). Benefits of open and high-powered research outweigh costs. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology , 113, 230-243. http://dx.doi.org/10 .1037/pspi0000049. The online version of this article has been corrected. (The following abstract of the original article appeared in record 2017-30567-002.) Finkel, Eastwick, and Reis (2015; FER2015) argued that psychological science is better served by responding to apprehensions about replicability rates with contextualized solutions than with one-size-fits-all solutions. Here, we extend FER2015's analysis to suggest that much of the discussion of best research practices since 2011 has focused on a single feature of high-quality science-replicability-with insufficient sensitivity to the implications of recommended practices for other features, like discovery, internal validity, external validity, construct validity, consequentiality, and cumulativeness. Thus, although recommendations for bolstering replicability have been innovative, compelling, and abundant, it is difficult to evaluate their impact on our science as a whole, especially because many research practices that are beneficial for some features of scientific quality are harmful for others. For example, FER2015 argued that bigger samples are generally better, but also noted that very large samples ("those larger than required for effect sizes to stabilize"; p. 291) could have the downside of commandeering resources that would have been better invested in other studies. In their critique of FER2015, LeBel, Campbell, and Loving (2016) concluded, based on simulated data, that ever-larger samples are better for the efficiency of scientific discovery (i.e., that there are no tradeoffs). As demonstrated here, however, this conclusion holds only when the replicator's resources are considered in isolation. If we widen the assumptions to include the original researcher's resources as well, which is necessary if the goal is to consider resource investment for the field as a whole, the conclusion changes radically-and strongly supports a tradeoff-based analysis. In general, as psychologists seek to strengthen our science, we must complement our much-needed work on increasing replicability with careful attention to the other features of a high-quality science. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).

Improving efficiency and value in health care. Intravenous iron management for anaemia associated with chronic kidney disease: linking treatment to an outpatient clinic, optimizing service provision and patient choice.

PubMed

Bhandari, Sunil; Naudeer, Sarah

2008-12-01

The National Service Framework advocates correction of anaemia in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD). Oral iron is insufficient, while intravenous (IV) supplementation replenishes and maintains iron stores. In Yorkshire numerous peripheral clinics exist to reduce travel for patients, but patients must travel to the main unit for IV iron therapy. Therefore an outpatient service in tandem with a routine clinic for administration of IV CosmoFer was created. To evaluate the feasibility and benefits of IV iron therapy in the outpatient clinic during active patient review for CKD patients. A cross-sectional study of patients attending for total dose IV iron (n = 57) at a peripheral clinic. Iron was administered and monitored according to protocol by one of the clinic nurses with medical staff available in the adjoining room. Haemoglobin, ferritin and renal function were recorded pre-infusion and after 4-6 months. Results are given as medians/means +/- standard error. A total of 76 IV infusions were carried out with no reported side effects or haemodynamic instability. Haemoglobin (median 10.9 vs. 11.3 g dL(-1), P = NS), creatinine and estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) over the 6-month period remained stable. Serum ferritin rose significantly [80.9 +/- 6.2 vs. 186.4 +/- 18.2 g L(-1) (P < 0.001)]. Hospital time saved 380 day case bed hours, doctor hours saved 76 hours, and patient hours saved 3 hours/patient. Cost savings for TDI CosmoFer in peripheral clinic versus in centre therapy and versus sucrose, respectively, for 76 treatments was pound 5749.40 and pound 46,320.80 respectively. We have demonstrated, in a resource-limited service, the feasibility and cost-effectiveness of a management care pathway for patients with CKD, in a peripheral clinic, to receive total dose IV CosmoFer without disruption of a functioning renal clinic.

FERONIA interacts with ABI2-type phosphatases to facilitate signaling cross-talk between abscisic acid and RALF peptide in Arabidopsis

PubMed Central

Chen, Jia; Yu, Feng; Liu, Ying; Du, Changqing; Li, Xiushan; Zhu, Sirui; Wang, Xianchun; Lan, Wenzhi; Rodriguez, Pedro L.; Liu, Xuanming; Li, Dongping; Chen, Liangbi; Luan, Sheng

2016-01-01

Receptor-like kinase FERONIA (FER) plays a crucial role in plant response to small molecule hormones [e.g., auxin and abscisic acid (ABA)] and peptide signals [e.g., rapid alkalinization factor (RALF)]. It remains unknown how FER integrates these different signaling events in the control of cell growth and stress responses. Under stress conditions, increased levels of ABA will inhibit cell elongation in the roots. In our previous work, we have shown that FER, through activation of the guanine nucleotide exchange factor 1 (GEF1)/4/10-Rho of Plant 11 (ROP11) pathway, enhances the activity of the phosphatase ABA Insensitive 2 (ABI2), a negative regulator of ABA signaling, thereby inhibiting ABA response. In this study, we found that both RALF and ABA activated FER by increasing the phosphorylation level of FER. The FER loss-of-function mutant displayed strong hypersensitivity to both ABA and abiotic stresses such as salt and cold conditions, indicating that FER plays a key role in ABA and stress responses. We further showed that ABI2 directly interacted with and dephosphorylated FER, leading to inhibition of FER activity. Several other ABI2-like phosphatases also function in this pathway, and ABA-dependent FER activation required PYRABACTIN RESISTANCE (PYR)/PYR1-LIKE (PYL)/REGULATORY COMPONENTS OF ABA RECEPTORS (RCAR)–A-type protein phosphatase type 2C (PP2CA) modules. Furthermore, suppression of RALF1 gene expression, similar to disruption of the FER gene, rendered plants hypersensitive to ABA. These results formulated a mechanism for ABA activation of FER and for cross-talk between ABA and peptide hormone RALF in the control of plant growth and responses to stress signals. PMID:27566404

5 CFR 839.621 - Can I cancel my FERS election if I was in the wrong retirement plan at the time I elected FERS...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... 5 Administrative Personnel 2 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Can I cancel my FERS election if I was in the wrong retirement plan at the time I elected FERS coverage and I have an election opportunity under... ERRONEOUS RETIREMENT COVERAGE CORRECTIONS ACT Making an Election Fers Elections § 839.621 Can I cancel my...

Downregulation of feline sarcoma-related protein inhibits cell migration, invasion and epithelial-mesenchymal transition via the ERK/AP-1 pathway in bladder urothelial cell carcinoma.

PubMed

Hu, Xudong; Zhang, Zhiqiang; Liang, Zhaofeng; Xie, Dongdong; Zhang, Tao; Yu, Dexin; Zhong, Caiyun

2017-02-01

Feline sarcoma-related protein (Fer) is a nuclear and cytoplasmic non-receptor protein tyrosine kinase and Fer overexpression is associated with various biological processes. However, the clinicopathological characteristics and molecular mechanisms of Fer expression in bladder urothelial cell carcinoma (UCC) have yet to be elucidated. The present study demonstrated that Fer was significantly upregulated in bladder UCC tissues and cell lines. A clinicopathological analysis suggested that Fer expression was significantly associated with tumor stage, histological grade and lymph node status, and Fer expression was a prognostic factor for overall survival in a multivariate analysis. Furthermore, small interfering RNA (siRNA) was used to silence the expression of the Fer gene in human bladder UCC T24 cells, and was shown to significantly reduce the migration and invasion of the cells. It was also observed that Fer-siRNA caused the T24 cells to acquire an epithelial cobblestone phenotype, and was able to reverse the epithelial-mesenchymal transition of the cells. Subsequently, Fer-knockdown was shown to deactivate the extracellular signal-regulated kinase/activator protein-1 signaling pathway in T24 cells. These results indicated, for the first time, that Fer has a critical role in bladder UCC progression and may be a potential therapeutic target for bladder UCC metastasis.

Ferritin Assembly in Enterocytes of Drosophila melanogaster

PubMed Central

Rosas-Arellano, Abraham; Vásquez-Procopio, Johana; Gambis, Alexis; Blowes, Liisa M.; Steller, Hermann; Mollereau, Bertrand; Missirlis, Fanis

2016-01-01

Ferritins are protein nanocages that accumulate inside their cavity thousands of oxidized iron atoms bound to oxygen and phosphates. Both characteristic types of eukaryotic ferritin subunits are present in secreted ferritins from insects, but here dimers between Ferritin 1 Heavy Chain Homolog (Fer1HCH) and Ferritin 2 Light Chain Homolog (Fer2LCH) are further stabilized by disulfide-bridge in the 24-subunit complex. We addressed ferritin assembly and iron loading in vivo using novel transgenic strains of Drosophila melanogaster. We concentrated on the intestine, where the ferritin induction process can be controlled experimentally by dietary iron manipulation. We showed that the expression pattern of Fer2LCH-Gal4 lines recapitulated iron-dependent endogenous expression of the ferritin subunits and used these lines to drive expression from UAS-mCherry-Fer2LCH transgenes. We found that the Gal4-mediated induction of mCherry-Fer2LCH subunits was too slow to effectively introduce them into newly formed ferritin complexes. Endogenous Fer2LCH and Fer1HCH assembled and stored excess dietary iron, instead. In contrast, when flies were genetically manipulated to co-express Fer2LCH and mCherry-Fer2LCH simultaneously, both subunits were incorporated with Fer1HCH in iron-loaded ferritin complexes. Our study provides fresh evidence that, in insects, ferritin assembly and iron loading in vivo are tightly regulated. PMID:26861293

33 CFR 80.835 - Point Au Fer, LA to Calcasieu Pass, LA.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... 33 Navigation and Navigable Waters 1 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Point Au Fer, LA to Calcasieu... SECURITY INTERNATIONAL NAVIGATION RULES COLREGS DEMARCATION LINES Eighth District § 80.835 Point Au Fer, LA to Calcasieu Pass, LA. (a) A line drawn from Point Au Fer to Atchafalaya Channel Light 34, to Point...

33 CFR 80.835 - Point Au Fer, LA to Calcasieu Pass, LA.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... 33 Navigation and Navigable Waters 1 2011-07-01 2011-07-01 false Point Au Fer, LA to Calcasieu... SECURITY INTERNATIONAL NAVIGATION RULES COLREGS DEMARCATION LINES Eighth District § 80.835 Point Au Fer, LA to Calcasieu Pass, LA. (a) A line drawn from Point Au Fer to Atchafalaya Channel Light 34, to Point...

78 FR 41961 - Submission for Review: 3206-0170, Application for Refund of Retirement Deductions/FERS (SF 3106...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-07-12

... Retirement Deductions/FERS (SF 3106) and Current/Former Spouse(s) Notification of Application for Refund of Retirement Deductions Under FERS (SF 3106A) AGENCY: U.S. Office of Personnel Management. ACTION: 30-Day... Current/Former Spouse(s) Notification of Application for Refund of Retirement Deductions Under FERS (SF...

Corifollitropin alfa followed by highly purified HMG versus recombinant FSH in young poor ovarian responders: a multicentre randomized controlled clinical trial.

PubMed

Drakopoulos, Panagiotis; Vuong, Thi Ngoc Lan; Ho, Ngoc Anh Vu; Vaiarelli, Alberto; Ho, Manh Tuong; Blockeel, Christophe; Camus, Michel; Lam, Anh Tuan; van de Vijver, Arne; Humaidan, Peter; Tournaye, Herman; Polyzos, Nikolaos P

2017-11-01

Does administration of corifollitropin alfa followed by highly purified (hp) HMG result in higher ongoing pregnancy rates compared with daily recombinant FSH (rFSH) in young poor responders? Corifollitropin alfa followed by hp-HMG does not increase ongoing pregnancy rates compared with rFSH in young poor responders, although more supernumerary cryopreserved embryos were obtained with corifollitropin alfa and hp-HMG. Poor ovarian response remains one of the main therapeutic challenges in women undergoing ovarian stimulation, given that very low live birth rates of 6% have been reported in this particular group of infertile patients. Nevertheless, concerns have been raised that a degree of heterogeneity remains, as the prognostic effect of individual factors is still unclear, particularly for the young poor responder group. The rationale for conducting the current randomized trial was based on the results of a previous pilot study demonstrating promising results with the administration of hp-HMG following corifollitropin alpha in women younger than 40 years of age, fulfilling the 'Bologna' criteria. A multicenter, phase III, superiority, randomized trial was conducted using a parallel two-arm design. The study included 152 patients younger than 40 years old and fulfilling the 'Bologna' criteria for poor ovarian response, from one tertiary referral centre in Europe and one tertiary referral centre in Asia. Enrolment was performed from March 2013 to May 2016. Eligible patients were randomized to either administration of 150 μg corifollitropin alfa followed by 300 IU hp-HMG (Group A) or to 300 IU of daily recombinant FSH (Group B) in a fixed GnRH antagonist protocol. The randomization sequence was created using a computer generated randomization list stratified by centre, using 1:1 allocation. The primary outcome was ongoing pregnancy rate (defined as the presence of an intrauterine gestational sac with an embryonic pole demonstrating cardiac activity at 9-10 weeks of gestation). Secondary outcomes included embryo cryopreservation rates, clinical and biochemical pregnancy rates and number of oocytes retrieved. Overall, 152 poor ovarian responders defined by the 'Bologna' criteria were included in the study. Using an intention-to treat analysis, the ongoing pregnancy rates did not differ significantly between Group A 11/77 (14.3%) and Group B 11/70 (15.7%), absolute difference: -0.4 (-11.5 to 10.8), OR = 0.9 (0.4-2.4). Biochemical and clinical pregnancy rates, live birth rates and the number of oocytes retrieved were also comparable between the two groups. Nevertheless, more patients in the corifollitropin alfa group had cryopreserved embryos compared to the rFSH group [22 (28.6%) versus 10 (14.3%), OR = 2.4 (1.01-5.5)]. Incidentally, Asian patients had significantly lower cancellation rates compared to European poor responders [2/64 (3.1%) versus 17/83 (20.4%), OR = 0.12 (0.03-0.5)]. This discrepancy could be explained by the fact that Asian women were better prognosis patients than European patients, with significantly lower FSH [9.8 (5.3) versus 11.5 (5.4), P = 0.017] and significantly higher AMH [1.1 (0.9) versus 0.4 (0.3), P-value <0.001] levels. Ongoing pregnancy rates close to 14% for both treatment groups differ significantly from the hypothesized primary outcome rates used in the power calculation. Therefore, our randomized trial might have been underpowered to detect smaller differences. The use of multiple secondary outcomes and multiple comparisons could have increased a Type 1 error. Finally, although the chance of selection biases remains low given the nature of the infertile population, the open-label design could have been a limitation. Poor ovarian response represents a challenge and although a specific protocol may have increased the number of cryopreserved embryos, no difference was observed in ongoing pregnancy rates. Our study, being one of the largest RCTs in 'Bologna' criteria poor responders, highlights that baseline characteristics may play a crucial role in clinical prognosis of this population. Given that ovarian stimulation using novel protocols does not seem to significantly increase pregnancy rates even in young women, we suggest that future clinical research should focus on increasing the number of recruitable follicles and on oocyte quality rather than evaluating different stimulation protocols. No external funding was used for this study. P.D., N.L.V., N.A.V.H., A.V., M.T.H., M.C., A.T.L. and A.V.V. have no conflict of interest to report. C.B. has received unrestricted research grants from MSD and Ferring as well as honoraria for lectures from Abbott, MSD, Merck and Ferring. P.H has received unrestricted research grants from MSD, Merck and Ferring as well as honoraria for lectures from Merck, MSD and IBSA. H.T. has received unrestricted research grants from MSD, Merck, Ferring, Cook, Roche Diagnostics, Besins International and Goodlife as well as consultation fees for research project in female infertility from Merck Finox, Abbott and ObsEva. N.P.P. has received unrestricted research grants from MSD, Ferring, Roche Diagnostics and Besins International as well as honoraria for lectures from MSD, Merck and Ferring. The EUDRACT number of the trial was 2013-000583-29 and the study was registered at clinicaltrials.gov (NCT01816321). 19 February 2013. 28 February 2013. © The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com

Hierarchical Recognition Scheme for Human Facial Expression Recognition Systems

PubMed Central

Siddiqi, Muhammad Hameed; Lee, Sungyoung; Lee, Young-Koo; Khan, Adil Mehmood; Truc, Phan Tran Ho

2013-01-01

Over the last decade, human facial expressions recognition (FER) has emerged as an important research area. Several factors make FER a challenging research problem. These include varying light conditions in training and test images; need for automatic and accurate face detection before feature extraction; and high similarity among different expressions that makes it difficult to distinguish these expressions with a high accuracy. This work implements a hierarchical linear discriminant analysis-based facial expressions recognition (HL-FER) system to tackle these problems. Unlike the previous systems, the HL-FER uses a pre-processing step to eliminate light effects, incorporates a new automatic face detection scheme, employs methods to extract both global and local features, and utilizes a HL-FER to overcome the problem of high similarity among different expressions. Unlike most of the previous works that were evaluated using a single dataset, the performance of the HL-FER is assessed using three publicly available datasets under three different experimental settings: n-fold cross validation based on subjects for each dataset separately; n-fold cross validation rule based on datasets; and, finally, a last set of experiments to assess the effectiveness of each module of the HL-FER separately. Weighted average recognition accuracy of 98.7% across three different datasets, using three classifiers, indicates the success of employing the HL-FER for human FER. PMID:24316568

5 CFR 875.203 - Am I eligible if I separated under the FERS MRA+10 provision?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

... FERS MRA+10 provision? 875.203 Section 875.203 Administrative Personnel OFFICE OF PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT....203 Am I eligible if I separated under the FERS MRA+10 provision? If you have separated from service under the FERS Minimum Retirement Age and 10 years of service (MRA+10) provision of 5 U.S.C. 8412(g...

5 CFR 875.203 - Am I eligible if I separated under the FERS MRA+10 provision?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

... FERS MRA+10 provision? 875.203 Section 875.203 Administrative Personnel OFFICE OF PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT....203 Am I eligible if I separated under the FERS MRA+10 provision? If you have separated from service under the FERS Minimum Retirement Age and 10 years of service (MRA+10) provision of 5 U.S.C. 8412(g...

5 CFR 875.203 - Am I eligible if I separated under the FERS MRA+10 provision?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

... FERS MRA+10 provision? 875.203 Section 875.203 Administrative Personnel OFFICE OF PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT....203 Am I eligible if I separated under the FERS MRA+10 provision? If you have separated from service under the FERS Minimum Retirement Age and 10 years of service (MRA+10) provision of 5 U.S.C. 8412(g...

5 CFR 875.203 - Am I eligible if I separated under the FERS MRA+10 provision?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... FERS MRA+10 provision? 875.203 Section 875.203 Administrative Personnel OFFICE OF PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT....203 Am I eligible if I separated under the FERS MRA+10 provision? If you have separated from service under the FERS Minimum Retirement Age and 10 years of service (MRA+10) provision of 5 U.S.C. 8412(g...

5 CFR 875.203 - Am I eligible if I separated under the FERS MRA+10 provision?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... FERS MRA+10 provision? 875.203 Section 875.203 Administrative Personnel OFFICE OF PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT....203 Am I eligible if I separated under the FERS MRA+10 provision? If you have separated from service under the FERS Minimum Retirement Age and 10 years of service (MRA+10) provision of 5 U.S.C. 8412(g...

Ferritin (FER), isoferritins and aluminum

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

Fleming, J.; Cho, S.W.; Clauberg, M.

FER from Alzheimer's brain contains more Al. One source of Al is beverages. Of the several common beverages analyzed, Pepsi, sold in bottles but not in cans, contained the highest conc. of Al (10..mu..M). Male albino rats were fed 10..mu..M Al in drinking water for one year. They were then sacrificed and their brain homogenates were analyzed for FER, Al and several enzymes. The results: compared to controls, the homogenates of the Al fed rats had 276.5% more Al bound to Fer (114.2 +/- 25.3 g atoms/mol) and 30% less hexokinase activity (150 units/mg protein). Acetyl choline esterase and alkalinemore » ribonuclease levels remained unchanged. Isoelectrofocusing (pH 4-6.5) of human-brain FER yielded at least five bands. None corresponded with those from human liver FER or horse spleen FER. Horse spleen FER was applied to DEAE sephadex and eluted by NaCl-batchwise gradient. Five distinct fractions were obtained. The most acidic eluted last. It contained least Fe, tended to precipitate on standing and required less Al or Be to ppt. Thus, isoferritins may differ in their metal binding capacity and perhaps in their related physiological functions.« less

Wanting it Too Much: An Inverse Relation Between Social Motivation and Facial Emotion Recognition in Autism Spectrum Disorder

PubMed Central

Garman, Heather D.; Spaulding, Christine J.; Webb, Sara Jane; Mikami, Amori Yee; Morris, James P.

2016-01-01

This study examined social motivation and early-stage face perception as frameworks for understanding impairments in facial emotion recognition (FER) in a well-characterized sample of youth with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). Early-stage face perception (N170 event-related potential latency) was recorded while participants completed a standardized FER task, while social motivation was obtained via parent report. Participants with greater social motivation exhibited poorer FER, while those with shorter N170 latencies exhibited better FER for child angry faces stimuli. Social motivation partially mediated the relationship between a faster N170 and better FER. These effects were all robust to variations in IQ, age, and ASD severity. These findings augur against theories implicating social motivation as uniformly valuable for individuals with ASD, and augment models suggesting a close link between early-stage face perception, social motivation, and FER in this population. Broader implications for models and development of FER in ASD are discussed. PMID:26743637

Wanting it Too Much: An Inverse Relation Between Social Motivation and Facial Emotion Recognition in Autism Spectrum Disorder.

PubMed

Garman, Heather D; Spaulding, Christine J; Webb, Sara Jane; Mikami, Amori Yee; Morris, James P; Lerner, Matthew D

2016-12-01

This study examined social motivation and early-stage face perception as frameworks for understanding impairments in facial emotion recognition (FER) in a well-characterized sample of youth with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). Early-stage face perception (N170 event-related potential latency) was recorded while participants completed a standardized FER task, while social motivation was obtained via parent report. Participants with greater social motivation exhibited poorer FER, while those with shorter N170 latencies exhibited better FER for child angry faces stimuli. Social motivation partially mediated the relationship between a faster N170 and better FER. These effects were all robust to variations in IQ, age, and ASD severity. These findings augur against theories implicating social motivation as uniformly valuable for individuals with ASD, and augment models suggesting a close link between early-stage face perception, social motivation, and FER in this population. Broader implications for models and development of FER in ASD are discussed.

Estimation of the Magnetic Flux Emergence Rate in the Quiet Sun from Sunrise Data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Smitha, H. N.; Anusha, L. S.; Solanki, S. K.; Riethmüller, T. L.

2017-03-01

Small-scale internetwork (IN) features are thought to be the major source of fresh magnetic flux in the quiet Sun. During its first science flight in 2009, the balloon-borne observatory Sunrise captured images of the magnetic fields in the quiet Sun at a high spatial resolution. Using these data we measure the rate at which the IN features bring magnetic flux to the solar surface. In a previous paper it was found that the lowest magnetic flux in small-scale features detected using the Sunrise observations is 9 × 1014 Mx. This is nearly an order of magnitude smaller than the smallest fluxes of features detected in observations from the Hinode satellite. In this paper, we compute the flux emergence rate (FER) by accounting for such small fluxes, which was not possible before Sunrise. By tracking the features with fluxes in the range {10}15{--}{10}18 Mx, we measure an FER of 1100 {Mx} {{cm}}-2 {{day}}-1. The smaller features with fluxes ≤slant {10}16 Mx are found to be the dominant contributors to the solar magnetic flux. The FER found here is an order of magnitude higher than the rate from Hinode, obtained with a similar feature tracking technique. A wider comparison with the literature shows, however, that the exact technique of determining the rate of the appearance of new flux can lead to results that differ by up to two orders of magnitude, even when applied to similar data. The causes of this discrepancy are discussed and first qualitative explanations proposed.

FES-related tyrosine kinase activates the insulin-like growth factor-1 receptor at sites of cell adhesion.

PubMed

Stanicka, Joanna; Rieger, Leonie; O'Shea, Sandra; Cox, Orla; Coleman, Michael; O'Flanagan, Ciara; Addario, Barbara; McCabe, Nuala; Kennedy, Richard; O'Connor, Rosemary

2018-06-01

IGF-1 receptor (IGF-1R) and integrin cooperative signaling promotes cancer cell survival, proliferation, and motility, but whether this influences cancer progression and therapy responses is largely unknown. Here we investigated the non-receptor tyrosine adhesion kinase FES-related (FER), following its identification as a potential mediator of sensitivity to IGF-1R kinase inhibition in a functional siRNA screen. We found that FER and the IGF-1R co-locate in cells and can be co-immunoprecipitated. Ectopic FER expression strongly enhanced IGF-1R expression and phosphorylation on tyrosines 950 and 1131. FER phosphorylated these sites in an IGF-1R kinase-independent manner and also enhanced IGF-1-mediated phosphorylation of SHC, and activation of either AKT or MAPK-signaling pathways in different cells. The IGF-1R, β1 Integrin, FER, and its substrate cortactin were all observed to co-locate in cell adhesion complexes, the disruption of which reduced IGF-1R expression and activity. High FER expression correlates with phosphorylation of SHC in breast cancer cell lines and with a poor prognosis in patient cohorts. FER and SHC phosphorylation and IGF-1R expression could be suppressed with a known anaplastic lymphoma kinase inhibitor (AP26113) that shows high specificity for FER kinase. Overall, we conclude that FER enhances IGF-1R expression, phosphorylation, and signaling to promote cooperative growth and adhesion signaling that may facilitate cancer progression.

Receptor kinase complex transmits RALF peptide signal to inhibit root growth in Arabidopsis.

PubMed

Du, Changqing; Li, Xiushan; Chen, Jia; Chen, Weijun; Li, Bin; Li, Chiyu; Wang, Long; Li, Jianglin; Zhao, Xiaoying; Lin, Jianzhong; Liu, Xuanming; Luan, Sheng; Yu, Feng

2016-12-20

A number of hormones work together to control plant cell growth. Rapid Alkalinization Factor 1 (RALF1), a plant-derived small regulatory peptide, inhibits cell elongation through suppression of rhizosphere acidification in plants. Although a receptor-like kinase, FERONIA (FER), has been shown to act as a receptor for RALF1, the signaling mechanism remains unknown. In this study, we identified a receptor-like cytoplasmic kinase (RPM1-induced protein kinase, RIPK), a plasma membrane-associated member of the RLCK-VII subfamily, that is recruited to the receptor complex through interacting with FER in response to RALF1. RALF1 triggers the phosphorylation of both FER and RIPK in a mutually dependent manner. Genetic analysis of the fer-4 and ripk mutants reveals RIPK, as well as FER, to be required for RALF1 response in roots. The RALF1-FER-RIPK interactions may thus represent a mechanism for peptide signaling in plants.

Synthesis of butenes through 2-butanol dehydration over mesoporous materials produced from ferrierite

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

Jeong, Soyeon; Kim, Hyeonjoo; Bae, Jung A.

2012-05-20

Mesoporous materials synthesized from commercial ferrierite (MMZ-FER) were applied to butanol dehydration. The MMZ-FER was produced by disassembling ferrierite into unit structures in the presence of an alkali solution, adding a surfactant as a templating material, followed by hydrothermal treatment. The effect of the alkali/(Si+Al) ratio in the disassembling step on the characteristics of the catalyst and butanol dehydration performance were investigated. The MMZ-FER materials, synthesized in a condition in which the NaOH/(Si + Al) mole ratio in the disassembling step was 0.67 and 1.0, demonstrated similar textural properties to those of MCM-41. Many weak acid sites developed on themore » MMZ-FER(0.67) and MMZ-FER(1.0) samples, which is attributed to the creation of ferrierite-induced acid sites. The MMZ-FER materials showed excellent catalytic activity, selectivity, and stability during the dehydration of 2-butanol.« less

A Brief Review of Facial Emotion Recognition Based on Visual Information.

PubMed

Ko, Byoung Chul

2018-01-30

Facial emotion recognition (FER) is an important topic in the fields of computer vision and artificial intelligence owing to its significant academic and commercial potential. Although FER can be conducted using multiple sensors, this review focuses on studies that exclusively use facial images, because visual expressions are one of the main information channels in interpersonal communication. This paper provides a brief review of researches in the field of FER conducted over the past decades. First, conventional FER approaches are described along with a summary of the representative categories of FER systems and their main algorithms. Deep-learning-based FER approaches using deep networks enabling "end-to-end" learning are then presented. This review also focuses on an up-to-date hybrid deep-learning approach combining a convolutional neural network (CNN) for the spatial features of an individual frame and long short-term memory (LSTM) for temporal features of consecutive frames. In the later part of this paper, a brief review of publicly available evaluation metrics is given, and a comparison with benchmark results, which are a standard for a quantitative comparison of FER researches, is described. This review can serve as a brief guidebook to newcomers in the field of FER, providing basic knowledge and a general understanding of the latest state-of-the-art studies, as well as to experienced researchers looking for productive directions for future work.

A Brief Review of Facial Emotion Recognition Based on Visual Information

PubMed Central

2018-01-01

Facial emotion recognition (FER) is an important topic in the fields of computer vision and artificial intelligence owing to its significant academic and commercial potential. Although FER can be conducted using multiple sensors, this review focuses on studies that exclusively use facial images, because visual expressions are one of the main information channels in interpersonal communication. This paper provides a brief review of researches in the field of FER conducted over the past decades. First, conventional FER approaches are described along with a summary of the representative categories of FER systems and their main algorithms. Deep-learning-based FER approaches using deep networks enabling “end-to-end” learning are then presented. This review also focuses on an up-to-date hybrid deep-learning approach combining a convolutional neural network (CNN) for the spatial features of an individual frame and long short-term memory (LSTM) for temporal features of consecutive frames. In the later part of this paper, a brief review of publicly available evaluation metrics is given, and a comparison with benchmark results, which are a standard for a quantitative comparison of FER researches, is described. This review can serve as a brief guidebook to newcomers in the field of FER, providing basic knowledge and a general understanding of the latest state-of-the-art studies, as well as to experienced researchers looking for productive directions for future work. PMID:29385749

First comparative characterization of three distinct ferritin subunits from a teleost: Evidence for immune-responsive mRNA expression and iron depriving activity of seahorse (Hippocampus abdominalis) ferritins.

PubMed

Oh, Minyoung; Umasuthan, Navaneethaiyer; Elvitigala, Don Anushka Sandaruwan; Wan, Qiang; Jo, Eunyoung; Ko, Jiyeon; Noh, Gyeong Eon; Shin, Sangok; Rho, Sum; Lee, Jehee

2016-02-01

Ferritins play an indispensable role in iron homeostasis through their iron-withholding function in living beings. In the current study, cDNA sequences of three distinct ferritin subunits, including a ferritin H, a ferritin M, and a ferritin L, were identified from big belly seahorse, Hippocampus abdominalis, and molecularly characterized. Complete coding sequences (CDS) of seahorse ferritin H (HaFerH), ferritin M (HaFerM), and ferritin L (HaFerL) subunits were comprised of 531, 528, and 522 base pairs (bp), respectively, which encode polypeptides of 177, 176, and 174 amino acids, respectively, with molecular masses of ∼20-21 kDa. Our in silico analyses demonstrate that these three ferritin subunits exhibit the typical characteristics of ferritin superfamily members including iron regulatory elements, domain signatures, and reactive centers. The coding sequences of HaFerH, M, and L were cloned and the corresponding proteins were overexpressed in a bacterial system. Recombinantly expressed HaFer proteins demonstrated detectable in vivo iron sequestrating (ferroxidase) activity, consistent with their putative iron binding capability. Quantification of the basal expression of these three HaFer sequences in selected tissues demonstrated a gene-specific ubiquitous spatial distribution pattern, with abundance of mRNA in HaFerM in the liver and predominant expression of HaFerH and HaFerL in blood. Interestingly, the basal expression of all three ferritin genes was found to be significantly modulated against pathogenic stress mounted by lipopolysaccharides (LPS), poly I:C, Streptococcus iniae, and Edwardsiella tarda. Collectively, our findings suggest that the three HaFer subunits may be involved in iron (II) homeostasis in big belly seahorse and that they are important in its host defense mechanisms. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The FERONIA Receptor Kinase Maintains Cell-Wall Integrity during Salt Stress through Ca2+ Signaling.

PubMed

Feng, Wei; Kita, Daniel; Peaucelle, Alexis; Cartwright, Heather N; Doan, Vinh; Duan, Qiaohong; Liu, Ming-Che; Maman, Jacob; Steinhorst, Leonie; Schmitz-Thom, Ina; Yvon, Robert; Kudla, Jörg; Wu, Hen-Ming; Cheung, Alice Y; Dinneny, José R

2018-03-05

Cells maintain integrity despite changes in their mechanical properties elicited during growth and environmental stress. How cells sense their physical state and compensate for cell-wall damage is poorly understood, particularly in plants. Here we report that FERONIA (FER), a plasma-membrane-localized receptor kinase from Arabidopsis, is necessary for the recovery of root growth after exposure to high salinity, a widespread soil stress. The extracellular domain of FER displays tandem regions of homology with malectin, an animal protein known to bind di-glucose in vitro and important for protein quality control in the endoplasmic reticulum. The presence of malectin-like domains in FER and related receptor kinases has led to widespread speculation that they interact with cell-wall polysaccharides and can potentially serve a wall-sensing function. Results reported here show that salinity causes softening of the cell wall and that FER is necessary to sense these defects. When this function is disrupted in the fer mutant, root cells explode dramatically during growth recovery. Similar defects are observed in the mur1 mutant, which disrupts pectin cross-linking. Furthermore, fer cell-wall integrity defects can be rescued by treatment with calcium and borate, which also facilitate pectin cross-linking. Sensing of these salinity-induced wall defects might therefore be a direct consequence of physical interaction between the extracellular domain of FER and pectin. FER-dependent signaling elicits cell-specific calcium transients that maintain cell-wall integrity during salt stress. These results reveal a novel extracellular toxicity of salinity, and identify FER as a sensor of damage to the pectin-associated wall. Copyright © 2018 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

5 CFR 841.701 - Purpose and scope.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... adjustments (COLA's) for basic benefits under the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS). (b) This subpart provides the methodology for— (1) Computing COLA's on each type of FERS basic benefit subject to COLA's; and (2) Computing COLA's on annuities partially computed under FERS and partially computed under the...

5 CFR 841.701 - Purpose and scope.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

... adjustments (COLA's) for basic benefits under the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS). (b) This subpart provides the methodology for— (1) Computing COLA's on each type of FERS basic benefit subject to COLA's; and (2) Computing COLA's on annuities partially computed under FERS and partially computed under the...

5 CFR 841.701 - Purpose and scope.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... adjustments (COLA's) for basic benefits under the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS). (b) This subpart provides the methodology for— (1) Computing COLA's on each type of FERS basic benefit subject to COLA's; and (2) Computing COLA's on annuities partially computed under FERS and partially computed under the...

5 CFR 841.701 - Purpose and scope.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

... adjustments (COLA's) for basic benefits under the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS). (b) This subpart provides the methodology for— (1) Computing COLA's on each type of FERS basic benefit subject to COLA's; and (2) Computing COLA's on annuities partially computed under FERS and partially computed under the...

5 CFR 841.701 - Purpose and scope.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

... adjustments (COLA's) for basic benefits under the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS). (b) This subpart provides the methodology for— (1) Computing COLA's on each type of FERS basic benefit subject to COLA's; and (2) Computing COLA's on annuities partially computed under FERS and partially computed under the...

In situ fluorescence spectroscopy correlates ionomer degradation to reactive oxygen species generation in an operating fuel cell.

PubMed

Prabhakaran, Venkateshkumar; Arges, Christopher G; Ramani, Vijay

2013-11-21

The rate of generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) within the polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM) of an operating proton exchange member fuel cell (PEMFC) was monitored using in situ fluorescence spectroscopy. A modified barrier layer was introduced between the PEM and the electrocatalyst layer to eliminate metal-dye interactions and fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) effects during measurements. Standard fuel cell operating parameters (temperature, relative humidity, and electrode potential) were systematically varied to evaluate their influence on the rate of ROS generation during PEMFC operation. Independently, the macroscopic rate of PEM degradation was measured by monitoring the fluoride ion emission rate (FER) in the effluent stream at each operating condition. The ROS generation reaction rate constant (estimated from the in situ fluorescence experiments) correlated perfectly with the measured FER across all conditions, demonstrating unequivocally for the first time that a direct correlation exists between in situ ROS generation and PEM macroscopic degradation. The activation energy for ROS generation within the PEM was estimated to be 12.5 kJ mol(-1).

5 CFR 841.702 - Definitions.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

...) to a person designated to receive such an annuity under § 842.605 of this chapter. COLA means a cost... COLA begin to accrue at the higher rate. FERS means the Federal Employees Retirement System as defined...

Comparison among Magnus/Floquet/Fer expansion schemes in solid-state NMR.

PubMed

Takegoshi, K; Miyazawa, Norihiro; Sharma, Kshama; Madhu, P K

2015-04-07

We here revisit expansion schemes used in nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) for the calculation of effective Hamiltonians and propagators, namely, Magnus, Floquet, and Fer expansions. While all the expansion schemes are powerful methods there are subtle differences among them. To understand the differences, we performed explicit calculation for heteronuclear dipolar decoupling, cross-polarization, and rotary-resonance experiments in solid-state NMR. As the propagator from the Fer expansion takes the form of a product of sub-propagators, it enables us to appreciate effects of time-evolution under Hamiltonians with different orders separately. While 0th-order average Hamiltonian is the same for the three expansion schemes with the three cases examined, there is a case that the 2nd-order term for the Magnus/Floquet expansion is different from that obtained with the Fer expansion. The difference arises due to the separation of the 0th-order term in the Fer expansion. The separation enables us to appreciate time-evolution under the 0th-order average Hamiltonian, however, for that purpose, we use a so-called left-running Fer expansion. Comparison between the left-running Fer expansion and the Magnus expansion indicates that the sign of the odd orders in Magnus may better be reversed if one would like to consider its effect in order.

Comparison among Magnus/Floquet/Fer expansion schemes in solid-state NMR

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Takegoshi, K.; Miyazawa, Norihiro; Sharma, Kshama; Madhu, P. K.

2015-04-01

We here revisit expansion schemes used in nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) for the calculation of effective Hamiltonians and propagators, namely, Magnus, Floquet, and Fer expansions. While all the expansion schemes are powerful methods there are subtle differences among them. To understand the differences, we performed explicit calculation for heteronuclear dipolar decoupling, cross-polarization, and rotary-resonance experiments in solid-state NMR. As the propagator from the Fer expansion takes the form of a product of sub-propagators, it enables us to appreciate effects of time-evolution under Hamiltonians with different orders separately. While 0th-order average Hamiltonian is the same for the three expansion schemes with the three cases examined, there is a case that the 2nd-order term for the Magnus/Floquet expansion is different from that obtained with the Fer expansion. The difference arises due to the separation of the 0th-order term in the Fer expansion. The separation enables us to appreciate time-evolution under the 0th-order average Hamiltonian, however, for that purpose, we use a so-called left-running Fer expansion. Comparison between the left-running Fer expansion and the Magnus expansion indicates that the sign of the odd orders in Magnus may better be reversed if one would like to consider its effect in order.

Comparison among Magnus/Floquet/Fer expansion schemes in solid-state NMR

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

Takegoshi, K., E-mail: takeyan@kuchem.kyoto-u.ac.jp; Miyazawa, Norihiro; Sharma, Kshama

2015-04-07

We here revisit expansion schemes used in nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) for the calculation of effective Hamiltonians and propagators, namely, Magnus, Floquet, and Fer expansions. While all the expansion schemes are powerful methods there are subtle differences among them. To understand the differences, we performed explicit calculation for heteronuclear dipolar decoupling, cross-polarization, and rotary-resonance experiments in solid-state NMR. As the propagator from the Fer expansion takes the form of a product of sub-propagators, it enables us to appreciate effects of time-evolution under Hamiltonians with different orders separately. While 0th-order average Hamiltonian is the same for the three expansion schemes withmore » the three cases examined, there is a case that the 2nd-order term for the Magnus/Floquet expansion is different from that obtained with the Fer expansion. The difference arises due to the separation of the 0th-order term in the Fer expansion. The separation enables us to appreciate time-evolution under the 0th-order average Hamiltonian, however, for that purpose, we use a so-called left-running Fer expansion. Comparison between the left-running Fer expansion and the Magnus expansion indicates that the sign of the odd orders in Magnus may better be reversed if one would like to consider its effect in order.« less

5 CFR 837.202 - Annuities that terminate on reemployment.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... 5 Administrative Personnel 2 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Annuities that terminate on reemployment... Annuities that terminate on reemployment. (a) FERS annuitants. (1) The annuity of a FERS annuitant who is a... terminates on reemployment. (2) The annuity of a FERS annuitant who is a former military reserve technician...

A RhABF2/Ferritin module affects rose (Rosa hybrida) petal dehydration tolerance and senescence by modulating iron levels.

PubMed

Liu, Jitao; Fan, Youwei; Zou, Jing; Fang, Yiqun; Wang, Linghao; Wang, Meng; Jiang, Xinqiang; Liu, Yiqing; Gao, Junping; Zhang, Changqing

2017-12-01

Plants often develop the capacity to tolerate moderate and reversible environmental stresses, such as drought, and to re-establish normal development once the stress has been removed. An example of this phenomenon is provided by cut rose (Rosa hybrida) flowers, which experience typical reversible dehydration stresses during post-harvest handling after harvesting at the bud stages. The molecular mechanisms involved in rose flower dehydration tolerance are not known, however. Here, we characterized a dehydration- and abscisic acid (ABA)-induced ferritin gene (RhFer1). Dehydration-induced free ferrous iron (Fe 2+ ) is preferentially sequestered by RhFer1 and not transported outside of the petal cells, to restrict oxidative stresses during dehydration. Free Fe 2+ accumulation resulted in more serious oxidative stresses and the induction of genes encoding antioxidant enzyme in RhFer1-silenced petals, and poorer dehydration tolerance was observed compared with tobacco rattle virus (TRV) controls. We also determined that RhABF2, an AREB/ABF transcription factor involved in the ABA signaling pathway, can activate RhFer1 expression by directly binding to its promoter. The silencing of RhABF2 decreased dehydration tolerance and disrupted Fe homeostasis in rose petals during dehydration, as did the silencing of RhFer1. Although both RhFer1 and Fe transporter genes are induced during flower natural senescence in plants, the silencing of RhABF2 or RhFer1 accelerates the petal senescence processes. These results suggest that the regulatory module RhABF2/RhFer1 contributes to the maintenance of Fe levels and enhances dehydration tolerance through the action of RhFer1 locally sequestering free Fe 2+ under dehydration conditions, and plays synergistic roles with transporter genes during flower senescence. © 2017 The Authors The Plant Journal © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

HGF-independent regulation of MET and GAB1 by nonreceptor tyrosine kinase FER potentiates metastasis in ovarian cancer

PubMed Central

Fan, Gaofeng; Zhang, Siwei; Gao, Yan; Greer, Peter A.; Tonks, Nicholas K.

2016-01-01

Ovarian cancer cells disseminate readily within the peritoneal cavity, which promotes metastasis, and are often resistant to chemotherapy. Ovarian cancer patients tend to present with advanced disease, which also limits treatment options; consequently, new therapies are required. The oncoprotein tyrosine kinase MET, which is the receptor for hepatocyte growth factor (HGF), has been implicated in ovarian tumorigenesis and has been the subject of extensive drug development efforts. Here, we report a novel ligand- and autophosphorylation-independent activation of MET through the nonreceptor tyrosine kinase feline sarcoma-related (FER). We demonstrated that the levels of FER were elevated in ovarian cancer cell lines relative to those in immortalized normal surface epithelial cells and that suppression of FER attenuated the motility and invasive properties of these cancer cells. Furthermore, loss of FER impaired the metastasis of ovarian cancer cells in vivo. Mechanistically, we demonstrated that FER phosphorylated a signaling site in MET: Tyr1349. This enhanced activation of RAC1/PAK1 and promoted a kinase-independent scaffolding function that led to recruitment and phosphorylation of GAB1 and the specific activation of the SHP2–ERK signaling pathway. Overall, this analysis provides new insights into signaling events that underlie metastasis in ovarian cancer cells, consistent with a prometastatic role of FER and highlighting its potential as a novel therapeutic target for metastatic ovarian cancer. PMID:27401557

Inter-relationships between the heterotrimeric Gβ subunit AGB1, the RLK FERONIA and RALF1 in salinity response.

PubMed

Yu, Yunqing; Assmann, Sarah M

2018-06-15

Plant heterotrimeric G proteins modulate numerous developmental stress responses. Recently, receptor-like kinases (RLKs) have been implicated as functioning with G proteins, and may serve as plant G-protein-coupled-receptors (GPCRs). The RLK FERONIA (FER), in the Catharantus roseus RLK1-like subfamily, is activated by a family of polypeptides called Rapid Alkalinization Factors (RALFs). We previously showed that the Arabidopsis G protein β subunit, AGB1, physically interacts with FER, and that RALF1 regulation of stomatal movement through FER requires AGB1. Here, we investigated genetic interactions of AGB1 and FER in plant salinity response by comparing salt responses in the single and double mutants of agb1 and fer. We show that AGB1 and FER act additively or synergistically depending on the conditions of the NaCl treatments. We further show that the synergism likely occurs through salt-induced ROS production. In addition, we show that RALF1 enhances salt toxicity through increasing Na + accumulation and decreasing K + accumulation rather than by inducing ROS production, and that the RALF1 effect on salt response occurs in an AGB1-independent manner. Our results indicate that RLK epistatic relationships are not fixed, as AGB1 and FER display different genetic relationships to RALF1 in stomatal vs. salinity responses. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

Diminished Sensitivity to Sad Facial Expressions in High Functioning Autism Spectrum Disorders Is Associated with Symptomatology and Adaptive Functioning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wallace, Gregory L.; Case, Laura K.; Harms, Madeline B.; Silvers, Jennifer A.; Kenworthy, Lauren; Martin, Alex

2011-01-01

Prior studies implicate facial emotion recognition (FER) difficulties among individuals with autism spectrum disorders (ASD); however, many investigations focus on FER accuracy alone and few examine ecological validity through links with everyday functioning. We compared FER accuracy and perceptual sensitivity (from neutral to full expression)…

Fer-Ho Anaphora in Catalan: Semantic and Discourse Properties

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Busquets, Joan

2018-01-01

This paper considers the anaphoric status of the pro-form "fer-ho" (do it) in Catalan [This paper contains some ideas included in Busquets (2005)]. I discuss some anaphoric properties of "fer-ho" as deep anaphora. I also compare these properties to those of other types of anaphora, like VPE and pseudogapping (pg). I show that…

Conceptual design study of Fusion Experimental Reactor (FY86 FER): Safety

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Seki, Yasushi; Iida, Hiromasa; Honda, Tsutomu

1987-08-01

This report describes the study on safety for FER (Fusion Experimental Reactor) which has been designed as a next step machine to the JT-60. Though the final purpose of this study is to have an image of design base accident, maximum credible accident and to assess their risk or probability, etc., as FER plant system, the emphasis of this years study is placed on fuel-gas circulation system where the tritium inventory is maximum. The report consists of two chapters. The first chapter summarizes the FER system and describes FMEA (Failure Mode and Effect Analysis) and related accident progression sequence for FER plant system as a whole. The second chapter of this report is focused on fuel-gas circulation system including purification, isotope separation and storage. Probability of risk is assessed by the probabilistic risk analysis (PRA) procedure based on FMEA, ETA and FTA.

Efficacy of iron supplementation may be misinterpreted using conventional measures of iron status in iron-depleted, nonanemic women undergoing aerobic exercise training.

PubMed

Pompano, Laura M; Haas, Jere D

2017-12-01

Background: Despite its known detrimental effects, iron deficiency remains the most common micronutrient deficiency in the world. Many interventions that aim to improve iron status involve physically active populations. Intense aerobic exercise training negatively affects iron status; however, the impact of regular moderate aerobic exercise on the effectiveness of iron supplementation remains unclear. Objective: This study aimed to determine whether aerobic training modifies the assessment of the effectiveness of iron supplementation in improving conventional iron status measures. Design: Seventy-two iron-depleted, nonanemic Chinese women [serum ferritin (sFer) <25 μg/L and hemoglobin >110 g/L] were included in an 8-wk, partially blinded, randomized controlled trial with a 2 × 2 factorial design including iron supplements (42 mg elemental Fe/d) or placebo and aerobic training (five 25-min sessions/wk at 75-85% of maximum heart rate) or no training. Linear mixed models were used to evaluate the relation between supplement type, training, and changes in iron status over time, measured by sFer, hemoglobin, soluble transferrin receptor (sTfR), and estimated total body iron. Results: After treatment, both the iron-supplemented trained and untrained groups showed significantly improved sFer, sTfR, and body iron values compared with either of the placebo groups. Similarly, trained participants had significantly higher aerobic fitness measures than untrained participants. Training modified the sFer response to supplementation (training by supplement interaction, P = 0.07), with the iron-supplemented trained group having significantly lower sFer than the iron-supplemented untrained group at week 8 (mean ± SD: 31.8 ± 13.5 and 47.6 ± 15.7 μg/L, respectively; P = 0.042), whereas there was no significant difference between the placebo trained and untrained groups (21.3 ± 12.2 and 20.3 ± 7.0 μg/L, respectively; P = 1.00). Conclusions: Regular aerobic training reduces the apparent effectiveness of iron supplementation in improving sFer and calls into question whether conventional measures of iron status accurately reflect iron metabolism in physically active, nonanemic women. This trial was registered at clinicaltrials.gov as NCT03002090. © 2017 American Society for Nutrition.

75 FR 35091 - Submission for OMB Review; Comment Request for Review of a Revised Information Collection

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-06-21

... information collection. ``Application for Death Benefits--FERS'' (OMB Control No. 3206-0172; Standard Form 3104), is used by persons applying for death benefits which may be payable under FERS because of the death of an employee, former employee, or retiree who was covered by FERS at the time of his/her death...

Differents aspects du fer dans l'organisme

PubMed Central

Bessis, Marcel; Breton-Gorius, Janine

1959-01-01

On voit des molécules de ferritine apparaitre dans le cytoplasme des cellules réticulaires au cours de la digestion des érythrocytes, autour des stromas phagocytés. Cette ferritine s'accumule en amas dans lesquels entrent d'autres substances, en particulier des lipides, provenant aussi des stromas globulaires et qui apparaissent sous forme myélinique. Souvent la ferritine se dispose d'une manière cristalline. Parfois la ferritine et l'apoferritine alternent dans ces cristaux. Parfois l'hémosidérine contient des cristaux qui semblent bien être de l'apoferritine pure. L'injection de sels de fer donne lieu à l'apparition de ferritine dans les cellules réticulaires. Dans les conditions de nos expériences, la plus grande partie du fer injecté était sous forme de ferritine dans un délai de 3 jours. Un aspect intermédiaire entre celui du fer injecté et celui de la ferritine a été trouvé. Dans le cas des injections de saccharate de fer ce sont de fines aiguilles; dans le cas des injections de lactate de fer, il s'agit de masses fibreuses. PMID:13800106

FER mediated HGF-independent regulation of HGFR/MET activates RAC1-PAK1 pathway to potentiate metastasis in ovarian cancer.

PubMed

Fan, Gaofeng

2017-11-03

Uncontrolled metastasis significantly contributes to high lethality of patients suffering from ovarian cancer. To date, the detailed molecular mechanisms which account for ovarian tumor cell spreading and metastasis remain largely unknown. In a recent study, we have demonstrated that aberrantly high expression of the non-receptor tyrosine kinase FER is responsible for ovarian tumor cell metastasis both in vitro and in vivo. Mechanistically, we indentified Hepatocyte Growth Factor Receptor HGFR/MET as a novel substrate of FER, and through which the kinase FER modulates ovarian cancer cell motility and invasiveness in a ligand-independent manner. We also observed aberrantly high expression of PAK1 kinase in cancer cells, and RNAi-mediated knockdown of FER kinase inactivated the RAC1-PAK1 signaling pathway and decreased metastatic potential of CAOV4 ovarian cancer cells. Overall, our study revealed a previously uncharacterized, pro-metastatic role of the kinase FER in ovarian cancer through the MET-RAC1-PAK1 pathway. Further efforts are essential to investigating beneficial outcomes towards targeting the RAC1-PAK1 signaling pathway in reducing metastatic burden of this deadly disease.

Molecular Characterization and Functional Analysis of a Ferritin Heavy Chain Subunit from the Eri-Silkworm, Samia cynthia ricini

PubMed Central

Yu, Hai-Zhong; Zhang, Shang-Zhi; Ma, Yan; Fei, Dong-Qiong; Li, Bing; Yang, Li-Ang; Wang, Jie; Li, Zhen; Muhammad, Azharuddin; Xu, Jia-Ping

2017-01-01

Ferritins are conserved iron-binding proteins that are primarily involved in iron storage, detoxification and the immune response. Despite the importance of ferritin in organisms, little is known about their roles in the eri-silkworm (Samia cynthia ricini). We previously identified a ferritin heavy chain subunit named ScFerHCH in the S. c. ricini transcriptome database. The full-length S. c. ricini ferritin heavy chain subunit (ScFerHCH) was 1863 bp and encoded a protein of 231 amino acids with a deduced molecular weight of 25.89 kDa. Phylogenetic analysis revealed that ScFerHCH shared a high amino acid identity with the Bombyx mori and Danaus plexippus heavy chain subunits. Higher ScFerHCH expression levels were found in the silk gland, fat body and midgut of S. c. ricini by reverse transcription quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) and Western blotting. Injection of Staphylococcus aureus and Pseudomonas aeruginosa was associated with an upregulation of ScFerHCH in the midgut, fat body and hemolymph, indicating that ScFerHCH may contribute to the host’s defense against invading pathogens. In addition, the anti-oxidation activity and iron-binding capacity of recombinant ScFerHCH protein were examined. Taken together, our results suggest that the ferritin heavy chain subunit from eri-silkworm may play critical roles not only in innate immune defense, but also in organismic iron homeostasis. PMID:29036914

Face emotion recognition is related to individual differences in psychosis-proneness.

PubMed

Germine, L T; Hooker, C I

2011-05-01

Deficits in face emotion recognition (FER) in schizophrenia are well documented, and have been proposed as a potential intermediate phenotype for schizophrenia liability. However, research on the relationship between psychosis vulnerability and FER has mixed findings and methodological limitations. Moreover, no study has yet characterized the relationship between FER ability and level of psychosis-proneness. If FER ability varies continuously with psychosis-proneness, this suggests a relationship between FER and polygenic risk factors. We tested two large internet samples to see whether psychometric psychosis-proneness, as measured by the Schizotypal Personality Questionnaire-Brief (SPQ-B), is related to differences in face emotion identification and discrimination or other face processing abilities. Experiment 1 (n=2332) showed that psychosis-proneness predicts face emotion identification ability but not face gender identification ability. Experiment 2 (n=1514) demonstrated that psychosis-proneness also predicts performance on face emotion but not face identity discrimination. The tasks in Experiment 2 used identical stimuli and task parameters, differing only in emotion/identity judgment. Notably, the relationships demonstrated in Experiments 1 and 2 persisted even when individuals with the highest psychosis-proneness levels (the putative high-risk group) were excluded from analysis. Our data suggest that FER ability is related to individual differences in psychosis-like characteristics in the normal population, and that these differences cannot be accounted for by differences in face processing and/or visual perception. Our results suggest that FER may provide a useful candidate intermediate phenotype.

Falsifiability is not optional.

PubMed

LeBel, Etienne P; Berger, Derek; Campbell, Lorne; Loving, Timothy J

2017-08-01

Finkel, Eastwick, and Reis (2016; FER2016) argued the post-2011 methodological reform movement has focused narrowly on replicability, neglecting other essential goals of research. We agree multiple scientific goals are essential, but argue, however, a more fine-grained language, conceptualization, and approach to replication is needed to accomplish these goals. Replication is the general empirical mechanism for testing and falsifying theory. Sufficiently methodologically similar replications, also known as direct replications, test the basic existence of phenomena and ensure cumulative progress is possible a priori. In contrast, increasingly methodologically dissimilar replications, also known as conceptual replications, test the relevance of auxiliary hypotheses (e.g., manipulation and measurement issues, contextual factors) required to productively investigate validity and generalizability. Without prioritizing replicability, a field is not empirically falsifiable. We also disagree with FER2016's position that "bigger samples are generally better, but . . . that very large samples could have the downside of commandeering resources that would have been better invested in other studies" (abstract). We identify problematic assumptions involved in FER2016's modifications of our original research-economic model, and present an improved model that quantifies when (and whether) it is reasonable to worry that increasing statistical power will engender potential trade-offs. Sufficiently powering studies (i.e., >80%) maximizes both research efficiency and confidence in the literature (research quality). Given that we are in agreement with FER2016 on all key open science points, we are eager to start seeing the accelerated rate of cumulative knowledge development of social psychological phenomena such a sufficiently transparent, powered, and falsifiable approach will generate. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).

Externalizing and Internalizing Symptoms Moderate Longitudinal Patterns of Facial Emotion Recognition in Autism Spectrum Disorder

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rosen, Tamara E.; Lerner, Matthew D.

2016-01-01

Facial emotion recognition (FER) is thought to be a key deficit domain in autism spectrum disorder (ASD). However, the extant literature is based solely on cross-sectional studies; thus, little is known about even short-term intra-individual dynamics of FER in ASD over time. The present study sought to examine trajectories of FER in ASD youth over…

Local binary pattern variants-based adaptive texture features analysis for posed and nonposed facial expression recognition

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sultana, Maryam; Bhatti, Naeem; Javed, Sajid; Jung, Soon Ki

2017-09-01

Facial expression recognition (FER) is an important task for various computer vision applications. The task becomes challenging when it requires the detection and encoding of macro- and micropatterns of facial expressions. We present a two-stage texture feature extraction framework based on the local binary pattern (LBP) variants and evaluate its significance in recognizing posed and nonposed facial expressions. We focus on the parametric limitations of the LBP variants and investigate their effects for optimal FER. The size of the local neighborhood is an important parameter of the LBP technique for its extraction in images. To make the LBP adaptive, we exploit the granulometric information of the facial images to find the local neighborhood size for the extraction of center-symmetric LBP (CS-LBP) features. Our two-stage texture representations consist of an LBP variant and the adaptive CS-LBP features. Among the presented two-stage texture feature extractions, the binarized statistical image features and adaptive CS-LBP features were found showing high FER rates. Evaluation of the adaptive texture features shows competitive and higher performance than the nonadaptive features and other state-of-the-art approaches, respectively.

Enhanced terrestrial carbon preservation promoted by reactive iron in deltaic sediments

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shields, Michael R.; Bianchi, Thomas S.; Gélinas, Yves; Allison, Mead A.; Twilley, Robert R.

2016-02-01

We examined the role of reactive iron (FeR) in preserving organic carbon (OC) across a subaerial chronosequence of the Wax Lake Delta, a prograding delta within the Mississippi River Delta complex. We found that ~15.0% of the OC was bound to FeR, and the dominant binding mechanisms varied from adsorption in the youngest subaerial region to coprecipitation at the older, vegetated sites. The δ13C of the iron-associated OC was more negative than the total OC (mean = -2.6‰), indicating greater preference for terrestrial material and/or compounds with more negative δ13C values. However, only the adsorbed OC displayed preferential binding of lignin phenols. We estimate that ~8% of the OC initially deposited in deltaic systems is bound to FeR (equivalent to 6 × 1012 gC yr-1), and this percentage increases postdepositionally, as coprecipitation of FeR and OC allows for an even greater amount of OC to be bound to FeR.

Immunofluorescent detection in the ovary of host antibodies against a secretory ferritin injected into female Haemaphysalis longicornis ticks.

PubMed

Galay, Remil Linggatong; Matsuo, Tomohide; Hernandez, Emmanuel Pacia; Talactac, Melbourne Rio; Kusakisako, Kodai; Umemiya-Shirafuji, Rika; Mochizuki, Masami; Fujisaki, Kozo; Tanaka, Tetsuya

2018-04-01

Due to the continuous threat of ticks and tick-borne diseases to human and animal health worldwide, and the drawbacks of chemical acaricide application, many researchers are exploring vaccination as an alternative tick control method. Earlier studies have shown that host antibodies can circulate in the ticks, but it has not been confirmed whether these antibodies can be passed on to the eggs. We previously reported that ticks infesting rabbits immunized with a recombinant secretory ferritin of Haemaphysalis longicornis (HlFER2) had reduced egg production and hatching. Here we attempted to detect the presence of antibodies against HlFER2 in the ovary and eggs of female ticks through immunofluorescent visualization. Purified anti-HlFER2 antibodies or rabbit IgG for control was directly injected to engorged female H. longicornis. Ovaries and eggs after oviposition were collected and prepared for an indirect immunofluorescent antibody test. Positive fluorescence was detected in ovaries one day post-injection of anti-HlFER2 antibodies. Through silencing of Hlfer2 gene, we also determined whether the injected antibodies can specifically bind to native HlFER2. Immunofluorescence was observed in the oocytes of dsLuciferase control ticks injected with anti-HlFER2 antibodies, but not in the oocytes of Hlfer2-silenced ticks also injected with anti-HlFER2 antibodies. Our current findings suggest that host antibodies can be passed on to the oocytes, which is significant in formulating a vaccine that can disrupt tick reproduction. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Inter-track interference mitigation with two-dimensional variable equalizer for bit patterned media recording

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Yao; Vijaya Kumar, B. V. K.

2017-05-01

The increased track density in bit patterned media recording (BPMR) causes increased inter-track interference (ITI), which degrades the bit error rate (BER) performance. In order to mitigate the effect of the ITI, signals from multiple tracks can be equalized by a 2D equalizer with 1D target. Usually, the 2D fixed equalizer coefficients are obtained by using a pseudo-random bit sequence (PRBS) for training. In this study, a 2D variable equalizer is proposed, where various sets of 2D equalizer coefficients are predetermined and stored for different ITI patterns besides the usual PRBS training. For data detection, as the ITI patterns are unknown in the first global iteration, the main and adjacent tracks are equalized with the conventional 2D fixed equalizer, detected with Bahl-Cocke-Jelinek-Raviv (BCJR) detector and decoded with low-density parity-check (LDPC) decoder. Then using the estimated bit information from main and adjacent tracks, the ITI pattern for each island of the main track can be estimated and the corresponding 2D variable equalizers are used to better equalize the bits on the main track. This process is executed iteratively by feeding back the main track information. Simulation results indicate that for both single-track and two-track detection, the proposed 2D variable equalizer can achieve better BER and frame error rate (FER) compared to that with the 2D fixed equalizer.

Alternative expression of vacuolar iron transporter and ferritin genes leads to blue/purple coloration of flowers in tulip cv. 'Murasakizuisho'.

