Pareto Design of State Feedback Tracking Control of a Biped Robot via Multiobjective PSO in Comparison with Sigma Method and Genetic Algorithms: Modified NSGAII and MATLAB's Toolbox

PubMed Central

Mahmoodabadi, M. J.; Taherkhorsandi, M.; Bagheri, A.

2014-01-01

An optimal robust state feedback tracking controller is introduced to control a biped robot. In the literature, the parameters of the controller are usually determined by a tedious trial and error process. To eliminate this process and design the parameters of the proposed controller, the multiobjective evolutionary algorithms, that is, the proposed method, modified NSGAII, Sigma method, and MATLAB's Toolbox MOGA, are employed in this study. Among the used evolutionary optimization algorithms to design the controller for biped robots, the proposed method operates better in the aspect of designing the controller since it provides ample opportunities for designers to choose the most appropriate point based upon the design criteria. Three points are chosen from the nondominated solutions of the obtained Pareto front based on two conflicting objective functions, that is, the normalized summation of angle errors and normalized summation of control effort. Obtained results elucidate the efficiency of the proposed controller in order to control a biped robot. PMID:24616619

Normalization of RNA-seq data using factor analysis of control genes or samples

PubMed Central

Risso, Davide; Ngai, John; Speed, Terence P.; Dudoit, Sandrine

2015-01-01

Normalization of RNA-seq data has proven essential to ensure accurate inference of expression levels. Here we show that usual normalization approaches mostly account for sequencing depth and fail to correct for library preparation and other more-complex unwanted effects. We evaluate the performance of the External RNA Control Consortium (ERCC) spike-in controls and investigate the possibility of using them directly for normalization. We show that the spike-ins are not reliable enough to be used in standard global-scaling or regression-based normalization procedures. We propose a normalization strategy, remove unwanted variation (RUV), that adjusts for nuisance technical effects by performing factor analysis on suitable sets of control genes (e.g., ERCC spike-ins) or samples (e.g., replicate libraries). Our approach leads to more-accurate estimates of expression fold-changes and tests of differential expression compared to state-of-the-art normalization methods. In particular, RUV promises to be valuable for large collaborative projects involving multiple labs, technicians, and/or platforms. PMID:25150836

Nonclassical Flight Control for Unhealthy Aircraft

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lu, Ping

1997-01-01

This research set out to investigate flight control of aircraft which has sustained damage in regular flight control effectors, due to jammed control surfaces or complete loss of hydraulic power. It is recognized that in such an extremely difficult situation unconventional measures may need to be taken to regain control and stability of the aircraft. Propulsion controlled aircraft (PCA) concept, initiated at the NASA Dryden Flight Research Center. represents a ground-breaking effort in this direction. In this approach, the engine is used as the only flight control effector in the rare event of complete loss of normal flight control system. Studies and flight testing conducted at NASA Dryden have confirmed the feasibility of the PCA concept. During the course of this research (March 98, 1997 to November 30, 1997), a comparative study has been done using the full nonlinear model of an F-18 aircraft. Linear controllers and nonlinear controllers based on a nonlinear predictive control method have been designed for normal flight control system and propulsion controlled aircraft. For the healthy aircraft with normal flight control, the study shows that an appropriately designed linear controller can perform as well as a nonlinear controller. On the other hand. when the normal flight control is lost and the engine is the only available means of flight control, a nonlinear PCA controller can significantly increase the size of the recoverable region in which the stability of the unstable aircraft can be attained by using only thrust modulation. The findings and controller design methods have been summarized in an invited paper entitled.

Psychopathology in the Adolescent Offspring of Parents with Panic Disorder and Depression

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bhat, Amritha S.; Srinivasan, K.

2006-01-01

Aim: To study the prevalence of psychiatric diagnosis and psychopathology in adolescent offspring of parents with panic disorder, depression and normal controls. Methods: Adolescent offspring (11-16 years) of parents with a diagnosis of panic disorder and major depression, and normal controls were interviewed using Missouri Assessment of Genetics…

[Application of the life table method to the estimation of late complications of normal tissues after radiotherapy].

PubMed

Morita, K; Uchiyama, Y; Tominaga, S

1987-06-01

In order to evaluate the treatment results of radiotherapy it is important to estimate the degree of complications of the surrounding normal tissues as well as the frequency of tumor control. In this report, the cumulative incidence rate of the late radiation injuries of the normal tissues was calculated using the modified actuarial method (Cutler-Ederer's method) or Kaplan-Meier's method, which is usually applied to the calculation of the survival rate. By the use of this method of calculation, an accurate cumulative incidence rate over time can be easily obtained and applied to the statistical evaluation of the late radiation injuries.

In vivo Raman spectroscopy of human uterine cervix: exploring the utility of vagina as an internal control

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shaikh, Rubina; Dora, Tapas Kumar; Chopra, Supriya; Maheshwari, Amita; Kedar K., Deodhar; Bharat, Rekhi; Krishna, C. Murali

2014-08-01

In vivo Raman spectroscopy is being projected as a new, noninvasive method for cervical cancer diagnosis. In most of the reported studies, normal areas in the cancerous cervix were used as control. However, in the Indian subcontinent, the majority of cervical cancers are detected at advanced stages, leaving no normal sites for acquiring control spectra. Moreover, vagina and ectocervix are reported to have similar biochemical composition. Thus, in the present study, we have evaluated the feasibility of classifying normal and cancerous conditions in the Indian population and we have also explored the utility of the vagina as an internal control. A total of 228 normal and 181 tumor in vivo Raman spectra were acquired from 93 subjects under clinical supervision. The spectral features in normal conditions suggest the presence of collagen, while DNA and noncollagenous proteins were abundant in tumors. Principal-component linear discriminant analysis (PC-LDA) yielded 97% classification efficiency between normal and tumor groups. An analysis of a normal cervix and vaginal controls of cancerous and noncancerous subjects suggests similar spectral features between these groups. PC-LDA of tumor, normal cervix, and vaginal controls further support the utility of the vagina as an internal control. Overall, findings of the study corroborate with earlier studies and facilitate objective, noninvasive, and rapid Raman spectroscopic-based screening/diagnosis of cervical cancers.

In vivo Raman spectroscopy of human uterine cervix: exploring the utility of vagina as an internal control.

PubMed

Shaikh, Rubina; Dora, Tapas Kumar; Chopra, Supriya; Maheshwari, Amita; Kedar K, Deodhar; Bharat, Rekhi; Krishna, C Murali

2014-08-01

In vivo Raman spectroscopy is being projected as a new, noninvasive method for cervical cancer diagnosis. In most of the reported studies, normal areas in the cancerous cervix were used as control. However, in the Indian subcontinent, the majority of cervical cancers are detected at advanced stages, leaving no normal sites for acquiring control spectra. Moreover, vagina and ectocervix are reported to have similar biochemical composition. Thus, in the present study, we have evaluated the feasibility of classifying normal and cancerous conditions in the Indian population and we have also explored the utility of the vagina as an internal control. A total of 228 normal and 181 tumor in vivo Raman spectra were acquired from 93 subjects under clinical supervision. The spectral features in normal conditions suggest the presence of collagen, while DNA and noncollagenous proteins were abundant in tumors. Principal-component linear discriminant analysis (PC-LDA) yielded 97% classification efficiency between normal and tumor groups. An analysis of a normal cervix and vaginal controls of cancerous and noncancerous subjects suggests similar spectral features between these groups. PC-LDA of tumor, normal cervix, and vaginal controls further support the utility of the vagina as an internal control. Overall, findings of the study corroborate with earlier studies and facilitate objective, noninvasive, and rapid Raman spectroscopic-based screening/diagnosis of cervical cancers.

Control Systems with Normalized and Covariance Adaptation by Optimal Control Modification

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Nguyen, Nhan T. (Inventor); Burken, John J. (Inventor); Hanson, Curtis E. (Inventor)

2016-01-01

Disclosed is a novel adaptive control method and system called optimal control modification with normalization and covariance adjustment. The invention addresses specifically to current challenges with adaptive control in these areas: 1) persistent excitation, 2) complex nonlinear input-output mapping, 3) large inputs and persistent learning, and 4) the lack of stability analysis tools for certification. The invention has been subject to many simulations and flight testing. The results substantiate the effectiveness of the invention and demonstrate the technical feasibility for use in modern aircraft flight control systems.

Phonation Interval Modification and Speech Performance Quality during Fluency-Inducing Conditions by Adults Who Stutter

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ingham, Roger J.; Bothe, Anne K.; Wang, Yuedong; Purkhiser, Krystal; New, Anneliese

2012-01-01

Purpose: To relate changes in four variables previously defined as characteristic of normally fluent speech to changes in phonatory behavior during oral reading by persons who stutter (PWS) and normally fluent controls under multiple fluency-inducing (FI) conditions. Method: Twelve PWS and 12 controls each completed 4 ABA experiments. During A…

Cy5 total protein normalization in Western blot analysis.

PubMed

Hagner-McWhirter, Åsa; Laurin, Ylva; Larsson, Anita; Bjerneld, Erik J; Rönn, Ola

2015-10-01

Western blotting is a widely used method for analyzing specific target proteins in complex protein samples. Housekeeping proteins are often used for normalization to correct for uneven sample loads, but these require careful validation since expression levels may vary with cell type and treatment. We present a new, more reliable method for normalization using Cy5-prelabeled total protein as a loading control. We used a prelabeling protocol based on Cy5 N-hydroxysuccinimide ester labeling that produces a linear signal response. We obtained a low coefficient of variation (CV) of 7% between the ratio of extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK1/2) target to Cy5 total protein control signals over the whole loading range from 2.5 to 20.0μg of Chinese hamster ovary cell lysate protein. Corresponding experiments using actin or tubulin as controls for normalization resulted in CVs of 13 and 18%, respectively. Glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase did not produce a proportional signal and was not suitable for normalization in these cells. A comparison of ERK1/2 signals from labeled and unlabeled samples showed that Cy5 prelabeling did not affect antibody binding. By using total protein normalization we analyzed PP2A and Smad2/3 levels with high confidence. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Parallel factor ChIP provides essential internal control for quantitative differential ChIP-seq.

PubMed

Guertin, Michael J; Cullen, Amy E; Markowetz, Florian; Holding, Andrew N

2018-04-17

A key challenge in quantitative ChIP combined with high-throughput sequencing (ChIP-seq) is the normalization of data in the presence of genome-wide changes in occupancy. Analysis-based normalization methods were developed for transcriptomic data and these are dependent on the underlying assumption that total transcription does not change between conditions. For genome-wide changes in transcription factor (TF) binding, these assumptions do not hold true. The challenges in normalization are confounded by experimental variability during sample preparation, processing and recovery. We present a novel normalization strategy utilizing an internal standard of unchanged peaks for reference. Our method can be readily applied to monitor genome-wide changes by ChIP-seq that are otherwise lost or misrepresented through analytical normalization. We compare our approach to normalization by total read depth and two alternative methods that utilize external experimental controls to study TF binding. We successfully resolve the key challenges in quantitative ChIP-seq analysis and demonstrate its application by monitoring the loss of Estrogen Receptor-alpha (ER) binding upon fulvestrant treatment, ER binding in response to estrodiol, ER mediated change in H4K12 acetylation and profiling ER binding in patient-derived xenographs. This is supported by an adaptable pipeline to normalize and quantify differential TF binding genome-wide and generate metrics for differential binding at individual sites.

Underwater hydraulic shock shovel control system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, He-Ping; Luo, A.-Ni; Xiao, Hai-Yan

2008-06-01

The control system determines the effectiveness of an underwater hydraulic shock shovel. This paper begins by analyzing the working principles of these shovels and explains the importance of their control systems. A new type of control system’s mathematical model was built and analyzed according to those principles. Since the initial control system’s response time could not fulfill the design requirements, a PID controller was added to the control system. System response time was still slower than required, so a neural network was added to nonlinearly regulate the proportional element, integral element and derivative element coefficients of the PID controller. After these improvements to the control system, system parameters fulfilled the design requirements. The working performance of electrically-controlled parts such as the rapidly moving high speed switch valve is largely determined by the control system. Normal control methods generally can’t satisfy a shovel’s requirements, so advanced and normal control methods were combined to improve the control system, bringing good results.

A new EEG synchronization strength analysis method: S-estimator based normalized weighted-permutation mutual information.

PubMed

Cui, Dong; Pu, Weiting; Liu, Jing; Bian, Zhijie; Li, Qiuli; Wang, Lei; Gu, Guanghua

2016-10-01

Synchronization is an important mechanism for understanding information processing in normal or abnormal brains. In this paper, we propose a new method called normalized weighted-permutation mutual information (NWPMI) for double variable signal synchronization analysis and combine NWPMI with S-estimator measure to generate a new method named S-estimator based normalized weighted-permutation mutual information (SNWPMI) for analyzing multi-channel electroencephalographic (EEG) synchronization strength. The performances including the effects of time delay, embedding dimension, coupling coefficients, signal to noise ratios (SNRs) and data length of the NWPMI are evaluated by using Coupled Henon mapping model. The results show that the NWPMI is superior in describing the synchronization compared with the normalized permutation mutual information (NPMI). Furthermore, the proposed SNWPMI method is applied to analyze scalp EEG data from 26 amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI) subjects and 20 age-matched controls with normal cognitive function, who both suffer from type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). The proposed methods NWPMI and SNWPMI are suggested to be an effective index to estimate the synchronization strength. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Insulin Dynamics in Young Women with Polycystic Ovary Syndrome and Normal Glucose Tolerance across Categories of Body Mass Index

PubMed Central

Manco, Melania; Castagneto-Gissey, Lidia; Arrighi, Eugenio; Carnicelli, Annamaria; Brufani, Claudia; Luciano, Rosa; Mingrone, Geltrude

2014-01-01

Background Evidence favours insulin resistance and compensatory hyperinsulinemia as the predominant, perhaps primary, defects in polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). The aim of the present study was to evaluate insulin metabolism in young women with PCOS but normal glucose tolerance as compared with age, body mass index and insulin resistance-matched controls to answer the question whether women with PCOS hypersecrete insulin in comparison to appropriately insulin resistance-matched controls. Research Design and Methods Sixty-nine cases were divided according to their body mass index (BMI) in normal-weight (N = 29), overweight (N = 24) and obese patients (N = 16). Controls were 479 healthy women (age 16–49 y). Whole body Insulin Sensitivity (WBISI), fasting, and total insulin secretion were estimated following an oral glucose tolerance test (C-peptide deconvolution method). Results Across classes of BMI, PCOS patients had greater insulin resistance than matched controls (p<0.0001 for all the comparisons), but they showed higher fasting and total insulin secretion than their age, BMI and insulin resistance-matched peers (p<0.0001 for all the comparisons). Conclusion Women with PCOS show higher insulin resistance but also larger insulin secretion to maintain normal glucose homeostasis than age-, BMI- and insulin resistance-matched controls. PMID:24705280

A comparison of per sample global scaling and per gene normalization methods for differential expression analysis of RNA-seq data.

PubMed

Li, Xiaohong; Brock, Guy N; Rouchka, Eric C; Cooper, Nigel G F; Wu, Dongfeng; O'Toole, Timothy E; Gill, Ryan S; Eteleeb, Abdallah M; O'Brien, Liz; Rai, Shesh N

2017-01-01

Normalization is an essential step with considerable impact on high-throughput RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) data analysis. Although there are numerous methods for read count normalization, it remains a challenge to choose an optimal method due to multiple factors contributing to read count variability that affects the overall sensitivity and specificity. In order to properly determine the most appropriate normalization methods, it is critical to compare the performance and shortcomings of a representative set of normalization routines based on different dataset characteristics. Therefore, we set out to evaluate the performance of the commonly used methods (DESeq, TMM-edgeR, FPKM-CuffDiff, TC, Med UQ and FQ) and two new methods we propose: Med-pgQ2 and UQ-pgQ2 (per-gene normalization after per-sample median or upper-quartile global scaling). Our per-gene normalization approach allows for comparisons between conditions based on similar count levels. Using the benchmark Microarray Quality Control Project (MAQC) and simulated datasets, we performed differential gene expression analysis to evaluate these methods. When evaluating MAQC2 with two replicates, we observed that Med-pgQ2 and UQ-pgQ2 achieved a slightly higher area under the Receiver Operating Characteristic Curve (AUC), a specificity rate > 85%, the detection power > 92% and an actual false discovery rate (FDR) under 0.06 given the nominal FDR (≤0.05). Although the top commonly used methods (DESeq and TMM-edgeR) yield a higher power (>93%) for MAQC2 data, they trade off with a reduced specificity (<70%) and a slightly higher actual FDR than our proposed methods. In addition, the results from an analysis based on the qualitative characteristics of sample distribution for MAQC2 and human breast cancer datasets show that only our gene-wise normalization methods corrected data skewed towards lower read counts. However, when we evaluated MAQC3 with less variation in five replicates, all methods performed similarly. Thus, our proposed Med-pgQ2 and UQ-pgQ2 methods perform slightly better for differential gene analysis of RNA-seq data skewed towards lowly expressed read counts with high variation by improving specificity while maintaining a good detection power with a control of the nominal FDR level.

A comparison of per sample global scaling and per gene normalization methods for differential expression analysis of RNA-seq data

PubMed Central

Li, Xiaohong; Brock, Guy N.; Rouchka, Eric C.; Cooper, Nigel G. F.; Wu, Dongfeng; O’Toole, Timothy E.; Gill, Ryan S.; Eteleeb, Abdallah M.; O’Brien, Liz

2017-01-01

Normalization is an essential step with considerable impact on high-throughput RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) data analysis. Although there are numerous methods for read count normalization, it remains a challenge to choose an optimal method due to multiple factors contributing to read count variability that affects the overall sensitivity and specificity. In order to properly determine the most appropriate normalization methods, it is critical to compare the performance and shortcomings of a representative set of normalization routines based on different dataset characteristics. Therefore, we set out to evaluate the performance of the commonly used methods (DESeq, TMM-edgeR, FPKM-CuffDiff, TC, Med UQ and FQ) and two new methods we propose: Med-pgQ2 and UQ-pgQ2 (per-gene normalization after per-sample median or upper-quartile global scaling). Our per-gene normalization approach allows for comparisons between conditions based on similar count levels. Using the benchmark Microarray Quality Control Project (MAQC) and simulated datasets, we performed differential gene expression analysis to evaluate these methods. When evaluating MAQC2 with two replicates, we observed that Med-pgQ2 and UQ-pgQ2 achieved a slightly higher area under the Receiver Operating Characteristic Curve (AUC), a specificity rate > 85%, the detection power > 92% and an actual false discovery rate (FDR) under 0.06 given the nominal FDR (≤0.05). Although the top commonly used methods (DESeq and TMM-edgeR) yield a higher power (>93%) for MAQC2 data, they trade off with a reduced specificity (<70%) and a slightly higher actual FDR than our proposed methods. In addition, the results from an analysis based on the qualitative characteristics of sample distribution for MAQC2 and human breast cancer datasets show that only our gene-wise normalization methods corrected data skewed towards lower read counts. However, when we evaluated MAQC3 with less variation in five replicates, all methods performed similarly. Thus, our proposed Med-pgQ2 and UQ-pgQ2 methods perform slightly better for differential gene analysis of RNA-seq data skewed towards lowly expressed read counts with high variation by improving specificity while maintaining a good detection power with a control of the nominal FDR level. PMID:28459823

Cortical hypometabolism and hypoperfusion in Parkinson's disease is extensive: probably even at early disease stages.

PubMed

Borghammer, Per; Chakravarty, Mallar; Jonsdottir, Kristjana Yr; Sato, Noriko; Matsuda, Hiroshi; Ito, Kengo; Arahata, Yutaka; Kato, Takashi; Gjedde, Albert

2010-05-01

Recent cerebral blood flow (CBF) and glucose consumption (CMRglc) studies of Parkinson's disease (PD) revealed conflicting results. Using simulated data, we previously demonstrated that the often-reported subcortical hypermetabolism in PD could be explained as an artifact of biased global mean (GM) normalization, and that low-magnitude, extensive cortical hypometabolism is best detected by alternative data-driven normalization methods. Thus, we hypothesized that PD is characterized by extensive cortical hypometabolism but no concurrent widespread subcortical hypermetabolism and tested it on three independent samples of PD patients. We compared SPECT CBF images of 32 early-stage and 33 late-stage PD patients with that of 60 matched controls. We also compared PET FDG images from 23 late-stage PD patients with that of 13 controls. Three different normalization methods were compared: (1) GM normalization, (2) cerebellum normalization, (3) reference cluster normalization (Yakushev et al.). We employed standard voxel-based statistics (fMRIstat) and principal component analysis (SSM). Additionally, we performed a meta-analysis of all quantitative CBF and CMRglc studies in the literature to investigate whether the global mean (GM) values in PD are decreased. Voxel-based analysis with GM normalization and the SSM method performed similarly, i.e., both detected decreases in small cortical clusters and concomitant increases in extensive subcortical regions. Cerebellum normalization revealed more widespread cortical decreases but no subcortical increase. In all comparisons, the Yakushev method detected nearly identical patterns of very extensive cortical hypometabolism. Lastly, the meta-analyses demonstrated that global CBF and CMRglc values are decreased in PD. Based on the results, we conclude that PD most likely has widespread cortical hypometabolism, even at early disease stages. In contrast, extensive subcortical hypermetabolism is probably not a feature of PD.

Derivation of three closed loop kinematic velocity models using normalized quaternion feedback for an autonomous redundant manipulator with application to inverse kinematics

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

Unseren, M.A.

1993-04-01

The report discusses the orientation tracking control problem for a kinematically redundant, autonomous manipulator moving in a three dimensional workspace. The orientation error is derived using the normalized quaternion error method of Ickes, the Luh, Walker, and Paul error method, and a method suggested here utilizing the Rodrigues parameters, all of which are expressed in terms of normalized quaternions. The analytical time derivatives of the orientation errors are determined. The latter, along with the translational velocity error, form a dosed loop kinematic velocity model of the manipulator using normalized quaternion and translational position feedback. An analysis of the singularities associatedmore » with expressing the models in a form suitable for solving the inverse kinematics problem is given. Two redundancy resolution algorithms originally developed using an open loop kinematic velocity model of the manipulator are extended to properly take into account the orientation tracking control problem. This report furnishes the necessary mathematical framework required prior to experimental implementation of the orientation tracking control schemes on the seven axis CESARm research manipulator or on the seven-axis Robotics Research K1207i dexterous manipulator, the latter of which is to be delivered to the Oak Ridge National Laboratory in 1993.« less

A multilevel-ROI-features-based machine learning method for detection of morphometric biomarkers in Parkinson's disease.

PubMed

Peng, Bo; Wang, Suhong; Zhou, Zhiyong; Liu, Yan; Tong, Baotong; Zhang, Tao; Dai, Yakang

2017-06-09

Machine learning methods have been widely used in recent years for detection of neuroimaging biomarkers in regions of interest (ROIs) and assisting diagnosis of neurodegenerative diseases. The innovation of this study is to use multilevel-ROI-features-based machine learning method to detect sensitive morphometric biomarkers in Parkinson's disease (PD). Specifically, the low-level ROI features (gray matter volume, cortical thickness, etc.) and high-level correlative features (connectivity between ROIs) are integrated to construct the multilevel ROI features. Filter- and wrapper- based feature selection method and multi-kernel support vector machine (SVM) are used in the classification algorithm. T1-weighted brain magnetic resonance (MR) images of 69 PD patients and 103 normal controls from the Parkinson's Progression Markers Initiative (PPMI) dataset are included in the study. The machine learning method performs well in classification between PD patients and normal controls with an accuracy of 85.78%, a specificity of 87.79%, and a sensitivity of 87.64%. The most sensitive biomarkers between PD patients and normal controls are mainly distributed in frontal lobe, parental lobe, limbic lobe, temporal lobe, and central region. The classification performance of our method with multilevel ROI features is significantly improved comparing with other classification methods using single-level features. The proposed method shows promising identification ability for detecting morphometric biomarkers in PD, thus confirming the potentiality of our method in assisting diagnosis of the disease. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Maturation of Speech and Language Functional Neuroanatomy in Pediatric Normal Controls

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Devous, Michael D., Sr.; Altuna, Dianne; Furl, Nicholas, Cooper, William; Gabbert, Gretchen; Ngai, Wei Tat; Chiu, Stephanie; Scott, Jack M., III; Harris, Thomas S.; Payne, J. Kelly; Tobey, Emily A.

2006-01-01

Purpose: This study explores the relationship between age and resting-state regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) in regions associated with higher order language skills using a population of normal children, adolescents, and young adults. Method: rCBF was measured in 33 normal participants between the ages of 7 and 19 years using single photon…

Methodological study of affine transformations of gene expression data with proposed robust non-parametric multi-dimensional normalization method.

PubMed

Bengtsson, Henrik; Hössjer, Ola

2006-03-01

Low-level processing and normalization of microarray data are most important steps in microarray analysis, which have profound impact on downstream analysis. Multiple methods have been suggested to date, but it is not clear which is the best. It is therefore important to further study the different normalization methods in detail and the nature of microarray data in general. A methodological study of affine models for gene expression data is carried out. Focus is on two-channel comparative studies, but the findings generalize also to single- and multi-channel data. The discussion applies to spotted as well as in-situ synthesized microarray data. Existing normalization methods such as curve-fit ("lowess") normalization, parallel and perpendicular translation normalization, and quantile normalization, but also dye-swap normalization are revisited in the light of the affine model and their strengths and weaknesses are investigated in this context. As a direct result from this study, we propose a robust non-parametric multi-dimensional affine normalization method, which can be applied to any number of microarrays with any number of channels either individually or all at once. A high-quality cDNA microarray data set with spike-in controls is used to demonstrate the power of the affine model and the proposed normalization method. We find that an affine model can explain non-linear intensity-dependent systematic effects in observed log-ratios. Affine normalization removes such artifacts for non-differentially expressed genes and assures that symmetry between negative and positive log-ratios is obtained, which is fundamental when identifying differentially expressed genes. In addition, affine normalization makes the empirical distributions in different channels more equal, which is the purpose of quantile normalization, and may also explain why dye-swap normalization works or fails. All methods are made available in the aroma package, which is a platform-independent package for R.

Control method for prosthetic devices

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bozeman, Richard J., Jr. (Inventor)

1995-01-01

A control system and method for prosthetic devices is provided. The control system comprises a transducer for receiving movement from a body part for generating a sensing signal associated with that movement. The sensing signal is processed by a linearizer for linearizing the sensing signal to be a linear function of the magnitude of the distance moved by the body part. The linearized sensing signal is normalized to be a function of the entire range of body part movement from the no-shrug position of the moveable body part. The normalized signal is divided into a plurality of discrete command signals. The discrete command signals are used by typical converter devices which are in operational association with the prosthetic device. The converter device uses the discrete command signals for driving the moveable portions of the prosthetic device and its sub-prosthesis. The method for controlling a prosthetic device associated with the present invention comprises the steps of receiving the movement from the body part, generating a sensing signal in association with the movement of the body part, linearizing the sensing signal to be a linear function of the magnitude of the distance moved by the body part, normalizing the linear signal to be a function of the entire range of the body part movement, dividing the normalized signal into a plurality of discrete command signals, and implementing the plurality of discrete command signals for driving the respective moveable prosthesis device and its sub-prosthesis.

Control system and method for prosthetic devices

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bozeman, Richard J., Jr. (Inventor)

1992-01-01

A control system and method for prosthetic devices is provided. The control system comprises a transducer for receiving movement from a body part for generating a sensing signal associated with that movement. The sensing signal is processed by a linearizer for linearizing the sensing signal to be a linear function of the magnitude of the distance moved by the body part. The linearized sensing signal is normalized to be a function of the entire range of body part movement from the no-shrug position of the movable body part through the full-shrug position of the movable body part. The normalized signal is divided into a plurality of discrete command signals. The discrete command signals are used by typical converter devices which are in operational association with the prosthetic device. The converter device uses the discrete command signals for driving the movable portions of the prosthetic device and its sub-prosthesis. The method for controlling a prosthetic device associated with the present invention comprises the steps of receiving the movement from the body part, generating a sensing signal in association with the movement of the body part, linearizing the sensing signal to be a linear function of the magnitude of the distance moved by the body part, normalizing the linear signal to be a function of the entire range of the body part movement, dividing the normalized signal into a plurality of discrete command signals, and implementing the plurality of discrete command signals for driving the respective movable prosthesis device and its sub-prosthesis.

Intelligent tuning method of PID parameters based on iterative learning control for atomic force microscopy.

PubMed

Liu, Hui; Li, Yingzi; Zhang, Yingxu; Chen, Yifu; Song, Zihang; Wang, Zhenyu; Zhang, Suoxin; Qian, Jianqiang

2018-01-01

Proportional-integral-derivative (PID) parameters play a vital role in the imaging process of an atomic force microscope (AFM). Traditional parameter tuning methods require a lot of manpower and it is difficult to set PID parameters in unattended working environments. In this manuscript, an intelligent tuning method of PID parameters based on iterative learning control is proposed to self-adjust PID parameters of the AFM according to the sample topography. This method gets enough information about the output signals of PID controller and tracking error, which will be used to calculate the proper PID parameters, by repeated line scanning until convergence before normal scanning to learn the topography. Subsequently, the appropriate PID parameters are obtained by fitting method and then applied to the normal scanning process. The feasibility of the method is demonstrated by the convergence analysis. Simulations and experimental results indicate that the proposed method can intelligently tune PID parameters of the AFM for imaging different topographies and thus achieve good tracking performance. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

A Spiking Strategy for ChIP-chip Data Normalization in S. cerevisiae.

PubMed

Jeronimo, Célia; Robert, François

2017-01-01

Chromatin immunoprecipitation coupled to DNA microarrays (ChIP-chip) is widely used in the chromatin field, notably to map the position of histone variants or histone modifications along the genome. Often, the position and the occupancy of these epigenetic marks are to be compared between different experiments. It is now increasingly recognized that such cross-sample comparison is better done using externally added exogenous controls for normalization but no such method has been described for ChIP-chip. Here we describe a spiking normalization strategy that makes use of phiX174 phage DNA as a spiked control for normalization of ChIP-chip signals across different experiments.

Normal and reverse flow injection–spectrophotometric determination of thiamine hydrochloride in pharmaceutical preparations using diazotized metoclopramide

PubMed Central

Al Abachi, Mouayed Q.; Hadi, Hind

2012-01-01

Simple and sensitive normal and reverse flow injection methods for spectrophotometric determination of thiamine hydrochloride (THC) at the microgram level were proposed and optimized. Both methods are based on the reaction between THC and diazotized metoclopramide in alkaline medium. Beer’s law was obeyed over the range of 10–300 and 2–90 μg/mL, the limits of detection were 2.118 and 0.839 μg/mL and the sampling rates were 80 and 95 injections per hour for normal and reverse flow injection methods respectively. The application of both methods to commercially available pharmaceuticals produced acceptable results. The flow system is suitable for application in quality control processes. PMID:29403765

Control-group feature normalization for multivariate pattern analysis of structural MRI data using the support vector machine.

PubMed

Linn, Kristin A; Gaonkar, Bilwaj; Satterthwaite, Theodore D; Doshi, Jimit; Davatzikos, Christos; Shinohara, Russell T

2016-05-15

Normalization of feature vector values is a common practice in machine learning. Generally, each feature value is standardized to the unit hypercube or by normalizing to zero mean and unit variance. Classification decisions based on support vector machines (SVMs) or by other methods are sensitive to the specific normalization used on the features. In the context of multivariate pattern analysis using neuroimaging data, standardization effectively up- and down-weights features based on their individual variability. Since the standard approach uses the entire data set to guide the normalization, it utilizes the total variability of these features. This total variation is inevitably dependent on the amount of marginal separation between groups. Thus, such a normalization may attenuate the separability of the data in high dimensional space. In this work we propose an alternate approach that uses an estimate of the control-group standard deviation to normalize features before training. We study our proposed approach in the context of group classification using structural MRI data. We show that control-based normalization leads to better reproducibility of estimated multivariate disease patterns and improves the classifier performance in many cases. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Identification of CSF fistulas by radionuclide counting

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

Yamamoto, Y.; Kunishio, K.; Sunami, N.

1990-07-01

A radionuclide counting method, performed with the patient prone and the neck flexed, was used successfully to diagnose CSF rhinorrhea in two patients. A normal radionuclide ratio (radionuclide counts in pledget/radionuclide counts in 1-ml blood sample) was obtained in 11 normal control subjects. Significance was determined to be a ratio greater than 0.37. Use of radionuclide counting method of determining CSF rhinorrhea is recommended when other methods have failed to locate a site of leakage or when posttraumatic meningitis suggests subclinical CSF rhinorrhea.

Power processor for a 20CM ion thruster

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Biess, J. J.; Schoenfeld, A. D.; Cohen, E.

1973-01-01

A power processor breadboard for the JPL 20CM Ion Engine was designed, fabricated, and tested to determine compliance with the electrical specification. The power processor breadboard used the silicon-controlled rectifier (SCR) series resonant inverter as the basic power stage to process all the power to the ion engine. The breadboard power processor was integrated with the JPL 20CM ion engine and complete testing was performed. The integration tests were performed without any silicon-controlled rectifier failure. This demonstrated the ruggedness of the series resonant inverter in protecting the switching elements during arcing in the ion engine. A method of fault clearing the ion engine and returning back to normal operation without elaborate sequencing and timing control logic was evolved. In this method, the main vaporizer was turned off and the discharge current limit was reduced when an overload existed on the screen/accelerator supply. After the high voltage returned to normal, both the main vaporizer and the discharge were returned to normal.

The Impact of Normalization Methods on RNA-Seq Data Analysis

PubMed Central

Zyprych-Walczak, J.; Szabelska, A.; Handschuh, L.; Górczak, K.; Klamecka, K.; Figlerowicz, M.; Siatkowski, I.

2015-01-01

High-throughput sequencing technologies, such as the Illumina Hi-seq, are powerful new tools for investigating a wide range of biological and medical problems. Massive and complex data sets produced by the sequencers create a need for development of statistical and computational methods that can tackle the analysis and management of data. The data normalization is one of the most crucial steps of data processing and this process must be carefully considered as it has a profound effect on the results of the analysis. In this work, we focus on a comprehensive comparison of five normalization methods related to sequencing depth, widely used for transcriptome sequencing (RNA-seq) data, and their impact on the results of gene expression analysis. Based on this study, we suggest a universal workflow that can be applied for the selection of the optimal normalization procedure for any particular data set. The described workflow includes calculation of the bias and variance values for the control genes, sensitivity and specificity of the methods, and classification errors as well as generation of the diagnostic plots. Combining the above information facilitates the selection of the most appropriate normalization method for the studied data sets and determines which methods can be used interchangeably. PMID:26176014

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

Unseren, M.A.

The report discusses the orientation tracking control problem for a kinematically redundant, autonomous manipulator moving in a three dimensional workspace. The orientation error is derived using the normalized quaternion error method of Ickes, the Luh, Walker, and Paul error method, and a method suggested here utilizing the Rodrigues parameters, all of which are expressed in terms of normalized quaternions. The analytical time derivatives of the orientation errors are determined. The latter, along with the translational velocity error, form a dosed loop kinematic velocity model of the manipulator using normalized quaternion and translational position feedback. An analysis of the singularities associatedmore » with expressing the models in a form suitable for solving the inverse kinematics problem is given. Two redundancy resolution algorithms originally developed using an open loop kinematic velocity model of the manipulator are extended to properly take into account the orientation tracking control problem. This report furnishes the necessary mathematical framework required prior to experimental implementation of the orientation tracking control schemes on the seven axis CESARm research manipulator or on the seven-axis Robotics Research K1207i dexterous manipulator, the latter of which is to be delivered to the Oak Ridge National Laboratory in 1993.« less

A comprehensive classification method for VOC emission sources to tackle air pollution based on VOC species reactivity and emission amounts.

PubMed

Li, Guohao; Wei, Wei; Shao, Xia; Nie, Lei; Wang, Hailin; Yan, Xiao; Zhang, Rui

2018-05-01

In China, volatile organic compound (VOC) control directives have been continuously released and implemented for important sources and regions to tackle air pollution. The corresponding control requirements were based on VOC emission amounts (EA), but never considered the significant differentiation of VOC species in terms of atmospheric chemical reactivity. This will adversely influence the effect of VOC reduction on air quality improvement. Therefore, this study attempted to develop a comprehensive classification method for typical VOC sources in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region (BTH), by combining the VOC emission amounts with the chemical reactivities of VOC species. Firstly, we obtained the VOC chemical profiles by measuring 5 key sources in the BTH region and referencing another 10 key sources, and estimated the ozone formation potential (OFP) per ton VOC emission for these sources by using the maximum incremental reactivity (MIR) index as the characteristic of source reactivity (SR). Then, we applied the data normalization method to respectively convert EA and SR to normalized EA (NEA) and normalized SR (NSR) for various sources in the BTH region. Finally, the control index (CI) was calculated, and these sources were further classified into four grades based on the normalized CI (NCI). The study results showed that in the BTH region, furniture coating, automobile coating, and road vehicles are characterized by high NCI and need to be given more attention; however, the petro-chemical industry, which was designated as an important control source by air quality managers, has a lower NCI. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier B.V.

A quality control method for intensity-modulated radiation therapy planning based on generalized equivalent uniform dose.

PubMed

Pang, Haowen; Sun, Xiaoyang; Yang, Bo; Wu, Jingbo

2018-05-01

To ensure good quality intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) planning, we proposed the use of a quality control method based on generalized equivalent uniform dose (gEUD) that predicts absorbed radiation doses in organs at risk (OAR). We conducted a retrospective analysis of patients who underwent IMRT for the treatment of cervical carcinoma, nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC), or non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). IMRT plans were randomly divided into data acquisition and data verification groups. OAR in the data acquisition group for cervical carcinoma and NPC were further classified as sub-organs at risk (sOAR). The normalized volume of sOAR and normalized gEUD (a = 1) were analyzed using multiple linear regression to establish a fitting formula. For NSCLC, the normalized intersection volume of the planning target volume (PTV) and lung, the maximum diameter of the PTV (left-right, anterior-posterior, and superior-inferior), and the normalized gEUD (a = 1) were analyzed using multiple linear regression to establish a fitting formula for the lung gEUD (a = 1). The r-squared and P values indicated that the fitting formula was a good fit. In the data verification group, IMRT plans verified the accuracy of the fitting formula, and compared the gEUD (a = 1) for each OAR between the subjective method and the gEUD-based method. In conclusion, the gEUD-based method can be used effectively for quality control and can reduce the influence of subjective factors on IMRT planning optimization. © 2018 The Authors. Journal of Applied Clinical Medical Physics published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. on behalf of American Association of Physicists in Medicine.

Effective normalization for copy number variation detection from whole genome sequencing.

PubMed

Janevski, Angel; Varadan, Vinay; Kamalakaran, Sitharthan; Banerjee, Nilanjana; Dimitrova, Nevenka

2012-01-01

Whole genome sequencing enables a high resolution view of the human genome and provides unique insights into genome structure at an unprecedented scale. There have been a number of tools to infer copy number variation in the genome. These tools, while validated, also include a number of parameters that are configurable to genome data being analyzed. These algorithms allow for normalization to account for individual and population-specific effects on individual genome CNV estimates but the impact of these changes on the estimated CNVs is not well characterized. We evaluate in detail the effect of normalization methodologies in two CNV algorithms FREEC and CNV-seq using whole genome sequencing data from 8 individuals spanning four populations. We apply FREEC and CNV-seq to a sequencing data set consisting of 8 genomes. We use multiple configurations corresponding to different read-count normalization methodologies in FREEC, and statistically characterize the concordance of the CNV calls between FREEC configurations and the analogous output from CNV-seq. The normalization methodologies evaluated in FREEC are: GC content, mappability and control genome. We further stratify the concordance analysis within genic, non-genic, and a collection of validated variant regions. The GC content normalization methodology generates the highest number of altered copy number regions. Both mappability and control genome normalization reduce the total number and length of copy number regions. Mappability normalization yields Jaccard indices in the 0.07 - 0.3 range, whereas using a control genome normalization yields Jaccard index values around 0.4 with normalization based on GC content. The most critical impact of using mappability as a normalization factor is substantial reduction of deletion CNV calls. The output of another method based on control genome normalization, CNV-seq, resulted in comparable CNV call profiles, and substantial agreement in variable gene and CNV region calls. Choice of read-count normalization methodology has a substantial effect on CNV calls and the use of genomic mappability or an appropriately chosen control genome can optimize the output of CNV analysis.

SU-D-BRD-07: Evaluation of the Effectiveness of Statistical Process Control Methods to Detect Systematic Errors For Routine Electron Energy Verification

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

Parker, S

2015-06-15

Purpose: To evaluate the ability of statistical process control methods to detect systematic errors when using a two dimensional (2D) detector array for routine electron beam energy verification. Methods: Electron beam energy constancy was measured using an aluminum wedge and a 2D diode array on four linear accelerators. Process control limits were established. Measurements were recorded in control charts and compared with both calculated process control limits and TG-142 recommended specification limits. The data was tested for normality, process capability and process acceptability. Additional measurements were recorded while systematic errors were intentionally introduced. Systematic errors included shifts in the alignmentmore » of the wedge, incorrect orientation of the wedge, and incorrect array calibration. Results: Control limits calculated for each beam were smaller than the recommended specification limits. Process capability and process acceptability ratios were greater than one in all cases. All data was normally distributed. Shifts in the alignment of the wedge were most apparent for low energies. The smallest shift (0.5 mm) was detectable using process control limits in some cases, while the largest shift (2 mm) was detectable using specification limits in only one case. The wedge orientation tested did not affect the measurements as this did not affect the thickness of aluminum over the detectors of interest. Array calibration dependence varied with energy and selected array calibration. 6 MeV was the least sensitive to array calibration selection while 16 MeV was the most sensitive. Conclusion: Statistical process control methods demonstrated that the data distribution was normally distributed, the process was capable of meeting specifications, and that the process was centered within the specification limits. Though not all systematic errors were distinguishable from random errors, process control limits increased the ability to detect systematic errors using routine measurement of electron beam energy constancy.« less

Comparison of normalization methods for the analysis of metagenomic gene abundance data.

PubMed

Pereira, Mariana Buongermino; Wallroth, Mikael; Jonsson, Viktor; Kristiansson, Erik

2018-04-20

In shotgun metagenomics, microbial communities are studied through direct sequencing of DNA without any prior cultivation. By comparing gene abundances estimated from the generated sequencing reads, functional differences between the communities can be identified. However, gene abundance data is affected by high levels of systematic variability, which can greatly reduce the statistical power and introduce false positives. Normalization, which is the process where systematic variability is identified and removed, is therefore a vital part of the data analysis. A wide range of normalization methods for high-dimensional count data has been proposed but their performance on the analysis of shotgun metagenomic data has not been evaluated. Here, we present a systematic evaluation of nine normalization methods for gene abundance data. The methods were evaluated through resampling of three comprehensive datasets, creating a realistic setting that preserved the unique characteristics of metagenomic data. Performance was measured in terms of the methods ability to identify differentially abundant genes (DAGs), correctly calculate unbiased p-values and control the false discovery rate (FDR). Our results showed that the choice of normalization method has a large impact on the end results. When the DAGs were asymmetrically present between the experimental conditions, many normalization methods had a reduced true positive rate (TPR) and a high false positive rate (FPR). The methods trimmed mean of M-values (TMM) and relative log expression (RLE) had the overall highest performance and are therefore recommended for the analysis of gene abundance data. For larger sample sizes, CSS also showed satisfactory performance. This study emphasizes the importance of selecting a suitable normalization methods in the analysis of data from shotgun metagenomics. Our results also demonstrate that improper methods may result in unacceptably high levels of false positives, which in turn may lead to incorrect or obfuscated biological interpretation.

Optimal consistency in microRNA expression analysis using reference-gene-based normalization.

PubMed

Wang, Xi; Gardiner, Erin J; Cairns, Murray J

2015-05-01

Normalization of high-throughput molecular expression profiles secures differential expression analysis between samples of different phenotypes or biological conditions, and facilitates comparison between experimental batches. While the same general principles apply to microRNA (miRNA) normalization, there is mounting evidence that global shifts in their expression patterns occur in specific circumstances, which pose a challenge for normalizing miRNA expression data. As an alternative to global normalization, which has the propensity to flatten large trends, normalization against constitutively expressed reference genes presents an advantage through their relative independence. Here we investigated the performance of reference-gene-based (RGB) normalization for differential miRNA expression analysis of microarray expression data, and compared the results with other normalization methods, including: quantile, variance stabilization, robust spline, simple scaling, rank invariant, and Loess regression. The comparative analyses were executed using miRNA expression in tissue samples derived from subjects with schizophrenia and non-psychiatric controls. We proposed a consistency criterion for evaluating methods by examining the overlapping of differentially expressed miRNAs detected using different partitions of the whole data. Based on this criterion, we found that RGB normalization generally outperformed global normalization methods. Thus we recommend the application of RGB normalization for miRNA expression data sets, and believe that this will yield a more consistent and useful readout of differentially expressed miRNAs, particularly in biological conditions characterized by large shifts in miRNA expression.

Hybrid robust predictive optimization method of power system dispatch

DOEpatents

Chandra, Ramu Sharat [Niskayuna, NY; Liu, Yan [Ballston Lake, NY; Bose, Sumit [Niskayuna, NY; de Bedout, Juan Manuel [West Glenville, NY

2011-08-02

A method of power system dispatch control solves power system dispatch problems by integrating a larger variety of generation, load and storage assets, including without limitation, combined heat and power (CHP) units, renewable generation with forecasting, controllable loads, electric, thermal and water energy storage. The method employs a predictive algorithm to dynamically schedule different assets in order to achieve global optimization and maintain the system normal operation.

Getting DNA copy numbers without control samples

PubMed Central

2012-01-01

Background The selection of the reference to scale the data in a copy number analysis has paramount importance to achieve accurate estimates. Usually this reference is generated using control samples included in the study. However, these control samples are not always available and in these cases, an artificial reference must be created. A proper generation of this signal is crucial in terms of both noise and bias. We propose NSA (Normality Search Algorithm), a scaling method that works with and without control samples. It is based on the assumption that genomic regions enriched in SNPs with identical copy numbers in both alleles are likely to be normal. These normal regions are predicted for each sample individually and used to calculate the final reference signal. NSA can be applied to any CN data regardless the microarray technology and preprocessing method. It also finds an optimal weighting of the samples minimizing possible batch effects. Results Five human datasets (a subset of HapMap samples, Glioblastoma Multiforme (GBM), Ovarian, Prostate and Lung Cancer experiments) have been analyzed. It is shown that using only tumoral samples, NSA is able to remove the bias in the copy number estimation, to reduce the noise and therefore, to increase the ability to detect copy number aberrations (CNAs). These improvements allow NSA to also detect recurrent aberrations more accurately than other state of the art methods. Conclusions NSA provides a robust and accurate reference for scaling probe signals data to CN values without the need of control samples. It minimizes the problems of bias, noise and batch effects in the estimation of CNs. Therefore, NSA scaling approach helps to better detect recurrent CNAs than current methods. The automatic selection of references makes it useful to perform bulk analysis of many GEO or ArrayExpress experiments without the need of developing a parser to find the normal samples or possible batches within the data. The method is available in the open-source R package NSA, which is an add-on to the aroma.cn framework. http://www.aroma-project.org/addons. PMID:22898240

Getting DNA copy numbers without control samples.

PubMed

Ortiz-Estevez, Maria; Aramburu, Ander; Rubio, Angel

2012-08-16

The selection of the reference to scale the data in a copy number analysis has paramount importance to achieve accurate estimates. Usually this reference is generated using control samples included in the study. However, these control samples are not always available and in these cases, an artificial reference must be created. A proper generation of this signal is crucial in terms of both noise and bias.We propose NSA (Normality Search Algorithm), a scaling method that works with and without control samples. It is based on the assumption that genomic regions enriched in SNPs with identical copy numbers in both alleles are likely to be normal. These normal regions are predicted for each sample individually and used to calculate the final reference signal. NSA can be applied to any CN data regardless the microarray technology and preprocessing method. It also finds an optimal weighting of the samples minimizing possible batch effects. Five human datasets (a subset of HapMap samples, Glioblastoma Multiforme (GBM), Ovarian, Prostate and Lung Cancer experiments) have been analyzed. It is shown that using only tumoral samples, NSA is able to remove the bias in the copy number estimation, to reduce the noise and therefore, to increase the ability to detect copy number aberrations (CNAs). These improvements allow NSA to also detect recurrent aberrations more accurately than other state of the art methods. NSA provides a robust and accurate reference for scaling probe signals data to CN values without the need of control samples. It minimizes the problems of bias, noise and batch effects in the estimation of CNs. Therefore, NSA scaling approach helps to better detect recurrent CNAs than current methods. The automatic selection of references makes it useful to perform bulk analysis of many GEO or ArrayExpress experiments without the need of developing a parser to find the normal samples or possible batches within the data. The method is available in the open-source R package NSA, which is an add-on to the aroma.cn framework. http://www.aroma-project.org/addons.

Control of impurities in toroidal plasma devices

DOEpatents

Ohkawa, Tihiro

1980-01-01

A method and apparatus for plasma impurity control in closed flux plasma systems such as Tokamak reactors is disclosed. Local axisymmetrical injection of hydrogen gas is employed to reverse the normally inward flow of impurities into the plasma.

Non-negative matrix factorization in texture feature for classification of dementia with MRI data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sarwinda, D.; Bustamam, A.; Ardaneswari, G.

2017-07-01

This paper investigates applications of non-negative matrix factorization as feature selection method to select the features from gray level co-occurrence matrix. The proposed approach is used to classify dementia using MRI data. In this study, texture analysis using gray level co-occurrence matrix is done to feature extraction. In the feature extraction process of MRI data, we found seven features from gray level co-occurrence matrix. Non-negative matrix factorization selected three features that influence of all features produced by feature extractions. A Naïve Bayes classifier is adapted to classify dementia, i.e. Alzheimer's disease, Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI) and normal control. The experimental results show that non-negative factorization as feature selection method able to achieve an accuracy of 96.4% for classification of Alzheimer's and normal control. The proposed method also compared with other features selection methods i.e. Principal Component Analysis (PCA).

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

PubMed

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

2016-09-01

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

Bright and dark solitons in the normal dispersion regime of inhomogeneous optical fibers: Soliton interaction and soliton control

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

Liu Wenjun; Tian Bo, E-mail: tian.bupt@yahoo.com.c; State Key Laboratory of Software Development Environment, Beijing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Beijing 100191

2010-08-15

Symbolically investigated in this paper is a nonlinear Schroedinger equation with the varying dispersion and nonlinearity for the propagation of optical pulses in the normal dispersion regime of inhomogeneous optical fibers. With the aid of the Hirota method, analytic one- and two-soliton solutions are obtained. Relevant properties of physical and optical interest are illustrated. Different from the previous results, both the bright and dark solitons are hereby derived in the normal dispersion regime of the inhomogeneous optical fibers. Moreover, different dispersion profiles of the dispersion-decreasing fibers can be used to realize the soliton control. Finally, soliton interaction is discussed withmore » the soliton control confirmed to have no influence on the interaction. The results might be of certain value for the study of the signal generator and soliton control.« less

The dynamics and control of large flexible space structures, 3. Part A: Shape and orientation control of a platform in orbit using point actuators

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bainum, P. M.; Reddy, A. S. S. R.; Krishna, R.; James, P. K.

1980-01-01

The dynamics, attitude, and shape control of a large thin flexible square platform in orbit are studied. Attitude and shape control are assumed to result from actuators placed perpendicular to the main surface and one edge and their effect on the rigid body and elastic modes is modelled to first order. The equations of motion are linearized about three different nominal orientations: (1) the platform following the local vertical with its major surface perpendicular to the orbital plane; (2) the platform following the local horizontal with its major surface normal to the local vertical; and (3) the platform following the local vertical with its major surface perpendicular to the orbit normal. The stability of the uncontrolled system is investigated analytically. Once controllability is established for a set of actuator locations, control law development is based on decoupling, pole placement, and linear optimal control theory. Frequencies and elastic modal shape functions are obtained using a finite element computer algorithm, two different approximate analytical methods, and the results of the three methods compared.

Direct Fluorescence Detection of Allele-Specific PCR Products Using Novel Energy-Transfer Labeled Primers.

PubMed

Winn-Deen

1998-12-01

Background: Currently analysis of point mutations can be done by allele-specific polymerase chain reaction (PCR) followed by gel analysis or by gene-specific PCR followed by hybridization with an allele-specific probe. Both of these mutation detection methods require post-PCR laboratory time and run the risk of contaminating subsequent experiments with the PCR product liberated during the detection step. The author has combined the PCR amplification and detection steps into a single procedure suitable for closed-tube analysis. Methods and Results: Allele-specific PCR primers were designed as Sunrise energy-transfer primers and contained a 3' terminal mismatch to distinguish between normal and mutant DNA. Cloned normal (W64) and mutant (R64) templates of the beta3-adrenergic receptor gene were tested to verify amplification specificity and yield. A no-target negative control was also run with each reaction. After PCR, each reaction was tested for fluorescence yield by measuring fluorescence on a spectrofluorimeter or fluorescent microtitreplate reader. The cloned controls and 24 patient samples were tested for the W64R mutation by two methods. The direct fluorescence results with the Sunrise allele-specific PCR method gave comparable genotypes to those obtained with the PCR/ restriction digest/gel electrophoresis control method. No PCR artifacts were observed in the negative controls or in the PCR reactions run with the mismatched target. Conclusions: The results of this pilot study indicate good PCR product and fluorescence yield from allele-specific energy-transfer labeled primers, and the capability of distinguishing between normal and mutant alleles based on fluorescence alone, without the need for restriction digestion, gel electrophoresis, or hybridization with an allele-specific probe.

Control logic for exhaust gas driven turbocharger

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

Adeff, G.A.

1991-12-31

This patent describes a method of controlling an exhaust gas driven turbocharger supplying charge air for an internal combustion engine powering vehicle, the turbocharger being adjustable from a normal mode to a power mode in which the charge air available to the engine during vehicle acceleration is increased over that available when the turbocharger is in the normal mode, the vehicle including engine power control means switchable by the vehicle operator from a normal mode to a power mode so that the vehicle operator may selectively elect either the normal mode or the power mode, comprising the steps of measuringmore » the speed of the vehicle, permitting the vehicle operator to elect either the power mode or the normal mode for a subsequent vehicle acceleration, and then adjusting the turbocharger to the power mode when the speed of the vehicle is less than a predetermined reference speed and the vehicle operator has elected to power mode to increase the charge air available to the engine and thereby increasing engine power on a subsequent acceleration of the vehicle.« less

Group normalization for genomic data.

PubMed

Ghandi, Mahmoud; Beer, Michael A

2012-01-01

Data normalization is a crucial preliminary step in analyzing genomic datasets. The goal of normalization is to remove global variation to make readings across different experiments comparable. In addition, most genomic loci have non-uniform sensitivity to any given assay because of variation in local sequence properties. In microarray experiments, this non-uniform sensitivity is due to different DNA hybridization and cross-hybridization efficiencies, known as the probe effect. In this paper we introduce a new scheme, called Group Normalization (GN), to remove both global and local biases in one integrated step, whereby we determine the normalized probe signal by finding a set of reference probes with similar responses. Compared to conventional normalization methods such as Quantile normalization and physically motivated probe effect models, our proposed method is general in the sense that it does not require the assumption that the underlying signal distribution be identical for the treatment and control, and is flexible enough to correct for nonlinear and higher order probe effects. The Group Normalization algorithm is computationally efficient and easy to implement. We also describe a variant of the Group Normalization algorithm, called Cross Normalization, which efficiently amplifies biologically relevant differences between any two genomic datasets.

Group Normalization for Genomic Data

PubMed Central

Ghandi, Mahmoud; Beer, Michael A.

2012-01-01

Data normalization is a crucial preliminary step in analyzing genomic datasets. The goal of normalization is to remove global variation to make readings across different experiments comparable. In addition, most genomic loci have non-uniform sensitivity to any given assay because of variation in local sequence properties. In microarray experiments, this non-uniform sensitivity is due to different DNA hybridization and cross-hybridization efficiencies, known as the probe effect. In this paper we introduce a new scheme, called Group Normalization (GN), to remove both global and local biases in one integrated step, whereby we determine the normalized probe signal by finding a set of reference probes with similar responses. Compared to conventional normalization methods such as Quantile normalization and physically motivated probe effect models, our proposed method is general in the sense that it does not require the assumption that the underlying signal distribution be identical for the treatment and control, and is flexible enough to correct for nonlinear and higher order probe effects. The Group Normalization algorithm is computationally efficient and easy to implement. We also describe a variant of the Group Normalization algorithm, called Cross Normalization, which efficiently amplifies biologically relevant differences between any two genomic datasets. PMID:22912661

Smooth quantile normalization.

PubMed

Hicks, Stephanie C; Okrah, Kwame; Paulson, Joseph N; Quackenbush, John; Irizarry, Rafael A; Bravo, Héctor Corrada

2018-04-01

Between-sample normalization is a critical step in genomic data analysis to remove systematic bias and unwanted technical variation in high-throughput data. Global normalization methods are based on the assumption that observed variability in global properties is due to technical reasons and are unrelated to the biology of interest. For example, some methods correct for differences in sequencing read counts by scaling features to have similar median values across samples, but these fail to reduce other forms of unwanted technical variation. Methods such as quantile normalization transform the statistical distributions across samples to be the same and assume global differences in the distribution are induced by only technical variation. However, it remains unclear how to proceed with normalization if these assumptions are violated, for example, if there are global differences in the statistical distributions between biological conditions or groups, and external information, such as negative or control features, is not available. Here, we introduce a generalization of quantile normalization, referred to as smooth quantile normalization (qsmooth), which is based on the assumption that the statistical distribution of each sample should be the same (or have the same distributional shape) within biological groups or conditions, but allowing that they may differ between groups. We illustrate the advantages of our method on several high-throughput datasets with global differences in distributions corresponding to different biological conditions. We also perform a Monte Carlo simulation study to illustrate the bias-variance tradeoff and root mean squared error of qsmooth compared to other global normalization methods. A software implementation is available from https://github.com/stephaniehicks/qsmooth.

Nonlinear Unsteady Aerodynamic Modeling Using Wind Tunnel and Computational Data

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Murphy, Patrick C.; Klein, Vladislav; Frink, Neal T.

2016-01-01

Extensions to conventional aircraft aerodynamic models are required to adequately predict responses when nonlinear unsteady flight regimes are encountered, especially at high incidence angles and under maneuvering conditions. For a number of reasons, such as loss of control, both military and civilian aircraft may extend beyond normal and benign aerodynamic flight conditions. In addition, military applications may require controlled flight beyond the normal envelope, and civilian flight may require adequate recovery or prevention methods from these adverse conditions. These requirements have led to the development of more general aerodynamic modeling methods and provided impetus for researchers to improve both techniques and the degree of collaboration between analytical and experimental research efforts. In addition to more general mathematical model structures, dynamic test methods have been designed to provide sufficient information to allow model identification. This paper summarizes research to develop a modeling methodology appropriate for modeling aircraft aerodynamics that include nonlinear unsteady behaviors using both experimental and computational test methods. This work was done at Langley Research Center, primarily under the NASA Aviation Safety Program, to address aircraft loss of control, prevention, and recovery aerodynamics.

METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR REACTOR SAFETY CONTROL

DOEpatents

Huston, N.E.

1961-06-01

A self-contained nuclear reactor fuse controlled device tron absorbing material, normally in a compact form but which can be expanded into an extended form presenting a large surface for neutron absorption when triggered by an increase in neutron flux, is described.

Comet assay: a prognostic tool for DNA integrity assessment in infertile men opting for assisted reproduction.

PubMed

Shamsi, M B; Venkatesh, S; Tanwar, M; Singh, G; Mukherjee, S; Malhotra, N; Kumar, R; Gupta, N P; Mittal, S; Dada, R

2010-05-01

The growing concern on transmission of genetic diseases in assisted reproduction technique (ART) and the lacunae in the conventional semen analysis to accurately predict the semen quality has led to the need for new techniques to identify the best quality sperm that can be used in assisted procreation techniques. This study analyzes the sperm parameters in the context of DNA damage in cytogenetically normal, AZF non deleted infertile men for DNA damage by comet assay. Seventy infertile men and 40 fertile controls were evaluated for the semen quality by conventional semen parameters and the sperms were also analyzed for DNA integrity by comet assay. The patients were classified into oligozoospermic (O), asthenozoospermic (A), teratozoospermic (T), oligoasthenoteratozoospermic (OAT) categories and infertile men with normal semen profile. The extent of DNA damage was assessed by visual scoring method of comets. Idiopathic infertile men with normal semen profile (n=18) according to conventional method and patients with history of spontaneous abortions and normal semen profile (n=10) had high degree of DNA damage (29 and 47% respectively) as compared to fertile controls (7%). The O, A, T and OAT categories of patients had a variably higher DNA damage load as compared to fertile controls. The normal range and threshold for DNA damage as a predictor of male fertility potential and technique which could assess the sperm DNA damage are necessary to lower the trauma of couples experiencing recurrent spontaneous abortion or failure in ART.

Pilot study on quantitative assessment of muscle imbalance: differences of muscle synergies, equilibrium-point trajectories, and endpoint stiffness in normal and pathological upper-limb movements.

PubMed

Oku, Takanori; Uno, Kanna; Nishi, Tomoki; Kageyama, Masayuki; Phatiwuttipat, Pipatthana; Koba, Keitaro; Yamashita, Yuto; Murakami, Kenta; Uemura, Mitsunori; Hirai, Hiroaki; Miyazaki, Fumio; Naritomi, Hiroaki

2014-01-01

This paper proposes a novel method for assessment of muscle imbalance based on muscle synergy hypothesis and equilibrium point (EP) hypothesis of motor control. We explain in detail the method for extracting muscle synergies under the concept of agonist-antagonist (AA) muscle pairs and for estimating EP trajectories and endpoint stiffness of human upper limbs in a horizontal plane using an electromyogram. The results of applying this method to the reaching movement of one normal subject and one hemiplegic subject suggest that (1) muscle synergies (the balance among coactivation of AA muscle pairs), particularly the synergies that contributes to the angular directional kinematics of EP and the limb stiffness, are quite different between the normal subject and the hemiplegic subject; (2) the concomitant EP trajectory is also different between the normal and hemiplegic subjects, corresponding to the difference of muscle synergies; and (3) the endpoint (hand) stiffness ellipse of the hemiplegic subject becomes more elongated and orientation of the major axis rotates clockwise more than that of the normal subject. The level of motor impairment would be expected to be assessed from a comparison of these differences of muscle synergies, EP trajectories, and endpoint stiffness among normal and pathological subjects using the method.

Repetition priming of words and nonwords in Alzheimer's disease and normal aging

PubMed Central

Ober, Beth A.; Shenaut, Gregory K.

2014-01-01

Objective This study examines the magnitude and direction of nonword and word lexical decision repetition priming effects in Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and normal aging, focusing specifically on the negative priming effect sometimes observed with repeated nonwords. Method Probable Alzheimer's disease (AD) patients (30), elderly normal controls (34), and young normal controls (49) participated in a repetition priming experiment using low-frequency words and word-like nonwords with a letter-level orthographic orienting task at study followed by a lexical decision test phase. Results Although participants' reaction times were longer in AD compared to elderly normal, and elderly normal compared to young normal, the repetition priming effect and the degree to which the repetition priming effect was reversed for nonwords compared to words was unaffected by AD or normal aging. Conclusion AD patients, like young and elderly normal participants, are able to modify (in the case of words) and create (in the case of nonwords) long-term memory traces for lexical stimuli, based on a single orthographic processing trial. The nonword repetition results are discussed from the perspective of new vocabulary learning commencing with a provisional lexical memory trace created after orthographic encoding of a novel word-like letter string. PMID:25000325

The Utility of Robust Means in Statistics

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Goodwyn, Fara

2012-01-01

Location estimates calculated from heuristic data were examined using traditional and robust statistical methods. The current paper demonstrates the impact outliers have on the sample mean and proposes robust methods to control for outliers in sample data. Traditional methods fail because they rely on the statistical assumptions of normality and…

A Comparative Study of Thought Fusion Beliefs and Thought Control Strategies in Patient With Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, Major Depressive Disorder and Normal People

PubMed Central

Amiri Pichakolaei, Ahmad; Fahimi, Samad; Bakhshipour Roudsari, Abbas; Fakhari, Ali; Akbari, Ebrahim; Rahimkhanli, Masoumeh

2014-01-01

Objective: The present study aimed to investigate the metacognitive model of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), through a comparative study of thought fusion beliefs and thought control strategies between patients with OCD, depression, and normal people. Methods: This is a causal-comparative study. About 20 patients were selected with OCD, and 20 patients with major depression disorder (MDD), and 20 normal individuals. Participants completed a thought fusion instrument and thought control questionnaire. Data were analyzed using multivariate analysis of variance. Results: Results indicated that patients with OCD obtained higher scores than two other groups. Also, there was a statistical significant difference between the three groups in thought control strategies and punishment, worry, and distraction subscales. Conclusion: Therefore, the results of the present study supported the metacognitive model of obsessive and showed thought fusion beliefs and thought control strategies can be effective in onset and continuity of OCD. PMID:25780373

Control System for Prosthetic Devices

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bozeman, Richard J. (Inventor)

1996-01-01

A control system and method for prosthetic devices is provided. The control system comprises a transducer for receiving movement from a body part for generating a sensing signal associated with that of movement. The sensing signal is processed by a linearizer for linearizing the sensing signal to be a linear function of the magnitude of the distance moved by the body part. The linearized sensing signal is normalized to be a function of the entire range of body part movement from the no-shrug position of the moveable body part through the full-shrg position of the moveable body part. The normalized signal is divided into a plurality of discrete command signals. The discrete command signals are used by typical converter devices which are in operational association with the prosthetic device. The converter device uses the discrete command signals for driving the moveable portions of the prosthetic device and its sub-prosthesis. The method for controlling a prosthetic device associated with the present invention comprises the steps of receiving the movement from the body part, generating a sensing signal in association with the movement of the body part, linearizing the sensing signal to be a linear function of the magnitude of the distance moved by the body part, normalizing the linear signal to be a function of the entire range of the body part movement, dividing the normalized signal into a plurality of discrete command signals, and implementing the plurality of discrete command signals for driving the respective moveable prosthesis device and its sub-prosthesis.

The Effect of Tinnitus on Listening Effort in Normal-Hearing Young Adults: A Preliminary Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Degeest, Sofie; Keppler, Hannah; Corthals, Paul

2017-01-01

Purpose: The objective of this study was to investigate the effect of chronic tinnitus on listening effort. Method: Thirteen normal-hearing young adults with chronic tinnitus were matched with a control group for age, gender, hearing thresholds, and educational level. A dual-task paradigm was used to evaluate listening effort in different…

Data-driven identification of intensity normalization region based on longitudinal coherency of 18F-FDG metabolism in the healthy brain.

PubMed

Zhang, Huiwei; Wu, Ping; Ziegler, Sibylle I; Guan, Yihui; Wang, Yuetao; Ge, Jingjie; Schwaiger, Markus; Huang, Sung-Cheng; Zuo, Chuantao; Förster, Stefan; Shi, Kuangyu

2017-02-01

In brain 18 F-FDG PET data intensity normalization is usually applied to control for unwanted factors confounding brain metabolism. However, it can be difficult to determine a proper intensity normalization region as a reference for the identification of abnormal metabolism in diseased brains. In neurodegenerative disorders, differentiating disease-related changes in brain metabolism from age-associated natural changes remains challenging. This study proposes a new data-driven method to identify proper intensity normalization regions in order to improve separation of age-associated natural changes from disease related changes in brain metabolism. 127 female and 128 male healthy subjects (age: 20 to 79) with brain 18 F-FDG PET/CT in the course of a whole body cancer screening were included. Brain PET images were processed using SPM8 and were parcellated into 116 anatomical regions according to the AAL template. It is assumed that normal brain 18 F-FDG metabolism has longitudinal coherency and this coherency leads to better model fitting. The coefficient of determination R 2 was proposed as the coherence coefficient, and the total coherence coefficient (overall fitting quality) was employed as an index to assess proper intensity normalization strategies on single subjects and age-cohort averaged data. Age-associated longitudinal changes of normal subjects were derived using the identified intensity normalization method correspondingly. In addition, 15 subjects with clinically diagnosed Parkinson's disease were assessed to evaluate the clinical potential of the proposed new method. Intensity normalizations by paracentral lobule and cerebellar tonsil, both regions derived from the new data-driven coherency method, showed significantly better coherence coefficients than other intensity normalization regions, and especially better than the most widely used global mean normalization. Intensity normalization by paracentral lobule was the most consistent method within both analysis strategies (subject-based and age-cohort averaging). In addition, the proposed new intensity normalization method using the paracentral lobule generates significantly higher differentiation from the age-associated changes than other intensity normalization methods. Proper intensity normalization can enhance the longitudinal coherency of normal brain glucose metabolism. The paracentral lobule followed by the cerebellar tonsil are shown to be the two most stable intensity normalization regions concerning age-dependent brain metabolism. This may provide the potential to better differentiate disease-related changes from age-related changes in brain metabolism, which is of relevance in the diagnosis of neurodegenerative disorders. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Parametric Stiffness Control of Flexible Structures

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Moon, F. C.; Rand, R. H.

1985-01-01

An unconventional method for control of flexible space structures using feedback control of certain elements of the stiffness matrix is discussed. The advantage of using this method of configuration control is that it can be accomplished in practical structures by changing the initial stress state in the structure. The initial stress state can be controlled hydraulically or by cables. The method leads, however, to nonlinear control equations. In particular, a long slender truss structure under cable induced initial compression is examined. both analytical and numerical analyses are presented. Nonlinear analysis using center manifold theory and normal form theory is used to determine criteria on the nonlinear control gains for stable or unstable operation. The analysis is made possible by the use of the exact computer algebra system MACSYMA.

