Computational modeling identifies key gene regulatory interactions underlying phenobarbital-mediated tumor promotion

PubMed Central

Luisier, Raphaëlle; Unterberger, Elif B.; Goodman, Jay I.; Schwarz, Michael; Moggs, Jonathan; Terranova, Rémi; van Nimwegen, Erik

2014-01-01

Gene regulatory interactions underlying the early stages of non-genotoxic carcinogenesis are poorly understood. Here, we have identified key candidate regulators of phenobarbital (PB)-mediated mouse liver tumorigenesis, a well-characterized model of non-genotoxic carcinogenesis, by applying a new computational modeling approach to a comprehensive collection of in vivo gene expression studies. We have combined our previously developed motif activity response analysis (MARA), which models gene expression patterns in terms of computationally predicted transcription factor binding sites with singular value decomposition (SVD) of the inferred motif activities, to disentangle the roles that different transcriptional regulators play in specific biological pathways of tumor promotion. Furthermore, transgenic mouse models enabled us to identify which of these regulatory activities was downstream of constitutive androstane receptor and β-catenin signaling, both crucial components of PB-mediated liver tumorigenesis. We propose novel roles for E2F and ZFP161 in PB-mediated hepatocyte proliferation and suggest that PB-mediated suppression of ESR1 activity contributes to the development of a tumor-prone environment. Our study shows that combining MARA with SVD allows for automated identification of independent transcription regulatory programs within a complex in vivo tissue environment and provides novel mechanistic insights into PB-mediated hepatocarcinogenesis. PMID:24464994

Identifying key performance indicators for nursing and midwifery care using a consensus approach.

PubMed

McCance, Tanya; Telford, Lorna; Wilson, Julie; Macleod, Olive; Dowd, Audrey

2012-04-01

The aim of this study was to gain consensus on key performance indicators that are appropriate and relevant for nursing and midwifery practice in the current policy context. There is continuing demand to demonstrate effectiveness and efficiency in health and social care and to communicate this at boardroom level. Whilst there is substantial literature on the use of clinical indicators and nursing metrics, there is less evidence relating to indicators that reflect the patient experience. A consensus approach was used to identify relevant key performance indicators. A nominal group technique was used comprising two stages: a workshop involving all grades of nursing and midwifery staff in two HSC trusts in Northern Ireland (n = 50); followed by a regional Consensus Conference (n = 80). During the workshop, potential key performance indicators were identified. This was used as the basis for the Consensus Conference, which involved two rounds of consensus. Analysis was based on aggregated scores that were then ranked. Stage one identified 38 potential indicators and stage two prioritised the eight top-ranked indicators as a core set for nursing and midwifery. The relevance and appropriateness of these indicators were confirmed with nurses and midwives working in a range of settings and from the perspective of service users. The eight indicators identified do not conform to the majority of other nursing metrics generally reported in the literature. Furthermore, they are strategically aligned to work on the patient experience and are reflective of the fundamentals of nursing and midwifery practice, with the focus on person-centred care. Nurses and midwives have a significant contribution to make in determining the extent to which these indicators are achieved in practice. Furthermore, measurement of such indicators provides an opportunity to evidence of the unique impact of nursing/midwifery care on the patient experience. © 2011 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

Framework for Identifying Key Environmental Concerns in Marine Renewable Energy Projects- Appendices

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

Kramer, Sharon; Previsic, Mirko; Nelson, Peter

2010-06-17

(tidal) 3 project sizes: pilot, small commercial, and large commercial The possible combinations total 24 wave technology scenarios and 9 tidal technology scenarios. We evaluated 3 of the 33 scenarios in detail: 1. A small commercial OPT Power Buoy project off the Humboldt County, California coast 2. A small commercial Pelamis Wave Power P-2 project off Makapu’u Point, Oahu, Hawaii 3. A pilot MCT SeaGen tidal project, sited in the Tacoma Narrows, Washington. This framework document used information available from permitting documents that were written to support actual wave or tidal energy projects, but the results obtained here should not be confused with those of the permitting documents1. The main difference between this framework document and permitting documents of currently proposed pilot projects is that this framework identifies key environmental concerns and describes the next steps in addressing those concerns; permitting documents must identify effects, find or declare thresholds of significance, evaluate the effects against the thresholds, and find mitigation measures that will minimize or avoid the effects so they can be considered less-than-significant. Two methodologies, 1) an environmental effects analysis and 2) Raptools, were developed and tested to identify potential environmental effects associated with wave or tidal energy conversion projects. For the environmental effects analysis, we developed a framework based on standard risk assessment techniques. The framework was applied to the three scenarios listed above. The environmental effects analysis addressed questions such as: What is the temporal and spatial exposure of a species at a site? What are the specific potential project effects on that species? What measures could minimize, mitigate, or eliminate negative effects? Are there potential effects of the project, or species’ response to the effect, that are highly uncertain and warrant additional study? The second methodology, Raptools, is a

Key Clinical Features to Identify Girls with "CDKL5" Mutations

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bahi-Buisson, Nadia; Nectoux, Juliette; Rosas-Vargas, Haydee; Milh, Mathieu; Boddaert, Nathalie; Girard, Benoit; Cances, Claude; Ville, Dorothee; Afenjar, Alexandra; Rio, Marlene; Heron, Delphine; Morel, Marie Ange N'Guyen; Arzimanoglou, Alexis; Philippe, Christophe; Jonveaux, Philippe; Chelly, Jamel; Bienvenu, Thierry

2008-01-01

Mutations in the human X-linked cyclin-dependent kinase-like 5 ("CDKL5") gene have been shown to cause infantile spasms as well as Rett syndrome (RTT)-like phenotype. To date, less than 25 different mutations have been reported. So far, there are still little data on the key clinical diagnosis criteria and on the natural history of…

The emotional importance of key: do Beatles songs written in different keys convey different emotional tones?

PubMed

Whissel, R; Whissel, C

2000-12-01

Lyrics from 155 songs written by the Lennon-McCartney team were scored using the Dictionary of Affect in Language. Resultant scores (pleasantness, activation, and imagery of words) were compared across key signatures using one way analyses of variance. Words from songs written in minor keys were less pleasant and less active than those from songs written in major keys. Words from songs written in the key of F scored extremely low on all three measures. Lyrics from the keys of C, D, and G were relatively active in tone. Results from Dictionary scoring were compared with assignments of character to keys made more than one century ago and with current musicians' opinions.

Identifying Key Words in 9-1-1 Calls for Stroke: A Mixed Methods Approach.

PubMed

Richards, Christopher T; Wang, Baiyang; Markul, Eddie; Albarran, Frank; Rottman, Doreen; Aggarwal, Neelum T; Lindeman, Patricia; Stein-Spencer, Leslee; Weber, Joseph M; Pearlman, Kenneth S; Tataris, Katie L; Holl, Jane L; Klabjan, Diego; Prabhakaran, Shyam

2017-01-01

Identifying stroke during a 9-1-1 call is critical to timely prehospital care. However, emergency medical dispatchers (EMDs) recognize stroke in less than half of 9-1-1 calls, potentially due to the words used by callers to communicate stroke signs and symptoms. We hypothesized that callers do not typically use words and phrases considered to be classical descriptors of stroke, such as focal neurologic deficits, but that a mixed-methods approach can identify words and phrases commonly used by 9-1-1 callers to describe acute stroke victims. We performed a mixed-method, retrospective study of 9-1-1 call audio recordings for adult patients with confirmed stroke who were transported by ambulance in a large urban city. Content analysis, a qualitative methodology, and computational linguistics, a quantitative methodology, were used to identify key words and phrases used by 9-1-1 callers to describe acute stroke victims. Because a caller's level of emotional distress contributes to the communication during a 9-1-1 call, the Emotional Content and Cooperation Score was scored by a multidisciplinary team. A total of 110 9-1-1 calls, received between June and September 2013, were analyzed. EMDs recognized stroke in 48% of calls, and the emotional state of most callers (95%) was calm. In 77% of calls in which EMDs recognized stroke, callers specifically used the word "stroke"; however, the word "stroke" was used in only 38% of calls. Vague, non-specific words and phrases were used to describe stroke victims' symptoms in 55% of calls, and 45% of callers used distractor words and phrases suggestive of non-stroke emergencies. Focal neurologic symptoms were described in 39% of calls. Computational linguistics identified 9 key words that were more commonly used in calls where the EMD identified stroke. These words were concordant with terms identified through qualitative content analysis. Most 9-1-1 callers used vague, non-specific, or distractor words and phrases and infrequently

[Key effect genes responding to nerve injury identified by gene ontology and computer pattern recognition].

PubMed

Pan, Qian; Peng, Jin; Zhou, Xue; Yang, Hao; Zhang, Wei

2012-07-01

In order to screen out important genes from large gene data of gene microarray after nerve injury, we combine gene ontology (GO) method and computer pattern recognition technology to find key genes responding to nerve injury, and then verify one of these screened-out genes. Data mining and gene ontology analysis of gene chip data GSE26350 was carried out through MATLAB software. Cd44 was selected from screened-out key gene molecular spectrum by comparing genes' different GO terms and positions on score map of principal component. Function interferences were employed to influence the normal binding of Cd44 and one of its ligands, chondroitin sulfate C (CSC), to observe neurite extension. Gene ontology analysis showed that the first genes on score map (marked by red *) mainly distributed in molecular transducer activity, receptor activity, protein binding et al molecular function GO terms. Cd44 is one of six effector protein genes, and attracted us with its function diversity. After adding different reagents into the medium to interfere the normal binding of CSC and Cd44, varying-degree remissions of CSC's inhibition on neurite extension were observed. CSC can inhibit neurite extension through binding Cd44 on the neuron membrane. This verifies that important genes in given physiological processes can be identified by gene ontology analysis of gene chip data.

Iterative key-residues interrogation of a phytase with thermostability increasing substitutions identified in directed evolution.

PubMed

Shivange, Amol V; Roccatano, Danilo; Schwaneberg, Ulrich

2016-01-01

Bacterial phytases have attracted industrial interest as animal feed supplement due to their high activity and sufficient thermostability (required for feed pelleting). We devised an approach named KeySIDE,  an iterative Key-residues interrogation of the wild type with Substitutions Identified in Directed Evolution for improving Yersinia mollaretii phytase (Ymphytase) thermostability by combining key beneficial substitutions and elucidating their individual roles. Directed evolution yielded in a discovery of nine positions in Ymphytase and combined iteratively to identify key positions. The "best" combination (M6: T77K, Q154H, G187S, and K289Q) resulted in significantly improved thermal resistance; the residual activity improved from 35 % (wild type) to 89 % (M6) at 58 °C and 20-min incubation. Melting temperature increased by 3 °C in M6 without a loss of specific activity. Molecular dynamics simulation studies revealed reduced flexibility in the loops located next to helices (B, F, and K) which possess substitutions (Helix-B: T77K, Helix-F: G187S, and Helix-K: K289E/Q). Reduced flexibility in the loops might be caused by strengthened hydrogen bonding network (e.g., G187S and K289E/K289Q) and a salt bridge (T77K). Our results demonstrate a promising approach to design phytases in food research, and we hope that the KeySIDE might become an attractive approach for understanding of structure-function relationships of enzymes.

Identifying Regional Key Eco-Space to Maintain Ecological Security Using GIS

PubMed Central

Xie, Hualin; Yao, Guanrong; Wang, Peng

2014-01-01

Ecological security and environmental sustainability are the foundations of sustainable development. With the acceleration of urbanization, increasing human activities have promoted greater impacts on the eco-spaces that maintain ecological security. Regional key eco-space has become the primary need to maintain environmental sustainability and can offer society with continued ecosystem services. In this paper, considering the security of water resources, biodiversity conservation, disaster avoidance and protection and natural recreation, an integrated index of eco-space importance was established and a method for identifying key eco-space was created using GIS, with Lanzhou City, China as a case study. The results show that the area of core eco-space in the Lanzhou City is approximately 50,908.7 hm2, accounting for 40% of the region’s total area. These areas mainly consist of geological hazard protection zones and the core zones of regional river systems, wetlands, nature reserves, forest parks and scenic spots. The results of this study provide some guidance for the management of ecological security, ecological restoration and environmental sustainability. PMID:24590051

Exploring the effects of spatial autocorrelation when identifying key drivers of wildlife crop-raiding.

PubMed

Songhurst, Anna; Coulson, Tim

2014-03-01

Few universal trends in spatial patterns of wildlife crop-raiding have been found. Variations in wildlife ecology and movements, and human spatial use have been identified as causes of this apparent unpredictability. However, varying spatial patterns of spatial autocorrelation (SA) in human-wildlife conflict (HWC) data could also contribute. We explicitly explore the effects of SA on wildlife crop-raiding data in order to facilitate the design of future HWC studies. We conducted a comparative survey of raided and nonraided fields to determine key drivers of crop-raiding. Data were subsampled at different spatial scales to select independent raiding data points. The model derived from all data was fitted to subsample data sets. Model parameters from these models were compared to determine the effect of SA. Most methods used to account for SA in data attempt to correct for the change in P-values; yet, by subsampling data at broader spatial scales, we identified changes in regression estimates. We consequently advocate reporting both model parameters across a range of spatial scales to help biological interpretation. Patterns of SA vary spatially in our crop-raiding data. Spatial distribution of fields should therefore be considered when choosing the spatial scale for analyses of HWC studies. Robust key drivers of elephant crop-raiding included raiding history of a field and distance of field to a main elephant pathway. Understanding spatial patterns and determining reliable socio-ecological drivers of wildlife crop-raiding is paramount for designing mitigation and land-use planning strategies to reduce HWC. Spatial patterns of HWC are complex, determined by multiple factors acting at more than one scale; therefore, studies need to be designed with an understanding of the effects of SA. Our methods are accessible to a variety of practitioners to assess the effects of SA, thereby improving the reliability of conservation management actions.

Integrative Analysis of DNA Methylation and Gene Expression Data Identifies EPAS1 as a Key Regulator of COPD

PubMed Central

Yoo, Seungyeul; Takikawa, Sachiko; Geraghty, Patrick; Argmann, Carmen; Campbell, Joshua; Lin, Luan; Huang, Tao; Tu, Zhidong; Feronjy, Robert; Spira, Avrum; Schadt, Eric E.; Powell, Charles A.; Zhu, Jun

2015-01-01

Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) is a complex disease. Genetic, epigenetic, and environmental factors are known to contribute to COPD risk and disease progression. Therefore we developed a systematic approach to identify key regulators of COPD that integrates genome-wide DNA methylation, gene expression, and phenotype data in lung tissue from COPD and control samples. Our integrative analysis identified 126 key regulators of COPD. We identified EPAS1 as the only key regulator whose downstream genes significantly overlapped with multiple genes sets associated with COPD disease severity. EPAS1 is distinct in comparison with other key regulators in terms of methylation profile and downstream target genes. Genes predicted to be regulated by EPAS1 were enriched for biological processes including signaling, cell communications, and system development. We confirmed that EPAS1 protein levels are lower in human COPD lung tissue compared to non-disease controls and that Epas1 gene expression is reduced in mice chronically exposed to cigarette smoke. As EPAS1 downstream genes were significantly enriched for hypoxia responsive genes in endothelial cells, we tested EPAS1 function in human endothelial cells. EPAS1 knockdown by siRNA in endothelial cells impacted genes that significantly overlapped with EPAS1 downstream genes in lung tissue including hypoxia responsive genes, and genes associated with emphysema severity. Our first integrative analysis of genome-wide DNA methylation and gene expression profiles illustrates that not only does DNA methylation play a ‘causal’ role in the molecular pathophysiology of COPD, but it can be leveraged to directly identify novel key mediators of this pathophysiology. PMID:25569234

Integrative analysis of DNA methylation and gene expression data identifies EPAS1 as a key regulator of COPD.

PubMed

Yoo, Seungyeul; Takikawa, Sachiko; Geraghty, Patrick; Argmann, Carmen; Campbell, Joshua; Lin, Luan; Huang, Tao; Tu, Zhidong; Foronjy, Robert F; Feronjy, Robert; Spira, Avrum; Schadt, Eric E; Powell, Charles A; Zhu, Jun

2015-01-01

Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) is a complex disease. Genetic, epigenetic, and environmental factors are known to contribute to COPD risk and disease progression. Therefore we developed a systematic approach to identify key regulators of COPD that integrates genome-wide DNA methylation, gene expression, and phenotype data in lung tissue from COPD and control samples. Our integrative analysis identified 126 key regulators of COPD. We identified EPAS1 as the only key regulator whose downstream genes significantly overlapped with multiple genes sets associated with COPD disease severity. EPAS1 is distinct in comparison with other key regulators in terms of methylation profile and downstream target genes. Genes predicted to be regulated by EPAS1 were enriched for biological processes including signaling, cell communications, and system development. We confirmed that EPAS1 protein levels are lower in human COPD lung tissue compared to non-disease controls and that Epas1 gene expression is reduced in mice chronically exposed to cigarette smoke. As EPAS1 downstream genes were significantly enriched for hypoxia responsive genes in endothelial cells, we tested EPAS1 function in human endothelial cells. EPAS1 knockdown by siRNA in endothelial cells impacted genes that significantly overlapped with EPAS1 downstream genes in lung tissue including hypoxia responsive genes, and genes associated with emphysema severity. Our first integrative analysis of genome-wide DNA methylation and gene expression profiles illustrates that not only does DNA methylation play a 'causal' role in the molecular pathophysiology of COPD, but it can be leveraged to directly identify novel key mediators of this pathophysiology.

RM-DEMATEL: a new methodology to identify the key factors in PM2.5.

PubMed

Chen, Yafeng; Liu, Jie; Li, Yunpeng; Sadiq, Rehan; Deng, Yong

2015-04-01

Weather system is a relative complex dynamic system, the factors of the system are mutually influenced PM2.5 concentration. In this paper, a new method is proposed to quantify the influence on PM2.5 by other factors in the weather system and identify the most important factors for PM2.5 with limited resources. The relation map (RM) is used to figure out the direct relation matrix of 14 factors in PM2.5. The decision making trial and evaluation laboratory(DEMATEL) is applied to calculate the causal relationship and extent to a mutual influence of 14 factors in PM2.5. According to the ranking results of our proposed method, the most important key factors is sulfur dioxide (SO2) and nitrogen oxides (NO(X)). In addition, the other factors, the ambient maximum temperature (T(max)), concentration of PM10, and wind direction (W(dir)), are important factors for PM2.5. The proposed method can also be applied to other environment management systems to identify key factors.

Identifying the ideal profile of French yogurts for different clusters of consumers.

PubMed

Masson, M; Saint-Eve, A; Delarue, J; Blumenthal, D

2016-05-01

Identifying the sensory properties that affect consumer preferences for food products is an important feature of product development. Different methods, such as external preference mapping or partial least squares regression, are used to establish relationships between sensory data and consumer preferences and to identify sensory attributes that drive consumer preferences, by highlighting optimum products. Plain French yogurts were evaluated by a sensory profiling method performed by 12 trained judges. In parallel, 180 consumers were asked to score their overall liking and complete a cognitive restraint questionnaire. After hierarchical cluster analysis on the liking scores, preference mapping using a quadratic regression model was performed. Five clusters of consumers were identified as a function of different preference patterns. Contrary to our expectations, fat levels were not discriminating. For each cluster, the results of preference mapping enabled the identification of optimum products. A comparison of the 5 sensory profiles revealed numerous differences between key sensory attributes. For example, one consumer cluster had a strong preference for products perceived as very thick, grainy, but with a less flowing texture, less sticky, whey presence and color, in contrast to other clusters. In addition, each segment of consumers was characterized according to the results of the cognitive restraint questionnaire. Copyright © 2016 American Dairy Science Association. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

A data mining paradigm for identifying key factors in biological processes using gene expression data.

PubMed

Li, Jin; Zheng, Le; Uchiyama, Akihiko; Bin, Lianghua; Mauro, Theodora M; Elias, Peter M; Pawelczyk, Tadeusz; Sakowicz-Burkiewicz, Monika; Trzeciak, Magdalena; Leung, Donald Y M; Morasso, Maria I; Yu, Peng

2018-06-13

A large volume of biological data is being generated for studying mechanisms of various biological processes. These precious data enable large-scale computational analyses to gain biological insights. However, it remains a challenge to mine the data efficiently for knowledge discovery. The heterogeneity of these data makes it difficult to consistently integrate them, slowing down the process of biological discovery. We introduce a data processing paradigm to identify key factors in biological processes via systematic collection of gene expression datasets, primary analysis of data, and evaluation of consistent signals. To demonstrate its effectiveness, our paradigm was applied to epidermal development and identified many genes that play a potential role in this process. Besides the known epidermal development genes, a substantial proportion of the identified genes are still not supported by gain- or loss-of-function studies, yielding many novel genes for future studies. Among them, we selected a top gene for loss-of-function experimental validation and confirmed its function in epidermal differentiation, proving the ability of this paradigm to identify new factors in biological processes. In addition, this paradigm revealed many key genes in cold-induced thermogenesis using data from cold-challenged tissues, demonstrating its generalizability. This paradigm can lead to fruitful results for studying molecular mechanisms in an era of explosive accumulation of publicly available biological data.

Key metabolites in tissue extracts of Elliptio complanata identified using 1H nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy

PubMed Central

Hurley-Sanders, Jennifer L.; Levine, Jay F.; Nelson, Stacy A. C.; Law, J. M.; Showers, William J.; Stoskopf, Michael K.

2015-01-01

We used 1H nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy to describe key metabolites of the polar metabolome of the freshwater mussel, Elliptio complanata. Principal components analysis documented variability across tissue types and river of origin in mussels collected from two rivers in North Carolina (USA). Muscle, digestive gland, mantle and gill tissues yielded identifiable but overlapping metabolic profiles. Variation in digestive gland metabolic profiles between the two mussel collection sites was characterized by differences in mono- and disaccharides. Variation in mantle tissue metabolomes appeared to be associated with sex. Nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy is a sensitive means to detect metabolites in the tissues of E. complanata and holds promise as a tool for the investigation of freshwater mussel health and physiology. PMID:27293708

Identifying and characterizing key nodes among communities based on electrical-circuit networks.

PubMed

Zhu, Fenghui; Wang, Wenxu; Di, Zengru; Fan, Ying

2014-01-01

Complex networks with community structures are ubiquitous in the real world. Despite many approaches developed for detecting communities, we continue to lack tools for identifying overlapping and bridging nodes that play crucial roles in the interactions and communications among communities in complex networks. Here we develop an algorithm based on the local flow conservation to effectively and efficiently identify and distinguish the two types of nodes. Our method is applicable in both undirected and directed networks without a priori knowledge of the community structure. Our method bypasses the extremely challenging problem of partitioning communities in the presence of overlapping nodes that may belong to multiple communities. Due to the fact that overlapping and bridging nodes are of paramount importance in maintaining the function of many social and biological networks, our tools open new avenues towards understanding and controlling real complex networks with communities accompanied with the key nodes.

Modelling Creativity: Identifying Key Components through a Corpus-Based Approach

PubMed Central

2016-01-01

Creativity is a complex, multi-faceted concept encompassing a variety of related aspects, abilities, properties and behaviours. If we wish to study creativity scientifically, then a tractable and well-articulated model of creativity is required. Such a model would be of great value to researchers investigating the nature of creativity and in particular, those concerned with the evaluation of creative practice. This paper describes a unique approach to developing a suitable model of how creative behaviour emerges that is based on the words people use to describe the concept. Using techniques from the field of statistical natural language processing, we identify a collection of fourteen key components of creativity through an analysis of a corpus of academic papers on the topic. Words are identified which appear significantly often in connection with discussions of the concept. Using a measure of lexical similarity to help cluster these words, a number of distinct themes emerge, which collectively contribute to a comprehensive and multi-perspective model of creativity. The components provide an ontology of creativity: a set of building blocks which can be used to model creative practice in a variety of domains. The components have been employed in two case studies to evaluate the creativity of computational systems and have proven useful in articulating achievements of this work and directions for further research. PMID:27706185

Modelling Creativity: Identifying Key Components through a Corpus-Based Approach.

PubMed

Jordanous, Anna; Keller, Bill

2016-01-01

Creativity is a complex, multi-faceted concept encompassing a variety of related aspects, abilities, properties and behaviours. If we wish to study creativity scientifically, then a tractable and well-articulated model of creativity is required. Such a model would be of great value to researchers investigating the nature of creativity and in particular, those concerned with the evaluation of creative practice. This paper describes a unique approach to developing a suitable model of how creative behaviour emerges that is based on the words people use to describe the concept. Using techniques from the field of statistical natural language processing, we identify a collection of fourteen key components of creativity through an analysis of a corpus of academic papers on the topic. Words are identified which appear significantly often in connection with discussions of the concept. Using a measure of lexical similarity to help cluster these words, a number of distinct themes emerge, which collectively contribute to a comprehensive and multi-perspective model of creativity. The components provide an ontology of creativity: a set of building blocks which can be used to model creative practice in a variety of domains. The components have been employed in two case studies to evaluate the creativity of computational systems and have proven useful in articulating achievements of this work and directions for further research.

Identifying key areas for active interprofessional learning partnerships: A facilitated dialogue.

PubMed

Steven, Kathryn; Angus, Allyson; Breckenridge, Jenna; Davey, Peter; Tully, Vicki; Muir, Fiona

2016-11-01

Student and service user involvement is recognised as an important factor in creating interprofessional education (IPE) opportunities. We used a team-based learning approach to bring together undergraduate health professional students, early career professionals (ECPs), public partners, volunteers, and carers to explore learning partnerships. Influenced by evaluative inquiry, this qualitative study used a free text response to allow participants to give their own opinion. A total of 153 participants (50 public partners and 103 students and professionals representing 11 healthcare professions) took part. Participants were divided into mixed groups of six (n = 25) and asked to identify areas where students, professionals, and public could work together to improve health professional education. Each group documented their discussions by summarising agreed areas and next steps. Responses were collected and transcribed for inductive content analysis. Seven key themes (areas for joint working) were identified: communication, public as partners, standards of conduct, IPE, quality improvement, education, and learning environments. The team-based learning format enabled undergraduate and postgraduate health professionals to achieve consensus with public partners on areas for IPE and collaboration. Some of our results may be context-specific but the approach is generalisable to other areas.

Finite-key security analyses on passive decoy-state QKD protocols with different unstable sources.

PubMed

Song, Ting-Ting; Qin, Su-Juan; Wen, Qiao-Yan; Wang, Yu-Kun; Jia, Heng-Yue

2015-10-16

In quantum communication, passive decoy-state QKD protocols can eliminate many side channels, but the protocols without any finite-key analyses are not suitable for in practice. The finite-key securities of passive decoy-state (PDS) QKD protocols with two different unstable sources, type-II parametric down-convention (PDC) and phase randomized weak coherent pulses (WCPs), are analyzed in our paper. According to the PDS QKD protocols, we establish an optimizing programming respectively and obtain the lower bounds of finite-key rates. Under some reasonable values of quantum setup parameters, the lower bounds of finite-key rates are simulated. The simulation results show that at different transmission distances, the affections of different fluctuations on key rates are different. Moreover, the PDS QKD protocol with an unstable PDC source can resist more intensity fluctuations and more statistical fluctuation.

Finite-key security analyses on passive decoy-state QKD protocols with different unstable sources

PubMed Central

Song, Ting-Ting; Qin, Su-Juan; Wen, Qiao-Yan; Wang, Yu-Kun; Jia, Heng-Yue

2015-01-01

In quantum communication, passive decoy-state QKD protocols can eliminate many side channels, but the protocols without any finite-key analyses are not suitable for in practice. The finite-key securities of passive decoy-state (PDS) QKD protocols with two different unstable sources, type-II parametric down-convention (PDC) and phase randomized weak coherent pulses (WCPs), are analyzed in our paper. According to the PDS QKD protocols, we establish an optimizing programming respectively and obtain the lower bounds of finite-key rates. Under some reasonable values of quantum setup parameters, the lower bounds of finite-key rates are simulated. The simulation results show that at different transmission distances, the affections of different fluctuations on key rates are different. Moreover, the PDS QKD protocol with an unstable PDC source can resist more intensity fluctuations and more statistical fluctuation. PMID:26471947

Network-Based Methods for Identifying Key Active Proteins in the Extracellular Electron Transfer Process in Shewanella oneidensis MR-1.

PubMed

Ding, Dewu; Sun, Xiao

2018-01-16

Shewanella oneidensis MR-1 can transfer electrons from the intracellular environment to the extracellular space of the cells to reduce the extracellular insoluble electron acceptors (Extracellular Electron Transfer, EET). Benefiting from this EET capability, Shewanella has been widely used in different areas, such as energy production, wastewater treatment, and bioremediation. Genome-wide proteomics data was used to determine the active proteins involved in activating the EET process. We identified 1012 proteins with decreased expression and 811 proteins with increased expression when the EET process changed from inactivation to activation. We then networked these proteins to construct the active protein networks, and identified the top 20 key active proteins by network centralization analysis, including metabolism- and energy-related proteins, signal and transcriptional regulatory proteins, translation-related proteins, and the EET-related proteins. We also constructed the integrated protein interaction and transcriptional regulatory networks for the active proteins, then found three exclusive active network motifs involved in activating the EET process-Bi-feedforward Loop, Regulatory Cascade with a Feedback, and Feedback with a Protein-Protein Interaction (PPI)-and identified the active proteins involved in these motifs. Both enrichment analysis and comparative analysis to the whole-genome data implicated the multiheme c -type cytochromes and multiple signal processing proteins involved in the process. Furthermore, the interactions of these motif-guided active proteins and the involved functional modules were discussed. Collectively, by using network-based methods, this work reported a proteome-wide search for the key active proteins that potentially activate the EET process.

GuiaTreeKey, a multi-access electronic key to identify tree genera in French Guiana.

PubMed

Engel, Julien; Brousseau, Louise; Baraloto, Christopher

2016-01-01

The tropical rainforest of Amazonia is one of the most species-rich ecosystems on earth, with an estimated 16000 tree species. Due to this high diversity, botanical identification of trees in the Amazon is difficult, even to genus, often requiring the assistance of parataxonomists or taxonomic specialists. Advances in informatics tools offer a promising opportunity to develop user-friendly electronic keys to improve Amazonian tree identification. Here, we introduce an original multi-access electronic key for the identification of 389 tree genera occurring in French Guiana terra-firme forests, based on a set of 79 morphological characters related to vegetative, floral and fruit characters. Its purpose is to help Amazonian tree identification and to support the dissemination of botanical knowledge to non-specialists, including forest workers, students and researchers from other scientific disciplines. The electronic key is accessible with the free access software Xper ², and the database is publicly available on figshare: https://figshare.com/s/75d890b7d707e0ffc9bf (doi: 10.6084/m9.figshare.2682550).

Identifying key nodes in multilayer networks based on tensor decomposition.

PubMed

Wang, Dingjie; Wang, Haitao; Zou, Xiufen

2017-06-01

The identification of essential agents in multilayer networks characterized by different types of interactions is a crucial and challenging topic, one that is essential for understanding the topological structure and dynamic processes of multilayer networks. In this paper, we use the fourth-order tensor to represent multilayer networks and propose a novel method to identify essential nodes based on CANDECOMP/PARAFAC (CP) tensor decomposition, referred to as the EDCPTD centrality. This method is based on the perspective of multilayer networked structures, which integrate the information of edges among nodes and links between different layers to quantify the importance of nodes in multilayer networks. Three real-world multilayer biological networks are used to evaluate the performance of the EDCPTD centrality. The bar chart and ROC curves of these multilayer networks indicate that the proposed approach is a good alternative index to identify real important nodes. Meanwhile, by comparing the behavior of both the proposed method and the aggregated single-layer methods, we demonstrate that neglecting the multiple relationships between nodes may lead to incorrect identification of the most versatile nodes. Furthermore, the Gene Ontology functional annotation demonstrates that the identified top nodes based on the proposed approach play a significant role in many vital biological processes. Finally, we have implemented many centrality methods of multilayer networks (including our method and the published methods) and created a visual software based on the MATLAB GUI, called ENMNFinder, which can be used by other researchers.

Identifying key nodes in multilayer networks based on tensor decomposition

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Dingjie; Wang, Haitao; Zou, Xiufen

2017-06-01

The identification of essential agents in multilayer networks characterized by different types of interactions is a crucial and challenging topic, one that is essential for understanding the topological structure and dynamic processes of multilayer networks. In this paper, we use the fourth-order tensor to represent multilayer networks and propose a novel method to identify essential nodes based on CANDECOMP/PARAFAC (CP) tensor decomposition, referred to as the EDCPTD centrality. This method is based on the perspective of multilayer networked structures, which integrate the information of edges among nodes and links between different layers to quantify the importance of nodes in multilayer networks. Three real-world multilayer biological networks are used to evaluate the performance of the EDCPTD centrality. The bar chart and ROC curves of these multilayer networks indicate that the proposed approach is a good alternative index to identify real important nodes. Meanwhile, by comparing the behavior of both the proposed method and the aggregated single-layer methods, we demonstrate that neglecting the multiple relationships between nodes may lead to incorrect identification of the most versatile nodes. Furthermore, the Gene Ontology functional annotation demonstrates that the identified top nodes based on the proposed approach play a significant role in many vital biological processes. Finally, we have implemented many centrality methods of multilayer networks (including our method and the published methods) and created a visual software based on the MATLAB GUI, called ENMNFinder, which can be used by other researchers.

Onset dynamics of action potentials in rat neocortical neurons and identified snail neurons: quantification of the difference.

PubMed

Volgushev, Maxim; Malyshev, Aleksey; Balaban, Pavel; Chistiakova, Marina; Volgushev, Stanislav; Wolf, Fred

2008-04-09

The generation of action potentials (APs) is a key process in the operation of nerve cells and the communication between neurons. Action potentials in mammalian central neurons are characterized by an exceptionally fast onset dynamics, which differs from the typically slow and gradual onset dynamics seen in identified snail neurons. Here we describe a novel method of analysis which provides a quantitative measure of the onset dynamics of action potentials. This method captures the difference between the fast, step-like onset of APs in rat neocortical neurons and the gradual, exponential-like AP onset in identified snail neurons. The quantitative measure of the AP onset dynamics, provided by the method, allows us to perform quantitative analyses of factors influencing the dynamics.

Onset Dynamics of Action Potentials in Rat Neocortical Neurons and Identified Snail Neurons: Quantification of the Difference

PubMed Central

Volgushev, Maxim; Malyshev, Aleksey; Balaban, Pavel; Chistiakova, Marina; Volgushev, Stanislav; Wolf, Fred

2008-01-01

The generation of action potentials (APs) is a key process in the operation of nerve cells and the communication between neurons. Action potentials in mammalian central neurons are characterized by an exceptionally fast onset dynamics, which differs from the typically slow and gradual onset dynamics seen in identified snail neurons. Here we describe a novel method of analysis which provides a quantitative measure of the onset dynamics of action potentials. This method captures the difference between the fast, step-like onset of APs in rat neocortical neurons and the gradual, exponential-like AP onset in identified snail neurons. The quantitative measure of the AP onset dynamics, provided by the method, allows us to perform quantitative analyses of factors influencing the dynamics. PMID:18398478

Self- and Peer-Identified Victims in Late Childhood: Differences in Perceptions of the School Ecology.

PubMed

Dawes, Molly; Chen, Chin-Chih; Farmer, Thomas W; Hamm, Jill V

2017-11-01

Patterns of adjustment for youth victimized by peers vary depending on whether youth are identified as victims through self-reports, peer-reports, or both. In order to provide more targeted strategies that may help mitigate negative consequences associated with specific victimization groups, more information is needed about how these youth perceive their school ecology (bullying and academic ecology), their feelings of school belonging, and their valuing of school. Based on the convergence of self- and peer-reports of victimization, we identified four victim groups from a sample of students in 5th grade classrooms (N = 1360; 52.8% girls, 53.1% White, 34.6% Black or Hispanic, 12.2% Native American, Asian, or other) using Latent Profile Analysis (LPA): convergent victims (high self- and peer-reports), self-identified victims (high self-, low peer-reports), peer-identified victims (low self-, high peer-reports), and nonvictims (low self- and peer-reports). Convergent victims' perceptions were similar to nonvictims with key differences being convergent victims' greater willingness to protect peers being bullied but lower feelings of school belonging compared to nonvictims. Peer-identified and self-identified victims perceived differences in the bullying and academic ecology including peer-identified victims' greater willingness to protect peers and expectations for more peers to encourage bulling against them compared to self-identified victims. However, both peer- and self-identified victims perceived greater emotional risk of participating in class and had lower feelings of school belonging compared to nonvictims. Implications for supporting youth with divergent self- and peer-reported victimization status as they transition to middle school are discussed.

Protocol for a thematic synthesis to identify key themes and messages from a palliative care research network.

PubMed

Nicholson, Emma; Murphy, Tara; Larkin, Philip; Normand, Charles; Guerin, Suzanne

2016-10-21

Research networks that facilitate collaborative research are increasing both regionally and globally and such collaborations contribute greatly to knowledge transfer particularly in health research. The Palliative Care Research Network is an Irish-based network that seeks to create opportunities and engender a collaborative environment to encourage innovative research that is relevant for policy and practice. The current review outlines a methodology to identify cross-cutting messages to identify how dissemination outputs can be optimized to ensure that key messages from this research reaches all knowledge users. Preferred reporting items for systematic review and meta-analysis protocol guidelines will inform the search and analysis plan to ensure that the synthesis of the data is as rigorous as possible. An approach based on critical interpretative synthesis will be adapted to include a thematic synthesis for the identification of higher-order themes and messages from a body of dissemination products generated by the Palliative Care Research Network. The thematic synthesis outlined in the present protocol offers a novel method of synthesising data from a focused research network that employs a variety of dissemination materials as a means of identifying key themes and messages from a specific body of research. The high-level themes and messages will be identified from the thematic synthesis, widely disseminated and targeted towards a range of stakeholders and knowledge users such as carers, health and social care professionals, policy makers and researchers.

Metabolic profiles of triple-negative and luminal A breast cancer subtypes in African-American identify key metabolic differences.

PubMed

Tayyari, Fariba; Gowda, G A Nagana; Olopade, Olufunmilayo F; Berg, Richard; Yang, Howard H; Lee, Maxwell P; Ngwa, Wilfred F; Mittal, Suresh K; Raftery, Daniel; Mohammed, Sulma I

2018-02-20

Breast cancer, a heterogeneous disease with variable pathophysiology and biology, is classified into four major subtypes. While hormonal- and antibody-targeted therapies are effective in the patients with luminal and HER-2 subtypes, the patients with triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) subtype do not benefit from these therapies. The incidence rates of TNBC subtype are higher in African-American women, and the evidence indicates that these women have worse prognosis compared to women of European descent. The reasons for this disparity remain unclear but are often attributed to TNBC biology. In this study, we performed metabolic analysis of breast tissues to identify how TNBC differs from luminal A breast cancer (LABC) subtypes within the African-American and Caucasian breast cancer patients, respectively. We used High-Resolution Magic Angle Spinning (HR-MAS) 1H Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) to perform the metabolomic analysis of breast cancer and adjacent normal tissues (total n=82 samples). TNBC and LABC subtypes in African American women exhibited different metabolic profiles. Metabolic profiles of these subtypes were also distinct from those revealed in Caucasian women. TNBC in African-American women expressed higher levels of glutathione, choline, and glutamine as well as profound metabolic alterations characterized by decreased mitochondrial respiration and increased glycolysis concomitant with decreased levels of ATP. TNBC in Caucasian women was associated with increased pyrimidine synthesis. These metabolic alterations could potentially be exploited as novel treatment targets for TNBC.

Metabolic profiles of triple-negative and luminal A breast cancer subtypes in African-American identify key metabolic differences

PubMed Central

Tayyari, Fariba; Gowda, G.A. Nagana; Olopade, Olufunmilayo F.; Berg, Richard; Yang, Howard H.; Lee, Maxwell P.; Ngwa, Wilfred F.; Mittal, Suresh K.; Raftery, Daniel; Mohammed, Sulma I.

2018-01-01

Breast cancer, a heterogeneous disease with variable pathophysiology and biology, is classified into four major subtypes. While hormonal- and antibody-targeted therapies are effective in the patients with luminal and HER-2 subtypes, the patients with triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) subtype do not benefit from these therapies. The incidence rates of TNBC subtype are higher in African-American women, and the evidence indicates that these women have worse prognosis compared to women of European descent. The reasons for this disparity remain unclear but are often attributed to TNBC biology. In this study, we performed metabolic analysis of breast tissues to identify how TNBC differs from luminal A breast cancer (LABC) subtypes within the African-American and Caucasian breast cancer patients, respectively. We used High-Resolution Magic Angle Spinning (HR-MAS) 1H Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) to perform the metabolomic analysis of breast cancer and adjacent normal tissues (total n=82 samples). TNBC and LABC subtypes in African American women exhibited different metabolic profiles. Metabolic profiles of these subtypes were also distinct from those revealed in Caucasian women. TNBC in African-American women expressed higher levels of glutathione, choline, and glutamine as well as profound metabolic alterations characterized by decreased mitochondrial respiration and increased glycolysis concomitant with decreased levels of ATP. TNBC in Caucasian women was associated with increased pyrimidine synthesis. These metabolic alterations could potentially be exploited as novel treatment targets for TNBC. PMID:29545929

QM/MM simulations identify the determinants of catalytic activity differences between type II dehydroquinase enzymes.

PubMed

Lence, Emilio; van der Kamp, Marc W; González-Bello, Concepción; Mulholland, Adrian J

2018-05-16

Type II dehydroquinase enzymes (DHQ2), recognized targets for antibiotic drug discovery, show significantly different activities dependent on the species: DHQ2 from Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MtDHQ2) and Helicobacter pylori (HpDHQ2) show a 50-fold difference in catalytic efficiency. Revealing the determinants of this activity difference is important for our understanding of biological catalysis and further offers the potential to contribute to tailoring specificity in drug design. Molecular dynamics simulations using a quantum mechanics/molecular mechanics potential, with correlated ab initio single point corrections, identify and quantify the subtle determinants of the experimentally observed difference in efficiency. The rate-determining step involves the formation of an enolate intermediate: more efficient stabilization of the enolate and transition state of the key step in MtDHQ2, mainly by the essential residues Tyr24 and Arg19, makes it more efficient than HpDHQ2. Further, a water molecule, which is absent in MtDHQ2 but involved in generation of the catalytic Tyr22 tyrosinate in HpDHQ2, was found to destabilize both the transition state and the enolate intermediate. The quantification of the contribution of key residues and water molecules in the rate-determining step of the mechanism also leads to improved understanding of higher potencies and specificity of known inhibitors, which should aid ongoing inhibitor design.

A Genome-wide Regulatory Network Identifies Key Transcription Factors for Memory CD8+ T Cell Development

PubMed Central

Hu, Guangan; Chen, Jianzhu

2014-01-01

Memory CD8+ T cell development is defined by the expression of a specific set of memory signature genes (MSGs). Despite recent progress, many components of the transcriptional control of memory CD8+ T cell development are still unknown. To identify transcription factors (TFs) and their interactions in memory CD8+ T cell development, we construct a genome-wide regulatory network and apply it to identify key TFs that regulate MSGs. Most of the known TFs in memory CD8+ T cell development are rediscovered and about a dozen new TFs are also identified. Sox4, Bhlhe40, Bach2 and Runx2 are experimentally verified and Bach2 is further shown to promote both development and recall proliferation of memory CD8+ T cells through Prdm1 and Id3. Gene perturbation study identifies the mode of interactions among the TFs with Sox4 as a hub. The identified TFs and insights into their interactions should facilitate further dissection of molecular mechanisms underlying memory CD8+ T cell development. PMID:24335726

Integrating transcriptome and genome re-sequencing data to identify key genes and mutations affecting chicken eggshell qualities.

PubMed

Zhang, Quan; Zhu, Feng; Liu, Long; Zheng, Chuan Wei; Wang, De He; Hou, Zhuo Cheng; Ning, Zhong Hua

2015-01-01

Eggshell damages lead to economic losses in the egg production industry and are a threat to human health. We examined 49-wk-old Rhode Island White hens (Gallus gallus) that laid eggs having shells with significantly different strengths and thicknesses. We used HiSeq 2000 (Illumina) sequencing to characterize the chicken transcriptome and whole genome to identify the key genes and genetic mutations associated with eggshell calcification. We identified a total of 14,234 genes expressed in the chicken uterus, representing 89% of all annotated chicken genes. A total of 889 differentially expressed genes were identified by comparing low eggshell strength (LES) and normal eggshell strength (NES) genomes. The DEGs are enriched in calcification-related processes, including calcium ion transport and calcium signaling pathways as revealed by gene ontology (GO) and Kyoto encyclopedia of genes and genomes (KEGG) pathway analysis. Some important matrix proteins, such as OC-116, LTF and SPP1, were also expressed differentially between two groups. A total of 3,671,919 single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and 508,035 Indels were detected in protein coding genes by whole-genome re-sequencing, including 1775 non-synonymous variations and 19 frame-shift Indels in DEGs. SNPs and Indels found in this study could be further investigated for eggshell traits. This is the first report to integrate the transcriptome and genome re-sequencing to target the genetic variations which decreased the eggshell qualities. These findings further advance our understanding of eggshell calcification in the chicken uterus.

Gene Network for Identifying the Entropy Changes of Different Modules in Pediatric Sepsis.

PubMed

Yang, Jing; Zhang, Pingli; Wang, Lumin

2016-01-01

Pediatric sepsis is a disease that threatens life of children. The incidence of pediatric sepsis is higher in developing countries due to various reasons, such as insufficient immunization and nutrition, water and air pollution, etc. Exploring the potential genes via different methods is of significance for the prevention and treatment of pediatric sepsis. This study aimed to identify potential genes associated with pediatric sepsis utilizing analysis of gene network and entropy. The mRNA expression in the blood samples collected from 20 septic children and 30 healthy controls was quantified by using Affymetrix HG-U133A microarray. Two condition-specific protein-protein interaction networks (PINs), one for the healthy control and the other one for the children with sepsis, were deduced by combining the fundamental human PINs with gene expression profiles in the two phenotypes. Subsequently, distinct modules from the two conditional networks were extracted by adopting a maximal clique-merging approach. Delta entropy (ΔS) was calculated between sepsis and control modules. Then, key genes displaying changes in gene composition were identified by matching the control and sepsis modules. Two objective modules were obtained, in which ribosomal protein RPL4 and RPL9 as well as TOP2A were probably considered as the key genes differentiating sepsis from healthy controls. According to previous reports and this work, TOP2A is the potential gene therapy target for pediatric sepsis. The relationship between pediatric sepsis and RPL4 and RPL9 needs further investigation. © 2016 The Author(s) Published by S. Karger AG, Basel.

Identifying the key concerns of Irish persons with intellectual disability.

PubMed

García Iriarte, Edurne; O'Brien, Patricia; McConkey, Roy; Wolfe, Marie; O'Doherty, Siobhain

2014-11-01

Internationally, people with intellectual disability are socially marginalized, and their rights under the United Nations Convention for the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) are often ignored. This paper aims to define the key concerns of adults with an intellectual disability in relation to their participation in society using an inclusive research strategy for both data gathering and data analysis. A national study involving 23 focus groups and 168 persons was conducted on the island of Ireland with people with intellectual disability as co-facilitators. A thematic content analysis was undertaken of the verbatim transcripts initially by university co-researchers, and 19 themes were identified. Co-researchers with intellectual disability joined in identifying the eight core themes. These were as follows: living options, employment, relationships, citizenship, leisure time, money management, self-advocacy, and communication. The concerns are discussed within the framework of the CRPD, and implications for transforming service policy are drawn. Why we did the research In many countries, people with intellectual disability have difficulties doing things other people without disabilities do, for example to study, to get a job or to live independently. They also find that their rights are not respected under the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (the Convention). We did this study to Learn what are the main issues for adults with intellectual disability in Ireland. Do research with people with intellectual disability. How we did the research People with intellectual disability and their supporters worked with university researchers to plan and do the research. We met with people in groups and 168 people told us about things important to them. What we found out We found that there were very important things that people talked about in the groups. We chose the most important: living options, employment, relationships, rights, leisure, money

Identifying key radiogenomic associations between DCE-MRI and micro-RNA expressions for breast cancer

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Samala, Ravi K.; Chan, Heang-Ping; Hadjiiski, Lubomir; Helvie, Mark A.; Kim, Renaid

2017-03-01

Understanding the key radiogenomic associations for breast cancer between DCE-MRI and micro-RNA expressions is the foundation for the discovery of radiomic features as biomarkers for assessing tumor progression and prognosis. We conducted a study to analyze the radiogenomic associations for breast cancer using the TCGA-TCIA data set. The core idea that tumor etiology is a function of the behavior of miRNAs is used to build the regression models. The associations based on regression are analyzed for three study outcomes: diagnosis, prognosis, and treatment. The diagnosis group consists of miRNAs associated with clinicopathologic features of breast cancer and significant aberration of expression in breast cancer patients. The prognosis group consists of miRNAs which are closely associated with tumor suppression and regulation of cell proliferation and differentiation. The treatment group consists of miRNAs that contribute significantly to the regulation of metastasis thereby having the potential to be part of therapeutic mechanisms. As a first step, important miRNA expressions were identified and their ability to classify the clinical phenotypes based on the study outcomes was evaluated using the area under the ROC curve (AUC) as a figure-of-merit. The key mapping between the selected miRNAs and radiomic features were determined using least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) regression analysis within a two-loop leave-one-out cross-validation strategy. These key associations indicated a number of radiomic features from DCE-MRI to be potential biomarkers for the three study outcomes.

Evaluation of unique identifiers used as keys to match identical publications in Pure and SciVal - a case study from health science.

PubMed

Madsen, Heidi Holst; Madsen, Dicte; Gauffriau, Marianne

2016-01-01

Unique identifiers (UID) are seen as an effective key to match identical publications across databases or identify duplicates in a database. The objective of the present study is to investigate how well UIDs work as match keys in the integration between Pure and SciVal, based on a case with publications from the health sciences. We evaluate the matching process based on information about coverage, precision, and characteristics of publications matched versus not matched with UIDs as the match keys. We analyze this information to detect errors, if any, in the matching process. As an example we also briefly discuss how publication sets formed by using UIDs as the match keys may affect the bibliometric indicators number of publications, number of citations, and the average number of citations per publication.  The objective is addressed in a literature review and a case study. The literature review shows that only a few studies evaluate how well UIDs work as a match key. From the literature we identify four error types: Duplicate digital object identifiers (DOI), incorrect DOIs in reference lists and databases, DOIs not registered by the database where a bibliometric analysis is performed, and erroneous optical or special character recognition. The case study explores the use of UIDs in the integration between the databases Pure and SciVal. Specifically journal publications in English are matched between the two databases. We find all error types except erroneous optical or special character recognition in our publication sets. In particular the duplicate DOIs constitute a problem for the calculation of bibliometric indicators as both keeping the duplicates to improve the reliability of citation counts and deleting them to improve the reliability of publication counts will distort the calculation of average number of citations per publication. The use of UIDs as a match key in citation linking is implemented in many settings, and the availability of UIDs may become

Integrating Transcriptome and Genome Re-Sequencing Data to Identify Key Genes and Mutations Affecting Chicken Eggshell Qualities

PubMed Central

Liu, Long; Zheng, Chuan Wei; Wang, De He; Hou, Zhuo Cheng; Ning, Zhong Hua

2015-01-01

Eggshell damages lead to economic losses in the egg production industry and are a threat to human health. We examined 49-wk-old Rhode Island White hens (Gallus gallus) that laid eggs having shells with significantly different strengths and thicknesses. We used HiSeq 2000 (Illumina) sequencing to characterize the chicken transcriptome and whole genome to identify the key genes and genetic mutations associated with eggshell calcification. We identified a total of 14,234 genes expressed in the chicken uterus, representing 89% of all annotated chicken genes. A total of 889 differentially expressed genes were identified by comparing low eggshell strength (LES) and normal eggshell strength (NES) genomes. The DEGs are enriched in calcification-related processes, including calcium ion transport and calcium signaling pathways as reveled by gene ontology (GO) and Kyoto encyclopedia of genes and genomes (KEGG) pathway analysis. Some important matrix proteins, such as OC-116, LTF and SPP1, were also expressed differentially between two groups. A total of 3,671,919 single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and 508,035 Indels were detected in protein coding genes by whole-genome re-sequencing, including 1775 non-synonymous variations and 19 frame-shift Indels in DEGs. SNPs and Indels found in this study could be further investigated for eggshell traits. This is the first report to integrate the transcriptome and genome re-sequencing to target the genetic variations which decreased the eggshell qualities. These findings further advance our understanding of eggshell calcification in the chicken uterus. PMID:25974068

Microarray analysis identifies candidate genes for key roles in coral development

PubMed Central

Grasso, Lauretta C; Maindonald, John; Rudd, Stephen; Hayward, David C; Saint, Robert; Miller, David J; Ball, Eldon E

2008-01-01

Background Anthozoan cnidarians are amongst the simplest animals at the tissue level of organization, but are surprisingly complex and vertebrate-like in terms of gene repertoire. As major components of tropical reef ecosystems, the stony corals are anthozoans of particular ecological significance. To better understand the molecular bases of both cnidarian development in general and coral-specific processes such as skeletogenesis and symbiont acquisition, microarray analysis was carried out through the period of early development – when skeletogenesis is initiated, and symbionts are first acquired. Results Of 5081 unique peptide coding genes, 1084 were differentially expressed (P ≤ 0.05) in comparisons between four different stages of coral development, spanning key developmental transitions. Genes of likely relevance to the processes of settlement, metamorphosis, calcification and interaction with symbionts were characterised further and their spatial expression patterns investigated using whole-mount in situ hybridization. Conclusion This study is the first large-scale investigation of developmental gene expression for any cnidarian, and has provided candidate genes for key roles in many aspects of coral biology, including calcification, metamorphosis and symbiont uptake. One surprising finding is that some of these genes have clear counterparts in higher animals but are not present in the closely-related sea anemone Nematostella. Secondly, coral-specific processes (i.e. traits which distinguish corals from their close relatives) may be analogous to similar processes in distantly related organisms. This first large-scale application of microarray analysis demonstrates the potential of this approach for investigating many aspects of coral biology, including the effects of stress and disease. PMID:19014561

Identifying dietary differences between Scotland and England: a rapid review of the literature.

PubMed

Chambers, Stephanie; Barton, Karen L; Albani, Viviana; Anderson, Annie S; Wrieden, Wendy L

2017-10-01

Rates of premature mortality have been higher in Scotland than in England since the 1970s. Given the known association of diet with chronic disease, the study objective was to identify and synthesise evidence on current and historical differences in food and nutrient intakes in Scotland and England. A rapid review of the peer-reviewed and grey literature was carried out. After an initial scoping search, Medline, CINAHL, Embase and Web of Science were searched. Relevant grey literature was also included. Inclusion criteria were: any date; measures of dietary intake; representative populations; cross-sectional or observational cohort studies; and English-language publications. Study quality was assessed using the Quality Assessment Tool for Observational Cohort and Cross-sectional Studies. A narrative synthesis of extracted information was conducted. Fifty publications and reports were included in the review. Results indicated that children and adults in Scotland had lower intakes of vegetables and vitamins compared with those living in England. Higher intakes of salt in Scotland were also identified. Data were limited by small Scottish samples, difficulty in finding England-level data, lack of statistical testing and adjustment for key confounders. Further investigation of adequately powered and analysed surveys is required to examine more fully dietary differences between Scotland and England. This would provide greater insight into potential causes of excess mortality in Scotland compared with England and suitable policy recommendations to address these inequalities.

The "Key" Method of Identifying Igneous and Metamorphic Rocks in Introductory Laboratory.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Eves, Robert Leo; Davis, Larry Eugene

1987-01-01

Proposes that identification keys provide an orderly strategy for the identification of igneous and metamorphic rocks in an introductory geology course. Explains the format employed in the system and includes the actual key guides for both igneous and metamorphic rocks. (ML)

The Use of Key Informant Method for Identifying Children with Blindness and Severe Visual Impairment in Developing Countries.

PubMed

du Toit, Rènée; Courtright, Paul; Lewallen, Susan

2017-06-01

An estimated 19 million children are visually impaired; of these, 1.4 million are irreversibly blind. A key challenge is to identify them early in life to benefit maximally from visual rehabilitation, and/or treatment. This aggregative review and structured literature analysis summarizes evidence of what it is about the key informant (KI) approach that works to identify children with blindness or severe visual impairment (B/SVI) in the community (for whom, to what extent, in what circumstances, in what respect, how and why). Peer-reviewed (PubMed, hand search) and grey literature (Google, World Health Organization website, academic theses, direct requests) were included, and methods and criteria used for identification, productivity (number of children referred per KI), accuracy of referrals (positive predictive value, PPV), age of children with B/SVI, KI definition, sex, information about cost and comparisons aggregated. We included 31 documents describing 22 unique KI programs. Mostly KIs identified children with B/SVI in 1-3 weeks, i.e. "campaign mode." In 60%, KIs were community volunteers, others formal health sector workers (FHSW). Around 0.02-1.56 children per KI (median = 0.25) were successfully recruited. PPV ranged from 12 to 66%. In two studies comparing FHSWs and community KIs, the latter were 8 and 10 times more productive. KIs working in campaign mode may provide an effective approach to identifying children with B/SVI in communities. Including identification of ocular problems and/or other impairments has been recommended. Research on factors that influence effectiveness and on whether KIs continue to contribute could inform programs.

Preteaching Unknown Key Words with Incremental Rehearsal to Improve Reading Fluency and Comprehension with Children Identified as Reading Disabled

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Burns, Matthew K.; Dean, Vincent J.; Foley, Sarah

2004-01-01

Research has consistently demonstrated that strategic preteaching activities led to improved reading fluency, but lacked studies examining the effect on reading comprehension. The current study investigated the effect of teaching unknown key words as a preteaching strategy with 20 students identified as learning disabled in basic reading skills…

Evaluation of unique identifiers used as keys to match identical publications in Pure and SciVal – a case study from health science

PubMed Central

Madsen, Heidi Holst; Madsen, Dicte; Gauffriau, Marianne

2016-01-01

Unique identifiers (UID) are seen as an effective key to match identical publications across databases or identify duplicates in a database. The objective of the present study is to investigate how well UIDs work as match keys in the integration between Pure and SciVal, based on a case with publications from the health sciences. We evaluate the matching process based on information about coverage, precision, and characteristics of publications matched versus not matched with UIDs as the match keys. We analyze this information to detect errors, if any, in the matching process. As an example we also briefly discuss how publication sets formed by using UIDs as the match keys may affect the bibliometric indicators number of publications, number of citations, and the average number of citations per publication.  The objective is addressed in a literature review and a case study. The literature review shows that only a few studies evaluate how well UIDs work as a match key. From the literature we identify four error types: Duplicate digital object identifiers (DOI), incorrect DOIs in reference lists and databases, DOIs not registered by the database where a bibliometric analysis is performed, and erroneous optical or special character recognition. The case study explores the use of UIDs in the integration between the databases Pure and SciVal. Specifically journal publications in English are matched between the two databases. We find all error types except erroneous optical or special character recognition in our publication sets. In particular the duplicate DOIs constitute a problem for the calculation of bibliometric indicators as both keeping the duplicates to improve the reliability of citation counts and deleting them to improve the reliability of publication counts will distort the calculation of average number of citations per publication. The use of UIDs as a match key in citation linking is implemented in many settings, and the availability of UIDs may become

How to identify the key factors that affect driver perception of accident risk. A comparison between Italian and Spanish driver behavior.

PubMed

de Oña, Juan; de Oña, Rocio; Eboli, Laura; Forciniti, Carmen; Mazzulla, Gabriella

2014-12-01

Road crashes can be caused by different factors, including infrastructure, vehicles, and human variables. Many research studies have focused solely on identifying the key factors that cause road crashes. From these studies, it emerged that human factors have the most relevant impact on accident severity. More specifically, accident severity depends on several factors related directly to the driver, i.e., driving experience, driver's socio-economic characteristics, and driving behavior and attitudes. In this paper, we investigate driver behaviors and attitudes while driving and specifically focus on different methods for identifying the factors that most affect the driver's perception of accident risk. To this end, we designed and conducted a survey in two different European contexts: the city of Cosenza, which is located in the south of Italy, and the city of Granada, which is located in the south of Spain. Samples of drivers were contacted for their opinions on certain aspects of driving rules and attitudes while driving, and different types of questions were addressed to the drivers to assess their judgments of these aspects. Consequently, different methods of data analysis were applied to determine the aspects that heavily influence driver perception of accident risk. An experiment based on the stated preferences (SP) was carried out with the drivers, and the SP data were analyzed using an ordered probit (OP) model. Interesting findings emerged from different analyses of the data and from the comparisons among the data collected in the two different territorial contexts. We found that both Italian and Spanish drivers consider driving in an altered psychophysical state and violating the overtaking rules to be the most risky behaviors. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Comparison of key aroma compounds in five different types of Japanese soy sauces by aroma extract dilution analysis (AEDA).

PubMed

Kaneko, Shu; Kumazawa, Kenji; Nishimura, Osamu

2012-04-18

An investigation by the aroma extract dilution analysis (AEDA) technique of the aroma concentrate from five different types of Japanese soy sauces, categorized according to Japan Agricultural Standards as Koikuchi Shoyu (KS), Usukuchi Shoyu (US), Tamari Shoyu (TS), Sai-Shikomi Shoyu (SSS), and Shiro Shoyu (SS), revealed 25 key aroma compounds. Among them, 3-ethyl-1,2-cyclopentanedione and 2'-aminoacetophenone were identified in the soy sauces for the first time. Whereas 3-(methylthio)propanal (methional) and 3-hydroxy-4,5-dimethyl-2(5H)-furanone (sotolon) were detected in all of the soy sauce aroma concentrates as having high flavor dilution (FD) factors, 4-ethyl-2-methoxyphenol was detected as having a high FD factor in only four of the soy sauces (KS, US, TS, and SSS). Furthermore, 5(or 2)-ethyl-4-hydroxy-2(or 5)-methyl-3(2H)-furanone (4-HEMF) and 4-hydroxy-2,5-dimethyl-3(2H)-furanone (4-HDMF), which were thought to be the key odorants in KS, were detected in KS, US, TS, and SSS, but the FD factors widely varied among them. The sensory evaluations demonstrated that the aroma descriptions of a cooked potato-like note and a caramel-like/seasoning-like note were evaluated as high scores with no significant differences among the five soy sauces. On the other hand, a burnt/spicy note was evaluated as having high scores in KS, TS, and SSS, but it was evaluated as having a low score in SS. The comparative AEDA experiments and the auxiliary sensory experiments demonstrated that the five different types of Japanese soy sauces varied in their key aroma compounds and aroma characteristics, and the key aroma compounds in KS might not always be highly contributing in the other types of Japanese soy sauces.