PubMed

Shoji, Kazuaki; Momonoi, Kazumi; Tsuji, Tosiaki

2010-02-01

Flowers of tulip cv. 'Murasakizuisho' have a purple perianth except for the bottom region, which is blue in color even though it has the same anthocyanin, delphinidin 3-O-rutinoside, as the entire perianth. The development of the blue coloration in the perianth bottom is due to complexation by anthocyanin, flavonol and iron (Fe), as well as a vacuolar iron transporter, TgVit1. Although transient expression of TgVit1 in the purple cells led to a color change to light blue, the coloration of the transformed cells did not coincide with the dark blue color of the cells of the perianth bottom. We thought that another factor is required for the blue coloration of the cells of perianth bottom. To examine the effect of ferritin (FER), an Fe storage protein, on blue color development, we cloned an FER gene (TgFER1) and performed expression analyses. TgFER1 transcripts were found in the cells located in the upper region of the petals along with purple color development by anthocyanin and were not found in the blue cells of the perianth bottom. This gene expression is in contrast to that of TgVit1, expressed only in the cells of the perianth bottom. Co-expression of TgVIT1 and TgFER-RNAi, constructed for suppressing endogenous TgFER1 by RNA interference (RNAi), changed the purple petal cells to a dark blue color similar to that of the natural perianth bottom. These results strongly suggest that TgVit1 expression and TgFER1 suppression are critical for the development of blue color in the perianth bottom.

Differences in Facial Emotion Recognition between First Episode Psychosis, Borderline Personality Disorder and Healthy Controls.

PubMed

Catalan, Ana; Gonzalez de Artaza, Maider; Bustamante, Sonia; Orgaz, Pablo; Osa, Luis; Angosto, Virxinia; Valverde, Cristina; Bilbao, Amaia; Madrazo, Arantza; van Os, Jim; Gonzalez-Torres, Miguel Angel

2016-01-01

Facial emotion recognition (FER) is essential to guide social functioning and behaviour for interpersonal communication. FER may be altered in severe mental illness such as in psychosis and in borderline personality disorder patients. However, it is unclear if these FER alterations are specifically related to psychosis. Awareness of FER alterations may be useful in clinical settings to improve treatment strategies. The aim of our study was to examine FER in patients with severe mental disorder and their relation with psychotic symptomatology. Socio-demographic and clinical variables were collected. Alterations on emotion recognition were assessed in 3 groups: patients with first episode psychosis (FEP) (n = 64), borderline personality patients (BPD) (n = 37) and healthy controls (n = 137), using the Degraded Facial Affect Recognition Task. The Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale, Structured Interview for Schizotypy Revised and Community Assessment of Psychic Experiences scales were used to assess positive psychotic symptoms. WAIS III subtests were used to assess IQ. Kruskal-Wallis analysis showed a significant difference between groups on the FER of neutral faces score between FEP, BPD patients and controls and between FEP patients and controls in angry face recognition. No significant differences were found between groups in the fear or happy conditions. There was a significant difference between groups in the attribution of negative emotion to happy faces. BPD and FEP groups had a much higher tendency to recognize happy faces as negatives. There was no association with the different symptom domains in either group. FEP and BPD patients have problems in recognizing neutral faces more frequently than controls. Moreover, patients tend to over-report negative emotions in recognition of happy faces. Although no relation between psychotic symptoms and FER alterations was found, these deficits could contribute to a patient's misinterpretations in daily life.

Ferritin Is Required in Multiple Tissues during Drosophila melanogaster Development.

PubMed

González-Morales, Nicanor; Mendoza-Ortíz, Miguel Ángel; Blowes, Liisa M; Missirlis, Fanis; Riesgo-Escovar, Juan R

2015-01-01

In Drosophila melanogaster, iron is stored in the cellular endomembrane system inside a protein cage formed by 24 ferritin subunits of two types (Fer1HCH and Fer2LCH) in a 1:1 stoichiometry. In larvae, ferritin accumulates in the midgut, hemolymph, garland, pericardial cells and in the nervous system. Here we present analyses of embryonic phenotypes for mutations in Fer1HCH, Fer2LCH and in both genes simultaneously. Mutations in either gene or deletion of both genes results in a similar set of cuticular embryonic phenotypes, ranging from non-deposition of cuticle to defects associated with germ band retraction, dorsal closure and head involution. A fraction of ferritin mutants have embryonic nervous systems with ventral nerve cord disruptions, misguided axonal projections and brain malformations. Ferritin mutants die with ectopic apoptotic events. Furthermore, we show that ferritin maternal contribution, which varies reflecting the mother's iron stores, is used in early development. We also evaluated phenotypes arising from the blockage of COPII transport from the endoplasmic reticulum to the Golgi apparatus, feeding the secretory pathway, plus analysis of ectopically expressed and fluorescently marked Fer1HCH and Fer2LCH. Overall, our results are consistent with insect ferritin combining three functions: iron storage, intercellular iron transport, and protection from iron-induced oxidative stress. These functions are required in multiple tissues during Drosophila embryonic development.

The FER rs4957796 TT genotype is associated with unfavorable 90-day survival in Caucasian patients with severe ARDS due to pneumonia.

PubMed

Hinz, José; Büttner, Benedikt; Kriesel, Fabian; Steinau, Maximilian; Frederik Popov, Aron; Ghadimi, Michael; Beissbarth, Tim; Tzvetkov, Mladen; Bergmann, Ingo; Mansur, Ashham

2017-08-29

A recent genome-wide association study showed that a genetic variant within the FER gene is associated with survival in patients with sepsis due to pneumonia. Because severe pneumonia is the main cause of acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), we aimed to investigate the effect of the FER polymorphism rs4957796 on the 90-day survival in patients with ARDS due to pneumonia. An assessment of a prospectively collected cohort of 441 patients with ARDS admitted to three intensive care units at the University Medical Centre identified 274 patients with ARDS due to pneumonia. The 90-day mortality risk was recorded as the primary outcome parameter. Sepsis-related organ failure assessment (SOFA) scores and organ support-free days were used as the secondary variables. FER rs4957796 TT-homozygous patients were compared with C-allele carriers. The survival analysis revealed a higher 90-day mortality risk among T homozygotes than among C-allele carriers (p = 0.0144) exclusively in patients with severe ARDS due to pneumonia. The FER rs4957796 TT genotype remained a significant covariate for the 90-day mortality risk in the multivariate analysis (hazard ratio, 4.62; 95% CI, 1.58-13.50; p = 0.0050). In conclusion, FER rs4957796 might act as a prognostic variable for survival in patients with severe ARDS due to pneumonia.

5 CFR 841.503 - Amounts of employee deductions.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... Section 841.503 Administrative Personnel OFFICE OF PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT (CONTINUED) CIVIL SERVICE... cost of social security. (b) The rate of employee deductions from basic pay for FERS coverage for a... under section 302 of the Central Intelligence Agency Act of 1964 for Certain Employees is seven and one...

Iron Amendment and Fenton Oxidation of MTBE-Spent Granular Activated Carbon

EPA Science Inventory

Fenton-driven regeneration of Methyl tert-butyl ether (MTBE)-spent granular activated carbon (GAC) involves Fe amendment to the GAC to catalyze H2O2 reactions and to enhance the rate of MTBE oxidation and GAC regeneration. Four forms of iron (ferric sulfate, ferric chloride, fer...

QTL mapping and candidate genes for resistance to Fusarium ear rot and fumonisin contamination in maize.

PubMed

Maschietto, Valentina; Colombi, Cinzia; Pirona, Raul; Pea, Giorgio; Strozzi, Francesco; Marocco, Adriano; Rossini, Laura; Lanubile, Alessandra

2017-01-21

Fusarium verticillioides is a common maize pathogen causing ear rot (FER) and contamination of the grains with the fumonisin B1 (FB1) mycotoxin. Resistance to FER and FB1 contamination are quantitative traits, affected by environmental conditions, and completely resistant maize genotypes to the pathogen are so far unknown. In order to uncover genomic regions associated to reduced FER and FB1 contamination and identify molecular markers for assisted selection, an F 2:3 population of 188 progenies was developed crossing CO441 (resistant) and CO354 (susceptible) genotypes. FER severity and FB1 contamination content were evaluated over 2 years and sowing dates (early and late) in ears artificially inoculated with F. verticillioides by the use of either side-needle or toothpick inoculation techniques. Weather conditions significantly changed in the two phenotyping seasons and FER and FB1 content distribution significantly differed in the F 3 progenies according to the year and the sowing time. Significant positive correlations (P < 0.01) were detected between FER and FB1 contamination, ranging from 0.72 to 0.81. A low positive correlation was determined between FB1 contamination and silking time (DTS). A genetic map was generated for the cross, based on 41 microsatellite markers and 342 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) derived from Genotyping-by-Sequencing (GBS). QTL analyses revealed 15 QTLs for FER, 17 QTLs for FB1 contamination and nine QTLs for DTS. Eight QTLs located on linkage group (LG) 1, 2, 3, 6, 7 and 9 were in common between FER and FB1, making possible the selection of genotypes with both low disease severity and low fumonisin contamination. Moreover, five QTLs on LGs 1, 2, 4, 5 and 9 located close to previously reported QTLs for resistance to other mycotoxigenic fungi. Finally, 24 candidate genes for resistance to F. verticillioides are proposed combining previous transcriptomic data with QTL mapping. This study identified a set of QTLs and candidate genes that could accelerate breeding for resistance of maize lines showing reduced disease severity and low mycotoxin contamination determined by F. verticillioides.

Recognition of Facial Emotional Expression in Amnestic Mild Cognitive Impairment

PubMed Central

Varjassyová, Alexandra; Hořínek, Daniel; Andel, Ross; Amlerova, Jana; Laczó, Jan; Sheardová, Kateřina; Magerová, Hana; Holmerová, Iva; Vyhnálek, Martin; Bradáč, Ondřej; Geda, Yonas E.; Hort, Jakub

2014-01-01

We examined whether recognition of facial emotional expression would be affected in amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI). A total of 50 elderly persons met the initial inclusion criteria, 10 were subsequently excluded (Geriatric Depression Score >5). 22 subjects were classified with aMCI based on published criteria (single domain aMCI [SD-aMCI], n = 10; multiple domain aMCI [MD-aMCI], n = 12); 18 subjects were cognitively normal. All underwent standard neurological and neuropsychological evaluations as well as tests of facial emotion recognition (FER) and famous faces identification (FFI). Among normal controls, FFI was negatively correlated with MMSE and positively correlated with executive function. Among patients with aMCI, FER was correlated with attention/speed of processing. No other correlations were significant. In a multinomial logistic regression model adjusted for age, sex, and education, a poorer score on FER, but not on FFI, was associated with greater odds of being classified as MD-aMCI (odds ratio [OR], 3.82; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.05–13.91; p = 0.042). This association was not explained by memory or global cognitive score. There was no association between FER or FFI and SD-aMCI (OR, 1.13; 95% CI, 0.36–3.57; p = 0.836). Therefore, FER, but not FFI, may be impaired in MD-aMCI. This implies that in MD-aMCI, the tasks of FER and FFI may involve segregated neurocognitive networks. PMID:22954669

5 CFR Appendix A to Subpart F of... - List of Events for Which Inclusion of NAFI Service May Affect the Rate of Annuity Payable

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... 5 Administrative Personnel 2 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false List of Events for Which Inclusion of... of Part 847—List of Events for Which Inclusion of NAFI Service May Affect the Rate of Annuity Payable... of annuity. CSRS disability retirement Commencing date of annuity. 1 FERS disability retirement First...

Differences in Facial Emotion Recognition between First Episode Psychosis, Borderline Personality Disorder and Healthy Controls

PubMed Central

Gonzalez de Artaza, Maider; Bustamante, Sonia; Orgaz, Pablo; Osa, Luis; Angosto, Virxinia; Valverde, Cristina; Bilbao, Amaia; Madrazo, Arantza; van Os, Jim; Gonzalez-Torres, Miguel Angel

2016-01-01

Background Facial emotion recognition (FER) is essential to guide social functioning and behaviour for interpersonal communication. FER may be altered in severe mental illness such as in psychosis and in borderline personality disorder patients. However, it is unclear if these FER alterations are specifically related to psychosis. Awareness of FER alterations may be useful in clinical settings to improve treatment strategies. The aim of our study was to examine FER in patients with severe mental disorder and their relation with psychotic symptomatology. Materials and Methods Socio-demographic and clinical variables were collected. Alterations on emotion recognition were assessed in 3 groups: patients with first episode psychosis (FEP) (n = 64), borderline personality patients (BPD) (n = 37) and healthy controls (n = 137), using the Degraded Facial Affect Recognition Task. The Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale, Structured Interview for Schizotypy Revised and Community Assessment of Psychic Experiences scales were used to assess positive psychotic symptoms. WAIS III subtests were used to assess IQ. Results Kruskal-Wallis analysis showed a significant difference between groups on the FER of neutral faces score between FEP, BPD patients and controls and between FEP patients and controls in angry face recognition. No significant differences were found between groups in the fear or happy conditions. There was a significant difference between groups in the attribution of negative emotion to happy faces. BPD and FEP groups had a much higher tendency to recognize happy faces as negatives. There was no association with the different symptom domains in either group. Conclusions FEP and BPD patients have problems in recognizing neutral faces more frequently than controls. Moreover, patients tend to over-report negative emotions in recognition of happy faces. Although no relation between psychotic symptoms and FER alterations was found, these deficits could contribute to a patient’s misinterpretations in daily life. PMID:27467692

Famous landmark identification in amnestic mild cognitive impairment and Alzheimer's disease.

PubMed

Sheardova, Katerina; Laczó, Jan; Vyhnalek, Martin; Andel, Ross; Mokrisova, Ivana; Vlcek, Kamil; Amlerova, Jana; Hort, Jakub

2014-01-01

Identification of famous landmarks (FLI), famous faces (FFI) and recognition of facial emotions (FER) is affected early in the course of Alzheimer's disease (AD). FFI, FER and FLI may represent domain specific tasks relying on activation of distinct regions of the medial temporal lobe, which are affected successively during the course of AD. However, the data on FFI and FER in MCI are controversial and FLI domain remains almost unexplored. To determine whether and how are these three specific domains impaired in head to head comparison of patients with amnestic MCI (aMCI) single domain (SD-aMCI) and multiple domain (MD-aMCI). We propose that FLI might be most reliable in differentiating SD-aMCI, which is considered to be an earlier stage of AD pathology spread out, from the controls. A total of 114 patients, 13 with single domain (SD-aMCI) and 30 with multiple domains (MD-aMCI), 29 with mild AD and 42 controls underwent standard neurological and neuropsychological evaluations as well as tests of FLI, FER and FFI. Compared to the control group, AD subjects performed worse on FFI (p = 0.020), FER (p<0.001) and FLI (p<0.001), MD-aMCI group had significantly worse scores only on FLI (p = 0.002) and approached statistical significance on FER (0.053). SD-aMCI group performed significantly worse only on FLI (p = 0.028) compared to controls. Patients with SD-aMCI had an isolated impairment restricted to FLI, while patients with MD-aMCI showed impairment in FLI as well as in FER. Patients with mild dementia due to AD have more extensive impairment of higher visual perception. The results suggest that FLI testing may contribute to identification of patients at risk of AD. We hypothesize that clinical examination of all three domains might reflect the spread of the disease from transentorhinal cortex, over amygdala to fusiform gyrus.

Famous Landmark Identification in Amnestic Mild Cognitive Impairment and Alzheimer's Disease

PubMed Central

Sheardova, Katerina; Laczó, Jan; Vyhnalek, Martin; Andel, Ross; Mokrisova, Ivana; Vlcek, Kamil; Amlerova, Jana; Hort, Jakub

2014-01-01

Background Identification of famous landmarks (FLI), famous faces (FFI) and recognition of facial emotions (FER) is affected early in the course of Alzheimer's disease (AD). FFI, FER and FLI may represent domain specific tasks relying on activation of distinct regions of the medial temporal lobe, which are affected successively during the course of AD. However, the data on FFI and FER in MCI are controversial and FLI domain remains almost unexplored. Objectives To determine whether and how are these three specific domains impaired in head to head comparison of patients with amnestic MCI (aMCI) single domain (SD-aMCI) and multiple domain (MD-aMCI). We propose that FLI might be most reliable in differentiating SD-aMCI, which is considered to be an earlier stage of AD pathology spread out, from the controls. Patients and Methods A total of 114 patients, 13 with single domain (SD–aMCI) and 30 with multiple domains (MD–aMCI), 29 with mild AD and 42 controls underwent standard neurological and neuropsychological evaluations as well as tests of FLI, FER and FFI. Results Compared to the control group, AD subjects performed worse on FFI (p = 0.020), FER (p<0.001) and FLI (p<0.001), MD-aMCI group had significantly worse scores only on FLI (p = 0.002) and approached statistical significance on FER (0.053). SD-aMCI group performed significantly worse only on FLI (p = 0.028) compared to controls. Conclusions Patients with SD-aMCI had an isolated impairment restricted to FLI, while patients with MD–aMCI showed impairment in FLI as well as in FER. Patients with mild dementia due to AD have more extensive impairment of higher visual perception. The results suggest that FLI testing may contribute to identification of patients at risk of AD. We hypothesize that clinical examination of all three domains might reflect the spread of the disease from transentorhinal cortex, over amygdala to fusiform gyrus. PMID:25144755

The 'Brick Wall' radio loss approximation and the performance of strong channel codes for deep space applications at high data rates

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Shambayati, Shervin

2001-01-01

In order to evaluate performance of strong channel codes in presence of imperfect carrier phase tracking for residual carrier BPSK modulation in this paper an approximate 'brick wall' model is developed which is independent of the channel code type for high data rates. It is shown that this approximation is reasonably accurate (less than 0.7dB for low FERs for (1784,1/6) code and less than 0.35dB for low FERs for (5920,1/6) code). Based on the approximation's accuracy, it is concluded that the effects of imperfect carrier tracking are more or less independent of the channel code type for strong channel codes. Therefore, the advantage that one strong channel code has over another with perfect carrier tracking translates to nearly the same advantage under imperfect carrier tracking conditions. This will allow the link designers to incorporate projected channel code performance of strong channel codes into their design tables without worrying about their behavior in the face of imperfect carrier phase tracking.

Serum ferritin, hematocrit and mean corpuscular volume in hemodialysis.

PubMed

Goldwasser, P; Koutelos, T; Abraham, S; Avram, M M

1994-01-01

Prior to beginning to administration erythropoietin (EPO) in 1989, we examined the relationships of hematocrit (HCT), mean corpuscular volume (MCV), and serum ferritin (FER) in one group of hemodialysis patients (group A, n = 117) and replicated the findings in a second group (group B, n = 73). The groups had similar mean (+/- SD) HCT (A: 25.7 +/- 5.3%; B: 25.2 +/- 5.1%), MCV (A: 83.3 +/- 6.5 fl; B: 83.5 +/- 7.5 fl) and FER (A: 607 +/- 1446 micrograms/l; B: 374 +/- 601 micrograms/l). For group A, iron stores [log (FER)] correlated inversely with HCT (r = -0.44, p < 10(-4)) and directly with MCV (r = 0.32, p < 10(-3)). After dividing group A into octiles by the FER level, the lowest octile (mean FER 17.8 +/- 6.2 micrograms/l) had the highest mean HCT (29.5 +/- 6.4%) and lowest mean MCV (80.8 +/- 7.1 fl), while the highest octile (mean FER 3,312 +/- 3,005 micrograms/l) had the lowest mean HCT (21.9 +/- 2.8%) and the second-highest mean MCV (86.4 +/- 4.9 fl). The trends were similar in group B. We conclude that increased erythropoiesis appeared to cause or, at least, unmask iron deficiency in HD patients even prior to the advent of EPO therapy. Variations in the level of erythropoiesis among these patients (presumably due to variation in EPO levels, chronic inflammation) strongly influenced the determinants of iron stores (i.e., marrow utilization of iron, transfusion need); iron stores, in turn, influenced MCV.

Tyrosine phosphorylation of LRP6 by Src and Fer inhibits Wnt/β-catenin signalling

PubMed Central

Chen, Qing; Su, Yi; Wesslowski, Janine; Hagemann, Anja I; Ramialison, Mirana; Wittbrodt, Joachim; Scholpp, Steffen; Davidson, Gary

2014-01-01

Low-density lipoprotein receptor-related proteins 5 and 6 (LRP5/6) function as transmembrane receptors to transduce Wnt signals. A key mechanism for signalling is Wnt-induced serine/threonine phosphorylation at conserved PPPSPxS motifs in the LRP6 cytoplasmic domain, which promotes pathway activation. Conserved tyrosine residues are positioned close to all PPPSPxS motifs, which suggests they have a functional significance. Using a cell culture-based cDNA expression screen, we identified the non-receptor tyrosine kinases Src and Fer as novel LRP6 modifiers. Both Src and Fer associate with LRP6 and phosphorylate LRP6 directly. In contrast to the known PPPSPxS Ser/Thr kinases, tyrosine phosphorylation by Src and Fer negatively regulates LRP6-Wnt signalling. Epistatically, they function upstream of β-catenin to inhibit signalling and in agreement with a negative role in regulating LRP6, MEF cells lacking these kinases show enhanced Wnt signalling. Wnt3a treatment of cells enhances tyrosine phosphorylation of endogenous LRP6 and, mechanistically, Src reduces cell surface LRP6 levels and disrupts LRP6 signalosome formation. Interestingly, CK1γ inhibits Fer-induced LRP6 phosphorylation, suggesting a mechanism whereby CK1γ acts to de-represses inhibitory LRP6 tyrosine phosphorylation. We propose that LRP6 tyrosine phosphorylation by Src and Fer serves a negative regulatory function to prevent over-activation of Wnt signalling at the level of the Wnt receptor, LRP6. Subject Categories Membrane & Intracellular Transport; Post-translational Modifications, Proteolysis & Proteomics PMID:25391905

The impact of the CACNA1C risk allele on limbic structures and facial emotions recognition in bipolar disorder subjects and healthy controls.

PubMed

Soeiro-de-Souza, Márcio Gerhardt; Otaduy, Maria Concepción Garcia; Dias, Carolina Zadres; Bio, Danielle S; Machado-Vieira, Rodrigo; Moreno, Ricardo Alberto

2012-12-01

Impairments in facial emotion recognition (FER) have been reported in bipolar disorder (BD) during all mood states. FER has been the focus of functional magnetic resonance imaging studies evaluating differential activation of limbic regions. Recently, the α1-C subunit of the L-type voltage-gated calcium channel (CACNA1C) gene has been described as a risk gene for BD and its Met allele found to increase CACNA1C mRNA expression. In healthy controls, the CACNA1C risk (Met) allele has been reported to increase limbic system activation during emotional stimuli and also to impact on cognitive function. The aim of this study was to investigate the impact of CACNA1C genotype on FER scores and limbic system morphology in subjects with BD and healthy controls. Thirty-nine euthymic BD I subjects and 40 healthy controls were submitted to a FER recognition test battery and genotyped for CACNA1C. Subjects were also examined with a 3D 3-Tesla structural imaging protocol. The CACNA1C risk allele for BD was associated to FER impairment in BD, while in controls nothing was observed. The CACNA1C genotype did not impact on amygdala or hippocampus volume neither in BD nor controls. Sample size. The present findings suggest that a polymorphism in calcium channels interferes FER phenotype exclusively in BD and doesn't interfere on limbic structures morphology. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Foreign Currency Exchange Rate Fluctuation Funds.

DTIC Science & Technology

1981-08-21

Services should account for gains and losses due to currency C-) exchange rate fluctuations in fiscal year 1981 military construc- tion and family...housing programs. Some officials contend that, ._J since no contingency funds were made available in fiscal year LJ* 1981, it is not necessary to account...possible trans- F fer to the contingency’ funds. Gains would have been recorded in C= fiscal year 1981 due to the favorable U.S. dollar fluctuations

Possibilité d'une nouvelle technologie de traitement des minerais de fer de l'Ouenza par radiométrie

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Idres, A.; Bounouala, M.

2005-05-01

En l'absence d'une technologie fiable de traitement des haldes de minerais de fer, les caractéristiques minéralogiques et chimiques complexes et les effets néfastes des résidus miniers posent réellement un problème environnemental. A cet effet, une étude minéralogique et chimique du minerai de fer a été menée en utilisant des techniques multiples (microscopie optique, DRX, FX, MEB). En tenant compte de la nature des résidus, des échantillons représentatifs ont été testés par séparation radiométrique. Plusieurs paramètres ont été caractérisés tels que la vitesse de la bande transporteuse, le temps d'émission des rayons gamma et la granulométrie d'alimentation du procédé. Les résultats ainsi obtenus par cette méthode de séparation sont très significatifs en récupération et en teneur fer. Cependant, cette nouvelle technologie permet d'une part une meilleure valorisation des minerais de fer et d'autre part une réduction du tonnage stocké sur le carreau de la mine.

Replicability and other features of a high-quality science: Toward a balanced and empirical approach.

PubMed

Finkel, Eli J; Eastwick, Paul W; Reis, Harry T

2017-08-01

Finkel, Eastwick, and Reis (2015; FER2015) argued that psychological science is better served by responding to apprehensions about replicability rates with contextualized solutions than with one-size-fits-all solutions. Here, we extend FER2015's analysis to suggest that much of the discussion of best research practices since 2011 has focused on a single feature of high-quality science-replicability-with insufficient sensitivity to the implications of recommended practices for other features, like discovery, internal validity, external validity, construct validity, consequentiality, and cumulativeness. Thus, although recommendations for bolstering replicability have been innovative, compelling, and abundant, it is difficult to evaluate their impact on our science as a whole, especially because many research practices that are beneficial for some features of scientific quality are harmful for others. For example, FER2015 argued that bigger samples are generally better, but also noted that very large samples ("those larger than required for effect sizes to stabilize"; p. 291) could have the downside of commandeering resources that would have been better invested in other studies. In their critique of FER2015, LeBel, Campbell, and Loving (2016) concluded, based on simulated data, that ever-larger samples are better for the efficiency of scientific discovery (i.e., that there are no tradeoffs). As demonstrated here, however, this conclusion holds only when the replicator's resources are considered in isolation. If we widen the assumptions to include the original researcher's resources as well, which is necessary if the goal is to consider resource investment for the field as a whole, the conclusion changes radically-and strongly supports a tradeoff-based analysis. In general, as psychologists seek to strengthen our science, we must complement our much-needed work on increasing replicability with careful attention to the other features of a high-quality science. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).

Perinatal outcome of singleton siblings born after assisted reproductive technology and spontaneous conception: Danish national sibling-cohort study.

PubMed

Henningsen, Anna-Karina Aaris; Pinborg, Anja; Lidegaard, Øjvind; Vestergaard, Christina; Forman, Julie Lyng; Andersen, Anders Nyboe

2011-03-01

To compare the perinatal outcome of singleton siblings conceived differently. National population-based registry study. Denmark, from 1994 to 2008. Pairs of siblings (13,692 pairs; n = 27,384 children) conceived after IVF, intracytoplasmatic sperm injection (ICSI), frozen embryo replacement (FER), or spontaneous conception subcategorized into five groups according to succession: [1] IVF-ICSI vs. spontaneous conception (n = 7,758), [2] IVF-ICSI vs. FER (n = 716), [3] FER vs. FER (n = 34), [4] IVF-ICSI vs. IVF-ICSI (n = 2,876), and [5] spontaneous conception vs. spontaneous conception (n = 16,000). Observations were obtained from national registries. Birth weight, gestational age, low birth weight (<2,500 g), preterm birth (<37 weeks' gestation) and perinatal deaths. Mean birth weight was 65 g (95% confidence interval [CI], 41-89] lower in all assisted reproductive technology children compared with their spontaneously conceived siblings. FER children were 167 g (95% CI, 90-244] heavier than siblings born after replacement of fresh embryos. The difference in birth weight between firstborn and second born sibling depended on order of conception method. Higher risk of low birth weight with (odds ratio [OR], 1.4; 95%CI, 1.1-1.7] and preterm birth (OR, 1.3; 95% CI, 1.1-1.6] was observed in IVF/ICSI compared with spontaneous conception. When differentiating between order and mode of conception, it seems that assisted reproductive technology plays a role in mean birth weight and risk of low birth weight and preterm birth. Birth weight was higher in siblings born after FER compared with fresh embryos replacement. Copyright © 2011 American Society for Reproductive Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Concholepas concholepas Ferritin H-like subunit (CcFer): Molecular characterization and single nucleotide polymorphism associated to innate immune response.

PubMed

Chávez-Mardones, Jacqueline; Valenzuela-Muñoz, Valentina; Núñez-Acuña, Gustavo; Maldonado-Aguayo, Waleska; Gallardo-Escárate, Cristian

2013-09-01

Ferritin has been identified as the principal protein of iron storage and iron detoxification, playing a pivotal role for the cellular homeostasis in living organisms. However, recent studies in marine invertebrates have suggested its association with innate immune system. In the present study, one Ferritin subunit was identified from the gastropod Concholepas concholepas (CcFer), which was fully characterized by Rapid Amplification of cDNA Ends technique. Simultaneously, a challenge test was performed to evaluate the immune response against Vibrio anguillarum. The full length of cDNA Ccfer was 1030 bp, containing 513 bp of open reading frame that encodes to 170 amino acid peptide, which was similar to the Ferritin H subunit described in vertebrates. Untranslated Regions (UTRs) were identified with a 5'UTR of 244 bp that contains iron responsive element (IRE), and a 3'UTR of 273 bp. The predicted molecular mass of deduced amino acid of CcFer was 19.66 kDa and isoelectric point of 4.92. Gene transcription analysis revealed that CcFer increases against infections with V. anguillarum, showing a peak expression at 6 h post-infection. Moreover, a single nucleotide polymorphism was detected at -64 downstream 5'UTR sequence (SNP-64). Quantitative real time analysis showed that homozygous mutant allele (TT) was significantly associated with higher expression levels of the challenged group compared to wild (CC) and heterozygous (CT) variants. Our findings suggest that CcFer is associated to innate immune response in C. concholepas and that the presence of SNPs may involve differential transcriptional expression of CcFer. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

5 CFR 1600.22 - Maximum contributions.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... 5 Administrative Personnel 3 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Maximum contributions. 1600.22 Section... ELECTIONS AND CONTRIBUTION ALLOCATIONS Program of Contributions § 1600.22 Maximum contributions. (a) Regular...) FERS percentage limit. The maximum employee contribution from basic pay for a FERS participant for 2005...

Identification and characterization of a ferritin gene and its product from the multicellular green alga Ulva pertusa.

PubMed

Morimoto, Shin-Ichiro; Masuda, Taro; Sugihara, Itaru; Toyohara, Haruhiko

2012-01-01

Iron is an essential element for virtually all kingdoms of life, and especially for primary producers in ocean ecosystems. To date, the molecular mechanism of iron utilization by macroalgae remains largely unknown. To elucidate the strategy of iron acquisition and storage in macroalgae, we focused on the function of the iron storage protein ferritin in the sea lettuce, Ulva pertusa, which has abundant iron content. Judging from the primary structure, U. pertusa ferritin (UpFer) can be classified as a land-plant-type ferritin, which is usually found in plastids. The gene of UpFer was expressed in the peripheral, central and rhizoid parts. Western blot analysis showed that UpFER was present and functioned in processed 26- and 22-kDa forms. Furthermore, recombinant UpFER had iron incorporation activity comparable to other ferritins. These results suggest that ferritin also functions as an iron storage protein as in unicellular algae and land plants.

Tuning microtubule dynamics to enhance cancer therapy by modulating FER-mediated CRMP2 phosphorylation.

PubMed

Zheng, Yiyan; Sethi, Ritika; Mangala, Lingegowda S; Taylor, Charlotte; Goldsmith, Juliet; Wang, Ming; Masuda, Kenta; Karaminejadranjbar, Mohammad; Mannion, David; Miranda, Fabrizio; Herrero-Gonzalez, Sandra; Hellner, Karin; Chen, Fiona; Alsaadi, Abdulkhaliq; Albukhari, Ashwag; Fotso, Donatien Chedom; Yau, Christopher; Jiang, Dahai; Pradeep, Sunila; Rodriguez-Aguayo, Cristian; Lopez-Berestein, Gabriel; Knapp, Stefan; Gray, Nathanael S; Campo, Leticia; Myers, Kevin A; Dhar, Sunanda; Ferguson, David; Bast, Robert C; Sood, Anil K; von Delft, Frank; Ahmed, Ahmed Ashour

2018-02-02

Though used widely in cancer therapy, paclitaxel only elicits a response in a fraction of patients. A strong determinant of paclitaxel tumor response is the state of microtubule dynamic instability. However, whether the manipulation of this physiological process can be controlled to enhance paclitaxel response has not been tested. Here, we show a previously unrecognized role of the microtubule-associated protein CRMP2 in inducing microtubule bundling through its carboxy terminus. This activity is significantly decreased when the FER tyrosine kinase phosphorylates CRMP2 at Y479 and Y499. The crystal structures of wild-type CRMP2 and CRMP2-Y479E reveal how mimicking phosphorylation prevents tetramerization of CRMP2. Depletion of FER or reducing its catalytic activity using sub-therapeutic doses of inhibitors increases paclitaxel-induced microtubule stability and cytotoxicity in ovarian cancer cells and in vivo. This work provides a rationale for inhibiting FER-mediated CRMP2 phosphorylation to enhance paclitaxel on-target activity for cancer therapy.

5 CFR 847.911 - Is an employee who elects to credit NAFI service to qualify for an immediate FERS retirement...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... annuity supplement under 5 CFR 842 subpart E? 847.911 Section 847.911 Administrative Personnel OFFICE OF....911 Is an employee who elects to credit NAFI service to qualify for an immediate FERS retirement under...

5 CFR 847.911 - Is an employee who elects to credit NAFI service to qualify for an immediate FERS retirement...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

... annuity supplement under 5 CFR 842 subpart E? 847.911 Section 847.911 Administrative Personnel OFFICE OF....911 Is an employee who elects to credit NAFI service to qualify for an immediate FERS retirement under...

5 CFR 847.911 - Is an employee who elects to credit NAFI service to qualify for an immediate FERS retirement...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

... annuity supplement under 5 CFR 842 subpart E? 847.911 Section 847.911 Administrative Personnel OFFICE OF....911 Is an employee who elects to credit NAFI service to qualify for an immediate FERS retirement under...

5 CFR 847.911 - Is an employee who elects to credit NAFI service to qualify for an immediate FERS retirement...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

... annuity supplement under 5 CFR 842 subpart E? 847.911 Section 847.911 Administrative Personnel OFFICE OF....911 Is an employee who elects to credit NAFI service to qualify for an immediate FERS retirement under...

5 CFR 847.911 - Is an employee who elects to credit NAFI service to qualify for an immediate FERS retirement...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... annuity supplement under 5 CFR 842 subpart E? 847.911 Section 847.911 Administrative Personnel OFFICE OF....911 Is an employee who elects to credit NAFI service to qualify for an immediate FERS retirement under...

Facial emotion recognition in adolescents with psychotic-like experiences: a school-based sample from the general population.

PubMed

Roddy, S; Tiedt, L; Kelleher, I; Clarke, M C; Murphy, J; Rawdon, C; Roche, R A P; Calkins, M E; Richard, J A; Kohler, C G; Cannon, M

2012-10-01

Psychotic symptoms, also termed psychotic-like experiences (PLEs) in the absence of psychotic disorder, are common in adolescents and are associated with increased risk of schizophrenia-spectrum illness in adulthood. At the same time, schizophrenia is associated with deficits in social cognition, with deficits particularly documented in facial emotion recognition (FER). However, little is known about the relationship between PLEs and FER abilities, with only one previous prospective study examining the association between these abilities in childhood and reported PLEs in adolescence. The current study was a cross-sectional investigation of the association between PLEs and FER in a sample of Irish adolescents. The Adolescent Psychotic-Like Symptom Screener (APSS), a self-report measure of PLEs, and the Penn Emotion Recognition-40 Test (Penn ER-40), a measure of facial emotion recognition, were completed by 793 children aged 10-13 years. Children who reported PLEs performed significantly more poorly on FER (β=-0.03, p=0.035). Recognition of sad faces was the major driver of effects, with children performing particularly poorly when identifying this expression (β=-0.08, p=0.032). The current findings show that PLEs are associated with poorer FER. Further work is needed to elucidate causal relationships with implications for the design of future interventions for those at risk of developing psychosis.

5 CFR 847.902 - How does an election to credit NAFI service for immediate CSRS or FERS retirement under subpart H...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... elects to use NAFI service to qualify for an immediate CSRS or FERS retirement benefit will be reduced to ensure the present value of the benefits payable will be actuarially equivalent to those that would have...

5 CFR 847.502 - Transfers to the CSR Fund.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... 5 Administrative Personnel 2 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Transfers to the CSR Fund. 847.502 Section 847.502 Administrative Personnel OFFICE OF PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT (CONTINUED) CIVIL SERVICE... to the CSR Fund. For elections of CSRS or FERS coverage under § 847.411 or FERS coverage and service...

Emotion Recognition and Social/Role Dysfunction in Non-Clinical Psychosis

PubMed Central

Pelletier, Andrea L.; Dean, Derek J.; Lunsford-Avery, Jessica R.; Smith, Ashley K.; Orr, Joseph M.; Gupta, Tina; Millman, Zachary B.; Mittal, Vijay A.

2013-01-01

As researchers continue to understand non-clinical psychosis (NCP- brief psychotic-like experiences occurring in 5–7% of the general population; van Os et al., 2009), it is becoming evident that functioning deficits and facial emotion recognition (FER) impairment characterize this phenomenon. However, the extent to which these domains are related remains unclear. Social/role functioning and FER were assessed in 65 adolescents/young adults exhibiting Low and High-NCP. Results indicate that FER and social/role functioning deficits were present in the High-NCP group, and that the domains were associated in this group alone. Taken together, findings suggest that a core emotive deficit is tied to broader social/role dysfunction in NCP. PMID:23182437

The E3 Ubiquitin Ligase MIB-1 Is Necessary To Form the Nuclear Halo in Caenorhabditis elegans Sperm.

PubMed

Herrera, Leslie A; Starr, Daniel A

2018-05-18

Unlike the classical nuclear envelope with two membranes found in other eukaryotic cells, most nematode sperm nuclei are not encapsulated by membranes. Instead, they are surrounded by a nuclear halo of unknown composition. How the halo is formed and regulated is unknown. We used forward genetics to identify molecular lesions behind three classical fer (fertilization defective) mutations that disrupt the ultrastructure of the Caenorhabditis elegans sperm nuclear halo. We found fer-2 and fer-4 alleles to be nonsense mutations in mib-1. fer-3 was caused by a nonsense mutation in eri-3 GFP::MIB-1 was expressed in the germline during early spermatogenesis, but not in mature sperm. mib-1 encodes a conserved E3 ubiquitin ligase homologous to vertebrate Mib1 and Mib2, which function in Notch signaling. Here, we show that mib-1 is important for male sterility and is involved in the regulation or formation of the nuclear halo during nematode spermatogenesis. Copyright © 2018, G3: Genes, Genomes, Genetics.

Networks and Spanning Trees: The Juxtaposition of Prüfer and Boruvka

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lodder, Jerry

2014-01-01

This paper outlines a method for teaching topics in undergraduate mathematics or computer science via historical curricular modules. The contents of one module, "Networks and Spanning Trees," are discussed from the original work of Arthur Cayley, Heinz Prüfer, and Otakar Boruvka that motivates the enumeration and application of trees in…

75 FR 33366 - Submission for OMB Review; Request for Comments on a Revised Information Collection: (OMB Control...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-06-11

... Information Collection: (OMB Control No. 3206-0170; Standard Forms 3106 and 3106A) AGENCY: Office of Personnel... Retirement System (FERS),'' (OMB Control No. 3206-0170; Standard Form 3106), is used by former Federal... Retirement Deductions Under FERS,'' (OMB Control No. 3206-0170; Standard Form 3106A) is used by refund...

Weight reduction intervention for obese infertile women prior to IVF: a randomized controlled trial.

PubMed

Einarsson, Snorri; Bergh, Christina; Friberg, Britt; Pinborg, Anja; Klajnbard, Anna; Karlström, Per-Olof; Kluge, Linda; Larsson, Ingrid; Loft, Anne; Mikkelsen-Englund, Anne-Lis; Stenlöf, Kaj; Wistrand, Anna; Thurin-Kjellberg, Ann

2017-08-01

Does an intensive weight reduction programme prior to IVF increase live birth rates for infertile obese women? An intensive weight reduction programme resulted in a large weight loss but did not substantially affect live birth rates in obese women scheduled for IVF. Among obese women, fertility and obstetric outcomes are influenced negatively with increased risk of miscarriage and a higher risk of maternal and neonatal complications. A recent large randomized controlled trial found no effect of lifestyle intervention on live birth in infertile obese women. A prospective, multicentre, randomized controlled trial was performed between 2010 and 2016 in the Nordic countries. In total, 962 women were assessed for eligibility and 317 women were randomized. Computerized randomization with concealed allocation was performed in the proportions 1:1 to one of two groups: weight reduction intervention followed by IVF-treatment or IVF-treatment only. One cycle per patient was included. Nine infertility clinics in Sweden, Denmark and Iceland participated. Women under 38 years of age planning IVF, and having a BMI ≥30 and <35 kg/m2 were randomized to two groups: an intervention group (160 patients) with weight reduction before IVF, starting with 12 weeks of a low calorie liquid formula diet (LCD) of 880 kcal/day and thereafter weight stabilization for 2-5 weeks, or a control group (157 patients) with IVF only. In the full analysis set (FAS), the live birth rate was 29.6% (45/152) in the weight reduction and IVF group and 27.5% (42/153) in the IVF only group. The difference was not statistically significant (difference 2.2%, 95% CI: 12.9 to -8.6, P = 0.77). The mean weight change was -9.44 (6.57) kg in the weight reduction and IVF group as compared to +1.19 (1.95) kg in the IVF only group, being highly significant (P < 0.0001). Significantly more live births were achieved through spontaneous pregnancies in the weight reduction and IVF group, 10.5% (16) as compared to the IVF only group 2.6% (4) (P = 0.009). Miscarriage rates and gonadotropin dose used for IVF stimulation did not differ between groups. Two subgroup analyses were performed. The first compared women with PCOS in the two randomized groups, and the second compared women in the weight reduction group reaching BMI ≤ 25 kg/m2 or reaching a weight loss of at least five BMI units to the IVF only group. No statistical differences in live birth rates between the groups in either subgroup analysis were found. The study was not powered to detect a small increase in live births due to weight reduction and was not blinded for the patients or physician. Further, the intervention group had a longer time to achieve a spontaneous pregnancy, but were therefore slightly older than the control group at IVF. The study only included women with a BMI lower than 35 kg/m2. The study suggests that weight loss for obese women (BMI: 30-34.9 kg/m2) may not rectify the outcome in IVF cycles, although a significant higher number of spontaneous conceptions occurred in the weight loss group. Also, the study suggests that intensive weight reduction with LCD treatment does not negatively affects the results. The study was funded by Sahlgrenska University Hospital (ALFGBG-70 940), Merck AB, Solna, Sweden (an affiliate of Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany), Impolin AB, Hjalmar Svensson Foundation and Jane and Dan Olsson Foundation. Dr Thurin-Kjellberg reports grants from Merck, non-financial support from Impolin AB, during the conduct of the study, and personal fees from Merck outside the submitted work. Dr Friberg reports personal fees from Ferring, Merck, MSD, Finox and personal fees from Studentlitteratur, outside the submitted work. Dr Englund reports personal fees from Ferring, and non-financial support from Merck, outside the submitted work. Dr Bergh reports and has been reimbursed for: writing a newsletter twice a year (Ferring), lectures (Ferring, MSD, Merck), and Nordic working group meetings (Finox). Dr Karlström reports lectures (Ferring, Finox, Merck, MSD) and Nordic working group meetings (Ferring). Ms Kluge, Dr Einarsson, Dr Pinborg, Dr Klajnbard, Dr Stenlöf, Dr Larsson, Dr Loft and Dr Wistrand have nothing to disclose. ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT01566929. 23-03-2012. 05-10-2010. © The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com

Federal Employees' Retirement System Act of 1986.

PubMed

Kerns, W L

1986-11-01

In June, President Reagan signed the Federal Employees' Retirement System Act of 1986 (Public Law 99-335), which establishes the Federal Employees' Retirement System (FERS) for employees hired after December 31, 1983. The program, which goes into effect on January 1, 1987, features a defined benefit retirement plan to augment mandatory coverage under social security. It also permits FERS participants to contribute up to 10 percent of their earnings, on a tax-deferred basis, to a thrift savings plan, with partial matching by the Government. This article describes the provisions of the new system, including survivor annuities and disability benefits. It also explains how employees covered under the Civil Service Retirement System may freeze their earned benefits under that program and transfer to FERS during the period July-December 1987.

Behavioral and Neuroimaging Evidence for Facial Emotion Recognition in Elderly Korean Adults with Mild Cognitive Impairment, Alzheimer’s Disease, and Frontotemporal Dementia

PubMed Central

Park, Soowon; Kim, Taehoon; Shin, Seong A; Kim, Yu Kyeong; Sohn, Bo Kyung; Park, Hyeon-Ju; Youn, Jung-Hae; Lee, Jun-Young

2017-01-01

Background: Facial emotion recognition (FER) is impaired in individuals with frontotemporal dementia (FTD) and Alzheimer’s disease (AD) when compared to healthy older adults. Since deficits in emotion recognition are closely related to caregiver burden or social interactions, researchers have fundamental interest in FER performance in patients with dementia. Purpose: The purpose of this study was to identify the performance profiles of six facial emotions (i.e., fear, anger, disgust, sadness, surprise, and happiness) and neutral faces measured among Korean healthy control (HCs), and those with mild cognitive impairment (MCI), AD, and FTD. Additionally, the neuroanatomical correlates of facial emotions were investigated. Methods: A total of 110 (33 HC, 32 MCI, 32 AD, 13 FTD) older adult participants were recruited from two different medical centers in metropolitan areas of South Korea. These individuals underwent an FER test that was used to assess the recognition of emotions or absence of emotion (neutral) in 35 facial stimuli. Repeated measures two-way analyses of variance were used to examine the distinct profiles of emotional recognition among the four groups. We also performed brain imaging and voxel-based morphometry (VBM) on the participants to examine the associations between FER scores and gray matter volume. Results: The mean score of negative emotion recognition (i.e., fear, anger, disgust, and sadness) clearly discriminated FTD participants from individuals with MCI and AD and HC [F(3,106) = 10.829, p < 0.001, η2 = 0.235], whereas the mean score of positive emotion recognition (i.e., surprise and happiness) did not. A VBM analysis showed negative emotions were correlated with gray matter volume of anterior temporal regions, whereas positive emotions were related to gray matter volume of fronto-parietal regions. Conclusion: Impairment of negative FER in patients with FTD is cross-cultural. The discrete neural correlates of FER indicate that emotional recognition processing is a multi-modal system in the brain. Focusing on the negative emotion recognition is a more effective way to discriminate healthy aging, MCI, and AD from FTD in older Korean adults. PMID:29249960

ISS 7A.1 Flight Control Team Photo in BFCR

NASA Image and Video Library

2001-08-16

JSC2001-02229 (16 August 2001) --- The members of the STS-105/ISS 7A.1 Orbit 1 team pose for a group portrait in the International Space Station (ISS) flight control room (BFCR) in Houston’s Mission Control Center (MCC). Flight director Mark Ferring is kneeling as he holds the Expedition Three mission logo. Astronaut Stephanie D. Wilson, ISS spacecraft communicator (CAPCOM), is standing behind Ferring.

Equivalence of the Floquet-Magnus and Fer Expansions to Investigate the Dynamics of a Spin System in the Three-Level System.

PubMed

Mananga, Eugene Stephane

2017-08-17

In this work, we investigated the orders to which the Floquet-Magnus expansion (FME) and Fer expansion (FE) are equivalent or different for the three-level system. Specifically, we performed the third-order calculations of both approaches based on elegant integrations formalism. We present an important close relationship between the Floquet-Magnus and Fer expansions. As the propagator from the FME takes the form of the evolution operator, which removes the constraint of a stroboscopic observation, we appreciated the effects of time-evolution under Hamiltonians with different orders separately. Our work unifies and generalizes existing results of Floquet-Magnus and Fer approaches and delivers illustrations of novel springs that boost previous applications that are based on the classical information. Due to the lack of an unequivocal relationship between the FME and FE, some disagreements between the results produced by these theories will be found, especially in NMR experiments. Our results can find applications in the optimization of NMR spectroscopy, quantum computation, quantum optical control, and coherence in optics and might bear new awareness in fundamental perusals of quantum spin dynamics. This work is an important theoretical and numerical contribution in the general field of spin dynamics.

EDTA Shuttle Effect vs. Lignosulfonate Direct Effect Providing Zn to Navy Bean Plants (Phaseolus vulgaris L ‘Negro Polo’) in a Calcareous Soil

PubMed Central

Cieschi, María T.; Benedicto, Ana; Hernández-Apaolaza, Lourdes; Lucena, Juan J.

2016-01-01

Zn-Lignosulfonates (LS) fertilizers are used as an eco-friendly alternative to chelate formulations. The mechanisms of Zn release in the rhizosphere by both types of products are compared. The ability to provide Zn to Phaseolus vulgaris L of non-modified and chemically modified ZnLS and ZnEDTA is compared in a hydroponic assay. Stable isotope 67Zn was used to study Zn source (fertilizer, ZnFer, or native, ZnNat) uptake and distribution in plants in two soil pot experiments. ZnEDTA was the best treatment to provide both ZnFer and ZnNat to navy bean plants. A shuttle effect mechanism and an isotopic exchange may occur. ZnLS from eucalyptus (ZnLSE) provides more Zn to the plant than LS from spruce. Chemical modifications of ZnLSE does not improve its efficiency. A double dose of ZnLSE provides similar ZnFer in leaves and similar soluble ZnFer content in soil than ZnEDTA. A model for the Zn fertilizers behavior in the soil and plant system is presented, showing the shuttle effect for the synthetic chelate and the direct delivery in the rhizosphere for the ZnLS complex. PMID:28018367

Atherogenic impact of lecithin-cholesterol acyltransferase and its relation to cholesterol esterification rate in HDL (FER(HDL)) and AIP [log(TG/HDL-C)] biomarkers: the butterfly effect?

PubMed

Dobiášová, M

2017-05-04

The atherogenic impact and functional capacity of LCAT was studied and discussed over a half century. This review aims to clarify the key points that may affect the final decision on whether LCAT is an anti-atherogenic or atherogenic factor. There are three main processes involving the efflux of free cholesterol from peripheral cells, LCAT action in intravascular pool where cholesterol esterification rate is under the control of HDL, LDL and VLDL subpopulations, and finally the destination of newly produced cholesteryl esters either to the catabolism in liver or to a futile cycle with apoB lipoproteins. The functionality of LCAT substantially depends on its mass together with the composition of the phospholipid bilayer as well as the saturation and the length of fatty acyls and other effectors about which we know yet nothing. Over the years, LCAT puzzle has been significantly supplemented but yet not so satisfactory as to enable how to manipulate LCAT in order to prevent cardiometabolic events. It reminds the butterfly effect when only a moderate change in the process of transformation free cholesterol to cholesteryl esters may cause a crucial turn in the intended target. On the other hand, two biomarkers - FER(HDL) (fractional esterification rate in HDL) and AIP [log(TG/HDL-C)] can offer a benefit to identify the risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD). They both reflect the rate of cholesterol esterification by LCAT and the composition of lipoprotein subpopulations that controls this rate. In clinical practice, AIP can be calculated from the routine lipid profile with help of AIP calculator www.biomed.cas.cz/fgu/aip/calculator.php.

A hyperosmolar-colloidal additive to the CPB-priming solution reduces fluid load and fluid extravasation during tepid CPB.

PubMed

Kvalheim, V; Farstad, M; Haugen, O; Brekke, H; Mongstad, A; Nygreen, E; Husby, P

2008-01-01

Cardiopulmonary bypass(CPB) is associated with fluid overload. We hypothesized that fluid gain during CPB could be reduced by substituting parts of a crystalloid prime with 7.2% hypertonic saline and 6% poly (O-2-hydroxyethyl) starch solution (HyperHaes). 14 animals were randomized to a control group (Group C) or to Group H. CPB-prime in Group C was Ringer's solution. In group H, 4 ml/kg of Ringer's solution was replaced by the hypertonic saline/hydroxyethyl starch solution. After 60 min stabilization, CPB was initiated and continued for 120 min. All animals were allowed drifting of normal temperature (39.0 degrees C) to about 35.0 degrees C. Fluid was added to the CPB circuit as needed to maintain a 300-ml level in the venous reservoir. Blood chemistry, hemodynamic parameters, fluid balance, plasma volume, fluid extravasation rate (FER), tissue water content and acid-base parameters were measured/calculated. Total fluid need during 120 min CPB was reduced by 60% when hypertonic saline/hydroxyethyl starch solution was added to the CPB prime (p < 0.01). The reduction was related to a lowered FER. The effect was most pronounced during the first 30 min on CPB, with 0.6 (0.43) (Group H) compared with 1.5 (0.40) ml/kg/min (Group C) (p < 0.01). Hemodynamics and laboratory parameters were similar in both groups. Serum concentrations of sodium and chloride increased to maximum levels of 148 (1.5) and 112 (1.6) mmol/l in Group H. To conclude: addition of 7.2% hypertonic saline and 6% poly (O-2-hydroxyethyl) starch solution to crystalloid CPB prime reduces fluid needs and FER during tepid CPB.

Calculation of former ELA depressions in the Himalaya - a comparative analysis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wagner, M.

2009-04-01

For the reconstruction of former Equilibrium Line Altitudes (ELA) and ELA depressions in the Himalaya, the group of the Toe-to-Summit-Altitude-Methods (TSAM) is most suited. In this investigation the Kuhle (1986) method that is particularly tailored to the extreme high mountain relief, as well as the widely used Höfer (1879) method and Louis (1954/55) method, have been applied. Applying the relief specific correction factor FSD (Factor for snowline deviation) in the Kuhle method, it is thereby possible to simulate the shifting position of the ELA within the vertical extension of the glacier in dependence on the relief characteristics and glacial type. The results of this work, carried out along the Kali Gandaki in central Nepal, illustrate that as a rule, the Louis method results in the highest ELAs and the lowest ELA depressions, while the Höfer method yields the lowest ELAs and the highest ELA depressions. In affirmation of the literature, the Louis method tends to overestimate the ELA, since using the maximum peak height, especially for large glaciers in mountain ranges with high relief energy, leads to an overly high position of the glacier upper limit. With respect to the Höfer method, the suspicion already voiced by Höfer (1879) himself, that with the use of his method, the for the Himalaya typically high elevated, and with marginal gradient toward the valley moving ridge progressions, would lead to a too low ELA, can be affirmed. Clearly to be disputed, however, is the statement of Gross et al. (1976) that the Höfer method leads to an overestimation of the ELA. The reason for this can be found in a wrong computation of the mean ridge height above the ELA and consequently of the ELA itself within the Höfer method, based on the erroneous assumption that otherwise the ELA could not be calculated due to a circular conclusion (Gross et al. 1976). As is evidenced by this study, the Kuhle method mediates between the empiric overly high values of the Louis method and the overly low values of the Höfer method, because of a mediating definition of the accumulation zone upper limit. Additionally, over the FSD, Kuhle allows for a high degree of adaptation to the extreme Himalaya relief, and within limitations from the change of the relief constellation, which stems from transverse valley's characteristics of the Kali Gandaki. Therefore, the results of the Kuhle method must be affirmed as reflecting the greatest conformity with the actual values of the ELA and the ELA depression. References: Gross, G., H. Kerschner, G. Patzelt (1976): Methodische Untersuchungen über die Schneegrenze in alpinen Gletschergebieten. Zeitschrift für Gletscherkunde und Glazialgeologie 12 (2): 223-251. Höfer von Heimhalt, H. (1879): Gletscher- und Eiszeitstudien. Sitzungsberichte der Akademie der Wissenschaften in Wien, Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftliche Klasse, Abteilung I, Biologie, Mineralogie, Erdkunde 79: 331-367. Kuhle, M. (1986): Schneegrenzberechnung und typologische Klassifikation von Gletschern anhand spezifischer Reliefparameter. Petermanns Geographische Mitteilungen 130: 41-51. Louis, H. (1954/55): Schneegrenze und Schneegrenzbestimmung. Geographisches Taschenbuch 1954/55: 414-418.

A New Method of Facial Expression Recognition Based on SPE Plus SVM

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ying, Zilu; Huang, Mingwei; Wang, Zhen; Wang, Zhewei

A novel method of facial expression recognition (FER) is presented, which uses stochastic proximity embedding (SPE) for data dimension reduction, and support vector machine (SVM) for expression classification. The proposed algorithm is applied to Japanese Female Facial Expression (JAFFE) database for FER, better performance is obtained compared with some traditional algorithms, such as PCA and LDA etc.. The result have further proved the effectiveness of the proposed algorithm.

Bibliography of Ground-Water References for All 254 Counties in Texas, 1886-2001

DTIC Science & Technology

2005-01-01

ATLAS FOR BAILEY COUNTY, TEXAS: HIGH PLAINS UNDERGROUND WATER CONSERVATION DISTRICT NO. 1, 1987. HYDROGEOLOGY AND HYDROCHEMISTRY OF CRETACEOUS AQUI- FERS... UNDERGROUND WATER CONSERVATION DISTRICT NO. 1, 1987. HYDROGEOLOGY AND HYDROCHEMISTRY OF CRETACEOUS AQUI- FERS, TEXAS PANHANDLE AND EASTERN NEW MEXICO: UNI...Counties in Texas, 1886–2001 Compiled By E.T. Baker, Jr. ANDERSON COUNTY UNDERGROUND WATERS OF THE COASTAL PLAIN OF TEXAS: USGS WATER -SUPPLY PAPER 190

Diffraction de rayons X sur les plaquettes de fer durcies par cyanuration

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Popescu, M.; Hoyer, W.; Stegarescu, M.; Cornet, A.; Broll, N.

2004-11-01

Une méthode de cyanuration a été developpée pour les surfaces des plaquettes de fer, basée sur une réaction thermochimique qui conduit à la formation des couches dures sur le métal. Les échantillons ont été analysés, pour de temps différents de traitement, par diffraction de rayons X et par mesures de dureté.

Diagnosing the Internal Architecture of Zeolite Ferrierite

PubMed Central

Schmidt, Joel E.; Hendriks, Frank C.; Lutz, Martin; Post, L. Christiaan; Fu, Donglong

2017-01-01

Abstract Large crystals of zeolite ferrierite (FER) are important model systems for spatially resolved catalysis and diffusion studies, though there is considerable variation in crystal habit depending on the chemical composition and employed synthesis conditions. A synergistic combination of techniques has been applied, including single crystal X‐ray diffraction, high‐temperature in situ confocal fluorescence microscopy, fluorescent probe molecules, wide‐field microscopy and atomic force microscopy to unravel the internal architecture of three distinct FER zeolites. Pyrolyzed template species can be used as markers for the 8‐membered ring direction as they are trapped in the terraced roof of the FER crystals. This happens as the materials grow in a layer‐by‐layer, defect‐free manner normal to the large crystal surface, and leads to a facile method to diagnose the pore system orientation, which avoids tedious single crystal X‐ray diffraction experiments. PMID:28809081

Simulation design of uniform low turn-on voltage and high reverse blocking AlGaN/GaN power field effect rectifier with trench heterojunction anode

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Fangzhou; Chen, Wanjun; Wang, Zeheng; Sun, Ruize; Wei, Jin; Li, Xuan; Shi, Yijun; Jin, Xiaosheng; Xu, Xiaorui; Chen, Nan; Zhou, Qi; Zhang, Bo

2017-05-01

To achieve uniform low turn-on voltage and high reverse blocking capability, an AlGaN/GaN power field effect rectifier with trench heterojunction anode (THA-FER) is proposed and investigated in this work which includes only simulated data and no real experimental result. VT has a low saturation value when trench height (HT) is beyond 300 nm, confirming it is possible to control the VT accurately without precisely controlling the HT in the THA-FER. Meanwhile, high HT anode reduces reverse leakage current and yields high breakdown voltage (VB). A superior high Baliga's Figure of Merits (BFOM = VB2/Ron,sp, Ron,sp is specific-on resistance) of 1228 MW/cm2 reveals the THA-FER caters for the demands of high efficiency GaN power applications.

Federal Retirement: Use of Contractors to Implement the Federal Employees Retirement System

DTIC Science & Technology

1989-02-01

incurred by the principal agencies responsible for implementing the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS) Act of 1986 (P.L. 99-335). We-also...services. The act provided.(t- a new retirement system for all federal civilian employees hired after December 1983 ancan opportunity for about 2.1...million employees covered by existing retirement systems, primarily the Civil Service Retirement System (csRs), to transfer to FERS during aD T1C July

An Historical Analysis and Comparison of the Military Retirement System and the Federal Employee Retirement system

DTIC Science & Technology

1998-06-01

retirement programs in existence. This thesis concentrates on the Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS) and its successor the Federal Employee Retirement...federal employees at the beginning of fiscal year 1995. (Ref. 11, p. 2) The basic objective of the CSRS and FERS programs is to attract quality...and FERS both provide pensions for retired federal employees , the programs are designed differently. CSRS was established in 1920 and predates the

Facial emotion recognition in schizophrenia: An exploratory study on the role of comorbid alcohol and substance use disorders and COMT Val158Met.

PubMed

Carrà, Giuseppe; Nicolini, Gabriella; Lax, Annamaria; Bartoli, Francesco; Castellano, Filippo; Chiorazzi, Alessia; Gamba, Giulia; Bava, Mattia; Crocamo, Cristina; Papagno, Costanza

2017-11-01

To explore whether facial emotion recognition (FER), impaired in both schizophrenia and alcohol and substance use disorders (AUDs/SUDs), is additionally compromised among comorbid subjects, also considering the role of catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT) Val158Met. We conducted a cross-sectional study, randomly recruiting 67 subjects with a DSM-IV-TR diagnosis of schizophrenia, and rigorously assessing AUDs/SUDs and COMT Val158Met polymorphism. FER was assessed using the Ekman 60 Faces Test- EK-60F. As a whole, the sample scored significantly lower than normative data on EK-60F. However, subjects with comorbid AUDs/SUDs did not perform worse on EK-60F than those without, who had a better performance on EK-60F if they carried the COMT Val/Met variant. This study is the first to date examining the impact of AUDs/SUDs and COMT variants on FER in an epidemiologically representative sample of subjects with schizophrenia. Our findings do not suggest an additional impairment from comorbid AUDs/SUDs on FER among subjects with schizophrenia, whilst COMT Val158Met, though based on a limited sample, might have a role just among those without AUDs/SUDs. Based on our results, additional research is needed also exploring differential roles of various substances. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Automatic 2.5-D Facial Landmarking and Emotion Annotation for Social Interaction Assistance.

PubMed

Zhao, Xi; Zou, Jianhua; Li, Huibin; Dellandrea, Emmanuel; Kakadiaris, Ioannis A; Chen, Liming

2016-09-01

People with low vision, Alzheimer's disease, and autism spectrum disorder experience difficulties in perceiving or interpreting facial expression of emotion in their social lives. Though automatic facial expression recognition (FER) methods on 2-D videos have been extensively investigated, their performance was constrained by challenges in head pose and lighting conditions. The shape information in 3-D facial data can reduce or even overcome these challenges. However, high expenses of 3-D cameras prevent their widespread use. Fortunately, 2.5-D facial data from emerging portable RGB-D cameras provide a good balance for this dilemma. In this paper, we propose an automatic emotion annotation solution on 2.5-D facial data collected from RGB-D cameras. The solution consists of a facial landmarking method and a FER method. Specifically, we propose building a deformable partial face model and fit the model to a 2.5-D face for localizing facial landmarks automatically. In FER, a novel action unit (AU) space-based FER method has been proposed. Facial features are extracted using landmarks and further represented as coordinates in the AU space, which are classified into facial expressions. Evaluated on three publicly accessible facial databases, namely EURECOM, FRGC, and Bosphorus databases, the proposed facial landmarking and expression recognition methods have achieved satisfactory results. Possible real-world applications using our algorithms have also been discussed.