Normalization to specific gravity prior to analysis improves information recovery from high resolution mass spectrometry metabolomic profiles of human urine.

PubMed

Edmands, William M B; Ferrari, Pietro; Scalbert, Augustin

2014-11-04

Extraction of meaningful biological information from urinary metabolomic profiles obtained by liquid-chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry (MS) necessitates the control of unwanted sources of variability associated with large differences in urine sample concentrations. Different methods of normalization either before analysis (preacquisition normalization) through dilution of urine samples to the lowest specific gravity measured by refractometry, or after analysis (postacquisition normalization) to urine volume, specific gravity and median fold change are compared for their capacity to recover lead metabolites for a potential future use as dietary biomarkers. Twenty-four urine samples of 19 subjects from the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and nutrition (EPIC) cohort were selected based on their high and low/nonconsumption of six polyphenol-rich foods as assessed with a 24 h dietary recall. MS features selected on the basis of minimum discriminant selection criteria were related to each dietary item by means of orthogonal partial least-squares discriminant analysis models. Normalization methods ranked in the following decreasing order when comparing the number of total discriminant MS features recovered to that obtained in the absence of normalization: preacquisition normalization to specific gravity (4.2-fold), postacquisition normalization to specific gravity (2.3-fold), postacquisition median fold change normalization (1.8-fold increase), postacquisition normalization to urinary volume (0.79-fold). A preventative preacquisition normalization based on urine specific gravity was found to be superior to all curative postacquisition normalization methods tested for discovery of MS features discriminant of dietary intake in these urinary metabolomic datasets.

[Correlations of telomere length changing and pathogeny of keratoconus].

PubMed

Wang, Jiao-jiao; Li, Shao-wei; Wang, Yi-qiang; Wang, Ye; Zhong, Wen-xian; Zang, Xin-jie

2009-08-01

To study telomere length, senescence-associated-beta-galactosidase (SA-beta-galactosidase) and senescence marker protein-30 (SMP-30) in the stromal cells of keratoconus or normal corneas respectively, aiming finding the association of these indexes with the phenotype of keratoconus. Experiment research. 37 keratoconus lesions corneas were removed from 32 keratoconus patients who were operated in Shangdong Eye Institute between January 2006 and December 2006, and 20 normal corneas were collected from eye bank. The keratoconus corneas ages were from 13 to 34 years [mean ages (19 + or - 5) years] and the control group consists of 20 normal corneas donor ages from 9 to 30 years [mean ages (19 + or - 4) years]. And there was no statistical difference of ages between keratoconus and normal corneas. Southern blot method was utilized to detect telomere length of genomic DNA. SA-beta-galactosidase was detected by 5-bromo-4-chloro-3-indolyl-beta-D-galactopyranoside (X-Gal) staining method respectively in keratoconus and normal corneas. Isolated mRNA from keratoconus and normal corneas were reverse-transcribed to cDNA and SMP-30 was detected using PCR with specific primers (sense: 5' ccg tgg atg cct ttg act at 3'; anti-sense: 5' caa ctt cat gc tgct ttg ga 3'). To compare normal corneas and keratoconus corneas by histopathological study. Statistical analysis by t test. The telomere length in stromal cells in keratoconus corneas were from 10.29 to 14.12 kb, mean (11.54 + or - 1.41) kb, while that of normal corneas were from 12.64 to 15.32 kb, mean (13.45 + or - 0.99) kb. The difference of telomere length in stromal cells of keratoconus and normal corneas reached a statistical significant level (t = 4.753, P < 0.05). That means the telomere length of keratoconus stroma was shorter than that of normal corneal stroma. Light microscopy revealed that collagen fibers in keratoconus corneal stroma were arranged in an irregular manner. Cells density in keratoconus stroma appeared lower than in normal ones but the decrease was not significant. The staining of SA-beta-galactosidase in the keratoconus section was evident, but there was no staining in the normal corneas. SMP-30 was not detectable with RT-PCR method in either keratoconus or normal corneas. Telomeres in the keratoconus stromas manifest higher SA-beta-galactosidase than control, implying that improper senescence might be involved in pathogenesis of keratoconus.

Unravelling the influence of mild traumatic brain injury (MTBI) on cognitive-linguistic processing: a comparative group analysis.

PubMed

Barwood, Caroline H S; Murdoch, Bruce E

2013-06-01

Cognitive-linguistic deficits often accompany traumatic brain injury (TBI) and can negatively impact communicative competency. The linguistic sequelae underpinning mild TBI (MTBI) remain largely unexplored in contemporary literature. The present research methods aim to provide group evidence pertaining to the influence of MTBI on linguistic and higher-level language processing. Extrapolating on the findings of recent case reports, it is hypothesized that performance of the MTBI patients will be significantly reduced compared to normal controls performance on the employed high-level linguistic tasks. Sixteen patients with MTBI and 16 age- and education-matched normal control participants were assessed using a comprehensive battery of cognitive-linguistic assessments. The results demonstrated statistically significant differences between MTBI and normal control group performance across a number of higher-level linguistic, general cognitive and general language tasks. MTBI group performance was significantly lower than the normal control group on tasks requiring complex lexical semantic operations and memory demands, including: Recall, organization, making inferences, naming and perception/discrimination. These outcomes confer that post-MTBI, cognitive, high-level language and isolated general language performance (e.g. naming) is significantly reduced in MTBI patients, compared to normal controls. Furthermore, the detailed cognitive-linguistic profile offered provides a necessary direction for the identification of areas of linguistic decline in MTBI and targets for therapeutic intervention of impaired cognitive-linguistic processes to ultimately improve communicative outcomes in MTBI.

Impact of normalization methods on high-throughput screening data with high hit rates and drug testing with dose-response data.

PubMed

Mpindi, John-Patrick; Swapnil, Potdar; Dmitrii, Bychkov; Jani, Saarela; Saeed, Khalid; Wennerberg, Krister; Aittokallio, Tero; Östling, Päivi; Kallioniemi, Olli

2015-12-01

Most data analysis tools for high-throughput screening (HTS) seek to uncover interesting hits for further analysis. They typically assume a low hit rate per plate. Hit rates can be dramatically higher in secondary screening, RNAi screening and in drug sensitivity testing using biologically active drugs. In particular, drug sensitivity testing on primary cells is often based on dose-response experiments, which pose a more stringent requirement for data quality and for intra- and inter-plate variation. Here, we compared common plate normalization and noise-reduction methods, including the B-score and the Loess a local polynomial fit method under high hit-rate scenarios of drug sensitivity testing. We generated simulated 384-well plate HTS datasets, each with 71 plates having a range of 20 (5%) to 160 (42%) hits per plate, with controls placed either at the edge of the plates or in a scattered configuration. We identified 20% (77/384) as the critical hit-rate after which the normalizations started to perform poorly. Results from real drug testing experiments supported this estimation. In particular, the B-score resulted in incorrect normalization of high hit-rate plates, leading to poor data quality, which could be attributed to its dependency on the median polish algorithm. We conclude that a combination of a scattered layout of controls per plate and normalization using a polynomial least squares fit method, such as Loess helps to reduce column, row and edge effects in HTS experiments with high hit-rates and is optimal for generating accurate dose-response curves. john.mpindi@helsinki.fi. Supplementary information: R code and Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online. © The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press.

An energy-saving nonlinear position control strategy for electro-hydraulic servo systems.

PubMed

Baghestan, Keivan; Rezaei, Seyed Mehdi; Talebi, Heidar Ali; Zareinejad, Mohammad

2015-11-01

The electro-hydraulic servo system (EHSS) demonstrates numerous advantages in size and performance compared to other actuation methods. Oftentimes, its utilization in industrial and machinery settings is limited by its inferior efficiency. In this paper, a nonlinear backstepping control algorithm with an energy-saving approach is proposed for position control in the EHSS. To achieve improved efficiency, two control valves including a proportional directional valve (PDV) and a proportional relief valve (PRV) are used to achieve the control objectives. To design the control algorithm, the state space model equations of the system are transformed to their normal form and the control law through the PDV is designed using a backstepping approach for position tracking. Then, another nonlinear set of laws is derived to achieve energy-saving through the PRV input. This control design method, based on the normal form representation, imposes internal dynamics on the closed-loop system. The stability of the internal dynamics is analyzed in special cases of operation. Experimental results verify that both tracking and energy-saving objectives are satisfied for the closed-loop system. Copyright © 2015 ISA. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Control of Respiratory Motion by Hypnosis Intervention during Radiotherapy of Lung Cancer I

PubMed Central

Deng, Jie; Xie, Yaoqin

2013-01-01

The uncertain position of lung tumor during radiotherapy compromises the treatment effect. To effectively control respiratory motion during radiotherapy of lung cancer without any side effects, a novel control scheme, hypnosis, has been introduced in lung cancer treatment. In order to verify the suggested method, six volunteers were selected with a wide range of distribution of age, weight, and chest circumference. A set of experiments have been conducted for each volunteer, under the guidance of the professional hypnotist. All the experiments were repeated in the same environmental condition. The amplitude of respiration has been recorded under the normal state and hypnosis, respectively. Experimental results show that the respiration motion of volunteers in hypnosis has smaller and more stable amplitudes than in normal state. That implies that the hypnosis intervention can be an alternative way for respiratory control, which can effectively reduce the respiratory amplitude and increase the stability of respiratory cycle. The proposed method will find useful application in image-guided radiotherapy. PMID:24093100

Monitoring of International Space Station Telemetry Using Shewhart Control Charts

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Fitch, Jeffery T.; Simon, Alan L.; Gouveia, John A.; Hillin, Andrew M.; Hernandez, Steve A.

2012-01-01

Shewhart control charts have been established as an expedient method for analyzing dynamic, trending data in order to identify anomalous subsystem performance as soon as such performance would exceed a statistically established baseline. Additionally, this leading indicator tool integrates a selection methodology that reduces false positive indications, optimizes true leading indicator events, minimizes computer processor unit duty cycles, and addresses human factor concerns (i.e., the potential for flight-controller data overload). This innovation leverages statistical process control, and provides a relatively simple way to allow flight controllers to focus their attention on subtle system changes that could lead to dramatic off-nominal system performance. Finally, this capability improves response time to potential hardware damage and/or crew injury, thereby improving space flight safety. Shewhart control charts require normalized data. However, the telemetry from the ISS Early External Thermal Control System (EETCS) was not normally distributed. A method for normalizing the data was implemented, as was a means of selecting data windows, the number of standard deviations (Sigma Level), the number of consecutive points out of limits (Sequence), and direction (increasing or decreasing trend data). By varying these options, and treating them like dial settings, the number of nuisance alerts and leading indicators were optimized. The goal was to capture all leading indicators while minimizing the number of nuisances. Lean Six Sigma (L6S) design of experiment methodologies were employed. To optimize the results, Perl programming language was used to automate the massive amounts of telemetry data, control chart plots, and the data analysis.

Nasalance Scores of Children with Repaired Cleft Palate Who Exhibit Normal Velopharyngeal Closure during Aerodynamic Testing

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Zajac, David J.

2013-01-01

Purpose: To determine if children with repaired cleft palate and normal velopharyngeal (VP) closure as determined by aerodynamic testing exhibit greater acoustic nasalance than control children without cleft palate. Method: Pressure-flow procedures were used to identify 2 groups of children based on VP closure during the production of /p/ in the…

PI controller design of a wind turbine: evaluation of the pole-placement method and tuning using constrained optimization

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mirzaei, Mahmood; Tibaldi, Carlo; Hansen, Morten H.

2016-09-01

PI/PID controllers are the most common wind turbine controllers. Normally a first tuning is obtained using methods such as pole-placement or Ziegler-Nichols and then extensive aeroelastic simulations are used to obtain the best tuning in terms of regulation of the outputs and reduction of the loads. In the traditional tuning approaches, the properties of different open loop and closed loop transfer functions of the system are not normally considered. In this paper, an assessment of the pole-placement tuning method is presented based on robustness measures. Then a constrained optimization setup is suggested to automatically tune the wind turbine controller subject to robustness constraints. The properties of the system such as the maximum sensitivity and complementary sensitivity functions (Ms and Mt ), along with some of the responses of the system, are used to investigate the controller performance and formulate the optimization problem. The cost function is the integral absolute error (IAE) of the rotational speed from a disturbance modeled as a step in wind speed. Linearized model of the DTU 10-MW reference wind turbine is obtained using HAWCStab2. Thereafter, the model is reduced with model order reduction. The trade-off curves are given to assess the tunings of the poles- placement method and a constrained optimization problem is solved to find the best tuning.

Skeletal maturation in obese patients.

PubMed

Giuca, Maria Rita; Pasini, Marco; Tecco, Simona; Marchetti, Enrico; Giannotti, Laura; Marzo, Giuseppe

2012-12-01

The objective of this study was to compare skeletal maturation in obese patients and in subjects of normal weight to evaluate the best timing for orthopedic and orthodontic treatment. The null hypothesis was that obese and normal-weight patients show similar degrees of skeletal maturation. The sample for this retrospective study consisted of 50 white patients (28 boys, 22 girls) whose x-rays (hand-wrist and lateral cephalometric radiographs) were already available. The test group included 25 obese patients (11 girls, 14 boys; average age, 9.8 ± 2.11 years), and the control group included 25 subjects of normal weight (11 girls, 14 boys; average age, 9.9 ± 2.5 years). Skeletal maturation was determined by using the carpal analysis method and the cervical vertebral maturation method. According to the carpal analysis, there was a significant difference between skeletal and chronologic ages between the test group (11.8 ± 11.4 months) and the control group (-2.9 ± 3.1 months). Furthermore, the obese subjects exhibited a significantly higher mean cervical vertebral maturation score (2.8 ± 0.7) than did the control subjects (2 ± 0.6) (P <0.05). Compared with the normal-weight subjects, the obese subjects showed a higher mean discrepancy between skeletal and chronologic ages according to the carpal analysis and had a significantly higher cervical vertebral maturation score. Thus, to account for the growth in obese patients with skeletal discrepancies, it might be necessary to perform examinations and dentofacial and orthopedic treatments earlier than in normal-weight subjects. Copyright © 2012 American Association of Orthodontists. Published by Mosby, Inc. All rights reserved.

Blood Vessel Normalization in the Hamster Oral Cancer Model for Experimental Cancer Therapy Studies

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

Ana J. Molinari; Romina F. Aromando; Maria E. Itoiz

Normalization of tumor blood vessels improves drug and oxygen delivery to cancer cells. The aim of this study was to develop a technique to normalize blood vessels in the hamster cheek pouch model of oral cancer. Materials and Methods: Tumor-bearing hamsters were treated with thalidomide and were compared with controls. Results: Twenty eight hours after treatment with thalidomide, the blood vessels of premalignant tissue observable in vivo became narrower and less tortuous than those of controls; Evans Blue Dye extravasation in tumor was significantly reduced (indicating a reduction in aberrant tumor vascular hyperpermeability that compromises blood flow), and tumor bloodmore » vessel morphology in histological sections, labeled for Factor VIII, revealed a significant reduction in compressive forces. These findings indicated blood vessel normalization with a window of 48 h. Conclusion: The technique developed herein has rendered the hamster oral cancer model amenable to research, with the potential benefit of vascular normalization in head and neck cancer therapy.« less

Aircraft system modeling error and control error

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kulkarni, Nilesh V. (Inventor); Kaneshige, John T. (Inventor); Krishnakumar, Kalmanje S. (Inventor); Burken, John J. (Inventor)

2012-01-01

A method for modeling error-driven adaptive control of an aircraft. Normal aircraft plant dynamics is modeled, using an original plant description in which a controller responds to a tracking error e(k) to drive the component to a normal reference value according to an asymptote curve. Where the system senses that (1) at least one aircraft plant component is experiencing an excursion and (2) the return of this component value toward its reference value is not proceeding according to the expected controller characteristics, neural network (NN) modeling of aircraft plant operation may be changed. However, if (1) is satisfied but the error component is returning toward its reference value according to expected controller characteristics, the NN will continue to model operation of the aircraft plant according to an original description.

Elevated basal intestinal mucosal cytokine levels in asymptomatic first-degree relatives of patients with Crohn’s disease

PubMed Central

Indaram, Anant VK; Nandi, Santa; Weissman, Sam; Lam, Sing; Bailey, Beverly; Blumstein, Meyer; Greenberg, Ronald; Bank, Simmy

2000-01-01

AIM: To determine levels of cytokines in colonic mucosa of asymptomatic first degree relatives of Crohn’s disease patients. METHODS: Cytokines (Interleukin (IL) 1-Beta, IL-2, IL-6 and IL-8) were measured using ELISA in biopsy samples of normal looking colonic mucosa of first degree relatives of Crohn’s disease patients (n = 9) and fro m normal controls (n = 10) with no family history of Crohn’s disease. RESULTS: Asymptomatic first degree relatives of patients with Crohn’s disease had significantly higher levels of basal intestinal mucosal cytokines (IL-2, IL-6 and IL-8) than normal controls. Whether these increase d cytokine levels serve as phenotypic markers for a genetic predisposition to de veloping Crohn’s disease later on, or whether they indicate early (pre-cli nical) damage has yet to be further defined. CONCLUSION: Asymptomatic first degree relatives of Crohn’s disease patients have higher levels of cytokines in their normal-looking intestinal mucosa compared to normal controls. This supports the hypothesis that increased cytokines may be a cause or an early event in the inflammatory cascade of Crohn’s disease and are not merely a result of the inflammatory process. PMID:11819521

Comparison of analytical methods of brain [18F]FDG-PET after severe traumatic brain injury.

PubMed

Madsen, Karine; Hesby, Sara; Poulsen, Ingrid; Fuglsang, Stefan; Graff, Jesper; Larsen, Karen B; Kammersgaard, Lars P; Law, Ian; Siebner, Hartwig R

2017-11-01

Loss of consciousness has been shown to reduce cerebral metabolic rates of glucose (CMRglc) measured by brain [ 18 F]FDG-PET. Measurements of regional metabolic patterns by normalization to global cerebral metabolism or cerebellum may underestimate widespread reductions. The aim of this study was to compare quantification methods of whole brain glucose metabolism, including whole brain [18F]FDG uptake normalized to uptake in cerebellum, normalized to injected activity, normalized to plasma tracer concentration, and two methods for estimating CMRglc. Six patients suffering from severe traumatic brain injury (TBI) and ten healthy controls (HC) underwent a 10min static [ 18 F]FDG-PET scan and venous blood sampling. Except from normalizing to cerebellum, all quantification methods found significant lower level of whole brain glucose metabolism of 25-33% in TBI patients compared to HC. In accordance these measurements correlated to level of consciousness. Our study demonstrates that the analysis method of the [ 18 F]FDG PET data has a substantial impact on the estimated whole brain cerebral glucose metabolism in patients with severe TBI. Importantly, the SUVR method which is often used in a clinical setting was not able to distinguish patients with severe TBI from HC at the whole-brain level. We recommend supplementing a static [ 18 F]FDG scan with a single venous blood sample in future studies of patients with severe TBI or reduced level of consciousness. This can be used for simple semi-quantitative uptake values by normalizing brain activity uptake to plasma tracer concentration, or quantitative estimates of CMRglc. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

High-resolution Manometry and Globus: Comparison of Globus, Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease and Normal Controls Using High-resolution Manometry

PubMed Central

Choi, Won Seok; Kim, Tae Wan; Kim, Ja Hyun; Lee, Sang Hyuk; Hur, Woon Je; Choe, Young Gil; Lee, Sang Hyuk; Park, Jung Ho

2013-01-01

Background/Aims Globus is a foreign body sense in the throat without dysphagia, odynophagia, esophageal motility disorders, or gastroesophageal reflux. The etiology is unclear. Previous studies suggested that increased upper esophageal sphincter pressure, gastroesophageal reflux and hypertonicity of esophageal body were possible etiologies. This study was to quantify the upper esophageal sphincter (UES) pressure, contractile front velocity (CFV), proximal contractile integral (PCI), distal contractile integral (DCI) and transition zone (TZ) in patient with globus gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) without globus, and normal controls to suggest the correlation of specific high-resolution manometry (HRM) findings and globus. Methods Fifty-seven globus patients, 24 GERD patients and 7 normal controls were studied with HRM since 2009. We reviewed the reports, and selected 5 swallowing plots suitable for analysis in each report, analyzed each individual plot with ManoView. The 5 parameters from each plot in 57 globus patients were compared with that of 24 GERD patients and 7 normal controls. Results There was no significant difference in the UES pressure, CFV, PCI and DCI. TZ (using 30 mmHg isobaric contour) in globus showed significant difference compared with normal controls and GERD patients. The median values of TZ were 4.26 cm (interquartile range [IQR], 2.30-5.85) in globus patients, 5.91 cm (IQR, 3.97-7.62) in GERD patients and 2.26 cm (IQR, 1.22-2.92) in normal controls (P = 0.001). Conclusions HRM analysis suggested that UES pressure, CFV, PCI and DCI were not associated with globus. Instead increased length of TZ may be correlated with globus. Further study comparing HRM results in globus patients within larger population needs to confirm their correlation. PMID:24199007

Biomechanics of a Fixed–Center of Rotation Cervical Intervertebral Disc Prosthesis

PubMed Central

Crawford, Neil R.; Baek, Seungwon; Sawa, Anna G.U.; Safavi-Abbasi, Sam; Sonntag, Volker K.H.; Duggal, Neil

2012-01-01

Background Past in vitro experiments studying artificial discs have focused on range of motion. It is also important to understand how artificial discs affect other biomechanical parameters, especially alterations to kinematics. The purpose of this in vitro investigation was to quantify how disc replacement with a ball-and-socket disc arthroplasty device (ProDisc-C; Synthes, West Chester, Pennsylvania) alters biomechanics of the spine relative to the normal condition (positive control) and simulated fusion (negative control). Methods Specimens were tested in multiple planes by use of pure moments under load control and again in displacement control during flexion-extension with a constant 70-N compressive follower load. Optical markers measured 3-dimensional vertebral motion, and a strain gauge array measured C4-5 facet loads. Results Range of motion and lax zone after disc replacement were not significantly different from normal values except during lateral bending, whereas plating significantly reduced motion in all loading modes (P < .002). Plating but not disc replacement shifted the location of the axis of rotation anteriorly relative to the intact condition (P < 0.01). Coupled axial rotation per degree of lateral bending was 25% ± 48% greater than normal after artificial disc replacement (P = .05) but 37% ± 38% less than normal after plating (P = .002). Coupled lateral bending per degree of axial rotation was 37% ± 21% less than normal after disc replacement (P < .001) and 41% ± 36% less than normal after plating (P = .001). Facet loads did not change significantly relative to normal after anterior plating or arthroplasty, except that facet loads were decreased during flexion in both conditions (P < .03). Conclusions In all parameters studied, deviations from normal biomechanics were less substantial after artificial disc placement than after anterior plating. PMID:25694869

Frequency dependent Qα and Qβ in the Umbria-Marche (Italy) region using a quadratic approximation of the coda-normalization method

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

de Lorenzo, Salvatore; Bianco, Francesca; Del Pezzo, Edoardo

2013-06-01

The coda normalization method is one of the most used methods in the inference of attenuation parameters Qα and Qβ. Since, in this method, the geometrical spreading exponent γ is an unknown model parameter, the most part of studies assumes a fixed γ, generally equal to 1. However γ and Q could be also jointly inferred from the non-linear inversion of coda-normalized logarithms of amplitudes, but the trade-off between γ and Q could give rise to unreasonable values of these parameters. To minimize the trade-off between γ and Q, an inversion method based on a parabolic expression of the coda-normalization equation has been developed. The method has been applied to the waveforms recorded during the 1997 Umbria-Marche seismic crisis. The Akaike criterion has been used to compare results of the parabolic model with those of the linear model, corresponding to γ = 1. A small deviation from the spherical geometrical spreading has been inferred, but this is accompanied by a significant variation of Qα and Qβ values. For almost all the considered stations, Qα smaller than Qβ has been inferred, confirming that seismic attenuation, in the Umbria-Marche region, is controlled by crustal pore fluids.

Methods for Measuring Lung Volumes: Is There a Better One?

PubMed

Tantucci, Claudio; Bottone, Damiano; Borghesi, Andrea; Guerini, Michele; Quadri, Federico; Pini, Laura

2016-01-01

Accurate measurement of lung volumes is of paramount importance to establish the presence of ventilatory defects and give insights for diagnostic and/or therapeutic purposes. It was the aim of this study to measure lung volumes in subjects with respiratory disorders and in normal controls by 3 different techniques (plethysmographic, dilutional and radiographic methods), in an attempt to clarify the role of each of them in performing such a task, without any presumptive 'a priori' superiority of one method above others. Patients andMethods: In different groups of subjects with obstructive and restrictive ventilatory defects and in a normal control group, total lung capacity, functional residual capacity (FRC) and residual volume were measured by body plethysmography, multi-breath helium (He) dilution and radiographic CT scan method with spirometric gating. The 3 methods gave comparable results in normal subjects and in patients with a restrictive defect. In patients with an obstructive defect, CT scan and plethysmography showed similar lung volumes, while on average significantly lower lung volumes were obtained with the He dilution technique. Taking into account that the He dilution technique does primarily measure FRC during tidal breathing, our data suggest that in some patients with an obstructive defect, a number of small airways can be functionally closed at end-expiratory lung volume, preventing He to reach the lung regions subserved by these airways. In all circumstances, both CT scan with spirometric gating and plethysmographic methods provide similar values of lung volumes. In contrast, the He dilution method can measure lower lung volumes in some patients with chronic airflow obstruction. © 2016 S. Karger AG, Basel.

The protective effect of EGB761 on vessels of denervated gastrocnemius in rats and its mechanism.

PubMed

Zhang, Dongyi; Wu, Rui; Kang, Hao; Hong, Guangxiang; Kang, Shensong; Zhang, Zhengwen

2011-12-01

This study investigated the protective effect of EGB761 on blood vessels of denervated gastrocnemius of rat and its possible mechanism. Fifteen male adult SD rats were randomly divided into three groups: normal control group (n=3), control group (n=6) and EGB761-treated group (n=6). The rats in the control and EGB761-treated group underwent a neurotomy to bilateral sciatic nerves. Then, they were administered EGB761 [100 mg/(kg·d)] and isovolumic normal saline, respectively by gavage everyday. No treatment was given to the rats in the normal control group. Gastrocnemius was harvested at 1 and 3 week(s) postoperatively in each group. Immunohistochemical method was used to detect the ratio of capillary/fiber (CFR) of denervated gastrocnemius and the expression of VEGF, fetal liver kinase -1(Flk-1) receptor and HSP70 in the vascular wall. The results showed that in the normal control group, VEGF, Flk-1 and HSP70 were expressed in the vessel wall of gastrocnemius, with Flk-1 expressed only in the endothelial cell of vessels. CFR in the EGB761-treated group was significantly higher than that in the control group at 1 week and 3 week(s) after neurotomy. The expression of VEGF and Flk-1 in the vessel wall of both control and EGB761-treated group was much lower than that in the normal control group, and the expression of these proteins in the EGB761-treated group was decreased as compared with that in the control group. The expression of HSP70 in the vessel wall of both control and EGB761-treated groups was enhanced when compared with that in the normal control group, and it was substantially augmented in the EGB761-treated group in comparison to the control group. It was concluded that EGB761 has a protective effect on blood vessels of denervated gastrocnemius, which is related to the increased HSP70 expression but not the expression of VEGF and its receptor Flk-1.

Application effect of sterile normal saline ice for post-partum hemorrhage at the time of cesarean delivery: A retrospective review.

PubMed

Cheng, Wenjing; Wang, Qiushi; Zhang, Zhenyu

2016-10-01

Post-partum hemorrhage (PPH) is a common complication of cesarean sections (CS) and affects maternal and newborn health. We used a new method to control bleeding and compared its efficacy with conventional methods. Eighty-six women who experienced PPH with volume of bleeding over 1000 mL in CS between January 2008 and January 2012 were chosen as samples. Thirty-three underwent the new method in which normal saline ice blocks are placed in the uterus, and 53 underwent the conventional method. We evaluated blood loss, volume of transfusion and complications. Patients who were treated with ice blocks had better hemostatic efficacy than those who underwent the conventional method (1450 ± 251.9 mL vs 1800 ± 278.9 mL; P < 0.001); they also had less blood transfusion (806.1 ± 242.3 mL vs 1222.6 ± 308.0 mL; P < 0.001), lower rate of hysterectomy and infection (3.03% vs 5.66%; P = 0.971; 0% vs 7.55%; P = 0.276), and shorter duration of hospital stay (5.3 ± 0.5 days vs 7.6 ± 3.0 days; P < 0.001). PPH in CS can be treated with peeled sterile normal saline ice blocks, a simple and reliable method for stopping bleeding. Nonetheless, there needs to be a large randomized control trial for confirmation. © 2016 Japan Society of Obstetrics and Gynecology.

Control chart pattern recognition using RBF neural network with new training algorithm and practical features.

PubMed

Addeh, Abdoljalil; Khormali, Aminollah; Golilarz, Noorbakhsh Amiri

2018-05-04

The control chart patterns are the most commonly used statistical process control (SPC) tools to monitor process changes. When a control chart produces an out-of-control signal, this means that the process has been changed. In this study, a new method based on optimized radial basis function neural network (RBFNN) is proposed for control chart patterns (CCPs) recognition. The proposed method consists of four main modules: feature extraction, feature selection, classification and learning algorithm. In the feature extraction module, shape and statistical features are used. Recently, various shape and statistical features have been presented for the CCPs recognition. In the feature selection module, the association rules (AR) method has been employed to select the best set of the shape and statistical features. In the classifier section, RBFNN is used and finally, in RBFNN, learning algorithm has a high impact on the network performance. Therefore, a new learning algorithm based on the bees algorithm has been used in the learning module. Most studies have considered only six patterns: Normal, Cyclic, Increasing Trend, Decreasing Trend, Upward Shift and Downward Shift. Since three patterns namely Normal, Stratification, and Systematic are very similar to each other and distinguishing them is very difficult, in most studies Stratification and Systematic have not been considered. Regarding to the continuous monitoring and control over the production process and the exact type detection of the problem encountered during the production process, eight patterns have been investigated in this study. The proposed method is tested on a dataset containing 1600 samples (200 samples from each pattern) and the results showed that the proposed method has a very good performance. Copyright © 2018 ISA. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Phonation interval modification and speech performance quality during fluency-inducing conditions by adults who stutter

PubMed Central

Ingham, Roger J.; Bothe, Anne K.; Wang, Yuedong; Purkhiser, Krystal; New, Anneliese

2012-01-01

Purpose To relate changes in four variables previously defined as characteristic of normally fluent speech to changes in phonatory behavior during oral reading by persons who stutter (PWS) and normally fluent controls under multiple fluency-inducing (FI) conditions. Method Twelve PWS and 12 controls each completed 4 ABA experiments. During A phases, participants read normally. B phases were 4 different FI conditions: auditory masking, chorus reading, whispering, and rhythmic stimulation. Dependent variables were the durations of accelerometer-recorded phonated intervals; self-judged speech effort; and observer-judged stuttering frequency, speech rate, and speech naturalness. The method enabled a systematic replication of Ingham et al. (2009). Results All FI conditions resulted in decreased stuttering and decreases in the number of short phonated intervals, as compared with baseline conditions, but the only FI condition that satisfied all four characteristics of normally fluent speech was chorus reading. Increases in longer phonated intervals were associated with decreased stuttering but also with poorer naturalness and/or increased speech effort. Previous findings concerning the effects of FI conditions on speech naturalness and effort were replicated. Conclusions Measuring all relevant characteristics of normally fluent speech, in the context of treatments that aim to reduce the occurrence of short-duration PIs, may aid the search for an explanation of the nature of stuttering and may also maximize treatment outcomes for adults who stutter. PMID:22365886

Interidentity amnesia for neutral, episodic information in dissociative identity disorder.

PubMed

Huntjens, Rafaële J C; Postma, Albert; Peters, Madelon L; Woertman, Liesbeth; van der Hart, Onno

2003-05-01

Interidentity amnesia is considered a hallmark of dissociative identity disorder (DID) in clinical practice. In this study, objective methods of testing episodic memory transfer between identities were used. Tests of both recall (interference paradigm) and recognition were used. A sample of 31 DID patients was included. Additionally, 50 control subjects participated, half functioning as normal controls and the other half simulating interidentity amnesia. Twenty-one patients subjectively reported complete one-way amnesia for the learning episode. However, objectively, neither recall nor recognition scores of patients were different from those of normal controls. It is suggested that clinical models of amnesia in DID may be specified to exclude episodic memory impairments for emotionally neutral material.

Efficient Allocation of Attentional Resources in Patients with ADHD: Maturational Changes from Age 10 to 29

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gualtieri, C. Thomas; Johnson, Lynda G.

2006-01-01

Background: It has been proposed that ADHD is an executive control disorder. Little is known however about the maturation of executive control in ADHD. Method: A cross-sectional study of ADHD patients compared to normal controls tested on a computerized neurocognitive test battery. Participants: 175 patients with ADHD, age 10 to 29, compared to…

Improving the performance of univariate control charts for abnormal detection and classification

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yiakopoulos, Christos; Koutsoudaki, Maria; Gryllias, Konstantinos; Antoniadis, Ioannis

2017-03-01

Bearing failures in rotating machinery can cause machine breakdown and economical loss, if no effective actions are taken on time. Therefore, it is of prime importance to detect accurately the presence of faults, especially at their early stage, to prevent sequent damage and reduce costly downtime. The machinery fault diagnosis follows a roadmap of data acquisition, feature extraction and diagnostic decision making, in which mechanical vibration fault feature extraction is the foundation and the key to obtain an accurate diagnostic result. A challenge in this area is the selection of the most sensitive features for various types of fault, especially when the characteristics of failures are difficult to be extracted. Thus, a plethora of complex data-driven fault diagnosis methods are fed by prominent features, which are extracted and reduced through traditional or modern algorithms. Since most of the available datasets are captured during normal operating conditions, the last decade a number of novelty detection methods, able to work when only normal data are available, have been developed. In this study, a hybrid method combining univariate control charts and a feature extraction scheme is introduced focusing towards an abnormal change detection and classification, under the assumption that measurements under normal operating conditions of the machinery are available. The feature extraction method integrates the morphological operators and the Morlet wavelets. The effectiveness of the proposed methodology is validated on two different experimental cases with bearing faults, demonstrating that the proposed approach can improve the fault detection and classification performance of conventional control charts.

Fuel cell system logic for differentiating between rapid and normal shutdown commands

DOEpatents

Keskula, Donald H.; Doan, Tien M.; Clingerman, Bruce J.

2000-01-01

A method of controlling the operation of a fuel cell system wherein each shutdown command for the system is subjected to decision logic which determines whether the command should be a normal shutdown command or rapid shutdown command. If the logic determines that the shutdown command should be a normal shutdown command, then the system is shutdown in a normal step-by-step process in which the hydrogen stream is consumed within the system. If the logic determines that the shutdown command should be a rapid shutdown command, the hydrogen stream is removed from the system either by dumping to atmosphere or routing to storage.

Linnorm: improved statistical analysis for single cell RNA-seq expression data

PubMed Central

Yip, Shun H.; Wang, Panwen; Kocher, Jean-Pierre A.; Sham, Pak Chung

2017-01-01

Abstract Linnorm is a novel normalization and transformation method for the analysis of single cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) data. Linnorm is developed to remove technical noises and simultaneously preserve biological variations in scRNA-seq data, such that existing statistical methods can be improved. Using real scRNA-seq data, we compared Linnorm with existing normalization methods, including NODES, SAMstrt, SCnorm, scran, DESeq and TMM. Linnorm shows advantages in speed, technical noise removal and preservation of cell heterogeneity, which can improve existing methods in the discovery of novel subtypes, pseudo-temporal ordering of cells, clustering analysis, etc. Linnorm also performs better than existing DEG analysis methods, including BASiCS, NODES, SAMstrt, Seurat and DESeq2, in false positive rate control and accuracy. PMID:28981748

An on-line modified least-mean-square algorithm for training neurofuzzy controllers.

PubMed

Tan, Woei Wan

2007-04-01

The problem hindering the use of data-driven modelling methods for training controllers on-line is the lack of control over the amount by which the plant is excited. As the operating schedule determines the information available on-line, the knowledge of the process may degrade if the setpoint remains constant for an extended period. This paper proposes an identification algorithm that alleviates "learning interference" by incorporating fuzzy theory into the normalized least-mean-square update rule. The ability of the proposed methodology to achieve faster learning is examined by employing the algorithm to train a neurofuzzy feedforward controller for controlling a liquid level process. Since the proposed identification strategy has similarities with the normalized least-mean-square update rule and the recursive least-square estimator, the on-line learning rates of these algorithms are also compared.

Immunochemical study of uroporphyrinogen decarboxylase in a patient with mild hepatoerythropoietic porphyria.

PubMed Central

Fujita, H; Sassa, S; Toback, A C; Kappas, A

1987-01-01

Hepatoerythropoietic porphyria (HEP) is due to a marked deficiency of uroporphyrinogen (URO) decarboxylase, a cytosolic enzyme in the heme biosynthetic pathway. Using a radioimmunoassay method, we determined the concentration of URO decarboxylase protein in erythrocytes from a patient with mild HEP and found that the enzyme protein concentration had markedly decreased to less than 7% of the normal controls. This finding, however, was in contrast to the enzyme activity in the patient's erythrocytes, which was 16% of normal control levels and different from previously reported HEP cases in that erythrocytes in our patient contained disproportionately elevated URO decarboxylase activity in comparison to its immunoreactive material. Our findings suggests the possibility of a mutant isozyme in this patient that is not immunoreactive with an antibody raised against the normal enzyme. PMID:3571497

[How to start a neuroimaging study].

PubMed

Narumoto, Jin

2012-06-01

In order to help researchers understand how to start a neuroimaging study, several tips are described in this paper. These include 1) Choice of an imaging modality, 2) Statistical method, and 3) Interpretation of the results. 1) There are several imaging modalities available in clinical research. Advantages and disadvantages of each modality are described. 2) Statistical Parametric Mapping, which is the most common statistical software for neuroimaging analysis, is described in terms of parameter setting in normalization and level of significance. 3) In the discussion section, the region which shows a significant difference between patients and normal controls should be discussed in relation to the neurophysiology of the disease, making reference to previous reports from neuroimaging studies in normal controls, lesion studies and animal studies. A typical pattern of discussion is described.

Fracture Risk and Areal Bone Mineral Density in Adolescent Females with Anorexia Nervosa

PubMed Central

Faje, Alexander T.; Fazeli, Pouneh K.; Miller, Karen K.; Katzman, Debra K.; Ebrahimi, Seda; Lee, Hang; Mendes, Nara; Snelgrove, Deirdre; Meenaghan, Erinne; Misra, Madhusmita; Klibanski, Anne

2014-01-01

Objective To (i) compare fracture prevalence in adolescent females with anorexia nervosa (AN) vs. normal-weight controls and (ii) examine whether reductions in areal bone mineral density (aBMD) predict fracture risk in females with AN. Methods 418 females (310 with active AN and 108 normal-weight controls) 12–22 years old were studied cross-sectionally. Lifetime fracture history was recorded by a physician during participant interviews. Body composition and aBMD measurements of the whole body, whole body less head, lumbar spine, and hip were assessed by dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry (DXA), and bone mineral apparent density (BMAD) was calculated for the lumbar spine. Results Participants with AN and normal-weight controls did not differ for chronological age, sexual maturity, or height. The lifetime prevalence of prior fracture was 59.8% higher in those with AN compared to controls (31.0 % versus 19.4 %, p = 0.02), and the fracture incidence rate peaked in our cohort after the diagnosis of AN. Lower aBMD and lumbar BMAD were not associated with a higher prevalence of fracture in the AN or control group on univariate or multivariate analyses. Compared to controls, fracture prevalence was significantly higher in the subgroup of girls with AN who had normal aBMD or only modest reductions of aBMD (Z-scores > −1 or −1.5). Discussion This is the first study to show that the risk of fracture during childhood and adolescence is significantly higher in patients with AN than in normal-weight controls. Fracture prevalence is increased in this cohort of subjects with AN even without significant reductions in aBMD. PMID:24430890

Improved Discovery of Molecular Interactions in Genome-Scale Data with Adaptive Model-Based Normalization

PubMed Central

Brown, Patrick O.

2013-01-01

Background High throughput molecular-interaction studies using immunoprecipitations (IP) or affinity purifications are powerful and widely used in biology research. One of many important applications of this method is to identify the set of RNAs that interact with a particular RNA-binding protein (RBP). Here, the unique statistical challenge presented is to delineate a specific set of RNAs that are enriched in one sample relative to another, typically a specific IP compared to a non-specific control to model background. The choice of normalization procedure critically impacts the number of RNAs that will be identified as interacting with an RBP at a given significance threshold – yet existing normalization methods make assumptions that are often fundamentally inaccurate when applied to IP enrichment data. Methods In this paper, we present a new normalization methodology that is specifically designed for identifying enriched RNA or DNA sequences in an IP. The normalization (called adaptive or AD normalization) uses a basic model of the IP experiment and is not a variant of mean, quantile, or other methodology previously proposed. The approach is evaluated statistically and tested with simulated and empirical data. Results and Conclusions The adaptive (AD) normalization method results in a greatly increased range in the number of enriched RNAs identified, fewer false positives, and overall better concordance with independent biological evidence, for the RBPs we analyzed, compared to median normalization. The approach is also applicable to the study of pairwise RNA, DNA and protein interactions such as the analysis of transcription factors via chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) or any other experiments where samples from two conditions, one of which contains an enriched subset of the other, are studied. PMID:23349766

Decoupling PI Controller Design for a Normal Conducting RF Cavity Using a Recursive LEVENBERG-MARQUARDT Algorithm

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kwon, Sung-il; Lynch, M.; Prokop, M.

2005-02-01

This paper addresses the system identification and the decoupling PI controller design for a normal conducting RF cavity. Based on the open-loop measurement data of an SNS DTL cavity, the open-loop system's bandwidths and loop time delays are estimated by using batched least square. With the identified system, a PI controller is designed in such a way that it suppresses the time varying klystron droop and decouples the In-phase and Quadrature of the cavity field. The Levenberg-Marquardt algorithm is applied for nonlinear least squares to obtain the optimal PI controller parameters. The tuned PI controller gains are downloaded to the low-level RF system by using channel access. The experiment of the closed-loop system is performed and the performance is investigated. The proposed tuning method is running automatically in real time interface between a host computer with controller hardware through ActiveX Channel Access.

Comparison of two immunoradiometric assays for serum thyrotropin

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

Scheinin, B.; Drew, H.; La France, N.

1985-05-01

An ultra-sensitive TSH assay capable of detecting subnormal TSH levels would be useful in confirming suppressed pituitary function as seen in hyperthyroidism. Two sensitive immunoradiometric TSH assays (IRMA's) were studied to determine how well they distinguished thyrotoxic patients from normal subjects. Serono Diagnostics' method employs three monoclonal antibodies specific for different regions of the TSH molecule with a minimum detectable dose (MDD) limit of 0.1 ..mu..IU/ml. Precision studies using a low TSH control in the 1.8 ..mu..IU/ml range gave CV's of 15.0%. Boots-Celltech Diagnostics method is a two site IRMA using two monoclonal antibodies. The MDD limit is 0.05 ..mu..IU/mlmore » with precision CV's of 29.3% at a TSH control range of 0.62 ..mu..IU/ml. In 24 chemically thyrotoxic patients, the mean serum TSH concentration was significantly lower than in the normal control subjects: for Serono, 0.19 ..mu..IU/ml vs. 2.34 ..mu..IU/ml and for Boots Celltech, 0.18 IU/ml vs 2.06 ..mu..IU/ml. The range of TSH was 0 to 0.5 ..mu..IU/ml in thyrotoxic patients using Serono with the exception of one patient having a TSH value of 0.8 ..mu..IU/ml. The normal range was 0.6 to 6.0 ..mu..IU/ml. For Boots Celltech the thyrotoxic range was 0 to 0.2 ..mu..IU/ml with that same thyrotoxic patient giving a TSH value of 0.7 ..mu..IU/ml with a normal range of 0.6 to 5.0 IU/ml. Serum TSH measurements using both procedures are highly sensitive for distinguishing thyrotoxic patients from normal subjects and are useful to confirm suppressed pituitary function.« less

[Hand and wrist bone maturation in children with central precocious puberty and idiopathic short stature].

PubMed

Wang, Anru; Yang, Fangling; Yu, Baosheng; Shan, Ye; Gao, Lanying; Zhang, Xiaoxiao; Peng, Ya

2013-07-01

To investigate the maturation of individual bones on the hand and wrist in children with central precocious puberty (CPP) and idiopathic short stature (ISS). Hand and wrist films of 25 children with CPP, 29 children with ISS and 21 normal controls were evaluated by conventional Greulich-Pyle (GP) atlas method and individual bone assessment method, in which all twenty bones of the hand and wrist were evaluated based on GP atlas, including 2 radius and ulna, 7 carpal bones, 11 metacarpal and phalangeal bones, the average bone age (BA) was calculated. The differences in groups were analyzed by independent samples t test. The differences between the two methods were analyzed by paired sample t test. The differences between BA and chronological age (CA) were analyzed by ROC with SPSS 17.0. Compared with the normal control group, the advance of BA in the CPP group was 0.70-2.26 y (1.48 ±0.78) by the GP atlas method, while that was 0.28-2.00 y(1.14 ±0.86) by the individual bone evaluation method. In all twenty bones, the advance of metacarpal and phalangeal BA was the greatest [0.34-2.06 y(1.2±0.86)]. In the ISS group,the delay of BA was 0.47-2.91 y(-1.69±1.22) by the GP atlas method, while that was 0.48-2.50 y (-1.49±1.01) by individual bone evaluation method.The delay of carpal BA was the greatest [0.59-2.73 y(-1.66±1.07)] in all twenty bones. In the ISS group and the normal control group, there were no statistic differences between the two methods. In the CPP group, statistic difference was found between two methods. There were no statistic differences for the areas under ROC curves between two methods. The advance of metacarpal and phalangeal BA is the greatest in CPP group and the delay of carpal BA is the greatest in ISS group.Both methods provide diagnostic information for bone age in CPP and ISS children.

Perception of Smoking Risks and Motivation to Quit Among Nontreatment-Seeking Smokers With and Without Schizophrenia

PubMed Central

Kelly, Deanna L.; Raley, Heather G.; Lo, Suzanne; Wright, Katherine; Liu, Fang; McMahon, Robert P.; Moolchan, Eric T.; Feldman, Stephanie; Richardson, Charles M.; Wehring, Heidi J.; Heishman, Stephen J.

2012-01-01

Objective: We examined perceived consequences/benefits of cigarette smoking and motivation for quitting in nontreatment-seeking smokers who had schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder (N = 100) or had no Axis I psychiatric disorder (normals, N = 100). Methods: Participants completed questionnaires and provided a breath carbon monoxide (CO) sample 10–15 minutes after smoking 1 preferred-brand cigarette. Primary assessments included the Smoking Consequences Questionnaire-Adult, the Reasons for Quitting Scale, and the Stages of Change. Results: There were no differences between the schizophrenia and control group in mean age of smoking onset (16.2 ± 5.4 vs 15.6 ± 5.5 y, P = .44), number of cigarettes daily (17.9 ± 11.6 vs 17.0 ± 7.9, P = 0.51), or in breath CO (28.0 ± 14.5 vs 22.9 ± 8.0 ppm, P = .61). Compared with normals, people with schizophrenia report greater stimulation/state enhancement (P < .0001) and social facilitation (P < .004) from smoking. People with schizophrenia had less appreciation of health risks associated with smoking than normal controls (P < .0001) and were less motivated to quit smoking than normal controls (P = .002), even though they were as likely to be in the preparation stage of change. Immediate reinforcement (P = .04) and health concerns (P = .002) were rated lower as motivators for considering quitting smoking in schizophrenia than normals. People with schizophrenia reported greater motivation to stop smoking due to social pressure/rewards than normals (P = .047). Conclusions: This study underscores the degree to which people with schizophrenia perceive the state-enhancing effects of smoking and their lower appreciation for health risks of smoking compared with normal controls. PMID:21041835

Control of spiral waves and turbulent states in a cardiac model by travelling-wave perturbations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Peng-Ye; Xie, Ping; Yin, Hua-Wei

2003-06-01

We propose a travelling-wave perturbation method to control the spatiotemporal dynamics in a cardiac model. It is numerically demonstrated that the method can successfully suppress the wave instability (alternans in action potential duration) in the one-dimensional case and convert spiral waves and turbulent states to the normal travelling wave states in the two-dimensional case. An experimental scheme is suggested which may provide a new design for a cardiac defibrillator.

Controlling spiral waves and turbulent states in cardiac tissue by traveling wave perturbations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Peng-Ye; Xie, Ping

2000-03-01

We propose a traveling wave perturbation method to control the spatiotemporal dynamics in cardiac tissue. With a two-variable model we demonstrate that the method can successfully suppress the wave instability (alternans in action potential duration) in the one-dimensional case and convert spiral waves and turbulent states to the normal traveling wave state in the two-dimensional case. An experimental scheme is suggested which may provide a new design for a cardiac defibrillator.

Fully Automated Quantification of the Striatal Uptake Ratio of [99mTc]-TRODAT with SPECT Imaging: Evaluation of the Diagnostic Performance in Parkinson's Disease and the Temporal Regression of Striatal Tracer Uptake

PubMed Central

Fang, Yu-Hua Dean; Chiu, Shao-Chieh; Lu, Chin-Song; Weng, Yi-Hsin

2015-01-01

Purpose. We aimed at improving the existing methods for the fully automatic quantification of striatal uptake of [99mTc]-TRODAT with SPECT imaging. Procedures. A normal [99mTc]-TRODAT template was first formed based on 28 healthy controls. Images from PD patients (n = 365) and nPD subjects (28 healthy controls and 33 essential tremor patients) were spatially normalized to the normal template. We performed an inverse transform on the predefined striatal and reference volumes of interest (VOIs) and applied the transformed VOIs to the original image data to calculate the striatal-to-reference ratio (SRR). The diagnostic performance of the SRR was determined through receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis. Results. The SRR measured with our new and automatic method demonstrated excellent diagnostic performance with 92% sensitivity, 90% specificity, 92% accuracy, and an area under the curve (AUC) of 0.94. For the evaluation of the mean SRR and the clinical duration, a quadratic function fit the data with R 2 = 0.84. Conclusions. We developed and validated a fully automatic method for the quantification of the SRR in a large study sample. This method has an excellent diagnostic performance and exhibits a strong correlation between the mean SRR and the clinical duration in PD patients. PMID:26366413

Fully Automated Quantification of the Striatal Uptake Ratio of [(99m)Tc]-TRODAT with SPECT Imaging: Evaluation of the Diagnostic Performance in Parkinson's Disease and the Temporal Regression of Striatal Tracer Uptake.

PubMed

Fang, Yu-Hua Dean; Chiu, Shao-Chieh; Lu, Chin-Song; Yen, Tzu-Chen; Weng, Yi-Hsin

2015-01-01

We aimed at improving the existing methods for the fully automatic quantification of striatal uptake of [(99m)Tc]-TRODAT with SPECT imaging. A normal [(99m)Tc]-TRODAT template was first formed based on 28 healthy controls. Images from PD patients (n = 365) and nPD subjects (28 healthy controls and 33 essential tremor patients) were spatially normalized to the normal template. We performed an inverse transform on the predefined striatal and reference volumes of interest (VOIs) and applied the transformed VOIs to the original image data to calculate the striatal-to-reference ratio (SRR). The diagnostic performance of the SRR was determined through receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis. The SRR measured with our new and automatic method demonstrated excellent diagnostic performance with 92% sensitivity, 90% specificity, 92% accuracy, and an area under the curve (AUC) of 0.94. For the evaluation of the mean SRR and the clinical duration, a quadratic function fit the data with R (2) = 0.84. We developed and validated a fully automatic method for the quantification of the SRR in a large study sample. This method has an excellent diagnostic performance and exhibits a strong correlation between the mean SRR and the clinical duration in PD patients.

The control of calcium metabolism by parathyroid hormone, calcitonin and vitamin D

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Potts, J. T., Jr.

1976-01-01

Advances in analysis of chemistry and physiology of parathyroid hormone, calcitonin, and Vitamin D are described along with development of techniques in radioassay methods. Emphasis is placed on assessment of normal and abnormal patterns of secretion of these hormones in specific relation to the physiological adaptations of weightlessness and space flight. Related diseases that involve perturbations in normal skeletal and calcium homeostasis are also considered.

Normalization of cortical thickness measurements across different T1 magnetic resonance imaging protocols by novel W-Score standardization.

PubMed

Chung, Jinyong; Yoo, Kwangsun; Lee, Peter; Kim, Chan Mi; Roh, Jee Hoon; Park, Ji Eun; Kim, Sang Joon; Seo, Sang Won; Shin, Jeong-Hyeon; Seong, Joon-Kyung; Jeong, Yong

2017-10-01

The use of different 3D T1-weighted magnetic resonance (T1 MR) imaging protocols induces image incompatibility across multicenter studies, negating the many advantages of multicenter studies. A few methods have been developed to address this problem, but significant image incompatibility still remains. Thus, we developed a novel and convenient method to improve image compatibility. W-score standardization creates quality reference values by using a healthy group to obtain normalized disease values. We developed a protocol-specific w-score standardization to control the protocol effect, which is applied to each protocol separately. We used three data sets. In dataset 1, brain T1 MR images of normal controls (NC) and patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD) from two centers, acquired with different T1 MR protocols, were used (Protocol 1 and 2, n = 45/group). In dataset 2, data from six subjects, who underwent MRI with two different protocols (Protocol 1 and 2), were used with different repetition times, echo times, and slice thicknesses. In dataset 3, T1 MR images from a large number of healthy normal controls (Protocol 1: n = 148, Protocol 2: n = 343) were collected for w-score standardization. The protocol effect and disease effect on subjects' cortical thickness were analyzed before and after the application of protocol-specific w-score standardization. As expected, different protocols resulted in differing cortical thickness measurements in both NC and AD subjects. Different measurements were obtained for the same subject when imaged with different protocols. Multivariate pattern difference between measurements was observed between the protocols. Classification accuracy between two protocols was nearly 90%. After applying protocol-specific w-score standardization, the differences between the protocols substantially decreased. Most importantly, protocol-specific w-score standardization reduced both univariate and multivariate differences in the images while maintaining the AD disease effect. Compared to conventional regression methods, our method showed the best performance for in terms of controlling the protocol effect while preserving disease information. Protocol-specific w-score standardization effectively resolved the concerns of conventional regression methods. It showed the best performance for improving the compatibility of a T1 MR post-processed feature, cortical thickness. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Electromagnetic variable degrees of freedom actuator systems and methods

DOEpatents

Montesanti, Richard C [Pleasanton, CA; Trumper, David L [Plaistow, NH; Kirtley, Jr., James L.

2009-02-17

The present invention provides a variable reluctance actuator system and method that can be adapted for simultaneous rotation and translation of a moving element by applying a normal-direction magnetic flux on the moving element. In a beneficial example arrangement, the moving element includes a swing arm that carries a cutting tool at a set radius from an axis of rotation so as to produce a rotary fast tool servo that provides a tool motion in a direction substantially parallel to the surface-normal of a workpiece at the point of contact between the cutting tool and workpiece. An actuator rotates a swing arm such that a cutting tool moves toward and away from a mounted rotating workpiece in a controlled manner in order to machine the workpiece. Position sensors provide rotation and displacement information for a swing arm to a control system. A control system commands and coordinates motion of the fast tool servo with the motion of a spindle, rotating table, cross-feed slide, and in feed slide of a precision lathe.

The quantitative insulin sensitivity check index is not able to detect early metabolic alterations in young patients with polycystic ovarian syndrome.

PubMed

Angioni, Stefano; Sanna, Stefania; Magnini, Roberta; Melis, Gian Benedetto; Fulghesu, Anna Maria

2011-07-01

To verify whether QUICKY is a suitable method for the identification of metabolic deterioration in normal weight patients affected by polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS). Prospective clinical study. Seventy-nine PCOS normal weight adolescent subjects, 50 eumenorrheic, normal weight, non-hirsute controls matched for age and BMI. Quantitative insulin sensitivity check index (QUICKY) and integrated secretory area under the curve of insulin values (I-AUC) during oral glucose tolerance test were calculated. Seventy-nine PCOS and 50 controls were studied. Normal insulin sensitivity was defined as upper control 95th percentile by QUICKY values <0.31, I-AUC at 180 min < 16,645. When applying the calculated I-AUC cut-off, 41 PCOS were classified as normoinsulinemic and 38 as hyperinsulinemic, whereas using the calculated QUICKY cut-off, only 19 PCOS could be classified as insulin resistant (IR). Fifteen out of the 60 non-IR PCOS presented hyperinsulinemia; fasting glucose and insulin levels and QUICKY were not sufficient to identify these subjects. Thus, QUICKY displayed a low sensitivity (44%) and specificity (91%) in the diagnosis of the metabolic disorder disclosed by I-AUC. CONCLUSIONS.: In young normal weight patients with PCOS the prevalence of early alterations of insulin metabolism are not detectable by QUICKY studies.

Detection of Gastric Cancer with Novel Methylated DNA Markers: Discovery, Tissue Validation, and Pilot Testing in Plasma.

PubMed

Anderson, Bradley W; Suh, Yun-Suhk; Choi, Boram; Lee, Hyuk-Joon; Yab, Tracy C; Taylor, William; Dukek, Brian A; Berger, Calise K; Cao, Xiaoming; Foote, Patrick H; Devens, Mary E; Boardman, Lisa A; Kisiel, John B; Mahoney, Douglas W; Slettedahl, Seth W; Allawi, Hatim T; Lidgard, Graham P; Smyrk, Thomas C; Yang, Han-Kwang; Ahlquist, David A

2018-05-29

Gastric adenocarcinoma (GAC) is the third most common cause of cancer mortality worldwide. Accurate and affordable non-invasive detection methods have potential value for screening and surveillance. Herein, we identify novel methylated DNA markers (MDMs) for GAC, validate their discrimination for GAC in tissues from geographically separate cohorts, explore marker acquisition through the oncogenic cascade, and describe distributions of candidate MDMs in plasma from GAC cases and normal controls. Following discovery by unbiased whole methylome sequencing, candidate MDMs were validated by blinded methylation-specific PCR in archival case-control tissues from U.S. and South Korean patients. Top MDMs were then assayed by an analytically sensitive method (quantitative real-time allele-specific target and signal amplification) in a blinded pilot study on archival plasma from GAC cases and normal controls. Whole methylome discovery yielded novel and highly discriminant candidate MDMs. In tissue, a panel of candidate MDMs detected GAC in 92-100% of U.S. and S. Korean cohorts at 100% specificity. Levels of most MDMs increased progressively from normal mucosa through metaplasia, adenoma, and GAC with variation in points of greatest marker acquisition. In plasma, a 3 marker panel ( ELMO1 , ZNF569 , C13orf18) detected 86% (95% CI 71-95%) of GACs at 95% specificity. Novel MDMs appear to accurately discriminate GAC from normal controls in both tissue and plasma. The point of aberrant methylation during oncogenesis varies by MDM, which may have relevance to marker selection in clinical applications. Further exploration of these MDMs for GAC screening and surveillance is warranted. Copyright ©2018, American Association for Cancer Research.

A Mixed Methods Study Exploring the Factors and Behaviors That Affect Glycemic Control Following a Structured Education Program: The Irish DAFNE Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Casey, Dympna; O'Hara, Mary Clare; Meehan, Ben; Byrne, Molly; Dinneen, Sean F.; Murphy, Kathy

2016-01-01

Aim: To explain the factors affecting glycemic control (measured by HbA1c) following the Dose Adjustment for Normal Eating (DAFNE) program. Background: DAFNE is a structured education program designed to assist persons with type 1 diabetes mellitus achieve optimal glycemic control. However, not all participants reach this goal. Few studies…

[Establishment of enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) for measuring human urinary uromodulin and application of the method in patients with IgA nephropathy].

PubMed

Liu, Ying; Chen, Yu-qing; Zhou, Jing-jing; Han, Jia; Liang, Yu; Li, Xue-ying; Zhang, Hong

2012-04-18

To establish a method of enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) to measure urinary uromodulin and explore the urinary uromudulin level in IgA nephropathy. The rabbit anti-human uromodulin polyclonal antibodies were coated on plates to capture uromodulin and the mouse anti-human uromodulin monoclonal antibody was used as detecting antibody to set up ELISA procedure. The precision and repeatability of this ELISA method were evaluated, and then this method was compared with the commercialized Tamm-Horsfall Glycoprotein ELISA Kit by examining urinary uromodulin levels in 55 individuals. Finally, the urinary uromodulin level in 166 IgA nephropathy patients were detected as well as 48 normal controls with this established method. The detecting range of uromodulin was 0.78-12.5 μg/L by this method. The coefficient of variation within-run was 7.5%, and between-run of coefficient of variation was 7.9%. Correlation of this method and comercialized kit was good (r=0.615, P<0.001). The urinary uromodulin/urinary creatinine ratio in IgA nephropathy was significantly lower than that in normal controls. The established ELISA method is sensitive and repeatable, and can be used in further studies.

The effect of muscle contraction level on the cervical vestibular evoked myogenic potential (cVEMP): usefulness of amplitude normalization.

PubMed

Bogle, Jamie M; Zapala, David A; Criter, Robin; Burkard, Robert

2013-02-01

The cervical vestibular evoked myogenic potential (cVEMP) is a reflexive change in sternocleidomastoid (SCM) muscle contraction activity thought to be mediated by a saccular vestibulo-collic reflex. CVEMP amplitude varies with the state of the afferent (vestibular) limb of the vestibulo-collic reflex pathway, as well as with the level of SCM muscle contraction. It follows that in order for cVEMP amplitude to reflect the status of the afferent portion of the reflex pathway, muscle contraction level must be controlled. Historically, this has been accomplished by volitionally controlling muscle contraction level either with the aid of a biofeedback method, or by an a posteriori method that normalizes cVEMP amplitude by the level of muscle contraction. A posteriori normalization methods make the implicit assumption that mathematical normalization precisely removes the influence of the efferent limb of the vestibulo-collic pathway. With the cVEMP, however, we are violating basic assumptions of signal averaging: specifically, the background noise and the response are not independent. The influence of this signal-averaging violation on our ability to normalize cVEMP amplitude using a posteriori methods is not well understood. The aims of this investigation were to describe the effect of muscle contraction, as measured by a prestimulus electromyogenic estimate, on cVEMP amplitude and interaural amplitude asymmetry ratio, and to evaluate the benefit of using a commonly advocated a posteriori normalization method on cVEMP amplitude and asymmetry ratio variability. Prospective, repeated-measures design using a convenience sample. Ten healthy adult participants between 25 and 61 yr of age. cVEMP responses to 500 Hz tone bursts (120 dB pSPL) for three conditions describing maximum, moderate, and minimal muscle contraction. Mean (standard deviation) cVEMP amplitude and asymmetry ratios were calculated for each muscle-contraction condition. Repeated measures analysis of variance and t-tests compared the variability in cVEMP amplitude between sides and conditions. Linear regression analyses compared asymmetry ratios. Polynomial regression analyses described the corrected and uncorrected cVEMP amplitude growth functions. While cVEMP amplitude increased with increased muscle contraction, the relationship was not linear or even proportionate. In the majority of cases, once muscle contraction reached a certain "threshold" level, cVEMP amplitude increased rapidly and then saturated. Normalizing cVEMP amplitudes did not remove the relationship between cVEMP amplitude and muscle contraction level. As muscle contraction increased, the normalized amplitude increased, and then decreased, corresponding with the observed amplitude saturation. Abnormal asymmetry ratios (based on values reported in the literature) were noted for four instances of uncorrected amplitude asymmetry at less than maximum muscle contraction levels. Amplitude normalization did not substantially change the number of observed asymmetry ratios. Because cVEMP amplitude did not typically grow proportionally with muscle contraction level, amplitude normalization did not lead to stable cVEMP amplitudes or asymmetry ratios across varying muscle contraction levels. Until we better understand the relationships between muscle contraction level, surface electromyography (EMG) estimates of muscle contraction level, and cVEMP amplitude, the application of normalization methods to correct cVEMP amplitude appears unjustified. American Academy of Audiology.

Subjective and Quantitative Measurement of Wavefront Aberrations in Nuclear Cataracts – A Retrospective Case Controlled Study

PubMed Central

Wali, Upender K.; Bialasiewicz, Alexander A.; Al-Kharousi, Nadia; Rizvi, Syed G.; Baloushi, Habiba

2009-01-01

Purpose: To measure, quantify and compare Ocular Aberrations due to nuclear cataracts. Setting: Department of ophthalmology and school for ophthalmic technicians, college of medicine and health sciences, Sultan Qaboos University, Muscat, Oman. Design: Retrospective case controlled study. Methods: 113 eyes of 77 patients with nuclear cataract (NC) were recruited from outpatient clinic of a major tertiary referral center for Ophthalmology. Patients having NC with no co-existing ocular pathologies were selected. All patients were subjected to wavefront aberrometry (make) using Hartmann-Shack (HS) aberrometer. Consents were taken from all patients. Higher order Aberrations (HOA) were calculated with Zernike polynomials up to the fourth order. For comparison 28 eyes of 15 subjects with no lenticular opacities (control group) were recruited and evaluated in an identical manner. No pupillary mydriasis was done in both groups. Results: Total aberrations were almost six times higher in NC group compared to control (normal) subjects. The HOA were 21 times higher in NC group, and coma was significantly higher in NC eyes compared to normal (control) group. The pupillary diameter was significantly larger in control group (5.48mm ± 1.0024, p<.001) compared to NC (3.05mm ± 1.9145) subjects (probably due to younger control age group). Amongst Zernike coefficients up to fourth order, two polynomials, defocus (Z20) and spherical aberration (Z42) were found to be significantly greater amongst NC group, compared to normal control group. Conclusion: Nuclear cataracts predominantly produce increased defocus and spherical aberrations. This could explain visual symptoms like image deterioration in spite of normal Visual acuity. PMID:20142953

Kinematic equations for resolved-rate control of an industrial robot arm

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Barker, L. K.

1983-01-01

An operator can use kinematic, resolved-rate equations to dynamically control a robot arm by watching its response to commanded inputs. Known resolved-rate equations for the control of a particular six-degree-of-freedom industrial robot arm and proceeds to simplify the equations for faster computations are derived. Methods for controlling the robot arm in regions which normally cause mathematical singularities in the resolved-rate equations are discussed.

Economic consequences of improved temperature forecasts: An experiment with the Florida citrus growers (an update of control group results)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Braen, C.

1978-01-01

The economic experiment, the results obtained to date and the work which still remains to be done are summarized. Specifically, the experiment design is described in detail as are the developed data collection methodology and procedures, sampling plan, data reduction techniques, cost and loss models, establishment of frost severity measures, data obtained from citrus growers, National Weather Service and Federal Crop Insurance Corp. Resulting protection costs and crop losses for the control group sample, extrapolation of results of control group to the Florida citrus industry and the method for normalization of these results to a normal or average frost season so that results may be compared with anticipated similar results from test group measurements are discussed.

Idiom Comprehension Deficits in High-Functioning Autism Spectrum Disorder Using a Korean Autism Social Language Task

PubMed Central

Lee, Seul Bee; Song, Seung Ha; Ham, Ju Hyun; Song, Dong Ho

2015-01-01

Purpose High-functioning autism spectrum disorder (ASD) involves pragmatic impairment of language skills. Among numerous tasks for assessing pragmatic linguistic skills, idioms are important to evaluating high-functioning ASD. Nevertheless, no assessment tool has been developed with specific consideration of Korean culture. Therefore, we designed the Korean Autism Social Language Task (KASLAT) to test idiom comprehension in ASD. The aim of the current study was to introduce this novel psychological tool and evaluate idiom comprehension deficits in high-functioning ASD. Materials and Methods The participants included 42 children, ages 6-11 years, who visited our child psychiatric clinic between April 2014 and May 2015. The ASD group comprised 16 children; the attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) group consisted of 16 children. An additional 10 normal control children who had not been diagnosed with either disorder participated in this study. Idiom comprehension ability was assessed in these three groups using the KASLAT. Results Both ASD and ADHD groups had significantly lower scores on the matched and mismatched tasks, compared to the normal control children (matched tasks mean score: ASD 11.56, ADHD 11.56, normal control 14.30; mismatched tasks mean score: ASD 6.50, ADHD 4.31, normal control 11.30). However, no significant differences were found in scores of KASLAT between the ADHD and ASD groups. Conclusion These findings suggest that children with ASD exhibit greater impairment in idiom comprehension, compared to normal control children. The KASLAT may be useful in evaluating idiom comprehension ability. PMID:26446644

ICG: a wiki-driven knowledgebase of internal control genes for RT-qPCR normalization.

PubMed

Sang, Jian; Wang, Zhennan; Li, Man; Cao, Jiabao; Niu, Guangyi; Xia, Lin; Zou, Dong; Wang, Fan; Xu, Xingjian; Han, Xiaojiao; Fan, Jinqi; Yang, Ye; Zuo, Wanzhu; Zhang, Yang; Zhao, Wenming; Bao, Yiming; Xiao, Jingfa; Hu, Songnian; Hao, Lili; Zhang, Zhang

2018-01-04

Real-time quantitative PCR (RT-qPCR) has become a widely used method for accurate expression profiling of targeted mRNA and ncRNA. Selection of appropriate internal control genes for RT-qPCR normalization is an elementary prerequisite for reliable expression measurement. Here, we present ICG (http://icg.big.ac.cn), a wiki-driven knowledgebase for community curation of experimentally validated internal control genes as well as their associated experimental conditions. Unlike extant related databases that focus on qPCR primers in model organisms (mainly human and mouse), ICG features harnessing collective intelligence in community integration of internal control genes for a variety of species. Specifically, it integrates a comprehensive collection of more than 750 internal control genes for 73 animals, 115 plants, 12 fungi and 9 bacteria, and incorporates detailed information on recommended application scenarios corresponding to specific experimental conditions, which, collectively, are of great help for researchers to adopt appropriate internal control genes for their own experiments. Taken together, ICG serves as a publicly editable and open-content encyclopaedia of internal control genes and accordingly bears broad utility for reliable RT-qPCR normalization and gene expression characterization in both model and non-model organisms. © The Author(s) 2017. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Nucleic Acids Research.