Identifying Key Performance Indicators for Holistic Hospital Management with a Modified DEMATEL Approach

PubMed Central

Si, Sheng-Li; You, Xiao-Yue; Huang, Jia

2017-01-01

Performance analysis is an important way for hospitals to achieve higher efficiency and effectiveness in providing services to their customers. The performance of the healthcare system can be measured by many indicators, but it is difficult to improve them simultaneously due to the limited resources. A feasible way is to identify the central and influential indicators to improve healthcare performance in a stepwise manner. In this paper, we propose a hybrid multiple criteria decision making (MCDM) approach to identify key performance indicators (KPIs) for holistic hospital management. First, through integrating evidential reasoning approach and interval 2-tuple linguistic variables, various assessments of performance indicators provided by healthcare experts are modeled. Then, the decision making trial and evaluation laboratory (DEMATEL) technique is adopted to build an interactive network and visualize the causal relationships between the performance indicators. Finally, an empirical case study is provided to demonstrate the proposed approach for improving the efficiency of healthcare management. The results show that “accidents/adverse events”, “nosocomial infection”, ‘‘incidents/errors”, “number of operations/procedures” are significant influential indicators. Also, the indicators of “length of stay”, “bed occupancy” and “financial measures” play important roles in performance evaluation of the healthcare organization. The proposed decision making approach could be considered as a reference for healthcare administrators to enhance the performance of their healthcare institutions. PMID:28825613

Identifying Key Performance Indicators for Holistic Hospital Management with a Modified DEMATEL Approach.

PubMed

Si, Sheng-Li; You, Xiao-Yue; Liu, Hu-Chen; Huang, Jia

2017-08-19

Performance analysis is an important way for hospitals to achieve higher efficiency and effectiveness in providing services to their customers. The performance of the healthcare system can be measured by many indicators, but it is difficult to improve them simultaneously due to the limited resources. A feasible way is to identify the central and influential indicators to improve healthcare performance in a stepwise manner. In this paper, we propose a hybrid multiple criteria decision making (MCDM) approach to identify key performance indicators (KPIs) for holistic hospital management. First, through integrating evidential reasoning approach and interval 2-tuple linguistic variables, various assessments of performance indicators provided by healthcare experts are modeled. Then, the decision making trial and evaluation laboratory (DEMATEL) technique is adopted to build an interactive network and visualize the causal relationships between the performance indicators. Finally, an empirical case study is provided to demonstrate the proposed approach for improving the efficiency of healthcare management. The results show that "accidents/adverse events", "nosocomial infection", ''incidents/errors", "number of operations/procedures" are significant influential indicators. Also, the indicators of "length of stay", "bed occupancy" and "financial measures" play important roles in performance evaluation of the healthcare organization. The proposed decision making approach could be considered as a reference for healthcare administrators to enhance the performance of their healthcare institutions.

In-Silico Integration Approach to Identify a Key miRNA Regulating a Gene Network in Aggressive Prostate Cancer

PubMed Central

Colaprico, Antonio; Bontempi, Gianluca; Castiglioni, Isabella

2018-01-01

Like other cancer diseases, prostate cancer (PC) is caused by the accumulation of genetic alterations in the cells that drives malignant growth. These alterations are revealed by gene profiling and copy number alteration (CNA) analysis. Moreover, recent evidence suggests that also microRNAs have an important role in PC development. Despite efforts to profile PC, the alterations (gene, CNA, and miRNA) and biological processes that correlate with disease development and progression remain partially elusive. Many gene signatures proposed as diagnostic or prognostic tools in cancer poorly overlap. The identification of co-expressed genes, that are functionally related, can identify a core network of genes associated with PC with a better reproducibility. By combining different approaches, including the integration of mRNA expression profiles, CNAs, and miRNA expression levels, we identified a gene signature of four genes overlapping with other published gene signatures and able to distinguish, in silico, high Gleason-scored PC from normal human tissue, which was further enriched to 19 genes by gene co-expression analysis. From the analysis of miRNAs possibly regulating this network, we found that hsa-miR-153 was highly connected to the genes in the network. Our results identify a four-gene signature with diagnostic and prognostic value in PC and suggest an interesting gene network that could play a key regulatory role in PC development and progression. Furthermore, hsa-miR-153, controlling this network, could be a potential biomarker for theranostics in high Gleason-scored PC. PMID:29562723

Efficiency of different techniques to identify changes in land use

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zornoza, Raúl; Mateix-Solera, Jorge; Gerrero, César

2013-04-01

The need for the development of sensitive and efficient methodologies for soil quality evaluation is increasing. The ability to assess soil quality and identify key soil properties that serve as indicators of soil function is complicated by the multiplicity of physical, chemical and biological factors that control soil processes. In the mountain region of the Mediterranean Basin of Spain, almond trees have been cultivated in terraced orchards for centuries. These crops are immersed in the Mediterranean forest scenery, configuring a mosaic landscape where orchards are integrated in the forest masses. In the last decades, almond orchards are being abandoned, leading to an increase in vegetation cover, since abandoned fields are naturally colonized by the surrounded natural vegetation. Soil processes and properties are expected to be associated with vegetation successional dynamics. Thus, the establishment of suitable parameters to monitor soil quality related to land use changes is particularly important to guarantee the regeneration of the mature community. In this study, we selected three land uses, constituted by forest, almond trees orchards, and orchards abandoned between 10 and 15 years previously to sampling. Sampling was carried out in four different locations in SE Spain. The main purpose was to evaluate if changes in management have significantly influenced different sets of soil characteristics. For this purpose, we used a discriminant analysis (DA). The different sets of soil characteristics tested in this study were 1: physical, chemical and biochemical properties; 2: soil near infrared (NIR) spectra; and 3: phospholipid fatty acids (PLFAs). After the DA performed with the sets 1 and 2, the three land uses were clearly separated by the two first discriminant functions, and more than 85 % of the samples were correctly classified (grouped). Using the sets 3 and 4 for DA resulted in a slightly better separation of land uses, being more than 85% of the

A Human Proteome Array Approach to Identifying Key Host Proteins Targeted by Toxoplasma Kinase ROP18*

PubMed Central

Yang, Zhaoshou; Hou, Yongheng; Hao, Taofang; Rho, Hee-Sool; Wan, Jun; Luan, Yizhao; Gao, Xin; Yao, Jianping; Pan, Aihua; Xie, Zhi; Qian, Jiang; Liao, Wanqin; Zhu, Heng; Zhou, Xingwang

2017-01-01

Toxoplasma kinase ROP18 is a key molecule responsible for the virulence of Toxoplasma gondii; however, the mechanisms by which ROP18 exerts parasite virulence via interaction with host proteins remain limited to a small number of identified substrates. To identify a broader array of ROP18 substrates, we successfully purified bioactive mature ROP18 and used it to probe a human proteome array. Sixty eight new putative host targets were identified. Functional annotation analysis suggested that these proteins have a variety of functions, including metabolic process, kinase activity and phosphorylation, cell growth, apoptosis and cell death, and immunity, indicating a pleiotropic role of ROP18 kinase. Among these proteins, four candidates, p53, p38, UBE2N, and Smad1, were further validated. We demonstrated that ROP18 targets p53, p38, UBE2N, and Smad1 for degradation. Importantly, we demonstrated that ROP18 phosphorylates Smad1 Ser-187 to trigger its proteasome-dependent degradation. Further functional characterization of the substrates of ROP18 may enhance understanding of the pathogenesis of Toxoplasma infection and provide new therapeutic targets. Similar strategies could be used to identify novel host targets for other microbial kinases functioning at the pathogen-host interface. PMID:28087594

Identifying Key Flavors in Strawberries Driving Liking via Internal and External Preference Mapping.

PubMed

Oliver, Penelope; Cicerale, Sara; Pang, Edwin; Keast, Russell

2018-04-01

Australian consumers desire the development of a more flavorsome Australian strawberry cultivar. To aid in the development of well-liked strawberries, the attributes driving liking need to be identified. The objective of this research is to apply Preference Mapping (PM) techniques to the descriptive profile of commercial and newly bred strawberry cultivars, together with consumer preference data to determine the flavors contributing to liking. A trained sensory panel (n = 12) used Quantitative Descriptive Analysis (QDA®) methodology to evaluate two appearance, seven aroma, five texture, 10 flavor and 10 aftertaste attributes of three commercial strawberry cultivars and six elite breeding lines grown in Victoria, Australia. Strawberry consumers (n = 150) assessed their liking of the same strawberry cultivars. QDA® significantly discriminated strawberries on 28 of the 34 sensory attributes. There were significant differences in hedonic ratings of strawberries (F(8,714) = 11.5, P = 0.0001), with Hierarchical Cluster Analysis (HCA) identifying three consumer clusters each displaying differing patterns of preference. Internal and external PM techniques were applied to the data to identify the attributes driving consumer acceptability. Sweet, berry, caramel, fruity and floral attributes were identified as most contributing to liking. Sour, citrus, green, astringent, firm and gritty attributes were conversely associated with a reduction in consumer liking. Elite Lines 2 and 6 have been identified as having the broadest appeal, satisfying between 60% and 70% of consumers in the population assessed, thus the introduction of these cultivars should satisfy the largest group of consumers in the Australian market. The results of this research could be applied to breeding programs, to ensure newly bred cultivars express characteristics that were identified as well-liked amongst consumers. In addition, this research provides evidence for marketing strawberries by

A mouse model of alcoholic liver fibrosis-associated acute kidney injury identifies key molecular pathways

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

Furuya, Shinji; Chappell, Grace A.; Iwata, Yasuhir

Clinical data strongly indicate that acute kidney injury (AKI) is a critical complication in alcoholic hepatitis, an acute-on-chronic form of liver failure in patients with advanced alcoholic fibrosis. Development of targeted therapies for AKI in this setting is hampered by the lack of an animal model. To enable research into molecular drivers and novel therapies for fibrosis- and alcohol-associated AKI, we aimed to combine carbon tetrachloride (CCl{sub 4})-induced fibrosis with chronic intra-gastric alcohol feeding. Male C57BL/6J mice were administered a low dose of CCl{sub 4} (0.2 ml/kg 2 × week/6 weeks) followed by alcohol intragastrically (up to 25 g/kg/day formore » 3 weeks) and with continued CCl{sub 4}. We observed that combined treatment with CCl{sub 4} and alcohol resulted in severe liver injury, more pronounced than using each treatment alone. Importantly, severe kidney injury was evident only in the combined treatment group. This mouse model reproduced distinct pathological features consistent with AKI in human alcoholic hepatitis. Transcriptomic analysis of kidneys revealed profound effects in the combined treatment group, with enrichment for damage-associated pathways, such as apoptosis, inflammation, immune-response and hypoxia. Interestingly, Havcr1 and Lcn2, biomarkers of AKI, were markedly up-regulated. Overall, this study established a novel mouse model of fibrosis- and alcohol-associated AKI and identified key mechanistic pathways. - Highlights: • Acute kidney injury (AKI) is a critical complication in alcoholic hepatitis • We developed a novel mouse model of fibrosis- and alcohol-associated AKI • This model reproduces key molecular and pathological features of human AKI • This animal model can help identify new targeted therapies for alcoholic hepatitis.« less

Simple Web-based interactive key development software (WEBiKEY) and an example key for Kuruna (Poaceae: Bambusoideae).

PubMed

Attigala, Lakshmi; De Silva, Nuwan I; Clark, Lynn G

2016-04-01

Programs that are user-friendly and freely available for developing Web-based interactive keys are scarce and most of the well-structured applications are relatively expensive. WEBiKEY was developed to enable researchers to easily develop their own Web-based interactive keys with fewer resources. A Web-based multiaccess identification tool (WEBiKEY) was developed that uses freely available Microsoft ASP.NET technologies and an SQL Server database for Windows-based hosting environments. WEBiKEY was tested for its usability with a sample data set, the temperate woody bamboo genus Kuruna (Poaceae). WEBiKEY is freely available to the public and can be used to develop Web-based interactive keys for any group of species. The interactive key we developed for Kuruna using WEBiKEY enables users to visually inspect characteristics of Kuruna and identify an unknown specimen as one of seven possible species in the genus.

Identifying the Key Concerns of Irish Persons with Intellectual Disability

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

García Iriarte, Edurne; O'Brien, Patricia; McConkey, Roy; Wolfe, Marie; O'Doherty, Siobhain

2014-01-01

Background: Internationally, people with intellectual disability are socially marginalized, and their rights under the United Nations Convention for the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) are often ignored. Aims: This paper aims to define the key concerns of adults with an intellectual disability in relation to their participation in…

Identifying Key Stakeholders in Blended Tertiary Environments: Experts' Perspectives

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tuapawa, Kimberley

2017-01-01

Although key stakeholders in blended tertiary environments (BTEs) fulfil an extraordinary role in higher education, significant gaps in knowledge about their identities may be impeding the provision of stakeholder support, limiting their ability to promote effective learning and teaching. As online growth intensifies, it is critical that tertiary…

Identifying key components for an effective case report poster: an observational study.

PubMed

Willett, Lisa L; Paranjape, Anuradha; Estrada, Carlos

2009-03-01

Residents demonstrate scholarly activity by presenting posters at academic meetings. Although recommendations from national organizations are available, evidence identifying which components are most important is not. To develop and test an evaluation tool to measure the quality of case report posters and identify the specific components most in need of improvement. Faculty evaluators reviewed case report posters and provided on-site feedback to presenters at poster sessions of four annual academic general internal medicine meetings. A newly developed ten-item evaluation form measured poster quality for specific components of content, discussion, and format (5-point Likert scale, 1 = lowest, 5 = highest). Evaluation tool performance, including Cronbach alpha and inter-rater reliability, overall poster scores, differences across meetings and evaluators and specific components of the posters most in need of improvement. Forty-five evaluators from 20 medical institutions reviewed 347 posters. Cronbach's alpha of the evaluation form was 0.84 and inter-rater reliability, Spearman's rho 0.49 (p < 0.001). The median score was 4.1 (Q1 -Q3, 3.7-4.6)(Q1 = 25th, Q3 = 75th percentile). The national meeting median score was higher than the regional meetings (4.4 vs, 4.0, P < 0.001). We found no difference in faculty scores. The following areas were identified as most needing improvement: clearly state learning objectives, tie conclusions to learning objectives, and use appropriate amount of words. Our evaluation tool provides empirical data to guide trainees as they prepare posters for presentation which may improve poster quality and enhance their scholarly productivity.

Integrated Analysis of Mutation Data from Various Sources Identifies Key Genes and Signaling Pathways in Hepatocellular Carcinoma

PubMed Central

Wei, Lin; Tang, Ruqi; Lian, Baofeng; Zhao, Yingjun; He, Xianghuo; Xie, Lu

2014-01-01

Background Recently, a number of studies have performed genome or exome sequencing of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and identified hundreds or even thousands of mutations in protein-coding genes. However, these studies have only focused on a limited number of candidate genes, and many important mutation resources remain to be explored. Principal Findings In this study, we integrated mutation data obtained from various sources and performed pathway and network analysis. We identified 113 pathways that were significantly mutated in HCC samples and found that the mutated genes included in these pathways contained high percentages of known cancer genes, and damaging genes and also demonstrated high conservation scores, indicating their important roles in liver tumorigenesis. Five classes of pathways that were mutated most frequently included (a) proliferation and apoptosis related pathways, (b) tumor microenvironment related pathways, (c) neural signaling related pathways, (d) metabolic related pathways, and (e) circadian related pathways. Network analysis further revealed that the mutated genes with the highest betweenness coefficients, such as the well-known cancer genes TP53, CTNNB1 and recently identified novel mutated genes GNAL and the ADCY family, may play key roles in these significantly mutated pathways. Finally, we highlight several key genes (e.g., RPS6KA3 and PCLO) and pathways (e.g., axon guidance) in which the mutations were associated with clinical features. Conclusions Our workflow illustrates the increased statistical power of integrating multiple studies of the same subject, which can provide biological insights that would otherwise be masked under individual sample sets. This type of bioinformatics approach is consistent with the necessity of making the best use of the ever increasing data provided in valuable databases, such as TCGA, to enhance the speed of deciphering human cancers. PMID:24988079

Integrated analysis of mutation data from various sources identifies key genes and signaling pathways in hepatocellular carcinoma.

PubMed

Zhang, Yuannv; Qiu, Zhaoping; Wei, Lin; Tang, Ruqi; Lian, Baofeng; Zhao, Yingjun; He, Xianghuo; Xie, Lu

2014-01-01

Recently, a number of studies have performed genome or exome sequencing of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and identified hundreds or even thousands of mutations in protein-coding genes. However, these studies have only focused on a limited number of candidate genes, and many important mutation resources remain to be explored. In this study, we integrated mutation data obtained from various sources and performed pathway and network analysis. We identified 113 pathways that were significantly mutated in HCC samples and found that the mutated genes included in these pathways contained high percentages of known cancer genes, and damaging genes and also demonstrated high conservation scores, indicating their important roles in liver tumorigenesis. Five classes of pathways that were mutated most frequently included (a) proliferation and apoptosis related pathways, (b) tumor microenvironment related pathways, (c) neural signaling related pathways, (d) metabolic related pathways, and (e) circadian related pathways. Network analysis further revealed that the mutated genes with the highest betweenness coefficients, such as the well-known cancer genes TP53, CTNNB1 and recently identified novel mutated genes GNAL and the ADCY family, may play key roles in these significantly mutated pathways. Finally, we highlight several key genes (e.g., RPS6KA3 and PCLO) and pathways (e.g., axon guidance) in which the mutations were associated with clinical features. Our workflow illustrates the increased statistical power of integrating multiple studies of the same subject, which can provide biological insights that would otherwise be masked under individual sample sets. This type of bioinformatics approach is consistent with the necessity of making the best use of the ever increasing data provided in valuable databases, such as TCGA, to enhance the speed of deciphering human cancers.

Key drivers of airline loyalty.

PubMed

Dolnicar, Sara; Grabler, Klaus; Grün, Bettina; Kulnig, Anna

2011-10-01

This study investigates drivers of airline loyalty. It contributes to the body of knowledge in the area by investigating loyalty for a number of a priori market segments identified by airline management and by using a method which accounts for the multi-step nature of the airline choice process. The study is based on responses from 687 passengers. Results indicate that, at aggregate level, frequent flyer membership, price, the status of being a national carrier and the reputation of the airline as perceived by friends are the variables which best discriminate between travellers loyal to the airline and those who are not. Differences in drivers of airline loyalty for a number of segments were identified. For example, loyalty programs play a key role for business travellers whereas airline loyalty of leisure travellers is difficult to trace back to single factors. For none of the calculated models satisfaction emerged as a key driver of airline loyalty.

Key drivers of airline loyalty

PubMed Central

Dolnicar, Sara; Grabler, Klaus; Grün, Bettina; Kulnig, Anna

2011-01-01

This study investigates drivers of airline loyalty. It contributes to the body of knowledge in the area by investigating loyalty for a number of a priori market segments identified by airline management and by using a method which accounts for the multi-step nature of the airline choice process. The study is based on responses from 687 passengers. Results indicate that, at aggregate level, frequent flyer membership, price, the status of being a national carrier and the reputation of the airline as perceived by friends are the variables which best discriminate between travellers loyal to the airline and those who are not. Differences in drivers of airline loyalty for a number of segments were identified. For example, loyalty programs play a key role for business travellers whereas airline loyalty of leisure travellers is difficult to trace back to single factors. For none of the calculated models satisfaction emerged as a key driver of airline loyalty. PMID:27064618

Same pattern, different mechanism: Locking onto the role of key species in seafloor ecosystem process

PubMed Central

Woodin, Sarah Ann; Volkenborn, Nils; Pilditch, Conrad A.; Lohrer, Andrew M.; Wethey, David S.; Hewitt, Judi E.; Thrush, Simon F.

2016-01-01

Seafloor biodiversity is a key mediator of ecosystem functioning, but its role is often excluded from global budgets or simplified to black boxes in models. New techniques allow quantification of the behavior of animals living below the sediment surface and assessment of the ecosystem consequences of complex interactions, yielding a better understanding of the role of seafloor animals in affecting key processes like primary productivity. Combining predictions based on natural history, behavior of key benthic species and environmental context allow assessment of differences in functioning and process, even when the measured ecosystem property in different systems is similar. Data from three sedimentary systems in New Zealand illustrate this. Analysis of the behaviors of the infaunal ecosystem engineers in each system revealed three very different mechanisms driving ecosystem function: density and excretion, sediment turnover and surface rugosity, and hydraulic activities and porewater bioadvection. Integrative metrics of ecosystem function in some cases differentiate among the systems (gross primary production) and in others do not (photosynthetic efficiency). Analyses based on behaviors and activities revealed important ecosystem functional differences and can dramatically improve our ability to model the impact of stressors on ecosystem and global processes. PMID:27230562

Same pattern, different mechanism: Locking onto the role of key species in seafloor ecosystem process.

PubMed

Woodin, Sarah Ann; Volkenborn, Nils; Pilditch, Conrad A; Lohrer, Andrew M; Wethey, David S; Hewitt, Judi E; Thrush, Simon F

2016-05-27

Seafloor biodiversity is a key mediator of ecosystem functioning, but its role is often excluded from global budgets or simplified to black boxes in models. New techniques allow quantification of the behavior of animals living below the sediment surface and assessment of the ecosystem consequences of complex interactions, yielding a better understanding of the role of seafloor animals in affecting key processes like primary productivity. Combining predictions based on natural history, behavior of key benthic species and environmental context allow assessment of differences in functioning and process, even when the measured ecosystem property in different systems is similar. Data from three sedimentary systems in New Zealand illustrate this. Analysis of the behaviors of the infaunal ecosystem engineers in each system revealed three very different mechanisms driving ecosystem function: density and excretion, sediment turnover and surface rugosity, and hydraulic activities and porewater bioadvection. Integrative metrics of ecosystem function in some cases differentiate among the systems (gross primary production) and in others do not (photosynthetic efficiency). Analyses based on behaviors and activities revealed important ecosystem functional differences and can dramatically improve our ability to model the impact of stressors on ecosystem and global processes.

Identification of the Key Fields and Their Key Technical Points of Oncology by Patent Analysis.

PubMed

Zhang, Ting; Chen, Juan; Jia, Xiaofeng

2015-01-01

This paper aims to identify the key fields and their key technical points of oncology by patent analysis. Patents of oncology applied from 2006 to 2012 were searched in the Thomson Innovation database. The key fields and their key technical points were determined by analyzing the Derwent Classification (DC) and the International Patent Classification (IPC), respectively. Patent applications in the top ten DC occupied 80% of all the patent applications of oncology, which were the ten fields of oncology to be analyzed. The number of patent applications in these ten fields of oncology was standardized based on patent applications of oncology from 2006 to 2012. For each field, standardization was conducted separately for each of the seven years (2006-2012) and the mean of the seven standardized values was calculated to reflect the relative amount of patent applications in that field; meanwhile, regression analysis using time (year) and the standardized values of patent applications in seven years (2006-2012) was conducted so as to evaluate the trend of patent applications in each field. Two-dimensional quadrant analysis, together with the professional knowledge of oncology, was taken into consideration in determining the key fields of oncology. The fields located in the quadrant with high relative amount or increasing trend of patent applications are identified as key ones. By using the same method, the key technical points in each key field were identified. Altogether 116,820 patents of oncology applied from 2006 to 2012 were retrieved, and four key fields with twenty-nine key technical points were identified, including "natural products and polymers" with nine key technical points, "fermentation industry" with twelve ones, "electrical medical equipment" with four ones, and "diagnosis, surgery" with four ones. The results of this study could provide guidance on the development direction of oncology, and also help researchers broaden innovative ideas and discover new

Identifying Differences between Depressed Adolescent Suicide Ideators and Attempters

PubMed Central

Auerbach, Randy P.; Millner, Alexander J.; Stewart, Jeremy G.; Esposito, Erika

2015-01-01

Background Adolescent depression and suicide are pressing public health concerns, and identifying key differences among suicide ideators and attempters is critical. The goal of the current study is to test whether depressed adolescent suicide attempters report greater anhedonia severity and exhibit aberrant effort-cost computations in the face of uncertainty. Methods Depressed adolescents (n = 101) ages 13–19 years were administered structured clinical interviews to assess current mental health disorders and a history of suicidality (suicide ideators = 55, suicide attempters = 46). Then, participants completed self-report instruments assessing symptoms of suicidal ideation, depression, anhedonia, and anxiety as well as a computerized effort-cost computation task. Results Compared with depressed adolescent suicide ideators, attempters report greater anhedonia severity, even after concurrently controlling for symptoms of suicidal ideation, depression, and anxiety. Additionally, when completing the effort-cost computation task, suicide attempters are less likely to pursue the difficult, high value option when outcomes are uncertain. Follow-up, trial-level analyses of effort-cost computations suggest that receipt of reward does not influence future decision-making among suicide attempters, however, suicide ideators exhibit a win-stay approach when receiving rewards on previous trials. Limitations Findings should be considered in light of limitations including a modest sample size, which limits generalizability, and the cross-sectional design. Conclusions Depressed adolescent suicide attempters are characterized by greater anhedonia severity, which may impair the ability to integrate previous rewarding experiences to inform future decisions. Taken together, this may generate a feeling of powerlessness that contributes to increased suicidality and a needless loss of life. PMID:26233323

Identifying Key Components for an Effective Case Report Poster: An Observational Study

PubMed Central

Paranjape, Anuradha; Estrada, Carlos

2008-01-01

BACKGROUND Residents demonstrate scholarly activity by presenting posters at academic meetings. Although recommendations from national organizations are available, evidence identifying which components are most important is not. OBJECTIVE To develop and test an evaluation tool to measure the quality of case report posters and identify the specific components most in need of improvement. DESIGN Faculty evaluators reviewed case report posters and provided on-site feedback to presenters at poster sessions of four annual academic general internal medicine meetings. A newly developed ten-item evaluation form measured poster quality for specific components of content, discussion, and format (5-point Likert scale, 1 = lowest, 5 = highest). Main outcome measure(s): Evaluation tool performance, including Cronbach alpha and inter-rater reliability, overall poster scores, differences across meetings and evaluators and specific components of the posters most in need of improvement. RESULTS Forty-five evaluators from 20 medical institutions reviewed 347 posters. Cronbach’s alpha of the evaluation form was 0.84 and inter-rater reliability, Spearman’s rho 0.49 ( < 0.001). The median score was 4.1 (Q1 -Q3, 3.7-4.6)(Q1 = 25th, Q3 = 75th percentile). The national meeting median score was higher than the regional meetings (4.4 vs, 4.0,  < 0.001). We found no difference in faculty scores. The following areas were identified as most needing improvement: clearly state learning objectives, tie conclusions to learning objectives, and use appropriate amount of words. CONCLUSIONS Our evaluation tool provides empirical data to guide trainees as they prepare posters for presentation which may improve poster quality and enhance their scholarly productivity. PMID:19089510

Key Objectives Bank: Year 9. Key Stage 3: National Strategy.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Department for Education and Skills, London (England).

In each sub-section of the "Framework for Teaching English: Years 7, 8 and 9," certain key objectives are identified in boldface print. These objectives are key because they signify skills or understanding which are crucial to pupils' language development. They are challenging for the age group and are important markers of progress. This…

Quantum key management

DOEpatents

Hughes, Richard John; Thrasher, James Thomas; Nordholt, Jane Elizabeth

2016-11-29

Innovations for quantum key management harness quantum communications to form a cryptography system within a public key infrastructure framework. In example implementations, the quantum key management innovations combine quantum key distribution and a quantum identification protocol with a Merkle signature scheme (using Winternitz one-time digital signatures or other one-time digital signatures, and Merkle hash trees) to constitute a cryptography system. More generally, the quantum key management innovations combine quantum key distribution and a quantum identification protocol with a hash-based signature scheme. This provides a secure way to identify, authenticate, verify, and exchange secret cryptographic keys. Features of the quantum key management innovations further include secure enrollment of users with a registration authority, as well as credential checking and revocation with a certificate authority, where the registration authority and/or certificate authority can be part of the same system as a trusted authority for quantum key distribution.

Simple Web-based interactive key development software (WEBiKEY) and an example key for Kuruna (Poaceae: Bambusoideae)1

PubMed Central

Attigala, Lakshmi; De Silva, Nuwan I.; Clark, Lynn G.

2016-01-01

Premise of the study: Programs that are user-friendly and freely available for developing Web-based interactive keys are scarce and most of the well-structured applications are relatively expensive. WEBiKEY was developed to enable researchers to easily develop their own Web-based interactive keys with fewer resources. Methods and Results: A Web-based multiaccess identification tool (WEBiKEY) was developed that uses freely available Microsoft ASP.NET technologies and an SQL Server database for Windows-based hosting environments. WEBiKEY was tested for its usability with a sample data set, the temperate woody bamboo genus Kuruna (Poaceae). Conclusions: WEBiKEY is freely available to the public and can be used to develop Web-based interactive keys for any group of species. The interactive key we developed for Kuruna using WEBiKEY enables users to visually inspect characteristics of Kuruna and identify an unknown specimen as one of seven possible species in the genus. PMID:27144109

Gain-of-function mutations in beet DODA2 identify key residues for betalain pigment evolution.

PubMed

Bean, Alexander; Sunnadeniya, Rasika; Akhavan, Neda; Campbell, Annabelle; Brown, Matthew; Lloyd, Alan

2018-05-13

The key enzymatic step in betalain biosynthesis involves conversion of l-3,4-dihydroxyphenylalanine (l-DOPA) to betalamic acid. One class of enzymes capable of this is 3,4-dihydroxyphenylalanine 4,5-dioxygenase (DODA). In betalain-producing species, multiple paralogs of this gene are maintained. This study demonstrates which paralogs function in the betalain pathway and determines the residue changes required to evolve a betalain-nonfunctional DODA into a betalain-functional DODA. Functionalities of two pairs of DODAs were tested by expression in beets, Arabidopsis and yeast, and gene silencing was performed by virus-induced gene silencing. Site-directed mutagenesis identified amino acid residues essential for betalamic acid production. Beta vulgaris and Mirabilis jalapa both possess a DODA1 lineage that functions in the betalain pathway and at least one other lineage, DODA2, that does not. Site-directed mutagenesis resulted in betalain biosynthesis by a previously nonfunctional DODA, revealing key residues required for evolution of the betalain pathway. Divergent functionality of DODA paralogs, one clade involved in betalain biosynthesis but others not, is present in various Caryophyllales species. A minimum of seven amino acid residue changes conferred betalain enzymatic activity to a betalain-nonfunctional DODA paralog, providing insight into the evolution of the betalain pigment pathway in plants. © 2018 The Authors. New Phytologist © 2018 New Phytologist Trust.

"Key Concepts in ELT": Taking Stock

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hall, Graham

2012-01-01

This article identifies patterns and trends within "Key Concepts in ELT", both since the inception of the feature in ELT Journal in 1993 and during the 17 years of the current editorship. After outlining the aims of the series, the article identifies key themes that have emerged over time, exploring the links between "Key Concepts" pieces and the…

Evolutionary analysis of vision genes identifies potential drivers of visual differences between giraffe and okapi

PubMed Central

Agaba, Morris; Cavener, Douglas R.

2017-01-01

Background The capacity of visually oriented species to perceive and respond to visual signal is integral to their evolutionary success. Giraffes are closely related to okapi, but the two species have broad range of phenotypic differences including their visual capacities. Vision studies rank giraffe’s visual acuity higher than all other artiodactyls despite sharing similar vision ecological determinants with many of them. The extent to which the giraffe’s unique visual capacity and its difference with okapi is reflected by changes in their vision genes is not understood. Methods The recent availability of giraffe and okapi genomes provided opportunity to identify giraffe and okapi vision genes. Multiple strategies were employed to identify thirty-six candidate mammalian vision genes in giraffe and okapi genomes. Quantification of selection pressure was performed by a combination of branch-site tests of positive selection and clade models of selection divergence through comparing giraffe and okapi vision genes and orthologous sequences from other mammals. Results Signatures of selection were identified in key genes that could potentially underlie giraffe and okapi visual adaptations. Importantly, some genes that contribute to optical transparency of the eye and those that are critical in light signaling pathway were found to show signatures of adaptive evolution or selection divergence. Comparison between giraffe and other ruminants identifies significant selection divergence in CRYAA and OPN1LW. Significant selection divergence was identified in SAG while positive selection was detected in LUM when okapi is compared with ruminants and other mammals. Sequence analysis of OPN1LW showed that at least one of the sites known to affect spectral sensitivity of the red pigment is uniquely divergent between giraffe and other ruminants. Discussion By taking a systemic approach to gene function in vision, the results provide the first molecular clues associated with

Evolutionary analysis of vision genes identifies potential drivers of visual differences between giraffe and okapi.

PubMed

Ishengoma, Edson; Agaba, Morris; Cavener, Douglas R

2017-01-01

The capacity of visually oriented species to perceive and respond to visual signal is integral to their evolutionary success. Giraffes are closely related to okapi, but the two species have broad range of phenotypic differences including their visual capacities. Vision studies rank giraffe's visual acuity higher than all other artiodactyls despite sharing similar vision ecological determinants with many of them. The extent to which the giraffe's unique visual capacity and its difference with okapi is reflected by changes in their vision genes is not understood. The recent availability of giraffe and okapi genomes provided opportunity to identify giraffe and okapi vision genes. Multiple strategies were employed to identify thirty-six candidate mammalian vision genes in giraffe and okapi genomes. Quantification of selection pressure was performed by a combination of branch-site tests of positive selection and clade models of selection divergence through comparing giraffe and okapi vision genes and orthologous sequences from other mammals. Signatures of selection were identified in key genes that could potentially underlie giraffe and okapi visual adaptations. Importantly, some genes that contribute to optical transparency of the eye and those that are critical in light signaling pathway were found to show signatures of adaptive evolution or selection divergence. Comparison between giraffe and other ruminants identifies significant selection divergence in CRYAA and OPN1LW . Significant selection divergence was identified in SAG while positive selection was detected in LUM when okapi is compared with ruminants and other mammals. Sequence analysis of OPN1LW showed that at least one of the sites known to affect spectral sensitivity of the red pigment is uniquely divergent between giraffe and other ruminants. By taking a systemic approach to gene function in vision, the results provide the first molecular clues associated with giraffe and okapi vision adaptations. At

Global Sensitivity Analysis of OnGuard Models Identifies Key Hubs for Transport Interaction in Stomatal Dynamics1[CC-BY

PubMed Central

Vialet-Chabrand, Silvere; Griffiths, Howard

2017-01-01

The physical requirement for charge to balance across biological membranes means that the transmembrane transport of each ionic species is interrelated, and manipulating solute flux through any one transporter will affect other transporters at the same membrane, often with unforeseen consequences. The OnGuard systems modeling platform has helped to resolve the mechanics of stomatal movements, uncovering previously unexpected behaviors of stomata. To date, however, the manual approach to exploring model parameter space has captured little formal information about the emergent connections between parameters that define the most interesting properties of the system as a whole. Here, we introduce global sensitivity analysis to identify interacting parameters affecting a number of outputs commonly accessed in experiments in Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana). The analysis highlights synergies between transporters affecting the balance between Ca2+ sequestration and Ca2+ release pathways, notably those associated with internal Ca2+ stores and their turnover. Other, unexpected synergies appear, including with the plasma membrane anion channels and H+-ATPase and with the tonoplast TPK K+ channel. These emergent synergies, and the core hubs of interaction that they define, identify subsets of transporters associated with free cytosolic Ca2+ concentration that represent key targets to enhance plant performance in the future. They also highlight the importance of interactions between the voltage regulation of the plasma membrane and tonoplast in coordinating transport between the different cellular compartments. PMID:28432256

Identification of the Key Fields and Their Key Technical Points of Oncology by Patent Analysis

PubMed Central

Zhang, Ting; Chen, Juan; Jia, Xiaofeng

2015-01-01

Background This paper aims to identify the key fields and their key technical points of oncology by patent analysis. Methodology/Principal Findings Patents of oncology applied from 2006 to 2012 were searched in the Thomson Innovation database. The key fields and their key technical points were determined by analyzing the Derwent Classification (DC) and the International Patent Classification (IPC), respectively. Patent applications in the top ten DC occupied 80% of all the patent applications of oncology, which were the ten fields of oncology to be analyzed. The number of patent applications in these ten fields of oncology was standardized based on patent applications of oncology from 2006 to 2012. For each field, standardization was conducted separately for each of the seven years (2006–2012) and the mean of the seven standardized values was calculated to reflect the relative amount of patent applications in that field; meanwhile, regression analysis using time (year) and the standardized values of patent applications in seven years (2006–2012) was conducted so as to evaluate the trend of patent applications in each field. Two-dimensional quadrant analysis, together with the professional knowledge of oncology, was taken into consideration in determining the key fields of oncology. The fields located in the quadrant with high relative amount or increasing trend of patent applications are identified as key ones. By using the same method, the key technical points in each key field were identified. Altogether 116,820 patents of oncology applied from 2006 to 2012 were retrieved, and four key fields with twenty-nine key technical points were identified, including “natural products and polymers” with nine key technical points, “fermentation industry” with twelve ones, “electrical medical equipment” with four ones, and “diagnosis, surgery” with four ones. Conclusions/Significance The results of this study could provide guidance on the development

An Integrated Systems Biology Approach Identifies TRIM25 as a Key Determinant of Breast Cancer Metastasis.

PubMed

Walsh, Logan A; Alvarez, Mariano J; Sabio, Erich Y; Reyngold, Marsha; Makarov, Vladimir; Mukherjee, Suranjit; Lee, Ken-Wing; Desrichard, Alexis; Turcan, Şevin; Dalin, Martin G; Rajasekhar, Vinagolu K; Chen, Shuibing; Vahdat, Linda T; Califano, Andrea; Chan, Timothy A

2017-08-15

At the root of most fatal malignancies are aberrantly activated transcriptional networks that drive metastatic dissemination. Although individual metastasis-associated genes have been described, the complex regulatory networks presiding over the initiation and maintenance of metastatic tumors are still poorly understood. There is untapped value in identifying therapeutic targets that broadly govern coordinated transcriptional modules dictating metastatic progression. Here, we reverse engineered and interrogated a breast cancer-specific transcriptional interaction network (interactome) to define transcriptional control structures causally responsible for regulating genetic programs underlying breast cancer metastasis in individual patients. Our analyses confirmed established pro-metastatic transcription factors, and they uncovered TRIM25 as a key regulator of metastasis-related transcriptional programs. Further, in vivo analyses established TRIM25 as a potent regulator of metastatic disease and poor survival outcome. Our findings suggest that identifying and targeting keystone proteins, like TRIM25, can effectively collapse transcriptional hierarchies necessary for metastasis formation, thus representing an innovative cancer intervention strategy. Copyright © 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Key principles of community-based natural resource management: a synthesis and interpretation of identified effective approaches for managing the commons.

PubMed

Gruber, James S

2010-01-01

This article examines recent research on approaches to community-based environmental and natural resource management and reviews the commonalities and differences between these interdisciplinary and multistakeholder initiatives. To identify the most effective characteristics of Community-based natural resource management (CBNRM), I collected a multiplicity of perspectives from research teams and then grouped findings into a matrix of organizational principles and key characteristics. The matrix was initially vetted (or "field tested") by applying numerous case studies that were previously submitted to the World Bank International Workshop on CBNRM. These practitioner case studies were then compared and contrasted with the findings of the research teams. It is hoped that the developed matrix may be useful to researchers in further focusing research, understanding core characteristics of effective and sustainable CBNRM, providing practitioners with a framework for developing new CBNRM initiatives for managing the commons, and providing a potential resource for academic institutions during their evaluation of their practitioner-focused environmental management and leadership curriculum.

Key Stage 3 Pupils' Views about Reading

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Atkinson, Cathy

2006-01-01

Recent developments in literacy teaching have tended to target the needs of primary, rather than high school pupils and focus on technical, rather than affective aspects of reading. This paper describes a questionnaire-based study undertaken to identify perceptions and views held by Key Stage 3 readers of different ages, genders and abilities.…

Scholars Identify 5 Keys to Urban School Success

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Viadero, Debra

2010-01-01

Offering a counter-narrative to the school improvement prescriptions that dominate national education debates, a new book based on 15 years of data on public elementary schools in Chicago identifies five tried-and-true ingredients that work, in combination with one another, to spur success in urban schools. The authors liken their "essential…

A Dichotomous Key to Tree Cones and Fruits of the Eastern United States.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Collins, Linda T.

1991-01-01

The author presents a dichotomous key to 29 tree cones, fruits, and nuts of eastern United States. Students can use the key to identify at least 10 species in a 1-hour laboratory assignment. This key uses reproductive structures that are significantly different from others. These structures are durable enough to be used in the laboratory for many…

Partitioned key-value store with atomic memory operations

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

Bent, John M.; Faibish, Sorin; Grider, Gary

A partitioned key-value store is provided that supports atomic memory operations. A server performs a memory operation in a partitioned key-value store by receiving a request from an application for at least one atomic memory operation, the atomic memory operation comprising a memory address identifier; and, in response to the atomic memory operation, performing one or more of (i) reading a client-side memory location identified by the memory address identifier and storing one or more key-value pairs from the client-side memory location in a local key-value store of the server; and (ii) obtaining one or more key-value pairs from themore » local key-value store of the server and writing the obtained one or more key-value pairs into the client-side memory location identified by the memory address identifier. The server can perform functions obtained from a client-side memory location and return a result to the client using one or more of the atomic memory operations.« less

Commonalities and differences in the implementation of models of care for arthritis: key informant interviews from Canada.

PubMed

Cott, Cheryl A; Davis, Aileen M; Badley, Elizabeth M; Wong, Rosalind; Canizares, Mayilee; Li, Linda C; Jones, Allyson; Brooks, Sydney; Ahlwalia, Vandana; Hawker, Gillian; Jaglal, Susan; Landry, Michel; MacKay, Crystal; Mosher, Dianne

2016-08-19

Timely access to effective treatments for arthritis is a priority at national, provincial and regional levels in Canada due to population aging coupled with limited health human resources. Models of care for arthritis are being implemented across the country but mainly in local contexts, not from an evidence-informed policy or framework. The purpose of this study is to examine existing models of care for arthritis in Canada at the local level in order to identify commonalities and differences in their implementation that could point to important considerations for health policy and service delivery. Semi-structured key informant interviews were conducted with 70 program managers and/or care providers in three Canadian provinces identified through purposive and snowball sampling followed by more detailed examination of 6 models of care (two per province). Interviews were transcribed verbatim and analyzed thematically using a qualitative descriptive approach. Two broad models of care were identified for Total Joint Replacement and Inflammatory Arthritis. Commonalities included lack of complete and appropriate referrals from primary care physicians and lack of health human resources to meet local demands. Strategies included standardized referrals and centralized intake and triage using non-specialist health care professionals. Differences included the nature of the care and follow-up, the role of the specialist, and location of service delivery. Current models of care are mainly focused on Total Joint Replacement and Inflammatory Arthritis. Given the increasing prevalence of arthritis and that published data report only a small proportion of current service delivery is specialist care; provision of timely, appropriate care requires development, implementation and evaluation of models of care across the continuum of care.

Neurogenesis in the Developing and Adult Brain—Similarities and Key Differences

PubMed Central

Götz, Magdalena; Nakafuku, Masato; Petrik, David

2017-01-01

Adult neurogenesis in the mammalian brain is often viewed as a continuation of neurogenesis at earlier, developmental stages. Here, we will critically review the extent to which this is the case highlighting similarities as well as key differences. Although many transcriptional regulators are shared in neurogenesis at embryonic and adult stages, recent findings on the molecular mechanisms by which these neuronal fate determinants control fate acquisition and maintenance have revealed profound differences between development and adulthood. Importantly, adult neurogenesis occurs in a gliogenic environment, hence requiring adult-specific additional and unique mechanisms of neuronal fate specification and maintenance. Thus, a better understanding of the molecular logic for continuous adult neurogenesis provides important clues to develop strategies to manipulate endogenous stem cells for the purpose of repair. PMID:27235475

Experimental Infections with Mycoplasma agalactiae Identify Key Factors Involved in Host-Colonization

PubMed Central

Baranowski, Eric; Bergonier, Dominique; Sagné, Eveline; Hygonenq, Marie-Claude; Ronsin, Patricia; Berthelot, Xavier; Citti, Christine

2014-01-01

Mechanisms underlying pathogenic processes in mycoplasma infections are poorly understood, mainly because of limited sequence similarities with classical, bacterial virulence factors. Recently, large-scale transposon mutagenesis in the ruminant pathogen Mycoplasma agalactiae identified the NIF locus, including nifS and nifU, as essential for mycoplasma growth in cell culture, while dispensable in axenic media. To evaluate the importance of this locus in vivo, the infectivity of two knock-out mutants was tested upon experimental infection in the natural host. In this model, the parental PG2 strain was able to establish a systemic infection in lactating ewes, colonizing various body sites such as lymph nodes and the mammary gland, even when inoculated at low doses. In these PG2-infected ewes, we observed over the course of infection (i) the development of a specific antibody response and (ii) dynamic changes in expression of M. agalactiae surface variable proteins (Vpma), with multiple Vpma profiles co-existing in the same animal. In contrast and despite a sensitive model, none of the knock-out mutants were able to survive and colonize the host. The extreme avirulent phenotype of the two mutants was further supported by the absence of an IgG response in inoculated animals. The exact role of the NIF locus remains to be elucidated but these data demonstrate that it plays a key role in the infectious process of M. agalactiae and most likely of other pathogenic mycoplasma species as many carry closely related homologs. PMID:24699671

Predicting Key Events in the Popularity Evolution of Online Information.

PubMed

Hu, Ying; Hu, Changjun; Fu, Shushen; Fang, Mingzhe; Xu, Wenwen

2017-01-01

The popularity of online information generally experiences a rising and falling evolution. This paper considers the "burst", "peak", and "fade" key events together as a representative summary of popularity evolution. We propose a novel prediction task-predicting when popularity undergoes these key events. It is of great importance to know when these three key events occur, because doing so helps recommendation systems, online marketing, and containment of rumors. However, it is very challenging to solve this new prediction task due to two issues. First, popularity evolution has high variation and can follow various patterns, so how can we identify "burst", "peak", and "fade" in different patterns of popularity evolution? Second, these events usually occur in a very short time, so how can we accurately yet promptly predict them? In this paper we address these two issues. To handle the first one, we use a simple moving average to smooth variation, and then a universal method is presented for different patterns to identify the key events in popularity evolution. To deal with the second one, we extract different types of features that may have an impact on the key events, and then a correlation analysis is conducted in the feature selection step to remove irrelevant and redundant features. The remaining features are used to train a machine learning model. The feature selection step improves prediction accuracy, and in order to emphasize prediction promptness, we design a new evaluation metric which considers both accuracy and promptness to evaluate our prediction task. Experimental and comparative results show the superiority of our prediction solution.

Expression Profiling of Nuclear Receptors Identifies Key Roles of NR4A Subfamily in Uterine Fibroids

PubMed Central

Yin, Hanwei; Lo, Jay H.; Kim, Ji-Young; Marsh, Erica E.; Kim, J. Julie; Ghosh, Asish K.; Bulun, Serdar

2013-01-01

Uterine fibroids (UFs), also known as uterine leiomyomas, are benign, fibrotic smooth muscle tumors. Although the GnRH analog leuprolide acetate that suppresses gonadal steroid hormones is used as a treatment, it has significant side effects, thereby limiting its use. Availability of more effective therapy is limited because of a lack of understanding of molecular underpinnings of the disease. Although ovarian steroid hormones estrogen and progesterone and their receptors are clearly involved, the role of other nuclear receptors (NRs) in UFs is not well defined. We used quantitative real-time PCR to systematically profile the expression of 48 NRs and identified several NRs that were aberrantly expressed in UFs. Among others, expression of NR4A subfamily members including NGFIB (NR4A1), NURR1 (NR4A2), and NOR1 (NR4A3) were dramatically suppressed in leiomyoma compared with the matched myometrium. Restoration of expression of each of these NR4A members in the primary leiomyoma smooth muscle cells decreased cell proliferation. Importantly, NR4As regulate expressions of the profibrotic factors including TGFβ3 and SMAD3, and several collagens that are key components of the extracellular matrix. Finally, we identify NR4A members as targets of leuprolide acetate treatment. Together, our results implicate several NRs including the NR4A subfamily in leiomyoma etiology and identify NR4As as potential therapeutic targets for treating fibrotic diseases. PMID:23550059

Personality Characteristics of Leaders Identifying with Different Student Subcultures.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Brainard, Stephen R.

This study was conducted to discover differences in personality characteristics among student leaders. The personality characteristics of presidents of campus organizations affiliated with one of four distinguishable student subcultures, identified by previous research as vocational, academic, collegiate, and nonconformist, were measured by the…

CAREGIVERS’ DIFFERING NEEDS ACROSS KEY EXPERIENCES OF THE ADVANCED CANCER DISEASE TRAJECTORY

PubMed Central

Bernard-DuBenske, Lori L.; Wen, Kuang-Yi; Gustafson, David H.; Guarnaccia, Charles A.; Cleary, James F.; Dinauer, Susan K.; McTavish, Fiona M.

2013-01-01

Familial caregivers are providing increasing amounts of care to advanced cancer patients. Increased understanding of caregivers’ needs is vital in providing necessary support to lessen caregiver burden and morbidity. Current literature has identified caregiver and patient needs at broad stages of the cancer trajectory; however, such broad stages may be too general to inform a practice of targeting specific interventions when they have the greatest utility. This study examines a variety of particular needs across a number of more discrete illness-related transition experiences specifically in the advanced cancer disease trajectory. One hundred fifty-nine female informal caregivers of people with advanced cancer completed a needs assessment survey. Analyses of these cross-sectional retrospective-report data reveal that cancer caregiver needs vary across specific key experiences occurring within the broader stages of illness identified by current literature. Furthermore, caregivers have unique needs during bereavement. While the sample characteristics are demographically limited, this study provides preliminary evidence that the broad stages are not specific enough increments for effectively examining caregiver needs, and supports the need for more precise distribution of cancer-related information at more discrete times in the illness course. PMID:18662420

Key concepts in consumer and community engagement: a scoping meta-review.

PubMed

Sarrami-Foroushani, Pooria; Travaglia, Joanne; Debono, Deborah; Braithwaite, Jeffrey

2014-06-13

Although consumer and community engagement (CCE) in health care is receiving increasing attention, research and practice in this area are hampered by the variability of concepts and terminology commonly employed. This scoping meta-review aims to identify key CCE concepts and examine terminology used to describe them. In a scoping meta-review, an extensive list of 47 phrases and 11 Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) was used to undertake a comprehensive and systematic search in PubMed Central, Embase, EBM reviews, CINAHL, APAPsycNET, and Scopus. 59 systematic reviews met the selection criteria and were included in the final analysis. The analysis identified nine different concepts related to CCE: shared decision making, self-management, CCE in health care systems, community-based health promotion, providing access to health care, rehabilitation, participation in research, collaboration in research design and conduct, and peer support. The identified concepts differ from each other in many aspects including the aim of the activity, the role of consumers and the type of professionals' involvement. Each concept was described by a range of terms, with some terms shared by different concepts. In addition, two overlapping concepts of patient-centeredness and patient empowerment were recognised. This study describes CCE-related key concepts and provides new insight into their relationship with different CCE-related terms. Identification of key CCE-related concepts and terms will be useful to focus future studies and initiatives and enhance production of CCE-related evidence.

Key concepts in consumer and community engagement: a scoping meta-review

PubMed Central

2014-01-01

Background Although consumer and community engagement (CCE) in health care is receiving increasing attention, research and practice in this area are hampered by the variability of concepts and terminology commonly employed. This scoping meta-review aims to identify key CCE concepts and examine terminology used to describe them. Methods In a scoping meta-review, an extensive list of 47 phrases and 11 Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) was used to undertake a comprehensive and systematic search in PubMed Central, Embase, EBM reviews, CINAHL, APAPsycNET, and Scopus. Results 59 systematic reviews met the selection criteria and were included in the final analysis. The analysis identified nine different concepts related to CCE: shared decision making, self-management, CCE in health care systems, community-based health promotion, providing access to health care, rehabilitation, participation in research, collaboration in research design and conduct, and peer support. The identified concepts differ from each other in many aspects including the aim of the activity, the role of consumers and the type of professionals’ involvement. Each concept was described by a range of terms, with some terms shared by different concepts. In addition, two overlapping concepts of patient-centeredness and patient empowerment were recognised. Conclusions This study describes CCE-related key concepts and provides new insight into their relationship with different CCE-related terms. Identification of key CCE-related concepts and terms will be useful to focus future studies and initiatives and enhance production of CCE-related evidence. PMID:24923771

Evaluating filterability of different types of sludge by statistical analysis: The role of key organic compounds in extracellular polymeric substances.

PubMed

Xiao, Keke; Chen, Yun; Jiang, Xie; Zhou, Yan

2017-03-01

An investigation was conducted for 20 different types of sludge in order to identify the key organic compounds in extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) that are important in assessing variations of sludge filterability. The different types of sludge varied in initial total solids (TS) content, organic composition and pre-treatment methods. For instance, some of the sludges were pre-treated by acid, ultrasonic, thermal, alkaline, or advanced oxidation technique. The Pearson's correlation results showed significant correlations between sludge filterability and zeta potential, pH, dissolved organic carbon, protein and polysaccharide in soluble EPS (SB EPS), loosely bound EPS (LB EPS) and tightly bound EPS (TB EPS). The principal component analysis (PCA) method was used to further explore correlations between variables and similarities among EPS fractions of different types of sludge. Two principal components were extracted: principal component 1 accounted for 59.24% of total EPS variations, while principal component 2 accounted for 25.46% of total EPS variations. Dissolved organic carbon, protein and polysaccharide in LB EPS showed higher eigenvector projection values than the corresponding compounds in SB EPS and TB EPS in principal component 1. Further characterization of fractionized key organic compounds in LB EPS was conducted with size-exclusion chromatography-organic carbon detection-organic nitrogen detection (LC-OCD-OND). A numerical multiple linear regression model was established to describe relationship between organic compounds in LB EPS and sludge filterability. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Identifying Key Features of Effective Active Learning: The Effects of Writing and Peer Discussion

PubMed Central

Pangle, Wiline M.; Wyatt, Kevin H.; Powell, Karli N.; Sherwood, Rachel E.

2014-01-01

We investigated some of the key features of effective active learning by comparing the outcomes of three different methods of implementing active-learning exercises in a majors introductory biology course. Students completed activities in one of three treatments: discussion, writing, and discussion + writing. Treatments were rotated weekly between three sections taught by three different instructors in a full factorial design. The data set was analyzed by generalized linear mixed-effect models with three independent variables: student aptitude, treatment, and instructor, and three dependent (assessment) variables: change in score on pre- and postactivity clicker questions, and coding scores on in-class writing and exam essays. All independent variables had significant effects on student performance for at least one of the dependent variables. Students with higher aptitude scored higher on all assessments. Student scores were higher on exam essay questions when the activity was implemented with a writing component compared with peer discussion only. There was a significant effect of instructor, with instructors showing different degrees of effectiveness with active-learning techniques. We suggest that individual writing should be implemented as part of active learning whenever possible and that instructors may need training and practice to become effective with active learning. PMID:25185230

Setting objectives for managing Key deer

USGS Publications Warehouse

Diefenbach, Duane R.; Wagner, Tyler; Stauffer, Glenn E.

2014-01-01

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) is responsible for the protection and management of Key deer (Odocoileus virginianus clavium) because the species is listed as Endangered under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). The purpose of the ESA is to protect and recover imperiled species and the ecosystems upon which they depend. There are a host of actions that could possibly be undertaken to recover the Key deer population, but without a clearly defined problem and stated objectives it can be difficult to compare and evaluate alternative actions. In addition, management goals and the acceptability of alternative management actions are inherently linked to stakeholders, who should be engaged throughout the process of developing a decision framework. The purpose of this project was to engage a representative group of stakeholders to develop a problem statement that captured the management problem the FWS must address with Key deer and identify objectives that, if met, would help solve the problem. In addition, the objectives were organized in a hierarchical manner (i.e., an objectives network) to show how they are linked, and measurable attributes were identified for each objective. We organized a group of people who represented stakeholders interested in and potentially affected by the management of Key deer. These stakeholders included individuals who represented local, state, and federal governments, non-governmental organizations, the general public, and local businesses. This stakeholder group met five full days over the course of an eight-week period to identify objectives that would address the following problem:“As recovery and removal from the Endangered Species list is the purpose of the Endangered Species Act, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service needs a management approach that will ensure a sustainable, viable, and healthy Key deer population. Urbanization has affected the behavior and population dynamics of the Key deer and the amount and characteristics

Identifying key areas of ecosystem services potential to improve ecological management in Chongqing City, southwest China.

PubMed

Xiao, Yang; Xiao, Qiang

2018-03-29

Because natural ecosystems and ecosystem services (ES) are both critical to the well-being of humankind, it is important to understand their relationships and congruence for conservation planning. Spatial conservation planning is required to set focused preservation priorities and to assess future ecological implications. This study uses the combined measures of ES models and ES potential to estimate and analyze all four groups of ecosystem services to generate opportunities to maximize ecosystem services. Subsequently, we identify the key areas of conservation priorities as future forestation and conservation hotspot zones to improve the ecological management in Chongqing City, located in the upper reaches of the Three Gorges Reservoir Area, China. Results show that ecosystem services potential is extremely obvious. Compared to ecosystem services from 2000, we determined that soil conservation could be increased by 59.11%, carbon sequestration by 129.51%, water flow regulation by 83.42%, and water purification by 84.42%. According to our prioritization results, approximately 48% of area converted to forests exhibited high improvements in all ecosystem services (categorized as hotspot-1, hotspot-2, and hotspot-3). The hotspots identified in this study can be used as an excellent surrogate for evaluation ecological engineering benefits and can be effectively applied in improving ecological management planning.

Identification of key residues for protein conformational transition using elastic network model.

PubMed

Su, Ji Guo; Xu, Xian Jin; Li, Chun Hua; Chen, Wei Zu; Wang, Cun Xin

2011-11-07

Proteins usually undergo conformational transitions between structurally disparate states to fulfill their functions. The large-scale allosteric conformational transitions are believed to involve some key residues that mediate the conformational movements between different regions of the protein. In the present work, a thermodynamic method based on the elastic network model is proposed to predict the key residues involved in protein conformational transitions. In our method, the key functional sites are identified as the residues whose perturbations largely influence the free energy difference between the protein states before and after transition. Two proteins, nucleotide binding domain of the heat shock protein 70 and human/rat DNA polymerase β, are used as case studies to identify the critical residues responsible for their open-closed conformational transitions. The results show that the functionally important residues mainly locate at the following regions for these two proteins: (1) the bridging point at the interface between the subdomains that control the opening and closure of the binding cleft; (2) the hinge region between different subdomains, which mediates the cooperative motions between the corresponding subdomains; and (3) the substrate binding sites. The similarity in the positions of the key residues for these two proteins may indicate a common mechanism in their conformational transitions.

Predicting Key Events in the Popularity Evolution of Online Information

PubMed Central

Fu, Shushen; Fang, Mingzhe; Xu, Wenwen

2017-01-01

The popularity of online information generally experiences a rising and falling evolution. This paper considers the “burst”, “peak”, and “fade” key events together as a representative summary of popularity evolution. We propose a novel prediction task—predicting when popularity undergoes these key events. It is of great importance to know when these three key events occur, because doing so helps recommendation systems, online marketing, and containment of rumors. However, it is very challenging to solve this new prediction task due to two issues. First, popularity evolution has high variation and can follow various patterns, so how can we identify “burst”, “peak”, and “fade” in different patterns of popularity evolution? Second, these events usually occur in a very short time, so how can we accurately yet promptly predict them? In this paper we address these two issues. To handle the first one, we use a simple moving average to smooth variation, and then a universal method is presented for different patterns to identify the key events in popularity evolution. To deal with the second one, we extract different types of features that may have an impact on the key events, and then a correlation analysis is conducted in the feature selection step to remove irrelevant and redundant features. The remaining features are used to train a machine learning model. The feature selection step improves prediction accuracy, and in order to emphasize prediction promptness, we design a new evaluation metric which considers both accuracy and promptness to evaluate our prediction task. Experimental and comparative results show the superiority of our prediction solution. PMID:28046121

Identifying Gifted Children: Congruence among Different IQ Measures

PubMed Central

Fernández, Estrella; García, Trinidad; Arias-Gundín, Olga; Vázquez, Almudena; Rodríguez, Celestino

2017-01-01

This study has two main aims: (1) analysing the relationship between intellectual capacities and levels of creativity in a sample of Spanish students from the third and sixth grades; and (2) examining the discrimination capacities and degree of congruence among different tests of intellectual ability that are commonly used to identify high-ability students. The study sample comprised 236 primary school students. Participants completed different tests of intellectual ability, which were based on both fluid and crystallized intelligence, as well as creativity. Results indicated that it is advisable to use varying tests in the assessment process, and a complementary measure (i.e., creativity) in order to create a multi-criteria means of detection that can more efficiently distinguish this population of students. PMID:28775702

Diversity of key players in the microbial ecosystems of the human body

PubMed Central

Jordán, Ferenc; Lauria, Mario; Scotti, Marco; Nguyen, Thanh-Phuong; Praveen, Paurush; Morine, Melissa; Priami, Corrado

2015-01-01

Coexisting bacteria form various microbial communities in human body parts. In these ecosystems they interact in various ways and the properties of the interaction network can be related to the stability and functional diversity of the local bacterial community. In this study, we analyze the interaction network among bacterial OTUs in 11 locations of the human body. These belong to two major groups. One is the digestive system and the other is the female genital tract. In each local ecosystem we determine the key species, both the ones being in key positions in the interaction network and the ones that dominate by frequency. Beyond identifying the key players and discussing their biological relevance, we also quantify and compare the properties of the 11 networks. The interaction networks of the female genital system and the digestive system show totally different architecture. Both the topological properties and the identity of the key groups differ. Key groups represent four phyla of prokaryotes. Some groups appear in key positions in several locations, while others are assigned only to a single body part. The key groups of the digestive and the genital tracts are totally different. PMID:26514870

Diversity of key players in the microbial ecosystems of the human body.

PubMed

Jordán, Ferenc; Lauria, Mario; Scotti, Marco; Nguyen, Thanh-Phuong; Praveen, Paurush; Morine, Melissa; Priami, Corrado

2015-10-30

Coexisting bacteria form various microbial communities in human body parts. In these ecosystems they interact in various ways and the properties of the interaction network can be related to the stability and functional diversity of the local bacterial community. In this study, we analyze the interaction network among bacterial OTUs in 11 locations of the human body. These belong to two major groups. One is the digestive system and the other is the female genital tract. In each local ecosystem we determine the key species, both the ones being in key positions in the interaction network and the ones that dominate by frequency. Beyond identifying the key players and discussing their biological relevance, we also quantify and compare the properties of the 11 networks. The interaction networks of the female genital system and the digestive system show totally different architecture. Both the topological properties and the identity of the key groups differ. Key groups represent four phyla of prokaryotes. Some groups appear in key positions in several locations, while others are assigned only to a single body part. The key groups of the digestive and the genital tracts are totally different.