Impaired facial emotion recognition in patients with mesial temporal lobe epilepsy associated with hippocampal sclerosis (MTLE-HS): Side and age at onset matters.

PubMed

Hlobil, Ulf; Rathore, Chaturbhuj; Alexander, Aley; Sarma, Sankara; Radhakrishnan, Kurupath

2008-08-01

To define the determinants of impaired facial emotion recognition (FER) in patients with mesial temporal lobe epilepsy associated with hippocampal sclerosis (MTLE-HS), we examined 76 patients with unilateral MTLE-HS, 36 prior to antero-mesial temporal lobectomy (AMTL) and 40 after AMTL, and 28 healthy control subjects with a FER test consisting of 60 items (20 each for anger, fear, and happiness). Mean percentages of the accurate responses were calculated for different subgroups: right vs. left MTLE-HS, early (age at onset <6 years) vs. late-onset, and before vs. after AMTL. After controlling for years of education, duration of epilepsy and number of antiepileptic drugs (AEDs) taken, on multivariate analysis, fear recognition was profoundly impaired in early-onset right MTLE-HS patients compared to other MTLE patients and control subjects. Happiness recognition was significantly better in post-AMTL MTLE-HS patients compared to pre-AMTL patients while anger and fear recognition did not differ. We conclude that patients with right MTLE-HS with age at seizure onset <6 years are maximally predisposed to impaired fear recognition. In them, right AMTL does not further worsen FER abilities. Longitudinal studies comparing FER in the same patients before and after AMTL will be required to refine and confirm our cross-sectional observations.

Features of the broader autism phenotype in people with epilepsy support shared mechanisms between epilepsy and autism spectrum disorder.

PubMed

Richard, Annie E; Scheffer, Ingrid E; Wilson, Sarah J

2017-04-01

Richard, A.E., I.E. Scheffer and S.J. Wilson. Features of the broader autism phenotype in people with epilepsy support shared mechanisms between epilepsy and autism spectrum disorder. NEUROSCI BIOBEHAV REV 21(1) XXX-XXX, 2016. To inform on mechanisms underlying the comorbidity of epilepsy and autism spectrum disorder (ASD), we conducted meta-analyses to test whether impaired facial emotion recognition (FER) and theory of mind (ToM), key phenotypic traits of ASD, are more common in people with epilepsy (PWE) than controls. We contrasted these findings with those of relatives of individuals with ASD (ASD-relatives) compared to controls. Furthermore, we examined the relationship of demographic (age, IQ, sex) and epilepsy-related factors (epilepsy onset age, duration, seizure laterality and origin) to FER and ToM. Thirty-one eligible studies of PWE (including 1449 individuals: 77% with temporal lobe epilepsy), and 22 of ASD-relatives (N=1295) were identified by a systematic database search. Analyses revealed reduced FER and ToM in PWE compared to controls (p<0.001), but only reduced ToM in ASD-relatives (p<0.001). ToM was poorer in PWE than ASD-relatives. Only weak associations were found between FER and ToM and epilepsy-related factors. These findings suggest shared mechanisms between epilepsy and ASD, independent of intellectual disability. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Increased circulating cell-derived microparticle count is associated with recurrent implantation failure after IVF and embryo transfer.

PubMed

Martínez-Zamora, M Angeles; Tàssies, Dolors; Reverter, Juan Carlos; Creus, Montserrat; Casals, Gemma; Cívico, Salvadora; Carmona, Francisco; Balasch, Juan

2016-08-01

Cell-derived microparticles (cMPs) are small membrane vesicles that are released from many different cell types in response to cellular activation or apoptosis. Elevated cMP counts have been found in almost all thrombotic diseases and pregnancy wastage, such as recurrent spontaneous abortion and in a number of conditions associated with inflammation, cellular activation and angiogenesis. cMP count was investigated in patients experiencing unexplained recurrent implantation failure (RIF). The study group was composed of 30 women diagnosed with RIF (RIF group). The first control group (IVF group) (n = 30) comprised patients undergoing a first successful IVF cycle. The second control group (FER group) included 30 healthy women who had at least one child born at term and no history of infertility or obstetric complications. cMP count was significantly higher in the RIF group compared with the IVF and FER groups (P < 0.05 and P < 0.01, respectively) (RIF group: 15.8 ± 6.2 nM phosphatidylserine equivalent [PS eq]; IVF group: 10.9 ± 5.3 nM PS eq; FER group: 9.6 ± 4.0 nM PS eq). No statistical difference was found in cMP count between the IVF and FER groups. Increased cMP count is, therefore, associated with RIF after IVF and embryo transfer. Copyright © 2016. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

A Conserved Role for p48 Homologs in Protecting Dopaminergic Neurons from Oxidative Stress

PubMed Central

Bou Dib, Peter; Gnägi, Bettina; Daly, Fiona; Sabado, Virginie; Tas, Damla; Glauser, Dominique A.; Meister, Peter; Nagoshi, Emi

2014-01-01

Parkinson's disease (PD) is the most common neurodegenerative movement disorder characterized by the progressive loss of dopaminergic (DA) neurons. Both environmental and genetic factors are thought to contribute to the pathogenesis of PD. Although several genes linked to rare familial PD have been identified, endogenous risk factors for sporadic PD, which account for the majority of PD cases, remain largely unknown. Genome-wide association studies have identified many single nucleotide polymorphisms associated with sporadic PD in neurodevelopmental genes including the transcription factor p48/ptf1a. Here we investigate whether p48 plays a role in the survival of DA neurons in Drosophila melanogaster and Caenorhabditis elegans. We show that a Drosophila p48 homolog, 48-related-2 (Fer2), is expressed in and required for the development and survival of DA neurons in the protocerebral anterior medial (PAM) cluster. Loss of Fer2 expression in adulthood causes progressive PAM neuron degeneration in aging flies along with mitochondrial dysfunction and elevated reactive oxygen species (ROS) production, leading to the progressive locomotor deficits. The oxidative stress challenge upregulates Fer2 expression and exacerbates the PAM neuron degeneration in Fer2 loss-of-function mutants. hlh-13, the worm homolog of p48, is also expressed in DA neurons. Unlike the fly counterpart, hlh-13 loss-of-function does not impair development or survival of DA neurons under normal growth conditions. Yet, similar to Fer2, hlh-13 expression is upregulated upon an acute oxidative challenge and is required for the survival of DA neurons under oxidative stress in adult worms. Taken together, our results indicate that p48 homologs share a role in protecting DA neurons from oxidative stress and degeneration, and suggest that loss-of-function of p48 homologs in flies and worms provides novel tools to study gene-environmental interactions affecting DA neuron survival. PMID:25340742

Annual Report of the Chief of Engineers, U.S. Army, on Civil Works Activities 1961. Volume 1

DTIC Science & Technology

1961-01-01

dollars) Classification Total Active De - Ink Total Active De - In- ferred active ferred active Navigation..------------------ 2,604 2,450 42 112 6,138...Sioux City, Iowa.... New York and New Jersey Channels, N.Y. and N.J.. Pike Island Locks and Dam, Ohio River, W. Va..... Playa Del Rey Inlet and Harbor...Jun 61 -1965 Do. Hall Meadow Brook, Conn __ . ___------- - Oct 60 1962 Reservoir. Hunt and Lima Lake Drainage District, Illinois

Shortening The Defense Acquisition Cycle: A Transformation Imperative. Center for Strategic Leadership. November 2002. Issues Paper 13-02

DTIC Science & Technology

2002-11-01

rated. Par tic i pants in these re struc tur ing strat e gies met dif fer ent lev els of suc cess. Monetizers and Evap o ra tors pro vided op por tu ni...have all but elim i nated young work ers in the De fense De part ment’s ac - qui si tion op er a tions.” Mr. Claude M. Bolton Jr., As sis tant Sec re

Characterization of external potential for field emission resonances and its applications on nanometer-scale measurements

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lu, Shin-Ming; Chan, Wen-Yuan; Su, Wei-Bin; Pai, Woei Wu; Liu, Hsiang-Lin; Chang, Chia-Seng

2018-04-01

The form of the external potential (FEP) for generating field emission resonance (FER) in a scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) junction is usually assumed to be triangular. We demonstrate that this assumption can be examined using a plot that can characterize FEP. The plot is FER energies versus the corresponding distances between the tip and sample. Through this energy–distance relationship, we discover that the FEP is nearly triangular for a blunt STM tip. However, the assumption of a triangular potential form is invalid for a sharp tip. The disparity becomes more severe as the tip is sharper. We demonstrate that the energy–distance plot can be exploited to determine the barrier width in field emission and estimate the effective sharpness of an STM tip. Because FERs were observed on Pb islands grown on the Cu(111) surface in this study, determination of the tip sharpness enabled the derivation of the subtle expansion deformation of Pb islands due to electrostatic force in the STM junction.

Characteristics of carboxylesterase genes and their expression-level between acaricide-susceptible and resistant Tetranychus cinnabarinus (Boisduval).

PubMed

Wei, Peng; Shi, Li; Shen, Guangmao; Xu, Zhifeng; Liu, Jialu; Pan, Yu; He, Lin

2016-07-01

Carboxylesterases (CarEs) play important roles in metabolism and detoxification of dietary and environmental xenobiotics in insects and mites. On the basis of the Tetranychuscinnabarinus transcriptome dataset, 23 CarE genes (6 genes are full sequence and 17 genes are partial sequence) were identified. Synergist bioassay showed that CarEs were involved in acaricide detoxification and resistance in fenpropathrin- (FeR) and cyflumetofen-resistant (CyR) strains. In order to further reveal the relationship between CarE gene's expression and acaricide-resistance in T. cinnabarinus, we profiled their expression in susceptible (SS) and resistant strains (FeR, and CyR). There were 8 and 4 over-expressed carboxylesterase genes in FeR and CyR, respectively, from which the over-expressions were detected at mRNA level, but not DNA level. Pesticide induction experiment elucidated that 4 of 8 and 2 of 4 up-regulated genes were inducible with significance in FeR and CyR strains, respectively, but they could not be induced in SS strain, which indicated that these genes became more enhanced and effective to withstand the pesticides' stress in resistant T. cinnabarinus. Most expression-changed and all inducible genes possess the Abhydrolase_3 motif, which is a catalytic domain for hydrolyzing. As a whole, these findings in current study provide clues for further elucidating the function and regulation mechanism of these carboxylesterase genes in T. cinnabarinus' resistance formation. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Effects of brown fish meal replacement with fermented soybean meal on growth performance, feed efficiency and enzyme activities of Chinese soft-shelled turtle, Pelodiscus sinensis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zou, Yurong; Ai, Qinghui; Mai, Kangsen; Zhang, Wenbing; Zhang, Yanjiao; Xu, Wei

2012-06-01

A 120-day feeding experiment was conducted to investigate the effects of partial replacement of brown fish meal (BFM) by fermented soybean meal (FSBM) in diets of Chinese soft-shelled turtle ( Pelodiscus sinensis). The turtles (initial mean body weight, (115.52 ± 1.05) g) were fed with three experimental diets, in which 0%, 4.72% and 9.44% BFM protein was replaced by 0%, 3% and 6% FSBM, respectively. Results showed that the feeding rate (FR), specific growth rate (SGR) and feed efficiency ratio (FER) of turtles fed with the diet containing 3% FSBM were not significantly different from the control group (0% FSBM) ( P > 0.05). However, FR, SGR and FER of turtles fed with the diet containing 6% FSBM were significantly lower than those of the control group ( P < 0.05). No significant differences were observed in the activities of serum glutamic-oxalacetic transaminase and glutamic-pyruvic transaminase among dietary treatments ( P > 0.05). However, the uric acid concentration in turtles fed with the diet containing 3% or 6% FSBM was significantly lower than that in the control group ( P < 0.05). There were no significant differences in the activities of lysozyme, alkaline phosphatase and total superoxide dismutase among dietary treatments ( P > 0.05). The results suggested that FSBM could replace 4.72% BFM protein in turtle diets without exerting adverse effects on turtle growth, feed utilization and measured immune parameters.

Breath-by-breath analysis of cardiorespiratory interaction for quantifying developmental maturity in premature infants

PubMed Central

Rusin, Craig G.; Hudson, John L.; Lee, Hoshik; Delos, John B.; Guin, Lauren E.; Vergales, Brooke D.; Paget-Brown, Alix; Kattwinkel, John; Lake, Douglas E.; Moorman, J. Randall

2012-01-01

In healthy neonates, connections between the heart and lungs through brain stem chemosensory pathways and the autonomic nervous system result in cardiorespiratory synchronization. This interdependence between cardiac and respiratory dynamics can be difficult to measure because of intermittent signal quality in intensive care settings and variability of heart and breathing rates. We employed a phase-based measure suggested by Schäfer and coworkers (Schäfer C, Rosenblum MG, Kurths J, Abel HH. Nature 392: 239–240, 1998) to obtain a breath-by-breath analysis of cardiorespiratory interaction. This measure of cardiorespiratory interaction does not distinguish between cardiac control of respiration associated with cardioventilatory coupling and respiratory influences on the heart rate associated with respiratory sinus arrhythmia. We calculated, in sliding 4-min windows, the probability density of heartbeats as a function of the concurrent phase of the respiratory cycle. Probability density functions whose Shannon entropy had a <0.1% chance of occurring from random numbers were classified as exhibiting interaction. In this way, we analyzed 18 infant-years of data from 1,202 patients in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at University of Virginia. We found evidence of interaction in 3.3 patient-years of data (18%). Cardiorespiratory interaction increased several-fold with postnatal development, but, surprisingly, the rate of increase was not affected by gestational age at birth. We find evidence for moderate correspondence between this measure of cardiorespiratory interaction and cardioventilatory coupling and no evidence for respiratory sinus arrhythmia, leading to the need for further investigation of the underlying mechanism. Such continuous measures of physiological interaction may serve to gauge developmental maturity in neonatal intensive care patients and prove useful in decisions about incipient illness and about hospital discharge. PMID:22174403

Directed plant cell-wall accumulation of iron: Embedding co-catalyst for efficient biomass conversion

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

Lin, Chien -Yuan; Jakes, Joseph E.; Donohoe, Bryon S.

Plant lignocellulosic biomass is an abundant, renewable feedstock for the production of biobased fuels and chemicals. Previously, we showed that iron can act as a co-catalyst to improve the deconstruction of lignocellulosic biomass. However, directly adding iron catalysts into biomass prior to pretreatment is diffusion limited, and increases the cost of biorefinery operations. Recently, we developed a new strategy for expressing iron-storage protein ferritin intracellularly to accumulate iron as a catalyst for the downstream deconstruction of lignocellulosic biomass. In this study, we extend this approach by fusing the heterologous ferritin gene with a signal peptide for secretion into Arabidopsis cellmore » walls (referred to here as FerEX). The transgenic Arabidopsis plants. FerEX. accumulated iron under both normal and iron-fertilized growth conditions; under the latter (iron-fertilized) condition, FerEX transgenic plants showed an increase in plant height and dry weight by 12 and 18 %, respectively, compared with the empty vector control plants. The SDS- and native-PAGE separation of cell-wall protein extracts followed by Western blot analyses confirmed the extracellular expression of ferritin in FerEX plants. Meanwhile, Perls' Prussian blue staining and X-ray fluorescence microscopy (XFM) maps revealed iron depositions in both the secondary and compound middle lamellae cell-wall layers, as well as in some of the corner compound middle lamella in FerEX. Remarkably, their harvested biomasses showed enhanced pretreatability and digestibility, releasing, respectively, 21 % more glucose and 34 % more xylose than the empty vector control plants. These values are significantly higher than those of our recently obtained ferritin intracellularly expressed plants. This study demonstrated that extracellular expression of ferritin in Arabidopsis can produce plants with increased growth and iron accumulation, and reduced thermal and enzymatic recalcitrance. Here, the results are attributed to the intimate colocation of the iron co-catalyst and the cellulose and hemicellulose within the plant cell-wall region, supporting the genetic modification strategy for incorporating conversion catalysts into energy crops prior to harvesting or processing at the biorefinery.« less

Directed plant cell-wall accumulation of iron: Embedding co-catalyst for efficient biomass conversion

DOE PAGES

Lin, Chien -Yuan; Jakes, Joseph E.; Donohoe, Bryon S.; ...

2016-10-21

Plant lignocellulosic biomass is an abundant, renewable feedstock for the production of biobased fuels and chemicals. Previously, we showed that iron can act as a co-catalyst to improve the deconstruction of lignocellulosic biomass. However, directly adding iron catalysts into biomass prior to pretreatment is diffusion limited, and increases the cost of biorefinery operations. Recently, we developed a new strategy for expressing iron-storage protein ferritin intracellularly to accumulate iron as a catalyst for the downstream deconstruction of lignocellulosic biomass. In this study, we extend this approach by fusing the heterologous ferritin gene with a signal peptide for secretion into Arabidopsis cellmore » walls (referred to here as FerEX). The transgenic Arabidopsis plants. FerEX. accumulated iron under both normal and iron-fertilized growth conditions; under the latter (iron-fertilized) condition, FerEX transgenic plants showed an increase in plant height and dry weight by 12 and 18 %, respectively, compared with the empty vector control plants. The SDS- and native-PAGE separation of cell-wall protein extracts followed by Western blot analyses confirmed the extracellular expression of ferritin in FerEX plants. Meanwhile, Perls' Prussian blue staining and X-ray fluorescence microscopy (XFM) maps revealed iron depositions in both the secondary and compound middle lamellae cell-wall layers, as well as in some of the corner compound middle lamella in FerEX. Remarkably, their harvested biomasses showed enhanced pretreatability and digestibility, releasing, respectively, 21 % more glucose and 34 % more xylose than the empty vector control plants. These values are significantly higher than those of our recently obtained ferritin intracellularly expressed plants. This study demonstrated that extracellular expression of ferritin in Arabidopsis can produce plants with increased growth and iron accumulation, and reduced thermal and enzymatic recalcitrance. Here, the results are attributed to the intimate colocation of the iron co-catalyst and the cellulose and hemicellulose within the plant cell-wall region, supporting the genetic modification strategy for incorporating conversion catalysts into energy crops prior to harvesting or processing at the biorefinery.« less

A novel plant ferredoxin-like protein and the regulator Hor are quorum-sensing targets in the plant pathogen Erwinia carotovora.

PubMed

Sjöblom, Solveig; Harjunpää, Heidi; Brader, Günter; Palva, E Tapio

2008-07-01

Quorum sensing (QS), a population-density-sensing mechanism, controls the production of the main virulence determinants, the plant cell-wall-degrading enzymes (PCWDEs) of the soft-rot phytopathogen Erwinia carotovora subsp. carotovora. In this study, we used random transposon mutagenesis with a gusA reporter construct to identify two new QS-controlled genes encoding the regulator Hor and a plant ferredoxin-like protein, FerE. The QS control of the identified genes was executed by the QS regulators ExpR1 and ExpR2 and mediated by the global repressor RsmA. Hor was shown to contribute to bacterial virulence at least partly through its control of PCWDE production. Our results showed that FerE contributes to oxidative stress tolerance and in planta fitness of the bacteria and suggest that QS could be central to control of oxidative stress tolerance. The presence of the FerE protein appears to be rather unique in heterotrophic bacteria and suggests an acquisition of the corresponding gene from plant host by horizontal gene transfer.

Facial emotion recognition in alcohol and substance use disorders: A meta-analysis.

PubMed

Castellano, Filippo; Bartoli, Francesco; Crocamo, Cristina; Gamba, Giulia; Tremolada, Martina; Santambrogio, Jacopo; Clerici, Massimo; Carrà, Giuseppe

2015-12-01

People with alcohol and substance use disorders (AUDs/SUDs) show worse facial emotion recognition (FER) than controls, though magnitude and potential moderators remain unknown. The aim of this meta-analysis was to estimate the association between AUDs, SUDs and FER impairment. Electronic databases were searched through April 2015. Pooled analyses were based on standardized mean differences between index and control groups with 95% confidence intervals, weighting each study with random effects inverse variance models. Risk of publication bias and role of potential moderators, including task type, were explored. Nineteen of 70 studies assessed for eligibility met the inclusion criteria, comprising 1352 individuals, of whom 714 (53%) had AUDs or SUDs. The association between substance related disorders and FER performance showed an effect size of -0.67 (-0.95, -0.39), and -0.65 (-0.93, -0.37) for AUDs and SUDs, respectively. There was no publication bias and subgroup and sensitivity analyses based on potential moderators confirmed core results. Future longitudinal research should confirm these findings, clarifying the role of specific clinical issues of AUDs and SUDs. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Investigations and application in piezoelectric phenol sensor of Langmuir-Schäfer films of a copper phthalocyanine derivative functionalized with bulky substituents.

PubMed

Giancane, G; Basova, T; Hassan, A; Gümüş, G; Gürek, A G; Ahsen, V; Valli, L

2012-07-01

An octa-substituted copper phthalocyanine was dissolved in chloroform and spread on ultrapure water subphase in a Langmuir trough. The floating films were characterized at the air-water interface by the Langmuir isotherm, Brewster angle microscopy, and UV-Vis reflection spectroscopy and transferred by Langmuir-Schäfer technique on a silicon substrate, and thickness, refractive index, and extinction coefficient of the phthalocyanine derivative thin film were calculated by means of spectroscopic ellipsometry. A different number of layers were deposited using Langmuir-Schäfer method onto QCM crystals, and the active layers were tested as sensors for the detection of phenols in aqueous solution. The piezoelectric sensor response, totally reversible, is influenced by the number of transferred layers and by the nature of the substituent; on the contrary, the pK(a) value of the injected analytes slightly affects the device performances. Repeatability of the sensor responses was tested, and the frequency variation appears unchanged at least for 100 days. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

3D facial expression recognition using maximum relevance minimum redundancy geometrical features

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rabiu, Habibu; Saripan, M. Iqbal; Mashohor, Syamsiah; Marhaban, Mohd Hamiruce

2012-12-01

In recent years, facial expression recognition (FER) has become an attractive research area, which besides the fundamental challenges, it poses, finds application in areas, such as human-computer interaction, clinical psychology, lie detection, pain assessment, and neurology. Generally the approaches to FER consist of three main steps: face detection, feature extraction and expression recognition. The recognition accuracy of FER hinges immensely on the relevance of the selected features in representing the target expressions. In this article, we present a person and gender independent 3D facial expression recognition method, using maximum relevance minimum redundancy geometrical features. The aim is to detect a compact set of features that sufficiently represents the most discriminative features between the target classes. Multi-class one-against-one SVM classifier was employed to recognize the seven facial expressions; neutral, happy, sad, angry, fear, disgust, and surprise. The average recognition accuracy of 92.2% was recorded. Furthermore, inter database homogeneity was investigated between two independent databases the BU-3DFE and UPM-3DFE the results showed a strong homogeneity between the two databases.

Selective amygdalohippocampectomy versus standard temporal lobectomy in patients with mesiotemporal lobe epilepsy and unilateral hippocampal sclerosis: post-operative facial emotion recognition abilities.

PubMed

Wendling, Anne-Sophie; Steinhoff, Bernhard J; Bodin, Frédéric; Staack, Anke M; Zentner, Josef; Scholly, Julia; Valenti, Maria-Paula; Schulze-Bonhage, Andreas; Hirsch, Edouard

2015-03-01

Surgical treatment of mesial temporal lobe epilepsy (mTLE) patients involves the removal either of the left or the right hippocampus. Since the mesial temporal lobe is responsible for emotion recognition abilities, we aimed to assess facial emotion recognition (FER) in two homogeneous patient cohorts that differed only in the administered surgery design since anterior temporal lobectomy (ATL) or selective amygdalohippocampectomy (SAH) were performed independently of the underlying electroclinical conditions. The patient selection for the two respective surgical procedures was carried out retrospectively between 2000 and 2009 by two independent epilepsy centres, the Kork Epilepsy Centre, Germany and the University Hospital of Strasbourg, France. All included patients had presented with unilateral hippocampus sclerosis (HS) without associated dysplasia or white matter blurring and had become seizure-free postoperatively. Psychometric evaluation was carried out with the Ekman 60 Faces Test and screened for depression and psychosomatic symptoms with the SCL-90 R and the BDI. Thirty healthy volunteers participated as control subjects. Sixty patients were included, 27 had undergone SAH and 33 ATL. Patients and controls obtained comparable scores in FER for surprise, happiness, anger and sadness. Concerning fear and disgust the patient group scored significantly worse. Left-sided operations led to the the most pronounced impairment. The ATL group scored significantly worse for recognition of fear compared with SAH patients. Inversely, after SAH scores for disgust were significantly lower than after ATL, independently of the side of resection. Unilateral temporal damage impairs FER. Different neurosurgical procedures may affect FER differently. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

[A place in the macrocosmos: Paracelsus in Bad Pfäfers].

PubMed

Pörksen, G

1994-03-29

The script about Bad Pfäfers is an exception within the entire work of Paracelsus: It is short, completely worked over and has been printed already during his lifetime. It contains an unique list of comments on latin termini in his native language, hints about the context of their origin and may be read like a concentrate of his philosophy. Biography and personality of Paracelsus are briefly outlined; thereafter, the dark preface of the script on Bad Pfäfers is commented on. The latter turned out to be a stenograph of his central ideas on natural philosophy and cosmology as expressed in other scripts of the thirties, in the 'Astronomia magna' in particular (1536). The concept of the human body, of his macrocosmic derivation and of the 'source' as natural testimony of the healing nature of Christ becomes clear. Finally, from circumstantial evidence in text and context of the script, it is concluded, that it must have derived from the dialogue with the personnel of the spa uneducated in a humanistic sense, and may be understood as an abbreviated draft ("aide-mémoire") of Paracelsic instructions.

Farmers' breeding practices and traits of economic importance for indigenous chicken in RWANDA.

PubMed

Mahoro, J; Muasya, T K; Mbuza, F; Mbuthia, J; Kahi, A K

2018-01-01

Data on breeding practices and traits of economic importance for the indigenous chicken (IC) were collected through personal interviews using structured questionnaires and direct observations of chicken management practices. The study was conducted from November 2015 to January 2016 in Rwamagana, Rulindo, Ruhango, Kicukiro and Muhanga districts of Rwanda. Data were collected and analysed through computation of indices, which represented a weighted average of all rankings of a specific trait. Spearman's non-parametric rank correlation was calculated for ranking of traits of economic importance to indicate the directional effects. The results on chicken ecotypes and their attributes showed that prolificacy, mature weight, disease tolerance, egg number and heat tolerance were highly preferred. The dwarf ecotype was most abundantly reared (38.84%) and considered to be significantly smaller and to have poorer growth rate, but to have better prolificacy than other indigenous chicken ecotypes. Selection of breeding cock and hen was based on disease tolerance, body weight at sexual maturity, body size and growth rate. In addition, for hen, mothering ability and egg fertility (Fer) were considered. Indices for the traits perceived by farmers as of primary economic importance were egg yield (0.093), disease tolerance (0.091), high growth rate (0.089), prolificacy (0.088), high body weight (0.087) and egg fertility (0.083). The most important traits considered by the marketers were body weight (BW), disease tolerance (Dtol), plumage colour (Pcol), egg yolk colour (EYC), meat quality (MQ), growth rate (GR) and egg yield (EY) whereas for consumers, meat quality, egg yolk colour, egg yield, body weight and growth rate were considered. Among traits perceived as important by farmers, a positive and significant correlation was found between BW and GR and Fer. Correlation was moderate for BW and prolificacy, drought tolerance (Drtol), Dtol and EYC. BW was negatively correlated with temperament (Temp), heat tolerance, Pcol and egg shell colour (ESC). Regarding marketers and consumers' preference rank correlation, positive and significant correlation was between BW and GR and MQ. As such, appropriate ecotypes (indigenous chicken) which have these characteristics need to be identified and utilised more based on their performance and adaption to the environment conditions to ensure efficient IC production.

Insights into Resistance to Fe Deficiency Stress from a Comparative Study of In Vitro-Selected Novel Fe-Efficient and Fe-Inefficient Potato Plants

PubMed Central

Boamponsem, Georgina A.; Leung, David W. M.; Lister, Carolyn

2017-01-01

Iron (Fe) deficiency induces chlorosis (IDC) in plants and can result in reduced plant productivity. Therefore, development of Fe-efficient plants is of great interest. To gain a better understanding of the physiology of Fe-efficient plants, putative novel plant variants were regenerated from potato (Solanum tubersosum L. var. ‘Iwa’) callus cultures selected under Fe deficient or low Fe supply (0–5 μM Fe). Based on visual chlorosis rating (VCR), 23% of callus-derived regenerants were classified as Fe-efficient (EF) and 77% as Fe-inefficient (IFN) plant lines when they were grown under Fe deficiency conditions. Stem height was found to be highly correlated with internodal distance, leaf and root lengths in the EF plant lines grown under Fe deficiency conditions. In addition, compared to the IFN plant lines and control parental biotype, the EF plants including the lines named A1, B2, and B9, exhibited enhanced formation of lateral roots and root hairs as well as increased expression of ferritin (fer3) in the leaf and iron-regulated transporter (irt1) in the root. These morphological adaptations and changes in expression the fer3 and irt1 genes of the selected EF potato lines suggest that they are associated with resistance to low Fe supply stress. PMID:28955367

Effect of ovary induction on bread wheat anther culture: ovary genotype and developmental stage, and candidate gene association

PubMed Central

Castillo, Ana M.; Sánchez-Díaz, Rosa A.; Vallés, María P.

2015-01-01

Ovary pre-conditioned medium and ovary co-culture increased the efficiency of green doubled haploid plant production in bread wheat anther culture. The positive effect of this medium led to a 6- and 11-fold increase in the numbers of embryos and green plants, respectively, having a greater effect on a medium-low responding cultivar. Ovary genotype and developmental stage significantly affected microspore embryogenesis. By the use of Caramba ovaries it was possible to reach a 2-fold increase in the number of embryos and green plants, and to decrease the rate of albinism. Mature ovaries from flowers containing microspores at a late binucleate stage raised the number of embryos and green plants by 25–46% as compared to immature ovaries (excised from flowers with microspores at a mid-late uninucleate stage). The highest numbers of embryos and green plants were produced when using mature Caramba ovaries. Ovaries from Galeón, Tigre, and Kilopondio cultivars successfully induced microspore embryogenesis at the same rate as Caramba ovaries. Moreover, Tigre ovaries raised the percentage of spontaneous chromosome doubling up to 71%. Attempts were made to identify molecular mechanisms associated to the inductive effect of the ovaries on microspore embryogenesis. The genes TAA1b, FLA26, and WALI6 associated to wheat microspore embryogenesis, the CGL1 gene involved in glycan biosynthesis or degradation, and the FER gene involved in the ovary signaling process were expressed and/or induced at different rates during ovary culture. The expression pattern of FLA26 and FER could be related to the differences between genotypes and developmental stages in the inductive effect of the ovary. Our results open opportunities for new approaches to increase bread wheat doubled haploid production by anther culture, and to identify the functional components of the ovary inductive effect on microspore embryogenesis. PMID:26150821

Facial Recognition of Happiness Is Impaired in Musicians with High Music Performance Anxiety.

PubMed

Sabino, Alini Daniéli Viana; Camargo, Cristielli M; Chagas, Marcos Hortes N; Osório, Flávia L

2018-01-01

Music performance anxiety (MPA) can be defined as a lasting and intense apprehension connected with musical performance in public. Studies suggest that MPA can be regarded as a subtype of social anxiety. Since individuals with social anxiety have deficits in the recognition of facial emotion, we hypothesized that musicians with high levels of MPA would share similar impairments. The aim of this study was to compare parameters of facial emotion recognition (FER) between musicians with high and low MPA. 150 amateur and professional musicians with different musical backgrounds were assessed in respect to their level of MPA and completed a dynamic FER task. The outcomes investigated were accuracy, response time, emotional intensity, and response bias. Musicians with high MPA were less accurate in the recognition of happiness ( p  = 0.04; d  = 0.34), had increased response bias toward fear ( p  = 0.03), and increased response time to facial emotions as a whole ( p  = 0.02; d  = 0.39). Musicians with high MPA displayed FER deficits that were independent of general anxiety levels and possibly of general cognitive capacity. These deficits may favor the maintenance and exacerbation of experiences of anxiety during public performance, since cues of approval, satisfaction, and encouragement are not adequately recognized.

Ferroptosis-inducing agents compromise in vitro human islet viability and function.

PubMed

Bruni, Antonio; Pepper, Andrew R; Pawlick, Rena L; Gala-Lopez, Boris; Gamble, Anissa F; Kin, Tatsuya; Seeberger, Karen; Korbutt, Gregory S; Bornstein, Stefan R; Linkermann, Andreas; Shapiro, A M James

2018-05-22

Human islet transplantation has been hampered by donor cell death associated with the islet preparation procedure before transplantation. Regulated necrosis pathways are biochemically and morphologically distinct from apoptosis. Recently, ferroptosis was identified as a non-apoptotic form of iron-dependent regulated necrosis implicated in various pathological conditions. Mediators of islet oxidative stress, including glutathione peroxidase-4 (GPX4), have been identified as inhibitors of ferroptosis, and mechanisms that affect GPX4 function can impact islet function and viability. Ferroptosis has not been investigated directly in human islets, and its relevance in islet transplantation remains unknown. Herein, we sought to determine whether in vitro human islet viability and function is compromised in the presence of two distinct ferroptosis-inducing agents (FIA), erastin or RSL3, and whether these effects could be rescued with ferroptosis inhibitors, ferrostatin-1 (Fer-1), or desferrioxamine (DFO). Viability, as assessed by lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) release, revealed significant death in erastin- and RSL3-treated islets, 20.3% ± 3.8 and 24.4% ± 2.5, 24 h post culture, respectively. These effects were ameliorated in islets pre-treated with Fer-1 or the iron chelator, desferrioxamine (DFO). Stimulation index, a marker of islet function revealed a significant reduction in function in erastin-treated islets (control 1.97 ± 0.13 vs. 50 μM erastin 1.32 ± 0.1) (p < 0.05). Fer-1 and DFO pre-treatment alone did not augment islet viability or function. Pre-treatment of islets with erastin or Fer-1 did not impact in vivo engraftment in an immunodeficient mouse transplant model. Our data reveal that islets are indeed susceptible to ferroptosis in vitro, and induction of this novel cell death modality leads to compromised islet function, which can be recoverable in the presence of the ferroptosis inhibitors. The in vivo impact of this pathway in islet transplantation remains elusive given the constraints of our study, but warrants continued investigation.

Effects of dietary soy isoflavones on feed intake, growth performance and digestibility in juvenile Japanese flounder ( Paralichthys olivaceus)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mai, Kangsen; Zhang, Yanjiao; Chen, Wei; Xu, Wei; Ai, Qinghui; Zhang, Wenbing

2012-12-01

An 8-week feeding trial was conducted to investigate the effects of dietary soy isoflavones on feeding intake, growth performance, and digestion of juvenile Japanese flounder ( Paralichthys olivaceus). Four isonitrogenous (49% crude protein) and isoenergetic (20.1 MJ kg-1) diets were formulated to contain four graded levels of soy isoflavones, namely, 0, 1, 4 and 8 g soy isoflavones in 1 kg of diet. Each diet was randomly fed to triplicate tanks of fish (Initial average weight: 2.58 g ± 0.01 g), and each tank was stocked with 35 fish. No significant difference was observed among diets with levels of 0, 1 and 4 g kg-1 soy isoflavones in feed intake, weight gain, feed efficiency ratio (FER), proximate composition of fish whole body and apparent digestibility coefficients (ADC) of nutrients and energy ( P>0.05). However, high dietary soy isoflavones level (8 g kg-1) significantly depressed weight gain, FER, whole-body crude lipid content of fish and ADC of nutrients ( P<0.05). These results indicate that high level of dietary soy isoflavones (above 4 g kg-1) significantly depresses growth responses and FER of Japanese flounder. However, as the content of soy isoflavones in soybean meal is around 1 to 3 g kg-1, the adverse effects might be neglected when soybean products are used as a fish feed ingredient.

The memory of iron stress in strawberry plants.

PubMed

Gama, Florinda; Saavedra, Teresa; da Silva, José Paulo; Miguel, Maria Graça; de Varennes, Amarilis; Correia, Pedro José; Pestana, Maribela

2016-07-01

To provide information towards optimization of strategies to treat Fe deficiency, experiments were conducted to study the responses of Fe-deficient plants to the resupply of Fe. Strawberry (Fragaria × ananassa Duch.) was used as model plant. Bare-root transplants of strawberry (cv. 'Diamante') were grown for 42 days in Hoagland's nutrient solutions without Fe (Fe0) and containing 10 μM of Fe as Fe-EDDHA (control, Fe10). For plants under Fe0 the total chlorophyll concentration of young leaves decreased progressively on time, showing the typical symptoms of iron chlorosis. After 35 days the Fe concentration was 6% of that observed for plants growing under Fe10. Half of plants growing under Fe0 were then Fe-resupplied by adding 10 μM of Fe to the Fe0 nutrient solution (FeR). Full Chlorophyll recovery of young leaves took place within 12 days. Root ferric chelate-reductase activity (FCR) and succinic and citric acid concentrations increased in FeR plants. Fe partition revealed that FeR plants expressively accumulated this nutrient in the crown and flowers. This observation can be due to a passive deactivation mechanism of the FCR activity, associated with continuous synthesis of succinic and citric acids at root level, and consequent greater uptake of Fe. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

Individualized versus standard FSH dosing in women starting IVF/ICSI: an RCT. Part 1: The predicted poor responder.

PubMed

van Tilborg, Theodora C; Torrance, Helen L; Oudshoorn, Simone C; Eijkemans, Marinus J C; Koks, Carolien A M; Verhoeve, Harold R; Nap, Annemiek W; Scheffer, Gabrielle J; Manger, A Petra; Schoot, Benedictus C; Sluijmer, Alexander V; Verhoeff, Arie; Groen, Henk; Laven, Joop S E; Mol, Ben Willem J; Broekmans, Frank J M

2017-12-01

Does an increased FSH dose result in higher cumulative live birth rates in women with a predicted poor ovarian response, apparent from a low antral follicle count (AFC), scheduled for IVF or ICSI? In women with a predicted poor ovarian response (AFC < 11) undergoing IVF/ICSI, an increased FSH dose (225/450 IU/day) does not improve cumulative live birth rates as compared to a standard dose (150 IU/day). In women scheduled for IVF/ICSI, an ovarian reserve test (ORT) can predict ovarian response to stimulation. The FSH starting dose is often adjusted based on the ORT from the belief that it will improve live birth rates. However, the existing RCTs on this topic, most of which show no benefit, are underpowered. Between May 2011 and May 2014, we performed an open-label multicentre RCT in women with an AFC < 11 (Dutch Trial Register NTR2657). The primary outcome was ongoing pregnancy achieved within 18 months after randomization and resulting in a live birth. We needed 300 women to assess whether an increased dose strategy would increase the cumulative live birth rate from 25 to 40% (two-sided alpha-error 0.05, power 80%). Women with an AFC ≤ 7 were randomized to an FSH dose of 450 IU/day or 150 IU/day, and women with an AFC 8-10 were randomized to 225 IU or 150 IU/day. In the standard group, dose adjustment was allowed in subsequent cycles based on pre-specified criteria. Both effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of the strategies were evaluated from an intention-to-treat perspective. In total, 511 women were randomized, 234 with an AFC ≤ 7 and 277 with an AFC 8-10. The cumulative live birth rate for increased versus standard dosing was 42.4% (106/250) versus 44.8% (117/261), respectively [relative risk (RR): 0.95 (95%CI, 0.78-1.15), P = 0.58]. As an increased dose strategy was more expensive [delta costs/woman: €1099 (95%CI, 562-1591)], standard FSH dosing was the dominant strategy in our economic analysis. Despite our training programme, the AFC might have suffered from inter-observer variation. As this open study permitted small dose adjustments between cycles, potential selective cancelling of cycles in women treated with 150 IU could have influenced the cumulative results. However, since first cycle live birth rates point in the same direction we consider it unlikely that the open design masked a potential benefit for the individualized strategy. Since an increased dose in women scheduled for IVF/ICSI with a predicted poor response (AFC < 11) does not improve live birth rates and is more expensive, we recommend using a standard dose of 150 IU/day in these women. This study was funded by The Netherlands Organisation for Health Research and Development (ZonMW number 171102020). T.C.T., H.L.T. and S.C.O. received an unrestricted personal grant from Merck BV. H.R.V. receives monetary compensation as a member on an external advisory board for Ferring pharmaceutical BV. B.W.J.M. is supported by a NHMRC Practitioner Fellowship (GNT1082548) and reports consultancy for OvsEva, Merck and Guerbet. F.J.M.B. receives monetary compensation as a member of the external advisory board for Ferring pharmaceutics BV (the Netherlands) and Merck Serono (the Netherlands) for consultancy work for Gedeon Richter (Belgium) and Roche Diagnostics on automated AMH assay development (Switzerland) and for a research cooperation with Ansh Labs (USA). All other authors have nothing to declare. Registered at the ICMJE-recognized Dutch Trial Registry (www.trialregister.nl). Registration number NTR2657. 20 December 2010. 12 May 2011. © The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com

Addendum to "Charm and bottom quark masses: An update"

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chetyrkin, Konstantin G.; Kühn, Johann H.; Maier, Andreas; Maierhöfer, Philipp; Marquard, Peter; Steinhauser, Matthias; Sturm, Christian

2017-12-01

We update the experimental moments for the charm quark as computed in [J. H. Kühn, M. Steinhauser, and C. Sturm, Nucl. Phys. B778, 192 (2007), 10.1016/j.nuclphysb.2007.04.036] and used in [K. G. Chetyrkin, J. H. Kühn, A. Maier, P. Maierhöfer, P. Marquard, M. Steinhauser, and C. Sturm, Phys. Rev. D 80, 074010 (2009),, 10.1103/PhysRevD.80.074010 K. Chetyrkin, J. H. Kühn, A. Maier, P. Maierhöfer, P. Marquard, M. Steinhauser, and C. Sturm, Theor. Math. Phys. 170, 217 (2012), 10.1007/s11232-012-0024-7] for the determination of the charm-quark mass. The new value for the MS ¯ charm-quark mass reads mc(3 GeV )=0.993 ±0.008 GeV .

Photocatalytic degradation of organic dyes by a stable and biocompatible Zn(II) MOF having ferulic acid: Experimental findings and theoretical correlation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhou, En-Hong; Li, Bao-Hong; Chen, Wei-Xin; Luo, Zhidong; Liu, Jianqiang; Singh, Amita; Kumar, Abhinav; Jin, Jun-Cheng

2017-12-01

The photocatalytic properties of d10-based metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) have been developed as a potential technology in the photo-degradation of organic dyes. Herein, a biocompatible metal-organic framework (MOF) {[Zn2(fer)2]•0.5H2O}n (1) (fer = ferulic acid) has been selected which shows photocatalytic activity for the degradation of methyl violet (MV) and Rhodamine B (Rh B) in aqueous solution under UV irradiation. The photocatalytic results indicated the 1 exhibit 88% photocatalytic efficiency against Rh B in 100 min, while its against MV was only 54% under the identical experimental conditions. Moreover, a possible mechanism for the photocatalytic activity has proposed by density of states (DOS) calculations.

FERS Redeposit Act

THOMAS, 111th Congress

Rep. Moran, James P. [D-VA-8

2009-02-03

House - 05/04/2009 Referred to the Subcommittee on Federal Workforce, Post Office, and the District of Columbia. (All Actions) Tracker: This bill has the status IntroducedHere are the steps for Status of Legislation:

A Comparison of Facial Emotion Processing in Neurological and Psychiatric Conditions

PubMed Central

Bediou, Benoit; Brunelin, Jérôme; d’Amato, Thierry; Fecteau, Shirley; Saoud, Mohamed; Hénaff, Marie-Anne; Krolak-Salmon, Pierre

2012-01-01

Patients suffering from various neurological and psychiatric disorders show different levels of facial emotion recognition (FER) impairment, sometimes from the early phases of the disease. Investigating the relative severity of deficits in FER across different clinical and high-risk populations has potential implications for the diagnosis and treatment of these diseases, and could also allow us to understand the neurobiological mechanisms of emotion perception itself. To investigate the role of the dopaminergic system and of the frontotemporal network in FER, we reanalyzed and compared data from four of our previous studies investigating FER performance in patients with frontotemporal dysfunctions and/or dopaminergic system abnormalities at different stages. The performance of patients was compared to the performance obtained by a specific group of matched healthy controls using Cohen’s d effect size. We thus compared emotion and gender recognition in patients with frontotemporal dementia (FTD), amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI), Alzheimer’s disease (AD) at the mild dementia stage, major depressive disorder, Parkinson’s disease treated by l-DOPA (PD-ON) or not (PD-OFF), remitted schizophrenia (SCZ-rem), first-episode schizophrenia treated by antipsychotic medication (SCZ-ON), and drug-naïve first-episode schizophrenia (SCZ-OFF), as well as in unaffected siblings of patients with schizophrenia (SIB). The analyses revealed a pattern of differential impairment of emotion (but not gender) recognition across pathological conditions. On the one hand, dopaminergic medication seems not to modify the moderate deficits observed in SCZ and PD groups (ON vs. OFF), suggesting that the deficit is independent from the dopaminergic system. On the other hand, the observed increase in effect size of the deficit among the aMCI, AD, and FTD groups (and also among the SIB and SCZ-rem groups) suggests that the deficit is dependent on neurodegeneration of the frontotemporal neural networks. Our transnosographic approach combining clinical and high-risk populations with the impact of medication provides new information on the trajectory of impaired emotion perception in neuropsychiatric conditions, and on the role of the dopaminergic system and the frontotemporal network in emotion perception. PMID:22493587

Risk of developmental delay of children aged between two and 24 months and its association with the quality of family stimulus

PubMed Central

Guimarães, Alessandro Fernandes; de Carvalho, Davi Vilela; Machado, Nathália Ádila A.; Baptista, Regiane Aparecida N.; Lemos, Stela Maris A.

2013-01-01

OBJECTIVE: To analyze the association between neurodevelopment and the family environment resources of children from the coverage area of a Basic Health Unit (BHU) of Belo Horizonte, Brazil, using a tool based on the Integrated Management of Childhood Illness (IMCI) strategy. METHODS: Cross-sectional study with a non-probabilistic sample involving 298 children aged between 2-24 months old, who attended a BHU in 2010. The assessment of child development and family resources made at the BHU lasted, in average, 45 minutes and included two tests - an adaptation of the Handbook for Monitoring Child Development in the Context of IMCI and an adapted version of the Family Environment Resource (FER) inventary. The nonparametric tests of Kruskal-Wallis and Mann-Whitney were used for the statistical analysis. RESULTS: The sample included 291 assessments, with 18.2% of children between 18 and 24 months old, 53.6% male gender, and 91.4% who did not attend day care centers. According to IMCI, 31.7% of the children were in the risk group for developmental delay. The total average score in FER was 38.0 points. Although it has been found an association between the IMCI outcome and the total FER score, all groups had low scores in the family environment assessment. CONCLUSIONS: The data indicate the need for childhood development screening in the primary health care and for early intervention programs aimed at this age group. PMID:24473949

Zeolite catalysis in the synthesis of isobutylene from hydrous ethanol

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Phillips, Cory Bernard

1999-11-01

This work deals with the synthesis of isobutylene from a hydrous ethanol feedstock over zeolites. The synthesis is accomplished in three steps: (1) low-temperature direct ethanol conversion to ethylene on H-ZSM-5 zeolite, (2) ethylene conversion to butene products over metal-exchanged zeolites, and (3) butene skeletal rearrangement to isobutylene over FER zeolites. The key to understanding and optimizing each synthesis step lies in the ability to control and regulate the zeolite acidity (Bronsted and Lewis)---both strength and number. Therefore, the continuous temperature programmed amine desorption (CTPAD) technique was further developed to simultaneously count the Bronsted acid sites and quantitatively characterize their strength. The adsorption of ethanol, reaction products, amines, coke and ethanol-derived residue (EDR) were monitored gravimetrically using the highly sensitive, novel Tapered Element Oscillating Microreactor (TEOM) apparatus. The TEOM was also used also in conjunction with CTPAD to characterize Bronsted acidity which is a new application for the instrument. For the first synthesis step, a parallel reaction exists which simultaneously produces diethyl ether and ethylene directly over H-ZSM-5. The reaction rates for each pathway were measured directly using a differential reactor operating at low temperatures (<473 K). Water in the ethanol feed enhances the rate of ethylene formation. A mechanism and kinetic expression are proposed for this reaction over H-ZSM-5, with diethyl-ether desorption and ethylene formation as the rate limiting steps. Heat of adsorption values measured from the independent microcalorimetry work reported in the literature are incorporated into the kinetic analysis which reduces the number of regressed parameters. For the remaining synthesis steps, several zeolite structures (ZSM-5, Y, FER) partially exchanged with Pd, Ti, Ni and Au were prepared and tested. It was determined from this screening study that the zeolites containing Pd are the most efficient catalysts for the dimerization reaction. Characterization results from x-ray diffraction (XRD), electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopy, and CTPAD suggest a stable, Pd species with a low oxidation state as part of the active site in Pd-exchanged zeolites. Isobutylene was present in the C4 fraction at reasonable quantities for most of the catalyst candidates, especially those containing an alkali metal co-cation.

Biological effects of four iron-containing nanoremediation materials on the green alga Chlamydomonas sp.

PubMed

Nguyen, Nhung H A; Von Moos, Nadia R; Slaveykova, Vera I; Mackenzie, Katrin; Meckenstock, Rainer U; Thűmmler, Silke; Bosch, Julian; Ševců, Alena

2018-06-15

As nanoremediation strategies for in-situ groundwater treatment extend beyond nanoiron-based applications to adsorption and oxidation, ecotoxicological evaluations of newly developed materials are required. The biological effects of four new materials with different iron (Fe) speciations ([i] FerMEG12 - pristine flake-like milled Fe(0) nanoparticles (nZVI), [ii] Carbo-Iron ® - Fe(0)-nanoclusters containing activated carbon (AC) composite, [iii] Trap-Ox® Fe-BEA35 (Fe-zeolite) - Fe-doped zeolite, and [iv] Nano-Goethite - 'pure' FeOOH) were studied using the unicellular green alga Chlamydomonas sp. as a model test system. Algal growth rate, chlorophyll fluorescence, efficiency of photosystem II, membrane integrity and reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation were assessed following exposure to 10, 50 and 500 mg L -1 of the particles for 2 h and 24 h. The particles had a concentration-, material- and time-dependent effect on Chlamydomonas sp., with increased algal growth rate after 24 h. Conversely, significant intracellular ROS levels were detected after 2 h, with much lower levels after 24 h. All Fe-nanomaterials displayed similar Z-average sizes and zeta-potentials at 2 h and 24 h. Effects on Chlamydomonas sp. decreased in the order FerMEG12 > Carbo-Iron® > Fe-zeolite > Nano-Goethite. Ecotoxicological studies were challenged due to some particle properties, i.e. dark colour, effect of constituents and a tendency to agglomerate, especially at high concentrations. All particles exhibited potential to induce significant toxicity at high concentrations (500 mg L -1 ), though such concentrations would rapidly decrease to mg or µg L -1 in aquatic environments, levels harmless to Chlamydomonas sp. The presented findings contribute to the practical usage of particle-based nanoremediation in environmental restoration. Copyright © 2018. Published by Elsevier Inc.

5 CFR 1655.10 - Loan application process.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... request on the TSP Web site: (1) FERS participants or members of the uniformed services requesting a... described in paragraph (b) of this section may use the TSP Web site to submit a loan application and obtain...

Reactive oxygen species mediate pollen tube rupture to release sperm for fertilization in Arabidopsis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Duan, Qiaohong; Kita, Daniel; Johnson, Eric A.; Aggarwal, Mini; Gates, Laura; Wu, Hen-Ming; Cheung, Alice Y.

2014-01-01

In flowering plants, sperm are transported inside pollen tubes to the female gametophyte for fertilization. The female gametophyte induces rupture of the penetrating pollen tube, resulting in sperm release and rendering them available for fertilization. Here we utilize the Arabidopsis FERONIA (FER) receptor kinase mutants, whose female gametophytes fail to induce pollen tube rupture, to decipher the molecular mechanism of this critical male-female interactive step. We show that FER controls the production of high levels of reactive oxygen species at the entrance to the female gametophyte to induce pollen tube rupture and sperm release. Pollen tube growth assays in vitro and in the pistil demonstrate that hydroxyl free radicals are likely the most reactive oxygen molecules, and they induce pollen tube rupture in a Ca2+-dependent process involving Ca2+ channel activation. Our results provide evidence for a RHO GTPase-based signalling mechanism to mediate sperm release for fertilization in plants.

Reactive oxygen species mediate pollen tube rupture to release sperm for fertilization in Arabidopsis.

PubMed

Duan, Qiaohong; Kita, Daniel; Johnson, Eric A; Aggarwal, Mini; Gates, Laura; Wu, Hen-Ming; Cheung, Alice Y

2014-01-01

In flowering plants, sperm are transported inside pollen tubes to the female gametophyte for fertilization. The female gametophyte induces rupture of the penetrating pollen tube, resulting in sperm release and rendering them available for fertilization. Here we utilize the Arabidopsis FERONIA (FER) receptor kinase mutants, whose female gametophytes fail to induce pollen tube rupture, to decipher the molecular mechanism of this critical male-female interactive step. We show that FER controls the production of high levels of reactive oxygen species at the entrance to the female gametophyte to induce pollen tube rupture and sperm release. Pollen tube growth assays in vitro and in the pistil demonstrate that hydroxyl free radicals are likely the most reactive oxygen molecules, and they induce pollen tube rupture in a Ca(2+)-dependent process involving Ca(2+) channel activation. Our results provide evidence for a RHO GTPase-based signalling mechanism to mediate sperm release for fertilization in plants.

A Phase III randomized controlled trial comparing the efficacy, safety and tolerability of oral dydrogesterone versus micronized vaginal progesterone for luteal support in in vitro fertilization

PubMed Central

Tournaye, Herman; Sukhikh, Gennady T.; Griesinger, Georg

2017-01-01

Abstract STUDY QUESTION Is oral dydrogesterone 30 mg daily (10 mg three times daily [TID]) non-inferior to micronized vaginal progesterone (MVP) 600 mg daily (200 mg TID) for luteal support in in vitro fertilization (IVF), assessed by the presence of fetal heartbeats determined by transvaginal ultrasound at 12 weeks of gestation? SUMMARY ANSWER Non-inferiority of oral dydrogesterone versus MVP was demonstrated at 12 weeks of gestation, with a difference in pregnancy rate and an associated confidence interval (CI) that were both within the non-inferiority margin. WHAT IS KNOWN ALREADY MVP is routinely used in most clinics for luteal support in IVF, but it is associated with side effects, such as vaginal irritation and discharge, as well as poor patient acceptance. Dydrogesterone may be an alternative treatment due to its patient-friendly oral administration. STUDY DESIGN, SIZE, DURATION Lotus I was an international Phase III randomized controlled trial, performed across 38 sites, from August 2013 to March 2016. Subjects were premenopausal women (>18 to <42 years of age; body mass index (BMI) ≥18 to ≤30 kg/m2) with a documented history of infertility who were planning to undergo IVF. A centralized electronic system was used for randomization, and the study investigators, sponsor's study team, and subjects remained blinded throughout the study. PARTICIPANTS/MATERIALS, SETTING, METHODS In total, 1031 subjects were randomized to receive either oral dydrogesterone (n = 520) or MVP (n = 511). Luteal support was started on the day of oocyte retrieval and continued until 12 weeks of gestation (Week 10), if a positive pregnancy test was obtained at 2 weeks after embryo transfer. MAIN RESULTS AND THE ROLE OF CHANCE In the full analysis set (FAS), 497 and 477 subjects in the oral dydrogesterone and MVP groups, respectively, had an embryo transfer. Non-inferiority of oral dydrogesterone was demonstrated, with pregnancy rates at 12 weeks of gestation of 37.6% and 33.1% in the oral dydrogesterone and MVP treatment groups, respectively (difference 4.7%; 95% CI: −1.2–10.6%). Live birth rates of 34.6% (172 mothers with 213 newborns) and 29.8% (142 mothers with 158 newborns) were obtained in the dydrogesterone and MVP groups, respectively (difference 4.9%; 95% CI: −0.8–10.7%). Oral dydrogesterone was well tolerated and had a similar safety profile to MVP. LIMITATIONS, REASONS FOR CAUTION The analysis of the results was powered to consider the clinical pregnancy rate, but the live birth rate may be of greater clinical interest. Conclusions relating to the differences between treatments in live birth rate, observed in this study, should therefore be made with caution. WIDER IMPLICATIONS OF THE FINDINGS Oral dydrogesterone may replace MVP as the standard of care for luteal phase support in IVF, owing to the oral route being more patient-friendly than intravaginal administration, as well as it being a well tolerated and efficacious treatment. STUDY FUNDING/COMPETING INTEREST(S) Sponsored and supported by Abbott Established Pharmaceuticals Division. H.T.’s institution has received grants from Merck, MSD, Goodlife, Cook, Roche, Besins, Ferring and Mithra (now Allergan) and H.T. has received consultancy fees from Finox, Ferring, Abbott, ObsEva and Ovascience. G.S. has nothing to disclose. E.K. is an employee of Abbott GmbH. G.G. has received investigator fees from Abbott during the conduct of the study; outside of this submitted work, G.G. has received personal fees and non-financial support from MSD, Ferring, Merck-Serono, Finox, TEVA, Glycotope, as well as personal fees from VitroLife, NMC Healthcare LLC, ReprodWissen LLC and ZIVA LLC. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER NCT01850030 (clinicaltrials.gov). TRIAL REGISTRATION DATE 19 April 2013. DATE OF FIRST PATIENT'S ENROLLMENT 23 August 2013. PMID:28333318

A Phase III randomized controlled trial comparing the efficacy, safety and tolerability of oral dydrogesterone versus micronized vaginal progesterone for luteal support in in vitro fertilization.

PubMed

Tournaye, Herman; Sukhikh, Gennady T; Kahler, Elke; Griesinger, Georg

2017-05-01

Is oral dydrogesterone 30 mg daily (10 mg three times daily [TID]) non-inferior to micronized vaginal progesterone (MVP) 600 mg daily (200 mg TID) for luteal support in in vitro fertilization (IVF), assessed by the presence of fetal heartbeats determined by transvaginal ultrasound at 12 weeks of gestation? Non-inferiority of oral dydrogesterone versus MVP was demonstrated at 12 weeks of gestation, with a difference in pregnancy rate and an associated confidence interval (CI) that were both within the non-inferiority margin. MVP is routinely used in most clinics for luteal support in IVF, but it is associated with side effects, such as vaginal irritation and discharge, as well as poor patient acceptance. Dydrogesterone may be an alternative treatment due to its patient-friendly oral administration. Lotus I was an international Phase III randomized controlled trial, performed across 38 sites, from August 2013 to March 2016. Subjects were premenopausal women (>18 to <42 years of age; body mass index (BMI) ≥18 to ≤30 kg/m2) with a documented history of infertility who were planning to undergo IVF. A centralized electronic system was used for randomization, and the study investigators, sponsor's study team, and subjects remained blinded throughout the study. In total, 1031 subjects were randomized to receive either oral dydrogesterone (n = 520) or MVP (n = 511). Luteal support was started on the day of oocyte retrieval and continued until 12 weeks of gestation (Week 10), if a positive pregnancy test was obtained at 2 weeks after embryo transfer. In the full analysis set (FAS), 497 and 477 subjects in the oral dydrogesterone and MVP groups, respectively, had an embryo transfer. Non-inferiority of oral dydrogesterone was demonstrated, with pregnancy rates at 12 weeks of gestation of 37.6% and 33.1% in the oral dydrogesterone and MVP treatment groups, respectively (difference 4.7%; 95% CI: -1.2-10.6%). Live birth rates of 34.6% (172 mothers with 213 newborns) and 29.8% (142 mothers with 158 newborns) were obtained in the dydrogesterone and MVP groups, respectively (difference 4.9%; 95% CI: -0.8-10.7%). Oral dydrogesterone was well tolerated and had a similar safety profile to MVP. The analysis of the results was powered to consider the clinical pregnancy rate, but the live birth rate may be of greater clinical interest. Conclusions relating to the differences between treatments in live birth rate, observed in this study, should therefore be made with caution. Oral dydrogesterone may replace MVP as the standard of care for luteal phase support in IVF, owing to the oral route being more patient-friendly than intravaginal administration, as well as it being a well tolerated and efficacious treatment. Sponsored and supported by Abbott Established Pharmaceuticals Division. H.T.'s institution has received grants from Merck, MSD, Goodlife, Cook, Roche, Besins, Ferring and Mithra (now Allergan) and H.T. has received consultancy fees from Finox, Ferring, Abbott, ObsEva and Ovascience. G.S. has nothing to disclose. E.K. is an employee of Abbott GmbH. G.G. has received investigator fees from Abbott during the conduct of the study; outside of this submitted work, G.G. has received personal fees and non-financial support from MSD, Ferring, Merck-Serono, Finox, TEVA, Glycotope, as well as personal fees from VitroLife, NMC Healthcare LLC, ReprodWissen LLC and ZIVA LLC. NCT01850030 (clinicaltrials.gov). 19 April 2013. 23 August 2013. © The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology.

Determinants of spirometric abnormalities among silicotic patients in Hong Kong.

PubMed

Leung, Chi C; Chang, Kwok C; Law, Wing S; Yew, Wing W; Tam, Cheuk M; Chan, Chi K; Wong, Man Y

2005-09-01

Silicosis is the second commonest notified occupational disease in Hong Kong. To characterize the determinants of spirometric abnormalities in silicosis. The spirometric patterns of consecutive silicotic patients on confirmation by the Pneumoconiosis Medical Board from 1991 to 2002 were correlated with demographic characteristics, occupational history, smoking history, tuberculosis (TB) history and radiographic features by univariate and multiple regression analyses. Of 1576 silicotic patients included, 55.6% showed normal spirometry, 28.5% normal forced vital capacity (FVC>or=80% predicted) but reduced forced expiratory ratio (FER<70%), 7.6% reduced FVC but normal FER, and 8.4% reduced both FVC and FER. Age, ever-smoking, cigarette pack-years, industry, job type, history of TB, size of lung nodules and progressive massive fibrosis (PMF) were all significantly associated with airflow limitation on univariate analysis (all P<0.05), while sex and profusion of nodules were not. Only age, cigarette pack-years, history of TB, size of lung nodules and PMF remained as significant independent predictors of airflow obstruction in multiple logistic regression analysis. After controlling for airflow obstruction, only shorter exposure duration, history of TB and profusion of nodules were significant independent predictors of reduced FVC. As well as age, history of TB, cigarette pack-years, PMF and nodule size contributed comparable effects to airflow obstruction in multiple linear regression analyses, while profusion of nodules was the strongest factor for reduced vital capacity. In an occupational compensation setting, disease indices and history of tuberculosis are independent predictors of both airflow obstruction and reduced vital capacity for silicotic patients.

Multiple ferritins are vital to successful blood feeding and reproduction of the hard tick Haemaphysalis longicornis.