Linnorm: improved statistical analysis for single cell RNA-seq expression data.

PubMed

Yip, Shun H; Wang, Panwen; Kocher, Jean-Pierre A; Sham, Pak Chung; Wang, Junwen

2017-12-15

Linnorm is a novel normalization and transformation method for the analysis of single cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) data. Linnorm is developed to remove technical noises and simultaneously preserve biological variations in scRNA-seq data, such that existing statistical methods can be improved. Using real scRNA-seq data, we compared Linnorm with existing normalization methods, including NODES, SAMstrt, SCnorm, scran, DESeq and TMM. Linnorm shows advantages in speed, technical noise removal and preservation of cell heterogeneity, which can improve existing methods in the discovery of novel subtypes, pseudo-temporal ordering of cells, clustering analysis, etc. Linnorm also performs better than existing DEG analysis methods, including BASiCS, NODES, SAMstrt, Seurat and DESeq2, in false positive rate control and accuracy. © The Author(s) 2017. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Nucleic Acids Research.

Neutraceutical approaches to control diabetes: A natural requisite approach

PubMed Central

Srivastava, N.; Tiwari, G.; Tiwari, R.; Bhati, L. K.; Rai, Awani K

2012-01-01

Objective: The aim of this study is to screen the polyherbal preparation for antidiabetic activity in rats. Materials and Methods: The blood glucose lowering activity of the polyherbal preparation-I (1:1:1 of wheat germ oil, Coraidrum sativum, and Aloe vera) was studied in normal rats after oral administration at doses of 1.0 ml/kg and 2.0 ml/kg and polyherbal preparation-I, II (wheat germ oil, fresh juice of C. sativum, and A. vera in the ratio of 2:2:1), and III (wheat germ oil, fresh juice of C. sativum and A. vera in the ratio of 1:2:2) on alloxan-induced diabetic rats, after oral administration at doses of 1.0 ml/kg and 2.0 ml/kg. Blood samples were collected from the tail vein method at 0, 0.5, 1, 2, 4, 8, 12, and 24 h in normal rats and in diabetic rats at 0, 1, 3, 7, 15, and 30 days. Blood plasma glucose was estimated by the GOD/POD (glucose oxidase and peroxidase) method. The data were compared statistically by using the one-way ANOVA method followed by the Dunnett multiple component test. Statistical significance was set at P < 0.05. Results: The polyherbal preparation-I produced significant (P < 0.05) reduction in the blood glucose level of normal rats and polyherbal preparation-I, II, and III produced significant (P < 0.01) reduction in the blood glucose level of diabetic rats during 30-day study and compared with that of control and glibenclamide. Conclusion: The polyherbal preparation-I showed a significant glucose lowering effect in normal rats and polyherbal preparation-I, II, and III in diabetic rats. This preparation is going to be promising antidiabetic preparation for masses; however, it requires further extensive studies in human beings. PMID:23225980

Optimal False Discovery Rate Control for Dependent Data

PubMed Central

Xie, Jichun; Cai, T. Tony; Maris, John; Li, Hongzhe

2013-01-01

This paper considers the problem of optimal false discovery rate control when the test statistics are dependent. An optimal joint oracle procedure, which minimizes the false non-discovery rate subject to a constraint on the false discovery rate is developed. A data-driven marginal plug-in procedure is then proposed to approximate the optimal joint procedure for multivariate normal data. It is shown that the marginal procedure is asymptotically optimal for multivariate normal data with a short-range dependent covariance structure. Numerical results show that the marginal procedure controls false discovery rate and leads to a smaller false non-discovery rate than several commonly used p-value based false discovery rate controlling methods. The procedure is illustrated by an application to a genome-wide association study of neuroblastoma and it identifies a few more genetic variants that are potentially associated with neuroblastoma than several p-value-based false discovery rate controlling procedures. PMID:23378870

Implications of Starvation-Induced Change in Right Dorsal Anterior Cingulate Volume in Anorexia Nervosa

PubMed Central

McCormick, Laurie M.; Keel, Pamela K.; Brumm, Michael C.; Bowers, Wayne; Swayze, Victor; Andersen, Arnold; Andreasen, Nancy

2013-01-01

Objective Converging evidence suggests a role for the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) in the pathophysiology of anorexia nervosa (AN). This study sought to determine whether ACC volume was affected by starvation in active AN and, if so, whether this had any clinical significance. Method Eighteen patients with active AN and age- and gender-matched normal controls underwent magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Sixteen patients (89%) with AN had intelligence quotients (IQ) testing at intake, 14 (78%) had repeat MRIs after weight normalization, and 10 (56%) had outcome data at 1-year post-hospitalization. Results Right dorsal ACC volume was significantly reduced in active AN patients versus controls and was correlated with lower performance IQ. While ACC normalization occurred with weight restoration, smaller change in right dorsal ACC volume prospectively predicted relapse after treatment. Conclusion Reduced right dorsal ACC volume during active AN relates to deficits in perceptual organization and conceptual reasoning. The degree of right dorsal ACC normalization during treatment is related to outcome. PMID:18473337

Submonolayer Quantum Dot Infrared Photodetector

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ting, David Z.; Bandara, Sumith V.; Gunapala, Sarath D.; Chang, Yia-Chang

2010-01-01

A method has been developed for inserting submonolayer (SML) quantum dots (QDs) or SML QD stacks, instead of conventional Stranski-Krastanov (S-K) QDs, into the active region of intersubband photodetectors. A typical configuration would be InAs SML QDs embedded in thin layers of GaAs, surrounded by AlGaAs barriers. Here, the GaAs and the AlGaAs have nearly the same lattice constant, while InAs has a larger lattice constant. In QD infrared photodetector, the important quantization directions are in the plane perpendicular to the normal incidence radiation. In-plane quantization is what enables the absorption of normal incidence radiation. The height of the S-K QD controls the positions of the quantized energy levels, but is not critically important to the desired normal incidence absorption properties. The SML QD or SML QD stack configurations give more control of the structure grown, retains normal incidence absorption properties, and decreases the strain build-up to allow thicker active layers for higher quantum efficiency.

Memory Deficits in Early Infantile Autism: Some Similarities to the Amnesiac Syndrome

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Boucher, Jill; Warrington, Elizabeth K.

1976-01-01

Autistic children were compared with control children on tasks in which retention was tested by different methods. In three tests of recall, using named pictures, written words and spoken words as test stimuli, autistic children were impaired in comparison with age-matched normal children and with controls matched for verbal and non-verbal…

Torque control for electric motors

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bernard, C. A.

1980-01-01

Method for adjusting electric-motor torque output to accomodate various loads utilizes phase-lock loop to control relay connected to starting circuit. As load is imposed, motor slows down, and phase lock is lost. Phase-lock signal triggers relay to power starting coil and generate additional torque. Once phase lock is recoverd, relay restores starting circuit to its normal operating mode.

Differential Expression of c-fos Proto-Oncogene in Normal Oral Mucosa versus Squamous Cell Carcinoma

PubMed Central

Krishna, Akhilesh; Bhatt, Madan Lal Brahma; Singh, Vineeta; Singh, Shraddha; Gangwar, Pravin Kumar; Singh, Uma Shankar; Kumar, Vijay; Mehrotra, Divya

2018-01-01

Background: The c-Fos nuclear protein dimerizes with Jun family proteins to form the transcription factor AP-1 complex which participates in signal transduction and regulation of normal cellular processes. In tumorigenesis, c-Fos promotes invasive growth through down-regulation of tumor suppressor genes but its role in oral carcinogenesis is not clear. Objectives: This study concerned c-fos gene expression in normal and malignant tissues of the oral cavity, with attention to associations between expression status and clinico-pathological profiles of OSCC patients. Method: A total of 65 histopathologically confirmed OSCC tissue samples were included in case group along with an equal number of age and sex-matched normal tissue samples of oral cavity for the control group. c-Fos protein and m-RNA expressions were analyzed using immunohistochemistry and qRT-PCR, respectively. Results: A significant low expression of c-Fos protein was observed in OSCC cases than normal control subjects (p= <0.001). The mean percent positivity of c-Fos protein in cases vs. controls was 24.91± 2.7 vs. 49.68± 2.2 (p= <0.001). Most OSCC tissue samples showed weak or moderate c-Fos expression whereas 53.8% of normal tissue sections presented with strong immunostaining. Moreover, the relative m-RNA expression for the c-fos gene was significantly decreased in case group (0.93± 0.48) as compared to the control group (1.22± 0.87). Majority of c-Fos positive cases were diagnosed with well developed tumor. The mean percent positivity of c-Fos protein was significantly lower in higher grade tumor as compared with normal oral mucosa (p= < 0.001). Conclusion: The present study suggested that the c-fos gene is downregulated in oral carcinomas. The disparity of c-Fos protein levels in different pathological grades of tumor and normal oral tissue samples may indicate that loss of c-Fos expression is related with the progression of OSCC. PMID:29582647

Subclinical Tremor in Normal Controls with vs. without a Family History of Essential Tremor: Data from the United States and Turkey

PubMed Central

Louis, Elan D.; Dogu, Okan; Ottman, Ruth

2009-01-01

Background Mild action tremor is very common in the population. One fundamental question is whether this tremor is related to the neurological disease essential tremor (ET), which occurs in a much smaller segment of the population? ET is often genetic and variable phenotypic expression is well-documented in the literature. We determined whether normal controls who report a family history of ET have greater action tremor than normal controls who do not report such a history. Methods Controls, enrolled in two epidemiological studies (New York and Turkey), were examined in detail and action tremor was rated using a valid and reliable clinical rating scale, resulting in a total tremor score (range 0 – 36). Results In New York, the total tremor score was higher in 44/406 (10.8%) controls who reported a family history of ET than in 362/406 controls with no such history (4.25 ± 2.51 vs. 3.78 ± 2.93, p = 0.02). Controls who reported a first-degree relative with ET had the highest total tremor scores. In Turkey, the total tremor score was higher in 7/89 (7.9%) controls with a family history than in 82/89 controls with no family history (3.43 ± 4.54 vs. 1.13 ± 2.54, p = 0.048). All affected relatives in Turkey were first-degree. Conclusions These data suggest that some of the normal tremor exhibited by people in the population is likely to be subclinical, partially-expressed ET and that the sphere of ET is wider than is apparent from a consideration of clinically-diagnosed cases. PMID:19968704

Structural changes of the corpus callosum in tinnitus

PubMed Central

Diesch, Eugen; Schummer, Verena; Kramer, Martin; Rupp, Andre

2012-01-01

Objectives: In tinnitus, several brain regions seem to be structurally altered, including the medial partition of Heschl's gyrus (mHG), the site of the primary auditory cortex. The mHG is smaller in tinnitus patients than in healthy controls. The corpus callosum (CC) is the main interhemispheric commissure of the brain connecting the auditory areas of the left and the right hemisphere. Here, we investigate whether tinnitus status is associated with CC volume. Methods: The midsagittal cross-sectional area of the CC was examined in tinnitus patients and healthy controls in which an examination of the mHG had been carried out earlier. The CC was extracted and segmented into subregions which were defined according to the most common CC morphometry schemes introduced by Witelson (1989) and Hofer and Frahm (2006). Results: For both CC segmentation schemes, the CC posterior midbody was smaller in male patients than in male healthy controls and the isthmus, the anterior midbody, and the genou were larger in female patients than in female controls. With CC size normalized relative to mHG volume, the normalized CC splenium was larger in male patients than male controls and the normalized CC splenium, the isthmus and the genou were larger in female patients than female controls. Normalized CC segment size expresses callosal interconnectivity relative to auditory cortex volume. Conclusion: It may be argued that the predominant function of the CC is excitatory. The stronger callosal interconnectivity in tinnitus patients, compared to healthy controls, may facilitate the emergence and maintenance of a positive feedback loop between tinnitus generators located in the two hemispheres. PMID:22470322

The Renilla luciferase gene as a reference gene for normalization of gene expression in transiently transfected cells.

PubMed

Jiwaji, Meesbah; Daly, Rónán; Pansare, Kshama; McLean, Pauline; Yang, Jingli; Kolch, Walter; Pitt, Andrew R

2010-12-31

The importance of appropriate normalization controls in quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) experiments has become more apparent as the number of biological studies using this methodology has increased. In developing a system to study gene expression from transiently transfected plasmids, it became clear that normalization using chromosomally encoded genes is not ideal, at it does not take into account the transfection efficiency and the significantly lower expression levels of the plasmids. We have developed and validated a normalization method for qPCR using a co-transfected plasmid. The best chromosomal gene for normalization in the presence of the transcriptional activators used in this study, cadmium, dexamethasone, forskolin and phorbol-12-myristate 13-acetate was first identified. qPCR data was analyzed using geNorm, Normfinder and BestKeeper. Each software application was found to rank the normalization controls differently with no clear correlation. Including a co-transfected plasmid encoding the Renilla luciferase gene (Rluc) in this analysis showed that its calculated stability was not as good as the optimised chromosomal genes, most likely as a result of the lower expression levels and transfection variability. Finally, we validated these analyses by testing two chromosomal genes (B2M and ActB) and a co-transfected gene (Rluc) under biological conditions. When analyzing co-transfected plasmids, Rluc normalization gave the smallest errors compared to the chromosomal reference genes. Our data demonstrates that transfected Rluc is the most appropriate normalization reference gene for transient transfection qPCR analysis; it significantly reduces the standard deviation within biological experiments as it takes into account the transfection efficiencies and has easily controllable expression levels. This improves reproducibility, data validity and most importantly, enables accurate interpretation of qPCR data.

Randomized controlled trial of a treatment for anorexia and bulimia nervosa

PubMed Central

Bergh, Cecilia; Brodin, Ulf; Lindberg, Greger; Södersten, Per

2002-01-01

Evidence for the effectiveness of existing treatments of patients with eating disorders is weak. Here we describe and evaluate a method of treatment in a randomized controlled trial. Sixteen patients, randomly selected out of a group composed of 19 patients with anorexia nervosa and 13 with bulimia nervosa, were trained to eat and recognize satiety by using computer support. They rested in a warm room after eating, and their physical activity was restricted. The patients in the control group (n = 16) received no treatment. Remission was defined by normal body weight (anorexia), cessation of binge eating and purging (bulimia), a normal psychiatric profile, normal laboratory test values, normal eating behavior, and resumption of social activities. Fourteen patients went into remission after a median of 14.4 months (range 4.9–26.5) of treatment, but only one patient went into remission while waiting for treatment (P = 0.0057). Relapse is considered a major problem in patients who have been treated to remission. We therefore report results on a total of 168 patients who have entered our treatment program. The estimated rate of remission was 75%, and estimated time to remission was 14.7 months (quartile range 9.6 ≥ 32). Six patients (7%) of 83 who were treated to remission relapsed, but the others (93%) have remained in remission for 12 months (quartile range 6–36). Because the risk of relapse is maximal in the first year after remission, we suggest that most patients treated with this method recover. PMID:12082182

The scent fingerprint of hepatocarcinoma: in-vitro metastasis prediction with volatile organic compounds (VOCs)

PubMed Central

Amal, Haitham; Ding, Lu; Liu, Bin-bin; Tisch, Ulrike; Xu, Zhen-qin; Shi, Da-you; Zhao, Yan; Chen, Jie; Sun, Rui-xia; Liu, Hu; Ye, Sheng-Long; Tang, Zhao-you; Haick, Hossam

2012-01-01

Background: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a common and aggressive form of cancer. Due to a high rate of postoperative recurrence, the prognosis for HCC is poor. Subclinical metastasis is the major cause of tumor recurrence and patient mortality. Currently, there is no reliable prognostic method of invasion. Aim: To investigate the feasibility of fingerprints of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) for the in-vitro prediction of metastasis. Methods: Headspace gases were collected from 36 cell cultures (HCC with high and low metastatic potential and normal cells) and analyzed using nanomaterial-based sensors. Predictive models were built by employing discriminant factor analysis pattern recognition, and the classification success was determined using leave-one-out cross-validation. The chemical composition of each headspace sample was studied using gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry (GC-MS). Results: Excellent discrimination was achieved using the nanomaterial-based sensors between (i) all HCC and normal controls; (ii) low metastatic HCC and normal controls; (iii) high metastatic HCC and normal controls; and (iv) high and low HCC. Several HCC-related VOCs that could be associated with biochemical cellular processes were identified through GC-MS analysis. Conclusion: The presented results constitute a proof-of-concept for the in-vitro prediction of the metastatic potential of HCC from VOC fingerprints using nanotechnology. Further studies on a larger number of more diverse cell cultures are needed to evaluate the robustness of the VOC patterns. These findings could benefit the development of a fast and potentially inexpensive laboratory test for subclinical HCC metastasis. PMID:22888249

Brain volume and fatigue in patients with postpoliomyelitis syndrome.

PubMed

Trojan, Daria A; Narayanan, Sridar; Francis, Simon J; Caramanos, Zografos; Robinson, Ann; Cardoso, Mauro; Arnold, Douglas L

2014-03-01

Acute paralytic poliomyelitis is associated with encephalitis. Early brain inflammation may produce permanent neuronal injury with brain atrophy, which may result in symptoms such as fatigue. Brain volume has not been assessed in postpoliomyelitis syndrome (PPS). To determine whether brain volume is decreased compared with that in normal controls, and whether brain volume is associated with fatigue in patients with PPS. A cross-sectional study. Tertiary university-affiliated hospital postpolio and multiple sclerosis (MS) clinics. Forty-nine ambulatory patients with PPS, 28 normal controls, and 53 ambulatory patients with MS. We studied the brains of all study subjects with magnetic resonance imaging by using a 1.5 T Siemens Sonata machine. The subjects completed the Fatigue Severity Scale. Multivariable linear regression models were computed to evaluate the contribution of PPS and MS compared with controls to explain brain volume. Normalized brain volume (NBV) was assessed with the automated program Structured Image Evaluation, using Normalization, of Atrophy method from the acquired magnetic resonance images. This method may miss brainstem atrophy. Technically adequate NBV measurements were available for 42 patients with PPS, 27 controls, and 49 patients with MS. The mean (standard deviation) age was 60.9 ± 7.6 years for patients with PPS, 47.0 ± 14.6 years for controls, and 46.2 ± 9.4 years for patients with MS. In a multivariable model adjusted for age and gender, NBV was not significantly different in patients with PPS compared with that in controls (P = .28). As expected, when using a similar model for patients with MS, NBV was significantly decreased compared with that in controls (P = .006). There was no significant association between NBV and fatigue in subjects with PPS (Spearman ρ = 0.23; P = .19). No significant whole-brain atrophy was found, and no association of brain volume with fatigue in PPS. Brain atrophy was confirmed in MS. It is possible that brainstem atrophy was not recognized by this study. Copyright © 2014 American Academy of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Controlling dental enamel-cavity ablation depth with optimized stepping parameters along the focal plane normal using a three axis, numerically controlled picosecond laser.

PubMed

Yuan, Fusong; Lv, Peijun; Wang, Dangxiao; Wang, Lei; Sun, Yuchun; Wang, Yong

2015-02-01

The purpose of this study was to establish a depth-control method in enamel-cavity ablation by optimizing the timing of the focal-plane-normal stepping and the single-step size of a three axis, numerically controlled picosecond laser. Although it has been proposed that picosecond lasers may be used to ablate dental hard tissue, the viability of such a depth-control method in enamel-cavity ablation remains uncertain. Forty-two enamel slices with approximately level surfaces were prepared and subjected to two-dimensional ablation by a picosecond laser. The additive-pulse layer, n, was set to 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 35, 40, 45, 50, 55, 60, 65, 70. A three-dimensional microscope was then used to measure the ablation depth, d, to obtain a quantitative function relating n and d. Six enamel slices were then subjected to three dimensional ablation to produce 10 cavities, respectively, with additive-pulse layer and single-step size set to corresponding values. The difference between the theoretical and measured values was calculated for both the cavity depth and the ablation depth of a single step. These were used to determine minimum-difference values for both the additive-pulse layer (n) and single-step size (d). When the additive-pulse layer and the single-step size were set 5 and 45, respectively, the depth error had a minimum of 2.25 μm, and 450 μm deep enamel cavities were produced. When performing three-dimensional ablating of enamel with a picosecond laser, adjusting the timing of the focal-plane-normal stepping and the single-step size allows for the control of ablation-depth error to the order of micrometers.

Precise on-machine extraction of the surface normal vector using an eddy current sensor array

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Yongqing; Lian, Meng; Liu, Haibo; Ying, Yangwei; Sheng, Xianjun

2016-11-01

To satisfy the requirements of on-machine measurement of the surface normal during complex surface manufacturing, a highly robust normal vector extraction method using an Eddy current (EC) displacement sensor array is developed, the output of which is almost unaffected by surface brightness, machining coolant and environmental noise. A precise normal vector extraction model based on a triangular-distributed EC sensor array is first established. Calibration of the effects of object surface inclination and coupling interference on measurement results, and the relative position of EC sensors, is involved. A novel apparatus employing three EC sensors and a force transducer was designed, which can be easily integrated into the computer numerical control (CNC) machine tool spindle and/or robot terminal execution. Finally, to test the validity and practicability of the proposed method, typical experiments were conducted with specified testing pieces using the developed approach and system, such as an inclined plane and cylindrical and spherical surfaces.

A methodology for generating normal and pathological brain perfusion SPECT images for evaluation of MRI/SPECT fusion methods: application in epilepsy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Grova, C.; Jannin, P.; Biraben, A.; Buvat, I.; Benali, H.; Bernard, A. M.; Scarabin, J. M.; Gibaud, B.

2003-12-01

Quantitative evaluation of brain MRI/SPECT fusion methods for normal and in particular pathological datasets is difficult, due to the frequent lack of relevant ground truth. We propose a methodology to generate MRI and SPECT datasets dedicated to the evaluation of MRI/SPECT fusion methods and illustrate the method when dealing with ictal SPECT. The method consists in generating normal or pathological SPECT data perfectly aligned with a high-resolution 3D T1-weighted MRI using realistic Monte Carlo simulations that closely reproduce the response of a SPECT imaging system. Anatomical input data for the SPECT simulations are obtained from this 3D T1-weighted MRI, while functional input data result from an inter-individual analysis of anatomically standardized SPECT data. The method makes it possible to control the 'brain perfusion' function by proposing a theoretical model of brain perfusion from measurements performed on real SPECT images. Our method provides an absolute gold standard for assessing MRI/SPECT registration method accuracy since, by construction, the SPECT data are perfectly registered with the MRI data. The proposed methodology has been applied to create a theoretical model of normal brain perfusion and ictal brain perfusion characteristic of mesial temporal lobe epilepsy. To approach realistic and unbiased perfusion models, real SPECT data were corrected for uniform attenuation, scatter and partial volume effect. An anatomic standardization was used to account for anatomic variability between subjects. Realistic simulations of normal and ictal SPECT deduced from these perfusion models are presented. The comparison of real and simulated SPECT images showed relative differences in regional activity concentration of less than 20% in most anatomical structures, for both normal and ictal data, suggesting realistic models of perfusion distributions for evaluation purposes. Inter-hemispheric asymmetry coefficients measured on simulated data were found within the range of asymmetry coefficients measured on corresponding real data. The features of the proposed approach are compared with those of other methods previously described to obtain datasets appropriate for the assessment of fusion methods.

Evaluation and selection of internal reference genes from two- and six-row U.S. malting barley varieties throughout micromalting for use in RT-qPCR

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Reverse Transcription quantitative Polymerase Chain Reaction (qRT-PCR) is a popular method for measuring transcript abundance. The most commonly used method of interpretation is relative quantification and thus necessitates the use of normalization controls (i.e. reference genes) to standardize tran...

Automatic Method of Pause Measurement for Normal and Dysarthric Speech

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rosen, Kristin; Murdoch, Bruce; Folker, Joanne; Vogel, Adam; Cahill, Louise; Delatycki, Martin; Corben, Louise

2010-01-01

This study proposes an automatic method for the detection of pauses and identification of pause types in conversational speech for the purpose of measuring the effects of Friedreich's Ataxia (FRDA) on speech. Speech samples of [approximately] 3 minutes were recorded from 13 speakers with FRDA and 18 healthy controls. Pauses were measured from the…

Normal Science and the Paranormal: The Effect of a Scientific Method Course on Students' Beliefs.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Morier, Dean; Keeports, David

1994-01-01

A study investigated the effects of an interdisciplinary course on the scientific method on the attitudes of 34 college students toward the paranormal. Results indicated that the course substantially reduced belief in the paranormal, relative to a control group. Student beliefs in their own paranormal powers, however, did not change. (Author/MSE)

Specific-Language-Impaired Children's Quick Incidental Learning of Words: The Effect of a Pause.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rice, Mabel L.; And Others

1992-01-01

Comparison of 2 methods of presenting novel words, either preceded by a pause or in normal prosody, on initial word comprehension of 20 5-year-old children with language impairments (and 2 control groups matched for either age or mean length of utterance) found no effect for presentation method. (Author/DB)

The odontoid process invagination in normal subjects, Chiari malformation and Basilar invagination patients: Pathophysiologic correlations with angular craniometry

PubMed Central

Ferreira, Jânio A.; Botelho, Ricardo V.

2015-01-01

Background: Craniometric studies have shown that both Chiari malformation (CM) and basilar invagination (BI) belong to a spectrum of malformations. A more precise method to differentiate between these types of CVJM is desirable. The Chamberlain's line violation (CLV) is the most common method to identify BI. The authors sought to clarify the real importance of CLV in the spectrum of craniovertebral junction malformations (CVJM) and to identify possible pathophysiological relationships. Methods: We evaluated the CLV in a sample of CVJM, BI, CM patients and a control group of normal subjects and correlated their data with craniocervical angular craniometry. Results: A total of 97 subjects were studied: 32 normal subjects, 41 CM patients, 9 basilar invagination type 1 (BI1) patients, and 15 basilar invagination type 2 (BI2) patients. The mean CLV violation in the groups were: The control group, 0.16 ± 0.45 cm; the CM group, 0.32 ± 0.48 cm; the BI1 group, 1.35 ± 0.5 cm; and the BI2 group, 1.98 ± 0.18 cm. There was strong correlation between CLV and Boogard's angle (R = 0.82, P = 0.000) and the clivus canal angle (R = 0.7, P = 0.000). Conclusions: CM's CLV is discrete and similar to the normal subjects. BI1 and BI2 presented with at least of 0.95 cm CLV and these violations were strongly correlated with a primary cranial angulation (clivus horizontalization) and an acute clivus canal angle (a secondary craniocervical angle). PMID:26229733

Characterization of the salivary microbiome in people with obesity

PubMed Central

Zhang, Qian

2018-01-01

Background The interactions between the gut microbiome and obesity have been extensively studied. Although the oral cavity is the gateway to the gut, and is extensively colonized with microbes, little is known about the oral microbiome in people with obesity. In the present study, we investigated the salivary microbiome in obese and normal weight healthy participants using metagenomic analysis. The subjects were categorized into two groups, obesity and normal weight, based on their BMIs. Methods We characterized the salivary microbiome of 33 adults with obesity and 29 normal weight controls using high-throughput sequencing of the V3–V4 region of the 16S rRNA gene (Illumina MiSeq). None of the selected participants had systemic, oral mucosal, or periodontal diseases. Results The salivary microbiome of the obesity group was distinct from that of the normal weight group. The salivary microbiome of periodontally healthy people with obesity had both significantly lower bacterial diversity and richness compared with the controls. The genus Prevotella, Granulicatella, Peptostreptococcus, Solobacterium, Catonella, and Mogibacterium were significantly more abundant in the obesity group; meanwhile the genus Haemophilus, Corynebacterium, Capnocytophaga, and Staphylococcus were less abundant in the obesity group. We also performed a functional analysis of the inferred metagenomes, and showed that the salivary community associated with obesity had a stronger signature of immune disease and a decreased functional signature related to environmental adaptation and Xenobiotics biodegradation compared with the normal weight controls. Discussion Our study demonstrates that the microbial diversity and structure of the salivary microbiome in people with obesity are significantly different from those of normal weight controls. These results suggested that changes in the structure and function of salivary microbiome in people with obesity might reflect their susceptibility to oral diseases. PMID:29576948

Cognitive impairment and PD patients' capacity to consent to research

PubMed Central

Cary, Mark; Moelter, Stephen T.; Siderowf, Andrew; Sullo, Elizabeth; Xie, Sharon; Weintraub, Daniel

2013-01-01

Objective: To examine how cognitive impairment affects Parkinson disease (PD) patients' research consent capacity. Methods: A cross-sectional study of 90 patients with PD, divided using Mattis Dementia Rating Scale–2 scores into 3 groups of 30 (normal, borderline, and impaired), and 30 neurologically normal older adults completed 2 capacity interviews (an early-phase randomized and controlled drug trial and a sham-controlled surgical implantation of genetic tissue) using the MacArthur Competence Assessment Tool for Clinical Research. Expert clinicians used the interviews to classify the patients as either capable or not capable of providing their own informed consent. These judgments were compared with performance on the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) and the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE). Results: Cognitively normal PD patients typically scored well on the capacity measures. In contrast, patients with impaired cognition were not capable of providing their own informed consent: 17% (5/30) on the drug trial and 3% (1/30) on the surgery trial were judged capable. Patients with borderline impairment showed adequate performance on measures of appreciation and reasoning, but impaired performance on understanding the drug trial compared with normal controls and normal PD patients, and on understanding the surgery trial compared with normal controls. Sixty-seven percent (20/30) on the drug trial and 57% (17/30) on the surgery trial were judged capable of consent. Receiver operating characteristic analyses showed that the MMSE and MoCA could detect the likelihood of impaired capacity, with the MoCA demonstrating greater sensitivity. Conclusions: PD patients with borderline cognitive impairment have impairments in their decisional capacity. The MoCA may be useful to identify the patients at risk of impaired capacity. PMID:23892706

Monocular oral reading after treatment of dense congenital unilateral cataract

PubMed Central

Birch, Eileen E.; Cheng, Christina; Christina, V; Stager, David R.

2010-01-01

Background Good long-term visual acuity outcomes for children with dense congenital unilateral cataracts have been reported following early surgery and good compliance with postoperative amblyopia therapy. However, treated eyes rarely achieve normal visual acuity and there has been no formal evaluation of the utility of the treated eye for reading. Methods Eighteen children previously treated for dense congenital unilateral cataract were tested monocularly with the Gray Oral Reading Test, 4th edition (GORT-4) at 7 to 13 years of age using two passages for each eye, one at grade level and one at +1 above grade level. In addition, right eyes of 55 normal children age 7 to 13 served as a control group. The GORT-4 assesses reading rate, accuracy, fluency, and comprehension. Results Visual acuity of treated eyes ranged from 0.1 to 2.0 logMAR and of fellow eyes from −0.1 to 0.2 logMAR. Treated eyes scored significantly lower than fellow and normal control eyes on all scales at grade level and at +1 above grade level. Monocular reading rate, accuracy, fluency, and comprehension were correlated with visual acuity of treated eyes (rs = −0.575 to −0.875, p < 0.005). Treated eyes with 0.1-0.3 logMAR visual acuity did not differ from fellow or normal control eyes in rate, accuracy, fluency, or comprehension when reading at grade level or at +1 above grade level. Fellow eyes did not differ from normal controls on any reading scale. Conclusions Excellent visual acuity outcomes following treatment of dense congenital unilateral cataracts are associated with normal reading ability of the treated eye in school-age children. PMID:20603057

New S control chart using skewness correction method for monitoring process dispersion of skewed distributions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Atta, Abdu; Yahaya, Sharipah; Zain, Zakiyah; Ahmed, Zalikha

2017-11-01

Control chart is established as one of the most powerful tools in Statistical Process Control (SPC) and is widely used in industries. The conventional control charts rely on normality assumption, which is not always the case for industrial data. This paper proposes a new S control chart for monitoring process dispersion using skewness correction method for skewed distributions, named as SC-S control chart. Its performance in terms of false alarm rate is compared with various existing control charts for monitoring process dispersion, such as scaled weighted variance S chart (SWV-S); skewness correction R chart (SC-R); weighted variance R chart (WV-R); weighted variance S chart (WV-S); and standard S chart (STD-S). Comparison with exact S control chart with regards to the probability of out-of-control detections is also accomplished. The Weibull and gamma distributions adopted in this study are assessed along with the normal distribution. Simulation study shows that the proposed SC-S control chart provides good performance of in-control probabilities (Type I error) in almost all the skewness levels and sample sizes, n. In the case of probability of detection shift the proposed SC-S chart is closer to the exact S control chart than the existing charts for skewed distributions, except for the SC-R control chart. In general, the performance of the proposed SC-S control chart is better than all the existing control charts for monitoring process dispersion in the cases of Type I error and probability of detection shift.

Structural and functional correlates in color vision deficiency

PubMed Central

Gupta, A; Laxmi, G; Nittala, M G; Raman, R

2011-01-01

Purpose The aim of this study is to assess the photoreceptor integrity, using spectral domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT), and to measure the retinal sensitivity of patients with congenital red–green color vision deficiency (CVD). Methods In all, 14 eyes from 7 patients with congenital red–green CVD (diagnosed by Farnsworth Munsell 100 hue test), and 14 eyes from 7 control subjects were examined by SD-OCT and microperimetry. Radial scans (7-mm) were taken of the macula. The center of the fovea was defined. The thickness of different retinal layers, at the foveal center, and at multiple defined points along all six radial scans, was measured. The median readings were compared between the two groups using Mann–Whitney U-test. Results SD-OCT demonstrated normal total retinal thickness, normal thickness of the photoreceptor layer, normal thickness of the outer nuclear layer, normal vertical thickness of the outer segments (OSs), and normal vertical thickness of the inner segments. OS horizontal diameter was less in left eye in cases with CVD when compared with controls. The mean retinal and foveal sensitivity was similar between cases and controls. Conclusions In subjects with congenital red–green CVD, there are no discernible anatomical abnormalities seen on SD-OCT in various retinal layers, except for a narrower foveal pit. However, further studies with larger sample size are required. PMID:21494280

Correcting AUC for Measurement Error.

PubMed

Rosner, Bernard; Tworoger, Shelley; Qiu, Weiliang

2015-12-01

Diagnostic biomarkers are used frequently in epidemiologic and clinical work. The ability of a diagnostic biomarker to discriminate between subjects who develop disease (cases) and subjects who do not (controls) is often measured by the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC). The diagnostic biomarkers are usually measured with error. Ignoring measurement error can cause biased estimation of AUC, which results in misleading interpretation of the efficacy of a diagnostic biomarker. Several methods have been proposed to correct AUC for measurement error, most of which required the normality assumption for the distributions of diagnostic biomarkers. In this article, we propose a new method to correct AUC for measurement error and derive approximate confidence limits for the corrected AUC. The proposed method does not require the normality assumption. Both real data analyses and simulation studies show good performance of the proposed measurement error correction method.

A new multi-domain method based on an analytical control surface for linear and second-order mean drift wave loads on floating bodies

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liang, Hui; Chen, Xiaobo

2017-10-01

A novel multi-domain method based on an analytical control surface is proposed by combining the use of free-surface Green function and Rankine source function. A cylindrical control surface is introduced to subdivide the fluid domain into external and internal domains. Unlike the traditional domain decomposition strategy or multi-block method, the control surface here is not panelized, on which the velocity potential and normal velocity components are analytically expressed as a series of base functions composed of Laguerre function in vertical coordinate and Fourier series in the circumference. Free-surface Green function is applied in the external domain, and the boundary integral equation is constructed on the control surface in the sense of Galerkin collocation via integrating test functions orthogonal to base functions over the control surface. The external solution gives rise to the so-called Dirichlet-to-Neumann [DN2] and Neumann-to-Dirichlet [ND2] relations on the control surface. Irregular frequencies, which are only dependent on the radius of the control surface, are present in the external solution, and they are removed by extending the boundary integral equation to the interior free surface (circular disc) on which the null normal derivative of potential is imposed, and the dipole distribution is expressed as Fourier-Bessel expansion on the disc. In the internal domain, where the Rankine source function is adopted, new boundary integral equations are formulated. The point collocation is imposed over the body surface and free surface, while the collocation of the Galerkin type is applied on the control surface. The present method is valid in the computation of both linear and second-order mean drift wave loads. Furthermore, the second-order mean drift force based on the middle-field formulation can be calculated analytically by using the coefficients of the Fourier-Laguerre expansion.

[Effect of Codonopsis Radix maintained with sulfur fumigation on immune function in mice].

PubMed

Liu, Cheng-song; Wang, Yu-ping; Shi, Yan-bin; Ma, Xing-ming; Li, Hui-li; Zhang, Xiao-yun; Li, Shou-tang

2014-11-01

To investigate the immune function of mice being given the extract of Codonopsis Radix maintained with sulfur fumigation. Mice were divided into five groups. Except the normal control group, the mice were fed with the extract of Codonopsis Radix maintained with sulfur fumigation at the high,medium and low doses, as well as medium dose of Codonopsis Radix maintained with low-temperature vacuum method, respectively. Mice were treated once a day for 10 continuous days. Weight change,organ indexes, blood cell indices, macrophage phagocytic function, and IL-2 and IFN-γ levels were measured. Compared with normal control group, Codonopsis Radix maintained with sulfur fumigation at medium and high doses inhibited body weight increase of mice; white blood cell count of high dose group was significantly increased; significant increase of macrophage phagocytosis were observed for all groups except the normal control group; and spleen index and IFN-γ level of Codonopsis Radix maintained with sulfur fumigation medium dose group were increased significantly. Codonopsis Radix maintained with sulfur fumigation can promote mouse immune function to a certain degree. There was no difference in immune effect between Codonopsis Radix maintained with sulfur fumigation and low-temperature vacuum method during experimental period. However,taking the extract of Codonopsis Radix maintained with sulfur fumigation can exert negative effect on appetite and body weight in mice.

Effects of long-term exercise training on autonomic control in myocardial infarction patients.

PubMed

Martinez, Daniel G; Nicolau, José C; Lage, Rony L; Toschi-Dias, Edgar; de Matos, Luciana D N J; Alves, Maria Janieire N N; Trombetta, Ivani C; Dias da Silva, Valdo J; Middlekauff, Holly R; Negrão, Carlos E; Rondon, Maria U P B

2011-12-01

Autonomic dysfunction, including baroreceptor attenuation and sympathetic activation, has been reported in patients with myocardial infarction (MI) and has been associated with increased mortality. We tested the hypotheses that exercise training (ET) in post-MI patients would normalize arterial baroreflex sensitivity (BRS) and muscle sympathetic nerve activity (MSNA), and long-term ET would maintain the benefits in BRS and MSNA. Twenty-eight patients after 1 month of uncomplicated MI were randomly assigned to 2 groups, ET (MI-ET) and untrained. A normal control group was also studied. ET consisted of three 60-minute exercise sessions per week for 6 months. We evaluated MSNA (microneurography), blood pressure (automatic oscillometric method), heart rate (ECG), and spectral analysis of RR interval, systolic arterial pressure (SAP), and MSNA. Baroreflex gain of SAP-RR interval and SAP-MSNA were calculated using the α-index. At 3 to 5 days and 1 month after MI, MSNA and low-frequency SAP were significantly higher and BRS significantly lower in MI patients when compared with the normal control group. ET significantly decreased MSNA (bursts per 100 heartbeats) and the low-frequency component of SAP and significantly increased the low-frequency component of MSNA and BRS of the RR interval and MSNA. These changes were so marked that the differences between patients with MI and the normal control group were no longer observed after ET. MSNA and BRS in the MI-untrained group did not change from baseline over the same time period. ET normalizes BRS, low-frequency SAP, and MSNA in patients with MI. These improvements in autonomic control are maintained by long-term ET. These findings highlight the clinical importance of this nonpharmacological therapy based on ET in the long-term treatment of patients with MI.

Significant effects of atrioventricular node ablation and pacemaker implantation on left ventricular function and long-term survival in patients with atrial fibrillation and left ventricular dysfunction.

PubMed

Ozcan, Cevher; Jahangir, Arshad; Friedman, Paul A; Munger, Thomas M; Packer, Douglas L; Hodge, David O; Hayes, David L; Gersh, Bernard J; Hammill, Stephen C; Shen, Win-Kuang

2003-07-01

Control of ventricular rate by atrioventricular node ablation and pacemaker implantation in patients with drug-refractory atrial fibrillation (AF) is associated with improved left ventricular (LV) function. The objective of this study was to determine the effect of atrioventricular node ablation on long-term survival in patients with AF and LV dysfunction. Survival was determined by the Kaplan-Meier method for 56 study patients with LV ejection fraction (EF) < or =40% who underwent atrioventricular node ablation and pacemaker implantation and 56 age- and gender-matched control patients with AF and LVEF >40%, and age- and gender-matched control subjects from Minnesota. Groups were compared using the log-rank test. In study patients (age 69 +/- 10 years; 45 men), LVEF was 26% +/- 8% and 34% +/- 13% (p <0.001) before and after ablation, respectively. During follow-up (40 +/- 23 months), 23 patients died. Observed survival was worse than that of normal subjects (p <0.001) and control patients (p = 0.005). After ablation, LVEF nearly normalized (> or =45%) in 16 study patients (29%), in whom observed survival was comparable to that of normal subjects (p = 0.37). Coronary artery disease, hyperlipidemia, chronic renal failure, previous myocardial infarction, and coronary artery operation were independent predictors for mortality. Near normalization of LVEF occurred in 29% of study patients, suggesting that AF-induced EF reduction is reversible in many patients. Normal survival in patients with reversible LV dysfunction highlights potential survival benefits of rate control. Poor survival in patients with persistent LV dysfunction confirms the importance of optimal medical therapy.

Utility of Cystatin C to monitor renal function in Duchenne muscular dystrophy

PubMed Central

Viollet, Laurence; Gailey, Susan; Thornton, David J.; Friedman, Neil R.; Flanigan, Kevin M.; Mahan, John D.; Mendell, Jerry R.

2009-01-01

Introduction: Creatinine as a marker of renal function has limited value in Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) because of reduced muscle mass. Alternative methods of assessing renal function are sorely needed. Cystatin C, a nonglycosylated protein unaffected by muscle mass, is potentially an ideal biomarker of nephrotoxicity for this population but requires validation. Methods: 75 subjects were recruited: 35 DMD (mean age 10.8 ± 5.4 years, corticosteroids n = 19, ambulatory n = 26), 29 healthy controls, 10 with renal disease, and one DMD with renal failure. Results: Cystatin C levels in DMD were normal irrespective of age, ambulation or corticosteroid treatment. Serum cystatin C was 0.67 ± 0.11 mg/L compared to normal controls 0.69 ± 0.09. mg/L. In these same individuals serum creatinine was severely reduced (0.27 ± 0.12 mg/dL) versus normals (0.75 ± 0.15 mg/dL, p < 0.01). In one DMD subject in renal failure, cystatin C was elevated. Discussion: This study demonstrates the potential value of cystatin C as a biomarker for monitoring renal function in DMD. Its applicability extends to other neuromuscular diseases. PMID:19623638

Fingerprints: A simple method for Screening Hemophilic Patients.

PubMed

Jamalian, M; Mesri, M; Vishteh, H R K; Solhi, H; Salehpour, R

2014-08-01

The present study aims to compare hemophilic patients' fingerprint types with the normal people to help diagnose the disease, particularly new occurrences of the disease. This case-control study was conducted in 2012. Sixty two patients with hemophilia type A and 62 normal healthy people were selected. The type of fingerprint was determined by a forensic specialist who was kept unaware of the participants' group. Using advanced Henry method, the main types of fingerprints were classified as arch, loop, whorl, as well as other types. In the control group, loop type (65%) and in the case group the whorl type (34%) were the most frequent fingerprint type (p < 0.001) and there was a significant difference of fingerprint in each finger between two groups. In addition, the average number of whorl type in the patients with mild disease was significantly higher and the average number of arch and other types of fingerprints was significantly lower than patients with moderate or severe disease. The findings of the present study indicated that not only are the fingerprints of normal and hemophilic people different, but also a difference was observed between hemophilic patients with the mild factor level and patients with moderate or severe one.

Comparison of CyTOF assays across sites: Results of a six-center pilot study.

PubMed

Leipold, Michael D; Obermoser, Gerlinde; Fenwick, Craig; Kleinstuber, Katja; Rashidi, Narges; McNevin, John P; Nau, Allison N; Wagar, Lisa E; Rozot, Virginie; Davis, Mark M; DeRosa, Stephen; Pantaleo, Giuseppe; Scriba, Thomas J; Walker, Bruce D; Olsen, Lars R; Maecker, Holden T

2018-02-01

For more than five years, high-dimensional mass cytometry has been employed to study immunology. However, these studies have typically been performed in one laboratory on one or few instruments. We present the results of a six-center study using healthy control human peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) and commercially available reagents to test the intra-site and inter-site variation of mass cytometers and operators. We used prestained controls generated by the primary center as a reference to compare against samples stained at each individual center. Data were analyzed at the primary center, including investigating the effects of two normalization methods. All six sites performed similarly, with CVs for both Frequency of Parent and median signal intensity (MSI) values<30%. Increased background was seen when using the premixed antibody cocktail aliquots at each site, suggesting that cocktails are best made fresh. Both normalization methods tested performed adequately for normalizing MSI values between centers. Clustering algorithms revealed slight differences between the prestained and the sites-stained samples, due mostly to the increased background of a few antibodies. Therefore, we believe that multicenter mass cytometry assays are feasible. Copyright © 2017 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

[Quantification of the gnostic sensitivity via measurement of the vibration threshold and of finger tip sensation].

PubMed

Oosterhuis, H J; Bouwsma, C; van Halsema, B; Hollander, R A; Kros, C J; Tombroek, I

1992-10-03

Quantification of vibration perception and fingertip sensation in routine neurological examination. Neurological Clinic, University Hospital, Groningen, the Netherlands. Prospective, controlled investigation. Vibration perception and fingertip sensation were quantified in a large group of normal control persons of various ages and in neurological patients and compared with the usual sensory tests at routine neurological examination. The vibration perception limit was measured with a biothesiometer without accelerometer, the fingertip sensation with a device for two-point discrimination slightly modified according to Renfrew ('Renfrew meter'). Concordance of the tests was studied by calculating kappa values. The normal values of both sensory qualities had a log-normal distribution and increased with age. The values obtained with the Renfrew meter correlated well with those of the two-point discrimination and stereognosis but were systematically higher than those indicated by Renfrew. Both methods appear useful at routine neurological examination if certain measuring precautions are taken.

Triple stimulation technique in patients with spinocerebellar ataxia type 6.

PubMed

Sakuma, Kenji; Adachi, Yoshiki; Fukuda, Hiroki; Kai, Tohru; Nakashima, Kenji

2005-11-01

To establish further evidence that SCA6 may not be a pure cerebellar syndrome. Seven patients with genetically confirmed SCA6 and 9 age-matched normal controls were studied. Recordings of the CMAP were obtained from the right first dorsal interosseus muscle. Transcranial magnetic stimulation of the left motor cortex was applied to the contralateral scalp with a plane figure-of-8 coil. Conventional transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), central motor conduction time (CMCT) by F-wave method and the triple stimulation technique (TST) amplitude ratio (TST test/TST control) were investigated. The mean resting motor threshold and mean CMCT did not show significant differences between normal controls and patients, but the mean TST amplitude ratio was significantly smaller in patients than in controls. An abnormal TST represents upper motor neuron loss, central axon lesions or conduction blocks, or inexcitability in response to TMS. The lack of pathological changes in the corticospinal tract of patients with SCA6 indicates that this abnormality may be caused by crossed cerebellar diaschisis, or a functional disorder in the brain resulting from CACNA1A mutations. TST is a useful method for quantifying corticospinal tract dysfunction.

Fast-regenerable sulfur dioxide adsorbents for diesel engine emission control

DOEpatents

Li, Liyu [Richland, WA; King, David L [Richland, WA

2011-03-15

Disclosed herein are sorbents and devices for controlling sulfur oxides emissions as well as systems including such sorbents and devices. Also disclosed are methods for making and using the disclosed sorbents, devices and systems. In one embodiment the disclosed sorbents can be conveniently regenerated, such as under normal exhaust stream from a combustion engine, particularly a diesel engine. Accordingly, also disclosed are combustion vehicles equipped with sulfur dioxide emission control devices.

Low Water Activity Packaged White Bread.

DTIC Science & Technology

1985-12-31

this method is different in quality from the normal white pan bread. It has been well recognized that water activity is a key factor in controlling ...important in controlling microbial growth. The purpose of this project was to develop a shelf-stable white pan bread in a flexible pouch by utilizing...coded and randomized in order of presentation. Each judge was presented five samples: control , 5% sorbitol, 20% sorbitol, 8% glycerol, and 10% sorbitol-5

Insulin resistance according to β-cell function in women with polycystic ovary syndrome and normal glucose tolerance

PubMed Central

Hong, Young Sun; Sung, Yeon-Ah

2017-01-01

Background Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is associated with insulin resistance (IR) and compensatory hyperinsulinemia. IR is recognized as a major risk factor for the development of type 2 diabetes mellitus. However, few studies have investigated IR in women with PCOS and normal glucose tolerance. The objective of this study was to evaluate IR and β-cell function in women with PCOS and normal glucose tolerance. Additionally, we sought to evaluate the usefulness of oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT)-derived IR indices in lean women with PCOS. Methods We recruited 100 women with PCOS and normal glucose tolerance and 100 age- and BMI-matched women as controls. IR and insulin secretory indices, including the homeostasis-model assessment (HOMA)-IR, HOMA-M120, HOMA-F and the Stumvoll index, were calculated from an OGTT. Increased β-cell function was defined as>75th percentile for the HOMA-F in control women. Results Women with PCOS had higher values for post-load 2-hour glucose, fasting insulin, post-load 2-hour insulin, HOMA-IR, HOMA-M120, HOMA-F and lower values for the Stumvoll index than the controls (all Ps<0.05). Women with PCOS and increased β-cell function showed lower Stumvoll index values than the matched controls (P<0.05). The HOMA-F was significantly associated with the HOMA-M120 and Stumvoll index when adjusted for age and BMI in a multiple regression analysis (all Ps<0.05). The HOMA-M120 was positively correlated with triglycerides and free testosterone, and the Stumvoll index was negatively correlated with triglycerides and free testosterone in lean women with PCOS (all Ps<0.05). Conclusions Women with PCOS and normal glucose tolerance showed higher IR than controls matched for age, BMI, and β-cell function. β-cell function was increased in women with PCOS when compared to the matched controls, but not when the lean subjects were compared to the matched controls separately. Therefore, early evaluation of IR in women with PCOS and normal glucose tolerance may be needed. PMID:28542421

Diagnostic Validity of an Automated Probabilistic Tractography in Amnestic Mild Cognitive Impairment

PubMed Central

Jung, Won Sang; Um, Yoo Hyun; Kang, Dong Woo; Lee, Chang Uk; Woo, Young Sup; Bahk, Won-Myong

2018-01-01

Objective Although several prior works showed the white matter (WM) integrity changes in amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI) and Alzheimer’s disease, it is still unclear the diagnostic accuracy of the WM integrity measurements using diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) in discriminating aMCI from normal controls. The aim of this study is to explore diagnostic validity of whole brain automated probabilistic tractography in discriminating aMCI from normal controls. Methods One hundred-two subjects (50 aMCI and 52 normal controls) were included and underwent DTI scans. Whole brain WM tracts were reconstructed with automated probabilistic tractography. Fractional anisotropy (FA) and mean diffusivity (MD) values of the memory related WM tracts were measured and compared between the aMCI and the normal control groups. In addition, the diagnostic validities of these WM tracts were evaluated. Results Decreased FA and increased MD values of memory related WM tracts were observed in the aMCI group compared with the control group. Among FA and MD value of each tract, the FA value of left cingulum angular bundle showed the highest area under the curve (AUC) of 0.85 with a sensitivity of 88.2%, a specificity of 76.9% in differentiating MCI patients from control subjects. Furthermore, the combination FA values of WM integrity measures of memory related WM tracts showed AUC value of 0.98, a sensitivity of 96%, a specificity of 94.2%. Conclusion Our results with good diagnostic validity of WM integrity measurements suggest DTI might be promising neuroimaging tool for early detection of aMCI and AD patients. PMID:29739127

Methods for the correction of vascular artifacts in PET O-15 water brain-mapping studies

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, Kewei; Reiman, E. M.; Lawson, M.; Yun, Lang-sheng; Bandy, D.; Palant, A.

1996-12-01

While positron emission tomographic (PET) measurements of regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) can be used to map brain regions that are involved in normal and pathological human behaviors, measurements in the anteromedial temporal lobe can be confounded by the combined effects of radiotracer activity in neighboring arteries and partial-volume averaging. The authors now describe two simple methods to address this vascular artifact. One method utilizes the early frames of a dynamic PET study, while the other method utilizes a coregistered magnetic resonance image (MRI) to characterize the vascular region of interest (VROI). Both methods subsequently assign a common value to each pixel in the VROI for the control (baseline) scan and the activation scan. To study the vascular artifact and to demonstrate the ability of the proposed methods correcting the vascular artifact, four dynamic PET scans were performed in a single subject during the same behavioral state. For each of the four scans, a vascular scan containing vascular activity was computed as the summation of the images acquired 0-60 s after radiotracer administration, and a control scan containing minimal vascular activity was computed as the summation of the images acquired 20-80 s after radiotracer administration. t-score maps calculated from the four pairs of vascular and control scans were used to characterize regional blood flow differences related to vascular activity before and after the application of each vascular artifact correction method. Both methods eliminated the observed differences in vascular activity, as well as the vascular artifact observed in the anteromedial temporal lobes. Using PET data from a study of normal human emotion, these methods permitted the authors to identify rCBF increases in the anteromedial temporal lobe free from the potentially confounding, combined effects of vascular activity and partial-volume averaging.

Evaluation of normalization methods in mammalian microRNA-Seq data

PubMed Central

Garmire, Lana Xia; Subramaniam, Shankar

2012-01-01

Simple total tag count normalization is inadequate for microRNA sequencing data generated from the next generation sequencing technology. However, so far systematic evaluation of normalization methods on microRNA sequencing data is lacking. We comprehensively evaluate seven commonly used normalization methods including global normalization, Lowess normalization, Trimmed Mean Method (TMM), quantile normalization, scaling normalization, variance stabilization, and invariant method. We assess these methods on two individual experimental data sets with the empirical statistical metrics of mean square error (MSE) and Kolmogorov-Smirnov (K-S) statistic. Additionally, we evaluate the methods with results from quantitative PCR validation. Our results consistently show that Lowess normalization and quantile normalization perform the best, whereas TMM, a method applied to the RNA-Sequencing normalization, performs the worst. The poor performance of TMM normalization is further evidenced by abnormal results from the test of differential expression (DE) of microRNA-Seq data. Comparing with the models used for DE, the choice of normalization method is the primary factor that affects the results of DE. In summary, Lowess normalization and quantile normalization are recommended for normalizing microRNA-Seq data, whereas the TMM method should be used with caution. PMID:22532701

A Preliminary Quantitative Comparison of Vibratory Amplitude Using Rigid and Flexible Stroboscopic Assessment.

PubMed

Hosbach-Cannon, Carly J; Lowell, Soren Y; Kelley, Richard T; Colton, Raymond H

2016-07-01

The purpose of this study was to establish preliminary, quantitative data on amplitude of vibration during stroboscopic assessment in healthy speakers with normal voice characteristics. Amplitude of vocal fold vibration is a core physiological parameter used in diagnosing voice disorders, yet quantitative data are lacking to guide the determination of what constitutes normal vibratory amplitude. Eleven participants were assessed during sustained vowel production using rigid and flexible endoscopy with stroboscopy. Still images were extracted from digital recordings of a sustained /i/ produced at a comfortable pitch and loudness, with F0 controlled so that levels were within ±15% of each participant's comfortable mean level as determined from connected speech. Glottal width (GW), true vocal fold (TVF) length, and TVF width were measured from still frames representing the maximum open phase of the vibratory cycle. To control for anatomic and magnification differences across participants, GW was normalized to TVF length. GW as a ratio of TVF width was also computed for comparison with prior studies. Mean values and standard deviations were computed for the normalized measures. Paired t tests showed no significant differences between rigid and flexible endoscopy methods. Interrater and intrarater reliability values for raw measurements were found to be high (0.89-0.99). These preliminary quantitative data may be helpful in determining normality or abnormality of vocal fold vibration. Results indicate that quantified amplitude of vibration is similar between endoscopic methods, a clinically relevant finding for individuals performing and interpreting stroboscopic assessments. Copyright © 2016 The Voice Foundation. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Systematic bias in genomic classification due to contaminating non-neoplastic tissue in breast tumor samples.

PubMed

Elloumi, Fathi; Hu, Zhiyuan; Li, Yan; Parker, Joel S; Gulley, Margaret L; Amos, Keith D; Troester, Melissa A

2011-06-30

Genomic tests are available to predict breast cancer recurrence and to guide clinical decision making. These predictors provide recurrence risk scores along with a measure of uncertainty, usually a confidence interval. The confidence interval conveys random error and not systematic bias. Standard tumor sampling methods make this problematic, as it is common to have a substantial proportion (typically 30-50%) of a tumor sample comprised of histologically benign tissue. This "normal" tissue could represent a source of non-random error or systematic bias in genomic classification. To assess the performance characteristics of genomic classification to systematic error from normal contamination, we collected 55 tumor samples and paired tumor-adjacent normal tissue. Using genomic signatures from the tumor and paired normal, we evaluated how increasing normal contamination altered recurrence risk scores for various genomic predictors. Simulations of normal tissue contamination caused misclassification of tumors in all predictors evaluated, but different breast cancer predictors showed different types of vulnerability to normal tissue bias. While two predictors had unpredictable direction of bias (either higher or lower risk of relapse resulted from normal contamination), one signature showed predictable direction of normal tissue effects. Due to this predictable direction of effect, this signature (the PAM50) was adjusted for normal tissue contamination and these corrections improved sensitivity and negative predictive value. For all three assays quality control standards and/or appropriate bias adjustment strategies can be used to improve assay reliability. Normal tissue sampled concurrently with tumor is an important source of bias in breast genomic predictors. All genomic predictors show some sensitivity to normal tissue contamination and ideal strategies for mitigating this bias vary depending upon the particular genes and computational methods used in the predictor.

Comparisons of auditory brainstem response and sound level tolerance in tinnitus ears and non-tinnitus ears in unilateral tinnitus patients with normal audiograms

PubMed Central

An, Yong-Hwi; Kim, Dong Hyun; Yoon, Ji Eun; Yoon, Ji Hyang

2017-01-01

Objective Recently, “hidden hearing loss” with cochlear synaptopathy has been suggested as a potential pathophysiology of tinnitus in individuals with a normal hearing threshold. Several studies have demonstrated that subjects with tinnitus and normal audiograms show significantly reduced auditory brainstem response (ABR) wave I amplitudes compared with control subjects, but normal wave V amplitudes, suggesting increased central auditory gain. We aimed to reconfirm the “hidden hearing loss” theory through a within-subject comparison of wave I and wave V amplitudes and uncomfortable loudness level (UCL), which might be decreased with increased central gain, in tinnitus ears (TEs) and non-tinnitus ears (NTEs). Subjects and methods Human subjects included 43 unilateral tinnitus patients (19 males, 24 females) with normal and symmetric hearing thresholds and 18 control subjects with normal audiograms. The amplitudes of wave I and V from the peak to the following trough were measured twice at 90 dB nHL and we separately assessed UCLs at 500 Hz and 3000 Hz pure tones in each TE and NTE. Results The within-subject comparison between TEs and NTEs showed no significant differences in wave I and wave V amplitude, or wave V/I ratio in both the male and female groups. Individual data revealed increased V/I amplitude ratios > mean + 2 SD in 3 TEs, but not in any control ears. We found no significant differences in UCL at 500 Hz or 3000 Hz between the TEs and NTEs, but the UCLs of both TEs and NTEs were lower than those of the control ears. Conclusions Our ABR data do not represent meaningful evidence supporting the hypothesis of cochlear synaptopathy with increased central gain in tinnitus subjects with normal audiograms. However, reduced sound level tolerance in both TEs and NTEs might reflect increased central gain consequent on hidden synaptopathy that was subsequently balanced between the ears by lateral olivocochlear efferents. PMID:29253030

Method and apparatus for single-stepping coherence events in a multiprocessor system under software control

DOEpatents

Blumrich, Matthias A.; Salapura, Valentina

2010-11-02

An apparatus and method are disclosed for single-stepping coherence events in a multiprocessor system under software control in order to monitor the behavior of a memory coherence mechanism. Single-stepping coherence events in a multiprocessor system is made possible by adding one or more step registers. By accessing these step registers, one or more coherence requests are processed by the multiprocessor system. The step registers determine if the snoop unit will operate by proceeding in a normal execution mode, or operate in a single-step mode.

The equivalent angle-of-attack method for estimating the nonlinear aerodynamic characteristics of missile wings and control surfaces

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hemsch, M. J.; Nielsen, J. N.

1982-01-01

A method has been developed for estimating the nonlinear aerodynamic characteristics of missile wing and control surfaces. The method is based on the following assumption: if a fin on a body has the same normal-force coefficient as a wing alone composed of two of the same fins joined together at their root chords, then the other force and moment coefficients of the fin and the wing alone are the same including the nonlinearities. The method can be used for deflected fins at arbitrary bank angles and at high angles of attack. In the paper, a full derivation of the method is given, its accuracy demonstrated and its use in extending missile data bases is shown.

An evaluation of two-channel ChIP-on-chip and DNA methylation microarray normalization strategies

PubMed Central

2012-01-01

Background The combination of chromatin immunoprecipitation with two-channel microarray technology enables genome-wide mapping of binding sites of DNA-interacting proteins (ChIP-on-chip) or sites with methylated CpG di-nucleotides (DNA methylation microarray). These powerful tools are the gateway to understanding gene transcription regulation. Since the goals of such studies, the sample preparation procedures, the microarray content and study design are all different from transcriptomics microarrays, the data pre-processing strategies traditionally applied to transcriptomics microarrays may not be appropriate. Particularly, the main challenge of the normalization of "regulation microarrays" is (i) to make the data of individual microarrays quantitatively comparable and (ii) to keep the signals of the enriched probes, representing DNA sequences from the precipitate, as distinguishable as possible from the signals of the un-enriched probes, representing DNA sequences largely absent from the precipitate. Results We compare several widely used normalization approaches (VSN, LOWESS, quantile, T-quantile, Tukey's biweight scaling, Peng's method) applied to a selection of regulation microarray datasets, ranging from DNA methylation to transcription factor binding and histone modification studies. Through comparison of the data distributions of control probes and gene promoter probes before and after normalization, and assessment of the power to identify known enriched genomic regions after normalization, we demonstrate that there are clear differences in performance between normalization procedures. Conclusion T-quantile normalization applied separately on the channels and Tukey's biweight scaling outperform other methods in terms of the conservation of enriched and un-enriched signal separation, as well as in identification of genomic regions known to be enriched. T-quantile normalization is preferable as it additionally improves comparability between microarrays. In contrast, popular normalization approaches like quantile, LOWESS, Peng's method and VSN normalization alter the data distributions of regulation microarrays to such an extent that using these approaches will impact the reliability of the downstream analysis substantially. PMID:22276688

An Earth-Based Equivalent Low Stretch Apparatus to Assess Material Flammability for Microgravity & Extraterrestrial Fire-Safety Applications

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Olson, S. L.; Beeson, H.; Haas, J.

2001-01-01

One of the performance goals for NASA's enterprise of Human Exploration and Development of Space (HEDS) is to develop methods, data bases, and validating tests for material flammability characterization, hazard reduction, and fire detection/suppression strategies for spacecraft and extraterrestrial habitats. This work addresses these needs by applying the fundamental knowledge gained from low stretch experiments to the development of a normal gravity low stretch material flammability test method. The concept of the apparatus being developed uses the low stretch geometry to simulate the conditions of the extraterrestrial environment through proper scaling of the sample dimensions to reduce the buoyant stretch in normal gravity. The apparatus uses controlled forced-air flow to augment the low stretch to levels which simulate Lunar or Martian gravity levels. In addition, the effect of imposed radiant heat flux on material flammability can be studied with the cone heater. After breadboard testing, the apparatus will be integrated into NASA's White Sands Test Facility's Atmosphere-Controlled Cone Calorimeter for evaluation as a new materials screening test method.

Statistical transformation and the interpretation of inpatient glucose control data.

PubMed

Saulnier, George E; Castro, Janna C; Cook, Curtiss B

2014-03-01

To introduce a statistical method of assessing hospital-based non-intensive care unit (non-ICU) inpatient glucose control. Point-of-care blood glucose (POC-BG) data from hospital non-ICUs were extracted for January 1 through December 31, 2011. Glucose data distribution was examined before and after Box-Cox transformations and compared to normality. Different subsets of data were used to establish upper and lower control limits, and exponentially weighted moving average (EWMA) control charts were constructed from June, July, and October data as examples to determine if out-of-control events were identified differently in nontransformed versus transformed data. A total of 36,381 POC-BG values were analyzed. In all 3 monthly test samples, glucose distributions in nontransformed data were skewed but approached a normal distribution once transformed. Interpretation of out-of-control events from EWMA control chart analyses also revealed differences. In the June test data, an out-of-control process was identified at sample 53 with nontransformed data, whereas the transformed data remained in control for the duration of the observed period. Analysis of July data demonstrated an out-of-control process sooner in the transformed (sample 55) than nontransformed (sample 111) data, whereas for October, transformed data remained in control longer than nontransformed data. Statistical transformations increase the normal behavior of inpatient non-ICU glycemic data sets. The decision to transform glucose data could influence the interpretation and conclusions about the status of inpatient glycemic control. Further study is required to determine whether transformed versus nontransformed data influence clinical decisions or evaluation of interventions.

Rapamycin Inhibits Human Laryngotracheal Stenosis–derived Fibroblast Proliferation, Metabolism, and Function in Vitro

PubMed Central

Namba, Daryan R.; Ma, Garret; Samad, Idris; Ding, Dacheng; Pandian, Vinciya; Powell, Jonathan D.; Horton, Maureen R.; Hillel, Alexander T.

2015-01-01

Objective To determine if rapamycin inhibits the growth, function, and metabolism of human laryngotracheal stenosis (LTS)–derived fibroblasts. Study Design Controlled in vitro study. Setting Tertiary care hospital in a research university. Subjects and Methods Fibroblasts isolated from biopsies of 5 patients with laryngotracheal stenosis were cultured. Cell proliferation, histology, gene expression, and cellular metabolism of LTS-derived fibroblasts were assessed in 4 conditions: (1) fibroblast growth medium, (2) fibroblast growth medium with dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO), (3) fibroblast growth medium with 10−10 M (low-dose) rapamycin dissolved in DMSO, and (4) fibroblast growth medium with 10−9 M (high-dose) rapamycin dissolved in DMSO. Results The LTS fibroblast count and DNA concentration were reduced after treatment with high-dose rapamycin compared to DMSO (P = .0007) and normal (P = .0007) controls. Collagen I expression decreased after treatment with high-dose rapamycin versus control (P = .0051) and DMSO (P = .0093) controls. Maximal respiration decreased to 68.6 pMoles of oxygen/min/10 mg/protein from 96.9 for DMSO (P = .0002) and 97.0 for normal (P = .0022) controls. Adenosine triphosphate (ATP) production decreased to 66.8 pMoles from 88.1 for DMSO (P = .0006) and 83.3 for normal (P = .0003) controls. Basal respiration decreased to 78.6 pMoles from 108 for DMSO (P = .0002) and 101 for normal (P = .0014) controls. Conclusions Rapamycin demonstrated an anti-fibroblast effect by significantly reducing the proliferation, metabolism, and collagen deposition of human LTS fibroblast in vitro. Rapamycin significantly decreased oxidative phosphorylation of LTS fibroblasts, suggesting at a potential mechanism for the reduced proliferation and differentiation. Furthermore, rapamycin’s anti-fibroblast effects indicate a promising adjuvant therapy for the treatment of laryngotracheal stenosis. PMID:25754184

On the discretization and control of an SEIR epidemic model with a periodic impulsive vaccination

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Alonso-Quesada, S.; De la Sen, M.; Ibeas, A.

2017-01-01

This paper deals with the discretization and control of an SEIR epidemic model. Such a model describes the transmission of an infectious disease among a time-varying host population. The model assumes mortality from causes related to the disease. Our study proposes a discretization method including a free-design parameter to be adjusted for guaranteeing the positivity of the resulting discrete-time model. Such a method provides a discrete-time model close to the continuous-time one without the need for the sampling period to be as small as other commonly used discretization methods require. This fact makes possible the design of impulsive vaccination control strategies with less burden of measurements and related computations if one uses the proposed instead of other discretization methods. The proposed discretization method and the impulsive vaccination strategy designed on the resulting discretized model are the main novelties of the paper. The paper includes (i) the analysis of the positivity of the obtained discrete-time SEIR model, (ii) the study of stability of the disease-free equilibrium point of a normalized version of such a discrete-time model and (iii) the existence and the attractivity of a globally asymptotically stable disease-free periodic solution under a periodic impulsive vaccination. Concretely, the exposed and infectious subpopulations asymptotically converge to zero as time tends to infinity while the normalized subpopulations of susceptible and recovered by immunization individuals oscillate in the context of such a solution. Finally, a numerical example illustrates the theoretic results.