An application of different dioids in public key cryptography

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

Durcheva, Mariana I., E-mail: mdurcheva66@gmail.com

2014-11-18

Dioids provide a natural framework for analyzing a broad class of discrete event dynamical systems such as the design and analysis of bus and railway timetables, scheduling of high-throughput industrial processes, solution of combinatorial optimization problems, the analysis and improvement of flow systems in communication networks. They have appeared in several branches of mathematics such as functional analysis, optimization, stochastic systems and dynamic programming, tropical geometry, fuzzy logic. In this paper we show how to involve dioids in public key cryptography. The main goal is to create key – exchange protocols based on dioids. Additionally the digital signature scheme ismore » presented.« less

48 CFR 2452.237-70 - Key personnel.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... contracts when it is necessary for contract performance to identify the contractor's key personnel: Key... perform as follows: [List Key Personnel and/or positions, and tasks, percentage of effort, number of hours...

Drosophila Cancer Models Identify Functional Differences between Ret Fusions.

PubMed

Levinson, Sarah; Cagan, Ross L

2016-09-13

We generated and compared Drosophila models of RET fusions CCDC6-RET and NCOA4-RET. Both RET fusions directed cells to migrate, delaminate, and undergo EMT, and both resulted in lethality when broadly expressed. In all phenotypes examined, NCOA4-RET was more severe than CCDC6-RET, mirroring their effects on patients. A functional screen against the Drosophila kinome and a library of cancer drugs found that CCDC6-RET and NCOA4-RET acted through different signaling networks and displayed distinct drug sensitivities. Combining data from the kinome and drug screens identified the WEE1 inhibitor AZD1775 plus the multi-kinase inhibitor sorafenib as a synergistic drug combination that is specific for NCOA4-RET. Our work emphasizes the importance of identifying and tailoring a patient's treatment to their specific RET fusion isoform and identifies a multi-targeted therapy that may prove effective against tumors containing the NCOA4-RET fusion. Copyright © 2016 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Identifying the Key Weaknesses in Network Security at Colleges.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Olsen, Florence

2000-01-01

A new study identifies and ranks the 10 security gaps responsible for most outsider attacks on college computer networks. The list is intended to help campus system administrators establish priorities as they work to increase security. One network security expert urges that institutions utilize multiple security layers. (DB)

Gene expression profiles analysis identifies key genes for acute lung injury in patients with sepsis.

PubMed

Guo, Zhiqiang; Zhao, Chuncheng; Wang, Zheng

2014-09-26

To identify critical genes and biological pathways in acute lung injury (ALI), a comparative analysis of gene expression profiles of patients with ALI + sepsis compared with patients with sepsis alone were performed with bioinformatic tools. GSE10474 was downloaded from Gene Expression Omnibus, including a collective of 13 whole blood samples with ALI + sepsis and 21 whole blood samples with sepsis alone. After pre-treatment with robust multichip averaging (RMA) method, differential analysis was conducted using simpleaffy package based upon t-test and fold change. Hierarchical clustering was also performed using function hclust from package stats. Beisides, functional enrichment analysis was conducted using iGepros. Moreover, the gene regulatory network was constructed with information from Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) and then visualized by Cytoscape. A total of 128 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified, including 47 up- and 81 down-regulated genes. The significantly enriched functions included negative regulation of cell proliferation, regulation of response to stimulus and cellular component morphogenesis. A total of 27 DEGs were significantly enriched in 16 KEGG pathways, such as protein digestion and absorption, fatty acid metabolism, amoebiasis, etc. Furthermore, the regulatory network of these 27 DEGs was constructed, which involved several key genes, including protein tyrosine kinase 2 (PTK2), v-src avian sarcoma (SRC) and Caveolin 2 (CAV2). PTK2, SRC and CAV2 may be potential markers for diagnosis and treatment of ALI. The virtual slide(s) for this article can be found here: http://www.diagnosticpathology.diagnomx.eu/vs/5865162912987143.

Identifying biologically relevant differences between metagenomic communities.

PubMed

Parks, Donovan H; Beiko, Robert G

2010-03-15

Metagenomics is the study of genetic material recovered directly from environmental samples. Taxonomic and functional differences between metagenomic samples can highlight the influence of ecological factors on patterns of microbial life in a wide range of habitats. Statistical hypothesis tests can help us distinguish ecological influences from sampling artifacts, but knowledge of only the P-value from a statistical hypothesis test is insufficient to make inferences about biological relevance. Current reporting practices for pairwise comparative metagenomics are inadequate, and better tools are needed for comparative metagenomic analysis. We have developed a new software package, STAMP, for comparative metagenomics that supports best practices in analysis and reporting. Examination of a pair of iron mine metagenomes demonstrates that deeper biological insights can be gained using statistical techniques available in our software. An analysis of the functional potential of 'Candidatus Accumulibacter phosphatis' in two enhanced biological phosphorus removal metagenomes identified several subsystems that differ between the A.phosphatis stains in these related communities, including phosphate metabolism, secretion and metal transport. Python source code and binaries are freely available from our website at http://kiwi.cs.dal.ca/Software/STAMP CONTACT: beiko@cs.dal.ca Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.

Joint source based morphometry identifies linked gray and white matter group differences.

PubMed

Xu, Lai; Pearlson, Godfrey; Calhoun, Vince D

2009-02-01

We present a multivariate approach called joint source based morphometry (jSBM), to identify linked gray and white matter regions which differ between groups. In jSBM, joint independent component analysis (jICA) is used to decompose preprocessed gray and white matter images into joint sources and statistical analysis is used to determine the significant joint sources showing group differences and their relationship to other variables of interest (e.g. age or sex). The identified joint sources are groupings of linked gray and white matter regions with common covariation among subjects. In this study, we first provide a simulation to validate the jSBM approach. To illustrate our method on real data, jSBM is then applied to structural magnetic resonance imaging (sMRI) data obtained from 120 chronic schizophrenia patients and 120 healthy controls to identify group differences. JSBM identified four joint sources as significantly associated with schizophrenia. Linked gray-white matter regions identified in each of the joint sources included: 1) temporal--corpus callosum, 2) occipital/frontal--inferior fronto-occipital fasciculus, 3) frontal/parietal/occipital/temporal--superior longitudinal fasciculus and 4) parietal/frontal--thalamus. Age effects on all four joint sources were significant, but sex effects were significant only for the third joint source. Our findings demonstrate that jSBM can exploit the natural linkage between gray and white matter by incorporating them into a unified framework. This approach is applicable to a wide variety of problems to study linked gray and white matter group differences.

Joint source based morphometry identifies linked gray and white matter group differences

PubMed Central

Xu, Lai; Pearlson, Godfrey; Calhoun, Vince D.

2009-01-01

We present a multivariate approach called joint source based morphometry (jSBM), to identify linked gray and white matter regions which differ between groups. In jSBM, joint independent component analysis (jICA) is used to decompose preprocessed gray and white matter images into joint sources and statistical analysis is used to determine the significant joint sources showing group differences and their relationship to other variables of interest (e.g. age or sex). The identified joint sources are groupings of linked gray and white matter regions with common covariation among subjects. In this study, we first provide a simulation to validate the jSBM approach. To illustrate our method on real data, jSBM is then applied to structural magnetic resonance imaging (sMRI) data obtained from 120 chronic schizophrenia patients and 120 healthy controls to identify group differences. JSBM identified four joint sources as significantly associated with schizophrenia. Linked gray–white matter regions identified in each of the joint sources included: 1) temporal — corpus callosum, 2) occipital/frontal — inferior fronto-occipital fasciculus, 3) frontal/parietal/occipital/temporal —superior longitudinal fasciculus and 4) parietal/frontal — thalamus. Age effects on all four joint sources were significant, but sex effects were significant only for the third joint source. Our findings demonstrate that jSBM can exploit the natural linkage between gray and white matter by incorporating them into a unified framework. This approach is applicable to a wide variety of problems to study linked gray and white matter group differences. PMID:18992825

Simulation-based Assessment to Reliably Identify Key Resident Performance Attributes.

PubMed

Blum, Richard H; Muret-Wagstaff, Sharon L; Boulet, John R; Cooper, Jeffrey B; Petrusa, Emil R; Baker, Keith H; Davidyuk, Galina; Dearden, Jennifer L; Feinstein, David M; Jones, Stephanie B; Kimball, William R; Mitchell, John D; Nadelberg, Robert L; Wiser, Sarah H; Albrecht, Meredith A; Anastasi, Amanda K; Bose, Ruma R; Chang, Laura Y; Culley, Deborah J; Fisher, Lauren J; Grover, Meera; Klainer, Suzanne B; Kveraga, Rikante; Martel, Jeffrey P; McKenna, Shannon S; Minehart, Rebecca D; Mitchell, John D; Mountjoy, Jeremi R; Pawlowski, John B; Pilon, Robert N; Shook, Douglas C; Silver, David A; Warfield, Carol A; Zaleski, Katherine L

2018-04-01

Obtaining reliable and valid information on resident performance is critical to patient safety and training program improvement. The goals were to characterize important anesthesia resident performance gaps that are not typically evaluated, and to further validate scores from a multiscenario simulation-based assessment. Seven high-fidelity scenarios reflecting core anesthesiology skills were administered to 51 first-year residents (CA-1s) and 16 third-year residents (CA-3s) from three residency programs. Twenty trained attending anesthesiologists rated resident performances using a seven-point behaviorally anchored rating scale for five domains: (1) formulate a clear plan, (2) modify the plan under changing conditions, (3) communicate effectively, (4) identify performance improvement opportunities, and (5) recognize limits. A second rater assessed 10% of encounters. Scores and variances for each domain, each scenario, and the total were compared. Low domain ratings (1, 2) were examined in detail. Interrater agreement was 0.76; reliability of the seven-scenario assessment was r = 0.70. CA-3s had a significantly higher average total score (4.9 ± 1.1 vs. 4.6 ± 1.1, P = 0.01, effect size = 0.33). CA-3s significantly outscored CA-1s for five of seven scenarios and domains 1, 2, and 3. CA-1s had a significantly higher proportion of worrisome ratings than CA-3s (chi-square = 24.1, P < 0.01, effect size = 1.50). Ninety-eight percent of residents rated the simulations more educational than an average day in the operating room. Sensitivity of the assessment to CA-1 versus CA-3 performance differences for most scenarios and domains supports validity. No differences, by experience level, were detected for two domains associated with reflective practice. Smaller score variances for CA-3s likely reflect a training effect; however, worrisome performance scores for both CA-1s and CA-3s suggest room for improvement.

Genetic and Chemical Screenings Identify HDAC3 as a Key Regulator in Hepatic Differentiation of Human Pluripotent Stem Cells.

PubMed

Li, Shuang; Li, Mushan; Liu, Xiaojian; Yang, Yuanyuan; Wei, Yuda; Chen, Yanhao; Qiu, Yan; Zhou, Tingting; Feng, Zhuanghui; Ma, Danjun; Fang, Jing; Ying, Hao; Wang, Hui; Musunuru, Kiran; Shao, Zhen; Zhao, Yongxu; Ding, Qiurong

2018-05-24

Hepatocyte-like cells (HLCs) derived from human pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs) offer a promising cell resource for disease modeling and transplantation. However, differentiated HLCs exhibit an immature phenotype and comprise a heterogeneous population. Thus, a better understanding of HLC differentiation will improve the likelihood of future application. Here, by taking advantage of CRISPR-Cas9-based genome-wide screening technology and a high-throughput hPSC screening platform with a reporter readout, we identified several potential genetic regulators of HLC differentiation. By using a chemical screening approach within our platform, we also identified compounds that can further promote HLC differentiation and preserve the characteristics of in vitro cultured primary hepatocytes. Remarkably, both screenings identified histone deacetylase 3 (HDAC3) as a key regulator in hepatic differentiation. Mechanistically, HDAC3 formed a complex with liver transcriptional factors, e.g., HNF4, and co-regulated the transcriptional program during hepatic differentiation. This study highlights a broadly useful approach for studying and optimizing hPSC differentiation. Copyright © 2018 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Microarray identifies ADAM family members as key responders to TGF-beta1 in alveolar epithelial cells.

PubMed

Keating, Dominic T; Sadlier, Denise M; Patricelli, Andrea; Smith, Sinead M; Walls, Dermot; Egan, Jim J; Doran, Peter P

2006-09-01

The molecular mechanisms of Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis (IPF) remain elusive. Transforming Growth Factor beta 1(TGF-beta1) is a key effector cytokine in the development of lung fibrosis. We used microarray and computational biology strategies to identify genes whose expression is significantly altered in alveolar epithelial cells (A549) in response to TGF-beta1, IL-4 and IL-13 and Epstein Barr virus. A549 cells were exposed to 10 ng/ml TGF-beta1, IL-4 and IL-13 at serial time points. Total RNA was used for hybridisation to Affymetrix Human Genome U133A microarrays. Each in vitro time-point was studied in duplicate and an average RMA value computed. Expression data for each time point was compared to control and a signal log ratio of 0.6 or greater taken to identify significant differential regulation. Using normalised RMA values and unsupervised Average Linkage Hierarchical Cluster Analysis, a list of 312 extracellular matrix (ECM) proteins or modulators of matrix turnover was curated via Onto-Compare and Gene-Ontology (GO) databases for baited cluster analysis of ECM associated genes. Interrogation of the dataset using ontological classification focused cluster analysis revealed coordinate differential expression of a large cohort of extracellular matrix associated genes. Of this grouping members of the ADAM (A disintegrin and Metalloproteinase domain containing) family of genes were differentially expressed. ADAM gene expression was also identified in EBV infected A549 cells as well as IL-13 and IL-4 stimulated cells. We probed pathologenomic activities (activation and functional activity) of ADAM19 and ADAMTS9 using siRNA and collagen assays. Knockdown of these genes resulted in diminished production of collagen in A549 cells exposed to TGF-beta1, suggesting a potential role for these molecules in ECM accumulation in IPF.

Integrated network analysis identifies fight-club nodes as a class of hubs encompassing key putative switch genes that induce major transcriptome reprogramming during grapevine development.

PubMed

Palumbo, Maria Concetta; Zenoni, Sara; Fasoli, Marianna; Massonnet, Mélanie; Farina, Lorenzo; Castiglione, Filippo; Pezzotti, Mario; Paci, Paola

2014-12-01

We developed an approach that integrates different network-based methods to analyze the correlation network arising from large-scale gene expression data. By studying grapevine (Vitis vinifera) and tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) gene expression atlases and a grapevine berry transcriptomic data set during the transition from immature to mature growth, we identified a category named "fight-club hubs" characterized by a marked negative correlation with the expression profiles of neighboring genes in the network. A special subset named "switch genes" was identified, with the additional property of many significant negative correlations outside their own group in the network. Switch genes are involved in multiple processes and include transcription factors that may be considered master regulators of the previously reported transcriptome remodeling that marks the developmental shift from immature to mature growth. All switch genes, expressed at low levels in vegetative/green tissues, showed a significant increase in mature/woody organs, suggesting a potential regulatory role during the developmental transition. Finally, our analysis of tomato gene expression data sets showed that wild-type switch genes are downregulated in ripening-deficient mutants. The identification of known master regulators of tomato fruit maturation suggests our method is suitable for the detection of key regulators of organ development in different fleshy fruit crops. © 2014 American Society of Plant Biologists. All rights reserved.

Establishment of Aedes albopictus (Diptera: Culicidae) in the Florida Keys, 2001-2017.

PubMed

Murray, Heidi L; Pruszynski, Catherine A; Leal, Andrea L; Hribar, Lawrence J

2018-06-23

The presence of Aedes albopictus (Skuse) was first reported in the Florida Keys in 1993. Despite extensive surveillance, the Florida Keys Mosquito Control District (FKMCD) only collected specimens occasionally on a few islands, some years finding no evidence of the invasive species. In 2013-2017, FKMCD witnessed a sudden increase in population size and geographic extent of Ae. albopictus. Samples of Ae. albopictus have now been identified on 30 different islands in the Florida Keys. Three islands in particular (Key Largo, Big Pine Key, and Stock Island) have produced multiple positive samples during at least 4 of the last 5 yr, suggesting establishment of the invasive species. FKMCD continues to monitor Ae. albopictus throughout the Keys and make extensive efforts to reduce population abundance and geographic extent of this disease vector.

Identifying key features of effective active learning: the effects of writing and peer discussion.

PubMed

Linton, Debra L; Pangle, Wiline M; Wyatt, Kevin H; Powell, Karli N; Sherwood, Rachel E

2014-01-01

We investigated some of the key features of effective active learning by comparing the outcomes of three different methods of implementing active-learning exercises in a majors introductory biology course. Students completed activities in one of three treatments: discussion, writing, and discussion + writing. Treatments were rotated weekly between three sections taught by three different instructors in a full factorial design. The data set was analyzed by generalized linear mixed-effect models with three independent variables: student aptitude, treatment, and instructor, and three dependent (assessment) variables: change in score on pre- and postactivity clicker questions, and coding scores on in-class writing and exam essays. All independent variables had significant effects on student performance for at least one of the dependent variables. Students with higher aptitude scored higher on all assessments. Student scores were higher on exam essay questions when the activity was implemented with a writing component compared with peer discussion only. There was a significant effect of instructor, with instructors showing different degrees of effectiveness with active-learning techniques. We suggest that individual writing should be implemented as part of active learning whenever possible and that instructors may need training and practice to become effective with active learning. © 2014 D. L. Linton et al. CBE—Life Sciences Education © 2014 The American Society for Cell Biology. This article is distributed by The American Society for Cell Biology under license from the author(s). It is available to the public under an Attribution–Noncommercial–Share Alike 3.0 Unported Creative Commons License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0).

Image encryption using fingerprint as key based on phase retrieval algorithm and public key cryptography

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhao, Tieyu; Ran, Qiwen; Yuan, Lin; Chi, Yingying; Ma, Jing

2015-09-01

In this paper, a novel image encryption system with fingerprint used as a secret key is proposed based on the phase retrieval algorithm and RSA public key algorithm. In the system, the encryption keys include the fingerprint and the public key of RSA algorithm, while the decryption keys are the fingerprint and the private key of RSA algorithm. If the users share the fingerprint, then the system will meet the basic agreement of asymmetric cryptography. The system is also applicable for the information authentication. The fingerprint as secret key is used in both the encryption and decryption processes so that the receiver can identify the authenticity of the ciphertext by using the fingerprint in decryption process. Finally, the simulation results show the validity of the encryption scheme and the high robustness against attacks based on the phase retrieval technique.

In Vitro Approach To Identify Key Amino Acids in Low Susceptibility of Rabbit Prion Protein to Misfolding

PubMed Central

Eraña, Hasier; Fernández-Borges, Natalia; Elezgarai, Saioa R.; Harrathi, Chafik; Charco, Jorge M.; Chianini, Francesca; Dagleish, Mark P.; Ortega, Gabriel; Millet, Óscar

2017-01-01

ABSTRACT Prion diseases, or transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSEs), are a group of rare progressive neurodegenerative disorders caused by an abnormally folded prion protein (PrPSc). This is capable of transforming the normal cellular prion protein (PrPC) into new infectious PrPSc. Interspecies prion transmissibility studies performed by experimental challenge and the outbreak of bovine spongiform encephalopathy that occurred in the late 1980s and 1990s showed that while some species (sheep, mice, and cats) are readily susceptible to TSEs, others are apparently resistant (rabbits, dogs, and horses) to the same agent. To study the mechanisms of low susceptibility to TSEs of certain species, the mouse-rabbit transmission barrier was used as a model. To identify which specific amino acid residues determine high or low susceptibility to PrPSc propagation, protein misfolding cyclic amplification (PMCA), which mimics PrPC-to-PrPSc conversion with accelerated kinetics, was used. This allowed amino acid substitutions in rabbit PrP and accurate analysis of misfolding propensities. Wild-type rabbit recombinant PrP could not be misfolded into a protease-resistant self-propagating isoform in vitro despite seeding with at least 12 different infectious prions from diverse origins. Therefore, rabbit recombinant PrP mutants were designed to contain every single amino acid substitution that distinguishes rabbit recombinant PrP from mouse recombinant PrP. Key amino acid residue substitutions were identified that make rabbit recombinant PrP susceptible to misfolding, and using these, protease-resistant misfolded recombinant rabbit PrP was generated. Additional studies characterized the mechanisms by which these critical amino acid residue substitutions increased the misfolding susceptibility of rabbit PrP. IMPORTANCE Prion disorders are invariably fatal, untreatable diseases typically associated with long incubation periods and characteristic spongiform changes associated

An Allometric Modelling Approach to Identify the Optimal Body Shape Associated with, and Differences between Brazilian and Peruvian Youth Motor Performance

PubMed Central

Silva, Simonete; Bustamante, Alcibíades; Nevill, Alan; Katzmarzyk, Peter T.; Freitas, Duarte; Prista, António; Maia, José

2016-01-01

Children from developed and developing countries differ in their body size and shape due to marked differences across their life history caused by social, economic and cultural differences which are also linked to their motor performance (MP). We used allometric models to identify size/shape characteristics associated with MP tests between Brazilian and Peruvian schoolchildren. A total of 4,560 subjects, 2,385 girls and 2,175 boys aged 9–15 years were studied. Height and weight were measured; biological maturation was estimated with the maturity offset technique; MP measures included the 12 minute run (12MR), handgrip strength (HG), standing long jump (SLJ) and the shuttle run speed (SR) tests; physical activity (PA) was assessed using the Baecke questionnaire. A multiplicative allometric model was adopted to adjust for body size differences across countries. Reciprocal ponderal index (RPI) was found to be the most suitable body shape indicator associated with the 12MR, SLJ, HG and SR performance. A positive maturation offset parameter was also associated with a better performance in SLJ, HG and SR tests. Sex differences were found in all motor tests. Brazilian youth showed better scores in MP than their Peruvian peers, even when controlling for their body size differences The current study identified the key body size associated with four body mass-dependent MP tests. Biological maturation and PA were associated with strength and motor performance. Sex differences were found in all motor tests, as well as across countries favoring Brazilian children even when accounting for their body size/shape differences. PMID:26939118

An Allometric Modelling Approach to Identify the Optimal Body Shape Associated with, and Differences between Brazilian and Peruvian Youth Motor Performance.

PubMed

Silva, Simonete; Bustamante, Alcibíades; Nevill, Alan; Katzmarzyk, Peter T; Freitas, Duarte; Prista, António; Maia, José

2016-01-01

Children from developed and developing countries differ in their body size and shape due to marked differences across their life history caused by social, economic and cultural differences which are also linked to their motor performance (MP). We used allometric models to identify size/shape characteristics associated with MP tests between Brazilian and Peruvian schoolchildren. A total of 4,560 subjects, 2,385 girls and 2,175 boys aged 9-15 years were studied. Height and weight were measured; biological maturation was estimated with the maturity offset technique; MP measures included the 12 minute run (12MR), handgrip strength (HG), standing long jump (SLJ) and the shuttle run speed (SR) tests; physical activity (PA) was assessed using the Baecke questionnaire. A multiplicative allometric model was adopted to adjust for body size differences across countries. Reciprocal ponderal index (RPI) was found to be the most suitable body shape indicator associated with the 12MR, SLJ, HG and SR performance. A positive maturation offset parameter was also associated with a better performance in SLJ, HG and SR tests. Sex differences were found in all motor tests. Brazilian youth showed better scores in MP than their Peruvian peers, even when controlling for their body size differences The current study identified the key body size associated with four body mass-dependent MP tests. Biological maturation and PA were associated with strength and motor performance. Sex differences were found in all motor tests, as well as across countries favoring Brazilian children even when accounting for their body size/shape differences.

Genomic profiling of Sézary Syndrome identifies alterations of key T-cell signaling and differentiation genes

PubMed Central

Wang, Linghua; Ni, Xiao; Covington, Kyle R.; Yang, Betty Y.; Shiu, Jessica; Zhang, Xiang; Xi, Liu; Meng, Qingchang; Langridge, Timothy; Drummond, Jennifer; Donehower, Lawrence A.; Doddapaneni, Harshavardhan; Muzny, Donna M.; Gibbs, Richard A.; Wheeler, David A.; Duvic, Madeleine

2016-01-01

Sézary Syndrome is a rare leukemic form of cutaneous T-cell lymphoma defined as erythroderma, adenopathy, and circulating atypical T-lymphocytes. It is rarely curable with poor prognosis. Here we present a multi-platform genomic analysis of 37 Sézary Syndrome patients that implicates dysregulation of the cell cycle checkpoint and T-cell signaling. Frequent somatic alterations were identified in TP53, CARD11, CCR4, PLCG1, CDKN2A, ARID1A, RPS6KA1, and ZEB1. Activating CCR4 and CARD11 mutations were detected in nearly a third of patients. ZEB1, a transcription repressor essential for T-cell differentiation, was deleted in over half of patients. IL32 and IL2RG were over-expressed in nearly all cases. Analysis of T-cell receptor Vβ and Vα expression revealed ongoing rearrangement of the receptors after the expansion of a malignant clone in one third of subjects. Our results demonstrate profound disruption of key signaling pathways in Sézary Syndrome and suggest potential targets for novel therapies. PMID:26551670

Integrated Network Analysis Identifies Fight-Club Nodes as a Class of Hubs Encompassing Key Putative Switch Genes That Induce Major Transcriptome Reprogramming during Grapevine Development[W][OPEN

PubMed Central

Palumbo, Maria Concetta; Zenoni, Sara; Fasoli, Marianna; Massonnet, Mélanie; Farina, Lorenzo; Castiglione, Filippo; Pezzotti, Mario; Paci, Paola

2014-01-01

We developed an approach that integrates different network-based methods to analyze the correlation network arising from large-scale gene expression data. By studying grapevine (Vitis vinifera) and tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) gene expression atlases and a grapevine berry transcriptomic data set during the transition from immature to mature growth, we identified a category named “fight-club hubs” characterized by a marked negative correlation with the expression profiles of neighboring genes in the network. A special subset named “switch genes” was identified, with the additional property of many significant negative correlations outside their own group in the network. Switch genes are involved in multiple processes and include transcription factors that may be considered master regulators of the previously reported transcriptome remodeling that marks the developmental shift from immature to mature growth. All switch genes, expressed at low levels in vegetative/green tissues, showed a significant increase in mature/woody organs, suggesting a potential regulatory role during the developmental transition. Finally, our analysis of tomato gene expression data sets showed that wild-type switch genes are downregulated in ripening-deficient mutants. The identification of known master regulators of tomato fruit maturation suggests our method is suitable for the detection of key regulators of organ development in different fleshy fruit crops. PMID:25490918

The distinction between key ideas in teaching school physics and key ideas in the discipline of physics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Deng, Zongyi

2001-05-01

The distinction between key ideas in teaching a high school science and key ideas in the corresponding discipline of science has been largely ignored in scholarly discourse about what science teachers should teach and about what they should know. This article clarifies this distinction through exploring how and why key ideas in teaching high school physics differ from key ideas in the discipline of physics. Its theoretical underpinnings include Dewey's (1902/1990) distinction between the psychological and the logical and Harré's (1986) epistemology of science. It analyzes how and why the key ideas in teaching color, the speed of light, and light interference at the high school level differ from the key ideas at the disciplinary level. The thesis is that key ideas in teaching high school physics can differ from key ideas in the discipline in some significant ways, and that the differences manifest Dewey's distinction. As a result, the article challenges the assumption of equating key ideas in teaching a high school science with key ideas in the corresponding discipline of science, and the assumption that having a college degree in science is sufficient to teach high school science. Furthermore, the article expands the concept of pedagogical content knowledge by arguing that key ideas in teaching high school physics constitute an essential component.

KeySlinger and StarSlinger: Secure Key Exchange and Encrypted File Transfer on Smartphones

DTIC Science & Technology

2011-05-01

format data to exchange because contact information can be exported to V- Cards using existing APIs. For these reasons it was chosen as the medium to... Card format allows customization of this field. The service provider field serves to identify the app the key is for and the username field stores the...public key data. A sample V- Card field looks like Listing 1 below. IMPP;TextSecure

Court procedures for identifying problem drinkers. Volume 3, Scoring keys

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1971-06-01

HSRI, under Contract FH-11-7615 with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), developed, during 1970 and 1971, a set of procedures for identifying problem drinkers. They were intended for use in court setting, such as a pre-sentenc...

ORF phage display to identify cellular proteins with different functions.

PubMed

Li, Wei

2012-09-01

Open reading frame (ORF) phage display is a new branch of phage display aimed at improving its efficiency to identify cellular proteins with specific binding or functional activities. Despite the success of phage display with antibody libraries and random peptide libraries, phage display with cDNA libraries of cellular proteins identifies a high percentage of non-ORF clones encoding unnatural short peptides with minimal biological implications. This is mainly because of the uncontrollable reading frames of cellular proteins in conventional cDNA libraries. ORF phage display solves this problem by eliminating non-ORF clones to generate ORF cDNA libraries. Here I summarize the procedures of ORF phage display, discuss the factors influencing its efficiency, present examples of its versatile applications, and highlight evidence of its capability of identifying biologically relevant cellular proteins. ORF phage display coupled with different selection strategies is capable of delineating diverse functions of cellular proteins with unique advantages. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Novel statistical framework to identify differentially expressed genes allowing transcriptomic background differences.

PubMed

Ling, Zhi-Qiang; Wang, Yi; Mukaisho, Kenichi; Hattori, Takanori; Tatsuta, Takeshi; Ge, Ming-Hua; Jin, Li; Mao, Wei-Min; Sugihara, Hiroyuki

2010-06-01

Tests of differentially expressed genes (DEGs) from microarray experiments are based on the null hypothesis that genes that are irrelevant to the phenotype/stimulus are expressed equally in the target and control samples. However, this strict hypothesis is not always true, as there can be several transcriptomic background differences between target and control samples, including different cell/tissue types, different cell cycle stages and different biological donors. These differences lead to increased false positives, which have little biological/medical significance. In this article, we propose a statistical framework to identify DEGs between target and control samples from expression microarray data allowing transcriptomic background differences between these samples by introducing a modified null hypothesis that the gene expression background difference is normally distributed. We use an iterative procedure to perform robust estimation of the null hypothesis and identify DEGs as outliers. We evaluated our method using our own triplicate microarray experiment, followed by validations with reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and on the MicroArray Quality Control dataset. The evaluations suggest that our technique (i) results in less false positive and false negative results, as measured by the degree of agreement with RT-PCR of the same samples, (ii) can be applied to different microarray platforms and results in better reproducibility as measured by the degree of DEG identification concordance both intra- and inter-platforms and (iii) can be applied efficiently with only a few microarray replicates. Based on these evaluations, we propose that this method not only identifies more reliable and biologically/medically significant DEG, but also reduces the power-cost tradeoff problem in the microarray field. Source code and binaries freely available for download at http://comonca.org.cn/fdca/resources/softwares/deg.zip.

Identifying key sources of uncertainty in the modelling of greenhouse gas emissions from wastewater treatment.

PubMed

Sweetapple, Christine; Fu, Guangtao; Butler, David

2013-09-01

This study investigates sources of uncertainty in the modelling of greenhouse gas emissions from wastewater treatment, through the use of local and global sensitivity analysis tools, and contributes to an in-depth understanding of wastewater treatment modelling by revealing critical parameters and parameter interactions. One-factor-at-a-time sensitivity analysis is used to screen model parameters and identify those with significant individual effects on three performance indicators: total greenhouse gas emissions, effluent quality and operational cost. Sobol's method enables identification of parameters with significant higher order effects and of particular parameter pairs to which model outputs are sensitive. Use of a variance-based global sensitivity analysis tool to investigate parameter interactions enables identification of important parameters not revealed in one-factor-at-a-time sensitivity analysis. These interaction effects have not been considered in previous studies and thus provide a better understanding wastewater treatment plant model characterisation. It was found that uncertainty in modelled nitrous oxide emissions is the primary contributor to uncertainty in total greenhouse gas emissions, due largely to the interaction effects of three nitrogen conversion modelling parameters. The higher order effects of these parameters are also shown to be a key source of uncertainty in effluent quality. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Finite key analysis for symmetric attacks in quantum key distribution

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

Meyer, Tim; Kampermann, Hermann; Kleinmann, Matthias

2006-10-15

We introduce a constructive method to calculate the achievable secret key rate for a generic class of quantum key distribution protocols, when only a finite number n of signals is given. Our approach is applicable to all scenarios in which the quantum state shared by Alice and Bob is known. In particular, we consider the six state protocol with symmetric eavesdropping attacks, and show that for a small number of signals, i.e., below n{approx}10{sup 4}, the finite key rate differs significantly from the asymptotic value for n{yields}{infinity}. However, for larger n, a good approximation of the asymptotic value is found.more » We also study secret key rates for protocols using higher-dimensional quantum systems.« less

Partially Key Distribution with Public Key Cryptosystem Based on Error Control Codes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tavallaei, Saeed Ebadi; Falahati, Abolfazl

Due to the low level of security in public key cryptosystems based on number theory, fundamental difficulties such as "key escrow" in Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) and a secure channel in ID-based cryptography, a new key distribution cryptosystem based on Error Control Codes (ECC) is proposed . This idea is done by some modification on McEliece cryptosystem. The security of ECC cryptosystem obtains from the NP-Completeness of block codes decoding. The capability of generating public keys with variable lengths which is suitable for different applications will be provided by using ECC. It seems that usage of these cryptosystems because of decreasing in the security of cryptosystems based on number theory and increasing the lengths of their keys would be unavoidable in future.

Identification of the key ecological factors influencing vegetation degradation in semi-arid agro-pastoral ecotone considering spatial scales

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Peng, Yu; Wang, Qinghui; Fan, Min

2017-11-01

When assessing re-vegetation project performance and optimizing land management, identification of the key ecological factors inducing vegetation degradation has crucial implications. Rainfall, temperature, elevation, slope, aspect, land use type, and human disturbance are ecological factors affecting the status of vegetation index. However, at different spatial scales, the key factors may vary. Using Helin County, Inner-Mongolia, China as the study site and combining remote sensing image interpretation, field surveying, and mathematical methods, this study assesses key ecological factors affecting vegetation degradation under different spatial scales in a semi-arid agro-pastoral ecotone. It indicates that the key factors are different at various spatial scales. Elevation, rainfall, and temperature are identified as crucial for all spatial extents. Elevation, rainfall and human disturbance are key factors for small-scale quadrats of 300 m × 300 m and 600 m × 600 m, temperature and land use type are key factors for a medium-scale quadrat of 1 km × 1 km, and rainfall, temperature, and land use are key factors for large-scale quadrats of 2 km × 2 km and 5 km × 5 km. For this region, human disturbance is not the key factor for vegetation degradation across spatial scales. It is necessary to consider spatial scale for the identification of key factors determining vegetation characteristics. The eco-restoration programs at various spatial scales should identify key influencing factors according their scales so as to take effective measurements. The new understanding obtained in this study may help to explore the forces which driving vegetation degradation in the degraded regions in the world.

Metabolomics Analysis of Hormone-Responsive and Triple-Negative Breast Cancer Cell Responses to Paclitaxel Identify Key Metabolic Differences.

PubMed

Stewart, Delisha A; Winnike, Jason H; McRitchie, Susan L; Clark, Robert F; Pathmasiri, Wimal W; Sumner, Susan J

2016-09-02

To date, no targeted therapies are available to treat triple negative breast cancer (TNBC), while other breast cancer subtypes are responsive to current therapeutic treatment. Metabolomics was conducted to reveal differences in two hormone receptor-negative TNBC cell lines and two hormone receptor-positive Luminal A cell lines. Studies were conducted in the presence and absence of paclitaxel (Taxol). TNBC cell lines had higher levels of amino acids, branched-chain amino acids, nucleotides, and nucleotide sugars and lower levels of proliferation-related metabolites like choline compared with Luminal A cell lines. In the presence of paclitaxel, each cell line showed unique metabolic responses, with some similarities by type. For example, in the Luminal A cell lines, levels of lactate and creatine decreased while certain choline metabolites and myo-inositol increased with paclitaxel. In the TNBC cell lines levels of glutamine, glutamate, and glutathione increased, whereas lysine, proline, and valine decreased in the presence of drug. Profiling secreted inflammatory cytokines in the conditioned media demonstrated a greater response to paclitaxel in the hormone-positive Luminal cells compared with a secretion profile that suggested greater drug resistance in the TNBC cells. The most significant differences distinguishing the cell types based on pathway enrichment analyses were related to amino acid, lipid and carbohydrate metabolism pathways, whereas several biological pathways were differentiated between the cell lines following treatment.

The genomes of two key bumblebee species with primitive eusocial organization.

PubMed

Sadd, Ben M; Barribeau, Seth M; Bloch, Guy; de Graaf, Dirk C; Dearden, Peter; Elsik, Christine G; Gadau, Jürgen; Grimmelikhuijzen, Cornelis J P; Hasselmann, Martin; Lozier, Jeffrey D; Robertson, Hugh M; Smagghe, Guy; Stolle, Eckart; Van Vaerenbergh, Matthias; Waterhouse, Robert M; Bornberg-Bauer, Erich; Klasberg, Steffen; Bennett, Anna K; Câmara, Francisco; Guigó, Roderic; Hoff, Katharina; Mariotti, Marco; Munoz-Torres, Monica; Murphy, Terence; Santesmasses, Didac; Amdam, Gro V; Beckers, Matthew; Beye, Martin; Biewer, Matthias; Bitondi, Márcia M G; Blaxter, Mark L; Bourke, Andrew F G; Brown, Mark J F; Buechel, Severine D; Cameron, Rossanah; Cappelle, Kaat; Carolan, James C; Christiaens, Olivier; Ciborowski, Kate L; Clarke, David F; Colgan, Thomas J; Collins, David H; Cridge, Andrew G; Dalmay, Tamas; Dreier, Stephanie; du Plessis, Louis; Duncan, Elizabeth; Erler, Silvio; Evans, Jay; Falcon, Tiago; Flores, Kevin; Freitas, Flávia C P; Fuchikawa, Taro; Gempe, Tanja; Hartfelder, Klaus; Hauser, Frank; Helbing, Sophie; Humann, Fernanda C; Irvine, Frano; Jermiin, Lars S; Johnson, Claire E; Johnson, Reed M; Jones, Andrew K; Kadowaki, Tatsuhiko; Kidner, Jonathan H; Koch, Vasco; Köhler, Arian; Kraus, F Bernhard; Lattorff, H Michael G; Leask, Megan; Lockett, Gabrielle A; Mallon, Eamonn B; Antonio, David S Marco; Marxer, Monika; Meeus, Ivan; Moritz, Robin F A; Nair, Ajay; Näpflin, Kathrin; Nissen, Inga; Niu, Jinzhi; Nunes, Francis M F; Oakeshott, John G; Osborne, Amy; Otte, Marianne; Pinheiro, Daniel G; Rossié, Nina; Rueppell, Olav; Santos, Carolina G; Schmid-Hempel, Regula; Schmitt, Björn D; Schulte, Christina; Simões, Zilá L P; Soares, Michelle P M; Swevers, Luc; Winnebeck, Eva C; Wolschin, Florian; Yu, Na; Zdobnov, Evgeny M; Aqrawi, Peshtewani K; Blankenburg, Kerstin P; Coyle, Marcus; Francisco, Liezl; Hernandez, Alvaro G; Holder, Michael; Hudson, Matthew E; Jackson, LaRonda; Jayaseelan, Joy; Joshi, Vandita; Kovar, Christie; Lee, Sandra L; Mata, Robert; Mathew, Tittu; Newsham, Irene F; Ngo, Robin; Okwuonu, Geoffrey; Pham, Christopher; Pu, Ling-Ling; Saada, Nehad; Santibanez, Jireh; Simmons, DeNard; Thornton, Rebecca; Venkat, Aarti; Walden, Kimberly K O; Wu, Yuan-Qing; Debyser, Griet; Devreese, Bart; Asher, Claire; Blommaert, Julie; Chipman, Ariel D; Chittka, Lars; Fouks, Bertrand; Liu, Jisheng; O'Neill, Meaghan P; Sumner, Seirian; Puiu, Daniela; Qu, Jiaxin; Salzberg, Steven L; Scherer, Steven E; Muzny, Donna M; Richards, Stephen; Robinson, Gene E; Gibbs, Richard A; Schmid-Hempel, Paul; Worley, Kim C

2015-04-24

The shift from solitary to social behavior is one of the major evolutionary transitions. Primitively eusocial bumblebees are uniquely placed to illuminate the evolution of highly eusocial insect societies. Bumblebees are also invaluable natural and agricultural pollinators, and there is widespread concern over recent population declines in some species. High-quality genomic data will inform key aspects of bumblebee biology, including susceptibility to implicated population viability threats. We report the high quality draft genome sequences of Bombus terrestris and Bombus impatiens, two ecologically dominant bumblebees and widely utilized study species. Comparing these new genomes to those of the highly eusocial honeybee Apis mellifera and other Hymenoptera, we identify deeply conserved similarities, as well as novelties key to the biology of these organisms. Some honeybee genome features thought to underpin advanced eusociality are also present in bumblebees, indicating an earlier evolution in the bee lineage. Xenobiotic detoxification and immune genes are similarly depauperate in bumblebees and honeybees, and multiple categories of genes linked to social organization, including development and behavior, show high conservation. Key differences identified include a bias in bumblebee chemoreception towards gustation from olfaction, and striking differences in microRNAs, potentially responsible for gene regulation underlying social and other traits. These two bumblebee genomes provide a foundation for post-genomic research on these key pollinators and insect societies. Overall, gene repertoires suggest that the route to advanced eusociality in bees was mediated by many small changes in many genes and processes, and not by notable expansion or depauperation.

Secret Key Crypto Implementations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bertoni, Guido Marco; Melzani, Filippo

This chapter presents the algorithm selected in 2001 as the Advanced Encryption Standard. This algorithm is the base for implementing security and privacy based on symmetric key solutions in almost all new applications. Secret key algorithms are used in combination with modes of operation to provide different security properties. The most used modes of operation are presented in this chapter. Finally an overview of the different techniques of software and hardware implementations is given.

Discrimination of germline V genes at different sequencing lengths and mutational burdens: A new tool for identifying and evaluating the reliability of V gene assignment.

PubMed

Zhang, Bochao; Meng, Wenzhao; Prak, Eline T Luning; Hershberg, Uri

2015-12-01

Immune repertoires are collections of lymphocytes that express diverse antigen receptor gene rearrangements consisting of Variable (V), (Diversity (D) in the case of heavy chains) and Joining (J) gene segments. Clonally related cells typically share the same germline gene segments and have highly similar junctional sequences within their third complementarity determining regions. Identifying clonal relatedness of sequences is a key step in the analysis of immune repertoires. The V gene is the most important for clone identification because it has the longest sequence and the greatest number of sequence variants. However, accurate identification of a clone's germline V gene source is challenging because there is a high degree of similarity between different germline V genes. This difficulty is compounded in antibodies, which can undergo somatic hypermutation. Furthermore, high-throughput sequencing experiments often generate partial sequences and have significant error rates. To address these issues, we describe a novel method to estimate which germline V genes (or alleles) cannot be discriminated under different conditions (read lengths, sequencing errors or somatic hypermutation frequencies). Starting with any set of germline V genes, this method measures their similarity using different sequencing lengths and calculates their likelihood of unambiguous assignment under different levels of mutation. Hence, one can identify, under different experimental and biological conditions, the germline V genes (or alleles) that cannot be uniquely identified and bundle them together into groups of specific V genes with highly similar sequences. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

On the security of a simple three-party key exchange protocol without server's public keys.

PubMed

Nam, Junghyun; Choo, Kim-Kwang Raymond; Park, Minkyu; Paik, Juryon; Won, Dongho

2014-01-01

Authenticated key exchange protocols are of fundamental importance in securing communications and are now extensively deployed for use in various real-world network applications. In this work, we reveal major previously unpublished security vulnerabilities in the password-based authenticated three-party key exchange protocol according to Lee and Hwang (2010): (1) the Lee-Hwang protocol is susceptible to a man-in-the-middle attack and thus fails to achieve implicit key authentication; (2) the protocol cannot protect clients' passwords against an offline dictionary attack; and (3) the indistinguishability-based security of the protocol can be easily broken even in the presence of a passive adversary. We also propose an improved password-based authenticated three-party key exchange protocol that addresses the security vulnerabilities identified in the Lee-Hwang protocol.

On the Security of a Simple Three-Party Key Exchange Protocol without Server's Public Keys

PubMed Central

Nam, Junghyun; Choo, Kim-Kwang Raymond; Park, Minkyu; Paik, Juryon; Won, Dongho

2014-01-01

Authenticated key exchange protocols are of fundamental importance in securing communications and are now extensively deployed for use in various real-world network applications. In this work, we reveal major previously unpublished security vulnerabilities in the password-based authenticated three-party key exchange protocol according to Lee and Hwang (2010): (1) the Lee-Hwang protocol is susceptible to a man-in-the-middle attack and thus fails to achieve implicit key authentication; (2) the protocol cannot protect clients' passwords against an offline dictionary attack; and (3) the indistinguishability-based security of the protocol can be easily broken even in the presence of a passive adversary. We also propose an improved password-based authenticated three-party key exchange protocol that addresses the security vulnerabilities identified in the Lee-Hwang protocol. PMID:25258723

Transcriptome analysis of pecan seeds at different developing stages and identification of key genes involved in lipid metabolism.

PubMed

Xu, Zheng; Ni, Jun; Shah, Faheem Afzal; Wang, Qiaojian; Wang, Zhaocheng; Wu, Lifang; Fu, Songling

2018-01-01

Pecan is an economically important nut crop tree due to its unique texture and flavor properties. The pecan seed is rich of unsaturated fatty acid and protein. However, little is known about the molecular mechanisms of the biosynthesis of fatty acids in the developing seeds. In this study, transcriptome sequencing of the developing seeds was performed using Illumina sequencing technology. Pecan seed embryos at different developmental stages were collected and sequenced. The transcriptomes of pecan seeds at two key developing stages (PA, the initial stage and PS, the fast oil accumulation stage) were also compared. A total of 82,155 unigenes, with an average length of 1,198 bp from seven independent libraries were generated. After functional annotations, we detected approximately 55,854 CDS, among which, 2,807 were Transcription Factor (TF) coding unigenes. Further, there were 13,325 unigenes that showed a 2-fold or greater expression difference between the two groups of libraries (two developmental stages). After transcriptome analysis, we identified abundant unigenes that could be involved in fatty acid biosynthesis, degradation and some other aspects of seed development in pecan. This study presents a comprehensive dataset of transcriptomic changes during the seed development of pecan. It provides insights in understanding the molecular mechanisms responsible for fatty acid biosynthesis in the seed development. The identification of functional genes will also be useful for the molecular breeding work of pecan.

Hospital-based transfusion error tracking from 2005 to 2010: identifying the key errors threatening patient transfusion safety.

PubMed

Maskens, Carolyn; Downie, Helen; Wendt, Alison; Lima, Ana; Merkley, Lisa; Lin, Yulia; Callum, Jeannie

2014-01-01

This report provides a comprehensive analysis of transfusion errors occurring at a large teaching hospital and aims to determine key errors that are threatening transfusion safety, despite implementation of safety measures. Errors were prospectively identified from 2005 to 2010. Error data were coded on a secure online database called the Transfusion Error Surveillance System. Errors were defined as any deviation from established standard operating procedures. Errors were identified by clinical and laboratory staff. Denominator data for volume of activity were used to calculate rates. A total of 15,134 errors were reported with a median number of 215 errors per month (range, 85-334). Overall, 9083 (60%) errors occurred on the transfusion service and 6051 (40%) on the clinical services. In total, 23 errors resulted in patient harm: 21 of these errors occurred on the clinical services and two in the transfusion service. Of the 23 harm events, 21 involved inappropriate use of blood. Errors with no harm were 657 times more common than events that caused harm. The most common high-severity clinical errors were sample labeling (37.5%) and inappropriate ordering of blood (28.8%). The most common high-severity error in the transfusion service was sample accepted despite not meeting acceptance criteria (18.3%). The cost of product and component loss due to errors was $593,337. Errors occurred at every point in the transfusion process, with the greatest potential risk of patient harm resulting from inappropriate ordering of blood products and errors in sample labeling. © 2013 American Association of Blood Banks (CME).

Eight Key Facets of Small Business Management.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Scott, James Calvert

1980-01-01

Identifies eight key facets of small business management and suggests activities that may be used to assist in their development. The key facets are (1) product or service, (2) competition, (3) marketing strategies, (4) personnel needs, (5) equipment and facility needs, (6) finances, (7) planning, and (8) entrepreneurship. (JOW)

Using reporter gene assays to identify cis regulatory differences between humans and chimpanzees.

PubMed

Chabot, Adrien; Shrit, Ralla A; Blekhman, Ran; Gilad, Yoav

2007-08-01

Most phenotypic differences between human and chimpanzee are likely to result from differences in gene regulation, rather than changes to protein-coding regions. To date, however, only a handful of human-chimpanzee nucleotide differences leading to changes in gene regulation have been identified. To hone in on differences in regulatory elements between human and chimpanzee, we focused on 10 genes that were previously found to be differentially expressed between the two species. We then designed reporter gene assays for the putative human and chimpanzee promoters of the 10 genes. Of seven promoters that we found to be active in human liver cell lines, human and chimpanzee promoters had significantly different activity in four cases, three of which recapitulated the gene expression difference seen in the microarray experiment. For these three genes, we were therefore able to demonstrate that a change in cis influences expression differences between humans and chimpanzees. Moreover, using site-directed mutagenesis on one construct, the promoter for the DDA3 gene, we were able to identify three nucleotides that together lead to a cis regulatory difference between the species. High-throughput application of this approach can provide a map of regulatory element differences between humans and our close evolutionary relatives.

Quantum key distribution without the wavefunction

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Niestegge, Gerd

A well-known feature of quantum mechanics is the secure exchange of secret bit strings which can then be used as keys to encrypt messages transmitted over any classical communication channel. It is demonstrated that this quantum key distribution allows a much more general and abstract access than commonly thought. The results include some generalizations of the Hilbert space version of quantum key distribution, but are based upon a general nonclassical extension of conditional probability. A special state-independent conditional probability is identified as origin of the superior security of quantum key distribution; this is a purely algebraic property of the quantum logic and represents the transition probability between the outcomes of two consecutive quantum measurements.

Dendritic cells: key to fetal tolerance?

PubMed

Blois, Sandra M; Kammerer, Ulrike; Alba Soto, Catalina; Tometten, Mareike C; Shaikly, Valerie; Barrientos, Gabriela; Jurd, Richard; Rukavina, Daniel; Thomson, Angus W; Klapp, Burghard F; Fernández, Nelson; Arck, Petra C

2007-10-01

Pregnancy is a unique event in which a fetus, despite being genetically and immunologically different from the mother (a hemi-allograft), develops in the uterus. Successful pregnancy implies avoidance of rejection by the maternal immune system. Fetal and maternal immune cells come into direct contact at the decidua, which is a highly specialized mucous membrane that plays a key role in fetal tolerance. Uterine dendritic cells (DC) within the decidua have been implicated in pregnancy maintenance. DC serve as antigen-presenting cells with the unique ability to induce primary immune responses. Just as lymphocytes comprise different subsets, DC subsets have been identified that differentially control lymphocyte function. DC may also act to induce immunologic tolerance and regulation of T cell-mediated immunity. Current understanding of DC immunobiology within the context of mammalian fetal-maternal tolerance is reviewed and discussed herein.

The building blocks of a 'Liveable Neighbourhood': Identifying the key performance indicators for walking of an operational planning policy in Perth, Western Australia.

PubMed

Hooper, Paula; Knuiman, Matthew; Foster, Sarah; Giles-Corti, Billie

2015-11-01

Planning policy makers are requesting clearer guidance on the key design features required to build neighbourhoods that promote active living. Using a backwards stepwise elimination procedure (logistic regression with generalised estimating equations adjusting for demographic characteristics, self-selection factors, stage of construction and scale of development) this study identified specific design features (n=16) from an operational planning policy ("Liveable Neighbourhoods") that showed the strongest associations with walking behaviours (measured using the Neighbourhood Physical Activity Questionnaire). The interacting effects of design features on walking behaviours were also investigated. The urban design features identified were grouped into the "building blocks of a Liveable Neighbourhood", reflecting the scale, importance and sequencing of the design and implementation phases required to create walkable, pedestrian friendly developments. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Use of a scenario-neutral approach to identify the key hydro-meteorological attributes that impact runoff from a natural catchment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Guo, Danlu; Westra, Seth; Maier, Holger R.

2017-11-01

Scenario-neutral approaches are being used increasingly for assessing the potential impact of climate change on water resource systems, as these approaches allow the performance of these systems to be evaluated independently of climate change projections. However, practical implementations of these approaches are still scarce, with a key limitation being the difficulty of generating a range of plausible future time series of hydro-meteorological data. In this study we apply a recently developed inverse stochastic generation approach to support the scenario-neutral analysis, and thus identify the key hydro-meteorological variables to which the system is most sensitive. The stochastic generator simulates synthetic hydro-meteorological time series that represent plausible future changes in (1) the average, extremes and seasonal patterns of rainfall; and (2) the average values of temperature (Ta), relative humidity (RH) and wind speed (uz) as variables that drive PET. These hydro-meteorological time series are then fed through a conceptual rainfall-runoff model to simulate the potential changes in runoff as a function of changes in the hydro-meteorological variables, and runoff sensitivity is assessed with both correlation and Sobol' sensitivity analyses. The method was applied to a case study catchment in South Australia, and the results showed that the most important hydro-meteorological attributes for runoff were winter rainfall followed by the annual average rainfall, while the PET-related meteorological variables had comparatively little impact. The high importance of winter rainfall can be related to the winter-dominated nature of both the rainfall and runoff regimes in this catchment. The approach illustrated in this study can greatly enhance our understanding of the key hydro-meteorological attributes and processes that are likely to drive catchment runoff under a changing climate, thus enabling the design of tailored climate impact assessments to specific

Hillslope characterization: Identifying key controls on local-scale plant communities' distribution using remote sensing and subsurface data fusion.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Falco, N.; Wainwright, H. M.; Dafflon, B.; Leger, E.; Peterson, J.; Steltzer, H.; Wilmer, C.; Williams, K. H.; Hubbard, S. S.

2017-12-01

Mountainous watershed systems are characterized by extreme heterogeneity in hydrological and pedological properties that influence biotic activities, plant communities and their dynamics. To gain predictive understanding of how ecosystem and watershed system evolve under climate change, it is critical to capture such heterogeneity and to quantify the effect of key environmental variables such as topography, and soil properties. In this study, we exploit advanced geophysical and remote sensing techniques - coupled with machine learning - to better characterize and quantify the interactions between plant communities' distribution and subsurface properties. First, we have developed a remote sensing data fusion framework based on the random forest (RF) classification algorithm to estimate the spatial distribution of plant communities. The framework allows the integration of both plant spectral and structural information, which are derived from multispectral satellite images and airborne LiDAR data. We then use the RF method to evaluate the estimated plant community map, exploiting the subsurface properties (such as bedrock depth, soil moisture and other properties) and geomorphological parameters (such as slope, curvature) as predictors. Datasets include high-resolution geophysical data (electrical resistivity tomography) and LiDAR digital elevation maps. We demonstrate our approach on a mountain hillslope and meadow within the East River watershed in Colorado, which is considered to be a representative headwater catchment in the Upper Colorado Basin. The obtained results show the existence of co-evolution between above and below-ground processes; in particular, dominant shrub communities in wet and flat areas. We show that successful integration of remote sensing data with geophysical measurements allows identifying and quantifying the key environmental controls on plant communities' distribution, and provides insights into their potential changes in the future

Genome-wide expression profiling analysis to identify key genes in the anti-HIV mechanism of CD4+ and CD8+ T cells.

PubMed

Gao, Lijie; Wang, Yunqi; Li, Yi; Dong, Ya; Yang, Aimin; Zhang, Jie; Li, Fengying; Zhang, Rongqiang

2018-07-01

Comprehensive bioinformatics analyses were performed to explore the key biomarkers in response to HIV infection of CD4 + and CD8 + T cells. The numbers of CD4 + and CD8 + T cells of HIV infected individuals were analyzed and the GEO database (GSE6740) was screened for differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in HIV infected CD4 + and CD8 + T cells. Gene Ontology enrichment, KEGG pathway analyses, and protein-protein interaction (PPI) network were performed to identify the key pathway and core proteins in anti-HIV virus process of CD4 + and CD8 + T cells. Finally, we analyzed the expressions of key proteins in HIV-infected T cells (GSE6740 dataset) and peripheral blood mononuclear cells(PBMCs) (GSE511 dataset). 1) CD4 + T cells counts and ratio of CD4 + /CD8 + T cells decreased while CD8 + T cells counts increased in HIV positive individuals; 2) 517 DEGs were found in HIV infected CD4 + and CD8 + T cells at acute and chronic stage with the criterial of P-value <0.05 and fold change (FC) ≥2; 3) In acute HIV infection, type 1 interferon (IFN-1) pathway might played a critical role in response to HIV infection of T cells. The main biological processes of the DEGs were response to virus and defense response to virus. At chronic stage, ISG15 protein, in conjunction with IFN-1 pathway might play key roles in anti-HIV responses of CD4 + T cells; and 4) The expression of ISG15 increased in both T cells and PBMCs after HIV infection. Gene expression profile of CD4 + and CD8 + T cells changed significantly in HIV infection, in which ISG15 gene may play a central role in activating the natural antiviral process of immune cells. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

A quantitative telomeric chromatin isolation protocol identifies different telomeric states

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Grolimund, Larissa; Aeby, Eric; Hamelin, Romain; Armand, Florence; Chiappe, Diego; Moniatte, Marc; Lingner, Joachim

2013-11-01

Telomere composition changes during tumourigenesis, aging and in telomere syndromes in a poorly defined manner. Here we develop a quantitative telomeric chromatin isolation protocol (QTIP) for human cells, in which chromatin is cross-linked, immunopurified and analysed by mass spectrometry. QTIP involves stable isotope labelling by amino acids in cell culture (SILAC) to compare and identify quantitative differences in telomere protein composition of cells from various states. With QTIP, we specifically enrich telomeric DNA and all shelterin components. We validate the method characterizing changes at dysfunctional telomeres, and identify and validate known, as well as novel telomere-associated polypeptides including all THO subunits, SMCHD1 and LRIF1. We apply QTIP to long and short telomeres and detect increased density of SMCHD1 and LRIF1 and increased association of the shelterins TRF1, TIN2, TPP1 and POT1 with long telomeres. Our results validate QTIP to study telomeric states during normal development and in disease.

Experimental quantum key distribution with finite-key security analysis for noisy channels.

PubMed

Bacco, Davide; Canale, Matteo; Laurenti, Nicola; Vallone, Giuseppe; Villoresi, Paolo

2013-01-01

In quantum key distribution implementations, each session is typically chosen long enough so that the secret key rate approaches its asymptotic limit. However, this choice may be constrained by the physical scenario, as in the perspective use with satellites, where the passage of one terminal over the other is restricted to a few minutes. Here we demonstrate experimentally the extraction of secure keys leveraging an optimal design of the prepare-and-measure scheme, according to recent finite-key theoretical tight bounds. The experiment is performed in different channel conditions, and assuming two distinct attack models: individual attacks or general quantum attacks. The request on the number of exchanged qubits is then obtained as a function of the key size and of the ambient quantum bit error rate. The results indicate that viable conditions for effective symmetric, and even one-time-pad, cryptography are achievable.

InFlo: a novel systems biology framework identifies cAMP-CREB1 axis as a key modulator of platinum resistance in ovarian cancer.

PubMed

Dimitrova, N; Nagaraj, A B; Razi, A; Singh, S; Kamalakaran, S; Banerjee, N; Joseph, P; Mankovich, A; Mittal, P; DiFeo, A; Varadan, V

2017-04-27

Characterizing the complex interplay of cellular processes in cancer would enable the discovery of key mechanisms underlying its development and progression. Published approaches to decipher driver mechanisms do not explicitly model tissue-specific changes in pathway networks and the regulatory disruptions related to genomic aberrations in cancers. We therefore developed InFlo, a novel systems biology approach for characterizing complex biological processes using a unique multidimensional framework integrating transcriptomic, genomic and/or epigenomic profiles for any given cancer sample. We show that InFlo robustly characterizes tissue-specific differences in activities of signalling networks on a genome scale using unique probabilistic models of molecular interactions on a per-sample basis. Using large-scale multi-omics cancer datasets, we show that InFlo exhibits higher sensitivity and specificity in detecting pathway networks associated with specific disease states when compared to published pathway network modelling approaches. Furthermore, InFlo's ability to infer the activity of unmeasured signalling network components was also validated using orthogonal gene expression signatures. We then evaluated multi-omics profiles of primary high-grade serous ovarian cancer tumours (N=357) to delineate mechanisms underlying resistance to frontline platinum-based chemotherapy. InFlo was the only algorithm to identify hyperactivation of the cAMP-CREB1 axis as a key mechanism associated with resistance to platinum-based therapy, a finding that we subsequently experimentally validated. We confirmed that inhibition of CREB1 phosphorylation potently sensitized resistant cells to platinum therapy and was effective in killing ovarian cancer stem cells that contribute to both platinum-resistance and tumour recurrence. Thus, we propose InFlo to be a scalable and widely applicable and robust integrative network modelling framework for the discovery of evidence-based biomarkers

Cemento-osseous dysplasia of the jaw bones: key radiographic features

PubMed Central

Alsufyani, NA; Lam, EWN

2011-01-01

Objective The purpose of this study is to assess possible diagnostic differences between general dentists (GPs) and oral and maxillofacial radiologists (RGs) in the identification of pathognomonic radiographic features of cemento-osseous dysplasia (COD) and its interpretation. Methods Using a systematic objective survey instrument, 3 RGs and 3 GPs reviewed 50 image sets of COD and similarly appearing entities (dense bone island, cementoblastoma, cemento-ossifying fibroma, fibrous dysplasia, complex odontoma and sclerosing osteitis). Participants were asked to identify the presence or absence of radiographic features and then to make an interpretation of the images. Results RGs identified a well-defined border (odds ratio (OR) 6.67, P < 0.05); radiolucent periphery (OR 8.28, P < 0.005); bilateral occurrence (OR 10.23, P < 0.01); mixed radiolucent/radiopaque internal structure (OR 10.53, P < 0.01); the absence of non-concentric bony expansion (OR 7.63, P < 0.05); and the association with anterior and posterior teeth (OR 4.43, P < 0.05) as key features of COD. Consequently, RGs were able to correctly interpret 79.3% of COD cases. In contrast, GPs identified the absence of root resorption (OR 4.52, P < 0.05) and the association with anterior and posterior teeth (OR 3.22, P = 0.005) as the only key features of COD and were able to correctly interpret 38.7% of COD cases. Conclusions There are statistically significant differences between RGs and GPs in the identification and interpretation of the radiographic features associated with COD (P < 0.001). We conclude that COD is radiographically discernable from other similarly appearing entities only if the characteristic radiographic features are correctly identified and then correctly interpreted. PMID:21346079

Cemento-osseous dysplasia of the jaw bones: key radiographic features.