PubMed

Galay, Remil Linggatong; Aung, Kyaw Min; Umemiya-Shirafuji, Rika; Maeda, Hiroki; Matsuo, Tomohide; Kawaguchi, Hiroaki; Miyoshi, Noriaki; Suzuki, Hiroshi; Xuan, Xuenan; Mochizuki, Masami; Fujisaki, Kozo; Tanaka, Tetsuya

2013-05-15

Ticks are obligate hematophagous parasites and important vectors of diseases. The large amount of blood they consume contains great quantities of iron, an essential but also toxic element. The function of ferritin, an iron storage protein, and iron metabolism in ticks need to be further elucidated. Here, we investigated the function a newly identified secreted ferritin from the hard tick Haemaphysalis longicornis (HlFER2), together with the previously identified intracellular ferritin (HlFER1). Recombinant ferritins, expressed in Escherichia coli, were used for anti-serum preparation and were also assayed for iron-binding activity. RT-PCR and western blot analyses of different organs and developmental stages of the tick during blood feeding were performed. The localization of ferritins in different organs was demonstrated through an indirect immunofluorescent antibody test. RNA interference (RNAi) was performed to evaluate the importance of ferritin in blood feeding and reproduction of ticks. The midgut was also examined after RNAi using light and transmission electron microscopy. RT-PCR showed differences in gene expression in some organs and developmental stages. Interestingly, only HlFER2 was detected in the ovary during oviposition and in the egg despite the low mRNA transcript. RNAi induced a reduction in post-blood meal body weight, high mortality and decreased fecundity. The expression of vitellogenin genes was affected by silencing of ferritin. Abnormalities in digestive cells, including disrupted microvilli, and alteration of digestive activity were also observed. Taken altogether, our results show that the iron storage and protective functions of ferritin are crucial to successful blood feeding and reproduction of H. longicornis.

Fiber-enhanced Raman multigas spectroscopy: a versatile tool for environmental gas sensing and breath analysis.

PubMed

Hanf, Stefan; Keiner, Robert; Yan, Di; Popp, Jürgen; Frosch, Torsten

2014-06-03

Versatile multigas analysis bears high potential for environmental sensing of climate relevant gases and noninvasive early stage diagnosis of disease states in human breath. In this contribution, a fiber-enhanced Raman spectroscopic (FERS) analysis of a suite of climate relevant atmospheric gases is presented, which allowed for reliable quantification of CH4, CO2, and N2O alongside N2 and O2 with just one single measurement. A highly improved analytical sensitivity was achieved, down to a sub-parts per million limit of detection with a high dynamic range of 6 orders of magnitude and within a second measurement time. The high potential of FERS for the detection of disease markers was demonstrated with the analysis of 27 nL of exhaled human breath. The natural isotopes (13)CO2 and (14)N(15)N were quantified at low levels, simultaneously with the major breath components N2, O2, and (12)CO2. The natural abundances of (13)CO2 and (14)N(15)N were experimentally quantified in very good agreement to theoretical values. A fiber adapter assembly and gas filling setup was designed for rapid and automated analysis of multigas compositions and their fluctuations within seconds and without the need for optical readjustment of the sensor arrangement. On the basis of the abilities of such miniaturized FERS system, we expect high potential for the diagnosis of clinically administered (13)C-labeled CO2 in human breath and also foresee high impact for disease detection via biologically vital nitrogen compounds.

METHOD AND FLUX COMPOSITION FOR TREATING URANIUM

DOEpatents

Foote, F.

1958-08-23

ABS>A flux composition is described fer use with molten uranium or uranium alloys. The flux consists of about 46 weight per cent calcium fiuoride, 46 weight per cent magnesium fluoride and about 8 weight per cent of uranium tetrafiuoride.

The long-term prognosis for live birth in couples initiating fertility treatments.

PubMed

Malchau, S S; Henningsen, A A; Loft, A; Rasmussen, S; Forman, J; Nyboe Andersen, A; Pinborg, A

2017-07-01

What are the long-term chances of having a child for couples starting fertility treatments and how many conceive with ART, IUI and without treatment? Total 5-year live birthrates were strongly influenced by female age and ranged from 80% in women under 35-26% in women ≥40 years, overall, 14% of couples conceived naturally and one-third of couples starting treatments with intrauterine insemination delivered from that treatment. Few studies report success rates in fertility treatments across a couple's complete fertility treatment history, across clinics, evaluating live births after insemination, ART and natural conceptions. This register-based national cohort study from Denmark includes all women initiating fertility treatments in public and private clinics with homologous gametes in 2007-2010. Women were identified in the Danish ART Registry and were cross-linked with the Medical Birth Registry to identify live births. Subfertile couples were followed 2 years (N = 19 884), 3 years (N = 14 445) and 5 years (N = 5165), or until their first live birth. Cumulative live birthrates were estimated 2, 3 and 5 years from the first treatment cycle, in all women, including drop-outs. Birthrates were stratified by type of first treatment (ART/IUI), mode of conception (ART/IUI/natural conception) and female age. Within 5 years, in women aged <35 years (N = 3553), 35-39 years (N = 1156) and ≥40 years (N = 451), a total of 64%, 49% and 16% had a live birth due to treatment, respectively. Additionally, in women aged < 35 years, 35-39 years and ≥40 years, 16%, 11% and 10% delivered after natural conception, yielding total 5-year birthrates of 80%, 60% and 26%. In women starting treatments with IUI (N = 3028), 35% delivered after IUI within 5 years, 24% delivered after shift to ART treatments and 17% delivered after natural conception. Within 5 years from starting treatments with ART (N = 2137), 53% delivered after ART, 11% delivered after natural conception and 0.6% delivered after IUI. Birthrates are most likely higher compared to countries without national coverage of treatments and results are influenced by laws and regulations. Information on duration of infertility prior to treatment was not available. Future prospective intervention studies should focus on the role of expectant management. Our results can provide couples with a comprehensible age-stratified prognosis at start of treatment. This study was unconditionally funded by Ferring Pharmaceuticals and the Augustinus foundation. All authors have completed the ICMJE uniform disclosure form at www.icmje.org/coi_disclosure.pdf and declare: S.S.M. received an unconditional grant from Ferring Pharmaceuticals; A.A.H. has received personal fees from Ferring Pharmaceuticals not related to this work; A.N.A. reports grants and personal fees from Ferring Pharmaceuticals, personal fees from Merck Serono, grants and personal fees from MSD, outside the submitted work; no financial relationships with any organizations that might have an interest in the submitted work in the previous 3 years; no other relationships or activities that could appear to have influenced the submitted work. The study was approved by the Danish Data Protection Agency (J.nr. 2012-41-1330). © The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com

Introduction to Pathogenic Protozoa

DTIC Science & Technology

2011-06-01

hematoxylin suf- fers when the modified fixative, in which zinc or copper is substituted for mercury, is used. Specimens should be first grossly examined...specimens to detect light infections. The two most common procedures are zinc sulfate flotation and formalin-ethyl acetate sedi- mentation. Wet mount

5 CFR 850.101 - Purpose and scope.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... Employees' Retirement System (FERS) by using contemporary, automated business processes and supporting... employing more efficient and effective business systems to respond to increased customer demand for higher levels of customer service and online self-service tools. (b) The provisions of this part authorize...

5 CFR 846.304 - Computing FERS annuities for persons with CSRS service.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

...) and (c). (d)(1) Except as specified in § 846.305, the average pay for computations under paragraphs (b... basic pay in effect over any 3 consecutive years of creditable service or, in the case of an annuity...

5 CFR 846.304 - Computing FERS annuities for persons with CSRS service.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

...) and (c). (d)(1) Except as specified in § 846.305, the average pay for computations under paragraphs (b... basic pay in effect over any 3 consecutive years of creditable service or, in the case of an annuity...

Lentivirus-mediated bifunctional cell labeling for in vivo melanoma study

PubMed Central

Day, Chi-Ping; Carter, John; Bonomi, Carrie; Esposito, Dominic; Crise, Bruce; Ortiz-Conde, Betty; Hollingshead, Melinda; Merlino, Glenn

2009-01-01

SUMMARY Lentiviral vectors (LVs) are capable of labeling a broad spectrum of cell types, achieving stable expression of transgenes. However, for in vivo studies, the duration of marker gene expression has been highly variable. We have developed a series of LVs harboring different promoters for expressing reporter gene in mouse cells. Long-term culture and colony formation of several LV-labeled mouse melanoma cells showed that promoters derived from mammalian house-keeping genes, especially those encoding RNA polymerase II (Pol2) and ferritin (FerH), provided the highest consistency for reporter expression. For in vivo studies, primary B16BL6 mouse melanoma were infected with LVs whose luciferase-GFP fusion gene (Luc/GFP) was driven by either Pol2 or FerH promoters. When transplanted into syngeneic C57BL/6 mice, Luc/GFP-labeled B16BL6 mouse melanoma cells can be monitored by bioluminescence imaging in vivo, and GFP-positive cells can be isolated from the tumors by FACS. Pol2-Luc/GFP labeling, while lower in activity, was more sustainable than FerH-Luc/GFP labeling in B16BL6 over consecutive passages into mice. We conclude that Pol-2-Luc/GFP labeling allows long-term in vivo monitoring and tumor cell isolation in immunocompetent mouse melanoma models. SIGNIFICANCE In this study we have developed and identified lentiviral vectors that allow labeled mouse melanoma cells to maintain long-term and consistent expression of a bifunctional luciferase-GFP marker gene, even in syngeneic mice with an intact immune function. This cell-labeling system can be used to build immunocompetent mouse melanoma models that permit both tumor monitoring and FACS-based tumor cell isolation from tissues, greatly facilitating the in vivo study of melanoma. PMID:19175523

Intrinsic Functional Connectivity in Salience and Default Mode Networks and Aberrant Social Processes in Youth at Ultra-High Risk for Psychosis.

PubMed

Pelletier-Baldelli, Andrea; Bernard, Jessica A; Mittal, Vijay A

2015-01-01

Social processes are key to navigating the world, and investigating their underlying mechanisms and cognitive architecture can aid in understanding disease states such as schizophrenia, where social processes are highly impacted. Evidence suggests that social processes are impaired in individuals at ultra high-risk for the development of psychosis (UHR). Understanding these phenomena in UHR youth may clarify disease etiology and social processes in a period that is characterized by significantly fewer confounds than schizophrenia. Furthermore, understanding social processing deficits in this population will help explain these processes in healthy individuals. The current study examined resting state connectivity of the salience (SN) and default mode networks (DMN) in association with facial emotion recognition (FER), an integral aspect of social processes, as well as broader social functioning (SF) in UHR individuals and healthy controls. Consistent with the existing literature, UHR youth were impaired in FER and SF when compared with controls. In the UHR group, we found increased connectivity between the SN and the medial prefrontal cortex, an area of the DMN relative to controls. In UHR youth, the DMN exhibited both positive and negative correlations with the somatosensory cortex/cerebellum and precuneus, respectively, which was linked with better FER performance. For SF, results showed that sensory processing links with the SN might be important in allowing for better SF for both groups, but especially in controls where sensory processing is likely to be unimpaired. These findings clarify how social processing deficits may manifest in psychosis, and underscore the importance of SN and DMN connectivity for social processing more generally.

Intrinsic Functional Connectivity in Salience and Default Mode Networks and Aberrant Social Processes in Youth at Ultra-High Risk for Psychosis

PubMed Central

Pelletier-Baldelli, Andrea; Bernard, Jessica A.; Mittal, Vijay A.

2015-01-01

Social processes are key to navigating the world, and investigating their underlying mechanisms and cognitive architecture can aid in understanding disease states such as schizophrenia, where social processes are highly impacted. Evidence suggests that social processes are impaired in individuals at ultra high-risk for the development of psychosis (UHR). Understanding these phenomena in UHR youth may clarify disease etiology and social processes in a period that is characterized by significantly fewer confounds than schizophrenia. Furthermore, understanding social processing deficits in this population will help explain these processes in healthy individuals. The current study examined resting state connectivity of the salience (SN) and default mode networks (DMN) in association with facial emotion recognition (FER), an integral aspect of social processes, as well as broader social functioning (SF) in UHR individuals and healthy controls. Consistent with the existing literature, UHR youth were impaired in FER and SF when compared with controls. In the UHR group, we found increased connectivity between the SN and the medial prefrontal cortex, an area of the DMN relative to controls. In UHR youth, the DMN exhibited both positive and negative correlations with the somatosensory cortex/cerebellum and precuneus, respectively, which was linked with better FER performance. For SF, results showed that sensory processing links with the SN might be important in allowing for better SF for both groups, but especially in controls where sensory processing is likely to be unimpaired. These findings clarify how social processing deficits may manifest in psychosis, and underscore the importance of SN and DMN connectivity for social processing more generally. PMID:26252525

^1H NMR studies of the diamagnetic gallium (III) and paramagnetic iron (III) complexes of a chiral macrobicyclic ligand of bicapped tris (binaphtol) type

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Baret, P.; Beaujolais, V.; Bougault, C.; Gaude, D.; Pierre, J.-L.

1998-01-01

^1H NMR studies of the diamagnetic gallium (III) and paramagnetic iron (III) complexes of a chiral macrobicyclic ligand of bicapped tris (binaphtol) type are described. The study of the gallium complex emphasizes: (i) that the inversion of the octahedral center is not observed and: (ii) the absence of exchange between free ligand and complex, at room temperature. In the case of the iron complex, assignments of the hyperfine shifted resolved resonances are achieved, based on temperature-behavior studies, which evidence the D3 symmetry of the complex. These assignments are in complete agreement with measured T1 values and proton-to-iron distances obtained from molecular modelling. Les complexes du gallium (III) et du fer (III) d'un ligand macrobicyclique chiral impliquant trois sous-unités de type binaphtol sont étudiés en RMN du proton en solution méthanolique. L'étude du complexe (diamagnétique) du gallium permet de montrer que le complexe : (i) ne subit pas d'inversion de la configuration (Δ/Λ) du site octaédrique et : (ii) qu'il n'y a pas d'échange entre ligand libre et complexe à la température ambiante. L'évolution du spectre du complexe paramagnétique du fer avec la température permet une attribution des protons du ligand et met en évidence la symétrie D3 du complexe. Une bonne corrélation est obtenue entre la distance fer-proton (donnée par la modélisation moléculaire) et le T1 du proton considéré.

Two Kinds of Ferritin Protect Ixodid Ticks from Iron Overload and Consequent Oxidative Stress

PubMed Central

Galay, Remil Linggatong; Umemiya-Shirafuji, Rika; Bacolod, Eugene T.; Maeda, Hiroki; Kusakisako, Kodai; Koyama, Jiro; Tsuji, Naotoshi; Mochizuki, Masami; Fujisaki, Kozo; Tanaka, Tetsuya

2014-01-01

Ticks are obligate hematophagous parasites that have successfully developed counteractive means against their hosts' immune and hemostatic mechanisms, but their ability to cope with potentially toxic molecules in the blood remains unclear. Iron is important in various physiological processes but can be toxic to living cells when in excess. We previously reported that the hard tick Haemaphysalis longicornis has an intracellular (HlFER1) and a secretory (HlFER2) ferritin, and both are crucial in successful blood feeding and reproduction. Ferritin gene silencing by RNA interference caused reduced feeding capacity, low body weight and high mortality after blood meal, decreased fecundity and morphological abnormalities in the midgut cells. Similar findings were also previously reported after silencing of ferritin genes in another hard tick, Ixodes ricinus. Here we demonstrated the role of ferritin in protecting the hard ticks from oxidative stress. Evaluation of oxidative stress in Hlfer-silenced ticks was performed after blood feeding or injection of ferric ammonium citrate (FAC) through detection of the lipid peroxidation product, malondialdehyde (MDA) and protein oxidation product, protein carbonyl. FAC injection in Hlfer-silenced ticks resulted in high mortality. Higher levels of MDA and protein carbonyl were detected in Hlfer-silenced ticks compared to Luciferase-injected (control) ticks both after blood feeding and FAC injection. Ferric iron accumulation demonstrated by increased staining on native HlFER was observed from 72 h after iron injection in both the whole tick and the midgut. Furthermore, weak iron staining was observed after Hlfer knockdown. Taken together, these results show that tick ferritins are crucial antioxidant molecules that protect the hard tick from iron-mediated oxidative stress during blood feeding. PMID:24594832

Correcting for sequencing error in maximum likelihood phylogeny inference.

PubMed

Kuhner, Mary K; McGill, James

2014-11-04

Accurate phylogenies are critical to taxonomy as well as studies of speciation processes and other evolutionary patterns. Accurate branch lengths in phylogenies are critical for dating and rate measurements. Such accuracy may be jeopardized by unacknowledged sequencing error. We use simulated data to test a correction for DNA sequencing error in maximum likelihood phylogeny inference. Over a wide range of data polymorphism and true error rate, we found that correcting for sequencing error improves recovery of the branch lengths, even if the assumed error rate is up to twice the true error rate. Low error rates have little effect on recovery of the topology. When error is high, correction improves topological inference; however, when error is extremely high, using an assumed error rate greater than the true error rate leads to poor recovery of both topology and branch lengths. The error correction approach tested here was proposed in 2004 but has not been widely used, perhaps because researchers do not want to commit to an estimate of the error rate. This study shows that correction with an approximate error rate is generally preferable to ignoring the issue. Copyright © 2014 Kuhner and McGill.

33 CFR 80.830 - Mississippi Passes, LA to Point Au Fer, LA.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... Caillou. (h) A line drawn on an axis of 103° true through Taylors Bayou Entrance Light 2 across the entrances to Jack Stout Bayou, Taylors Bayou, Pelican Pass, and Bayou de West. [CGD 77-118a, 42 FR 35784...

33 CFR 80.830 - Mississippi Passes, LA to Point Au Fer, LA.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... Caillou. (h) A line drawn on an axis of 103° true through Taylors Bayou Entrance Light 2 across the entrances to Jack Stout Bayou, Taylors Bayou, Pelican Pass, and Bayou de West. [CGD 77-118a, 42 FR 35784...

NOAA Workforce Management Office

Science.gov Websites

Federal Employees Health (FEHB) Life (FEGLI) Life Insurance and Active Duty Information Long Term Care (FLTCIP) New Employee Benefit Information OPM Retirement Information Premium Conversion - Health Benefits and FERS Handbook Military Service Deposit Information Non-foreign Area Retirement Equity Assurance

75 FR 35098 - Federal Employees' Retirement System; Normal Cost Percentages

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-06-21

... OFFICE OF PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT Federal Employees' Retirement System; Normal Cost Percentages...' Retirement System (FERS) Act of 1986. DATES: The revised normal cost percentages are effective at the... retirement system intended to cover most Federal employees hired after 1983. Most Federal employees hired...

The historical development of modern virus research in Germany, especially in the Kaiser-Wilhelm-/Max-Planck-Society, 1936--1954.

PubMed

Butenandt, A

1977-01-01

This is lecture on the historical development of modern virus research in Germany to introduce a symposium dedicated to Prof. Werner Schäfer, Tübingen, on the occasion of his 65th birthday. The author was set the task of relating from his memories the beginning of modern virus research in Germany. This research has, since 1936, essentially taken place in the Kaiser-Wilhelm/Max-Planck-Society and in 1954 led to the founding of the Max-Planck-Institute for Virus Research in Tübingen, an institute which to the present day owes its scientific reputation in considerable part to the activity of Werner Schäfer. Since the author personally experienced and participated in the Institute's development from 1936-1954, his remarks are predominantly influenced by personal recollections, which have been sharpended by a renewed study of old records in the 'Library and Archive of the History of the Max-Planck-Gesellschaft', Berlin-Dahlem.

Life cycle assessment on microalgal biodiesel production using a hybrid cultivation system.

PubMed

Adesanya, Victoria O; Cadena, Erasmo; Scott, Stuart A; Smith, Alison G

2014-07-01

A life cycle assessment (LCA) was performed on a putative biodiesel production plant in which the freshwater alga Chlorella vulgaris, was grown using an existing system similar to a published commercial-scale hybrid cultivation. The hybrid system couples airlift tubular photobioreactors with raceway ponds in a two-stage process for high biomass growth and lipid accumulation. The results show that microalgal biodiesel production would have a significantly lower environmental impact than fossil-derived diesel. Based on the functional unit of 1 ton of biodiesel produced, the hybrid cultivation system and hypothetical downstream process (base case) would have 42% and 38% savings in global warming potential (GWP) and fossil-energy requirements (FER) when compared to fossil-derived diesel, respectively. Sensitivity analysis was performed to identify the most influential process parameters on the LCA results. The maximum reduction in GWP and FER was observed under mixotrophic growth conditions with savings of 76% and 75% when compared to conventional diesel, respectively. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

STS-114: Discovery Day 9 Mission Status Briefing

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2005-01-01

Paul Hill, STS-114 Lead Shuttle Flight Director, Mark Ferring, STS-114 Lead ISS Flight Director and Cindy Begley, STS-114 Lead EVA Officer is shown during this 9th day of the Space Shuttle Mission to the International Space Station. Paul Hill talks about the status of the transfers of critical items to the International Space Station and transfers back from the International Space Station into the Multi-Purpose Logistics Module (MPLM). Hill also presents footage of the crew cabin blanket survey procedure. Mark Ferring talks in detail about the primary International Space Station task on the External Stowage Platform (ESP). The status of the external stowage platform installation, removal of grapple fixture, gap filler removal task, and Materials International Space Station Experiment (MISSE) 5 payload installation is discussed by Cindy Begley. She also presents footage of Steve Robinson's spacewalk before the gap filler task and during the removal of the gap filler. The Capture of ESP-2 is also presented. The presentation ends with a question and answer period from the news media

Learning time-dependent noise to reduce logical errors: real time error rate estimation in quantum error correction

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Huo, Ming-Xia; Li, Ying

2017-12-01

Quantum error correction is important to quantum information processing, which allows us to reliably process information encoded in quantum error correction codes. Efficient quantum error correction benefits from the knowledge of error rates. We propose a protocol for monitoring error rates in real time without interrupting the quantum error correction. Any adaptation of the quantum error correction code or its implementation circuit is not required. The protocol can be directly applied to the most advanced quantum error correction techniques, e.g. surface code. A Gaussian processes algorithm is used to estimate and predict error rates based on error correction data in the past. We find that using these estimated error rates, the probability of error correction failures can be significantly reduced by a factor increasing with the code distance.

Fer Cryin' Out Loud--There is a Sex Difference.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lombardo, William K.; And Others

1983-01-01

A study found sex differences in: (1) frequency and intensity of crying, (2) likelihood of crying independent of the presence of others, (3) likelihood of crying independent of the level of intimacy of observers or type of crying stimulus, and (4) in postcrying affect. (CMG)

76 FR 32242 - Federal Employees' Retirement System; Normal Cost Percentages

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-06-03

... OFFICE OF PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT Federal Employees' Retirement System; Normal Cost Percentages...' Retirement System (FERS) Act of 1986. DATES: The revised normal cost percentages are effective at the..., Public Law 99-335, created a new retirement system intended to cover most Federal employees hired after...

75 FR 39587 - Proposed Collection; Request for Comments on a Revised Information Collection

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-07-09

... collection, ``Health Benefits Election Form'' (OMB Control No. 3206-0160; SF 2809), is used by Federal... Employees Retirement System (FERS) including individuals receiving benefits from the Office of Workers... whose health benefit enrollments are administered by OPM's Retirement Operations. Comments Are...

5 CFR 841.202 - Applications required.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... (CONTINUED) FEDERAL EMPLOYEES RETIREMENT SYSTEM-GENERAL ADMINISTRATION Applications for Benefits § 841.202 Applications required. (a) No benefit is payable under FERS, until after the claimant has applied for the benefit in the form prescribed by OPM. (b) An employee, Member, or survivor may exercise any option or...

5 CFR 837.301 - Coverage.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

... 5 Administrative Personnel 2 2012-01-01 2012-01-01 false Coverage. 837.301 Section 837.301...) REEMPLOYMENT OF ANNUITANTS Coverage and Contributions § 837.301 Coverage. (a) When annuity terminates on, or is suspended during, reemployment. Retirement coverage under either CSRS or FERS is governed by subpart B of...

5 CFR 837.301 - Coverage.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... 5 Administrative Personnel 2 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Coverage. 837.301 Section 837.301...) REEMPLOYMENT OF ANNUITANTS Coverage and Contributions § 837.301 Coverage. (a) When annuity terminates on, or is suspended during, reemployment. Retirement coverage under either CSRS or FERS is governed by subpart B of...

5 CFR 837.301 - Coverage.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

... 5 Administrative Personnel 2 2014-01-01 2014-01-01 false Coverage. 837.301 Section 837.301...) REEMPLOYMENT OF ANNUITANTS Coverage and Contributions § 837.301 Coverage. (a) When annuity terminates on, or is suspended during, reemployment. Retirement coverage under either CSRS or FERS is governed by subpart B of...

5 CFR 847.415 - OASDI coverage.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... 5 Administrative Personnel 2 2011-01-01 2011-01-01 false OASDI coverage. 847.415 Section 847.415...) ELECTIONS OF RETIREMENT COVERAGE BY CURRENT AND FORMER EMPLOYEES OF NONAPPROPRIATED FUND INSTRUMENTALITIES Elections of Coverage Under the Retroactive Provisions Elections of Csrs Or Fers Coverage Based on A Move...

5 CFR 847.415 - OASDI coverage.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

... 5 Administrative Personnel 2 2012-01-01 2012-01-01 false OASDI coverage. 847.415 Section 847.415...) ELECTIONS OF RETIREMENT COVERAGE BY CURRENT AND FORMER EMPLOYEES OF NONAPPROPRIATED FUND INSTRUMENTALITIES Elections of Coverage Under the Retroactive Provisions Elections of Csrs Or Fers Coverage Based on A Move...

5 CFR 837.301 - Coverage.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... 5 Administrative Personnel 2 2011-01-01 2011-01-01 false Coverage. 837.301 Section 837.301...) REEMPLOYMENT OF ANNUITANTS Coverage and Contributions § 837.301 Coverage. (a) When annuity terminates on, or is suspended during, reemployment. Retirement coverage under either CSRS or FERS is governed by subpart B of...

5 CFR 847.415 - OASDI coverage.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... 5 Administrative Personnel 2 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false OASDI coverage. 847.415 Section 847.415...) ELECTIONS OF RETIREMENT COVERAGE BY CURRENT AND FORMER EMPLOYEES OF NONAPPROPRIATED FUND INSTRUMENTALITIES Elections of Coverage Under the Retroactive Provisions Elections of Csrs Or Fers Coverage Based on A Move...

5 CFR 837.301 - Coverage.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

... 5 Administrative Personnel 2 2013-01-01 2013-01-01 false Coverage. 837.301 Section 837.301...) REEMPLOYMENT OF ANNUITANTS Coverage and Contributions § 837.301 Coverage. (a) When annuity terminates on, or is suspended during, reemployment. Retirement coverage under either CSRS or FERS is governed by subpart B of...

Discovery and characterization of a turf-type triploid seashore paspalum

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Seashore paspalum (Paspalum vaginatum Swartz) is a salt tolerant, predominantly diploid (2n = 2x = 20) species that is well adapted to coastal regions in tropical and subtropical environments. Because a majority of the available cultivars are propagated vegetatively and most genotypes are cross-fer...

Improving Angles-Only Navigation Performance by Selecting Sufficiently Accurate Accelerometers

DTIC Science & Technology

2009-08-01

controller for thrusters and a PID controller for momentum Wheels. Translational control leverages a PD controller for station keeping, and Clohessy ... Wiltshire (CW) equations targeting for trans- fers. Navigation is detailed in Section III.A. III.A. Kalman Filter Development A Square-Root EKF is

5 CFR 841.102 - Regulatory structure for the Federal Employees Retirement System.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

... chapter contains information about coverage under the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program. (10... Employees Retirement System. 841.102 Section 841.102 Administrative Personnel OFFICE OF PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT... chapter contains information about basic annuity rights of employees and Members under FERS. (2) Part 843...

5 CFR 838.103 - Definitions.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... Court Orders § 838.103 Definitions. In this part (except subpart J)— Child abuse creditor means an individual who applies for benefits under CSRS or FERS based on a child abuse judgment enforcement order. Child abuse judgment enforcement order means a court or administrative order requiring OPM to pay a...

Effects of Lexical and Somatosensory Feedback on Long-Term Improvements in Intelligibility of Dysarthric Speech

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Borrie, Stephanie A.; Schäfer, Martina C. M.

2017-01-01

Purpose: Intelligibility improvements immediately following perceptual training with dysarthric speech using lexical feedback are comparable to those observed when training uses somatosensory feedback (Borrie & Schäfer, 2015). In this study, we investigated if these lexical and somatosensory guided improvements in listener intelligibility of…

5 CFR 847.904 - What are Present Value Factors

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... 5 Administrative Personnel 2 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false What are Present Value Factors 847.904 Section 847.904 Administrative Personnel OFFICE OF PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT (CONTINUED) CIVIL SERVICE... Qualify for an Immediate CSRS or FERS Retirement § 847.904 What are Present Value Factors Present value...

5 CFR 838.103 - Definitions.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... Court Orders § 838.103 Definitions. In this part (except subpart J)— Child abuse creditor means an individual who applies for benefits under CSRS or FERS based on a child abuse judgment enforcement order. Child abuse judgment enforcement order means a court or administrative order requiring OPM to pay a...

5 CFR 838.103 - Definitions.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

... Court Orders § 838.103 Definitions. In this part (except subpart J)— Child abuse creditor means an individual who applies for benefits under CSRS or FERS based on a child abuse judgment enforcement order. Child abuse judgment enforcement order means a court or administrative order requiring OPM to pay a...

5 CFR 838.103 - Definitions.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

... Court Orders § 838.103 Definitions. In this part (except subpart J)— Child abuse creditor means an individual who applies for benefits under CSRS or FERS based on a child abuse judgment enforcement order. Child abuse judgment enforcement order means a court or administrative order requiring OPM to pay a...

5 CFR 838.103 - Definitions.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

... Court Orders § 838.103 Definitions. In this part (except subpart J)— Child abuse creditor means an individual who applies for benefits under CSRS or FERS based on a child abuse judgment enforcement order. Child abuse judgment enforcement order means a court or administrative order requiring OPM to pay a...

NOAA Workforce Management Office, e-Learning, Commerce Learning Center

Science.gov Websites

Information Long Term Care (FLTCIP) New Employee Benefit Information OPM Retirement Information Premium Duty - FAQs Retirement CSRS and FERS Handbook Military Service Deposit Information Non-foreign Area Retirement Equity Assurance (NAREA) Publications Request for Information Retirement Calculator Retirement

5 CFR 847.103 - Definitions.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... value are those used by the Board of Actuaries of the Civil Service Retirement System for valuation of CSRS and FERS, based on dynamic assumptions. Age means the number of years an individual has been alive... Retirement System or the Federal Employees Retirement System as described in chapters 83 and 84 of title 5...

5 CFR 847.703 - Reductions in annuity.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... 5 Administrative Personnel 2 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Reductions in annuity. 847.703 Section... INSTRUMENTALITIES Computation of Benefits Under the Retroactive Provisions § 847.703 Reductions in annuity. The CSRS or FERS basic annuity of an employee or survivor who has elected retirement coverage under subpart D...

5 CFR 847.704 - Maximum survivor annuity election.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... 5 Administrative Personnel 2 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Maximum survivor annuity election. 847... survivor annuity election. The amount of the employee's benefit after reduction for any deficiency under... 8339 (j) or (k) to title 5, United States Code; (b) For FERS, the employee annuity (for survivor...

Improving Re-Enlistment through Decision-Making Modeling and Intervention

DTIC Science & Technology

1990-03-01

everything from politics easily and quickly all useful facts and opinions. It to finance to sports, decisions are not based on then synthesizes these... Disneyland ferred method of evaluating jobs both reliably Disney World and validly. Possibly the greatest benefit of JEBOR Dow Chemical Company to the user

5 CFR 847.602 - Present value factors.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... 5 Administrative Personnel 2 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Present value factors. 847.602 Section... INSTRUMENTALITIES Additional Employee Costs Under the Retroactive Provisions § 847.602 Present value factors. (a... present value factors for all CSRS annuities; (2) One table of present value factors for FERS annuities...

5 CFR 841.306 - Reconsideration.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... FERS are affected by an OPM decision (under § 841.305) stating the right to request reconsideration may request OPM to review its initial decision. (b) Actions covered elsewhere. (1) A request for... a decision to collect a debt will be made in accordance with § 845.204(b). (3) A decision on court...

5 CFR 846.303 - Crediting military service.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... 5 Administrative Personnel 2 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Crediting military service. 846.303... Become Subject to FERS § 846.303 Crediting military service. (a) Military service performed before the... paragraphs (b) and (c) of this section. (b) Military service described in paragraph (a) of this section which...

A randomized controlled, non-inferiority trial of modified natural versus artificial cycle for cryo-thawed embryo transfer.

PubMed

Groenewoud, E R; Cohlen, B J; Al-Oraiby, A; Brinkhuis, E A; Broekmans, F J M; de Bruin, J P; van den Dool, G; Fleisher, K; Friederich, J; Goddijn, M; Hoek, A; Hoozemans, D A; Kaaijk, E M; Koks, C A M; Laven, J S E; van der Linden, P J Q; Manger, A P; Slappendel, E; Spinder, T; Kollen, B J; Macklon, N S

2016-07-01

Are live birth rates (LBRs) after artificial cycle frozen-thawed embryo transfer (AC-FET) non-inferior to LBRs after modified natural cycle frozen-thawed embryo transfer (mNC-FET)? AC-FET is non-inferior to mNC-FET with regard to LBRs, clinical and ongoing pregnancy rates (OPRs) but AC-FET does result in higher cancellation rates. Pooling prior retrospective studies of AC-FET and mNC-FET results in comparable pregnancy and LBRs. However, these results have not yet been confirmed by a prospective randomized trial. In this non-inferiority prospective randomized controlled trial (acronym 'ANTARCTICA' trial), conducted from February 2009 to April 2014, 1032 patients were included of which 959 were available for analysis. The primary outcome of the study was live birth. Secondary outcomes were clinical and ongoing pregnancy, cycle cancellation and endometrium thickness. A cost-efficiency analysis was performed. This study was conducted in both secondary and tertiary fertility centres in the Netherlands. Patients included in this study had to be 18-40 years old, had to have a regular menstruation cycle between 26 and 35 days and frozen-thawed embryos to be transferred had to derive from one of the first three IVF or IVF-ICSI treatment cycles. Patients with a uterine anomaly, a contraindication for one of the prescribed medications in this study or patients undergoing a donor gamete procedure were excluded from participation. Patients were randomized based on a 1:1 allocation to either one cycle of mNC-FET or AC-FET. All embryos were cryopreserved using a slow-freeze technique. LBR after mNC-FET was 11.5% (57/495) versus 8.8% in AC-FET (41/464) resulting in an absolute difference in LBR of -0.027 in favour of mNC-FET (95% confidence interval (CI) -0.065-0.012; P = 0.171). Clinical pregnancy occurred in 94/495 (19.0%) patients in mNC-FET versus 75/464 (16.0%) patients in AC-FET (odds ratio (OR) 0.8, 95% CI 0.6-1.1, P = 0.25). 57/495 (11.5%) mNC-FET resulted in ongoing pregnancy versus 45/464 (9.6%) AC-FET (OR 0.7, 95% CI 0.5-1.1, P = 0.15). χ(2) test confirmed the lack of superiority. Significantly more cycles were cancelled in AC-FET (124/464 versus 101/495, OR 1.4, 95% CI 1.1-1.9, P = 0.02). The costs of each of the endometrial preparation methods were comparable (€617.50 per cycle in NC-FET versus €625.73 per cycle in AC-FET, P = 0.54). The minimum of 1150 patients required for adequate statistical power was not achieved. Moreover, LBRs were lower than anticipated in the sample size calculation. LBRs after AC-FET were not inferior to those achieved by mNC-FET. No significant differences in clinical and OPR were observed. The costs of both treatment approaches were comparable. An educational grant was received during the conduct of this study. Merck Sharpe Dohme had no influence on the design, execution and analyses of this study. E.R.G. received an education grant by Merck Sharpe Dohme (MSD) during the conduct of the present study. B.J.C. reports grants from MSD during the conduct of the study. A.H. reports grants from MSD and Ferring BV the Netherlands and personal fees from MSD. Grants from ZonMW, the Dutch Organization for Health Research and Development. J.S.E.L. reports grants from Ferring, MSD, Organon, Merck Serono and Schering-Plough during the conduct of the study. F.J.M.B. receives monetary compensation as member of the external advisory board for Merck Serono, consultancy work for Gedeon Richter, educational activities for Ferring BV, research cooperation with Ansh Labs and a strategic cooperation with Roche on automated anti Mullerian hormone assay development. N.S.M. reports receiving monetary compensations for external advisory and speaking work for Ferring BV, MSD, Anecova and Merck Serono during the conduct of the study. All reported competing interests are outside the submitted work. No other relationships or activities that could appear to have influenced the submitted work. Netherlands trial register, number NTR 1586. 13 January 2009. 20 April 2009. © The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

A randomized controlled, non-inferiority trial of modified natural versus artificial cycle for cryo-thawed embryo transfer

PubMed Central

Groenewoud, E.R.; Cohlen, B.J.; Al-Oraiby, A.; Brinkhuis, E.A.; Broekmans, F.J.M.; de Bruin, J.P.; van den Dool, G.; Fleisher, K.; Friederich, J.; Goddijn, M.; Hoek, A.; Hoozemans, D.A.; Kaaijk, E.M.; Koks, C.A.M.; Laven, J.S.E.; van der Linden, P.J.Q.; Manger, A.P.; Slappendel, E.; Spinder, T.; Kollen, B.J.; Macklon, N.S.

2016-01-01

Abstract STUDY QUESTION Are live birth rates (LBRs) after artificial cycle frozen-thawed embryo transfer (AC-FET) non-inferior to LBRs after modified natural cycle frozen-thawed embryo transfer (mNC-FET)? SUMMARY ANSWER AC-FET is non-inferior to mNC-FET with regard to LBRs, clinical and ongoing pregnancy rates (OPRs) but AC-FET does result in higher cancellation rates. WHAT IS ALREADY KNOWN Pooling prior retrospective studies of AC-FET and mNC-FET results in comparable pregnancy and LBRs. However, these results have not yet been confirmed by a prospective randomized trial. STUDY DESIGN, SIZE AND DURATION In this non-inferiority prospective randomized controlled trial (acronym ‘ANTARCTICA’ trial), conducted from February 2009 to April 2014, 1032 patients were included of which 959 were available for analysis. The primary outcome of the study was live birth. Secondary outcomes were clinical and ongoing pregnancy, cycle cancellation and endometrium thickness. A cost-efficiency analysis was performed. PARTICIPANT/MATERIALS, SETTING, METHODS This study was conducted in both secondary and tertiary fertility centres in the Netherlands. Patients included in this study had to be 18–40 years old, had to have a regular menstruation cycle between 26 and 35 days and frozen-thawed embryos to be transferred had to derive from one of the first three IVF or IVF–ICSI treatment cycles. Patients with a uterine anomaly, a contraindication for one of the prescribed medications in this study or patients undergoing a donor gamete procedure were excluded from participation. Patients were randomized based on a 1:1 allocation to either one cycle of mNC-FET or AC-FET. All embryos were cryopreserved using a slow-freeze technique. MAIN RESULTS AND THE ROLE OF CHANCE LBR after mNC-FET was 11.5% (57/495) versus 8.8% in AC-FET (41/464) resulting in an absolute difference in LBR of −0.027 in favour of mNC-FET (95% confidence interval (CI) −0.065–0.012; P = 0.171). Clinical pregnancy occurred in 94/495 (19.0%) patients in mNC-FET versus 75/464 (16.0%) patients in AC-FET (odds ratio (OR) 0.8, 95% CI 0.6–1.1, P = 0.25). 57/495 (11.5%) mNC-FET resulted in ongoing pregnancy versus 45/464 (9.6%) AC-FET (OR 0.7, 95% CI 0.5–1.1, P = 0.15). χ2 test confirmed the lack of superiority. Significantly more cycles were cancelled in AC-FET (124/464 versus 101/495, OR 1.4, 95% CI 1.1–1.9, P = 0.02). The costs of each of the endometrial preparation methods were comparable (€617.50 per cycle in NC-FET versus €625.73 per cycle in AC-FET, P = 0.54). LIMITATIONS, REASONS FOR CAUTION The minimum of 1150 patients required for adequate statistical power was not achieved. Moreover, LBRs were lower than anticipated in the sample size calculation. WIDER IMPLICATIONS OF THE FINDINGS LBRs after AC-FET were not inferior to those achieved by mNC-FET. No significant differences in clinical and OPR were observed. The costs of both treatment approaches were comparable. STUDY FUNDING/COMPETING INTEREST(S) An educational grant was received during the conduct of this study. Merck Sharpe Dohme had no influence on the design, execution and analyses of this study. E.R.G. received an education grant by Merck Sharpe Dohme (MSD) during the conduct of the present study. B.J.C. reports grants from MSD during the conduct of the study. A.H. reports grants from MSD and Ferring BV the Netherlands and personal fees from MSD. Grants from ZonMW, the Dutch Organization for Health Research and Development. J.S.E.L. reports grants from Ferring, MSD, Organon, Merck Serono and Schering-Plough during the conduct of the study. F.J.M.B. receives monetary compensation as member of the external advisory board for Merck Serono, consultancy work for Gedeon Richter, educational activities for Ferring BV, research cooperation with Ansh Labs and a strategic cooperation with Roche on automated anti Mullerian hormone assay development. N.S.M. reports receiving monetary compensations for external advisory and speaking work for Ferring BV, MSD, Anecova and Merck Serono during the conduct of the study. All reported competing interests are outside the submitted work. No other relationships or activities that could appear to have influenced the submitted work. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER Netherlands trial register, number NTR 1586. TRIAL REGISTRATION DATE 13 January 2009. FIRST PATIENT INCLUDED 20 April 2009. PMID:27179265

Neural Correlates of Explicit versus Implicit Facial Emotion Processing in ASD

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Luckhardt, Christina; Kröger, Anne; Cholemkery, Hannah; Bender, Stephan; Freitag, Christine M.

2017-01-01

The underlying neural mechanisms of implicit and explicit facial emotion recognition (FER) were studied in children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) compared to matched typically developing controls (TDC). EEG was obtained from N = 21 ASD and N = 16 TDC. Task performance, visual (P100, N170) and cognitive (late positive…

5 CFR 880.205 - Determinations of death.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... 5 Administrative Personnel 2 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Determinations of death. 880.205 Section... Determinations of death. OPM does not make findings of presumed death. A claimant for CSRS, FERS, or FEGLI death... § 880.207 must submit a death certificate or other legal certification of death issued by an authorized...

Antibiotic resistance genes persist longer in soils with subsurface banded poultry litter

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

The objective of this study was to determine the concentration of AR genes for sulfonamide (sulI), tetracycline (tetW), streptomycin (strpB) and for the class one integrase (intI1) gene in soils with subsurface banded PL. Field scale plots were established with triplicate treatments of either no fer...

5 CFR 838.111 - Exemption from legal process except as authorized by Federal law.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... authorized by Federal law. 838.111 Section 838.111 Administrative Personnel OFFICE OF PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT... by Federal law. (a) Employees, retirees, and State courts may not assign CSRS and FERS benefits..., attachment, garnishment or other legal process except as expressly provided by Federal law. Division of...

5 CFR 838.111 - Exemption from legal process except as authorized by Federal law.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

... authorized by Federal law. 838.111 Section 838.111 Administrative Personnel OFFICE OF PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT... by Federal law. (a) Employees, retirees, and State courts may not assign CSRS and FERS benefits..., attachment, garnishment or other legal process except as expressly provided by Federal law. Division of...

5 CFR 838.111 - Exemption from legal process except as authorized by Federal law.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... authorized by Federal law. 838.111 Section 838.111 Administrative Personnel OFFICE OF PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT... by Federal law. (a) Employees, retirees, and State courts may not assign CSRS and FERS benefits..., attachment, garnishment or other legal process except as expressly provided by Federal law. Division of...

5 CFR 838.111 - Exemption from legal process except as authorized by Federal law.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

... authorized by Federal law. 838.111 Section 838.111 Administrative Personnel OFFICE OF PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT... by Federal law. (a) Employees, retirees, and State courts may not assign CSRS and FERS benefits..., attachment, garnishment or other legal process except as expressly provided by Federal law. Division of...

5 CFR 838.111 - Exemption from legal process except as authorized by Federal law.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

... authorized by Federal law. 838.111 Section 838.111 Administrative Personnel OFFICE OF PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT... by Federal law. (a) Employees, retirees, and State courts may not assign CSRS and FERS benefits..., attachment, garnishment or other legal process except as expressly provided by Federal law. Division of...

Treatment of cattle with Steinernema riobrave and Heterorhabditis floridensis for control of the Southern Cattle Fever Tick, Rhipicephalus (=Boophilus) microplus (Acari: Ixodidae)

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Entomopathogenic nematodes are a promising alternative for tick control, especially to protect wildlife. Two entomopathogenic nematode species Steinernema riobrave Cabanillas, Poinar, and Raulston and Heterorhabditis floridensis Nguyen, Gozel, Koppenhöfer, and Adams were tested for in-vivo efficac...

5 CFR Appendix B to Subpart J of... - Guidelines for Interpreting State Court Orders Awarding Survivor Annuity Benefits to Former Spouses

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

... Awarding Survivor Annuity Benefits to Former Spouses United States of America Office of Personnel... less expensive and have fewer restrictions than insurable interest annuities but the former spouse's... mistakenly label CSRS benefits as Federal Employee's Retirement System (FERS) benefits, will be interpreted...

5 CFR Appendix B to Subpart J of... - Guidelines for Interpreting State Court Orders Awarding Survivor Annuity Benefits to Former Spouses

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... Awarding Survivor Annuity Benefits to Former Spouses United States of America Office of Personnel... less expensive and have fewer restrictions than insurable interest annuities but the former spouse's... mistakenly label CSRS benefits as Federal Employee's Retirement System (FERS) benefits, will be interpreted...

5 CFR Appendix B to Subpart J of... - Guidelines for Interpreting State Court Orders Awarding Survivor Annuity Benefits to Former Spouses

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

... Awarding Survivor Annuity Benefits to Former Spouses United States of America Office of Personnel... less expensive and have fewer restrictions than insurable interest annuities but the former spouse's... mistakenly label CSRS benefits as Federal Employee's Retirement System (FERS) benefits, will be interpreted...

5 CFR Appendix B to Subpart J of... - Guidelines for Interpreting State Court Orders Awarding Survivor Annuity Benefits to Former Spouses

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

... Awarding Survivor Annuity Benefits to Former Spouses United States of America Office of Personnel... less expensive and have fewer restrictions than insurable interest annuities but the former spouse's... mistakenly label CSRS benefits as Federal Employee's Retirement System (FERS) benefits, will be interpreted...

Time and Frequency Activities at the U.S. Naval Observatory

DTIC Science & Technology

2008-12-01

USA (Institute of Navigation, Alexandria, Virginia). [22] D. Kirchner, 1999, “Two Way Satellite Time and Frequency Transfer ( TWSTFT ),” Review of...Shäfer, and A. Pawlitzki, 2005, “Development of Carrier- Phase-Based Two-Way Satellite Time and Frequency Transfer ( TWSTFT ),” in Proceedings of the 36th

Time and Frequency Activities at the U.S. Naval Observatory

DTIC Science & Technology

2007-01-01

Time and Frequency Transfer ( TWSTFT ),” Review of Radio Science (Oxford Science Publications), pp. 27-44. 14 38th Annual Precise Time and Time Interval...Fonville, D. Matsakis, W. Shäfer, and A. Pawlitzki, 2005, “Development of Carrier- Phase-Based Two-Way Satellite Time and Frequency Transfer ( TWSTFT

5 CFR 842.307 - Deposits for military service.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... 5 Administrative Personnel 2 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Deposits for military service. 842.307... Deposits for military service. (a) Eligibility to make a deposit. (1) An employee or Member subject to FERS may make a deposit for any distinct period of military service by filing an application in a form...

Application of membrane processes to alcohol-water separation: Improving the energy efficiency of biofuel production(Singapore)

EPA Science Inventory

The prospect of dwindling oil supplies, concern over the carbon balance of the planet, and the availability of waste and non-waste biomass materials has generated renewed interest in the use of fermentation processes to produce commodity chemicals and fuels. The economics of fer...

5 CFR 880.205 - Determinations of death.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

... 5 Administrative Personnel 2 2014-01-01 2014-01-01 false Determinations of death. 880.205 Section... Determinations of death. OPM does not make findings of presumed death. A claimant for CSRS, FERS, or FEGLI death... § 880.207 must submit a death certificate or other legal certification of death issued by an authorized...

5 CFR 880.205 - Determinations of death.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

... 5 Administrative Personnel 2 2013-01-01 2013-01-01 false Determinations of death. 880.205 Section... Determinations of death. OPM does not make findings of presumed death. A claimant for CSRS, FERS, or FEGLI death... § 880.207 must submit a death certificate or other legal certification of death issued by an authorized...

5 CFR 880.205 - Determinations of death.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... 5 Administrative Personnel 2 2011-01-01 2011-01-01 false Determinations of death. 880.205 Section... Determinations of death. OPM does not make findings of presumed death. A claimant for CSRS, FERS, or FEGLI death... § 880.207 must submit a death certificate or other legal certification of death issued by an authorized...

5 CFR 880.205 - Determinations of death.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

... 5 Administrative Personnel 2 2012-01-01 2012-01-01 false Determinations of death. 880.205 Section... Determinations of death. OPM does not make findings of presumed death. A claimant for CSRS, FERS, or FEGLI death... § 880.207 must submit a death certificate or other legal certification of death issued by an authorized...

Oligomerization but Not Membrane Bending Underlies the Function of Certain F-BAR Proteins in Cell Motility and Cytokinesis.

PubMed

McDonald, Nathan A; Vander Kooi, Craig W; Ohi, Melanie D; Gould, Kathleen L

2015-12-21

F-BAR proteins function in diverse cellular processes by linking membranes to the actin cytoskeleton. Through oligomerization, multiple F-BAR domains can bend membranes into tubules, though the physiological importance of F-BAR-to-F-BAR assemblies is not yet known. Here, we investigate the F-BAR domain of the essential cytokinetic scaffold, Schizosaccharomyces pombe Cdc15, during cytokinesis. Challenging a widely held view that membrane deformation is a fundamental property of F-BARs, we report that the Cdc15 F-BAR binds, but does not deform, membranes in vivo or in vitro, and six human F-BAR domains-including those from Fer and RhoGAP4-share this property. Nevertheless, tip-to-tip interactions between F-BAR dimers are critical for Cdc15 oligomerization and high-avidity membrane binding, stabilization of contractile ring components at the medial cortex, and the fidelity of cytokinesis. F-BAR oligomerization is also critical for Fer and RhoGAP4 physiological function, demonstrating its broad importance to F-BAR proteins that function without membrane bending. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Simultaneous Control of Error Rates in fMRI Data Analysis

PubMed Central

Kang, Hakmook; Blume, Jeffrey; Ombao, Hernando; Badre, David

2015-01-01

The key idea of statistical hypothesis testing is to fix, and thereby control, the Type I error (false positive) rate across samples of any size. Multiple comparisons inflate the global (family-wise) Type I error rate and the traditional solution to maintaining control of the error rate is to increase the local (comparison-wise) Type II error (false negative) rates. However, in the analysis of human brain imaging data, the number of comparisons is so large that this solution breaks down: the local Type II error rate ends up being so large that scientifically meaningful analysis is precluded. Here we propose a novel solution to this problem: allow the Type I error rate to converge to zero along with the Type II error rate. It works because when the Type I error rate per comparison is very small, the accumulation (or global) Type I error rate is also small. This solution is achieved by employing the Likelihood paradigm, which uses likelihood ratios to measure the strength of evidence on a voxel-by-voxel basis. In this paper, we provide theoretical and empirical justification for a likelihood approach to the analysis of human brain imaging data. In addition, we present extensive simulations that show the likelihood approach is viable, leading to ‘cleaner’ looking brain maps and operationally superiority (lower average error rate). Finally, we include a case study on cognitive control related activation in the prefrontal cortex of the human brain. PMID:26272730

Study of temperature-dependent Raman spectroscopy and electrical properties in [001]-oriented 0.35Pb(In1/2Nb1/2)O3-0.35Pb(Mg1/3Nb2/3)O3-0.30PbTiO3-Mn single crystals

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Xing; Fang, Bijun; Deng, Ji; Yan, Hong; Deng, Hao; Yue, Qingwen; Ding, Jianning; Zhao, Xiangyong; Luo, Haosu

2016-01-01

In this work, the temperature-dependent Raman spectra and electrical properties of the [001]-oriented 0.5 mol. % Mn-doped 0.35Pb(In1/2Nb1/2)O3-0.35Pb(Mg1/3Nb2/3)O3-0.30PbTiO3-Mn (PIMNT-Mn) single crystals were investigated. All the unpoled and poled PIMNT-Mn single crystals experience a ferroelectric tetragonal phase to paraelectric cubic phase transition (FET-PC) around 183 °C (TC), which exhibits a second-order transition behavior. Whereas, the poled PIMNT-Mn single crystals exhibit another two dielectric anomalies around 130 °C (TRM) and 148 °C (TMT), in which the ferroelectric rhombohedral phase to ferroelectric monoclinic phase (FER-FEM) and the ferroelectric monoclinic phase to ferroelectric tetragonal phase (FEM-FET) transitions take place, respectively. Both the two ferroelectric phase transitions exhibit a first-order transition behavior. The discontinuous change of the phase degree (θ) and frequencies (fr and fa) around TRM suggest the occurrence of the FER-FEM phase transition in the poled PIMNT-Mn single crystals. The narrowing of the 510 cm-1 and 582 cm-1 Raman modes around the TRM, TMT, and TC temperatures shown in the temperature-dependent Raman spectra suggests their increased ordering of the local structure. The intensity ratio of I272 cm-1/I801 cm-1 increases obviously around the phase transition temperatures (TRM, TMT, and TC), indicating the reduction of the long-range order. The anomalous broadening of the 272 cm-1 Raman mode around the TRM, TMT, and TC temperatures indicates the occurrence of the successive ferroelectric phase transitions (FER-FEM, FEM-FET, and FET-PC) with increasing temperature in the poled PIMNT-Mn single crystals.

The effect of pre-operative topical anaesthetic cream on the ablative width and coagulative depth of ablative fractional resurfacing laser.

PubMed

Punyaratabandhu, Preawphan; Wanitphakdeedecha, Rungsima; Pattanaprichakul, Penvadee; Sitthinamsuwan, Panitta; Phothong, Weeranut; Eimpunth, Sasima; Lohsiriwat, Visnu; Manuskiatti, Woraphong

2017-02-01

Topical anaesthetic cream (TAC) is commonly used as a pre-treatment of ablative fractional resurfacing (AFR) laser. Most of anaesthetic cream contains distilled water as major component. Therefore, pre-operative TAC may interfere the photothermal reaction in the skin treated with fractional carbon-dioxide (FCO 2 ) laser and fractional erbium-doped yttrium aluminium garnet (FEr:YAG) laser. The objective of the study was to compare the ablative width (AW) and coagulative depth (CD) of AFR laser with and without pre-treatment with TAC. Four Thai females who underwent abdominoplasty were included in the study. The excised skin of each subject was divided into four areas. TAC (eutectic mixture of local anaesthesia; EMLA) with 1-h occlusion was applied only on the first and second areas. The first and third areas were treated with FCO 2 at 15 mj and 5% density. The second and fourth areas were treated with FEr:YAG at 28 J/cm 2 and 5% density. Six biopsied specimens were obtained from each area. A total of 96 specimens (24 specimens from each area) were collected from four patients and examined randomly by two dermatopathologists. The ablative width and coagulative depth from each specimen were determined. In FCO 2 -treated specimens, the mean AW of the specimens that were pre-treated with TAC and control was 174.86 ± 24.57 and 188.52 ± 41.32 μm. The mean CD of the specimens that were pre-treated with TAC and control was 594.96 ± 111.72 and 520.03 ± 147.40 μm. There were no significant differences in AW and CD between both groups (p = 0.53 and p = 0.15). In FEr:YAG-treated specimens, the mean AW of the specimens that were pre-treated with TAC and control was 381.11 ± 48.02 and 423.65 ± 60.16 μm. The mean CD of the specimens that were pre-treated with TAC and control was 86.03 ± 29.44 and 71.59 ± 18.99 μm. There were no significant differences in AW and CD between both groups (p = 0.16 and p = 0.24). The pre-treatment with TAC provided no statistically difference from the control group on AW and CD of both FCO 2 and FEr:YAG laser irradiation. However, there was a tendency to have narrower AW and deeper CD of the areas that were pre-treated with TAC when comparing to that of the control.

Iron Silicide Formation by Precipitation in a Silicon Bicrystal

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Portier, X.; Ihlal, A.; Rizk, R.

1997-05-01

Segregation and precipitation of iron in a = 25 silicon bicrystal have been carefully investigated by means of high resolution electron microscopy and energy dispersive X-ray analyses, in combination with capacitance and electron beam induced current measurements. After intentional incorporation of iron in the bicrystal by a simple heating procedure, it was shown that a non-equilibrium segregation of iron has occurred after rapid cooling whereas iron precipitates have been produced upon slow cooling. The silicides are formed mainly at the grain boundary area and they were found to belong to the -FeSi cubic or -FeSi2 tetragonal phases. Each precipitate is simply oriented with respect to one of the two grains without any preference between them. The orientation relationships were found in perfect agreement with those observed for the corresponding iron silicides that are epitaxially grown on oriented silicon substrates. Barrier and recombinative effects on the contaminated (1200 °C) and slowly cooled samples have been detected. These effects have been associated with the formation of iron silicides at the grain boundary. La ségrégation ainsi que la précipitation de siliciures de fer au joint de grains = 25 de silicium ont été etudiées en utilisant la dispersion d'énergie des électrons, la microscopie électronique en transmission haute résolution ainsi que des mesures électriques capacitives et des mesures de courants induits par faisceau d'électrons. A la suite d'une contamination volontaire par diffusion thermique du fer au sein du bicristal, nous avons montré qu'une ségrégation hors-équilibre d'atomes de fer est obtenue après un refroidissement rapide alors qu'un refroidissement lent a pour conséquence la formation de siliciures de fer. Ces petits cristaux de siliciures croissent de préférence au niveau du joint de grains et ils ont pour phase, la phase cubique -FeSi ou la phase quadratique α-FeSi2. Chaque précipité est orienté simplement par rapport à l'un ou à l'autre des deux grains et leurs relations d'orientation coincident avec celles observées pour ces mêmes siliciures épitaxiés sur des surfaces de silicium. Les échantillons contaminés (1200 °C) et refroidis lentement présentent des barrières de potentiel et des effets recombinants. Ces activités électriques ont été associées à la présence de siliciures au niveau du joint.

A cascaded coding scheme for error control and its performance analysis

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lin, Shu; Kasami, Tadao; Fujiwara, Tohru; Takata, Toyoo

1986-01-01

A coding scheme is investigated for error control in data communication systems. The scheme is obtained by cascading two error correcting codes, called the inner and outer codes. The error performance of the scheme is analyzed for a binary symmetric channel with bit error rate epsilon <1/2. It is shown that if the inner and outer codes are chosen properly, extremely high reliability can be attained even for a high channel bit error rate. Various specific example schemes with inner codes ranging form high rates to very low rates and Reed-Solomon codes as inner codes are considered, and their error probabilities are evaluated. They all provide extremely high reliability even for very high bit error rates. Several example schemes are being considered by NASA for satellite and spacecraft down link error control.

45 CFR 98.100 - Error Rate Report.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-10-01

... 45 Public Welfare 1 2013-10-01 2013-10-01 false Error Rate Report. 98.100 Section 98.100 Public Welfare DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES GENERAL ADMINISTRATION CHILD CARE AND DEVELOPMENT FUND Error Rate Reporting § 98.100 Error Rate Report. (a) Applicability—The requirements of this subpart...

45 CFR 98.100 - Error Rate Report.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-10-01

... 45 Public Welfare 1 2014-10-01 2014-10-01 false Error Rate Report. 98.100 Section 98.100 Public Welfare Department of Health and Human Services GENERAL ADMINISTRATION CHILD CARE AND DEVELOPMENT FUND Error Rate Reporting § 98.100 Error Rate Report. (a) Applicability—The requirements of this subpart...

45 CFR 98.100 - Error Rate Report.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-10-01

... 45 Public Welfare 1 2012-10-01 2012-10-01 false Error Rate Report. 98.100 Section 98.100 Public Welfare DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES GENERAL ADMINISTRATION CHILD CARE AND DEVELOPMENT FUND Error Rate Reporting § 98.100 Error Rate Report. (a) Applicability—The requirements of this subpart...

45 CFR 98.100 - Error Rate Report.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-10-01

... 45 Public Welfare 1 2011-10-01 2011-10-01 false Error Rate Report. 98.100 Section 98.100 Public Welfare DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES GENERAL ADMINISTRATION CHILD CARE AND DEVELOPMENT FUND Error Rate Reporting § 98.100 Error Rate Report. (a) Applicability—The requirements of this subpart...

Fuzzy-cellular neural network for face recognition HCI Authentication

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hoomod, Haider K.; ali, Ahmed abd

2018-05-01

Because of the rapid development of mobile devices technology, ease of use and interact with humans. May have found a mobile device most uses in our communications. Mobile devices can carry large amounts of personal and sensitive data, but often left not guaranteed (pin) locks are inconvenient to use and thus have seen low adoption while biometrics is more convenient and less susceptible to fraud and manipulation. Were propose in this paper authentication technique for using a mobile face recognition based on cellular neural networks [1] and fuzzy rules control. The good speed and get recognition rate from applied the proposed system in Android system. The images obtained in real time for 60 persons each person has 20 t0 60 different shot face images (about 3600 images), were the results for (FAR = 0), (FRR = 1.66%), (FER = 1.66) and accuracy = 98.34

An educational and audit tool to reduce prescribing error in intensive care.

PubMed

Thomas, A N; Boxall, E M; Laha, S K; Day, A J; Grundy, D

2008-10-01

To reduce prescribing errors in an intensive care unit by providing prescriber education in tutorials, ward-based teaching and feedback in 3-monthly cycles with each new group of trainee medical staff. Prescribing audits were conducted three times in each 3-month cycle, once pretraining, once post-training and a final audit after 6 weeks. The audit information was fed back to prescribers with their correct prescribing rates, rates for individual error types and total error rates together with anonymised information about other prescribers' error rates. The percentage of prescriptions with errors decreased over each 3-month cycle (pretraining 25%, 19%, (one missing data point), post-training 23%, 6%, 11%, final audit 7%, 3%, 5% (p<0.0005)). The total number of prescriptions and error rates varied widely between trainees (data collection one; cycle two: range of prescriptions written: 1-61, median 18; error rate: 0-100%; median: 15%). Prescriber education and feedback reduce manual prescribing errors in intensive care.

A Six Sigma Trial For Reduction of Error Rates in Pathology Laboratory.