Mapping of Synaptic-Neuronal Impairment on the Brain Surface through Fluctuation Analysis

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

Musha, Toshimitsu; Kurachi, Takayoshi; Suzuki, Naohoro

2005-08-25

Increase of demented population year by year is becoming a serious social problem to be solved urgently. The most effective way to block this increase is in its early detection by means of an inexpensive, non-invasive, sensitive, reliable and easy-to-operate diagnosis method. We have developed a method satisfying these requirements by using scalp potential fluctuations. We have collected 21ch EEG and SPECT data of 25 very mild Alzheimer's disease (AD) (MMSE=26{+-}1.8), moderately severe AD (MMSE=15.3{+-}6.4) and age-matched normal controls. As AD progresses, local synaptic-neuronal activity becomes abnormal, either more unstable or more inactive than in normal state. Such abnormality ismore » detected in terms of normalized power variance (NPV) of a scalp potential recorded with a scalp electrode. The z-score is defined by z = ((NPV of a subject) - (mean NPV of normal subjects))/(standard deviation of NPV of normal subjects). Correlation of a measured z-score map with the mean z-score map for AD patients characterizes likelihood to AD, in terms of which AD is discriminated from normal with 75% of true positive and 25% false negative probability. By introducing two thresholds, we have 90% of true positive and 10% of false negative discrimination.« less

Alterations in Protein Expression in Tree Shrew Sclera during Development of Lens-Induced Myopia and Recovery

PubMed Central

Norton, Thomas T.

2012-01-01

Purpose. During the development of, and recovery from, negative lens-induced myopia there is regulated remodeling of the scleral extracellular matrix (ECM) that controls the extensibility of the sclera. Difference gel electrophoresis (DIGE) was used to identify and categorize proteins whose levels are altered in this process. Methods. Two groups of five tree shrews started monocular lens wear 24 days after eye opening (days of visual experience [VE]). The lens-induced myopia (LIM) group wore a −5 D lens for 4 days. The recovery (REC) group wore a −5 D lens for 11 days and then recovered for 4 days. Two normal groups (28 and 39 days of VE; n = 5 each) were also examined, age-matched to each of the treatment groups. Refractive and A-scan measures confirmed the effect of the treatments. Scleral proteins were isolated and resolved by DIGE. Proteins that differed in abundance were identified by mass spectrometry. Ingenuity pathway analysis was used to investigate potential biological pathway interactions. Results. During normal development (28–39 days of VE), eight proteins decreased and one protein increased in relative abundance. LIM-treated eyes were myopic and longer than control eyes; LIM-control eyes were slightly myopic compared with 28N eyes, indicating a yoking effect. In both the LIM-treated and the LIM-control eyes, there was a general downregulation from normal of proteins involved in transcription, cell adhesion, and protein synthesis. Additional proteins involved in cell adhesion, actin cytoskeleton, transcriptional regulation, and ECM structural proteins differed in the LIM-treated eyes versus normal but did not differ in the control eyes versus normal. REC-treated eyes were recovering from the induced myopia. REC-control eye refractions were not significantly different from the 39N eyes, and few proteins differed from age-matched normal eyes. The balance of protein expression in the REC-treated eyes, compared with normal eyes and REC-control eyes, shifted toward upregulation or a return to normal levels of proteins involved in cell adhesion, cell division, cytoskeleton, and ECM structural proteins, including upregulation of several cytoskeleton-related proteins not affected during myopia development. Conclusions. The DIGE procedure revealed new proteins whose abundance is altered during myopia development and recovery. Many of these are involved in cell-matrix adhesions, cytoskeleton, and transcriptional regulation and extend our understanding of the remodeling that controls the extensibility of the sclera. Reductions in these proteins during minus lens wear may produce the increased scleral viscoelasticity that results in faster axial elongation. Recovery is not a mirror image of lens-induced myopia—many protein levels, decreased during LIM, returned to normal, or slightly above normal, and additional cytoskeleton proteins were upregulated. However, no single protein or pathway appeared to be responsible for the scleral changes during myopia development or recovery. PMID:22039233

Fluorine-18-Labeled Fluoromisonidazole Positron Emission and Computed Tomography-Guided Intensity-Modulated Radiotherapy for Head and Neck Cancer: A Feasibility Study

PubMed Central

Lee, Nancy Y.; Mechalakos, James G.; Nehmeh, Sadek; Lin, Zhixiong; Squire, Olivia D.; Cai, Shangde; Chan, Kelvin; Zanzonico, Pasquale B.; Greco, Carlo; Ling, Clifton C.; Humm, John L.; Schöder, Heiko

2010-01-01

Purpose Hypoxia renders tumor cells radioresistant, limiting locoregional control from radiotherapy (RT). Intensity-modulated RT (IMRT) allows for targeting of the gross tumor volume (GTV) and can potentially deliver a greater dose to hypoxic subvolumes (GTVh) while sparing normal tissues. A Monte Carlo model has shown that boosting the GTVh increases the tumor control probability. This study examined the feasibility of fluorine-18–labeled fluoromisonidazole positron emission tomography/computed tomography (18F-FMISO PET/CT)–guided IMRT with the goal of maximally escalating the dose to radioresistant hypoxic zones in a cohort of head and neck cancer (HNC) patients. Methods and Materials 18F-FMISO was administered intravenously for PET imaging. The CT simulation, fluorodeoxyglucose PET/CT, and 18F-FMISO PET/CT scans were co-registered using the same immobilization methods. The tumor boundaries were defined by clinical examination and available imaging studies, including fluorodeoxyglucose PET/CT. Regions of elevated 18F-FMISO uptake within the fluorodeoxyglucose PET/CT GTV were targeted for an IMRT boost. Additional targets and/or normal structures were contoured or transferred to treatment planning to generate 18F-FMISO PET/CT-guided IMRT plans. Results The heterogeneous distribution of 18F-FMISO within the GTV demonstrated variable levels of hypoxia within the tumor. Plans directed at performing 18F-FMISO PET/CT–guided IMRT for 10 HNC patients achieved 84 Gy to the GTVh and 70 Gy to the GTV, without exceeding the normal tissue tolerance. We also attempted to deliver 105 Gy to the GTVh for 2 patients and were successful in 1, with normal tissue sparing. Conclusion It was feasible to dose escalate the GTVh to 84 Gy in all 10 patients and in 1 patient to 105 Gy without exceeding the normal tissue tolerance. This information has provided important data for subsequent hypoxia-guided IMRT trials with the goal of further improving locoregional control in HNC patients. PMID:17869020

Theoretical and experimental study on active sound transmission control based on single structural mode actuation using point force actuators.

PubMed

Sanada, Akira; Tanaka, Nobuo

2012-08-01

This study deals with the feedforward active control of sound transmission through a simply supported rectangular panel using vibration actuators. The control effect largely depends on the excitation method, including the number and locations of actuators. In order to obtain a large control effect at low frequencies over a wide frequency, an active transmission control method based on single structural mode actuation is proposed. Then, with the goal of examining the feasibility of the proposed method, the (1, 3) mode is selected as the target mode and a modal actuation method in combination with six point force actuators is considered. Assuming that a single input single output feedforward control is used, sound transmission in the case minimizing the transmitted sound power is calculated for some actuation methods. Simulation results showed that the (1, 3) modal actuation is globally effective at reducing the sound transmission by more than 10 dB in the low-frequency range for both normal and oblique incidences. Finally, experimental results also showed that a large reduction could be achieved in the low-frequency range, which proves the validity and feasibility of the proposed method.

Identification of appropriate reference genes for normalizing transcript expression by quantitative real-time PCR in Litsea cubeba.

PubMed

Lin, Liyuan; Han, Xiaojiao; Chen, Yicun; Wu, Qingke; Wang, Yangdong

2013-12-01

Quantitative real-time PCR has emerged as a highly sensitive and widely used method for detection of gene expression profiles, via which accurate detection depends on reliable normalization. Since no single control is appropriate for all experimental treatments, it is generally advocated to select suitable internal controls prior to use for normalization. This study reported the evaluation of the expression stability of twelve potential reference genes in different tissue/organs and six fruit developmental stages of Litsea cubeba in order to screen the superior internal reference genes for data normalization. Two softwares-geNorm, and NormFinder-were used to identify stability of these candidate genes. The cycle threshold difference and coefficient of variance were also calculated to evaluate the expression stability of candidate genes. F-BOX, EF1α, UBC, and TUA were selected as the most stable reference genes across 11 sample pools. F-BOX, EF1α, and EIF4α exhibited the highest expression stability in different tissue/organs and different fruit developmental stages. Besides, a combination of two stable reference genes would be sufficient for gene expression normalization in different fruit developmental stages. In addition, the relative expression profiles of DXS and DXR were evaluated by EF1α, UBC, and SAMDC. The results further validated the reliability of stable reference genes and also highlighted the importance of selecting suitable internal controls for L. cubeba. These reference genes will be of great importance for transcript normalization in future gene expression studies on L. cubeba.

Somatic hypermutation and antigen-driven selection of B cells are altered in autoimmune diseases.

PubMed

Zuckerman, Neta S; Hazanov, Helena; Barak, Michal; Edelman, Hanna; Hess, Shira; Shcolnik, Hadas; Dunn-Walters, Deborah; Mehr, Ramit

2010-12-01

B cells have been found to play a critical role in the pathogenesis of several autoimmune (AI) diseases. A common feature amongst many AI diseases is the formation of ectopic germinal centers (GC) within the afflicted tissue or organ, in which activated B cells expand and undergo somatic hypermutation (SHM) and antigen-driven selection on their immunoglobulin variable region (IgV) genes. However, it is not yet clear whether these processes occurring in ectopic GCs are identical to those in normal GCs. The analysis of IgV mutations has aided in revealing many aspects concerning B cell expansion, mutation and selection in GC reactions. We have applied several mutation analysis methods, based on lineage tree construction, to a large set of data, containing IgV productive and non-productive heavy and light chain sequences from several different tissues, to examine three of the most profoundly studied AI diseases - Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA), Multiple Sclerosis (MS) and Sjögren's Syndrome (SS). We have found that RA and MS sequences exhibited normal mutation spectra and targeting motifs, but a stricter selection compared to normal controls, which was more apparent in RA. SS sequence analysis results deviated from normal controls in both mutation spectra and indications of selection, also showing differences between light and heavy chain IgV and between different tissues. The differences revealed between AI diseases and normal control mutation patterns may result from the different microenvironmental influences to which ectopic GCs are exposed, relative to those in normal secondary lymphoid tissues. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Personality correlates of criminals: A comparative study between normal controls and criminals

PubMed Central

Sinha, Sudhinta

2016-01-01

Background: Personality is a major factor in many kinds of behavior, one of which is criminal behavior. To determine what makes a criminal “a criminal,” we must understand his/her personality. This study tries to identify different personality traits which link criminals to their personality. Materials and Methods: In the present study, 37 male criminals of district jail of Dhanbad (Jharkhand) and 36 normal controls were included on a purposive sampling basis. Each criminal was given a personal datasheet and Cattel's 16 personality factors (PFs) scale for assessing their sociodemographic variables and different personality traits. Objective: The objective of this study was to examine the relation between personality traits and criminal behavior, and to determine whether such factors are predictive of future recidivism. Results: Results indicated high scores on intelligence, impulsiveness, suspicion, self-sufficient, spontaneity, self-concept control factors, and very low scores on emotionally less stable on Cattel's 16 PFs scale in criminals as compared with normal. Conclusion: Criminals differ from general population or non criminals in terms of personality traits. PMID:28163407

Sulcal depth-based cortical shape analysis in normal healthy control and schizophrenia groups

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lyu, Ilwoo; Kang, Hakmook; Woodward, Neil D.; Landman, Bennett A.

2018-03-01

Sulcal depth is an important marker of brain anatomy in neuroscience/neurological function. Previously, sulcal depth has been explored at the region-of-interest (ROI) level to increase statistical sensitivity to group differences. In this paper, we present a fully automated method that enables inferences of ROI properties from a sulcal region- focused perspective consisting of two main components: 1) sulcal depth computation and 2) sulcal curve-based refined ROIs. In conventional statistical analysis, the average sulcal depth measurements are employed in several ROIs of the cortical surface. However, taking the average sulcal depth over the full ROI blurs overall sulcal depth measurements which may result in reduced sensitivity to detect sulcal depth changes in neurological and psychiatric disorders. To overcome such a blurring effect, we focus on sulcal fundic regions in each ROI by filtering out other gyral regions. Consequently, the proposed method results in more sensitive to group differences than a traditional ROI approach. In the experiment, we focused on a cortical morphological analysis to sulcal depth reduction in schizophrenia with a comparison to the normal healthy control group. We show that the proposed method is more sensitivity to abnormalities of sulcal depth in schizophrenia; sulcal depth is significantly smaller in most cortical lobes in schizophrenia compared to healthy controls (p < 0.05).

Deep learning of joint myelin and T1w MRI features in normal-appearing brain tissue to distinguish between multiple sclerosis patients and healthy controls.

PubMed

Yoo, Youngjin; Tang, Lisa Y W; Brosch, Tom; Li, David K B; Kolind, Shannon; Vavasour, Irene; Rauscher, Alexander; MacKay, Alex L; Traboulsee, Anthony; Tam, Roger C

2018-01-01

Myelin imaging is a form of quantitative magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) that measures myelin content and can potentially allow demyelinating diseases such as multiple sclerosis (MS) to be detected earlier. Although focal lesions are the most visible signs of MS pathology on conventional MRI, it has been shown that even tissues that appear normal may exhibit decreased myelin content as revealed by myelin-specific images (i.e., myelin maps). Current methods for analyzing myelin maps typically use global or regional mean myelin measurements to detect abnormalities, but ignore finer spatial patterns that may be characteristic of MS. In this paper, we present a machine learning method to automatically learn, from multimodal MR images, latent spatial features that can potentially improve the detection of MS pathology at early stage. More specifically, 3D image patches are extracted from myelin maps and the corresponding T1-weighted (T1w) MRIs, and are used to learn a latent joint myelin-T1w feature representation via unsupervised deep learning. Using a data set of images from MS patients and healthy controls, a common set of patches are selected via a voxel-wise t -test performed between the two groups. In each MS image, any patches overlapping with focal lesions are excluded, and a feature imputation method is used to fill in the missing values. A feature selection process (LASSO) is then utilized to construct a sparse representation. The resulting normal-appearing features are used to train a random forest classifier. Using the myelin and T1w images of 55 relapse-remitting MS patients and 44 healthy controls in an 11-fold cross-validation experiment, the proposed method achieved an average classification accuracy of 87.9% (SD = 8.4%), which is higher and more consistent across folds than those attained by regional mean myelin (73.7%, SD = 13.7%) and T1w measurements (66.7%, SD = 10.6%), or deep-learned features in either the myelin (83.8%, SD = 11.0%) or T1w (70.1%, SD = 13.6%) images alone, suggesting that the proposed method has strong potential for identifying image features that are more sensitive and specific to MS pathology in normal-appearing brain tissues.

Experimental murine myopia induces collagen type Iα1 (COL1A1) DNA methylation and altered COL1A1 messenger RNA expression in sclera

PubMed Central

Zhou, Xiangtian; Ji, Fengtao; An, Jianhong; Zhao, Fuxin; Shi, Fanjun; Huang, Furong; Li, Yuan; Jiao, Shiming; Yan, Dongsheng; Chen, Xiaoyan; Chen, JiangFan

2012-01-01

Purpose To investigate whether myopia development is associated with changes of scleral DNA methylation in cytosine-phosphate-guanine (CpG) sites in the collagen 1A1 (COL1A1) promoter and messenger RNA (mRNA) levels following murine form deprivation myopia. Methods Fifty-seven C57BL/6 mice (postnatal day 23) were randomly assigned to four groups: (1) monocular form deprivation (MD) in which a diffuser lens was placed over one eye for 28 days; (2) normal controls without MD; (3) MD recovery in which the diffuser lens was removed for seven days; and (4) MD recovery normal controls. The DNA methylation pattern in COL1A1 promoter and exon 1 was determined by bisulfite DNA sequencing, and the COL1A1 mRNA level in sclera was determined by quantitative PCR. Results MD was found to induce myopia in the treated eyes. Six CpG sites in the promoter and exon 1 region of COL1A1 were methylated with significantly higher frequency in the treated eyes than normal control eyes (p<0.05), with CpG island methylation in MD-contralateral eyes being intermediate. Consistent with the CpG methylation, scleral COL1A1 mRNA was reduced by 57% in the MD-treated eyes compared to normal controls (p<0.05). After seven days of MD recovery, CpG methylation was significantly reduced (p=0.01). The methylation patterns returned to near normal level in five CpG sites, but the sixth was hypomethylated compared to normal controls. Conclusions In parallel with the development of myopia and the reduced COL1A1 mRNA, the frequency of methylation in CpG sites of the COL1A1 promoter/exon 1 increased during MD and returned to near normal during recovery. Thus, hypermethylation of CpG sites in the promoter/exon 1 of COL1A1 may underlie reduced collagen synthesis at the transcriptional level in myopic scleras. PMID:22690110

[Use of liquid crystal eyeglasses for examination and recovery of binocular vision].

PubMed

Grigorian, A Iu; Avetisov, E S; Kashchenko, T P; Iachmeneva, E I

1999-01-01

A new method for diploptic treatment of strabismus is proposed, based on phase division of visual fields using liquid crystal eyeglasses --computer complex. The method is based on stereovision training (allowing stereothreshold measurements up to 150 ang. sec.). The method was tried in examinations of two groups of children: 10 controls and 74 patients with strabismus. Examinations of normal controls gave new criteria for measuring fusion reserves and stereovisual acuity by the proposed method. The therapeutic method was tried in 2 groups of patients. Time course of visual function improvement was followed up by several criteria: changes in binocular status by the color test and improvement of in-depth and stereoscopic visual acuity. The method is recommended for practice. The authors discuss the problem of small angle strabismus.

Predictive Analytical Model for Isolator Shock-Train Location in a Mach 2.2 Direct-Connect Supersonic Combustion Tunnel

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lingren, Joe; Vanstone, Leon; Hashemi, Kelley; Gogineni, Sivaram; Donbar, Jeffrey; Akella, Maruthi; Clemens, Noel

2016-11-01

This study develops an analytical model for predicting the leading shock of a shock-train in the constant area isolator section in a Mach 2.2 direct-connect scramjet simulation tunnel. The effective geometry of the isolator is assumed to be a weakly converging duct owing to boundary-layer growth. For some given pressure rise across the isolator, quasi-1D equations relating to isentropic or normal shock flows can be used to predict the normal shock location in the isolator. The surface pressure distribution through the isolator was measured during experiments and both the actual and predicted locations can be calculated. Three methods of finding the shock-train location are examined, one based on the measured pressure rise, one using a non-physics-based control model, and one using the physics-based analytical model. It is shown that the analytical model performs better than the non-physics-based model in all cases. The analytic model is less accurate than the pressure threshold method but requires significantly less information to compute. In contrast to other methods for predicting shock-train location, this method is relatively accurate and requires as little as a single pressure measurement. This makes this method potentially useful for unstart control applications.

The Course of Neuropsychological Functions in Children with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder from Late Childhood to Early Adolescence

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Drechsler, Renate; Brandeis, Daniel; Foldenyi, Monika; Imhof, Katrin; Steinhausen, Hans-Christoph

2005-01-01

Objective: The aim of this follow-up study was to investigate the course of performance in attentional tasks in children with ADHD and normal controls in late childhood and preadolescence over short periods of time. The development of two dimensions of attention was compared: alertness/arousal and inhibitory control. Method: Children with ADHD (N…

Analytical evaluation of the ADAMS™ A1c HA 8180 thalassemia mode high-pressure liquid chromatography analyser for the measurement of HbA2 and HbF.

PubMed

Urrechaga, E

2016-12-01

ADAMS ™ A1cHA-8180T is a HPLC system; within 3.5 min, it quantifies HbF, HbA 2 , and HbA 0 and flags abnormal peaks. We evaluate its analytical performance for routine estimation of HbA 2 and HbF, and critical tests were performed for identifying β-thalassemia carriers. Trueness imprecision, carry over, linearity, and effect of anemia were evaluated according to ICLH, ICLS, or manufacture's guidelines. Comparison (ADAMS ™ A1c HA-8160T) was performed by running 400 samples from healthy subjects, 30 alpha and 80 beta carriers (range: 1.9-5.7 %). Trueness - HbA 2 2.7 %, bias 0.81 %; HbA 2 5.8 %, bias 0.38 %. HbA 2 4.0% is not affected by Hb in the range 221-40 g/L. Carry over was negligible. Within run: normal control - CV 1.5 %, high control - CV 0.9 %.Within laboratory: normal control - total CV% 1.59%; high control - 0.92 %. Linearity - y = 1.034x - 0.17, R 2  = 0.998 (range: 2.8-4.8%).Method comparison - y = 0.93x + 0.22, R 2  = 0.997. HbF imprecision CVs between 0.66 and 1.24% and trueness between 0 and 2.8%. Linearity - y = 1.088x - 0.27, R 2  = 0.999 (0.1-5.7%). ADAMS ™ A1c HA-8180T provides a rapid and reliable separation of HbA 2 . The measurement is accurate and reproducible, which is needed because of the slight difference between normal and pathological values. The gap in HbA 2 values between normal subjects and β-thalassemia carriers makes this an appropriate method for rapid screening for carriers. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

The way to uncover community structure with core and diversity

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chang, Y. F.; Han, S. K.; Wang, X. D.

2018-07-01

Communities are ubiquitous in nature and society. Individuals that share common properties often self-organize to form communities. Avoiding the shortages of computation complexity, pre-given information and unstable results in different run, in this paper, we propose a simple and efficient method to deepen our understanding of the emergence and diversity of communities in complex systems. By introducing the rational random selection, our method reveals the hidden deterministic and normal diverse community states of community structure. To demonstrate this method, we test it with real-world systems. The results show that our method could not only detect community structure with high sensitivity and reliability, but also provide instructional information about the hidden deterministic community world and the real normal diverse community world by giving out the core-community, the real-community, the tide and the diversity. Thizs is of paramount importance in understanding, predicting, and controlling a variety of collective behaviors in complex systems.

Experimental Verification of Application of Looped System and Centralized Voltage Control in a Distribution System with Renewable Energy Sources

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hanai, Yuji; Hayashi, Yasuhiro; Matsuki, Junya

The line voltage control in a distribution network is one of the most important issues for a penetration of Renewable Energy Sources (RES). A loop distribution network configuration is an effective solution to resolve voltage and distribution loss issues concerned about a penetration of RES. In this paper, for a loop distribution network, the authors propose a voltage control method based on tap change control of LRT and active/reactive power control of RES. The tap change control of LRT takes a major role of the proposed voltage control. Additionally the active/reactive power control of RES supports the voltage control when voltage deviation from the upper or lower voltage limit is unavoidable. The proposed method adopts SCADA system based on measured data from IT switches, which are sectionalizing switch with sensor installed in distribution feeder. In order to check the validity of the proposed voltage control method, experimental simulations using a distribution system analog simulator “ANSWER” are carried out. In the simulations, the voltage maintenance capability in the normal and the emergency is evaluated.

Metabolomic Profiling of Extracellular Vesicles and Alternative Normalization Methods Reveal Enriched Metabolites and Strategies to Study Prostate Cancer-Related Changes

PubMed Central

Puhka, Maija; Takatalo, Maarit; Nordberg, Maria-Elisa; Valkonen, Sami; Nandania, Jatin; Aatonen, Maria; Yliperttula, Marjo; Laitinen, Saara; Velagapudi, Vidya; Mirtti, Tuomas; Kallioniemi, Olli; Rannikko, Antti; Siljander, Pia R-M; af Hällström, Taija Maria

2017-01-01

Body fluids are a rich source of extracellular vesicles (EVs), which carry cargo derived from the secreting cells. So far, biomarkers for pathological conditions have been mainly searched from their protein, (mi)RNA, DNA and lipid cargo. Here, we explored the small molecule metabolites from urinary and platelet EVs relative to their matched source samples. As a proof-of-concept study of intra-EV metabolites, we compared alternative normalization methods to profile urinary EVs from prostate cancer patients before and after prostatectomy and from healthy controls. Methods: We employed targeted ultra-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry to profile over 100 metabolites in the isolated EVs, original urine samples and platelets. We determined the enrichment of the metabolites in the EVs and analyzed their subcellular origin, pathways and relevant enzymes or transporters through data base searches. EV- and urine-derived factors and ratios between metabolites were tested for normalization of the metabolomics data. Results: Approximately 1 x 1010 EVs were sufficient for detection of metabolite profiles from EVs. The profiles of the urinary and platelet EVs overlapped with each other and with those of the source materials, but they also contained unique metabolites. The EVs enriched a selection of cytosolic metabolites including members from the nucleotide and spermidine pathways, which linked to a number of EV-resident enzymes or transporters. Analysis of the urinary EVs from the patients indicated that the levels of glucuronate, D-ribose 5-phosphate and isobutyryl-L-carnitine were 2-26-fold lower in all pre-prostatectomy samples compared to the healthy control and post-prostatectomy samples (p < 0.05). These changes were only detected from EVs by normalization to EV-derived factors or with metabolite ratios, and not from the original urine samples. Conclusions: Our results suggest that metabolite analysis of EVs from different samples is feasible using a high-throughput platform and relatively small amount of sample material. With the knowledge about the specific enrichment of metabolites and normalization methods, EV metabolomics could be used to gain novel biomarker data not revealed by the analysis of the original EV source materials. PMID:29109780

I Vivo Quantitative Ultrasound Imaging and Scatter Assessments.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lu, Zheng Feng

There is evidence that "instrument independent" measurements of ultrasonic scattering properties would provide useful diagnostic information that is not available with conventional ultrasound imaging. This dissertation is a continuing effort to test the above hypothesis and to incorporate quantitative ultrasound methods into clinical examinations for early detection of diffuse liver disease. A well-established reference phantom method was employed to construct quantitative ultrasound images of tissue in vivo. The method was verified by extensive phantom tests. A new method was developed to measure the effective attenuation coefficient of the body wall. The method relates the slope of the difference between the echo signal power spectrum from a uniform region distal to the body wall and the echo signal power spectrum from a reference phantom to the body wall attenuation. The accuracy obtained from phantom tests suggests further studies with animal experiments. Clinically, thirty-five healthy subjects and sixteen patients with diffuse liver disease were studied by these quantitative ultrasound methods. The average attenuation coefficient in normals agreed with previous investigators' results; in vivo backscatter coefficients agreed with the results from normals measured by O'Donnell. Strong discriminating power (p < 0.001) was found for both attenuation and backscatter coefficients between fatty livers and normals; a significant difference (p < 0.01) was observed in the backscatter coefficient but not in the attenuation coefficient between cirrhotic livers and normals. An in vivo animal model of steroid hepatopathy was used to investigate the system sensitivity in detecting early changes in canine liver resulting from corticosteroid administration. The average attenuation coefficient slope increased from 0.7 dB/cm/MHz in controls to 0.82 dB/cm/MHz (at 6 MHz) in treated animals on day 14 into the treatment, and the backscatter coefficient was 26times 10^{ -4}cm^{-1}sr^{-1} in controls compared with 74times 10^{-4}cm^{-1}sr^ {-1} (at 6 MHz) in treated animals. A simplified quantitative approach using video image signals was developed. Results derived both from the r.f. signal analysis and from the video signal analysis are sensitive to the changes in the liver in this animal model.

Sterility method of pest control and its potential role in an integrated sea lamprey (Petromyzon marinus) control program

USGS Publications Warehouse

Hanson, Lee H.; Manion, Patrick J.

1980-01-01

The sterility method of pest control could be an effective tool in the sea lamprey (Petromyzon marinus) control program in the Great Lakes. Some of the requirements for its successful application have been met. A field study demonstrated that the release of male sea lampreys, sterilized by the injection of 100 mg/kg of P,P-bis(1-aziridinyl)-N-methylphosphinothioic amide (bisazir), will reduce the number of viable larvae produced. The actual reduction in reproductive success that occurred was directly related to the ratio of sterile to normal males in the population. The technique can be used in many ways in an integrated control program and has considerable potential for the more effective control of the sea lamprey. Eradication is a distinct possibility.Key words: sea lamprey, Petromyzon marinus; pest control, fish control, sterile-male technique, sterilization, chemosterilants, bisazir, Great Lakes

Optimal fault-tolerant control strategy of a solid oxide fuel cell system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wu, Xiaojuan; Gao, Danhui

2017-10-01

For solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) development, load tracking, heat management, air excess ratio constraint, high efficiency, low cost and fault diagnosis are six key issues. However, no literature studies the control techniques combining optimization and fault diagnosis for the SOFC system. An optimal fault-tolerant control strategy is presented in this paper, which involves four parts: a fault diagnosis module, a switching module, two backup optimizers and a controller loop. The fault diagnosis part is presented to identify the SOFC current fault type, and the switching module is used to select the appropriate backup optimizer based on the diagnosis result. NSGA-II and TOPSIS are employed to design the two backup optimizers under normal and air compressor fault states. PID algorithm is proposed to design the control loop, which includes a power tracking controller, an anode inlet temperature controller, a cathode inlet temperature controller and an air excess ratio controller. The simulation results show the proposed optimal fault-tolerant control method can track the power, temperature and air excess ratio at the desired values, simultaneously achieving the maximum efficiency and the minimum unit cost in the case of SOFC normal and even in the air compressor fault.

Dynamic characteristic mechanism of atrial septal defect using real-time three-dimensional echocardiography and evaluation of right ventricular functions.

PubMed

Sharen, Gao-Wa; Zhang, Jun; Qin, Chuan; Lv, Qing

2017-02-01

The dynamic characteristics of the area of the atrial septal defect (ASD) were evaluated using the technique of real-time three-dimensional echocardiography (RT 3DE), the potential factors responsible for the dynamic characteristics of the area of ASD were observed, and the overall and local volume and functions of the patients with ASD were measured. RT 3DE was performed on the 27 normal controls and 28 patients with ASD. Based on the three-dimensional data workstations, the area of ASD was measured at P wave vertex, R wave vertex, T wave starting point, and T wave terminal point and in the T-P section. The right atrial volume in the same time phase of the cardiac cycle and the motion displacement distance of the tricuspid annulus in the corresponding period were measured. The measured value of the area of ASD was analyzed. The changes in the right atrial volume and the motion displacement distance of the tricuspid annulus in the normal control group and the ASD group were compared. The right ventricular ejection fractions in the normal control group and the ASD group were compared using the RT 3DE long-axis eight-plane (LA 8-plane) method. Real-time three-dimensional volume imaging was performed in the normal control group and ASD group (n=30). The right ventricular inflow tract, outflow tract, cardiac apex muscular trabecula dilatation, end-systolic volume, overall dilatation, end-systolic volume, and appropriate local and overall ejection fractions in both two groups were measured with the four-dimensional right ventricular quantitative analysis method (4D RVQ) and compared. The overall right ventricular volume and the ejection fraction measured by the LA 8-plane method and 4D RVQ were subjected to a related analysis. Dynamic changes occurred to the area of ASD in the cardiac cycle. The rules for dynamic changes in the area of ASD and the rules for changes in the right atrial volume in the cardiac cycle were consistent. The maximum value of the changes in the right atrial volume occurred in the end-systolic period when the peak of the curve appeared. The minimum value of the changes occurred in the end-systolic period and was located at the lowest point of the volume variation curve. The area variation curve for ASD and the motion variation curve for the tricuspid annulus in the cardiac cycle were the same. The displacement of the tricuspid annulus exhibited directionality. The measured values of the area of ASD at P wave vertex, R wave vertex, T wave starting point, T wave terminal point and in the T-P section were properly correlated with the right atrial volume (P<0.001). The area of ASD and the motion displacement distance of the tricuspid annulus were negatively correlated (P<0.05). The right atrial volumes in the ASD group in the cardiac cycle in various time phases increased significantly as compared with those in the normal control group (P=0.0001). The motion displacement distance of the tricuspid annulus decreased significantly in the ASD group as compared with that in the normal control group (P=0.043). The right ventricular ejection fraction in the ASD group was lower than that in the normal control group (P=0.032). The ejection fraction of the cardiac apex trabecula of the ASD patients was significantly lower than the ejection fractions of the right ventricular outflow tract and inflow tract and overall ejection fraction. The difference was statistically significant (P=0.005). The right ventricular local and overall dilatation and end-systolic volumes in the ASD group increased significantly as compared with those in the normal control group (P=0.031). The aRVEF and the overall ejection fraction decreased in the ASD group as compared with those in the normal control group (P=0.0005). The dynamic changes in the area of ASD and the motion curves for the right atrial volume and tricuspid annulus have the same dynamic characteristics. RT 3DE can be used to accurately evaluate the local and overall volume and functions of the right ventricle. The local and overall volume loads of the right ventricle in the ASD patients increase significantly as compared with those of the normal people. The right ventricular cardiac apex and the overall systolic function decrease.

[A semimicroquality evaluation method on Panax notoginseng and its application in analysis of continuous cropping obstacles research samples].

PubMed

Cao, Yi; Wang, Chao-Qun; Xu, Feng; Jia, Xiu-Hong; Liu, Guang-Xue; Yang, Sheng-Chao; Long, Guang-Qiang; Chen, Zhong-Jian; Wei, Fu-Zhou; Yang, Shao-Zhou; Fukuda, Kozo; Wang, Xuan; Cai, Shao-Qing

2016-10-01

Panax notoginseng is a commonly used traditional Chinese medicine with blood activating effect while has continuous cropping obstacle problem in planting process. In present study, a semimicroextraction method with water-saturated n-butanol on 0.1 g notoginseng sample was established with good repeatability (RSD<2.5%) and 9.6%-20.6% higher extraction efficiency of seven saponins than the conventional method. A total of 16 characteristic peaks were identified by LC-MS-IT-TOF, including eight 20(S)-protopanaxatriol (PPT) type saponins and eight 20(S)-protopanaxadiol (PPD) type saponins. The established method was utilized to evaluate the quality of notoginseng samples cultivated by manual intervened methods to overcome continuous cropping obstacles.As a result, HPLC fingerprint similarity, content of Fa and ratio of notoginsenoside K and notoginsenoside Fa (N-K/Fa) were found out to be as valuatable markers of the quality of samples in continuous cropping obstacle research, of which N-K/Fa could also be applied to the analysis of notoginseng samples with different growth years.Notoginseng samples with continuous cropping obstacle had HPLC fingerprint similarity lower than 0.87, in consistent with normal sample, and had significant lower content of notoginsenoside Fa and significant higher N-K/Fa (2.35-4.74) than normal group (0.45-1.33). All samples in the first group with manual intervention showed high similarity with normal group (>0.87), similar content of common peaks and N-K/Fa (0.42-2.06). The content of notoginsenoside K in the second group with manual intervention was higher than normal group. All samples except two displayed similarity higher than 0.87 and possessed content of 16 saponins close to normal group. The result showed that notoginseng samples with continuous cropping obstacle had lower quality than normal sample. And manual intervened methods could improve their quality in different levels.The method established in this study was simple, fast and accurate, and the markers may provide new guides for quality control in continuous cropping obstacle research of notoginseng. Copyright© by the Chinese Pharmaceutical Association.

Rapid Screening for Deleted Form of β-thalassemia by Real-Time Quantitative PCR.

PubMed

Ke, Liang-Yin; Chang, Jan-Gowth; Chang, Chao-Sung; Hsieh, Li-Ling; Liu, Ta-Chih

2017-01-01

Thalassemia is the most common single gene disease in human beings. The prevalence rate of β-thalassemia in Taiwan is approximately 1-3%. Previously methods to reveal and diagnose severe deleted form of α- or β-thalassemia were insufficient and inappropriate for prenatal diagnosis. A real-time quantitative PCR method was set up for rapid screening of the deleted form of β-thalassemia. Our results show that ΔΔCt between deleted form of β-thalassemia and normal individuals were 1.0674 ± 0.0713. On the contrary, mutation form β-thalassemia showed no difference with normal healthy control. The HBB/CCR5 ratio for deleted form of β-thalassemia patients was 0.48, whether normal individuals and mutation form of β-thalassemia was 1.0. This RQ-PCR technique is an alternative rapid screening assay for deleted form of β-thalassemia. In addition, it could also identify undefined type. Our technique by using RQ-PCR to quantify gene copies is a reliable and time-saving method that can screen deleted form of β-thalassemia. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Low-Tech Energy Conservation for Schools.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Stein, Benjamin

The American Institute of Architects National Committee on Architecture for Education presents this guide which addresses methods of energy conservation in school buildings with simple design, construction, and equipment-control technology so that trained and creative people can take over functions normally done by machinery and automated…

Information integration and diagnosis analysis of equipment status and production quality for machining process

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zan, Tao; Wang, Min; Hu, Jianzhong

2010-12-01

Machining status monitoring technique by multi-sensors can acquire and analyze the machining process information to implement abnormity diagnosis and fault warning. Statistical quality control technique is normally used to distinguish abnormal fluctuations from normal fluctuations through statistical method. In this paper by comparing the advantages and disadvantages of the two methods, the necessity and feasibility of integration and fusion is introduced. Then an approach that integrates multi-sensors status monitoring and statistical process control based on artificial intelligent technique, internet technique and database technique is brought forward. Based on virtual instrument technique the author developed the machining quality assurance system - MoniSysOnline, which has been used to monitoring the grinding machining process. By analyzing the quality data and AE signal information of wheel dressing process the reason of machining quality fluctuation has been obtained. The experiment result indicates that the approach is suitable for the status monitoring and analyzing of machining process.

Posterior hypoperfusion in Parkinson's disease with and without dementia measured with arterial spin labeling MRI.

PubMed

Kamagata, Koji; Motoi, Yumiko; Hori, Masaaki; Suzuki, Michimasa; Nakanishi, Atsushi; Shimoji, Keigo; Kyougoku, Shinsuke; Kuwatsuru, Ryohei; Sasai, Keisuke; Abe, Osamu; Mizuno, Yoshikuni; Aoki, Shigeki; Hattori, Nobutaka

2011-04-01

To determine whether quantitative arterial spin labeling (ASL) can be used to evaluate regional cerebral blood flow in Parkinson's disease with dementia (PDD) and without dementia (PD). Thirty-five PD patients, 11 PDD patients, and 35 normal controls were scanned by using a quantitative ASL method with a 3 Tesla MRI unit. Regional cerebral blood flow was compared in the posterior cortex using region-of-interest analysis. PD and PDD patients showed lower regional cerebral blood flow in the posterior cortex than normal controls (P = 0.002 and P = 0.001, respectively, analysis of variance with a Bonferroni post hoc test). This is the first study to detect hypoperfusion in the posterior cortex in PD and PDD patients using ASL perfusion MRI. Because ASL perfusion MRI is completely noninvasive and can, therefore, safely be used for repeated assessments, this method can be used to monitor treatment effects or disease progression in PD. Copyright © 2011 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

Distributed hierarchical control architecture for integrating smart grid assets during normal and disrupted operations

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

Kalsi, Karan; Fuller, Jason C.; Somani, Abhishek

Disclosed herein are representative embodiments of methods, apparatus, and systems for facilitating operation and control of a resource distribution system (such as a power grid). Among the disclosed embodiments is a distributed hierarchical control architecture (DHCA) that enables smart grid assets to effectively contribute to grid operations in a controllable manner, while helping to ensure system stability and equitably rewarding their contribution. Embodiments of the disclosed architecture can help unify the dispatch of these resources to provide both market-based and balancing services.

Drug scheduling of cancer chemotherapy based on natural actor-critic approach.

PubMed

Ahn, Inkyung; Park, Jooyoung

2011-11-01

Recently, reinforcement learning methods have drawn significant interests in the area of artificial intelligence, and have been successfully applied to various decision-making problems. In this paper, we study the applicability of the NAC (natural actor-critic) approach, a state-of-the-art reinforcement learning method, to the drug scheduling of cancer chemotherapy for an ODE (ordinary differential equation)-based tumor growth model. ODE-based cancer dynamics modeling is an active research area, and many different mathematical models have been proposed. Among these, we use the model proposed by de Pillis and Radunskaya (2003), which considers the growth of tumor cells and their interaction with normal cells and immune cells. The NAC approach is applied to this ODE model with the goal of minimizing the tumor cell population and the drug amount while maintaining the adequate population levels of normal cells and immune cells. In the framework of the NAC approach, the drug dose is regarded as the control input, and the reward signal is defined as a function of the control input and the cell populations of tumor cells, normal cells, and immune cells. According to the control policy found by the NAC approach, effective drug scheduling in cancer chemotherapy for the considered scenarios has turned out to be close to the strategy of continuing drug injection from the beginning until an appropriate time. Also, simulation results showed that the NAC approach can yield better performance than conventional pulsed chemotherapy. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Eucalyptus globulus (Eucalyptus) Treatment of Candidiasis in Normal and Diabetic Rats

PubMed Central

Bokaeian, Mohammad; Nakhaee, Alireza; Moodi, Bita; Ali Khazaei, Hossein

2010-01-01

Background: The leaves of Eucalyptus globulus (eucalyptus) are used for treatment of diabetes mellitus in traditional medicine. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of eucalyptus in treatment of established systemic infection with Candida albicans in normal and streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats. Methods: Sixty normoglycemic male Wistar rats, weighing 200-250 g, were selected and randomly divided into six groups (n= 10): normal control, control + C. albicans, control + eucalyptus + C. albicans, diabetic control, diabetic + C. albicans, diabetic + eucalyptus + C. albicans. Diabetes was induced after a single intraperitoneal injection of streptozotocin (60 mg/kg body weight) and eucalyptus was added to the diet (62.5 g/kg) and drinking water (2.5 g/L) of treated animals for 4 weeks. The concerned groups were inoculated with C. albicans 15 days after diabetes induction. At the end of one month experiment, fasted rats were killed by cervical decapitation. Blood was collected from neck vein for estimation of glucose. C. albicans concentrations were estimated in liver and kidneys using serial dilution culture of tissue homogenates. Results: Eucalyptus administration significantly improved the hyperglycemia, polydipsia, polyphagia, and it also compensated weight loss of diabetic rats (P<0.05). Moreover, eucalyptus caused a significant reduction in C. albicans concentration in liver and kidney homogenates (P<0.01). Conclusion: The results revealed that eucalyptus improves Candidia infection in normal and diabetic rats that in some ways validates the traditional use of this plant in treatment of diabetic patients. PMID:21079663

Computation of Quasiperiodic Normally Hyperbolic Invariant Tori: Rigorous Results

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Canadell, Marta; Haro, Àlex

2017-12-01

The development of efficient methods for detecting quasiperiodic oscillations and computing the corresponding invariant tori is a subject of great importance in dynamical systems and their applications in science and engineering. In this paper, we prove the convergence of a new Newton-like method for computing quasiperiodic normally hyperbolic invariant tori carrying quasiperiodic motion in smooth families of real-analytic dynamical systems. The main result is stated as an a posteriori KAM-like theorem that allows controlling the inner dynamics on the torus with appropriate detuning parameters, in order to obtain a prescribed quasiperiodic motion. The Newton-like method leads to several fast and efficient computational algorithms, which are discussed and tested in a companion paper (Canadell and Haro in J Nonlinear Sci, 2017. doi: 10.1007/s00332-017-9388-z), in which new mechanisms of breakdown are presented.

Continuous human cell lines and method of making same

DOEpatents

Stampfer, Martha R.

1989-01-01

Substantially genetically stable continuous human cell lines derived from normal human mammary epithelial cells (HMEC) and processes for making and using the same. In a preferred embodiment, the cell lines are derived by treating normal human mammary epithelial tissue with a chemical carcinogen such as benzo[a]pyrene. The novel cell lines serve as useful substrates for elucidating the potential effects of a number of toxins, carcinogens and mutagens as well as of the addition of exogenous genetic material. The autogenic parent cells from which the cell lines are derived serve as convenient control samples for testing. The cell lines are not neoplastically transformed, although they have acquired several properties which distinguish them from their normal progenitors.

Firm maternal parenting associated with decreased risk of excessive snacking in overweight children

PubMed Central

Rhee, Kyung E.; Boutelle, Kerri N.; Jelalian, Elissa; Barnes, Richard; Dickstein, Susan; Wing, Rena R.

2014-01-01

Objective To examine the relationship between parent feeding practices (restriction, monitoring, pressure to eat), general parenting behaviors (acceptance, psychological control, firm control), and aberrant child eating behaviors (emotional eating and excessive snacking) among overweight and normal weight children. Methods Overweight and normal weight children between 8 and 12 years old and their mothers (n=79 parent-child dyads) participated in this study. Mothers completed surveys on parent feeding practices (Child Feeding Questionnaire) and child eating behaviors (Family Eating and Activity Habits Questionnaire). Children reported on their mothers’ general parenting behaviors (Child Report of Parent Behavior Inventory). Parent and child height and weight were measured and demographic characteristics assessed. Logistic regression models, stratified by child weight status and adjusting for parent BMI, were used to determine which parenting dimensions and feeding practices were associated with child emotional eating and snacking behavior. Results Overweight children displayed significantly more emotional eating and excessive snacking behavior than normal weight children. Mothers of overweight children used more restrictive feeding practices and psychological control. Restrictive feeding practices were associated with emotional eating in the overweight group (OR = 1.26, 95% CI, 1.02, 1.56) and excessive snacking behavior in the normal weight group (OR = 1.13, 95% CI, 1.01, 1.26). When examining general parenting, firm control was associated with decreased odds of excessive snacking in the overweight group (OR=0.51, 95% CI, 0.28, 0.93). Conclusion Restrictive feeding practices were associated with aberrant child eating behaviors in both normal weight and overweight children. Firm general parenting however, was associated with decreased snacking behavior among overweight children. Longitudinal studies following children from infancy are needed to better understand the direction of these relationships. PMID:25370704

Regional Cerebral Blood Flow In Dementia: Receiver-Operating-Characteristic Analysis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zemcov, Alexander; Barclay, Laurie; Sansone, Joseph; Blass, John P.; Metz, Charles E.

1985-06-01

The coupling of mentation to regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) has prompted the application of the Xe-133 inhalation method of measuring rCBF in the differential diagnosis of the two most common dementing diseases, Alzheimer's disease and multi-infarct dementia (MID). In this study receiver-operating-characteristic (ROC) curve analysis was used to assess the effectiveness of a 32 detector Xe-133 inhalation system in discriminating between patients with Alzheimer's disease and normal controls, MID patients and normal controls and between patients with Alzheimer's disease and MID. The populations were clinically evaluated as 1) normal (age 63.1 + 13.1, n=23), 2) Alzheimer's disease (age 72.7 + 7.0, n=82), 3) MID (age 76.4 + 7.6, n=27): The mean flow values for all detectors were lowest for the Alzheimer's disease group, larger for the MID group and largest for the normal controls. The dynamic relationship between the correct identifications (true posi-tives) versus incorrect identifications (false positives) per detector for any 2 pairs of clinical groups varies as the cutoff value of flow is changed over the range of experimental blood flow values. Therefore a quantitative characterization of the "decision" or ROC curve (TP vs FP) for each detector and for each pair of clinical groups provides a measure of the overall diagnostic efficacy of the detector. Detectors directed approximately toward the speech, auditory and association cortices were most effective in disciminatinq between each of the dementia groups and the controls. Frontal detectors were diagnostically inefficient. The Xe-133 inhalation system provided virtually no diagnostic power in discriminating between the two forms of dementia, however. Therefore this imaging technology is most useful when assessing the general diagnostic state of dementia (Alz-heimer's disease and MID) from normal cognitive function.

Left ventricular geometric patterns in newly presenting nigerian hypertensives: An echocardiographic study

PubMed Central

Aje, Akinyemi; Adebiyi, Adewole A; Oladapo, Olulola O; Dada, Adekola; Ogah, Okechukwu S; Ojji, Dike B; Falase, Ayodele O

2006-01-01

Background Hypertension is a global problem and it is prevalent in Nigeria. Left ventricular hypertrophy is a major complication of hypertension with risk of sudden death and arrhythmias among others. Abnormal left ventricular geometric patterns also increase the burden of morbidity and mortality. It is therefore important to know the different left ventricular geometric patterns in Nigerian hypertensives because of their prognostic significance. Methods One hundred (100) newly presenting hypertensives (53 males and 47 females) and 100 controls (53 males and 47 females) were recruited for the study. All were subjected to clinical evaluation and full echocardiographic examination was performed according to the ASE recommendation. The relative wall thickness and the presence or absence of echocardiographic left ventricular hypertrophy were used to determine the various geometric patterns Results The mean age of the hypertensive subjects was 56.06 (± 7.68) years while that of the control subjects was 56.10 (± 7.68) years. There was no significant difference in the mean ages of the two groups. In the hypertensive subjects 28% had normal geometry, 26% had concentric remodeling, 28% had concentric hypertrophy and 18% had eccentric hypertrophy. In the control group, 86% had normal geometry, 11% had concentric remodeling, 3% had eccentric hypertrophy and none had concentric hypertrophy. There was statistical significance when the geometric patterns of the hypertensive and controls were compared (χ2 = 74.30, p value < 0.0001). Conclusion The study showed that only 28% of the hypertensive subjects had normal LV geometric pattern while 86% of the normal subjects had normal geometry. There is need for longitudinal studies in order to prognosticate the various geometric patterns. PMID:16426452

Performance analysis of different tuning rules for an isothermal CSTR using integrated EPC and SPC

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Roslan, A. H.; Karim, S. F. Abd; Hamzah, N.

2018-03-01

This paper demonstrates the integration of Engineering Process Control (EPC) and Statistical Process Control (SPC) for the control of product concentration of an isothermal CSTR. The objectives of this study are to evaluate the performance of Ziegler-Nichols (Z-N), Direct Synthesis, (DS) and Internal Model Control (IMC) tuning methods and determine the most effective method for this process. The simulation model was obtained from past literature and re-constructed using SIMULINK MATLAB to evaluate the process response. Additionally, the process stability, capability and normality were analyzed using Process Capability Sixpack reports in Minitab. Based on the results, DS displays the best response for having the smallest rise time, settling time, overshoot, undershoot, Integral Time Absolute Error (ITAE) and Integral Square Error (ISE). Also, based on statistical analysis, DS yields as the best tuning method as it exhibits the highest process stability and capability.

Cooling method with automated seasonal freeze protection

DOEpatents

Cambell, Levi; Chu, Richard; David, Milnes; Ellsworth, Jr, Michael; Iyengar, Madhusudan; Simons, Robert; Singh, Prabjit; Zhang, Jing

2016-05-31

An automated multi-fluid cooling method is provided for cooling an electronic component(s). The method includes obtaining a coolant loop, and providing a coolant tank, multiple valves, and a controller. The coolant loop is at least partially exposed to outdoor ambient air temperature(s) during normal operation, and the coolant tank includes first and second reservoirs containing first and second fluids, respectively. The first fluid freezes at a lower temperature than the second, the second fluid has superior cooling properties compared with the first, and the two fluids are soluble. The multiple valves are controllable to selectively couple the first or second fluid into the coolant in the coolant loop, wherein the coolant includes at least the second fluid. The controller automatically controls the valves to vary first fluid concentration level in the coolant loop based on historical, current, or anticipated outdoor air ambient temperature(s) for a time of year.

Examination of the reliability of the crash modification factors using empirical Bayes method with resampling technique.

PubMed

Wang, Jung-Han; Abdel-Aty, Mohamed; Wang, Ling

2017-07-01

There have been plenty of studies intended to use different methods, for example, empirical Bayes before-after methods, to get accurate estimation of CMFs. All of them have different assumptions toward crash count if there was no treatment. Additionally, another major assumption is that multiple sites share the same true CMF. Under this assumption, the CMF at an individual intersection is randomly drawn from a normally distributed population of CMFs at all intersections. Since CMFs are non-zero values, the population of all CMFs might not follow normal distributions, and even if it does, the true mean of CMFs at some intersections may be different from that at others. Therefore, a bootstrap method based on before-after empirical Bayes theory was proposed to estimate CMFs, but it did not make distributional assumptions. This bootstrap procedure has the added benefit of producing a measure of CMF stability. Furthermore, based on the bootstrapped CMF, a new CMF precision rating method was proposed to evaluate the reliability of CMFs. This study chose 29 urban four-legged intersections as treated sites, and their controls were changed from stop-controlled to signal-controlled. Meanwhile, 124 urban four-legged stop-controlled intersections were selected as reference sites. At first, different safety performance functions (SPFs) were applied to five crash categories, and it was found that each crash category had different optimal SPF form. Then, the CMFs of these five crash categories were estimated using the bootstrap empirical Bayes method. The results of the bootstrapped method showed that signalization significantly decreased Angle+Left-Turn crashes, and its CMF had the highest precision. While, the CMF for Rear-End crashes was unreliable. For KABCO, KABC, and KAB crashes, their CMFs were proved to be reliable for the majority of intersections, but the estimated effect of signalization may be not accurate at some sites. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Copy Number Variations of TBK1 in Australian Patients With Primary Open-Angle Glaucoma

PubMed Central

AWADALLA, MONA S.; FINGERT, JOHN H.; ROOS, BENJAMIN E.; CHEN, SIMON; HOLMES, RICHARD; GRAHAM, STUART L.; CHEHADE, MARK; GALANOPOLOUS, ANNA; RIDGE, BRONWYN; SOUZEAU, EMMANUELLE; ZHOU, TIGER; SIGGS, OWEN M.; HEWITT, ALEX W.; MACKEY, DAVID A.; BURDON, KATHRYN P.; CRAIG, JAMIE E.

2015-01-01

PURPOSE To investigate the presence of TBK1 copy number variations in a large, well-characterized Australian cohort of patients with glaucoma comprising both normal-tension glaucoma and high-tension glaucoma cases. DESIGN A retrospective cohort study. METHODS DNA samples from patients with normal-tension glaucoma and high-tension glaucoma and unaffected controls were screened for TBK1 copy number variations using real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction. Samples with additional copies of the TBK1 gene were further tested using custom comparative genomic hybridization arrays. RESULTS Four out of 334 normal-tension glaucoma cases (1.2%) were found to carry TBK1 copy number variations using quantitative polymerase chain reaction. One extra dose of the TBK1 gene (duplication) was detected in 3 normal-tension glaucoma patients, while 2 extra doses of the gene (triplication) were detected in a fourth normal-tension glaucoma patient. The results were further confirmed by custom comparative genomic hybridization arrays. Further, the TBK1 copy number variation segregated with normal-tension glaucoma in the family members of the probands, showing an autosomal dominant pattern of inheritance. No TBK1 copy number variations were detected in 1045 Australian patients with high-tension glaucoma or in 254 unaffected controls. CONCLUSION We report the presence of TBK1 copy number variations in our Australian normal-tension glaucoma cohort, including the first example of more than 1 extra copy of this gene in glaucoma patients (gene triplication). These results confirm TBK1 to be an important cause of normal-tension glaucoma, but do not suggest common involvement in high-tension glaucoma. PMID:25284765

Robust control charts in industrial production of olive oil

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Grilo, Luís M.; Mateus, Dina M. R.; Alves, Ana C.; Grilo, Helena L.

2014-10-01

Acidity is one of the most important variables in the quality analysis and characterization of olive oil. During the industrial production we use individuals and moving range charts to monitor this variable, which is not always normal distributed. After a brief exploratory data analysis, where we use the bootstrap method, we construct control charts, before and after a Box-Cox transformation, and compare their robustness and performance.

Method to transform algae, materials therefor, and products produced thereby

DOEpatents

Dunahay, T.G.; Roessler, P.G.; Jarvis, E.E.

1997-08-26

Disclosed is a method to transform chlorophyll C-containing algae. The method includes introducing a recombinant molecule comprising a nucleic acid molecule encoding a dominant selectable marker operatively linked to an algal regulatory control sequence into a chlorophyll C-containing alga in such a manner that the marker is produced by the alga. In a preferred embodiment the algal regulatory control sequence is derived from a diatom and preferably Cyclotella cryptica. Also disclosed is a chimeric molecule having one or more regulatory control sequences derived from one or more chlorophyll C-containing algae operatively linked to a nucleic acid molecule encoding a selectable marker, an RNA molecule and/or a protein, wherein the nucleic acid molecule does not normally occur with one or more of the regulatory control sequences. Further, specifically disclosed are molecules pACCNPT10, pACCNPT4.8 and pACCNPT5.1. The methods and materials of the present invention provide the ability to accomplish stable genetic transformation of chlorophyll C-containing algae. 2 figs.

Robust gene network analysis reveals alteration of the STAT5a network as a hallmark of prostate cancer.

PubMed

Reddy, Anupama; Huang, C Chris; Liu, Huiqing; Delisi, Charles; Nevalainen, Marja T; Szalma, Sandor; Bhanot, Gyan

2010-01-01

We develop a general method to identify gene networks from pair-wise correlations between genes in a microarray data set and apply it to a public prostate cancer gene expression data from 69 primary prostate tumors. We define the degree of a node as the number of genes significantly associated with the node and identify hub genes as those with the highest degree. The correlation network was pruned using transcription factor binding information in VisANT (http://visant.bu.edu/) as a biological filter. The reliability of hub genes was determined using a strict permutation test. Separate networks for normal prostate samples, and prostate cancer samples from African Americans (AA) and European Americans (EA) were generated and compared. We found that the same hubs control disease progression in AA and EA networks. Combining AA and EA samples, we generated networks for low low (<7) and high (≥7) Gleason grade tumors. A comparison of their major hubs with those of the network for normal samples identified two types of changes associated with disease: (i) Some hub genes increased their degree in the tumor network compared to their degree in the normal network, suggesting that these genes are associated with gain of regulatory control in cancer (e.g. possible turning on of oncogenes). (ii) Some hubs reduced their degree in the tumor network compared to their degree in the normal network, suggesting that these genes are associated with loss of regulatory control in cancer (e.g. possible loss of tumor suppressor genes). A striking result was that for both AA and EA tumor samples, STAT5a, CEBPB and EGR1 are major hubs that gain neighbors compared to the normal prostate network. Conversely, HIF-lα is a major hub that loses connections in the prostate cancer network compared to the normal prostate network. We also find that the degree of these hubs changes progressively from normal to low grade to high grade disease, suggesting that these hubs are master regulators of prostate cancer and marks disease progression. STAT5a was identified as a central hub, with ~120 neighbors in the prostate cancer network and only 81 neighbors in the normal prostate network. Of the 120 neighbors of STAT5a, 57 are known cancer related genes, known to be involved in functional pathways associated with tumorigenesis. Our method is general and can easily be extended to identify and study networks associated with any two phenotypes.

Comparison of skin barrier function and sensory nerve electric current perception threshold between IgE-high extrinsic and IgE-normal intrinsic types of atopic dermatitis.

PubMed

Mori, T; Ishida, K; Mukumoto, S; Yamada, Y; Imokawa, G; Kabashima, K; Kobayashi, M; Bito, T; Nakamura, M; Ogasawara, K; Tokura, Y

2010-01-01

Background Two types of atopic dermatitis (AD) have been proposed, with different pathophysiological mechanisms underlying this seemingly heterogeneous disorder. The extrinsic type shows high IgE levels presumably as a consequence of skin barrier damage and feasible allergen permeation, whereas the intrinsic type exhibits normal IgE levels and is not mediated by allergen-specific IgE. Objectives To investigate the relationship between pruritus perception threshold and skin barrier function of patients with AD in a comparison between the extrinsic and intrinsic types. Methods Enrolled in this study were 32 patients with extrinsic AD, 17 with intrinsic AD and 24 healthy individuals. The barrier function of the stratum corneum was assessed by skin surface hydration and transepidermal water loss (TEWL), and pruritus perception was evaluated by the electric current perception threshold (CPT) of sensory nerves upon neuroselective transcutaneous electric stimulation. Results Skin surface hydration was significantly lower and TEWL was significantly higher in extrinsic AD than intrinsic AD or normal controls. Although there was no statistically significant difference in CPT among extrinsic AD, intrinsic AD and normal controls, CPT was significantly correlated with skin surface hydration and inversely with TEWL in intrinsic AD and normal controls, but not extrinsic AD. Finally, CPT was correlated with the visual analogue scale of itch in the nonlesional skin of patients with extrinsic but not intrinsic AD. Conclusions Patients with extrinsic AD have an impaired barrier, which increases the pre-existing pruritus but rather decreases sensitivity to external stimuli. In contrast, patients with intrinsic AD retain a normal barrier function and sensory reactivity to external pruritic stimuli.

Electroglottographic Comparison of Voice Outcomes in Patients With Advanced Laryngopharyngeal Cancer Treated by Chemoradiotherapy or Total Laryngectomy

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

Kazi, Rehan; Institute of Cancer Research, London; Venkitaraman, Ramachandran

2008-02-01

Purpose: To conduct prospective electroglottographic analyses of voice outcomes after radical chemoradiotherapy for locally advanced laryngopharyngeal cancers and to compare them with patients who have undergone total laryngectomy (TL). Patients and Methods: Twenty-one patients (19 male, 2 female, median age [range] 65 [50-85] years) with Stage III/IV laryngopharyngeal cancer received induction chemotherapy followed by radical chemoradiotherapy. Electroglottography, using the sustained vowel /i/ and connected speech, was performed before treatment and 1, 6, and 12 months after treatment. In addition, single voice recordings were taken from 21 patients (16 male, 5 female, aged 65 [50-84] years) who had undergone TL andmore » surgical voice restoration and from 21 normal controls (18 male, 3 female, aged 65 [33-80] years). Results: Before treatment the vocal measures for the chemoradiotherapy patients were significantly different from normal controls in jitter (p = 0.02), maximum phonation time (MPT) (p = 0.001), and words per minute (WPM) (p = 0.01). At 12 months after treatment MPT and WPM had normalized, but jitter and normalized noise energy were significantly worse than in normal controls. Comparison of voice outcomes at 12 months for chemoradiotherapy patients revealed superiority over the TL group in all parameters except MPT (18.2 s vs. 10.4 s, p = 0.06). Analysis of the recovery of voice up to 12 months after treatment revealed progressive improvement in most electroglottographic measures. Conclusions: This prospective study demonstrates significantly better outcome for patients treated with chemoradiotherapy as compared with TL. Progressive normalization of many voice parameters occurs over the 12 months following chemoradiotherapy.« less

Experimental Investigation of Normal Shock Boundary-Layer Interaction with Hybrid Flow Control

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Vyas, Manan A.; Hirt, Stefanie M.; Anderson, Bernhard H.

2012-01-01

Hybrid flow control, a combination of micro-ramps and micro-jets, was experimentally investigated in the 15x15 cm Supersonic Wind Tunnel (SWT) at the NASA Glenn Research Center. Full factorial, a design of experiments (DOE) method, was used to develop a test matrix with variables such as inter-ramp spacing, ramp height and chord length, and micro-jet injection flow ratio. A total of 17 configurations were tested with various parameters to meet the DOE criteria. In addition to boundary-layer measurements, oil flow visualization was used to qualitatively understand shock induced flow separation characteristics. The flow visualization showed the normal shock location, size of the separation, path of the downstream moving counter-rotating vortices, and corner flow effects. The results show that hybrid flow control demonstrates promise in reducing the size of shock boundary-layer interactions and resulting flow separation by means of energizing the boundary layer.

Validation of internal controls for gene expression analysis in the intestine of rats infected with Hymenolepis diminuta.

PubMed

Hoque, Tafazzal; Bhogal, Meetu; Boghal, Meetu; Webb, Rodney A

2007-12-01

The non-invasive parasitic cestode Hymenolepis diminuta induces hypertrophy, hyperplasia and other changes in cell activity in the intestine of rats which are indicated in the expression of mRNA. We have investigated various house-keeping genes (GAPDH, beta-actin, 18S and HPRT) and other internal controls (total RNA/unit biomass, total RNA/unit length of intestine) to validate gene expression in the rat intestine after cestode infection and drug-induced neuromodulation. Variation in GAPDH, beta-actin, 18S and HPRT expression was observed in rat jejunal tissue according to treatment. Total RNA/unit length of intestine was found to be the most suitable internal control for normalizing target gene mRNA expression in both infected and/or drug-induced rat intestine. This normalization method may be applied to studies of gene expression levels in intestinal tissue where hypertrophy, hyperplasia, rapid growth and cell differentiation generally occur.

Insulin secretion enhancing activity of roselle calyx extract in normal and streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats

PubMed Central

Wisetmuen, Eamruthai; Pannangpetch, Patchareewan; Kongyingyoes, Bunkerd; Kukongviriyapan, Upa; Yutanawiboonchai, Wiboonchai; Itharat, Arunporn

2013-01-01

Background and Objective: Our recent study revealed the antihyperglycemic activity of an ethanolic extract of roselle calyxes (Hibiscus sabdariffa) in diabetic rats. The present study had, therefore, an objective to investigate the mechanism underlying this activity. Materials and Methods: Male Sprague Dawley rats were induced to be diabetes by intraperitoneal injection of 45 mg/kg streptozotocin (STZ). Normal rats as well as diabetic rats were administered with the ethanolic extract of H. sabdariffa calyxes (HS-EE) at 0.1 and 1.0 g/kg/day, respectively, for 6 weeks. Then, blood glucose and insulin levels, at basal and glucose-stimulated secretions, were measured. The pancreas was dissected to examine histologically. Results: HS-EE 1.0 g/kg/day significantly decreased the blood glucose level by 38 ± 12% in diabetic rats but not in normal rats. In normal rats, treatment with 1.0 g/kg HS-EE increased the basal insulin level significantly as compared with control normal rats (1.28 ± 0.25 and 0.55 ± 0.05 ng/ml, respectively). Interestingly, diabetic rats treated with 1.0 g/kg HS-EE also showed a significant increase in basal insulin level as compared with the control diabetic rats (0.30 ± 0.05 and 0.15 ± 0.01 ng/ml, respectively). Concerning microscopic histological examination, HS-EE 1.0 g/kg significantly increased the number of islets of Langerhans in both normal rats (1.2 ± 0.1 and 2.0 ± 0.1 islet number/10 low-power fields (LPF) for control and HS-EE treated group, respectively) and diabetic rats (1.0 ± 0.3 and 3.9 ± 0.6 islet number/10 LPF for control and HS-EE treated group, respectively). Conclusion: The antidiabetic activity of HS-EE may be partially mediated via the stimulating effect on insulin secretion. PMID:23798879

38 CFR 52.90 - Participant behavior and program practices.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... use of a sedating psychotropic drug to manage or control behavior. (ii) Physical restraint is any method of physically restricting a person's freedom of movement, physical activity or normal access to... any chemical or physical restraints imposed for purposes of discipline or convenience. When a...

14 CFR 91.1101 - Pilots: Initial, transition, and upgrade ground training.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

... consumption and cruise control; (9) Flight planning; (10) Each normal and emergency procedure; and (11) The..., DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION (CONTINUED) AIR TRAFFIC AND GENERAL OPERATING RULES GENERAL OPERATING AND FLIGHT... manager's flight locating procedures; (2) Principles and methods for determining weight and balance, and...

14 CFR 91.1101 - Pilots: Initial, transition, and upgrade ground training.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

... consumption and cruise control; (9) Flight planning; (10) Each normal and emergency procedure; and (11) The..., DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION (CONTINUED) AIR TRAFFIC AND GENERAL OPERATING RULES GENERAL OPERATING AND FLIGHT... manager's flight locating procedures; (2) Principles and methods for determining weight and balance, and...

14 CFR 91.1101 - Pilots: Initial, transition, and upgrade ground training.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

... consumption and cruise control; (9) Flight planning; (10) Each normal and emergency procedure; and (11) The..., DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION (CONTINUED) AIR TRAFFIC AND GENERAL OPERATING RULES GENERAL OPERATING AND FLIGHT... manager's flight locating procedures; (2) Principles and methods for determining weight and balance, and...

Assessment of 1H NMR-based metabolomics analysis for normalization of urinary metals against creatinine.