PubMed

Alsufyani, N A; Lam, E W N

2011-03-01

The purpose of this study is to assess possible diagnostic differences between general dentists (GPs) and oral and maxillofacial radiologists (RGs) in the identification of pathognomonic radiographic features of cemento-osseous dysplasia (COD) and its interpretation. Using a systematic objective survey instrument, 3 RGs and 3 GPs reviewed 50 image sets of COD and similarly appearing entities (dense bone island, cementoblastoma, cemento-ossifying fibroma, fibrous dysplasia, complex odontoma and sclerosing osteitis). Participants were asked to identify the presence or absence of radiographic features and then to make an interpretation of the images. RGs identified a well-defined border (odds ratio (OR) 6.67, P < 0.05); radiolucent periphery (OR 8.28, P < 0.005); bilateral occurrence (OR 10.23, P < 0.01); mixed radiolucent/radiopaque internal structure (OR 10.53, P < 0.01); the absence of non-concentric bony expansion (OR 7.63, P < 0.05); and the association with anterior and posterior teeth (OR 4.43, P < 0.05) as key features of COD. Consequently, RGs were able to correctly interpret 79.3% of COD cases. In contrast, GPs identified the absence of root resorption (OR 4.52, P < 0.05) and the association with anterior and posterior teeth (OR 3.22, P = 0.005) as the only key features of COD and were able to correctly interpret 38.7% of COD cases. There are statistically significant differences between RGs and GPs in the identification and interpretation of the radiographic features associated with COD (P < 0.001). We conclude that COD is radiographically discernable from other similarly appearing entities only if the characteristic radiographic features are correctly identified and then correctly interpreted.

Transcriptome analysis of pecan seeds at different developing stages and identification of key genes involved in lipid metabolism

PubMed Central

Shah, Faheem Afzal; Wang, Qiaojian; Wang, Zhaocheng; Wu, Lifang

2018-01-01

Pecan is an economically important nut crop tree due to its unique texture and flavor properties. The pecan seed is rich of unsaturated fatty acid and protein. However, little is known about the molecular mechanisms of the biosynthesis of fatty acids in the developing seeds. In this study, transcriptome sequencing of the developing seeds was performed using Illumina sequencing technology. Pecan seed embryos at different developmental stages were collected and sequenced. The transcriptomes of pecan seeds at two key developing stages (PA, the initial stage and PS, the fast oil accumulation stage) were also compared. A total of 82,155 unigenes, with an average length of 1,198 bp from seven independent libraries were generated. After functional annotations, we detected approximately 55,854 CDS, among which, 2,807 were Transcription Factor (TF) coding unigenes. Further, there were 13,325 unigenes that showed a 2-fold or greater expression difference between the two groups of libraries (two developmental stages). After transcriptome analysis, we identified abundant unigenes that could be involved in fatty acid biosynthesis, degradation and some other aspects of seed development in pecan. This study presents a comprehensive dataset of transcriptomic changes during the seed development of pecan. It provides insights in understanding the molecular mechanisms responsible for fatty acid biosynthesis in the seed development. The identification of functional genes will also be useful for the molecular breeding work of pecan. PMID:29694395

Identifying the Culturally Different Gifted Student.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chambers, Jack A.; Barron, Frank

The study was designed to provide a relatively simple method of identifying gifted Mexican-American elementary school children, using as Ss approximately 298 Mexican-Americans (in grades 3-6) from both urban and rural schools. Ss were rated by present and former teachers on traits found to be characteristic of highly creative and talented…

Identifying key conservation threats to Alpine birds through expert knowledge

PubMed Central

Pedrini, Paolo; Brambilla, Mattia; Rolando, Antonio; Girardello, Marco

2016-01-01

Alpine biodiversity is subject to a range of increasing threats, but the scarcity of data for many taxa means that it is difficult to assess the level and likely future impact of a given threat. Expert opinion can be a useful tool to address knowledge gaps in the absence of adequate data. Experts with experience in Alpine ecology were approached to rank threat levels for 69 Alpine bird species over the next 50 years for the whole European Alps in relation to ten categories: land abandonment, climate change, renewable energy, fire, forestry practices, grazing practices, hunting, leisure, mining and urbanization. There was a high degree of concordance in ranking of perceived threats among experts for most threat categories. The major overall perceived threats to Alpine birds identified through expert knowledge were land abandonment, urbanization, leisure and forestry, although other perceived threats were ranked highly for particular species groups (renewable energy and hunting for raptors, hunting for gamebirds). For groups of species defined according to their breeding habitat, open habitat species and treeline species were perceived as the most threatened. A spatial risk assessment tool based on summed scores for the whole community showed threat levels were highest for bird communities of the northern and western Alps. Development of the approaches given in this paper, including addressing biases in the selection of experts and adopting a more detailed ranking procedure, could prove useful in the future in identifying future threats, and in carrying out risk assessments based on levels of threat to the whole bird community. PMID:26966659

Identifying the metabolic differences of a fast-growth phenotype in Synechococcus UTEX 2973

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

Mueller, Thomas J.; Ungerer, Justin L.; Pakrasi, Himadri B.

The photosynthetic capabilities of cyanobacteria make them interesting candidates for industrial bioproduction. One obstacle to large-scale implementation of cyanobacteria is their limited growth rates as compared to industrial mainstays. Synechococcus UTEX 2973, a strain closely related to Synechococcus PCC 7942, was recently identified as having the fastest measured growth rate among cyanobacteria. To facilitate the development of 2973 as a model organism we developed in this study the genome-scale metabolic model iSyu683. Experimental data were used to define CO 2 uptake rates as well as the biomass compositions for each strain. The inclusion of constraints based on experimental measurements ofmore » CO 2 uptake resulted in a ratio of the growth rates of Synechococcus 2973 to Synechococcus 7942 of 2.03, which nearly recapitulates the in vivo growth rate ratio of 2.13. This identified the difference in carbon uptake rate as the main factor contributing to the divergent growth rates. Additionally four SNPs were identified as possible contributors to modified kinetic parameters of metabolic enzymes and candidates for further study. As a result, comparisons against more established cyanobacterial strains identified a number of differences between the strains along with a correlation between the number of cytochrome c oxidase operons and heterotrophic or diazotrophic capabilities.« less

Identifying the metabolic differences of a fast-growth phenotype in Synechococcus UTEX 2973

DOE PAGES

Mueller, Thomas J.; Ungerer, Justin L.; Pakrasi, Himadri B.; ...

2017-01-31

The photosynthetic capabilities of cyanobacteria make them interesting candidates for industrial bioproduction. One obstacle to large-scale implementation of cyanobacteria is their limited growth rates as compared to industrial mainstays. Synechococcus UTEX 2973, a strain closely related to Synechococcus PCC 7942, was recently identified as having the fastest measured growth rate among cyanobacteria. To facilitate the development of 2973 as a model organism we developed in this study the genome-scale metabolic model iSyu683. Experimental data were used to define CO 2 uptake rates as well as the biomass compositions for each strain. The inclusion of constraints based on experimental measurements ofmore » CO 2 uptake resulted in a ratio of the growth rates of Synechococcus 2973 to Synechococcus 7942 of 2.03, which nearly recapitulates the in vivo growth rate ratio of 2.13. This identified the difference in carbon uptake rate as the main factor contributing to the divergent growth rates. Additionally four SNPs were identified as possible contributors to modified kinetic parameters of metabolic enzymes and candidates for further study. As a result, comparisons against more established cyanobacterial strains identified a number of differences between the strains along with a correlation between the number of cytochrome c oxidase operons and heterotrophic or diazotrophic capabilities.« less

Identifying key soil cyanobacteria easy to isolate and culture for arid soil restoration

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Roncero-Ramos, Beatriz; Ángeles Muñoz-Martín, M.; Chamizo, Sonia; Román, Raúl; Rodriguez-Caballero, Emilio; Mateo, Pilar; Cantón, Yolanda

2017-04-01

Drylands represent an important fraction of the Earth land's surface. Low cover of vascular plants characterizes these regions, and the large open areas among plants are often colonized by cyanobacteria, mosses, lichens, algae, bryophytes, bacteria and fungi, known as biocrusts. Because these communities are on or within the soil surface, they contribute to improve physicochemical properties of the uppermost soil layers and have important effects on soil fertility and stability, so they could play an important role on soil restoration. Cyanobacteria appear to be a cross component of biocrusts and they have been demonstrated to enhance water availability, soil fertility (fixing atmospheric C and N), and soil aggregation (thanks to their filamentous morphology and the exopolysaccharides they excrete), and significantly reduce water and wind erosion. Besides, they are able to tolerate high temperatures and UV radiation. All these features convert cyanobacteria in pioneer organisms capable of colonizing degraded soils and may be crucial in facilitating the succession of more developed organisms such as vascular plants. Therefore, the use of native cyanobacteria, already adapted to site environmental conditions, could guarantee a successful restoration approach of degraded soils. However, previous to their application for soil restoration, the most representative species inhabiting these soils should be identified. The objective of this study was to identify (morphologically and genetically) and isolate representative native cyanobacteria species from arid soils in SE Spain, characterized for being easily isolated and cultured with the aim of using them to inoculate degraded arid soil. We selected two study areas in Almería, SE Spain, where biocrust cover most of the open spaces between plants: El Cautivo experimental site located in the Tabernas desert and a limestone quarry located at the southeastern edge of the Gádor massif. The first site is characterized by

Keys to career success in managed care.

PubMed

Sandrick, K

1996-04-01

Given the prominence that managed care will have in the future U.S. healthcare system, financial managers who want to advance their careers must take steps to hone their managed care knowledge and skills, become accomplished managed care strategists, and identify opportunities to gain expertise in the managed care field. Healthcare Financial Management interviewed a number of managed care experts to obtain their views on how healthcare financial managers can prepare for a career in managed care organizations. The experts agree that one of the keys to future success lies in financial managers' willingness to assume more and different types of responsibility than before as the shift to managed care continues.

Consequential Validity Impact of Choosing Different Aptitude-Achievement Discrepancy Models in Identifying Students with Learning Disabilities.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Glasnapp, Douglas R.; Poggio, John P.

This study used computer simulation to provide information on the percentage of students with learning disabilities expected to be identified under different aptitude-achievement discrepancy eligibility models and criteria and to demonstrate the consequential effects in terms of the extent to which the different models identify students of…

Ethnic and Gender Differences in Identifying Gifted Students: A Multi-Cultural Analysis

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sarouphim, Ketty M.; Maker, C. June

2010-01-01

The purpose of this study was to examine ethnic and gender differences in using DISCOVER, a performance-based assessment, for identifying gifted students. The sample consisted of 941 students from grades K-5 belonging to six ethnicities: White Americans, African-Americans, Hispanics, Native-Americans, South Pacific/Pacific Islanders, and Arabs.…

LitMiner and WikiGene: identifying problem-related key players of gene regulation using publication abstracts.

PubMed

Maier, Holger; Döhr, Stefanie; Grote, Korbinian; O'Keeffe, Sean; Werner, Thomas; Hrabé de Angelis, Martin; Schneider, Ralf

2005-07-01

The LitMiner software is a literature data-mining tool that facilitates the identification of major gene regulation key players related to a user-defined field of interest in PubMed abstracts. The prediction of gene-regulatory relationships is based on co-occurrence analysis of key terms within the abstracts. LitMiner predicts relationships between key terms from the biomedical domain in four categories (genes, chemical compounds, diseases and tissues). Owing to the limitations (no direction, unverified automatic prediction) of the co-occurrence approach, the primary data in the LitMiner database represent postulated basic gene-gene relationships. The usefulness of the LitMiner system has been demonstrated recently in a study that reconstructed disease-related regulatory networks by promoter modelling that was initiated by a LitMiner generated primary gene list. To overcome the limitations and to verify and improve the data, we developed WikiGene, a Wiki-based curation tool that allows revision of the data by expert users over the Internet. LitMiner (http://andromeda.gsf.de/litminer) and WikiGene (http://andromeda.gsf.de/wiki) can be used unrestricted with any Internet browser.

A quantitative metric to identify critical elements within seafood supply networks.

PubMed

Plagányi, Éva E; van Putten, Ingrid; Thébaud, Olivier; Hobday, Alistair J; Innes, James; Lim-Camacho, Lilly; Norman-López, Ana; Bustamante, Rodrigo H; Farmery, Anna; Fleming, Aysha; Frusher, Stewart; Green, Bridget; Hoshino, Eriko; Jennings, Sarah; Pecl, Gretta; Pascoe, Sean; Schrobback, Peggy; Thomas, Linda

2014-01-01

A theoretical basis is required for comparing key features and critical elements in wild fisheries and aquaculture supply chains under a changing climate. Here we develop a new quantitative metric that is analogous to indices used to analyse food-webs and identify key species. The Supply Chain Index (SCI) identifies critical elements as those elements with large throughput rates, as well as greater connectivity. The sum of the scores for a supply chain provides a single metric that roughly captures both the resilience and connectedness of a supply chain. Standardised scores can facilitate cross-comparisons both under current conditions as well as under a changing climate. Identification of key elements along the supply chain may assist in informing adaptation strategies to reduce anticipated future risks posed by climate change. The SCI also provides information on the relative stability of different supply chains based on whether there is a fairly even spread in the individual scores of the top few key elements, compared with a more critical dependence on a few key individual supply chain elements. We use as a case study the Australian southern rock lobster Jasus edwardsii fishery, which is challenged by a number of climate change drivers such as impacts on recruitment and growth due to changes in large-scale and local oceanographic features. The SCI identifies airports, processors and Chinese consumers as the key elements in the lobster supply chain that merit attention to enhance stability and potentially enable growth. We also apply the index to an additional four real-world Australian commercial fishery and two aquaculture industry supply chains to highlight the utility of a systematic method for describing supply chains. Overall, our simple methodological approach to empirically-based supply chain research provides an objective method for comparing the resilience of supply chains and highlighting components that may be critical.

A Quantitative Metric to Identify Critical Elements within Seafood Supply Networks

PubMed Central

Plagányi, Éva E.; van Putten, Ingrid; Thébaud, Olivier; Hobday, Alistair J.; Innes, James; Lim-Camacho, Lilly; Norman-López, Ana; Bustamante, Rodrigo H.; Farmery, Anna; Fleming, Aysha; Frusher, Stewart; Green, Bridget; Hoshino, Eriko; Jennings, Sarah; Pecl, Gretta; Pascoe, Sean; Schrobback, Peggy; Thomas, Linda

2014-01-01

A theoretical basis is required for comparing key features and critical elements in wild fisheries and aquaculture supply chains under a changing climate. Here we develop a new quantitative metric that is analogous to indices used to analyse food-webs and identify key species. The Supply Chain Index (SCI) identifies critical elements as those elements with large throughput rates, as well as greater connectivity. The sum of the scores for a supply chain provides a single metric that roughly captures both the resilience and connectedness of a supply chain. Standardised scores can facilitate cross-comparisons both under current conditions as well as under a changing climate. Identification of key elements along the supply chain may assist in informing adaptation strategies to reduce anticipated future risks posed by climate change. The SCI also provides information on the relative stability of different supply chains based on whether there is a fairly even spread in the individual scores of the top few key elements, compared with a more critical dependence on a few key individual supply chain elements. We use as a case study the Australian southern rock lobster Jasus edwardsii fishery, which is challenged by a number of climate change drivers such as impacts on recruitment and growth due to changes in large-scale and local oceanographic features. The SCI identifies airports, processors and Chinese consumers as the key elements in the lobster supply chain that merit attention to enhance stability and potentially enable growth. We also apply the index to an additional four real-world Australian commercial fishery and two aquaculture industry supply chains to highlight the utility of a systematic method for describing supply chains. Overall, our simple methodological approach to empirically-based supply chain research provides an objective method for comparing the resilience of supply chains and highlighting components that may be critical. PMID:24633147

Auditing and Mapping Key Skills within University Curricula

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tariq, Vicki N.; Scott, Eileen M.; Cochrane, A. Clive; Lee, Maria; Ryles, Linda

2004-01-01

Universities are encouraged to embed key skills in their undergraduate curricula, yet there is often little support on how to identify skills development and progression. This paper describes a tool that facilitates colleagues in auditing key skills and career/employability skills within individual modules and mapping these skills across degree…

Sarcopenia and sarcopenic obesity in comparison: prevalence, metabolic profile, and key differences. A cross-sectional study in Italian hospitalized elderly.

PubMed

Perna, Simone; Peroni, Gabriella; Faliva, Milena Anna; Bartolo, Arianna; Naso, Maurizio; Miccono, Alessandra; Rondanelli, Mariangela

2017-12-01

The aim of this study is to identify the prevalence, assess the metabolic profile, and key differences (versus healthy) in a cohort of subjects with sarcopenia (S) and in sarcopenic obesity (SO) hospitalized elderly. A standardized comprehensive geriatric assessment was performed. We enrolled 639 elderly subjects (196 men, 443 women) with a mean age of 80.90 ± 7.77 years. Analysis of variance and a multinomial logistic regression analysis adjusting for covariates were used to assess the differences between groups. The prevalence of (S) was 12.42% in women and 23.47% in men. (SO) was 8.13% in women and 22.45% in men. Data showed that either groups had a functional impairment (Barthel index < 50 points). (S) had the mean value of erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) (>15 mm/h), CPR (>0.50 mg/dl) homocysteine (>12 micromol/l), and hemoglobin (<12 g/dl). Ferritin level over the range (>145 mcg/dl) was detected in either cohort (due to inflammation). (SO) had glycemia (>110 mg/dl). Key differences in (S) cohort (versus healthy) were a reduction in functional impairment (p < 0.001), an increase in white blood cell (p < 0.01), a decrease in iron level (p < 0.05), in electrolytes balance (Na: p < 0.01 and Cl: p < 0.01), and tyroid function (TSH: p < 0.001). In addition, (S) had higher state of inflammation (erythrocyte sedimentation rate: p < 0.05 and C-reactive protein: p < 0.01), and an increase of risk of fractures (FRAX: OR 1.07; p < 0.001), risk of malnutrition (mini nutritional assessment: p < 0.001), and risk of edema (extra cellular water: p < 0.001). In (SO) cohort, an increase in white blood cell (p < 0.001) and erythrocyte sedimentation rate (p < 0.05) was observed. (S) subjects appears more vulnerable than (SO). Sarcopenia is closely linked to an increase in the risk of hip-femur fractures, inflammation, edema, and malnutrition. The (SO) subjects seem to benefit from the "obesity paradox."

Understanding identifiability as a crucial step in uncertainty assessment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jakeman, A. J.; Guillaume, J. H. A.; Hill, M. C.; Seo, L.

2016-12-01

The topic of identifiability analysis offers concepts and approaches to identify why unique model parameter values cannot be identified, and can suggest possible responses that either increase uniqueness or help to understand the effect of non-uniqueness on predictions. Identifiability analysis typically involves evaluation of the model equations and the parameter estimation process. Non-identifiability can have a number of undesirable effects. In terms of model parameters these effects include: parameters not being estimated uniquely even with ideal data; wildly different values being returned for different initialisations of a parameter optimisation algorithm; and parameters not being physically meaningful in a model attempting to represent a process. This presentation illustrates some of the drastic consequences of ignoring model identifiability analysis. It argues for a more cogent framework and use of identifiability analysis as a way of understanding model limitations and systematically learning about sources of uncertainty and their importance. The presentation specifically distinguishes between five sources of parameter non-uniqueness (and hence uncertainty) within the modelling process, pragmatically capturing key distinctions within existing identifiability literature. It enumerates many of the various approaches discussed in the literature. Admittedly, improving identifiability is often non-trivial. It requires thorough understanding of the cause of non-identifiability, and the time, knowledge and resources to collect or select new data, modify model structures or objective functions, or improve conditioning. But ignoring these problems is not a viable solution. Even simple approaches such as fixing parameter values or naively using a different model structure may have significant impacts on results which are too often overlooked because identifiability analysis is neglected.

Key Skills and Competencies. Symposium.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

2002

This document contains three papers on key skills and competencies and human resource development (HRD). "Career Related Competencies" (Marinka A.C.T. Kuijpers) reports findings from surveys completed by Dutch employees who identified these issues: self-reflection is more important than career control; age and gender influence attitude…

Different perspectives on the key challenges facing rural health: The challenges of power and knowledge.

PubMed

Malatzky, Christina; Bourke, Lisa

2018-05-25

To examine the effects of dominant knowledge in rural health, including how they shape issues central to rural health. In particular, this article examines the roles of: (i) deficit knowledge of rural health workforce; (ii) dominant portrayals of generalism; and (iii) perceptions of inferiority about rural communities in maintaining health disparities between rural- and metropolitan-based Australians. A Foucauldian framework is applied to literature, evidence, case studies and key messages in rural health. Three scenarios are used to provide practical examples of specific knowledge that is prioritised or marginalised. The analysis of three areas in rural health identifies how deficit knowledge is privileged despite it undermining the purpose of rural health. First, deficit knowledge highlights the workforce shortage rather than the type of work in rural practice or the oversupply of workforce in metropolitan areas. Second, the construction of generalist practice as less skilled and more monotonous undermines other knowledge that it is diverse and challenging. Third, dominant negative stereotypes of rural communities discourage rural careers and highlight undesirable aspects of rural practice. The privileging of deficit knowledge pertaining to rural health workforce, broader dominant discourses of generalism and the nature of rural Australian communities reproduces many of the key challenges in rural health today, including persisting health disparities between rural- and metropolitan-based Australians. To disrupt the operations of power that highlight deficit knowledge and undermine other knowledge, we need to change the way in which rural health is currently constructed and understood. © 2018 National Rural Health Alliance Ltd.

Effect of the Key Mixture Parameters on Shrinkage of Reactive Powder Concrete

PubMed Central

Zubair, Ahmed

2014-01-01

Reactive powder concrete (RPC) mixtures are reported to have excellent mechanical and durability characteristics. However, such concrete mixtures having high amount of cementitious materials may have high early shrinkage causing cracking of concrete. In the present work, an attempt has been made to study the simultaneous effects of three key mixture parameters on shrinkage of the RPC mixtures. Considering three different levels of the three key mixture factors, a total of 27 mixtures of RPC were prepared according to 33 factorial experiment design. The specimens belonging to all 27 mixtures were monitored for shrinkage at different ages over a total period of 90 days. The test results were plotted to observe the variation of shrinkage with time and to see the effects of the key mixture factors. The experimental data pertaining to 90-day shrinkage were used to conduct analysis of variance to identify significance of each factor and to obtain an empirical equation correlating the shrinkage of RPC with the three key mixture factors. The rate of development of shrinkage at early ages was higher. The water to binder ratio was found to be the most prominent factor followed by cement content with the least effect of silica fume content. PMID:25050395

Effect of the key mixture parameters on shrinkage of reactive powder concrete.

PubMed

Ahmad, Shamsad; Zubair, Ahmed; Maslehuddin, Mohammed

2014-01-01

Reactive powder concrete (RPC) mixtures are reported to have excellent mechanical and durability characteristics. However, such concrete mixtures having high amount of cementitious materials may have high early shrinkage causing cracking of concrete. In the present work, an attempt has been made to study the simultaneous effects of three key mixture parameters on shrinkage of the RPC mixtures. Considering three different levels of the three key mixture factors, a total of 27 mixtures of RPC were prepared according to 3(3) factorial experiment design. The specimens belonging to all 27 mixtures were monitored for shrinkage at different ages over a total period of 90 days. The test results were plotted to observe the variation of shrinkage with time and to see the effects of the key mixture factors. The experimental data pertaining to 90-day shrinkage were used to conduct analysis of variance to identify significance of each factor and to obtain an empirical equation correlating the shrinkage of RPC with the three key mixture factors. The rate of development of shrinkage at early ages was higher. The water to binder ratio was found to be the most prominent factor followed by cement content with the least effect of silica fume content.

Optimizing Requirements Decisions with KEYS

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Jalali, Omid; Menzies, Tim; Feather, Martin

2008-01-01

Recent work with NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory has allowed for external access to five of JPL's real-world requirements models, anonymized to conceal proprietary information, but retaining their computational nature. Experimentation with these models, reported herein, demonstrates a dramatic speedup in the computations performed on them. These models have a well defined goal: select mitigations that retire risks which, in turn, increases the number of attainable requirements. Such a non-linear optimization is a well-studied problem. However identification of not only (a) the optimal solution(s) but also (b) the key factors leading to them is less well studied. Our technique, called KEYS, shows a rapid way of simultaneously identifying the solutions and their key factors. KEYS improves on prior work by several orders of magnitude. Prior experiments with simulated annealing or treatment learning took tens of minutes to hours to terminate. KEYS runs much faster than that; e.g for one model, KEYS ran 13,000 times faster than treatment learning (40 minutes versus 0.18 seconds). Processing these JPL models is a non-linear optimization problem: the fewest mitigations must be selected while achieving the most requirements. Non-linear optimization is a well studied problem. With this paper, we challenge other members of the PROMISE community to improve on our results with other techniques.

Feasibility of satellite quantum key distribution

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bonato, C.; Tomaello, A.; Da Deppo, V.; Naletto, G.; Villoresi, P.

2009-04-01

In this paper, we present a novel analysis of the feasibility of quantum key distribution between a LEO satellite and a ground station. First of all, we study signal propagation through a turbulent atmosphere for uplinks and downlinks, discussing the contribution of beam spreading and beam wandering. Then we introduce a model for the background noise of the channel during night-time and day-time, calculating the signal-to-noise ratio for different configurations. We also discuss the expected error-rate due to imperfect polarization compensation in the channel. Finally, we calculate the expected key generation rate of a secure key for different configurations (uplink, downlink) and for different protocols (BB84 with and without decoy states, entanglement-based Ekert91 protocol).

Public key infrastructure for DOE security research

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

Aiken, R.; Foster, I.; Johnston, W.E.

This document summarizes the Department of Energy`s Second Joint Energy Research/Defence Programs Security Research Workshop. The workshop, built on the results of the first Joint Workshop which reviewed security requirements represented in a range of mission-critical ER and DP applications, discussed commonalties and differences in ER/DP requirements and approaches, and identified an integrated common set of security research priorities. One significant conclusion of the first workshop was that progress in a broad spectrum of DOE-relevant security problems and applications could best be addressed through public-key cryptography based systems, and therefore depended upon the existence of a robust, broadly deployed public-keymore » infrastructure. Hence, public-key infrastructure ({open_quotes}PKI{close_quotes}) was adopted as a primary focus for the second workshop. The Second Joint Workshop covered a range of DOE security research and deployment efforts, as well as summaries of the state of the art in various areas relating to public-key technologies. Key findings were that a broad range of DOE applications can benefit from security architectures and technologies built on a robust, flexible, widely deployed public-key infrastructure; that there exists a collection of specific requirements for missing or undeveloped PKI functionality, together with a preliminary assessment of how these requirements can be met; that, while commercial developments can be expected to provide many relevant security technologies, there are important capabilities that commercial developments will not address, due to the unique scale, performance, diversity, distributed nature, and sensitivity of DOE applications; that DOE should encourage and support research activities intended to increase understanding of security technology requirements, and to develop critical components not forthcoming from other sources in a timely manner.« less

Microarray analysis to identify the similarities and differences of pathogenesis between aortic occlusive disease and abdominal aortic aneurysm.

PubMed

Wang, Guofu; Bi, Lechang; Wang, Gaofeng; Huang, Feilai; Lu, Mingjing; Zhu, Kai

2018-06-01

Objectives Expression profile of GSE57691 was analyzed to identify the similarities and differences between aortic occlusive disease and abdominal aortic aneurysm. Methods The expression profile of GSE57691 was downloaded from Gene Expression Omnibus database, including 20 small abdominal aortic aneurysm samples, 29 large abdominal aortic aneurysm samples, 9 aortic occlusive disease samples, and 10 control samples. Using the limma package in R, the differentially expressed genes were screened. Followed by enrichment analysis was performed for the differentially expressed genes using database for annotation, visualization, and integrated discovery online tool. Based on string online tool and Cytoscape software, protein-protein interaction network and module analyses were carried out. Moreover, integrated TF platform database and Cytoscape software were used for constructing transcriptional regulatory networks. Results As a result, 1757, 354, and 396 differentially expressed genes separately were identified in aortic occlusive disease, large abdominal aortic aneurysm, and small abdominal aortic aneurysm samples. UBB was significantly enriched in proteolysis related pathways with a high degree in three groups. SPARCL1 was another gene shared by these groups and regulated by NFIA, which had a high degree in transcriptional regulatory network. ACTB, a significant upregulated gene in abdominal aortic aneurysm samples, could be regulated by CLIC4, which was significantly enriched in cell motions. ACLY and NFIB were separately identified in aortic occlusive disease and small abdominal aortic aneurysm samples, and separately enriched in lipid metabolism and negative regulation of cell proliferation. Conclusions The downregulated UBB, NFIA, and SPARCL1 might play key roles in both aortic occlusive disease and abdominal aortic aneurysm, while the upregulated ACTB might only involve in abdominal aortic aneurysm. ACLY and NFIB were specifically involved in aortic occlusive

Projecting biodiversity and wood production in future forest landscapes: 15 key modeling considerations.

PubMed

Felton, Adam; Ranius, Thomas; Roberge, Jean-Michel; Öhman, Karin; Lämås, Tomas; Hynynen, Jari; Juutinen, Artti; Mönkkönen, Mikko; Nilsson, Urban; Lundmark, Tomas; Nordin, Annika

2017-07-15

A variety of modeling approaches can be used to project the future development of forest systems, and help to assess the implications of different management alternatives for biodiversity and ecosystem services. This diversity of approaches does however present both an opportunity and an obstacle for those trying to decide which modeling technique to apply, and interpreting the management implications of model output. Furthermore, the breadth of issues relevant to addressing key questions related to forest ecology, conservation biology, silviculture, economics, requires insights stemming from a number of distinct scientific disciplines. As forest planners, conservation ecologists, ecological economists and silviculturalists, experienced with modeling trade-offs and synergies between biodiversity and wood biomass production, we identified fifteen key considerations relevant to assessing the pros and cons of alternative modeling approaches. Specifically we identified key considerations linked to study question formulation, modeling forest dynamics, forest processes, study landscapes, spatial and temporal aspects, and the key response metrics - biodiversity and wood biomass production, as well as dealing with trade-offs and uncertainties. We also provide illustrative examples from the modeling literature stemming from the key considerations assessed. We use our findings to reiterate the need for explicitly addressing and conveying the limitations and uncertainties of any modeling approach taken, and the need for interdisciplinary research efforts when addressing the conservation of biodiversity and sustainable use of environmental resources. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Learning Efficiency: Identifying Individual Differences in Learning Rate and Retention in Healthy Adults.

PubMed

Zerr, Christopher L; Berg, Jeffrey J; Nelson, Steven M; Fishell, Andrew K; Savalia, Neil K; McDermott, Kathleen B

2018-06-01

People differ in how quickly they learn information and how long they remember it, yet individual differences in learning abilities within healthy adults have been relatively neglected. In two studies, we examined the relation between learning rate and subsequent retention using a new foreign-language paired-associates task (the learning-efficiency task), which was designed to eliminate ceiling effects that often accompany standardized tests of learning and memory in healthy adults. A key finding was that quicker learners were also more durable learners (i.e., exhibited better retention across a delay), despite studying the material for less time. Additionally, measures of learning and memory from this task were reliable in Study 1 ( N = 281) across 30 hr and Study 2 ( N = 92; follow-up n = 46) across 3 years. We conclude that people vary in how efficiently they learn, and we describe a reliable and valid method for assessing learning efficiency within healthy adults.

Assessing the Impact of Educational Differences in HCI Design Practice

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Antunes, Pedro; Xiao, Lu; Pino, Jose A.

2014-01-01

Human-computer interaction (HCI) design generally involves collaboration from professionals in different disciplines. Trained in different design education systems, these professionals can have different conceptual understandings about design. Recognizing and identifying these differences are key issues for establishing shared design practices…

Identifying geographic hot spots of reassortment in a multipartite plant virus

PubMed Central

Savory, Fiona R; Varma, Varun; Ramakrishnan, Uma

2014-01-01

Reassortment between different species or strains plays a key role in the evolution of multipartite plant viruses and can have important epidemiological implications. Identifying geographic locations where reassortant lineages are most likely to emerge could be a valuable strategy for informing disease management and surveillance efforts. We developed a predictive framework to identify potential geographic hot spots of reassortment based upon spatially explicit analyses of genome constellation diversity. To demonstrate the utility of this approach, we examined spatial variation in the potential for reassortment among Cardamom bushy dwarf virus (CBDV; Nanoviridae, Babuvirus) isolates in Northeast India. Using sequence data corresponding to six discrete genome components for 163 CBDV isolates, a quantitative measure of genome constellation diversity was obtained for locations across the sampling region. Two key areas were identified where viruses with highly distinct genome constellations cocirculate, and these locations were designated as possible geographic hot spots of reassortment, where novel reassortant lineages could emerge. Our study demonstrates that the potential for reassortment can be spatially dependent in multipartite plant viruses and highlights the use of evolutionary analyses to identify locations which could be actively managed to facilitate the prevention of outbreaks involving novel reassortant strains. PMID:24944570

Key Gaps for Enabling Plant Growth in Future Missions

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Anderson, Molly; Motil, Brian; Barta, Dan; Fritsche, Ralph; Massa, Gioia; Quincy, Charlie; Romeyn, Matthew; Wheeler, Ray; Hanford, Anthony

2017-01-01

Growing plants to provide food or psychological benefits to crewmembers is a common vision for the future of human spaceflight, often represented in media and in serious concept studies. The complexity of controlled environment agriculture, and plant growth in microgravity have and continue to be the subject of dedicated scientific research. However, actually implementing these systems in a way that will be cost effective, efficient, and sustainable for future space missions is a complex, multi-disciplinary problem. Key questions exist in many areas: human medical research in nutrition and psychology, horticulture, plant physiology and microbiology, multi-phase microgravity fluid physics, hardware design and technology development, and system design, operations and mission planning. This paper describes key knowledge gaps identified by a multi-disciplinary working group within the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). It also begins to identify solutions to the simpler questions identified by the group based on work initiated in 2017. Growing plants to provide food or psychological benefits to crewmembers is a common vision for the future of human spaceflight, often represented in media and in serious concept studies. The complexity of controlled environment agriculture, and plant growth in microgravity have and continue to be the subject of dedicated scientific research. However, actually implementing these systems in a way that will be cost effective, efficient, and sustainable for future space missions is a complex, multi-disciplinary problem. Key questions exist in many areas: human medical research in nutrition and psychology, horticulture, plant physiology and microbiology, multi-phase microgravity fluid physics, hardware design and technology development, and system design, operations and mission planning. This paper describes key knowledge gaps identified by a multi-disciplinary working group within the National Aeronautics and Space

Music performance and the perception of key.

PubMed

Thompson, W F; Cuddy, L L

1997-02-01

The effect of music performance on perceived key movement was examined. Listeners judged key movement in sequences presented without performance expression (mechanical) in Experiment 1 and with performance expression in Experiment 2. Modulation distance varied. Judgments corresponded to predictions based on the cycle of fifths and toroidal models of key relatedness, with the highest correspondence for performed versions with the toroidal model. In Experiment 3, listeners compared mechanical sequences with either performed sequences or modifications of performed sequences. Modifications preserved expressive differences between chords, but not between voices. Predictions from Experiments 1 and 2 held only for performed sequences, suggesting that differences between voices are informative of key movement. Experiment 4 confirmed that modifications did not disrupt musicality. Analyses of performances further suggested a link between performance expression and key.

Identifying Key Features of Student Performance in Educational Video Games and Simulations through Cluster Analysis

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kerr, Deirdre; Chung, Gregory K. W. K.

2012-01-01

The assessment cycle of "evidence-centered design" (ECD) provides a framework for treating an educational video game or simulation as an assessment. One of the main steps in the assessment cycle of ECD is the identification of the key features of student performance. While this process is relatively simple for multiple choice tests, when…

State Differences: The Key to Demographics.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hodgkinson, Harold

1999-01-01

This companion piece to a 1997 article examines United States demographic trends, such as diversity by age, "race" and U.S. Census racial classifications, wealth, transiency, suburbanization and sprawl, and immigration, focusing on differences among states and metro regions. Nothing, including achievement scores, social services, and…

A Large-Scale RNAi Screen Identifies SGK1 as a Key Survival Kinase for GBM Stem Cells.

PubMed

Kulkarni, Shreya; Goel-Bhattacharya, Surbhi; Sengupta, Sejuti; Cochran, Brent H

2018-01-01

Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) is the most common type of primary malignant brain cancer and has a very poor prognosis. A subpopulation of cells known as GBM stem-like cells (GBM-SC) have the capacity to initiate and sustain tumor growth and possess molecular characteristics similar to the parental tumor. GBM-SCs are known to be enriched in hypoxic niches and may contribute to therapeutic resistance. Therefore, to identify genetic determinants important for the proliferation and survival of GBM stem cells, an unbiased pooled shRNA screen of 10,000 genes was conducted under normoxic as well as hypoxic conditions. A number of essential genes were identified that are required for GBM-SC growth, under either or both oxygen conditions, in two different GBM-SC lines. Interestingly, only about a third of the essential genes were common to both cell lines. The oxygen environment significantly impacts the cellular genetic dependencies as 30% of the genes required under hypoxia were not required under normoxic conditions. In addition to identifying essential genes already implicated in GBM such as CDK4, KIF11 , and RAN , the screen also identified new genes that have not been previously implicated in GBM stem cell biology. The importance of the serum and glucocorticoid-regulated kinase 1 (SGK1) for cellular survival was validated in multiple patient-derived GBM stem cell lines using shRNA, CRISPR, and pharmacologic inhibitors. However, SGK1 depletion and inhibition has little effect on traditional serum grown glioma lines and on differentiated GBM-SCs indicating its specific importance in GBM stem cell survival. Implications: This study identifies genes required for the growth and survival of GBM stem cells under both normoxic and hypoxic conditions and finds SGK1 as a novel potential drug target for GBM. Mol Cancer Res; 16(1); 103-14. ©2017 AACR . ©2017 American Association for Cancer Research.

Identifying Signs of Tinea Pedis: A Key to Understanding Clinical Variables.

PubMed

Canavan, Theresa N; Elewski, Boni E

2015-10-01

Tinea pedis is a frequently encountered dermatophytosis affecting the superficial skin of the feet, primarily of adults. The prevalence of tinea pedis has increased over the last several decades due to an increase in multiple risk factors. Infection from dermatophytes is most common, but infection from other fungi can also result in tinea pedis. Four distinct clinical presentations occur: interdigital, moccasin, vesicular, and acute ulcerative types. A variety of physical exam findings can help the clinician identify patients with tinea pedis.

Engagement in the HIV Care Continuum among Key Populations in Tijuana, Mexico.

PubMed

Smith, Laramie R; Patterson, Thomas L; Magis-Rodriguez, Carlos; Ojeda, Victoria D; Burgos, Jose Luis; Rojas, Sarah A; Zúñiga, María Luisa; Strathdee, Steffanie A

2016-05-01

In Tijuana, Mexico, HIV is concentrated in sub-epidemics of key populations: persons who inject drugs (PWID), sex workers (SW), and men who have sex with men (MSM). To date, data on engagement in the HIV care continuum among these key populations, particularly in resource-constrained settings, are sparse. We pooled available epidemiological data from six studies (N = 3368) to examine HIV testing and treatment uptake in these key populations; finding an overall HIV prevalence of 5.7 %. Of the 191 identified HIV-positive persons, only 11.5 % knew their HIV-positive status and 3.7 % were on ART. Observed differences between these HIV-positive key populations suggest PWID (vs. non-PWID) were least likely to have previously tested or initiate HIV care. MSM (vs. non-MSM) were more likely to have previously tested but not more likely to know their HIV-positive status. Of persons aware of their HIV-positive status, SW (vs. non-SW) were more likely to initiate HIV care. Findings suggest engagement of key populations in HIV treatment is far below estimates observed for similarly resource-constrained generalized epidemics in sub-Saharan Africa. These data provide one of the first empirical-snapshots highlighting the extent of HIV treatment disparities in key populations.

[Key to chironomid pupal exuviae (Diptera: Chironomidae) of tropical high Andean streams].

PubMed

Pratt, Narcís; González-Trujillo, Juan David; Ospina-Torres, Rodulfo

2014-12-01

The Chironomidae is a cosmopolitan family of Nematoceran flies with more than 20,000 species described. However the diversity of genera and species of the family in the Andean region beyond the 2,000 m.a.s.l are scarcely known. We conducted faunal surveys and biomonitoring research in different streams of Colombia, Ecuador and Peru from May 2005 to October 2011. Based on specimens collections, a taxonomic key was developed to identify pupae and pupal exuviae of 46 genera of midges (Diptera, Chironomidae) collected from streams at high altitude areas on the Andean tropical mountains. We included illustrations and brief taxonomic descriptions for all genera, of which several ones have not yet been formally described; in this latter case we used the nomenclature of Roback & Coffman (1983). For two genera, Cricotopus and Genus 1, keys to the most com- mon morphospecies were provided. Results showed that in this area the chironomid assemblages are dominated by the members of the subfamily Orthocladiinae (22 genera) followed by the Chironominae (13). Six genera of Tanypodinae were identified, while only three and two genera were present from subfamilies Podonominae and Diamesinae. This key may be very useful for both studies about drift in streams, and for biomonitoring purposes.

Description of male, pupa and larva of Simulium (Asiosimulium) wanchaii (Diptera: Simuliidae) from Thailand, with keys to identify four species of the subgenus Asiosimulium.

PubMed

Srisuka, W; Takaoka, H; Saeung, A

2015-09-01

The male, pupa and mature larva of Simulium (Asiosimulium) wanchaii Takaoka & Choochote, one of the four species of the small Oriental black fly subgenus Asiosimulium, are described for the first time based on samples collected from Thailand. The male S. (A.) wanchaii is characterized based on the enlarged hind basitarsus and the ventral plate which is much wider than long. The pupa and larva are characterized by the gill with 19 filaments and the deep postgenal cleft, respectively. Keys are provided to identify all the four species of the subgenus Asiosimulium for females, males, pupae and mature larvae.

Key for Trees of Iowa.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Coder, Kim D.; Wray, Paul H.

This key is designed to help identify the most common trees found in Iowa. It is based on vegetative characteristics such as leaves, fruits, and bark and is illustrated with black and white line drawings. Since vegetative characteristics vary due to climate, age, soil fertility, and other conditions, the numerical sizes listed, such as length and…

Investigation of the key determinants of Asian nurses' quality of life.

PubMed

Makabe, Sachiko; Kowitlawakul, Yanika; Nurumal, Mohd Said; Takagai, Junko; Wichaikhum, Orn-Anong; Wangmo, Neyzang; Yap, Suk Foon; Kunaviktikul, Wipada; Komatsu, Junko; Shirakawa, Hideko; Kimura, Yutaka; Asanuma, Yoshihiro

2018-06-01

The study aimed to compare nurses' quality of life and investigate key determinants among Asian countries with different economic status. A cross-sectional survey was conducted across five Asian countries (Japan, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, and Bhutan). Quality of life (WHOQOL-BREF), job stress (National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health questionnaire), and demographic data were assessed. Stepwise multivariate linear regression analysis was performed to identify the key determinants of quality of life. Participants were 3,829 nurses (response rate: 82%) with a mean age of 33 ± 10 yr and majority were women (92%). Regarding quality of life, Bhutan yielded the highest scores, followed by Malaysia, Thailand, Singapore, and Japan, and these results were statistically significant. The key determinants that were significantly related to quality of life were "stress coping ability," "life satisfaction," "Japan," "social support," "job stress," and "Singapore" (adjusted R 2 =0.46). In conclusion, nurses' quality of life differs across Asian countries and is not linked to the country's economic development. To maintain a good quality of life for nurses, an international exchange program like international nursing conferences for work environment and staff coping strategies is recommended to broaden institution' minds and share experiences and exchange views to be able to realize their own problems and discover global solutions to them.

Identifying different transcribed proteins in the newly described Theraphosidae Pamphobeteus verdolaga.

PubMed

Estrada-Gómez, Sebastian; Vargas-Muñoz, Leidy Johana; Saldarriaga-Córdoba, Mónica; Cifuentes, Yeimy; Perafan, Carlos

2017-04-01

Theraphosidae spider venoms are well known for possess a complex mixture of protein and non-protein compounds in their venom. The objective of this study was to report and identify different proteins translated from the venom gland DNA information of the recently described Theraphosidae spider Pamphobeteus verdolaga. Using a venom gland transcriptomic analysis, we reported a set of the first complete sequences of seven different proteins of the recenlty described Theraphosidae spider P. verdolaga. Protein analysis indicates the presence of different proteins on the venom composition of this new spider, some of them uncommon in the Theraphosidae family. MS/MS analysis of P. verdolaga showed different fragments matching sphingomyelinases (sicaritoxin), barytoxins, hexatoxins, latroinsectotoxins, and linear (zadotoxins) peptides. Only four of the MS/MS fragments showed 100% sequence similarity with one of the transcribed proteins. Transcriptomic analysis showed the presence of different groups of proteins like phospholipases, hyaluronidases, inhibitory cysteine knots (ICK) peptides among others. The three database of protein domains used in this study (Pfam, SMART and CDD) showed congruency in the search of unique conserved protein domain for only four of the translated proteins. Those proteins matched with EF-hand proteins, cysteine rich secretory proteins, jingzhaotoxins, theraphotoxins and hexatoxins, from different Mygalomorphae spiders belonging to the families Theraphosidae, Barychelidae and Hexathelidae. None of the analyzed sequences showed a complete 100% similarity. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The Promise of Virtual Teams: Identifying Key Factors in Effectiveness and Failure

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Horwitz, Frank M.; Bravington, Desmond; Silvis, Ulrik

2006-01-01

Purpose: The aim of the investigation is to identify enabling and disenabling factors in the development and operation of virtual teams; to evaluate the importance of factors such as team development, cross-cultural variables, leadership, communication and social cohesion as contributors to virtual team effectiveness. Design/methodology/approach:…

Identifying Key Networks Linked to Light-Independent Photoreceptor Degeneration in Visual Arrestin 1 Knockout Mice.

PubMed

Kim, Hwa Sun; Huang, Shun-Ping; Lee, Eun-Jin; Craft, Cheryl Mae

2018-01-01

When visual arrestin 1 (ARR1, S-antigen, 48 KDa protein) was genetically knocked out in mice (original Arr1 -/- , designated Arr1 -/-A ), rod photoreceptors degenerated in a light-dependent manner. Subsequently, a light-independent cone dystrophy was identified with minimal rod death in ARR1 knockout mice (Arr1 -/-A Arr4 +/+ , designated Arr1 -/-B ), which were F2 littermates from breeding the original Arr1 -/-A and cone arrestin knockout 4 (Arr4 -/- ) mice. To resolve the genetic and phenotypic differences between the two ARR1 knockouts, we performed Affymetrix™ exon array analysis to focus on the potential differential gene expression profile and to explore the molecular and cellular pathways leading to this observed susceptibility to cone dystrophy in Arr1 -/-B compared to Arr1 -/-A or control Arr1 +/+ Arr4 +/+ (wild type [WT]). Only in the Arr1 -/-B retina did we observe an up-regulation of retinal transcripts involved in the immune response, inflammatory response and JAK-STAT signaling molecules, OSMRβ and phosphorylation of STAT3. Of these responses, the complement system was significantly higher, and a variety of inflammatory responses by complement regulation and anti-inflammatory cytokine or factors were identified in Arr1 -/-B retinal transcripts. This discovery supports that Arr1 -/-B has a distinct genetic background from Arr1 -/-A that results in alterations in its retinal phenotype leading to susceptibility to cone degeneration induced by inappropriate inflammatory and immune responses.

Community Advisory Boards Guiding Engaged Research Efforts within a Clinical Translational Sciences Award: Key Contextual Factors Explored.

PubMed

Halladay, Jacqueline R; Donahue, Katrina E; Sleath, Betsy; Reuland, Dan; Black, Adina; Mitchell, C Madeline; Breland, Carol E; Coyne-Beasley, Tamera; Mottus, Kathleen; Watson, Sable Noelle; Lewis, Virginia; Wynn, Mysha; Corbie-Smith, Giselle

2017-01-01

Engaging stakeholders in research carries the promise of enhancing the research relevance, transparency, and speed of getting findings into practice. By describing the context and functional aspects of stakeholder groups, like those working as community advisory boards (CABs), others can learn from these experiences and operationalize their own CABs. Our objective is to describe our experiences with diverse CABs affiliated with our community engagement group within our institution's Clinical Translational Sciences Award (CTSA). We identify key contextual elements that are important to administering CABs. A group of investigators, staff, and community members engaged in a 6-month collaboration to describe their experiences of working with six research CABs. We identified the key contextual domains that illustrate how CABS are developed and sustained. Two lead authors, with experience with CABs and identifying contextual domains in other work, led a team of 13 through the process. Additionally, we devised a list of key tips to consider when devising CABs. The final domains include (1) aligned missions among stakeholders (2) resources/support, (3) defined operational processes/shared power, (4) well-described member roles, and (5) understanding and mitigating challenges. The tips are a set of actions that support the domains. Identifying key contextual domains was relatively easy, despite differences in the respective CAB's condition of focus, overall mission, or patient demographics represented. By contextualizing these five domains, other research and community partners can take an informed approach to move forward with CAB planning and engaged research.

Key Reconciliation for High Performance Quantum Key Distribution

PubMed Central

Martinez-Mateo, Jesus; Elkouss, David; Martin, Vicente

2013-01-01

Quantum Key Distribution is carving its place among the tools used to secure communications. While a difficult technology, it enjoys benefits that set it apart from the rest, the most prominent is its provable security based on the laws of physics. QKD requires not only the mastering of signals at the quantum level, but also a classical processing to extract a secret-key from them. This postprocessing has been customarily studied in terms of the efficiency, a figure of merit that offers a biased view of the performance of real devices. Here we argue that it is the throughput the significant magnitude in practical QKD, specially in the case of high speed devices, where the differences are more marked, and give some examples contrasting the usual postprocessing schemes with new ones from modern coding theory. A good understanding of its implications is very important for the design of modern QKD devices. PMID:23546440

The morphology of saccular otoliths as a tool to identify different mugilid species from the Northeastern Atlantic and Mediterranean Sea

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Callicó Fortunato, Roberta; Benedito Durà, Vicent; Volpedo, Alejandra

2014-06-01

In the Northeastern Atlantic and Mediterranean Sea there are 8 species of the Mugilidae family: Mugil cephalus, Liza aurata, Liza ramada, Oedalechilus labeo, Chelon labrosus, Liza saliens, Liza carinata and Liza haematocheila. The identification of mugilids is very important for local fisheries management and regulations, but it is difficult using gross morphological characters. This work aims to contribute to the identification of mullets present in the Northeastern Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean Sea using saccular otolith features of each species. Specimens of C. labrosus, L. aurata, L. ramada, L. saliens and M. cephalus were obtained from Delta del Ebro (40°38'N-0°44'E) in artisanal catches. For L. carinata and O. labeo photographs extracted from AFORO online database were used. L. haematocheila was not studied for lack of otolith samples. A general pattern of the saccular otoliths for this family was identified: the shape of the otoliths are rectangular to oblong with irregular margins; they present a heterosulcoid, ostial sulcus acusticus, with an open funnel-like ostium to the anterior margin and a closed, tubular cauda, ending towards the posterior ventral corner, always larger than the ostium. In the present study, the mugilid species could be recognized using their saccular otolith morphology. Here we give the first key to identify Northeastern Atlantic and Mediterranean mullets. The distinctive features between the species were the position and centrality of the sulcus, the curvature of the cauda, the presence of areal depositions and plateaus, and the type of anterior and posterior regions. These features could be used not only to reinforce the identification keys through morphological and meristic characters of the species, but also to identify the species consumed by piscivores, being the otoliths the only identifiable remains of the individuals.

Identification of key ancestors of modern germplasm in a breeding program of maize.

PubMed

Technow, F; Schrag, T A; Schipprack, W; Melchinger, A E

2014-12-01

Probabilities of gene origin computed from the genomic kinships matrix can accurately identify key ancestors of modern germplasms Identifying the key ancestors of modern plant breeding populations can provide valuable insights into the history of a breeding program and provide reference genomes for next generation whole genome sequencing. In an animal breeding context, a method was developed that employs probabilities of gene origin, computed from the pedigree-based additive kinship matrix, for identifying key ancestors. Because reliable and complete pedigree information is often not available in plant breeding, we replaced the additive kinship matrix with the genomic kinship matrix. As a proof-of-concept, we applied this approach to simulated data sets with known ancestries. The relative contribution of the ancestral lines to later generations could be determined with high accuracy, with and without selection. Our method was subsequently used for identifying the key ancestors of the modern Dent germplasm of the public maize breeding program of the University of Hohenheim. We found that the modern germplasm can be traced back to six or seven key ancestors, with one or two of them having a disproportionately large contribution. These results largely corroborated conjectures based on early records of the breeding program. We conclude that probabilities of gene origin computed from the genomic kinships matrix can be used for identifying key ancestors in breeding programs and estimating the proportion of genes contributed by them.

Identifying differences in biased affective information processing in major depression.

PubMed

Gollan, Jackie K; Pane, Heather T; McCloskey, Michael S; Coccaro, Emil F

2008-05-30

This study investigates the extent to which participants with major depression differ from healthy comparison participants in the irregularities in affective information processing, characterized by deficits in facial expression recognition, intensity categorization, and reaction time to identifying emotionally salient and neutral information. Data on diagnoses, symptom severity, and affective information processing using a facial recognition task were collected from 66 participants, male and female between ages 18 and 54 years, grouped by major depressive disorder (N=37) or healthy non-psychiatric (N=29) status. Findings from MANCOVAs revealed that major depression was associated with a significantly longer reaction time to sad facial expressions compared with healthy status. Also, depressed participants demonstrated a negative bias towards interpreting neutral facial expressions as sad significantly more often than healthy participants. In turn, healthy participants interpreted neutral faces as happy significantly more often than depressed participants. No group differences were observed for facial expression recognition and intensity categorization. The observed effects suggest that depression has significant effects on the perception of the intensity of negative affective stimuli, delayed speed of processing sad affective information, and biases towards interpreting neutral faces as sad.

Genomic suppression subtractive hybridization as a tool to identify differences in mycorrhizal fungal genomes.

PubMed

Murat, Claude; Zampieri, Elisa; Vallino, Marta; Daghino, Stefania; Perotto, Silvia; Bonfante, Paola

2011-05-01

Characterization of genomic variation among different microbial species, or different strains of the same species, is a field of significant interest with a wide range of potential applications. We have investigated the genomic variation in mycorrhizal fungal genomes through genomic suppressive subtractive hybridization. The comparison was between phylogenetically distant and close truffle species (Tuber spp.), and between isolates of the ericoid mycorrhizal fungus Oidiodendron maius featuring different degrees of metal tolerance. In the interspecies experiment, almost all the sequences that were identified in the Tuber melanosporum genome and absent in Tuber borchii and Tuber indicum corresponded to transposable elements. In the intraspecies comparison, some specific sequences corresponded to regions coding for enzymes, among them a glutathione synthetase known to be involved in metal tolerance. This approach is a quick and rather inexpensive tool to develop molecular markers for mycorrhizal fungi tracking and barcoding, to identify functional genes and to investigate the genome plasticity, adaptation and evolution. © 2011 Federation of European Microbiological Societies. Published by Blackwell Publishing Ltd. All rights reserved.

The comparison and analysis of extracting video key frame

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ouyang, S. Z.; Zhong, L.; Luo, R. Q.

2018-05-01

Video key frame extraction is an important part of the large data processing. Based on the previous work in key frame extraction, we summarized four important key frame extraction algorithms, and these methods are largely developed by comparing the differences between each of two frames. If the difference exceeds a threshold value, take the corresponding frame as two different keyframes. After the research, the key frame extraction based on the amount of mutual trust is proposed, the introduction of information entropy, by selecting the appropriate threshold values into the initial class, and finally take a similar mean mutual information as a candidate key frame. On this paper, several algorithms is used to extract the key frame of tunnel traffic videos. Then, with the analysis to the experimental results and comparisons between the pros and cons of these algorithms, the basis of practical applications is well provided.

Key areas for wintering North American herons

USGS Publications Warehouse

Mikuska, T.; Kushlan, J.A.; Hartley, S.

1998-01-01

Nearly all North American heron populations are migratory, but details of where they winter are little known. Locations where North American herons winter were identified using banding recovery data. North American herons winter from Canada through northern South America but especially in eastern North America south of New York, Florida, California, Louisiana, Texas, Mexico and Cuba, these areas accounting for 63% of winter recoveries. We identified regions where recoveries for various species clustered as "key areas." These forty-three areas constitute a network of areas that hold sites that likely are important to wintering North American herons. Within each area, we identify specific sites that are potentially important to wintering herons. The relative importance of each area and site within the network must be evaluated by further on the ground inventory. Because of biases inherent in the available data, these hypothesized key areas are indicative rather than exhaustive. As a first cut, this network of areas can serve to inform further inventory activities and can provide an initial basis to begin planning for the year-round conservation of North American heron populations.

No smile like another: adult age differences in identifying emotions that accompany smiles.

PubMed

Riediger, Michaela; Studtmann, Markus; Westphal, Andrea; Rauers, Antje; Weber, Hannelore

2014-01-01

People smile in various emotional contexts, for example, when they are amused or angry or simply being polite. We investigated whether younger and older adults differ in how well they are able to identify the emotional experiences accompanying smile expressions, and whether the age of the smiling person plays a role in this respect. With this aim, we produced 80 video episodes of three types of smile expressions: positive-affect smiles had been spontaneously displayed by target persons as they were watching amusing film clips and cartoons. Negative-affect smiles had been displayed spontaneously by target persons during an interaction in which they were being unfairly accused. Affectively neutral smiles were posed upon request. Differences in the accompanying emotional experiences were validated by target persons' self-reports. These smile videos served as experimental stimuli in two studies with younger and older adult participants. In Study 1, older participants were less likely to attribute positive emotions to smiles, and more likely to assume that a smile was posed. Furthermore, younger participants were more accurate than older adults at identifying emotional experiences accompanying smiles. In Study 2, both younger and older participants attributed positive emotions more frequently to smiles shown by older as compared to younger target persons, but older participants did so less frequently than younger participants. Again, younger participants were more accurate than older participants in identifying emotional experiences accompanying smiles, but this effect was attenuated for older target persons. Older participants could better identify the emotional state accompanying smiles shown by older than by younger target persons. Taken together, these findings indicate that there is an age-related decline in the ability to decipher the emotional meaning of smiles presented without context, which, however, is attenuated when the smiling person is also an older adult.

No smile like another: adult age differences in identifying emotions that accompany smiles

PubMed Central

Riediger, Michaela; Studtmann, Markus; Westphal, Andrea; Rauers, Antje; Weber, Hannelore

2014-01-01

People smile in various emotional contexts, for example, when they are amused or angry or simply being polite. We investigated whether younger and older adults differ in how well they are able to identify the emotional experiences accompanying smile expressions, and whether the age of the smiling person plays a role in this respect. With this aim, we produced 80 video episodes of three types of smile expressions: positive-affect smiles had been spontaneously displayed by target persons as they were watching amusing film clips and cartoons. Negative-affect smiles had been displayed spontaneously by target persons during an interaction in which they were being unfairly accused. Affectively neutral smiles were posed upon request. Differences in the accompanying emotional experiences were validated by target persons' self-reports. These smile videos served as experimental stimuli in two studies with younger and older adult participants. In Study 1, older participants were less likely to attribute positive emotions to smiles, and more likely to assume that a smile was posed. Furthermore, younger participants were more accurate than older adults at identifying emotional experiences accompanying smiles. In Study 2, both younger and older participants attributed positive emotions more frequently to smiles shown by older as compared to younger target persons, but older participants did so less frequently than younger participants. Again, younger participants were more accurate than older participants in identifying emotional experiences accompanying smiles, but this effect was attenuated for older target persons. Older participants could better identify the emotional state accompanying smiles shown by older than by younger target persons. Taken together, these findings indicate that there is an age-related decline in the ability to decipher the emotional meaning of smiles presented without context, which, however, is attenuated when the smiling person is also an older adult

Key-value store with internal key-value storage interface

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

Bent, John M.; Faibish, Sorin; Ting, Dennis P. J.

A key-value store is provided having one or more key-value storage interfaces. A key-value store on at least one compute node comprises a memory for storing a plurality of key-value pairs; and an abstract storage interface comprising a software interface module that communicates with at least one persistent storage device providing a key-value interface for persistent storage of one or more of the plurality of key-value pairs, wherein the software interface module provides the one or more key-value pairs to the at least one persistent storage device in a key-value format. The abstract storage interface optionally processes one or moremore » batch operations on the plurality of key-value pairs. A distributed embodiment for a partitioned key-value store is also provided.« less

Key on demand (KoD) for software-defined optical networks secured by quantum key distribution (QKD).

PubMed

Cao, Yuan; Zhao, Yongli; Colman-Meixner, Carlos; Yu, Xiaosong; Zhang, Jie

2017-10-30

Software-defined optical networking (SDON) will become the next generation optical network architecture. However, the optical layer and control layer of SDON are vulnerable to cyberattacks. While, data encryption is an effective method to minimize the negative effects of cyberattacks, secure key interchange is its major challenge which can be addressed by the quantum key distribution (QKD) technique. Hence, in this paper we discuss the integration of QKD with WDM optical networks to secure the SDON architecture by introducing a novel key on demand (KoD) scheme which is enabled by a novel routing, wavelength and key assignment (RWKA) algorithm. The QKD over SDON with KoD model follows two steps to provide security: i) quantum key pools (QKPs) construction for securing the control channels (CChs) and data channels (DChs); ii) the KoD scheme uses RWKA algorithm to allocate and update secret keys for different security requirements. To test our model, we define a security probability index which measures the security gain in CChs and DChs. Simulation results indicate that the security performance of CChs and DChs can be enhanced by provisioning sufficient secret keys in QKPs and performing key-updating considering potential cyberattacks. Also, KoD is beneficial to achieve a positive balance between security requirements and key resource usage.