PubMed

Tosuner, Zeynep; Gücin, Zühal; Kiran, Tuğçe; Büyükpinarbaşili, Nur; Turna, Seval; Taşkiran, Olcay; Arici, Dilek Sema

2016-01-01

A major target of quality assurance is the minimization of error rates in order to enhance patient safety. Six Sigma is a method targeting zero error (3.4 errors per million events) used in industry. The five main principles of Six Sigma are defining, measuring, analysis, improvement and control. Using this methodology, the causes of errors can be examined and process improvement strategies can be identified. The aim of our study was to evaluate the utility of Six Sigma methodology in error reduction in our pathology laboratory. The errors encountered between April 2014 and April 2015 were recorded by the pathology personnel. Error follow-up forms were examined by the quality control supervisor, administrative supervisor and the head of the department. Using Six Sigma methodology, the rate of errors was measured monthly and the distribution of errors at the preanalytic, analytic and postanalytical phases was analysed. Improvement strategies were reclaimed in the monthly intradepartmental meetings and the control of the units with high error rates was provided. Fifty-six (52.4%) of 107 recorded errors in total were at the pre-analytic phase. Forty-five errors (42%) were recorded as analytical and 6 errors (5.6%) as post-analytical. Two of the 45 errors were major irrevocable errors. The error rate was 6.8 per million in the first half of the year and 1.3 per million in the second half, decreasing by 79.77%. The Six Sigma trial in our pathology laboratory provided the reduction of the error rates mainly in the pre-analytic and analytic phases.

Data Analysis & Statistical Methods for Command File Errors

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Meshkat, Leila; Waggoner, Bruce; Bryant, Larry

2014-01-01

This paper explains current work on modeling for managing the risk of command file errors. It is focused on analyzing actual data from a JPL spaceflight mission to build models for evaluating and predicting error rates as a function of several key variables. We constructed a rich dataset by considering the number of errors, the number of files radiated, including the number commands and blocks in each file, as well as subjective estimates of workload and operational novelty. We have assessed these data using different curve fitting and distribution fitting techniques, such as multiple regression analysis, and maximum likelihood estimation to see how much of the variability in the error rates can be explained with these. We have also used goodness of fit testing strategies and principal component analysis to further assess our data. Finally, we constructed a model of expected error rates based on the what these statistics bore out as critical drivers to the error rate. This model allows project management to evaluate the error rate against a theoretically expected rate as well as anticipate future error rates.

Detecting Signatures of GRACE Sensor Errors in Range-Rate Residuals

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Goswami, S.; Flury, J.

2016-12-01

In order to reach the accuracy of the GRACE baseline, predicted earlier from the design simulations, efforts are ongoing since a decade. GRACE error budget is highly dominated by noise from sensors, dealiasing models and modeling errors. GRACE range-rate residuals contain these errors. Thus, their analysis provides an insight to understand the individual contribution to the error budget. Hence, we analyze the range-rate residuals with focus on contribution of sensor errors due to mis-pointing and bad ranging performance in GRACE solutions. For the analysis of pointing errors, we consider two different reprocessed attitude datasets with differences in pointing performance. Then range-rate residuals are computed from these two datasetsrespectively and analysed. We further compare the system noise of four K-and Ka- band frequencies of the two spacecrafts, with range-rate residuals. Strong signatures of mis-pointing errors can be seen in the range-rate residuals. Also, correlation between range frequency noise and range-rate residuals are seen.

25 CFR 502.4 - Class III gaming.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-04-01

... II gaming, including but not limited to: (a) Any house banking game, including but not limited to— (1) Card games such as baccarat, chemin de fer, blackjack (21), and pai gow (if played as house banking games); (2) Casino games such as roulette, craps, and keno; (b) Any slot machines as defined in 15 U.S.C...

25 CFR 502.4 - Class III gaming.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-04-01

... II gaming, including but not limited to: (a) Any house banking game, including but not limited to— (1) Card games such as baccarat, chemin de fer, blackjack (21), and pai gow (if played as house banking games); (2) Casino games such as roulette, craps, and keno; (b) Any slot machines as defined in 15 U.S.C...

25 CFR 502.4 - Class III gaming.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-04-01

... II gaming, including but not limited to: (a) Any house banking game, including but not limited to— (1) Card games such as baccarat, chemin de fer, blackjack (21), and pai gow (if played as house banking games); (2) Casino games such as roulette, craps, and keno; (b) Any slot machines as defined in 15 U.S.C...

25 CFR 502.4 - Class III gaming.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-04-01

... II gaming, including but not limited to: (a) Any house banking game, including but not limited to— (1) Card games such as baccarat, chemin de fer, blackjack (21), and pai gow (if played as house banking games); (2) Casino games such as roulette, craps, and keno; (b) Any slot machines as defined in 15 U.S.C...

25 CFR 502.4 - Class III gaming.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

... II gaming, including but not limited to: (a) Any house banking game, including but not limited to— (1) Card games such as baccarat, chemin de fer, blackjack (21), and pai gow (if played as house banking games); (2) Casino games such as roulette, craps, and keno; (b) Any slot machines as defined in 15 U.S.C...

Facial Expression Recognition: Can Preschoolers with Cochlear Implants and Hearing Aids Catch It?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wang, Yifang; Su, Yanjie; Fang, Ping; Zhou, Qingxia

2011-01-01

Tager-Flusberg and Sullivan (2000) presented a cognitive model of theory of mind (ToM), in which they thought ToM included two components--a social-perceptual component and a social-cognitive component. Facial expression recognition (FER) is an ability tapping the social-perceptual component. Previous findings suggested that normal hearing…

78 FR 47018 - Civil Service Retirement System and Federal Employees' Retirement System; Opportunity for...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-08-02

... System; Opportunity for Annuitants to Elect Survivor Annuity Benefits for Same-Sex Spouses AGENCY: Office... providing notice of a 2-year opportunity for annuitants who are in legal same-sex marriages to elect...' Retirement System (FERS). DATES: All retirees who are in legal same-sex marriages have through June 26, 2015...

Specific Patterns of Emotion Recognition from Faces in Children with ASD: Results of a Cross-Modal Matching Paradigm

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Golan, Ofer; Gordon, Ilanit; Fichman, Keren; Keinan, Giora

2018-01-01

Children with ASD show emotion recognition difficulties, as part of their social communication deficits. We examined facial emotion recognition (FER) in intellectually disabled children with ASD and in younger typically developing (TD) controls, matched on mental age. Our emotion-matching paradigm employed three different modalities: facial, vocal…

Thermoelectric Transducer Using Bio Nano Process

DTIC Science & Technology

2015-08-01

in which 8 amino acid residues have been removed from all consisted base pairs along the N-terminal direction 38, 39 . Because of this change, Fer8...M. D. V.; Natividad, G.; Rafael, M. and María, T. M. R. Langmuir 22 (16), pp 6993–7000 (2006). (36) Meldrum , F.C.; Douglas, T.; Lei, S.; Arosio, P

75 FR 61784 - Proposed Collection; Request for Comments On An Existing Information Collection: (OMB Control No...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-10-06

... Information Collection: (OMB Control No. 3206-0190; Form RI 92-19) AGENCY: Office of Personnel Management... System (FERS)'' (OMB Control No. 3206-0190; Form RI 92-19), is used by separated employees to apply for... technological collection techniques or other forms of information technology. Approximately 1,693 forms are...

76 FR 76773 - Submission for Review: 3206-0173, Designation of Beneficiary (FERS), SF 3102

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-12-08

...), SF 3102 AGENCY: U.S. Office of Personnel Management. ACTION: 30-Day Notice and request for comments...-13, 44 U.S.C. chapter 35) as amended by the Clinger-Cohen Act (Pub. L. 104-106), OPM is soliciting comments for this collection. The information collection was previously published in the Federal Register...

Sunlight, Sea Ice, and the Ice Albedo Feedback in a Changing Arctic Sea Ice Cover

DTIC Science & Technology

2015-09-30

PUBLICATIONS Carmack, E .; I. Polyakov; L. Padman; I. Fer; E . Hunke; J. Hutchings; J. Jackson; D. Kelley; R. Kwok; C. Layton ; D.K. Perovich; O. Persson; B...Heygster, M. Huntemann, P. Schwarz, G. Birnbaum, C. Polashenski, D. Perovich, E . Zege, A. Malinka and A. Prikchach (2015), The melt pond fraction and

A cascaded coding scheme for error control and its performance analysis

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lin, S.

1986-01-01

A coding scheme for error control in data communication systems is investigated. The scheme is obtained by cascading two error correcting codes, called the inner and the outer codes. The error performance of the scheme is analyzed for a binary symmetric channel with bit error rate epsilon < 1/2. It is shown that, if the inner and outer codes are chosen properly, extremely high reliability can be attained even for a high channel bit error rate. Various specific example schemes with inner codes ranging from high rates to very low rates and Reed-Solomon codes are considered, and their probabilities are evaluated. They all provide extremely high reliability even for very high bit error rates, say 0.1 to 0.01. Several example schemes are being considered by NASA for satellite and spacecraft down link error control.

A Simple Exact Error Rate Analysis for DS-CDMA with Arbitrary Pulse Shape in Flat Nakagami Fading

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rahman, Mohammad Azizur; Sasaki, Shigenobu; Kikuchi, Hisakazu; Harada, Hiroshi; Kato, Shuzo

A simple exact error rate analysis is presented for random binary direct sequence code division multiple access (DS-CDMA) considering a general pulse shape and flat Nakagami fading channel. First of all, a simple model is developed for the multiple access interference (MAI). Based on this, a simple exact expression of the characteristic function (CF) of MAI is developed in a straight forward manner. Finally, an exact expression of error rate is obtained following the CF method of error rate analysis. The exact error rate so obtained can be much easily evaluated as compared to the only reliable approximate error rate expression currently available, which is based on the Improved Gaussian Approximation (IGA).

Effect of bar-code technology on the safety of medication administration.

PubMed

Poon, Eric G; Keohane, Carol A; Yoon, Catherine S; Ditmore, Matthew; Bane, Anne; Levtzion-Korach, Osnat; Moniz, Thomas; Rothschild, Jeffrey M; Kachalia, Allen B; Hayes, Judy; Churchill, William W; Lipsitz, Stuart; Whittemore, Anthony D; Bates, David W; Gandhi, Tejal K

2010-05-06

Serious medication errors are common in hospitals and often occur during order transcription or administration of medication. To help prevent such errors, technology has been developed to verify medications by incorporating bar-code verification technology within an electronic medication-administration system (bar-code eMAR). We conducted a before-and-after, quasi-experimental study in an academic medical center that was implementing the bar-code eMAR. We assessed rates of errors in order transcription and medication administration on units before and after implementation of the bar-code eMAR. Errors that involved early or late administration of medications were classified as timing errors and all others as nontiming errors. Two clinicians reviewed the errors to determine their potential to harm patients and classified those that could be harmful as potential adverse drug events. We observed 14,041 medication administrations and reviewed 3082 order transcriptions. Observers noted 776 nontiming errors in medication administration on units that did not use the bar-code eMAR (an 11.5% error rate) versus 495 such errors on units that did use it (a 6.8% error rate)--a 41.4% relative reduction in errors (P<0.001). The rate of potential adverse drug events (other than those associated with timing errors) fell from 3.1% without the use of the bar-code eMAR to 1.6% with its use, representing a 50.8% relative reduction (P<0.001). The rate of timing errors in medication administration fell by 27.3% (P<0.001), but the rate of potential adverse drug events associated with timing errors did not change significantly. Transcription errors occurred at a rate of 6.1% on units that did not use the bar-code eMAR but were completely eliminated on units that did use it. Use of the bar-code eMAR substantially reduced the rate of errors in order transcription and in medication administration as well as potential adverse drug events, although it did not eliminate such errors. Our data show that the bar-code eMAR is an important intervention to improve medication safety. (ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT00243373.) 2010 Massachusetts Medical Society

Development and implementation of a human accuracy program in patient foodservice.

PubMed

Eden, S H; Wood, S M; Ptak, K M

1987-04-01

For many years, industry has utilized the concept of human error rates to monitor and minimize human errors in the production process. A consistent quality-controlled product increases consumer satisfaction and repeat purchase of product. Administrative dietitians have applied the concepts of using human error rates (the number of errors divided by the number of opportunities for error) at four hospitals, with a total bed capacity of 788, within a tertiary-care medical center. Human error rate was used to monitor and evaluate trayline employee performance and to evaluate layout and tasks of trayline stations, in addition to evaluating employees in patient service areas. Long-term employees initially opposed the error rate system with some hostility and resentment, while newer employees accepted the system. All employees now believe that the constant feedback given by supervisors enhances their self-esteem and productivity. Employee error rates are monitored daily and are used to counsel employees when necessary; they are also utilized during annual performance evaluation. Average daily error rates for a facility staffed by new employees decreased from 7% to an acceptable 3%. In a facility staffed by long-term employees, the error rate increased, reflecting improper error documentation. Patient satisfaction surveys reveal satisfaction, for tray accuracy increased from 88% to 92% in the facility staffed by long-term employees and has remained above the 90% standard in the facility staffed by new employees.

The influence of the structure and culture of medical group practices on prescription drug errors.

PubMed

Kralewski, John E; Dowd, Bryan E; Heaton, Alan; Kaissi, Amer

2005-08-01

This project was designed to identify the magnitude of prescription drug errors in medical group practices and to explore the influence of the practice structure and culture on those error rates. Seventy-eight practices serving an upper Midwest managed care (Care Plus) plan during 2001 were included in the study. Using Care Plus claims data, prescription drug error rates were calculated at the enrollee level and then were aggregated to the group practice that each enrollee selected to provide and manage their care. Practice structure and culture data were obtained from surveys of the practices. Data were analyzed using multivariate regression. Both the culture and the structure of these group practices appear to influence prescription drug error rates. Seeing more patients per clinic hour, more prescriptions per patient, and being cared for in a rural clinic were all strongly associated with more errors. Conversely, having a case manager program is strongly related to fewer errors in all of our analyses. The culture of the practices clearly influences error rates, but the findings are mixed. Practices with cohesive cultures have lower error rates but, contrary to our hypothesis, cultures that value physician autonomy and individuality also have lower error rates than those with a more organizational orientation. Our study supports the contention that there are a substantial number of prescription drug errors in the ambulatory care sector. Even by the strictest definition, there were about 13 errors per 100 prescriptions for Care Plus patients in these group practices during 2001. Our study demonstrates that the structure of medical group practices influences prescription drug error rates. In some cases, this appears to be a direct relationship, such as the effects of having a case manager program on fewer drug errors, but in other cases the effect appears to be indirect through the improvement of drug prescribing practices. An important aspect of this study is that it provides insights into the relationships of the structure and culture of medical group practices and prescription drug errors and provides direction for future research. Research focused on the factors influencing the high error rates in rural areas and how the interaction of practice structural and cultural attributes influence error rates would add important insights into our findings. For medical practice directors, our data show that they should focus on patient care coordination to reduce errors.

Emergency department discharge prescription errors in an academic medical center

PubMed Central

Belanger, April; Devine, Lauren T.; Lane, Aaron; Condren, Michelle E.

2017-01-01

This study described discharge prescription medication errors written for emergency department patients. This study used content analysis in a cross-sectional design to systematically categorize prescription errors found in a report of 1000 discharge prescriptions submitted in the electronic medical record in February 2015. Two pharmacy team members reviewed the discharge prescription list for errors. Open-ended data were coded by an additional rater for agreement on coding categories. Coding was based upon majority rule. Descriptive statistics were used to address the study objective. Categories evaluated were patient age, provider type, drug class, and type and time of error. The discharge prescription error rate out of 1000 prescriptions was 13.4%, with “incomplete or inadequate prescription” being the most commonly detected error (58.2%). The adult and pediatric error rates were 11.7% and 22.7%, respectively. The antibiotics reviewed had the highest number of errors. The highest within-class error rates were with antianginal medications, antiparasitic medications, antacids, appetite stimulants, and probiotics. Emergency medicine residents wrote the highest percentage of prescriptions (46.7%) and had an error rate of 9.2%. Residents of other specialties wrote 340 prescriptions and had an error rate of 20.9%. Errors occurred most often between 10:00 am and 6:00 pm. PMID:28405061

Klinefelter syndrome and fertility: sperm preservation should not be offered to children with Klinefelter syndrome.

PubMed

Franik, S; Hoeijmakers, Y; D'Hauwers, K; Braat, D D M; Nelen, W L M; Smeets, D; Claahsen-van der Grinten, H L; Ramos, L; Fleischer, K

2016-09-01

Should fertility preservation be offered to children with Klinefelter syndrome (KS)? Current evidence shows that fertility preservation should not be offered to adolescents with KS younger than 16 years because of lower retrieval rates for germ cells by testicular sperm extraction (TESE) compared with retrieval rates for adolescents and adults between 16 and 30 years. KS, the most common chromosomal disorder in men leading to non-obstructive azoospermia, is caused by the presence of at least one additional X chromosome. The onset of puberty in adolescents with KS leads to progressive degeneration of the testicular environment. The impact of the subsequent tissue degeneration on fertility potential of patients with KS is unknown, but in previous literature it has been suggested that fertility preservation should be started in adolescents as early as possible. However spermatozoa can be found by TESE in about 50% of adults with KS despite severe testicular degeneration. This review discusses the current evidence for fertility preservation in children and adolescents and possible prognostic markers for fertility treatment in KS. An extensive literature search was conducted, searching Pubmed, Embase, Cinahl and Web of Science from origin until April 2016 for 'Klinefelter syndrome' and 'fertility' and various synonyms. Titles and abstracts have been scanned manually by the authors for eligibility. In total 76 studies were found to be eligible for inclusion in this review. Information from the papers was extracted separately by two authors. Various studies have shown that pre-pubertal children with KS already have a reduced number of germ cells despite a normal hormonal profile during childhood. The presence of spermatozoa in the ejaculate of adolescents with KS is extremely rare. Using TESE, the retrieval rates of spermatozoa for adolescents younger than 16 years old are much lower (0-20%) compared with those for adolescents and young adults between 16 and 30 years old (40-70%). Although spermatogonia can be found by TESE in about half of the peri-pubertal adolescents, there are currently no clinically functional techniques for their future use. Children and adolescents need to be informed that early fertility preservation before the age of 16 cannot guarantee fertility later in life and may even reduce the chances for offspring by removing functional immature germ cells which may possibly develop into spermatozoa after puberty. Furthermore, except for the age of patients with KS, there are no identified factors that can reliably be used as a predictive marker for fertility preservation. Most of the evidence presented in this review is based on studies including a small number of adolescents with KS. Therefore, the studies may have been underpowered to detect clinically significant differences for their various outcomes, especially for potential predictive factors for fertility preservation, such as hormone levels. Furthermore, the population of patients with KS diagnosed during childhood might be different from the adult population with KS where the diagnosis is based on infertility. Results based on comparisons between the two groups must be interpreted with caution. Despite the limitations, this review summarizes the current evidence for managing fertility preservation in patients with KS to provide optimal health care. There was no funding for this study. S.F., Y.H., K.D., W.L.M.N., D.S., H.L.C.-v.d.G. and L.R. declare to have no conflicts of interests. D.D.M.B. reports grants from Merck Serono, grants from Ferring and grants from MSD, outside the submitted work. K.F. reports personal fees from MSD (commercial sponsor), personal fees from Ferring (commercial sponsor), grants from Merck-Serono (commercial sponsor), grants from Ferring (commercial sponsor) and grants from MSD (commercial sponsor), outside the submitted work. © The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Cognitive tests predict real-world errors: the relationship between drug name confusion rates in laboratory-based memory and perception tests and corresponding error rates in large pharmacy chains

PubMed Central

Schroeder, Scott R; Salomon, Meghan M; Galanter, William L; Schiff, Gordon D; Vaida, Allen J; Gaunt, Michael J; Bryson, Michelle L; Rash, Christine; Falck, Suzanne; Lambert, Bruce L

2017-01-01

Background Drug name confusion is a common type of medication error and a persistent threat to patient safety. In the USA, roughly one per thousand prescriptions results in the wrong drug being filled, and most of these errors involve drug names that look or sound alike. Prior to approval, drug names undergo a variety of tests to assess their potential for confusability, but none of these preapproval tests has been shown to predict real-world error rates. Objectives We conducted a study to assess the association between error rates in laboratory-based tests of drug name memory and perception and real-world drug name confusion error rates. Methods Eighty participants, comprising doctors, nurses, pharmacists, technicians and lay people, completed a battery of laboratory tests assessing visual perception, auditory perception and short-term memory of look-alike and sound-alike drug name pairs (eg, hydroxyzine/hydralazine). Results Laboratory test error rates (and other metrics) significantly predicted real-world error rates obtained from a large, outpatient pharmacy chain, with the best-fitting model accounting for 37% of the variance in real-world error rates. Cross-validation analyses confirmed these results, showing that the laboratory tests also predicted errors from a second pharmacy chain, with 45% of the variance being explained by the laboratory test data. Conclusions Across two distinct pharmacy chains, there is a strong and significant association between drug name confusion error rates observed in the real world and those observed in laboratory-based tests of memory and perception. Regulators and drug companies seeking a validated preapproval method for identifying confusing drug names ought to consider using these simple tests. By using a standard battery of memory and perception tests, it should be possible to reduce the number of confusing look-alike and sound-alike drug name pairs that reach the market, which will help protect patients from potentially harmful medication errors. PMID:27193033

Le conte: Mille et une facons de dire... (The Story: A Thousand and One Ways to Say...).

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cazaux, Henri

1996-01-01

A teacher/storyteller recommends story creation by students to encourage creativity and pleasure in developing language skills. Suggested exercises include combining random nouns (e.g., "le fer et le bois") and creating a proverb about them, creating a story using names of consumer products, and developing a story using only body-language idioms…

Treatment of Malaria

DTIC Science & Technology

1986-04-01

is trans- ferred by classical Mendelian inheritance during sexual reproduction of the parasite in the anopheline vector (Beale et al, 1978; Walliker...evaluation of parasite counts in capillary blood, bone marrow and intradermal smears in patients with cerebral malaria. XI Inter - national Congress for...1978) Concentration of parasiti /ed erythrocytes in mnalaria diagnosis, Transactionis olft’e IRoal Seiiity of Tropical .edricine an’ tmid giene 72: 552

Linking First-Year and Senior Engineering Design Teams: Engaging Early Academic Career Students in Engineering Design

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fox, Garey A.; Weckler, Paul; Thomas, Dan

2015-01-01

In Biosystems Engineering at Oklahoma State University, senior design is a two semester course in which students work on real-world projects provided by clients. First-year (freshmen and trans­fer) students enroll in an introductory engineering course. Historically, these students worked on a team-based analysis project, and the engineering design…

Area Handbook Series: Ethiopia. A Country Study

DTIC Science & Technology

1991-07-01

as fertilizers, improved seeds, and pesticides ; innovative extension services: the establishment of cooperatives: and the provision of infrastructure...system that favored big landowners) and tenant eviction. Imperial government policy permitting investors to import fer- tilizers, pesticides , tractors and...garrison town of Afabet. According to British historian and Africa specialist Basil Davidson, the Afabet victory was one of the biggest ever scored by any

78 FR 19026 - Submission for Review: CSRS/FERS Documentation in Support of Disability Retirement Application...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-03-28

... Disability Retirement Application, SF 3112 AGENCY: U.S. Office of Personnel Management. ACTION: 30-Day Notice... (Pub. L. 104-13, 44 U.S.C. chapter 35) as amended by the Clinger-Cohen Act (Pub. L. 104-106), OPM is soliciting comments for this collection. This information collection was previously published in the Federal...

iFER: facial expression recognition using automatically selected geometric eye and eyebrow features

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Oztel, Ismail; Yolcu, Gozde; Oz, Cemil; Kazan, Serap; Bunyak, Filiz

2018-03-01

Facial expressions have an important role in interpersonal communications and estimation of emotional states or intentions. Automatic recognition of facial expressions has led to many practical applications and became one of the important topics in computer vision. We present a facial expression recognition system that relies on geometry-based features extracted from eye and eyebrow regions of the face. The proposed system detects keypoints on frontal face images and forms a feature set using geometric relationships among groups of detected keypoints. Obtained feature set is refined and reduced using the sequential forward selection (SFS) algorithm and fed to a support vector machine classifier to recognize five facial expression classes. The proposed system, iFER (eye-eyebrow only facial expression recognition), is robust to lower face occlusions that may be caused by beards, mustaches, scarves, etc. and lower face motion during speech production. Preliminary experiments on benchmark datasets produced promising results outperforming previous facial expression recognition studies using partial face features, and comparable results to studies using whole face information, only slightly lower by ˜ 2.5 % compared to the best whole face facial recognition system while using only ˜ 1 / 3 of the facial region.

Dispensing error rate after implementation of an automated pharmacy carousel system.

PubMed

Oswald, Scott; Caldwell, Richard

2007-07-01

A study was conducted to determine filling and dispensing error rates before and after the implementation of an automated pharmacy carousel system (APCS). The study was conducted in a 613-bed acute and tertiary care university hospital. Before the implementation of the APCS, filling and dispensing rates were recorded during October through November 2004 and January 2005. Postimplementation data were collected during May through June 2006. Errors were recorded in three areas of pharmacy operations: first-dose or missing medication fill, automated dispensing cabinet fill, and interdepartmental request fill. A filling error was defined as an error caught by a pharmacist during the verification step. A dispensing error was defined as an error caught by a pharmacist observer after verification by the pharmacist. Before implementation of the APCS, 422 first-dose or missing medication orders were observed between October 2004 and January 2005. Independent data collected in December 2005, approximately six weeks after the introduction of the APCS, found that filling and error rates had increased. The filling rate for automated dispensing cabinets was associated with the largest decrease in errors. Filling and dispensing error rates had decreased by December 2005. In terms of interdepartmental request fill, no dispensing errors were noted in 123 clinic orders dispensed before the implementation of the APCS. One dispensing error out of 85 clinic orders was identified after implementation of the APCS. The implementation of an APCS at a university hospital decreased medication filling errors related to automated cabinets only and did not affect other filling and dispensing errors.

Absorbed dose to water based dosimetry versus air kerma based dosimetry for high-energy photon beams: an experimental study.

PubMed

Palmans, Hugo; Nafaa, Laila; De, Jans Jo; Gillis, Sofie; Hoornaert, Marie-Thérèse; Martens, Chantal; Piessens, Marleen; Thierens, Hubert; Van der Plaetsen, Ann; Vynckier, Stefaan

2002-02-07

In recent years, a change has been proposed from air kerma based reference dosimetry to absorbed dose based reference dosimetry for all radiotherapy beams of ionizing radiation. In this paper, a dosimetry study is presented in which absorbed dose based dosimetry using recently developed formalisms was compared with air kerma based dosimetry using older formalisms. Three ionization chambers of each of three different types were calibrated in terms of absorbed dose to water and air kerma and sent to five hospitals. There, reference dosimetry with all the chambers was performed in a total of eight high-energy clinical photon beams. The selected chamber types were the NE2571, the PTW-30004 and the Wellhöfer-FC65G (previously Wellhöfer-IC70). Having a graphite wall, they exhibit a stable volume and the presence of an aluminium electrode ensures the robustness of these chambers. The data were analysed with the most important recommendations for clinical dosimetry: IAEA TRS-398, AAPM TG-51, IAEA TRS-277, NCS report-2 (presently recommended in Belgium) and AAPM TG-21. The necessary conversion factors were taken from those protocols, or calculated using the data in the different protocols if data for a chamber type are lacking. Polarity corrections were within 0.1% for all chambers in all beams. Recombination corrections were consistent with theoretical predictions, did not vary within a chamber type and only slightly between different chamber types. The maximum chamber-to-chamber variations of the dose obtained with the different formalisms within the same chamber type were between 0.2% and 0.6% for the NE2571, between 0.2% and 0.6% for the PTW-30004 and 0.1% and 0.3% for the Wellhöfer-FC65G for the different beams. The absorbed dose results for the NE2571 and Wellhöfer-FC65G chambers were in good agreement for all beams and all formalisms. The PTW-30004 chambers gave a small but systematically higher result compared to the result for the NE2571 chambers (on the average 0.1% for IAEA TRS-277, 0.3% for NCS report-2 and AAPM TG-21 and 0.4% for IAEA TRS-398 and AAPM TG-51). Within the air kerma based protocols, the results obtained with the TG-21 protocol were 0.4-0.8% higher mainly due to the differences in the data used. Both absorbed dose to water based formalisms resulted in consistent values within 0.3%. The change from old to new formalisms is discussed together with the traceability of calibration factors obtained at the primary absorbed dose and air kerma standards in the reference beams (60Co). For the particular situation in Belgium (calibrations at the Laboratory for Standard Dosimetry of Ghent) the change amounts to 0.1-0.6%. This is similar to the magnitude of the change determined in other countries.

Differential detection in quadrature-quadrature phase shift keying (Q2PSK) systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

El-Ghandour, Osama M.; Saha, Debabrata

1991-05-01

A generalized quadrature-quadrature phase shift keying (Q2PSK) signaling format is considered for differential encoding and differential detection. Performance in the presence of additive white Gaussian noise (AWGN) is analyzed. Symbol error rate is found to be approximately twice the symbol error rate in a quaternary DPSK system operating at the same Eb/N0. However, the bandwidth efficiency of differential Q2PSK is substantially higher than that of quaternary DPSK. When the error is due to AWGN, the ratio of double error rate to single error rate can be very high, and the ratio may approach zero at high SNR. To improve error rate, differential detection through maximum-likelihood decoding based on multiple or N symbol observations is considered. If N and SNR are large this decoding gives a 3-dB advantage in error rate over conventional N = 2 differential detection, fully recovering the energy loss (as compared to coherent detection) if the observation is extended to a large number of symbol durations.

Error Correction using Quantum Quasi-Cyclic Low-Density Parity-Check(LDPC) Codes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jing, Lin; Brun, Todd; Quantum Research Team

Quasi-cyclic LDPC codes can approach the Shannon capacity and have efficient decoders. Manabu Hagiwara et al., 2007 presented a method to calculate parity check matrices with high girth. Two distinct, orthogonal matrices Hc and Hd are used. Using submatrices obtained from Hc and Hd by deleting rows, we can alter the code rate. The submatrix of Hc is used to correct Pauli X errors, and the submatrix of Hd to correct Pauli Z errors. We simulated this system for depolarizing noise on USC's High Performance Computing Cluster, and obtained the block error rate (BER) as a function of the error weight and code rate. From the rates of uncorrectable errors under different error weights we can extrapolate the BER to any small error probability. Our results show that this code family can perform reasonably well even at high code rates, thus considerably reducing the overhead compared to concatenated and surface codes. This makes these codes promising as storage blocks in fault-tolerant quantum computation. Error Correction using Quantum Quasi-Cyclic Low-Density Parity-Check(LDPC) Codes.

Executive Council lists and general practitioner files

PubMed Central

Farmer, R. D. T.; Knox, E. G.; Cross, K. W.; Crombie, D. L.

1974-01-01

An investigation of the accuracy of general practitioner and Executive Council files was approached by a comparison of the two. High error rates were found, including both file errors and record errors. On analysis it emerged that file error rates could not be satisfactorily expressed except in a time-dimensioned way, and we were unable to do this within the context of our study. Record error rates and field error rates were expressible as proportions of the number of records on both the lists; 79·2% of all records exhibited non-congruencies and particular information fields had error rates ranging from 0·8% (assignation of sex) to 68·6% (assignation of civil state). Many of the errors, both field errors and record errors, were attributable to delayed updating of mutable information. It is concluded that the simple transfer of Executive Council lists to a computer filing system would not solve all the inaccuracies and would not in itself permit Executive Council registers to be used for any health care applications requiring high accuracy. For this it would be necessary to design and implement a purpose designed health care record system which would include, rather than depend upon, the general practitioner remuneration system. PMID:4816588

What are incident reports telling us? A comparative study at two Australian hospitals of medication errors identified at audit, detected by staff and reported to an incident system

PubMed Central

Westbrook, Johanna I.; Li, Ling; Lehnbom, Elin C.; Baysari, Melissa T.; Braithwaite, Jeffrey; Burke, Rosemary; Conn, Chris; Day, Richard O.

2015-01-01

Objectives To (i) compare medication errors identified at audit and observation with medication incident reports; (ii) identify differences between two hospitals in incident report frequency and medication error rates; (iii) identify prescribing error detection rates by staff. Design Audit of 3291patient records at two hospitals to identify prescribing errors and evidence of their detection by staff. Medication administration errors were identified from a direct observational study of 180 nurses administering 7451 medications. Severity of errors was classified. Those likely to lead to patient harm were categorized as ‘clinically important’. Setting Two major academic teaching hospitals in Sydney, Australia. Main Outcome Measures Rates of medication errors identified from audit and from direct observation were compared with reported medication incident reports. Results A total of 12 567 prescribing errors were identified at audit. Of these 1.2/1000 errors (95% CI: 0.6–1.8) had incident reports. Clinically important prescribing errors (n = 539) were detected by staff at a rate of 218.9/1000 (95% CI: 184.0–253.8), but only 13.0/1000 (95% CI: 3.4–22.5) were reported. 78.1% (n = 421) of clinically important prescribing errors were not detected. A total of 2043 drug administrations (27.4%; 95% CI: 26.4–28.4%) contained ≥1 errors; none had an incident report. Hospital A had a higher frequency of incident reports than Hospital B, but a lower rate of errors at audit. Conclusions Prescribing errors with the potential to cause harm frequently go undetected. Reported incidents do not reflect the profile of medication errors which occur in hospitals or the underlying rates. This demonstrates the inaccuracy of using incident frequency to compare patient risk or quality performance within or across hospitals. New approaches including data mining of electronic clinical information systems are required to support more effective medication error detection and mitigation. PMID:25583702

Cognitive tests predict real-world errors: the relationship between drug name confusion rates in laboratory-based memory and perception tests and corresponding error rates in large pharmacy chains.

PubMed

Schroeder, Scott R; Salomon, Meghan M; Galanter, William L; Schiff, Gordon D; Vaida, Allen J; Gaunt, Michael J; Bryson, Michelle L; Rash, Christine; Falck, Suzanne; Lambert, Bruce L

2017-05-01

Drug name confusion is a common type of medication error and a persistent threat to patient safety. In the USA, roughly one per thousand prescriptions results in the wrong drug being filled, and most of these errors involve drug names that look or sound alike. Prior to approval, drug names undergo a variety of tests to assess their potential for confusability, but none of these preapproval tests has been shown to predict real-world error rates. We conducted a study to assess the association between error rates in laboratory-based tests of drug name memory and perception and real-world drug name confusion error rates. Eighty participants, comprising doctors, nurses, pharmacists, technicians and lay people, completed a battery of laboratory tests assessing visual perception, auditory perception and short-term memory of look-alike and sound-alike drug name pairs (eg, hydroxyzine/hydralazine). Laboratory test error rates (and other metrics) significantly predicted real-world error rates obtained from a large, outpatient pharmacy chain, with the best-fitting model accounting for 37% of the variance in real-world error rates. Cross-validation analyses confirmed these results, showing that the laboratory tests also predicted errors from a second pharmacy chain, with 45% of the variance being explained by the laboratory test data. Across two distinct pharmacy chains, there is a strong and significant association between drug name confusion error rates observed in the real world and those observed in laboratory-based tests of memory and perception. Regulators and drug companies seeking a validated preapproval method for identifying confusing drug names ought to consider using these simple tests. By using a standard battery of memory and perception tests, it should be possible to reduce the number of confusing look-alike and sound-alike drug name pairs that reach the market, which will help protect patients from potentially harmful medication errors. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://www.bmj.com/company/products-services/rights-and-licensing/.

USSR Report, Agriculture

DTIC Science & Technology

1984-04-13

and Lipetsk and Tambov oblasts. It is necessary to better utilize peat for fer- tilizers and litter , to apply phosphorite and gypsum in a high...concentrates. Equipment was inadequately cleaned in shifting to production of feed formula- tions for broilers following preparation of feed mix...not prepare prestarter mixes for 1 to 4-day broilers . The author of this article was employed for many years in the Ptitseprom system and recalls

Waste to Energy at SUNY Cobleskill

DTIC Science & Technology

2011-05-10

Overview on Army Net Zero Concepts • Gasification Intro. • SUNY Cobleskill Center for Environmental Science and Technology. • TURNW2E™ Gasification ...5 GASIFICATION A TECHNOLOGY 2-fer • Waste Reduction • Reduced Logistics for Waste Transportation • Reduced environmental and personnel impact... GASIFICATION Ash ENERGYWaste T ~ 800oC Partial Combustion O/C ~1/3 • Energy Production • Reduced Fuel Usage for transportation • Increased Energy

Operation HARDTACK. Volume 1. Radiological Safety

DTIC Science & Technology

1980-02-01

oo &ee Radex ISO teo ,70 VÄH0O EVKiT !60 HODOGRAPK RESULTANT WINDS AND SURFACE RADEX .-■"=0 2BO, 2cO 250 !OC...only reeordid .rsMiiig« vtrs ir-ade en Jpnet: 50 na/hri Ivcrne: B ax/ kc ; and n^ar th« gM-jcd ssrc at tven’^r-fivo feet) 1209 mr/fer» 4

Classification based upon gene expression data: bias and precision of error rates.

PubMed

Wood, Ian A; Visscher, Peter M; Mengersen, Kerrie L

2007-06-01

Gene expression data offer a large number of potentially useful predictors for the classification of tissue samples into classes, such as diseased and non-diseased. The predictive error rate of classifiers can be estimated using methods such as cross-validation. We have investigated issues of interpretation and potential bias in the reporting of error rate estimates. The issues considered here are optimization and selection biases, sampling effects, measures of misclassification rate, baseline error rates, two-level external cross-validation and a novel proposal for detection of bias using the permutation mean. Reporting an optimal estimated error rate incurs an optimization bias. Downward bias of 3-5% was found in an existing study of classification based on gene expression data and may be endemic in similar studies. Using a simulated non-informative dataset and two example datasets from existing studies, we show how bias can be detected through the use of label permutations and avoided using two-level external cross-validation. Some studies avoid optimization bias by using single-level cross-validation and a test set, but error rates can be more accurately estimated via two-level cross-validation. In addition to estimating the simple overall error rate, we recommend reporting class error rates plus where possible the conditional risk incorporating prior class probabilities and a misclassification cost matrix. We also describe baseline error rates derived from three trivial classifiers which ignore the predictors. R code which implements two-level external cross-validation with the PAMR package, experiment code, dataset details and additional figures are freely available for non-commercial use from http://www.maths.qut.edu.au/profiles/wood/permr.jsp

Do Errors on Classroom Reading Tasks Slow Growth in Reading? Technical Report No. 404.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Anderson, Richard C.; And Others

A pervasive finding from research on teaching and classroom learning is that a low rate of error on classroom tasks is associated with large year to year gains in achievement, particularly for reading in the primary grades. The finding of a negative relationship between error rate, especially rate of oral reading errors, and gains in reading…

Estimating genotype error rates from high-coverage next-generation sequence data.

PubMed

Wall, Jeffrey D; Tang, Ling Fung; Zerbe, Brandon; Kvale, Mark N; Kwok, Pui-Yan; Schaefer, Catherine; Risch, Neil

2014-11-01

Exome and whole-genome sequencing studies are becoming increasingly common, but little is known about the accuracy of the genotype calls made by the commonly used platforms. Here we use replicate high-coverage sequencing of blood and saliva DNA samples from four European-American individuals to estimate lower bounds on the error rates of Complete Genomics and Illumina HiSeq whole-genome and whole-exome sequencing. Error rates for nonreference genotype calls range from 0.1% to 0.6%, depending on the platform and the depth of coverage. Additionally, we found (1) no difference in the error profiles or rates between blood and saliva samples; (2) Complete Genomics sequences had substantially higher error rates than Illumina sequences had; (3) error rates were higher (up to 6%) for rare or unique variants; (4) error rates generally declined with genotype quality (GQ) score, but in a nonlinear fashion for the Illumina data, likely due to loss of specificity of GQ scores greater than 60; and (5) error rates increased with increasing depth of coverage for the Illumina data. These findings, especially (3)-(5), suggest that caution should be taken in interpreting the results of next-generation sequencing-based association studies, and even more so in clinical application of this technology in the absence of validation by other more robust sequencing or genotyping methods. © 2014 Wall et al.; Published by Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press.

Speech Errors across the Lifespan

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Vousden, Janet I.; Maylor, Elizabeth A.

2006-01-01

Dell, Burger, and Svec (1997) proposed that the proportion of speech errors classified as anticipations (e.g., "moot and mouth") can be predicted solely from the overall error rate, such that the greater the error rate, the lower the anticipatory proportion (AP) of errors. We report a study examining whether this effect applies to changes in error…

Computer calculated dose in paediatric prescribing.

PubMed

Kirk, Richard C; Li-Meng Goh, Denise; Packia, Jeya; Min Kam, Huey; Ong, Benjamin K C

2005-01-01

Medication errors are an important cause of hospital-based morbidity and mortality. However, only a few medication error studies have been conducted in children. These have mainly quantified errors in the inpatient setting; there is very little data available on paediatric outpatient and emergency department medication errors and none on discharge medication. This deficiency is of concern because medication errors are more common in children and it has been suggested that the risk of an adverse drug event as a consequence of a medication error is higher in children than in adults. The aims of this study were to assess the rate of medication errors in predominantly ambulatory paediatric patients and the effect of computer calculated doses on medication error rates of two commonly prescribed drugs. This was a prospective cohort study performed in a paediatric unit in a university teaching hospital between March 2003 and August 2003. The hospital's existing computer clinical decision support system was modified so that doctors could choose the traditional prescription method or the enhanced method of computer calculated dose when prescribing paracetamol (acetaminophen) or promethazine. All prescriptions issued to children (<16 years of age) at the outpatient clinic, emergency department and at discharge from the inpatient service were analysed. A medication error was defined as to have occurred if there was an underdose (below the agreed value), an overdose (above the agreed value), no frequency of administration specified, no dose given or excessive total daily dose. The medication error rates and the factors influencing medication error rates were determined using SPSS version 12. From March to August 2003, 4281 prescriptions were issued. Seven prescriptions (0.16%) were excluded, hence 4274 prescriptions were analysed. Most prescriptions were issued by paediatricians (including neonatologists and paediatric surgeons) and/or junior doctors. The error rate in the children's emergency department was 15.7%, for outpatients was 21.5% and for discharge medication was 23.6%. Most errors were the result of an underdose (64%; 536/833). The computer calculated dose error rate was 12.6% compared with the traditional prescription error rate of 28.2%. Logistical regression analysis showed that computer calculated dose was an important and independent variable influencing the error rate (adjusted relative risk = 0.436, 95% CI 0.336, 0.520, p < 0.001). Other important independent variables were seniority and paediatric training of the person prescribing and the type of drug prescribed. Medication error, especially underdose, is common in outpatient, emergency department and discharge prescriptions. Computer calculated doses can significantly reduce errors, but other risk factors have to be concurrently addressed to achieve maximum benefit.

Angular rate optimal design for the rotary strapdown inertial navigation system.

PubMed

Yu, Fei; Sun, Qian

2014-04-22

Due to the characteristics of high precision for a long duration, the rotary strapdown inertial navigation system (RSINS) has been widely used in submarines and surface ships. Nowadays, the core technology, the rotating scheme, has been studied by numerous researchers. It is well known that as one of the key technologies, the rotating angular rate seriously influences the effectiveness of the error modulating. In order to design the optimal rotating angular rate of the RSINS, the relationship between the rotating angular rate and the velocity error of the RSINS was analyzed in detail based on the Laplace transform and the inverse Laplace transform in this paper. The analysis results showed that the velocity error of the RSINS depends on not only the sensor error, but also the rotating angular rate. In order to minimize the velocity error, the rotating angular rate of the RSINS should match the sensor error. One optimal design method for the rotating rate of the RSINS was also proposed in this paper. Simulation and experimental results verified the validity and superiority of this optimal design method for the rotating rate of the RSINS.

Comparison of Meropenem MICs and Susceptibilities for Carbapenemase-Producing Klebsiella pneumoniae Isolates by Various Testing Methods▿

PubMed Central

Bulik, Catharine C.; Fauntleroy, Kathy A.; Jenkins, Stephen G.; Abuali, Mayssa; LaBombardi, Vincent J.; Nicolau, David P.; Kuti, Joseph L.

2010-01-01

We describe the levels of agreement between broth microdilution, Etest, Vitek 2, Sensititre, and MicroScan methods to accurately define the meropenem MIC and categorical interpretation of susceptibility against carbapenemase-producing Klebsiella pneumoniae (KPC). A total of 46 clinical K. pneumoniae isolates with KPC genotypes, all modified Hodge test and blaKPC positive, collected from two hospitals in NY were included. Results obtained by each method were compared with those from broth microdilution (the reference method), and agreement was assessed based on MICs and Clinical Laboratory Standards Institute (CLSI) interpretative criteria using 2010 susceptibility breakpoints. Based on broth microdilution, 0%, 2.2%, and 97.8% of the KPC isolates were classified as susceptible, intermediate, and resistant to meropenem, respectively. Results from MicroScan demonstrated the most agreement with those from broth microdilution, with 95.6% agreement based on the MIC and 2.2% classified as minor errors, and no major or very major errors. Etest demonstrated 82.6% agreement with broth microdilution MICs, a very major error rate of 2.2%, and a minor error rate of 2.2%. Vitek 2 MIC agreement was 30.4%, with a 23.9% very major error rate and a 39.1% minor error rate. Sensititre demonstrated MIC agreement for 26.1% of isolates, with a 3% very major error rate and a 26.1% minor error rate. Application of FDA breakpoints had little effect on minor error rates but increased very major error rates to 58.7% for Vitek 2 and Sensititre. Meropenem MIC results and categorical interpretations for carbapenemase-producing K. pneumoniae differ by methodology. Confirmation of testing results is encouraged when an accurate MIC is required for antibiotic dosing optimization. PMID:20484603

The effectiveness of the error reporting promoting program on the nursing error incidence rate in Korean operating rooms.

PubMed

Kim, Myoung-Soo; Kim, Jung-Soon; Jung, In Sook; Kim, Young Hae; Kim, Ho Jung

2007-03-01

The purpose of this study was to develop and evaluate an error reporting promoting program(ERPP) to systematically reduce the incidence rate of nursing errors in operating room. A non-equivalent control group non-synchronized design was used. Twenty-six operating room nurses who were in one university hospital in Busan participated in this study. They were stratified into four groups according to their operating room experience and were allocated to the experimental and control groups using a matching method. Mann-Whitney U Test was used to analyze the differences pre and post incidence rates of nursing errors between the two groups. The incidence rate of nursing errors decreased significantly in the experimental group compared to the pre-test score from 28.4% to 15.7%. The incidence rate by domains, it decreased significantly in the 3 domains-"compliance of aseptic technique", "management of document", "environmental management" in the experimental group while it decreased in the control group which was applied ordinary error-reporting method. Error-reporting system can make possible to hold the errors in common and to learn from them. ERPP was effective to reduce the errors of recognition-related nursing activities. For the wake of more effective error-prevention, we will be better to apply effort of risk management along the whole health care system with this program.

Validation Relaxation: A Quality Assurance Strategy for Electronic Data Collection

PubMed Central

Gordon, Nicholas; Griffiths, Thomas; Kraemer, John D; Siedner, Mark J

2017-01-01

Background The use of mobile devices for data collection in developing world settings is becoming increasingly common and may offer advantages in data collection quality and efficiency relative to paper-based methods. However, mobile data collection systems can hamper many standard quality assurance techniques due to the lack of a hardcopy backup of data. Consequently, mobile health data collection platforms have the potential to generate datasets that appear valid, but are susceptible to unidentified database design flaws, areas of miscomprehension by enumerators, and data recording errors. Objective We describe the design and evaluation of a strategy for estimating data error rates and assessing enumerator performance during electronic data collection, which we term “validation relaxation.” Validation relaxation involves the intentional omission of data validation features for select questions to allow for data recording errors to be committed, detected, and monitored. Methods We analyzed data collected during a cluster sample population survey in rural Liberia using an electronic data collection system (Open Data Kit). We first developed a classification scheme for types of detectable errors and validation alterations required to detect them. We then implemented the following validation relaxation techniques to enable data error conduct and detection: intentional redundancy, removal of “required” constraint, and illogical response combinations. This allowed for up to 11 identifiable errors to be made per survey. The error rate was defined as the total number of errors committed divided by the number of potential errors. We summarized crude error rates and estimated changes in error rates over time for both individuals and the entire program using logistic regression. Results The aggregate error rate was 1.60% (125/7817). Error rates did not differ significantly between enumerators (P=.51), but decreased for the cohort with increasing days of application use, from 2.3% at survey start (95% CI 1.8%-2.8%) to 0.6% at day 45 (95% CI 0.3%-0.9%; OR=0.969; P<.001). The highest error rate (84/618, 13.6%) occurred for an intentional redundancy question for a birthdate field, which was repeated in separate sections of the survey. We found low error rates (0.0% to 3.1%) for all other possible errors. Conclusions A strategy of removing validation rules on electronic data capture platforms can be used to create a set of detectable data errors, which can subsequently be used to assess group and individual enumerator error rates, their trends over time, and categories of data collection that require further training or additional quality control measures. This strategy may be particularly useful for identifying individual enumerators or systematic data errors that are responsive to enumerator training and is best applied to questions for which errors cannot be prevented through training or software design alone. Validation relaxation should be considered as a component of a holistic data quality assurance strategy. PMID:28821474

Validation Relaxation: A Quality Assurance Strategy for Electronic Data Collection.

PubMed

Kenny, Avi; Gordon, Nicholas; Griffiths, Thomas; Kraemer, John D; Siedner, Mark J

2017-08-18

The use of mobile devices for data collection in developing world settings is becoming increasingly common and may offer advantages in data collection quality and efficiency relative to paper-based methods. However, mobile data collection systems can hamper many standard quality assurance techniques due to the lack of a hardcopy backup of data. Consequently, mobile health data collection platforms have the potential to generate datasets that appear valid, but are susceptible to unidentified database design flaws, areas of miscomprehension by enumerators, and data recording errors. We describe the design and evaluation of a strategy for estimating data error rates and assessing enumerator performance during electronic data collection, which we term "validation relaxation." Validation relaxation involves the intentional omission of data validation features for select questions to allow for data recording errors to be committed, detected, and monitored. We analyzed data collected during a cluster sample population survey in rural Liberia using an electronic data collection system (Open Data Kit). We first developed a classification scheme for types of detectable errors and validation alterations required to detect them. We then implemented the following validation relaxation techniques to enable data error conduct and detection: intentional redundancy, removal of "required" constraint, and illogical response combinations. This allowed for up to 11 identifiable errors to be made per survey. The error rate was defined as the total number of errors committed divided by the number of potential errors. We summarized crude error rates and estimated changes in error rates over time for both individuals and the entire program using logistic regression. The aggregate error rate was 1.60% (125/7817). Error rates did not differ significantly between enumerators (P=.51), but decreased for the cohort with increasing days of application use, from 2.3% at survey start (95% CI 1.8%-2.8%) to 0.6% at day 45 (95% CI 0.3%-0.9%; OR=0.969; P<.001). The highest error rate (84/618, 13.6%) occurred for an intentional redundancy question for a birthdate field, which was repeated in separate sections of the survey. We found low error rates (0.0% to 3.1%) for all other possible errors. A strategy of removing validation rules on electronic data capture platforms can be used to create a set of detectable data errors, which can subsequently be used to assess group and individual enumerator error rates, their trends over time, and categories of data collection that require further training or additional quality control measures. This strategy may be particularly useful for identifying individual enumerators or systematic data errors that are responsive to enumerator training and is best applied to questions for which errors cannot be prevented through training or software design alone. Validation relaxation should be considered as a component of a holistic data quality assurance strategy. ©Avi Kenny, Nicholas Gordon, Thomas Griffiths, John D Kraemer, Mark J Siedner. Originally published in the Journal of Medical Internet Research (http://www.jmir.org), 18.08.2017.

Precipitation and Latent Heating Distributions from Satellite Passive Microwave Radiometry. Part 1; Improved Method and Uncertainties

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Olson, William S.; Kummerow, Christian D.; Yang, Song; Petty, Grant W.; Tao, Wei-Kuo; Bell, Thomas L.; Braun, Scott A.; Wang, Yansen; Lang, Stephen E.; Johnson, Daniel E.;

An error criterion for determining sampling rates in closed-loop control systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Brecher, S. M.

1972-01-01

The determination of an error criterion which will give a sampling rate for adequate performance of linear, time-invariant closed-loop, discrete-data control systems was studied. The proper modelling of the closed-loop control system for characterization of the error behavior, and the determination of an absolute error definition for performance of the two commonly used holding devices are discussed. The definition of an adequate relative error criterion as a function of the sampling rate and the parameters characterizing the system is established along with the determination of sampling rates. The validity of the expressions for the sampling interval was confirmed by computer simulations. Their application solves the problem of making a first choice in the selection of sampling rates.

What are incident reports telling us? A comparative study at two Australian hospitals of medication errors identified at audit, detected by staff and reported to an incident system.

PubMed

Westbrook, Johanna I; Li, Ling; Lehnbom, Elin C; Baysari, Melissa T; Braithwaite, Jeffrey; Burke, Rosemary; Conn, Chris; Day, Richard O

2015-02-01

To (i) compare medication errors identified at audit and observation with medication incident reports; (ii) identify differences between two hospitals in incident report frequency and medication error rates; (iii) identify prescribing error detection rates by staff. Audit of 3291 patient records at two hospitals to identify prescribing errors and evidence of their detection by staff. Medication administration errors were identified from a direct observational study of 180 nurses administering 7451 medications. Severity of errors was classified. Those likely to lead to patient harm were categorized as 'clinically important'. Two major academic teaching hospitals in Sydney, Australia. Rates of medication errors identified from audit and from direct observation were compared with reported medication incident reports. A total of 12 567 prescribing errors were identified at audit. Of these 1.2/1000 errors (95% CI: 0.6-1.8) had incident reports. Clinically important prescribing errors (n = 539) were detected by staff at a rate of 218.9/1000 (95% CI: 184.0-253.8), but only 13.0/1000 (95% CI: 3.4-22.5) were reported. 78.1% (n = 421) of clinically important prescribing errors were not detected. A total of 2043 drug administrations (27.4%; 95% CI: 26.4-28.4%) contained ≥ 1 errors; none had an incident report. Hospital A had a higher frequency of incident reports than Hospital B, but a lower rate of errors at audit. Prescribing errors with the potential to cause harm frequently go undetected. Reported incidents do not reflect the profile of medication errors which occur in hospitals or the underlying rates. This demonstrates the inaccuracy of using incident frequency to compare patient risk or quality performance within or across hospitals. New approaches including data mining of electronic clinical information systems are required to support more effective medication error detection and mitigation. © The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press in association with the International Society for Quality in Health Care.

Experimental investigation of false positive errors in auditory species occurrence surveys

USGS Publications Warehouse

Miller, David A.W.; Weir, Linda A.; McClintock, Brett T.; Grant, Evan H. Campbell; Bailey, Larissa L.; Simons, Theodore R.

2012-01-01

False positive errors are a significant component of many ecological data sets, which in combination with false negative errors, can lead to severe biases in conclusions about ecological systems. We present results of a field experiment where observers recorded observations for known combinations of electronically broadcast calling anurans under conditions mimicking field surveys to determine species occurrence. Our objectives were to characterize false positive error probabilities for auditory methods based on a large number of observers, to determine if targeted instruction could be used to reduce false positive error rates, and to establish useful predictors of among-observer and among-species differences in error rates. We recruited 31 observers, ranging in abilities from novice to expert, that recorded detections for 12 species during 180 calling trials (66,960 total observations). All observers made multiple false positive errors and on average 8.1% of recorded detections in the experiment were false positive errors. Additional instruction had only minor effects on error rates. After instruction, false positive error probabilities decreased by 16% for treatment individuals compared to controls with broad confidence interval overlap of 0 (95% CI: -46 to 30%). This coincided with an increase in false negative errors due to the treatment (26%; -3 to 61%). Differences among observers in false positive and in false negative error rates were best predicted by scores from an online test and a self-assessment of observer ability completed prior to the field experiment. In contrast, years of experience conducting call surveys was a weak predictor of error rates. False positive errors were also more common for species that were played more frequently, but were not related to the dominant spectral frequency of the call. Our results corroborate other work that demonstrates false positives are a significant component of species occurrence data collected by auditory methods. Instructing observers to only report detections they are completely certain are correct is not sufficient to eliminate errors. As a result, analytical methods that account for false positive errors will be needed, and independent testing of observer ability is a useful predictor for among-observer variation in observation error rates.

Technological Advancements and Error Rates in Radiation Therapy Delivery

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

Margalit, Danielle N., E-mail: dmargalit@partners.org; Harvard Cancer Consortium and Brigham and Women's Hospital/Dana Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA; Chen, Yu-Hui

2011-11-15

Purpose: Technological advances in radiation therapy (RT) delivery have the potential to reduce errors via increased automation and built-in quality assurance (QA) safeguards, yet may also introduce new types of errors. Intensity-modulated RT (IMRT) is an increasingly used technology that is more technically complex than three-dimensional (3D)-conformal RT and conventional RT. We determined the rate of reported errors in RT delivery among IMRT and 3D/conventional RT treatments and characterized the errors associated with the respective techniques to improve existing QA processes. Methods and Materials: All errors in external beam RT delivery were prospectively recorded via a nonpunitive error-reporting system atmore » Brigham and Women's Hospital/Dana Farber Cancer Institute. Errors are defined as any unplanned deviation from the intended RT treatment and are reviewed during monthly departmental quality improvement meetings. We analyzed all reported errors since the routine use of IMRT in our department, from January 2004 to July 2009. Fisher's exact test was used to determine the association between treatment technique (IMRT vs. 3D/conventional) and specific error types. Effect estimates were computed using logistic regression. Results: There were 155 errors in RT delivery among 241,546 fractions (0.06%), and none were clinically significant. IMRT was commonly associated with errors in machine parameters (nine of 19 errors) and data entry and interpretation (six of 19 errors). IMRT was associated with a lower rate of reported errors compared with 3D/conventional RT (0.03% vs. 0.07%, p = 0.001) and specifically fewer accessory errors (odds ratio, 0.11; 95% confidence interval, 0.01-0.78) and setup errors (odds ratio, 0.24; 95% confidence interval, 0.08-0.79). Conclusions: The rate of errors in RT delivery is low. The types of errors differ significantly between IMRT and 3D/conventional RT, suggesting that QA processes must be uniquely adapted for each technique. There was a lower error rate with IMRT compared with 3D/conventional RT, highlighting the need for sustained vigilance against errors common to more traditional treatment techniques.« less

Error Rate Comparison during Polymerase Chain Reaction by DNA Polymerase

DOE PAGES

McInerney, Peter; Adams, Paul; Hadi, Masood Z.

2014-01-01

As larger-scale cloning projects become more prevalent, there is an increasing need for comparisons among high fidelity DNA polymerases used for PCR amplification. All polymerases marketed for PCR applications are tested for fidelity properties (i.e., error rate determination) by vendors, and numerous literature reports have addressed PCR enzyme fidelity. Nonetheless, it is often difficult to make direct comparisons among different enzymes due to numerous methodological and analytical differences from study to study. We have measured the error rates for 6 DNA polymerases commonly used in PCR applications, including 3 polymerases typically used for cloning applications requiring high fidelity. Error ratemore » measurement values reported here were obtained by direct sequencing of cloned PCR products. The strategy employed here allows interrogation of error rate across a very large DNA sequence space, since 94 unique DNA targets were used as templates for PCR cloning. The six enzymes included in the study, Taq polymerase, AccuPrime-Taq High Fidelity, KOD Hot Start, cloned Pfu polymerase, Phusion Hot Start, and Pwo polymerase, we find the lowest error rates with Pfu , Phusion, and Pwo polymerases. Error rates are comparable for these 3 enzymes and are >10x lower than the error rate observed with Taq polymerase. Mutation spectra are reported, with the 3 high fidelity enzymes displaying broadly similar types of mutations. For these enzymes, transition mutations predominate, with little bias observed for type of transition.« less

Implementation of bayesian model averaging on the weather data forecasting applications utilizing open weather map

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rahmat, R. F.; Nasution, F. R.; Seniman; Syahputra, M. F.; Sitompul, O. S.

2018-02-01

Weather is condition of air in a certain region at a relatively short period of time, measured with various parameters such as; temperature, air preasure, wind velocity, humidity and another phenomenons in the atmosphere. In fact, extreme weather due to global warming would lead to drought, flood, hurricane and other forms of weather occasion, which directly affects social andeconomic activities. Hence, a forecasting technique is to predict weather with distinctive output, particullary mapping process based on GIS with information about current weather status in certain cordinates of each region with capability to forecast for seven days afterward. Data used in this research are retrieved in real time from the server openweathermap and BMKG. In order to obtain a low error rate and high accuracy of forecasting, the authors use Bayesian Model Averaging (BMA) method. The result shows that the BMA method has good accuracy. Forecasting error value is calculated by mean square error shows (MSE). The error value emerges at minumum temperature rated at 0.28 and maximum temperature rated at 0.15. Meanwhile, the error value of minimum humidity rates at 0.38 and the error value of maximum humidity rates at 0.04. Afterall, the forecasting error rate of wind speed is at 0.076. The lower the forecasting error rate, the more optimized the accuracy is.

Type I error rates of rare single nucleotide variants are inflated in tests of association with non-normally distributed traits using simple linear regression methods.

PubMed

Schwantes-An, Tae-Hwi; Sung, Heejong; Sabourin, Jeremy A; Justice, Cristina M; Sorant, Alexa J M; Wilson, Alexander F

2016-01-01

In this study, the effects of (a) the minor allele frequency of the single nucleotide variant (SNV), (b) the degree of departure from normality of the trait, and (c) the position of the SNVs on type I error rates were investigated in the Genetic Analysis Workshop (GAW) 19 whole exome sequence data. To test the distribution of the type I error rate, 5 simulated traits were considered: standard normal and gamma distributed traits; 2 transformed versions of the gamma trait (log 10 and rank-based inverse normal transformations); and trait Q1 provided by GAW 19. Each trait was tested with 313,340 SNVs. Tests of association were performed with simple linear regression and average type I error rates were determined for minor allele frequency classes. Rare SNVs (minor allele frequency < 0.05) showed inflated type I error rates for non-normally distributed traits that increased as the minor allele frequency decreased. The inflation of average type I error rates increased as the significance threshold decreased. Normally distributed traits did not show inflated type I error rates with respect to the minor allele frequency for rare SNVs. There was no consistent effect of transformation on the uniformity of the distribution of the location of SNVs with a type I error.

Estimating Rain Rates from Tipping-Bucket Rain Gauge Measurements

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wang, Jianxin; Fisher, Brad L.; Wolff, David B.

2007-01-01

This paper describes the cubic spline based operational system for the generation of the TRMM one-minute rain rate product 2A-56 from Tipping Bucket (TB) gauge measurements. Methodological issues associated with applying the cubic spline to the TB gauge rain rate estimation are closely examined. A simulated TB gauge from a Joss-Waldvogel (JW) disdrometer is employed to evaluate effects of time scales and rain event definitions on errors of the rain rate estimation. The comparison between rain rates measured from the JW disdrometer and those estimated from the simulated TB gauge shows good overall agreement; however, the TB gauge suffers sampling problems, resulting in errors in the rain rate estimation. These errors are very sensitive to the time scale of rain rates. One-minute rain rates suffer substantial errors, especially at low rain rates. When one minute rain rates are averaged to 4-7 minute or longer time scales, the errors dramatically reduce. The rain event duration is very sensitive to the event definition but the event rain total is rather insensitive, provided that the events with less than 1 millimeter rain totals are excluded. Estimated lower rain rates are sensitive to the event definition whereas the higher rates are not. The median relative absolute errors are about 22% and 32% for 1-minute TB rain rates higher and lower than 3 mm per hour, respectively. These errors decrease to 5% and 14% when TB rain rates are used at 7-minute scale. The radar reflectivity-rainrate (Ze-R) distributions drawn from large amount of 7-minute TB rain rates and radar reflectivity data are mostly insensitive to the event definition.