PubMed

Cassiède, Marc; Nair, Sindhu; Dueck, Meghan; Mino, James; McKay, Ryan; Mercier, Pascal; Quémerais, Bernadette; Lacy, Paige

2017-01-01

Proton nuclear magnetic resonance ( 1 H NMR, or NMR) spectroscopy and inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) are commonly used for metabolomics and metal analysis in urine samples. However, creatinine quantification by NMR for the purpose of normalization of urinary metals has not been validated. We assessed the validity of using NMR analysis for creatinine quantification in human urine samples in order to allow normalization of urinary metal concentrations. NMR and ICP-MS techniques were used to measure metabolite and metal concentrations in urine samples from 10 healthy subjects. For metabolite analysis, two magnetic field strengths (600 and 700MHz) were utilized. In addition, creatinine concentrations were determined by using the Jaffe method. Creatinine levels were strongly correlated (R 2 =0.99) between NMR and Jaffe methods. The NMR spectra were deconvoluted with a target database containing 151 metabolites that are present in urine. A total of 50 metabolites showed good correlation (R 2 =0.7-1.0) at 600 and 700MHz. Metal concentrations determined after NMR-measured creatinine normalization were comparable to previous reports. NMR analysis provided robust urinary creatinine quantification, and was sufficient for normalization of urinary metal concentrations. We found that NMR-measured creatinine-normalized urinary metal concentrations in our control subjects were similar to general population levels in Canada and the United Kingdom. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Lactose Intolerance: Lack of Evidence for Short Stature or Vitamin D Deficiency in Prepubertal Children

PubMed Central

Setty-Shah, Nithya; Maranda, Louise; Candela, Ninfa; Fong, Jay; Dahod, Idris; Rogol, Alan D.; Nwosu, Benjamin Udoka

2013-01-01

ABSTRACT Background The health consequences of lactose intolerance (LI) are unclear. Aims To investigate the effects of LI on stature and vitamin D status. Hypotheses LI subjects will have similar heights and vitamin D status as controls. Subjects and Methods Prepubertal children of ages 3-12 years with LI (n=38, age 8.61 ± 3.08y, male/female 19/19) were compared to healthy, age- and gender-matched controls (n=49, age 7.95±2.64, male/female 28/21). Inclusion criteria: prepubertal status (boys: testicular volume <3cc; girls: Tanner 1 breasts), diagnosis of LI by hydrogen breath test, and no history of calcium or vitamin D supplementation. Vitamin D deficiency was defined as 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D] <50 nmol/L. Gender-adjusted midparental target height (MPTH) z-score was calculated using NCHS data for 18 year-old adults. Data were expressed as mean ± SD. Results There was no significant difference in 25(OH)D between the LI and non-LI subjects (60.1±21.1, vs. 65.4 ± 26.1 nmol/L, p = 0.29). Upon stratification into normal weight (BMI <85th percentile) vs. overweight/obese (BMI ≥85th percentile), the normal weight controls had significantly higher 25(OH)D level than both the normal weight LI children (78.3 ± 32.6 vs. 62.9 ± 23.2, p = 0.025), and the overweight/obese LI children (78.3±32.6 vs. 55.3±16.5, p = 0.004). Secondly, there was no overall difference in height z-score between the LI children and controls. The normal weight LI patients had similar height as normal controls (-0.46 ± 0.89 vs. -0.71 ± 1.67, p = 0.53), while the overweight/obese LI group was taller than the normal weight controls (0.36 ± 1.41 vs. -0.71 ± 1.67, p = 0.049), and of similar height as the overweight/obese controls (0.36 ± 1.41 vs. 0.87 ± 1.45, p = 0.28). MPTH z-score was similar between the groups. Conclusion Short stature and vitamin D deficiency are not features of LI in prepubertal children. PMID:24205288

A Study of Remitted and Treatment-Resistant Depression Using MMPI and Including Pessimism and Optimism Scales

PubMed Central

Suzuki, Masatoshi; Takahashi, Michio; Muneoka, Katsumasa; Sato, Koichi; Hashimoto, Kenji; Shirayama, Yukihiko

2014-01-01

Background The psychological aspects of treatment-resistant and remitted depression are not well documented. Methods We administered the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) to patients with treatment-resistant depression (n = 34), remitted depression (n = 25), acute depression (n = 21), and healthy controls (n = 64). Pessimism and optimism were also evaluated by MMPI. Results ANOVA and post-hoc tests demonstrated that patients with treatment-resistant and acute depression showed similarly high scores for frequent scale (F), hypochondriasis, depression, conversion hysteria, psychopathic device, paranoia, psychasthenia and schizophrenia on the MMPI compared with normal controls. Patients with treatment-resistant depression, but not acute depression registered high on the scale for cannot say answer. Using Student's t-test, patients with remitted depression registered higher on depression and social introversion scales, compared with normal controls. For pessimism and optimism, patients with treatment-resistant depression demonstrated similar changes to acutely depressed patients. Remitted depression patients showed lower optimism than normal controls by Student's t-test, even though these patients were deemed recovered from depression using HAM-D. Conclusions The patients with remitted depression and treatment-resistant depression showed subtle alterations on the MMPI, which may explain the hidden psychological features in these cohorts. PMID:25279466

Low serum uric acid levels in chronic insomnia patients: A case-control study.

PubMed

Zhao, Kai; Luan, Xiaoqian; Liu, Zhihua; Zhu, Zhuoying; Chen, Huijun; Shen, Huiping; Cai, Yan; Qiu, Huihua; Wang, Qiongzhang; Gu, Yingying; Zhu, Lin; He, Jincai

2017-09-14

Recent studies have demonstrated the presence of oxidative stress in insomnia patients. Uric acid (UA) is regarded as one of the most important antioxidants that may attenuate oxidative stress. The aim of our study was to investigate whether there is an alteration of serum UA levels in chronic insomnia patients. The association between sleep quality and serum UA in chronic insomnia patients was also investigated. We recruited 300 chronic insomnia patients and 300 age- and gender-matched normal controls. The uricase-PAP method was used to measure the concentration of UA both in patient and normal control subjects. The Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) was used to assess the sleep quality of chronic insomniac participants. As a result, significantly lower serum UA levels were observed in patients with chronic insomnia when compared with normal control subjects (279.56±65.80 vs. 299.10±61.17μmol/L, t=-3.991, p<0.001). Low serum UA levels were correlated with high PSQI scores in multiple linear regression models (β=-0.322, p<0.001). Our results suggested that low serum UA levels were associated with the presence and severity of chronic insomnia. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Personal cooling in hot workings

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

Tuck, M.A.

1999-07-01

The number of mines experiencing climatic difficulties worldwide is increasing. In a large number of cases these climatic difficulties are confined to working areas only or to specific locations within working areas. Thus the problem in these mines can be described as highly localized, due to a large extent not to high rock temperatures but due to machine heat loads and low airflow rates. Under such situations conventional means of controlling the climate can be inapplicable and/or uneconomic. One possible means of achieving the required level of climatic control, to ensure worker health and safety whilst achieving economic gains, ismore » to adopt a system of active man cooling. This is the reverse of normal control techniques where the cooling power of the ventilating air is enhanced in some way. Current methods of active man cooling include ice jackets and various umbilical cord type systems. These have numerous drawbacks, such as limited useful exposure times and limitations to worker mobility. The paper suggests an alternative method of active man cooling than those currently available and reviews the design criteria for such a garment. The range of application of such a garment is discussed, under both normal and emergency situations.« less

Suppression of seizures based on the multi-coupled neural mass model.

PubMed

Cao, Yuzhen; Ren, Kaili; Su, Fei; Deng, Bin; Wei, Xile; Wang, Jiang

2015-10-01

Epilepsy is one of the most common serious neurological disorders, which affects approximately 1% of population in the world. In order to effectively control the seizures, we propose a novel control methodology, which combines the feedback linearization control (FLC) with the underlying mechanism of epilepsy, to achieve the suppression of seizures. The three coupled neural mass model is constructed to study the property of the electroencephalographs (EEGs). Meanwhile, with the model we research on the propagation of epileptiform waves and the synchronization of populations, which are taken as the foundation of our control method. Results show that the proposed approach not only yields excellent performances in clamping the pathological spiking patterns to the reference signals derived under the normal state but also achieves the normalization of the pathological parameter, where the parameters are estimated from EEGs with Unscented Kalman Filter. The specific contribution of this paper is to treat the epilepsy from its pathogenesis with the FLC, which provides critical theoretical basis for the clinical treatment of neurological disorders.

Bronchial hyper-reactivity in migraine without aura: is it a new clue for inflammation?

PubMed

Kaleagasi, Hakan; Özgür, Eylem; Özge, Cengiz; Özge, Aynur

2011-03-01

We attempted to investigate the relationship between migraine without aura (MwoA) and bronchial hyper-reactivity to postulate inflammation as an underlying mechanism in migraine. Comorbidity of migraine and atopic diseases such as asthma has been an argument for suspected immune system dysfunction in migraineurs. Twenty patients with MwoA and 5 control subjects without history of atophy and asthma were included in study. Subjects with abnormal physical examination and chest radiographs were excluded. After a normal spirometry, methacholine bronchoprovocation test was performed in all subjects and controls according to 5 breath dosimeter methods. Sixteen of 20 patients and 2 of 5 control subjects were women. Mean ages were 37.5 (19-56) and 33.8 (26-43) years, respectively. Methacholine bronchoprovocation test was positive in 3 patients (15%) but was normal in all controls (0%). The relationship between MwoA and bronchial hyper-reactivity may help to postulate the inflammation in migraine as an underlying mechanism. © 2010 American Headache Society.

Molecular imaging reveals elevated VEGFR-2 expression in retinal capillaries in diabetes: a novel biomarker for early diagnosis.

PubMed

Sun, Dawei; Nakao, Shintaro; Xie, Fang; Zandi, Souska; Bagheri, Abouzar; Kanavi, Mozhgan Rezaei; Samiei, Shahram; Soheili, Zahra-Soheila; Frimmel, Sonja; Zhang, Zhongyu; Ablonczy, Zsolt; Ahmadieh, Hamid; Hafezi-Moghadam, Ali

2014-09-01

Diabetic retinopathy (DR) is a microvascular complication of diabetes and a leading cause of vision loss. Biomarkers and methods for early diagnosis of DR are urgently needed. Using a new molecular imaging approach, we show up to 94% higher accumulation of custom designed imaging probes against vascular endothelial growth factor receptor 2 (VEGFR-2) in retinal and choroidal vessels of diabetic animals (P<0.01), compared to normal controls. More than 80% of the VEGFR-2 in the diabetic retina was in the capillaries, compared to 47% in normal controls (P<0.01). Angiography in rabbit retinas revealed microvascular capillaries to be the location for VEGF-A-induced leakage, as expressed by significantly higher rate of fluorophore spreading with VEGF-A injection when compared to vehicle control (26±2 vs. 3±1 μm/s, P<0.05). Immunohistochemistry showed VEGFR-2 expression in capillaries of diabetic animals but not in normal controls. Macular vessels from diabetic patients (n=7) showed significantly more VEGFR-2 compared to nondiabetic controls (n=5) or peripheral retinal regions of the same retinas (P<0.01 in both cases). Here we introduce a new approach for early diagnosis of DR and VEGFR-2 as a molecular marker. VEGFR-2 could become a key diagnostic target, one that might help to prevent retinal vascular leakage and proliferation in diabetic patients. © FASEB.

Endothelin and sex hormones modulate the fibronectin synthesis by cultured human skin scleroderma fibroblasts

PubMed Central

Soldano, S; Montagna, P; Villaggio, B; Parodi, A; Gianotti, G; Sulli, A; Seriolo, B; Secchi, M E; Cutolo, M

2009-01-01

Objective: To evaluate the influence of endothelin-1 (ET-1) and sex hormones on cell proliferation and extracellular matrix (ECM) synthesis (ie, fibronectin, laminin) by cultured normal and scleroderma (SSc) human skin fibroblasts (FBs). Methods: Primary cultures of FBs were treated with ET-1 and sex hormones (17β-oestradiol or testosterone) for 24 h. Cell growth was analysed by methiltetrazolium salt test, ECM synthesis was evaluated by immunocytochemistry and western blot, both at 24 h. Results: In normal FBs, ET-1 and 17β-oestradiol, as well as their combination, increased cell growth (p<0.001, p<0.001, p<0.01 vs untreated cells (control), respectively) and fibronectin synthesis (p<0.05, p<0.05, p<0.01 vs control, respectively). By contrast, testosterone either alone or in combination with ET-1 did not influence cell proliferation, but decreased fibronectin synthesis (p<0.05, testosterone vs control). In SSc FBs, ET-1 and 17β-oestradiol alone or their combination induced an increased fibronectin synthesis (p<0.05, p<0.05, p<0.01 vs control, respectively). Unexpectedly, testosterone induced an increase of fibronectin synthesis (p<0.05 vs control). Conclusions: ET-1 and 17β-oestradiol seem to exert a profibrotic effect in normal and SSc culture FBs and might suggest their synergistic effect in the pathogenesis of the fibrotic process in SSc. PMID:18952637

Super-delta: a new differential gene expression analysis procedure with robust data normalization.

PubMed

Liu, Yuhang; Zhang, Jinfeng; Qiu, Xing

2017-12-21

Normalization is an important data preparation step in gene expression analyses, designed to remove various systematic noise. Sample variance is greatly reduced after normalization, hence the power of subsequent statistical analyses is likely to increase. On the other hand, variance reduction is made possible by borrowing information across all genes, including differentially expressed genes (DEGs) and outliers, which will inevitably introduce some bias. This bias typically inflates type I error; and can reduce statistical power in certain situations. In this study we propose a new differential expression analysis pipeline, dubbed as super-delta, that consists of a multivariate extension of the global normalization and a modified t-test. A robust procedure is designed to minimize the bias introduced by DEGs in the normalization step. The modified t-test is derived based on asymptotic theory for hypothesis testing that suitably pairs with the proposed robust normalization. We first compared super-delta with four commonly used normalization methods: global, median-IQR, quantile, and cyclic loess normalization in simulation studies. Super-delta was shown to have better statistical power with tighter control of type I error rate than its competitors. In many cases, the performance of super-delta is close to that of an oracle test in which datasets without technical noise were used. We then applied all methods to a collection of gene expression datasets on breast cancer patients who received neoadjuvant chemotherapy. While there is a substantial overlap of the DEGs identified by all of them, super-delta were able to identify comparatively more DEGs than its competitors. Downstream gene set enrichment analysis confirmed that all these methods selected largely consistent pathways. Detailed investigations on the relatively small differences showed that pathways identified by super-delta have better connections to breast cancer than other methods. As a new pipeline, super-delta provides new insights to the area of differential gene expression analysis. Solid theoretical foundation supports its asymptotic unbiasedness and technical noise-free properties. Implementation on real and simulated datasets demonstrates its decent performance compared with state-of-art procedures. It also has the potential of expansion to be incorporated with other data type and/or more general between-group comparison problems.

A new normalizing algorithm for BAC CGH arrays with quality control metrics.

PubMed

Miecznikowski, Jeffrey C; Gaile, Daniel P; Liu, Song; Shepherd, Lori; Nowak, Norma

2011-01-01

The main focus in pin-tip (or print-tip) microarray analysis is determining which probes, genes, or oligonucleotides are differentially expressed. Specifically in array comparative genomic hybridization (aCGH) experiments, researchers search for chromosomal imbalances in the genome. To model this data, scientists apply statistical methods to the structure of the experiment and assume that the data consist of the signal plus random noise. In this paper we propose "SmoothArray", a new method to preprocess comparative genomic hybridization (CGH) bacterial artificial chromosome (BAC) arrays and we show the effects on a cancer dataset. As part of our R software package "aCGHplus," this freely available algorithm removes the variation due to the intensity effects, pin/print-tip, the spatial location on the microarray chip, and the relative location from the well plate. removal of this variation improves the downstream analysis and subsequent inferences made on the data. Further, we present measures to evaluate the quality of the dataset according to the arrayer pins, 384-well plates, plate rows, and plate columns. We compare our method against competing methods using several metrics to measure the biological signal. With this novel normalization algorithm and quality control measures, the user can improve their inferences on datasets and pinpoint problems that may arise in their BAC aCGH technology.

[Improvement in Phoneme Discrimination in Noise in Normal Hearing Adults].

PubMed

Schumann, A; Garea Garcia, L; Hoppe, U

2017-02-01

Objective: The study's aim was to examine the possibility to train phoneme-discrimination in noise with normal hearing adults, and its effectivity on speech recognition in noise. A specific computerised training program was used, consisting of special nonsense-syllables with background noise, to train participants' discrimination ability. Material and Methods: 46 normal hearing subjects took part in this study, 28 as training group participants, 18 as control group participants. Only the training group subjects were asked to train over a period of 3 weeks, twice a week for an hour with a computer-based training program. Speech recognition in noise were measured pre- to posttraining for the training group subjects with the Freiburger Einsilber Test. The control group subjects obtained test and restest measures within a 2-3 week break. For the training group follow-up speech recognition was measured 2-3 months after the end of the training. Results: The majority of training group subjects improved their phoneme discrimination significantly. Besides, their speech recognition in noise improved significantly during the training compared to the control group, and remained stable for a period of time. Conclusions: Phonem-Discrimination in noise can be trained by normal hearing adults. The improvements have got a positiv effect on speech recognition in noise, also for a longer period of time. © Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.

A systematic evaluation of normalization methods in quantitative label-free proteomics.

PubMed

Välikangas, Tommi; Suomi, Tomi; Elo, Laura L

2018-01-01

To date, mass spectrometry (MS) data remain inherently biased as a result of reasons ranging from sample handling to differences caused by the instrumentation. Normalization is the process that aims to account for the bias and make samples more comparable. The selection of a proper normalization method is a pivotal task for the reliability of the downstream analysis and results. Many normalization methods commonly used in proteomics have been adapted from the DNA microarray techniques. Previous studies comparing normalization methods in proteomics have focused mainly on intragroup variation. In this study, several popular and widely used normalization methods representing different strategies in normalization are evaluated using three spike-in and one experimental mouse label-free proteomic data sets. The normalization methods are evaluated in terms of their ability to reduce variation between technical replicates, their effect on differential expression analysis and their effect on the estimation of logarithmic fold changes. Additionally, we examined whether normalizing the whole data globally or in segments for the differential expression analysis has an effect on the performance of the normalization methods. We found that variance stabilization normalization (Vsn) reduced variation the most between technical replicates in all examined data sets. Vsn also performed consistently well in the differential expression analysis. Linear regression normalization and local regression normalization performed also systematically well. Finally, we discuss the choice of a normalization method and some qualities of a suitable normalization method in the light of the results of our evaluation. © The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press.

A bias in the "mass-normalized" DTT response - An effect of non-linear concentration-response curves for copper and manganese

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Charrier, Jessica G.; McFall, Alexander S.; Vu, Kennedy K.-T.; Baroi, James; Olea, Catalina; Hasson, Alam; Anastasio, Cort

2016-11-01

The dithiothreitol (DTT) assay is widely used to measure the oxidative potential of particulate matter. Results are typically presented in mass-normalized units (e.g., pmols DTT lost per minute per microgram PM) to allow for comparison among samples. Use of this unit assumes that the mass-normalized DTT response is constant and independent of the mass concentration of PM added to the DTT assay. However, based on previous work that identified non-linear DTT responses for copper and manganese, this basic assumption (that the mass-normalized DTT response is independent of the concentration of PM added to the assay) should not be true for samples where Cu and Mn contribute significantly to the DTT signal. To test this we measured the DTT response at multiple PM concentrations for eight ambient particulate samples collected at two locations in California. The results confirm that for samples with significant contributions from Cu and Mn, the mass-normalized DTT response can strongly depend on the concentration of PM added to the assay, varying by up to an order of magnitude for PM concentrations between 2 and 34 μg mL-1. This mass dependence confounds useful interpretation of DTT assay data in samples with significant contributions from Cu and Mn, requiring additional quality control steps to check for this bias. To minimize this problem, we discuss two methods to correct the mass-normalized DTT result and we apply those methods to our samples. We find that it is possible to correct the mass-normalized DTT result, although the correction methods have some drawbacks and add uncertainty to DTT analyses. More broadly, other DTT-active species might also have non-linear concentration-responses in the assay and cause a bias. In addition, the same problem of Cu- and Mn-mediated bias in mass-normalized DTT results might affect other measures of acellular redox activity in PM and needs to be addressed.

Proximal and distal esophageal sensitivity is decreased in patients with Barrett’s esophagus

PubMed Central

Krarup, Anne L; Olesen, Søren S; Funch-Jensen, Peter; Gregersen, Hans; Drewes, Asbjørn M

2011-01-01

AIM: To investigate sensations to multimodal pain stimulation in the metaplastic and normal parts of the esophagus in patients with Barrett’s esophagus (BE). METHODS: Fifteen patients with BE and 15 age-matched healthy volunteers were subjected to mechanical, thermal and electrical pain stimuli of the esophagus. Both the metaplastic part and the normal part (4 and 14 cm, respectively, above the esophago-gastric junction) were examined. At sensory thresholds the stimulation intensity, referred pain areas, and evoked brain potentials were recorded. RESULTS: Patients were hyposensitive to heat stimulation both in the metaplastic part [median stimulation time to reach the pain detection threshold: 15 (12-34) s vs 14 (6-23) s in controls; F = 4.5, P = 0.04] and the normal part of the esophagus [median 17 (6-32) s vs 13 (8-20) s in controls; F = 6.2, P = 0.02]. Furthermore, patients were hyposensitive in the metaplastic part of the esophagus to mechanical distension [median volume at moderate pain: 50 (20-50) mL vs 33 (13-50) mL in controls; F = 5.7, P = 0.02]. No indication of central nervous system abnormalities was present, as responses were comparable between groups to electrical pain stimuli in the metaplastic part [median current evoking moderate pain: 13 (6-26) mA vs 12 (9-24) mA in controls; F = 0.1, P = 0.7], and in the normal part of the esophagus [median current evoking moderate pain: 9 (6-16) mA, vs 11 (5-11) mA in controls; F = 3.4, P = 0.07]. Furthermore, no differences were seen for the referred pain areas (P-values all > 0.3) or latencies and amplitudes for the evoked brain potentials (P-values all > 0.1). CONCLUSION: Patients with BE are hyposensitive both in the metaplastic and normal part of esophagus likely as a result of abnormalities affecting peripheral nerve pathways. PMID:21274382

SU-E-T-630: Predictive Modeling of Mortality, Tumor Control, and Normal Tissue Complications After Stereotactic Body Radiotherapy for Stage I Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer

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

Lindsay, WD; Oncora Medical, LLC, Philadelphia, PA; Berlind, CG

Purpose: While rates of local control have been well characterized after stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT) for stage I non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), less data are available characterizing survival and normal tissue toxicities, and no validated models exist assessing these parameters after SBRT. We evaluate the reliability of various machine learning techniques when applied to radiation oncology datasets to create predictive models of mortality, tumor control, and normal tissue complications. Methods: A dataset of 204 consecutive patients with stage I non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) treated with stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT) at the University of Pennsylvania between 2009 and 2013more » was used to create predictive models of tumor control, normal tissue complications, and mortality in this IRB-approved study. Nearly 200 data fields of detailed patient- and tumor-specific information, radiotherapy dosimetric measurements, and clinical outcomes data were collected. Predictive models were created for local tumor control, 1- and 3-year overall survival, and nodal failure using 60% of the data (leaving the remainder as a test set). After applying feature selection and dimensionality reduction, nonlinear support vector classification was applied to the resulting features. Models were evaluated for accuracy and area under ROC curve on the 81-patient test set. Results: Models for common events in the dataset (such as mortality at one year) had the highest predictive power (AUC = .67, p < 0.05). For rare occurrences such as radiation pneumonitis and local failure (each occurring in less than 10% of patients), too few events were present to create reliable models. Conclusion: Although this study demonstrates the validity of predictive analytics using information extracted from patient medical records and can most reliably predict for survival after SBRT, larger sample sizes are needed to develop predictive models for normal tissue toxicities and more advanced machine learning methodologies need be consider in the future.« less

Facile Fabrication of Hierarchically Thermoresponsive Binary Polymer Pattern for Controlled Cell Adhesion.

PubMed

Hou, Jianwen; Cui, Lele; Chen, Runhai; Xu, Xiaodong; Chen, Jiayue; Yin, Ligang; Liu, Jingchuan; Shi, Qiang; Yin, Jinghua

2018-03-01

A versatile platform allowing capture and detection of normal and dysfunctional cells on the same patterned surface is important for accessing the cellular mechanism, developing diagnostic assays, and implementing therapy. Here, an original and effective method for fabricating binary polymer brushes pattern is developed for controlled cell adhesion. The binary polymer brushes pattern, composed of poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (PNIPAAm) and poly[poly(ethylene glycol) methyl ether methacrylate] (POEGMA) chains, is simply obtained via a combination of surface-initiated photopolymerization and surface-activated free radical polymerization. This method is unique in that it does not utilize any protecting groups or procedures of backfilling with immobilized initiator. It is demonstrated that the precise and well-defined binary polymer patterns with high resolution are fabricated using this facile method. PNIPAAm chains capture and release cells by thermoresponsiveness, while POEGMA chains possess high capability to capture dysfunctional cells specifically, inducing a switch of normal red blood cells (RBCs) arrays to hemolytic RBCs arrays on the pattern with temperature. This novel platform composed of binary polymer brush pattern is smart and versatile, which opens up pathways to potential applications as microsensors, biochips, and bioassays. © 2018 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Identification of differential pathways in papillary thyroid carcinoma utilizing pathway co-expression analysis.

PubMed

Qiu, Wei-Hai; Chen, Gui-Yan; Cui, Lu; Zhang, Ting-Ming; Wei, Feng; Yang, Yong

2016-01-01

To identify differential pathways between papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) patients and normal controls utilizing a novel method which combined pathway with co-expression network. The proposed method included three steps. In the first step, we conducted pretreatments for background pathways and gained representative pathways in PTC. Subsequently, a co-expression network for representative pathways was constructed using empirical Bayes (EB) approach to assign a weight value for each pathway. Finally, random model was extracted to set the thresholds of identifying differential pathways. We obtained 1267 representative pathways and their weight values based on the co-expressed pathway network, and then by meeting the criterion (Weight > 0.0296), 87 differential pathways in total across PTC patients and normal controls were identified. The top three ranked differential pathways were CREB phosphorylation, attachment of GPI anchor to urokinase plasminogen activator receptor (uPAR) and loss of function of SMAD2/3 in cancer. In conclusion, we successfully identified differential pathways (such as CREB phosphorylation, attachment of GPI anchor to uPAR and post-translational modification: synthesis of GPI-anchored proteins) for PTC using the proposed pathway co-expression method, and these pathways might be potential biomarkers for target therapy and detection of PTC.

Application of extremum seeking for time-varying systems to resonance control of RF cavities

DOE PAGES

Scheinker, Alexander

2016-09-13

A recently developed form of extremum seeking for time-varying systems is implemented in hardware for the resonance control of radio-frequency cavities without phase measurements. Normal conducting RF cavity resonance control is performed via a slug tuner, while superconducting TESLA-type cavity resonance control is performed via piezo actuators. The controller maintains resonance by minimizing reflected power by utilizing model-independent adaptive feedback. Unlike standard phase-measurement-based resonance control, the presented approach is not sensitive to arbitrary phase shifts of the RF signals due to temperature-dependent cable length or phasemeasurement hardware changes. The phase independence of this method removes common slowly varying drifts andmore » required periodic recalibration of phase-based methods. A general overview of the adaptive controller is presented along with the proof of principle experimental results at room temperature. Lastly, this method allows us to both maintain a cavity at a desired resonance frequency and also to dynamically modify its resonance frequency to track the unknown time-varying frequency of an RF source, thereby maintaining maximal cavity field strength, based only on power-level measurements.« less

Novel adipokines WISP1 and betatrophin in PCOS: relationship to AMH levels, atherogenic and metabolic profile.

PubMed

Sahin Ersoy, Gulcin; Altun Ensari, Tugba; Vatansever, Dogan; Emirdar, Volkan; Cevik, Ozge

2017-02-01

To determine the levels of WISP1 and betatrophin in normal weight and obese women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) and to assess their relationship with anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH) levels, atherogenic profile and metabolic parameters Methods: In this prospective cross-sectional study, the study group was composed of 49 normal weighed and 34 obese women with PCOS diagnosed based on the Rotterdam criteria; 36 normal weight and 26 obese age matched non-hyperandrogenemic women with regular menstrual cycle. Serum WISP1, betatrophin, homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) and AMH levels were evaluated. Univariate and multivariate analyses were performed between betatrophin, WISP1 levels and AMH levels, metabolic and atherogenic parameters. Serum WISP1 and betatrophin values were elevated in the PCOS group than in the control group. Moreover, serum WISP1 and betatrophin levels were higher in the obese PCOS subgroup than in normal weight and obese control subgroups. Multivariate analyses revealed that Body mass index, HOMA-IR, AMH independently and positively predicted WISP1 levels. Serum betatrophin level variability was explained by homocysteine, HOMA-IR and androstenedione levels. WISP1 and betatrophin may play a key role on the pathogenesis of PCOS.

Tissue-aware RNA-Seq processing and normalization for heterogeneous and sparse data.

PubMed

Paulson, Joseph N; Chen, Cho-Yi; Lopes-Ramos, Camila M; Kuijjer, Marieke L; Platig, John; Sonawane, Abhijeet R; Fagny, Maud; Glass, Kimberly; Quackenbush, John

2017-10-03

Although ultrahigh-throughput RNA-Sequencing has become the dominant technology for genome-wide transcriptional profiling, the vast majority of RNA-Seq studies typically profile only tens of samples, and most analytical pipelines are optimized for these smaller studies. However, projects are generating ever-larger data sets comprising RNA-Seq data from hundreds or thousands of samples, often collected at multiple centers and from diverse tissues. These complex data sets present significant analytical challenges due to batch and tissue effects, but provide the opportunity to revisit the assumptions and methods that we use to preprocess, normalize, and filter RNA-Seq data - critical first steps for any subsequent analysis. We find that analysis of large RNA-Seq data sets requires both careful quality control and the need to account for sparsity due to the heterogeneity intrinsic in multi-group studies. We developed Yet Another RNA Normalization software pipeline (YARN), that includes quality control and preprocessing, gene filtering, and normalization steps designed to facilitate downstream analysis of large, heterogeneous RNA-Seq data sets and we demonstrate its use with data from the Genotype-Tissue Expression (GTEx) project. An R package instantiating YARN is available at http://bioconductor.org/packages/yarn .

TRAJECTORY AND CORRELATES OF GROWTH OF EXTREMELY LOW BIRTH WEIGHT ADOLESCENTS

PubMed Central

Hack, Maureen; Schluchter, Mark; Margevicius, Seunghee; Andreias, Laura; Taylor, Gerry; Cuttler, Leona

2014-01-01

Background Catch-up growth may predispose to obesity and metabolic sequelae. We sought to examine the trajectory and correlates of growth and catch-up among extremely low birth weight (ELBW, <1 kg) adolescents. Methods Cohort study of 148 neurologically normal ELBW children and 115 normal birth weight (NBW) controls born 1992 through 1995. Longitudinal measures of gender-specific growth of ELBW children from birth, and growth and measures of obesity of ELBW and NBW children at 14 years. Results Following neonatal growth failure, ELBW children had accelerated growth, but at 8 years they still had lower weight and height z scores than NBW children. By 14 years ELBW boys had caught up in growth to their NBW controls but ELBW girls remained significantly smaller. ELBW children however did not differ from their controls in measures of obesity. In hierarchical multiple regression analyses only maternal BMI and weight gain during infancy and childhood predicted the ELBW children’s 14-year weight z scores, BMI z scores and abdominal circumference. Perinatal risk factors including intrauterine growth only predicted growth up to 20 months. Conclusion Maternal BMI and rate of growth, rather than perinatal factors, predict 14-year obesity among neurologically normal ELBW adolescents. PMID:24216539

The design of traffic signal coordinated control

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Guo, Xueting; Sun, Hongsheng; Wang, Xifu

2017-05-01

Traffic as the tertiary industry is an important pillar industry to support the normal development of the economy. But now China's road traffic development and economic development has shown a great imbalance and fault phenomenon, which greatly inhibited the normal development of China's economy. Now in many large and medium-sized cities in China are implementing green belt construction. The so-called green band is when the road conditions to meet the conditions for the establishment of the green band, the sections of the intersection of several planning to a traffic coordination control system, so that when the driver at a specific speed can be achieved without stopping the continuous Through the intersection. Green belt can effectively reduce the delay and queuing length of vehicle driving, the normal function of urban roads and reduce the economic losses caused by traffic congestion is a great help. In this paper, the theoretical basis of the design of the coordinated control system is described. Secondly, the green time offset is calculated by the analytic method and the green band is established. And then the VISSIM software is used to simulate the traffic system before and after the improvement. Finally, the results of the two simulations are compared.

9 CFR 149.7 - Recordkeeping at site.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... disposal method for all unused bait that is replaced. (iv) It must document the brand name and active... the feed mill maintains records of pest management practices or has records generated by a pest... normal business hours. (Approved by the Office of Management and Budget under control number 0579-0323) ...

The Relationship between Speech Production and Speech Perception Deficits in Parkinson's Disease

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

De Keyser, Kim; Santens, Patrick; Bockstael, Annelies; Botteldooren, Dick; Talsma, Durk; De Vos, Stefanie; Van Cauwenberghe, Mieke; Verheugen, Femke; Corthals, Paul; De Letter, Miet

2016-01-01

Purpose: This study investigated the possible relationship between hypokinetic speech production and speech intensity perception in patients with Parkinson's disease (PD). Method: Participants included 14 patients with idiopathic PD and 14 matched healthy controls (HCs) with normal hearing and cognition. First, speech production was objectified…

Rest-Activity Cycles in Childhood and Adolescent Depression.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Armitage, Roseanne; Hoffmann, Robert; Emslie, Graham; Rintelman, Jeanne; Moore, Jarrette; Lewis, Kelly

2004-01-01

Objective: To quantify circadian rhythms in rest-activity cycles in depressed children and adolescents. Method: Restactivity cycles were evaluated by actigraphy over five consecutive 24-hour periods in 100 children and adolescents, including 59 outpatients with major depressive disorder (MDD) and 41 healthy normal controls. Total activity, total…

Empathy in Boys with Disruptive Behavior Disorders

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

de Wied, Minet; Goudena, Paul P.; Matthys, Walter

2005-01-01

Background: The present study examined empathy in 8- to 12-year-old clinically referred boys with disruptive behavior disorders (DBD) (n = 25) and age-matched normal controls (n = 24). Method: Situational empathy was assessed by children's emotional and cognitive responses to six empathy-inducing vignettes (displaying sadness, anger or happiness).…

The Variance Normalization Method of Ridge Regression Analysis.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bulcock, J. W.; And Others

The testing of contemporary sociological theory often calls for the application of structural-equation models to data which are inherently collinear. It is shown that simple ridge regression, which is commonly used for controlling the instability of ordinary least squares regression estimates in ill-conditioned data sets, is not a legitimate…

Long-Term Effect of Prefrontal Lobotomy on Verbal Fluency in Patients with Schizophrenia

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Stip, Emmanuel; Bigras, Marie-Josee.; Mancini-Marie, Adham; Cosset, Marie-Eve.; Black, Deborah; Lecours, Andre-Roch

2004-01-01

Objective: This study investigated the long-term effects of bilateral prefrontal leukotomy on lexical abilities in schizophrenia subjects. Method: We compared performances of leukotomized (LSP), non-leukotomized schizophrenia patients (NLSP) and normal controls, using a test of verbal fluency. Multiple case and triple comparison design were…

Speech Effort Measurement and Stuttering: Investigating the Chorus Reading Effect

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ingham, Roger J.; Warner, Allison; Byrd, Anne; Cotton, John

2006-01-01

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to investigate chorus reading's (CR's) effect on speech effort during oral reading by adult stuttering speakers and control participants. The effect of a speech effort measurement highlighting strategy was also investigated. Method: Twelve persistent stuttering (PS) adults and 12 normally fluent control…

The clinical evaluation of International Normalized Ratio variability and control in conventional oral anticoagulant administration by use of the variance growth rate.

PubMed

Ibrahim, S; Jespersen, J; Poller, L

2013-08-01

The time in target International Normalized Ratio (INR) range (TIR) is used to assess the control and intensity of oral anticoagulation, but it does not measure variation in the INR. The value of assessing INR variability by use of the variance growth rate (VGR) as a predictor of events was investigated in patients treated with warfarin. Three different methods of VGR determination (A, B1, and B2) together with the TIR were studied. Method A measures both INR variability and control, but methods B1 and B2 measure variability only. The VGR and TIR were determined over three time periods: overall follow-up to an event, and 6 months and 3 months before an event. Six hundred and sixty-one control patients were matched to 158 cases (bleeding, thromboembolism, or death). With all VGR methods, the risk of an event was greater in unstable patients at 6 months before an event than in stable patients. Method A demonstrated the greatest risk 3 months before an event in the unstable VGR group as compared with the stable group (odds ratio 3.3, 95% confidence interval 1.9-5.7, P < 0.005). The risk of an event was 1.9 times greater in patients with a low TIR (< 39%) than in those with a high TIR (> 80%) in the 3-month period (P = 0.02). Risk of bleeding was significantly greater in the 3-month period in patients with unstable VGR, with the greatest risk found with method B2 (P < 0.01). Patients with unstable anticoagulation have a significantly increased risk of 'clinical events' at 3 and 6 months before an event. The VGR can be incorporated into computer-dosage programs, and may offer additional safety when oral anticoagulation is monitored. © 2013 International Society on Thrombosis and Haemostasis.

A novel fibrinogen variant--Liberec: dysfibrinogenaemia associated with gamma Tyr262Cys substitution.

PubMed

Kotlín, Roman; Sobotková, Alzbeta; Suttnar, Jirí; Salaj, Peter; Walterová, Lenka; Riedel, Tomás; Reicheltová, Zuzana; Dyr, Jan Evangelista

2008-08-01

A 22-yr-old woman had abnormal preoperative coagulation test results and congenital dysfibrinogenaemia was suspected. The patient from Liberec (Czech Republic) had a low fibrinogen plasma level as determined by Clauss method, normal fibrinogen level as determined by immunoturbidimetrical method, and prolonged thrombin time. To identify the genetic mutation responsible for this dysfibrinogen, genomic DNA extracted from the blood was analysed. Fibrin polymerisation measurement, kinetics of fibrinopeptide release, fibrinogen clottability measurement and scanning electron microscopy were performed. DNA sequencing showed the heterozygous fibrinogen gamma Y262C mutation. Kinetics of fibrinopeptide release was normal, however fibrin polymerisation was impaired. Fibrinogen clottability measurement showed that only about 45% molecules of fibrinogen are involved in the clot formation. Scanning electron microscopy revealed thicker fibres, which were significantly different from the normal control. A case of dysfibrinogenaemia, found by routine coagulation testing, was genetically identified as a novel fibrinogen variant (gamma Y262C) that has been named Liberec.

Evaluation of the repeatability of a crude adult indirect Ostertagia ostertagi ELISA and methods of expressing test results.

PubMed

Sanchez, J; Dohoo, I R; Markham, F; Leslie, K; Conboy, G

2002-10-16

An indirect enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) for the detection of antibodies against Ostertagia ostertagi using a crude adult worm antigen was evaluated using serum and milk samples from adult cows, as well as from bulk tank milk. Within and between plate repeatabilities were determined. In addition, the effects of factors such as antigen batch, freezing, preserving of the samples and somatic cell counts (SCCs) of the samples were evaluated. Raw optical densities (ODs) and normalized values were compared using the concordance correlation coefficient (CCC), the coefficient of variation (CV), Bland-Altman plots (BA). Based on raw OD values, there was a high repeatability within a plate (CCC approximately 0.96 and CV<10%). Repeatability between plates was evaluated following normalization of OD values by four methods. Computing normalized values as (OD-Nt)/(Pst-Nt), gave the most repeatable results, with the CCC being approximately 0.95 and the CV approximately 11%. When the OD values were higher than 1.2 and 0.3 for the positive and the negative controls, respectively, none of the normalization methods evaluated provided highly repeatable results and it was necessary to repeat the test. Two batches of the crude antigen preparation were evaluated for repeatability, and no difference was found (CCC=0.96). The use of preservative (bronopol) did not affect test results, nor did freezing the samples for up to 8 months. A significant positive relationship between ELISA OD for milk samples and SCC score was found. Therefore, the use of composite milk samples, which have less variable SCC than samples taken from each quarter, would be more suitable when the udder health status is unknown. The analytical methods used to evaluate repeatability provided a practical way to select among normalization procedures.

SAAS-CNV: A Joint Segmentation Approach on Aggregated and Allele Specific Signals for the Identification of Somatic Copy Number Alterations with Next-Generation Sequencing Data.

PubMed

Zhang, Zhongyang; Hao, Ke

2015-11-01

Cancer genomes exhibit profound somatic copy number alterations (SCNAs). Studying tumor SCNAs using massively parallel sequencing provides unprecedented resolution and meanwhile gives rise to new challenges in data analysis, complicated by tumor aneuploidy and heterogeneity as well as normal cell contamination. While the majority of read depth based methods utilize total sequencing depth alone for SCNA inference, the allele specific signals are undervalued. We proposed a joint segmentation and inference approach using both signals to meet some of the challenges. Our method consists of four major steps: 1) extracting read depth supporting reference and alternative alleles at each SNP/Indel locus and comparing the total read depth and alternative allele proportion between tumor and matched normal sample; 2) performing joint segmentation on the two signal dimensions; 3) correcting the copy number baseline from which the SCNA state is determined; 4) calling SCNA state for each segment based on both signal dimensions. The method is applicable to whole exome/genome sequencing (WES/WGS) as well as SNP array data in a tumor-control study. We applied the method to a dataset containing no SCNAs to test the specificity, created by pairing sequencing replicates of a single HapMap sample as normal/tumor pairs, as well as a large-scale WGS dataset consisting of 88 liver tumors along with adjacent normal tissues. Compared with representative methods, our method demonstrated improved accuracy, scalability to large cancer studies, capability in handling both sequencing and SNP array data, and the potential to improve the estimation of tumor ploidy and purity.

SAAS-CNV: A Joint Segmentation Approach on Aggregated and Allele Specific Signals for the Identification of Somatic Copy Number Alterations with Next-Generation Sequencing Data

PubMed Central

Zhang, Zhongyang; Hao, Ke

2015-01-01

Cancer genomes exhibit profound somatic copy number alterations (SCNAs). Studying tumor SCNAs using massively parallel sequencing provides unprecedented resolution and meanwhile gives rise to new challenges in data analysis, complicated by tumor aneuploidy and heterogeneity as well as normal cell contamination. While the majority of read depth based methods utilize total sequencing depth alone for SCNA inference, the allele specific signals are undervalued. We proposed a joint segmentation and inference approach using both signals to meet some of the challenges. Our method consists of four major steps: 1) extracting read depth supporting reference and alternative alleles at each SNP/Indel locus and comparing the total read depth and alternative allele proportion between tumor and matched normal sample; 2) performing joint segmentation on the two signal dimensions; 3) correcting the copy number baseline from which the SCNA state is determined; 4) calling SCNA state for each segment based on both signal dimensions. The method is applicable to whole exome/genome sequencing (WES/WGS) as well as SNP array data in a tumor-control study. We applied the method to a dataset containing no SCNAs to test the specificity, created by pairing sequencing replicates of a single HapMap sample as normal/tumor pairs, as well as a large-scale WGS dataset consisting of 88 liver tumors along with adjacent normal tissues. Compared with representative methods, our method demonstrated improved accuracy, scalability to large cancer studies, capability in handling both sequencing and SNP array data, and the potential to improve the estimation of tumor ploidy and purity. PMID:26583378

A microplate reader-based method to quantify NADH-cytochrome b5 reductase activity for diagnosis of recessive congenital methaemoglobinemia.

PubMed

Kedar, Prabhakar; Desai, Anand; Warang, Prashant; Colah, Roshan

2017-05-01

Congenital methemoglobinemia due to NADH-cytochrome b5 reductase 3 (CYB5R3) deficiencies is an autosomal recessive disorder that occurs sporadically worldwide, A sensitive, accurate, and rapid analysis of NADH-CYB5R enzyme concentrations is necessary for the diagnosis of RCM. Here we present an alternative microplate method that is based on a standard 96-well microplate format and microplate reader that simplify the quantification of NADH-CYB5R activity. TECAN (Infinite 200 PRO series) microplate reader with Tecan's proven Magellan™ software measured the NADH-CYB5R enzyme activity in 250 normal controls and previously diagnosed 25 cases of RCM due to NADH-CYB5R deficiency in the Indian population using 96-well microplates using 200 μl of total reaction mixture and also compared with standard spectrophotometric assay. We have also studied stability of the hemolysate stored at 4 and -20°C temperature. Enzyme activity in all 25 samples ranged from 6.09 to 10.07 IU/g Hb (mean ± SD: 8.08 ± 1.99 IU/g Hb) where as normal control ranged (n = 250) between 13.42 and 21.58 IU/g Hb) (mean ± SD: 17.5 ± 4.08 IU/g of Hb). Data obtained from the microplate reader were compared with standard spectrophotometer method and found 100% concordance using both methods. Microplate method allows differentiating between normal, deficient and intermediate enzyme activity. It was observed that samples had significant loss of activity when stored at 4°C and retained stable activity at -20°C for 1 week time. Our new method, incorporating a whole process of enzyme assay into a microplate format is readily applicable and allows rapid monitoring of enzyme assay. It is readily applicable to quantitative assay on pediatric sample as well as large number of samples for population screening.

Comparison of machine learning and semi-quantification algorithms for (I123)FP-CIT classification: the beginning of the end for semi-quantification?

PubMed

Taylor, Jonathan Christopher; Fenner, John Wesley

2017-11-29

Semi-quantification methods are well established in the clinic for assisted reporting of (I123) Ioflupane images. Arguably, these are limited diagnostic tools. Recent research has demonstrated the potential for improved classification performance offered by machine learning algorithms. A direct comparison between methods is required to establish whether a move towards widespread clinical adoption of machine learning algorithms is justified. This study compared three machine learning algorithms with that of a range of semi-quantification methods, using the Parkinson's Progression Markers Initiative (PPMI) research database and a locally derived clinical database for validation. Machine learning algorithms were based on support vector machine classifiers with three different sets of features: Voxel intensities Principal components of image voxel intensities Striatal binding radios from the putamen and caudate. Semi-quantification methods were based on striatal binding ratios (SBRs) from both putamina, with and without consideration of the caudates. Normal limits for the SBRs were defined through four different methods: Minimum of age-matched controls Mean minus 1/1.5/2 standard deviations from age-matched controls Linear regression of normal patient data against age (minus 1/1.5/2 standard errors) Selection of the optimum operating point on the receiver operator characteristic curve from normal and abnormal training data Each machine learning and semi-quantification technique was evaluated with stratified, nested 10-fold cross-validation, repeated 10 times. The mean accuracy of the semi-quantitative methods for classification of local data into Parkinsonian and non-Parkinsonian groups varied from 0.78 to 0.87, contrasting with 0.89 to 0.95 for classifying PPMI data into healthy controls and Parkinson's disease groups. The machine learning algorithms gave mean accuracies between 0.88 to 0.92 and 0.95 to 0.97 for local and PPMI data respectively. Classification performance was lower for the local database than the research database for both semi-quantitative and machine learning algorithms. However, for both databases, the machine learning methods generated equal or higher mean accuracies (with lower variance) than any of the semi-quantification approaches. The gain in performance from using machine learning algorithms as compared to semi-quantification was relatively small and may be insufficient, when considered in isolation, to offer significant advantages in the clinical context.

Measurement of immature platelets with Abbott CD-Sapphire and Sysmex XE-5000 in haematology and oncology patients.

PubMed

Meintker, Lisa; Haimerl, Maria; Ringwald, Jürgen; Krause, Stefan W

2013-11-01

Measurement of immature platelets was introduced into routine diagnostics by Sysmex as immature platelet fraction (IPF) some years ago and recently by Abbott as reticulated platelet fraction (rPT). Here, we compare both methods. We evaluated the precision and agreement of these parameters between Sysmex XE-5000 and Abbott CD-Sapphire in three distinct thrombocytopaenic cohorts: 30 patients with beginning thrombocytopaenia and 64 patients with recovering platelets (PLT) after chemotherapy, 16 patients with immune thrombocytopaenia (ITP) or heparin-induced thrombocytopaenia type 2 (HIT) and 110 additional normal controls. Furthermore, we analysed, how IPF/rPT differed between these thrombocytopaenic cohorts and controls. Both analysers demonstrated acceptable overall precision (repeatability) of IPF/rPT with lower precision at low PLT counts. IPF/rPT artificially increased during storage of blood samples overnight. Inter-instrument comparison showed a moderate correlation (Pearson r²=0.38) and a systematic bias of 1.04 towards higher IPF-values with the XE-5000. IPF/rPT was highest in recovering thrombopoesis after chemotherapy and moderately increased in ITP/HIT. The normal range deduced from control samples was much narrower with CD-Sapphire (1.0%-3.8%, established here for the first time) in comparison to XE-5000 (0.8%-7.9%) leading to a smaller overlap of samples with increased PLT turnover and normal controls. IPF and rPT both give useful information on PLT turnover, although the two analysers only show a moderate inter-instrument correlation and have different reference ranges. A better separation of patient groups with high PLT turnover like ITP/HIT from normal controls is obtained by CD-Sapphire.

[Update rehabilitation therapy for Parkinson disease].

PubMed

Hayashi, Akito

2013-01-01

Rehabilitation is essential for treatment of Parkinson's disease. New rehabilitation therapy is updated, in addition to evidence shown with "Parkinson's disease treatment guidelines 2011". Furthermore, a portable gait rhythmogram (acceleration sensor) is presented (not publication). Parkinsonian gait was significantly slow and the steps were small, but the cadence was not different compared as that of normal control. The strength of parkinsonian gait was apparently week compared as normal control. We also could examine consecutive changes of gait rhythm and detect freezing gait in patients. In this study, we could extract the characteristic of the parkinsonian gait and evaluate especially freeing events more objectively. This method may bring us to evaluate severity of parkinsonian gait not only in a consulting room but also daily profile even not to see directly, using the portable gait rhythmogram.

Effects of trunk stabilization exercise on the local muscle activity and balance ability of normal subjects.

PubMed

Cha, Hyun Gyu

2018-06-01

[Purpose] The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of trunk stabilization exercise on the transvers abdominalis (TA) and internal oblique (IO) muscle activity and balance ability of normal subjects. [Subjects and Methods] Forty healthy male subjects without orthopedic history of the lower extremity were selected for the present study. The experimental group received a hollowing exercise, curl-up and bridging exercise. The control group received a pelvic tilting exercise in the sitting position for the same period of time. [Results] Significant differences in the post-training gains in Balance index, TA, IO were observed between the experimental group and the control group. [Conclusion] The trunk stabilization exercise improved the balance ability and increased the activity of the TA and IO muscle.

Quantitative computed tomography determined regional lung mechanics in normal nonsmokers, normal smokers and metastatic sarcoma subjects.

PubMed

Choi, Jiwoong; Hoffman, Eric A; Lin, Ching-Long; Milhem, Mohammed M; Tessier, Jean; Newell, John D

2017-01-01

Extra-thoracic tumors send out pilot cells that attach to the pulmonary endothelium. We hypothesized that this could alter regional lung mechanics (tissue stiffening or accumulation of fluid and inflammatory cells) through interactions with host cells. We explored this with serial inspiratory computed tomography (CT) and image matching to assess regional changes in lung expansion. We retrospectively assessed 44 pairs of two serial CT scans on 21 sarcoma patients: 12 without lung metastases and 9 with lung metastases. For each subject, two or more serial inspiratory clinically-derived CT scans were retrospectively collected. Two research-derived control groups were included: 7 normal nonsmokers and 12 asymptomatic smokers with two inspiratory scans taken the same day or one year apart respectively. We performed image registration for local-to-local matching scans to baseline, and derived local expansion and density changes at an acinar scale. Welch two sample t test was used for comparison between groups. Statistical significance was determined with a p value < 0.05. Lung regions of metastatic sarcoma patients (but not the normal control group) demonstrated an increased proportion of normalized lung expansion between the first and second CT. These hyper-expanded regions were associated with, but not limited to, visible metastatic lung lesions. Compared with the normal control group, the percent of increased normalized hyper-expanded lung in sarcoma subjects was significantly increased (p < 0.05). There was also evidence of increased lung "tissue" volume (non-air components) in the hyper-expanded regions of the cancer subjects relative to non-hyper-expanded regions. "Tissue" volume increase was present in the hyper-expanded regions of metastatic and non-metastatic sarcoma subjects. This putatively could represent regional inflammation related to the presence of tumor pilot cell-host related interactions. This new quantitative CT (QCT) method for linking serial acquired inspiratory CT images may provide a diagnostic and prognostic means to objectively characterize regional responses in the lung following oncological treatment and monitoring for lung metastases.

Continuous human cell lines and method of making same

DOEpatents

Stampfer, M.R.

1985-07-01

Substantially genetically stable continuous human cell lines derived from normal human mammary epithelial cells (HMEC) and processes for making and using the same. In a preferred embodiment, the cell lines are derived by treating normal human mammary epithelial tissue with a chemical carcinogen such as benzo(a)pyrene. The novel cell lines serve as useful substrates for elucidating the potential effects of a number of toxins, carcinogens and mutagens as well as of the addition of exogenous genetic material. The autogenic parent cells from which the cell lines are derived serve as convenient control samples for testing. The cell lines are not neoplastically transformed, although they have acquired several properties which distinguish them from their normal progenitors. 2 tabs.

Low Empathy in Deaf and Hard of Hearing (Pre)Adolescents Compared to Normal Hearing Controls

PubMed Central

Netten, Anouk P.; Rieffe, Carolien; Theunissen, Stephanie C. P. M.; Soede, Wim; Dirks, Evelien; Briaire, Jeroen J.; Frijns, Johan H. M.

2015-01-01

Objective The purpose of this study was to examine the level of empathy in deaf and hard of hearing (pre)adolescents compared to normal hearing controls and to define the influence of language and various hearing loss characteristics on the development of empathy. Methods The study group (mean age 11.9 years) consisted of 122 deaf and hard of hearing children (52 children with cochlear implants and 70 children with conventional hearing aids) and 162 normal hearing children. The two groups were compared using self-reports, a parent-report and observation tasks to rate the children’s level of empathy, their attendance to others’ emotions, emotion recognition, and supportive behavior. Results Deaf and hard of hearing children reported lower levels of cognitive empathy and prosocial motivation than normal hearing children, regardless of their type of hearing device. The level of emotion recognition was equal in both groups. During observations, deaf and hard of hearing children showed more attention to the emotion evoking events but less supportive behavior compared to their normal hearing peers. Deaf and hard of hearing children attending mainstream education or using oral language show higher levels of cognitive empathy and prosocial motivation than deaf and hard of hearing children who use sign (supported) language or attend special education. However, they are still outperformed by normal hearing children. Conclusions Deaf and hard of hearing children, especially those in special education, show lower levels of empathy than normal hearing children, which can have consequences for initiating and maintaining relationships. PMID:25906365

Responsible and controlled use: Older cannabis users and harm reduction.

PubMed

Lau, Nicholas; Sales, Paloma; Averill, Sheigla; Murphy, Fiona; Sato, Sye-Ok; Murphy, Sheigla

2015-08-01

Cannabis use is becoming more accepted in mainstream society. In this paper, we use Zinberg's classic theoretical framework of drug, set, and setting to elucidate how older adult cannabis users managed health, social and legal risks in a context of normalized cannabis use. We present selected findings from our qualitative study of Baby Boomer (born 1946-1964) cannabis users in the San Francisco Bay Area. Data collection consisted of a recorded, in-depth life history interview followed by a questionnaire and health survey. Qualitative interviews were analyzed to discover the factors of cannabis harm reduction from the users' perspectives. Interviewees made harm reduction choices based on preferred cannabis derivatives and routes of administration, as well as why, when, where, and with whom to use. Most interviewees minimized cannabis-related harms so they could maintain social functioning in their everyday lives. Responsible and controlled use was described as moderation of quantity and frequency of cannabis used, using in appropriate settings, and respect for non-users. Users contributed to the normalization of cannabis use through normification. Participants followed rituals or cultural practices, characterized by sanctions that helped define "normal" or "acceptable" cannabis use. Users contributed to cannabis normalization through their harm reduction methods. These cultural practices may prove to be more effective than formal legal prohibitions in reducing cannabis-related harms. Findings also suggest that users with access to a regulated market (medical cannabis dispensaries) were better equipped to practice harm reduction. More research is needed on both cannabis culture and alternative routes of administration as harm reduction methods. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

The odontoid process invagination in normal subjects, Chiari malformation and Basilar invagination patients: Pathophysiologic correlations with angular craniometry.

PubMed

Ferreira, Jânio A; Botelho, Ricardo V

2015-01-01

Craniometric studies have shown that both Chiari malformation (CM) and basilar invagination (BI) belong to a spectrum of malformations. A more precise method to differentiate between these types of CVJM is desirable. The Chamberlain's line violation (CLV) is the most common method to identify BI. The authors sought to clarify the real importance of CLV in the spectrum of craniovertebral junction malformations (CVJM) and to identify possible pathophysiological relationships. We evaluated the CLV in a sample of CVJM, BI, CM patients and a control group of normal subjects and correlated their data with craniocervical angular craniometry. A total of 97 subjects were studied: 32 normal subjects, 41 CM patients, 9 basilar invagination type 1 (BI1) patients, and 15 basilar invagination type 2 (BI2) patients. The mean CLV violation in the groups were: The control group, 0.16 ± 0.45 cm; the CM group, 0.32 ± 0.48 cm; the BI1 group, 1.35 ± 0.5 cm; and the BI2 group, 1.98 ± 0.18 cm. There was strong correlation between CLV and Boogard's angle (R = 0.82, P = 0.000) and the clivus canal angle (R = 0.7, P = 0.000). CM's CLV is discrete and similar to the normal subjects. BI1 and BI2 presented with at least of 0.95 cm CLV and these violations were strongly correlated with a primary cranial angulation (clivus horizontalization) and an acute clivus canal angle (a secondary craniocervical angle).

Perceptions and experiences underlying self-management and reporting of symptoms in teens with asthma

PubMed Central

Mammen, Jennifer R.; Rhee, Hyekyun; Norton, Sally A.; Butz, Arlene M.

2016-01-01

Background Teens often have inadequate asthma self-management and control. However, little is known of their perceptions of or rationales for self-management behaviors. Objectives To explore how teens self-manage asthma, including experiences, perceptions, responses to and reporting of symptoms. Methods A case-based, qualitative-descriptive design was used. Data were collected from minority and non-minority teens with controlled and uncontrolled asthma and their respective parents (N=28). There were four data-collection points, including: (1) a primary teen interview; (2) parent interview; (3) two-week self-management voice-diary; and (4) follow-up teen interview, incorporating symptom-response card-sorting to map symptoms and associated self-management responses. Seventy data sources were included in the analysis. Results Teens thought of their asthma symptoms as normal or unusual relative to their personal baseline symptom pattern; Those with uncontrolled asthma normalized higher levels of asthma symptoms than their counterparts with controlled asthma. Second, teens’ decisions to treat symptoms of asthma with rescue medication were based on perceived benefits, burdens and accessibility of treatment balanced against perceived normalcy of symptoms. Teens with uncontrolled asthma had substantially higher treatment thresholds and delayed responses to symptoms compared to controlled peers. Third, teens never reported perceived normal symptoms of asthma to parents or providers, who were thus only aware of unusual or visible/audible symptoms. Conclusions Teen’s perceptions of symptoms and understanding of what is normal is the basis for self-management decisions. Improving self-management will likely entail modifying perceptions of symptoms and benefits/burdens of treatment to achieve healthier self-management patterns. PMID:27337035

Investigation of electroacupuncture and manual acupuncture on carnitine and glutathione in muscle.

PubMed

Toda, Shizuo

2011-01-01

Electroacupuncture (EA) and manual acupuncture (MA) have therapeutic effects on muscle fatigue in muscle disease. The deficiencies of carnitine and glutathione induce muscle fatigue. This report investigated the effects of EA and MA on carnitine and glutathione in muscle. After the mice of EA group were fixed in the animal cage, right Zusanli (ST36) and Jiexi (ST41) were acupunctured and stimulated with uniform reinforcing and reducing method by twirling the acupuncture needle for 15 min. And then, the needle handles were connected to an electric stimulator for stimulating the acupoint with dense-sparse waves. After the mice of MA group were fixed in an animal cage, right ST36 and ST41 were acupunctured and allowed for 15 min. The mice of normal control group were not acupunctured and stimulated for 15 min. The mice of all groups were killed for collecting muscle tissue 1 h after the final treatment. Carnitine and glutathione in homogenate of muscle tissue were determined with carnitine (Kainos Laboratories Co., Tokyo, Japan) and glutathione assay kit (Dojin Chemicals Co., Kumamoto, Japan). Carnitine level in muscle tissue of MA group was significantly higher than those of EA group and normal control group. Carnitine level in muscle tissue of EA group was not significantly different from that of normal control group. Glutathione levels in muscle tissue of EA group and MA group were significantly higher than that of normal control group. This report presented that carnitine in muscle is increased by MA, and not increased by EA, and that glutathione in muscle is increased by EA and MA.

Investigation of Electroacupuncture and Manual Acupuncture on Carnitine and Glutathione in Muscle

PubMed Central

Toda, Shizuo

2011-01-01

Electroacupuncture (EA) and manual acupuncture (MA) have therapeutic effects on muscle fatigue in muscle disease. The deficiencies of carnitine and glutathione induce muscle fatigue. This report investigated the effects of EA and MA on carnitine and glutathione in muscle. After the mice of EA group were fixed in the animal cage, right Zusanli (ST36) and Jiexi (ST41) were acupunctured and stimulated with uniform reinforcing and reducing method by twirling the acupuncture needle for 15 min. And then, the needle handles were connected to an electric stimulator for stimulating the acupoint with dense-sparse waves. After the mice of MA group were fixed in an animal cage, right ST36 and ST41 were acupunctured and allowed for 15 min. The mice of normal control group were not acupunctured and stimulated for 15 min. The mice of all groups were killed for collecting muscle tissue 1 h after the final treatment. Carnitine and glutathione in homogenate of muscle tissue were determined with carnitine (Kainos Laboratories Co., Tokyo, Japan) and glutathione assay kit (Dojin Chemicals Co., Kumamoto, Japan). Carnitine level in muscle tissue of MA group was significantly higher than those of EA group and normal control group. Carnitine level in muscle tissue of EA group was not significantly different from that of normal control group. Glutathione levels in muscle tissue of EA group and MA group were significantly higher than that of normal control group. This report presented that carnitine in muscle is increased by MA, and not increased by EA, and that glutathione in muscle is increased by EA and MA. PMID:19592478

[Application of objective audiological tests in bilateral tinnitus patients with normal hearing capability].

PubMed

Wang, Z; Tian, Y; Jiang, X J

2016-12-01

Objective: To analyze the relationship of tinnitus and early stage damage of cochlear, to explore the clinical applied value of distortion product otoacoustic emission(DPOAE) and auditory brainstem response(ABR) in the bilateral tinnitus patients with normal hearing capability. Method: There are 30 cases(60 ears) in the tinnitus group with bilateral tinnitus patients with normal hearing capability, and there are 30 cases(60 ears) in the control group without tinnitus of normal hearing capability. The two groups both test the DPOAE and ABR,and compare the results of the DPOAE and ABR. Result: The passing rate of DPOAE in all frequencies was 100% in the control group,42.67% in the tinnitus group. Significant differences existed between the two groups( P <0.05).The DPOAE could be checked out at all frequencies under 2 kHz except 0.75 kHz in the tinnitus group, and the passing rates of DPOAE were significantly lower than those in control group( P <0.05).There were 3 cases could not be checked out at 0.75 kHz frequency, but there were no significant difference( P >0.05).The DPOAE amplitudes at frequencies of 3 to 8 kHz in tinnitus ears were significantly lower than those in nontinnitus ears(the P value were 0.011,0.013,0.008,0.027 ).Wave Ⅰ,Ⅲ and Ⅴcould be detected in all ears tested at 80 dB nHL. The latencies of WaveⅠin tinnitus group were obviously prolonged.The latencies of Wave Ⅲ and Ⅴ in tinnitus group were also prolonged, but there was no significant difference( P >0.05).The interval between waves Ⅰand Ⅲ,waves Ⅲ and Ⅴand wavesⅠand Ⅴ showed no difference. Conclusion: The maybe cochlear early injury in fractional bilateral tinnitus patients with normal hearing capability, DPOAE and ABR can act as an objective method for diagnosing peripheral tinnitus. Copyright© by the Editorial Department of Journal of Clinical Otorhinolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery.

Robust diffraction correction method for high-frequency ultrasonic tissue characterization

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Raju, Balasundar

2004-05-01

The computation of quantitative ultrasonic parameters such as the attenuation or backscatter coefficient requires compensation for diffraction effects. In this work a simple and accurate diffraction correction method for skin characterization requiring only a single focal zone is developed. The advantage of this method is that the transducer need not be mechanically repositioned to collect data from several focal zones, thereby reducing the time of imaging and preventing motion artifacts. Data were first collected under controlled conditions from skin of volunteers using a high-frequency system (center frequency=33 MHz, BW=28 MHz) at 19 focal zones through axial translation. Using these data, mean backscatter power spectra were computed as a function of the distance between the transducer and the tissue, which then served as empirical diffraction correction curves for subsequent data. The method was demonstrated on patients patch-tested for contact dermatitis. The computed attenuation coefficient slope was significantly (p<0.05) lower at the affected site (0.13+/-0.02 dB/mm/MHz) compared to nearby normal skin (0.2+/-0.05 dB/mm/MHz). The mean backscatter level was also significantly lower at the affected site (6.7+/-2.1 in arbitrary units) compared to normal skin (11.3+/-3.2). These results show diffraction corrected ultrasonic parameters can differentiate normal from affected skin tissues.

Analysis of the Cerebrospinal Fluid Proteome in Alzheimer's Disease

PubMed Central

Khoonsari, Payam Emami; Häggmark, Anna; Lönnberg, Maria; Mikus, Maria; Kilander, Lena; Lannfelt, Lars; Bergquist, Jonas; Ingelsson, Martin; Nilsson, Peter

2016-01-01

Alzheimer’s disease is a neurodegenerative disorder accounting for more than 50% of cases of dementia. Diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease relies on cognitive tests and analysis of amyloid beta, protein tau, and hyperphosphorylated tau in cerebrospinal fluid. Although these markers provide relatively high sensitivity and specificity for early disease detection, they are not suitable for monitor of disease progression. In the present study, we used label-free shotgun mass spectrometry to analyse the cerebrospinal fluid proteome of Alzheimer’s disease patients and non-demented controls to identify potential biomarkers for Alzheimer’s disease. We processed the data using five programs (DecyderMS, Maxquant, OpenMS, PEAKS, and Sieve) and compared their results by means of reproducibility and peptide identification, including three different normalization methods. After depletion of high abundant proteins we found that Alzheimer’s disease patients had lower fraction of low-abundance proteins in cerebrospinal fluid compared to healthy controls (p<0.05). Consequently, global normalization was found to be less accurate compared to using spiked-in chicken ovalbumin for normalization. In addition, we determined that Sieve and OpenMS resulted in the highest reproducibility and PEAKS was the programs with the highest identification performance. Finally, we successfully verified significantly lower levels (p<0.05) of eight proteins (A2GL, APOM, C1QB, C1QC, C1S, FBLN3, PTPRZ, and SEZ6) in Alzheimer’s disease compared to controls using an antibody-based detection method. These proteins are involved in different biological roles spanning from cell adhesion and migration, to regulation of the synapse and the immune system. PMID:26950848

Obesity and risk taking. A male phenomenon.

PubMed

Koritzky, Gilly; Yechiam, Eldad; Bukay, Irit; Milman, Uzi

2012-10-01

There is a growing tendency to regard overeating as an addiction, with obesity as its primary symptom. We propose that similar to other addictions, obesity is associated with excessive risk-taking in men, though not in women. To examine this suggestion we conducted two studies, one involving a sample of overweight and normal-weight students, and the other involving obese adults drawn from a dataset of health care clients, and a control sample of normal-weight adults. In both of these studies, we found that overweight and obese men took more risk in a laboratory task than normal-weight men, while overweight and obese women did not differ from normal-weight women in this respect. At the same time, obese women (but not overweight women) displayed higher impulsivity levels than normal-weight women. These findings shed light on the cognitive characteristics of obesity in men, and accent the importance of taking gender into account when developing research paradigms and treatment methods for obesity. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Towards early detection of cervical cancer: Fractal dimension of AFM images of human cervical epithelial cells at different stages of progression to cancer.

PubMed

Guz, Nataliia V; Dokukin, Maxim E; Woodworth, Craig D; Cardin, Andrew; Sokolov, Igor

2015-10-01

We used AFM HarmoniX modality to analyse the surface of individual human cervical epithelial cells at three stages of progression to cancer, normal, immortal (pre-malignant) and carcinoma cells. Primary cells from 6 normal strains, 6 cancer, and 6 immortalized lines (derived by plasmid DNA-HPV-16 transfection of cells from 6 healthy individuals) were tested. This cell model allowed for good control of the cell phenotype down to the single cell level, which is impractical to attain in clinical screening tests (ex-vivo). AFM maps of physical (nonspecific) adhesion are collected on fixed dried cells. We show that a surface parameter called fractal dimension can be used to segregate normal from both immortal pre-malignant and malignant cells with sensitivity and specificity of more than 99%. The reported method of analysis can be directly applied to cells collected in liquid cytology screening tests and identified as abnormal with regular optical methods to increase sensitivity. Despite cervical smear screening, sometimes it is very difficult to differentiate cancers cells from pre-malignant cells. By using AFM to analyze the surface properties of human cervical epithelial cells, the authors were able to accurately identify normal from abnormal cells. This method could augment existing protocols to increase diagnostic accuracy. Copyright © 2015. Published by Elsevier Inc.

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

Scheinker, Alexander

A recently developed form of extremum seeking for time-varying systems is implemented in hardware for the resonance control of radio-frequency cavities without phase measurements. Normal conducting RF cavity resonance control is performed via a slug tuner, while superconducting TESLA-type cavity resonance control is performed via piezo actuators. The controller maintains resonance by minimizing reflected power by utilizing model-independent adaptive feedback. Unlike standard phase-measurement-based resonance control, the presented approach is not sensitive to arbitrary phase shifts of the RF signals due to temperature-dependent cable length or phasemeasurement hardware changes. The phase independence of this method removes common slowly varying drifts andmore » required periodic recalibration of phase-based methods. A general overview of the adaptive controller is presented along with the proof of principle experimental results at room temperature. Lastly, this method allows us to both maintain a cavity at a desired resonance frequency and also to dynamically modify its resonance frequency to track the unknown time-varying frequency of an RF source, thereby maintaining maximal cavity field strength, based only on power-level measurements.« less

Differences in ME and CFS Symptomology in Patients with Normal and Abnormal Exercise Test Results.

PubMed

McManimen, Stephanie L; Jason, Leonard A

2017-01-01

Post-exertional malaise (PEM) is a cardinal symptom of myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME) and chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS), which often distinguishes patients with this illness from healthy controls or individuals with exclusionary illnesses such as depression. However, occurrence rates for PEM fluctuate from subject to how the symptom is operationalized. One commonly utilized method is exercise testing, maximal or submaximal. Many patients with ME and CFS experience PEM after participating in these tests, and often show abnormal results. However, some patients still exhibit normal results after participating in the exercise testing. This study examined the differences between two patient groups with ME and CFS, those with normal results and those with abnormal results, on several PEM-related symptoms and illness characteristics. The results suggest those that displayed abnormal results following testing have more frequent and severe PEM, worse overall functioning, and are more likely to be bedbound than those that displayed normal results.