Communication Is Key to Common Core

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Maunsell, Patricia A.

2014-01-01

States, districts, and schools must work to develop effective implementation and communications plans around the Common Core State Standards and aligned assessments. The Education Trust commissioned research on the communication of changes to state assessments in the recent past and lessons learned from that effort identify key elements of an…

Interaction Studies of Withania Somnifera's Key Metabolite Withaferin A with Different Receptors Assoociated with Cardiovascular Disease.

PubMed

Ravindran, Rekha; Sharma, Nitika; Roy, Sujata; Thakur, Ashoke R; Ganesh, Subhadra; Kumar, Sriram; Devi, Jamuna; Rajkumar, Johanna

2015-01-01

Withania somnifera commonly known as Ashwagandha in India is used in many herbal formulations to treat various cardiovascular diseases. The key metabolite of this plant, Withaferin A was analyzed for its molecular mechanism through docking studies on different targets of cardiovascular disease. Six receptor proteins associated with cardiovascular disease were selected and interaction studies were performed with Withaferin A using AutoDock Vina. CORINA was used to model the small molecules and HBAT to compute the hydrogen bonding. Among the six targets, β1- adrenergic receptors, HMG-CoA and Angiotensinogen-converting enzyme showed significant interaction with Withaferin A. Pharmacophore modeling was done using PharmaGist to understand the pharmacophoric potential of Withaferin A. Clustering of Withaferin A with different existing drug molecules for cardiovascular disease was performed with ChemMine based on structural similarity and physicochemical properties. The ability of natural active component, Withaferin A to interact with different receptors associated with cardiovascular disease was elucidated with various modeling techniques. These studies conclusively revealed Withaferin A as a potent lead compound against multiple targets associated with cardiovascular disease.

Regional scale prioritisation for key ecosystem services, renewable energy production and urban development.

PubMed

Casalegno, Stefano; Bennie, Jonathan J; Inger, Richard; Gaston, Kevin J

2014-01-01

Although the importance of addressing ecosystem service benefits in regional land use planning and decision-making is evident, substantial practical challenges remain. In particular, methods to identify priority areas for the provision of key ecosystem services and other environmental services (benefits from the environment not directly linked to the function of ecosystems) need to be developed. Priority areas are locations which provide disproportionally high benefits from one or more service. Here we map a set of ecosystem and environmental services and delineate priority areas according to different scenarios. Each scenario is produced by a set of weightings allocated to different services and corresponds to different landscape management strategies which decision makers could undertake. Using the county of Cornwall, U.K., as a case study, we processed gridded maps of key ecosystem services and environmental services, including renewable energy production and urban development. We explored their spatial distribution patterns and their spatial covariance and spatial stationarity within the region. Finally we applied a complementarity-based priority ranking algorithm (zonation) using different weighting schemes. Our conclusions are that (i) there are two main patterns of service distribution in this region, clustered services (including agriculture, carbon stocks, urban development and plant production) and dispersed services (including cultural services, energy production and floods mitigation); (ii) more than half of the services are spatially correlated and there is high non-stationarity in the spatial covariance between services; and (iii) it is important to consider both ecosystem services and other environmental services in identifying priority areas. Different weighting schemes provoke drastic changes in the delineation of priority areas and therefore decision making processes need to carefully consider the relative values attributed to different services.

Exploring critical pathways for urban water management to identify robust strategies under deep uncertainties.

PubMed

Urich, Christian; Rauch, Wolfgang

2014-12-01

Long-term projections for key drivers needed in urban water infrastructure planning such as climate change, population growth, and socio-economic changes are deeply uncertain. Traditional planning approaches heavily rely on these projections, which, if a projection stays unfulfilled, can lead to problematic infrastructure decisions causing high operational costs and/or lock-in effects. New approaches based on exploratory modelling take a fundamentally different view. Aim of these is, to identify an adaptation strategy that performs well under many future scenarios, instead of optimising a strategy for a handful. However, a modelling tool to support strategic planning to test the implication of adaptation strategies under deeply uncertain conditions for urban water management does not exist yet. This paper presents a first step towards a new generation of such strategic planning tools, by combing innovative modelling tools, which coevolve the urban environment and urban water infrastructure under many different future scenarios, with robust decision making. The developed approach is applied to the city of Innsbruck, Austria, which is spatially explicitly evolved 20 years into the future under 1000 scenarios to test the robustness of different adaptation strategies. Key findings of this paper show that: (1) Such an approach can be used to successfully identify parameter ranges of key drivers in which a desired performance criterion is not fulfilled, which is an important indicator for the robustness of an adaptation strategy; and (2) Analysis of the rich dataset gives new insights into the adaptive responses of agents to key drivers in the urban system by modifying a strategy. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Key properties of expert movement systems in sport : an ecological dynamics perspective.

PubMed

Seifert, Ludovic; Button, Chris; Davids, Keith

2013-03-01

This paper identifies key properties of expertise in sport predicated on the performer-environment relationship. Weaknesses of traditional approaches to expert performance, which uniquely focus on the performer and the environment separately, are highlighted by an ecological dynamics perspective. Key properties of expert movement systems include 'multi- and meta-stability', 'adaptive variability', 'redundancy', 'degeneracy' and the 'attunement to affordances'. Empirical research on these expert system properties indicates that skill acquisition does not emerge from the internal representation of declarative and procedural knowledge, or the imitation of expert behaviours to linearly reduce a perceived 'gap' separating movements of beginners and a putative expert model. Rather, expert performance corresponds with the ongoing co-adaptation of an individual's behaviours to dynamically changing, interacting constraints, individually perceived and encountered. The functional role of adaptive movement variability is essential to expert performance in many different sports (involving individuals and teams; ball games and outdoor activities; land and aquatic environments). These key properties signify that, in sport performance, although basic movement patterns need to be acquired by developing athletes, there exists no ideal movement template towards which all learners should aspire, since relatively unique functional movement solutions emerge from the interaction of key constraints.

Why different countries manage death differently: a comparative analysis of modern urban societies.

PubMed

Walter, Tony

2012-03-01

The sociology of death, dying and bereavement tends to take as its implicit frame either the nation state or a homogenous modernity. Between-nation differences in the management of death and dying are either ignored or untheorized. This article seeks to identify the factors that can explain both similarities and differences in the management of death between different modern western nations. Structural factors which affect all modern nations include urbanization and the division of labour leading to the dominance of professionals, migration, rationality and bureaucracy, information technology and the risk society. How these sociologically familiar structural features are responded to, however, depends on national histories, institutions and cultures. Historically, key transitional periods to modernity, different in different nations, necessitated particular institutional responses in the management of dying and dead bodies. Culturally, key factors include individualism versus collectivism, religion, secularization, boundary regulation, and expressivism. Global flows of death practices depend significantly on subjugated nations' perceptions of colonialism, neo-colonialism and modernity, which can lead to a dominant power's death practices being either imitated or rejected. © London School of Economics and Political Science 2012.

A Video Analysis of Intra- and Interprofessional Leadership Behaviors Within "The Burns Suite": Identifying Key Leadership Models.

PubMed

Sadideen, Hazim; Weldon, Sharon-Marie; Saadeddin, Munir; Loon, Mark; Kneebone, Roger

2016-01-01

Leadership is particularly important in complex highly interprofessional health care contexts involving a number of staff, some from the same specialty (intraprofessional), and others from different specialties (interprofessional). The authors recently published the concept of "The Burns Suite" (TBS) as a novel simulation tool to deliver interprofessional and teamwork training. It is unclear which leadership behaviors are the most important in an interprofessional burns resuscitation scenario, and whether they can be modeled on to current leadership theory. The purpose of this study was to perform a comprehensive video analysis of leadership behaviors within TBS. A total of 3 burns resuscitation simulations within TBS were recorded. The video analysis was grounded-theory inspired. Using predefined criteria, actions/interactions deemed as leadership behaviors were identified. Using an inductive iterative process, 8 main leadership behaviors were identified. Cohen's κ coefficient was used to measure inter-rater agreement and calculated as κ = 0.7 (substantial agreement). Each video was watched 4 times, focusing on 1 of the 4 team members per viewing (senior surgeon, senior nurse, trainee surgeon, and trainee nurse). The frequency and types of leadership behavior of each of the 4 team members were recorded. Statistical significance to assess any differences was assessed using analysis of variance, whereby a p < 0.05 was taken to be significant. Leadership behaviors were triangulated with verbal cues and actions from the videos. All 3 scenarios were successfully completed. The mean scenario length was 22 minutes. A total of 362 leadership behaviors were recorded from the 12 participants. The most evident leadership behaviors of all team members were adhering to guidelines (which effectively equates to following Advanced Trauma and Life Support/Emergency Management of Severe Burns resuscitation guidelines and hence "maintaining standards"), followed by making

Local Text Cohesion, Reading Ability and Individual Science Aspirations: Key Factors Influencing Comprehension in Science Classes

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hall, Sophie S.; Kowalski, Rebecca; Paterson, Kevin B.; Basran, Jaskaran; Filik, Ruth; Maltby, John

2015-01-01

In response to the concern of the need to improve the scientific skills of school children, this study investigated the influence of text design (in terms of text cohesion) and individual differences, with the aim of identifying pathways to improving science education in early secondary school (Key Stage 3). One hundred and four secondary school…

Club convergence of house prices: Evidence from China’s ten key cities

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Meng, Hao; Xie, Wen-Jie; Zhou, Wei-Xing

2015-09-01

The latest global financial tsunami and its follow-up global economic recession has uncovered the crucial impact of housing markets on financial and economic systems. The Chinese stock market experienced a marked fall during the global financial tsunami and China’s economy has also slowed down by about 2%-3% when measured in GDP. Nevertheless, the housing markets in diverse Chinese cities seemed to continue the almost nonstop mania for more than 10 years. However, the structure and dynamics of the Chinese housing market are less studied. Here, we perform an extensive study of the Chinese housing market by analyzing 10 representative key cities based on both linear and nonlinear econophysical and econometric methods. We identify a common collective driving force which accounts for 96.5% of the house price growth, indicating very high systemic risk in the Chinese housing market. The 10 key cities can be categorized into clubs and the house prices of the cities in the same club exhibit an evident convergence. These findings from different methods are basically consistent with each other. The identified city clubs are also consistent with the conventional classification of city tiers. The house prices of the first-tier cities grow the fastest and those of the third- and fourth-tier cities rise the slowest, which illustrates the possible presence of a ripple effect in the diffusion of house prices among different cities.

Atrioventricular depolarization differences identify coronary artery anomalies in Kawasaki disease.

PubMed

Cortez, Daniel; Sharma, Nandita; Jone, Pei-Ni

2017-03-01

Kawasaki disease (KD) is the leading cause of acquired heart disease in children. Signal average electrocardiogram changes in patients during the acute phase of KD with coronary artery anomalies (CAA) include depolarization changes. We set out to determine if 12-lead-derived atrioventricular depolarization differences can identify CAA in patients with KD. A blinded, retrospective case-control study of patients with KD was performed. Deep Q waves, corrected QT-intervals (QTc), spatial QRS-T angles, T-wave vector magnitudes (RMS-T), and a novel parameter for assessment of atrioventricular depolarization difference (the spatial PR angle) and a two dimensional PR angle were assessed. Comparisons between groups were performed to test for significant differences. One hundred one patients with KD were evaluated, with 68 having CAA (67.3%, mean age 3.6 ± 3.0 years, 82.6% male), and 32 without CAA (31.7%, mean age 2.7 ± 3.2 years, 70.4% male). The spatial PR angle significantly discriminated KD patients with CAA from those without, 59.7° ± 31.1° versus 41.6° ± 11.5° (p < .001). A spatial PR angle cutoff value of 56.9° gave positive/negative predictive values and odds ratios of 93.8%, 43.5%, and 11.5% (95% confidence interval (CI) 2.6-52.2). The two dimensional PR angle either below 7° or above 92° gave positive/negative predictive values and odds ratios of 100.0%, 38.8%, and 21.1% (95% CI 1.2-362.8). No other parameters significantly differentiated the groups. Atrioventricular depolarization differences, measured by the spatial or two dimensional PR angle differentiate KD patients with CAA versus those without. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Investigation of the key determinants of Asian nurses’ quality of life

PubMed Central

MAKABE, Sachiko; KOWITLAWAKUL, Yanika; NURUMAL, Mohd Said; TAKAGAI, Junko; WICHAIKHUM, Orn-Anong; WANGMO, Neyzang; YAP, Suk Foon; KUNAVIKTIKUL, Wipada; KOMATSU, Junko; SHIRAKAWA, Hideko; KIMURA, Yutaka; ASANUMA, Yoshihiro

2018-01-01

The study aimed to compare nurses’ quality of life and investigate key determinants among Asian countries with different economic status. A cross-sectional survey was conducted across five Asian countries (Japan, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, and Bhutan). Quality of life (WHOQOL-BREF), job stress (National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health questionnaire), and demographic data were assessed. Stepwise multivariate linear regression analysis was performed to identify the key determinants of quality of life. Participants were 3,829 nurses (response rate: 82%) with a mean age of 33 ± 10 yr and majority were women (92%). Regarding quality of life, Bhutan yielded the highest scores, followed by Malaysia, Thailand, Singapore, and Japan, and these results were statistically significant. The key determinants that were significantly related to quality of life were “stress coping ability,” “life satisfaction,” “Japan,” “social support,” “job stress,” and “Singapore” (adjusted R2=0.46). In conclusion, nurses’ quality of life differs across Asian countries and is not linked to the country’s economic development. To maintain a good quality of life for nurses, an international exchange program like international nursing conferences for work environment and staff coping strategies is recommended to broaden institution’ minds and share experiences and exchange views to be able to realize their own problems and discover global solutions to them. PMID:29491251

Florida Keys

NASA Image and Video Library

2002-12-13

The Florida Keys are a chain of islands, islets and reefs extending from Virginia Key to the Dry Tortugas for about 309 kilometers (192 miles). The keys are chiefly limestone and coral formations. The larger islands of the group are Key West (with its airport), Key Largo, Sugarloaf Key, and Boca Chica Key. A causeway extends from the mainland to Key West. This image was acquired on October 28, 2001, by the Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER) on NASA's Terra satellite. With its 14 spectral bands from the visible to the thermal infrared wavelength region, and its high spatial resolution of 15 to 90 meters (about 50 to 300 feet), ASTER images Earth to map and monitor the changing surface of our planet. http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA03890

Comparative Study of Human and Mouse Postsynaptic Proteomes Finds High Compositional Conservation and Abundance Differences for Key Synaptic Proteins

PubMed Central

Bayés, Àlex; Collins, Mark O.; Croning, Mike D. R.; van de Lagemaat, Louie N.; Choudhary, Jyoti S.; Grant, Seth G. N.

2012-01-01

Direct comparison of protein components from human and mouse excitatory synapses is important for determining the suitability of mice as models of human brain disease and to understand the evolution of the mammalian brain. The postsynaptic density is a highly complex set of proteins organized into molecular networks that play a central role in behavior and disease. We report the first direct comparison of the proteome of triplicate isolates of mouse and human cortical postsynaptic densities. The mouse postsynaptic density comprised 1556 proteins and the human one 1461. A large compositional overlap was observed; more than 70% of human postsynaptic density proteins were also observed in the mouse postsynaptic density. Quantitative analysis of postsynaptic density components in both species indicates a broadly similar profile of abundance but also shows that there is higher abundance variation between species than within species. Well known components of this synaptic structure are generally more abundant in the mouse postsynaptic density. Significant inter-species abundance differences exist in some families of key postsynaptic density proteins including glutamatergic neurotransmitter receptors and adaptor proteins. Furthermore, we have identified a closely interacting set of molecules enriched in the human postsynaptic density that could be involved in dendrite and spine structural plasticity. Understanding synapse proteome diversity within and between species will be important to further our understanding of brain complexity and disease. PMID:23071613

Identifying determinants of care for tailoring implementation in chronic diseases: an evaluation of different methods.

PubMed

Krause, Jane; Van Lieshout, Jan; Klomp, Rien; Huntink, Elke; Aakhus, Eivind; Flottorp, Signe; Jaeger, Cornelia; Steinhaeuser, Jost; Godycki-Cwirko, Maciek; Kowalczyk, Anna; Agarwal, Shona; Wensing, Michel; Baker, Richard

2014-08-12

The tailoring of implementation interventions includes the identification of the determinants of, or barriers to, healthcare practice. Different methods for identifying determinants have been used in implementation projects, but which methods are most appropriate to use is unknown. The study was undertaken in five European countries, recommendations for a different chronic condition being addressed in each country: Germany (polypharmacy in multimorbid patients); the Netherlands (cardiovascular risk management); Norway (depression in the elderly); Poland (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease--COPD); and the United Kingdom (UK) (obesity). Using samples of professionals and patients in each country, three methods were compared directly: brainstorming amongst health professionals, interviews of health professionals, and interviews of patients. The additional value of discussion structured through reference to a checklist of determinants in addition to brainstorming, and determinants identified by open questions in a questionnaire survey, were investigated separately. The questionnaire, which included closed questions derived from a checklist of determinants, was administered to samples of health professionals in each country. Determinants were classified according to whether it was likely that they would inform the design of an implementation intervention (defined as plausibly important determinants). A total of 601 determinants judged to be plausibly important were identified. An additional 609 determinants were judged to be unlikely to inform an implementation intervention, and were classified as not plausibly important. Brainstorming identified 194 of the plausibly important determinants, health professional interviews 152, patient interviews 63, and open questions 48. Structured group discussion identified 144 plausibly important determinants in addition to those already identified by brainstorming. Systematic methods can lead to the identification of large

Secret-key expansion from covert communication

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Arrazola, Juan Miguel; Amiri, Ryan

2018-02-01

Covert communication allows the transmission of messages in such a way that it is not possible for adversaries to detect that the communication is occurring. This provides protection in situations where knowledge that two parties are talking to each other may be incriminating to them. In this work, we study how covert communication can be used for a different purpose: secret key expansion. First, we show that any message transmitted in a secure covert protocol is also secret and therefore unknown to an adversary. We then propose a covert communication protocol where the amount of key consumed in the protocol is smaller than the transmitted key, thus leading to secure secret key expansion. We derive precise conditions for secret key expansion to occur, showing that it is possible when there are sufficiently low levels of noise for a given security level. We conclude by examining how secret key expansion from covert communication can be performed in a computational security model.

SARS: Key factors in crisis management.

PubMed

Tseng, Hsin-Chao; Chen, Thai-Form; Chou, Shieu-Ming

2005-03-01

This study was conducted at a single hospital selected in Taipei during the SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome) outbreak from March to July, 2003 in Taiwan. During this period of time, 104 SARS patients were admitted to the hospital. There were no negative reports related to the selected hospital despite its being located right in the center of an area struck by the epidemic. The purpose of this study was to identify the key factors enabling the hospital to survive SARS unscathed. Data were collected from in-depth interviews with the nursing directors and nursing managers of the SARS units, along with a review of relevant hospital documents. The five key elements identified as survival factors during this SARS crisis are as follows: 1. good control of timing for crisis management, 2. careful decision-making, 3. thorough implementation, 4. effective communication, and 5. trust between management and employees. The results of this study reconfirmed the selected hospital as a model for good crisis management during the SARS epidemic.

Vulnerable Children's Access to Examinations at Key Stage 4. Research Report RR639

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kendall, Sally; Johnson, Annie; Martin, Kerry; Kinder; Kay

2005-01-01

This research project was commissioned by the Department for Education and Skills (DfES) in 2004 to examine barriers to vulnerable children accessing examinations at the end of key stage 4 and to identify strategies employed to overcome these barriers. Key groups of vulnerable children identified by the DfES included: (1) Looked-after children;…

Different Combinations of Perceived Autonomy Support and Control: Identifying the Most Optimal Motivating Style

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Haerens, L.; Vansteenkiste, M.; De Meester, A.; Delrue, J.; Tallir, I.; Vande Broek, G.; Goris, W.; Aelterman, N.

2018-01-01

Background: According to Self-Determination Theory, teachers and sport coaches can differ in the motivating style they rely upon to motivate young people. When endorsing an autonomy-supportive motivating style, instructors try to identify, vitalize, and nurture youngsters' inner motivational resources. In contrast, instructors with a dominant…

Key acceptability attributes of orodispersible films.

PubMed

Scarpa, Mariagiovanna; Paudel, Amrit; Kloprogge, Frank; Hsiao, Wen Kai; Bresciani, Massimo; Gaisford, Simon; Orlu, Mine

2018-04-01

The features rendering orodispersible films (ODFs) patient-centric formulations are widely discussed in the scientific literature. However there is a lack of research studies exploring ODF characteristics with a potential impact on end-user acceptability. The aim of this study was to identify the key ODF characteristics affecting end-user acceptability by developing in vitro test methods for the prediction of ODFs acceptability and correlate these formulation characteristics with the data obtained from a human panel study. Four drug-free single-polymer films were prepared by solvent casting. Solutions of poly(vinyl) alcohol (PVOH) 39 KDa (P1), PVOH 197 KDa (P2), carboxymethylcellulose (CMC) 395 KDa (C1), and CMC 725 KDa (C2) were prepared. Texture analysis and Dynamic Mechanical Analysis (DMA) were used to assess film tack. Petri dish and drop methods were used to assess disintegration time. A human panel of 24 healthy young adults was employed to identify end-user acceptability criteria of the four study film samples. Texture analysis data of ODF tack were not found to be in agreement with the in vivo perceived stickiness in the mouth. However, measurement of the area under the adhesive force curve obtained by DMA correlated with in vivo perceived stickiness data for all samples. The disintegration times obtained by drop method were more comparable to human panel data than the petri dish method. Hence DMA and drop methods proved to be promising methodologies for the prediction of the end-user acceptability. The type and molecular weight of the film-forming polymer had a strong influence on stickiness perception, whereas only polymeric molecular weight influenced perceived disintegration time. The human panel study showed that Participant Reported Outcomes (PROs) for the perceived stickiness in the mouth and disintegration time of test films received significantly different scores between samples, and thus were identified as the key attributes with the

Key team physical and technical performance indicators indicative of team quality in the soccer Chinese super league.

PubMed

Yang, Gai; Leicht, Anthony S; Lago, Carlos; Gómez, Miguel-Ángel

2018-01-01

The aim of this study was to identify the key physical and technical performance variables related to team quality in the Chinese Super League (CSL). Teams' performance variables were collected from 240 matches and analysed via analysis of variance between end-of-season-ranked groups and multinomial logistic regression. Significant physical performance differences between groups were identified for sprinting (top-ranked group vs. upper-middle-ranked group) and total distance covered without possession (upper and upper-middle-ranked groups and lower-ranked group). For technical performance, teams in the top-ranked group exhibited a significantly greater amount of possession in opponent's half, number of entry passes in the final 1/3 of the field and the Penalty Area, and 50-50 challenges than lower-ranked teams. Finally, time of possession increased the probability of a win compared with a draw. The current study identified key performance indicators that differentiated end-season team quality within the CSL.

How Is This Flower Pollinated? A Polyclave Key to Use in Teaching.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tyrrell, Lucy

1989-01-01

Presents an identification method which uses the process of elimination to identify pollination systems. Provides the polyclave key, methodology for using the key, a sample worksheet, and abbreviation codes for pollination systems. (MVL)

Identifying Multiple Populations in M71 using CN

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gerber, Jeffrey M.; Friel, Eileen D.; Vesperini, Enrico

2018-01-01

It is now well established that globular clusters (GCs) host multiple stellar populations characterized by differences in several light elements. While these populations have been found in nearly all GCs, we still lack an entirely successful model to explain their formation. A key constraint to these models is the detailed pattern of light element abundances seen among the populations; different techniques for identifying these populations probe different elements and do not always yield the same results. We study a large sample of stars in the GC M71 for light elements C and N, using the CN and CH band strength to identify multiple populations. Our measurements come from low-resolution spectroscopy obtained with the WIYN-3.5m telescope for ~150 stars from the tip of the red-giant branch down to the main-sequence turn-off. The large number of stars and broad spatial coverage of our sample (out to ~3.5 half-light radii) allows us to carry out a comprehensive characterization of the multiple populations in M71. We use a combination of the various spectroscopic and photometric indicators to draw a more complete picture of the properties of the populations and to investigate the consistency of classifications using different techniques.

Identification of Key Odorants in Used Disposable Absorbent Incontinence Products

PubMed Central

Hall, Gunnar; Forsgren-Brusk, Ulla

2017-01-01

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to identify key odorants in used disposable absorbent incontinence products. DESIGN: Descriptive in vitro study SUBJECTS AND SETTING: Samples of used incontinence products were collected from 8 residents with urinary incontinence living in geriatric nursing homes in the Gothenburg area of Sweden. Products were chosen from a larger set of products that had previously been characterized by descriptive odor analysis. METHODS: Pieces of the used incontinence products were cut from the wet area, placed in glass bottles, and kept frozen until dynamic headspace sampling of volatile compounds was completed. Gas chromatography–olfactometry was used to identify which compounds contributed most to the odors in the samples. Compounds were identified by gas chromatography–mass spectrometry. RESULTS: Twenty-eight volatiles were found to be key odorants in the used incontinence products. Twenty-six were successfully identified. They belonged to the following classes of chemical compounds: aldehydes (6); amines (1); aromatics (3); isothiocyanates (1); heterocyclics (2); ketones (6); sulfur compounds (6); and terpenes (1). CONCLUSION: Nine of the 28 key odorants were considered to be of particular importance to the odor of the used incontinence products: 3-methylbutanal, trimethylamine, cresol, guaiacol, 4,5-dimethylthiazole-S-oxide, diacetyl, dimethyl trisulfide, 5-methylthio-4-penten-2-ol, and an unidentified compound. PMID:28328644

Function key and shortcut key use in airway facilities.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2003-02-01

This document provides information on the function keys and shortcut keys used by systems in the Federal Aviation Administration : Airway Facilities (AF) work environment. It includes a catalog of the function keys and shortcut keys used by each syst...

Weighted gene co‑expression network analysis in identification of key genes and networks for ischemic‑reperfusion remodeling myocardium.

PubMed

Guo, Nan; Zhang, Nan; Yan, Liqiu; Lian, Zheng; Wang, Jiawang; Lv, Fengfeng; Wang, Yunfei; Cao, Xufen

2018-06-14

Acute myocardial infarction induces ventricular remodeling, which is implicated in dilated heart and heart failure. The pathogenical mechanism of myocardium remodeling remains to be elucidated. The aim of the present study was to identify key genes and networks for myocardium remodeling following ischemia‑reperfusion (IR). First, the mRNA expression data from the National Center for Biotechnology Information database were downloaded to identify differences in mRNA expression of the IR heart at days 2 and 7. Then, weighted gene co‑expression network analysis, hierarchical clustering, protein‑protein interaction (PPI) network, Gene Ontology (GO), Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway were used to identify key genes and networks for the heart remodeling process following IR. A total of 3,321 differentially expressed genes were identified during the heart remodeling process. A total of 6 modules were identified through gene co‑expression network analysis. GO and KEGG analysis results suggested that each module represented a different biological function and was associated with different pathways. Finally, hub genes of each module were identified by PPI network construction. The present study revealed that heart remodeling following IR is a complicated process, involving extracellular matrix organization, neural development, apoptosis and energy metabolism. The dysregulated genes, including SRC proto‑oncogene, non‑receptor tyrosine kinase, discs large MAGUK scaffold protein 1, ATP citrate lyase, RAN, member RAS oncogene family, tumor protein p53, and polo like kinase 2, may be essential for heart remodeling following IR and may be used as potential targets for the inhibition of heart remodeling following acute myocardial infarction.

Monitoring the HIV continuum of care in key populations across Europe and Central Asia.

PubMed

Brown, A E; Attawell, K; Hales, D; Rice, B D; Pharris, A; Supervie, V; Van Beckhoven, D; Delpech, V C; An der Heiden, M; Marcus, U; Maly, M; Noori, T

2018-05-08

The aim of the study was to measure and compare national continuum of HIV care estimates in Europe and Central Asia in three key subpopulations: men who have sex with men (MSM), people who inject drugs (PWID) and migrants. Responses to a 2016 European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) survey of 55 European and Central Asian countries were used to describe continuums of HIV care for the subpopulations. Data were analysed using three frameworks: Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) 90-90-90 targets; breakpoint analysis identifying reductions between adjacent continuum stages; quadrant analysis categorizing countries using 90% cut-offs for continuum stages. Overall, 29 of 48 countries reported national data for all HIV continuum stages (numbers living with HIV, diagnosed, receiving treatment and virally suppressed). Six countries reported all stages for MSM, seven for PWID and two for migrants. Thirty-one countries did not report data for MSM (34 for PWID and 41 for migrants). In countries that provided key-population data, overall, 63%, 40% and 41% of MSM, PWID and migrants living with HIV were virally suppressed, respectively (compared with 68%, 65% and 68% nationally, for countries reporting key-population data). Variation was observed between countries, with higher outcomes in subpopulations in Western Europe compared with Eastern Europe and Central Asia. Few reporting countries can produce the continuum of HIV care for the three key populations. Where data are available, differences exist in outcomes between the general and key populations. While MSM broadly mirror national outcomes (in the West), PWID and migrants experience poorer treatment and viral suppression. Countries must develop continuum measures for key populations to identify and address inequalities. © 2018 British HIV Association.

Key challenges in the development and implementation of telehealth projects.

PubMed

Joseph, Victor; West, Robert M; Shickle, Darren; Keen, Justin; Clamp, Susan

2011-01-01

A literature review was carried out to identify the key challenges in the implementation of telehealth. This was followed by a survey of organisations in England involved in telehealth projects in order to understand the challenges they faced. Ten of the 13 health or local authority organisations surveyed had telehealth projects and three were at the planning stage. The analysis revealed seven key challenges facing implementers of telehealth in England. Based on the findings from the literature review and the survey, a model was constructed and a checklist drawn up. The model contained the following elements: identifying issues, needs and partners; producing a strategy; securing funding; implementing changes; and monitoring and evaluating a telehealth project. The checklist was validated by using key informants from the organisations originally surveyed. The checklist may be useful to guide telehealth development and implementation in the future.

Key Questions in Building Defect Prediction Models in Practice

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ramler, Rudolf; Wolfmaier, Klaus; Stauder, Erwin; Kossak, Felix; Natschläger, Thomas

The information about which modules of a future version of a software system are defect-prone is a valuable planning aid for quality managers and testers. Defect prediction promises to indicate these defect-prone modules. However, constructing effective defect prediction models in an industrial setting involves a number of key questions. In this paper we discuss ten key questions identified in context of establishing defect prediction in a large software development project. Seven consecutive versions of the software system have been used to construct and validate defect prediction models for system test planning. Furthermore, the paper presents initial empirical results from the studied project and, by this means, contributes answers to the identified questions.

Exploiting genomic data to identify proteins involved in abalone reproduction.

PubMed

Mendoza-Porras, Omar; Botwright, Natasha A; McWilliam, Sean M; Cook, Mathew T; Harris, James O; Wijffels, Gene; Colgrave, Michelle L

2014-08-28

Aside from their critical role in reproduction, abalone gonads serve as an indicator of sexual maturity and energy balance, two key considerations for effective abalone culture. Temperate abalone farmers face issues with tank restocking with highly marketable abalone owing to inefficient spawning induction methods. The identification of key proteins in sexually mature abalone will serve as the foundation for a greater understanding of reproductive biology. Addressing this knowledge gap is the first step towards improving abalone aquaculture methods. Proteomic profiling of female and male gonads of greenlip abalone, Haliotis laevigata, was undertaken using liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry. Owing to the incomplete nature of abalone protein databases, in addition to searching against two publicly available databases, a custom database comprising genomic data was used. Overall, 162 and 110 proteins were identified in females and males respectively with 40 proteins common to both sexes. For proteins involved in sexual maturation, sperm and egg structure, motility, acrosomal reaction and fertilization, 23 were identified only in females, 18 only in males and 6 were common. Gene ontology analysis revealed clear differences between the female and male protein profiles reflecting a higher rate of protein synthesis in the ovary and higher metabolic activity in the testis. A comprehensive mass spectrometry-based analysis was performed to profile the abalone gonad proteome providing the foundation for future studies of reproduction in abalone. Key proteins involved in both reproduction and energy balance were identified. Genomic resources were utilised to build a database of molluscan proteins yielding >60% more protein identifications than in a standard workflow employing public protein databases. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

"They Did Things Differently Then": Diversity and Challenge from Key Stage 1

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bracey, Paul; Jackson, Darius; Gove-Humphries, Alison

2011-01-01

This paper is based on the premise that controversial issues related to diversity are an important aspect of teaching and learning with all pupils. It was stimulated by a newspaper article which criticised teaching Key Stage 1 (5-7-year-old children) about Grace O'Malley, an Irish Queen. We argue that sixteenth century Anglo-Irish relations can be…

Identification of key regulators of pancreatic cancer progression through multidimensional systems-level analysis.

PubMed

Rajamani, Deepa; Bhasin, Manoj K

2016-05-03

Pancreatic cancer is an aggressive cancer with dismal prognosis, urgently necessitating better biomarkers to improve therapeutic options and early diagnosis. Traditional approaches of biomarker detection that consider only one aspect of the biological continuum like gene expression alone are limited in their scope and lack robustness in identifying the key regulators of the disease. We have adopted a multidimensional approach involving the cross-talk between the omics spaces to identify key regulators of disease progression. Multidimensional domain-specific disease signatures were obtained using rank-based meta-analysis of individual omics profiles (mRNA, miRNA, DNA methylation) related to pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC). These domain-specific PDAC signatures were integrated to identify genes that were affected across multiple dimensions of omics space in PDAC (genes under multiple regulatory controls, GMCs). To further pin down the regulators of PDAC pathophysiology, a systems-level network was generated from knowledge-based interaction information applied to the above identified GMCs. Key regulators were identified from the GMC network based on network statistics and their functional importance was validated using gene set enrichment analysis and survival analysis. Rank-based meta-analysis identified 5391 genes, 109 miRNAs and 2081 methylation-sites significantly differentially expressed in PDAC (false discovery rate ≤ 0.05). Bimodal integration of meta-analysis signatures revealed 1150 and 715 genes regulated by miRNAs and methylation, respectively. Further analysis identified 189 altered genes that are commonly regulated by miRNA and methylation, hence considered GMCs. Systems-level analysis of the scale-free GMCs network identified eight potential key regulator hubs, namely E2F3, HMGA2, RASA1, IRS1, NUAK1, ACTN1, SKI and DLL1, associated with important pathways driving cancer progression. Survival analysis on individual key regulators revealed

Key areas for wintering North American herons

USGS Publications Warehouse

Mikuska, T.; Kushlan, J.A.; Hartley, S.

1998-01-01

Nearly all North American heron populations are migratory, but details of where they winter are little known. Locations where North American herons winter were identified using banding recovery data. North American herons winter from Canada through northern South America but especially in eastern North America south of New York, Florida, California, Louisiana, Texas, Mexico and Cuba, these areas accounting for 63% of winter recoveries. We identified regions where recoveries for various species clustered as 'key areas.' These forty-three areas constitute a network of areas that hold sites that likely are important to wintering herons. The relative importance of each area and site within the network must be evaluated by further on the ground inventory. Because of biases inherent in the available data, these hypothesized key areas are indicative rather than exhaustive. As a first cut, this network of areas can serve to inform further inventory activities and can provide an initial basis to begin planning for the year-round conservation of North American heron populations.

Differences in Alcohol Use and Alcohol-Related Problems between Transgender- and Nontransgender-identified Young Adults

PubMed Central

Coulter, Robert W.S.; Blosnich, John R.; Bukowski, Leigh A.; Herrick, A. L.; Siconolfi, Daniel E.; Stall, Ron D.

2015-01-01

Background Little is known about differences in alcohol use and alcohol-related problems between transgender- and nontransgender-identified populations. Using data from a large-scale health survey, we compare the drinking patterns and prevalence of alcohol-related problems of transgender-identified individuals to nontransgender-identified males and females. For transgender-identified people, we examine how various forms of victimization relate to heavy episodic drinking (HED). Methods Cross-sectional surveys were completed by 75,192 students aged 18–29 years attending 120 post-secondary educational institutions in the United States from 2011–2013. Self-reported measures included alcohol use, alcohol-related problems, victimization, and sociodemographics, including 3 gender-identity groups: transgender-identified individuals; nontransgender-identified males; and nontransgender-identified females. Results Compared to transgender-identified individuals, nontransgender-identified males were more likely to report HED in the past 2 weeks (relative risk=1.42; p=0.006); however, nontransgender-identified males and females reported HED on fewer days than transgender-identified people (incidence-rate ratios [IRRs] ranged from 0.28–0.43; p-values<0.001). Compared to transgender-identified people, nontransgender-identified males and females had lower odds of past-year alcohol-related sexual assault and suicidal ideation (odds ratios ranged from 0.24–0.45; p-values<0.05). Among transgender-identified people, individuals who were sexually assaulted (IRR=3.21, p=0.011) or verbally threatened (IRR=2.42, p=0.021) in the past year had greater HED days than those who did not experience those forms of victimization. Conclusions Compared to transgender-identified people, nontransgender-identified males and females: have fewer HED occasions (despite nontransgender-identified males having greater prevalence of HED); and are at lower risk for alcohol-related sexual assaults and

Regional Scale Prioritisation for Key Ecosystem Services, Renewable Energy Production and Urban Development

PubMed Central

Casalegno, Stefano; Bennie, Jonathan J.; Inger, Richard; Gaston, Kevin J.

2014-01-01

Although the importance of addressing ecosystem service benefits in regional land use planning and decision-making is evident, substantial practical challenges remain. In particular, methods to identify priority areas for the provision of key ecosystem services and other environmental services (benefits from the environment not directly linked to the function of ecosystems) need to be developed. Priority areas are locations which provide disproportionally high benefits from one or more service. Here we map a set of ecosystem and environmental services and delineate priority areas according to different scenarios. Each scenario is produced by a set of weightings allocated to different services and corresponds to different landscape management strategies which decision makers could undertake. Using the county of Cornwall, U.K., as a case study, we processed gridded maps of key ecosystem services and environmental services, including renewable energy production and urban development. We explored their spatial distribution patterns and their spatial covariance and spatial stationarity within the region. Finally we applied a complementarity-based priority ranking algorithm (zonation) using different weighting schemes. Our conclusions are that (i) there are two main patterns of service distribution in this region, clustered services (including agriculture, carbon stocks, urban development and plant production) and dispersed services (including cultural services, energy production and floods mitigation); (ii) more than half of the services are spatially correlated and there is high non-stationarity in the spatial covariance between services; and (iii) it is important to consider both ecosystem services and other environmental services in identifying priority areas. Different weighting schemes provoke drastic changes in the delineation of priority areas and therefore decision making processes need to carefully consider the relative values attributed to different services

Key Program Features to Enhance the School-to-Career Transition for Youth with Disabilities

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Doren, Bonnie; Yan, Min-Chi; Tu, Wei-Mo

2013-01-01

The purpose of the article was to identify key features within research-based school-to-career programs that were linked to positive employment outcomes for youth disabilities. Three key program features were identified and discussed that could be incorporated into the practices and programs of schools and communities to support the employment…

Meiosis: An Overview of Key Differences from Mitosis

PubMed Central

Ohkura, Hiroyuki

2015-01-01

Meiosis is the specialized cell division that generates gametes. In contrast to mitosis, molecular mechanisms and regulation of meiosis are much less understood. Meiosis shares mechanisms and regulation with mitosis in many aspects, but also has critical differences from mitosis. This review highlights these differences between meiosis and mitosis. Recent studies using various model systems revealed differences in a surprisingly wide range of aspects, including cell-cycle regulation, recombination, postrecombination events, spindle assembly, chromosome–spindle interaction, and chromosome segregation. Although a great degree of diversity can be found among organisms, meiosis-specific processes, and regulation are generally conserved. PMID:25605710

Introduction strategies raise key questions.

PubMed

Finger, W R; Keller, S

1995-09-01

Key issues that must be considered before a new contraceptive is introduced center on the need for a trained provider to begin or terminate the method, its side effects, duration of use, method's ability to meet users' needs and preferences, and extra training or staff requirements. Logistics and economic issues to consider are identifying a dependable way of effectively supplying commodities, planning extra services needed for the method, and cost of providing the method. Each contraceptive method presents a different side effect pattern and burdens the service delivery setting differently. The strategy developed to introduce or expand the 3-month injectable Depo-Provera (DMPA) can be used for any method. It includes a needs assessment and addresses regulatory issues, service delivery policies and procedures, information and training, evaluation, and other concerns. Viet Nam's needs assessment showed that Norplant should not be introduced until the service delivery system becomes stronger. Any needs assessment for expansion of contraceptive services should cover sexually transmitted disease/HIV issues. A World Health Organization strategy helps officials identify the best method mix for local situations. Introductory strategies must aim to improve the quality of family planning programs and expand choices. Many begin by examining existing data and conducting interviews with policymakers, users, providers, and women's health advocates. Introductory programs for Norplant focus on provider training, adequate counseling and informed consent for users, and ready access to removal. They need a well-prepared service delivery infrastructure. The first phase of the DMPA introductory strategy for the Philippines comprised a social marketing campaign and DMPA introduction at public clinics in 10 pilot areas with strong service delivery. Successful AIDS prevention programs show that people tend to use barrier methods when they are available. USAID is currently studying

Analysis of expression of microRNAs and genes involved in the control of key signaling mechanisms that support or inhibit development of brain tumors of different grades.

PubMed

Koshkin, Philip Alexandrovich; Chistiakov, Dimitry Alexandrovich; Nikitin, Alexey Georgievich; Konovalov, Alexander Nikolaevich; Potapov, Alexander Alexandrovich; Usachev, Dmitry Yrevich; Pitskhelauri, David Ilich; Kobyakov, Gregory Lvovich; Shishkina, Lyudmila Valentinovna; Chekhonin, Vladimir Pavlovich

2014-03-20

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are a class of small non-coding RNA molecules involved in the regulation of key biological processes. Different miRNAs with pro-oncogenic and anti-oncogenic properties have been identified in glioblastomas. We decided to analyze expression profiles of 10 mature miRNAs (miR-7-1, miR-10а, miR-17, miR-20а, miR-21, miR-23а, miR-26а, miR-137, and miR-222) in post-surgery glioma specimens of different grades in order to find whether the expression level correlates with tumor grades. We also measured expression of six key genes such as PTEN, p21/CDKN1A, MDR1, ABCG2, BAX, and BCL-2 involved in the regulation of critical glioma signaling pathways to establish the effect of miRNAs on these signaling mechanisms. Using RT-PCR, we performed expression analysis of 25 tumor fresh samples (grades II-IV). We found gradual increase in miR-21 and miR-23a levels in all tumor grades whereas miR-7 and miR-137 were significantly down-regulated depending on the glioma grade. MDR, ABCG2, and p21/CDKN1A levels were significantly up-regulated while expression of PTEN was down-regulated in tumor samples compared to the normal brain tissue. These observations provide new insights into molecular pathogenic mechanisms of glioma progression and suggest about a potential value of miRNAs as a putative diagnostic marker of brain tumors. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Metabolomic biomarkers identify differences in milk produced by Holstein cows and other minor dairy animals.

PubMed

Yang, Yongxin; Zheng, Nan; Zhao, Xiaowei; Zhang, Yangdong; Han, Rongwei; Yang, Jinhui; Zhao, Shengguo; Li, Songli; Guo, Tongjun; Zang, Changjiang; Wang, Jiaqi

2016-03-16

Several milk metabolites are associated with breeds or species of dairy animals. A better understanding of milk metabolites from different dairy animals would advance their use in evaluating milk traits and detecting milk adulteration. The objective of this study was to characterize the milk metabolite profiles of Chinese Holstein, Jersey, yak, buffalo, goat, camel, and horse and identify any differences using non-targeted metabolomic approaches. Milk samples were tested using nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy and liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS). Data were analyzed using a multivariate analysis of variance and differences in milk metabolites between Holstein and the other dairy animals were assessed using orthogonal partial least-squares discriminant analysis. Differential metabolites were identified and some metabolites, such as choline and succinic acid, were used to distinguish Holstein milk from that of the other studied animals. Metabolic pathway analysis of different metabolites revealed that glycerophospholipid metabolism as well as valine, leucine, and isoleucine biosynthesis were shared in the other ruminant animals (Jersey, buffalo, yak, and goat), and biosynthesis of unsaturated fatty acids was shared in the non-ruminant animals (camel and horse). These results can be useful for gaining a better understanding of the differences in milk synthesis between Holstein and the other dairy animals. Copyright © 2016. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Finding solid ground: law enforcement, key populations and their health and rights in South Africa

PubMed Central

Scheibe, Andrew; Howell, Simon; Müller, Alexandra; Katumba, Munyaradzi; Langen, Bram; Artz, Lillian; Marks, Monique

2016-01-01

Introduction Sex workers, people who use drugs, men who have sex with men, women who have sex with women and transgender people in South Africa frequently experience high levels of stigma, abuse and discrimination. Evidence suggests that such abuse is sometimes committed by police officers, meaning that those charged with protection are perpetrators. This reinforces cycles of violence, increases the risk of HIV infection, undermines HIV prevention and treatment interventions and violates the constitutional prescriptions that the police are mandated to protect. This paper explores how relationship building can create positive outcomes while taking into account the challenges associated with reforming police strategies in relation to key populations, and vice versa. Discussion We argue that relationships between law enforcement agencies and key populations need to be re-examined and reconstituted to enable appropriate responses and services. The antagonistic positioning, “othering” and blame assignment frequently seen in interactions between law enforcement officials and key populations can negatively influence both, albeit for different reasons. In addressing these concerns, we argue that mediation based on consensual dialogue is required, and can be harnessed through a process that highlights points of familiarity that are often shared, but not understood, by both parties. Rather than laying blame, we argue that substantive changes need to be owned and executed by all role-players, informed by a common language that is cognisant of differing perspectives. Conclusions Relational approaches can be used to identify programmes that align goals that are part of law enforcement, human rights and public health despite not always being seen as such. Law enforcement champions and representatives of key populations need to be identified and supported to promote interventions that are mutually reinforcing, and address perceived differences by highlighting commonality

Finding solid ground: law enforcement, key populations and their health and rights in South Africa.

PubMed

Scheibe, Andrew; Howell, Simon; Müller, Alexandra; Katumba, Munyaradzi; Langen, Bram; Artz, Lillian; Marks, Monique

2016-01-01

Sex workers, people who use drugs, men who have sex with men, women who have sex with women and transgender people in South Africa frequently experience high levels of stigma, abuse and discrimination. Evidence suggests that such abuse is sometimes committed by police officers, meaning that those charged with protection are perpetrators. This reinforces cycles of violence, increases the risk of HIV infection, undermines HIV prevention and treatment interventions and violates the constitutional prescriptions that the police are mandated to protect. This paper explores how relationship building can create positive outcomes while taking into account the challenges associated with reforming police strategies in relation to key populations, and vice versa. We argue that relationships between law enforcement agencies and key populations need to be re-examined and reconstituted to enable appropriate responses and services. The antagonistic positioning, "othering" and blame assignment frequently seen in interactions between law enforcement officials and key populations can negatively influence both, albeit for different reasons. In addressing these concerns, we argue that mediation based on consensual dialogue is required, and can be harnessed through a process that highlights points of familiarity that are often shared, but not understood, by both parties. Rather than laying blame, we argue that substantive changes need to be owned and executed by all role-players, informed by a common language that is cognisant of differing perspectives. Relational approaches can be used to identify programmes that align goals that are part of law enforcement, human rights and public health despite not always being seen as such. Law enforcement champions and representatives of key populations need to be identified and supported to promote interventions that are mutually reinforcing, and address perceived differences by highlighting commonality. Creating opportunities to share experiences

Kinematic Analysis Quantifies Gait Abnormalities Associated with Lameness in Broiler Chickens and Identifies Evolutionary Gait Differences

PubMed Central

Caplen, Gina; Hothersall, Becky; Murrell, Joanna C.; Nicol, Christine J.; Waterman-Pearson, Avril E.; Weeks, Claire A.; Colborne, G. Robert

2012-01-01

This is the first time that gait characteristics of broiler (meat) chickens have been compared with their progenitor, jungle fowl, and the first kinematic study to report a link between broiler gait parameters and defined lameness scores. A commercial motion-capturing system recorded three-dimensional temporospatial information during walking. The hypothesis was that the gait characteristics of non-lame broilers (n = 10) would be intermediate to those of lame broilers (n = 12) and jungle fowl (n = 10, tested at two ages: immature and adult). Data analysed using multi-level models, to define an extensive range of baseline gait parameters, revealed inter-group similarities and differences. Natural selection is likely to have made jungle fowl walking gait highly efficient. Modern broiler chickens possess an unbalanced body conformation due to intense genetic selection for additional breast muscle (pectoral hypertrophy) and whole body mass. Together with rapid growth, this promotes compensatory gait adaptations to minimise energy expenditure and triggers high lameness prevalence within commercial flocks; lameness creating further disruption to the gait cycle and being an important welfare issue. Clear differences were observed between the two lines (short stance phase, little double-support, low leg lift, and little back displacement in adult jungle fowl; much double-support, high leg lift, and substantial vertical back movement in sound broilers) presumably related to mass and body conformation. Similarities included stride length and duration. Additional modifications were also identified in lame broilers (short stride length and duration, substantial lateral back movement, reduced velocity) presumably linked to musculo-skeletal abnormalities. Reduced walking velocity suggests an attempt to minimise skeletal stress and/or discomfort, while a shorter stride length and time, together with longer stance and double-support phases, are associated with

Managing clinical education through understanding key principles.

PubMed

Cunningham, Joanne; Wright, Caroline; Baird, Marilyn

2015-01-01

Traditionally, a practicum facilitated the integration of on-campus learning and practical workplace training. Over the past 3 decades, an educative practicum has evolved that promotes clinical reasoning, including analytical and evaluative abilities, through reflective practice. Anecdotal evidence indicates that the delivery of clinical education within medical radiation science entry-level programs continues to vacillate between traditional practicums and the new reflective practicums. To review the literature about clinical education within the medical radiation sciences and identify key principles for practitioners seeking to reflect upon and improve their approach to teaching and supporting students in the clinical environment. A search of 3 major journal databases, Internet searches, and hand searches of reference lists were conducted to identify literature about clinical education in the medical radiation sciences from January 1, 2000, to December 31, 2012. Twenty-two studies were included in this review. The 5 key elements associated with clinical education include the clinical support model and quality, overcoming the theory-practice gap, learning outcomes and reliable and valid assessment, preparing and supporting students, and accommodating differing teaching and learning needs. Many factors influence the quality of clinical education, including the culture of the clinical environment and clinical leadership roles. Several approaches can help students bridge the theory-practice gap, including simulators, role-playing activities, and reflective journals. In addition, clinical educators should use assessment strategies that objectively measure student progress, and they should be positive role models for their students. The successful clinical education of students in the medical radiation sciences depends upon the systems, structures, and people in the clinical environment. Clinical education is accomplished through the collaborative efforts of the

Evidence-Based Identification of Key Beliefs Explaining Infant Male Circumcision Motivation Among Expectant Parents in Zimbabwe: Targets for Behavior Change Messaging.

PubMed

Montaño, Daniel E; Tshimanga, Mufuta; Hamilton, Deven T; Gorn, Gerald; Kasprzyk, Danuta

2018-02-01

Slow adult male circumcision uptake is one factor leading some to recommend increased priority for infant male circumcision (IMC) in sub-Saharan African countries. This research, guided by the integrated behavioral model (IBM), was carried out to identify key beliefs that best explain Zimbabwean parents' motivation to have their infant sons circumcised. A quantitative survey, designed from qualitative elicitation study results, was administered to independent representative samples of 800 expectant mothers and 795 expectant fathers in two urban and two rural areas in Zimbabwe. Multiple regression analyses found IMC motivation among fathers was explained by instrumental attitude, descriptive norm and self-efficacy; while motivation among mothers was explained by instrumental attitude, injunctive norm, descriptive norm, self-efficacy, and perceived control. Regression analyses of beliefs underlying IBM constructs found some overlap but many differences in key beliefs explaining IMC motivation among mothers and fathers. We found differences in key beliefs among urban and rural parents. Urban fathers' IMC motivation was explained best by behavioral beliefs, while rural fathers' motivation was explained by both behavioral and efficacy beliefs. Urban mothers' IMC motivation was explained primarily by behavioral and normative beliefs, while rural mothers' motivation was explained mostly by behavioral beliefs. The key beliefs we identified should serve as targets for developing messages to improve demand and maximize parent uptake as IMC programs are rolled out. These targets need to be different among urban and rural expectant mothers and fathers.

Identifying Key Actors in Heterogeneous Networks

DTIC Science & Technology

2017-11-29

analysis (SNA) and game theory (GT) to improve accuracy for detecting significant or “powerful” actors within a total actor space when both resource...coalesce in order to achieve a desired outcome. Cooperative game theory (CGT) models of coalition formation are based on two limiting assumptions: that...demonstration of a new approach for synthesizing social network analysis and game theory. The ultimate goal of this research agenda is to generalize

Group Key Agreement Efficient in Communication

DTIC Science & Technology

2003-10-14

Selected Areas in Communications, 17(9), September 1999. [13] David Chaum . Zero-knowledge undeniable signatures . In I.B. Damgard, editor, Advances in...sender with some sufficiently strong public key signature method such as DSA or RSA (and using a long-term private key).1 All receivers are required...to verify signatures on all received messages and check the aforementioned fields. Consequently, our security model is different from some recent

Schizoaffective disorder diagnosed according to different diagnostic criteria--systematic literature search and meta-analysis of key clinical characteristics and heterogeneity.

PubMed

Pagel, Tobias; Franklin, Jeremy; Baethge, Christopher

2014-03-01

Schizoaffective disorder is viewed as a heterogeneous diagnosis among psychotic illnesses. Different diagnostic systems differ in their definition with DSM (-IIIR, -IV, and -V) providing a narrower definition than RDC and ICD-10. It is unclear whether this difference is reflected in patient samples diagnosed according to different diagnostic systems. Exploratory study based on a systematic review of studies of schizoaffective disorder samples diagnosed by either RDC and ICD-10 (group of "broad criteria") or DSM-IIIR and -IV ("narrow criteria"); comparison (by Mann-Whitney-U-tests) of key characteristics, such as age, number of hospitalizations, or scores in psychometric tests, between more broadly and more narrowly defined schizoaffective disorder samples using standard deviations as a measurement of heterogeneity as well as weighted means and percentages. To reduce selection bias only studies including schizoaffective patient samples together with affective disorder and schizophrenia samples were selected. 55 studies were included, 14 employing RDC, 4 ICD-10, 20 DSM-IIIR, and 17 DSM-IV. Thirteen characteristics were compared: patients diagnosed according to broader criteria had fewer previous hospitalizations (2.2 vs. 5.4) and were both less often male (42 vs. 51%) and married (21 vs. 40%). Heterogeneity was similar in both groups but slightly higher in RDC and ICD-10 samples than in DSM-IIIR and -IV-samples: +4% regarding demographic and clinical course data and +13% regarding psychometric tests (pooled SD). Secular trends and different designs may have confounded the results and limit generalizability. Some comparisons were underpowered. Differences in diagnostic criteria are reflected in key characteristics of samples. The association of larger heterogeneity with wider diagnostic criteria supports employing standard deviations as a measurement of heterogeneity. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

A New Species of Simulium (Gomphostilbia) (Diptera: Simuliidae) From Kalimantan, Indonesia, With Keys to Identify 19 Bornean Species of the Subgenus Gomphostilbia.

PubMed

Takaoka, Hiroyuki; Sofian-Azirun, Mohd; Ya'cob, Zubaidah; Chen, Chee Dhang; Low, Van Lun; Harmonis

2016-07-01

A new simuliid species, Simulium kalimantanense sp. nov., is described on the basis of females, males, pupae, and mature larvae from East Kalimantan, Indonesia, and is assigned to the Simulium banauense species-group of Simulium (Gomphostilbia). This new species has close similarities to S alienigenum Takaoka from the Philippines, in many characters including the adult antennal color pattern and pupal gill with four long filaments arranged in two pairs each bearing a long stalk, but is distinguished from the latter in the female by the longer sensory vesicle and in the pupa by the gill with an elongate common basal stalk. Simulium kalimantanense sp. nov. is the first member of the S. banauense group in Borneo, and marks the most southerly distribution of the group. Keys to identify 19 Bornean species of the subgenus Gomphostilbia are provided. © The Authors 2016. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Entomological Society of America. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Identifying different learning styles to enhance the learning experience.

PubMed

Anderson, Irene

2016-10-12

Identifying your preferred learning style can be a useful way to optimise learning opportunities, and can help learners to recognise their strengths and areas for development in the way that learning takes place. It can also help teachers (educators) to recognise where additional activities are required to ensure the learning experience is robust and effective. There are several models available that may be used to identify learning styles. This article discusses these models and considers their usefulness in healthcare education. Models of teaching styles are also considered.

Identifying key genes in rheumatoid arthritis by weighted gene co-expression network analysis.

PubMed

Ma, Chunhui; Lv, Qi; Teng, Songsong; Yu, Yinxian; Niu, Kerun; Yi, Chengqin

2017-08-01

This study aimed to identify rheumatoid arthritis (RA) related genes based on microarray data using the WGCNA (weighted gene co-expression network analysis) method. Two gene expression profile datasets GSE55235 (10 RA samples and 10 healthy controls) and GSE77298 (16 RA samples and seven healthy controls) were downloaded from Gene Expression Omnibus database. Characteristic genes were identified using metaDE package. WGCNA was used to find disease-related networks based on gene expression correlation coefficients, and module significance was defined as the average gene significance of all genes used to assess the correlation between the module and RA status. Genes in the disease-related gene co-expression network were subject to functional annotation and pathway enrichment analysis using Database for Annotation Visualization and Integrated Discovery. Characteristic genes were also mapped to the Connectivity Map to screen small molecules. A total of 599 characteristic genes were identified. For each dataset, characteristic genes in the green, red and turquoise modules were most closely associated with RA, with gene numbers of 54, 43 and 79, respectively. These genes were enriched in totally enriched in 17 Gene Ontology terms, mainly related to immune response (CD97, FYB, CXCL1, IKBKE, CCR1, etc.), inflammatory response (CD97, CXCL1, C3AR1, CCR1, LYZ, etc.) and homeostasis (C3AR1, CCR1, PLN, CCL19, PPT1, etc.). Two small-molecule drugs sanguinarine and papaverine were predicted to have a therapeutic effect against RA. Genes related to immune response, inflammatory response and homeostasis presumably have critical roles in RA pathogenesis. Sanguinarine and papaverine have a potential therapeutic effect against RA. © 2017 Asia Pacific League of Associations for Rheumatology and John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd.

Diagnosing climate change impacts and identifying adaptation strategies by involving key stakeholder organisations and farmers in Sikkim, India: Challenges and opportunities.

PubMed

Azhoni, Adani; Goyal, Manish Kumar

2018-06-01

Narrowing the gap between research, policy making and implementing adaptation remains a challenge in many parts of the world where climate change is likely to severely impact water security. This research aims to narrow this gap by matching the adaptation strategies being framed by policy makers to that of the perspectives of development agencies, researchers and farmers in the Himalayan state of Sikkim in India. Our case study examined the perspectives of various stakeholders for climate change impacts, current adaptation strategies, knowledge gaps and adaptation barriers, particularly in the context of implementing the Sikkim State Action Plan on Climate Change through semi-structured interviews carried out with decision makers in the Sikkim State Government, researchers, consultants, local academia, development agencies and farmers. Using Stakeholders Network Analysis tools, this research unravels the complexities of perceiving climate change impacts, identifying strategies, and implementing adaptation. While farmers are less aware about the global phenomenon of climate change impacts for water security, their knowledge of the local conditions and their close interaction with the State Government Agriculture Department provides them opportunities. Although important steps are being initiated through the Sikkim State Action Plan on Climate Change it is yet to deliver effective means of adaptation implementation and hence, strengthening the networks of close coordination between the various implementing agencies will pay dividends. Knowledge gaps and the need for capacity building identified in this research, based on the understandings of key stakeholders are highly relevant to both the research community and for informing policy. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Are there pollination syndromes in the Australian epacrids (Ericaceae: Styphelioideae)? A novel statistical method to identify key floral traits per syndrome

PubMed Central

Johnson, Karen A.

2013-01-01

Background and Aims Convergent floral traits hypothesized as attracting particular pollinators are known as pollination syndromes. Floral diversity suggests that the Australian epacrid flora may be adapted to pollinator type. Currently there are empirical data on the pollination systems for 87 species (approx. 15 % of Australian epacrids). This provides an opportunity to test for pollination syndromes and their important morphological traits in an iconic element of the Australian flora. Methods Data on epacrid–pollinator relationships were obtained from published literature and field observation. A multivariate approach was used to test whether epacrid floral attributes related to pollinator profiles. Statistical classification was then used to rank floral attributes according to their predictive value. Data sets excluding mixed pollination systems were used to test the predictive power of statistical classification to identify pollination models. Key Results Floral attributes are correlated with bird, fly and bee pollination. Using floral attributes identified as correlating with pollinator type, bird pollination is classified with 86 % accuracy, red flowers being the most important predictor. Fly and bee pollination are classified with 78 and 69 % accuracy, but have a lack of individually important floral predictors. Excluding mixed pollination systems improved the accuracy of the prediction of both bee and fly pollination systems. Conclusions Although most epacrids have generalized pollination systems, a correlation between bird pollination and red, long-tubed epacrids is found. Statistical classification highlights the relative importance of each floral attribute in relation to pollinator type and proves useful in classifying epacrids to bird, fly and bee pollination systems. PMID:23681546

Using benchmarking to identify inter-centre differences in persistent ductus arteriosus treatment: can we improve outcome?

PubMed

Jansen, Esther J S; Dijkman, Koen P; van Lingen, Richard A; de Vries, Willem B; Vijlbrief, Daniel C; de Boode, Willem P; Andriessen, Peter

2017-10-01

The aim of this study was to identify inter-centre differences in persistent ductus arteriosus treatment and their related outcomes. Materials and methods We carried out a retrospective, multicentre study including infants between 24+0 and 27+6 weeks of gestation in the period between 2010 and 2011. In all centres, echocardiography was used as the standard procedure to diagnose a patent ductus arteriosus and to document ductal closure. In total, 367 preterm infants were included. All four participating neonatal ICU had a comparable number of preterm infants; however, differences were observed in the incidence of treatment (33-63%), choice and dosing of medication (ibuprofen or indomethacin), number of pharmacological courses (1-4), and the need for surgical ligation after failure of pharmacological treatment (8-52%). Despite the differences in treatment, we found no difference in short-term morbidity between the centres. Adjusted mortality showed independent risk contribution of gestational age, birth weight, ductal ligation, and perinatal centre. Using benchmarking as a tool identified inter-centre differences. In these four perinatal centres, the factors that explained the differences in patent ductus arteriosus treatment are quite complex. Timing, choice of medication, and dosing are probably important determinants for successful patent ductus arteriosus closure.