Cost Savings Associated with the Adoption of a Cloud Computing Data Transfer System for Trauma Patients.

PubMed

Feeney, James M; Montgomery, Stephanie C; Wolf, Laura; Jayaraman, Vijay; Twohig, Michael

2016-09-01

Among transferred trauma patients, challenges with the transfer of radiographic studies include problems loading or viewing the studies at the receiving hospitals, and problems manipulating, reconstructing, or evalu- ating the transferred images. Cloud-based image transfer systems may address some ofthese problems. We reviewed the charts of patients trans- ferred during one year surrounding the adoption of a cloud computing data transfer system. We compared the rates of repeat imaging before (precloud) and af- ter (postcloud) the adoption of the cloud-based data transfer system. During the precloud period, 28 out of 100 patients required 90 repeat studies. With the cloud computing transfer system in place, three out of 134 patients required seven repeat films. There was a statistically significant decrease in the proportion of patients requiring repeat films (28% to 2.2%, P < .0001). Based on an annualized volume of 200 trauma patient transfers, the cost savings estimated using three methods of cost analysis, is between $30,272 and $192,453.

Risk and Vulnerability Analysis of Satellites Due to MM/SD with PIRAT

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kempf, Scott; Schafer, Frank Rudolph, Martin; Welty, Nathan; Donath, Therese; Destefanis, Roberto; Grassi, Lilith; Janovsky, Rolf; Evans, Leanne; Winterboer, Arne

2013-08-01

Until recently, the state-of-the-art assessment of the threat posed to spacecraft by micrometeoroids and space debris was limited to the application of ballistic limit equations to the outer hull of a spacecraft. The probability of no penetration (PNP) is acceptable for assessing the risk and vulnerability of manned space mission, however, for unmanned missions, whereby penetrations of the spacecraft exterior do not necessarily constitute satellite or mission failure, these values are overly conservative. The newly developed software tool PIRAT (Particle Impact Risk and Vulnerability Analysis Tool) has been developed based on the Schäfer-Ryan-Lambert (SRL) triple-wall ballistic limit equation (BLE), applicable for various satellite components. As a result, it has become possible to assess the individual failure rates of satellite components. This paper demonstrates the modeling of an example satellite, the performance of a PIRAT analysis and the potential for subsequent design optimizations with respect of micrometeoroid and space debris (MM/SD) impact risk.

The Development of the Navigation System for Visually Impaired Persons

DTIC Science & Technology

2001-10-25

method) is used in our system. In this papaer , we re- fer to the developed methods which are the positioning method without DGPS and the method of the...University Kanagawa, Japan Performing Organization Report Number Sponsoring/Monitoring Agency Name(s) and Address(es) US Army Research , Development...impaired. ACKNOWLEDGMENT This research was partially supported by the Ministry of Education, Science, Sports and Culture, Grant-in-Aid for Scienti c

Field instructions for the annual inventory of California, Oregon, and Washington 2010: Supplement for: Fire effects and recovery study

Treesearch

Theresa B. Jain; Jeremy S. Fried

2010-01-01

This field guide supplemental describes the data items to record for Fire Effects and Recovery Study (FERS) plots; it is a supplement to the 2010 Field Instructions for the Annual Inventory of California, Oregon, and Washington (i.e., "2010 PFSL manual"). These plots are pre-selected; data items are required as specified when FIRE PLOT = Y. Additional...

European Scientific Notes. Volume 37, Number 2,

DTIC Science & Technology

1983-02-28

potassium persulfate the initiator. ethylene. The method is to immerse the Particle nucleation, flocculation, and films in an aqueous solution of acrylic... polyacrylic acid in the aqueous solu- causing flocculation and coalescence. tion, water soluble inhibitors were The process of aggregation of ...AD-A127 548 EUROPEAN SCIENTIFIC 140TES VOLUME 37 NUMBER 2(U) OFFICE / OF NAVAL RESEARCH LONDON (ERGLAND) V TSTANNET ET AL 28 FER 83 ESN-37-2 UNCLAAS

Stabilized Laccases as Heterogeneous Bioelectrocatalysts (Postprint)

DTIC Science & Technology

2012-10-01

nature, with examples that range from bacterial species to fungi and plants.19·101 However, certain properties of laccases, such as their protein...identified, includ- ing examples of extremophilic enzymes,l11·121 but the extracellu- lar laccases from wood-rotting fungi , such as Trametes spp...biomolecules not only affects the stability and selectivity of an enzyme towards different substrates but also the charge trans- fer at the electrode

Behavioral decline and premature lethality upon pan-neuronal ferritin overexpression in Drosophila infected with a virulent form of Wolbachia

PubMed Central

Kosmidis, Stylianos; Missirlis, Fanis; Botella, Jose A.; Schneuwly, Stephan; Rouault, Tracey A.; Skoulakis, Efthimios M. C.

2014-01-01

Iron is required for organismal growth. Therefore, limiting iron availability may be a key part of the host’s innate immune response to various pathogens, for example, in Drosophila infected with Zygomycetes. One way the host can transiently reduce iron bioavailability is by ferritin overexpression. To study the effects of neuronal-specific ferritin overexpression on survival and neurodegeneration we generated flies simultaneously over-expressing transgenes for both ferritin subunits in all neurons. We used two independent recombinant chromosomes bearing UAS-Fer1HCH, UAS-Fer2LCH transgenes and obtained qualitatively different levels of late-onset behavioral and lifespan declines. We subsequently discovered that one parental strain had been infected with a virulent form of the bacterial endosymbiont Wolbachia, causing widespread neuronal apoptosis and premature death. This phenotype was exacerbated by ferritin overexpression and was curable by antibiotic treatment. Neuronal ferritin overexpression in uninfected flies did not cause evident neurodegeneration but resulted in a late-onset behavioral decline, as previously reported for ferritin overexpression in glia. The results suggest that ferritin overexpression in the central nervous system of flies is tolerated well in young individuals with adverse manifestations appearing only late in life or under unrelated pathophysiological conditions. PMID:24772084

Automated microfluidic devices integrating solid-phase extraction, fluorescent labeling, and microchip electrophoresis for preterm birth biomarker analysis.

PubMed

Sahore, Vishal; Sonker, Mukul; Nielsen, Anna V; Knob, Radim; Kumar, Suresh; Woolley, Adam T

2018-01-01

We have developed multichannel integrated microfluidic devices for automated preconcentration, labeling, purification, and separation of preterm birth (PTB) biomarkers. We fabricated multilayer poly(dimethylsiloxane)-cyclic olefin copolymer (PDMS-COC) devices that perform solid-phase extraction (SPE) and microchip electrophoresis (μCE) for automated PTB biomarker analysis. The PDMS control layer had a peristaltic pump and pneumatic valves for flow control, while the PDMS fluidic layer had five input reservoirs connected to microchannels and a μCE system. The COC layers had a reversed-phase octyl methacrylate porous polymer monolith for SPE and fluorescent labeling of PTB biomarkers. We determined μCE conditions for two PTB biomarkers, ferritin (Fer) and corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF). We used these integrated microfluidic devices to preconcentrate and purify off-chip-labeled Fer and CRF in an automated fashion. Finally, we performed a fully automated on-chip analysis of unlabeled PTB biomarkers, involving SPE, labeling, and μCE separation with 1 h total analysis time. These integrated systems have strong potential to be combined with upstream immunoaffinity extraction, offering a compact sample-to-answer biomarker analysis platform. Graphical abstract Pressure-actuated integrated microfluidic devices have been developed for automated solid-phase extraction, fluorescent labeling, and microchip electrophoresis of preterm birth biomarkers.

Approximation of Bit Error Rates in Digital Communications

DTIC Science & Technology

2007-06-01

and Technology Organisation DSTO—TN—0761 ABSTRACT This report investigates the estimation of bit error rates in digital communi- cations, motivated by...recent work in [6]. In the latter, bounds are used to construct estimates for bit error rates in the case of differentially coherent quadrature phase

Analysis of the effects of Eye-Tracker performance on the pulse positioning errors during refractive surgery☆

PubMed Central

Arba-Mosquera, Samuel; Aslanides, Ioannis M.

2012-01-01

Purpose To analyze the effects of Eye-Tracker performance on the pulse positioning errors during refractive surgery. Methods A comprehensive model, which directly considers eye movements, including saccades, vestibular, optokinetic, vergence, and miniature, as well as, eye-tracker acquisition rate, eye-tracker latency time, scanner positioning time, laser firing rate, and laser trigger delay have been developed. Results Eye-tracker acquisition rates below 100 Hz correspond to pulse positioning errors above 1.5 mm. Eye-tracker latency times to about 15 ms correspond to pulse positioning errors of up to 3.5 mm. Scanner positioning times to about 9 ms correspond to pulse positioning errors of up to 2 mm. Laser firing rates faster than eye-tracker acquisition rates basically duplicate pulse-positioning errors. Laser trigger delays to about 300 μs have minor to no impact on pulse-positioning errors. Conclusions The proposed model can be used for comparison of laser systems used for ablation processes. Due to the pseudo-random nature of eye movements, positioning errors of single pulses are much larger than observed decentrations in the clinical settings. There is no single parameter that ‘alone’ minimizes the positioning error. It is the optimal combination of the several parameters that minimizes the error. The results of this analysis are important to understand the limitations of correcting very irregular ablation patterns.

Failure analysis and modeling of a multicomputer system. M.S. Thesis

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Subramani, Sujatha Srinivasan

1990-01-01

This thesis describes the results of an extensive measurement-based analysis of real error data collected from a 7-machine DEC VaxCluster multicomputer system. In addition to evaluating basic system error and failure characteristics, we develop reward models to analyze the impact of failures and errors on the system. The results show that, although 98 percent of errors in the shared resources recover, they result in 48 percent of all system failures. The analysis of rewards shows that the expected reward rate for the VaxCluster decreases to 0.5 in 100 days for a 3 out of 7 model, which is well over a 100 times that for a 7-out-of-7 model. A comparison of the reward rates for a range of k-out-of-n models indicates that the maximum increase in reward rate (0.25) occurs in going from the 6-out-of-7 model to the 5-out-of-7 model. The analysis also shows that software errors have the lowest reward (0.2 vs. 0.91 for network errors). The large loss in reward rate for software errors is due to the fact that a large proportion (94 percent) of software errors lead to failure. In comparison, the high reward rate for network errors is due to fast recovery from a majority of these errors (median recovery duration is 0 seconds).

Angular Rate Optimal Design for the Rotary Strapdown Inertial Navigation System

PubMed Central

Yu, Fei; Sun, Qian

2014-01-01

Due to the characteristics of high precision for a long duration, the rotary strapdown inertial navigation system (RSINS) has been widely used in submarines and surface ships. Nowadays, the core technology, the rotating scheme, has been studied by numerous researchers. It is well known that as one of the key technologies, the rotating angular rate seriously influences the effectiveness of the error modulating. In order to design the optimal rotating angular rate of the RSINS, the relationship between the rotating angular rate and the velocity error of the RSINS was analyzed in detail based on the Laplace transform and the inverse Laplace transform in this paper. The analysis results showed that the velocity error of the RSINS depends on not only the sensor error, but also the rotating angular rate. In order to minimize the velocity error, the rotating angular rate of the RSINS should match the sensor error. One optimal design method for the rotating rate of the RSINS was also proposed in this paper. Simulation and experimental results verified the validity and superiority of this optimal design method for the rotating rate of the RSINS. PMID:24759115

Reverse Transcription Errors and RNA-DNA Differences at Short Tandem Repeats.

PubMed

Fungtammasan, Arkarachai; Tomaszkiewicz, Marta; Campos-Sánchez, Rebeca; Eckert, Kristin A; DeGiorgio, Michael; Makova, Kateryna D

2016-10-01

Transcript variation has important implications for organismal function in health and disease. Most transcriptome studies focus on assessing variation in gene expression levels and isoform representation. Variation at the level of transcript sequence is caused by RNA editing and transcription errors, and leads to nongenetically encoded transcript variants, or RNA-DNA differences (RDDs). Such variation has been understudied, in part because its detection is obscured by reverse transcription (RT) and sequencing errors. It has only been evaluated for intertranscript base substitution differences. Here, we investigated transcript sequence variation for short tandem repeats (STRs). We developed the first maximum-likelihood estimator (MLE) to infer RT error and RDD rates, taking next generation sequencing error rates into account. Using the MLE, we empirically evaluated RT error and RDD rates for STRs in a large-scale DNA and RNA replicated sequencing experiment conducted in a primate species. The RT error rates increased exponentially with STR length and were biased toward expansions. The RDD rates were approximately 1 order of magnitude lower than the RT error rates. The RT error rates estimated with the MLE from a primate data set were concordant with those estimated with an independent method, barcoded RNA sequencing, from a Caenorhabditis elegans data set. Our results have important implications for medical genomics, as STR allelic variation is associated with >40 diseases. STR nonallelic transcript variation can also contribute to disease phenotype. The MLE and empirical rates presented here can be used to evaluate the probability of disease-associated transcripts arising due to RDD. © The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society for Molecular Biology and Evolution.

Analysis and Compensation of Modulation Angular Rate Error Based on Missile-Borne Rotation Semi-Strapdown Inertial Navigation System.

PubMed

Zhang, Jiayu; Li, Jie; Zhang, Xi; Che, Xiaorui; Huang, Yugang; Feng, Kaiqiang

2018-05-04

The Semi-Strapdown Inertial Navigation System (SSINS) provides a new solution to attitude measurement of a high-speed rotating missile. However, micro-electro-mechanical-systems (MEMS) inertial measurement unit (MIMU) outputs are corrupted by significant sensor errors. In order to improve the navigation precision, a rotation modulation technology method called Rotation Semi-Strapdown Inertial Navigation System (RSSINS) is introduced into SINS. In fact, the stability of the modulation angular rate is difficult to achieve in a high-speed rotation environment. The changing rotary angular rate has an impact on the inertial sensor error self-compensation. In this paper, the influence of modulation angular rate error, including acceleration-deceleration process, and instability of the angular rate on the navigation accuracy of RSSINS is deduced and the error characteristics of the reciprocating rotation scheme are analyzed. A new compensation method is proposed to remove or reduce sensor errors so as to make it possible to maintain high precision autonomous navigation performance by MIMU when there is no external aid. Experiments have been carried out to validate the performance of the method. In addition, the proposed method is applicable for modulation angular rate error compensation under various dynamic conditions.

45 CFR 98.102 - Content of Error Rate Reports.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-10-01

....102 Public Welfare DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES GENERAL ADMINISTRATION CHILD CARE AND DEVELOPMENT FUND Error Rate Reporting § 98.102 Content of Error Rate Reports. (a) Baseline Submission Report... payments by the total dollar amount of child care payments that the State, the District of Columbia or...

45 CFR 98.102 - Content of Error Rate Reports.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-10-01

....102 Public Welfare Department of Health and Human Services GENERAL ADMINISTRATION CHILD CARE AND DEVELOPMENT FUND Error Rate Reporting § 98.102 Content of Error Rate Reports. (a) Baseline Submission Report... payments by the total dollar amount of child care payments that the State, the District of Columbia or...

45 CFR 98.102 - Content of Error Rate Reports.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-10-01

....102 Public Welfare DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES GENERAL ADMINISTRATION CHILD CARE AND DEVELOPMENT FUND Error Rate Reporting § 98.102 Content of Error Rate Reports. (a) Baseline Submission Report... payments by the total dollar amount of child care payments that the State, the District of Columbia or...

45 CFR 98.102 - Content of Error Rate Reports.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-10-01

....102 Public Welfare DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES GENERAL ADMINISTRATION CHILD CARE AND DEVELOPMENT FUND Error Rate Reporting § 98.102 Content of Error Rate Reports. (a) Baseline Submission Report... payments by the total dollar amount of child care payments that the State, the District of Columbia or...

Impact of an antiretroviral stewardship strategy on medication error rates.

PubMed

Shea, Katherine M; Hobbs, Athena Lv; Shumake, Jason D; Templet, Derek J; Padilla-Tolentino, Eimeira; Mondy, Kristin E

2018-05-02

The impact of an antiretroviral stewardship strategy on medication error rates was evaluated. This single-center, retrospective, comparative cohort study included patients at least 18 years of age infected with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) who were receiving antiretrovirals and admitted to the hospital. A multicomponent approach was developed and implemented and included modifications to the order-entry and verification system, pharmacist education, and a pharmacist-led antiretroviral therapy checklist. Pharmacists performed prospective audits using the checklist at the time of order verification. To assess the impact of the intervention, a retrospective review was performed before and after implementation to assess antiretroviral errors. Totals of 208 and 24 errors were identified before and after the intervention, respectively, resulting in a significant reduction in the overall error rate ( p < 0.001). In the postintervention group, significantly lower medication error rates were found in both patient admissions containing at least 1 medication error ( p < 0.001) and those with 2 or more errors ( p < 0.001). Significant reductions were also identified in each error type, including incorrect/incomplete medication regimen, incorrect dosing regimen, incorrect renal dose adjustment, incorrect administration, and the presence of a major drug-drug interaction. A regression tree selected ritonavir as the only specific medication that best predicted more errors preintervention ( p < 0.001); however, no antiretrovirals reliably predicted errors postintervention. An antiretroviral stewardship strategy for hospitalized HIV patients including prospective audit by staff pharmacists through use of an antiretroviral medication therapy checklist at the time of order verification decreased error rates. Copyright © 2018 by the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists, Inc. All rights reserved.

When do latent class models overstate accuracy for diagnostic and other classifiers in the absence of a gold standard?

PubMed

Spencer, Bruce D

2012-06-01

Latent class models are increasingly used to assess the accuracy of medical diagnostic tests and other classifications when no gold standard is available and the true state is unknown. When the latent class is treated as the true class, the latent class models provide measures of components of accuracy including specificity and sensitivity and their complements, type I and type II error rates. The error rates according to the latent class model differ from the true error rates, however, and empirical comparisons with a gold standard suggest the true error rates often are larger. We investigate conditions under which the true type I and type II error rates are larger than those provided by the latent class models. Results from Uebersax (1988, Psychological Bulletin 104, 405-416) are extended to accommodate random effects and covariates affecting the responses. The results are important for interpreting the results of latent class analyses. An error decomposition is presented that incorporates an error component from invalidity of the latent class model. © 2011, The International Biometric Society.

Estimating gene gain and loss rates in the presence of error in genome assembly and annotation using CAFE 3.

PubMed

Han, Mira V; Thomas, Gregg W C; Lugo-Martinez, Jose; Hahn, Matthew W

2013-08-01

Current sequencing methods produce large amounts of data, but genome assemblies constructed from these data are often fragmented and incomplete. Incomplete and error-filled assemblies result in many annotation errors, especially in the number of genes present in a genome. This means that methods attempting to estimate rates of gene duplication and loss often will be misled by such errors and that rates of gene family evolution will be consistently overestimated. Here, we present a method that takes these errors into account, allowing one to accurately infer rates of gene gain and loss among genomes even with low assembly and annotation quality. The method is implemented in the newest version of the software package CAFE, along with several other novel features. We demonstrate the accuracy of the method with extensive simulations and reanalyze several previously published data sets. Our results show that errors in genome annotation do lead to higher inferred rates of gene gain and loss but that CAFE 3 sufficiently accounts for these errors to provide accurate estimates of important evolutionary parameters.

Serum AMH levels in healthy women from BRCA1/2 mutated families: are they reduced?

PubMed

van Tilborg, Theodora C; Derks-Smeets, Inge A P; Bos, Anna M E; Oosterwijk, Jan C; van Golde, Ron J; de Die-Smulders, Christine E; van der Kolk, Lizet E; van Zelst-Stams, Wendy A G; Velthuizen, Maria E; Hoek, Annemieke; Eijkemans, Marinus J C; Laven, Joop S E; Ausems, Margreet G E M; Broekmans, Frank J M

2016-11-01

Do BRCA1/2 mutation carriers have a compromised ovarian reserve compared to proven non-carriers, based on serum anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH) levels? BRCA1/2 mutation carriers do not show a lower serum AMH level in comparison to proven non-carriers, after adjustment for potential confounders. It has been suggested that the BRCA genes play a role in the process of ovarian reserve depletion, although previous studies have shown inconsistent results regarding the association between serum AMH levels and BRCA mutation status. Hence, it is yet unclear whether BRCA1/2 mutation carriers may indeed be at risk of a reduced reproductive lifespan. STUDY DESIGN, SIZE, DURATION: A multicenter, cross-sectional study was performed between January 2012 and February 2015 in 255 women. We needed to include 120 BRCA1/2 mutation carriers and 120 proven non-carriers to demonstrate a difference in AMH levels of 0.40 µg/l (SD ± 0.12 µg/l, two-sided alpha-error 0.05, power 80%). Healthy women aged 18-45 years who were referred to the Clinical Genetics Department and applied for predictive BRCA1/2 testing because of a familial BRCA1/2 mutation were asked to participate. A cross-sectional assessment was performed by measuring serum AMH levels and filling out a questionnaire. Multivariate linear regression analyses adjusted for age, current smoking and current hormonal contraceptive use were performed on log-transformed serum AMH levels. Out of 823 potentially eligible women, 421 (51.2%) were willing to participate, and of those, 166 (39%) did not meet our inclusion criteria. Two hundred and fifty-five women were available for analyses; 124 BRCA1/2 mutation carriers and 131 proven non-carriers. The median [range] AMH level in carriers was 1.90 µg/l [0.11-19.00] compared to 1.80 µg/l [0.11-10.00] in non-carriers (P = 0.34). Adjusted linear regression analysis revealed no reduction in AMH level in the carriers (relative change = 0.98 (95%CI, 0.77-1.22); P = 0.76). Participants were relatively young. Power was insufficient to analyze BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutation carriers separately. AMH levels may have been influenced by the use of hormonal contraceptives, though similar proportions of carriers and non-carriers were current users and adjustments were made to correct for potential confounding in our analysis. Limitations of the current analysis and limitations of the existing literature argue for prospective, well-controlled follow-up studies with recurrent AMH measurements to determine whether carriers might be at risk for low ovarian reserve and to definitively guide care. This study was partially financially supported by a personal grant for Inge A.P. Derks-Smeets, kindly provided by the Dutch Cancer Society (Grant Number UM 2011-5249). Theodora C. van Tilborg, Inge A.P. Derks-Smeets, Anna M.E. Bos, Jan C. Oosterwijk, Christine E. de Die-Smulders, Lizet E. van der Kolk, Wendy A.G. van Zelst-Stams, Maria E. Velthuizen, Marinus J.C. Eijkemans and Margreet G.E.M. Ausems have nothing to disclose. Ron J. van Golde has received unrestricted research grants from Ferring and Merck Serono, outside the submitted work. Annemieke Hoek received an unrestricted educational grant from Ferring pharmaceutical BV, The Netherlands and a speaker's fee for post graduate education from MSD pharmaceutical company, outside the submitted work. Joop S.E. Laven has received unrestricted research grants from Ferring, Merck Serono, Merck Sharpe & Dome, Organon, and Schering Plough, outside the submitted work. Frank J.M. Broekmans is a member of the external advisory board for Merck Serono (The Netherlands), outside the submitted work. NTR no. 4324. © The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Journey of a cystinuric patient with a long-term follow-up from a medical stone clinic: necessity to be SaFER (stone and fragments entirely removed).

PubMed

Moore, Sacha L; Somani, Bhaskar K; Cook, Paul

2018-04-25

There is a lack of studies looking at the longitudinal follow-up of patients with cystine stones. We wanted to assess the journey of cystinuric patients through our specialist metabolic stone clinic to improve the understanding of episodes, interventions and current outcomes in this patient cohort. After ethical approval, all patients who attended our metabolic stone clinic from 1994 to 2014 with at least one cystine stone episode were included in our study. Data were retrospectively analysed for patient demographics, stone episodes or intervention, clinical parameters and patient compliance. Over a period of 21 years, 16 patients with a median age of 15.5 years underwent a mean follow-up of 8.6 years (1-21 years). The mean number of surgical interventions was 3.1 (1-8/patient), but patients who were stone free after their first treatment had lower recurrences (p = 0.91) and lower number of interventions during their follow-up (2.7/patient, compared to those who were not stone free at 4/patient). During their follow-up period, patients with < 3 interventions had a significantly better renal function than those with ≥ 3 surgical interventions (p = 0.04). Additionally, linear regression analysis showed that eGFR was demonstrated to decline with increasing numbers of stone episodes (r 2  = 0.169). It was also noted that patients who began early medical management remained stone free during follow-up compared to those who had medical management after ≥ 2 stone episodes, of whom all had a recurrent episode. Our long-term longitudinal study of cystine stone formers highlights that patients who are stone free and receive early metabolic stone screening and medical management after their initial presentation have the lowest recurrence rates and tend to preserve their renal function. Hence, prompt referral for metabolic assessment, and the stone and fragments entirely removed (SaFER) principles are key to preventing stone episodes and improving long-term function.

Derivation of an analytic expression for the error associated with the noise reduction rating

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Murphy, William J.

2005-04-01

Hearing protection devices are assessed using the Real Ear Attenuation at Threshold (REAT) measurement procedure for the purpose of estimating the amount of noise reduction provided when worn by a subject. The rating number provided on the protector label is a function of the mean and standard deviation of the REAT results achieved by the test subjects. If a group of subjects have a large variance, then it follows that the certainty of the rating should be correspondingly lower. No estimate of the error of a protector's rating is given by existing standards or regulations. Propagation of errors was applied to the Noise Reduction Rating to develop an analytic expression for the hearing protector rating error term. Comparison of the analytic expression for the error to the standard deviation estimated from Monte Carlo simulation of subject attenuations yielded a linear relationship across several protector types and assumptions for the variance of the attenuations.

Errors in laboratory medicine: practical lessons to improve patient safety.

PubMed

Howanitz, Peter J

2005-10-01

Patient safety is influenced by the frequency and seriousness of errors that occur in the health care system. Error rates in laboratory practices are collected routinely for a variety of performance measures in all clinical pathology laboratories in the United States, but a list of critical performance measures has not yet been recommended. The most extensive databases describing error rates in pathology were developed and are maintained by the College of American Pathologists (CAP). These databases include the CAP's Q-Probes and Q-Tracks programs, which provide information on error rates from more than 130 interlaboratory studies. To define critical performance measures in laboratory medicine, describe error rates of these measures, and provide suggestions to decrease these errors, thereby ultimately improving patient safety. A review of experiences from Q-Probes and Q-Tracks studies supplemented with other studies cited in the literature. Q-Probes studies are carried out as time-limited studies lasting 1 to 4 months and have been conducted since 1989. In contrast, Q-Tracks investigations are ongoing studies performed on a yearly basis and have been conducted only since 1998. Participants from institutions throughout the world simultaneously conducted these studies according to specified scientific designs. The CAP has collected and summarized data for participants about these performance measures, including the significance of errors, the magnitude of error rates, tactics for error reduction, and willingness to implement each of these performance measures. A list of recommended performance measures, the frequency of errors when these performance measures were studied, and suggestions to improve patient safety by reducing these errors. Error rates for preanalytic and postanalytic performance measures were higher than for analytic measures. Eight performance measures were identified, including customer satisfaction, test turnaround times, patient identification, specimen acceptability, proficiency testing, critical value reporting, blood product wastage, and blood culture contamination. Error rate benchmarks for these performance measures were cited and recommendations for improving patient safety presented. Not only has each of the 8 performance measures proven practical, useful, and important for patient care, taken together, they also fulfill regulatory requirements. All laboratories should consider implementing these performance measures and standardizing their own scientific designs, data analysis, and error reduction strategies according to findings from these published studies.

The statistical validity of nursing home survey findings.

PubMed

Woolley, Douglas C

2011-11-01

The Medicare nursing home survey is a high-stakes process whose findings greatly affect nursing homes, their current and potential residents, and the communities they serve. Therefore, survey findings must achieve high validity. This study looked at the validity of one key assessment made during a nursing home survey: the observation of the rate of errors in administration of medications to residents (med-pass). Statistical analysis of the case under study and of alternative hypothetical cases. A skilled nursing home affiliated with a local medical school. The nursing home administrators and the medical director. Observational study. The probability that state nursing home surveyors make a Type I or Type II error in observing med-pass error rates, based on the current case and on a series of postulated med-pass error rates. In the common situation such as our case, where med-pass errors occur at slightly above a 5% rate after 50 observations, and therefore trigger a citation, the chance that the true rate remains above 5% after a large number of observations is just above 50%. If the true med-pass error rate were as high as 10%, and the survey team wished to achieve 75% accuracy in determining that a citation was appropriate, they would have to make more than 200 med-pass observations. In the more common situation where med pass errors are closer to 5%, the team would have to observe more than 2000 med-passes to achieve even a modest 75% accuracy in their determinations. In settings where error rates are low, large numbers of observations of an activity must be made to reach acceptable validity of estimates for the true rates of errors. In observing key nursing home functions with current methodology, the State Medicare nursing home survey process does not adhere to well-known principles of valid error determination. Alternate approaches in survey methodology are discussed. Copyright © 2011 American Medical Directors Association. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

How does aging affect the types of error made in a visual short-term memory ‘object-recall’ task?

PubMed Central

Sapkota, Raju P.; van der Linde, Ian; Pardhan, Shahina

2015-01-01

This study examines how normal aging affects the occurrence of different types of incorrect responses in a visual short-term memory (VSTM) object-recall task. Seventeen young (Mean = 23.3 years, SD = 3.76), and 17 normally aging older (Mean = 66.5 years, SD = 6.30) adults participated. Memory stimuli comprised two or four real world objects (the memory load) presented sequentially, each for 650 ms, at random locations on a computer screen. After a 1000 ms retention interval, a test display was presented, comprising an empty box at one of the previously presented two or four memory stimulus locations. Participants were asked to report the name of the object presented at the cued location. Errors rates wherein participants reported the names of objects that had been presented in the memory display but not at the cued location (non-target errors) vs. objects that had not been presented at all in the memory display (non-memory errors) were compared. Significant effects of aging, memory load and target recency on error type and absolute error rates were found. Non-target error rate was higher than non-memory error rate in both age groups, indicating that VSTM may have been more often than not populated with partial traces of previously presented items. At high memory load, non-memory error rate was higher in young participants (compared to older participants) when the memory target had been presented at the earliest temporal position. However, non-target error rates exhibited a reversed trend, i.e., greater error rates were found in older participants when the memory target had been presented at the two most recent temporal positions. Data are interpreted in terms of proactive interference (earlier examined non-target items interfering with more recent items), false memories (non-memory items which have a categorical relationship to presented items, interfering with memory targets), slot and flexible resource models, and spatial coding deficits. PMID:25653615

How does aging affect the types of error made in a visual short-term memory 'object-recall' task?

PubMed

Sapkota, Raju P; van der Linde, Ian; Pardhan, Shahina

2014-01-01

This study examines how normal aging affects the occurrence of different types of incorrect responses in a visual short-term memory (VSTM) object-recall task. Seventeen young (Mean = 23.3 years, SD = 3.76), and 17 normally aging older (Mean = 66.5 years, SD = 6.30) adults participated. Memory stimuli comprised two or four real world objects (the memory load) presented sequentially, each for 650 ms, at random locations on a computer screen. After a 1000 ms retention interval, a test display was presented, comprising an empty box at one of the previously presented two or four memory stimulus locations. Participants were asked to report the name of the object presented at the cued location. Errors rates wherein participants reported the names of objects that had been presented in the memory display but not at the cued location (non-target errors) vs. objects that had not been presented at all in the memory display (non-memory errors) were compared. Significant effects of aging, memory load and target recency on error type and absolute error rates were found. Non-target error rate was higher than non-memory error rate in both age groups, indicating that VSTM may have been more often than not populated with partial traces of previously presented items. At high memory load, non-memory error rate was higher in young participants (compared to older participants) when the memory target had been presented at the earliest temporal position. However, non-target error rates exhibited a reversed trend, i.e., greater error rates were found in older participants when the memory target had been presented at the two most recent temporal positions. Data are interpreted in terms of proactive interference (earlier examined non-target items interfering with more recent items), false memories (non-memory items which have a categorical relationship to presented items, interfering with memory targets), slot and flexible resource models, and spatial coding deficits.

Clinical biochemistry laboratory rejection rates due to various types of preanalytical errors.

PubMed

Atay, Aysenur; Demir, Leyla; Cuhadar, Serap; Saglam, Gulcan; Unal, Hulya; Aksun, Saliha; Arslan, Banu; Ozkan, Asuman; Sutcu, Recep

2014-01-01

Preanalytical errors, along the process from the beginning of test requests to the admissions of the specimens to the laboratory, cause the rejection of samples. The aim of this study was to better explain the reasons of rejected samples, regarding to their rates in certain test groups in our laboratory. This preliminary study was designed on the rejected samples in one-year period, based on the rates and types of inappropriateness. Test requests and blood samples of clinical chemistry, immunoassay, hematology, glycated hemoglobin, coagulation and erythrocyte sedimentation rate test units were evaluated. Types of inappropriateness were evaluated as follows: improperly labelled samples, hemolysed, clotted specimen, insufficient volume of specimen and total request errors. A total of 5,183,582 test requests from 1,035,743 blood collection tubes were considered. The total rejection rate was 0.65 %. The rejection rate of coagulation group was significantly higher (2.28%) than the other test groups (P < 0.001) including insufficient volume of specimen error rate as 1.38%. Rejection rates of hemolysis, clotted specimen and insufficient volume of sample error were found to be 8%, 24% and 34%, respectively. Total request errors, particularly, for unintelligible requests were 32% of the total for inpatients. The errors were especially attributable to unintelligible requests of inappropriate test requests, improperly labelled samples for inpatients and blood drawing errors especially due to insufficient volume of specimens in a coagulation test group. Further studies should be performed after corrective and preventive actions to detect a possible decrease in rejecting samples.

Adaptive error detection for HDR/PDR brachytherapy: Guidance for decision making during real-time in vivo point dosimetry

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

Kertzscher, Gustavo, E-mail: guke@dtu.dk; Andersen, Claus E., E-mail: clan@dtu.dk; Tanderup, Kari, E-mail: karitand@rm.dk

Purpose: This study presents an adaptive error detection algorithm (AEDA) for real-timein vivo point dosimetry during high dose rate (HDR) or pulsed dose rate (PDR) brachytherapy (BT) where the error identification, in contrast to existing approaches, does not depend on an a priori reconstruction of the dosimeter position. Instead, the treatment is judged based on dose rate comparisons between measurements and calculations of the most viable dosimeter position provided by the AEDA in a data driven approach. As a result, the AEDA compensates for false error cases related to systematic effects of the dosimeter position reconstruction. Given its nearly exclusivemore » dependence on stable dosimeter positioning, the AEDA allows for a substantially simplified and time efficient real-time in vivo BT dosimetry implementation. Methods: In the event of a measured potential treatment error, the AEDA proposes the most viable dosimeter position out of alternatives to the original reconstruction by means of a data driven matching procedure between dose rate distributions. If measured dose rates do not differ significantly from the most viable alternative, the initial error indication may be attributed to a mispositioned or misreconstructed dosimeter (false error). However, if the error declaration persists, no viable dosimeter position can be found to explain the error, hence the discrepancy is more likely to originate from a misplaced or misreconstructed source applicator or from erroneously connected source guide tubes (true error). Results: The AEDA applied on twoin vivo dosimetry implementations for pulsed dose rate BT demonstrated that the AEDA correctly described effects responsible for initial error indications. The AEDA was able to correctly identify the major part of all permutations of simulated guide tube swap errors and simulated shifts of individual needles from the original reconstruction. Unidentified errors corresponded to scenarios where the dosimeter position was sufficiently symmetric with respect to error and no-error source position constellations. The AEDA was able to correctly identify all false errors represented by mispositioned dosimeters contrary to an error detection algorithm relying on the original reconstruction. Conclusions: The study demonstrates that the AEDA error identification during HDR/PDR BT relies on a stable dosimeter position rather than on an accurate dosimeter reconstruction, and the AEDA’s capacity to distinguish between true and false error scenarios. The study further shows that the AEDA can offer guidance in decision making in the event of potential errors detected with real-timein vivo point dosimetry.« less

Influence of dissimilatory metal reduction on fate of organic and metal contaminants in the subsurface

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lovley, Derek R.; Anderson, Robert T.

Dissimilatory Fe(III)-reducing microorganisms have the ability to destroy organic contaminants under anaerobic conditions by oxidizing them to carbon dioxide. Some Fe(III)-reducing microorganisms can also reductively dechlorinate chlorinated contaminants. Fe(III)-reducing microorganisms can reduce a variety of contaminant metals and convert them from soluble forms to forms that are likely to be immobilized in the subsurface. Studies in petroleum-contaminated aquifers have demonstrated that Fe(III)-reducing microorganisms can be effective agents in removing aromatic hydrocarbons from groundwater under anaerobic conditions. Laboratory studies have demonstrated the potential for Fe(III)-reducing microorganisms to remove uranium from contaminated groundwaters. The activity of Fe(III)-reducing microorganisms can be stimulated in several ways to enhance organic contaminant oxidation and metal reduction. Molecular analyses in both field and laboratory studies have demonstrated that microorganisms of the genus Geobacter become dominant members of the microbial community when Fe(III)-reducing conditions develop as the result of organic contamination, or when Fe(III) reduction is artificially stimulated. These results suggest that further understanding of the ecophysiology of Geobacter species would aid in better prediction of the natural attenuation of organic contaminants under anaerobic conditions and in the design of strategies for the bioremediation of subsurface metal contamination. Des micro-organismes simulant la réduction du fer ont la capacité de détruire des polluants organiques dans des conditions anérobies en les oxydant en dioxyde de carbone. Certains micro-organismes réducteurs de fer peuvent aussi dé-chlorer par réduction des polluants chlorés. Des micro-organismes réducteurs de fer peuvent réduire tout un ensemble de métaux polluants et les faire passer de formes solubles à des formes qui sont susceptibles d'être immobilisées dans le milieu souterrain. Des études d'aquifères pollués par du pétrole ont montré que des micro-organismes réducteurs de fer peuvent être des agents efficaces pour éliminer les hydrocarbures aromatiques des eaux souterraines dans des conditions anérobies. Des études en laboratoire ont montré que des micro-organismes réducteurs de fer avaient la capacité d'éliminer l'uranium d'eaux souterraines polluées. L'activité de micro-organismes réducteurs de fer peut être stimulée de différentes manières pour augmenter l'oxydation de polluants organiques et la réduction de métaux. Des analyses moléculaires concernant des études de terrain et de laboratoire ont montré que des micro-organismes du genre Geobacter deviennent les membres dominants de la communauté microbienne quand les conditions de réduction en Fe(III) sont réalisées à la suite d'une pollution organique, ou lorsque la réduction en Fe(III) est stimulée artificiellement. Ces résultats laissent penser que des connaissances supplémentaires sur l'écophysiologie des espèces Geobacter devraient aider à une meilleure prédiction de la diminution naturelle des teneurs en polluants organiques dans des conditions anérobies, ainsi qu'à la définition de stratégies de dépollution biologique de pollutions souterraines par les métaux. Algunos microorganismos Fe(III)-reductores son capaces de destruir selectivamente determinados contaminantes orgánicos en condiciones anaerobias, oxidándolos a dióxido de carbono. Otros de estos microorganismos Fe(III)-reductores pueden reducir, bien compuestos clorados, bien una gran variedad de metales, que dejan de ser solubles y se inmovilizan en el subsuelo. Estudios realizados en acuéferos contaminados por petróleo muestran que los microorganismos Fe(III)-reductores pueden ser unos agentes muy eficientes para eliminar los hidrocarburos aromáticos de las aguas subterráneas en condiciones anaerobias, mientras que estudios de laboratorio muestran el potencial de estos microorganismos para eliminar uranio. La actividad de los microorganismos Fe(III)-reductores se puede estimular para conseguir una mayor eficiencia en la oxidación de contaminantes orgánicos y en la reducción de metales. Diversos análisis moleculares en estudios de campo y de laboratorio muestran que los microorganismos del género Geobacter se convierten en los miembros dominantes de la comunidad microbiana cuando se desarrollan condiciones Fe(III)-reductoras, bien como resultado de la contaminación orgánica, bien por estimulación artificial. En consecuencia, se hace necesario un mayor entendimiento de la ecofisiologéa de los microorganismos del género Geobacter para mejorar las predicciones sobre atenuación natural de los contaminantes orgánicos bajo condiciones anaerobias y para el diseño de estrategias de biorremediación del subsuelo en los casos de contaminación por metales.

Error rate information in attention allocation pilot models

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Faulkner, W. H.; Onstott, E. D.

1977-01-01

The Northrop urgency decision pilot model was used in a command tracking task to compare the optimized performance of multiaxis attention allocation pilot models whose urgency functions were (1) based on tracking error alone, and (2) based on both tracking error and error rate. A matrix of system dynamics and command inputs was employed, to create both symmetric and asymmetric two axis compensatory tracking tasks. All tasks were single loop on each axis. Analysis showed that a model that allocates control attention through nonlinear urgency functions using only error information could not achieve performance of the full model whose attention shifting algorithm included both error and error rate terms. Subsequent to this analysis, tracking performance predictions for the full model were verified by piloted flight simulation. Complete model and simulation data are presented.

7 CFR 275.23 - Determination of State agency program performance.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... NUTRITION SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE FOOD STAMP AND FOOD DISTRIBUTION PROGRAM PERFORMANCE REPORTING... section, the adjusted regressed payment error rate shall be calculated to yield the State agency's payment error rate. The adjusted regressed payment error rate is given by r 1″ + r 2″. (ii) If FNS determines...

The Relation Between Inflation in Type-I and Type-II Error Rate and Population Divergence in Genome-Wide Association Analysis of Multi-Ethnic Populations.

PubMed

Derks, E M; Zwinderman, A H; Gamazon, E R

2017-05-01

Population divergence impacts the degree of population stratification in Genome Wide Association Studies. We aim to: (i) investigate type-I error rate as a function of population divergence (F ST ) in multi-ethnic (admixed) populations; (ii) evaluate the statistical power and effect size estimates; and (iii) investigate the impact of population stratification on the results of gene-based analyses. Quantitative phenotypes were simulated. Type-I error rate was investigated for Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms (SNPs) with varying levels of F ST between the ancestral European and African populations. Type-II error rate was investigated for a SNP characterized by a high value of F ST . In all tests, genomic MDS components were included to correct for population stratification. Type-I and type-II error rate was adequately controlled in a population that included two distinct ethnic populations but not in admixed samples. Statistical power was reduced in the admixed samples. Gene-based tests showed no residual inflation in type-I error rate.

Improving the quality of cognitive screening assessments: ACEmobile, an iPad-based version of the Addenbrooke's Cognitive Examination-III.

PubMed

Newman, Craig G J; Bevins, Adam D; Zajicek, John P; Hodges, John R; Vuillermoz, Emil; Dickenson, Jennifer M; Kelly, Denise S; Brown, Simona; Noad, Rupert F

2018-01-01

Ensuring reliable administration and reporting of cognitive screening tests are fundamental in establishing good clinical practice and research. This study captured the rate and type of errors in clinical practice, using the Addenbrooke's Cognitive Examination-III (ACE-III), and then the reduction in error rate using a computerized alternative, the ACEmobile app. In study 1, we evaluated ACE-III assessments completed in National Health Service (NHS) clinics ( n  = 87) for administrator error. In study 2, ACEmobile and ACE-III were then evaluated for their ability to capture accurate measurement. In study 1, 78% of clinically administered ACE-IIIs were either scored incorrectly or had arithmetical errors. In study 2, error rates seen in the ACE-III were reduced by 85%-93% using ACEmobile. Error rates are ubiquitous in routine clinical use of cognitive screening tests and the ACE-III. ACEmobile provides a framework for supporting reduced administration, scoring, and arithmetical error during cognitive screening.

Documentation of study medication dispensing in a prospective large randomized clinical trial: experiences from the ARISTOTLE Trial.

PubMed

Alexander, John H; Levy, Elliott; Lawrence, Jack; Hanna, Michael; Waclawski, Anthony P; Wang, Junyuan; Califf, Robert M; Wallentin, Lars; Granger, Christopher B

2013-09-01

In ARISTOTLE, apixaban resulted in a 21% reduction in stroke, a 31% reduction in major bleeding, and an 11% reduction in death. However, approval of apixaban was delayed to investigate a statement in the clinical study report that "7.3% of subjects in the apixaban group and 1.2% of subjects in the warfarin group received, at some point during the study, a container of the wrong type." Rates of study medication dispensing error were characterized through reviews of study medication container tear-off labels in 6,520 participants from randomly selected study sites. The potential effect of dispensing errors on study outcomes was statistically simulated in sensitivity analyses in the overall population. The rate of medication dispensing error resulting in treatment error was 0.04%. Rates of participants receiving at least 1 incorrect container were 1.04% (34/3,273) in the apixaban group and 0.77% (25/3,247) in the warfarin group. Most of the originally reported errors were data entry errors in which the correct medication container was dispensed but the wrong container number was entered into the case report form. Sensitivity simulations in the overall trial population showed no meaningful effect of medication dispensing error on the main efficacy and safety outcomes. Rates of medication dispensing error were low and balanced between treatment groups. The initially reported dispensing error rate was the result of data recording and data management errors and not true medication dispensing errors. These analyses confirm the previously reported results of ARISTOTLE. © 2013.

Propagation of stage measurement uncertainties to streamflow time series

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Horner, Ivan; Le Coz, Jérôme; Renard, Benjamin; Branger, Flora; McMillan, Hilary

2016-04-01

Streamflow uncertainties due to stage measurements errors are generally overlooked in the promising probabilistic approaches that have emerged in the last decade. We introduce an original error model for propagating stage uncertainties through a stage-discharge rating curve within a Bayesian probabilistic framework. The method takes into account both rating curve (parametric errors and structural errors) and stage uncertainty (systematic and non-systematic errors). Practical ways to estimate the different types of stage errors are also presented: (1) non-systematic errors due to instrument resolution and precision and non-stationary waves and (2) systematic errors due to gauge calibration against the staff gauge. The method is illustrated at a site where the rating-curve-derived streamflow can be compared with an accurate streamflow reference. The agreement between the two time series is overall satisfying. Moreover, the quantification of uncertainty is also satisfying since the streamflow reference is compatible with the streamflow uncertainty intervals derived from the rating curve and the stage uncertainties. Illustrations from other sites are also presented. Results are much contrasted depending on the site features. In some cases, streamflow uncertainty is mainly due to stage measurement errors. The results also show the importance of discriminating systematic and non-systematic stage errors, especially for long term flow averages. Perspectives for improving and validating the streamflow uncertainty estimates are eventually discussed.

Prescribing errors during hospital inpatient care: factors influencing identification by pharmacists.

PubMed

Tully, Mary P; Buchan, Iain E

2009-12-01

To investigate the prevalence of prescribing errors identified by pharmacists in hospital inpatients and the factors influencing error identification rates by pharmacists throughout hospital admission. 880-bed university teaching hospital in North-west England. Data about prescribing errors identified by pharmacists (median: 9 (range 4-17) collecting data per day) when conducting routine work were prospectively recorded on 38 randomly selected days over 18 months. Proportion of new medication orders in which an error was identified; predictors of error identification rate, adjusted for workload and seniority of pharmacist, day of week, type of ward or stage of patient admission. 33,012 new medication orders were reviewed for 5,199 patients; 3,455 errors (in 10.5% of orders) were identified for 2,040 patients (39.2%; median 1, range 1-12). Most were problem orders (1,456, 42.1%) or potentially significant errors (1,748, 50.6%); 197 (5.7%) were potentially serious; 1.6% (n = 54) were potentially severe or fatal. Errors were 41% (CI: 28-56%) more likely to be identified at patient's admission than at other times, independent of confounders. Workload was the strongest predictor of error identification rates, with 40% (33-46%) less errors identified on the busiest days than at other times. Errors identified fell by 1.9% (1.5-2.3%) for every additional chart checked, independent of confounders. Pharmacists routinely identify errors but increasing workload may reduce identification rates. Where resources are limited, they may be better spent on identifying and addressing errors immediately after admission to hospital.

Treatment strategy according to findings on pressure-flow study for women with decreased urinary flow rate.

PubMed

Tanaka, Yoshinori; Masumori, Naoya; Tsukamoto, Taiji; Furuya, Seiji; Furuya, Ryoji; Ogura, Hiroshi

2009-01-01

In women who reported a weak urinary stream, the efficacy of treatment chosen according to the urodynamic findings on pressure-flow study was prospectively evaluated. Twelve female patients with maximum flow rates of 10 mL/sec or lower were analyzed in the present study. At baseline, all underwent pressure-flow study to determine the degree of bladder outlet obstruction (BOO) and status of detrusor contractility on Schäfer's diagram. Distigmine bromide, 10 mg/d, was given to the patients with detrusor underactivity (DUA) defined as weak/very weak contractility, whereas urethral dilatation was performed using a metal sound for those with BOO (linear passive urethral resistance relation 2-6). Treatment efficacy was evaluated using the International Prostate Symptom Score (IPSS), uroflowmetry, and measurement of postvoid residual urine volume. Some patients underwent pressure-flow study after treatment. Urethral dilatation was performed for six patients with BOO, while distigmine bromide was given to the remaining six showing DUA without BOO. IPSS, QOL index, and the urinary flow rate were significantly improved in both groups after treatment. All four of the patients with BOO and one of the three with DUA but no BOO who underwent pressure-flow study after treatment showed decreased degrees of BOO and increased detrusor contractility, respectively. Both BOO and DUA cause a decreased urinary flow rate in women. In the short-term, urethral dilatation and distigmine bromide are efficacious for female patients with BOO and those with DUA, respectively.

The Terror Trap

DTIC Science & Technology

1975-08-27

undesignated country. A copy was futtished to the President of the United States. All the intelligence services realized that nuclear secrets had become well...which harbor ’teirorists,. and o nal unilateral responses.-Ji•o•-vieg diplomaic actio•. "- . "On Sepiembei 25, 1972.- President : Nixon. established Oiii...and-to wkwih othe goritsand intelligence t -vernmen orgalaions. The Con iteei .haired by the-$ectetary of State and c ,mpom d ofýa num fer--13’ Cabint

JPRS Report China

DTIC Science & Technology

1988-08-16

1. Levies and taxes on private real estate in the territory of the receiving country; 2. Inheritance tax and tax on bequests, however, except- ing...belonging to the deceased, because he was a member of the consular staff, free of customs duty, inheritance tax , or property trans- fer taxes or levies...cases of item a, paragraph 1, article 29 of this treaty; c. Estate tax, inheritance tax , or transfer tax, excepting cases of article 42 of this

Full Waveform Inversion of Reflection Seismic Data for Ocean Temperature Profiles

DTIC Science & Technology

2008-01-01

ographic processes and properties, such as internal-wave spectra [Holbrook and Fer, 2005; Krahmann et al, 2006] and temperature contrasts [ Paramo and...contribute little to the reflectance in the Norwegian Sea data set used here [ Paramo and Holbrook, 2005], so we assume for this study that all...bathyther- mograph) profiles presented by Paramo and Holbrook [2005], displayed here in the intercept time-slowness (Tau-p) domain, rather than the

USAF Summer Faculty Research Program. 1980. Research Reports. Volume II.

DTIC Science & Technology

1980-10-01

Radiation Damage Profiles and Annealing Dr. Samuel C. Ling Effects of 120 keV Sulfur Implants in GaAs 45 Finite Element Modeling of Elastic-Plastic Dr...described more fully in a later section. II. OBJECTIVES: Laboratory management is acutely aware of the shortcomings of the current informational processes...are fixed, there are only two modes of heat trans- fer - radiation and conduction. At the low temperatures necessary for superconductivity, radiation

Visual Confirmation of Voice Takeoff Clearance (VICON) Operational Evaluation. Volume I.

DTIC Science & Technology

1981-02-01

probable language ferred the Mimic panel over the others problem in a second, a crew member’s and stated that it was easiest to use misirterpretation of a...of references were made to the language difficulties which occurred at Tenerife, but do not occur here. 103 0 Safety is negatively affected because...recommendation, and two included language . One controller mentioned better overall controller training. 0 Improve pilot training. Better training and

Fires Readiness: The State of US Army Fires in Support of Combined Arms Maneuver at the Division Level

DTIC Science & Technology

2016-06-10

proficiency in their core competencies. 15. SUBJECT TERMS Fires, Fire Support, DIVARTY, FAB , Combined Arms Maneuver, DOTMLPF 16. SECURITY...FAA Functional Area Analysis FAB Field Artillery Brigade FER Final Exercise Report FFA HQ Force Field Artillery Headquarters FM Field Manual FNA...function. This provided me the opportunity to work with several Division Artillerys (DIVARTYs) and Field Artillery Brigades ( FABs ). During this time

China Report, Red Flag, No. 17, 1 September 1983.

DTIC Science & Technology

1983-10-24

of a normal man and food and drink cures for a sick man. He noted down his experiences in using food cures for such illnesses as diabetes , coronary...go out to work, society and the family can improve the house- work conditions for women. For example, we can vigorously develop the food industry...products of these enterprises. The scrap nonferrous metal collected in localities has also been trans- ferred to their own disposal. Successively

Time and Frequency Activities at the U.S. Naval Observatory

DTIC Science & Technology

2009-11-01

Massachusetts, USA (Institute of Navigation, Alexandria, Virginia). [22] D. Kirchner, 1999, “Two Way Satellite Time and Frequency Transfer ( TWSTFT ...Piester, D., and Z. Jiang, 2009, “Two-Way Satellite Time and Frequency ( TWSTFT ) Transfer Calibration Constancy from Closure Sums,” in Proceedings of...Shäfer, and A. Pawlitzki, 2005, “Development of Carrier- Phase-Based Two-Way Satellite Time and Frequency Transfer ( TWSTFT ),” in Proceedings of the 36 th

JPRS Report, Science & Technology, Europe

DTIC Science & Technology

1992-03-27

bio-engineering company, among other things, cultivates starter cultures for the production of cheese and yogurt . The customers are dairy farmers in...produces the alcohol with the help of traditional fermentation methods. This means they use ordinary baker’s yeast which fer- ments part of the sugar in...the waste liquid into ethanol. The baker’s yeast is unable to ferment the remaining sugars in the liquid, such as xylose, for example, into alcohol

Resampling-Based Empirical Bayes Multiple Testing Procedures for Controlling Generalized Tail Probability and Expected Value Error Rates: Focus on the False Discovery Rate and Simulation Study

PubMed Central

Dudoit, Sandrine; Gilbert, Houston N.; van der Laan, Mark J.

2014-01-01

Summary This article proposes resampling-based empirical Bayes multiple testing procedures for controlling a broad class of Type I error rates, defined as generalized tail probability (gTP) error rates, gTP(q, g) = Pr(g(Vn, Sn) > q), and generalized expected value (gEV) error rates, gEV(g) = E[g(Vn, Sn)], for arbitrary functions g(Vn, Sn) of the numbers of false positives Vn and true positives Sn. Of particular interest are error rates based on the proportion g(Vn, Sn) = Vn/(Vn + Sn) of Type I errors among the rejected hypotheses, such as the false discovery rate (FDR), FDR = E[Vn/(Vn + Sn)]. The proposed procedures offer several advantages over existing methods. They provide Type I error control for general data generating distributions, with arbitrary dependence structures among variables. Gains in power are achieved by deriving rejection regions based on guessed sets of true null hypotheses and null test statistics randomly sampled from joint distributions that account for the dependence structure of the data. The Type I error and power properties of an FDR-controlling version of the resampling-based empirical Bayes approach are investigated and compared to those of widely-used FDR-controlling linear step-up procedures in a simulation study. The Type I error and power trade-off achieved by the empirical Bayes procedures under a variety of testing scenarios allows this approach to be competitive with or outperform the Storey and Tibshirani (2003) linear step-up procedure, as an alternative to the classical Benjamini and Hochberg (1995) procedure. PMID:18932138

Topological quantum computing with a very noisy network and local error rates approaching one percent.

PubMed

Nickerson, Naomi H; Li, Ying; Benjamin, Simon C

2013-01-01

A scalable quantum computer could be built by networking together many simple processor cells, thus avoiding the need to create a single complex structure. The difficulty is that realistic quantum links are very error prone. A solution is for cells to repeatedly communicate with each other and so purify any imperfections; however prior studies suggest that the cells themselves must then have prohibitively low internal error rates. Here we describe a method by which even error-prone cells can perform purification: groups of cells generate shared resource states, which then enable stabilization of topologically encoded data. Given a realistically noisy network (≥10% error rate) we find that our protocol can succeed provided that intra-cell error rates for initialisation, state manipulation and measurement are below 0.82%. This level of fidelity is already achievable in several laboratory systems.

Analysis and Compensation of Modulation Angular Rate Error Based on Missile-Borne Rotation Semi-Strapdown Inertial Navigation System

PubMed Central

Zhang, Jiayu; Li, Jie; Zhang, Xi; Che, Xiaorui; Huang, Yugang; Feng, Kaiqiang

2018-01-01

The Semi-Strapdown Inertial Navigation System (SSINS) provides a new solution to attitude measurement of a high-speed rotating missile. However, micro-electro-mechanical-systems (MEMS) inertial measurement unit (MIMU) outputs are corrupted by significant sensor errors. In order to improve the navigation precision, a rotation modulation technology method called Rotation Semi-Strapdown Inertial Navigation System (RSSINS) is introduced into SINS. In fact, the stability of the modulation angular rate is difficult to achieve in a high-speed rotation environment. The changing rotary angular rate has an impact on the inertial sensor error self-compensation. In this paper, the influence of modulation angular rate error, including acceleration-deceleration process, and instability of the angular rate on the navigation accuracy of RSSINS is deduced and the error characteristics of the reciprocating rotation scheme are analyzed. A new compensation method is proposed to remove or reduce sensor errors so as to make it possible to maintain high precision autonomous navigation performance by MIMU when there is no external aid. Experiments have been carried out to validate the performance of the method. In addition, the proposed method is applicable for modulation angular rate error compensation under various dynamic conditions. PMID:29734707

Accuracy of cited “facts” in medical research articles: A review of study methodology and recalculation of quotation error rate

PubMed Central

2017-01-01

Previous reviews estimated that approximately 20 to 25% of assertions cited from original research articles, or “facts,” are inaccurately quoted in the medical literature. These reviews noted that the original studies were dissimilar and only began to compare the methods of the original studies. The aim of this review is to examine the methods of the original studies and provide a more specific rate of incorrectly cited assertions, or quotation errors, in original research articles published in medical journals. Additionally, the estimate of quotation errors calculated here is based on the ratio of quotation errors to quotations examined (a percent) rather than the more prevalent and weighted metric of quotation errors to the references selected. Overall, this resulted in a lower estimate of the quotation error rate in original medical research articles. A total of 15 studies met the criteria for inclusion in the primary quantitative analysis. Quotation errors were divided into two categories: content ("factual") or source (improper indirect citation) errors. Content errors were further subdivided into major and minor errors depending on the degree that the assertion differed from the original source. The rate of quotation errors recalculated here is 14.5% (10.5% to 18.6% at a 95% confidence interval). These content errors are predominantly, 64.8% (56.1% to 73.5% at a 95% confidence interval), major errors or cited assertions in which the referenced source either fails to substantiate, is unrelated to, or contradicts the assertion. Minor errors, which are an oversimplification, overgeneralization, or trivial inaccuracies, are 35.2% (26.5% to 43.9% at a 95% confidence interval). Additionally, improper secondary (or indirect) citations, which are distinguished from calculations of quotation accuracy, occur at a rate of 10.4% (3.4% to 17.5% at a 95% confidence interval). PMID:28910404

Accuracy of cited "facts" in medical research articles: A review of study methodology and recalculation of quotation error rate.

PubMed

Mogull, Scott A

2017-01-01

Previous reviews estimated that approximately 20 to 25% of assertions cited from original research articles, or "facts," are inaccurately quoted in the medical literature. These reviews noted that the original studies were dissimilar and only began to compare the methods of the original studies. The aim of this review is to examine the methods of the original studies and provide a more specific rate of incorrectly cited assertions, or quotation errors, in original research articles published in medical journals. Additionally, the estimate of quotation errors calculated here is based on the ratio of quotation errors to quotations examined (a percent) rather than the more prevalent and weighted metric of quotation errors to the references selected. Overall, this resulted in a lower estimate of the quotation error rate in original medical research articles. A total of 15 studies met the criteria for inclusion in the primary quantitative analysis. Quotation errors were divided into two categories: content ("factual") or source (improper indirect citation) errors. Content errors were further subdivided into major and minor errors depending on the degree that the assertion differed from the original source. The rate of quotation errors recalculated here is 14.5% (10.5% to 18.6% at a 95% confidence interval). These content errors are predominantly, 64.8% (56.1% to 73.5% at a 95% confidence interval), major errors or cited assertions in which the referenced source either fails to substantiate, is unrelated to, or contradicts the assertion. Minor errors, which are an oversimplification, overgeneralization, or trivial inaccuracies, are 35.2% (26.5% to 43.9% at a 95% confidence interval). Additionally, improper secondary (or indirect) citations, which are distinguished from calculations of quotation accuracy, occur at a rate of 10.4% (3.4% to 17.5% at a 95% confidence interval).

The Relationship between Occurrence Timing of Dispensing Errors and Subsequent Danger to Patients under the Situation According to the Classification of Drugs by Efficacy.

PubMed

Tsuji, Toshikazu; Nagata, Kenichiro; Kawashiri, Takehiro; Yamada, Takaaki; Irisa, Toshihiro; Murakami, Yuko; Kanaya, Akiko; Egashira, Nobuaki; Masuda, Satohiro

2016-01-01

There are many reports regarding various medical institutions' attempts at the prevention of dispensing errors. However, the relationship between occurrence timing of dispensing errors and subsequent danger to patients has not been studied under the situation according to the classification of drugs by efficacy. Therefore, we analyzed the relationship between position and time regarding the occurrence of dispensing errors. Furthermore, we investigated the relationship between occurrence timing of them and danger to patients. In this study, dispensing errors and incidents in three categories (drug name errors, drug strength errors, drug count errors) were classified into two groups in terms of its drug efficacy (efficacy similarity (-) group, efficacy similarity (+) group), into three classes in terms of the occurrence timing of dispensing errors (initial phase errors, middle phase errors, final phase errors). Then, the rates of damage shifting from "dispensing errors" to "damage to patients" were compared as an index of danger between two groups and among three classes. Consequently, the rate of damage in "efficacy similarity (-) group" was significantly higher than that in "efficacy similarity (+) group". Furthermore, the rate of damage is the highest in "initial phase errors", the lowest in "final phase errors" among three classes. From the results of this study, it became clear that the earlier the timing of dispensing errors occurs, the more severe the damage to patients becomes.