EGSIEM: Combination of GRACE monthly gravity models on normal equation level

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Meyer, Ulrich; Jean, Yoomin; Jäggi, Adrian; Mayer-Gürr, Torsten; Neumayer, Hans; Lemoine, Jean-Michel

2016-04-01

One of the three geodetic services to be realized in the frame of the EGSIEM project is a scientific combination service. Each associated processing center (AC) will follow a set of common processing standards but will apply its own, independent analysis method. Therefore the quality, robustness and reliability of the combined monthly gravity fields is expected to improve significantly compared to the individual solutions. The Monthly GRACE gravity fields of all ACs are combined on normal equation level. The individual normal equations are weighted depending on pairwise comparisons of the individual gravity field solutions. To derive these weights and for quality control of the individual contributions first a combination of the monthly gravity fields on solution level is performed. The concept of weighting and of the combination on normal equation level is introduced and the formats used for normal equation exchange and gravity field solutions is described. First results of the combination on normal equation level are presented and compared to the corresponding combinations on solution level. EGSIEM has an open data policy and all processing centers of GRACE gravity fields are invited to participate in the combination.

Responsible and controlled use: Older cannabis users and harm reduction

PubMed Central

Lau, Nicholas; Sales, Paloma; Averill, Sheigla; Murphy, Fiona; Sato, Sye-Ok; Murphy, Sheigla

2015-01-01

Background Cannabis use is becoming more accepted in mainstream society. In this paper, we use Zinberg’s classic theoretical framework of drug, set, and setting to elucidate how older adult cannabis users managed health, social and legal risks in a context of normalized cannabis use. Methods We present selected findings from our qualitative study of Baby Boomer (born 1946–1964) cannabis users in the San Francisco Bay Area. Data collection consisted of a recorded, in-depth life history interview followed by a questionnaire and health survey. Qualitative interviews were analyzed to discover the factors of cannabis harm reduction from the users’ perspectives. Results Interviewees made harm reduction choices based on preferred cannabis derivatives and routes of administration, as well as why, when, where, and with whom to use. Most interviewees minimized cannabis-related harms so they could maintain social functioning in their everyday lives. Responsible and controlled use was described as moderation of quantity and frequency of cannabis used, using in appropriate settings, and respect for non-users. Users contributed to the normalization of cannabis use through normification. Conclusion Participants followed rituals or cultural practices, characterized by sanctions that helped define “normal” or “acceptable” cannabis use. Users contributed to cannabis normalization through their harm reduction methods. These cultural practices may prove to be more effective than formal legal prohibitions in reducing cannabis-related harms. Findings also suggest that users with access to a regulated market (medical cannabis dispensaries) were better equipped to practice harm reduction. More research is needed on both cannabis culture and alternative routes of administration as harm reduction methods. PMID:25911027

Mixture model normalization for non-targeted gas chromatography/mass spectrometry metabolomics data.

PubMed

Reisetter, Anna C; Muehlbauer, Michael J; Bain, James R; Nodzenski, Michael; Stevens, Robert D; Ilkayeva, Olga; Metzger, Boyd E; Newgard, Christopher B; Lowe, William L; Scholtens, Denise M

2017-02-02

Metabolomics offers a unique integrative perspective for health research, reflecting genetic and environmental contributions to disease-related phenotypes. Identifying robust associations in population-based or large-scale clinical studies demands large numbers of subjects and therefore sample batching for gas-chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS) non-targeted assays. When run over weeks or months, technical noise due to batch and run-order threatens data interpretability. Application of existing normalization methods to metabolomics is challenged by unsatisfied modeling assumptions and, notably, failure to address batch-specific truncation of low abundance compounds. To curtail technical noise and make GC/MS metabolomics data amenable to analyses describing biologically relevant variability, we propose mixture model normalization (mixnorm) that accommodates truncated data and estimates per-metabolite batch and run-order effects using quality control samples. Mixnorm outperforms other approaches across many metrics, including improved correlation of non-targeted and targeted measurements and superior performance when metabolite detectability varies according to batch. For some metrics, particularly when truncation is less frequent for a metabolite, mean centering and median scaling demonstrate comparable performance to mixnorm. When quality control samples are systematically included in batches, mixnorm is uniquely suited to normalizing non-targeted GC/MS metabolomics data due to explicit accommodation of batch effects, run order and varying thresholds of detectability. Especially in large-scale studies, normalization is crucial for drawing accurate conclusions from non-targeted GC/MS metabolomics data.

High normal fasting blood glucose is associated with dementia in Chinese elders

PubMed Central

Mortimer, J.A.; Borenstein, A.R.; Ding, D.; DeCarli, C.; Zhao, Q.; Copenhaver, C.; Guo, Q.; Chu, S.; Galasko, D.; Salmon, D.P.; Dai, Q.; Wu, Y.; Petersen, R.; Hong, Z.

2010-01-01

Background Diabetes is a risk factor for MCI and dementia. However, the association between high normal fasting blood glucose (FBG) and dementia has not been studied. Methods Polytomous logistic regression was used to assess the association of dementia and MCI with FBG in an age- and sex-matched sample of 32 dementia patients, 27 amnestic MCI (aMCI) patients and 31 normal controls (NC). Analyses were repeated for those with normal FBG. Correlations between FBG and cognitive test scores were obtained. Results Controlling for age, sex, education, body mass index, Hachinski Ischemic Score, MRI stroke, and normalized brain, hippocampal and white matter hyperintensity MRI volumes; higher FBG was associated with dementia vs. aMCI status (OR= 3.13; 95% CI:1.28–7.69). This association remained (OR= 7.75; 95% CI:1.10–55.56) when analyses were restricted to subjects with normal FBG. When dementia patients were compared with NC adjusting for age, sex and education a significant association with FBG also was seen (OR=1.83; 95%CI:1.09–3.08), but the association was lost when vascular covariates were added to the model. FBG was not associated with aMCI status vs. NC. Higher FBG was correlated with poorer performance on the Trailmaking Test Part B (p=0.003). The percentage of dementia patients with high normal FBG (90%) was significantly higher than that of aMCI patients with high normal FBG (32.9%) (χ2=13.9, p<0.001). Conclusions Higher FBG was associated with dementia (vs. aMCI) independent of vascular risk factors and MRI indicators of vascular disease, and remained a significant risk factor when analyses were restricted to subjects with normal FBG. The results of this cross-sectional study suggest that a high normal level of FBG may be a risk factor for dementia. PMID:21044774

A Case-Control Study of Maternal Periconceptual and Pregnancy Recreational Drug Use and Fetal Malformation Using Hair Analysis

PubMed Central

David, Anna L.; Holloway, Andrew; Thomasson, Louise; Syngelaki, Argyro; Nicolaides, Kypros; Patel, Roshni R.; Sommerlad, Brian; Wilson, Amie; Martin, William; Chitty, Lyn S.

2014-01-01

Objective Maternal recreational drug use may be associated with the development of fetal malformations such as gastroschisis, brain and limb defects, the aetiology due to vascular disruption during organogenesis. Using forensic hair analysis we reported evidence of recreational drug use in 18% of women with a fetal gastroschisis. Here we investigate this association in a variety of fetal malformations using the same method. Methods In a multi-centre study, women with normal pregnancies (controls) and those with fetal abnormalities (cases) gave informed consent for hair analysis for recreational drug metabolites using mass spectrometry. Hair samples cut at the root were tested in sections corresponding to 3 month time periods (pre and periconceptual period). Results Women whose fetus had gastroschisis, compared to women with a normal control fetus, were younger (mean age 23.78±SD4.79 years, 18–37 vs 29.79±SD6 years, 18–42, p = 0.00001), were more likely to have evidence of recreational drug use (15, 25.4% vs 21, 13%, OR2.27, 95thCI 1.08–4.78, p = 0.028), and were less likely to report periconceptual folic acid use (31, 53.4% vs 124, 77.5%, OR0.33, 95thCI 0.18–0.63, p = 0.001). Age-matched normal control women were no less likely to test positive for recreational drugs than women whose fetus had gastroschisis. After accounting for all significant factors, only young maternal age remained significantly associated with gastroschisis. Women with a fetus affected by a non-neural tube central nervous system (CNS) anomaly were more likely to test positive for recreational drugs when compared to women whose fetus was normal (7, 35% vs 21, 13%, OR3.59, 95th CI1.20–10.02, p = 0.01). Conclusions We demonstrate a significant association between non neural tube CNS anomalies and recreational drug use in the periconceptual period, first or second trimesters, but we cannot confirm this association with gastroschisis. We confirm the association of gastroschisis with young maternal age. PMID:25360669

Quantitative thermal sensory testing -- value of testing for both cold and warm sensation detection in evaluation of small fiber neuropathy.

PubMed

Shukla, Garima; Bhatia, Manvir; Behari, Madhuri

2005-10-01

Small fiber neuropathy is a common neurological disorder, often missed or ignored by physicians, since examination and routine nerve conduction studies are usually normal in this condition. Many methods including quantitative thermal sensory testing are currently being used for early detection of this condition, so as to enable timely investigation and treatment. This study was conducted to assess the yield of quantitative thermal sensory testing in diagnosis of small fiber neuropathy. We included patients presenting with history suggestive of positive and/or negative sensory symptoms, with normal examination findings, clinically suggestive of small fiber neuropathy, with normal or minimally abnormal routine nerve conduction studies. These patients were subjected to quantitative thermal sensory testing using a Medoc TSA-II Neurosensory analyser at two sites and for two modalities. QST data were compared with those in 120 normal healthy controls. Twenty-five patients (16 males, 9 females) with mean age 46.8+/-16.6 years (range: 21-75 years) were included in the study. The mean duration of symptoms was 1.6+/-1.6 years (range: 3 months-6 years). Eighteen patients (72%) had abnormal thresholds in at least one modality. Thermal thresholds were normal in 7 out of the 25 patients. This study demonstrates that quantitative thermal sensory testing is a fairly sensitive method for detection of small fiber neuropathy especially in patients with normal routine nerve conduction studies.

Active Control of Forebody Vortices on a schematic Aircraft Model

DTIC Science & Technology

2001-06-01

coeffi- The system comprised two miniature soleniod on/off cient (C, = 0.0013) was sufficient to reliably switch pneumatic valves to control the flow to...method and time-average rolling moment, pitching moment, and normal force. Nomenclature T duration a valve is open during the alternating blow- b wing...reasonably high reduced frequency of the valves , and the tubes that delivered the air to the (* =0.16). Having established that the forebody vor- nozzles

Kefir treatment ameliorates dextran sulfate sodium-induced colitis in rats

PubMed Central

Senol, Altug; Isler, Mehmet; Sutcu, Recep; Akin, Mete; Cakir, Ebru; Ceyhan, Betul M; Kockar, M Cem

2015-01-01

AIM: To investigate the preventive effect of kefir on colitis induced with dextran sulfate sodium (DSS) in rats. METHODS: Twenty-four male Wistar-albino rats were randomized into four groups: normal control, kefir-control, colitis, and kefir-colitis groups. Rats in the normal and kefir-control groups were administered tap water as drinking water for 14 d. Rats in the colitis and kefir-colitis groups were administered a 3% DSS solution as drinking water for 8-14 d to induce colitis. Rats in the kefir-control and kefir-colitis groups were administered 5 mL kefir once a day for 14 d while rats in the normal control and colitis group were administered an identical volume of the placebo (skim milk) using an orogastric feeding tube. Clinical colitis was evaluated with reference to the disease activity index (DAI), based on daily weight loss, stool consistency, and presence of bleeding in feces. Rats were sacrificed on the 15th day, blood specimens were collected, and colon tissues were rapidly removed. Levels of myeloperoxidase (MPO), tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α, interleukin (IL)-10, malondialdehyde, and inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) were measured in colon tissue. RESULTS: The DAI was lower in the kefir-colitis group than in the colitis group (on the 3rd and 5th days of colitis induction; P < 0.01). The DAI was also significantly higher in the colitis group between days 2 and 6 of colitis induction when compared to the normal control and kefir-control groups. The DAI was statistically higher only on the 6th day in the kefir-colitis group when compared to that in the normal control groups. Increased colon weight and decreased colon length were observed in colitis-induced rats. Mean colon length in the colitis group was significantly shorter than that of the kefir-control group. Kefir treatment significantly decreased histologic colitis scores (P < 0.05). MPO activity in the colitis group was significantly higher than in the kefir-control group (P < 0.05). Kefir treatment significantly reduced the DSS colitis-induced TNF-α increase (P < 0.01). No statistically significant differences were observed among groups for IL-10 and MDA levels. Colon tissue iNOS levels in the colitis group were significantly higher than those in the control and kefir-colitis groups (P < 0.05). CONCLUSION: Kefir reduces the clinical DAI and histologic colitis scores in a DSS-induced colitis model, possibly via reduction of MPO, TNF-α, and iNOS levels. PMID:26676086

Are Complexity Metrics Reliable in Assessing HRV Control in Obese Patients During Sleep?

PubMed

Cabiddu, Ramona; Trimer, Renata; Borghi-Silva, Audrey; Migliorini, Matteo; Mendes, Renata G; Oliveira, Antonio D; Costa, Fernando S M; Bianchi, Anna M

2015-01-01

Obesity is associated with cardiovascular mortality. Linear methods, including time domain and frequency domain analysis, are normally applied on the heart rate variability (HRV) signal to investigate autonomic cardiovascular control, whose imbalance might promote cardiovascular disease in these patients. However, given the cardiac activity non-linearities, non-linear methods might provide better insight. HRV complexity was hereby analyzed during wakefulness and different sleep stages in healthy and obese subjects. Given the short duration of each sleep stage, complexity measures, normally extracted from long-period signals, needed be calculated on short-term signals. Sample entropy, Lempel-Ziv complexity and detrended fluctuation analysis were evaluated and results showed no significant differences among the values calculated over ten-minute signals and longer durations, confirming the reliability of such analysis when performed on short-term signals. Complexity parameters were extracted from ten-minute signal portions selected during wakefulness and different sleep stages on HRV signals obtained from eighteen obese patients and twenty controls. The obese group presented significantly reduced complexity during light and deep sleep, suggesting a deficiency in the control mechanisms integration during these sleep stages. To our knowledge, this study reports for the first time on how the HRV complexity changes in obesity during wakefulness and sleep. Further investigation is needed to quantify altered HRV impact on cardiovascular mortality in obesity.

Are Complexity Metrics Reliable in Assessing HRV Control in Obese Patients During Sleep?

PubMed Central

Cabiddu, Ramona; Trimer, Renata; Borghi-Silva, Audrey; Migliorini, Matteo; Mendes, Renata G.; Oliveira Jr., Antonio D.; Costa, Fernando S. M.; Bianchi, Anna M.

2015-01-01

Obesity is associated with cardiovascular mortality. Linear methods, including time domain and frequency domain analysis, are normally applied on the heart rate variability (HRV) signal to investigate autonomic cardiovascular control, whose imbalance might promote cardiovascular disease in these patients. However, given the cardiac activity non-linearities, non-linear methods might provide better insight. HRV complexity was hereby analyzed during wakefulness and different sleep stages in healthy and obese subjects. Given the short duration of each sleep stage, complexity measures, normally extracted from long-period signals, needed be calculated on short-term signals. Sample entropy, Lempel-Ziv complexity and detrended fluctuation analysis were evaluated and results showed no significant differences among the values calculated over ten-minute signals and longer durations, confirming the reliability of such analysis when performed on short-term signals. Complexity parameters were extracted from ten-minute signal portions selected during wakefulness and different sleep stages on HRV signals obtained from eighteen obese patients and twenty controls. The obese group presented significantly reduced complexity during light and deep sleep, suggesting a deficiency in the control mechanisms integration during these sleep stages. To our knowledge, this study reports for the first time on how the HRV complexity changes in obesity during wakefulness and sleep. Further investigation is needed to quantify altered HRV impact on cardiovascular mortality in obesity. PMID:25893856

Quantifying Muscle Asymmetries in Cervical Dystonia with Electrical Impedance: A Preliminary Assessment

PubMed Central

Lungu, Codrin; Tarulli, Andrew W; Tarsy, Daniel; Mongiovi, Phillip; Vanderhorst, Veronique G; Rutkove, Seward B

2010-01-01

Objective Cervical Dystonia (CD) lacks an objective quantitative measure. Electrical impedance myography (EIM) is a non-invasive assessment method sensitive to changes in muscle structure and physiology. We evaluate the potential role of EIM in quantifying CD, hypothesizing that patients would demonstrate differences in the symmetry of muscle electrical resistance compared to controls, and that this asymmetry would decrease after botulinum neurotoxin (BoNT) treatment. Methods EIM was performed on the sternocleidomastoid (SCM) and cervical paraspinal (PS) muscles of CD patients and age-matched controls. 50kHz Resistance was analyzed, comparing side-to-side asymmetry in patients and controls, and, in patients, before and after BoNT treatment. Results 16 patients and 10 controls were included. Resistance asymmetry was on average 3-5 times higher in patients than controls. Receiver operating characteristic analysis demonstrated 91% accuracy of discriminating CD from normal. From pre-treatment to maximum BoNT effect, asymmetry decreased from 20.8 (13.9-26.1)% to 6.2 (3.1-9.9)% (SCM), and from 16.0(14.3-16.0)% to 8.4(7.0-9.2)% (PS), p<0.05 (median, interquartile range). Conclusions EIM effectively differentiates normal subjects from CD patients by revealing asymmetries in resistance values and detects improvement in muscle symmetry after treatment. Significance These results suggest that EIM, a painless, non-invasive measure, can provide a useful quantitative metric in CD evaluation and deserves further study. PMID:20943436

The Recovery of Walking in Stroke Patients: A Review

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jang, Sung Ho

2010-01-01

We reviewed the literature on walking recovery of stroke patients as it relates to the following subjects: epidemiology of walking dysfunction, recovery course of walking, and recovery mechanism of walking (neural control of normal walking, the evaluation methods for leg motor function, and motor recovery mechanism of leg). The recovery of walking…

Speech Compensation for Time-Scale-Modified Auditory Feedback

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ogane, Rintaro; Honda, Masaaki

2014-01-01

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to examine speech compensation in response to time-scale-modified auditory feedback during the transition of the semivowel for a target utterance of /ija/. Method: Each utterance session consisted of 10 control trials in the normal feedback condition followed by 20 perturbed trials in the modified auditory…

Neurological Soft Signs in Indian Children with Specific Developmental Disorders of Scholastic Skills

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sadhu, Raja; Mehta, Manju; Kalra, Veena; Sagar, Rajesh; Mongia, Monica

2008-01-01

Aim: To compare the occurrence of neurological soft signs (NSS) in children with specific developmental disorders of scholastic skills (SDDSS) and normal children. Methods: 36 cases of SDDSS were compared with 30 control children regarding sociodemographic and clinical variables and neurological soft signs. Results: Children with SDDSS had…

Informational Masking and Spatial Hearing in Listeners with and without Unilateral Hearing Loss

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rothpletz, Ann M.; Wightman, Frederic L.; Kistler, Doris J.

2012-01-01

Purpose: This study assessed selective listening for speech in individuals with and without unilateral hearing loss (UHL) and the potential relationship between spatial release from informational masking and localization ability in listeners with UHL. Method: Twelve adults with UHL and 12 normal-hearing controls completed a series of monaural and…

Tolerance as a potential control method for Hessian fly (Diptera:Cecidomyiidae) in winter wheat.

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Tolerance in wheat may hold the key to reducing damage caused by the Hessian fly, Mayetiola destructor, while enabling the plant to grow normally and reducing the selection pressures leading to increased virulence in fly populations. The susceptible lines Pioneer 25R75, susceptible wheat cultivar ‘N...

The Effect of Listener Experience and Anchors on Judgments of Dysphonia

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Eadie, Tanya L.; Kapsner-Smith, Mara

2011-01-01

Purpose: To determine the effect of auditory anchors on judgments of overall severity (OS) and vocal effort (VE) in dysphonic speech when judgments are made by experienced and inexperienced listeners, and when self-rated by individuals with dysphonia (speaker-listeners). Method: Twenty individuals with dysphonia and 4 normal controls provided…

SHAPE Selection (SHAPES) enrich for RNA structure signal in SHAPE sequencing-based probing data

PubMed Central

Poulsen, Line Dahl; Kielpinski, Lukasz Jan; Salama, Sofie R.; Krogh, Anders; Vinther, Jeppe

2015-01-01

Selective 2′ Hydroxyl Acylation analyzed by Primer Extension (SHAPE) is an accurate method for probing of RNA secondary structure. In existing SHAPE methods, the SHAPE probing signal is normalized to a no-reagent control to correct for the background caused by premature termination of the reverse transcriptase. Here, we introduce a SHAPE Selection (SHAPES) reagent, N-propanone isatoic anhydride (NPIA), which retains the ability of SHAPE reagents to accurately probe RNA structure, but also allows covalent coupling between the SHAPES reagent and a biotin molecule. We demonstrate that SHAPES-based selection of cDNA–RNA hybrids on streptavidin beads effectively removes the large majority of background signal present in SHAPE probing data and that sequencing-based SHAPES data contain the same amount of RNA structure data as regular sequencing-based SHAPE data obtained through normalization to a no-reagent control. Moreover, the selection efficiently enriches for probed RNAs, suggesting that the SHAPES strategy will be useful for applications with high-background and low-probing signal such as in vivo RNA structure probing. PMID:25805860

Effect of nitroglycerin administration on cardio-ankle vascular index

PubMed Central

Shimizu, Kazuhiro; Yamamoto, Tomoyuki; Takahashi, Mao; Sato, Shuji; Noike, Hirofumi; Shirai, Kohji

2016-01-01

Purpose The purpose of this study was to clarify the difference between effects of nitroglycerin (NTG) on the functional stiffness in patients with and without coronary artery disease (CAD) using a newly developed stiffness index, cardio-ankle vascular index (CAVI). Subjects and methods The two subject groups in this study were normal controls (n=31) and CAD patients (n=25). The normal controls had no medical history and were not on regular medications. On the other hand, the CAD patients had received various treatments like antihypertensive drugs, hypoglycemic agents, and statins. This study was conducted in CAD patients under medications. After a single sublingual administration of NTG 0.3 mg, CAVI, blood pressure (BP), and heart rate (HR) were measured every 5 minutes for 20 minutes. Comparisons of each parameter before and after taking NTG were evaluated for statistical significance using analysis of variance and post hoc tests. Tukey–Kramer test was used for post hoc comparisons. Results In the normal controls, CAVI significantly decreased from baseline after 5, 10, and 15 minutes (from 6.5±0.9 to 5.2±0.9, 5.5±0.9, and 5.7±0.9, respectively). Systolic BP and HR were not significantly changed. Diastolic BP significantly decreased from baseline after 5 and 10 minutes (from 72±8 to 64±9 and 63±9 mmHg, respectively). On the other hand, CAVI, HR, and diastolic BP were not changed significantly in CAD patients. Systolic BP was significantly decreased from baseline after 5, 10, and 15 minutes (from 147±16 to 131±14, 129±12, and 129±13 mmHg, respectively). In the comparison of the two groups, ΔCAVI was not significantly different between the normal controls and CAD patients (−1.4±0.7 vs −1.4±0.9, −1.1±0.7 vs −1.4±1.0, −0.8±0.7 vs −1.2±1.0, and −0.5±0.7 vs −1.1±1.0 at 5, 10, 15, and 20 minutes, respectively). ΔHR was not significantly different between the two groups. ΔSystolic BP in the CAD patients was significantly higher than in the normal controls at 5, 10, 15, and 20 minutes (normal controls vs CAD; −3±7 vs −10±11, −3±5 vs −10±11, −3±6 vs −13±10, and −1±6 vs −11±10 mmHg, respectively). ΔDiastolic BP in the normal controls was significantly higher than in the CAD patients at 5 and 10 minutes (normal controls vs CAD; −8±6 vs −4±4 and −9±4 vs −6±5 mmHg, respectively). Conclusion After NTG administration, the stiffness of the arteries from the origin of the aorta to the ankle as measured by CAVI decreased in both the normal controls and CAD patients, indicating that the response of arterial smooth muscle cells to nitric oxide is preserved even in CAD patients under medication. PMID:27536126

Comparison study of OCT, HRT and VF findings among normal controls and patients with pseudoexfoliation, with or without increased IOP

PubMed Central

Riga, Fryni; Georgalas, Ilias; Tsikripis, Panagiotis; Papaconstantinou, Dimitrios

2014-01-01

Purpose To compare and evaluate optic nerve head (ONH) and retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) measurements obtained with the optical coherence tomography (OCT) and the Heidelberg retina tomography (HRT) to visual field (VF) parameters in normal and in patients with pseudoexfoliation with or without increased intraocular pressure (IOP). Methods A total of 96 subjects were included in our study aged between 65 years and 78 years. The normal group consisted of 28 subjects (14 men and 14 women). Out of the total number of patients, 68 patients who showed pseudoexfoliation (21 men and 47 women) were divided into two groups. Of these, the first group had pseudoexfoliation with increased IOP and the second group showed deposits of pseudoexfoliative material without an increase in IOP. The normal controls were randomly chosen and restricted to those without any glaucomatous optic disc damages, VF defects, and an IOP <15 mmHg. All subjects were prospectively included for repeated measurements of IOP, OCT, HRT, and VFs during the same visit by the same examiner and all measurements were repeated every 3 months. Results Mean RNFL thickness measured by OCT was larger in the normal controls than in the other two groups (98.04 μm (first group) vs 75.42 μm and 97.02 μm (second group), P<0.05). Four-quadrant RNFL thickness measurements were significantly different between the normal and the group 1 (P<0.05) but not with the group 2 (P>0.05). Rim area had a mean difference of −0.44, whereas cup-to-disc ratio (C/D) showed a mean difference of 0.31, thus being significantly different between the normal and the two groups (all P<0.05). The median of the mean deviation parameter of VFs was −0.28 for the normal vs −0.32 and −0.18 for the other two groups, whereas pattern standard deviation median difference was 0.89 for the normal and 1.32 and 1.20 for the other two groups, respectively (P<0.05). Conclusion Both OCT and HRT showed early ONH and RNFL changes in their parameters and did not correlate with the normal findings of the automated perimetry. PMID:25506206

WAIS Performance in Unincarcerated Groups of MMPI-Defined Sociopaths and Normal Controls

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Allain, Albert N.

1974-01-01

This investigation examines WAIS performance in groups of 32 sociopaths and 33 normal controls defined by Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory criteria. Sociopaths and normal controls show no differences in overall level of intellectual functioning. (Author)

Method to transform algae, materials therefor, and products produced thereby

DOEpatents

Dunahay, Terri Goodman; Roessler, Paul G.; Jarvis, Eric E.

1997-01-01

Disclosed is a method to transform chlorophyll C-containing algae which includes introducing a recombinant molecule comprising a nucleic acid molecule encoding a dominant selectable marker operatively linked to an algal regulatory control sequence into a chlorophyll C-containing alga in such a manner that the marker is produced by the alga. In a preferred embodiment the algal regulatory control sequence is derived from a diatom and preferably Cyclotella cryptica. Also disclosed is a chimeric molecule having one or more regulatory control sequences derived from one or more chlorophyll C-containing algae operatively linked to a nucleic acid molecule encoding a selectable marker, an RNA molecule and/or a protein, wherein the nucleic acid molecule does not normally occur with one or more of the regulatory control sequences. Further specifically disclosed are molecules pACCNPT10, pACCNPT4.8 and pACCNPT5.1. The methods and materials of the present invention provide the ability to accomplish stable genetic transformation of chlorophyll C-containing algae.

[Monitoring method of extraction process for Schisandrae Chinensis Fructus based on near infrared spectroscopy and multivariate statistical process control].

PubMed

Xu, Min; Zhang, Lei; Yue, Hong-Shui; Pang, Hong-Wei; Ye, Zheng-Liang; Ding, Li

2017-10-01

To establish an on-line monitoring method for extraction process of Schisandrae Chinensis Fructus, the formula medicinal material of Yiqi Fumai lyophilized injection by combining near infrared spectroscopy with multi-variable data analysis technology. The multivariate statistical process control (MSPC) model was established based on 5 normal batches in production and 2 test batches were monitored by PC scores, DModX and Hotelling T2 control charts. The results showed that MSPC model had a good monitoring ability for the extraction process. The application of the MSPC model to actual production process could effectively achieve on-line monitoring for extraction process of Schisandrae Chinensis Fructus, and can reflect the change of material properties in the production process in real time. This established process monitoring method could provide reference for the application of process analysis technology in the process quality control of traditional Chinese medicine injections. Copyright© by the Chinese Pharmaceutical Association.

The Expression and Significance of Feces Cyclooxygensae-2 mRNA in Colorectal Cancer and Colorectal Adenomas

PubMed Central

Li, Xiaofeng; Kong, Lixia; Liao, Suhuan; Lu, Jing; Ma, Lin; Long, Xiaohua

2017-01-01

Background/Aim: This study aims to explore the expression and significance of feces cyclooxygensae-2 (COX-2) mRNA in colorectal cancer and colorectal adenomas. Materials and Methods: The expression of feces COX-2 mRNA in colorectal cancer (n = 28), colorectal adenomas (n = 54), and normal control group (n = 11) were examined by reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). The positive rate of fecal occult blood test (FOBT) were detected in colorectal cancer (n = 30), colorectal adenomas (n = 56), and normal control group (n = 11); the sensitivity of the two methods was also compared. Results: The positive rate of feces COX-2 mRNA in colorectal cancer was 82.1% (25/28), which was significantly higher than colorectal adenomas 59.3% (32/54), and normal tissues 18.2% (2/11), the difference being significant between the three groups (χ2= 13.842, P = 0.001). The positive rate of FOBT in colorectal cancer was 73.3% (10/30), which was significantly higher than colorectal adenomas 10.7% (6/56) and normal tissues 9.1% (1/11), the difference being significant between these three groups (χ2= 7.525, P = 0.023). There was no significant association between feces COX-2 expression and various clinical pathological features of colorectal cancer and colorectal adenomas (P > 0.05). The sensitivity of the RT-PCR method is higher than FOBT, however, the specificity of FOBT is slightly higher than RT-PCR. Conclusions: High expression of feces COX-2 mRNA in colorectal adenomas and colorectal cancer is a common event; it is an early event in the development of colorectal adenomas to colorectal cancer. Feces COX-2 mRNA has a high sensitivity for detect colorectal cancer; combination with FOBT will be the best alternative. Feces COX-2 can be potentially used in the early diagnosis and screening of colorectal cancer. PMID:28139497

Quantitative Assessment of Proliferative Effects of Oral Vanadium on Pancreatic Islet Volumes and Beta Cell Numbers of Diabetic Rats

PubMed Central

Pirmoradi, Leila; Noorafshan, Ali; Safaee, Akbar; Dehghani, Gholam Abbas

2016-01-01

Background: Oral vanadyl sulfate (vanadium) induces normoglycemia, proliferates beta cells and prevents pancreatic islet atrophy in streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats. Soteriological method is used to quantitate the proliferative effects of vanadium on beta-cell numbers and islet volumes of normal and diabetic rats. Methods: Adult male Sprague-Dawley rats were made diabetic with intravenous streptozotocin injection (40 mg/kg). Normal and diabetic rats were divided into four groups. While control normal and diabetic (CD) groups used water, vanadium-treated normal (VTN) and diabetic (VTD) groups used solutions containing vanadyl sulfate (0.5-1 mg/mL, VOSO4+5H2O). Tail blood samples were used to measure blood glucose (BG) and plasma insulin. Two months after treatment, rats were sacrificed, pancreata prepared, and stereology method was used to quantitatively evaluate total beta cell numbers (TBCN) and total islet volumes (TISVOL). Results: Normoglycemia persisted in VTN with significantly decreased plasma insulin (0.190.08 vs. 0.970.27 ng/dL, P<0.002). The respective high BG (53249 vs. 14446 mg/dL, P<0.0001) and reduced plasma insulin (0.260.15 vs. 0.540.19 ng/dL, P<0.002) seen in CD were reversed in VTD during vanadium treatment or withdrawal. While the induction of diabetes, compared to their control, significantly decreased TISVOL (1.90.2 vs. 3.030.6 mm3, P<0.003) and TBCN (0.990.1 vs. 3.20.2 x 106, P<0.003), vanadium treatment significantly increased TISVOL (2.90.8 and 4.071.0 mm3, P<0.003) and TBCN (1.50.3 and 3.80.6 x 106, P<0.03). Conclusion: Two-month oral vanadium therapy in STZ-diabetic rats ameliorated hyperglycemia by partially restoring plasma insulin. This action was through proliferative actions of vanadium in preventing islet atrophy by increasing beta-cell numbers. PMID:26459400

Carbon-ion radiotherapy for locally advanced or unfavorably located choroidal melanoma: A Phase I/II dose-escalation study

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

Tsuji, Hiroshi; Ishikawa, Hitoshi; Yanagi, Takeshi

2007-03-01

Purpose: To evaluate the applicability of carbon ion beams for the treatment of choroidal melanoma with regard to normal tissue morbidity and local tumor control. Methods and Materials: Between January 2001 and February 2006, 59 patients with locally advanced or unfavorably located choroidal melanoma were enrolled in a Phase I/II clinical trial of carbon-ion radiotherapy at the National Institute of Radiologic Sciences. The primary endpoint of this study was normal tissue morbidity, and secondary endpoints were local tumor control and patient survival. Of the 59 subjects enrolled, 57 were followed >6 months and analyzed. Results: Twenty-three patients (40%) developed neovascularmore » glaucoma, and three underwent enucleation for eye pain due to elevated intraocular pressure. Incidence of neovascular glaucoma was dependent on tumor size and site. Five patients had died at analysis, three of distant metastasis and two of concurrent disease. All but one patient, who developed marginal recurrence, were controlled locally. Six patients developed distant metastasis, five in the liver and one in the lung. Three-year overall survival, disease-free survival, and local control rates were 88.2%, 84.8%, and 97.4%, respectively. No apparent dose-response relationship was observed in either tumor control or normal tissue morbidity at the dose range applied. Conclusion: Carbon-ion radiotherapy can be applied to choroidal melanoma with an acceptable morbidity and sufficient antitumor effect, even with tumors of unfavorable size or site.« less

Long-Term Weight Maintenance Strategies Are Experienced as a Burden by Persons Who Have Lost Weight Compared to Persons with a lifetime Normal, Stable Weight.

PubMed

Kruseman, Maaike; Schmutz, Noémi; Carrard, Isabelle

2017-01-01

To assess dietary intake, eating patterns, physical activity and eating behaviors, and to explore strategies and perceptions of the experience of weight maintenance in weight loss maintainers (weight loss maintenance (WLM) ≥ 10% weight loss maintained for ≥1 year) and in matched controls with a lifetime stable normal weight. Volunteers (32) were recruited by a snowball procedure in this cross-sectional, mixed-methods study. Diet, physical activity, and eating behaviors were assessed with validated questionnaires. Strategies and experiences were investigated during interviews. Descriptive coding, thematic analysis (qualitative data) as well as descriptive analysis and t-tests (quantitative data) were performed. Both groups had similar energy and macronutrient consumption. Those in the WLM group reported higher levels of exercise and scored higher on several dimensions of eating disorders. Four themes - 'food choices,' 'quantities and portion control,' 'physical activity', and 'burden' - emerged from the qualitative data. Both groups used similar weight maintenance strategies, but those in the WLM group experienced a higher burden, expressing effortful control which contrasted with the control group's confidence in their internal cues. Our results show an additional burden related with maintaining weight loss compared to keeping a stable normal weight. They provide evidence to devise interventions that will address the difficulty of regulating intake. © 2017 The Author(s) Published by S. Karger GmbH, Freiburg.

Cluster size statistic and cluster mass statistic: two novel methods for identifying changes in functional connectivity between groups or conditions.

PubMed

Ing, Alex; Schwarzbauer, Christian

2014-01-01

Functional connectivity has become an increasingly important area of research in recent years. At a typical spatial resolution, approximately 300 million connections link each voxel in the brain with every other. This pattern of connectivity is known as the functional connectome. Connectivity is often compared between experimental groups and conditions. Standard methods used to control the type 1 error rate are likely to be insensitive when comparisons are carried out across the whole connectome, due to the huge number of statistical tests involved. To address this problem, two new cluster based methods--the cluster size statistic (CSS) and cluster mass statistic (CMS)--are introduced to control the family wise error rate across all connectivity values. These methods operate within a statistical framework similar to the cluster based methods used in conventional task based fMRI. Both methods are data driven, permutation based and require minimal statistical assumptions. Here, the performance of each procedure is evaluated in a receiver operator characteristic (ROC) analysis, utilising a simulated dataset. The relative sensitivity of each method is also tested on real data: BOLD (blood oxygen level dependent) fMRI scans were carried out on twelve subjects under normal conditions and during the hypercapnic state (induced through the inhalation of 6% CO2 in 21% O2 and 73%N2). Both CSS and CMS detected significant changes in connectivity between normal and hypercapnic states. A family wise error correction carried out at the individual connection level exhibited no significant changes in connectivity.

Cluster Size Statistic and Cluster Mass Statistic: Two Novel Methods for Identifying Changes in Functional Connectivity Between Groups or Conditions

PubMed Central

Ing, Alex; Schwarzbauer, Christian

2014-01-01

Functional connectivity has become an increasingly important area of research in recent years. At a typical spatial resolution, approximately 300 million connections link each voxel in the brain with every other. This pattern of connectivity is known as the functional connectome. Connectivity is often compared between experimental groups and conditions. Standard methods used to control the type 1 error rate are likely to be insensitive when comparisons are carried out across the whole connectome, due to the huge number of statistical tests involved. To address this problem, two new cluster based methods – the cluster size statistic (CSS) and cluster mass statistic (CMS) – are introduced to control the family wise error rate across all connectivity values. These methods operate within a statistical framework similar to the cluster based methods used in conventional task based fMRI. Both methods are data driven, permutation based and require minimal statistical assumptions. Here, the performance of each procedure is evaluated in a receiver operator characteristic (ROC) analysis, utilising a simulated dataset. The relative sensitivity of each method is also tested on real data: BOLD (blood oxygen level dependent) fMRI scans were carried out on twelve subjects under normal conditions and during the hypercapnic state (induced through the inhalation of 6% CO2 in 21% O2 and 73%N2). Both CSS and CMS detected significant changes in connectivity between normal and hypercapnic states. A family wise error correction carried out at the individual connection level exhibited no significant changes in connectivity. PMID:24906136

Correlation- and covariance-supported normalization method for estimating orthodontic trainer treatment for clenching activity.

PubMed

Akdenur, B; Okkesum, S; Kara, S; Günes, S

2009-11-01

In this study, electromyography signals sampled from children undergoing orthodontic treatment were used to estimate the effect of an orthodontic trainer on the anterior temporal muscle. A novel data normalization method, called the correlation- and covariance-supported normalization method (CCSNM), based on correlation and covariance between features in a data set, is proposed to provide predictive guidance to the orthodontic technique. The method was tested in two stages: first, data normalization using the CCSNM; second, prediction of normalized values of anterior temporal muscles using an artificial neural network (ANN) with a Levenberg-Marquardt learning algorithm. The data set consists of electromyography signals from right anterior temporal muscles, recorded from 20 children aged 8-13 years with class II malocclusion. The signals were recorded at the start and end of a 6-month treatment. In order to train and test the ANN, two-fold cross-validation was used. The CCSNM was compared with four normalization methods: minimum-maximum normalization, z score, decimal scaling, and line base normalization. In order to demonstrate the performance of the proposed method, prevalent performance-measuring methods, and the mean square error and mean absolute error as mathematical methods, the statistical relation factor R2 and the average deviation have been examined. The results show that the CCSNM was the best normalization method among other normalization methods for estimating the effect of the trainer.

ZAP-70 expression in B-cell chronic lymphocytic leukemia: evaluation by external (isotypic) or internal (T/NK cells) controls and correlation with IgV(H) mutations.

PubMed

Zucchetto, Antonella; Bomben, Riccardo; Bo, Michele Dal; Nanni, Paola; Bulian, Pietro; Rossi, Francesca Maria; Del Principe, Maria Ilaria; Santini, Simone; Del Poeta, Giovanni; Degan, Massimo; Gattei, Valter

2006-07-15

Expression of T cell specific zeta-associated protein 70 (ZAP-70) by B-cell chronic lymphocytic leukemia (B-CLL) cells, as investigated by flow cytometry, has both prognostic relevance and predictive power as surrogate for immunoglobulin heavy chain variable region (IgV(H)) mutations, although a standardization of the cytometric protocol is still lacking. Flow cytometric analyses for ZAP-70 were performed in peripheral blood samples from 145 B-CLL (124 with IgV(H) mutations) by a standard three-color protocol. Identification of ZAP-70(+) cell population was based on an external negative control, i.e., the isotypic control (ISO method) or an internal positive control, i.e., the population of residual normal T/NK cells (TNK method). A comparison between these two approaches was performed. While 86/145 cases were concordant as for ZAP-70 expression according to the two methods (ISO(+)TNK(+) or ISO(-)TNK(-)), 59/145 cases had discordant ZAP-70 expression, mainly (56/59) showing a ISO(+)TNK(-) profile. These latter cases express higher levels of ZAP-70 in their normal T cell component. Moreover, discordant ISO(+)TNK(-) cases had a IgV(H) gene mutation profile similar to that of concordantly positive cases and different from ZAP-70 concordantly negative B-CLL. Analysis of ZAP-70 expression by B-CLL cells by using the ISO method allows to overcome the variability in the expression of ZAP-70 by residual T cells and yields a better correlation with IgV(H) gene mutations. A receiver operating characteristic analysis suggests to employ a higher cut-off than the commonly used 20%. A parallel evaluation of the prognostic value of ZAP-70 expression, as determined according to the ISO and TNK methods, is still needed. (c) 2006 International Society for Analytical Cytology.

Prevalence of tinea pedis in psoriasis, compared to atopic dermatitis and normal controls--a prospective study.

PubMed

Leibovici, Vera; Ramot, Yuval; Siam, Rula; Siam, Ihab; Hadayer, Noa; Strauss-Liviatan, Nurith; Hochberg, Malka

2014-12-01

There are discrepancies in the literature regarding the prevalence of tinea pedis in psoriasis. The aim of this investigation was to conduct a cross-sectional study of the prevalence of tinea pedis in psoriasis compared to atopic dermatitis patients and normal controls. We enrolled 232 psoriatic patients, 190 atopic dermatitis patients and 202 normal controls, between the years 2010 and 2013. The prevalence of tinea pedis was 13.8% in psoriasis patients, not significantly different from that in atopic dermatitis patients 8.4% (P = 0.092)), but significantly higher than in normal controls 7.4% (P = 0.043). Both gender and age affected the prevalence of tinea pedis in psoriasis and normal controls, while only age affected the prevalence of tinea pedis in atopic dermatitis. Regarding gender, there was higher prevalence of tinea pedis in men: 19.1% (P = 0.019) in psoriasis and 12.1% (P = 0.013) in normal controls. Age affected the prevalence of tinea pedis in normal controls (P < 0.001), psoriasis patients (P = 0.001) and atopic dermatitis patients (P = 0.001), with higher prevalence with increasing age. Trichophyton rubrum was the most common species in psoriasis (71.9%), atopic dermatitis (75.0%) and normal controls (73.3%). Our study found a relatively high prevalence of tinea pedis among psoriasis patients. © 2014 Blackwell Verlag GmbH.

Effect of normalization methods on the performance of supervised learning algorithms applied to HTSeq-FPKM-UQ data sets: 7SK RNA expression as a predictor of survival in patients with colon adenocarcinoma.

PubMed

Shahriyari, Leili

2017-11-03

One of the main challenges in machine learning (ML) is choosing an appropriate normalization method. Here, we examine the effect of various normalization methods on analyzing FPKM upper quartile (FPKM-UQ) RNA sequencing data sets. We collect the HTSeq-FPKM-UQ files of patients with colon adenocarcinoma from TCGA-COAD project. We compare three most common normalization methods: scaling, standardizing using z-score and vector normalization by visualizing the normalized data set and evaluating the performance of 12 supervised learning algorithms on the normalized data set. Additionally, for each of these normalization methods, we use two different normalization strategies: normalizing samples (files) or normalizing features (genes). Regardless of normalization methods, a support vector machine (SVM) model with the radial basis function kernel had the maximum accuracy (78%) in predicting the vital status of the patients. However, the fitting time of SVM depended on the normalization methods, and it reached its minimum fitting time when files were normalized to the unit length. Furthermore, among all 12 learning algorithms and 6 different normalization techniques, the Bernoulli naive Bayes model after standardizing files had the best performance in terms of maximizing the accuracy as well as minimizing the fitting time. We also investigated the effect of dimensionality reduction methods on the performance of the supervised ML algorithms. Reducing the dimension of the data set did not increase the maximum accuracy of 78%. However, it leaded to discovery of the 7SK RNA gene expression as a predictor of survival in patients with colon adenocarcinoma with accuracy of 78%. © The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com

Patterns of brain structural connectivity differentiate normal weight from overweight subjects

PubMed Central

Gupta, Arpana; Mayer, Emeran A.; Sanmiguel, Claudia P.; Van Horn, John D.; Woodworth, Davis; Ellingson, Benjamin M.; Fling, Connor; Love, Aubrey; Tillisch, Kirsten; Labus, Jennifer S.

2015-01-01

Background Alterations in the hedonic component of ingestive behaviors have been implicated as a possible risk factor in the pathophysiology of overweight and obese individuals. Neuroimaging evidence from individuals with increasing body mass index suggests structural, functional, and neurochemical alterations in the extended reward network and associated networks. Aim To apply a multivariate pattern analysis to distinguish normal weight and overweight subjects based on gray and white-matter measurements. Methods Structural images (N = 120, overweight N = 63) and diffusion tensor images (DTI) (N = 60, overweight N = 30) were obtained from healthy control subjects. For the total sample the mean age for the overweight group (females = 32, males = 31) was 28.77 years (SD = 9.76) and for the normal weight group (females = 32, males = 25) was 27.13 years (SD = 9.62). Regional segmentation and parcellation of the brain images was performed using Freesurfer. Deterministic tractography was performed to measure the normalized fiber density between regions. A multivariate pattern analysis approach was used to examine whether brain measures can distinguish overweight from normal weight individuals. Results 1. White-matter classification: The classification algorithm, based on 2 signatures with 17 regional connections, achieved 97% accuracy in discriminating overweight individuals from normal weight individuals. For both brain signatures, greater connectivity as indexed by increased fiber density was observed in overweight compared to normal weight between the reward network regions and regions of the executive control, emotional arousal, and somatosensory networks. In contrast, the opposite pattern (decreased fiber density) was found between ventromedial prefrontal cortex and the anterior insula, and between thalamus and executive control network regions. 2. Gray-matter classification: The classification algorithm, based on 2 signatures with 42 morphological features, achieved 69% accuracy in discriminating overweight from normal weight. In both brain signatures regions of the reward, salience, executive control and emotional arousal networks were associated with lower morphological values in overweight individuals compared to normal weight individuals, while the opposite pattern was seen for regions of the somatosensory network. Conclusions 1. An increased BMI (i.e., overweight subjects) is associated with distinct changes in gray-matter and fiber density of the brain. 2. Classification algorithms based on white-matter connectivity involving regions of the reward and associated networks can identify specific targets for mechanistic studies and future drug development aimed at abnormal ingestive behavior and in overweight/obesity. PMID:25737959

Vitamin D Receptor TaqI Gene Variant in Exon 9 and Polycystic Ovary Syndrome Risk

PubMed Central

Bagheri, Morteza; Abdi Rad, Isa; Hosseini Jazani, Nima; Nanbakhsh, Fariba

2013-01-01

Background: Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is known as a metabolic disorder. The results of recent studies implied that vitamin D receptor (VDR) genetic variants may impact PCOS and insulin resistance in women with PCOS. The aim of the present study was to determine the VDR TaqI gene variant in exon 9 (T/C) (rs731236) in normal controls and patients with PCOS for the first time in Iranian Azeri women. Materials and Methods: In this case control study between April 2011 and June 2012, a total of 76 women aged 18-40 years (38 patients with PCOS and 38 healthy women as normal controls) participated. Genotypes of VDR TaqI in exon 9 (T/C) (rs731236) were determined using the PCR-RFLP method. Results: The frequencies of VDR TaqI T anc C alleles were 0.605 and 0.395 in cases and 0.697 and 0.303 in controls. Also, the genotypic frequencies of VDR TaqI were 16) (42.11), 14(36.84), and 8(21.05) in cases, and 17(44.74), 19(50), and 2(5.26) in controls for TT, TC and CC genotypes respectively. There was no difference in genotype and allele frequencies between PCOS and controls (p value>0.05) with the exception of the CC genotype (p value=0.04). Conclusion: This report, a first of its own kind in Iranian Azeri patients, suggests that the CC genotype of VDR TaqI in exon 9 (rs731236) is associated with PCOS. PMID:24520473

Region-specific Alterations in Glucocorticoid Receptor Expression in the Postmortem Brain of Teenage Suicide Victims

PubMed Central

Pandey, Ghanshyam N.; Rizavi, Hooriyah S.; Ren, Xinguo; Dwivedi, Yogesh; Palkovits, Miklós

2013-01-01

Introduction Abnormal function of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis has been implicated in the pathophysiology of depression and suicide. The purpose of this study was to test the hypothesis that the reported dysregulation of the HPA axis in suicide may be related to a disturbed feedback inhibition caused by decreased corticoid receptors in the brain. We therefore determined the protein and gene expression of glucocorticoid (GR) and mineralocorticoid receptors (MR) in the postmortem brain of teenage suicide victims and matched normal controls. Methods Protein and mRNA expression of GR (GR-α and GR-β) and MR and the mRNA expression of glucocorticoid-induced leucine zipper (GILZ), a target gene for GR were determined by immunolabeling using Western blot technique and the real-time RT-polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) technique in the prefrontal cortex (PFC), hippocampus, subiculum, and amygdala obtained from 24 teenage suicide victims and 24 teenage control subjects. Results We observed that protein and gene expression of GR-α was significantly decreased in the PFC and amygdala, but not in the hippocampus or subiculum, of teenage suicide victims compared with normal control subjects. Also, the mRNA levels of GR inducible target gene GILZ was significantly decreased in PFC and amygdaloid nuclei but not in hippocampus compared with controls. In contrast, no significant differences were observed in protein or gene expression of MR in any of the areas studied between teenage suicide victims and normal control subjects. There was no difference in the expression of GR-β in the PFC between suicide victims and normal controls. Conclusions These results suggested that the observed dysregulation of the HPA axis in suicide may be related to a decreased expression of GR-α and GR inducible genes in the PFC and amygdala of teenage suicide victims. The reason why GR receptors are not dysregulated in the hippocampus or subiculum, presumably two sites of stress action, are not clear at this time. PMID:23845513

Selection of internal control genes for quantitative real-time RT-PCR studies during tomato development process

PubMed Central

Expósito-Rodríguez, Marino; Borges, Andrés A; Borges-Pérez, Andrés; Pérez, José A

2008-01-01

Background The elucidation of gene expression patterns leads to a better understanding of biological processes. Real-time quantitative RT-PCR has become the standard method for in-depth studies of gene expression. A biologically meaningful reporting of target mRNA quantities requires accurate and reliable normalization in order to identify real gene-specific variation. The purpose of normalization is to control several variables such as different amounts and quality of starting material, variable enzymatic efficiencies of retrotranscription from RNA to cDNA, or differences between tissues or cells in overall transcriptional activity. The validity of a housekeeping gene as endogenous control relies on the stability of its expression level across the sample panel being analysed. In the present report we describe the first systematic evaluation of potential internal controls during tomato development process to identify which are the most reliable for transcript quantification by real-time RT-PCR. Results In this study, we assess the expression stability of 7 traditional and 4 novel housekeeping genes in a set of 27 samples representing different tissues and organs of tomato plants at different developmental stages. First, we designed, tested and optimized amplification primers for real-time RT-PCR. Then, expression data from each candidate gene were evaluated with three complementary approaches based on different statistical procedures. Our analysis suggests that SGN-U314153 (CAC), SGN-U321250 (TIP41), SGN-U346908 ("Expressed") and SGN-U316474 (SAND) genes provide superior transcript normalization in tomato development studies. We recommend different combinations of these exceptionally stable housekeeping genes for suited normalization of different developmental series, including the complete tomato development process. Conclusion This work constitutes the first effort for the selection of optimal endogenous controls for quantitative real-time RT-PCR studies of gene expression during tomato development process. From our study a tool-kit of control genes emerges that outperform the traditional genes in terms of expression stability. PMID:19102748

Use of Statistical Analysis of Acoustic Emission Data on Carbon-Epoxy COPV Materials-of-Construction for Enhanced Felicity Ratio Onset Determination

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Abraham, Arick Reed A.; Johnson, Kenneth L.; Nichols, Charles T.; Saulsberry, Regor L.; Waller, Jess M.

2012-01-01

Broadband modal acoustic emission (AE) data were acquired during intermittent load hold tensile test profiles on Toray T1000G carbon fiber-reinforced epoxy (C/Ep) single tow specimens. A novel trend seeking statistical method to determine the onset of significant AE was developed, resulting in more linear decreases in the Felicity ratio (FR) with load, potentially leading to more accurate failure prediction. The method developed uses an exponentially weighted moving average (EWMA) control chart. Comparison of the EWMA with previously used FR onset methods, namely the discrete (n), mean (n (raised bar)), normalized (n%) and normalized mean (n(raised bar)%) methods, revealed the EWMA method yields more consistently linear FR versus load relationships between specimens. Other findings include a correlation between AE data richness and FR linearity based on the FR methods discussed in this paper, and evidence of premature failure at lower than expected loads. Application of the EWMA method should be extended to other composite materials and, eventually, composite components such as composite overwrapped pressure vessels. Furthermore, future experiments should attempt to uncover the factors responsible for infant mortality in C/Ep strands.

Comparative Study of Genotoxicity in Different Tobacco Related Habits using Micronucleus Assay in Exfoliated Buccal Epithelial Cells

PubMed Central

Guruprasad, Yadavalli; Jose, Maji; Saxena, Kartikay; K, Deepa; Prabhu, Vishnudas

2014-01-01

Background: Oral cancer is one of the most debilitating diseases afflicting mankind. Consumption of tobacco in various forms constitutes one of the most important etiological factors in initiation of oral cancer. When the focus of today’s research is to determine early genotoxic changes in human cells, micronucleus (MN) assay provides a simple, yet reliable indicator of genotoxic damage. Aims and Objectives: To identify and quantify micronuclei in the exfoliated cells of oral mucosa in individuals with different tobacco related habits and control group, to compare the genotoxicity of different tobacco related habits between each group and also with that of control group. Patients and Methods: In the present study buccal smears of 135 individuals with different tobacco related habits & buccal smears of 45 age and sex matched controls were obtained, stained using Giemsa stain and then observed under 100X magnification in order to identify and quantify micronuclei in the exfoliated cells of oral mucosa. Results: The mean Micronucleus (MN) count in individuals having smoking habit were 3.11 while the count was 0.50, 2.13, and 1.67 in normal control, smoking with beetle quid and smokeless tobacco habit respectively. MN count in smokers group was 2.6 times more compared to normal controls. MN count was more even in other groups when compared to normal control but to a lesser extent. Conclusion: From our study we concluded that tobacco in any form is genotoxic especially smokers are of higher risk and micronucleus assay can be used as a simple yet reliable marker for genotoxic evaluation. PMID:24995238

Remote Sensing Monitoring of Changes in Soil Salinity: A Case Study in Inner Mongolia, China.

PubMed

Wu, Jingwei; Vincent, Bernard; Yang, Jinzhong; Bouarfa, Sami; Vidal, Alain

2008-11-07

This study used archived remote sensing images to depict the history of changes in soil salinity in the Hetao Irrigation District in Inner Mongolia, China, with the purpose of linking these changes with land and water management practices and to draw lessons for salinity control. Most data came from LANDSAT satellite images taken in 1973, 1977, 1988, 1991, 1996, 2001, and 2006. In these years salt-affected areas were detected using a normal supervised classification method. Corresponding cropped areas were detected from NVDI (Normalized Difference Vegetation Index) values using an unsupervised method. Field samples and agricultural statistics were used to estimate the accuracy of the classification. Historical data concerning irrigation/drainage and the groundwater table were used to analyze the relation between changes in soil salinity and land and water management practices. Results showed that: (1) the overall accuracy of remote sensing in detecting soil salinity was 90.2%, and in detecting cropped area, 98%; (2) the installation/innovation of the drainage system did help to control salinity; and (3) a low ratio of cropped land helped control salinity in the Hetao Irrigation District. These findings suggest that remote sensing is a useful tool to detect soil salinity and has potential in evaluating and improving land and water management practices.

Temperature Control at DBS Electrodes using Heat Sink: Experimentally Validated FEM Model of DBS lead Architecture

PubMed Central

Elwassif, Maged M.; Datta, Abhishek; Rahman, Asif; Bikson, Marom

2012-01-01

There is a growing interest in the use of Deep Brain Stimulation for the treatment of medically refractory movement disorders and other neurological and psychiatric conditions. The extent of temperature increases around DBS electrodes during normal operation (joule heating and increased metabolic activity) or coupling with an external source (e.g. MRI) remains poorly understood and methods to mitigate temperature increases are being actively investigated. We developed a heat transfer finite element method simulation of DBS incorporating the realistic architecture of Medtronic 3389 leads. The temperature changes were analyzed considering different electrode configurations, stimulation protocols, and tissue properties. The heat-transfer model results were then validated using micro-thermocouple measurements during DBS lead stimulation in a saline bath. FEM results indicate that lead design (materials and geometry) may have a central role in controlling temperature rise by conducting heat. We show how modifying lead design can effectively control temperature increases. The robustness of this heat-sink approach over complimentary heat-mitigation technologies follows from several features: 1) it is insensitive to the mechanisms of heating (e.g. nature of magnetic coupling); 2) does not interfere with device efficacy; and 3) can be practically implemented in a broad range of implanted devices without modifying the normal device operations or the implant procedure. PMID:22764359

A not-stop-flow online normal-/reversed-phase two-dimensional liquid chromatography-quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry method for comprehensive lipid profiling of human plasma from atherosclerosis patients.

PubMed

Li, Min; Tong, Xunliang; Lv, Pu; Feng, Baosheng; Yang, Li; Wu, Zheng; Cui, Xinge; Bai, Yu; Huang, Yining; Liu, Huwei

2014-11-03

A not-stop-flow online two-dimensional (2D) liquid chromatography (LC) method was developed for comprehensive lipid profiling by coupling normal- and reversed-phase LC with quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry (QToF-MS), which was then applied to separate and identify the lipid species in plasma, making its merits in quality and quantity of the detection of lipids. Total 540 endogenous lipid species from 17 classes were determined in human plasma, and the differences in lipid metabolism products in human plasma between atherosclerosis patients and control subjects were explored in detail. The limit of detections (LODs) of 19 validation standards could all reach ng/mL magnitude, and the RSDs of peak area and retention time ranged 0.4-8.0% and 0.010-0.47%, respectively. In addition, a pair of isomers, galactosylceramides (GalC) and glucosylceramides (GluC), was successfully separated, showing that only the levels of GalC in atherosclerosis patients were significantly increasing, rather than GluC, compared with the controls (controls vs. patients: the ratio was 1.5-2.8-fold increasing). It would be helpful to the further research of the atherosclerosis. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Characteristics of cold-induced dark, firm, dry broiler chicken breast meat.

PubMed

Dadgar, S; Lee, E S; Crowe, T G; Classen, H L; Shand, P J

2012-01-01

1. A study was designed to characterise dark, firm, dry (DFD) breast meat resulting from cold exposure of broilers and compare its properties with normal breast meat from cold-stressed and control birds. 2. A total of 140 broilers were selected from 5- and 6-week-old birds exposed to cold temperatures ranging from -18 to -4°C, or a control temperature of +20°C for 3 h in an environmental chamber. Half of these birds were slaughtered immediately following the cold exposure and the other half were given 2 h of lairage. 3. Breast meat samples were categorised based on ultimate pH (pH(u)) and colour L* (lightness) values into normal (5·7 ≤ pH(u)≤ 6·1; 46 ≤ L* ≤ 53) breast meat from control (control-normal) or cold-stressed (cold-normal) birds, and DFD (pH(u) > 6·1; L* < 46) breast meat, which only occurred in cold-stressed birds (cold-DFD). 4. Residual glycogen was not different between cold-DFD and control-normal breast meat. Lactate concentration was lower in cold-DFD compared with control-normal breast meat. Lactate concentration almost tripled for all the samples by 30 h post-mortem, which resulted in a drop in pH of normal meat, but did not have any effect on pH of DFD breast meat. Glycolytic potential at both 5 min and 30 h post-mortem was lower in DFD breast meat compared with the normal breast meat from both cold-stressed and control birds. 5. Cold-DFD breast meat was significantly darker, with higher pH(u), lower cook loss, higher water-binding capacity and processing cook yield than cold-normal and control-normal breast meat, which were not different from each other.

Combination of MRI hippocampal volumetry and arterial spin labeling MR perfusion at 3-Tesla improves the efficacy in discriminating Alzheimer's disease from cognitively normal elderly adults.

PubMed

Mak, Henry Ka-Fung; Qian, Wenshu; Ng, Kwok Sing; Chan, Queenie; Song, You-Qiang; Chu, Leung Wing; Yau, Kelvin Kai-Wing

2014-01-01

Structural magnetic resonance imaging has been employed for evaluation of medial temporal atrophy in patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD). Arterial spin labeling (ASL) technique could detect cerebral perfusion abnormalities in AD. We hypothesized that combination of hippocampal volumetry and cerebral blood flow yield higher accuracy than either method alone in discriminating AD patients from cognitively normal elderly adults. 13 AD patients and 15 healthy controls were studied using a 3-tesla scanner. Standardized T1W 3D volumetric Fast Field Echo and QUASAR ASL sequences were employed for cerebral volumetry and perfusion respectively. Manual Right and left hippocampal volumetry was performed manually by ANALYZE software, with total intracranial volume normalization. ASL data were analyzed by institutional specially-design software to calculate cerebral blood flow of region-of-interests placed at the middle and posterior cingulate gyri. Right and left hippocampal volumes and middle and posterior cingulate gyri cerebral blood flows were significantly lower in the patients than in the controls (independent-samples t-tests, p < 0.05), and prediction accuracies of 89.3%, 82.1%, 75.0% and 71.4% were achieved for each of the above parameters, respectively. In distinguishing patients from controls using corresponding optimized cut-off values, various combinations of these parameters were used to create the Receiver Operating Characteristic curves. The highest area under curve value was 0.944, by combining cerebral blood flow at the middle cingulate gyrus, normalized right and left hippocampal volumes. A 'one-stop-shop' magnetic resonance study of combined hippocampal volumetry and cerebral perfusion has improved efficacy in discriminating AD patients from cognitively normal elderly adults.

Rarity of the Alzheimer Disease–Protective APP A673T Variant in the United States

PubMed Central

Wang, Li-San; Naj, Adam C.; Graham, Robert R.; Crane, Paul K.; Kunkle, Brian W.; Cruchaga, Carlos; Gonzalez Murcia, Josue D.; Cannon-Albright, Lisa; Baldwin, Clinton T.; Zetterberg, Henrik; Blennow, Kaj; Kukull, Walter A.; Faber, Kelley M.; Schupf, Nicole; Norton, Maria C.; Tschanz, JoAnn T.; Munger, Ronald G.; Corcoran, Christopher D.; Rogaeva, Ekaterina; Lin, Chiao-Feng; Dombroski, Beth A.; Cantwell, Laura B.; Partch, Amanda; Valladares, Otto; Hakonarson, Hakon; St George-Hyslop, Peter; Green, Robert C.; Goate, Alison M.; Foroud, Tatiana M.; Carney, Regina M.; Larson, Eric B.; Behrens, Timothy W.; Kauwe, John S. K.; Haines, Jonathan L.; Farrer, Lindsay A.; Pericak-Vance, Margaret A.; Mayeux, Richard; Schellenberg, Gerard D.

2015-01-01

IMPORTANCE Recently, a rare variant in the amyloid precursor protein gene (APP) was described in a population from Iceland. This variant, in which alanine is replaced by threonine at position 673 (A673T), appears to protect against late-onset Alzheimer disease (AD). We evaluated the frequency of this variant in AD cases and cognitively normal controls to determine whether this variant will significantly contribute to risk assessment in individuals in the United States. OBJECTIVE To determine the frequency of the APP A673T variant in a large group of elderly cognitively normal controls and AD cases from the United States and in 2 case-control cohorts from Sweden. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS Case-control association analysis of variant APP A673T in US and Swedish white individuals comparing AD cases with cognitively intact elderly controls. Participants were ascertained at multiple university-associated medical centers and clinics across the United States and Sweden by study-specific sampling methods. They were from case-control studies, community-based prospective cohort studies, and studies that ascertained multiplex families from multiple sources. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES Genotypes for the APP A673T variant were determined using the Infinium HumanExome V1 Beadchip (Illumina, Inc) and by TaqMan genotyping (Life Technologies). RESULTS The A673T variant genotypes were evaluated in 8943 US AD cases, 10 480 US cognitively normal controls, 862 Swedish AD cases, and 707 Swedish cognitively normal controls. We identified 3 US individuals heterozygous for A673T, including 1 AD case (age at onset, 89 years) and 2 controls (age at last examination, 82 and 77 years). The remaining US samples were homozygous for the alanine (A673) allele. In the Swedish samples, 3 controls were heterozygous for A673T and all AD cases were homozygous for the A673 allele. We also genotyped a US family previously reported to harbor the A673T variant and found a mother-daughter pair, both cognitively normal at ages 72 and 84 years, respectively, who were both heterozygous for A673T; however, all individuals with AD in the family were homozygous for A673. CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE The A673T variant is extremely rare in US cohorts and does not play a substantial role in risk for AD in this population. This variant may be primarily restricted to Icelandic and Scandinavian populations. PMID:25531812

Cortical Thinning in Network-Associated Regions in Cognitively Normal and Below-Normal Range Schizophrenia

PubMed Central

Pinnock, Farena; Parlar, Melissa; Hawco, Colin; Hanford, Lindsay; Hall, Geoffrey B.

2017-01-01

This study assessed whether cortical thickness across the brain and regionally in terms of the default mode, salience, and central executive networks differentiates schizophrenia patients and healthy controls with normal range or below-normal range cognitive performance. Cognitive normality was defined using the MATRICS Consensus Cognitive Battery (MCCB) composite score (T = 50 ± 10) and structural magnetic resonance imaging was used to generate cortical thickness data. Whole brain analysis revealed that cognitively normal range controls (n = 39) had greater cortical thickness than both cognitively normal (n = 17) and below-normal range (n = 49) patients. Cognitively normal controls also demonstrated greater thickness than patients in regions associated with the default mode and salience, but not central executive networks. No differences on any thickness measure were found between cognitively normal range and below-normal range controls (n = 24) or between cognitively normal and below-normal range patients. In addition, structural covariance between network regions was high and similar across subgroups. Positive and negative symptom severity did not correlate with thickness values. Cortical thinning across the brain and regionally in relation to the default and salience networks may index shared aspects of the psychotic psychopathology that defines schizophrenia with no relation to cognitive impairment. PMID:28348889

Is this the right normalization? A diagnostic tool for ChIP-seq normalization.

PubMed

Angelini, Claudia; Heller, Ruth; Volkinshtein, Rita; Yekutieli, Daniel

2015-05-09

Chip-seq experiments are becoming a standard approach for genome-wide profiling protein-DNA interactions, such as detecting transcription factor binding sites, histone modification marks and RNA Polymerase II occupancy. However, when comparing a ChIP sample versus a control sample, such as Input DNA, normalization procedures have to be applied in order to remove experimental source of biases. Despite the substantial impact that the choice of the normalization method can have on the results of a ChIP-seq data analysis, their assessment is not fully explored in the literature. In particular, there are no diagnostic tools that show whether the applied normalization is indeed appropriate for the data being analyzed. In this work we propose a novel diagnostic tool to examine the appropriateness of the estimated normalization procedure. By plotting the empirical densities of log relative risks in bins of equal read count, along with the estimated normalization constant, after logarithmic transformation, the researcher is able to assess the appropriateness of the estimated normalization constant. We use the diagnostic plot to evaluate the appropriateness of the estimates obtained by CisGenome, NCIS and CCAT on several real data examples. Moreover, we show the impact that the choice of the normalization constant can have on standard tools for peak calling such as MACS or SICER. Finally, we propose a novel procedure for controlling the FDR using sample swapping. This procedure makes use of the estimated normalization constant in order to gain power over the naive choice of constant (used in MACS and SICER), which is the ratio of the total number of reads in the ChIP and Input samples. Linear normalization approaches aim to estimate a scale factor, r, to adjust for different sequencing depths when comparing ChIP versus Input samples. The estimated scaling factor can easily be incorporated in many peak caller algorithms to improve the accuracy of the peak identification. The diagnostic plot proposed in this paper can be used to assess how adequate ChIP/Input normalization constants are, and thus it allows the user to choose the most adequate estimate for the analysis.

Ameliorative Effects of Allium sativum Extract on iNOS Gene Expression and NO Production in Liver of Streptozotocin + Nicotinamide-Induced Diabetic Rats.

PubMed

Ziamajidi, Nasrin; Behrouj, Hamid; Abbasalipourkabir, Roghayeh; Lotfi, Fatemeh

2018-04-01

Diabetes mellitus (DM) is one of the most prevalent diseases in the world, which is strongly associated with liver dysfunction. Hyperglycemia, through an oxidative stress pathway, damages various tissues. Herbal medicine is a good candidate to ameliorate hyperglycemia and oxidative stress. In this study, the effects of aqueous Allium sativum (garlic) extract (AGE) on gene expression of inducible nitric oxide synthases (iNOS) and production of nitric oxide (NO) were evaluated in the liver tissue of diabetic rats. Four groups of rats contained normal control rats, garlic control rats (AGE), Streptozotocin (STZ) + nicotinamide-induced diabetic rats (DM), and diabetic rats treated with garlic (DM + AGE). Glucose levels and liver enzymes activities were determined by colorimetric assay in the serum. Gene expression of iNOS by real-time PCR, NO levels by Griess method, oxidative stress parameters by spectrophotometric method and histopathological examination by hematoxylin and eosin staining method were evaluated in the liver tissues. Glucose levels, activities of liver enzymes, oxidative stress markers, iNOS gene expression, and NO production increased significantly in diabetic rats in comparison with control rats, whereas after oral administration of garlic, these parameters decreased significantly, close to the normal levels. Hence, the beneficial effects of garlic on the liver injury of diabetes could be included in the hypoglycaemic and antioxidant properties of garlic via a decrease in gene expression of iNOS and subsequent NO production.