Tag Content Access Control with Identity-based Key Exchange

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yan, Liang; Rong, Chunming

2010-09-01

Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology that used to identify objects and users has been applied to many applications such retail and supply chain recently. How to prevent tag content from unauthorized readout is a core problem of RFID privacy issues. Hash-lock access control protocol can make tag to release its content only to reader who knows the secret key shared between them. However, in order to get this shared secret key required by this protocol, reader needs to communicate with a back end database. In this paper, we propose to use identity-based secret key exchange approach to generate the secret key required for hash-lock access control protocol. With this approach, not only back end database connection is not needed anymore, but also tag cloning problem can be eliminated at the same time.

Criterion Predictability: Identifying Differences Between [r-squares

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Malgady, Robert G.

1976-01-01

An analysis of variance procedure for testing differences in r-squared, the coefficient of determination, across independent samples is proposed and briefly discussed. The principal advantage of the procedure is to minimize Type I error for follow-up tests of pairwise differences. (Author/JKS)

The Key Roles in the Informal Organization: A Network Analysis Perspective

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

de Toni, Alberto F.; Nonino, Fabio

2010-01-01

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to identify the key roles embedded in the informal organizational structure (informal networks) and to outline their contribution in the companies' performance. A major objective of the research is to find and characterize a new key informal role that synthesises problem solving, expertise, and accessibility…

Device-independent quantum key distribution

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hänggi, Esther

2010-12-01

In this thesis, we study two approaches to achieve device-independent quantum key distribution: in the first approach, the adversary can distribute any system to the honest parties that cannot be used to communicate between the three of them, i.e., it must be non-signalling. In the second approach, we limit the adversary to strategies which can be implemented using quantum physics. For both approaches, we show how device-independent quantum key distribution can be achieved when imposing an additional condition. In the non-signalling case this additional requirement is that communication is impossible between all pairwise subsystems of the honest parties, while, in the quantum case, we demand that measurements on different subsystems must commute. We give a generic security proof for device-independent quantum key distribution in these cases and apply it to an existing quantum key distribution protocol, thus proving its security even in this setting. We also show that, without any additional such restriction there always exists a successful joint attack by a non-signalling adversary.

Differences in handgrip strength protocols to identify sarcopenia and frailty - a systematic review.

PubMed

Sousa-Santos, A R; Amaral, T F

2017-10-16

Hand grip strength (HGS) is used for the diagnosis of sarcopenia and frailty. Several factors have been shown to influence HGS values during measurement. Therefore, variations in the protocols used to assess HGS, as part of the diagnosis of sarcopenia and frailty, may lead to the identification of different individuals with low HGS, introducing bias. The aim of this systematic review is to gather all the relevant studies that measured HGS to diagnose sarcopenia and frailty and to identify the differences between the protocols used. A systematic review was carried out following the recommendations of The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) Statement. PubMed and Web of Science were systematically searched, until August 16, 2016. The evidence regarding HGS measurement protocols used to diagnose sarcopenia and frailty was summarised and the most recent protocols regarding the procedure were compared. From the described search 4393 articles were identified. Seventy-two studies were included in this systematic review, in which 37 referred to sarcopenia articles, 33 to frailty and two evaluated both conditions. Most studies presented limited information regarding the protocols used. The majority of the studies included did not describe a complete procedure of HGS measurement. The high heterogeneity between the protocols used, in sarcopenia and frailty studies, create an enormous difficulty in drawing comparative conclusions among them.

Towards optimised information about clinical trials; identification and validation of key issues in collaboration with cancer patient advocates.

PubMed

Dellson, P; Nilbert, M; Bendahl, P-O; Malmström, P; Carlsson, C

2011-07-01

Clinical trials are crucial to improve cancer treatment but recruitment is difficult. Optimised patient information has been recognised as a key issue. In line with the increasing focus on patients' perspectives in health care, we aimed to study patients' opinions about the written information used in three clinical trials for breast cancer. Primary data collection was done in focus group interviews with breast cancer patient advocates. Content analysis identified three major themes: comprehensibility, emotions and associations, and decision making. Based on the advocates' suggestions for improvements, 21 key issues were defined and validated through a questionnaire in an independent group of breast cancer patient advocates. Clear messages, emotionally neutral expressions, careful descriptions of side effects, clear comparisons between different treatment alternatives and information about the possibility to discontinue treatment were perceived as the most important issues. Patients' views of the information in clinical trials provide new insights and identify key issues to consider in optimising future written information and may improve recruitment to clinical cancer trials. © 2010 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

Using the Theory of Planned Behavior to identify key beliefs underlying chlamydia testing intentions in a sample of young people living in deprived areas.

PubMed

Booth, Amy R; Norman, Paul; Harris, Peter R; Goyder, Elizabeth

2015-09-01

The Theory of Planned Behavior was used to identify the key behavioural, normative and control beliefs underlying intentions to test regularly for chlamydia among young people living in socially and economically deprived areas - a high-risk group for infection. Participants (N = 278, 53% male; mean age 17 years) were recruited from a vocational college situated in an area in the most deprived national quintile (England). Participants completed measures of behavioural, normative and control beliefs, plus intention to test regularly for chlamydia. The behavioural, normative and control beliefs most strongly correlated with intentions to test regularly for chlamydia were beliefs about stopping the spread of infection, partners' behaviour and the availability of testing. These beliefs represent potential targets for interventions to increase chlamydia testing among young people living in deprived areas. © The Author(s) 2013.

Co-extinction in a host-parasite network: identifying key hosts for network stability.

PubMed

Dallas, Tad; Cornelius, Emily

2015-08-17

Parasites comprise a substantial portion of total biodiversity. Ultimately, this means that host extinction could result in many secondary extinctions of obligate parasites and potentially alter host-parasite network structure. Here, we examined a highly resolved fish-parasite network to determine key hosts responsible for maintaining parasite diversity and network structure (quantified here as nestedness and modularity). We evaluated four possible host extinction orders and compared the resulting co-extinction dynamics to random extinction simulations; including host removal based on estimated extinction risk, parasite species richness and host level contributions to nestedness and modularity. We found that all extinction orders, except the one based on realistic extinction risk, resulted in faster declines in parasite diversity and network structure relative to random biodiversity loss. Further, we determined species-level contributions to network structure were best predicted by parasite species richness and host family. Taken together, we demonstrate that a small proportion of hosts contribute substantially to network structure and that removal of these hosts results in rapid declines in parasite diversity and network structure. As network stability can potentially be inferred through measures of network structure, our findings may provide insight into species traits that confer stability.

Security enhanced anonymous multiserver authenticated key agreement scheme using smart cards and biometrics.

PubMed

Choi, Younsung; Nam, Junghyun; Lee, Donghoon; Kim, Jiye; Jung, Jaewook; Won, Dongho

2014-01-01

An anonymous user authentication scheme allows a user, who wants to access a remote application server, to achieve mutual authentication and session key establishment with the server in an anonymous manner. To enhance the security of such authentication schemes, recent researches combined user's biometrics with a password. However, these authentication schemes are designed for single server environment. So when a user wants to access different application servers, the user has to register many times. To solve this problem, Chuang and Chen proposed an anonymous multiserver authenticated key agreement scheme using smart cards together with passwords and biometrics. Chuang and Chen claimed that their scheme not only supports multiple servers but also achieves various security requirements. However, we show that this scheme is vulnerable to a masquerade attack, a smart card attack, a user impersonation attack, and a DoS attack and does not achieve perfect forward secrecy. We also propose a security enhanced anonymous multiserver authenticated key agreement scheme which addresses all the weaknesses identified in Chuang and Chen's scheme.

Security Enhanced Anonymous Multiserver Authenticated Key Agreement Scheme Using Smart Cards and Biometrics

PubMed Central

Choi, Younsung; Nam, Junghyun; Lee, Donghoon; Kim, Jiye; Jung, Jaewook; Won, Dongho

2014-01-01

An anonymous user authentication scheme allows a user, who wants to access a remote application server, to achieve mutual authentication and session key establishment with the server in an anonymous manner. To enhance the security of such authentication schemes, recent researches combined user's biometrics with a password. However, these authentication schemes are designed for single server environment. So when a user wants to access different application servers, the user has to register many times. To solve this problem, Chuang and Chen proposed an anonymous multiserver authenticated key agreement scheme using smart cards together with passwords and biometrics. Chuang and Chen claimed that their scheme not only supports multiple servers but also achieves various security requirements. However, we show that this scheme is vulnerable to a masquerade attack, a smart card attack, a user impersonation attack, and a DoS attack and does not achieve perfect forward secrecy. We also propose a security enhanced anonymous multiserver authenticated key agreement scheme which addresses all the weaknesses identified in Chuang and Chen's scheme. PMID:25276847

Identifying vulnerable Asian Americans under Health Care Reform: working in small businesses and health care coverage.

PubMed

Cook, Won Kim; Tseng, Winston; Ko Chin, Kathy; John, Iyanrick; Chung, Corina

2014-11-01

Working in small businesses has been identified as a key factor for low coverage rates in immigrant communities. In this study, we identify specific cultural and socioeconomic predictors of Asian Americans who work in small businesses to identify subgroups at a greater disadvantage than others in obtaining health insurance. Logistic regression models were fitted using a sample of 3,819 Asian American small business owners and employers extracted from pooled 2005–2012 California Health Interview Survey data. We found that individuals with low income levels, Korean Americans, U.S.-born South Asian and Southeast Asian (other than Vietnamese) Americans, immigrants without citizenship (particularly those lacking a green card), and individuals with limited English proficiency had higher odds of lacking coverage. The odds of being uninsured did not differ between small business owners and employees. Based upon these key findings, we propose several strategies to expand coverage for Asian Americans working in small businesses and their most vulnerable subgroups.

Biomechanical loading on the upper extremity increases from single key tapping to directional tapping.

PubMed

Qin, Jin; Trudeau, Matthieu; Katz, Jeffrey N; Buchholz, Bryan; Dennerlein, Jack T

2011-08-01

Musculoskeletal disorders associated with computer use span the joints of the upper extremity. Computing typically involves tapping in multiple directions. Thus, we sought to describe the loading on the finger, wrist, elbow and shoulder joints in terms of kinematic and kinetic difference across single key switch tapping to directional tapping on multiple keys. An experiment with repeated measures design was conducted. Six subjects tapped with their right index finger on a stand-alone number keypad placed horizontally in three conditions: (1) on single key switch (the number key 5); (2) left and right on number key 4 and 6; (3) top and bottom on number key 8 and 2. A force-torque transducer underneath the keypad measured the fingertip force. An active-marker infrared motion analysis system measured the kinematics of the fingertip, hand, forearm, upper arm and torso. Joint moments for the metacarpophalangeal, wrist, elbow, and shoulder joints were estimated using inverse dynamics. Tapping in the top-bottom orientation introduced the largest biomechanical loading on the upper extremity especially for the proximal joint, followed by tapping in the left-right orientation, and the lowest loading was observed during single key switch tapping. Directional tapping on average increased the fingertip force, joint excursion, and peak-to-peak joint torque by 45%, 190% and 55%, respectively. Identifying the biomechanical loading patterns associated with these fundamental movements of keying improves the understanding of the risks of upper extremity musculoskeletal disorders for computer keyboard users. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Use of stable isotopes to identify dietary differences across subpopulations and sex for a free-ranging generalist herbivore.

PubMed

Walter, W David

2014-01-01

Carbon and nitrogen isotopes in tissues can be used to understand plants consumed by various taxa, but can they provide additional information about consumers? Values of δ(13)C and δ(15)N were assessed from tissue of free-ranging elk (Cervus elaphus) occupying disparate habitats of mixed prairie-oak savannah that contained C3 agricultural crops in a C4-dominated landscape and in key plants consumed by elk. Muscle and hoof samples were collected from female and male elk in two subpopulations (forested land and grassland) from private land and one subpopulation from the Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge (refuge) in 2001-2006. Previous research identified differences between mean muscle δ(13)C and δ(15)N and mean hoof δ(13)C and δ(15)N indicating that isotopes differed between tissues of varying metabolic activity. Mean δ(13)C in hoof of elk on forested land and grassland were lower than hoof δ(13)C from elk in the refuge indicating greater long-term consumption of C3 plants by elk on forested land and grassland subpopulations. The δ(15)N in hoof was greater for elk outside the refuge than that for elk in the refuge. Interaction of sex and subpopulation only occurred for hoof δ(15)N suggesting that factors such as tissue type, sex, and habitat need to be considered to understand free-ranging ecology of generalist herbivores using stable isotopes. Availability of C3 agricultural crops high in percent nitrogen on a nearly annual basis in a C4-dominated landscape was likely driving differences in tissue δ(13)C and δ(15)N among subpopulations of free-ranging elk. An increase in tissue δ(15)N resulted from an increase in the consumption of higher δ(15)N in forage for sexes and subpopulations of a free-ranging ungulate in North America but δ(15)N should be further evaluated as an index of nutrition for subpopulations of generalist herbivores.

Different approaches for identifying important concepts in probabilistic biomedical text summarization.

PubMed

Moradi, Milad; Ghadiri, Nasser

2018-01-01

Automatic text summarization tools help users in the biomedical domain to acquire their intended information from various textual resources more efficiently. Some of biomedical text summarization systems put the basis of their sentence selection approach on the frequency of concepts extracted from the input text. However, it seems that exploring other measures rather than the raw frequency for identifying valuable contents within an input document, or considering correlations existing between concepts, may be more useful for this type of summarization. In this paper, we describe a Bayesian summarization method for biomedical text documents. The Bayesian summarizer initially maps the input text to the Unified Medical Language System (UMLS) concepts; then it selects the important ones to be used as classification features. We introduce six different feature selection approaches to identify the most important concepts of the text and select the most informative contents according to the distribution of these concepts. We show that with the use of an appropriate feature selection approach, the Bayesian summarizer can improve the performance of biomedical summarization. Using the Recall-Oriented Understudy for Gisting Evaluation (ROUGE) toolkit, we perform extensive evaluations on a corpus of scientific papers in the biomedical domain. The results show that when the Bayesian summarizer utilizes the feature selection methods that do not use the raw frequency, it can outperform the biomedical summarizers that rely on the frequency of concepts, domain-independent and baseline methods. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Procedural key steps in laparoscopic colorectal surgery, consensus through Delphi methodology.

PubMed

Dijkstra, Frederieke A; Bosker, Robbert J I; Veeger, Nicolaas J G M; van Det, Marc J; Pierie, Jean Pierre E N

2015-09-01

While several procedural training curricula in laparoscopic colorectal surgery have been validated and published, none have focused on dividing surgical procedures into well-identified segments, which can be trained and assessed separately. This enables the surgeon and resident to focus on a specific segment, or combination of segments, of a procedure. Furthermore, it will provide a consistent and uniform method of training for residents rotating through different teaching hospitals. The goal of this study was to determine consensus on the key steps of laparoscopic right hemicolectomy and laparoscopic sigmoid colectomy among experts in our University Medical Center and affiliated hospitals. This will form the basis for the INVEST video-assisted side-by-side training curriculum. The Delphi method was used for determining consensus on key steps of both procedures. A list of 31 steps for laparoscopic right hemicolectomy and 37 steps for laparoscopic sigmoid colectomy was compiled from textbooks and national and international guidelines. In an online questionnaire, 22 experts in 12 hospitals within our teaching region were invited to rate all steps on a Likert scale on importance for the procedure. Consensus was reached in two rounds. Sixteen experts agreed to participate. Of these 16 experts, 14 (88%) completed the questionnaire for both procedures. Of the 14 who completed the first round, 13 (93%) completed the second round. Cronbach's alpha was 0.79 for the right hemicolectomy and 0.91 for the sigmoid colectomy, showing high internal consistency between the experts. For the right hemicolectomy, 25 key steps were established; for the sigmoid colectomy, 24 key steps were established. Expert consensus on the key steps for laparoscopic right hemicolectomy and laparoscopic sigmoid colectomy was reached. These key steps will form the basis for a video-assisted teaching curriculum.

Psychological factors mediate key symptoms of fibromyalgia through their influence on stress.

PubMed

Malin, Katrina; Littlejohn, Geoffrey Owen

2016-09-01

The clinical features of fibromyalgia are associated with various psychological factors, including stress. We examined the hypothesis that the path that psychological factors follow in influencing fibromyalgia symptoms is through their direct effect on stress. Ninety-eight females with ACR 1990 classified fibromyalgia completed the following questionnaires: The Big 5 Personality Inventory, Fibromyalgia Impact Questionnaire, Perceived Stress Scale, Profile of Mood States, Mastery Scale, and Perceived Control of Internal States Scale. SPSS (PASW version 22) was used to perform basic t tests, means, and standard deviations to show difference between symptom characteristics. Pathway analysis using structural equation modelling (Laavan) examined the effect of stress on the relationships between psychological factors and the elements that define the fibromyalgia phenotype. The preferred model showed that the identified path clearly linked the psychological variables of anxiety, neuroticism and mastery, but not internal control, to the three key elements of fibromyalgia, namely pain, fatigue and sleep (p < 0.001), via the person's perceived stress. Confusion, however, did not fit the preferred model. This study confirms that stress is a necessary link in the pathway between certain identified, established and significant psychological factors and key fibromyalgia symptoms. This has implications for the understanding of contributing mechanisms and the clinical care of patients with fibromyalgia.

Legislation on violence against women: overview of key components.

PubMed

Ortiz-Barreda, Gaby; Vives-Cases, Carmen

2013-01-01

This study aimed to determine if legislation on violence against women (VAW) worldwide contains key components recommended by the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) and the United Nations (UN) to help strengthen VAW prevention and provide better integrated victim protection, support, and care. A systematic search for VAW legislation using international legal databases and other electronic sources plus data from previous research identified 124 countries/territories with some type of VAW legislation. Full legal texts were found for legislation from 104 countries/territories. Those available in English, Portuguese, and Spanish were downloaded and compiled and the selection criteria applied (use of any of the common terms related to VAW, including intimate partner violence (IPV), and reference to at least two of six sectors (education, health, judicial system, mass media, police, and social services) with regard to VAW interventions (protection, support, and care). A final sample from 80 countries/territories was selected and analyzed for the presence of key components recommended by PAHO and the UN (reference to the term "violence against women" in the title; definitions of different types of VAW; identification of women as beneficiaries; and promotion of (reference to) the participation of multiple sectors in VAW interventions). Few countries/territories specifically identified women as the beneficiaries of their VAW legislation, including those that labeled their legislation "domestic violence" law ( n = 51), of which only two explicitly mentioned women as complainants/survivors. Only 28 countries/territories defined the main forms of VAW (economic, physical, psychological, and sexual) in their VAW legislation. Most highlighted the role of the judicial system, followed by that of social services and the police. Only 28 mentioned the health sector. Despite considerable efforts worldwide to strengthen VAW legislation, most VAW laws do not incorporate the key

Are the Keys loved to death? A study of diver specialization levels and preferences in the Florida Keys

Treesearch

Shona Paterson; David K. Loomis

2010-01-01

This paper presents research conducted for the Florida Reef Resilience Program on nonresident recreational SCUBA divers in three zones of the Florida Keys. When divers were segmented into specialization subgroups for analysis, divers in different subgroups tended to use different geographic locations. These results suggest differences in user preferences; yet when...

Key performance indicators to benchmark hospital information systems - a delphi study.

PubMed

Hübner-Bloder, G; Ammenwerth, E

2009-01-01

To identify the key performance indicators for hospital information systems (HIS) that can be used for HIS benchmarking. A Delphi survey with one qualitative and two quantitative rounds. Forty-four HIS experts from health care IT practice and academia participated in all three rounds. Seventy-seven performance indicators were identified and organized into eight categories: technical quality, software quality, architecture and interface quality, IT vendor quality, IT support and IT department quality, workflow support quality, IT outcome quality, and IT costs. The highest ranked indicators are related to clinical workflow support and user satisfaction. Isolated technical indicators or cost indicators were not seen as useful. The experts favored an interdisciplinary group of all the stakeholders, led by hospital management, to conduct the HIS benchmarking. They proposed benchmarking activities both in regular (annual) intervals as well as at defined events (for example after IT introduction). Most of the experts stated that in their institutions no HIS benchmarking activities are being performed at the moment. In the context of IT governance, IT benchmarking is gaining importance in the healthcare area. The found indicators reflect the view of health care IT professionals and researchers. Research is needed to further validate and operationalize key performance indicators, to provide an IT benchmarking framework, and to provide open repositories for a comparison of the HIS benchmarks of different hospitals.

Lifelong Learning Key Competence Levels of Graduate Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Adabas, Abdurrahman; Kaygin, Hüseyin

2016-01-01

The European Union defines lifelong learning as all activities aimed at improving an individual's knowledge, skills and competences individually, socially or vocationally throughout his/her life. In 2007, eight key competences necessary for lifelong learning were identified by the European Union Education and Culture Commission. These competences…

Identifying Opportunities for Vertical Integration of Biochemistry and Clinical Medicine.

PubMed

Wendelberger, Karen J.; Burke, Rebecca; Haas, Arthur L.; Harenwattananon, Marisa; Simpson, Deborah

1998-01-01

Objectives: Retention of basic science knowledge, as judged by National Board of Medical Examiners' (NBME) data, suffers due to lack of apparent relevance and isolation of instruction from clinical application, especially in biochemistry. However, the literature reveals no systematic process for identifying key biochemical concepts and associated clinical conditions. This study systematically identified difficult biochemical concepts and their common clinical conditions as a critical step towards enhancing relevance and retention of biochemistry.Methods: A multi-step/ multiple stakeholder process was used to: (1) identify important biochemistry concepts; (2) determine students' perceptions of concept difficulty; (3) assess biochemistry faculty, student, and clinical teaching scholars' perceived relevance of identified concepts; and (4) identify associated common clinical conditions for relevant and difficult concepts. Surveys and a modified Delphi process were used to gather data, subsequently analyzed using SPSS for Windows.Results: Sixteen key biochemical concepts were identified. Second year medical students rated 14/16 concepts as extremely difficult while fourth year students rated nine concepts as moderately to extremely difficult. On average, each teaching scholar generated common clinical conditions for 6.2 of the 16 concepts, yielding a set of seven critical concepts and associated clinical conditions.Conclusions: Key stakeholders in the instructional process struggle to identify biochemistry concepts that are critical, difficult to learn and associated with common clinical conditions. However, through a systematic process beginning with identification of concepts and associated clinical conditions, relevance of basic science instruction can be enhanced.

The Future of Government Funding for Persons with Disabilities: Some Key Factors.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ross, E. Clarke

1980-01-01

The paper identifies and discusses key factors associated with government funding for disabled individuals. An introductory section traces the growth of public expenditures in recent years. Five key factors affecting government funding are examined (sample subtopics in parentheses): state government tax and spending limits (Proposition 13 and the…

Advance to and Persistence in Graduate School: Identifying the Influential Factors and Major-Based Differences

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Xu, Yonghong Jade

2014-01-01

Structured within an expanded econometric theoretical framework, this study uses national data sources to identify the critical factors that influence college graduates' advance to and persistence in graduate education and to compare the systematic differences between students in the STEM and non-STEM majors. The findings indicate that there is a…

Key barriers to gout care: a systematic review and thematic synthesis of qualitative studies.

PubMed

Rai, Sharan K; Choi, Hyon K; Choi, Sally H J; Townsend, Anne F; Shojania, Kam; De Vera, Mary A

2018-04-17

Gout care remains highly suboptimal, contributing to an increased global disease burden. To understand barriers to gout care, our aim was to provide a systematic review and thematic synthesis of qualitative studies worldwide reporting provider and patient perspectives and experiences with management. We conducted a mapped search of MEDLINE, EMBASE, Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature, and Social Sciences Citation Index databases and selected qualitative studies of provider and patient perspectives on gout management. We used thematic synthesis to combine the included studies and identify key themes across studies. We included 20 studies that reported the experiences and perspectives of 480 gout patients and 120 providers spanning five different countries across three continents. We identified three predominant provider themes: knowledge gaps and management approaches; perceptions and beliefs about gout patients; and system barriers to optimal gout care (e.g. time constraints and a lack of incentives). We also identified four predominant themes among gout patients: limited gout knowledge; interactions with health-care providers; attitudes towards and experiences with taking medication; and practical barriers to long-term medication use. Our systematic review of worldwide literature consistently identified gaps in gout knowledge among providers, which is likely to contribute to patients' lack of appropriate education about the fundamental causes of and essential treatment approaches for gout. Furthermore, system barriers among providers and day-to-day challenges of taking long-term medications among patients are considerable. These factors provide key targets to improve the widespread suboptimal gout care.

A computational study to identify the key residues of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma in the interactions with its antagonists.

PubMed

Sharifi, Tayebeh; Ghayeb, Yousef

2018-05-01

Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors (PPARs) compose a family of nuclear receptors, PPARα, PPARβ, and PPARγ, which mediate the effects of lipidic ligands at the transcriptional level. Among these, the PPARγ has been known to regulate adipocyte differentiation, fatty acid storage and glucose metabolism, and is a target of antidiabetic drugs. In this work, the interactions between PPARγ and its six known antagonists were investigated using computational methods such as molecular docking, molecular dynamics (MD) simulations, and the hybrid quantum mechanics/molecular mechanics (QM/MM). The binding energies evaluated by molecular docking varied between -22.59 and -35.15 kJ mol - 1 . In addition, MD simulations were performed to investigate the binding modes and PPARγ conformational changes upon binding of antagonists. Analysis of the root-mean-square fluctuations (RMSF) of backbone atoms shows that H3 of PPARγ has a higher mobility in the absence of antagonists and moderate conformational changes were observed. The interaction energies between antagonists and each PPARγ residue involved in the interactions were studied by QM/MM calculations. These calculations reveal that antagonists with different structures show different interaction energies with the same residue of PPARγ. Therefore, it can be concluded that the key residues vary depending on the structure of the ligand, which binds to PPARγ.

Key attributes of expert NRL referees.

PubMed

Morris, Gavin; O'Connor, Donna

2017-05-01

Experiential knowledge of elite National Rugby League (NRL) referees was investigated to determine the key attributes contributing to expert officiating performance. Fourteen current first-grade NRL referees were asked to identify the key attributes they believed contributed to their expert refereeing performance. The modified Delphi method involved a 3-round process of an initial semi-structured interview followed by 2 questionnaires to reach consensus of opinion. The data revealed 25 attributes that were rated as most important that underpin expert NRL refereeing performance. Results illustrate the significance of the cognitive category, with the top 6 ranked attributes all cognitive skills. Of these, the referees ranked decision-making accuracy as the most important attribute, followed by reading the game, communication, game understanding, game management and knowledge of the rules. Player rapport, positioning and teamwork were the top ranked game skill attributes underpinning performance excellence. Expert referees also highlighted a number of psychological attributes (e.g., concentration, composure and mental toughness) that were significant to performance. There were only 2 physiological attributes (fitness, aerobic endurance) that were identified as significant to elite officiating performance. In summary, expert consensus was attained which successfully provided a hierarchy of the most significant attributes of expert NRL refereeing performance.

Individual differences in recovery from traumatic fear

PubMed Central

Holmes, Andrew; Singewald, Nicolas

2013-01-01

Although exposure to major psychological trauma is unfortunately common, risk for related neuropsychiatric conditions, such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), varies greatly among individuals. Fear extinction offers a tractable and translatable behavioral readout of individual differences in learned recovery from trauma. Studies in rodent substrains and subpopulations are providing new insights into neural system dysfunctions associated with impaired fear extinction. Rapid progress is also being made in identifying key molecular circuits, epigenetic mechanisms, and gene variants associated with differences in fear extinction. Here, we discuss how this research is informing understanding of the etiology and pathophysiology of individual differences in risk for trauma-related anxiety disorders, and how future work can help identify novel diagnostic biomarkers and pharmacotherapeutics for these disorders. PMID:23260015

A large-scale RNA interference screen identifies genes that regulate autophagy at different stages.

PubMed

Guo, Sujuan; Pridham, Kevin J; Virbasius, Ching-Man; He, Bin; Zhang, Liqing; Varmark, Hanne; Green, Michael R; Sheng, Zhi

2018-02-12

Dysregulated autophagy is central to the pathogenesis and therapeutic development of cancer. However, how autophagy is regulated in cancer is not well understood and genes that modulate cancer autophagy are not fully defined. To gain more insights into autophagy regulation in cancer, we performed a large-scale RNA interference screen in K562 human chronic myeloid leukemia cells using monodansylcadaverine staining, an autophagy-detecting approach equivalent to immunoblotting of the autophagy marker LC3B or fluorescence microscopy of GFP-LC3B. By coupling monodansylcadaverine staining with fluorescence-activated cell sorting, we successfully isolated autophagic K562 cells where we identified 336 short hairpin RNAs. After candidate validation using Cyto-ID fluorescence spectrophotometry, LC3B immunoblotting, and quantitative RT-PCR, 82 genes were identified as autophagy-regulating genes. 20 genes have been reported previously and the remaining 62 candidates are novel autophagy mediators. Bioinformatic analyses revealed that most candidate genes were involved in molecular pathways regulating autophagy, rather than directly participating in the autophagy process. Further autophagy flux assays revealed that 57 autophagy-regulating genes suppressed autophagy initiation, whereas 21 candidates promoted autophagy maturation. Our RNA interference screen identifies identified genes that regulate autophagy at different stages, which helps decode autophagy regulation in cancer and offers novel avenues to develop autophagy-related therapies for cancer.

Markerless identification of key events in gait cycle using image flow.

PubMed

Vishnoi, Nalini; Duric, Zoran; Gerber, Naomi Lynn

2012-01-01

Gait analysis has been an interesting area of research for several decades. In this paper, we propose image-flow-based methods to compute the motion and velocities of different body segments automatically, using a single inexpensive video camera. We then identify and extract different events of the gait cycle (double-support, mid-swing, toe-off and heel-strike) from video images. Experiments were conducted in which four walking subjects were captured from the sagittal plane. Automatic segmentation was performed to isolate the moving body from the background. The head excursion and the shank motion were then computed to identify the key frames corresponding to different events in the gait cycle. Our approach does not require calibrated cameras or special markers to capture movement. We have also compared our method with the Optotrak 3D motion capture system and found our results in good agreement with the Optotrak results. The development of our method has potential use in the markerless and unencumbered video capture of human locomotion. Monitoring gait in homes and communities provides a useful application for the aged and the disabled. Our method could potentially be used as an assessment tool to determine gait symmetry or to establish the normal gait pattern of an individual.

Pharmacy patronage: identifying key factors in the decision making process using the determinant attribute approach.

PubMed

Franic, Duska M; Haddock, Sarah M; Tucker, Leslie Tootle; Wooten, Nathan

2008-01-01

To use the determinant attribute approach, a research method commonly used in marketing to identify the wants of various consumer groups, to evaluate consumer pharmacy choice when having a prescription order filled in different pharmacy settings. Cross sectional. Community independent, grocery store, community chain, and discount store pharmacies in Georgia between April 2005 and April 2006. Convenience sample of adult pharmacy consumers (n = 175). Survey measuring consumer preferences on 26 attributes encompassing general pharmacy site features (16 items), pharmacist characteristics (5 items), and pharmacy staff characteristics (5 items). 26 potential determinant attributes for pharmacy selection. 175 consumers were surveyed at community independent (n = 81), grocery store (n = 44), community chain (n = 27), or discount store (n = 23) pharmacy settings. The attributes of pharmacists and staff at all four pharmacy settings were shown to affect pharmacy patronage motives, although consumers frequenting non-community independent pharmacies were also motivated by secondary convenience factors, e.g., hours of operation, and prescription coverage. Most consumers do not perceive pharmacies as merely prescription-distribution centers that vary only by convenience. Prescriptions are not just another economic good. Pharmacy personnel influence pharmacy selection; therefore, optimal staff selection and training is likely the greatest asset and most important investment for ensuring pharmacy success.

Fundamental quantitative security in quantum key generation

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

Yuen, Horace P.

2010-12-15

We analyze the fundamental security significance of the quantitative criteria on the final generated key K in quantum key generation including the quantum criterion d, the attacker's mutual information on K, and the statistical distance between her distribution on K and the uniform distribution. For operational significance a criterion has to produce a guarantee on the attacker's probability of correctly estimating some portions of K from her measurement, in particular her maximum probability of identifying the whole K. We distinguish between the raw security of K when the attacker just gets at K before it is used in a cryptographicmore » context and its composition security when the attacker may gain further information during its actual use to help get at K. We compare both of these securities of K to those obtainable from conventional key expansion with a symmetric key cipher. It is pointed out that a common belief in the superior security of a quantum generated K is based on an incorrect interpretation of d which cannot be true, and the security significance of d is uncertain. Generally, the quantum key distribution key K has no composition security guarantee and its raw security guarantee from concrete protocols is worse than that of conventional ciphers. Furthermore, for both raw and composition security there is an exponential catch-up problem that would make it difficult to quantitatively improve the security of K in a realistic protocol. Some possible ways to deal with the situation are suggested.« less

A Temporal Chromatin Signature in Human Embryonic Stem Cells Identifies Regulators of Cardiac Development

PubMed Central

Paige, Sharon L.; Thomas, Sean; Stoick-Cooper, Cristi L.; Wang, Hao; Maves, Lisa; Sandstrom, Richard; Pabon, Lil; Reinecke, Hans; Pratt, Gabriel; Keller, Gordon; Moon, Randall T.; Stamatoyannopoulos, John; Murry, Charles E.

2012-01-01

Summary Directed differentiation of human embryonic stem cells (ESCs) into cardiovascular cells provides a model for studying molecular mechanisms of human cardiovascular development. Though it is known that chromatin modification patterns in ESCs differ markedly from those in lineage-committed progenitors and differentiated cells, the temporal dynamics of chromatin alterations during differentiation along a defined lineage have not been studied. We show that differentiation of human ESCs into cardiovascular cells is accompanied by programmed temporal alterations in chromatin structure that distinguish key regulators of cardiovascular development from other genes. We used this temporal chromatin signature to identify regulators of cardiac development, including the homeobox gene MEIS2. We demonstrate using the zebrafish model that MEIS2 is critical for proper heart tube formation and subsequent cardiac looping. Temporal chromatin signatures should be broadly applicable to other models of stem cell differentiation to identify regulators and provide key insights into major developmental decisions. PMID:22981225

A comparison of the performance of seven key bibliographic databases in identifying all relevant systematic reviews of interventions for hypertension.

PubMed

Rathbone, John; Carter, Matt; Hoffmann, Tammy; Glasziou, Paul

2016-02-09

searching the freely available databases (Cochrane, Epistemonikos, MEDLINE) identified 83 % of all the reviews. The databases were re-analysed after systematic reviews of non-conventional interventions (e.g. yoga, acupuncture) were removed. Similarly, no database identified all the retrieved systematic reviews. EMBASE identified the most relevant systematic reviews (sensitivity 73 %) but also retrieved the most irrelevant citations with Pr = 5 %. The sensitivity of the Cochrane database was 62 %, followed by MEDLINE (60 %), DARE (55 %), PubMed Health (54 %), Epistemonikos (50 %) and TRIP (31 %). The precision of the Cochrane library was the highest (20 %), followed by PubMed Health (Pr = 16 %), DARE (Pr = 13 %), Epistemonikos (Pr = 12 %), MEDLINE (Pr = 6 %), TRIP (Pr = 6 %) and EMBASE (Pr = 5 %). EMBASE contained the most unique records (n = 34). The Cochrane library identified seven unique records. The other databases held no unique records. The coverage of bibliographic databases varies considerably due to differences in their scope and content. Researchers wishing to identify systematic reviews should not rely on one database but search multiple databases.

Dynamic connectivity states estimated from resting fMRI Identify differences among Schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and healthy control subjects.

PubMed

Rashid, Barnaly; Damaraju, Eswar; Pearlson, Godfrey D; Calhoun, Vince D

2014-01-01

Schizophrenia (SZ) and bipolar disorder (BP) share significant overlap in clinical symptoms, brain characteristics, and risk genes, and both are associated with dysconnectivity among large-scale brain networks. Resting state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rsfMRI) data facilitates studying macroscopic connectivity among distant brain regions. Standard approaches to identifying such connectivity include seed-based correlation and data-driven clustering methods such as independent component analysis (ICA) but typically focus on average connectivity. In this study, we utilize ICA on rsfMRI data to obtain intrinsic connectivity networks (ICNs) in cohorts of healthy controls (HCs) and age matched SZ and BP patients. Subsequently, we investigated difference in functional network connectivity, defined as pairwise correlations among the timecourses of ICNs, between HCs and patients. We quantified differences in both static (average) and dynamic (windowed) connectivity during the entire scan duration. Disease-specific differences were identified in connectivity within different dynamic states. Notably, results suggest that patients make fewer transitions to some states (states 1, 2, and 4) compared to HCs, with most such differences confined to a single state. SZ patients showed more differences from healthy subjects than did bipolars, including both hyper and hypo connectivity in one common connectivity state (dynamic state 3). Also group differences between SZ and bipolar patients were identified in patterns (states) of connectivity involving the frontal (dynamic state 1) and frontal-parietal regions (dynamic state 3). Our results provide new information about these illnesses and strongly suggest that state-based analyses are critical to avoid averaging together important factors that can help distinguish these clinical groups.

BARI+: a biometric based distributed key management approach for wireless body area networks.

PubMed

Muhammad, Khaliq-ur-Rahman Raazi Syed; Lee, Heejo; Lee, Sungyoung; Lee, Young-Koo

2010-01-01

Wireless body area networks (WBAN) consist of resource constrained sensing devices just like other wireless sensor networks (WSN). However, they differ from WSN in topology, scale and security requirements. Due to these differences, key management schemes designed for WSN are inefficient and unnecessarily complex when applied to WBAN. Considering the key management issue, WBAN are also different from WPAN because WBAN can use random biometric measurements as keys. We highlight the differences between WSN and WBAN and propose an efficient key management scheme, which makes use of biometrics and is specifically designed for WBAN domain.

A Key Establishment Protocol for RFID User in IPTV Environment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jeong, Yoon-Su; Kim, Yong-Tae; Sohn, Jae-Min; Park, Gil-Cheol; Lee, Sang-Ho

In recent years, the usage of IPTV (Internet Protocol Television) has been increased. The reason is a technological convergence of broadcasting and telecommunication delivering interactive applications and multimedia content through high speed Internet connections. The main critical point of IPTV security requirements is subscriber authentication. That is, IPTV service should have the capability to identify the subscribers to prohibit illegal access. Currently, IPTV service does not provide a sound authentication mechanism to verify the identity of its wireless users (or devices). This paper focuses on a lightweight authentication and key establishment protocol based on the use of hash functions. The proposed approach provides effective authentication for a mobile user with a RFID tag whose authentication information is communicated back and forth with the IPTV authentication server via IPTV set-top box (STB). That is, the proposed protocol generates user's authentication information that is a bundle of two public keys derived from hashing user's private keys and RFID tag's session identifier, and adds 1bit to this bundled information for subscriber's information confidentiality before passing it to the authentication server.

Poly-victimization from different methodological approaches using the juvenile victimization questionnaire: Are we identifying the same victims?

PubMed

Segura, Anna; Pereda, Noemí; Guilera, Georgina

2018-01-01

This study aims to determine whether three different methodological approaches used to assess poly-victimization that apply the Juvenile Victimization Questionnaire (JVQ; Finkelhor, Hamby, Ormrod, & Turner, 2005) identify the same group of adolescent poly-victims. The sample consisted of 1,105 adolescents (590 males and 515 females), aged 12-17 years old (M = 14.52, SD = 1.76) and recruited from seven secondary schools in Spain. The JVQ was used to assess lifetime and past-year experiences of victimization. Poly-victims were more likely to experience all types of victimization than victims, regardless of the method used. The degree of agreement between the methods for identifying poly-victimization was moderate for both timeframes, with the highest agreements being recorded between the one-above-the-mean number of victimizations and Latent Class Analysis (LCA) for lifetime, and between the top 10% and LCA for past-year victimization. Researchers and clinicians should be aware that the use of different methods to define poly-victimization may mean that different victims are identified. The choice of one method or another may have important implications. In consequence, focusing on how we operationalize poly-victimization should be a priority in the near future.

Genome-wide association study identifies three key loci for high mesocarp oil content in perennial crop oil palm.

PubMed

Teh, Chee-Keng; Ong, Ai-Ling; Kwong, Qi-Bin; Apparow, Sukganah; Chew, Fook-Tim; Mayes, Sean; Mohamed, Mohaimi; Appleton, David; Kulaveerasingam, Harikrishna

2016-01-08

GWAS in out-crossing perennial crops is typically limited by insufficient marker density to account for population diversity and effects of population structure resulting in high false positive rates. The perennial crop oil palm is the most productive oil crop. We performed GWAS for oil-to-dry-mesocarp content (O/DM) on 2,045 genotyped tenera palms using 200K SNPs that were selected based on the short-range linkage disequilibrium distance, which is inherent with long breeding cycles and heterogeneous breeding populations. Eighty loci were significantly associated with O/DM (p ≤ 10(-4)) and three key signals were found. We then evaluated the progeny of a Deli x AVROS breeding trial and a 4% higher O/DM was observed amongst those having the beneficial genotypes at two of the three key loci (p < 0.05). We have initiated MAS and large-scale planting of elite dura and pisifera parents to generate the new commercial tenera palms with higher O/DM potential.

Key attributes of agricultural innovations in semi-arid smallholder farming systems in south-west Zimbabwe

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mutsvangwa-Sammie, Eness P.; Manzungu, Emmanuel; Siziba, Shephard

2018-06-01

In Sub-Sahara Africa, which includes Zimbabwe, about 80% of the population depends on agriculture for subsistence, employment and income. Agricultural production and productivity are, however, low. This has been attributed to a lack of appropriate innovations despite the huge investments that have been made to promote 'innovations' as a means to safeguarding agriculture-based livelihoods, which raises the question of how innovations are conceptualized, designed and implemented. This paper explores the key attributes of agricultural innovations by assessing how innovations are conceptualized, designed and implemented in semi-arid smallholder farming systems in south-west Zimbabwe. The study gathered information from 13 key informants and a household survey of 239 farmer households from Gwanda and Insiza districts. Results showed a multiplicity of understandings of agricultural innovations among different stakeholders. However, novelty/newness, utility and adaptability were identified as the major attributes. In general, farmers characterized agricultural innovations as 'something new and mostly introduced by NGOs' but did not associate them with the key attributes of utility and adaptability. More crop-related innovations were identified despite the area being suitable for livestock production. The paper concludes that, rather than view the multiple and sometimes competing understandings of agricultural innovations as undesirable, this should be used to promote context specific innovations which stand a better chance of enhancing agriculture-based livelihoods.

River conservation and terrestrial mammals: key ecological processes

Treesearch

Thomas A. Hanley

2008-01-01

Key ecological processes affecting interactions between rivers and terrestrial mammals are identified and explained, using flood plains of Alaska as examples of relatively pristine systems. Both coastal (southeast Alaska) and interior Alaska examples are used. Coastal Alaskan rivers tend to be relatively short, flashy, rain-driven systems, whereas interior Alaska...

Key Competencies: Drug and Alcohol Education. Secondary Schools.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Philadelphia School District, PA.

This guide, designed for use with secondary school students, attempts to prevent drug and alcohol abuse among students. The Key Competencies program targets several characteristics which have been identified in addicted children: poor self image, improper sense of values, and lack of identity. For grades seven through nine, strategies are…

Mind the Gap. A systematic review to identify usability and safety challenges and practices during electronic health record implementation.

PubMed

Ratwani, Raj; Fairbanks, Terry; Savage, Erica; Adams, Katie; Wittie, Michael; Boone, Edna; Hayden, Andrew; Barnes, Janey; Hettinger, Zach; Gettinger, Andrew

2016-11-16

Decisions made during electronic health record (EHR) implementations profoundly affect usability and safety. This study aims to identify gaps between the current literature and key stakeholders' perceptions of usability and safety practices and the challenges encountered during the implementation of EHRs. Two approaches were used: a literature review and interviews with key stakeholders. We performed a systematic review of the literature to identify usability and safety challenges and best practices during implementation. A total of 55 articles were reviewed through searches of PubMed, Web of Science and Scopus. We used a qualitative approach to identify key stakeholders' perceptions; semi-structured interviews were conducted with a diverse set of health IT stakeholders to understand their current practices and challenges related to usability during implementation. We used a grounded theory approach: data were coded, sorted, and emerging themes were identified. Conclusions from both sources of data were compared to identify areas of misalignment. We identified six emerging themes from the literature and stakeholder interviews: cost and resources, risk assessment, governance and consensus building, customization, clinical workflow and usability testing, and training. Across these themes, there were misalignments between the literature and stakeholder perspectives, indicating major gaps. Major gaps identified from each of six emerging themes are discussed as critical areas for future research, opportunities for new stakeholder initiatives, and opportunities to better disseminate resources to improve the implementation of EHRs. Our analysis identified practices and challenges across six different emerging themes, illustrated important gaps, and results suggest critical areas for future research and dissemination to improve EHR implementation.

Gene Network Construction from Microarray Data Identifies a Key Network Module and Several Candidate Hub Genes in Age-Associated Spatial Learning Impairment

PubMed Central

Uddin, Raihan; Singh, Shiva M.

2017-01-01

As humans age many suffer from a decrease in normal brain functions including spatial learning impairments. This study aimed to better understand the molecular mechanisms in age-associated spatial learning impairment (ASLI). We used a mathematical modeling approach implemented in Weighted Gene Co-expression Network Analysis (WGCNA) to create and compare gene network models of young (learning unimpaired) and aged (predominantly learning impaired) brains from a set of exploratory datasets in rats in the context of ASLI. The major goal was to overcome some of the limitations previously observed in the traditional meta- and pathway analysis using these data, and identify novel ASLI related genes and their networks based on co-expression relationship of genes. This analysis identified a set of network modules in the young, each of which is highly enriched with genes functioning in broad but distinct GO functional categories or biological pathways. Interestingly, the analysis pointed to a single module that was highly enriched with genes functioning in “learning and memory” related functions and pathways. Subsequent differential network analysis of this “learning and memory” module in the aged (predominantly learning impaired) rats compared to the young learning unimpaired rats allowed us to identify a set of novel ASLI candidate hub genes. Some of these genes show significant repeatability in networks generated from independent young and aged validation datasets. These hub genes are highly co-expressed with other genes in the network, which not only show differential expression but also differential co-expression and differential connectivity across age and learning impairment. The known function of these hub genes indicate that they play key roles in critical pathways, including kinase and phosphatase signaling, in functions related to various ion channels, and in maintaining neuronal integrity relating to synaptic plasticity and memory formation. Taken

Gene Network Construction from Microarray Data Identifies a Key Network Module and Several Candidate Hub Genes in Age-Associated Spatial Learning Impairment.

PubMed

Uddin, Raihan; Singh, Shiva M

2017-01-01

As humans age many suffer from a decrease in normal brain functions including spatial learning impairments. This study aimed to better understand the molecular mechanisms in age-associated spatial learning impairment (ASLI). We used a mathematical modeling approach implemented in Weighted Gene Co-expression Network Analysis (WGCNA) to create and compare gene network models of young (learning unimpaired) and aged (predominantly learning impaired) brains from a set of exploratory datasets in rats in the context of ASLI. The major goal was to overcome some of the limitations previously observed in the traditional meta- and pathway analysis using these data, and identify novel ASLI related genes and their networks based on co-expression relationship of genes. This analysis identified a set of network modules in the young, each of which is highly enriched with genes functioning in broad but distinct GO functional categories or biological pathways. Interestingly, the analysis pointed to a single module that was highly enriched with genes functioning in "learning and memory" related functions and pathways. Subsequent differential network analysis of this "learning and memory" module in the aged (predominantly learning impaired) rats compared to the young learning unimpaired rats allowed us to identify a set of novel ASLI candidate hub genes. Some of these genes show significant repeatability in networks generated from independent young and aged validation datasets. These hub genes are highly co-expressed with other genes in the network, which not only show differential expression but also differential co-expression and differential connectivity across age and learning impairment. The known function of these hub genes indicate that they play key roles in critical pathways, including kinase and phosphatase signaling, in functions related to various ion channels, and in maintaining neuronal integrity relating to synaptic plasticity and memory formation. Taken together, they

Identifying passivated dynamic force microscopy tips on H:Si(100)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sharp, Peter; Jarvis, Sam; Woolley, Richard; Sweetman, Adam; Kantorovich, Lev; Pakes, Chris; Moriarty, Philip

2012-06-01

The chemical reactivity of the tip plays a central role in image formation in dynamic force microscopy, but in very many cases the state of the probe is a key experimental unknown. We show here that an H-terminated and thus chemically unreactive tip can be readily identified via characteristic imaging and spectroscopic (F(z)) signatures, including, in particular, contrast inversion, on hydrogen-passivated Si(100). We determine the tip apex termination by comparing site-specific difference force curves with the results of density functional theory, providing a clear protocol for the identification of chemically unreactive tips on silicon surfaces.

Starting Vortex Identified as Key to Unsteady Ejector Performance

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Paxson, Daniel E.

2004-01-01

Unsteady ejectors are currently under investigation for use in some pulse-detonation-engine-based propulsion systems. Experimental measurements made in the past, and recently at the NASA Glenn Research Center, have demonstrated that thrust augmentation can be enhanced considerably when the driver is unsteady. In ejector systems, thrust augmentation is defined as = T(sup Total)/T(sup j), where T(sup Total) is the total thrust of the combined ejector and driving jet and T(sup j) is the thrust due to the driving jet alone. There are three images in this figure, one for each of the named thrust sources. The images are color contours of measured instantaneous vorticity. Each image is an ensemble average of at least 150 phase-locked measurements. The flow is from right to left, and the shape and location of each driver is shown on the far right of each image. The emitted vortex is a clearly defined "doughnut" of highly vortical (spinning) flow. In these planar images, the vortex appears as two distorted circles, one above, and one below the axis of symmetry. Because they are spinning in the opposite direction, the two circles have vorticity of opposite sign and thus are different colors. There is also a rectangle shown in each image. Its width represents the ejector diameter that was found experimentally to yield the highest thrust augmentation. It is apparent that the optimal ejector diameter is that which just "captures" the vortex: that is, the diameter bounding the outermost edge of the vortex structure. The exact mechanism behind the enhanced performance is unclear; however, it is believed to be related to the powerful vortex emitted with each pulse of the unsteady driver. As such, particle imaging velocimetry (PIV) measurements were obtained for three unsteady drivers: a pulsejet, a resonance tube, and a speaker-driven jet. All the drivers were tested with ejectors, and all exhibited performance enhancement over similarly sized steady drivers. The characteristic

Real-Time Biologically Inspired Action Recognition from Key Poses Using a Neuromorphic Architecture.

PubMed

Layher, Georg; Brosch, Tobias; Neumann, Heiko

2017-01-01

Intelligent agents, such as robots, have to serve a multitude of autonomous functions. Examples are, e.g., collision avoidance, navigation and route planning, active sensing of its environment, or the interaction and non-verbal communication with people in the extended reach space. Here, we focus on the recognition of the action of a human agent based on a biologically inspired visual architecture of analyzing articulated movements. The proposed processing architecture builds upon coarsely segregated streams of sensory processing along different pathways which separately process form and motion information (Layher et al., 2014). Action recognition is performed in an event-based scheme by identifying representations of characteristic pose configurations (key poses) in an image sequence. In line with perceptual studies, key poses are selected unsupervised utilizing a feature-driven criterion which combines extrema in the motion energy with the horizontal and the vertical extendedness of a body shape. Per class representations of key pose frames are learned using a deep convolutional neural network consisting of 15 convolutional layers. The network is trained using the energy-efficient deep neuromorphic networks ( Eedn ) framework (Esser et al., 2016), which realizes the mapping of the trained synaptic weights onto the IBM Neurosynaptic System platform (Merolla et al., 2014). After the mapping, the trained network achieves real-time capabilities for processing input streams and classify input images at about 1,000 frames per second while the computational stages only consume about 70 mW of energy (without spike transduction). Particularly regarding mobile robotic systems, a low energy profile might be crucial in a variety of application scenarios. Cross-validation results are reported for two different datasets and compared to state-of-the-art action recognition approaches. The results demonstrate, that (I) the presented approach is on par with other key pose based

Real-Time Biologically Inspired Action Recognition from Key Poses Using a Neuromorphic Architecture

PubMed Central

Layher, Georg; Brosch, Tobias; Neumann, Heiko

2017-01-01

Intelligent agents, such as robots, have to serve a multitude of autonomous functions. Examples are, e.g., collision avoidance, navigation and route planning, active sensing of its environment, or the interaction and non-verbal communication with people in the extended reach space. Here, we focus on the recognition of the action of a human agent based on a biologically inspired visual architecture of analyzing articulated movements. The proposed processing architecture builds upon coarsely segregated streams of sensory processing along different pathways which separately process form and motion information (Layher et al., 2014). Action recognition is performed in an event-based scheme by identifying representations of characteristic pose configurations (key poses) in an image sequence. In line with perceptual studies, key poses are selected unsupervised utilizing a feature-driven criterion which combines extrema in the motion energy with the horizontal and the vertical extendedness of a body shape. Per class representations of key pose frames are learned using a deep convolutional neural network consisting of 15 convolutional layers. The network is trained using the energy-efficient deep neuromorphic networks (Eedn) framework (Esser et al., 2016), which realizes the mapping of the trained synaptic weights onto the IBM Neurosynaptic System platform (Merolla et al., 2014). After the mapping, the trained network achieves real-time capabilities for processing input streams and classify input images at about 1,000 frames per second while the computational stages only consume about 70 mW of energy (without spike transduction). Particularly regarding mobile robotic systems, a low energy profile might be crucial in a variety of application scenarios. Cross-validation results are reported for two different datasets and compared to state-of-the-art action recognition approaches. The results demonstrate, that (I) the presented approach is on par with other key pose based

A key to the Mexican and Central America Genera of Anthonomini (Curculionidae, Curculioninae)

PubMed Central

Hernández, Macotulio Soto; Jones, Robert W.; Castillo, Pedro Reyes

2013-01-01

Abstract Presently the only keys available for identification of genera of Anthonomini are limited to those of the United States of America and Canada. A dichotomous key is presented to identify all genera of Mexican and Central American Anthonomini. Previous keys do not include the genera Achia, Botanebius, Loncophorus, Loncophorellus and Melexerus. A brief synopsis is given for each genus and photographs of representative species are included. PMID:23717181

Key enablers to facilitate healthy behavior change: workshop summary.

PubMed

Teyhen, Deydre S; Aldag, Matt; Centola, Damon; Edinborough, Elton; Ghannadian, Jason D; Haught, Andrea; Jackson, Theresa; Kinn, Julie; Kunkler, Kevin J; Levine, Betty; Martindale, Valerie E; Neal, David; Snyder, Leslie B; Styn, Mindi A; Thorndike, Frances; Trabosh, Valerie; Parramore, David J

2014-05-01

The increases in preventable chronic diseases and the rising costs of health care are unsustainable. The US Army Surgeon General's vision to transition from a health care system to a system of health requires the identification of key health enablers to facilitate the adoption of healthy behaviors. In support of this vision, the US Army Telemedicine and Advanced Technology Research Center hosted a workshop in April 2013 titled "Incentives to Create and Sustain Change for Health." Members of government and academia participated to identify key health enablers that could ultimately be leveraged by technology. The key health enablers discussed included (1) public health messaging, (2) changing health habits and the environmental influence on health, (3) goal setting and tracking, (4) the role of incentives in behavior-change intervention, and (5) the role of peer and social networks on change. This report summarizes leading evidence and the group consensus on evidence-based practices with respect to the key enablers in creating healthy behavior change.

HIV epidemic among key populations in west Africa.

PubMed

Djomand, Gaston; Quaye, Silas; Sullivan, Patrick S

2014-09-01

Globally, HIV infection remains a significant issue for key populations such as men who have sex with men (MSM) and female sex workers. A review of recent articles was conducted for west African countries to assess the burden of disease among female sex workers and MSM, access to services and identify barriers to implementation of services for key populations. In west Africa, key populations engage in high-risk practices for the acquisition of HIV and other sexually transmitted infections. Available HIV prevalence data fluctuate across and within countries for both MSM and female sex workers and may be five to ten times as high as that of the general population. HIV prevalence varied from 15.9% in The Gambia to 68% in Benin among female sex workers, whereas it ranged from 9.8% in The Gambia to 34.9% in Nigeria for MSM. Yet, important data gaps exist, including key populations size estimations in several countries as well as HIV prevalence, incidence and other biomarkers of HIV risk. Because of sociocultural, legal, political and economic challenges, exacerbated by a poor health system infrastructure, the HIV response is not strategically directed toward programs for key populations in countries with concentrated epidemics. Noteworthy is the low coverage of prevention care and treatment interventions offered to key populations. Sufficient planning and political will with legal and structural frameworks that reconcile public health and human rights are needed to prioritize HIV prevention, care and treatment programming for key populations programs in west Africa.

BARI+: A Biometric Based Distributed Key Management Approach for Wireless Body Area Networks

PubMed Central

Muhammad, Khaliq-ur-Rahman Raazi Syed; Lee, Heejo; Lee, Sungyoung; Lee, Young-Koo

2010-01-01

Wireless body area networks (WBAN) consist of resource constrained sensing devices just like other wireless sensor networks (WSN). However, they differ from WSN in topology, scale and security requirements. Due to these differences, key management schemes designed for WSN are inefficient and unnecessarily complex when applied to WBAN. Considering the key management issue, WBAN are also different from WPAN because WBAN can use random biometric measurements as keys. We highlight the differences between WSN and WBAN and propose an efficient key management scheme, which makes use of biometrics and is specifically designed for WBAN domain. PMID:22319333

Identifying Predictors, Moderators, and Mediators of Antidepressant Response in Major Depressive Disorder: Neuroimaging Approaches

PubMed Central

Phillips, Mary L.; Chase, Henry W.; Sheline, Yvette I.; Etkin, Amit; Almeida, Jorge R.C.; Deckersbach, Thilo; Trivedi, Madhukar H.

2015-01-01

Objective Despite significant advances in neuroscience and treatment development, no widely accepted biomarkers are available to inform diagnostics or identify preferred treatments for individuals with major depressive disorder. Method In this critical review, the authors examine the extent to which multimodal neuroimaging techniques can identify biomarkers reflecting key pathophysiologic processes in depression and whether such biomarkers may act as predictors, moderators, and mediators of treatment response that might facilitate development of personalized treatments based on a better understanding of these processes. Results The authors first highlight the most consistent findings from neuroimaging studies using different techniques in depression, including structural and functional abnormalities in two parallel neural circuits: serotonergically modulated implicit emotion regulation circuitry, centered on the amygdala and different regions in the medial prefrontal cortex; and dopaminergically modulated reward neural circuitry, centered on the ventral striatum and medial prefrontal cortex. They then describe key findings from the relatively small number of studies indicating that specific measures of regional function and, to a lesser extent, structure in these neural circuits predict treatment response in depression. Conclusions Limitations of existing studies include small sample sizes, use of only one neuroimaging modality, and a focus on identifying predictors rather than moderators and mediators of differential treatment response. By addressing these limitations and, most importantly, capitalizing on the benefits of multimodal neuroimaging, future studies can yield moderators and mediators of treatment response in depression to facilitate significant improvements in shorter- and longer-term clinical and functional outcomes. PMID:25640931

Identifying PHM market and network opportunities.

PubMed

Grube, Mark E; Krishnaswamy, Anand; Poziemski, John; York, Robert W

2015-11-01

Two key processes for healthcare organizations seeking to assume a financially sustainable role in population health management (PHM), after laying the groundwork for the effort, are to identify potential PHM market opportunities and determine the scope of the PHM network. Key variables organizations should consider with respect to market opportunities include the patient population, the overall insurance/employer market, and available types of insurance products. Regarding the network's scope, organizations should consider both traditional strategic criteria for a viable network and at least five additional criteria: network essentiality and PHM care continuum, network adequacy, service distribution right-sizing, network growth strategy, and organizational agility.

A fast image matching algorithm based on key points

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Huilin; Wang, Ying; An, Ru; Yan, Peng

2014-05-01

Image matching is a very important technique in image processing. It has been widely used for object recognition and tracking, image retrieval, three-dimensional vision, change detection, aircraft position estimation, and multi-image registration. Based on the requirements of matching algorithm for craft navigation, such as speed, accuracy and adaptability, a fast key point image matching method is investigated and developed. The main research tasks includes: (1) Developing an improved celerity key point detection approach using self-adapting threshold of Features from Accelerated Segment Test (FAST). A method of calculating self-adapting threshold was introduced for images with different contrast. Hessian matrix was adopted to eliminate insecure edge points in order to obtain key points with higher stability. This approach in detecting key points has characteristics of small amount of computation, high positioning accuracy and strong anti-noise ability; (2) PCA-SIFT is utilized to describe key point. 128 dimensional vector are formed based on the SIFT method for the key points extracted. A low dimensional feature space was established by eigenvectors of all the key points, and each eigenvector was projected onto the feature space to form a low dimensional eigenvector. These key points were re-described by dimension-reduced eigenvectors. After reducing the dimension by the PCA, the descriptor was reduced to 20 dimensions from the original 128. This method can reduce dimensions of searching approximately near neighbors thereby increasing overall speed; (3) Distance ratio between the nearest neighbour and second nearest neighbour searching is regarded as the measurement criterion for initial matching points from which the original point pairs matched are obtained. Based on the analysis of the common methods (e.g. RANSAC (random sample consensus) and Hough transform cluster) used for elimination false matching point pairs, a heuristic local geometric restriction

Academic Primer Series: Eight Key Papers about Education Theory.

PubMed

Gottlieb, Michael; Boysen-Osborn, Megan; Chan, Teresa M; Krzyzaniak, Sara M; Pineda, Nicolas; Spector, Jordan; Sherbino, Jonathan

2017-02-01

Many teachers adopt instructional methods based on assumptions of best practices without attention to or knowledge of supporting education theory. Familiarity with a variety of theories informs education that is efficient, strategic, and evidence-based. As part of the Academic Life in Emergency Medicine Faculty Incubator Program, a list of key education theories for junior faculty was developed. A list of key papers on theories relevant to medical education was generated using an expert panel, a virtual community of practice synthetic discussion, and a social media call for resources. A three-round, Delphi-informed voting methodology including novice and expert educators produced a rank order of the top papers. These educators identified 34 unique papers. Eleven papers described the general use of education theory, while 23 papers focused on a specific theory. The top three papers on general education theories and top five papers on specific education theory were selected and summarized. The relevance of each paper for junior faculty and faculty developers is also presented. This paper presents a reading list of key papers for junior faculty in medical education roles. Three papers about general education theories and five papers about specific educational theories are identified and annotated. These papers may help provide foundational knowledge in education theory to inform junior faculty teaching practice.