Agreeableness and Conscientiousness as Predictors of University Students' Self/Peer-Assessment Rating Error

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Birjandi, Parviz; Siyyari, Masood

2016-01-01

This paper presents the results of an investigation into the role of two personality traits (i.e. Agreeableness and Conscientiousness from the Big Five personality traits) in predicting rating error in the self-assessment and peer-assessment of composition writing. The average self/peer-rating errors of 136 Iranian English major undergraduates…

National Suicide Rates a Century after Durkheim: Do We Know Enough to Estimate Error?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Claassen, Cynthia A.; Yip, Paul S.; Corcoran, Paul; Bossarte, Robert M.; Lawrence, Bruce A.; Currier, Glenn W.

2010-01-01

Durkheim's nineteenth-century analysis of national suicide rates dismissed prior concerns about mortality data fidelity. Over the intervening century, however, evidence documenting various types of error in suicide data has only mounted, and surprising levels of such error continue to be routinely uncovered. Yet the annual suicide rate remains the…

The Relationship of Error Rate and Comprehension in Second and Third Grade Oral Reading Fluency

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Abbott, Mary; Wills, Howard; Miller, Angela; Kaufman, Journ

2012-01-01

This study explored the relationships of oral reading speed and error rate on comprehension with second and third grade students with identified reading risk. The study included 920 second and 974 third graders. Results found a significant relationship between error rate, oral reading fluency, and reading comprehension performance, and…

What Are Error Rates for Classifying Teacher and School Performance Using Value-Added Models?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Schochet, Peter Z.; Chiang, Hanley S.

2013-01-01

This article addresses likely error rates for measuring teacher and school performance in the upper elementary grades using value-added models applied to student test score gain data. Using a realistic performance measurement system scheme based on hypothesis testing, the authors develop error rate formulas based on ordinary least squares and…

False Positives in Multiple Regression: Unanticipated Consequences of Measurement Error in the Predictor Variables

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Shear, Benjamin R.; Zumbo, Bruno D.

2013-01-01

Type I error rates in multiple regression, and hence the chance for false positive research findings, can be drastically inflated when multiple regression models are used to analyze data that contain random measurement error. This article shows the potential for inflated Type I error rates in commonly encountered scenarios and provides new…

Decrease in medical command errors with use of a "standing orders" protocol system.

PubMed

Holliman, C J; Wuerz, R C; Meador, S A

1994-05-01

The purpose of this study was to determine the physician medical command error rates and paramedic error rates after implementation of a "standing orders" protocol system for medical command. These patient-care error rates were compared with the previously reported rates for a "required call-in" medical command system (Ann Emerg Med 1992; 21(4):347-350). A secondary aim of the study was to determine if the on-scene time interval was increased by the standing orders system. Prospectively conducted audit of prehospital advanced life support (ALS) trip sheets was made at an urban ALS paramedic service with on-line physician medical command from three local hospitals. All ALS run sheets from the start time of the standing orders system (April 1, 1991) for a 1-year period ending on March 30, 1992 were reviewed as part of an ongoing quality assurance program. Cases were identified as nonjustifiably deviating from regional emergency medical services (EMS) protocols as judged by agreement of three physician reviewers (the same methodology as a previously reported command error study in the same ALS system). Medical command and paramedic errors were identified from the prehospital ALS run sheets and categorized. Two thousand one ALS runs were reviewed; 24 physician errors (1.2% of the 1,928 "command" runs) and eight paramedic errors (0.4% of runs) were identified. The physician error rate was decreased from the 2.6% rate in the previous study (P < .0001 by chi 2 analysis). The on-scene time interval did not increase with the "standing orders" system.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Quantifying Data Quality for Clinical Trials Using Electronic Data Capture

PubMed Central

Nahm, Meredith L.; Pieper, Carl F.; Cunningham, Maureen M.

2008-01-01

Background Historically, only partial assessments of data quality have been performed in clinical trials, for which the most common method of measuring database error rates has been to compare the case report form (CRF) to database entries and count discrepancies. Importantly, errors arising from medical record abstraction and transcription are rarely evaluated as part of such quality assessments. Electronic Data Capture (EDC) technology has had a further impact, as paper CRFs typically leveraged for quality measurement are not used in EDC processes. Methods and Principal Findings The National Institute on Drug Abuse Treatment Clinical Trials Network has developed, implemented, and evaluated methodology for holistically assessing data quality on EDC trials. We characterize the average source-to-database error rate (14.3 errors per 10,000 fields) for the first year of use of the new evaluation method. This error rate was significantly lower than the average of published error rates for source-to-database audits, and was similar to CRF-to-database error rates reported in the published literature. We attribute this largely to an absence of medical record abstraction on the trials we examined, and to an outpatient setting characterized by less acute patient conditions. Conclusions Historically, medical record abstraction is the most significant source of error by an order of magnitude, and should be measured and managed during the course of clinical trials. Source-to-database error rates are highly dependent on the amount of structured data collection in the clinical setting and on the complexity of the medical record, dependencies that should be considered when developing data quality benchmarks. PMID:18725958

Effect of atmospheric turbulence on the bit error probability of a space to ground near infrared laser communications link using binary pulse position modulation and an avalanche photodiode detector

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Safren, H. G.

1987-01-01

The effect of atmospheric turbulence on the bit error rate of a space-to-ground near infrared laser communications link is investigated, for a link using binary pulse position modulation and an avalanche photodiode detector. Formulas are presented for the mean and variance of the bit error rate as a function of signal strength. Because these formulas require numerical integration, they are of limited practical use. Approximate formulas are derived which are easy to compute and sufficiently accurate for system feasibility studies, as shown by numerical comparison with the exact formulas. A very simple formula is derived for the bit error rate as a function of signal strength, which requires only the evaluation of an error function. It is shown by numerical calculations that, for realistic values of the system parameters, the increase in the bit error rate due to turbulence does not exceed about thirty percent for signal strengths of four hundred photons per bit or less. The increase in signal strength required to maintain an error rate of one in 10 million is about one or two tenths of a db.

The random coding bound is tight for the average code.

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gallager, R. G.

1973-01-01

The random coding bound of information theory provides a well-known upper bound to the probability of decoding error for the best code of a given rate and block length. The bound is constructed by upperbounding the average error probability over an ensemble of codes. The bound is known to give the correct exponential dependence of error probability on block length for transmission rates above the critical rate, but it gives an incorrect exponential dependence at rates below a second lower critical rate. Here we derive an asymptotic expression for the average error probability over the ensemble of codes used in the random coding bound. The result shows that the weakness of the random coding bound at rates below the second critical rate is due not to upperbounding the ensemble average, but rather to the fact that the best codes are much better than the average at low rates.

A prospective audit of a nurse independent prescribing within critical care.

PubMed

Carberry, Martin; Connelly, Sarah; Murphy, Jennifer

2013-05-01

To determine the prescribing activity of different staff groups within intensive care unit (ICU) and combined high dependency unit (HDU), namely trainee and consultant medical staff and advanced nurse practitioners in critical care (ANPCC); to determine the number and type of prescription errors; to compare error rates between prescribing groups and to raise awareness of prescribing activity within critical care. The introduction of government legislation has led to the development of non-medical prescribing roles in acute care. This has facilitated an opportunity for the ANPCC working in critical care to develop a prescribing role. The audit was performed over 7 days (Monday-Sunday), on rolling days over a 7-week period in September and October 2011 in three ICUs. All drug entries made on the ICU prescription by the three groups, trainee medical staff, ANPCCs and consultant anaesthetists, were audited once for errors. Data were collected by reviewing all drug entries for errors namely, patient data, drug dose, concentration, rate and frequency, legibility and prescriber signature. A paper data collection tool was used initially; data was later entered onto a Microsoft Access data base. A total of 1418 drug entries were audited from 77 patient prescription Cardexes. Error rates were reported as, 40 errors in 1418 prescriptions (2·8%): ANPCC errors, n = 2 in 388 prescriptions (0·6%); trainee medical staff errors, n = 33 in 984 (3·4%); consultant errors, n = 5 in 73 (6·8%). The error rates were significantly different for different prescribing groups (p < 0·01). This audit shows that prescribing error rates were low (2·8%). Having the lowest error rate, the nurse practitioners are at least as effective as other prescribing groups within this audit, in terms of errors only, in prescribing diligence. National data is required in order to benchmark independent nurse prescribing practice in critical care. These findings could be used to inform research and role development within the critical care. © 2012 The Authors. Nursing in Critical Care © 2012 British Association of Critical Care Nurses.

Separate Medication Preparation Rooms Reduce Interruptions and Medication Errors in the Hospital Setting: A Prospective Observational Study.

PubMed

Huckels-Baumgart, Saskia; Baumgart, André; Buschmann, Ute; Schüpfer, Guido; Manser, Tanja

2016-12-21

Interruptions and errors during the medication process are common, but published literature shows no evidence supporting whether separate medication rooms are an effective single intervention in reducing interruptions and errors during medication preparation in hospitals. We tested the hypothesis that the rate of interruptions and reported medication errors would decrease as a result of the introduction of separate medication rooms. Our aim was to evaluate the effect of separate medication rooms on interruptions during medication preparation and on self-reported medication error rates. We performed a preintervention and postintervention study using direct structured observation of nurses during medication preparation and daily structured medication error self-reporting of nurses by questionnaires in 2 wards at a major teaching hospital in Switzerland. A volunteer sample of 42 nurses was observed preparing 1498 medications for 366 patients over 17 hours preintervention and postintervention on both wards. During 122 days, nurses completed 694 reporting sheets containing 208 medication errors. After the introduction of the separate medication room, the mean interruption rate decreased significantly from 51.8 to 30 interruptions per hour (P < 0.01), and the interruption-free preparation time increased significantly from 1.4 to 2.5 minutes (P < 0.05). Overall, the mean medication error rate per day was also significantly reduced after implementation of the separate medication room from 1.3 to 0.9 errors per day (P < 0.05). The present study showed the positive effect of a hospital-based intervention; after the introduction of the separate medication room, the interruption and medication error rates decreased significantly.

Evaluation of genomic high-throughput sequencing data generated on Illumina HiSeq and Genome Analyzer systems

PubMed Central

2011-01-01

Background The generation and analysis of high-throughput sequencing data are becoming a major component of many studies in molecular biology and medical research. Illumina's Genome Analyzer (GA) and HiSeq instruments are currently the most widely used sequencing devices. Here, we comprehensively evaluate properties of genomic HiSeq and GAIIx data derived from two plant genomes and one virus, with read lengths of 95 to 150 bases. Results We provide quantifications and evidence for GC bias, error rates, error sequence context, effects of quality filtering, and the reliability of quality values. By combining different filtering criteria we reduced error rates 7-fold at the expense of discarding 12.5% of alignable bases. While overall error rates are low in HiSeq data we observed regions of accumulated wrong base calls. Only 3% of all error positions accounted for 24.7% of all substitution errors. Analyzing the forward and reverse strands separately revealed error rates of up to 18.7%. Insertions and deletions occurred at very low rates on average but increased to up to 2% in homopolymers. A positive correlation between read coverage and GC content was found depending on the GC content range. Conclusions The errors and biases we report have implications for the use and the interpretation of Illumina sequencing data. GAIIx and HiSeq data sets show slightly different error profiles. Quality filtering is essential to minimize downstream analysis artifacts. Supporting previous recommendations, the strand-specificity provides a criterion to distinguish sequencing errors from low abundance polymorphisms. PMID:22067484

Error Rates in Measuring Teacher and School Performance Based on Student Test Score Gains. NCEE 2010-4004

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Schochet, Peter Z.; Chiang, Hanley S.

2010-01-01

This paper addresses likely error rates for measuring teacher and school performance in the upper elementary grades using value-added models applied to student test score gain data. Using realistic performance measurement system schemes based on hypothesis testing, we develop error rate formulas based on OLS and Empirical Bayes estimators.…

Improving the prediction of going concern of Taiwanese listed companies using a hybrid of LASSO with data mining techniques.

PubMed

Goo, Yeung-Ja James; Chi, Der-Jang; Shen, Zong-De

2016-01-01

The purpose of this study is to establish rigorous and reliable going concern doubt (GCD) prediction models. This study first uses the least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) to select variables and then applies data mining techniques to establish prediction models, such as neural network (NN), classification and regression tree (CART), and support vector machine (SVM). The samples of this study include 48 GCD listed companies and 124 NGCD (non-GCD) listed companies from 2002 to 2013 in the TEJ database. We conduct fivefold cross validation in order to identify the prediction accuracy. According to the empirical results, the prediction accuracy of the LASSO-NN model is 88.96 % (Type I error rate is 12.22 %; Type II error rate is 7.50 %), the prediction accuracy of the LASSO-CART model is 88.75 % (Type I error rate is 13.61 %; Type II error rate is 14.17 %), and the prediction accuracy of the LASSO-SVM model is 89.79 % (Type I error rate is 10.00 %; Type II error rate is 15.83 %).

Prescription errors before and after introduction of electronic medication alert system in a pediatric emergency department.

PubMed

Sethuraman, Usha; Kannikeswaran, Nirupama; Murray, Kyle P; Zidan, Marwan A; Chamberlain, James M

2015-06-01

Prescription errors occur frequently in pediatric emergency departments (PEDs).The effect of computerized physician order entry (CPOE) with electronic medication alert system (EMAS) on these is unknown. The objective was to compare prescription errors rates before and after introduction of CPOE with EMAS in a PED. The hypothesis was that CPOE with EMAS would significantly reduce the rate and severity of prescription errors in the PED. A prospective comparison of a sample of outpatient, medication prescriptions 5 months before and after CPOE with EMAS implementation (7,268 before and 7,292 after) was performed. Error types and rates, alert types and significance, and physician response were noted. Medication errors were deemed significant if there was a potential to cause life-threatening injury, failure of therapy, or an adverse drug effect. There was a significant reduction in the errors per 100 prescriptions (10.4 before vs. 7.3 after; absolute risk reduction = 3.1, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 2.2 to 4.0). Drug dosing error rates decreased from 8 to 5.4 per 100 (absolute risk reduction = 2.6, 95% CI = 1.8 to 3.4). Alerts were generated for 29.6% of prescriptions, with 45% involving drug dose range checking. The sensitivity of CPOE with EMAS in identifying errors in prescriptions was 45.1% (95% CI = 40.8% to 49.6%), and the specificity was 57% (95% CI = 55.6% to 58.5%). Prescribers modified 20% of the dosing alerts, resulting in the error not reaching the patient. Conversely, 11% of true dosing alerts for medication errors were overridden by the prescribers: 88 (11.3%) resulted in medication errors, and 684 (88.6%) were false-positive alerts. A CPOE with EMAS was associated with a decrease in overall prescription errors in our PED. Further system refinements are required to reduce the high false-positive alert rates. © 2015 by the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine.

Transcriptome profile analysis of young floral buds of fertile and sterile plants from the self-pollinated offspring of the hybrid between novel restorer line NR1 and Nsa CMS line in Brassica napus

PubMed Central

2013-01-01

Background The fertile and sterile plants were derived from the self-pollinated offspring of the F1 hybrid between the novel restorer line NR1 and the Nsa CMS line in Brassica napus. To elucidate gene expression and regulation caused by the A and C subgenomes of B. napus, as well as the alien chromosome and cytoplasm from Sinapis arvensis during the development of young floral buds, we performed a genome-wide high-throughput transcriptomic sequencing for young floral buds of sterile and fertile plants. Results In this study, equal amounts of total RNAs taken from young floral buds of sterile and fertile plants were sequenced using the Illumina/Solexa platform. After filtered out low quality data, a total of 2,760,574 and 2,714,441 clean tags were remained in the two libraries, from which 242,163 (Ste) and 253,507 (Fer) distinct tags were obtained. All distinct sequencing tags were annotated using all possible CATG+17-nt sequences of the genome and transcriptome of Brassica rapa and those of Brassica oleracea as the reference sequences, respectively. In total, 3231 genes of B. rapa and 3371 genes of B. oleracea were detected with significant differential expression levels. GO and pathway-based analyses were performed to determine and further to understand the biological functions of those differentially expressed genes (DEGs). In addition, there were 1089 specially expressed unknown tags in Fer, which were neither mapped to B. oleracea nor to B. rapa, and these unique tags were presumed to arise basically from the added alien chromosome of S. arvensis. Fifteen genes were randomly selected and their expression levels were confirmed by quantitative RT-PCR, and fourteen of them showed consistent expression patterns with the digital gene expression (DGE) data. Conclusions A number of genes were differentially expressed between the young floral buds of sterile and fertile plants. Some of these genes may be candidates for future research on CMS in Nsa line, fertility restoration and improved agronomic traits in NR1 line. Further study of the unknown tags which were specifically expressed in Fer will help to explore desirable agronomic traits from wild species. PMID:23324545

Transcriptome profile analysis of young floral buds of fertile and sterile plants from the self-pollinated offspring of the hybrid between novel restorer line NR1 and Nsa CMS line in Brassica napus.

PubMed

Yan, Xiaohong; Dong, Caihua; Yu, Jingyin; Liu, Wanghui; Jiang, Chenghong; Liu, Jia; Hu, Qiong; Fang, Xiaoping; Wei, Wenhui

2013-01-16

The fertile and sterile plants were derived from the self-pollinated offspring of the F1 hybrid between the novel restorer line NR1 and the Nsa CMS line in Brassica napus. To elucidate gene expression and regulation caused by the A and C subgenomes of B. napus, as well as the alien chromosome and cytoplasm from Sinapis arvensis during the development of young floral buds, we performed a genome-wide high-throughput transcriptomic sequencing for young floral buds of sterile and fertile plants. In this study, equal amounts of total RNAs taken from young floral buds of sterile and fertile plants were sequenced using the Illumina/Solexa platform. After filtered out low quality data, a total of 2,760,574 and 2,714,441 clean tags were remained in the two libraries, from which 242,163 (Ste) and 253,507 (Fer) distinct tags were obtained. All distinct sequencing tags were annotated using all possible CATG+17-nt sequences of the genome and transcriptome of Brassica rapa and those of Brassica oleracea as the reference sequences, respectively. In total, 3231 genes of B. rapa and 3371 genes of B. oleracea were detected with significant differential expression levels. GO and pathway-based analyses were performed to determine and further to understand the biological functions of those differentially expressed genes (DEGs). In addition, there were 1089 specially expressed unknown tags in Fer, which were neither mapped to B. oleracea nor to B. rapa, and these unique tags were presumed to arise basically from the added alien chromosome of S. arvensis. Fifteen genes were randomly selected and their expression levels were confirmed by quantitative RT-PCR, and fourteen of them showed consistent expression patterns with the digital gene expression (DGE) data. A number of genes were differentially expressed between the young floral buds of sterile and fertile plants. Some of these genes may be candidates for future research on CMS in Nsa line, fertility restoration and improved agronomic traits in NR1 line. Further study of the unknown tags which were specifically expressed in Fer will help to explore desirable agronomic traits from wild species.

Integrated energy system for a high performance building

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jaczko, Kristen

Integrated energy systems have the potential to reduce of the energy consumption of residential buildings in Canada. These systems incorporate components to meet the building heating, cooling and domestic hot water load into a single system in order to reduce energy losses. An integrated energy system, consisting of a variable speed heat pump, cold and hot thermal storage tanks, a photovoltaic/thermal (PV/T) collector array and a battery bank, was designed for the Queen's Solar Design Team's (QSDT) test house. The system uses a radiant floor to provide space- heating and sensible cooling and a dedicated outdoor air system provides ventilation and dehumidifies the incoming fresh air. The test house, the Queen's Solar Education Centre (QSEC), and the integrated energy system were both modelled in TRNSYS. Additionally, a new TRNSYS Type was developed to model the PV/T collectors, enabling the modeling of the collection of energy from the ambient air. A parametric study was carried out in TRNSYS to investigate the effect of various parameters on the overall energy performance of the system. These parameters included the PV/T array size and the slope of the collectors, the heat pump source and load-side inlet temperature setpoints, the compressor speed control and the size of the thermal storage tanks and the battery bank. The controls of the heat pump were found to have a large impact on the performance of the integrated energy system. For example, a low evaporator setpoint improved the overall free energy ratio (FER) of the system but the heat pump performance was lowered. Reducing the heat loss of the PV/T panels was not found to have a large effect on the system performance however, as the heat pump is able to lower the inlet collector fluid temperature, thus reducing thermal losses. From the results of the sensitivity study, a recommended system model was created and this system had a predicted FER of 77.9% in Kingston, Ontario, neglecting the energy consumption of circulation pumps and fans. Simulations of the recommended integrated energy system were also performed in several other Canadian cities and the predicted FER was above 60% in all except for the most northern city investigated, Yellowknife. Thus, the integrated energy system has the potential of reducing the energy consumption of residential buildings in Canada.

Physical versus chemical effects on bacterial and bromide transport as determined from on site sediment column pulse experiments

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

Hall, James A.; Mailloux, Brian J.; Onstott, Tullis C.

2005-02-01

Twenty eight bacterial and Br transport experiments were performed in the field to determine the effects of physical and chemical heterogeneity of the aquifer sediment. The experiments were performed using groundwater from two field locations to examine the effects of groundwater chemistry on transport. Groundwater was extracted from multilevel samplers and pumped through 7 cm long columns of intact sediment or re-packed sieved and coated or uncoated sediment from the underlying aquifer. Two bacterial strains, Comamonas sp. DA001 and Paenibacillus polymyxa FER-02, were injected along with Br into the influent end of the columns to examine the effect of cellmore » morphology and surface properties on bacterial transport. The effect of column sediment grain size and mineral coatings coupled with groundwater geochemistry were also delineated. Significant irreversible attachment of DA001 was observed in the Fe oxyhydroxide coated columns, but only in the sub-oxic groundwater where the concentrations of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) were ca. 1 ppm. In the oxic groundwater where DOC was ca. 8 ppm, little attachment of DA001 to the Fe oxyhydroxide coated columns was observed. This indicates that DOC can significantly reduce bacterial attachment due electrostatic interactions. The larger and more negatively charged FER-02 displayed increasing attachment with decreasing grain size regardless of DOC concentration, and modeling of FER-02 attachment revealed that the presence of Fe and Al coatings on the sediment also promoted attachment. Finally, the presence of Al coatings and Al containing minerals appeared to significantly retard the Br tracer regardless of the concentration of DOC. These findings suggest that DOC in shallow oxic groundwater aquifers can significantly enhance the transport of bacteria by reducing attachment to Fe, Mn and Al oxyhydroxides. This effect is profound for weakly charged, hydrophilic bacteria and may contribute to differences in observations between laboratory experiments verses field-scale investigations particularly if the groundwater pH remains circum-neutral and Fe oxyhydroxide phases exist. These observations validate the novel approach taken in the experiments outlined here of performing laboratory-scale experiments on site to facilitate the use of fresh groundwater and thus be more representative of in situ groundwater conditions.« less

Performance improvement of robots using a learning control scheme

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Krishna, Ramuhalli; Chiang, Pen-Tai; Yang, Jackson C. S.

1987-01-01

Many applications of robots require that the same task be repeated a number of times. In such applications, the errors associated with one cycle are also repeated every cycle of the operation. An off-line learning control scheme is used here to modify the command function which would result in smaller errors in the next operation. The learning scheme is based on a knowledge of the errors and error rates associated with each cycle. Necessary conditions for the iterative scheme to converge to zero errors are derived analytically considering a second order servosystem model. Computer simulations show that the errors are reduced at a faster rate if the error rate is included in the iteration scheme. The results also indicate that the scheme may increase the magnitude of errors if the rate information is not included in the iteration scheme. Modification of the command input using a phase and gain adjustment is also proposed to reduce the errors with one attempt. The scheme is then applied to a computer model of a robot system similar to PUMA 560. Improved performance of the robot is shown by considering various cases of trajectory tracing. The scheme can be successfully used to improve the performance of actual robots within the limitations of the repeatability and noise characteristics of the robot.

Improved compliance with the World Health Organization Surgical Safety Checklist is associated with reduced surgical specimen labelling errors.

PubMed

Martis, Walston R; Hannam, Jacqueline A; Lee, Tracey; Merry, Alan F; Mitchell, Simon J

2016-09-09

A new approach to administering the surgical safety checklist (SSC) at our institution using wall-mounted charts for each SSC domain coupled with migrated leadership among operating room (OR) sub-teams, led to improved compliance with the Sign Out domain. Since surgical specimens are reviewed at Sign Out, we aimed to quantify any related change in surgical specimen labelling errors. Prospectively maintained error logs for surgical specimens sent to pathology were examined for the six months before and after introduction of the new SSC administration paradigm. We recorded errors made in the labelling or completion of the specimen pot and on the specimen laboratory request form. Total error rates were calculated from the number of errors divided by total number of specimens. Rates from the two periods were compared using a chi square test. There were 19 errors in 4,760 specimens (rate 3.99/1,000) and eight errors in 5,065 specimens (rate 1.58/1,000) before and after the change in SSC administration paradigm (P=0.0225). Improved compliance with administering the Sign Out domain of the SSC can reduce surgical specimen errors. This finding provides further evidence that OR teams should optimise compliance with the SSC.

Citation Help in Databases: The More Things Change, the More They Stay the Same

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Van Ullen, Mary; Kessler, Jane

2012-01-01

In 2005, the authors reviewed citation help in databases and found an error rate of 4.4 errors per citation. This article describes a follow-up study that revealed a modest improvement in the error rate to 3.4 errors per citation, still unacceptably high. The most problematic area was retrieval statements. The authors conclude that librarians…

Mimicking Aphasic Semantic Errors in Normal Speech Production: Evidence from a Novel Experimental Paradigm

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hodgson, Catherine; Lambon Ralph, Matthew A.

2008-01-01

Semantic errors are commonly found in semantic dementia (SD) and some forms of stroke aphasia and provide insights into semantic processing and speech production. Low error rates are found in standard picture naming tasks in normal controls. In order to increase error rates and thus provide an experimental model of aphasic performance, this study…

Physical fault tolerance of nanoelectronics.

PubMed

Szkopek, Thomas; Roychowdhury, Vwani P; Antoniadis, Dimitri A; Damoulakis, John N

2011-04-29

The error rate in complementary transistor circuits is suppressed exponentially in electron number, arising from an intrinsic physical implementation of fault-tolerant error correction. Contrariwise, explicit assembly of gates into the most efficient known fault-tolerant architecture is characterized by a subexponential suppression of error rate with electron number, and incurs significant overhead in wiring and complexity. We conclude that it is more efficient to prevent logical errors with physical fault tolerance than to correct logical errors with fault-tolerant architecture.

Comparison of Agar Dilution, Disk Diffusion, MicroScan, and Vitek Antimicrobial Susceptibility Testing Methods to Broth Microdilution for Detection of Fluoroquinolone-Resistant Isolates of the Family Enterobacteriaceae

PubMed Central

Steward, Christine D.; Stocker, Sheila A.; Swenson, Jana M.; O’Hara, Caroline M.; Edwards, Jonathan R.; Gaynes, Robert P.; McGowan, John E.; Tenover, Fred C.

1999-01-01

Fluoroquinolone resistance appears to be increasing in many species of bacteria, particularly in those causing nosocomial infections. However, the accuracy of some antimicrobial susceptibility testing methods for detecting fluoroquinolone resistance remains uncertain. Therefore, we compared the accuracy of the results of agar dilution, disk diffusion, MicroScan Walk Away Neg Combo 15 conventional panels, and Vitek GNS-F7 cards to the accuracy of the results of the broth microdilution reference method for detection of ciprofloxacin and ofloxacin resistance in 195 clinical isolates of the family Enterobacteriaceae collected from six U.S. hospitals for a national surveillance project (Project ICARE [Intensive Care Antimicrobial Resistance Epidemiology]). For ciprofloxacin, very major error rates were 0% (disk diffusion and MicroScan), 0.9% (agar dilution), and 2.7% (Vitek), while major error rates ranged from 0% (agar dilution) to 3.7% (MicroScan and Vitek). Minor error rates ranged from 12.3% (agar dilution) to 20.5% (MicroScan). For ofloxacin, no very major errors were observed, and major errors were noted only with MicroScan (3.7% major error rate). Minor error rates ranged from 8.2% (agar dilution) to 18.5% (Vitek). Minor errors for all methods were substantially reduced when results with MICs within ±1 dilution of the broth microdilution reference MIC were excluded from analysis. However, the high number of minor errors by all test systems remains a concern. PMID:9986809

Quantizing and sampling considerations in digital phased-locked loops

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hurst, G. T.; Gupta, S. C.

1974-01-01

The quantizer problem is first considered. The conditions under which the uniform white sequence model for the quantizer error is valid are established independent of the sampling rate. An equivalent spectral density is defined for the quantizer error resulting in an effective SNR value. This effective SNR may be used to determine quantized performance from infinitely fine quantized results. Attention is given to sampling rate considerations. Sampling rate characteristics of the digital phase-locked loop (DPLL) structure are investigated for the infinitely fine quantized system. The predicted phase error variance equation is examined as a function of the sampling rate. Simulation results are presented and a method is described which enables the minimum required sampling rate to be determined from the predicted phase error variance equations.

Organizational safety culture and medical error reporting by Israeli nurses.

PubMed

Kagan, Ilya; Barnoy, Sivia

2013-09-01

To investigate the association between patient safety culture (PSC) and the incidence and reporting rate of medical errors by Israeli nurses. Self-administered structured questionnaires were distributed to a convenience sample of 247 registered nurses enrolled in training programs at Tel Aviv University (response rate = 91%). The questionnaire's three sections examined the incidence of medication mistakes in clinical practice, the reporting rate for these errors, and the participants' views and perceptions of the safety culture in their workplace at three levels (organizational, departmental, and individual performance). Pearson correlation coefficients, t tests, and multiple regression analysis were used to analyze the data. Most nurses encountered medical errors from a daily to a weekly basis. Six percent of the sample never reported their own errors, while half reported their own errors "rarely or sometimes." The level of PSC was positively and significantly correlated with the error reporting rate. PSC, place of birth, error incidence, and not having an academic nursing degree were significant predictors of error reporting, together explaining 28% of variance. This study confirms the influence of an organizational safety climate on readiness to report errors. Senior healthcare executives and managers can make a major impact on safety culture development by creating and promoting a vision and strategy for quality and safety and fostering their employees' motivation to implement improvement programs at the departmental and individual level. A positive, carefully designed organizational safety culture can encourage error reporting by staff and so improve patient safety. © 2013 Sigma Theta Tau International.

Software for Quantifying and Simulating Microsatellite Genotyping Error

PubMed Central

Johnson, Paul C.D.; Haydon, Daniel T.

2007-01-01

Microsatellite genetic marker data are exploited in a variety of fields, including forensics, gene mapping, kinship inference and population genetics. In all of these fields, inference can be thwarted by failure to quantify and account for data errors, and kinship inference in particular can benefit from separating errors into two distinct classes: allelic dropout and false alleles. Pedant is MS Windows software for estimating locus-specific maximum likelihood rates of these two classes of error. Estimation is based on comparison of duplicate error-prone genotypes: neither reference genotypes nor pedigree data are required. Other functions include: plotting of error rate estimates and confidence intervals; simulations for performing power analysis and for testing the robustness of error rate estimates to violation of the underlying assumptions; and estimation of expected heterozygosity, which is a required input. The program, documentation and source code are available from http://www.stats.gla.ac.uk/~paulj/pedant.html. PMID:20066126

Task errors by emergency physicians are associated with interruptions, multitasking, fatigue and working memory capacity: a prospective, direct observation study.

PubMed

Westbrook, Johanna I; Raban, Magdalena Z; Walter, Scott R; Douglas, Heather

2018-01-09

Interruptions and multitasking have been demonstrated in experimental studies to reduce individuals' task performance. These behaviours are frequently used by clinicians in high-workload, dynamic clinical environments, yet their effects have rarely been studied. To assess the relative contributions of interruptions and multitasking by emergency physicians to prescribing errors. 36 emergency physicians were shadowed over 120 hours. All tasks, interruptions and instances of multitasking were recorded. Physicians' working memory capacity (WMC) and preference for multitasking were assessed using the Operation Span Task (OSPAN) and Inventory of Polychronic Values. Following observation, physicians were asked about their sleep in the previous 24 hours. Prescribing errors were used as a measure of task performance. We performed multivariate analysis of prescribing error rates to determine associations with interruptions and multitasking, also considering physician seniority, age, psychometric measures, workload and sleep. Physicians experienced 7.9 interruptions/hour. 28 clinicians were observed prescribing 239 medication orders which contained 208 prescribing errors. While prescribing, clinicians were interrupted 9.4 times/hour. Error rates increased significantly if physicians were interrupted (rate ratio (RR) 2.82; 95% CI 1.23 to 6.49) or multitasked (RR 1.86; 95% CI 1.35 to 2.56) while prescribing. Having below-average sleep showed a >15-fold increase in clinical error rate (RR 16.44; 95% CI 4.84 to 55.81). WMC was protective against errors; for every 10-point increase on the 75-point OSPAN, a 19% decrease in prescribing errors was observed. There was no effect of polychronicity, workload, physician gender or above-average sleep on error rates. Interruptions, multitasking and poor sleep were associated with significantly increased rates of prescribing errors among emergency physicians. WMC mitigated the negative influence of these factors to an extent. These results confirm experimental findings in other fields and raise questions about the acceptability of the high rates of multitasking and interruption in clinical environments. © Article author(s) (or their employer(s) unless otherwise stated in the text of the article) 2018. All rights reserved. No commercial use is permitted unless otherwise expressly granted.

Model studies of the beam-filling error for rain-rate retrieval with microwave radiometers

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ha, Eunho; North, Gerald R.

1995-01-01

Low-frequency (less than 20 GHz) single-channel microwave retrievals of rain rate encounter the problem of beam-filling error. This error stems from the fact that the relationship between microwave brightness temperature and rain rate is nonlinear, coupled with the fact that the field of view is large or comparable to important scales of variability of the rain field. This means that one may not simply insert the area average of the brightness temperature into the formula for rain rate without incurring both bias and random error. The statistical heterogeneity of the rain-rate field in the footprint of the instrument is key to determining the nature of these errors. This paper makes use of a series of random rain-rate fields to study the size of the bias and random error associated with beam filling. A number of examples are analyzed in detail: the binomially distributed field, the gamma, the Gaussian, the mixed gamma, the lognormal, and the mixed lognormal ('mixed' here means there is a finite probability of no rain rate at a point of space-time). Of particular interest are the applicability of a simple error formula due to Chiu and collaborators and a formula that might hold in the large field of view limit. It is found that the simple formula holds for Gaussian rain-rate fields but begins to fail for highly skewed fields such as the mixed lognormal. While not conclusively demonstrated here, it is suggested that the notionof climatologically adjusting the retrievals to remove the beam-filling bias is a reasonable proposition.

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

McInerney, Peter; Adams, Paul; Hadi, Masood Z.

As larger-scale cloning projects become more prevalent, there is an increasing need for comparisons among high fidelity DNA polymerases used for PCR amplification. All polymerases marketed for PCR applications are tested for fidelity properties (i.e., error rate determination) by vendors, and numerous literature reports have addressed PCR enzyme fidelity. Nonetheless, it is often difficult to make direct comparisons among different enzymes due to numerous methodological and analytical differences from study to study. We have measured the error rates for 6 DNA polymerases commonly used in PCR applications, including 3 polymerases typically used for cloning applications requiring high fidelity. Error ratemore » measurement values reported here were obtained by direct sequencing of cloned PCR products. The strategy employed here allows interrogation of error rate across a very large DNA sequence space, since 94 unique DNA targets were used as templates for PCR cloning. The six enzymes included in the study, Taq polymerase, AccuPrime-Taq High Fidelity, KOD Hot Start, cloned Pfu polymerase, Phusion Hot Start, and Pwo polymerase, we find the lowest error rates with Pfu , Phusion, and Pwo polymerases. Error rates are comparable for these 3 enzymes and are >10x lower than the error rate observed with Taq polymerase. Mutation spectra are reported, with the 3 high fidelity enzymes displaying broadly similar types of mutations. For these enzymes, transition mutations predominate, with little bias observed for type of transition.« less

Decision support system for determining the contact lens for refractive errors patients with classification ID3

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Situmorang, B. H.; Setiawan, M. P.; Tosida, E. T.

2017-01-01

Refractive errors are abnormalities of the refraction of light so that the shadows do not focus precisely on the retina resulting in blurred vision [1]. Refractive errors causing the patient should wear glasses or contact lenses in order eyesight returned to normal. The use of glasses or contact lenses in a person will be different from others, it is influenced by patient age, the amount of tear production, vision prescription, and astigmatic. Because the eye is one organ of the human body is very important to see, then the accuracy in determining glasses or contact lenses which will be used is required. This research aims to develop a decision support system that can produce output on the right contact lenses for refractive errors patients with a value of 100% accuracy. Iterative Dichotomize Three (ID3) classification methods will generate gain and entropy values of attributes that include code sample data, age of the patient, astigmatic, the ratio of tear production, vision prescription, and classes that will affect the outcome of the decision tree. The eye specialist test result for the training data obtained the accuracy rate of 96.7% and an error rate of 3.3%, the result test using confusion matrix obtained the accuracy rate of 96.1% and an error rate of 3.1%; for the data testing obtained accuracy rate of 100% and an error rate of 0.

The Cost of a Military Person-Year. A Method for Computing Savings from Force Reductions

DTIC Science & Technology

2007-01-01

personnel FASAB Federal Accounting Standards Advisory Board FASB Financial Accounting Standards Board FERS Federal Employee Retirement System FG federal...an average prescribed SMCR of only $61,393, which is clearly problematic: Using the Comptroller’s own methods as mandated by DoD financial man... financial commitment the Figure 4.2 Probability-Adjusted Present Values of Retirement Benefits for Current Members by YOS RAND MG598-4.2 1,400 $ th o u

U.S. Security Assistance Programs in Southern Africa: Are They Supporting National Objectives?

DTIC Science & Technology

1985-04-01

YIO (Include .-iea Codi’, SACS ’-/uLLCC IaxwelI AFB Al- 36112 (205) 293-2483 UL) j7 ()phi 1473 33 AV",, EDITION OF 1 JAN 73 IS OBSOLETE, -UJLASSIF lED...34 (8: p. 6-9) Th e CPD is soml~etimes re-ferred to as the Consolidated Data Report and is I-.ral ly an u..pdate of the AISA The heart of the AIASA is

Administrative and Technical Support for the U.S. Army Medical Research and Development Command Joint Working Group on Medical Chemical Defense

DTIC Science & Technology

1989-08-01

microproces;qor databaAing systems for monitoring project and contract reports and program technology trans. fers, coordinating and providing administratIvo ...The JWGD 3 annual planning process generally included: - Program review by the JWGD’ membership at quarterly meetings, which consisted of the review...Office developed the program planning and budget documents associated with the planning process outlined above. Program project databases and

Network Security and the NPS Internet Firewall.

DTIC Science & Technology

1994-09-16

NIS between clients and servers. The ypxfr service is used for trans- Network Information ferring the /etc/ passwd file from the master server to the...slave Service servers. If the NIS domain name is guessed, an outsider can get a copy of the /etc/ passwd file. Table 5: Network Services With Known...TCP ports 20 and 21), for the ftp network service: outside% ftp 131.120.50.151 ftp> get /etc/ passwd /tmp/passwd.inside (login process...) ftp> cd nttcp

East Europe Report

DTIC Science & Technology

1987-01-12

robots before May of the coming year, for robot facilities with metal-cutting machines, the production of the Krasnyy Proletariy Plant with a portal ...thr. Economic Reform In other verd tkiiF is e cast c: «tor disrcoard cf thr principle, advocated in the lasv fer years cv "open arrcnir," vcrl of the...negative reaction of the public./ Chairman of the Consultative Economic Council, as well as others taking the 2f°f 1JL^ e dlscussion/ referred to

Sub-Saharan Africa Report.

DTIC Science & Technology

1987-01-16

Botha (DIE AFRIKANER, 8 Oct 86) 55 s 57 (DIE AFRIKANER, 15 Oct 86) 59 BP Oil Company Integration Plans Viewed (DIE BURGER, 17 Nov 86...among things, ban the transporta- tion of crude oil to South Africa and Namibia on Norwegian ships, ban any form of investment and trans- fer of...on November 10 on an em- bargo against the sale and transport of oil to South Africa, and calls for the setting up of a United Nations "mechanism

The calibration of a Scanditronix-Wellhöfer thimble chamber for photon dosimetry using the IAEA TRS 277 code of practice.

PubMed

Fourie, O L

2004-03-01

This note investigates the calibration of a Scanditronix-Wellhöfer type FC65-G ionisation chamber to be used in clinical photon dosimetry. The current Adaptation by the Australasian College of Physical Scientists and Engineers in Medicine (ACPSEM) of the IAEA TRS 277 dosimetry protocol makes no provision for this type of chamber. The absorbed dose to air calibration coefficient ND was therefore calculated from the air kerma calibration coefficient NK using the formalism of the IAEA TRS 277 protocol and it is shown that the value of the correction factor kmkatt for the FC65-G chamber is identical to that of the NE 2571 chamber. ND was also determined experimentally from a cross calibration against an NE 2571 dosimetry. It was found that there is a good correspondence between the calculated and measured values. To establish to what extent the ACPSEM Adaptation can be used for the FC65-G chamber, values for the ratio of stopping powers in water and air (Sw,air)Q and the perturbation correction factor pQ were calculated using the TRS 277 protocol. From these results it is shown that over the range of beam qualities TPR20,10 = 0.59 to TPR20,10 = 0.78 the Adaptation can be used for the FC65-G chamber.

Self-repairing properties of OPC clinker/natural zeolite blend in water and alkali carbonate environments at 270°C

DOE PAGES

Pyatina, Tatiana; Sugama, Toshifumi; Ronne, Arthur; ...

2018-01-01

The 10 d recoveries of the mechanical properties and crack sealing of an ordinary Portland cement (OPC) clinker/natural zeolite (ferrierite (Fer)) blend modified or unmodified with silica were tested at 270°C in water and alkali carbonate environments. The recoveries of the samples depended on their modification with silica and the curing environment, but were more than 100% after repeated damage under some test conditions. The mechanical properties and phase compositions of recovered samples were evaluated by compressive strength measurements and x-ray diffraction, differential thermogravimetric analyses, Fourier transform infrared analyses and scanning electron microscopy coupled with energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy. Themore » sealing of 0·25 mm wide and ~2 mm deep cracks was visualised with a three-dimensional optical microscope. Fer decomposed under high-temperature alkaline conditions with the release of hydrolysates that, along with the hydrating clinker, participated in the formation of new phases contributing to strength recoveries. Here, these phases included crystalline magnesium and aluminium-containing silicates, calcium and carbonated calcium silicates and amorphous hydrates. Crack sealing was complete for the silica-modified samples and partial for unmodified ones cured in carbonate environments. The sealing was very poor for samples cured in water. Lastly, the main sealing phases included crystalline and amorphous silica, high-temperature-stable zeolites and talc mineral.« less

Self-repairing properties of OPC clinker/natural zeolite blend in water and alkali carbonate environments at 270°C

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

Pyatina, Tatiana; Sugama, Toshifumi; Ronne, Arthur

The 10 d recoveries of the mechanical properties and crack sealing of an ordinary Portland cement (OPC) clinker/natural zeolite (ferrierite (Fer)) blend modified or unmodified with silica were tested at 270°C in water and alkali carbonate environments. The recoveries of the samples depended on their modification with silica and the curing environment, but were more than 100% after repeated damage under some test conditions. The mechanical properties and phase compositions of recovered samples were evaluated by compressive strength measurements and x-ray diffraction, differential thermogravimetric analyses, Fourier transform infrared analyses and scanning electron microscopy coupled with energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy. Themore » sealing of 0·25 mm wide and ~2 mm deep cracks was visualised with a three-dimensional optical microscope. Fer decomposed under high-temperature alkaline conditions with the release of hydrolysates that, along with the hydrating clinker, participated in the formation of new phases contributing to strength recoveries. Here, these phases included crystalline magnesium and aluminium-containing silicates, calcium and carbonated calcium silicates and amorphous hydrates. Crack sealing was complete for the silica-modified samples and partial for unmodified ones cured in carbonate environments. The sealing was very poor for samples cured in water. Lastly, the main sealing phases included crystalline and amorphous silica, high-temperature-stable zeolites and talc mineral.« less

Sensitivity of the simulation of tropical cyclone size to microphysics schemes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chan, Kelvin T. F.; Chan, Johnny C. L.

2016-09-01

The sensitivity of the simulation of tropical cyclone (TC) size to microphysics schemes is studied using the Advanced Hurricane Weather Research and Forecasting Model (WRF). Six TCs during the 2013 western North Pacific typhoon season and three mainstream microphysics schemes-Ferrier (FER), WRF Single-Moment 5-class (WSM5) and WRF Single-Moment 6-class (WSM6)-are investigated. The results consistently show that the simulated TC track is not sensitive to the choice of microphysics scheme in the early simulation, especially in the open ocean. However, the sensitivity is much greater for TC intensity and inner-core size. The TC intensity and size simulated using the WSM5 and WSM6 schemes are respectively higher and larger than those using the FER scheme in general, which likely results from more diabatic heating being generated outside the eyewall in rainbands. More diabatic heating in rainbands gives higher inflow in the lower troposphere and higher outflow in the upper troposphere, with higher upward motion outside the eyewall. The lower-tropospheric inflow would transport absolute angular momentum inward to spin up tangential wind predominantly near the eyewall, leading to the increment in TC intensity and size (the inner-core size, especially). In addition, the inclusion of graupel microphysics processes (as in WSM6) may not have a significant impact on the simulation of TC track, intensity and size.

Facilitated citrate-dependent iron translocation increases rice endosperm iron and zinc concentrations.

PubMed

Wu, Ting-Ying; Gruissem, Wilhelm; Bhullar, Navreet K

2018-05-01

Iron deficiency affects one third of the world population. Most iron biofortification strategies have focused on genes involved in iron uptake and storage but facilitating internal long-distance iron translocation has been understudied for increasing grain iron concentrations. Citrate is a primary iron chelator, and the transporter FERRIC REDUCTASE DEFECTIVE 3 (FRD3) loads citrate into the xylem. We have expressed AtFRD3 in combination with AtNAS1 (NICOTIANAMINE SYNTHASE 1) and PvFER (FERRITIN) or with PvFER alone to facilitate long-distance iron transport together with efficient iron uptake and storage in the rice endosperm. The citrate and iron concentrations in the xylem sap of transgenic plants increased two-fold compared to control plants. Iron and zinc levels increased significantly in polished and unpolished rice grains to more than 70% of the recommended estimated average requirement (EAR) for iron and 140% of the recommended EAR for zinc in polished rice grains. Furthermore, the transformed lines showed normal phenotypic growth, were tolerant to iron deficiency and aluminum toxicity, and had grain cadmium levels similar to control plants. Together, our results demonstrate that deploying FRD for iron biofortification has no obvious anti-nutritive effects and should be considered as an effective strategy for reducing human iron deficiency anemia. Copyright © 2018 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Modeling, Analysis, and Control of a Hypersonic Vehicle with Significant Aero-Thermo-Elastic-Propulsion Interactions: Elastic, Thermal and Mass Uncertainty

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Khatri, Jaidev

This thesis examines themodeling, analysis, and control system design issues for scramjet powered hypersonic vehicles. A nonlinear three degrees of freedom longitudinal model which includes aero-propulsion-elasticity effects was used for all analyses. This model is based upon classical compressible flow and Euler-Bernouli structural concepts. Higher fidelity computational fluid dynamics and finite element methods are needed for more precise intermediate and final evaluations. The methods presented within this thesis were shown to be useful for guiding initial control relevant design. The model was used to examine the vehicle's static and dynamic characteristics over the vehicle's trimmable region. The vehicle has significant longitudinal coupling between the fuel equivalency ratio (FER) and the flight path angle (FPA). For control system design, a two-input two-output plant (FER - elevator to speed-FPA) with 11 states (including 3 flexible modes) was used. Velocity, FPA, and pitch were assumed to be available for feedback. Aerodynamic heat modeling and design for the assumed TPS was incorporated to original Bolender's model to study the change in static and dynamic properties. De-centralized control stability, feasibility and limitations issues were dealt with the change in TPS elasticity, mass and physical dimension. The impact of elasticity due to TPS mass, TPS physical dimension as well as prolonged heating was also analyzed to understand performance limitations of de-centralized control designed for nominal model.

Mitigating errors caused by interruptions during medication verification and administration: interventions in a simulated ambulatory chemotherapy setting.

PubMed

Prakash, Varuna; Koczmara, Christine; Savage, Pamela; Trip, Katherine; Stewart, Janice; McCurdie, Tara; Cafazzo, Joseph A; Trbovich, Patricia

2014-11-01

Nurses are frequently interrupted during medication verification and administration; however, few interventions exist to mitigate resulting errors, and the impact of these interventions on medication safety is poorly understood. The study objectives were to (A) assess the effects of interruptions on medication verification and administration errors, and (B) design and test the effectiveness of targeted interventions at reducing these errors. The study focused on medication verification and administration in an ambulatory chemotherapy setting. A simulation laboratory experiment was conducted to determine interruption-related error rates during specific medication verification and administration tasks. Interventions to reduce these errors were developed through a participatory design process, and their error reduction effectiveness was assessed through a postintervention experiment. Significantly more nurses committed medication errors when interrupted than when uninterrupted. With use of interventions when interrupted, significantly fewer nurses made errors in verifying medication volumes contained in syringes (16/18; 89% preintervention error rate vs 11/19; 58% postintervention error rate; p=0.038; Fisher's exact test) and programmed in ambulatory pumps (17/18; 94% preintervention vs 11/19; 58% postintervention; p=0.012). The rate of error commission significantly decreased with use of interventions when interrupted during intravenous push (16/18; 89% preintervention vs 6/19; 32% postintervention; p=0.017) and pump programming (7/18; 39% preintervention vs 1/19; 5% postintervention; p=0.017). No statistically significant differences were observed for other medication verification tasks. Interruptions can lead to medication verification and administration errors. Interventions were highly effective at reducing unanticipated errors of commission in medication administration tasks, but showed mixed effectiveness at reducing predictable errors of detection in medication verification tasks. These findings can be generalised and adapted to mitigate interruption-related errors in other settings where medication verification and administration are required. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://group.bmj.com/group/rights-licensing/permissions.

Mitigating errors caused by interruptions during medication verification and administration: interventions in a simulated ambulatory chemotherapy setting

PubMed Central

Prakash, Varuna; Koczmara, Christine; Savage, Pamela; Trip, Katherine; Stewart, Janice; McCurdie, Tara; Cafazzo, Joseph A; Trbovich, Patricia

2014-01-01

Background Nurses are frequently interrupted during medication verification and administration; however, few interventions exist to mitigate resulting errors, and the impact of these interventions on medication safety is poorly understood. Objective The study objectives were to (A) assess the effects of interruptions on medication verification and administration errors, and (B) design and test the effectiveness of targeted interventions at reducing these errors. Methods The study focused on medication verification and administration in an ambulatory chemotherapy setting. A simulation laboratory experiment was conducted to determine interruption-related error rates during specific medication verification and administration tasks. Interventions to reduce these errors were developed through a participatory design process, and their error reduction effectiveness was assessed through a postintervention experiment. Results Significantly more nurses committed medication errors when interrupted than when uninterrupted. With use of interventions when interrupted, significantly fewer nurses made errors in verifying medication volumes contained in syringes (16/18; 89% preintervention error rate vs 11/19; 58% postintervention error rate; p=0.038; Fisher's exact test) and programmed in ambulatory pumps (17/18; 94% preintervention vs 11/19; 58% postintervention; p=0.012). The rate of error commission significantly decreased with use of interventions when interrupted during intravenous push (16/18; 89% preintervention vs 6/19; 32% postintervention; p=0.017) and pump programming (7/18; 39% preintervention vs 1/19; 5% postintervention; p=0.017). No statistically significant differences were observed for other medication verification tasks. Conclusions Interruptions can lead to medication verification and administration errors. Interventions were highly effective at reducing unanticipated errors of commission in medication administration tasks, but showed mixed effectiveness at reducing predictable errors of detection in medication verification tasks. These findings can be generalised and adapted to mitigate interruption-related errors in other settings where medication verification and administration are required. PMID:24906806

TECHNICAL ADVANCES: Effects of genotyping protocols on success and errors in identifying individual river otters (Lontra canadensis) from their faeces.

PubMed

Hansen, Heidi; Ben-David, Merav; McDonald, David B

2008-03-01

In noninvasive genetic sampling, when genotyping error rates are high and recapture rates are low, misidentification of individuals can lead to overestimation of population size. Thus, estimating genotyping errors is imperative. Nonetheless, conducting multiple polymerase chain reactions (PCRs) at multiple loci is time-consuming and costly. To address the controversy regarding the minimum number of PCRs required for obtaining a consensus genotype, we compared consumer-style the performance of two genotyping protocols (multiple-tubes and 'comparative method') in respect to genotyping success and error rates. Our results from 48 faecal samples of river otters (Lontra canadensis) collected in Wyoming in 2003, and from blood samples of five captive river otters amplified with four different primers, suggest that use of the comparative genotyping protocol can minimize the number of PCRs per locus. For all but five samples at one locus, the same consensus genotypes were reached with fewer PCRs and with reduced error rates with this protocol compared to the multiple-tubes method. This finding is reassuring because genotyping errors can occur at relatively high rates even in tissues such as blood and hair. In addition, we found that loci that amplify readily and yield consensus genotypes, may still exhibit high error rates (7-32%) and that amplification with different primers resulted in different types and rates of error. Thus, assigning a genotype based on a single PCR for several loci could result in misidentification of individuals. We recommend that programs designed to statistically assign consensus genotypes should be modified to allow the different treatment of heterozygotes and homozygotes intrinsic to the comparative method. © 2007 The Authors.

National suicide rates a century after Durkheim: do we know enough to estimate error?

PubMed

Claassen, Cynthia A; Yip, Paul S; Corcoran, Paul; Bossarte, Robert M; Lawrence, Bruce A; Currier, Glenn W

2010-06-01

Durkheim's nineteenth-century analysis of national suicide rates dismissed prior concerns about mortality data fidelity. Over the intervening century, however, evidence documenting various types of error in suicide data has only mounted, and surprising levels of such error continue to be routinely uncovered. Yet the annual suicide rate remains the most widely used population-level suicide metric today. After reviewing the unique sources of bias incurred during stages of suicide data collection and concatenation, we propose a model designed to uniformly estimate error in future studies. A standardized method of error estimation uniformly applied to mortality data could produce data capable of promoting high quality analyses of cross-national research questions.

Does Mckuer's Law Hold for Heart Rate Control via Biofeedback Display?

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Courter, B. J.; Jex, H. R.

1984-01-01

Some persons can control their pulse rate with the aid of a biofeedback display. If the biofeedback display is modified to show the error between a command pulse-rate and the measured rate, a compensatory (error correcting) heart rate tracking control loop can be created. The dynamic response characteristics of this control loop when subjected to step and quasi-random disturbances were measured. The control loop includes a beat-to-beat cardiotachmeter differenced with a forcing function from a quasi-random input generator; the resulting error pulse-rate is displayed as feedback. The subject acts to null the displayed pulse-rate error, thereby closing a compensatory control loop. McRuer's Law should hold for this case. A few subjects already skilled in voluntary pulse-rate control were tested for heart-rate control response. Control-law properties are derived, such as: crossover frequency, stability margins, and closed-loop bandwidth. These are evaluated for a range of forcing functions and for step as well as random disturbances.

Online automatic tuning and control for fed-batch cultivation

PubMed Central

van Straten, Gerrit; van der Pol, Leo A.; van Boxtel, Anton J. B.

2007-01-01

Performance of controllers applied in biotechnological production is often below expectation. Online automatic tuning has the capability to improve control performance by adjusting control parameters. This work presents automatic tuning approaches for model reference specific growth rate control during fed-batch cultivation. The approaches are direct methods that use the error between observed specific growth rate and its set point; systematic perturbations of the cultivation are not necessary. Two automatic tuning methods proved to be efficient, in which the adaptation rate is based on a combination of the error, squared error and integral error. These methods are relatively simple and robust against disturbances, parameter uncertainties, and initialization errors. Application of the specific growth rate controller yields a stable system. The controller and automatic tuning methods are qualified by simulations and laboratory experiments with Bordetella pertussis. PMID:18157554

Total Dose Effects on Error Rates in Linear Bipolar Systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Buchner, Stephen; McMorrow, Dale; Bernard, Muriel; Roche, Nicholas; Dusseau, Laurent

2007-01-01

The shapes of single event transients in linear bipolar circuits are distorted by exposure to total ionizing dose radiation. Some transients become broader and others become narrower. Such distortions may affect SET system error rates in a radiation environment. If the transients are broadened by TID, the error rate could increase during the course of a mission, a possibility that has implications for hardness assurance.

Performance analysis of a cascaded coding scheme with interleaved outer code

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lin, S.

1986-01-01

A cascaded coding scheme for a random error channel with a bit-error rate is analyzed. In this scheme, the inner code C sub 1 is an (n sub 1, m sub 1l) binary linear block code which is designed for simultaneous error correction and detection. The outer code C sub 2 is a linear block code with symbols from the Galois field GF (2 sup l) which is designed for correcting both symbol errors and erasures, and is interleaved with a degree m sub 1. A procedure for computing the probability of a correct decoding is presented and an upper bound on the probability of a decoding error is derived. The bound provides much better results than the previous bound for a cascaded coding scheme with an interleaved outer code. Example schemes with inner codes ranging from high rates to very low rates are evaluated. Several schemes provide extremely high reliability even for very high bit-error rates say 10 to the -1 to 10 to the -2 power.

The effect of speaking rate on serial-order sound-level errors in normal healthy controls and persons with aphasia.

PubMed

Fossett, Tepanta R D; McNeil, Malcolm R; Pratt, Sheila R; Tompkins, Connie A; Shuster, Linda I

Although many speech errors can be generated at either a linguistic or motoric level of production, phonetically well-formed sound-level serial-order errors are generally assumed to result from disruption of phonologic encoding (PE) processes. An influential model of PE (Dell, 1986; Dell, Burger & Svec, 1997) predicts that speaking rate should affect the relative proportion of these serial-order sound errors (anticipations, perseverations, exchanges). These predictions have been extended to, and have special relevance for persons with aphasia (PWA) because of the increased frequency with which speech errors occur and because their localization within the functional linguistic architecture may help in diagnosis and treatment. Supporting evidence regarding the effect of speaking rate on phonological encoding has been provided by studies using young normal language (NL) speakers and computer simulations. Limited data exist for older NL users and no group data exist for PWA. This study tested the phonologic encoding properties of Dell's model of speech production (Dell, 1986; Dell,et al., 1997), which predicts that increasing speaking rate affects the relative proportion of serial-order sound errors (i.e., anticipations, perseverations, and exchanges). The effects of speech rate on the error ratios of anticipation/exchange (AE), anticipation/perseveration (AP) and vocal reaction time (VRT) were examined in 16 normal healthy controls (NHC) and 16 PWA without concomitant motor speech disorders. The participants were recorded performing a phonologically challenging (tongue twister) speech production task at their typical and two faster speaking rates. A significant effect of increased rate was obtained for the AP but not the AE ratio. Significant effects of group and rate were obtained for VRT. Although the significant effect of rate for the AP ratio provided evidence that changes in speaking rate did affect PE, the results failed to support the model derived predictions regarding the direction of change for error type proportions. The current findings argued for an alternative concept of the role of activation and decay in influencing types of serial-order sound errors. Rather than a slow activation decay rate (Dell, 1986), the results of the current study were more compatible with an alternative explanation of rapid activation decay or slow build-up of residual activation.

Evaluation of TRMM Ground-Validation Radar-Rain Errors Using Rain Gauge Measurements

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wang, Jianxin; Wolff, David B.

2009-01-01

Ground-validation (GV) radar-rain products are often utilized for validation of the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) spaced-based rain estimates, and hence, quantitative evaluation of the GV radar-rain product error characteristics is vital. This study uses quality-controlled gauge data to compare with TRMM GV radar rain rates in an effort to provide such error characteristics. The results show that significant differences of concurrent radar-gauge rain rates exist at various time scales ranging from 5 min to 1 day, despite lower overall long-term bias. However, the differences between the radar area-averaged rain rates and gauge point rain rates cannot be explained as due to radar error only. The error variance separation method is adapted to partition the variance of radar-gauge differences into the gauge area-point error variance and radar rain estimation error variance. The results provide relatively reliable quantitative uncertainty evaluation of TRMM GV radar rain estimates at various times scales, and are helpful to better understand the differences between measured radar and gauge rain rates. It is envisaged that this study will contribute to better utilization of GV radar rain products to validate versatile spaced-based rain estimates from TRMM, as well as the proposed Global Precipitation Measurement, and other satellites.

Validation of prostate-specific antigen laboratory values recorded in Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results registries.

PubMed

Adamo, Margaret Peggy; Boten, Jessica A; Coyle, Linda M; Cronin, Kathleen A; Lam, Clara J K; Negoita, Serban; Penberthy, Lynne; Stevens, Jennifer L; Ward, Kevin C

2017-02-15

Researchers have used prostate-specific antigen (PSA) values collected by central cancer registries to evaluate tumors for potential aggressive clinical disease. An independent study collecting PSA values suggested a high error rate (18%) related to implied decimal points. To evaluate the error rate in the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) program, a comprehensive review of PSA values recorded across all SEER registries was performed. Consolidated PSA values for eligible prostate cancer cases in SEER registries were reviewed and compared with text documentation from abstracted records. Four types of classification errors were identified: implied decimal point errors, abstraction or coding implementation errors, nonsignificant errors, and changes related to "unknown" values. A total of 50,277 prostate cancer cases diagnosed in 2012 were reviewed. Approximately 94.15% of cases did not have meaningful changes (85.85% correct, 5.58% with a nonsignificant change of <1 ng/mL, and 2.80% with no clinical change). Approximately 5.70% of cases had meaningful changes (1.93% due to implied decimal point errors, 1.54% due to abstract or coding errors, and 2.23% due to errors related to unknown categories). Only 419 of the original 50,277 cases (0.83%) resulted in a change in disease stage due to a corrected PSA value. The implied decimal error rate was only 1.93% of all cases in the current validation study, with a meaningful error rate of 5.81%. The reasons for the lower error rate in SEER are likely due to ongoing and rigorous quality control and visual editing processes by the central registries. The SEER program currently is reviewing and correcting PSA values back to 2004 and will re-release these data in the public use research file. Cancer 2017;123:697-703. © 2016 American Cancer Society. © 2016 The Authors. Cancer published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. on behalf of American Cancer Society.

Errors Affect Hypothetical Intertemporal Food Choice in Women

PubMed Central

Sellitto, Manuela; di Pellegrino, Giuseppe

2014-01-01

Growing evidence suggests that the ability to control behavior is enhanced in contexts in which errors are more frequent. Here we investigated whether pairing desirable food with errors could decrease impulsive choice during hypothetical temporal decisions about food. To this end, healthy women performed a Stop-signal task in which one food cue predicted high-error rate, and another food cue predicted low-error rate. Afterwards, we measured participants’ intertemporal preferences during decisions between smaller-immediate and larger-delayed amounts of food. We expected reduced sensitivity to smaller-immediate amounts of food associated with high-error rate. Moreover, taking into account that deprivational states affect sensitivity for food, we controlled for participants’ hunger. Results showed that pairing food with high-error likelihood decreased temporal discounting. This effect was modulated by hunger, indicating that, the lower the hunger level, the more participants showed reduced impulsive preference for the food previously associated with a high number of errors as compared with the other food. These findings reveal that errors, which are motivationally salient events that recruit cognitive control and drive avoidance learning against error-prone behavior, are effective in reducing impulsive choice for edible outcomes. PMID:25244534

Lineshape theory of pigment-protein complexes: How the finite relaxation time of nuclei influences the exciton relaxation-induced lifetime broadening.