Quantum control of the normal modes of benzene with ultrafast laser pulses

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sauer, Petra; Dou, Yusheng; Torralva, Ben; Allen, Roland

2005-03-01

Remarkable innovations in laser technology have made it possible to create laser pulses with ultrashort durations (below 100 femtoseconds) and ultrahigh intensities (above 1 terawatt per cm^2). To understand the behavior of complex molecules and materials in this new regime of physics, chemistry, biology, and materials science requires innovative techniques which complement experiment and standard theory, and which can treat situations in which conventional approximations like the Born- Oppenheimer approximation, the Franck-Condon principle, and Fermi's golden rule are no longer valid. In this talk we describe a method that we are developing, semiclassical electron-radiation-ion dyanmics (SERID), which can be used to perform simulations of the coupled dynamics of electrons and nuclei in an intense radiation field. We have employed this technique in studying the normal modes of benzene, and the possibility of controlling these modes by optimizing the laser pulses that are applied to the molecule. Animations will be shown of particular normal modes, including the breathing and beating modes, illustrating their symmetries and other properties, and of the photodissociation of benzene when the laser pulse exceeds a threshold intensity.

[Expression and significance of tumor necrosis factor alpha, matrix metalloproteinase 2 and collagen in skin tissue of pressure ulcer of rats].

PubMed

Wang, X H; Mao, T T; Pan, Y Y; Xie, H H; Zhang, H Y; Xiao, J; Jiang, L P

2016-03-01

To observe the expressions of tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α), matrix metalloproteinase 2 (MMP-2) and collagen in local skin tissue of pressure ulcer of rats, and to explore the possible mechanism of the pathogenesis of pressure ulcer. Forty male SD rats were divided into normal control group, 3 d compression group, 5 d compression group, 7 d compression group, and 9 d compression group according to the random number table, with 8 rats in each group. The rats in normal control group did not receive any treatment, whereas the rats in the latter 4 groups were established the deep tissue injury model (3 d compression group) and pressure ulcer model (the other 3 groups) on the gracilis muscle on both hind limbs using a way of cycle compression of ischemia-reperfusion magnet. The rats in 3 d compression group received only three cycles of compression, while the compressed skin of the rats in 5 d compression group, 7 d compression group, and 9 d compression group were cut through and received pressure to 5, 7 and 9 cycles after three cycles of compression, respectively. The rats in 3 d compression group were sacrificed immediately after receiving compression for 3 d (the rats in normal control group were sacrificed at the same time), and the rats in the other 3 groups were respectively sacrificed after receiving compression for 5, 7, and 9 d, and the skin tissue on the central part of gracilis muscle on both hind limbs were harvested. The morphology of the skin tissue was observed with HE staining. The expression of collagen fiber was observed with Masson staining. The expressions of collagen type Ⅳ and MMP-2 were detected by immunohistochemical method. The expressions of TNF-α and phosphorylated NF kappa B (NF-κB) were determined by Western blotting. Data were processed with one-way analysis of variance and LSD test. (1) In normal control group, the skin tissue of rats was stratified squamous epithelium, with the clear skin structure, and there was no obvious infiltration of inflammatory cells. In 3 d compression group, the skin layers of rats were clear, with quite a few fibroblasts, and the inflammatory cells began to infiltrate. In 5 d compression group, 7 d compression group, and 9 d compression group, the epidermis of rats thickened, with the number of fibroblasts reduced, and the infiltration of inflammatory cells enhanced with the compressed time prolonging. (2) In normal control group, the collagen fibers in skin tissue of rats were arranged in order, with rich content. In 3 d compression group, the collagen fibers in skin tissue of rats were arranged orderly, with high expression level, which was similar to that in normal control group (P>0.05). In 5 d compression group and 7 d compression group, the collagen fibers in skin tissue of rats were arranged in disorder, with the expression level gradually reduced, which were significantly lower than that in normal control group (with P values below 0.01). In 9 d compression group, the expression of collagen fiber in skin tissue of rats was a little higher than that in 7 d compression group, but it was still significantly lower than that in normal control group (P<0.01). (3) The expressions of collagen type Ⅳ in skin tissue of rats in normal control group, 3 d compression group, 5 d compression group, 7 d compression group, and 9 d compression group were respectively 11.0±2.8, 9.0±1.7, 8.3±2.8, 5.1±1.8, and 5.4±1.2. The expression of collagen type Ⅳ in skin tissue of rats in 3 d compression group was similar to that in normal control group (P>0.05). The expressions of collagen type Ⅳ in skin tissue of rats in 5 d compression group, 7 d compression group, and 9 d compression group were significantly lower than that in normal control group (P<0.05 or P<0.01). The expression of MMP-2 in skin tissue of rats in 3 d compression group was similar to that in normal control group (P>0.05). The expressions of MMP-2 in skin tissue of rats in 5 d compression group, 7 d compression group, and 9 d compression group were significantly higher than that in normal control group (P<0.05 or P<0.01). (4) The expression of TNF-α in skin tissue of rats in normal control group was 0.48±0.11, and the expressions of TNF-α in skin tissue of rats in 3 d compression group, 5 d compression group, 7 d compression group, and 9 d compression group were respectively 0.84±0.08, 1.13±0.19, 1.34±0.16, and 1.52±0.23, which were all significantly higher than that in normal control group (with P values below 0.01). The expressions of phosphorylated NF-κB in skin tissue of rats in 3 d compression group and 9 d compression group were similar to that in normal control group (with P values above 0.05), and the expressions of phosphorylated NF-κB in skin tissue of rats in 5 d compression group and 7 d compression group were significantly higher than that in normal control group (P<0.05 or P<0.01). The high expression of MMP-2 and reduction of collagen induced by inflammatory reaction mediated by the high expression of TNF-α in local skin tissue of pressure ulcer of rats may be one of the important reasons for the formation of pressure ulcer.

Adaptive model-based control systems and methods for controlling a gas turbine

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Brunell, Brent Jerome (Inventor); Mathews, Jr., Harry Kirk (Inventor); Kumar, Aditya (Inventor)

2004-01-01

Adaptive model-based control systems and methods are described so that performance and/or operability of a gas turbine in an aircraft engine, power plant, marine propulsion, or industrial application can be optimized under normal, deteriorated, faulted, failed and/or damaged operation. First, a model of each relevant system or component is created, and the model is adapted to the engine. Then, if/when deterioration, a fault, a failure or some kind of damage to an engine component or system is detected, that information is input to the model-based control as changes to the model, constraints, objective function, or other control parameters. With all the information about the engine condition, and state and directives on the control goals in terms of an objective function and constraints, the control then solves an optimization so the optimal control action can be determined and taken. This model and control may be updated in real-time to account for engine-to-engine variation, deterioration, damage, faults and/or failures using optimal corrective control action command(s).

Optimal filtering and Bayesian detection for friction-based diagnostics in machines.

PubMed

Ray, L R; Townsend, J R; Ramasubramanian, A

2001-01-01

Non-model-based diagnostic methods typically rely on measured signals that must be empirically related to process behavior or incipient faults. The difficulty in interpreting a signal that is indirectly related to the fundamental process behavior is significant. This paper presents an integrated non-model and model-based approach to detecting when process behavior varies from a proposed model. The method, which is based on nonlinear filtering combined with maximum likelihood hypothesis testing, is applicable to dynamic systems whose constitutive model is well known, and whose process inputs are poorly known. Here, the method is applied to friction estimation and diagnosis during motion control in a rotating machine. A nonlinear observer estimates friction torque in a machine from shaft angular position measurements and the known input voltage to the motor. The resulting friction torque estimate can be analyzed directly for statistical abnormalities, or it can be directly compared to friction torque outputs of an applicable friction process model in order to diagnose faults or model variations. Nonlinear estimation of friction torque provides a variable on which to apply diagnostic methods that is directly related to model variations or faults. The method is evaluated experimentally by its ability to detect normal load variations in a closed-loop controlled motor driven inertia with bearing friction and an artificially-induced external line contact. Results show an ability to detect statistically significant changes in friction characteristics induced by normal load variations over a wide range of underlying friction behaviors.

Excitation power quantities in phase resonance testing of nonlinear systems with phase-locked-loop excitation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Peter, Simon; Leine, Remco I.

2017-11-01

Phase resonance testing is one method for the experimental extraction of nonlinear normal modes. This paper proposes a novel method for nonlinear phase resonance testing. Firstly, the issue of appropriate excitation is approached on the basis of excitation power considerations. Therefore, power quantities known from nonlinear systems theory in electrical engineering are transferred to nonlinear structural dynamics applications. A new power-based nonlinear mode indicator function is derived, which is generally applicable, reliable and easy to implement in experiments. Secondly, the tuning of the excitation phase is automated by the use of a Phase-Locked-Loop controller. This method provides a very user-friendly and fast way for obtaining the backbone curve. Furthermore, the method allows to exploit specific advantages of phase control such as the robustness for lightly damped systems and the stabilization of unstable branches of the frequency response. The reduced tuning time for the excitation makes the commonly used free-decay measurements for the extraction of backbone curves unnecessary. Instead, steady-state measurements for every point of the curve are obtained. In conjunction with the new mode indicator function, the correlation of every measured point with the associated nonlinear normal mode of the underlying conservative system can be evaluated. Moreover, it is shown that the analysis of the excitation power helps to locate sources of inaccuracies in the force appropriation process. The method is illustrated by a numerical example and its functionality in experiments is demonstrated on a benchmark beam structure.

Sonic resonator control and method for determining component concentration in multiple component molten liquids

DOEpatents

Shen, Sin-Yan

1984-01-01

This invention teaches a control to be used in smelting aluminum by the electrolysis breakdown of alumina (A1.sub.2 O.sub.3) in a molten electrolyte heated to approximately 950.degree.-1000.degree. C. The invention provides a sonic resonator and control that can accurately detect the resonant frequency of the resonator in the molten electrolyte. The resonator preferably is made with tubular side wall 1/4 of the sonic wavelength, or is a quarter wave resonator. A wave generator inputs a signal having a range of frequencies that includes the resonant frequency, so that a peak resonant output at the resonant frequency can be detected on an oscilloscope or like detector. This instantaneous resonant frequency is then checked against an accurate data base correlating the resonant frequencies of the resonator in the electrolyte at specific alumina concentrations normally experienced throughout the electrolysis cycle. The electrolysis cycle can thus be controlled and recharged at any predetermined low alumina concentration greater than where the anode effect phase of the cycle normally might begin.

Deaf individuals who work with computers present a high level of visual attention

PubMed Central

Ribeiro, Paula Vieira; Ribas, Valdenilson Ribeiro; Ribas, Renata de Melo Guerra; de Melo, Teresinha de Jesus Oliveira Guimarães; Marinho, Carlos Antonio de Sá; Silva, Kátia Karina do Monte; de Albuquerque, Elizabete Elias; Ribas, Valéria Ribeiro; de Lima, Renata Mirelly Silva; Santos, Tuthcha Sandrelle Botelho Tavares

2011-01-01

Some studies in the literature indicate that deaf individuals seem to develop a higher level of attention and concentration during the process of constructing of different ways of communicating. Objective The aim of this study was to evaluate the level of attention in individuals deaf from birth that worked with computers. Methods A total of 161 individuals in the 18-25 age group were assessed. Of these, 40 were congenitally deaf individuals that worked with computers, 42 were deaf individuals that did not work, did not know how to use nor used computers (Control 1), 39 individuals with normal hearing that did not work, did not know how to use computers nor used them (Control 2), and 40 individuals with normal hearing that worked with computers (Control 3). Results The group of subjects deaf from birth that worked with computers (IDWC) presented a higher level of focused attention, sustained attention, mental manipulation capacity and resistance to interference compared to the control groups. Conclusion This study highlights the relevance sensory to cognitive processing. PMID:29213734

Cost-effective accurate coarse-grid method for highly convective multidimensional unsteady flows

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Leonard, B. P.; Niknafs, H. S.

1991-01-01

A fundamentally multidimensional convection scheme is described based on vector transient interpolation modeling rewritten in conservative control-volume form. Vector third-order upwinding is used as the basis of the algorithm; this automatically introduces important cross-difference terms that are absent from schemes using component-wise one-dimensional formulas. Third-order phase accuracy is good; this is important for coarse-grid large-eddy or full simulation. Potential overshoots or undershoots are avoided by using a recently developed universal limiter. Higher order accuracy is obtained locally, where needed, by the cost-effective strategy of adaptive stencil expansion in a direction normal to each control-volume face; this is controlled by monitoring the absolute normal gradient and curvature across the face. Higher (than third) order cross-terms do not appear to be needed. Since the wider stencil is used only in isolated narrow regions (near discontinuities), extremely high (in this case, seventh) order accuracy can be achieved for little more than the cost of a globally third-order scheme.

Lack of maintenance of gait pattern as measured by instrumental methods suggests psychogenic gait.

PubMed

Merello, Marcelo; Ballesteros, Diego; Rossi, Malco; Arena, Julieta; Crespo, Marcos; Cervio, Andres; Cuello Oderiz, Carolina; Rivero, Alberto; Cerquetti, Daniel; Risk, Marcelo; Balej, Jorge

2012-01-01

Fluctuation is a common feature of all psychogenic gait disorder (PGD) patterns. Whether this fluctuation involves only the degree of impairment or whether it affects the gait pattern itself remains an interesting question. We hypothesize that, on repeated measurements, both normal and abnormal gait may present quantitative differences while maintaining their basic underlying pattern; conversely, in psychogenic gait, the basic pattern appears not to be preserved. Using an optoelectronic system, data acquired from 19 normal subjects and 66 patients were applied to train a neural network (NN) and subsequently classify gait patterns into four different groups (normal, ataxic, spastic-paraparetic and parkinsonian). Five patients who fulfilled clinical criteria for psychogenic gait and six controls were then prospectively evaluated on two separate occasions, three months apart. Normal controls and ataxic, parkinsonian or spastic patients were correctly identified by the NN, and categorized within the corresponding groups at baseline as well as at a three-month follow-up evaluation. NN analysis showed that after three months, no PGD patient preserved the gait pattern detected at baseline, even though this finding was not clinically apparent. Modification of gait pattern detected by repeated kinematic measurement and NN analysis could suggest the presence of PGD, particularly in difficult-to-diagnose cases.

Value of in vitro acoustic radiation force impulse application on uterine adenomyosis.

PubMed

Bildaci, Tevfik Berk; Cevik, Halime; Yilmaz, Birnur; Desteli, Guldeniz Aksan

2017-11-24

Adenomyosis is the presence of endometrial glandular and stromal tissue in the myometrium. This phenomenon can be the cause of excessive bleeding and menstrual pain in premenopausal women. Diagnosis of adenomyosis may present difficulty with conventional methods such as ultrasound and magnetic resonance imaging. Frequently, diagnosis is accomplished retrospectively based on the hysterectomy specimen. This is a prospective case control study done in vitro on 90 patients' hysterectomy specimens. Acoustic radiation force impulse (ARFI) and color elastography were used to determine the elasticity of hysterectomy specimens of patients undergoing indicated surgeries. Based on histopathological examinations, two groups were formed: a study group (n = 28-with adenomyosis) and a control group (n = 62-without adenomyosis). Elasticity measurements of tissue with adenomyosis were observed to be significantly higher than measurements of normal myometrial tissue (p < 0.01). Uterine fibroids were found to have higher values on ARFI study compared to normal myometrial tissues (p < 0.01). The findings lead to the conclusion that adenomyosis tissue is significantly softer than the normal myometrium. ARFI was found to be beneficial in differentiating myometrial tissue with adenomyosis from normal myometrial tissue. It was found to be feasible and beneficial to implement ARFI in daily gynecology practice for diagnosis of adenomyosis.

Hyberbaric oxygen increases atresia in normal & steroid induced PCO rat ovaries

PubMed Central

2012-01-01

Background In this study, we investigated the effect of hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) on the morphology of estradiol valerate (EV) induced polycystic ovary (PCO) to find a new treatment modality for improvement of PCO. Methods The rats were divided into four groups. Group1, control; group 2, PCO group; group 3, PCO with HBOT group and group 4, normal ovary with HBOT. PCO was induced by a single intramuscular injection of 4 mg EV in adult cycling rats. Other rats with normal ovaries had oil injection as placebo. HBOT was applied to third and fourth groups for six weeks. Histopathologic evaluation of ovaries of all groups were performed & compared. Results Six weeks of HBOT was resulted in increase in follicular atresia, decrease in the number of primary, secondary, tertiary follicles and decrease in the number of fresh corpus luteum in normal rat ovary. HBOT on polycystic rat ovary, resulted in significant increase in atretic follicles which were already present. Conclusions HBOT of six weeks itself, changed ovarian morphology in favor of atresia both in PCO group and control group. This result of aggravated follicular atresia after HBOT on EV induced PCO may be due to long-term exposure in our protocol which with this state seems to be inapplicable in the improvement of PCO morphology. PMID:22309835

Attenuation of Diabetic Conditions by Sida rhombifolia in Moderately Diabetic Rats and Inability to Produce Similar Effects in Severely Diabetic in Rats

PubMed Central

Chaturvedi, Padmaja; Kwape, Tebogo Elvis

2015-01-01

Objectives: This study was done out to evaluate the effects of Sida rhombifolia methanol extract (SRM) on diabetes in moderately diabetic (MD) and severely diabetic (SD) Sprague-Dawley rats. Methods: SRM was prepared by soaking the powdered plant material in 70% methanol and rota evaporating the methanol from the extract. Effective hypoglycemic doses were established by performing oral glucose tolerance tests (OGTTs) in normal rats. Hourly effects of SRM on glucose were observed in the MD and the SD rats. Rats were grouped, five rats to a group, into normal control 1 (NC1), MD control 1 (MDC1), MD experimental 1 (MDE1), SD control 1 (SDC1), and SD experimental 1 (SDE1) groups. All rats in the control groups were administered 1 mL of distilled water (DW). The rats in the MDE1 and the SDE1 groups were administered SRM orally at 200 and 300 mg/kg body weight (BW), respectively, dissolved in 1 mL of DW. Blood was collected initially and at intervals of 1 hour for 6 hours to measure blood glucose. A similar experimental design was followed for the 30-day long-term trial. Finally, rats were sacrificed, and blood was collected to measure blood glucose, lipid profiles, thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) and reduced glutathione (GSH). Results: OGTTs indicated that two doses (200 and 300 mg/kg BW) were effective hypoglycemic doses in normal rats. Both doses reduced glucose levels after 1 hour in the MDE1 and the SDE1 groups. A long-term trial of SRM in the MD group showed a reduced glucose level, a normal lipid profile, and normal GSH and TBARS levels. In SD rats, SRM had no statistically significant effects on these parameters. Normal weight was achieved in the MD rats, but the SD rats showed reduced BW. Conclusion: The study demonstrates that SRM has potential to alleviate the conditions of moderate diabetic, but not severe diabetes. PMID:26998385

Exploiting Fractional Order PID Controller Methods in Improving the Performance of Integer Order PID Controllers: A GA Based Approach

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mukherjee, Bijoy K.; Metia, Santanu

2009-10-01

The paper is divided into three parts. The first part gives a brief introduction to the overall paper, to fractional order PID (PIλDμ) controllers and to Genetic Algorithm (GA). In the second part, first it has been studied how the performance of an integer order PID controller deteriorates when implemented with lossy capacitors in its analog realization. Thereafter it has been shown that the lossy capacitors can be effectively modeled by fractional order terms. Then, a novel GA based method has been proposed to tune the controller parameters such that the original performance is retained even though realized with the same lossy capacitors. Simulation results have been presented to validate the usefulness of the method. Some Ziegler-Nichols type tuning rules for design of fractional order PID controllers have been proposed in the literature [11]. In the third part, a novel GA based method has been proposed which shows how equivalent integer order PID controllers can be obtained which will give performance level similar to those of the fractional order PID controllers thereby removing the complexity involved in the implementation of the latter. It has been shown with extensive simulation results that the equivalent integer order PID controllers more or less retain the robustness and iso-damping properties of the original fractional order PID controllers. Simulation results also show that the equivalent integer order PID controllers are more robust than the normal Ziegler-Nichols tuned PID controllers.

Reduced Binding Potential of GABA-A/Benzodiazepine Receptors in Individuals at Ultra-high Risk for Psychosis: An [18F]-Fluoroflumazenil Positron Emission Tomography Study

PubMed Central

Kang, Jee In; Park, Hae-Jeong; An, Suk Kyoon

2014-01-01

Background: Altered transmission of gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA), a major inhibitory neurotransmitter, may contribute to the development of schizophrenia. The purpose of the present study was to investigate the presence of GABA-A/benzodiazepine (BZ) receptor binding abnormalities in individuals at ultra-high risk (UHR) for psychosis in comparison with normal controls using [18F]-fluoroflumazenil (FFMZ) positron emission tomography (PET). In particular, we set regions of interest in the striatum (caudate, putamen, and nucleus accumbens) and medial temporal area (hippocampus and parahippocampal gyrus). Methods: Eleven BZ-naive people at UHR and 15 normal controls underwent PET scanning using [18F]-FFMZ to measure GABA-A/BZ receptor binding potential. The regional group differences between UHR individuals and normal controls were analyzed using Statistical Parametric Mapping 8 software. Participants were evaluated using the structured interview for prodromal syndromes and neurocognitive function tasks. Results: People at UHR demonstrated significantly reduced binding potential of GABA-A/BZ receptors in the right caudate. Conclusions: Altered GABAergic transmission and/or the imbalance of inhibitory and excitatory systems in the striatum may be present at the putative prodromal stage and play a pivotal role in the pathophysiology of psychosis. PMID:23588475

Control of resonant frequencies in adaptive structures by prestressing

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Baycan, Can M.; Utku, Senol; Wada, Ben K.

1992-01-01

The natural vibration frequencies of a structure can be affected by inducing stress in the structure. The success of this kind of control of the resonant frequencies of a truss structure depends on the geometry of the structure. It is shown that in adaptive truss structures the method is effective for vibrations in less stiff directions, such as the normal direction of the plane containing all of the bars of a node, suggesting its applicability for cable, membrane, and thin plate and shell structures.

Vitamin D deficiency and insufficiency among patients with prostate cancer

PubMed Central

Trump, Donald L.; Chadha, Manpreet K.; Sunga, Annette Y.; Fakih, Marwan G.; Ashraf, Umeer; Silliman, Carrie G.; Hollis, Bruce W.; Nesline, Mary K.; Tian, Lili; Tan, Wei; Johnson, Candace S.

2009-01-01

Objective To assess the frequency of vitamin D deficiency among men with prostate cancer, as considerable epidemiological, in vitro, in vivo and clinical data support an association between vitamin D deficiency and prostate cancer outcome. Patients, subjects and methods The study included 120 ambulatory men with recurrent prostate cancer and 50 with clinically localized prostate cancer who were evaluated and serum samples assayed for 25-OH vitamin D levels. Then 100 controls (both sexes), matched for age and season of serum sample, were chosen from a prospective serum banking protocol. The relationship between age, body mass index, disease stage, Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status, season and previous therapy on vitamin D status were evaluated using univariate and multivariate analyses. Results The mean 25-OH vitamin D level was 25.9 ng/mL in those with recurrent disease, 27.5 ng/mL in men with clinically localized prostate cancer and 24.5 ng/mL in controls. The frequency of vitamin D deficiency (< 20 ng/mL) and insufficiency (20–31 ng/mL) was 40% and 32% in men with recurrent prostate; 28% had vitamin D levels that were normal (32–100 ng/mL). Among men with localized prostate cancer, 18% were deficient, 50% were insufficient and 32% were normal. Among controls, 31% were deficient, 40% were insufficient and 29% were normal. Metastatic disease (P = 0.005) and season of blood sampling (winter/spring; P = 0.01) were associated with vitamin D deficiency in patients with prostate cancer, while age, race, performance status and body mass index were not. Conclusions Vitamin D deficiency and insufficiency were common among men with prostate cancer and apparently normal controls in the western New York region. PMID:19426195

Longitudinal Stability and Control Characteristics of a Semispan Model of the XF7U-1 Tailless Airplane at Transonic Speeds by the NACA Wing-Flow Method, TED No. NACA DE307

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Sawyer, Richard H.; Trant, James P., Jr.

1947-01-01

An investigation was made by the NACA wing-flow method to determine the longitudinal stability and control characteristics at transonic speeds of a semispan model of the XF7U-1 tailless airplane. The 25-percent chord line of the wing of the model was swept back 35 deg. The airfoil sections of the wing perpendicular to the 25-percent chord line were 12 percent thick. Measurements were made of the normal force and pitching moment through an angle-of-attack range from about -3 deg to 14 deg for several ailavator deflections at Mach numbers from 0.65 to about 1.08. The results of the tests indicated no adverse effects of compressibility up to a Mach number of at least 0.85 at low normal-force coefficients and small ailavator deflections. Up to a Mach number of 0.85, the neutral point at low normal-force coefficients was at about 25 percent of the mean aerodynamic chord and moved rearward irregularly to 41 or 42 percent with a further increase in Mach number to about 1.05. For deflections up to -8.0 percent, the ailavator was effective in changing the pitching moment except at Mach numbers from 0.93 to about 1.0 where ineffectiveness or reversal was indicated for deflections and normal-force coefficients. With -13.2 deg deflection at normal-force coefficients above about 0.3, reversal of ailavator effectiveness occurred at Mach numbers as low as 0.81. A nose-down trim change, which began at a Mach number of about 0.85, together with the loss in effectiveness of the ailavator, indicated that with increase in the Mach number from about 0.95 to 1.05 an abrupt ailavator movement of 5 deg or 6 deg first up and then down would be required to maintain level flight.

Antibody responses to bacteriophage phi X-174 in human subjects exposed to the antarctic winter-over model of spaceflight

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Shearer, W. T.; Lugg, D. J.; Rosenblatt, H. M.; Nickolls, P. M.; Sharp, R. M.; Reuben, J. M.; Ochs, H. D.

2001-01-01

BACKGROUND: It has been proposed that exposure to long-term spaceflight conditions (stress, isolation, sleep disruption, containment, microbial contamination, and solar radiation) or to ground-based models of spaceflight will alter human immune responses, but specific antibody responses have not been fully evaluated. OBJECTIVE: We sought to determine whether exposure to the 8-month Antarctic winter-over model of spaceflight would alter human antibody responses. METHODS: During the 1999 Australian National Antarctic Research Expeditions, 11 adult study subjects at Casey, Antarctica, and 7 control subjects at Macquarie Island, sub-Antarctica, received primary and secondary immunizations with the T cell-dependent neoantigen bacteriophage phi X-174. Periodic plasma samples were analyzed for specific antibody function. RESULTS: All of the subjects from Casey, Antarctica, cleared bacteriophage phi X-174 normally by 1 week after primary immunization, and all had normal primary and secondary antibody responses, including immunologic memory amplification and switch from IgM to IgG antibody production. One subject showed a high normal pattern, and one subject had a low normal pattern. The control subjects from Macquarie Island also had normal immune responses to bacteriophage phi X-174. CONCLUSIONS: These data do not support the hypothesis that de novo specific antibody responses of subjects become defective during the conditions of the Antarctic winter-over. Because the Antarctic winter-over model of spaceflight lacks the important factors of microgravity and solar radiation, caution must be used in interpreting these data to anticipate normal antibody responses in long-term spaceflight.

Structure and Function in Patients with Glaucomatous Defects Near Fixation

PubMed Central

Shafi, Asifa; Swanson, William H.; Dul, Mitchell W.

2010-01-01

Purpose To assess relations between perimetric sensitivity and neuroretinal rim area using high-resolution perimetric mapping in patients with glaucomatous defects within 10 degrees of fixation. Methods One eye was tested in each of 31 patients with open angle glaucoma enrolled in a prospective study of perimetric defects within 10 degrees of fixation. Norms were derived from 110 control subjects free of eye disease ages 21 – 81. Perimetric sensitivity was measured using the 10-2 test pattern with the SITA Standard algorithm (HFAII-i, Carl Zeiss Meditec), stimulus size III. Area of the temporal neuroretinal rim was measured using the Heidelberg Retinal Tomograph (HRT III). Decibel (dB) values were converted into linear units of contrast sensitivity averaged across locations corresponding to the temporal rim sector. Both measures were expressed as percent of mean normal and the Bland-Altman method was used to assess agreement. Perimetric locations corresponding to the temporal sector were determined for six different optic nerve maps. Results Contrast sensitivity was moderately correlated with temporal rim area (r2 > 30%, p < 0.005). For all six optic nerve maps, Bland-Altman analysis found good agreement between perimetric sensitivity and rim area with both measures expressed as fraction of mean normal, and confidence limits for agreement that were consistent with normal between-subject variability in control eyes. Conclusions Using high-resolution perimetric mapping in patients with scotomas within 10° of fixation, we confirmed findings of linear relations between perimetric sensitivity and area of temporal neuroretinal rim, and showed that the confidence limits for agreement in patients with glaucoma were consistent with normal between-subject variability. PMID:20935585

Normalization and microbial differential abundance strategies depend upon data characteristics.

PubMed

Weiss, Sophie; Xu, Zhenjiang Zech; Peddada, Shyamal; Amir, Amnon; Bittinger, Kyle; Gonzalez, Antonio; Lozupone, Catherine; Zaneveld, Jesse R; Vázquez-Baeza, Yoshiki; Birmingham, Amanda; Hyde, Embriette R; Knight, Rob

2017-03-03

Data from 16S ribosomal RNA (rRNA) amplicon sequencing present challenges to ecological and statistical interpretation. In particular, library sizes often vary over several ranges of magnitude, and the data contains many zeros. Although we are typically interested in comparing relative abundance of taxa in the ecosystem of two or more groups, we can only measure the taxon relative abundance in specimens obtained from the ecosystems. Because the comparison of taxon relative abundance in the specimen is not equivalent to the comparison of taxon relative abundance in the ecosystems, this presents a special challenge. Second, because the relative abundance of taxa in the specimen (as well as in the ecosystem) sum to 1, these are compositional data. Because the compositional data are constrained by the simplex (sum to 1) and are not unconstrained in the Euclidean space, many standard methods of analysis are not applicable. Here, we evaluate how these challenges impact the performance of existing normalization methods and differential abundance analyses. Effects on normalization: Most normalization methods enable successful clustering of samples according to biological origin when the groups differ substantially in their overall microbial composition. Rarefying more clearly clusters samples according to biological origin than other normalization techniques do for ordination metrics based on presence or absence. Alternate normalization measures are potentially vulnerable to artifacts due to library size. Effects on differential abundance testing: We build on a previous work to evaluate seven proposed statistical methods using rarefied as well as raw data. Our simulation studies suggest that the false discovery rates of many differential abundance-testing methods are not increased by rarefying itself, although of course rarefying results in a loss of sensitivity due to elimination of a portion of available data. For groups with large (~10×) differences in the average library size, rarefying lowers the false discovery rate. DESeq2, without addition of a constant, increased sensitivity on smaller datasets (<20 samples per group) but tends towards a higher false discovery rate with more samples, very uneven (~10×) library sizes, and/or compositional effects. For drawing inferences regarding taxon abundance in the ecosystem, analysis of composition of microbiomes (ANCOM) is not only very sensitive (for >20 samples per group) but also critically the only method tested that has a good control of false discovery rate. These findings guide which normalization and differential abundance techniques to use based on the data characteristics of a given study.

Uraemic hyperparathyroidism causes a reversible inflammatory process of aortic valve calcification in rats

PubMed Central

Shuvy, Mony; Abedat, Suzan; Beeri, Ronen; Danenberg, Haim D.; Planer, David; Ben-Dov, Iddo Z.; Meir, Karen; Sosna, Jacob; Lotan, Chaim

2008-01-01

Aims Renal failure is associated with aortic valve calcification (AVC). Our aim was to develop an animal model for exploring the pathophysiology and reversibility of AVC, utilizing rats with diet-induced kidney disease. Methods and results Sprague–Dawley rats (n = 23) were fed a phosphate-enriched, uraemia-inducing diet for 7 weeks followed by a normal diet for 2 weeks (‘diet group’). These rats were compared with normal controls (n = 10) and with uraemic controls fed with phosphate-depleted diet (‘low-phosphate group’, n = 10). Clinical investigations included serum creatinine, phosphate and parathyroid hormone (PTH) levels, echocardiography, and multislice computed tomography. Pathological examinations of the valves included histological characterization, Von Kossa staining, and antigen and gene expression analyses. Eight diet group rats were further assessed for reversibility of valve calcification following normalization of their kidney function. At 4 weeks, all diet group rats developed renal failure and hyperparathyroidism. At week 9, renal failure resolved with improvement in the hyperparathyroid state. Echocardiography demonstrated valve calcifications only in diet group rats. Tomographic calcium scores were significantly higher in the diet group compared with controls. Von Kossa stain in diet group valves revealed calcium deposits, positive staining for osteopontin, and CD68. Gene expression analyses revealed overexpression of osteoblast genes and nuclear factor κB activation. Valve calcification resolved after diet cessation in parallel with normalization of PTH levels. Resolution was associated with down-regulation of inflammation and osteoblastic features. Low-phosphate group rats developed kidney dysfunction similar to that of the diet group but with normal levels of PTH. Calcium scores and histology showed only minimal valve calcification. Conclusion We developed an animal model for AVC. The process is related to disturbed mineral metabolism. It is associated with inflammation and osteoblastic features. Furthermore, the process is reversible upon normalization of the mineral homeostasis. Thus, our model constitutes a convenient platform for studying AVC and potential remedies. PMID:18390899

In Vivo Assessment of Brainstem Depigmentation in Parkinson Disease: Potential as a Severity Marker for Multicenter Studies.

PubMed

Schwarz, Stefan T; Xing, Yue; Tomar, Pragya; Bajaj, Nin; Auer, Dorothee P

2017-06-01

Purpose To investigate the pattern of neuromelanin signal intensity loss within the substantia nigra pars compacta (SNpc), locus coeruleus, and ventral tegmental area in Parkinson disease (PD); the specific aims were (a) to study regional magnetic resonance (MR) quantifiable depigmentation in association with PD severity and (b) to investigate whether imaging- and platform-dependent signal intensity variations can be normalized. Materials and Methods This prospective case-control study was approved by the local ethics committee and the research department of Nottingham University Hospitals. Written informed consent was obtained from all participants before enrollment in the study. Sixty-nine participants (39 patients with PD and 30 control subjects) were investigated with neuromelanin-sensitive MR imaging by using two different 3-T platforms and three differing protocols. Neuromelanin-related volumes of the anterior and posterior SNpc, locus coeruleus, and ventral tegmental area were determined, and normalized neuromelanin volumes were assessed for protocol-dependent effects. Diagnostic test performance of normalized neuromelanin volume was investigated by using receiver operating characteristic analyses, and correlations with the Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale scores were tested. Results Reduction of normalized neuromelanin volume in PD was most pronounced in the posterior SNpc (median, -83%; P < .001), followed by the anterior SNpc (-49%; P < .001) and the locus coeruleus (-37%; P < .05). Normalized neuromelanin volume loss of the posterior and whole SNpc allowed the best differentiation of patients with PD and control subjects (area under the receiver operating characteristic curve, 0.92 and 0.88, respectively). Normalized neuromelanin volume of the anterior, posterior, and whole SNpc correlated with Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale scores (r 2 = 0.25, 0.22, and 0.28, respectively; all P < .05). Conclusion PD-induced neuromelanin loss can be quantified across imaging protocols and platforms by using appropriate adjustment. Depigmentation in PD follows a distinct spatial pattern, affords high diagnostic accuracy, and is associated with disease severity. © RSNA, 2016 Online supplemental material is available for this article.

Accounting for Dependence Induced by Weighted KNN Imputation in Paired Samples, Motivated by a Colorectal Cancer Study

PubMed Central

Suyundikov, Anvar; Stevens, John R.; Corcoran, Christopher; Herrick, Jennifer; Wolff, Roger K.; Slattery, Martha L.

2015-01-01

Missing data can arise in bioinformatics applications for a variety of reasons, and imputation methods are frequently applied to such data. We are motivated by a colorectal cancer study where miRNA expression was measured in paired tumor-normal samples of hundreds of patients, but data for many normal samples were missing due to lack of tissue availability. We compare the precision and power performance of several imputation methods, and draw attention to the statistical dependence induced by K-Nearest Neighbors (KNN) imputation. This imputation-induced dependence has not previously been addressed in the literature. We demonstrate how to account for this dependence, and show through simulation how the choice to ignore or account for this dependence affects both power and type I error rate control. PMID:25849489

Bridging, brokerage and betweenness

PubMed Central

Everett, Martin G.; Valente, Thomas W.

2017-01-01

Valente and Fujimoto (2010) proposed a measure of brokerage in networks based on Granovetter’s classic work on the strength of weak ties. Their paper identified the need for finding node-based measures of brokerage that consider the entire network structure, not just a node’s local environment. The measures they propose, aggregating the average change in cohesion for a node’s links, has several limitations. In this paper we review their method and show how the idea can be modified by using betweenness centrality as an underpinning concept. We explore the properties of the new method and provide point, normalized, and network level variations. This new approach has two advantages, first it provides a more robust means to normalize the measure to control for network size, and second, the modified measure is computationally less demanding making it applicable to larger networks. PMID:28239229

Comparison of Gingival Health and Salivary Parameters among Autistic and Non-Autistic School Children in Riyadh

PubMed Central

Diab, Hafez M; Motlaq, Suha Saeed; Alsharare, Amal; Alshammery, Ashwaq; Alshammery, Nadia; Khawja, Shabnam Gulzar

2016-01-01

Introduction Autism is a neuro-developmental disorder which is manifested as impairment of social interaction, communication and a repetitive behaviour. Autism can obscure dental treatment for the affected patients; furthermore, children with autism commonly have destructive oral habits. Aim The aims of this study were to evaluate the Modified Gingival Index (MGI), Plaque Index (PI), salivary pH and buffering capacity of the saliva among autistic children compared to normal children in Riyadh City that may provide baseline data to enable comparison and future planning of dental services for autistic children. Materials and Methods A total of 50 children diagnosed with autism (mean age 8.5 years) were selected from Azzam Autism School, Riyadh City. The control group consisted of 50 non-autistic school children (mean age 8.7 years), gender matched, selected from Outpatient Clinic, Riyadh Colleges of Dentistry and Pharmacy. MGI, PI, salivary pH and salivary buffer capacity tests were done for all participants. The buffering capacity of the stimulated saliva was grouped under ‘very low’, ‘low’ and ‘normal’. Pearson’s Chi square and one way ANOVA were used to find statistical significance if any among the autistic and the normal control group. Results The results of the study showed that the mean ± standard deviation of MGI, PI and pH of unstimulated resting saliva for autistic group were 1.82 ± 0.65, 1.92 ± 0.35 and 6.8 ± 0.5 respectively. Normal control group had values 1.35 ± 0.85, 1.44 ± 0.43 and 7 ± 0.4 respectively. A statistically significant difference between both groups for all parameters was found. Salivary buffering capacity was found to be normal for the majority among both groups. However, 60% children among the autistic group presented with normal buffering capacity of the stimulated saliva as compared to 70% among the normal control group. However, this difference was not statistically significant (p = 0.544). Conclusion Children with autism appear to have higher gingival inflammation, poor oral hygiene and a slightly lower salivary pH as compared to healthy control group. Special oral health programmes regarding treatment and maintenance of good oral health should be taken in consideration for autistic children. PMID:27891471

Assessment of MMP-9, TIMP-1, and COX-2 in normal tissue and in advanced symptomatic and asymptomatic carotid plaques

PubMed Central

2011-01-01

Background Mature carotid plaques are complex structures, and their histological classification is challenging. The carotid plaques of asymptomatic and symptomatic patients could exhibit identical histological components. Objectives To investigate whether matrix metalloproteinase 9 (MMP-9), tissue inhibitor of MMP (TIMP), and cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) have different expression levels in advanced symptomatic carotid plaques, asymptomatic carotid plaques, and normal tissue. Methods Thirty patients admitted for carotid endarterectomy were selected. Each patient was assigned preoperatively to one of two groups: group I consisted of symptomatic patients (n = 16, 12 males, mean age 66.7 ± 6.8 years), and group II consisted of asymptomatic patients (n = 14, 8 males, mean age 67.6 ± 6.81 years). Nine normal carotid arteries were used as control. Tissue specimens were analyzed for fibromuscular, lipid and calcium contents. The expressions of MMP-9, TIMP-1 and COX-2 in each plaque were quantified. Results Fifty-eight percent of all carotid plaques were classified as Type VI according to the American Heart Association Committee on Vascular Lesions. The control carotid arteries all were classified as Type III. The median percentage of fibromuscular tissue was significantly greater in group II compared to group I (p < 0.05). The median percentage of lipid tissue had a tendency to be greater in group I than in group II (p = 0.057). The percentages of calcification were similar among the two groups. MMP-9 protein expression levels were significantly higher in group II and in the control group when compared with group I (p < 0.001). TIMP-1 expression levels were significantly higher in the control group and in group II when compared to group I, with statistical difference between control group and group I (p = 0.010). COX-2 expression levels did not differ among groups. There was no statistical correlation between MMP-9, COX-2, and TIMP-1 levels and fibrous tissue. Conclusions MMP-9 and TIMP-1 are present in all stages of atherosclerotic plaque progression, from normal tissue to advanced lesions. When sections of a plaque are analyzed without preselection, MMP-9 concentration is higher in normal tissues and asymptomatic surgical specimens than in symptomatic specimens, and TIMP-1 concentration is higher in normal tissue than in symptomatic specimens. PMID:21457581

Reference genes for quantitative PCR in the adipose tissue of mice with metabolic disease.

PubMed

Almeida-Oliveira, Fernanda; Leandro, João G B; Ausina, Priscila; Sola-Penna, Mauro; Majerowicz, David

2017-04-01

Obesity and diabetes are metabolic diseases and they are increasing in prevalence. The dynamics of gene expression associated with these diseases is fundamental to identifying genes involved in related biological processes. qPCR is a sensitive technique for mRNA quantification and the most commonly used method in gene-expression studies. However, the reliability of these results is directly influenced by data normalization. As reference genes are the major normalization method used, this work aims to identify reference genes for qPCR in adipose tissues of mice with type-I diabetes or obesity. We selected 12 genes that are commonly used as reference genes. The expression of these genes in the adipose tissues of mice was analyzed in the context of three different experimental protocols: 1) untreated animals; 2) high-fat-diet animals; and 3) streptozotocin-treated animals. Gene-expression stability was analyzed using four different algorithms. Our data indicate that TATA-binding protein is stably expressed across adipose tissues in control animals. This gene was also a useful reference when the brown adipose tissues of control and obese mice were analyzed. The mitochondrial ATP synthase F1 complex gene exhibits stable expression in subcutaneous and perigonadal adipose tissue from control and obese mice. Moreover, this gene is the best reference for qPCR normalization in adipose tissue from streptozotocin-treated animals. These results show that there is no perfect stable gene suited for use under all experimental conditions. In conclusion, the selection of appropriate genes is a prerequisite to ensure qPCR reliability and must be performed separately for different experimental protocols. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

Antibacterial Efficacy of Tender Coconut Water (Cocos nucifera L) on Streptococcus mutans: An In-Vitro Study

PubMed Central

Rukmini, J. N.; Manasa, Sunkari; Rohini, Chenna; Sireesha, Lavanya Putchla; Ritu, Sachan; Umashankar, G. K.

2017-01-01

Objective: The antibacterial property of coconut, the presence of lauric acid, and the ability to extract antimicrobial peptides Cn-AMP (1, 2, and 3) from tender coconut water has drawn attention on its effectiveness in normal consumption. An in-vitro experimental study was conducted to evaluate the antimicrobial efficacy of tender coconut water in its natural state on Streptococcus mutans. Materials and Methods: Fresh tender coconut water and pasteurized tender coconut water were taken as test samples, dimethyl formamide was used as the negative control, and 0.2% chlorhexidine was used as the positive control. Pure strain of S. mutans (MTCC 890) was used for determining the antibacterial effects. The test samples along with the controls were subjected to antimicrobial sensitivity test procedure and the zone of inhibition was examined. Kruskal–Wallis test was used to check for any significant differences in the antibacterial efficacy between the samples. Result: There was no zone of inhibition with the tender coconut water, fresh and pasteurised, and negative control (dimethyl formamide). Zone of inhibition was seen in positive control (0.2% Chlorhexidine). Conclusion: No antimicrobial activity was demonstrated with tender coconut water in its normal state (in vitro). PMID:28462183

A computer program for calculating the perfect gas inviscid flow field about blunt axisymmetric bodies at an angle of attack of 0 deg

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Zoby, E. V.; Graves, R. A., Jr.

1973-01-01

A method for the rapid calculation of the inviscid shock layer about blunt axisymmetric bodies at an angle of attack of 0 deg has been developed. The procedure is of an inverse nature, that is, a shock wave is assumed and calculations proceed along rays normal to the shock. The solution is iterated until the given body is computed. The flow field solution procedure is programed at the Langley Research Center for the Control Data 6600 computer. The geometries specified in the program are sphores, ellipsoids, paraboloids, and hyperboloids which may conical afterbodies. The normal momentum equation is replaced with an approximate algebraic expression. This simplification significantly reduces machine computation time. Comparisons of the present results with shock shapes and surface pressure distributions obtained by the more exact methods indicate that the program provides reasonably accurate results for smooth bodies in axisymmetric flow. However, further research is required to establish the proper approximate form of the normal momentum equation for the two-dimensional case.

Ranking Hearing Aid Input-Output Functions for Understanding Low-, Conversational-, and High-Level Speech in Multitalker Babble

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chung, King; Killion, Mead C.; Christensen, Laurel A.

2007-01-01

Purpose: To determine the rankings of 6 input-output functions for understanding low-level, conversational, and high-level speech in multitalker babble without manipulating volume control for listeners with normal hearing, flat sensorineural hearing loss, and mildly sloping sensorineural hearing loss. Method: Peak clipping, compression limiting,…

A Generally Robust Approach for Testing Hypotheses and Setting Confidence Intervals for Effect Sizes

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Keselman, H. J.; Algina, James; Lix, Lisa M.; Wilcox, Rand R.; Deering, Kathleen N.

2008-01-01

Standard least squares analysis of variance methods suffer from poor power under arbitrarily small departures from normality and fail to control the probability of a Type I error when standard assumptions are violated. This article describes a framework for robust estimation and testing that uses trimmed means with an approximate degrees of…

The Sounds of Silence: Language, Cognition, and Anxiety in Selective Mutism

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Manassis, Katharina; Tannock, Rosemary; Garland, E. Jane; Minde, Klaus; McInnes, Alison; Clark, Sandra

2007-01-01

Objectives: To determine whether oral language, working memory, and social anxiety differentiate children with selective mutism (SM), children with anxiety disorders (ANX), and normal controls (NCs) and explore predictors of mutism severity. Method: Children ages 6 to 10 years with SM (n = 44) were compared with children with ANX (n = 28) and NCs…

Increased Error-Related Negativity (ERN) in Childhood Anxiety Disorders: ERP and Source Localization

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ladouceur, Cecile D.; Dahl, Ronald E.; Birmaher, Boris; Axelson, David A.; Ryan, Neal D.

2006-01-01

Background: In this study we used event-related potentials (ERPs) and source localization analyses to track the time course of neural activity underlying response monitoring in children diagnosed with an anxiety disorder compared to age-matched low-risk normal controls. Methods: High-density ERPs were examined following errors on a flanker task…

Chaos Theory as a Model for Life Transitions Counseling: Nonlinear Dynamics and Life's Changes

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bussolari, Cori J.; Goodell, Judith A.

2009-01-01

Chaos theory is presented for counselors working with clients experiencing life transitions. It is proposed as a model that considers disorder, unpredictability, and lack of control as normal parts of transition processes. Nonlinear constructs from physics are adapted for use in counseling. The model provides a method clients can use to…

Short-Term Effects of Playing Computer Games on Attention

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tahiroglu, Aysegul Yolga; Celik, Gonca Gul; Avci, Ayse; Seydaoglu, Gulsah; Uzel, Mehtap; Altunbas, Handan

2010-01-01

Objective: The main aim of the present study is to investigate the short-term cognitive effects of computer games in children with different psychiatric disorders and normal controls. Method: One hundred one children are recruited for the study (aged between 9 and 12 years). All participants played a motor-racing game on the computer for 1 hour.…

Age-Related Changes to Speech Breathing with Increased Vocal Loudness

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Huber, Jessica E.; Spruill, John, III

2008-01-01

Purpose: The present study examines the effect of normal aging on respiratory support for speech when utterance length is controlled. Method: Fifteen women (M = 71 years of age) and 10 men (M = 73 years of age) produced 2 sentences of different lengths in 4 loudness conditions while respiratory kinematics were measured. Measures included those…

RNAi-mediated control of aflatoxins in peanut: Method to analyze mycotoxin production and transgene expression in the peanut/Aspergillus pathosystem

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations estimates that 25% of the food crops in the world are contaminated with aflatoxins. That represents 100 million tons of food being destroyed or diverted to non-human consumption each year. Aflatoxins are powerful carcinogens normally accu...

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

Beaver, Justin M; Borges, Raymond Charles; Buckner, Mark A

Critical infrastructure Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) systems were designed to operate on closed, proprietary networks where a malicious insider posed the greatest threat potential. The centralization of control and the movement towards open systems and standards has improved the efficiency of industrial control, but has also exposed legacy SCADA systems to security threats that they were not designed to mitigate. This work explores the viability of machine learning methods in detecting the new threat scenarios of command and data injection. Similar to network intrusion detection systems in the cyber security domain, the command and control communications in amore » critical infrastructure setting are monitored, and vetted against examples of benign and malicious command traffic, in order to identify potential attack events. Multiple learning methods are evaluated using a dataset of Remote Terminal Unit communications, which included both normal operations and instances of command and data injection attack scenarios.« less

Method and algorithm of ranking boiler plants at block electric power stations by the criterion of operation reliability and profitability

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Farhadzadeh, E. M.; Muradaliyev, A. Z.; Farzaliyev, Y. Z.

2015-10-01

A method and an algorithm of ranking of boiler installations based on their technical and economic indicators are proposed. One of the basic conditions for ranking is the independence of technical and economic indicators. The assessment of their interrelation was carried out with respect to the correlation rate. The analysis of calculation data has shown that the interrelation stability with respect to the value and sign persists only for those indicators that have an evident relationship between each other. One of the calculation steps is the normalization of quantitative estimates of technical and economic indicators, which makes it possible to eliminate differences in dimensions and indicator units. The analysis of the known methods of normalization has allowed one to recommend the relative deviation from the average value as a normalized value and to use the arithmetic mean of the normalized values of independent indicators of each boiler installation as an integrated index of performance reliability and profitability. The fundamental differences from the existing approach to assess the "weak components" of a boiler installation and the quality of monitoring of its operating regimes are that the given approach takes into account the reliability and profitability of the operation of all other analogous boiler installations of an electric power station; it also implements competing elements with respect to the quality of control among the operating personnel of separate boiler installations and is aimed at encouraging an increased quality of maintenance and repairs.

Diffusion tensor tractography of the arcuate fasciculus in patients with brain tumors: Comparison between deterministic and probabilistic models

PubMed Central

Li, Zhixi; Peck, Kyung K.; Brennan, Nicole P.; Jenabi, Mehrnaz; Hsu, Meier; Zhang, Zhigang; Holodny, Andrei I.; Young, Robert J.

2014-01-01

Purpose The purpose of this study was to compare the deterministic and probabilistic tracking methods of diffusion tensor white matter fiber tractography in patients with brain tumors. Materials and Methods We identified 29 patients with left brain tumors <2 cm from the arcuate fasciculus who underwent pre-operative language fMRI and DTI. The arcuate fasciculus was reconstructed using a deterministic Fiber Assignment by Continuous Tracking (FACT) algorithm and a probabilistic method based on an extended Monte Carlo Random Walk algorithm. Tracking was controlled using two ROIs corresponding to Broca’s and Wernicke’s areas. Tracts in tumoraffected hemispheres were examined for extension between Broca’s and Wernicke’s areas, anterior-posterior length and volume, and compared with the normal contralateral tracts. Results Probabilistic tracts displayed more complete anterior extension to Broca’s area than did FACT tracts on the tumor-affected and normal sides (p < 0.0001). The median length ratio for tumor: normal sides was greater for probabilistic tracts than FACT tracts (p < 0.0001). The median tract volume ratio for tumor: normal sides was also greater for probabilistic tracts than FACT tracts (p = 0.01). Conclusion Probabilistic tractography reconstructs the arcuate fasciculus more completely and performs better through areas of tumor and/or edema. The FACT algorithm tends to underestimate the anterior-most fibers of the arcuate fasciculus, which are crossed by primary motor fibers. PMID:25328583

The movement and deposition of PM2.5 in the upper respiratory tract for the patients with heart failure: an elementary CFD study.

PubMed

Zhang, Tiantian; Gao, Bin; Zhou, Zhixiang; Chang, Yu

2016-12-28

PM2.5 is an important factor to affect the patients with respiratory and cardiovascular diseases. Clinical studies have found that the morbidity and mortality of patients with heart failure (HF) have a close relationship with the movement and deposition state of PM2.5. One reason is that the breathing pattern of patients with HF has obvious difference with healthy people, however the effect caused by these differences on the distribution regularity of PM2.5 in the respiratory tract is still unclear. Hence, a computational fluid dynamics simulation was conducted to clarify the aerodynamic effect of breathing pattern of patients with HF on respiratory system. Ideal upper respiratory tract geometric model was established based on standardized aerosol research laboratory of Alberta and Weibel A dimension. The discrete phase method is used to calculate the movement of the airflow and particles. The flow rate were chosen as the inlet boundary conditions, and the outlets are set at a constant pressure. The rate of particle deposition, distribution location, wall pressure, flow velocity and wall shear stress are obtained, and compared to the normal control. The results demonstrated that the rate of escaped particles in every bronchial outlet of the patients with HF was more than the normal controls, meanwhile the trapped was less (1024 < 1160). There was higher by 12.9% possibility that the PM2.5 entered the lungs than the normal control. The aerodynamic performances of HF patients are different from normal control. Compared to the normal control, under similar environment, there is higher possibility of PM2.5 moving into lungs, and these particles could affect the function of the respiratory system, resulting in the deterioration of the state of cardiovascular system. In short, it's necessary to pay more attention to the living environment of HF patients, to reduce the content of PM2.5 particles in the air, and reduce the damage of PM2.5 particles caused by breathing patterns.

Comparison of Arterial Spin-labeling Perfusion Images at Different Spatial Normalization Methods Based on Voxel-based Statistical Analysis.

PubMed

Tani, Kazuki; Mio, Motohira; Toyofuku, Tatsuo; Kato, Shinichi; Masumoto, Tomoya; Ijichi, Tetsuya; Matsushima, Masatoshi; Morimoto, Shoichi; Hirata, Takumi

2017-01-01

Spatial normalization is a significant image pre-processing operation in statistical parametric mapping (SPM) analysis. The purpose of this study was to clarify the optimal method of spatial normalization for improving diagnostic accuracy in SPM analysis of arterial spin-labeling (ASL) perfusion images. We evaluated the SPM results of five spatial normalization methods obtained by comparing patients with Alzheimer's disease or normal pressure hydrocephalus complicated with dementia and cognitively healthy subjects. We used the following methods: 3DT1-conventional based on spatial normalization using anatomical images; 3DT1-DARTEL based on spatial normalization with DARTEL using anatomical images; 3DT1-conventional template and 3DT1-DARTEL template, created by averaging cognitively healthy subjects spatially normalized using the above methods; and ASL-DARTEL template created by averaging cognitively healthy subjects spatially normalized with DARTEL using ASL images only. Our results showed that ASL-DARTEL template was small compared with the other two templates. Our SPM results obtained with ASL-DARTEL template method were inaccurate. Also, there were no significant differences between 3DT1-conventional and 3DT1-DARTEL template methods. In contrast, the 3DT1-DARTEL method showed higher detection sensitivity, and precise anatomical location. Our SPM results suggest that we should perform spatial normalization with DARTEL using anatomical images.

Diagnosing a Strong-Fault Model by Conflict and Consistency

PubMed Central

Zhou, Gan; Feng, Wenquan

2018-01-01

The diagnosis method for a weak-fault model with only normal behaviors of each component has evolved over decades. However, many systems now demand a strong-fault models, the fault modes of which have specific behaviors as well. It is difficult to diagnose a strong-fault model due to its non-monotonicity. Currently, diagnosis methods usually employ conflicts to isolate possible fault and the process can be expedited when some observed output is consistent with the model’s prediction where the consistency indicates probably normal components. This paper solves the problem of efficiently diagnosing a strong-fault model by proposing a novel Logic-based Truth Maintenance System (LTMS) with two search approaches based on conflict and consistency. At the beginning, the original a strong-fault model is encoded by Boolean variables and converted into Conjunctive Normal Form (CNF). Then the proposed LTMS is employed to reason over CNF and find multiple minimal conflicts and maximal consistencies when there exists fault. The search approaches offer the best candidate efficiency based on the reasoning result until the diagnosis results are obtained. The completeness, coverage, correctness and complexity of the proposals are analyzed theoretically to show their strength and weakness. Finally, the proposed approaches are demonstrated by applying them to a real-world domain—the heat control unit of a spacecraft—where the proposed methods are significantly better than best first and conflict directly with A* search methods. PMID:29596302

Quantitative analysis of regional myocardial performance in coronary artery disease

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Stewart, D. K.; Dodge, H. T.; Frimer, M.

1975-01-01

Findings from a group of subjects with significant coronary artery stenosis are given. A group of controls determined by use of a quantitative method for the study of regional myocardial performance based on the frame-by-frame analysis of biplane left ventricular angiograms are presented. Particular emphasis was placed upon the analysis of wall motion in terms of normalized segment dimensions, timing and velocity of contraction. The results were compared with the method of subjective assessment used clinically.

Assessment of executive functioning in binge-eating disorder independent of weight status.

PubMed

Eneva, Kalina T; Arlt, Jean M; Yiu, Angelina; Murray, Susan M; Chen, Eunice Y

2017-08-01

Executive functioning (EF) problems may serve as vulnerability or maintenance factors for Binge-Eating Disorder (BED). However, it is unclear if EF problems observed in BED are related to overweight status or BED status. The current study extends this literature by examining EF in overweight and normal-weight BED compared to weight-matched controls. Participants were normal-weight women with BED (n = 23), overweight BED (n = 32), overweight healthy controls (n = 48), and normal-weight healthy controls (n = 29). The EF battery utilized tests from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Toolbox and Delis-Kaplan Executive Function System (D-KEFS). After controlling for years of education and minority status, overweight individuals performed more poorly than normal-weight individuals on a task of cognitive flexibility requiring generativity (p < .01), and speed on psychomotor performance tasks (p = .01). Normal-weight and overweight BED performed worse on working memory tasks compared to controls (p = .04). Unexpectedly, normal-weight BED individuals out-performed all other groups on an inhibitory control task (p < .01). No significant differences were found between the four groups on tasks of planning. Regardless of weight status, BED is associated with working memory problems. Replication of the finding that normal-weight BED is associated with enhanced inhibitory control is needed. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

The comparison respond of braking torque control between PID and SMC controller for electric powered wheelchair descending on slope condition

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Asyraf, S. M.; Heerwan, P. M.; Izhar, I. M.

2018-04-01

During descending on a slope, the speed of Electric Powered Wheelchair (EPW) tends to changed rapidly. Normally, most EPW is provided with mechanical braking system which transfers human pulling force of the lever creating friction at the tire. However, the task is difficult for the users are elderly or paralyses. However, even for normal user with good strength, in fear condition they tend to give sudden braking which leads to tire locking up and skidding, eventually EPW unstable. These problems will cause accident and injuries to the users if speed does not properly control. In this paper, the automated braking torque control method was proposed in EPW as alternative to solve this problem and increase the mobility and stability especially during descending on slope in other to help the user of the EPW as their daily transportation. In this research, Proportional-Integral-Derivative and Sliding Mode Control controller are compared to determine the best response for torque braking control. The rapid change of speed can be controlled by the braking torque using proposed controllers based on the desired constant speed set by the control designer. Moreover, the sudden braking that caused tire to lock up and skid can be avoided. Furthermore, result from SMC shows this controller have good time respond to maintain the speed based on desired value when descending at slope condition by controlling the braking torque compared to the PID controller.

Optimal sensor placement for control of a supersonic mixed-compression inlet with variable geometry

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Moore, Kenneth Thomas

A method of using fluid dynamics models for the generation of models that are useable for control design and analysis is investigated. The problem considered is the control of the normal shock location in the VDC inlet, which is a mixed-compression, supersonic, variable-geometry inlet of a jet engine. A quasi-one-dimensional set of fluid equations incorporating bleed and moving walls is developed. An object-oriented environment is developed for simulation of flow systems under closed-loop control. A public interface between the controller and fluid classes is defined. A linear model representing the dynamics of the VDC inlet is developed from the finite difference equations, and its eigenstructure is analyzed. The order of this model is reduced using the square root balanced model reduction method to produce a reduced-order linear model that is suitable for control design and analysis tasks. A modification to this method that improves the accuracy of the reduced-order linear model for the purpose of sensor placement is presented and analyzed. The reduced-order linear model is used to develop a sensor placement method that quantifies as a function of the sensor location the ability of a sensor to provide information on the variable of interest for control. This method is used to develop a sensor placement metric for the VDC inlet. The reduced-order linear model is also used to design a closed loop control system to control the shock position in the VDC inlet. The object-oriented simulation code is used to simulate the nonlinear fluid equations under closed-loop control.

Self-Organizing Feature Maps Identify Proteins Critical to Learning in a Mouse Model of Down Syndrome.

PubMed

Higuera, Clara; Gardiner, Katheleen J; Cios, Krzysztof J

2015-01-01

Down syndrome (DS) is a chromosomal abnormality (trisomy of human chromosome 21) associated with intellectual disability and affecting approximately one in 1000 live births worldwide. The overexpression of genes encoded by the extra copy of a normal chromosome in DS is believed to be sufficient to perturb normal pathways and normal responses to stimulation, causing learning and memory deficits. In this work, we have designed a strategy based on the unsupervised clustering method, Self Organizing Maps (SOM), to identify biologically important differences in protein levels in mice exposed to context fear conditioning (CFC). We analyzed expression levels of 77 proteins obtained from normal genotype control mice and from their trisomic littermates (Ts65Dn) both with and without treatment with the drug memantine. Control mice learn successfully while the trisomic mice fail, unless they are first treated with the drug, which rescues their learning ability. The SOM approach identified reduced subsets of proteins predicted to make the most critical contributions to normal learning, to failed learning and rescued learning, and provides a visual representation of the data that allows the user to extract patterns that may underlie novel biological responses to the different kinds of learning and the response to memantine. Results suggest that the application of SOM to new experimental data sets of complex protein profiles can be used to identify common critical protein responses, which in turn may aid in identifying potentially more effective drug targets.

Self-Organizing Feature Maps Identify Proteins Critical to Learning in a Mouse Model of Down Syndrome

PubMed Central

Higuera, Clara; Gardiner, Katheleen J.; Cios, Krzysztof J.

2015-01-01

Down syndrome (DS) is a chromosomal abnormality (trisomy of human chromosome 21) associated with intellectual disability and affecting approximately one in 1000 live births worldwide. The overexpression of genes encoded by the extra copy of a normal chromosome in DS is believed to be sufficient to perturb normal pathways and normal responses to stimulation, causing learning and memory deficits. In this work, we have designed a strategy based on the unsupervised clustering method, Self Organizing Maps (SOM), to identify biologically important differences in protein levels in mice exposed to context fear conditioning (CFC). We analyzed expression levels of 77 proteins obtained from normal genotype control mice and from their trisomic littermates (Ts65Dn) both with and without treatment with the drug memantine. Control mice learn successfully while the trisomic mice fail, unless they are first treated with the drug, which rescues their learning ability. The SOM approach identified reduced subsets of proteins predicted to make the most critical contributions to normal learning, to failed learning and rescued learning, and provides a visual representation of the data that allows the user to extract patterns that may underlie novel biological responses to the different kinds of learning and the response to memantine. Results suggest that the application of SOM to new experimental data sets of complex protein profiles can be used to identify common critical protein responses, which in turn may aid in identifying potentially more effective drug targets. PMID:26111164

COSMOS: accurate detection of somatic structural variations through asymmetric comparison between tumor and normal samples

PubMed Central

Yamagata, Koichi; Yamanishi, Ayako; Kokubu, Chikara; Takeda, Junji; Sese, Jun

2016-01-01

An important challenge in cancer genomics is precise detection of structural variations (SVs) by high-throughput short-read sequencing, which is hampered by the high false discovery rates of existing analysis tools. Here, we propose an accurate SV detection method named COSMOS, which compares the statistics of the mapped read pairs in tumor samples with isogenic normal control samples in a distinct asymmetric manner. COSMOS also prioritizes the candidate SVs using strand-specific read-depth information. Performance tests on modeled tumor genomes revealed that COSMOS outperformed existing methods in terms of F-measure. We also applied COSMOS to an experimental mouse cell-based model, in which SVs were induced by genome engineering and gamma-ray irradiation, followed by polymerase chain reaction-based confirmation. The precision of COSMOS was 84.5%, while the next best existing method was 70.4%. Moreover, the sensitivity of COSMOS was the highest, indicating that COSMOS has great potential for cancer genome analysis. PMID:26833260

Foot Kinematics During a Bilateral Heel Rise Test in Participants With Stage II Posterior Tibial Tendon Dysfunction

PubMed Central

HOUCK, JEFF; NEVILLE, CHRISTOPHER; TOME, JOSHUA; FLEMISTER, ADOLPH

2010-01-01

STUDY DESIGN Experimental laboratory study using a cross-sectional design. OBJECTIVES To compare foot kinematics, using 3-dimensional tracking methods, during a bilateral heel rise between participants with posterior tibial tendon dysfunction (PTTD) and participants with a normal medial longitudinal arch (MLA). BACKGROUND The bilateral heel rise test is commonly used to assess patients with PTTD; however, information about foot kinematics during the test is lacking. METHODS Forty-five individuals volunteered to participate, including 30 patients diagnosed with unilateral stage II PTTD (mean ± SD age, 59.8 ± 11.1 years; body mass index, 29.9 ± 4.8 kg/m2) and 15 controls (mean ± SD age, 56.5 ± 7.7 years; body mass index, 30.6 ± 3.6 kg/m2). Foot kinematic data were collected during a bilateral heel rise task from the calcaneus (hindfoot), first metatarsal, and hallux, using an Optotrak motion analysis system and Motion Monitor software. A 2-way mixed-effects analysis of variance model, with normalized heel height as a covariate, was used to test for significant differences between the normal MLA and PTTD groups. RESULTS The patients in the PTTD group exhibited significantly greater ankle plantar flexion (mean difference between groups, 7.3°; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 5.1° to 9.5°), greater first metatarsal dorsiflexion (mean difference between groups, 9.0°; 95% CI: 3.7° to 14.4°), and less hallux dorsiflexion (mean difference, 6.7°; 95% CI: 1.7° to 11.8°) compared to controls. At peak heel rise, hindfoot inversion was similar (P = .130) between the PTTD and control groups. CONCLUSION Except for hindfoot eversion/inversion, the differences in foot kinematics in participants with stage II PTTD, when compared to the control group, mainly occur as an offset, not an alteration in shape, of the kinematic patterns. PMID:19648723

Automated detection of focal cortical dysplasia type II with surface-based magnetic resonance imaging postprocessing and machine learning.

PubMed

Jin, Bo; Krishnan, Balu; Adler, Sophie; Wagstyl, Konrad; Hu, Wenhan; Jones, Stephen; Najm, Imad; Alexopoulos, Andreas; Zhang, Kai; Zhang, Jianguo; Ding, Meiping; Wang, Shuang; Wang, Zhong Irene

2018-05-01

Focal cortical dysplasia (FCD) is a major pathology in patients undergoing surgical resection to treat pharmacoresistant epilepsy. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) postprocessing methods may provide essential help for detection of FCD. In this study, we utilized surface-based MRI morphometry and machine learning for automated lesion detection in a mixed cohort of patients with FCD type II from 3 different epilepsy centers. Sixty-one patients with pharmacoresistant epilepsy and histologically proven FCD type II were included in the study. The patients had been evaluated at 3 different epilepsy centers using 3 different MRI scanners. T1-volumetric sequence was used for postprocessing. A normal database was constructed with 120 healthy controls. We also included 35 healthy test controls and 15 disease test controls with histologically confirmed hippocampal sclerosis to assess specificity. Features were calculated and incorporated into a nonlinear neural network classifier, which was trained to identify lesional cluster. We optimized the threshold of the output probability map from the classifier by performing receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analyses. Success of detection was defined by overlap between the final cluster and the manual labeling. Performance was evaluated using k-fold cross-validation. The threshold of 0.9 showed optimal sensitivity of 73.7% and specificity of 90.0%. The area under the curve for the ROC analysis was 0.75, which suggests a discriminative classifier. Sensitivity and specificity were not significantly different for patients from different centers, suggesting robustness of performance. Correct detection rate was significantly lower in patients with initially normal MRI than patients with unequivocally positive MRI. Subgroup analysis showed the size of the training group and normal control database impacted classifier performance. Automated surface-based MRI morphometry equipped with machine learning showed robust performance across cohorts from different centers and scanners. The proposed method may be a valuable tool to improve FCD detection in presurgical evaluation for patients with pharmacoresistant epilepsy. Wiley Periodicals, Inc. © 2018 International League Against Epilepsy.