Identifying key controls on the behavior of an acidic-U(VI) plume in the Savannah River Site using reactive transport modeling.

PubMed

Bea, Sergio A; Wainwright, Haruko; Spycher, Nicolas; Faybishenko, Boris; Hubbard, Susan S; Denham, Miles E

2013-08-01

Acidic low-level waste radioactive waste solutions were discharged to three unlined seepage basins at the F-Area of the Department of Energy (DOE) Savannah River Site (SRS), South Carolina, USA, from 1955 through 1989. Despite many years of active remediation, the groundwater remains acidic and contaminated with significant levels of U(VI) and other radionuclides. Monitored Natural Attenuation (MNA) is a desired closure strategy for the site, based on the premise that regional flow of clean background groundwater will eventually neutralize the groundwater acidity, immobilizing U(VI) through adsorption. An in situ treatment system is currently in place to accelerate this in the downgradient portion of the plume and similar measures could be taken upgradient if necessary. Understanding the long-term pH and U(VI) adsorption behavior at the site is critical to assess feasibility of MNA along with the in-situ remediation treatments. This paper presents a reactive transport (RT) model and uncertainty quantification (UQ) analyses to explore key controls on the U(VI)-plume evolution and long-term mobility at this site. Two-dimensional numerical RT simulations are run including the saturated and unsaturated (vadose) zones, U(VI) and H(+) adsorption (surface complexation) onto sediments, dissolution and precipitation of Al and Fe minerals, and key hydrodynamic processes are considered. UQ techniques are applied using a new open-source tool that is part of the developing ASCEM reactive transport modeling and analysis framework to: (1) identify the complex physical and geochemical processes that control the U(VI) plume migration in the pH range where the plume is highly mobile, (2) evaluate those physical and geochemical parameters that are most controlling, and (3) predict the future plume evolution constrained by historical, chemical and hydrological data. The RT simulation results show a good agreement with the observed historical pH and concentrations of U(VI), nitrates

Robust multiparty quantum secret key sharing over two collective-noise channels

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Zhan-jun

2006-02-01

Based on a polarization-based quantum key distribution protocol over a collective-noise channel [Phys. Rev. Lett. 92 (2004) 017901], a robust (n,n)-threshold scheme of multiparty quantum secret sharing of key over two collective-noise channels (i.e., the collective dephasing channel and the collective rotating channel) is proposed. In this scheme the sharer entirety can establish a joint key with the message sender only if all the sharers collaborate together. Since Bell singlets are enough for use and only single-photon polarization needs to be identified, this scheme is feasible according to the present-day technique.

Middle Leadership: A Key Role of Numeracy Reform

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jorgensen, Robyn

2016-01-01

This paper reports on a large national project that explored successful numeracy practices in remote and very remote schools. While there have been a number of significant findings, the middle leader has been identified as a key role in the development of successful numeracy/mathematics practices in schools. The middle leader plays a critical role…

Intraguild Predation Responses in Two Aphidophagous Coccinellids Identify Differences among Juvenile Stages and Aphid Densities.

PubMed

Rondoni, Gabriele; Ielo, Fulvio; Ricci, Carlo; Conti, Eric

2014-12-08

(1) Intraguild predation (IGP) can occur among aphidophagous predators thus reducing their effectiveness in controlling crop pests. Among ladybirds, Coccinella septempunctata L. and Hippodamia variegata Goeze are the most effective predators upon Aphis gossypii Glov., which is an economically important pest of melon. Understanding their likelihood to engage in reciprocal predation is a key point for conservation of biological control. Here, we aim to investigate, under laboratory conditions, the level of IGP between the two above mentioned aphidophagous species. (2) Fourth-instars of the two species were isolated in petri dishes with combinations of different stages of the heterospecific ladybird and different densities of A. gossypii. The occurrence of IGP events was recorded after six hours. (3) C. septempunctata predated H. variegata at a higher rate than vice versa (70% vs. 43% overall). Higher density of the aphid or older juvenile stage of the IG-prey (22% of fourth instars vs. 74% of eggs and second instars) reduces the likelihood of predation. (4) To our knowledge, IGP between C. septempunctata and H. variegata was investigated for the first time. Results represent a baseline, necessary to predict the likelihood of IGP occurrence in the field.

Genome-wide association study identifies three key loci for high mesocarp oil content in perennial crop oil palm

PubMed Central

Teh, Chee-Keng; Ong, Ai-Ling; Kwong, Qi-Bin; Apparow, Sukganah; Chew, Fook-Tim; Mayes, Sean; Mohamed, Mohaimi; Appleton, David; Kulaveerasingam, Harikrishna

2016-01-01

GWAS in out-crossing perennial crops is typically limited by insufficient marker density to account for population diversity and effects of population structure resulting in high false positive rates. The perennial crop oil palm is the most productive oil crop. We performed GWAS for oil-to-dry-mesocarp content (O/DM) on 2,045 genotyped tenera palms using 200K SNPs that were selected based on the short-range linkage disequilibrium distance, which is inherent with long breeding cycles and heterogeneous breeding populations. Eighty loci were significantly associated with O/DM (p ≤ 10−4) and three key signals were found. We then evaluated the progeny of a Deli x AVROS breeding trial and a 4% higher O/DM was observed amongst those having the beneficial genotypes at two of the three key loci (p < 0.05). We have initiated MAS and large-scale planting of elite dura and pisifera parents to generate the new commercial tenera palms with higher O/DM potential. PMID:26743827

Identifying high production, low production and degraded rangelands in Senegal with normalized difference vegetation index data

USGS Publications Warehouse

Tappan, G. Gray; Wood, Lynette; Moore, Donald G.

1993-01-01

Seasonal herbaceous vegetation production on Senegal's native rangelands exhibits high spatial and temporal variability. This variability can be monitored using normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) data computed from 1-km resolution Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) image data. Although annual fluctuations in rainfall account for some of the variability, numerous long-term production patterns are evident in the AVHRR time-series data. Different n productivity reflect variations in the region's climate, topography, soils, and land use. Areas of overgrazing and intensive cultivation have caused long-term soil and vegetation degradation. Rangelands of high and low productivity, and degraded rangelands were identified using NDVI. Time-series image data from 1987 though 1992 were used to map relative rangeland productivity. The results were compared to detailed resource maps on soils, vegetation and land use. Much of the variation in rangeland productivity correlated well to the known distribution of resources. The study developed an approach that identified a number of areas of degraded soils and low vegetation production.

Mergeomics: a web server for identifying pathological pathways, networks, and key regulators via multidimensional data integration.

PubMed

Arneson, Douglas; Bhattacharya, Anindya; Shu, Le; Mäkinen, Ville-Petteri; Yang, Xia

2016-09-09

Human diseases are commonly the result of multidimensional changes at molecular, cellular, and systemic levels. Recent advances in genomic technologies have enabled an outpour of omics datasets that capture these changes. However, separate analyses of these various data only provide fragmented understanding and do not capture the holistic view of disease mechanisms. To meet the urgent needs for tools that effectively integrate multiple types of omics data to derive biological insights, we have developed Mergeomics, a computational pipeline that integrates multidimensional disease association data with functional genomics and molecular networks to retrieve biological pathways, gene networks, and central regulators critical for disease development. To make the Mergeomics pipeline available to a wider research community, we have implemented an online, user-friendly web server ( http://mergeomics. idre.ucla.edu/ ). The web server features a modular implementation of the Mergeomics pipeline with detailed tutorials. Additionally, it provides curated genomic resources including tissue-specific expression quantitative trait loci, ENCODE functional annotations, biological pathways, and molecular networks, and offers interactive visualization of analytical results. Multiple computational tools including Marker Dependency Filtering (MDF), Marker Set Enrichment Analysis (MSEA), Meta-MSEA, and Weighted Key Driver Analysis (wKDA) can be used separately or in flexible combinations. User-defined summary-level genomic association datasets (e.g., genetic, transcriptomic, epigenomic) related to a particular disease or phenotype can be uploaded and computed real-time to yield biologically interpretable results, which can be viewed online and downloaded for later use. Our Mergeomics web server offers researchers flexible and user-friendly tools to facilitate integration of multidimensional data into holistic views of disease mechanisms in the form of tissue-specific key regulators

Bi-directional gene set enrichment and canonical correlation analysis identify key diet-sensitive pathways and biomarkers of metabolic syndrome.

PubMed

Morine, Melissa J; McMonagle, Jolene; Toomey, Sinead; Reynolds, Clare M; Moloney, Aidan P; Gormley, Isobel C; Gaora, Peadar O; Roche, Helen M

2010-10-07

constituent genes, as well as strong correlations between gene expression and plasma markers of metabolic syndrome independent of the dietary effect. Bi-directional gene set enrichment analysis more accurately reflects dynamic regulatory behaviour in biochemical pathways, and as such highlighted biologically relevant changes that were not detected using a traditional approach. In such cases where transcriptomic response to treatment is exceptionally large, canonical correlation analysis in conjunction with Fisher's exact test highlights the subset of pathways showing strongest correlation with the clinical markers of interest. In this case, we have identified selenoamino acid metabolism and steroid biosynthesis as key pathways mediating the observed relationship between metabolic health and high-CLA beef. These results indicate that this type of analysis has the potential to generate novel transcriptome-based biomarkers of disease.

Bi-directional gene set enrichment and canonical correlation analysis identify key diet-sensitive pathways and biomarkers of metabolic syndrome

PubMed Central

2010-01-01

-sensitive changes in constituent genes, as well as strong correlations between gene expression and plasma markers of metabolic syndrome independent of the dietary effect. Conclusion Bi-directional gene set enrichment analysis more accurately reflects dynamic regulatory behaviour in biochemical pathways, and as such highlighted biologically relevant changes that were not detected using a traditional approach. In such cases where transcriptomic response to treatment is exceptionally large, canonical correlation analysis in conjunction with Fisher's exact test highlights the subset of pathways showing strongest correlation with the clinical markers of interest. In this case, we have identified selenoamino acid metabolism and steroid biosynthesis as key pathways mediating the observed relationship between metabolic health and high-CLA beef. These results indicate that this type of analysis has the potential to generate novel transcriptome-based biomarkers of disease. PMID:20929581

Development of a model system to identify differences in spring and winter oat.

PubMed

Chawade, Aakash; Lindén, Pernilla; Bräutigam, Marcus; Jonsson, Rickard; Jonsson, Anders; Moritz, Thomas; Olsson, Olof

2012-01-01

Our long-term goal is to develop a Swedish winter oat (Avena sativa). To identify molecular differences that correlate with winter hardiness, a winter oat model comprising of both non-hardy spring lines and winter hardy lines is needed. To achieve this, we selected 294 oat breeding lines, originating from various Russian, German, and American winter oat breeding programs and tested them in the field in south- and western Sweden. By assaying for winter survival and agricultural properties during four consecutive seasons, we identified 14 breeding lines of different origins that not only survived the winter but also were agronomically better than the rest. Laboratory tests including electrolytic leakage, controlled crown freezing assay, expression analysis of the AsVrn1 gene and monitoring of flowering time suggested that the American lines had the highest freezing tolerance, although the German lines performed better in the field. Finally, six lines constituting the two most freezing tolerant lines, two intermediate lines and two spring cultivars were chosen to build a winter oat model system. Metabolic profiling of non-acclimated and cold acclimated leaf tissue samples isolated from the six selected lines revealed differential expression patterns of 245 metabolites including several sugars, amino acids, organic acids and 181 hitherto unknown metabolites. The expression patterns of 107 metabolites showed significant interactions with either a cultivar or a time-point. Further identification, characterisation and validation of these metabolites will lead to an increased understanding of the cold acclimation process in oats. Furthermore, by using the winter oat model system, differential sequencing of crown mRNA populations would lead to identification of various biomarkers to facilitate winter oat breeding.

A mixed-methods study identifying key intervention targets to improve participation in daily living activities in primary Sjögren's syndrome patients.

PubMed

Hackett, Katie L; Deane, Katherine H O; Newton, Julia L; Deary, Vincent; Bowman, Simon; Rapley, Tim; Ng, Wan-Fai

2018-02-06

Functional ability and participation in life situations are compromised in many primary Sjögren's syndrome (PSS) patients. This study aims to identify the key barriers and priorities to participation in daily living activities, in order to develop potential future interventions. Group concept mapping (GCM), a semi-quantitative, mixed-methods, approach was used to identify and structure ideas from UK PSS patients, adults living with a PSS patient (AHMs) and health care professionals (HCPs). Brainstorming generated ideas, which were summarised into a final set of statements. Participants individually arranged these statements into themes and rated each statement for importance. Multidimensional scaling and hierarchical cluster analysis were applied to sorted and rated data to produce visual representations of the ideas (concept maps), enabling identification of agreed priority areas for interventions. 121 patients, 43 AHMs and 67 HCPs took part. 463 ideas were distilled down to 94 statements. These statements were grouped into seven clusters; 'Patient empowerment', 'Symptoms', 'Wellbeing', 'Access and coordination of healthcare', 'Knowledge and support', 'Public awareness and support' and 'Family and friends'. Patient empowerment and Symptoms were rated as priority conceptual themes. Important statements within priority clusters indicate patients should be taken seriously and supported to self-manage symptoms of oral and ocular dryness, fatigue, pain and poor sleep. Our data highlighted that in addition to managing PSS symptoms; interventions aiming to improve patient empowerment, general wellbeing, access to healthcare, patient education and social support are important to facilitate improved participation in daily living activities. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

Key factors influencing allied health research capacity in a large Australian metropolitan health district

PubMed Central

Alison, Jennifer A; Zafiropoulos, Bill; Heard, Robert

2017-01-01

Objective The aim of this study was to identify key factors affecting research capacity and engagement of allied health professionals working in a large metropolitan health service. Identifying such factors will assist in determining strategies for building research capacity in allied health. Materials and methods A total of 276 allied health professionals working within the Sydney Local Health District (SLHD) completed the Research Capacity in Context Tool (RCCT) that measures research capacity and culture across three domains: organization, team, and individual. An exploratory factor analysis was undertaken to identify common themes within each of these domains. Correlations were performed between demographic variables and the identified factors to determine possible relationships. Results Research capacity and culture success/skill levels were reported to be higher within the organization and team domains compared to the individual domain (median [interquartile range, IQR] 6 [5–8], 6 [5–8], 5 [3–7], respectively; Friedman χ2(2)=42.04, p<0.001). Exploratory factor analyses were performed to identify factors that were perceived by allied health respondents to affect research capacity. Factors identified within the organization domain were infrastructure for research (eg, funds and equipment) and research culture (eg, senior manager’s support for research); within the team domain the factors were research orientation (eg, dissemination of results at research seminars) and research support (eg, providing staff research training). Within the individual domain, only one factor was identified which was the research skill of the individual (eg, literature evaluation, submitting ethics applications and data analysis, and writing for publication). Conclusion The reported skill/success levels in research were lower for the individual domain compared to the organization or team domains. Key factors were identified in each domain that impacted on allied health

41 CFR Appendix A to Subpart C of... - 3-Key Points and Principles

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... Principles A Appendix A to Subpart C of Part 102 Public Contracts and Property Management Federal Property... 102-3—Key Points and Principles This appendix provides additional guidance in the form of answers to frequently asked questions and identifies key points and principles that may be applied to situations not...

Key Future Engineering Capabilities for Human Capital Retention

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sivich, Lorrie

Projected record retirements of Baby Boomer generation engineers have been predicted to result in significant losses of mission-critical knowledge in space, national security, and future scientific ventures vital to high-technology corporations. No comprehensive review or analysis of engineering capabilities has been performed to identify threats related to the specific loss of mission-critical knowledge posed by the increasing retirement of tenured engineers. Archival data from a single diversified Fortune 500 aerospace manufacturing engineering company's engineering career database were analyzed to ascertain whether relationships linking future engineering capabilities, engineering disciplines, and years of engineering experience could be identified to define critical knowledge transfer models. Chi square, logistic, and linear regression analyses were used to map patterns of discipline-specific, mission-critical knowledge using archival data of engineers' perceptions of engineering capabilities, key developmental experiences, and knowledge learned from their engineering careers. The results from the study were used to document key engineering future capabilities. The results were then used to develop a proposed human capital retention plan to address specific key knowledge gaps of younger engineers as veteran engineers retire. The potential for social change from this study involves informing leaders of aerospace engineering corporations on how to build better quality mentoring or succession plans to fill the void of lost knowledge from retiring engineers. This plan can secure mission-critical knowledge for younger engineers for current and future product development and increased global competitiveness in the technology market.

Turboelectric Aircraft Drive Key Performance Parameters and Functional Requirements

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Jansen, Ralph H.; Brown, Gerald V.; Felder, James L.; Duffy, Kirsten P.

2016-01-01

The purpose of this paper is to propose specific power and efficiency as the key performance parameters for a turboelectric aircraft power system and investigate their impact on the overall aircraft. Key functional requirements are identified that impact the power system design. Breguet range equations for a base aircraft and a turboelectric aircraft are found. The benefits and costs that may result from the turboelectric system are enumerated. A break-even analysis is conducted to find the minimum allowable electric drive specific power and efficiency that can preserve the range, initial weight, operating empty weight, and payload weight of the base aircraft.

Turboelectric Aircraft Drive Key Performance Parameters and Functional Requirements

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Jansen, Ralph; Brown, Gerald V.; Felder, James L.; Duffy, Kirsten P.

2015-01-01

The purpose of this presentation is to propose specific power and efficiency as the key performance parameters for a turboelectric aircraft power system and investigate their impact on the overall aircraft. Key functional requirements are identified that impact the power system design. Breguet range equations for a base aircraft and a turboelectric aircraft are found. The benefits and costs that may result from the turboelectric system are enumerated. A break-even analysis is conducted to find the minimum allowable electric drive specific power and efficiency that can preserve the range, initial weight, operating empty weight, and payload weight of the base aircraft.

Turboelectric Aircraft Drive Key Performance Parameters and Functional Requirements

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Jansen, Ralph H.; Brown, Gerald V.; Felder, James L.; Duffy, Kirsten P.

2015-01-01

The purpose of this paper is to propose specific power and efficiency as the key performance parameters for a turboelectric aircraft power system and investigate their impact on the overall aircraft. Key functional requirements are identified that impact the power system design. Breguet range equations for a base aircraft and a turboelectric aircraft are found. The benefits and costs that may result from the turboelectric system are enumerated. A break-even analysis is conducted to find the minimum allowable electric drive specific power and efficiency that can preserve the range, initial weight, operating empty weight, and payload weight of the base aircraft.

Integrated RNA-Seq and sRNA-Seq Analysis Identifies Chilling and Freezing Responsive Key Molecular Players and Pathways in Tea Plant (Camellia sinensis).

PubMed

Zheng, Chao; Zhao, Lei; Wang, Yu; Shen, Jiazhi; Zhang, Yinfei; Jia, Sisi; Li, Yusheng; Ding, Zhaotang

2015-01-01

Tea [Camellia sinensis (L) O. Kuntze, Theaceae] is one of the most popular non-alcoholic beverages worldwide. Cold stress is one of the most severe abiotic stresses that limit tea plants' growth, survival and geographical distribution. However, the genetic regulatory network and signaling pathways involved in cold stress responses in tea plants remain unearthed. Using RNA-Seq, DGE and sRNA-Seq technologies, we performed an integrative analysis of miRNA and mRNA expression profiling and their regulatory network of tea plants under chilling (4℃) and freezing (-5℃) stress. Differentially expressed (DE) miRNA and mRNA profiles were obtained based on fold change analysis, miRNAs and target mRNAs were found to show both coherent and incoherent relationships in the regulatory network. Furthermore, we compared several key pathways (e.g., 'Photosynthesis'), GO terms (e.g., 'response to karrikin') and transcriptional factors (TFs, e.g., DREB1b/CBF1) which were identified as involved in the early chilling and/or freezing response of tea plants. Intriguingly, we found that karrikins, a new group of plant growth regulators, and β-primeverosidase (BPR), a key enzyme functionally relevant with the formation of tea aroma might play an important role in both early chilling and freezing response of tea plants. Quantitative reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) analysis further confirmed the results from RNA-Seq and sRNA-Seq analysis. This is the first study to simultaneously profile the expression patterns of both miRNAs and mRNAs on a genome-wide scale to elucidate the molecular mechanisms of early responses of tea plants to cold stress. In addition to gaining a deeper insight into the cold resistant characteristics of tea plants, we provide a good case study to analyse mRNA/miRNA expression and profiling of non-model plant species using next-generation sequencing technology.

Metadata, Identifiers, and Physical Samples

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Arctur, D. K.; Lenhardt, W. C.; Hills, D. J.; Jenkyns, R.; Stroker, K. J.; Todd, N. S.; Dassie, E. P.; Bowring, J. F.

2016-12-01

Physical samples are integral to much of the research conducted by geoscientists. The samples used in this research are often obtained at significant cost and represent an important investment for future research. However, making information about samples - whether considered data or metadata - available for researchers to enable discovery is difficult: a number of key elements related to samples are difficult to characterize in common ways, such as classification, location, sample type, sampling method, repository information, subsample distribution, and instrumentation, because these differ from one domain to the next. Unifying these elements or developing metadata crosswalks is needed. The iSamples (Internet of Samples) NSF-funded Research Coordination Network (RCN) is investigating ways to develop these types of interoperability and crosswalks. Within the iSamples RCN, one of its working groups, WG1, has focused on the metadata related to physical samples. This includes identifying existing metadata standards and systems, and how they might interoperate with the International Geo Sample Number (IGSN) schema (schema.igsn.org) in order to help inform leading practices for metadata. For example, we are examining lifecycle metadata beyond the IGSN `birth certificate.' As a first step, this working group is developing a list of relevant standards and comparing their various attributes. In addition, the working group is looking toward technical solutions to facilitate developing a linked set of registries to build the web of samples. Finally, the group is also developing a comparison of sample identifiers and locators. This paper will provide an overview and comparison of the standards identified thus far, as well as an update on the technical solutions examined for integration. We will discuss how various sample identifiers might work in complementary fashion with the IGSN to more completely describe samples, facilitate retrieval of contextual information, and

Key characteristics of specular stereo

PubMed Central

Muryy, Alexander A.; Fleming, Roland W.; Welchman, Andrew E.

2014-01-01

Because specular reflection is view-dependent, shiny surfaces behave radically differently from matte, textured surfaces when viewed with two eyes. As a result, specular reflections pose substantial problems for binocular stereopsis. Here we use a combination of computer graphics and geometrical analysis to characterize the key respects in which specular stereo differs from standard stereo, to identify how and why the human visual system fails to reconstruct depths correctly from specular reflections. We describe rendering of stereoscopic images of specular surfaces in which the disparity information can be varied parametrically and independently of monocular appearance. Using the generated surfaces and images, we explain how stereo correspondence can be established with known and unknown surface geometry. We show that even with known geometry, stereo matching for specular surfaces is nontrivial because points in one eye may have zero, one, or multiple matches in the other eye. Matching features typically yield skew (nonintersecting) rays, leading to substantial ortho-epipolar components to the disparities, which makes deriving depth values from matches nontrivial. We suggest that the human visual system may base its depth estimates solely on the epipolar components of disparities while treating the ortho-epipolar components as a measure of the underlying reliability of the disparity signals. Reconstructing virtual surfaces according to these principles reveals that they are piece-wise smooth with very large discontinuities close to inflection points on the physical surface. Together, these distinctive characteristics lead to cues that the visual system could use to diagnose specular reflections from binocular information. PMID:25540263

41 CFR Appendix A to Subpart D of... - 3-Key Points and Principles

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... Principles A Appendix A to Subpart D of Part 102 Public Contracts and Property Management Federal Property... Subpart D of Part 102-3—Key Points and Principles This appendix provides additional guidance in the form of answers to frequently asked questions and identifies key points and principles that may be applied...

Diagnosed, identified, current and complete depression among patients attending primary care in southern Catalonia: different aspects of the same concept.

PubMed

Montesó-Curto, Pilar; Ferré-Grau, Carme; Lleixà-Fortuño, Mar; Albacar-Riobóo, Nuria; Lejeune, Marylene

2014-02-01

The aims of this study were to explore the prevalence and the conceptualizations of depression detected by the healthcare system, identified by the patient or classified/identified in the validated Goldberg's questionnaire in a community. We conducted a cross-sectional evaluation of 317 patients. The different types of depression diagnosed, identified, current or total were stratified by age and gender groups. The difference in the conceptualization of depression from the medical or ordinary people point of view indicate that depression care requires the understanding of the lifestyle, beliefs, attitudes, family and social networks of the people the physicians and nurses care for. © 2014.

Is Obesity Associated With School Dropout? Key Developmental and Ethnic Differences.

PubMed

Lanza, H Isabella; Huang, David Y C

2015-10-01

We aimed to expand the literature on child obesity and school outcomes by examining associations between obesity and high school dropout, including the role of obesity onset and duration as well as ethnicity. Data on 5066 children obtained between 1986 and 2010 from the child cohort of the 1979 National Longitudinal Study of Youth (NLSY79) were analyzed. Group-based trajectory analysis identified obesity trajectories from 6 to 18 years. School completion information from age 14 into young adulthood was used to calculate school dropout. Chi-square and pairwise comparison tests were used to identify significant associations between obesity trajectories and school dropout. Adolescents belonging to an increasing trajectory (adolescent-onset obesity) had a higher likelihood of dropping out of high school compared with those belonging to chronic, decreasing (childhood-only obesity), and nonobese trajectories. This association was particularly salient among white adolescents. Obesity onset during early adolescence increased risk of high school dropout. White adolescents were particularly vulnerable. Given that early adolescence is marked by significant biological and social changes, future research should seek to identify the underlying processes linking adolescent obesity and school dropout to decrease school dropout risk among this vulnerable population. © 2015, American School Health Association.

Is obesity associated with school dropout? Key developmental and ethnic differences

PubMed Central

Lanza, H. Isabella; Huang, David Y.C.

2015-01-01

Background We aimed to expand the literature on child obesity and school outcomes by examining associations between obesity and high school dropout, including the role of obesity onset and duration as well as ethnicity. Methods Data on 5066 children obtained between 1986 and 2010 from the child cohort of the 1979 National Longitudinal Study of Youth (NLSY79) were analyzed. Group-based trajectory analysis identified obesity trajectories from 6-18 years. School completion information from age 14 into young adulthood was used to calculate school dropout. Chi-square and pairwise comparison tests were used to identify significant associations between obesity trajectories and school dropout. Results Adolescents belonging to an increasing trajectory (adolescent-onset obesity) had a higher likelihood of dropping out of high school compared to those belonging to chronic, decreasing (childhood-only obesity), and non-obese trajectories. This association was particularly salient among white adolescents. Conclusions Obesity onset during early adolescence increased risk of high school dropout. White adolescents were particularly vulnerable. Given that early adolescence is marked by significant biological and social changes, future research should seek to identify the underlying processes linking adolescent-obesity and school dropout to decrease school dropout risk among this vulnerable population. PMID:26331748

Emergency management in health: key issues and challenges in the UK.

PubMed

Lee, Andrew C K; Phillips, Wendy; Challen, Kirsty; Goodacre, Steve

2012-10-19

Emergency planning in the UK has grown considerably in recent years, galvanised by the threat of terrorism. However, deficiencies in NHS emergency planning were identified and the evidence-base that underpins it is questionable. Inconsistencies in terminologies and concepts also exist. Different models of emergency management exist internationally but the optimal system is unknown. This study examines the evidence-base and evidence requirements for emergency planning in the UK health context. The study involved semi-structured interviews with key stakeholders and opinion leaders. Purposive sampling was used to obtain a breadth of views from various agencies involved in emergency planning and response. Interviews were then analysed using a grounded approach using standard framework analysis techniques. We conducted 17 key informant interviews. Interviewees identified greater gaps in operational than technical aspects of emergency planning. Social and behavioural knowledge gaps were highlighted with regards to how individuals and organisations deal with risk and behave in emergencies. Evidence-based approaches to public engagement and for developing community resilience to disasters are lacking. Other gaps included how knowledge was developed and used. Conflicting views with regards to the optimal configuration and operation of the emergency management system were voiced. Four thematic categories for future research emerged:(i) Knowledge-base for emergency management: Further exploration is needed of how knowledge is acquired, valued, disseminated, adopted and retained.(ii) Social and behavioural issues: Greater understanding of how individuals approach risk and behave in emergencies is required.(iii) Organisational issues in emergencies: Several conflicting organisational issues were identified; value of planning versus plans, flexible versus standardized procedures, top-down versus bottom-up engagement, generic versus specific planning, and reactive versus

Lessons from the Canadian national health information technology plan for the United States: opinions of key Canadian experts.

PubMed

Zimlichman, Eyal; Rozenblum, Ronen; Salzberg, Claudia A; Jang, Yeona; Tamblyn, Melissa; Tamblyn, Robyn; Bates, David W

2012-01-01

To summarize the Canadian health information technology (HIT) policy experience and impart lessons learned to the US as it determines its policy in this area. Qualitative analysis of interviews with identified key stakeholders followed by an electronic survey. We conducted semi-structured interviews with 29 key Canadian HIT policy and opinion leaders and used a grounded theory approach to analyze the results. The informant sample was chosen to provide views from different stakeholder groups including national representatives and regional representatives from three Canadian provinces. Canadian informants believed that much of the current US direction is positive, especially regarding incentives and meaningful use, but that there are key opportunities for the US to emphasize direct engagement with providers, define a clear business case for them, sponsor large scale evaluations to assess HIT impact in a broad array of settings, determine standards but also enable access to resources needed for mid-course corrections of standards when issues are identified, and, finally, leverage implementation of digital imaging systems. Not all stakeholder groups were included, such as providers or patients. In addition, as in all qualitative research, a selection bias could be present due to the relatively small sample size. Based on Canadian experience with HIT policy, stakeholders identified as lessons for the US the need to increase direct engagement with providers and the importance of defining the business case for HIT, which can be achieved through large scale evaluations, and of recognizing and leveraging successes as they emerge.

EZID: Long term identifiers made easy (Invited)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Starr, J.

2013-12-01

Scholarly research is producing ever increasing amounts of digital research data, and this data should be managed throughout the research life cycle both as part of good scientific practice, but also to comply with funder mandates, such as the 2013 OSTP Public Access Memo (http://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/microsites/ostp/ostp_public_access_memo_2013.pdf). By assigning unique and persistent identifiers to data objects, data managers can gain control and flexibility over what can be a daunting task. This is due to the fact that the objects can be moved to new locations without disruption to links, as long as the identifier target is maintained. EZID is a tool that makes assigning and maintaining unique, persistent identifiers easy. It was designed and built by California Digital Library (CDL) and has both a user interface and a RESTful API. EZID currently offers services for two globally unique, persistent identifier schemes: Digital Object Identifiers (DOIs) and Archival Resource Keys (ARKs). DOIs are identifiers originating from the publishing world and are in widespread use for journal articles. CDL is able to offer DOIs because of being a founding member of DataCite (http://www.datacite.org/), an international consortium established to provide easier access to scientific research data on the Internet. ARKs are identifiers originating from the library, archive and museum community. Like DOIs, they become persistent when the objects and identifier forwarding information is maintained. DOIs and ARKs have a key role in data management and, therefore, in data management plans. DOIs are the recommended identifier for use in data citation, and ARKs provide the maximum flexibility needed for data documentation and management throughout the early phases of a project. The two identifier schemes are able to be used together, and EZID is made to work with both. EZID clients, coming from education, research, government, and the private sector, are utilizing the

Systematic Prioritization and Integrative Analysis of Copy Number Variations in Schizophrenia Reveal Key Schizophrenia Susceptibility Genes

PubMed Central

Luo, Xiongjian; Huang, Liang; Han, Leng; Luo, Zhenwu; Hu, Fang; Tieu, Roger; Gan, Lin

2014-01-01

Schizophrenia is a common mental disorder with high heritability and strong genetic heterogeneity. Common disease-common variants hypothesis predicts that schizophrenia is attributable in part to common genetic variants. However, recent studies have clearly demonstrated that copy number variations (CNVs) also play pivotal roles in schizophrenia susceptibility and explain a proportion of missing heritability. Though numerous CNVs have been identified, many of the regions affected by CNVs show poor overlapping among different studies, and it is not known whether the genes disrupted by CNVs contribute to the risk of schizophrenia. By using cumulative scoring, we systematically prioritized the genes affected by CNVs in schizophrenia. We identified 8 top genes that are frequently disrupted by CNVs, including NRXN1, CHRNA7, BCL9, CYFIP1, GJA8, NDE1, SNAP29, and GJA5. Integration of genes affected by CNVs with known schizophrenia susceptibility genes (from previous genetic linkage and association studies) reveals that many genes disrupted by CNVs are also associated with schizophrenia. Further protein-protein interaction (PPI) analysis indicates that protein products of genes affected by CNVs frequently interact with known schizophrenia-associated proteins. Finally, systematic integration of CNVs prioritization data with genetic association and PPI data identifies key schizophrenia candidate genes. Our results provide a global overview of genes impacted by CNVs in schizophrenia and reveal a densely interconnected molecular network of de novo CNVs in schizophrenia. Though the prioritized top genes represent promising schizophrenia risk genes, further work with different prioritization methods and independent samples is needed to confirm these findings. Nevertheless, the identified key candidate genes may have important roles in the pathogenesis of schizophrenia, and further functional characterization of these genes may provide pivotal targets for future therapeutics and

[Key informers. When and How?].

PubMed

Martín González, R

2009-03-01

When information obtained through duly designed and developed studies is not available, the solution to certain problems that affect the population or that respond to certain questions may be approached by using the information and experience provided by the so-called key informer. The key informer is defined as a person who is in contact with the community or with the problem to be studied, who is considered to have good knowledge of the situation and therefore who is considered an expert. The search for consensus is the basis to obtain information through the key informers. The techniques used have different characteristics based on whether the experts chosen meet together or not, whether they are guided or not, whether they interact with each other or not. These techniques include the survey, the Delphi technique, the nominal group technique, brainwriting, brainstorming, the Phillips 66 technique, the 6-3-5 technique, the community forum and the community impressions technique. Information provided by key informers through the search for consensus is relevant when this is not available or cannot be obtained by other methods. It has permitted the analysis of the existing neurological care model, elaboration of recommendations on visit times for the out-patient neurological care, and the elaboration of guidelines and recommendations for the management of prevalent neurological problems.

Featured Article: Transcriptional landscape analysis identifies differently expressed genes involved in follicle-stimulating hormone induced postmenopausal osteoporosis.

PubMed

Maasalu, Katre; Laius, Ott; Zhytnik, Lidiia; Kõks, Sulev; Prans, Ele; Reimann, Ene; Märtson, Aare

2017-01-01

Osteoporosis is a disorder associated with bone tissue reorganization, bone mass, and mineral density. Osteoporosis can severely affect postmenopausal women, causing bone fragility and osteoporotic fractures. The aim of the current study was to compare blood mRNA profiles of postmenopausal women with and without osteoporosis, with the aim of finding different gene expressions and thus targets for future osteoporosis biomarker studies. Our study consisted of transcriptome analysis of whole blood serum from 12 elderly female osteoporotic patients and 12 non-osteoporotic elderly female controls. The transcriptome analysis was performed with RNA sequencing technology. For data analysis, the edgeR package of R Bioconductor was used. Two hundred and fourteen genes were expressed differently in osteoporotic compared with non-osteoporotic patients. Statistical analysis revealed 20 differently expressed genes with a false discovery rate of less than 1.47 × 10 -4 among osteoporotic patients. The expression of 10 genes were up-regulated and 10 down-regulated. Further statistical analysis identified a potential osteoporosis mRNA biomarker pattern consisting of six genes: CACNA1G, ALG13, SBK1, GGT7, MBNL3, and RIOK3. Functional ingenuity pathway analysis identified the strongest candidate genes with regard to potential involvement in a follicle-stimulating hormone activated network of increased osteoclast activity and hypogonadal bone loss. The differentially expressed genes identified in this study may contribute to future research of postmenopausal osteoporosis blood biomarkers.

Key management of the double random-phase-encoding method using public-key encryption

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Saini, Nirmala; Sinha, Aloka

2010-03-01

Public-key encryption has been used to encode the key of the encryption process. In the proposed technique, an input image has been encrypted by using the double random-phase-encoding method using extended fractional Fourier transform. The key of the encryption process have been encoded by using the Rivest-Shamir-Adelman (RSA) public-key encryption algorithm. The encoded key has then been transmitted to the receiver side along with the encrypted image. In the decryption process, first the encoded key has been decrypted using the secret key and then the encrypted image has been decrypted by using the retrieved key parameters. The proposed technique has advantage over double random-phase-encoding method because the problem associated with the transmission of the key has been eliminated by using public-key encryption. Computer simulation has been carried out to validate the proposed technique.

Optical key system

DOEpatents

Hagans, Karla G.; Clough, Robert E.

2000-01-01

An optical key system comprises a battery-operated optical key and an isolated lock that derives both its operating power and unlock signals from the correct optical key. A light emitting diode or laser diode is included within the optical key and is connected to transmit a bit-serial password. The key user physically enters either the code-to-transmit directly, or an index to a pseudorandom number code, in the key. Such person identification numbers can be retained permanently, or ephemeral. When a send button is pressed, the key transmits a beam of light modulated with the password information. The modulated beam of light is received by a corresponding optical lock with a photovoltaic cell that produces enough power from the beam of light to operate a password-screen digital logic. In one application, an acceptable password allows a two watt power laser diode to pump ignition and timing information over a fiberoptic cable into a sealed engine compartment. The receipt of a good password allows the fuel pump, spark, and starter systems to each operate. Therefore, bypassing the lock mechanism as is now routine with automobile thieves is pointless because the engine is so thoroughly disabled.

Easier detection of invertebrate "identification-key characters" with light of different wavelengths

PubMed Central

2011-01-01

The marine α-taxonomist often encounters two problems. Firstly, the "environmental dirt" that is frequently present on the specimens and secondly the difficulty in distinguishing key-features due to the uniform colours which fixed animals often adopt. Here we show that illuminating animals with deep-blue or ultraviolet light instead of the normal white-light abrogates both difficulties; dirt disappears and important details become clearly visible. This light regime has also two other advantages. It allows easy detection of very small, normally invisible, animals (0.1 μm range). And as these light wavelengths can induce fluorescence, new identification markers may be discovered by this approach. PMID:22040277

DNA-SIP based genome-centric metagenomics identifies key long-chain fatty acid-degrading populations in anaerobic digesters with different feeding frequencies

PubMed Central

Ziels, Ryan M; Sousa, Diana Z; Stensel, H David; Beck, David A C

2018-01-01

Fats, oils and greases (FOG) are energy-dense wastes that can be added to anaerobic digesters to substantially increase biomethane recovery via their conversion through long-chain fatty acids (LCFAs). However, a better understanding of the ecophysiology of syntrophic LCFA-degrading microbial communities in anaerobic digesters is needed to develop operating strategies that mitigate inhibitory LCFA accumulation from FOG. In this research, DNA stable isotope probing (SIP) was coupled with metagenomic sequencing for a genome-centric comparison of oleate (C18:1)-degrading populations in two anaerobic codigesters operated with either a pulse feeding or continuous-feeding strategy. The pulse-fed codigester microcosms converted oleate into methane at over 20% higher rates than the continuous-fed codigester microcosms. Differential coverage binning was demonstrated for the first time to recover population genome bins (GBs) from DNA-SIP metagenomes. About 70% of the 13C-enriched GBs were taxonomically assigned to the Syntrophomonas genus, thus substantiating the importance of Syntrophomonas species to LCFA degradation in anaerobic digesters. Phylogenetic comparisons of 13C-enriched GBs showed that phylogenetically distinct Syntrophomonas GBs were unique to each codigester. Overall, these results suggest that syntrophic populations in anaerobic digesters can have different adaptive capacities, and that selection for divergent populations may be achieved by adjusting reactor operating conditions to maximize biomethane recovery. PMID:28895946

Free-Space Quantum Key Distribution using Polarization Entangled Photons

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kurtsiefer, Christian

2007-06-01

We report on a complete experimental implementation of a quantum key distribution protocol through a free space link using polarization-entangled photon pairs from a compact parametric down-conversion source [1]. Based on a BB84-equivalent protocol, we generated without interruption over 10 hours a secret key free-space optical link distance of 1.5 km with a rate up to 950 bits per second after error correction and privacy amplification. Our system is based on two time stamp units and relies on no specific hardware channel for coincidence identification besides an IP link. For that, initial clock synchronization with an accuracy of better than 2 ns is achieved, based on a conventional NTP protocol and a tiered cross correlation of time tags on both sides. Time tags are used to servo a local clock, allowing a streamed measurement on correctly identified photon pairs. Contrary to the majority of quantum key distribution systems, this approach does not require a trusted large-bandwidth random number generator, but integrates that into the physical key generation process. We discuss our current progress of implementing a key distribution via an atmospherical link during daylight conditions, and possible attack scenarios on a physical timing information side channel to a entanglement-based key distribution system. [1] I. Marcikic, A. Lamas-Linares, C. Kurtsiefer, Appl. Phys. Lett. 89, 101122 (2006).

Public-key quantum digital signature scheme with one-time pad private-key

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, Feng-Lin; Liu, Wan-Fang; Chen, Su-Gen; Wang, Zhi-Hua

2018-01-01

A quantum digital signature scheme is firstly proposed based on public-key quantum cryptosystem. In the scheme, the verification public-key is derived from the signer's identity information (such as e-mail) on the foundation of identity-based encryption, and the signature private-key is generated by one-time pad (OTP) protocol. The public-key and private-key pair belongs to classical bits, but the signature cipher belongs to quantum qubits. After the signer announces the public-key and generates the final quantum signature, each verifier can verify publicly whether the signature is valid or not with the public-key and quantum digital digest. Analysis results show that the proposed scheme satisfies non-repudiation and unforgeability. Information-theoretic security of the scheme is ensured by quantum indistinguishability mechanics and OTP protocol. Based on the public-key cryptosystem, the proposed scheme is easier to be realized compared with other quantum signature schemes under current technical conditions.

Key components of financial-analysis education for clinical nurses.

PubMed

Lim, Ji Young; Noh, Wonjung

2015-09-01

In this study, we identified key components of financial-analysis education for clinical nurses. We used a literature review, focus group discussions, and a content validity index survey to develop key components of financial-analysis education. First, a wide range of references were reviewed, and 55 financial-analysis education components were gathered. Second, two focus group discussions were performed; the participants were 11 nurses who had worked for more than 3 years in a hospital, and nine components were agreed upon. Third, 12 professionals, including professors, nurse executive, nurse managers, and an accountant, participated in the content validity index. Finally, six key components of financial-analysis education were selected. These key components were as follows: understanding the need for financial analysis, introduction to financial analysis, reading and implementing balance sheets, reading and implementing income statements, understanding the concepts of financial ratios, and interpretation and practice of financial ratio analysis. The results of this study will be used to develop an education program to increase financial-management competency among clinical nurses. © 2015 Wiley Publishing Asia Pty Ltd.

A new index for identifying different types of El Niño Modoki events

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Xin; Tan, Wei; Wang, Chunzai

2018-04-01

El Niño Modoki events can be further classified into El Niño Modoki I and II in terms of their opposite impacts on southern China rainfall (Wang and Wang, J Clim 26:1322-1338, 2013) and the Indian Ocean dipole mode (Wang and Wang, Clim Dyn 42:991-1005, 2014). The present paper develops an index to identify the types of El Niño events. The El Niño Modoki II (MII) index is defined as the leading principle component of multivariate empirical orthogonal function analysis of the normalized El Niño Modoki index, Niño4 index and 850 hPa relative vorticity anomalies averaged near the Philippine Sea during autumn. The MII index exhibits dominant variations on interannual (2-3 and 4-5 years) and decadal (10-20 years) timescales. El Niño Modoki II events can be well identified by using the MII index value being larger than 1 standard deviation. Further analyses and numerical model experiments confirm that the MII index can portray the major oceanic and atmospheric features of El Niño Modoki II events. The constructed MII index along with previous ENSO indices can be used for classifying and identifying all types of El Niño events. Because of distinct impacts induced by different types of El Niño events, the implication of the present study is that climate prediction and future climate projection under global warming can be improved by using the MII index and other indices to identify the types of El Niño events.

Finite-key analysis for measurement-device-independent quantum key distribution.

PubMed

Curty, Marcos; Xu, Feihu; Cui, Wei; Lim, Charles Ci Wen; Tamaki, Kiyoshi; Lo, Hoi-Kwong

2014-04-29

Quantum key distribution promises unconditionally secure communications. However, as practical devices tend to deviate from their specifications, the security of some practical systems is no longer valid. In particular, an adversary can exploit imperfect detectors to learn a large part of the secret key, even though the security proof claims otherwise. Recently, a practical approach--measurement-device-independent quantum key distribution--has been proposed to solve this problem. However, so far its security has only been fully proven under the assumption that the legitimate users of the system have unlimited resources. Here we fill this gap and provide a rigorous security proof against general attacks in the finite-key regime. This is obtained by applying large deviation theory, specifically the Chernoff bound, to perform parameter estimation. For the first time we demonstrate the feasibility of long-distance implementations of measurement-device-independent quantum key distribution within a reasonable time frame of signal transmission.

System and method employing a self-organizing map load feature database to identify electric load types of different electric loads

DOEpatents

Lu, Bin; Harley, Ronald G.; Du, Liang; Yang, Yi; Sharma, Santosh K.; Zambare, Prachi; Madane, Mayura A.

2014-06-17

A method identifies electric load types of a plurality of different electric loads. The method includes providing a self-organizing map load feature database of a plurality of different electric load types and a plurality of neurons, each of the load types corresponding to a number of the neurons; employing a weight vector for each of the neurons; sensing a voltage signal and a current signal for each of the loads; determining a load feature vector including at least four different load features from the sensed voltage signal and the sensed current signal for a corresponding one of the loads; and identifying by a processor one of the load types by relating the load feature vector to the neurons of the database by identifying the weight vector of one of the neurons corresponding to the one of the load types that is a minimal distance to the load feature vector.

Field Keys to Common Hawaiian Marine Animals and Plants.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hawaii State Dept. of Education, Honolulu. Office of Instructional Services.

Presented are keys for identifying common Hawaiian marine algae, beach plants, reef corals, sea urchins, tidepool fishes, and sea cucumbers. Nearly all species considered can be distinguished by characteristics visible to the naked eye. Line drawings illustrate most plants and animals included, and a list of suggested readings follows each…

Academic Primer Series: Eight Key Papers about Education Theory

PubMed Central

Gottlieb, Michael; Boysen-Osborn, Megan; Chan, Teresa M.; Krzyzaniak, Sara M.; Pineda, Nicolas; Spector, Jordan; Sherbino, Jonathan

2017-01-01

Introduction Many teachers adopt instructional methods based on assumptions of best practices without attention to or knowledge of supporting education theory. Familiarity with a variety of theories informs education that is efficient, strategic, and evidence-based. As part of the Academic Life in Emergency Medicine Faculty Incubator Program, a list of key education theories for junior faculty was developed. Methods A list of key papers on theories relevant to medical education was generated using an expert panel, a virtual community of practice synthetic discussion, and a social media call for resources. A three-round, Delphi-informed voting methodology including novice and expert educators produced a rank order of the top papers. Results These educators identified 34 unique papers. Eleven papers described the general use of education theory, while 23 papers focused on a specific theory. The top three papers on general education theories and top five papers on specific education theory were selected and summarized. The relevance of each paper for junior faculty and faculty developers is also presented. Conclusion This paper presents a reading list of key papers for junior faculty in medical education roles. Three papers about general education theories and five papers about specific educational theories are identified and annotated. These papers may help provide foundational knowledge in education theory to inform junior faculty teaching practice. PMID:28210367

Target Organ Metabolism, Toxicity, and Mechanisms of Trichloroethylene and Perchloroethylene: Key Similarities, Differences, and Data Gaps

PubMed Central

Cichocki, Joseph A.; Guyton, Kathryn Z.; Guha, Neela; Chiu, Weihsueh A.

2016-01-01

Trichloroethylene (TCE) and perchloroethylene or tetrachloroethylene (PCE) are high–production volume chemicals with numerous industrial applications. As a consequence of their widespread use, these chemicals are ubiquitous environmental contaminants to which the general population is commonly exposed. It is widely assumed that TCE and PCE are toxicologically similar; both are simple olefins with three (TCE) or four (PCE) chlorines. Nonetheless, despite decades of research on the adverse health effects of TCE or PCE, few studies have directly compared these two toxicants. Although the metabolic pathways are qualitatively similar, quantitative differences in the flux and yield of metabolites exist. Recent human health assessments have uncovered some overlap in target organs that are affected by exposure to TCE or PCE, and divergent species- and sex-specificity with regard to cancer and noncancer hazards. The objective of this minireview is to highlight key similarities, differences, and data gaps in target organ metabolism and mechanism of toxicity. The main anticipated outcome of this review is to encourage research to 1) directly compare the responses to TCE and PCE using more sensitive biochemical techniques and robust statistical comparisons; 2) more closely examine interindividual variability in the relationship between toxicokinetics and toxicodynamics for TCE and PCE; 3) elucidate the effect of coexposure to these two toxicants; and 4) explore new mechanisms for target organ toxicity associated with TCE and/or PCE exposure. PMID:27511820

Optical key system

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

Hagans, K.G.; Clough, R.E.

2000-04-25

An optical key system comprises a battery-operated optical key and an isolated lock that derives both its operating power and unlock signals from the correct optical key. A light emitting diode or laser diode is included within the optical key and is connected to transmit a bit-serial password. The key user physically enters either the code-to-transmit directly, or an index to a pseudorandom number code, in the key. Such person identification numbers can be retained permanently, or ephemeral. When a send button is pressed, the key transmits a beam of light modulated with the password information. The modulated beam ofmore » light is received by a corresponding optical lock with a photovoltaic cell that produces enough power from the beam of light to operate a password-screen digital logic. In one application, an acceptable password allows a two watt power laser diode to pump ignition and timing information over a fiberoptic cable into a sealed engine compartment. The receipt of a good password allows the fuel pump, spark, and starter systems to each operate. Therefore, bypassing the lock mechanism as is now routine with automobile thieves is pointless because the engine is so thoroughly disabled.« less

Identifying Patient Attitudinal Clusters Associated with Asthma Control: The European REALISE Survey.

PubMed

van der Molen, Thys; Fletcher, Monica; Price, David

Asthma is a highly heterogeneous disease that can be classified into different clinical phenotypes, and treatment may be tailored accordingly. However, factors beyond purely clinical traits, such as patient attitudes and behaviors, can also have a marked impact on treatment outcomes. The objective of this study was to further analyze data from the REcognise Asthma and LInk to Symptoms and Experience (REALISE) Europe survey, to identify distinct patient groups sharing common attitudes toward asthma and its management. Factor analysis of respondent data (N = 7,930) from the REALISE Europe survey consolidated the 34 attitudinal variables provided by the study population into a set of 8 summary factors. Cluster analyses were used to identify patient clusters that showed similar attitudes and behaviors toward each of the 8 summary factors. Five distinct patient clusters were identified and named according to the key characteristics comprising that cluster: "Confident and self-managing," "Confident and accepting of their asthma," "Confident but dependent on others," "Concerned but confident in their health care professional (HCP)," and "Not confident in themselves or their HCP." Clusters showed clear variability in attributes such as degree of confidence in managing their asthma, use of reliever and preventer medication, and level of asthma control. The 5 patient clusters identified in this analysis displayed distinctly different personal attitudes that would require different approaches in the consultation room certainly for asthma but probably also for other chronic diseases. Copyright © 2018 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Using cognitive task analysis to identify critical decisions in the laparoscopic environment.

PubMed

Craig, Curtis; Klein, Martina I; Griswold, John; Gaitonde, Krishnanath; McGill, Thomas; Halldorsson, Ari

2012-12-01

The aim of this study was to identify the critical decisions surgeons need to make regarding laparoscopic surgery, the information these decisions are based on, the strategies employed by surgeons to reach their objectives, and the difficulties experienced by novices. Laparoscopic training focuses on the development of technical skills. However, successful surgical outcomes are also dependent on appropriate decisions made during surgery, which are influenced by critical cues and the use of appropriate strategies. Novices might not be as adept at cue detection and strategy use. Participants were eight attending surgeons. The authors employed task-analytic techniques to identify critical decisions inherent in laparoscopy and the cues, strategies, and novice traps associated with these decisions. The authors used decision requirements tables to organize the data into the key decisions made during the preoperative, operative, and postoperative phases as well as the cues, strategies, and novice traps associated with these decisions. Key decisions identified for the preoperative phase included but were not limited to the decision of performing a laparoscopic versus open surgery, necessity to review the literature, practicing the procedure, and trocar placement. Some key decisions identified for the operative phase included converting to open surgery, performing angiograms, cutting tissue or organs, and reevaluation of the approach. Only one key decision was identified for the postoperative phrase: whether the surgeon's technique needs to be evaluated and revised. The laparoscopic environment requires complex decision making, and novices are prone to errors in their decisions. The information elicited in this study is applicable to laparoscopic training.

Human Health Effects of Biphenyl: Key Findings and Scientific Issues

PubMed Central

Li, Zheng; Hogan, Karen A.; Cai, Christine; Rieth, Susan

2015-01-01

Background: In support of the Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS), the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has evaluated the human health hazards of biphenyl exposure. Objectives: We review key findings and scientific issues regarding expected human health effects of biphenyl. Methods: Scientific literature from 1926 through September 2012 was critically evaluated to identify potential human health hazards associated with biphenyl exposure. Key issues related to the carcinogenicity and noncancer health hazards of biphenyl were examined based on evidence from experimental animal bioassays and mechanistic studies. Discussion: Systematic consideration of experimental animal studies of oral biphenyl exposure took into account the variety of study designs (e.g., study sizes, exposure levels, and exposure durations) to reconcile differing reported results. The available mechanistic and toxicokinetic evidence supports the hypothesis that male rat urinary bladder tumors arise through urinary bladder calculi formation but is insufficient to hypothesize a mode of action for liver tumors in female mice. Biphenyl and its metabolites may induce genetic damage, but a role for genotoxicity in biphenyl-induced carcinogenicity has not been established. Conclusions: The available health effects data for biphenyl provides suggestive evidence for carcinogenicity in humans, based on increased incidences of male rat urinary bladder tumors at high exposure levels and on female mouse liver tumors. Kidney toxicity is also a potential human health hazard of biphenyl exposure. Citation: Li Z, Hogan KA, Cai C, Rieth S. 2016. Human health effects of biphenyl: key findings and scientific issues. Environ Health Perspect 124:703–712; http://dx.doi.org/10.1289/ehp.1509730 PMID:26529796

Human Health Effects of Biphenyl: Key Findings and Scientific Issues.

PubMed

Li, Zheng; Hogan, Karen A; Cai, Christine; Rieth, Susan

2016-06-01

In support of the Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS), the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has evaluated the human health hazards of biphenyl exposure. We review key findings and scientific issues regarding expected human health effects of biphenyl. Scientific literature from 1926 through September 2012 was critically evaluated to identify potential human health hazards associated with biphenyl exposure. Key issues related to the carcinogenicity and noncancer health hazards of biphenyl were examined based on evidence from experimental animal bioassays and mechanistic studies. Systematic consideration of experimental animal studies of oral biphenyl exposure took into account the variety of study designs (e.g., study sizes, exposure levels, and exposure durations) to reconcile differing reported results. The available mechanistic and toxicokinetic evidence supports the hypothesis that male rat urinary bladder tumors arise through urinary bladder calculi formation but is insufficient to hypothesize a mode of action for liver tumors in female mice. Biphenyl and its metabolites may induce genetic damage, but a role for genotoxicity in biphenyl-induced carcinogenicity has not been established. The available health effects data for biphenyl provides suggestive evidence for carcinogenicity in humans, based on increased incidences of male rat urinary bladder tumors at high exposure levels and on female mouse liver tumors. Kidney toxicity is also a potential human health hazard of biphenyl exposure. Li Z, Hogan KA, Cai C, Rieth S. 2016. Human health effects of biphenyl: key findings and scientific issues. Environ Health Perspect 124:703-712; http://dx.doi.org/10.1289/ehp.1509730.

Work Keys USA.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Work Keys USA, 1998

1998-01-01

"Work Keys" is a comprehensive program for assessing and teaching workplace skills. This serial "special issue" features 18 first-hand reports on Work Keys projects in action in states across North America. They show how the Work Keys is helping businesses and educators solve the challenge of building a world-class work force.…

The Key Pieces of the Career Survival and Success Puzzle.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Simonetti, Jack L.

1999-01-01

Analysis of career-success factors identified by 5,000 managers yielded 10 key pieces: excellent performance record, communication skills, interpersonal skills, personality, skill currency, significant work experiences, power, ability to withstand pressure, ability to make difficult decisions, and having a mentor. (SK)

A systems toxicology approach identifies Lyn as a key signaling phosphoprotein modulated by mercury in a B lymphocyte cell model

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

Caruso, Joseph A.; Stemmer, Paul M.; Dombkowski, Alan

2014-04-01

Network and protein–protein interaction analyses of proteins undergoing Hg{sup 2+}-induced phosphorylation and dephosphorylation in Hg{sup 2+}-intoxicated mouse WEHI-231 B cells identified Lyn as the most interconnected node. Lyn is a Src family protein tyrosine kinase known to be intimately involved in the B cell receptor (BCR) signaling pathway. Under normal signaling conditions the tyrosine kinase activity of Lyn is controlled by phosphorylation, primarily of two well known canonical regulatory tyrosine sites, Y-397 and Y-508. However, Lyn has several tyrosine residues that have not yet been determined to play a major role under normal signaling conditions, but are potentially important sitesmore » for phosphorylation following mercury exposure. In order to determine how Hg{sup 2+} exposure modulates the phosphorylation of additional residues in Lyn, a targeted MS assay was developed. Initial mass spectrometric surveys of purified Lyn identified 7 phosphorylated tyrosine residues. A quantitative assay was developed from these results using the multiple reaction monitoring (MRM) strategy. WEHI-231 cells were treated with Hg{sup 2+}, pervanadate (a phosphatase inhibitor), or anti-Ig antibody (to stimulate the BCR). Results from these studies showed that the phosphoproteomic profile of Lyn after exposure of the WEHI-231 cells to a low concentration of Hg{sup 2+} closely resembled that of anti-Ig antibody stimulation, whereas exposure to higher concentrations of Hg{sup 2+} led to increases in the phosphorylation of Y-193/Y-194, Y-501 and Y-508 residues. These data indicate that mercury can disrupt a key regulatory signal transduction pathway in B cells and point to phospho-Lyn as a potential biomarker for mercury exposure. - Highlights: • Inorganic mercury (Hg{sup 2+}) induces changes in the WEHI-231 B cell phosphoproteome. • The B cell receptor (BCR) signaling pathway was the pathway most affected by Hg{sup 2+}. • The Src family phosphoprotein kinase Lyn

System and method employing a minimum distance and a load feature database to identify electric load types of different electric loads

DOEpatents

Lu, Bin; Yang, Yi; Sharma, Santosh K; Zambare, Prachi; Madane, Mayura A

2014-12-23

A method identifies electric load types of a plurality of different electric loads. The method includes providing a load feature database of a plurality of different electric load types, each of the different electric load types including a first load feature vector having at least four different load features; sensing a voltage signal and a current signal for each of the different electric loads; determining a second load feature vector comprising at least four different load features from the sensed voltage signal and the sensed current signal for a corresponding one of the different electric loads; and identifying by a processor one of the different electric load types by determining a minimum distance of the second load feature vector to the first load feature vector of the different electric load types of the load feature database.

Secure multi-party communication with quantum key distribution managed by trusted authority

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

Hughes, Richard John; Nordholt, Jane Elizabeth; Peterson, Charles Glen

Techniques and tools for implementing protocols for secure multi-party communication after quantum key distribution ("QKD") are described herein. In example implementations, a trusted authority facilitates secure communication between multiple user devices. The trusted authority distributes different quantum keys by QKD under trust relationships with different users. The trusted authority determines combination keys using the quantum keys and makes the combination keys available for distribution (e.g., for non-secret distribution over a public channel). The combination keys facilitate secure communication between two user devices even in the absence of QKD between the two user devices. With the protocols, benefits of QKD aremore » extended to multi-party communication scenarios. In addition, the protocols can retain benefit of QKD even when a trusted authority is offline or a large group seeks to establish secure communication within the group.« less

Secure multi-party communication with quantum key distribution managed by trusted authority

DOEpatents

Nordholt, Jane Elizabeth; Hughes, Richard John; Peterson, Charles Glen

2013-07-09

Techniques and tools for implementing protocols for secure multi-party communication after quantum key distribution ("QKD") are described herein. In example implementations, a trusted authority facilitates secure communication between multiple user devices. The trusted authority distributes different quantum keys by QKD under trust relationships with different users. The trusted authority determines combination keys using the quantum keys and makes the combination keys available for distribution (e.g., for non-secret distribution over a public channel). The combination keys facilitate secure communication between two user devices even in the absence of QKD between the two user devices. With the protocols, benefits of QKD are extended to multi-party communication scenarios. In addition, the protocols can retain benefit of QKD even when a trusted authority is offline or a large group seeks to establish secure communication within the group.

Secure multi-party communication with quantum key distribution managed by trusted authority

DOEpatents

Hughes, Richard John; Nordholt, Jane Elizabeth; Peterson, Charles Glen

2015-01-06

Techniques and tools for implementing protocols for secure multi-party communication after quantum key distribution ("QKD") are described herein. In example implementations, a trusted authority facilitates secure communication between multiple user devices. The trusted authority distributes different quantum keys by QKD under trust relationships with different users. The trusted authority determines combination keys using the quantum keys and makes the combination keys available for distribution (e.g., for non-secret distribution over a public channel). The combination keys facilitate secure communication between two user devices even in the absence of QKD between the two user devices. With the protocols, benefits of QKD are extended to multi-party communication scenarios. In addition, the protocols can retain benefit of QKD even when a trusted authority is offline or a large group seeks to establish secure communication within the group.

Modeling the dynamics of piano keys

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Brenon, Celine; Boutillon, Xavier

2003-10-01

The models of piano keys available in the literature are crude: two degrees of freedom and a very few dynamical or geometrical parameters. Experiments on different piano mechanisms (upright, grand, one type of numerical keyboard) exhibit strong differences in the two successive phases of the key motion which are controlled by the finger. Understanding the controllability of the escapement velocity (typically a few percents for professional pianists), the differences between upright and grand pianos, the rationale for the numerous independent adjustments by technicians, and the feel by the pianist require sophisticated modeling. In addition to the inertia of the six independently moving parts of a grand piano mechanism, a careful modeling of friction at pivots and between the jack and the roll, of damping and nonlinearities in felts, and of internal springs will be presented. Simulations will be confronted to the measurements of the motions of the different parts. Currently, the first phase of the motion and the transition to the second phase are well understood while some progress must still be made in order to describe correctly this short but important phase before the escapement of the hammer. [Work done in part at the Laboratory for Musical Acoustics, Paris.