PubMed

Dinh, Thanh-Chung; Renger, Thomas

2016-07-21

In pigment-protein complexes, often the excited states are partially delocalized and the exciton-vibrational coupling in the basis of delocalized states contains large diagonal and small off-diagonal elements. This inequality may be used to introduce potential energy surfaces (PESs) of exciton states and to treat the inter-PES coupling in Markov and secular approximations. The resulting lineshape function consists of a Lorentzian peak that is broadened by the finite lifetime of the exciton states caused by the inter-PES coupling and a vibrational sideband that results from the mutual displacement of the excitonic PESs with respect to that of the ground state. So far analytical expressions have been derived that relate the exciton relaxation-induced lifetime broadening to the Redfield [T. Renger and R. A. Marcus, J. Chem. Phys. 116, 9997 (2002)] or modified Redfield [M. Schröder, U. Kleinekathöfer, and M. Schreiber, J. Chem. Phys. 124, 084903 (2006)] rate constants of exciton relaxation, assuming that intra-PES nuclear relaxation is fast compared to inter-PES transfer. Here, we go beyond this approximation and provide an analytical expression, termed Non-equilibrium Modified Redfield (NeMoR) theory, for the lifetime broadening that takes into account the finite nuclear relaxation time. In an application of the theory to molecular dimers, we find that, for a widely used experimental spectral density of the exciton-vibrational coupling of pigment-protein complexes, the NeMoR spectrum at low-temperatures (T < 150 K) is better approximated by Redfield than by modified Redfield theory. At room temperature, the lifetime broadening obtained with Redfield theory underestimates the NeMoR broadening, whereas modified Redfield theory overestimates it by a similar amount. A fortuitous error compensation in Redfield theory is found to explain the good performance of this theory at low temperatures. Since steady state spectra of PPCs are often measured at low temperatures, Redfield theory still provides a numerically efficient alternative to NeMoR theory. At higher temperatures, we suggest to use NeMoR theory, because it has the same numerical costs as modified Redfield theory, but is more accurate.

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

Barbee, D; McCarthy, A; Galavis, P

Purpose: Errors found during initial physics plan checks frequently require replanning and reprinting, resulting decreased departmental efficiency. Additionally, errors may be missed during physics checks, resulting in potential treatment errors or interruption. This work presents a process control created using the Eclipse Scripting API (ESAPI) enabling dosimetrists and physicists to detect potential errors in the Eclipse treatment planning system prior to performing any plan approvals or printing. Methods: Potential failure modes for five categories were generated based on available ESAPI (v11) patient object properties: Images, Contours, Plans, Beams, and Dose. An Eclipse script plugin (PlanCheck) was written in C# tomore » check errors most frequently observed clinically in each of the categories. The PlanCheck algorithms were devised to check technical aspects of plans, such as deliverability (e.g. minimum EDW MUs), in addition to ensuring that policy and procedures relating to planning were being followed. The effect on clinical workflow efficiency was measured by tracking the plan document error rate and plan revision/retirement rates in the Aria database over monthly intervals. Results: The number of potential failure modes the PlanCheck script is currently capable of checking for in the following categories: Images (6), Contours (7), Plans (8), Beams (17), and Dose (4). Prior to implementation of the PlanCheck plugin, the observed error rates in errored plan documents and revised/retired plans in the Aria database was 20% and 22%, respectively. Error rates were seen to decrease gradually over time as adoption of the script improved. Conclusion: A process control created using the Eclipse scripting API enabled plan checks to occur within the planning system, resulting in reduction in error rates and improved efficiency. Future work includes: initiating full FMEA for planning workflow, extending categories to include additional checks outside of ESAPI via Aria database queries, and eventual automated plan checks.« less

Bit-error rate for free-space adaptive optics laser communications.

PubMed

Tyson, Robert K

2002-04-01

An analysis of adaptive optics compensation for atmospheric-turbulence-induced scintillation is presented with the figure of merit being the laser communications bit-error rate. The formulation covers weak, moderate, and strong turbulence; on-off keying; and amplitude-shift keying, over horizontal propagation paths or on a ground-to-space uplink or downlink. The theory shows that under some circumstances the bit-error rate can be improved by a few orders of magnitude with the addition of adaptive optics to compensate for the scintillation. Low-order compensation (less than 40 Zernike modes) appears to be feasible as well as beneficial for reducing the bit-error rate and increasing the throughput of the communication link.

Transcriptional fidelities of human mitochondrial POLRMT, yeast mitochondrial Rpo41, and phage T7 single-subunit RNA polymerases.

PubMed

Sultana, Shemaila; Solotchi, Mihai; Ramachandran, Aparna; Patel, Smita S

2017-11-03

Single-subunit RNA polymerases (RNAPs) are present in phage T7 and in mitochondria of all eukaryotes. This RNAP class plays important roles in biotechnology and cellular energy production, but we know little about its fidelity and error rates. Herein, we report the error rates of three single-subunit RNAPs measured from the catalytic efficiencies of correct and all possible incorrect nucleotides. The average error rates of T7 RNAP (2 × 10 -6 ), yeast mitochondrial Rpo41 (6 × 10 -6 ), and human mitochondrial POLRMT (RNA polymerase mitochondrial) (2 × 10 -5 ) indicate high accuracy/fidelity of RNA synthesis resembling those of replicative DNA polymerases. All three RNAPs exhibit a distinctly high propensity for GTP misincorporation opposite dT, predicting frequent A→G errors in RNA with rates of ∼10 -4 The A→C, G→A, A→U, C→U, G→U, U→C, and U→G errors mostly due to pyrimidine-purine mismatches were relatively frequent (10 -5 -10 -6 ), whereas C→G, U→A, G→C, and C→A errors from purine-purine and pyrimidine-pyrimidine mismatches were rare (10 -7 -10 -10 ). POLRMT also shows a high C→A error rate on 8-oxo-dG templates (∼10 -4 ). Strikingly, POLRMT shows a high mutagenic bypass rate, which is exacerbated by TEFM (transcription elongation factor mitochondrial). The lifetime of POLRMT on terminally mismatched elongation substrate is increased in the presence of TEFM, which allows POLRMT to efficiently bypass the error and continue with transcription. This investigation of nucleotide selectivity on normal and oxidatively damaged DNA by three single-subunit RNAPs provides the basic information to understand the error rates in mitochondria and, in the case of T7 RNAP, to assess the quality of in vitro transcribed RNAs. © 2017 by The American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Inc.

A comparison of medication administration errors from original medication packaging and multi-compartment compliance aids in care homes: A prospective observational study.

PubMed

Gilmartin-Thomas, Julia Fiona-Maree; Smith, Felicity; Wolfe, Rory; Jani, Yogini

2017-07-01

No published study has been specifically designed to compare medication administration errors between original medication packaging and multi-compartment compliance aids in care homes, using direct observation. Compare the effect of original medication packaging and multi-compartment compliance aids on medication administration accuracy. Prospective observational. Ten Greater London care homes. Nurses and carers administering medications. Between October 2014 and June 2015, a pharmacist researcher directly observed solid, orally administered medications in tablet or capsule form at ten purposively sampled care homes (five only used original medication packaging and five used both multi-compartment compliance aids and original medication packaging). The medication administration error rate was calculated as the number of observed doses administered (or omitted) in error according to medication administration records, compared to the opportunities for error (total number of observed doses plus omitted doses). Over 108.4h, 41 different staff (35 nurses, 6 carers) were observed to administer medications to 823 residents during 90 medication administration rounds. A total of 2452 medication doses were observed (1385 from original medication packaging, 1067 from multi-compartment compliance aids). One hundred and seventy eight medication administration errors were identified from 2493 opportunities for error (7.1% overall medication administration error rate). A greater medication administration error rate was seen for original medication packaging than multi-compartment compliance aids (9.3% and 3.1% respectively, risk ratio (RR)=3.9, 95% confidence interval (CI) 2.4 to 6.1, p<0.001). Similar differences existed when comparing medication administration error rates between original medication packaging (from original medication packaging-only care homes) and multi-compartment compliance aids (RR=2.3, 95%CI 1.1 to 4.9, p=0.03), and between original medication packaging and multi-compartment compliance aids within care homes that used a combination of both medication administration systems (RR=4.3, 95%CI 2.7 to 6.8, p<0.001). A significant difference in error rate was not observed between use of a single or combination medication administration system (p=0.44). The significant difference in, and high overall, medication administration error rate between original medication packaging and multi-compartment compliance aids supports the use of the latter in care homes, as well as local investigation of tablet and capsule impact on medication administration errors and staff training to prevent errors occurring. As a significant difference in error rate was not observed between use of a single or combination medication administration system, common practice of using both multi-compartment compliance aids (for most medications) and original packaging (for medications with stability issues) is supported. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The threshold vs LNT showdown: Dose rate findings exposed flaws in the LNT model part 2. How a mistake led BEIR I to adopt LNT

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

Calabrese, Edward J., E-mail: edwardc@schoolph.uma

This paper reveals that nearly 25 years after the used Russell's dose-rate data to support the adoption of the linear-no-threshold (LNT) dose response model for genetic and cancer risk assessment, Russell acknowledged a significant under-reporting of the mutation rate of the historical control group. This error, which was unknown to BEIR I, had profound implications, leading it to incorrectly adopt the LNT model, which was a decision that profoundly changed the course of risk assessment for radiation and chemicals to the present. -- Highlights: • The BEAR I Genetics Panel made an error in denying dose rate for mutation. •more » The BEIR I Genetics Subcommittee attempted to correct this dose rate error. • The control group used for risk assessment by BEIR I is now known to be in error. • Correcting this error contradicts the LNT, supporting a threshold model.« less

Impact of automated dispensing cabinets on medication selection and preparation error rates in an emergency department: a prospective and direct observational before-and-after study.

PubMed

Fanning, Laura; Jones, Nick; Manias, Elizabeth

2016-04-01

The implementation of automated dispensing cabinets (ADCs) in healthcare facilities appears to be increasing, in particular within Australian hospital emergency departments (EDs). While the investment in ADCs is on the increase, no studies have specifically investigated the impacts of ADCs on medication selection and preparation error rates in EDs. Our aim was to assess the impact of ADCs on medication selection and preparation error rates in an ED of a tertiary teaching hospital. Pre intervention and post intervention study involving direct observations of nurses completing medication selection and preparation activities before and after the implementation of ADCs in the original and new emergency departments within a 377-bed tertiary teaching hospital in Australia. Medication selection and preparation error rates were calculated and compared between these two periods. Secondary end points included the impact on medication error type and severity. A total of 2087 medication selection and preparations were observed among 808 patients pre and post intervention. Implementation of ADCs in the new ED resulted in a 64.7% (1.96% versus 0.69%, respectively, P = 0.017) reduction in medication selection and preparation errors. All medication error types were reduced in the post intervention study period. There was an insignificant impact on medication error severity as all errors detected were categorised as minor. The implementation of ADCs could reduce medication selection and preparation errors and improve medication safety in an ED setting. © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Teamwork and clinical error reporting among nurses in Korean hospitals.

PubMed

Hwang, Jee-In; Ahn, Jeonghoon

2015-03-01

To examine levels of teamwork and its relationships with clinical error reporting among Korean hospital nurses. The study employed a cross-sectional survey design. We distributed a questionnaire to 674 nurses in two teaching hospitals in Korea. The questionnaire included items on teamwork and the reporting of clinical errors. We measured teamwork using the Teamwork Perceptions Questionnaire, which has five subscales including team structure, leadership, situation monitoring, mutual support, and communication. Using logistic regression analysis, we determined the relationships between teamwork and error reporting. The response rate was 85.5%. The mean score of teamwork was 3.5 out of 5. At the subscale level, mutual support was rated highest, while leadership was rated lowest. Of the participating nurses, 522 responded that they had experienced at least one clinical error in the last 6 months. Among those, only 53.0% responded that they always or usually reported clinical errors to their managers and/or the patient safety department. Teamwork was significantly associated with better error reporting. Specifically, nurses with a higher team communication score were more likely to report clinical errors to their managers and the patient safety department (odds ratio = 1.82, 95% confidence intervals [1.05, 3.14]). Teamwork was rated as moderate and was positively associated with nurses' error reporting performance. Hospital executives and nurse managers should make substantial efforts to enhance teamwork, which will contribute to encouraging the reporting of errors and improving patient safety. Copyright © 2015. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Determination of Type I Error Rates and Power of Answer Copying Indices under Various Conditions

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Yormaz, Seha; Sünbül, Önder

2017-01-01

This study aims to determine the Type I error rates and power of S[subscript 1] , S[subscript 2] indices and kappa statistic at detecting copying on multiple-choice tests under various conditions. It also aims to determine how copying groups are created in order to calculate how kappa statistics affect Type I error rates and power. In this study,…

Can a two-hour lecture by a pharmacist improve the quality of prescriptions in a pediatric hospital? A retrospective cohort study.

PubMed

Vairy, Stephanie; Corny, Jennifer; Jamoulle, Olivier; Levy, Arielle; Lebel, Denis; Carceller, Ana

2017-12-01

A high rate of prescription errors exists in pediatric teaching hospitals, especially during initial training. To determine the effectiveness of a two-hour lecture by a pharmacist on rates of prescription errors and quality of prescriptions. A two-hour lecture led by a pharmacist was provided to 11 junior pediatric residents (PGY-1) as part of a one-month immersion program. A control group included 15 residents without the intervention. We reviewed charts to analyze the first 50 prescriptions of each resident. Data were collected from 1300 prescriptions involving 451 patients, 550 in the intervention group and 750 in the control group. The rate of prescription errors in the intervention group was 9.6% compared to 11.3% in the control group (p=0.32), affecting 106 patients. Statistically significant differences between both groups were prescriptions with unwritten doses (p=0.01) and errors involving overdosing (p=0.04). We identified many errors as well as issues surrounding quality of prescriptions. We found a 10.6% prescription error rate. This two-hour lecture seems insufficient to reduce prescription errors among junior pediatric residents. This study highlights the most frequent types of errors and prescription quality issues that should be targeted by future educational interventions.

Zero tolerance prescribing: a strategy to reduce prescribing errors on the paediatric intensive care unit.

PubMed

Booth, Rachelle; Sturgess, Emma; Taberner-Stokes, Alison; Peters, Mark

2012-11-01

To establish the baseline prescribing error rate in a tertiary paediatric intensive care unit (PICU) and to determine the impact of a zero tolerance prescribing (ZTP) policy incorporating a dedicated prescribing area and daily feedback of prescribing errors. A prospective, non-blinded, observational study was undertaken in a 12-bed tertiary PICU over a period of 134 weeks. Baseline prescribing error data were collected on weekdays for all patients for a period of 32 weeks, following which the ZTP policy was introduced. Daily error feedback was introduced after a further 12 months. Errors were sub-classified as 'clinical', 'non-clinical' and 'infusion prescription' errors and the effects of interventions considered separately. The baseline combined prescribing error rate was 892 (95 % confidence interval (CI) 765-1,019) errors per 1,000 PICU occupied bed days (OBDs), comprising 25.6 % clinical, 44 % non-clinical and 30.4 % infusion prescription errors. The combined interventions of ZTP plus daily error feedback were associated with a reduction in the combined prescribing error rate to 447 (95 % CI 389-504) errors per 1,000 OBDs (p < 0.0001), an absolute risk reduction of 44.5 % (95 % CI 40.8-48.0 %). Introduction of the ZTP policy was associated with a significant decrease in clinical and infusion prescription errors, while the introduction of daily error feedback was associated with a significant reduction in non-clinical prescribing errors. The combined interventions of ZTP and daily error feedback were associated with a significant reduction in prescribing errors in the PICU, in line with Department of Health requirements of a 40 % reduction within 5 years.

Frequency and analysis of non-clinical errors made in radiology reports using the National Integrated Medical Imaging System voice recognition dictation software.

PubMed

Motyer, R E; Liddy, S; Torreggiani, W C; Buckley, O

2016-11-01

Voice recognition (VR) dictation of radiology reports has become the mainstay of reporting in many institutions worldwide. Despite benefit, such software is not without limitations, and transcription errors have been widely reported. Evaluate the frequency and nature of non-clinical transcription error using VR dictation software. Retrospective audit of 378 finalised radiology reports. Errors were counted and categorised by significance, error type and sub-type. Data regarding imaging modality, report length and dictation time was collected. 67 (17.72 %) reports contained ≥1 errors, with 7 (1.85 %) containing 'significant' and 9 (2.38 %) containing 'very significant' errors. A total of 90 errors were identified from the 378 reports analysed, with 74 (82.22 %) classified as 'insignificant', 7 (7.78 %) as 'significant', 9 (10 %) as 'very significant'. 68 (75.56 %) errors were 'spelling and grammar', 20 (22.22 %) 'missense' and 2 (2.22 %) 'nonsense'. 'Punctuation' error was most common sub-type, accounting for 27 errors (30 %). Complex imaging modalities had higher error rates per report and sentence. Computed tomography contained 0.040 errors per sentence compared to plain film with 0.030. Longer reports had a higher error rate, with reports >25 sentences containing an average of 1.23 errors per report compared to 0-5 sentences containing 0.09. These findings highlight the limitations of VR dictation software. While most error was deemed insignificant, there were occurrences of error with potential to alter report interpretation and patient management. Longer reports and reports on more complex imaging had higher error rates and this should be taken into account by the reporting radiologist.

Addressing Angular Single-Event Effects in the Estimation of On-Orbit Error Rates

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

Lee, David S.; Swift, Gary M.; Wirthlin, Michael J.

2015-12-01

Our study describes complications introduced by angular direct ionization events on space error rate predictions. In particular, prevalence of multiple-cell upsets and a breakdown in the application of effective linear energy transfer in modern-scale devices can skew error rates approximated from currently available estimation models. Moreover, this paper highlights the importance of angular testing and proposes a methodology to extend existing error estimation tools to properly consider angular strikes in modern-scale devices. Finally, these techniques are illustrated with test data provided from a modern 28 nm SRAM-based device.

Reducing the Familiarity of Conjunction Lures with Pictures

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lloyd, Marianne E.

2013-01-01

Four experiments were conducted to test whether conjunction errors were reduced after pictorial encoding and whether the semantic overlap between study and conjunction items would impact error rates. Across 4 experiments, compound words studied with a single-picture had lower conjunction error rates during a recognition test than those words…

45 CFR 98.100 - Error Rate Report.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... Welfare DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES GENERAL ADMINISTRATION CHILD CARE AND DEVELOPMENT FUND... rates, which is defined as the percentage of cases with an error (expressed as the total number of cases with an error compared to the total number of cases); the percentage of cases with an improper payment...

Certification of ICI 1012 optical data storage tape

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Howell, J. M.

1993-01-01

ICI has developed a unique and novel method of certifying a Terabyte optical tape. The tape quality is guaranteed as a statistical upper limit on the probability of uncorrectable errors. This is called the Corrected Byte Error Rate or CBER. We developed this probabilistic method because of two reasons why error rate cannot be measured directly. Firstly, written data is indelible, so one cannot employ write/read tests such as used for magnetic tape. Secondly, the anticipated error rates need impractically large samples to measure accurately. For example, a rate of 1E-12 implies only one byte in error per tape. The archivability of ICI 1012 Data Storage Tape in general is well characterized and understood. Nevertheless, customers expect performance guarantees to be supported by test results on individual tapes. In particular, they need assurance that data is retrievable after decades in archive. This paper describes the mathematical basis, measurement apparatus and applicability of the certification method.

The dependence of crowding on flanker complexity and target-flanker similarity

PubMed Central

Bernard, Jean-Baptiste; Chung, Susana T.L.

2013-01-01

We examined the effects of the spatial complexity of flankers and target-flanker similarity on the performance of identifying crowded letters. On each trial, observers identified the middle character of random strings of three characters (“trigrams”) briefly presented at 10° below fixation. We tested the 26 lowercase letters of the Times-Roman and Courier fonts, a set of 79 characters (letters and non-letters) of the Times-Roman font, and the uppercase letters of two highly complex ornamental fonts, Edwardian and Aristocrat. Spatial complexity of characters was quantified by the length of the morphological skeleton of each character, and target-flanker similarity was defined based on a psychometric similarity matrix. Our results showed that (1) letter identification error rate increases with flanker complexity up to a certain value, beyond which error rate becomes independent of flanker complexity; (2) the increase of error rate is slower for high-complexity target letters; (3) error rate increases with target-flanker similarity; and (4) mislocation error rate increases with target-flanker similarity. These findings, combined with the current understanding of the faulty feature integration account of crowding, provide some constraints of how the feature integration process could cause perceptual errors. PMID:21730225

Total energy based flight control system

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lambregts, Antonius A. (Inventor)

1985-01-01

An integrated aircraft longitudinal flight control system uses a generalized thrust and elevator command computation (38), which accepts flight path angle, longitudinal acceleration command signals, along with associated feedback signals, to form energy rate error (20) and energy rate distribution error (18) signals. The engine thrust command is developed (22) as a function of the energy rate distribution error and the elevator position command is developed (26) as a function of the energy distribution error. For any vertical flight path and speed mode the outerloop errors are normalized (30, 34) to produce flight path angle and longitudinal acceleration commands. The system provides decoupled flight path and speed control for all control modes previously provided by the longitudinal autopilot, autothrottle and flight management systems.

A comparison of endoscopic localization error rate between operating surgeons and referring endoscopists in colorectal cancer.

PubMed

Azin, Arash; Saleh, Fady; Cleghorn, Michelle; Yuen, Andrew; Jackson, Timothy; Okrainec, Allan; Quereshy, Fayez A

2017-03-01

Colonoscopy for colorectal cancer (CRC) has a localization error rate as high as 21 %. Such errors can have substantial clinical consequences, particularly in laparoscopic surgery. The primary objective of this study was to compare accuracy of tumor localization at initial endoscopy performed by either the operating surgeon or non-operating referring endoscopist. All patients who underwent surgical resection for CRC at a large tertiary academic hospital between January 2006 and August 2014 were identified. The exposure of interest was the initial endoscopist: (1) surgeon who also performed the definitive operation (operating surgeon group); and (2) referring gastroenterologist or general surgeon (referring endoscopist group). The outcome measure was localization error, defined as a difference in at least one anatomic segment between initial endoscopy and final operative location. Multivariate logistic regression was used to explore the association between localization error rate and the initial endoscopist. A total of 557 patients were included in the study; 81 patients in the operating surgeon cohort and 476 patients in the referring endoscopist cohort. Initial diagnostic colonoscopy performed by the operating surgeon compared to referring endoscopist demonstrated statistically significant lower intraoperative localization error rate (1.2 vs. 9.0 %, P = 0.016); shorter mean time from endoscopy to surgery (52.3 vs. 76.4 days, P = 0.015); higher tattoo localization rate (32.1 vs. 21.0 %, P = 0.027); and lower preoperative repeat endoscopy rate (8.6 vs. 40.8 %, P < 0.001). Initial endoscopy performed by the operating surgeon was protective against localization error on both univariate analysis, OR 7.94 (95 % CI 1.08-58.52; P = 0.016), and multivariate analysis, OR 7.97 (95 % CI 1.07-59.38; P = 0.043). This study demonstrates that diagnostic colonoscopies performed by an operating surgeon are independently associated with a lower localization error rate. Further research exploring the factors influencing localization accuracy and why operating surgeons have lower error rates relative to non-operating endoscopists is necessary to understand differences in care.

Frequency of data extraction errors and methods to increase data extraction quality: a methodological review.

PubMed

Mathes, Tim; Klaßen, Pauline; Pieper, Dawid

2017-11-28

Our objective was to assess the frequency of data extraction errors and its potential impact on results in systematic reviews. Furthermore, we evaluated the effect of different extraction methods, reviewer characteristics and reviewer training on error rates and results. We performed a systematic review of methodological literature in PubMed, Cochrane methodological registry, and by manual searches (12/2016). Studies were selected by two reviewers independently. Data were extracted in standardized tables by one reviewer and verified by a second. The analysis included six studies; four studies on extraction error frequency, one study comparing different reviewer extraction methods and two studies comparing different reviewer characteristics. We did not find a study on reviewer training. There was a high rate of extraction errors (up to 50%). Errors often had an influence on effect estimates. Different data extraction methods and reviewer characteristics had moderate effect on extraction error rates and effect estimates. The evidence base for established standards of data extraction seems weak despite the high prevalence of extraction errors. More comparative studies are needed to get deeper insights into the influence of different extraction methods.

PRESAGE: Protecting Structured Address Generation against Soft Errors

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

Sharma, Vishal C.; Gopalakrishnan, Ganesh; Krishnamoorthy, Sriram

Modern computer scaling trends in pursuit of larger component counts and power efficiency have, unfortunately, lead to less reliable hardware and consequently soft errors escaping into application data ("silent data corruptions"). Techniques to enhance system resilience hinge on the availability of efficient error detectors that have high detection rates, low false positive rates, and lower computational overhead. Unfortunately, efficient detectors to detect faults during address generation (to index large arrays) have not been widely researched. We present a novel lightweight compiler-driven technique called PRESAGE for detecting bit-flips affecting structured address computations. A key insight underlying PRESAGE is that any addressmore » computation scheme that flows an already incurred error is better than a scheme that corrupts one particular array access but otherwise (falsely) appears to compute perfectly. Enabling the flow of errors allows one to situate detectors at loop exit points, and helps turn silent corruptions into easily detectable error situations. Our experiments using PolyBench benchmark suite indicate that PRESAGE-based error detectors have a high error-detection rate while incurring low overheads.« less

PRESAGE: Protecting Structured Address Generation against Soft Errors

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

Sharma, Vishal C.; Gopalakrishnan, Ganesh; Krishnamoorthy, Sriram

Modern computer scaling trends in pursuit of larger component counts and power efficiency have, unfortunately, lead to less reliable hardware and consequently soft errors escaping into application data ("silent data corruptions"). Techniques to enhance system resilience hinge on the availability of efficient error detectors that have high detection rates, low false positive rates, and lower computational overhead. Unfortunately, efficient detectors to detect faults during address generation have not been widely researched (especially in the context of indexing large arrays). We present a novel lightweight compiler-driven technique called PRESAGE for detecting bit-flips affecting structured address computations. A key insight underlying PRESAGEmore » is that any address computation scheme that propagates an already incurred error is better than a scheme that corrupts one particular array access but otherwise (falsely) appears to compute perfectly. Ensuring the propagation of errors allows one to place detectors at loop exit points and helps turn silent corruptions into easily detectable error situations. Our experiments using the PolyBench benchmark suite indicate that PRESAGE-based error detectors have a high error-detection rate while incurring low overheads.« less

Antiretroviral medication prescribing errors are common with hospitalization of HIV-infected patients.

PubMed

Commers, Tessa; Swindells, Susan; Sayles, Harlan; Gross, Alan E; Devetten, Marcel; Sandkovsky, Uriel

2014-01-01

Errors in prescribing antiretroviral therapy (ART) often occur with the hospitalization of HIV-infected patients. The rapid identification and prevention of errors may reduce patient harm and healthcare-associated costs. A retrospective review of hospitalized HIV-infected patients was carried out between 1 January 2009 and 31 December 2011. Errors were documented as omission, underdose, overdose, duplicate therapy, incorrect scheduling and/or incorrect therapy. The time to error correction was recorded. Relative risks (RRs) were computed to evaluate patient characteristics and error rates. A total of 289 medication errors were identified in 146/416 admissions (35%). The most common was drug omission (69%). At an error rate of 31%, nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors were associated with an increased risk of error when compared with protease inhibitors (RR 1.32; 95% CI 1.04-1.69) and co-formulated drugs (RR 1.59; 95% CI 1.19-2.09). Of the errors, 31% were corrected within the first 24 h, but over half (55%) were never remedied. Admissions with an omission error were 7.4 times more likely to have all errors corrected within 24 h than were admissions without an omission. Drug interactions with ART were detected on 51 occasions. For the study population (n = 177), an increased risk of admission error was observed for black (43%) compared with white (28%) individuals (RR 1.53; 95% CI 1.16-2.03) but no significant differences were observed between white patients and other minorities or between men and women. Errors in inpatient ART were common, and the majority were never detected. The most common errors involved omission of medication, and nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors had the highest rate of prescribing error. Interventions to prevent and correct errors are urgently needed.

Online Error Reporting for Managing Quality Control Within Radiology.

PubMed

Golnari, Pedram; Forsberg, Daniel; Rosipko, Beverly; Sunshine, Jeffrey L

2016-06-01

Information technology systems within health care, such as picture archiving and communication system (PACS) in radiology, can have a positive impact on production but can also risk compromising quality. The widespread use of PACS has removed the previous feedback loop between radiologists and technologists. Instead of direct communication of quality discrepancies found for an examination, the radiologist submitted a paper-based quality-control report. A web-based issue-reporting tool can help restore some of the feedback loop and also provide possibilities for more detailed analysis of submitted errors. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the hypothesis that data from use of an online error reporting software for quality control can focus our efforts within our department. For the 372,258 radiologic examinations conducted during the 6-month period study, 930 errors (390 exam protocol, 390 exam validation, and 150 exam technique) were submitted, corresponding to an error rate of 0.25 %. Within the category exam protocol, technologist documentation had the highest number of submitted errors in ultrasonography (77 errors [44 %]), while imaging protocol errors were the highest subtype error for computed tomography modality (35 errors [18 %]). Positioning and incorrect accession had the highest errors in the exam technique and exam validation error category, respectively, for nearly all of the modalities. An error rate less than 1 % could signify a system with a very high quality; however, a more likely explanation is that not all errors were detected or reported. Furthermore, staff reception of the error reporting system could also affect the reporting rate.

Recent Advances in Optically Controlled Bulk Semiconductor Switches

DTIC Science & Technology

1985-06-01

REO!NT AIJifl,NCES IN (FTICALIX ~1Ra.LW IILK SHttiaHlOCIOR swrrams L. Bovino , T. Burke, R. Youmans, M. Weiner, J. Carter U.S. Ar~ Electronics...fabrication of all of our optically activated switches. B.e.fer.enc.es. 1. L. Bovino , R. Youmans, T. Burke, M.Weiner, "Modulator Circuits Using Q...tically Activated Switches", Record of 16th Power Modulator SYJll>o- siurn, pp 235-239, June 1984. 2. M. Weiner, T. Burke, R. Youmans, L. Bovino , J

STUDY OF THE U/Th RATIO IN A THORITE FROM KIVU (BELGIAN CONGO) WITH REGARD TO ITS UTILIZATION IN THE PREPARATION OF THORIUM STANDARDS FOR GAMMA SPECTROMETRY (in French)

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

Poulaert, G.

1958-01-01

The uranium and thorium contents of a thorite from Kivu were determined. The very low U/Th ratio found makes this mineral a good standard for gamma spectrometry and fer all other direct radiometric measurements of thorium. The mineral was used in the preparation of ThB standards for the determination of the absolute age of rocks and minerals. (tr-auth)

Technology Development for Tapered-Wiggler Free-Electron Lasers

DTIC Science & Technology

1984-04-01

3-12 . 3-8 Demagnetizing Field for Magnets in Assembled Wiggler, 3-14 the Contour Lines are of g H/M, where K (-B )0r is the Level of Magnetization . 3...of discrepancy may be due to demagnetization at the time of wiggler assembly. The demagnetizing a field for magnets in the presence of the entire... magnetization . The areas of £s0H/M -l- will suf fer Pm. some permanent demagnetization . This loss of magnetization is the reason %! for the slight rolloff

Development of Methodology to Classify Historical Panchromatic Aerial Photography. Analysis of Landscape Features on Point Au Fer Island, Louisiana - from 1956 to 2009: A Case Study

DTIC Science & Technology

2011-12-01

7,386 acres). Hurricanes and other extreme extratropical storms have been shown to contribute to extensive shoreline erosion and breaching, and the...that provide protection from storms ; serve as species habitat; act as a control for nutrient and pollution transfer; support fish, agriculture...quickly and accurately classify historical panchromatic photography in order to identify storm -induced land loss and impacts (Morton et al. 2005; Barras

CORROSION RESISTANT JACKETED METAL BODY

DOEpatents

Brugmann, E.W.

1958-08-26

S>Metal jacketed metallic bodies of the type used as feel elements fer nuclear reactors are presented. The fuel element is comprised of a plurality of jacketed cylindrical bodies joined in end to end abutting relationship. The abutting ends of the internal fissionable bodies are provided with a mating screw and thread means for joining the two together. The jacket material is of a corrosion resistant metal and overlaps the abutting ends of the internal bodies, thereby effectively sealing these bodies from contact with exteral reactive gases and liquids.

Anthropology. Response to Comment on "Late Pleistocene human skeleton and mtDNA link Paleoamericans and modern Native Americans".

PubMed

Kemp, Brian M; Lindo, John; Bolnick, Deborah A; Malhi, Ripan S; Chatters, James C

2015-02-20

Prüfer and Meyer raise concerns over the mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) results we reported for the Hoyo Negro individual, citing failure of a portion of these data to conform to their expectations of ancient DNA (aDNA). Because damage patterns in aDNA vary, outright rejection of our findings on this basis is unwarranted, especially in light of our other observations. Copyright © 2015, American Association for the Advancement of Science.

Peering through Different Bombsights: Military Historians, Diplomatic Historians, and the Decision to Drop the Atomic Bomb

DTIC Science & Technology

1998-01-01

sion, while the revi sion ists can of fer various hypothe ses as to the under ly­ ing reasons behind President Harry Tru­ man’s deci sion. Their... Report Documentation Page Form ApprovedOMB No. 0704-0188 Public reporting burden for the collection of information is estimated to average 1 hour per...including suggestions for reducing this burden, to Washington Headquarters Services, Directorate for Information Operations and Reports , 1215 Jefferson

Structural Analysis Computer Programs for Rigid Multicomponent Pavement Structures with Discontinuities--WESLIQID and WESLAYER. Report 1. Program Development and Numerical Presentations.

DTIC Science & Technology

1981-05-01

represented as a Winkler foundation. The program can treat any number of slabs connected by steel bars or other load trans- fer devices at the joints...dimensional finite element method. The inherent flexibility of such an approach permits the analysis of a rigid pavement with steel bars and stabilized...layers and provides an efficient tool for analyzing stress conditions at the joint. Unfor- tunately, such a procedure would require a tremendously

Investigation of Single versus Dual - Hot and Cold Building Water Systems.

DTIC Science & Technology

1981-10-15

S. Ramsey 2, Philip B. Shepherd JOHNS - MANVILLE SALES CORPORATION RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT CENTER KEN-CARYL RANCH DENVER, COLORADO 80217 15 October...Bruce DAAK 70-78-D-0002 Mark S. Ramsey Philip B. Shepherd 9PERFORMAING ORGANIZATION NAME AND ADDRESS 10. PROGRAM ELEMEN4T. PROJECT, TASK Johns - Manville Sales...0c NUMBER OF PIPE CCOLDOWN CYCLES FER DAY= 1.20 126 12/09/FC PAGE JOhNS - MANVILLE RESEARCH F DEVFLOPPENT CENTER ktlILDINC- HEATED WATER SUPPLY SYSTFM

Paraxial Stage of the Spatiotemporal Dynamics of Loop Solitons

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sazonov, Sergey V.

2018-03-01

Using the averaged Lagrangian method, an analytic study of the spatiotemporal dynamics of extremely short loop solitons of the generalized Vakhnenko-Schäfer-Wayne equation is carried out. The conditions under which soliton propagation occurs in the modes of defocusing and self-focusing are determined. It is shown that transverse defocusing is accompanied by a temporal compression of the soliton and a decrease in its amplitude. At the same time, with transverse self-focusing, its temporal broadening and peak amplification occur.

High Precision Ranging and Range-Rate Measurements over Free-Space-Laser Communication Link

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Yang, Guangning; Lu, Wei; Krainak, Michael; Sun, Xiaoli

2016-01-01

We present a high-precision ranging and range-rate measurement system via an optical-ranging or combined ranging-communication link. A complete bench-top optical communication system was built. It included a ground terminal and a space terminal. Ranging and range rate tests were conducted in two configurations. In the communication configuration with 622 data rate, we achieved a two-way range-rate error of 2 microns/s, or a modified Allan deviation of 9 x 10 (exp -15) with 10 second averaging time. Ranging and range-rate as a function of Bit Error Rate of the communication link is reported. They are not sensitive to the link error rate. In the single-frequency amplitude modulation mode, we report a two-way range rate error of 0.8 microns/s, or a modified Allan deviation of 2.6 x 10 (exp -15) with 10 second averaging time. We identified the major noise sources in the current system as the transmitter modulation injected noise and receiver electronics generated noise. A new improved system will be constructed to further improve the system performance for both operating modes.

Estimating population genetic parameters and comparing model goodness-of-fit using DNA sequences with error

PubMed Central

Liu, Xiaoming; Fu, Yun-Xin; Maxwell, Taylor J.; Boerwinkle, Eric

2010-01-01

It is known that sequencing error can bias estimation of evolutionary or population genetic parameters. This problem is more prominent in deep resequencing studies because of their large sample size n, and a higher probability of error at each nucleotide site. We propose a new method based on the composite likelihood of the observed SNP configurations to infer population mutation rate θ = 4Neμ, population exponential growth rate R, and error rate ɛ, simultaneously. Using simulation, we show the combined effects of the parameters, θ, n, ɛ, and R on the accuracy of parameter estimation. We compared our maximum composite likelihood estimator (MCLE) of θ with other θ estimators that take into account the error. The results show the MCLE performs well when the sample size is large or the error rate is high. Using parametric bootstrap, composite likelihood can also be used as a statistic for testing the model goodness-of-fit of the observed DNA sequences. The MCLE method is applied to sequence data on the ANGPTL4 gene in 1832 African American and 1045 European American individuals. PMID:19952140

A long-term follow-up evaluation of electronic health record prescribing safety

PubMed Central

Abramson, Erika L; Malhotra, Sameer; Osorio, S Nena; Edwards, Alison; Cheriff, Adam; Cole, Curtis; Kaushal, Rainu

2013-01-01

Objective To be eligible for incentives through the Electronic Health Record (EHR) Incentive Program, many providers using older or locally developed EHRs will be transitioning to new, commercial EHRs. We previously evaluated prescribing errors made by providers in the first year following transition from a locally developed EHR with minimal prescribing clinical decision support (CDS) to a commercial EHR with robust CDS. Following system refinements, we conducted this study to assess the rates and types of errors 2 years after transition and determine the evolution of errors. Materials and methods We conducted a mixed methods cross-sectional case study of 16 physicians at an academic-affiliated ambulatory clinic from April to June 2010. We utilized standardized prescription and chart review to identify errors. Fourteen providers also participated in interviews. Results We analyzed 1905 prescriptions. The overall prescribing error rate was 3.8 per 100 prescriptions (95% CI 2.8 to 5.1). Error rates were significantly lower 2 years after transition (p<0.001 compared to pre-implementation, 12 weeks and 1 year after transition). Rates of near misses remained unchanged. Providers positively appreciated most system refinements, particularly reduced alert firing. Discussion Our study suggests that over time and with system refinements, use of a commercial EHR with advanced CDS can lead to low prescribing error rates, although more serious errors may require targeted interventions to eliminate them. Reducing alert firing frequency appears particularly important. Our results provide support for federal efforts promoting meaningful use of EHRs. Conclusions Ongoing error monitoring can allow CDS to be optimally tailored and help achieve maximal safety benefits. Clinical Trials Registration ClinicalTrials.gov, Identifier: NCT00603070. PMID:23578816

Prevalence and cost of hospital medical errors in the general and elderly United States populations.

PubMed

Mallow, Peter J; Pandya, Bhavik; Horblyuk, Ruslan; Kaplan, Harold S

2013-12-01

The primary objective of this study was to quantify the differences in the prevalence rate and costs of hospital medical errors between the general population and an elderly population aged ≥65 years. Methods from an actuarial study of medical errors were modified to identify medical errors in the Premier Hospital Database using data from 2009. Visits with more than four medical errors were removed from the population to avoid over-estimation of cost. Prevalence rates were calculated based on the total number of inpatient visits. There were 3,466,596 total inpatient visits in 2009. Of these, 1,230,836 (36%) occurred in people aged ≥ 65. The prevalence rate was 49 medical errors per 1000 inpatient visits in the general cohort and 79 medical errors per 1000 inpatient visits for the elderly cohort. The top 10 medical errors accounted for more than 80% of the total in the general cohort and the 65+ cohort. The most costly medical error for the general population was postoperative infection ($569,287,000). Pressure ulcers were most costly ($347,166,257) in the elderly population. This study was conducted with a hospital administrative database, and assumptions were necessary to identify medical errors in the database. Further, there was no method to identify errors of omission or misdiagnoses within the database. This study indicates that prevalence of hospital medical errors for the elderly is greater than the general population and the associated cost of medical errors in the elderly population is quite substantial. Hospitals which further focus their attention on medical errors in the elderly population may see a significant reduction in costs due to medical errors as a disproportionate percentage of medical errors occur in this age group.

The effectiveness of risk management program on pediatric nurses' medication error.

PubMed

Dehghan-Nayeri, Nahid; Bayat, Fariba; Salehi, Tahmineh; Faghihzadeh, Soghrat

2013-09-01

Medication therapy is one of the most complex and high-risk clinical processes that nurses deal with. Medication error is the most common type of error that brings about damage and death to patients, especially pediatric ones. However, these errors are preventable. Identifying and preventing undesirable events leading to medication errors are the main risk management activities. The aim of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of a risk management program on the pediatric nurses' medication error rate. This study is a quasi-experimental one with a comparison group. In this study, 200 nurses were recruited from two main pediatric hospitals in Tehran. In the experimental hospital, we applied the risk management program for a period of 6 months. Nurses of the control hospital did the hospital routine schedule. A pre- and post-test was performed to measure the frequency of the medication error events. SPSS software, t-test, and regression analysis were used for data analysis. After the intervention, the medication error rate of nurses at the experimental hospital was significantly lower (P < 0.001) and the error-reporting rate was higher (P < 0.007) compared to before the intervention and also in comparison to the nurses of the control hospital. Based on the results of this study and taking into account the high-risk nature of the medical environment, applying the quality-control programs such as risk management can effectively prevent the occurrence of the hospital undesirable events. Nursing mangers can reduce the medication error rate by applying risk management programs. However, this program cannot succeed without nurses' cooperation.

Predicting Reduction Rates of Energetic Nitroaromatic Compounds Using Calculated One-Electron Reduction Potentials

DOE PAGES

Salter-Blanc, Alexandra; Bylaska, Eric J.; Johnston, Hayley; ...

2015-02-11

The evaluation of new energetic nitroaromatic compounds (NACs) for use in green munitions formulations requires models that can predict their environmental fate. The susceptibility of energetic NACs to nitro reduction might be predicted from correlations between rate constants (k) for this reaction and one-electron reduction potentials (E1NAC) / 0.059 V, but the mechanistic implications of such correlations are inconsistent with evidence from other methods. To address this inconsistency, we have reevaluated existing kinetic data using a (non-linear) free-energy relationship (FER) based on the Marcus theory of outer-sphere electron transfer. For most reductants, the results are inconsistent with rate limitation bymore » an initial, outer-sphere electron transfer, suggesting that the strong correlation between k and E1NAC is justified only as an empirical model. This empirical correlation was used to calibrate a new quantitative structure-activity relationship (QSAR) using previously reported values of k for non-energetic NAC reduction by Fe(II) porphyrin and newly reported values of E1NAC determined using density functional theory at the B3LYP/6-311++G(2d,2p) level with the COSMO solvation model. The QSAR was then validated for energetic NACs using newly measured kinetic data for 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene (TNT), 2,4-dinitrotoluene (2,4-DNT), and 2,4-dinitroanisole (DNAN). The data show close agreement with the QSAR, supporting its applicability to energetic NACs.« less

Rate, causes and reporting of medication errors in Jordan: nurses' perspectives.

PubMed

Mrayyan, Majd T; Shishani, Kawkab; Al-Faouri, Ibrahim

2007-09-01

The aim of the study was to describe Jordanian nurses' perceptions about various issues related to medication errors. This is the first nursing study about medication errors in Jordan. This was a descriptive study. A convenient sample of 799 nurses from 24 hospitals was obtained. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used for data analysis. Over the course of their nursing career, the average number of recalled committed medication errors per nurse was 2.2. Using incident reports, the rate of medication errors reported to nurse managers was 42.1%. Medication errors occurred mainly when medication labels/packaging were of poor quality or damaged. Nurses failed to report medication errors because they were afraid that they might be subjected to disciplinary actions or even lose their jobs. In the stepwise regression model, gender was the only predictor of medication errors in Jordan. Strategies to reduce or eliminate medication errors are required.

Image data compression having minimum perceptual error

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Watson, Andrew B. (Inventor)

1995-01-01

A method for performing image compression that eliminates redundant and invisible image components is described. The image compression uses a Discrete Cosine Transform (DCT) and each DCT coefficient yielded by the transform is quantized by an entry in a quantization matrix which determines the perceived image quality and the bit rate of the image being compressed. The present invention adapts or customizes the quantization matrix to the image being compressed. The quantization matrix comprises visual masking by luminance and contrast techniques and by an error pooling technique all resulting in a minimum perceptual error for any given bit rate, or minimum bit rate for a given perceptual error.

Error analysis of high-rate GNSS precise point positioning for seismic wave measurement

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shu, Yuanming; Shi, Yun; Xu, Peiliang; Niu, Xiaoji; Liu, Jingnan

2017-06-01

High-rate GNSS precise point positioning (PPP) has been playing a more and more important role in providing precise positioning information in fast time-varying environments. Although kinematic PPP is commonly known to have a precision of a few centimeters, the precision of high-rate PPP within a short period of time has been reported recently with experiments to reach a few millimeters in the horizontal components and sub-centimeters in the vertical component to measure seismic motion, which is several times better than the conventional kinematic PPP practice. To fully understand the mechanism of mystified excellent performance of high-rate PPP within a short period of time, we have carried out a theoretical error analysis of PPP and conducted the corresponding simulations within a short period of time. The theoretical analysis has clearly indicated that the high-rate PPP errors consist of two types: the residual systematic errors at the starting epoch, which affect high-rate PPP through the change of satellite geometry, and the time-varying systematic errors between the starting epoch and the current epoch. Both the theoretical error analysis and simulated results are fully consistent with and thus have unambiguously confirmed the reported high precision of high-rate PPP, which has been further affirmed here by the real data experiments, indicating that high-rate PPP can indeed achieve the millimeter level of precision in the horizontal components and the sub-centimeter level of precision in the vertical component to measure motion within a short period of time. The simulation results have clearly shown that the random noise of carrier phases and higher order ionospheric errors are two major factors to affect the precision of high-rate PPP within a short period of time. The experiments with real data have also indicated that the precision of PPP solutions can degrade to the cm level in both the horizontal and vertical components, if the geometry of satellites is rather poor with a large DOP value.

Probability of Detection of Genotyping Errors and Mutations as Inheritance Inconsistencies in Nuclear-Family Data

PubMed Central

Douglas, Julie A.; Skol, Andrew D.; Boehnke, Michael

2002-01-01

Gene-mapping studies routinely rely on checking for Mendelian transmission of marker alleles in a pedigree, as a means of screening for genotyping errors and mutations, with the implicit assumption that, if a pedigree is consistent with Mendel’s laws of inheritance, then there are no genotyping errors. However, the occurrence of inheritance inconsistencies alone is an inadequate measure of the number of genotyping errors, since the rate of occurrence depends on the number and relationships of genotyped pedigree members, the type of errors, and the distribution of marker-allele frequencies. In this article, we calculate the expected probability of detection of a genotyping error or mutation as an inheritance inconsistency in nuclear-family data, as a function of both the number of genotyped parents and offspring and the marker-allele frequency distribution. Through computer simulation, we explore the sensitivity of our analytic calculations to the underlying error model. Under a random-allele–error model, we find that detection rates are 51%–77% for multiallelic markers and 13%–75% for biallelic markers; detection rates are generally lower when the error occurs in a parent than in an offspring, unless a large number of offspring are genotyped. Errors are especially difficult to detect for biallelic markers with equally frequent alleles, even when both parents are genotyped; in this case, the maximum detection rate is 34% for four-person nuclear families. Error detection in families in which parents are not genotyped is limited, even with multiallelic markers. Given these results, we recommend that additional error checking (e.g., on the basis of multipoint analysis) be performed, beyond routine checking for Mendelian consistency. Furthermore, our results permit assessment of the plausibility of an observed number of inheritance inconsistencies for a family, allowing the detection of likely pedigree—rather than genotyping—errors in the early stages of a genome scan. Such early assessments are valuable in either the targeting of families for resampling or discontinued genotyping. PMID:11791214

Outlier removal, sum scores, and the inflation of the Type I error rate in independent samples t tests: the power of alternatives and recommendations.

PubMed

Bakker, Marjan; Wicherts, Jelte M

2014-09-01

In psychology, outliers are often excluded before running an independent samples t test, and data are often nonnormal because of the use of sum scores based on tests and questionnaires. This article concerns the handling of outliers in the context of independent samples t tests applied to nonnormal sum scores. After reviewing common practice, we present results of simulations of artificial and actual psychological data, which show that the removal of outliers based on commonly used Z value thresholds severely increases the Type I error rate. We found Type I error rates of above 20% after removing outliers with a threshold value of Z = 2 in a short and difficult test. Inflations of Type I error rates are particularly severe when researchers are given the freedom to alter threshold values of Z after having seen the effects thereof on outcomes. We recommend the use of nonparametric Mann-Whitney-Wilcoxon tests or robust Yuen-Welch tests without removing outliers. These alternatives to independent samples t tests are found to have nominal Type I error rates with a minimal loss of power when no outliers are present in the data and to have nominal Type I error rates and good power when outliers are present. PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2014 APA, all rights reserved.

Does raising type 1 error rate improve power to detect interactions in linear regression models? A simulation study.

PubMed

Durand, Casey P

2013-01-01

Statistical interactions are a common component of data analysis across a broad range of scientific disciplines. However, the statistical power to detect interactions is often undesirably low. One solution is to elevate the Type 1 error rate so that important interactions are not missed in a low power situation. To date, no study has quantified the effects of this practice on power in a linear regression model. A Monte Carlo simulation study was performed. A continuous dependent variable was specified, along with three types of interactions: continuous variable by continuous variable; continuous by dichotomous; and dichotomous by dichotomous. For each of the three scenarios, the interaction effect sizes, sample sizes, and Type 1 error rate were varied, resulting in a total of 240 unique simulations. In general, power to detect the interaction effect was either so low or so high at α = 0.05 that raising the Type 1 error rate only served to increase the probability of including a spurious interaction in the model. A small number of scenarios were identified in which an elevated Type 1 error rate may be justified. Routinely elevating Type 1 error rate when testing interaction effects is not an advisable practice. Researchers are best served by positing interaction effects a priori and accounting for them when conducting sample size calculations.

An Evaluation of Commercial Pedometers for Monitoring Slow Walking Speed Populations.

PubMed

Beevi, Femina H A; Miranda, Jorge; Pedersen, Christian F; Wagner, Stefan

2016-05-01

Pedometers are considered desirable devices for monitoring physical activity. Two population groups of interest include patients having undergone surgery in the lower extremities or who are otherwise weakened through disease, medical treatment, or surgery procedures, as well as the slow walking senior population. For these population groups, pedometers must be able to perform reliably and accurately at slow walking speeds. The objectives of this study were to evaluate the step count accuracy of three commercially available pedometers, the Yamax (Tokyo, Japan) Digi-Walker(®) SW-200 (YM), the Omron (Kyoto, Japan) HJ-720 (OM), and the Fitbit (San Francisco, CA) Zip (FB), at slow walking speeds, specifically at 1, 2, and 3 km/h, and to raise awareness of the necessity of focusing research on step-counting devices and algorithms for slow walking populations. Fourteen participants 29.93 ±4.93 years of age were requested to walk on a treadmill at the three specified speeds, in four trials of 100 steps each. The devices were worn by the participants on the waist belt. The pedometer counts were recorded, and the error percentage was calculated. The error rate of all three evaluated pedometers decreased with the increase of speed: at 1 km/h the error rates varied from 87.11% (YM) to 95.98% (FB), at 2 km/h the error rates varied from 17.27% (FB) to 46.46% (YM), and at 3 km/h the error rates varied from 22.46% (YM) to a slight overcount of 0.70% (FB). It was observed that all the evaluated devices have high error rates at 1 km/h and mixed error rates at 2 km/h, and at 3 km/h the error rates are the smallest of the three assessed speeds, with the OM and the FB having a slight overcount. These results show that research on pedometers' software and hardware should focus more on accurate step detection at slow walking speeds.

Impact of Measurement Error on Synchrophasor Applications

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

Liu, Yilu; Gracia, Jose R.; Ewing, Paul D.

2015-07-01

Phasor measurement units (PMUs), a type of synchrophasor, are powerful diagnostic tools that can help avert catastrophic failures in the power grid. Because of this, PMU measurement errors are particularly worrisome. This report examines the internal and external factors contributing to PMU phase angle and frequency measurement errors and gives a reasonable explanation for them. It also analyzes the impact of those measurement errors on several synchrophasor applications: event location detection, oscillation detection, islanding detection, and dynamic line rating. The primary finding is that dynamic line rating is more likely to be influenced by measurement error. Other findings include themore » possibility of reporting nonoscillatory activity as an oscillation as the result of error, failing to detect oscillations submerged by error, and the unlikely impact of error on event location and islanding detection.« less

Refractive errors in medical students in Singapore.

PubMed

Woo, W W; Lim, K A; Yang, H; Lim, X Y; Liew, F; Lee, Y S; Saw, S M

2004-10-01

Refractive errors are becoming more of a problem in many societies, with prevalence rates of myopia in many Asian urban countries reaching epidemic proportions. This study aims to determine the prevalence rates of various refractive errors in Singapore medical students. 157 second year medical students (aged 19-23 years) in Singapore were examined. Refractive error measurements were determined using a stand-alone autorefractor. Additional demographical data was obtained via questionnaires filled in by the students. The prevalence rate of myopia in Singapore medical students was 89.8 percent (Spherical equivalence (SE) at least -0.50 D). Hyperopia was present in 1.3 percent (SE more than +0.50 D) of the participants and the overall astigmatism prevalence rate was 82.2 percent (Cylinder at least 0.50 D). Prevalence rates of myopia and astigmatism in second year Singapore medical students are one of the highest in the world.

Social deviance activates the brain's error-monitoring system.

PubMed

Kim, Bo-Rin; Liss, Alison; Rao, Monica; Singer, Zachary; Compton, Rebecca J

2012-03-01

Social psychologists have long noted the tendency for human behavior to conform to social group norms. This study examined whether feedback indicating that participants had deviated from group norms would elicit a neural signal previously shown to be elicited by errors and monetary losses. While electroencephalograms were recorded, participants (N = 30) rated the attractiveness of 120 faces and received feedback giving the purported average rating made by a group of peers. The feedback was manipulated so that group ratings either were the same as a participant's rating or deviated by 1, 2, or 3 points. Feedback indicating deviance from the group norm elicited a feedback-related negativity, a brainwave signal known to be elicited by objective performance errors and losses. The results imply that the brain treats deviance from social norms as an error.

Cryptographic robustness of a quantum cryptography system using phase-time coding

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

Molotkov, S. N.

2008-01-15

A cryptographic analysis is presented of a new quantum key distribution protocol using phase-time coding. An upper bound is obtained for the error rate that guarantees secure key distribution. It is shown that the maximum tolerable error rate for this protocol depends on the counting rate in the control time slot. When no counts are detected in the control time slot, the protocol guarantees secure key distribution if the bit error rate in the sifted key does not exceed 50%. This protocol partially discriminates between errors due to system defects (e.g., imbalance of a fiber-optic interferometer) and eavesdropping. In themore » absence of eavesdropping, the counts detected in the control time slot are not caused by interferometer imbalance, which reduces the requirements for interferometer stability.« less

Automatic learning rate adjustment for self-supervising autonomous robot control

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Arras, Michael K.; Protzel, Peter W.; Palumbo, Daniel L.

1992-01-01

Described is an application in which an Artificial Neural Network (ANN) controls the positioning of a robot arm with five degrees of freedom by using visual feedback provided by two cameras. This application and the specific ANN model, local liner maps, are based on the work of Ritter, Martinetz, and Schulten. We extended their approach by generating a filtered, average positioning error from the continuous camera feedback and by coupling the learning rate to this error. When the network learns to position the arm, the positioning error decreases and so does the learning rate until the system stabilizes at a minimum error and learning rate. This abolishes the need for a predetermined cooling schedule. The automatic cooling procedure results in a closed loop control with no distinction between a learning phase and a production phase. If the positioning error suddenly starts to increase due to an internal failure such as a broken joint, or an environmental change such as a camera moving, the learning rate increases accordingly. Thus, learning is automatically activated and the network adapts to the new condition after which the error decreases again and learning is 'shut off'. The automatic cooling is therefore a prerequisite for the autonomy and the fault tolerance of the system.

An Automated Method to Generate e-Learning Quizzes from Online Language Learner Writing

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Flanagan, Brendan; Yin, Chengjiu; Hirokawa, Sachio; Hashimoto, Kiyota; Tabata, Yoshiyuki

2013-01-01

In this paper, the entries of Lang-8, which is a Social Networking Site (SNS) site for learning and practicing foreign languages, were analyzed and found to contain similar rates of errors for most error categories reported in previous research. These similarly rated errors were then processed using an algorithm to determine corrections suggested…

45 CFR 286.205 - How will we determine if a Tribe fails to meet the minimum work participation rate(s)?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-10-01

..., financial records, and automated data systems; (ii) The data are free from computational errors and are... records, financial records, and automated data systems; (ii) The data are free from computational errors... records, and automated data systems; (ii) The data are free from computational errors and are internally...

DNA Barcoding through Quaternary LDPC Codes

PubMed Central

Tapia, Elizabeth; Spetale, Flavio; Krsticevic, Flavia; Angelone, Laura; Bulacio, Pilar

2015-01-01

For many parallel applications of Next-Generation Sequencing (NGS) technologies short barcodes able to accurately multiplex a large number of samples are demanded. To address these competitive requirements, the use of error-correcting codes is advised. Current barcoding systems are mostly built from short random error-correcting codes, a feature that strongly limits their multiplexing accuracy and experimental scalability. To overcome these problems on sequencing systems impaired by mismatch errors, the alternative use of binary BCH and pseudo-quaternary Hamming codes has been proposed. However, these codes either fail to provide a fine-scale with regard to size of barcodes (BCH) or have intrinsic poor error correcting abilities (Hamming). Here, the design of barcodes from shortened binary BCH codes and quaternary Low Density Parity Check (LDPC) codes is introduced. Simulation results show that although accurate barcoding systems of high multiplexing capacity can be obtained with any of these codes, using quaternary LDPC codes may be particularly advantageous due to the lower rates of read losses and undetected sample misidentification errors. Even at mismatch error rates of 10−2 per base, 24-nt LDPC barcodes can be used to multiplex roughly 2000 samples with a sample misidentification error rate in the order of 10−9 at the expense of a rate of read losses just in the order of 10−6. PMID:26492348

DNA Barcoding through Quaternary LDPC Codes.

PubMed

Tapia, Elizabeth; Spetale, Flavio; Krsticevic, Flavia; Angelone, Laura; Bulacio, Pilar

2015-01-01

For many parallel applications of Next-Generation Sequencing (NGS) technologies short barcodes able to accurately multiplex a large number of samples are demanded. To address these competitive requirements, the use of error-correcting codes is advised. Current barcoding systems are mostly built from short random error-correcting codes, a feature that strongly limits their multiplexing accuracy and experimental scalability. To overcome these problems on sequencing systems impaired by mismatch errors, the alternative use of binary BCH and pseudo-quaternary Hamming codes has been proposed. However, these codes either fail to provide a fine-scale with regard to size of barcodes (BCH) or have intrinsic poor error correcting abilities (Hamming). Here, the design of barcodes from shortened binary BCH codes and quaternary Low Density Parity Check (LDPC) codes is introduced. Simulation results show that although accurate barcoding systems of high multiplexing capacity can be obtained with any of these codes, using quaternary LDPC codes may be particularly advantageous due to the lower rates of read losses and undetected sample misidentification errors. Even at mismatch error rates of 10(-2) per base, 24-nt LDPC barcodes can be used to multiplex roughly 2000 samples with a sample misidentification error rate in the order of 10(-9) at the expense of a rate of read losses just in the order of 10(-6).

Human operator response to error-likely situations in complex engineering systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Morris, Nancy M.; Rouse, William B.

1988-01-01

The causes of human error in complex systems are examined. First, a conceptual framework is provided in which two broad categories of error are discussed: errors of action, or slips, and errors of intention, or mistakes. Conditions in which slips and mistakes might be expected to occur are identified, based on existing theories of human error. Regarding the role of workload, it is hypothesized that workload may act as a catalyst for error. Two experiments are presented in which humans' response to error-likely situations were examined. Subjects controlled PLANT under a variety of conditions and periodically provided subjective ratings of mental effort. A complex pattern of results was obtained, which was not consistent with predictions. Generally, the results of this research indicate that: (1) humans respond to conditions in which errors might be expected by attempting to reduce the possibility of error, and (2) adaptation to conditions is a potent influence on human behavior in discretionary situations. Subjects' explanations for changes in effort ratings are also explored.

Error coding simulations

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Noble, Viveca K.

1993-01-01

There are various elements such as radio frequency interference (RFI) which may induce errors in data being transmitted via a satellite communication link. When a transmission is affected by interference or other error-causing elements, the transmitted data becomes indecipherable. It becomes necessary to implement techniques to recover from these disturbances. The objective of this research is to develop software which simulates error control circuits and evaluate the performance of these modules in various bit error rate environments. The results of the evaluation provide the engineer with information which helps determine the optimal error control scheme. The Consultative Committee for Space Data Systems (CCSDS) recommends the use of Reed-Solomon (RS) and convolutional encoders and Viterbi and RS decoders for error correction. The use of forward error correction techniques greatly reduces the received signal to noise needed for a certain desired bit error rate. The use of concatenated coding, e.g. inner convolutional code and outer RS code, provides even greater coding gain. The 16-bit cyclic redundancy check (CRC) code is recommended by CCSDS for error detection.

Mapping DNA polymerase errors by single-molecule sequencing

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

Lee, David F.; Lu, Jenny; Chang, Seungwoo

Genomic integrity is compromised by DNA polymerase replication errors, which occur in a sequence-dependent manner across the genome. Accurate and complete quantification of a DNA polymerase's error spectrum is challenging because errors are rare and difficult to detect. We report a high-throughput sequencing assay to map in vitro DNA replication errors at the single-molecule level. Unlike previous methods, our assay is able to rapidly detect a large number of polymerase errors at base resolution over any template substrate without quantification bias. To overcome the high error rate of high-throughput sequencing, our assay uses a barcoding strategy in which each replicationmore » product is tagged with a unique nucleotide sequence before amplification. Here, this allows multiple sequencing reads of the same product to be compared so that sequencing errors can be found and removed. We demonstrate the ability of our assay to characterize the average error rate, error hotspots and lesion bypass fidelity of several DNA polymerases.« less