Identifying physical activity gender differences among youth

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Physical activity (PA) is an important part of a healthy lifestyle and reduces risk of certain chronic diseases. Many youth do not currently meet PA guidelines; evidence suggests that girls are less active than boys are at all ages. PA differences need to be understood, so that gender-specific inter...

Key Mites Commonly Associated With the Southern Pine Beetle

Treesearch

D.N. Kinn

1976-01-01

This paper outlines a method of preparing mites for microscopic examination and contains a simple key to the 15 species of mites commonly associated with the southern pine bark beetle. Research workers wanting to identify these mites and others curious about them, but untrained in acarology, should find little difficulty in making identifications.

Curated Collections for Educators: Five Key Papers about Program Evaluation.

PubMed

Thoma, Brent; Gottlieb, Michael; Boysen-Osborn, Megan; King, Andrew; Quinn, Antonia; Krzyzaniak, Sara; Pineda, Nicolas; Yarris, Lalena M; Chan, Teresa

2017-05-04

The evaluation of educational programs has become an expected part of medical education. At some point, all medical educators will need to critically evaluate the programs that they deliver. However, the evaluation of educational programs requires a very different skillset than teaching. In this article, we aim to identify and summarize key papers that would be helpful for faculty members interested in exploring program evaluation. In November of 2016, the 2015-2016 Academic life in emergency medicine (ALiEM) Faculty Incubator program highlighted key papers in a discussion of program evaluation. This list of papers was augmented with suggestions by guest experts and by an open call on Twitter. This resulted in a list of 30 papers on program evaluation. Our authorship group then engaged in a process akin to a Delphi study to build consensus on the most important papers about program evaluation for medical education faculty. We present our group's top five most highly rated papers on program evaluation. We also summarize these papers with respect to their relevance to junior medical education faculty members and faculty developers. Program evaluation is challenging. The described papers will be informative for junior faculty members as they aim to design literature-informed evaluations for their educational programs.

Drug Lag and Key Regulatory Barriers in the Emerging Markets

PubMed Central

Wileman, Harriet; Mishra, Arun

2010-01-01

There have been numerous investigations targeted at identifying whether a drug lag exists in the mature markets of the US, EU and Japan. This work focuses on the emerging markets because of the potential they hold for the future of the pharmaceutical industry as a consequence of rapid economic and political development. The aims of this work are to ascertain whether a drug lag exists in the emerging markets and how it has changed over time from the 1960s to the 2000s. It will also highlight key regulatory barriers which may contribute to drug lag. The date of the marketing authorisation (MA) approval by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) was used as a reference point. A comparison against the company database regarding emerging market specific approval enabled the difference in time and thus the drug lag for that particular market to be calculated. This work concludes that the overall relative drug lag in the emerging markets has decreased over time and that there are seven key regulatory barriers which need to be targeted in order to make further improvements; ‘Western Approval’, local clinical development (LCD), Certificate of Pharmaceutical Product (CPP), Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP), pricing approval, document authentication and harmonisation. PMID:21829782

Curated Collections for Educators: Five Key Papers about Program Evaluation

PubMed Central

Gottlieb, Michael; Boysen-Osborn, Megan; King, Andrew; Quinn, Antonia; Krzyzaniak, Sara; Pineda, Nicolas; Yarris, Lalena M; Chan, Teresa

2017-01-01

The evaluation of educational programs has become an expected part of medical education. At some point, all medical educators will need to critically evaluate the programs that they deliver. However, the evaluation of educational programs requires a very different skillset than teaching. In this article, we aim to identify and summarize key papers that would be helpful for faculty members interested in exploring program evaluation. In November of 2016, the 2015-2016 Academic life in emergency medicine (ALiEM) Faculty Incubator program highlighted key papers in a discussion of program evaluation. This list of papers was augmented with suggestions by guest experts and by an open call on Twitter. This resulted in a list of 30 papers on program evaluation. Our authorship group then engaged in a process akin to a Delphi study to build consensus on the most important papers about program evaluation for medical education faculty. We present our group’s top five most highly rated papers on program evaluation. We also summarize these papers with respect to their relevance to junior medical education faculty members and faculty developers. Program evaluation is challenging. The described papers will be informative for junior faculty members as they aim to design literature-informed evaluations for their educational programs. PMID:28589073

Human Trafficking: How Nurses Can Make a Difference.

PubMed

Scannell, Meredith; MacDonald, Andrea E; Berger, Amanda; Boyer, Nichole

Human trafficking is a human rights violation and a global health problem. Victims of human trafficking have medical and mental health sequelae requiring specific healthcare interventions. Healthcare professionals may be the initial contact that these victims make outside the world of trafficking. Healthcare professionals are key agents in the identification of human trafficking, which is essential in eliminating this public health problem. Unfortunately, healthcare professionals are not always able to detect signs of human trafficking. Failure to detect results in missed opportunities to assist victims. This is a case report of a victim of human trafficking who presented to an emergency department with medical and mental health issues. Despite numerous encounters with different healthcare professionals, signs and symptoms of human trafficking were not identified. Skilled assessment made by a forensic nurse alerted the healthcare team to clear features of human trafficking associated with this person. Through this case report we illustrate the key role the nurse played in identifying signs of human trafficking. Improvement of human trafficking educational programs is highlighted as a key adjunct to improving detection and facilitating the proper treatment of victims.

Measuring social inclusion--a key outcome in global mental health.

PubMed

Baumgartner, Joy Noel; Burns, Jonathan K

2014-04-01

Social inclusion is increasingly recognized as a key outcome for evaluating global mental health programmes and interventions. Whereas social inclusion as an outcome is not a new concept in the field of mental health, its measurement has been hampered by varying definitions, concepts and instruments. To move the field forward, this paper reviews the currently available instruments which measure social inclusion and are reported in the literature, realizing that no single measure will be appropriate for all studies or contexts. A systematic literature search of English language peer-reviewed articles published through February 2013 was undertaken to identify scales specifically developed to measure social inclusion or social/community integration among populations with mental disorders. Five instruments were identified through the search criteria. The scales are discussed in terms of their theoretical underpinnings, domains and/or key items and their potential for use in global settings. Whereas numerous reviewed abstracts discussed mental health and social inclusion or social integration, very few were concerned with direct measurement of the construct. All identified scales were developed in high-income countries with limited attention paid to how the scale could be adapted for cross-cultural use. Social inclusion is increasingly highlighted as a key outcome for global mental health policies and programmes, yet its measurement is underdeveloped. There is need for a global cross-cultural measure that has been developed and tested in diverse settings. However, until that need is met, some of the scales presented here may be amenable to adaptation.

Application of latent growth modeling to identify different working life trajectories: the case of the Spanish WORKss cohort.

PubMed

Serra, Laura; López Gómez, María Andrée; Sanchez-Niubo, Albert; Delclos, George L; Benavides, Fernando G

2017-01-01

Objective The aim of this study was to describe the application of latent class growth analysis (LCGA) to identify different working life trajectories (WLT) using employed working time by year as a repeated measure. Methods Trajectories are estimated using LCGA, which considers all individuals within a trajectory to be homogeneous. The methodology was applied to a subsample of the Spanish WORKing life Social Security (WORKss) cohort, limited to persons born 1956-1965 (N=247 475). The number of days worked per year is used as a repeated measure across 32 time points (1981-2013). Results According to the model-fit results and further guided by expert knowledge, a four WTL model was selected as the optimal approach: WLT1 or "high labor force participation" (N=99 591; 40.2%); WLT2 or "decreased labor force participation" (N= 22 846; 9.2%); WLT3 or "increased labor force participation" (N=59 213; 23.9%); and WLT4 or "low labor force participation" (N=65 827; 26.6%). WLT1 consisted mainly of men with more years of work experience (>19 years) while WLT4 was mainly composed by women with <9 years. The other two trajectories had opposite trends and no sex differences. The occupational category variable had little influence in the trajectories. Conclusions Longitudinal data that are regularly collected by administrative systems can benefit from LCGA approaches to identify different trajectory patterns that may be associated with an outcome of interest. In occupational epidemiology, this study represents a step forward by using this modeling approach to identify different WLT.

Keys to Scholarship

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hebert, Terri

2011-01-01

Up ahead, a foreboding wooden door showing wear from passage of earlier travelers is spotted. As the old porch light emits a pale yellow glow, a key ring emerges from deep inside the coat pocket. Searching for just the right key, the voyager settles on one that also shows age. As the key enters its receptacle and begins to turn, a clicking noise…

Texas Quality Workforce Planning: 1993 Key Industries and Targeted Occupations for Texas' 24 Quality Work Force Planning Regions.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Texas State Dept. of Commerce, Austin.

In 1993, Texas' 24 quality work force planning committees used a state-developed targeted occupations planning methodology to identify key industries and targeted occupations with the greatest potential for job openings in their respective regions. Between 11 and 20 key industries (13.5 on average) were identified for each region. The following 10…

AbsIDconvert: An absolute approach for converting genetic identifiers at different granularities

PubMed Central

2012-01-01

Background High-throughput molecular biology techniques yield vast amounts of data, often by detecting small portions of ribonucleotides corresponding to specific identifiers. Existing bioinformatic methodologies categorize and compare these elements using inferred descriptive annotation given this sequence information irrespective of the fact that it may not be representative of the identifier as a whole. Results All annotations, no matter the granularity, can be aligned to genomic sequences and therefore annotated by genomic intervals. We have developed AbsIDconvert, a methodology for converting between genomic identifiers by first mapping them onto a common universal coordinate system using an interval tree which is subsequently queried for overlapping identifiers. AbsIDconvert has many potential uses, including gene identifier conversion, identification of features within a genomic region, and cross-species comparisons. The utility is demonstrated in three case studies: 1) comparative genomic study mapping plasmodium gene sequences to corresponding human and mosquito transcriptional regions; 2) cross-species study of Incyte clone sequences; and 3) analysis of human Ensembl transcripts mapped by Affymetrix®; and Agilent microarray probes. AbsIDconvert currently supports ID conversion of 53 species for a given list of input identifiers, genomic sequence, or genome intervals. Conclusion AbsIDconvert provides an efficient and reliable mechanism for conversion between identifier domains of interest. The flexibility of this tool allows for custom definition identifier domains contingent upon the availability and determination of a genomic mapping interval. As the genomes and the sequences for genetic elements are further refined, this tool will become increasingly useful and accurate. AbsIDconvert is freely available as a web application or downloadable as a virtual machine at: http://bioinformatics.louisville.edu/abid/. PMID:22967011

Secure remote synchronization and secure key distribution in electro-optic networks revealed by symmetries

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xu, Mingfeng; Pan, Wei; Zhang, Liyue

2018-07-01

Despite the intuition that synchronization of different nodes in coupled oscillator networks results from information exchange between them, it has recently been shown that remote nodes could be partially synchronous even when they are separated by intermediately unsynchronized nodes. Here based on electro-optic system, we report on a more stronger form of such synchronization pattern that is termed as secure remote synchronization, in which two remotely separated nodes could have identically synchronized dynamical behaviors while the rest of the network are both statistically and information-theoretically incoherent relative to the two synchronized nodes. The generalized form of mirror symmetry in the network structure is identified to be a key mechanism allowing for secure remote synchronization. Moreover, this synchronization mode is robust against a wild range of system parameters and noise perturbing the intermediary dynamics. The lack of information about the synchronized dynamics in the rest of the network suggests that our results could potentially lead to network-based solutions for secure key distribution and secure communication.

A Novel microCT Method for Bone and Marrow Adipose Tissue Alignment Identifies Key Differences Between Mandible and Tibia in Rats.

PubMed

Coutel, Xavier; Olejnik, Cécile; Marchandise, Pierre; Delattre, Jérôme; Béhal, Hélène; Kerckhofs, Greet; Penel, Guillaume

2018-01-30

Bone homeostasis is influenced by the bone marrow adipose tissue (BMAT). BMAT distribution varies from one anatomical location in the skeleton to another. We developed an advanced microfocus computed tomography imaging and analysis protocol that allows accurate alignment of both the BMAT distribution and bone micro-architecture as well as calculation of the distance of the BMAT adipocytes from the bone surface. Using this protocol, we detected a different spatial BMAT distribution between the rat tibia and mandible: in the proximal metaphysis of the tibia a large amount of BMAT (~ 20% of the total BMAT) was located close to the bone surface (< 20 µm), whereas in the alveolar ridge ~ 30% of the total BMAT was located between 40 and 60 µm from the bone surface. In the alveolar ridge of rats, the trabecular bone volume was 48.3% higher compared to the proximal metaphysis of the tibia (p < 0.0001) and the percentage of adiposity determined to the relative marrow volume was lower (1.5%) compared to the proximal metaphysis of the tibia (9%, p = 0.0002). Interestingly, in the tibia a negative correlation was found between the percentage of adiposity in the total volume and the trabecular thickness (r =- 0.74, p = 0.037). The present study highlights that in comparison to tibial proximal metaphysis, the mandibular bone exhibits a massive trabecular network and a low BMAT content with almost no contact with the bone surface. These findings are of great interest because of the importance of the fat-bone interaction and its potential relevance to several resorptive bone diseases.

Attitudinal and behavioral differences between cigarette users who do and do not identify as "smokers".

PubMed

Berg, Michael B; Lin, Linda; White, Madeleine; Alfonso-Barry, Jacqueline

2017-01-01

The current research aimed to understand differences in smoking-related identity among college students and to illustrate the distinct characteristics of nonidentified smokers (NIS). Students from 2 colleges in Massachusetts (N = 538; April 2016). Respondents reported by online survey whether or not they had smoked a cigarette in the past 30 days and if they self-identified as smokers. Nonsmokers (NIS) and identified smokers (IS) were then compared on their smoking attitudes and behavior. NIS made up 12.5% of the sample and 64% of all tobacco users. NIS perceived themselves as less addicted and were more confident in their ability to quit smoking. They also were less likely to smoke alone, buy their own cigarettes, or have friends who smoked. College health officials can best motivate NIS to quit smoking by focusing on peer norms and the potential of long-term addiction.

Automated secured cost effective key refreshing technique to enhance WiMAX privacy key management

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sridevi, B.; Sivaranjani, S.; Rajaram, S.

2013-01-01

In all walks of life the way of communication is transformed by the rapid growth of wireless communication and its pervasive use. A wireless network which is fixed and richer in bandwidth is specified as IEEE 802.16, promoted and launched by an industrial forum is termed as Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX). This technology enables seamless delivery of wireless broadband service for fixed and/or mobile users. The obscurity is the long delay which occurs during the handoff management in every network. Mobile WiMAX employs an authenticated key management protocol as a part of handoff management in which the Base Station (BS) controls the distribution of keying material to the Mobile Station (MS). The protocol employed is Privacy Key Management Version 2- Extensible Authentication Protocol (PKMV2-EAP) which is responsible for the normal and periodical authorization of MSs, reauthorization as well as key refreshing. Authorization key (AK) and Traffic Encryption key (TEK) plays a vital role in key exchange. When the lifetime of key expires, MS has to request for a new key to BS which in turn leads to repetition of authorization, authentication as well as key exchange. To avoid service interruption during reauthorization , two active keys are transmitted at the same time by BS to MS. The consequences of existing work are hefty amount of bandwidth utilization, time consumption and large storage. It is also endured by Man in the Middle attack and Impersonation due to lack of security in key exchange. This paper designs an automatic mutual refreshing of keys to minimize bandwidth utilization, key storage and time consumption by proposing Previous key and Iteration based Key Refreshing Function (PKIBKRF). By integrating PKIBKRF in key generation, the simulation results indicate that 21.8% of the bandwidth and storage of keys are reduced and PKMV2 mutual authentication time is reduced by 66.67%. The proposed work is simulated with Qualnet model and

A simple technique to identify key recruitment issues in randomised controlled trials: Q-QAT - Quanti-Qualitative Appointment Timing.

PubMed

Paramasivan, Sangeetha; Strong, Sean; Wilson, Caroline; Campbell, Bruce; Blazeby, Jane M; Donovan, Jenny L

2015-03-11

Recruitment to pragmatic randomised controlled trials (RCTs) is acknowledged to be difficult, and few interventions have proved to be effective. Previous qualitative research has consistently revealed that recruiters provide imbalanced information about RCT treatments. However, qualitative research can be time-consuming to apply. Within a programme of research to optimise recruitment and informed consent in challenging RCTs, we developed a simple technique, Q-QAT (Quanti-Qualitative Appointment Timing), to systematically investigate and quantify the imbalance to help identify and address recruitment difficulties. The Q-QAT technique comprised: 1) quantification of time spent discussing the RCT and its treatments using transcripts of audio-recorded recruitment appointments, 2) targeted qualitative research to understand the obstacles to recruitment and 3) feedback to recruiters on opportunities for improvement. This was applied to two RCTs with different clinical contexts and recruitment processes. Comparisons were made across clinical centres, recruiters and specialties. In both RCTs, the Q-QAT technique first identified considerable variations in the time spent by recruiters discussing the RCT and its treatments. The patterns emerging from this initial quantification of recruitment appointments then enabled targeted qualitative research to understand the issues and make suggestions to improve recruitment. In RCT1, presentation of the treatments was balanced, but little time was devoted to describing the RCT. Qualitative research revealed patients would have considered participation, but lacked awareness of the RCT. In RCT2, the balance of treatment presentation varied by specialists and centres. Qualitative research revealed difficulties with equipoise and confidence among recruiters presenting the RCT. The quantitative and qualitative findings were well-received by recruiters and opportunities to improve information provision were discussed. A blind coding

Key influences in the design and implementation of mental health information systems in Ghana and South Africa.

PubMed

Ahuja, S; Mirzoev, T; Lund, C; Ofori-Atta, A; Skeen, S; Kufuor, A

2016-01-01

Strengthening of mental health information systems (MHIS) is essential to monitor and evaluate mental health services in low and middle-income countries. While research exists assessing wider health management information systems, there is limited published evidence exploring the design and implementation of MHIS in these settings. This paper aims to identify and assess the key factors affecting the design and implementation of MHIS, as perceived by the key stakeholders in Ghana and South Africa. We report findings from the Mental Health and Poverty Project, a 5-year research programme implemented within four African countries. The MHIS strengthening in South Africa and Ghana included two related components: intervention and research. The intervention component aimed to strengthen MHIS in the two countries, and the research component aimed to document interventions in each country, including the key influences. Data were collected using semi structured interviews with key stakeholders and reviews of key documents and secondary data from the improved MHIS. We analyzed the qualitative data using a framework approach. Key components of the MHIS intervention involved the introduction of a redesigned patient registration form, entry into computers for analysis every 2 months by clinical managerial staff, and utilization of data in hospital management meetings in three psychiatric hospitals in Ghana; and the introduction of a new set of mental health indicators and related forms and tally sheets at primary care clinics and district hospitals in five districts in the KwaZulu-Natal and Northern Cape provinces in South Africa. Overall, the key stakeholders perceived the MHIS strengthening as an effective intervention in both countries with an enhanced set of indicators in South Africa and introduction of a computerized system in Ghana. Influences on the design and implementation of MHIS interventions in Ghana and South Africa relate to resources, working approaches

Predicting suicidal ideation in primary care: An approach to identify easily assessable key variables.

PubMed

Jordan, Pascal; Shedden-Mora, Meike C; Löwe, Bernd

To obtain predictors of suicidal ideation, which can also be used for an indirect assessment of suicidal ideation (SI). To create a classifier for SI based on variables of the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ) and sociodemographic variables, and to obtain an upper bound on the best possible performance of a predictor based on those variables. From a consecutive sample of 9025 primary care patients, 6805 eligible patients (60% female; mean age = 51.5 years) participated. Advanced methods of machine learning were used to derive the prediction equation. Various classifiers were applied and the area under the curve (AUC) was computed as a performance measure. Classifiers based on methods of machine learning outperformed ordinary regression methods and achieved AUCs around 0.87. The key variables in the prediction equation comprised four items - namely feelings of depression/hopelessness, low self-esteem, worrying, and severe sleep disturbances. The generalized anxiety disorder scale (GAD-7) and the somatic symptom subscale (PHQ-15) did not enhance prediction substantially. In predicting suicidal ideation researchers should refrain from using ordinary regression tools. The relevant information is primarily captured by the depression subscale and should be incorporated in a nonlinear model. For clinical practice, a classification tree using only four items of the whole PHQ may be advocated. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Key Elements of a Successful Drive toward Marketing Strategy Making

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cann, Cynthia W.; George, Marie A.

2003-01-01

A conceptual model is presented that depicts the relationship between an internal marketing function and an organization's readiness to learn. Learning and marketing orientations are identified as components to marketing strategy making. Key organizational functions, including communication and decision-making, are utilized in a framework for…

Graduate Entrepreneurship Incubation Environments: A Framework of Key Success Factors

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Al-Dajani, Haya; Dedoussis, Evangelos; Watson, Erika; Tzokas, Nikalaos

2014-01-01

The benchmarking framework developed in this study is specifically designed for higher education institutions to consider when developing environments to encourage entrepreneurship among their students, graduates and staff. The objective of the study was to identify key success factors of Graduate Entrepreneurship Incubator Environments (GEIEs)…

Evaluating predictive models for solar energy growth in the US states and identifying the key drivers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chakraborty, Joheen; Banerji, Sugata

2018-03-01

Driven by a desire to control climate change and reduce the dependence on fossil fuels, governments around the world are increasing the adoption of renewable energy sources. However, among the US states, we observe a wide disparity in renewable penetration. In this study, we have identified and cleaned over a dozen datasets representing solar energy penetration in each US state, and the potentially relevant socioeconomic and other factors that may be driving the growth in solar. We have applied a number of predictive modeling approaches - including machine learning and regression - on these datasets over a 17-year period and evaluated the relative performance of the models. Our goals were: (1) identify the most important factors that are driving the growth in solar, (2) choose the most effective predictive modeling technique for solar growth, and (3) develop a model for predicting next year’s solar growth using this year’s data. We obtained very promising results with random forests (about 90% efficacy) and varying degrees of success with support vector machines and regression techniques (linear, polynomial, ridge). We also identified states with solar growth slower than expected and representing a potential for stronger growth in future.

Sulfur Denitrosylation by an Engineered Trx-like DsbG Enzyme Identifies Nucleophilic Cysteine Hydrogen Bonds as Key Functional Determinant.

PubMed

Lafaye, Céline; Van Molle, Inge; Tamu Dufe, Veronica; Wahni, Khadija; Boudier, Ariane; Leroy, Pierre; Collet, Jean-François; Messens, Joris

2016-07-15

Exposure of bacteria to NO results in the nitrosylation of cysteine thiols in proteins and low molecular weight thiols such as GSH. The cells possess enzymatic systems that catalyze the denitrosylation of these modified sulfurs. An important player in these systems is thioredoxin (Trx), a ubiquitous, cytoplasmic oxidoreductase that can denitrosylate proteins in vivo and S-nitrosoglutathione (GSNO) in vitro However, a periplasmic or extracellular denitrosylase has not been identified, raising the question of how extracytoplasmic proteins are repaired after nitrosative damage. In this study, we tested whether DsbG and DsbC, two Trx family proteins that function in reducing pathways in the Escherichia coli periplasm, also possess denitrosylating activity. Both DsbG and DsbC are poorly reactive toward GSNO. Moreover, DsbG is unable to denitrosylate its specific substrate protein, YbiS. Remarkably, by borrowing the CGPC active site of E. coli Trx-1 in combination with a T200M point mutation, we transformed DsbG into an enzyme highly reactive toward GSNO and YbiS. The pKa of the nucleophilic cysteine, as well as the redox and thermodynamic properties of the engineered DsbG are dramatically changed and become similar to those of E. coli Trx-1. X-ray structural insights suggest that this results from a loss of two direct hydrogen bonds to the nucleophilic cysteine sulfur in the DsbG mutant. Our results highlight the plasticity of the Trx structural fold and reveal that the subtle change of the number of hydrogen bonds in the active site of Trx-like proteins is the key factor that thermodynamically controls reactivity toward nitrosylated compounds. © 2016 by The American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Inc.

Methods and Measures: Growth Mixture Modeling--A Method for Identifying Differences in Longitudinal Change among Unobserved Groups

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ram, Nilam; Grimm, Kevin J.

2009-01-01

Growth mixture modeling (GMM) is a method for identifying multiple unobserved sub-populations, describing longitudinal change within each unobserved sub-population, and examining differences in change among unobserved sub-populations. We provide a practical primer that may be useful for researchers beginning to incorporate GMM analysis into their…

A view of dyslexia in context: implications for understanding differences in essay writing experience amongst higher education students identified as dyslexic.

PubMed

Carter, Christine; Sellman, Edward

2013-08-01

This article applies socio-cultural theories to explore how differences in essay writing experience are constituted for a group of students identified as dyslexic. It reports on a qualitative study with eleven student writers, seven of whom are formally identified as dyslexic, from the schools of archaeology, history and philosophy in a 'traditional' UK university. Semi-structured interviews before, during and after writing a coursework essay revealed well-documented dyslexia-related difficulties and also strong differences in how writing was experienced. The multiple and fluid dimensions that construct these differences suggest the importance of position within the context, previous and developing writing and learning experience, and metacognitive, meta-affective and metalinguistic awareness. They also suggest tensions between specialist and inclusive policies in relation to writing pedagogy for students identified as dyslexic. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Functional brain activation differences in stuttering identified with a rapid fMRI sequence

PubMed Central

Kraft, Shelly Jo; Choo, Ai Leen; Sharma, Harish; Ambrose, Nicoline G.

2011-01-01

The purpose of this study was to investigate whether brain activity related to the presence of stuttering can be identified with rapid functional MRI (fMRI) sequences that involved overt and covert speech processing tasks. The long-term goal is to develop sensitive fMRI approaches with developmentally appropriate tasks to identify deviant speech motor and auditory brain activity in children who stutter closer to the age at which recovery from stuttering is documented. Rapid sequences may be preferred for individuals or populations who do not tolerate long scanning sessions. In this report, we document the application of a picture naming and phoneme monitoring task in three minute fMRI sequences with adults who stutter (AWS). If relevant brain differences are found in AWS with these approaches that conform to previous reports, then these approaches can be extended to younger populations. Pairwise contrasts of brain BOLD activity between AWS and normally fluent adults indicated the AWS showed higher BOLD activity in the right inferior frontal gyrus (IFG), right temporal lobe and sensorimotor cortices during picture naming and and higher activity in the right IFG during phoneme monitoring. The right lateralized pattern of BOLD activity together with higher activity in sensorimotor cortices is consistent with previous reports, which indicates rapid fMRI sequences can be considered for investigating stuttering in younger participants. PMID:22133409

Target Organ Metabolism, Toxicity, and Mechanisms of Trichloroethylene and Perchloroethylene: Key Similarities, Differences, and Data Gaps.

PubMed

Cichocki, Joseph A; Guyton, Kathryn Z; Guha, Neela; Chiu, Weihsueh A; Rusyn, Ivan; Lash, Lawrence H

2016-10-01

Trichloroethylene (TCE) and perchloroethylene or tetrachloroethylene (PCE) are high-production volume chemicals with numerous industrial applications. As a consequence of their widespread use, these chemicals are ubiquitous environmental contaminants to which the general population is commonly exposed. It is widely assumed that TCE and PCE are toxicologically similar; both are simple olefins with three (TCE) or four (PCE) chlorines. Nonetheless, despite decades of research on the adverse health effects of TCE or PCE, few studies have directly compared these two toxicants. Although the metabolic pathways are qualitatively similar, quantitative differences in the flux and yield of metabolites exist. Recent human health assessments have uncovered some overlap in target organs that are affected by exposure to TCE or PCE, and divergent species- and sex-specificity with regard to cancer and noncancer hazards. The objective of this minireview is to highlight key similarities, differences, and data gaps in target organ metabolism and mechanism of toxicity. The main anticipated outcome of this review is to encourage research to 1) directly compare the responses to TCE and PCE using more sensitive biochemical techniques and robust statistical comparisons; 2) more closely examine interindividual variability in the relationship between toxicokinetics and toxicodynamics for TCE and PCE; 3) elucidate the effect of coexposure to these two toxicants; and 4) explore new mechanisms for target organ toxicity associated with TCE and/or PCE exposure. Copyright © 2016 by The American Society for Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics.

Different animal welfare orientations towards some key research areas of current relevance to pastoral dairy farming in New Zealand.

PubMed

Webster, J R; Schütz, K E; Sutherland, M A; Stewart, M; Mellor, D J

2015-01-01

The New Zealand dairy industry needs to meet public expectations regarding animal welfare in order to retain the freedom to operate and achieve market success. Three key orientations towards animal welfare assessment have been identified, namely biological functioning, affective state and natural living, the last two of which are more recent foci for societal concern. Biological functioning was the first and most-studied aspect of animal welfare and continues to be important, but now the contribution of affective state to animal well-being is emphasised much more. Natural living, or naturalness, has received relatively less attention from animal welfare science. It is proposed that increasing the use of naturalness as a contextual reference point for considering species-specific behavioural expressions of affective state will enhance its inclusion in animal welfare assessment. Nevertheless, all three orientations need to be considered in order to evaluate the significance of welfare research findings. On this basis, five key aspects of the New Zealand dairy industry that have been the subject of recent research, due to the risk of them not meeting public expectations, are highlighted and discussed. The aspects are provision of shade and shelter, meeting targets for body condition, provision of comfortable surfaces for rearing calves, and for adult cows while off pasture, and pain relief for disbudding of calves. Research evidence indicates that the industry guidelines on body condition score, if met, would satisfy public expectations across the three orientations to animal welfare, whereas further work is needed on the other aspects. It is concluded that considering these three orientations to animal welfare when planning research and then evaluating the outcomes will help to promote the market success of the dairy industry in New Zealand.

Building capacity in Australian interprofessional health education: perspectives from key health and higher education stakeholders.

PubMed

Matthews, Lynda R; Pockett, Rosalie B; Nisbet, Gillian; Thistlethwaite, Jill E; Dunston, Roger; Lee, Alison; White, Jill F

2011-05-01

A substantial literature engaging with the directions and experiences of stakeholders involved in interprofessional health education exists at the international level, yet almost nothing has been published that documents and analyses the Australian experience. Accordingly, this study aimed to scope the experiences of key stakeholders in health and higher education in relation to the development of interprofessional practice capabilities in health graduates in Australia. Twenty-seven semi-structured interviews and two focus groups of key stakeholders involved in the development and delivery of interprofessional health education in Australian higher education were undertaken. Interview data were coded to identify categories that were organised into key themes, according to principles of thematic analysis. Three themes were identified: the need for common ground between health and higher education, constraints and enablers in current practice, and the need for research to establish an evidence base. Five directions for national development were also identified. The study identified a range of interconnected changes that will be required to successfully mainstream interprofessional education within Australia, in particular, the importance of addressing issues of culture change and the need for a nationally coordinated and research informed approach. These findings reiterate those found in the international literature.

Illustrated Key to Species of Genus Dendroctonus (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) Occurring in Mexico and Central America

PubMed Central

Armendáriz-Toledano, Francisco

2017-01-01

Abstract We provide an illustrated key of species of Dendroctonus Erichson from Mexico and Central America based on characters of the male genitalia and external morphology. The key incorporates newly identified diagnostic characters for this genus that enhance discrimination of particularly difficult sibling species. PMID:28355476

Computational methods using genome-wide association studies to predict radiotherapy complications and to identify correlative molecular processes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Oh, Jung Hun; Kerns, Sarah; Ostrer, Harry; Powell, Simon N.; Rosenstein, Barry; Deasy, Joseph O.

2017-02-01

The biological cause of clinically observed variability of normal tissue damage following radiotherapy is poorly understood. We hypothesized that machine/statistical learning methods using single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP)-based genome-wide association studies (GWAS) would identify groups of patients of differing complication risk, and furthermore could be used to identify key biological sources of variability. We developed a novel learning algorithm, called pre-conditioned random forest regression (PRFR), to construct polygenic risk models using hundreds of SNPs, thereby capturing genomic features that confer small differential risk. Predictive models were trained and validated on a cohort of 368 prostate cancer patients for two post-radiotherapy clinical endpoints: late rectal bleeding and erectile dysfunction. The proposed method results in better predictive performance compared with existing computational methods. Gene ontology enrichment analysis and protein-protein interaction network analysis are used to identify key biological processes and proteins that were plausible based on other published studies. In conclusion, we confirm that novel machine learning methods can produce large predictive models (hundreds of SNPs), yielding clinically useful risk stratification models, as well as identifying important underlying biological processes in the radiation damage and tissue repair process. The methods are generally applicable to GWAS data and are not specific to radiotherapy endpoints.

Integrated RNA-Seq and sRNA-Seq Analysis Identifies Chilling and Freezing Responsive Key Molecular Players and Pathways in Tea Plant (Camellia sinensis)

PubMed Central

Zheng, Chao; Zhao, Lei; Wang, Yu; Shen, Jiazhi; Zhang, Yinfei; Jia, Sisi; Li, Yusheng; Ding, Zhaotang

2015-01-01

Tea [Camellia sinensis (L) O. Kuntze, Theaceae] is one of the most popular non-alcoholic beverages worldwide. Cold stress is one of the most severe abiotic stresses that limit tea plants’ growth, survival and geographical distribution. However, the genetic regulatory network and signaling pathways involved in cold stress responses in tea plants remain unearthed. Using RNA-Seq, DGE and sRNA-Seq technologies, we performed an integrative analysis of miRNA and mRNA expression profiling and their regulatory network of tea plants under chilling (4℃) and freezing (-5℃) stress. Differentially expressed (DE) miRNA and mRNA profiles were obtained based on fold change analysis, miRNAs and target mRNAs were found to show both coherent and incoherent relationships in the regulatory network. Furthermore, we compared several key pathways (e.g., ‘Photosynthesis’), GO terms (e.g., ‘response to karrikin’) and transcriptional factors (TFs, e.g., DREB1b/CBF1) which were identified as involved in the early chilling and/or freezing response of tea plants. Intriguingly, we found that karrikins, a new group of plant growth regulators, and β-primeverosidase (BPR), a key enzyme functionally relevant with the formation of tea aroma might play an important role in both early chilling and freezing response of tea plants. Quantitative reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) analysis further confirmed the results from RNA-Seq and sRNA-Seq analysis. This is the first study to simultaneously profile the expression patterns of both miRNAs and mRNAs on a genome-wide scale to elucidate the molecular mechanisms of early responses of tea plants to cold stress. In addition to gaining a deeper insight into the cold resistant characteristics of tea plants, we provide a good case study to analyse mRNA/miRNA expression and profiling of non-model plant species using next-generation sequencing technology. PMID:25901577

Identifying Key Early Literacy and School Readiness Issues: Exploring a Strategy for Assessing Community Needs

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Weigel, Daniel J.; Martin, Sally S.

2006-01-01

Much effort has been expended in developing intervention programs to help improve the early literacy and school readiness skills of young children. This article presents the results of a needs assessment project aimed at identifying priorities for community intervention programs aimed at ensuring that young children enter school ready to learn. A…

A Case Study of American and Chinese College Students' Motivation Differences in Online Learning Environment

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Zhao, Chunjuan; Mei, Zongxiang

2016-01-01

Motivating students has been a key challenge facing instructors in non-face-to-face instructional contexts. Existing researches into motivation in online learning environment have revealed that there are learning motivation differences among students from different cultural backgrounds. The purpose of this study is to identify whether American and…

CCM key comparison CCM.D-K4 'Hydrometer'

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lorefice, S.; Becerra, L. O.; Lenard, E.; Lee, Y. J.; Lee, W. G.; Madec, T.; Meury, P. A.; Caceres, J.; Santos, C.; Vamossy, C.; Man, J.; Fen, K.; Toda, K.; Wright, J.; Bettin, H.; Toth, H.

2016-01-01

added to this comparison so that all participants were engaged after the breakage of the 9340171 artefact. A particularly good agreement was found among the results provided by most of the participants, even if some systematic differences and either underestimated or overestimated uncertainties of the submitted results can be identified with respect to the KCRVs. In general the deviations of the laboratory results to the KCRVs are within of 1/3rd to 1/4th of a scale division and the uncertainty at 95% is usually within half a division. During the analysis of the submitted results, a systematic difference between the first and last immersed mark was also noted, possibly due to a temperature gradient along the stem and/or wetting of the stem around the tested mark, and therefore a corrected claimed uncertainty from each laboratory is expected. However this comparison may help the laboratories to solve some residual or marginal problems as well as to better understand the uncertainty components. The comparison fully supports the calibration measurement capabilities table in the BIPM key comparison database (KCDB). The results can be used to link regional comparisons to this CCM key comparison Main text To reach the main text of this paper, click on Final Report. Note that this text is that which appears in Appendix B of the BIPM key comparison database kcdb.bipm.org/. The final report has been peer-reviewed and approved for publication by the CCM, according to the provisions of the CIPM Mutual Recognition Arrangement (CIPM MRA).

Key Odorants Regulate Food Attraction in Drosophila melanogaster

PubMed Central

Giang, Thomas; He, Jianzheng; Belaidi, Safaa; Scholz, Henrike

2017-01-01

In insects, the search for food is highly dependent on olfactory sensory input. Here, we investigated whether a single key odorant within an odor blend or the complexity of the odor blend influences the attraction of Drosophila melanogaster to a food source. A key odorant is defined as an odorant that elicits a difference in the behavioral response when two similar complex odor blends are offered. To validate that the observed behavioral responses were elicited by olfactory stimuli, we used olfactory co-receptor Orco mutants. We show that within a food odor blend, ethanol functions as a key odorant. In addition to ethanol other odorants might serve as key odorants at specific concentrations. However, not all odorants are key odorants. The intensity of the odor background influences the attractiveness of the key odorants. Increased complexity is only more attractive in a concentration-dependent range for single compounds in a blend. Orco is necessary to discriminate between two similarly attractive odorants when offered as single odorants and in food odor blends, supporting the importance of single odorant recognition in odor blends. These data strongly indicate that flies use more than one strategy to navigate to a food odor source, depending on the availability of key odorants in the odor blend and the alternative odor offered. PMID:28928642

Key-lock colloids in a nematic liquid crystal.

PubMed

Silvestre, Nuno M; Tasinkevych, M

2017-01-01

The Landau-de Gennes free energy is used to study theoretically the effective interaction of spherical "key" and anisotropic "lock" colloidal particles. We assume identical anchoring properties of the surfaces of the key and of the lock particles, and we consider planar degenerate and perpendicular anchoring conditions separately. The lock particle is modeled as a spherical particle with a spherical dimple. When such a particle is introduced into a nematic liquid crystal, it orients its dimple at an oblique angle θ_{eq} with respect to the far field director n_{∞}. This angle depends on the depth of the dimple. Minimization results show that the free energy of a pair of key and lock particles exhibits a global minimum for the configuration when the key particle is facing the dimple of the lock colloidal particle. The preferred orientation ϕ_{eq} of the key-lock composite doublet relative to n_{∞} is robust against thermal fluctuations. The preferred orientation θ_{eq}^{(2)} of the dimple particle in the doublet is different from the isolated situation. This is related to the "direct" interaction of defects accompanying the key particle with the edge of the dimple. We propose that this nematic-amplified key-lock interaction can play an important role in self-organization and clustering of mixtures of colloidal particles with dimple colloids present.

Locally acquired Dengue--Key West, Florida, 2009-2010.

PubMed

2010-05-21

Dengue is the most common vector-borne viral disease in the world, causing an estimated 50-100 million infections and 25,000 deaths each year. During 1946-1980, no cases of dengue acquired in the continental United States were reported. Since 1980, a few locally acquired U.S. cases have been confirmed along the Texas-Mexico border, temporally associated with large outbreaks in neighboring Mexican cities. On September 1, 2009, a New York physician notified the Monroe County (Florida) Health Department (MCHD) and the Florida Department of Health (FDOH) of a suspected dengue case in a New York state resident whose only recent travel was to Key West, Florida. CDC confirmed the diagnosis, and a press release was issued to notify the public and Key West physicians of the potential risk for locally acquired dengue infections. In the next 2 weeks, two dengue infections in Key West residents without recent travel were reported and confirmed. Subsequently, enhanced and active surveillance identified 24 more Key West cases during 2009. On April 13, 2010, another Key West dengue case was reported to FDOH, bringing the total to 28. This report describes the first three dengue cases reported in 2009, briefly summarizes the 2010 case, highlights preliminary findings from the ongoing investigation, and outlines measures used to mitigate and control the outbreak. Clinicians should include dengue in the differential diagnosis of acute febrile illnesses in patients who live in or have recently traveled to subtropical areas of the United States or to the tropics.

Tailored combination prevention packages and PrEP for young key populations

PubMed Central

Pettifor, Audrey; Nguyen, Nadia L; Celum, Connie; Cowan, Frances M; Go, Vivian; Hightow-Weidman, Lisa

2015-01-01

Introduction Young key populations, defined in this article as men who have sex with men, transgender persons, people who sell sex and people who inject drugs, are at particularly high risk for HIV. Due to the often marginalized and sometimes criminalized status of young people who identify as members of key populations, there is a need for HIV prevention packages that account for the unique and challenging circumstances they face. Pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) is likely to become an important element of combination prevention for many young key populations. Objective In this paper, we discuss important challenges to HIV prevention among young key populations, identify key components of a tailored combination prevention package for this population and examine the role of PrEP in these prevention packages. Methods We conducted a comprehensive review of the evidence to date on prevention strategies, challenges to prevention and combination prevention packages for young key populations. We focused specifically on the role of PrEP in these prevention packages and on young people under the age of 24, and 18 in particular. Results and discussion Combination prevention packages that include effective, acceptable and scalable behavioural, structural and biologic interventions are needed for all key populations to prevent new HIV infections. Interventions in these packages should meaningfully involve beneficiaries in the design and implementation of the intervention, and take into account the context in which the intervention is being delivered to thoughtfully address issues of stigma and discrimination. These interventions will likely be most effective if implemented in conjunction with strategies to facilitate an enabling environment, including increasing access to HIV testing and health services for PrEP and other prevention strategies, decriminalizing key populations’ practices, increasing access to prevention and care, reducing stigma and discrimination, and

Identifying key features of early stressful experiences that produce stress vulnerability and resilience in primates

PubMed Central

Parker, Karen J.; Maestripieri, Dario

2010-01-01

This article examines the complex role of early stressful experiences in producing both vulnerability and resilience to later stress-related psychopathology in a variety of primate models of human development. Two types of models are reviewed: Parental Separation Models (e.g., isolate-rearing, peer-rearing, parental separations, and stress inoculation) and Maternal Behavior Models (e.g., foraging demands, variation in maternal style, and maternal abuse). Based on empirical evidence, it is argued that early life stress exposure does not increase adult vulnerability to stress-related psychopathology as a linear function, as is generally believed, but instead reflects a quadratic function. Features of early stress exposure including the type, duration, frequency, ecological validity, sensory modality, and developmental timing, within and between species, are identified to better understand how early stressful experiences alter neurobiological systems to produce such diverse developmental outcomes. This article concludes by identifying gaps in our current knowledge, providing directions for future research, and discussing the translational implications of these primate models for human development and psychopathology. PMID:20851145

Identification of key target genes and pathways in laryngeal carcinoma

PubMed Central

Liu, Feng; Du, Jintao; Liu, Jun; Wen, Bei

2016-01-01

The purpose of the present study was to screen the key genes associated with laryngeal carcinoma and to investigate the molecular mechanism of laryngeal carcinoma progression. The gene expression profile of GSE10935 [Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) accession number], including 12 specimens from laryngeal papillomas and 12 specimens from normal laryngeal epithelia controls, was downloaded from the GEO database. Differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were screened in laryngeal papillomas compared with normal controls using Limma package in R language, followed by Gene Ontology (GO) enrichment analysis and pathway enrichment analysis. Furthermore, the protein-protein interaction (PPI) network of DEGs was constructed using Cytoscape software and modules were analyzed using MCODE plugin from the PPI network. Furthermore, significant biological pathway regions (sub-pathway) were identified by using iSubpathwayMiner analysis. A total of 67 DEGs were identified, including 27 up-regulated genes and 40 down-regulated genes and they were involved in different GO terms and pathways. PPI network analysis revealed that Ras association (RalGDS/AF-6) domain family member 1 (RASSF1) was a hub protein. The sub-pathway analysis identified 9 significantly enriched sub-pathways, including glycolysis/gluconeogenesis and nitrogen metabolism. Genes such as phosphoglycerate kinase 1 (PGK1), carbonic anhydrase II (CA2), and carbonic anhydrase XII (CA12) whose node degrees were >10 were identified in the disease risk sub-pathway. Genes in the sub-pathway, such as RASSF1, PGK1, CA2 and CA12 were presumed to serve critical roles in laryngeal carcinoma. The present study identified DEGs and their sub-pathways in the disease, which may serve as potential targets for treatment of laryngeal carcinoma. PMID:27446427

Evaluating public housing residents for knowledge, attitudes, and practices following dengue prevention outreach in Key West, Florida.

PubMed

Matthias, James; Zielinski-Gutierrez, Emily C; Tisch, Daniel J; Stanek, Danielle; Blanton, Ronald E; Doyle, Michael S; Eadie, Robert B; Gazdick, Elizabeth J; Leal, Andrea L; Pattison, Kimberly J; Perez-Guerra, Carmen L; Tittel, Christopher J; Vyas, Jooi; Wagner, Todd; Blackmore, Carina G M

2014-11-01

In 2009-2010, 93 cases of dengue were identified in Key West, Florida. This was the first outbreak of autochthonous transmission of dengue in Florida since 1934. In response to this outbreak, a multifaceted public education outreach campaign was launched. The aim of this study is to compare dengue prevention knowledge, attitudes, perceptions, and prevention practices among residents of subsidized public housing to the general population in Key West and to assess whether there were barriers preventing effective outreach from reaching specific vulnerable populations. A randomized population-based evaluation of knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors toward dengue prevention consisting of 521 separate household interviews was undertaken in July of 2011. A subset analysis was performed on interviews collected from 28 public housing units within four subsidized public housing complexes. Analysis was performed to determine whether knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors exhibited by public housing residents differed from the non-public housing study population. Public housing residents recalled fewer outreach materials (p=0.01) and were 3.4 times (95% confidence interval [CI] 1.4-8.3) more likely not to recall any outreach materials. Public housing residents were less likely to correctly identify how dengue transmission occurs (61% vs. 89%), where mosquitoes lay their eggs (54% vs. 85%), or to identify any signs or symptoms related to dengue (36% vs. 64%). Public housing residents were less likely to perform dengue prevention practices such as removing standing water or always using air conditioning. Examination of public housing residents identified an at-risk population that recalled less exposure to outreach materials and had less knowledge about dengue infection and prevention than the randomized study population. This provides public health systems the opportunity to target or modify future health messages and interventions to this group. Differences identified in the

Improved key-rate bounds for practical decoy-state quantum-key-distribution systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Zhen; Zhao, Qi; Razavi, Mohsen; Ma, Xiongfeng

2017-01-01

The decoy-state scheme is the most widely implemented quantum-key-distribution protocol in practice. In order to account for the finite-size key effects on the achievable secret key generation rate, a rigorous statistical fluctuation analysis is required. Originally, a heuristic Gaussian-approximation technique was used for this purpose, which, despite its analytical convenience, was not sufficiently rigorous. The fluctuation analysis has recently been made rigorous by using the Chernoff bound. There is a considerable gap, however, between the key-rate bounds obtained from these techniques and that obtained from the Gaussian assumption. Here we develop a tighter bound for the decoy-state method, which yields a smaller failure probability. This improvement results in a higher key rate and increases the maximum distance over which secure key exchange is possible. By optimizing the system parameters, our simulation results show that our method almost closes the gap between the two previously proposed techniques and achieves a performance similar to that of conventional Gaussian approximations.

Identifying common values among seven health professions: An interprofessional analysis.

PubMed

Grace, Sandra; Innes, Ev; Joffe, Beverly; East, Leah; Coutts, Rosanne; Nancarrow, Susan

2017-05-01

This article reviews the competency frameworks of seven Australian health professions to explore relationships among health professions of similar status as reflected in their competency frameworks and to identify common themes and values across the professions. Frameworks were compared using a constructivist grounded theory approach to identify key themes, against which individual competencies for each profession were mapped and compared. The themes were examined for underlying values and a higher order theoretical framework was developed. In contrast to classical theories of professionalism that foreground differentiation of professions, our study suggests that the professions embrace a common structure and understanding, based on shared underpinning values. We propose a model of two core values that encompass all identified themes: the rights of the client and the capacity of a particular profession to serve the healthcare needs of clients. Interprofessional practice represents the intersection of the rights of the client to receive the best available healthcare and the recognition of the individual contribution of each profession. Recognising that all health professions adhere to a common value base, and exploring professional similarities and differences from that value base, challenges a paradigm that distinguishes professions solely on scope of practice.

Computational Approach to Identify Different Injuries by Firearms.

PubMed

Costa, Sarah Teixeira; Freire, Alexandre Rodrigues; Matoso, Rodrigo Ivo; Daruge Júnior, Eduardo; Rossi, Ana Cláudia; Prado, Felippe Bevilacqua

2017-03-01

Complications arise in the analysis of gunshot wounds to the maxillofacial region, when neither the projectile nor the gun is found at the crime scene. We simulated 5- and 15-cm firing distances at a human mandible to investigate the external morphology of entrance wounds based on fire range. The ammunition models, .40-caliber S&W, .380-caliber, and 9 × 19-mm Luger, were constructed with free-form NURBS surfaces. In a dynamic simulation, projectiles were fired against mandibular body 3D model at 5 and 15 cm. All entrance wounds presented oval aspect. Maximum diameter and von Mises stress values were 16.5 mm and 50.8 MPa, both for .40-caliber S&W fired at 5 cm. The maximum energy loss was 138.4 J for .40 S&W fired at 15 cm. In conclusion, the mandible was most affected by .40-caliber S&W and morphological differences were observable in holes caused by different incoming projectile calibers fired at different distances. © 2017 American Academy of Forensic Sciences.

Key Working for Families with Young Disabled Children

PubMed Central

Carter, Bernie; Thomas, Megan

2011-01-01

For families with a disabled child, the usual challenges of family life can be further complicated by the need to access a wide range of services provided by a plethora of professionals and agencies. Key working aims to support children and their families in navigating these complexities ensuring easy access to relevant, high quality, and coordinated care. The aim of this paper is to explore the key worker role in relation to “being a key worker” and “having a key worker”. The data within this paper draw on a larger evaluation study of the Blackpool Early Support Pilot Programme. The qualitative study used an appreciative and narrative approach and utilised mixed methods (interviews, surveys and a nominal group workshop). Data were collected from 43 participants (parents, key workers, and other stakeholders). All stakeholders who had been involved with the service were invited to participate. In the paper we present and discuss the ways in which key working made a difference to the lives of children and their families. We also consider how key working transformed the perspectives of the key workers creating a deeper and richer understanding of family lives and the ways in which other disciplines and agencies worked. Key working contributed to the shift to a much more family-centred approach, and enhanced communication and information sharing between professionals and agencies improved. This resulted in families feeling more informed. Key workers acted in an entrepreneurial fashion, forging new relationships with families and between families and other stakeholders. Parents of young disabled children and their service providers benefited from key working. Much of the benefit accrued came from strong, relational, and social-professional networking which facilitated the embedding of new ways of working into everyday practice. Using an appreciative inquiry approach provided an effective and relevant way of engaging with parents, professionals, and other

Comparison of Different Methods to Identify tdh-Positive Pathogenic Vibrio parahaemolyticus Isolates.

PubMed

Zhang, Hongzhi; Chen, Min

2018-01-01

We evaluated the accuracy and ease of operation of three methods to identify tdh-positive Vibrio parahaemolyticus isolates, including the Kanagawa phenomenon test (KP test), a tdh gene PCR test, and a colloidal gold immunochromatographic assay (CGIA). A total of 221 V. parahaemolyticus isolates were collected from patients, freshly harvested seafood, and fresh seawater. Using the KP test, 92% of V. parahaemolyticus isolates from patients were identified tdh-positive, including four weak KP-positive isolates. The PCR test and CGIA also identified 92% of the isolates as tdh-positive. However, PCR and CGIA only confirmed one of the four weak KP-positive isolates. Similar results were obtained using the three methods to identify V. parahaemolyticus isolates from the other sources. Among the three methods, the KP test was the simplest to perform because it lacked any requirement for sample pretreatment, and was low cost, with no equipment requirements. Therefore, the KP test has been applied widely in many first-line quarantine laboratories. However, the sensitivity and accuracy of KP test were lower than those of the other two methods. PCR can identify the tdh rapidly, specifically, and sensitively. However, PCR requires equipment and facilities that are unavailable in first-line quarantine laboratories. The CGIA can compensate for the disadvantages of the other two methods by its higher sensitivity, accuracy, and ease of operation. Therefore, the CGIA has the highest potential to be used to identify tdh-positive V. parahaemolyticus isolates to guarantee food safety.

Rubella vaccination in India: identifying broad consequences of vaccine introduction and key knowledge gaps.

PubMed

Winter, A K; Pramanik, S; Lessler, J; Ferrari, M; Grenfell, B T; Metcalf, C J E

2018-01-01

Rubella virus infection typically presents as a mild illness in children; however, infection during pregnancy may cause the birth of an infant with congenital rubella syndrome (CRS). As of February 2017, India began introducing rubella-containing vaccine (RCV) into the public-sector childhood vaccination programme. Low-level RCV coverage among children over several years can result in an increase in CRS incidence by increasing the average age of infection without sufficiently reducing rubella incidence. We evaluated the impact of RCV introduction on CRS incidence across India's heterogeneous demographic and epidemiological contexts. We used a deterministic age-structured model that reflects Indian states' rural and urban area-specific demography and vaccination coverage levels to simulate rubella dynamics and estimate CRS incidence with and without RCV introduction to the public sector. Our analysis suggests that current low-level private-sector vaccination has already slightly increased the burden of CRS in India. We additionally found that the effect of public-sector RCV introduction depends on the basic reproductive number, R 0, of rubella. If R 0 is five, a value empirically estimated from an array of settings, CRS incidence post-RCV introduction will likely decrease. However, if R 0 is seven or nine, some states may experience short-term or annual increases in CRS, even if a long-term total reduction in cases (30 years) is expected. Investment in population-based serological surveys and India's fever/rash surveillance system will be key to monitoring the success of the vaccination programme.

A Comparative Study of the Effects of Cultural Differences on the Adoption of Mobile Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Arpaci, Ibrahim

2015-01-01

The objective of this paper is to understand the impact of cultural differences on mobile learning adoption through identifying key adoption characteristics in Canada and Turkey, which have markedly different cultural backgrounds. A multi-group analysis was employed to test the hypothesised relationships based on the data collected by means of…

Nucleosomal occupancy changes locally over key regulatory regions during cell differentiation and reprogramming.

PubMed

West, Jason A; Cook, April; Alver, Burak H; Stadtfeld, Matthias; Deaton, Aimee M; Hochedlinger, Konrad; Park, Peter J; Tolstorukov, Michael Y; Kingston, Robert E

2014-08-27

Chromatin structure determines DNA accessibility. We compare nucleosome occupancy in mouse and human embryonic stem cells (ESCs), induced-pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) and differentiated cell types using MNase-seq. To address variability inherent in this technique, we developed a bioinformatic approach to identify regions of difference (RoD) in nucleosome occupancy between pluripotent and somatic cells. Surprisingly, most chromatin remains unchanged; a majority of rearrangements appear to affect a single nucleosome. RoDs are enriched at genes and regulatory elements, including enhancers associated with pluripotency and differentiation. RoDs co-localize with binding sites of key developmental regulators, including the reprogramming factors Klf4, Oct4/Sox2 and c-Myc. Nucleosomal landscapes in ESC enhancers are extensively altered, exhibiting lower nucleosome occupancy in pluripotent cells than in somatic cells. Most changes are reset during reprogramming. We conclude that changes in nucleosome occupancy are a hallmark of cell differentiation and reprogramming and likely identify regulatory regions essential for these processes.

Screening of the key volatile organic compounds of Tuber melanosporum fermentation by aroma sensory evaluation combination with principle component analysis

PubMed Central

Liu, Rui-Sang; Jin, Guang-Huai; Xiao, Deng-Rong; Li, Hong-Mei; Bai, Feng-Wu; Tang, Ya-Jie

2015-01-01

Aroma results from the interplay of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and the attributes of microbial-producing aromas are significantly affected by fermentation conditions. Among the VOCs, only a few of them contribute to aroma. Thus, screening and identification of the key VOCs is critical for microbial-producing aroma. The traditional method is based on gas chromatography-olfactometry (GC-O), which is time-consuming and laborious. Considering the Tuber melanosporum fermentation system as an example, a new method to screen and identify the key VOCs by combining the aroma evaluation method with principle component analysis (PCA) was developed in this work. First, an aroma sensory evaluation method was developed to screen 34 potential favorite aroma samples from 504 fermentation samples. Second, PCA was employed to screen nine common key VOCs from these 34 samples. Third, seven key VOCs were identified by the traditional method. Finally, all of the seven key VOCs identified by the traditional method were also identified, along with four others, by the new strategy. These results indicate the reliability of the new method and demonstrate it to be a viable alternative to the traditional method. PMID:26655663

Seaworthy Quantum Key Distribution Design and Validation (SEAKEY)

DTIC Science & Technology

2015-11-12

polarization control and the CV state and the LO state are separated at a polarizing beam splitter . The CV state is delayed relative to the LO state, and... splitter or loss imperfections. We have identified a number of risks associated with implementing this design . The two most critical risks are: • The...Contractor Address: 10 Moulton Street, Cambridge, MA 02138 Title of the Project: Seaworthy Quantum Key Distribution Design and Validation (SEAKEY

Investigating and Improving Student Understanding of Key Ideas in Quantum Mechanics throughout Instruction

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Emigh, Paul Jeffrey

This dissertation describes research on student understanding of quantum mechanics across multiple levels of instruction. The primary focus has been to identify patterns in student reasoning related to key concepts in quantum mechanics. The specific topics include quantum measurements, time dependence, vector spaces, and angular momentum. The research has spanned a variety of different quantum courses intended for introductory physics students, upper-division physics majors, and graduate students in physics. The results of this research have been used to develop a set of curriculum, Tutorials in Physics: Quantum Mechanics, for addressing the most persistent student difficulties. We document both the development of this curriculum and how it has impacted and improved student understanding of quantum mechanics.

Identifying Key Proteins in Hg Methylation Pathways of Desulfovibrio by Global Proteomics, Final Technical Report

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

Summers, Anne O.; Miller, Susan M.; Wall, Judy

2016-06-18

Elemental mercury, Hg(0) is a contaminant at many DOE sites, especially at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) where the spread of spilled Hg and its effects on microbial populations have been monitored for decades. To explore the microbial interactions with Hg, we have devised a global proteomic approach capable of directly detecting Hg-adducts of proteins. This technique developed in the facultative anaerobe, Escherichia coli, allows us to identify the proteins most vulnerable to acute exposure to organomercurials phenyl- and ethyl-mercury (as surrogates for the highly neurotoxic methyl-Hg) (Polacco, et al, 2011). We have found >300 such proteins in all metabolicmore » functional groups and cellular compartments; most are highly conserved and can serve as markers for acute Hg exposure (Zink, et al. 2016, in preparation). We have also discovered that acute Hg exposure severely disrupts thiol, iron and redox homeostases, and electrolyte balance (LaVoie, et al., 2015) Thus, we proposed to bring these techniques to bear on the central problem of identifying the cellular proteins involved in bacterial uptake and methylation of mercury and its release from the cell.« less

Entropy Driven Self-Assembly in Charged Lock-Key Particles.

PubMed

Odriozola, Gerardo; Lozada-Cassou, Marcelo

2016-07-07

In this work we study the lock-key model successfully used in supramolecular chemistry and particles self-assembly and gain further insight into the infinite diluted limit of the lock and key, depletant mediated, effective attraction. We discuss the depletant forces and entropy approaches to self-assembly and give details on the different contributions to the net force for a charged lock and key pair immersed in a solvent plus a primitive model electrolyte. We show a strong correlation of the force components behavior and the underlying processes of co-ion and solvent release from the cavity. In addition, we put into context the universal behavior observed for the energy-distance curves when changing the lock and key to solvent size ratio. Basically, we now show that this behavior is not always achieved and depends on the particular system geometry. Finally, we present a qualitative good agreement with experiments when changing the electrolyte concentration, valence, and cavity-key size ratio.

Public Key Cryptography.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tapson, Frank

1996-01-01

Describes public key cryptography, also known as RSA, which is a system using two keys, one used to put a message into cipher and another used to decipher the message. Presents examples using small prime numbers. (MKR)

Allied Health Students' Learning-Styles Identified with Two Different Assessments

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Morton-Rias, Dawn; Dunn, Rita; Terregrossa, Ralph; Geisert, Gene; Mangione, Robert; Ortiz, Samuel; Honigsfeld, Andrea

2008-01-01

This research identified and compared the learning styles of 154 ethnically diverse, upper division undergraduate and graduate students in Allied Health utilizing the "Building Excellence" (BE) (Rundle & Dunn, 2000) and the "Productivity Environmental Preference Survey" (PEPS) (Dunn, Dunn, & Price, 1996). Relationships among age, class standing,…

A QUICK KEY TO THE SUBFAMILIES AND GENERA OF ANTS OF THE SAVANNAH RIVER SITE

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

Martin, D

2007-09-04

This taxonomic key was devised to support development of a Rapid Bioassessment Protocol using ants at the Savannah River Site. The emphasis is on 'rapid' and, because the available keys contained a very large number of genera not known to occur at the Savannah River Site, we found that the available keys were unwieldy. Because these keys contained many more genera than we would ever encounter and because this larger number of genera required more couplets in the key and often required examination of characters that are difficult to assess without higher magnifications (60X or higher), more time was requiredmore » to process samples. In developing this set of keys I emphasized character states that are easier for nonspecialists to recognize. I recognize that the character sets used may lead to some errors but I believe that the error rate will be small and, for the purpose of rapid bioassessment, this error rate will be acceptable provided that overall sample sizes are adequate. Oliver and Beattie (1996a, 1996b) found that for rapid assessment of biodiversity the same results were found when identifications were done to morphospecies by people with minimal expertise as when the same data sets were identified by subject matter experts. Basset et al. (2004) concluded that it was not as important to correctly identify all species as it was to be sure that the study included as many functional groups as possible. If your study requires high levels of accuracy, it is highly recommended that, when you key out a specimen and have any doubts concerning the identification, you should refer to keys in Bolton (1994) or to the other keys used to develop this area specific taxonomic key.« less