Quaternion normalization in spacecraft attitude determination

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Deutschmann, Julie; Bar-Itzhack, Itzhack; Galal, Ken

1992-01-01

Methods are presented to normalize the attitude quaternion in two extended Kalman filters (EKF), namely, the multiplicative EKF (MEKF) and the additive EKF (AEKF). It is concluded that all the normalization methods work well and yield comparable results. In the AEKF, normalization is not essential, since the data chosen for the test do not have a rapidly varying attitude. In the MEKF, normalization is necessary to avoid divergence of the attitude estimate. All of the methods of the methods behave similarly when the spacecraft experiences low angular rates.

Baseline OCT Measurements in the Idiopathic Intracranial Hypertension Treatment Trial, Part I: Quality Control, Comparisons, and Variability

PubMed Central

2014-01-01

Purpose. Optical coherence tomography (OCT) has been used to investigate papilledema in single-site, mostly retrospective studies. We investigated whether spectral-domain OCT (SD-OCT), which provides thickness and volume measurements of the optic nerve head and retina, could reliably demonstrate structural changes due to papilledema in a prospective multisite clinical trial setting. Methods. At entry, 126 subjects in the Idiopathic Intracranial Hypertension Treatment Trial (IIHTT) with mild visual field loss had optic disc and macular scans, using the Cirrus SD-OCT. Images were analyzed by using the proprietary commercial and custom 3D-segmentation algorithms to calculate retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL), total retinal thickness (TRT), optic nerve head volume (ONHV), and retinal ganglion cell layer (GCL) thickness. We evaluated variability, with interocular comparison and correlation between results for both methods. Results. The average RNFL thickness > 95% of normal controls in 90% of eyes and the RNFL, TRT, ONH height, and ONHV showed strong (r > 0.8) correlations for interocular comparisons. Variability for repeated testing of OCT parameters was low for both methods and intraclass correlations > 0.9 except for the proprietary GCL thickness. The proprietary algorithm–derived RNFL, TRT, and GCL thickness measurements had failure rates of 10%, 16%, and 20% for all eyes respectively, which were uncommon with 3D-segmentation–derived measurements. Only 7% of eyes had GCL thinning that was less than fifth percentile of normal age-matched control eyes by both methods. Conclusions. Spectral-domain OCT provides reliable continuous variables and quantified assessment of structural alterations due to papilledema. (ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT01003639.) PMID:25370510

Ecological Health and Water Quality Assessments in Big Creek Lake, AL

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Childs, L. M.; Frey, J. W.; Jones, J. B.; Maki, A. E.; Brozen, M. W.; Malik, S.; Allain, M.; Mitchell, B.; Batina, M.; Brooks, A. O.

2008-12-01

Big Creek Lake (aka J.B. Converse Reservoir) serves as the water supply for the majority of residents in Mobile County, Alabama. The area surrounding the reservoir serves as a gopher tortoise mitigation bank and is protected from further development, however, impacts from previous disasters and construction have greatly impacted the Big Creek Lake area. The Escatawpa Watershed drains into the lake, and of the seven drainage streams, three have received a 303 (d) (impaired water bodies) designation in the past. In the adjacent ecosystem, the forest is experiencing major stress from drought and pine bark beetle infestations. Various agencies are using control methods such as pesticide treatment to eradicate the beetles. There are many concerns about these control methods and the run-off into the ecosystem. In addition to pesticide control methods, the Highway 98 construction projects cross the north area of the lake. The community has expressed concern about both direct and indirect impacts of these construction projects on the lake. This project addresses concerns about water quality, increasing drought in the Southeastern U.S., forest health as it relates to vegetation stress, and state and federal needs for improved assessment methods supported by remotely sensed data to determine coastal forest susceptibility to pine bark beetles. Landsat TM, ASTER, MODIS, and EO-1/ALI imagery was employed in Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) and Normalized Difference Moisture Index (NDMI), as well as to detect concentration of suspended solids, chlorophyll and water turbidity. This study utilizes NASA Earth Observation Systems to determine how environmental conditions and human activity relate to pine tree stress and the onset of pine beetle invasion, as well as relate current water quality data to community concerns and gain a better understanding of human impacts upon water resources.

Associations between thoracic radiographic changes and severity of pulmonary arterial hypertension diagnosed in 60 dogs via Doppler echocardiography: A retrospective study.

PubMed

Adams, Dustin S; Marolf, Angela J; Valdés-Martínez, Alejandro; Randall, Elissa K; Bachand, Annette M

2017-07-01

Doppler echocardiography is a noninvasive method for estimating and grading pulmonary arterial hypertension. No current literature associates significance of radiographic findings with severity of pulmonary arterial hypertension. We hypothesized that the number and conspicuity of radiographic findings suggestive of pulmonary arterial hypertension would be greater based on the severity of pulmonary arterial hypertension. Dogs with pulmonary arterial hypertension and normal control dogs were included in this retrospective, case control study. Three radiologists blinded to echocardiographic results scored thoracic radiographs for right ventricular and main pulmonary artery enlargement and pulmonary lobar artery enlargement, tortuosity, and blunting by multiple methods. Presence or absence of each finding was scored in an additive fashion and averaged for each grade of pulmonary arterial hypertension severity. Seventy-one dogs (60 dogs with pulmonary arterial hypertension and 11 control dogs) of which some had multiple studies were included: 20 mild, 21 moderate, 25 severe, and 11 absent pulmonary arterial hypertension. The following radiographic findings were significantly associated with increasing pulmonary arterial hypertension severity: right ventricular enlargement by "reverse D" and "3/5-2/5 cardiac ratio" methods, main pulmonary artery enlargement, and caudal lobar artery enlargement by the "3rd rib" method. Mean scores for severe pulmonary arterial hypertension and normal dogs were significantly different (P-value < 0.0001). Mean scores between different pulmonary arterial hypertension grades increased with severity but were not statistically significant. Individually and in combination, radiographic findings performed poorly in differentiating severity of pulmonary arterial hypertension. Findings indicated that thoracic radiographs should be utilized in conjunction with Doppler echocardiography in a complete diagnostic work-up for dogs with suspected pulmonary arterial hypertension. © 2017 American College of Veterinary Radiology.

MicroRNA Expression Profiles as Biomarkers of Minor Salivary Gland Inflammation and Dysfunction in Sjögren's Syndrome

PubMed Central

Alevizos, Ilias; Alexander, Stefanie; Turner, R. James; Illei, Gabor G.

2013-01-01

Objective MicroRNA reflect physiologic and pathologic processes and may be used as biomarkers of concurrent pathophysiologic events in complex settings such as autoimmune diseases. We generated microRNA microarray profiles from the minor salivary glands of control subjects without Sjögren's syndrome (SS) and patients with SS who had low-grade or high-grade inflammation and impaired or normal saliva production, to identify microRNA patterns specific to salivary gland inflammation or dysfunction. Methods MicroRNA expression profiles were generated by Agilent microRNA arrays. We developed a novel method for data normalization by identifying housekeeping microRNA. MicroRNA profiles were compared by unsupervised mathematical methods to test how well they distinguish between control subjects and various subsets of patients with SS. Several bioinformatics methods were used to predict the messenger RNA targets of the differentially expressed microRNA. Results MicroRNA expression patterns accurately distinguished salivary glands from control subjects and patients with SS who had low-degree or high-degree inflammation. Using real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction, we validated 2 microRNA as markers of inflammation in an independent cohort. Comparing microRNA from patients with preserved or low salivary flow identified a set of differentially expressed microRNA, most of which were up-regulated in the group with decreased salivary gland function, suggesting that the targets of microRNA may have a protective effect on epithelial cells. The predicted biologic targets of microRNA associated with inflammation or salivary gland dysfunction identified both overlapping and distinct biologic pathways and processes. Conclusion Distinct microRNA expression patterns are associated with salivary gland inflammation and dysfunction in patients with SS, and microRNA represent a novel group of potential biomarkers. PMID:21280008

An unsteady lifting surface method for single rotation propellers

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Williams, Marc H.

1990-01-01

The mathematical formulation of a lifting surface method for evaluating the steady and unsteady loads induced on single rotation propellers by blade vibration and inflow distortion is described. The scheme is based on 3-D linearized compressible aerodynamics and presumes that all disturbances are simple harmonic in time. This approximation leads to a direct linear integral relation between the normal velocity on the blade (which is determined from the blade geometry and motion) and the distribution of pressure difference across the blade. This linear relation is discretized by breaking the blade up into subareas (panels) on which the pressure difference is treated as approximately constant, and constraining the normal velocity at one (control) point on each panel. The piece-wise constant loads can then be determined by Gaussian elimination. The resulting blade loads can be used in performance, stability and forced response predictions for the rotor. Mathematical and numerical aspects of the method are examined. A selection of results obtained from the method is presented. The appendices include various details of the derivation that were felt to be secondary to the main development in Section 1.

Serum Antioxidant Status in Patients with Systemic Sclerosis

PubMed Central

Hassan, Iffat; Sajad, Peerzada; Majid, Sabiya; Hassan, Tehseen

2013-01-01

Background: Vascular endothelial dysfunction is a central event in pathogenesis of a variety of human diseases. Systemic sclerosis is one of such diseases. The oxidative stress and depletion of antioxidants in the serum is believed to be one of the factors in causing this dysfunction. Aims: The aim of this case control study was to compare the levels of antioxidants in the serum of patients with systemic sclerosis and the normal age and sex matched controls. Materials and Methods: Our study consisted of 16 successively admitted patients with systemic sclerosis and 16 healthy, age and sex matched controls. The age group of patient's ranged between 25 and 55 years. The duration of the disease in patients ranged from 1 to 8 years. The serum of patients and controls were assayed for the levels of antioxidants (GSH, NO, MDA, SOD and GPX) by spectrophotometry. The statistical method of analysis used was the one sample t-test. Results: The median levels of antioxidants in the control patients were: SOD-4.14 units/ml; GSH-4.76 units/ml; NO-5.58 nmol/l; MDA-0.53 nmol/l and GPX-49 μmol/l. The levels of NO, GSH and SOD were decreased in these patients with a significant P value (<0.001) whereas the levels of GPX and MDA were normal to increased with a significant P value. Conclusion: The depletion of antioxidants and oxidative stress in serum might be responsible for the vascular dysfunction and other hallmark manifestations of systemic sclerosis. Therefore micronutrient antioxidant supplements may be of therapeutic value. PMID:23723482

Quality Aware Compression of Electrocardiogram Using Principal Component Analysis.

PubMed

Gupta, Rajarshi

2016-05-01

Electrocardiogram (ECG) compression finds wide application in various patient monitoring purposes. Quality control in ECG compression ensures reconstruction quality and its clinical acceptance for diagnostic decision making. In this paper, a quality aware compression method of single lead ECG is described using principal component analysis (PCA). After pre-processing, beat extraction and PCA decomposition, two independent quality criteria, namely, bit rate control (BRC) or error control (EC) criteria were set to select optimal principal components, eigenvectors and their quantization level to achieve desired bit rate or error measure. The selected principal components and eigenvectors were finally compressed using a modified delta and Huffman encoder. The algorithms were validated with 32 sets of MIT Arrhythmia data and 60 normal and 30 sets of diagnostic ECG data from PTB Diagnostic ECG data ptbdb, all at 1 kHz sampling. For BRC with a CR threshold of 40, an average Compression Ratio (CR), percentage root mean squared difference normalized (PRDN) and maximum absolute error (MAE) of 50.74, 16.22 and 0.243 mV respectively were obtained. For EC with an upper limit of 5 % PRDN and 0.1 mV MAE, the average CR, PRDN and MAE of 9.48, 4.13 and 0.049 mV respectively were obtained. For mitdb data 117, the reconstruction quality could be preserved up to CR of 68.96 by extending the BRC threshold. The proposed method yields better results than recently published works on quality controlled ECG compression.

Performance Evaluation and Online Realization of Data-driven Normalization Methods Used in LC/MS based Untargeted Metabolomics Analysis.

PubMed

Li, Bo; Tang, Jing; Yang, Qingxia; Cui, Xuejiao; Li, Shuang; Chen, Sijie; Cao, Quanxing; Xue, Weiwei; Chen, Na; Zhu, Feng

2016-12-13

In untargeted metabolomics analysis, several factors (e.g., unwanted experimental &biological variations and technical errors) may hamper the identification of differential metabolic features, which requires the data-driven normalization approaches before feature selection. So far, ≥16 normalization methods have been widely applied for processing the LC/MS based metabolomics data. However, the performance and the sample size dependence of those methods have not yet been exhaustively compared and no online tool for comparatively and comprehensively evaluating the performance of all 16 normalization methods has been provided. In this study, a comprehensive comparison on these methods was conducted. As a result, 16 methods were categorized into three groups based on their normalization performances across various sample sizes. The VSN, the Log Transformation and the PQN were identified as methods of the best normalization performance, while the Contrast consistently underperformed across all sub-datasets of different benchmark data. Moreover, an interactive web tool comprehensively evaluating the performance of 16 methods specifically for normalizing LC/MS based metabolomics data was constructed and hosted at http://server.idrb.cqu.edu.cn/MetaPre/. In summary, this study could serve as a useful guidance to the selection of suitable normalization methods in analyzing the LC/MS based metabolomics data.

Performance Evaluation and Online Realization of Data-driven Normalization Methods Used in LC/MS based Untargeted Metabolomics Analysis

PubMed Central

Li, Bo; Tang, Jing; Yang, Qingxia; Cui, Xuejiao; Li, Shuang; Chen, Sijie; Cao, Quanxing; Xue, Weiwei; Chen, Na; Zhu, Feng

2016-01-01

In untargeted metabolomics analysis, several factors (e.g., unwanted experimental & biological variations and technical errors) may hamper the identification of differential metabolic features, which requires the data-driven normalization approaches before feature selection. So far, ≥16 normalization methods have been widely applied for processing the LC/MS based metabolomics data. However, the performance and the sample size dependence of those methods have not yet been exhaustively compared and no online tool for comparatively and comprehensively evaluating the performance of all 16 normalization methods has been provided. In this study, a comprehensive comparison on these methods was conducted. As a result, 16 methods were categorized into three groups based on their normalization performances across various sample sizes. The VSN, the Log Transformation and the PQN were identified as methods of the best normalization performance, while the Contrast consistently underperformed across all sub-datasets of different benchmark data. Moreover, an interactive web tool comprehensively evaluating the performance of 16 methods specifically for normalizing LC/MS based metabolomics data was constructed and hosted at http://server.idrb.cqu.edu.cn/MetaPre/. In summary, this study could serve as a useful guidance to the selection of suitable normalization methods in analyzing the LC/MS based metabolomics data. PMID:27958387

Towards a new standardized method for circulating miRNAs profiling in clinical studies: Interest of the exogenous normalization to improve miRNA signature accuracy.

PubMed

Vigneron, Nicolas; Meryet-Figuière, Matthieu; Guttin, Audrey; Issartel, Jean-Paul; Lambert, Bernard; Briand, Mélanie; Louis, Marie-Hélène; Vernon, Mégane; Lebailly, Pierre; Lecluse, Yannick; Joly, Florence; Krieger, Sophie; Lheureux, Stéphanie; Clarisse, Bénédicte; Leconte, Alexandra; Gauduchon, Pascal; Poulain, Laurent; Denoyelle, Christophe

2016-08-01

Circulating miRNAs are promising biomarkers in oncology but have not yet been implemented in the clinic given the lack of concordance across studies. In order to increase the cross-studies reliability, we attempted to reduce and to control the circulating miRNA expression variability between patients. First, to maximize profiling signals and to reduce miRNA expression variability, three isolation kits were compared and the NucleoSpin(®) kit provided higher miRNA concentrations than the other widely used kits. Second, to control inter-sample variability during the profiling step, the exogenous miRNAs normalization method commonly used for RT-qPCR validation step was adapted to microarray experiments. Importantly, exogenous miRNAs presented two-fold lower inter-sample variability than the widely used endogenous miR-16-5p reflecting that the latter is subject to both biological and technical variability. Although Caenorhabditis elegans miRNAs isolation yields were heterogeneous, they correlated to each other and to their geometrical mean across samples. The normalization based on the geometrical mean of three exogenous miRNAs increased the correlation up-to 0.97 between the microarrays and individual RT-qPCR steps of circulating miRNAs expression. Overall, this new strategy open new avenue to identify reliable circulating miRNA signatures for translation into clinical practice. Copyright © 2016 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Early-effect of bariatric surgery (Scopinaro method) on intestinal hormones and adipokines in insulin resistant Wistar rat.

PubMed

Dib, N; Kiciak, A; Pietrzak, P; Ferenc, K; Jaworski, P; Kapica, M; Tarnowski, W; Zabielski, R

2013-10-01

Bariatric surgery consists in duodenal exclusion from the food passage in obese patients with coexistent type 2 diabetes. Nowadays bariatric surgery is considered the most effective method of glycemic index normalization and insulin resistance reduction. Recent results on obese and non-obese rats showed remission of type 2 diabetes symptoms within few days after the surgery. The aim of the present work was to analyze the mechanisms of neuro-hormonal regulation responsible for early normalization of metabolic syndrome after bariatric surgery. In present study the concentration of selected intestinal hormones and adipokines in blood plasma and gastrointestinal tissues were analyzed. Study was conducted on Wistar rats. Animals were divided into three groups (each n=6): control (SH) shame-operated rats; animals in which visceral fat tissue was extracted (LP); and rats in which Scopinaro bariatric surgery was performed (BPD). Immunochemistry analysis of blood plasma showed decrease of insulin concentration in BPD and LP and increase of polypeptide YY (PYY) in BPD group as compared to the control. In duodenal mucosa homogenates the tendency to reduce insulin in LP and BPD group, and increase PYY and visfatin in BPD group was observed. Histometry analysis showed reduction of mucosa thickness in excluded segments of gastrointestinal tract in BPD group as compared to the SH and LP. Concluding, model studies on rats allowed better understanding of mechanisms important for early normalization of glycemic index and insulin resistance reduction in rats.

Exploring resting-state EEG complexity before migraine attacks.

PubMed

Cao, Zehong; Lai, Kuan-Lin; Lin, Chin-Teng; Chuang, Chun-Hsiang; Chou, Chien-Chen; Wang, Shuu-Jiun

2018-06-01

Objective Entropy-based approaches to understanding the temporal dynamics of complexity have revealed novel insights into various brain activities. Herein, electroencephalogram complexity before migraine attacks was examined using an inherent fuzzy entropy approach, allowing the development of an electroencephalogram-based classification model to recognize the difference between interictal and preictal phases. Methods Forty patients with migraine without aura and 40 age-matched normal control subjects were recruited, and the resting-state electroencephalogram signals of their prefrontal and occipital areas were prospectively collected. The migraine phases were defined based on the headache diary, and the preictal phase was defined as within 72 hours before a migraine attack. Results The electroencephalogram complexity of patients in the preictal phase, which resembled that of normal control subjects, was significantly higher than that of patients in the interictal phase in the prefrontal area (FDR-adjusted p < 0.05) but not in the occipital area. The measurement of test-retest reliability (n = 8) using the intra-class correlation coefficient was good with r1 = 0.73 ( p = 0.01). Furthermore, the classification model, support vector machine, showed the highest accuracy (76 ± 4%) for classifying interictal and preictal phases using the prefrontal electroencephalogram complexity. Conclusion Entropy-based analytical methods identified enhancement or "normalization" of frontal electroencephalogram complexity during the preictal phase compared with the interictal phase. This classification model, using this complexity feature, may have the potential to provide a preictal alert to migraine without aura patients.

Combining the Cutting and Mulliken methods for primary repair of the bilateral cleft lip nose.

PubMed

Morovic, Carmen Gloria; Cutting, Court

2005-11-01

Since 1990, primary bilateral cleft nasal reconstruction has been focused on placing the lower lateral cartilages into normal anatomical position. Of the four major techniques in this class, the Cutting (i.e., retrograde) method and the Mulliken method have been most successful. The retrograde method makes no external nasal incisions, but requires either preoperative or postoperative nasal molding to achieve maximum benefit. Mulliken's technique does not require molding, but leaves the footplates of the medial crura in the depression above the projecting premaxilla associated with the diminutive anterior nasal spine. Leaving the footplates in place also prevents adequate approximation of the alar bases. In this article, the two methods are combined to achieve the benefits of both. We report our experience with the retrograde nasal approach associated with marginal rim incisions (Mulliken method) in a series of 25 consecutive bilateral cleft lip cases simultaneous with lip repair. We performed a retrograde approach through membranous septum incisions elevating a prolabial-columellar flap. To facilitate alar cartilage manipulation we added bilateral marginal rim incisions. Nasal width, columella length and width, tip projection, and nasolabial angle were analyzed after a minimum of 2 years after surgery. These were compared with a normal, age-matched, control group. We also examined nostril symmetry and marginal nostril scars. Columellar length was not statistically significantly different from that of the control group (p = 0.122442). Nasal width, columellar width, tip projection, and nasolabial angle were all significantly greater in the cleft group than normal (p < 0.001). No hypertrophied scars were found associated with the marginal rim scar. Adding the Mulliken approach allows alar cartilage manipulation to be performed more easily than when using the retrograde approach alone. Tip projection and alar base narrowing are facilitated using the combined technique rather than the Mulliken approach alone. Prolabial flap manipulation is safe using this combined approach, even in cases with a severely projected premaxilla. We believe that the combined approach is safe and yields better long-term results than either technique alone.

Extended findings of Brain Metabolite Normalization in MA-Dependent Subjects Across Sustained Abstinence: A Proton MRS Study

PubMed Central

Salo, Ruth; Buonocore, Michael H.; Leamon, Martin; Natsuaki, Yutaka; Waters, Christy; Moore, Charles D.; Galloway, Gantt P.; Nordahl, Thomas E.

2010-01-01

Objective The goal of the present study was to extend our previous findings on long-term methamphetamine (MA) use and drug abstinence on brain metabolite levels in an expanded group of MA-dependent individuals. Methods Seventeen MA abusers with sustained drug abstinence (1 year to 5 years), 30 MA abusers with short-term drug abstinence (1 month to 6 months) and 24 non-substance using controls were studied using MR spectroscopy (MRS). MRS measures of NAA/Cr, Cho/Cr and Cho/NAA were obtained in the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) and in the primary visual cortex (PVC). Results ACC-Cho/NAA values were abnormally high in the short-term abstinent group compared to controls [F(1,52)=18.76, p<0.0001]. No differences were observed between controls and the long-term abstinent group [F(1,39)=0.97, p=0.97]. New evidence of lower ACC-NAA/Cr levels were observed in the short-term abstinent MA abusers compared to controls [F(1,52)=23.05, p<0.0001] and long-term abstinent MA abusers [F(1,45)=7.06, p=0.01]. No differences were observed between long-term abstinent MA abusers and controls [F(1,39)=0.48, p=0.49]. Conclusions The new findings of relative NAA/Cr normalization across periods of abstinence suggest that adaptive changes following cessation of MA abuse may be broader than initially thought. These changes may contribute to some degree of normalization of neuronal function in the ACC. PMID:20739127

Effects of lifestyle intervention on dietary intake, physical activity level, and gestational weight gain in pregnant women with different pre-pregnancy Body Mass Index in a randomized control trial.

PubMed

Hui, Amy Leung; Back, Lisa; Ludwig, Sora; Gardiner, Phillip; Sevenhuysen, Gustaaf; Dean, Heather J; Sellers, Elisabeth; McGavock, Jonathan; Morris, Margaret; Jiang, Depeng; Shen, Garry X

2014-09-24

The objectives of this study were to assess the efficacy of lifestyle intervention on gestational weight gain in pregnant women with normal and above normal body mass index (BMI) in a randomized controlled trial. A total of 116 pregnant women (<20 weeks of pregnancy) without diabetes were enrolled and 113 pregnant women completed the program. Participants were randomized into intervention and control groups. Women in the intervention group received weekly trainer-led group exercise sessions, instructed home exercise for 3-5-times/week during 20-36 weeks of gestation, and dietary counseling twice during pregnancy. Participants in the control group did not receive the intervention. All participants completed a physical activity questionnaire and a 3-day food record at enrolment and 2 months after enrolment. The participants in the intervention group with normal pre-pregnancy BMI (≤24.9 kg/M2, n = 30) had lower gestational weight gain (GWG), offspring birth weight and excessive gestational weight gain (EGWG) on pregnancy weight gain compared to the control group (n = 27, p < 0.05). Those weight related-changes were not detected between the intervention (n = 27) and control group (n = 29) in the above normal pre-pregnancy BMI participants. Intervention reduced total calorie, total fat, saturated fat and cholesterol intake were detected in women with normal or above normal pre-pregnancy BMI compared to the control group (p < 0.05 or 0.01). Increased physical activity and reduced carbohydrate intake were detected in women with normal (p < 0.05), but not above normal, pre-pregnancy BMI at 2 months after the onset of the intervention compared to the control group. The results of the present study demonstrated that the lifestyle intervention program decreased EGWG, GWG, offspring birth weight in pregnant women with normal, but not above normal, pre-pregnancy BMI, which was associated with increased physical activity and decreased carbohydrate intake. NCT00486629.

A robust two-way semi-linear model for normalization of cDNA microarray data

PubMed Central

Wang, Deli; Huang, Jian; Xie, Hehuang; Manzella, Liliana; Soares, Marcelo Bento

2005-01-01

Background Normalization is a basic step in microarray data analysis. A proper normalization procedure ensures that the intensity ratios provide meaningful measures of relative expression values. Methods We propose a robust semiparametric method in a two-way semi-linear model (TW-SLM) for normalization of cDNA microarray data. This method does not make the usual assumptions underlying some of the existing methods. For example, it does not assume that: (i) the percentage of differentially expressed genes is small; or (ii) the numbers of up- and down-regulated genes are about the same, as required in the LOWESS normalization method. We conduct simulation studies to evaluate the proposed method and use a real data set from a specially designed microarray experiment to compare the performance of the proposed method with that of the LOWESS normalization approach. Results The simulation results show that the proposed method performs better than the LOWESS normalization method in terms of mean square errors for estimated gene effects. The results of analysis of the real data set also show that the proposed method yields more consistent results between the direct and the indirect comparisons and also can detect more differentially expressed genes than the LOWESS method. Conclusions Our simulation studies and the real data example indicate that the proposed robust TW-SLM method works at least as well as the LOWESS method and works better when the underlying assumptions for the LOWESS method are not satisfied. Therefore, it is a powerful alternative to the existing normalization methods. PMID:15663789

Anorexia Nervosa: Analysis of Trabecular Texture with CT

PubMed Central

Tabari, Azadeh; Torriani, Martin; Miller, Karen K.; Klibanski, Anne; Kalra, Mannudeep K.

2017-01-01

Purpose To determine indexes of skeletal integrity by using computed tomographic (CT) trabecular texture analysis of the lumbar spine in patients with anorexia nervosa and normal-weight control subjects and to determine body composition predictors of trabecular texture. Materials and Methods This cross-sectional study was approved by the institutional review board and compliant with HIPAA. Written informed consent was obtained. The study included 30 women with anorexia nervosa (mean age ± standard deviation, 26 years ± 6) and 30 normal-weight age-matched women (control group). All participants underwent low-dose single-section quantitative CT of the L4 vertebral body with use of a calibration phantom. Trabecular texture analysis was performed by using software. Skewness (asymmetry of gray-level pixel distribution), kurtosis (pointiness of pixel distribution), entropy (inhomogeneity of pixel distribution), and mean value of positive pixels (MPP) were assessed. Bone mineral density and abdominal fat and paraspinal muscle areas were quantified with quantitative CT. Women with anorexia nervosa and normal-weight control subjects were compared by using the Student t test. Linear regression analyses were performed to determine associations between trabecular texture and body composition. Results Women with anorexia nervosa had higher skewness and kurtosis, lower MPP (P < .001), and a trend toward lower entropy (P = .07) compared with control subjects. Bone mineral density, abdominal fat area, and paraspinal muscle area were inversely associated with skewness and kurtosis and positively associated with MPP and entropy. Texture parameters, but not bone mineral density, were associated with lowest lifetime weight and duration of amenorrhea in anorexia nervosa. Conclusion Patients with anorexia nervosa had increased skewness and kurtosis and decreased entropy and MPP compared with normal-weight control subjects. These parameters were associated with lowest lifetime weight and duration of amenorrhea, but there were no such associations with bone mineral density. These findings suggest that trabecular texture analysis might contribute information about bone health in anorexia nervosa that is independent of that provided with bone mineral density. © RSNA, 2016 PMID:27797678

Effect of Chinese Herbal Medicine Jinlida Granule in Treatment of Patients with Impaired Glucose Tolerance

PubMed Central

Shi, Ya-Lin; Liu, Wen-Juan; Zhang, Xiao-Fang; Su, Wei-Juan; Chen, Ning-Ning; Lu, Shu-Hua; Wang, Li-Ying; Shi, Xiu-Lin; Li, Zhi-Bin; Yang, Shu-Yu

2016-01-01

Background: Diabetes mellitus (DM) remains a major health problem worldwide. Several clinical trials have shown the superiority of the Traditional Chinese Medicine in delaying or reversing the development and progression of DM. This study aimed to evaluate the efficacy of Jinlida (JLD) granule, a Chinese herbal recipe, in the treatment of impaired glucose tolerance (IGT) and its effect on the prevention of DM. Methods: Sixty-five IGT patients were randomized to receive one bag of JLD granules three times daily (JLD group, n = 34) or no drug intervention (control group, n = 31) for 12 weeks. Oral glucose tolerance test, glycated hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c), body mass index, blood lipids levels, fasting insulin, and insulin resistance calculated using homeostatic model assessment (HOMA-IR) of all the patients were observed and compared before and after the treatment. Results: Sixty-one participants completed the trial (32 in JLD group and 29 in the control group). There were statistically significant decreases in HbA1c (P < 0.001), 2-h plasma glucose (P < 0.001), and HOMA-IR (P = 0.029) in JLD group compared with the control group after 12 weeks of treatment. After 12 weeks of treatment, two (6.9%) patients returned to normal blood glucose, and five (17.2%) patients turned into DM in control group, while in the JLD group, 14 (43.8%) returned to normal blood glucose and 2 (6.2%) turned into DM. There was a significant difference in the number of subjects who had normal glucose at the end of the study between two groups (P = 0.001). Conclusions: JLD granule effectively improved glucose control, increased the conversion of IGT to normal glucose, and improved the insulin resistance in patients with IGT. This Chinese herbal medicine may have a clinical value for IGT. PMID:27647185

Design and Flight Tests of an Adaptive Control System Employing Normal-Acceleration Command

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

McNeill, Water E.; McLean, John D.; Hegarty, Daniel M.; Heinle, Donovan R.

1961-01-01

An adaptive control system employing normal-acceleration command has been designed with the aid of an analog computer and has been flight tested. The design of the system was based on the concept of using a mathematical model in combination with a high gain and a limiter. The study was undertaken to investigate the application of a system of this type to the task of maintaining nearly constant dynamic longitudinal response of a piloted airplane over the flight envelope without relying on air data measurements for gain adjustment. The range of flight conditions investigated was between Mach numbers of 0.36 and 1.15 and altitudes of 10,000 and 40,000 feet. The final adaptive system configuration was derived from analog computer tests, in which the physical airplane control system and much of the control circuitry were included in the loop. The method employed to generate the feedback signals resulted in a model whose characteristics varied somewhat with changes in flight condition. Flight results showed that the system limited the variation in longitudinal natural frequency of the adaptive airplane to about half that of the basic airplane and that, for the subsonic cases, the damping ratio was maintained between 0.56 and 0.69. The system also automatically compensated for the transonic trim change. Objectionable features of the system were an exaggerated sensitivity of pitch attitude to gust disturbances, abnormally large pitch attitude response for a given pilot input at low speeds, and an initial delay in normal-acceleration response to pilot control at all flight conditions. The adaptive system chatter of +/-0.05 to +/-0.10 of elevon at about 9 cycles per second (resulting in a maximum airplane normal-acceleration response of from +/-0.025 g to +/- 0.035 g) was considered by the pilots to be mildly objectionable but tolerable.

Anorexia Nervosa: Analysis of Trabecular Texture with CT.

PubMed

Tabari, Azadeh; Torriani, Martin; Miller, Karen K; Klibanski, Anne; Kalra, Mannudeep K; Bredella, Miriam A

2017-04-01

Purpose To determine indexes of skeletal integrity by using computed tomographic (CT) trabecular texture analysis of the lumbar spine in patients with anorexia nervosa and normal-weight control subjects and to determine body composition predictors of trabecular texture. Materials and Methods This cross-sectional study was approved by the institutional review board and compliant with HIPAA. Written informed consent was obtained. The study included 30 women with anorexia nervosa (mean age ± standard deviation, 26 years ± 6) and 30 normal-weight age-matched women (control group). All participants underwent low-dose single-section quantitative CT of the L4 vertebral body with use of a calibration phantom. Trabecular texture analysis was performed by using software. Skewness (asymmetry of gray-level pixel distribution), kurtosis (pointiness of pixel distribution), entropy (inhomogeneity of pixel distribution), and mean value of positive pixels (MPP) were assessed. Bone mineral density and abdominal fat and paraspinal muscle areas were quantified with quantitative CT. Women with anorexia nervosa and normal-weight control subjects were compared by using the Student t test. Linear regression analyses were performed to determine associations between trabecular texture and body composition. Results Women with anorexia nervosa had higher skewness and kurtosis, lower MPP (P < .001), and a trend toward lower entropy (P = .07) compared with control subjects. Bone mineral density, abdominal fat area, and paraspinal muscle area were inversely associated with skewness and kurtosis and positively associated with MPP and entropy. Texture parameters, but not bone mineral density, were associated with lowest lifetime weight and duration of amenorrhea in anorexia nervosa. Conclusion Patients with anorexia nervosa had increased skewness and kurtosis and decreased entropy and MPP compared with normal-weight control subjects. These parameters were associated with lowest lifetime weight and duration of amenorrhea, but there were no such associations with bone mineral density. These findings suggest that trabecular texture analysis might contribute information about bone health in anorexia nervosa that is independent of that provided with bone mineral density. © RSNA, 2016.

Sterilization of sea lampreys (Petromyzon marinus) by immersion in an aqueous solution of bisazir

USGS Publications Warehouse

Hanson, Lee H.

1981-01-01

Groups of sea lamprey (Petromyzon marinus) eggs fertilized by males previously immersed in an aqueous solution of p,p-bis(1-aziridinyl)-N-methylphosphinothioic amide (bisazir) at concentrations of 10–100 mg/L produced fewer normal, live prolarvae after 15–17 d of incubation than did groups of eggs fertilized by normal males. Mortality of embryos or prolarvae was nearly 100% in groups of eggs fertilized by males that had been immersed in a 50 mg/L solution of bisazir for 4 h or in a 100 mg/L solution for 2 h. The immersion technique appears to be an efficient method of sterilizing large numbers of male sea lampreys for use in a proposed sterile-male-release program.Key words: sea lamprey, Petromyzon marinus; pest control, fish control, sterile-male technique, sterilization, chemosterilants, bisazir, Great Lakes

Detection of early subclinical lung disease in children with cystic fibrosis by lung ventilation imaging with hyperpolarised gas MRI.

PubMed

Marshall, Helen; Horsley, Alex; Taylor, Chris J; Smith, Laurie; Hughes, David; Horn, Felix C; Swift, Andrew J; Parra-Robles, Juan; Hughes, Paul J; Norquay, Graham; Stewart, Neil J; Collier, Guilhem J; Teare, Dawn; Cunningham, Steve; Aldag, Ina; Wild, Jim M

2017-08-01

Hyperpolarised 3 He ventilation-MRI, anatomical lung MRI, lung clearance index (LCI), low-dose CT and spirometry were performed on 19 children (6-16 years) with clinically stable mild cystic fibrosis (CF) (FEV 1 >-1.96), and 10 controls. All controls had normal spirometry, MRI and LCI. Ventilation-MRI was the most sensitive method of detecting abnormalities, present in 89% of patients with CF, compared with CT abnormalities in 68%, LCI 47% and conventional MRI 22%. Ventilation defects were present in the absence of CT abnormalities and in patients with normal physiology, including LCI. Ventilation-MRI is thus feasible in young children, highly sensitive and provides additional information about lung structure-function relationships. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://www.bmj.com/company/products-services/rights-and-licensing/.

Role of IL-10 -1082, IFN-gamma +874, and TNF-alpha -308 genes polymorphisms in suicidal behavior.

PubMed

Omrani, Mir Davood; Bushehri, Behzad; Bagheri, Morteza; Salari-Lak, Shaker; Alipour, Azize; Anoshae, Mohamad-Reza; Massomi, Reza

2009-01-01

In this study, it was determined whether the IL-10 -1082, IFN-gamma +874, and TNF-alpha -308 polymorphisms were associated with suicidal behavior. One hundred forty five patients with suicidal behavior and 160 normal individuals were genotyped for IL-10 -1082, IFN-gamma +874, and TNF-alpha -308 polymorphisms using ASO-PCR method. TNF-alpha -308 G/G genotype has been increased in males with completed suicide behavior versus control group (p value = 0.017). IL-10 -1082 A/A genotype is higher in both male and female suicide completed groups (p value = 0.017). IFN-gamma (+874) A/A genotype was significantly higher in males with completed suicide behavior versus normal male control (p value = 0.027). It can be concluded that IL-10, IFN-gamma, and TNF-alpha polymorphisms may play a role in suicidal behavior.

Serum laminin in malaria.

PubMed Central

Wenisch, C; Graninger, W; Viravan, C; Looareesuwan, S; Parschalk, B; Wernsdorfer, W

1994-01-01

AIM--To determine serum laminin concentrations in patients with uncomplicated Plasmodium falciparum malaria. METHODS--An enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was used to determine serum laminin concentrations in 54 patients with acute uncomplicated P falciparum malaria during and after treatment, and in 17 control subjects in Bangkok, Thailand. RESULTS--Raised concentrations of soluble laminin were observed in patients (mean (SD) concentration 628 (225) ng/ml), compared with normal controls (490 (116) ng/ml), during the acute phase of the disease. During treatment, serum laminin concentrations decreased and returned to normal within three days. Serum laminin concentrations were correlated with parasite counts before treatment, and with the serum concentration of soluble intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1), soluble E-selectin, and soluble tumour necrosis factor receptor at 55 kilodaltons. CONCLUSIONS--These findings are compatible with an increased production or release of laminin in P falciparum malaria, which could indicate a role for the subendothelial basement membrane in the pathogenesis of the disease. PMID:7525659

Functional capacity and cryopreservation of fetal rat pancreas in streptozotocin-diabetes. [Effectiveness of transplantation of fetal pancreas for control of diabetes in adult rats

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

Brown, J.; Clark, W.; Molnar, I.G.

1976-01-01

The fetal rat pancreas has a marked capacity for growth and maturation in glucose responsivity after transplantation under the kidney capsules of adult rats. The optimal conditions for function of the organ are a 3-week period of growth in a normal rat before transfer to a diabetic animal. Under these conditions diabetes is completely reversed by one fetal pancreas, and glucose disappearance rate and plasma insulin response to glucose are normal. Shunting of the venous drainage into the liver from fetal pancreases placed beneath the kidney capsule results in a marked improvement in diabetes control, and this technique may provemore » useful in experimental or human applications. Cryopreservation of the fetal pancreas has been successfully accomplished and will serve as a useful adjuvant to this method of reversing experimental diabetes.« less

New Data Pre-processing on Assessing of Obstructive Sleep Apnea Syndrome: Line Based Normalization Method (LBNM)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Akdemir, Bayram; Güneş, Salih; Yosunkaya, Şebnem

Sleep disorders are a very common unawareness illness among public. Obstructive Sleep Apnea Syndrome (OSAS) is characterized with decreased oxygen saturation level and repetitive upper respiratory tract obstruction episodes during full night sleep. In the present study, we have proposed a novel data normalization method called Line Based Normalization Method (LBNM) to evaluate OSAS using real data set obtained from Polysomnography device as a diagnostic tool in patients and clinically suspected of suffering OSAS. Here, we have combined the LBNM and classification methods comprising C4.5 decision tree classifier and Artificial Neural Network (ANN) to diagnose the OSAS. Firstly, each clinical feature in OSAS dataset is scaled by LBNM method in the range of [0,1]. Secondly, normalized OSAS dataset is classified using different classifier algorithms including C4.5 decision tree classifier and ANN, respectively. The proposed normalization method was compared with min-max normalization, z-score normalization, and decimal scaling methods existing in literature on the diagnosis of OSAS. LBNM has produced very promising results on the assessing of OSAS. Also, this method could be applied to other biomedical datasets.

Dynamic analysis of elastic rubber tired car wheel breaking under variable normal load

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fedotov, A. I.; Zedgenizov, V. G.; Ovchinnikova, N. I.

2017-10-01

The purpose of the paper is to analyze the dynamics of the braking of the wheel under normal load variations. The paper uses a mathematical simulation method according to which the calculation model of an object as a mechanical system is associated with a dynamically equivalent schematic structure of the automatic control. Transfer function tool analyzing structural and technical characteristics of an object as well as force disturbances were used. It was proved that the analysis of dynamic characteristics of the wheel subjected to external force disturbances has to take into account amplitude and phase-frequency characteristics. Normal load variations impact car wheel braking subjected to disturbances. The closer slip to the critical point is, the higher the impact is. In the super-critical area, load variations cause fast wheel blocking.

Resource Balancing Control Allocation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Frost, Susan A.; Bodson, Marc

2010-01-01

Next generation aircraft with a large number of actuators will require advanced control allocation methods to compute the actuator commands needed to follow desired trajectories while respecting system constraints. Previously, algorithms were proposed to minimize the l1 or l2 norms of the tracking error and of the control effort. The paper discusses the alternative choice of using the l1 norm for minimization of the tracking error and a normalized l(infinity) norm, or sup norm, for minimization of the control effort. The algorithm computes the norm of the actuator deflections scaled by the actuator limits. Minimization of the control effort then translates into the minimization of the maximum actuator deflection as a percentage of its range of motion. The paper shows how the problem can be solved effectively by converting it into a linear program and solving it using a simplex algorithm. Properties of the algorithm are investigated through examples. In particular, the min-max criterion results in a type of resource balancing, where the resources are the control surfaces and the algorithm balances these resources to achieve the desired command. A study of the sensitivity of the algorithms to the data is presented, which shows that the normalized l(infinity) algorithm has the lowest sensitivity, although high sensitivities are observed whenever the limits of performance are reached.

Sexual self-esteem in mothers of normal and mentally-retarded children.

PubMed

Tavakolizadeh, Jahanshir; Amiri, Mostafa; Nejad, Fahimeh Rastgoo

2017-06-01

Sexual self-esteem is negatively influenced by the stressful experiences in lifetime. This study compared the sexual self-esteem and its components in mothers with normal and mentally-retarded children in Qaen city, in 2014. A total of 120 mothers were selected and assigned into two groups of 60 samples based on convenient sampling method and randomized multiple stage sampling. Both groups completed sexual self-esteem questionnaire. The data were analyzed employing t-test through SPSS software version15. The results showed that the rate of sexual self-esteem in mothers of mentally-retarded children decreased significantly compared with that of mothers with normal children (p<0.05). Moreover, the mean scores of all components of sexual self-esteem including skill and experience, attractiveness, control, moral judgment, and adaptiveness in mothers of mentally-retarded children were significantly less than those of mothers with normal children (p <0.05). Therefore, it is recommended that self-esteem, especially the sexual one, be taught to mothers of mentally-retarded children by specialists.

Fish Oil Supplementation and Urinary Oxalate Excretion in Normal Subjects on a Low-oxalate Diet

PubMed Central

Lange, Jessica N.; Mufarrij, Patrick W.; Easter, Linda; Knight, John; Holmes, Ross P.; Assimos, Dean G.

2014-01-01

OBJECTIVE To determine if fish oil supplementation reduces endogenous oxalate synthesis in healthy subjects. MATERIALS AND METHODS Fifteen healthy non–stone-forming adults participated in this study. Subjects first abstained from using vitamins, medications, or foods enriched in omega-3 fatty acids for 30 days. Next, they collected two 24-hour urine specimens while consuming a self-selected diet. Subjects consumed an extremely low-oxalate and normal-calcium diet for 5 days and collected 24-hour urine specimens on the last 3 days of this diet. Next, the subjects took 2 fish oil capsules containing 650-mg eicosapentaenoic acid and 450-mg docosahexaenoic acid twice daily for 30 days. They consumed a self-selected diet on days 1–25 and the controlled diet on days 26–30. Twenty-four-hour urine samples were collected on days 28–30. Excretion levels of urinary analytes including oxalate and glycolate were analyzed. RESULTS Although there was a significant reduction in urinary oxalate, magnesium, and potassium excretions and an increase in uric acid excretion during the controlled dietary phases compared with the self-selected diet, there were no significant differences in their excretion during controlled diet phases with and without fish oil supplementation. CONCLUSION These results suggest that fish oil supplementation does not reduce endogenous oxalate synthesis or urinary oxalate excretion in normal adults during periods of extremely low oxalate intake. However, these results do not challenge the previously described reduction in urinary oxalate excretion demonstrated in normal subjects consuming a moderate amount of oxalate in conjunction with fish oil. PMID:25102784

Radiobiological Impact of Reduced Margins and Treatment Technique for Prostate Cancer in Terms of Tumor Control Probability (TCP) and Normal Tissue Complication Probability (NTCP)

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

Jensen, Ingelise, E-mail: inje@rn.d; Carl, Jesper; Lund, Bente

2011-07-01

Dose escalation in prostate radiotherapy is limited by normal tissue toxicities. The aim of this study was to assess the impact of margin size on tumor control and side effects for intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) and 3D conformal radiotherapy (3DCRT) treatment plans with increased dose. Eighteen patients with localized prostate cancer were enrolled. 3DCRT and IMRT plans were compared for a variety of margin sizes. A marker detectable on daily portal images was presupposed for narrow margins. Prescribed dose was 82 Gy within 41 fractions to the prostate clinical target volume (CTV). Tumor control probability (TCP) calculations based on themore » Poisson model including the linear quadratic approach were performed. Normal tissue complication probability (NTCP) was calculated for bladder, rectum and femoral heads according to the Lyman-Kutcher-Burman method. All plan types presented essentially identical TCP values and very low NTCP for bladder and femoral heads. Mean doses for these critical structures reached a minimum for IMRT with reduced margins. Two endpoints for rectal complications were analyzed. A marked decrease in NTCP for IMRT plans with narrow margins was seen for mild RTOG grade 2/3 as well as for proctitis/necrosis/stenosis/fistula, for which NTCP <7% was obtained. For equivalent TCP values, sparing of normal tissue was demonstrated with the narrow margin approach. The effect was more pronounced for IMRT than 3DCRT, with respect to NTCP for mild, as well as severe, rectal complications.« less

Multicentre imaging measurements for oncology and in the brain

PubMed Central

Tofts, P S; Collins, D J

2011-01-01

Multicentre imaging studies of brain tumours (and other tumour and brain studies) can enable a large group of patients to be studied, yet they present challenging technical problems. Differences between centres can be characterised, understood and minimised by use of phantoms (test objects) and normal control subjects. Normal white matter forms an excellent standard for some MRI parameters (e.g. diffusion or magnetisation transfer) because the normal biological range is low (<2–3%) and the measurements will reflect this, provided the acquisition sequence is controlled. MR phantoms have benefits and they are necessary for some parameters (e.g. tumour volume). Techniques for temperature monitoring and control are given. In a multicentre study or treatment trial, between-centre variation should be minimised. In a cross-sectional study, all groups should be represented at each centre and the effect of centre added as a covariate in the statistical analysis. In a serial study of disease progression or treatment effect, individual patients should receive all of their scans at the same centre; the power is then limited by the within-subject reproducibility. Sources of variation that are generic to any imaging method and analysis parameters include MR sequence mismatch, B1 errors, CT effective tube potential, region of interest generation and segmentation procedure. Specific tissue parameters are analysed in detail to identify the major sources of variation and the most appropriate phantoms or normal studies. These include dynamic contrast-enhanced and dynamic susceptibility contrast gadolinium imaging, T1, diffusion, magnetisation transfer, spectroscopy, tumour volume, arterial spin labelling and CT perfusion. PMID:22433831

Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) Evaluation for Anterior Disc Displacement of the Temporomandibular Joint.

PubMed

Yang, Zhongjun; Wang, Mingguo; Ma, Yingwei; Lai, Qingguo; Tong, Dongdong; Zhang, Fenghe; Dong, Lili

2017-02-08

BACKGROUND Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is the criterion standard imaging technique for visualization of the temporomandibular joint (TMJ) region, and is currently considered the optimum modality for comprehensive evaluation in patients with temporomandibular joint disorder (TMD). This study was aimed at finding the value of MRI in pre-clinical diagnosis of TMJ disc displacement. MATERIAL AND METHODS Patients primarily diagnosed as having anterior disc displacement by clinical symptoms and X-ray were selected in the present study. MRI was used to evaluate surrounding anatomical structures and position, as well as morphological and signal intensity change between patients and normal controls. RESULTS Posterior band position was significantly different between the patient group and control group. At the maximum opened-mouth position, the location of disc intermediate zone returned to normal. At closed-mouth position, the thickness of anterior and middle, but not posterior, band increased. The motion range of the condyle in the anterior disc displacement without reduction (ADDWR) patient group was significantly less than the value in the anterior disc displacement with reduction (ADDR) patient group and the control group. Whether at closed-mouth position or maximum opened-mouth position, the exudate volume in the patient group was greater than in the normal group. CONCLUSIONS MRI can be successfully used to evaluate multiple morphological changes at different mouth positions of normal volunteers and patients. The disc-condyle relationship can serve as an important indicator in assessing anterior disc displacement, and can be used to distinguish disc displacement with or without reduction.

Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) Evaluation for Anterior Disc Displacement of the Temporomandibular Joint

PubMed Central

Yang, Zhongjun; Wang, Mingguo; Ma, Yingwei; Lai, Qingguo; Tong, Dongdong; Zhang, Fenghe; Dong, Lili

2017-01-01

Background Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is the criterion standard imaging technique for visualization of the temporomandibular joint (TMJ) region, and is currently considered the optimum modality for comprehensive evaluation in patients with temporomandibular joint disorder (TMD). This study was aimed at finding the value of MRI in pre-clinical diagnosis of TMJ disc displacement. Material/Methods Patients primarily diagnosed as having anterior disc displacement by clinical symptoms and X-ray were selected in the present study. MRI was used to evaluate surrounding anatomical structures and position, as well as morphological and signal intensity change between patients and normal controls. Results Posterior band position was significantly different between the patient group and control group. At the maximum opened-mouth position, the location of disc intermediate zone returned to normal. At closed-mouth position, the thickness of anterior and middle, but not posterior, band increased. The motion range of the condyle in the anterior disc displacement without reduction (ADDWR) patient group was significantly less than the value in the anterior disc displacement with reduction (ADDR) patient group and the control group. Whether at closed-mouth position or maximum opened-mouth position, the exudate volume in the patient group was greater than in the normal group. Conclusions MRI can be successfully used to evaluate multiple morphological changes at different mouth positions of normal volunteers and patients. The disc-condyle relationship can serve as an important indicator in assessing anterior disc displacement, and can be used to distinguish disc displacement with or without reduction. PMID:28176754

A transition-based joint model for disease named entity recognition and normalization.

PubMed

Lou, Yinxia; Zhang, Yue; Qian, Tao; Li, Fei; Xiong, Shufeng; Ji, Donghong

2017-08-01

Disease named entities play a central role in many areas of biomedical research, and automatic recognition and normalization of such entities have received increasing attention in biomedical research communities. Existing methods typically used pipeline models with two independent phases: (i) a disease named entity recognition (DER) system is used to find the boundaries of mentions in text and (ii) a disease named entity normalization (DEN) system is used to connect the mentions recognized to concepts in a controlled vocabulary. The main problems of such models are: (i) there is error propagation from DER to DEN and (ii) DEN is useful for DER, but pipeline models cannot utilize this. We propose a transition-based model to jointly perform disease named entity recognition and normalization, casting the output construction process into an incremental state transition process, learning sequences of transition actions globally, which correspond to joint structural outputs. Beam search and online structured learning are used, with learning being designed to guide search. Compared with the only existing method for joint DEN and DER, our method allows non-local features to be used, which significantly improves the accuracies. We evaluate our model on two corpora: the BioCreative V Chemical Disease Relation (CDR) corpus and the NCBI disease corpus. Experiments show that our joint framework achieves significantly higher performances compared to competitive pipeline baselines. Our method compares favourably to other state-of-the-art approaches. Data and code are available at https://github.com/louyinxia/jointRN. dhji@whu.edu.cn. © The Author (2017). Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com

Is Wildlife Fertility Control Always Humane?

PubMed Central

Hampton, Jordan O.; Hyndman, Timothy H.; Barnes, Anne; Collins, Teresa

2015-01-01

Simple Summary There are various fertility control methods (modalities) currently available that aim to reduce the abundance of problematic free-ranging mammalian wildlife. Here, we propose that dissimilarities in the mechanism of action indicate these methods produce great variation in animal welfare outcomes. We present a framework to assist managers in minimising animal welfare risks. Abstract Investigation of fertility control techniques to reduce reproductive rates in wildlife populations has been the source of much research. Techniques targeting wildlife fertility have been diverse. Most research into fertility control methods has focused upon efficacy, with few studies rigorously assessing animal welfare beyond opportunistic anecdote. However, fertility control techniques represent several very different mechanisms of action (modalities), each with their own different animal welfare risks. We provide a review of the mechanisms of action for fertility control methods, and consider the role of manipulation of reproductive hormones (“endocrine suppression”) for the long-term ability of animals to behave normally. We consider the potential welfare costs of animal manipulation techniques that are required to administer fertility treatments, including capture, restraint, surgery and drug delivery, and the requirement for repeated administration within the lifetime of an animal. We challenge the assumption that fertility control modalities generate similar and desirable animal welfare outcomes, and we argue that knowledge of reproductive physiology and behaviour should be more adeptly applied to wild animal management decisions. We encourage wildlife managers to carefully assess long-term behavioural risks, associated animal handling techniques, and the importance of positive welfare states when selecting fertility control methods as a means of population control. PMID:26506395

Radiobiological Determination of Dose Escalation and Normal Tissue Toxicity in Definitive Chemoradiation Therapy for Esophageal Cancer☆

PubMed Central

Warren, Samantha; Partridge, Mike; Carrington, Rhys; Hurt, Chris; Crosby, Thomas; Hawkins, Maria A.

2014-01-01

Purpose This study investigated the trade-off in tumor coverage and organ-at-risk sparing when applying dose escalation for concurrent chemoradiation therapy (CRT) of mid-esophageal cancer, using radiobiological modeling to estimate local control and normal tissue toxicity. Methods and Materials Twenty-one patients with mid-esophageal cancer were selected from the SCOPE1 database (International Standard Randomised Controlled Trials number 47718479), with a mean planning target volume (PTV) of 327 cm3. A boost volume, PTV2 (GTV + 0.5 cm margin), was created. Radiobiological modeling of tumor control probability (TCP) estimated the dose required for a clinically significant (+20%) increase in local control as 62.5 Gy/25 fractions. A RapidArc (RA) plan with a simultaneously integrated boost (SIB) to PTV2 (RA62.5) was compared to a standard dose plan of 50 Gy/25 fractions (RA50). Dose-volume metrics and estimates of normal tissue complication probability (NTCP) for heart and lungs were compared. Results Clinically acceptable dose escalation was feasible for 16 of 21 patients, with significant gains (>18%) in tumor control from 38.2% (RA50) to 56.3% (RA62.5), and only a small increase in predicted toxicity: median heart NTCP 4.4% (RA50) versus 5.6% (RA62.5) P<.001 and median lung NTCP 6.5% (RA50) versus 7.5% (RA62.5) P<.001. Conclusions Dose escalation to the GTV to improve local control is possible when overlap between PTV and organ-at-risk (<8% heart volume and <2.5% lung volume overlap for this study) generates only negligible increase in lung or heart toxicity. These predictions from radiobiological modeling should be tested in future clinical trials. PMID:25304796

Acacia nilotica leave extract and glyburide: comparison of fasting blood glucose, serum insulin, beta-thromboglubulin levels and platelet aggregation in streptozotocin induced diabetic rats.

PubMed

Asad, Munnaza; Munir, Tahir Ahmad; Afzal, Nasir

2011-03-01

To evaluate the hypoglycaemic and anti-platelet aggregation effect of aqueous methanol extract of Acacia Nilotica (AN) leaves compared with glyburide on streptozotocin induced diabetic rats. Diabetes mellitus was induced in 90 out of 120 albino rats by administering 50 mg/kg body weight (b.w) streptozotocin and was confirmed by measuring fasting blood glucose level >200 mg/dL on 4th post-induction day. The rats were equally divided into 4 groups, A (normal control), B (diabetic control), C (diabetic rats treated with AN extract) and group D (diabetic rats treated with glyburide). The rats of group C and D were given 300 mg/kg b.w AN extract and 900 microgm/kg b.w glyburide respectively for 3 weeks. Blood glucose was measured by glucometer, platelet aggregation by Dia-Med method and insulin and beta-thromboglobulin by ELISA technique. A significant increase (p<0.05) in fasting blood glucose, beta-thromboglobulin and platelet aggregation and a significant decrease (p<0.05) in insulin levels was observed in streptozotocin induced diabetic rats than the normal controls. The rats treated with AN extract and glyburide showed a significant decrease (p<0.05) in fasting blood glucose and increase (p<0.05) in insulin levels than the diabetic control rats. However, the levels in both the treatment groups remained significantly different than the normal controls. A significant decrease (p<0.05) in beta-thromboglobulin levels was seen in diabetic rats treated with glyburide than the diabetic control rats and diabetic rats treated with AN extract. AN leaves extract result into hypoglycaemic and anti-platelet aggregation activity in diabetic rats as that of glyburide.

New spatial upscaling methods for multi-point measurements: From normal to p-normal

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Feng; Li, Xin

2017-12-01

Careful attention must be given to determining whether the geophysical variables of interest are normally distributed, since the assumption of a normal distribution may not accurately reflect the probability distribution of some variables. As a generalization of the normal distribution, the p-normal distribution and its corresponding maximum likelihood estimation (the least power estimation, LPE) were introduced in upscaling methods for multi-point measurements. Six methods, including three normal-based methods, i.e., arithmetic average, least square estimation, block kriging, and three p-normal-based methods, i.e., LPE, geostatistics LPE and inverse distance weighted LPE are compared in two types of experiments: a synthetic experiment to evaluate the performance of the upscaling methods in terms of accuracy, stability and robustness, and a real-world experiment to produce real-world upscaling estimates using soil moisture data obtained from multi-scale observations. The results show that the p-normal-based methods produced lower mean absolute errors and outperformed the other techniques due to their universality and robustness. We conclude that introducing appropriate statistical parameters into an upscaling strategy can substantially improve the estimation, especially if the raw measurements are disorganized; however, further investigation is required to determine which parameter is the most effective among variance, spatial correlation information and parameter p.

Supervisory control and diagnostics system for the mirror fusion test facility: overview and status 1980

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

McGoldrick, P.R.

1981-01-01

The Mirror Fusion Test Facility (MFTF) is a complex facility requiring a highly-computerized Supervisory Control and Diagnostics System (SCDS) to monitor and provide control over ten subsystems; three of which require true process control. SCDS will provide physicists with a method of studying machine and plasma behavior by acquiring and processing up to four megabytes of plasma diagnostic information every five minutes. A high degree of availability and throughput is provided by a distributed computer system (nine 32-bit minicomputers on shared memory). Data, distributed across SCDS, is managed by a high-bandwidth Distributed Database Management System. The MFTF operators' control roommore » consoles use color television monitors with touch sensitive screens; this is a totally new approach. The method of handling deviations to normal machine operation and how the operator should be notified and assisted in the resolution of problems has been studied and a system designed.« less

Improving the dictionary lookup approach for disease normalization using enhanced dictionary and query expansion

PubMed Central

Jonnagaddala, Jitendra; Jue, Toni Rose; Chang, Nai-Wen; Dai, Hong-Jie

2016-01-01

The rapidly increasing biomedical literature calls for the need of an automatic approach in the recognition and normalization of disease mentions in order to increase the precision and effectivity of disease based information retrieval. A variety of methods have been proposed to deal with the problem of disease named entity recognition and normalization. Among all the proposed methods, conditional random fields (CRFs) and dictionary lookup method are widely used for named entity recognition and normalization respectively. We herein developed a CRF-based model to allow automated recognition of disease mentions, and studied the effect of various techniques in improving the normalization results based on the dictionary lookup approach. The dataset from the BioCreative V CDR track was used to report the performance of the developed normalization methods and compare with other existing dictionary lookup based normalization methods. The best configuration achieved an F-measure of 0.77 for the disease normalization, which outperformed the best dictionary lookup based baseline method studied in this work by an F-measure of 0.13. Database URL: https://github.com/TCRNBioinformatics/DiseaseExtract PMID:27504009

Psychometric Evaluation of Children with Auditory Processing Disorder (APD): Comparison with Normal-Hearing and Clinical Non-APD Groups

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Iliadou, Vasiliki; Bamiou, Doris Eva

2012-01-01

Purpose: To investigate the clinical utility of the Children's Auditory Processing Performance Scale (CHAPPS; Smoski, Brunt, & Tannahill, 1992) to evaluate listening ability in 12-year-old children referred for auditory processing assessment. Method: This was a prospective case control study of 97 children (age range = 11;4 [years;months] to…

Diagnosis of ocular and glandular toxoplasmosis using the Indian ink immunoreaction.

PubMed

Safar, E H; Azab, M E; Osman, Z M

1984-01-01

The Indian ink immunoreaction (IIR) as a method for diagnosis of Toxoplasma infection has been evaluated. 68 sera from patients with suspected ocular and glandular toxoplasmosis and 30 control sera from normal individuals were tested using both indirect fluorescent antibody test (IFAT) and IIR. The test proved to be specific, simple and rapid especially for screening purposes.

"Exercise Dependence"--A Problem or Natural Result of High Activity?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Phelan, Suzanne; Bond, Dale S.; Lang, Wei; Jordan, Dustin; Wing, Rena R.

2011-01-01

Objectives: To compare physical activity (PA) and exercise dependence (ED) in 267 weight-loss maintainers (WLM) and 213 normal-weight (NW) controls. Methods: PA and ED assessed via accelerometery and the Exercise Dependence Questionnaire. Results: WLM had higher PA levels and ED scores than those of NW (P less than 0.0001). WLM status (P = 0.006)…

A new optical head tracing reflected light for nanoprofiler

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Okuda, K.; Okita, K.; Tokuta, Y.; Kitayama, T.; Nakano, M.; Kudo, R.; Yamamura, K.; Endo, K.

2014-09-01

High accuracy optical elements are applied in various fields. For example, ultraprecise aspherical mirrors are necessary for developing third-generation synchrotron radiation and XFEL (X-ray Free Electron LASER) sources. In order to make such high accuracy optical elements, it is necessary to realize the measurement of aspherical mirrors with high accuracy. But there has been no measurement method which simultaneously achieves these demands yet. So, we develop the nanoprofiler that can directly measure the any surfaces figures with high accuracy. The nanoprofiler gets the normal vector and the coordinate of a measurement point with using LASER and the QPD (Quadrant Photo Diode) as a detector. And, from the normal vectors and their coordinates, the three-dimensional figure is calculated. In order to measure the figure, the nanoprofiler controls its five motion axis numerically to make the reflected light enter to the QPD's center. The control is based on the sample's design formula. We measured a concave spherical mirror with a radius of curvature of 400 mm by the deflection method which calculates the figure error from QPD's output, and compared the results with those using a Fizeau interferometer. The profile was consistent within the range of system error. The deflection method can't neglect the error caused from the QPD's spatial irregularity of sensitivity. In order to improve it, we have contrived the zero method which moves the QPD by the piezoelectric motion stage and calculates the figure error from the displacement.

On the Normal Force Mechanotransduction of Human Umbilical Vein Endothelial Cells

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vahabikashi, Amir; Wang, Qiuyun; Wilson, James; Wu, Qianhong; Vucbmss Team

2016-11-01

In this paper, we report a cellular biomechanics study to examine the normal force mechanotransduction of Human Umbilical Vein Endothelial Cells (HUVECs) with their implications on hypertension. Endothelial cells sense mechanical forces and adjust their structure and function accordingly. The mechanotransduction of normal forces plays a vital role in hypertension due to the higher pressure buildup inside blood vessels. Herein, HUVECs were cultured to full confluency and then exposed to different mechanical loadings using a novel microfluidic flow chamber. One various pressure levels while keeps the shear stress constant inside the flow chamber. Three groups of cells were examined, the control group (neither shear nor normal stresses), the normal pressure group (10 dyne/cm2 of shear stress and 95 mmHg of pressure), and the hypertensive group (10 dyne/cm2 of shear stress and 142 mmHg of pressure). Cellular response characterized by RT-PCR method indicates that, COX-2 expressed under normal pressure but not high pressure; Mn-SOD expressed under both normal and high pressure while this response was stronger for normal pressure; FOS and e-NOS did not respond under any condition. The differential behavior of COX-2 and Mn-SOD in response to changes in pressure, is instrumental for better understanding the pathogenesis of hypertensive cardiovascular diseases. This research was supported by the National Science Foundation under Award #1511096.

A Comparison of a Maximum Exertion Method and a Model-Based, Sub-Maximum Exertion Method for Normalizing Trunk EMG

PubMed Central

Cholewicki, Jacek; van Dieën, Jaap; Lee, Angela S.; Reeves, N. Peter

2011-01-01

The problem with normalizing EMG data from patients with painful symptoms (e.g. low back pain) is that such patients may be unwilling or unable to perform maximum exertions. Furthermore, the normalization to a reference signal, obtained from a maximal or sub-maximal task, tends to mask differences that might exist as a result of pathology. Therefore, we presented a novel method (GAIN method) for normalizing trunk EMG data that overcomes both problems. The GAIN method does not require maximal exertions (MVC) and tends to preserve distinct features in the muscle recruitment patterns for various tasks. Ten healthy subjects performed various isometric trunk exertions, while EMG data from 10 muscles were recorded and later normalized using the GAIN and MVC methods. The MVC method resulted in smaller variation between subjects when tasks were executed at the three relative force levels (10%, 20%, and 30% MVC), while the GAIN method resulted in smaller variation between subjects when the tasks were executed at the three absolute force levels (50 N, 100 N, and 145 N). This outcome implies that the MVC method provides a relative measure of muscle effort, while the GAIN-normalized EMG data gives an estimate of the absolute muscle force. Therefore, the GAIN-normalized EMG data tends to preserve the EMG differences between subjects in the way they recruit their muscles to execute various tasks, while the MVC-normalized data will tend to suppress such differences. The appropriate choice of the EMG normalization method will depend on the specific question that an experimenter is attempting to answer. PMID:21665489

Large-scale grain growth in the solid-state process: From "Abnormal" to "Normal"

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jiang, Minhong; Han, Shengnan; Zhang, Jingwei; Song, Jiageng; Hao, Chongyan; Deng, Manjiao; Ge, Lingjing; Gu, Zhengfei; Liu, Xinyu

2018-02-01

Abnormal grain growth (AGG) has been a common phenomenon during the ceramic or metallurgy processing since prehistoric times. However, usually it had been very difficult to grow big single crystal (centimeter scale over) by using the AGG method due to its so-called occasionality. Based on the AGG, a solid-state crystal growth (SSCG) method was developed. The greatest advantages of the SSCG technology are the simplicity and cost-effectiveness of the technique. But the traditional SSCG technology is still uncontrollable. This article first summarizes the history and current status of AGG, and then reports recent technical developments from AGG to SSCG, and further introduces a new seed-free, solid-state crystal growth (SFSSCG) technology. This SFSSCG method allows us to repeatedly and controllably fabricate large-scale single crystals with appreciable high quality and relatively stable chemical composition at a relatively low temperature, at least in (K0.5Na0.5)NbO3(KNN) and Cu-Al-Mn systems. In this sense, the exaggerated grain growth is no longer 'Abnormal' but 'Normal' since it is able to be artificially controllable and repeated now. This article also provides a crystal growth model to qualitatively explain the mechanism of SFSSCG for KNN system. Compared with the traditional melt and high temperature solution growth methods, the SFSSCG method has the advantages of low energy consumption, low investment, simple technique, composition homogeneity overcoming the issues with incongruent melting and high volatility. This SFSSCG could be helpful for improving the mechanical and physical properties of single crystals, which should be promising for industrial applications.

Tuberculosis disease diagnosis using artificial immune recognition system.

PubMed

Shamshirband, Shahaboddin; Hessam, Somayeh; Javidnia, Hossein; Amiribesheli, Mohsen; Vahdat, Shaghayegh; Petković, Dalibor; Gani, Abdullah; Kiah, Miss Laiha Mat

2014-01-01

There is a high risk of tuberculosis (TB) disease diagnosis among conventional methods. This study is aimed at diagnosing TB using hybrid machine learning approaches. Patient epicrisis reports obtained from the Pasteur Laboratory in the north of Iran were used. All 175 samples have twenty features. The features are classified based on incorporating a fuzzy logic controller and artificial immune recognition system. The features are normalized through a fuzzy rule based on a labeling system. The labeled features are categorized into normal and tuberculosis classes using the Artificial Immune Recognition Algorithm. Overall, the highest classification accuracy reached was for the 0.8 learning rate (α) values. The artificial immune recognition system (AIRS) classification approaches using fuzzy logic also yielded better diagnosis results in terms of detection accuracy compared to other empirical methods. Classification accuracy was 99.14%, sensitivity 87.00%, and specificity 86.12%.

Diabetes Impairs the Vascular Recruitment of Normal Stem Cells by Oxidant Damage, Reversed by Increases in pAMPK, Heme Oxygenase-1, and Adiponectin

PubMed Central

Sambuceti, Gianmario; Morbelli, Silvia; Vanella, Luca; Kusmic, Claudia; Marini, Cecilia; Massollo, Michela; Augeri, Carla; Corselli, Mirko; Ghersi, Chiara; Chiavarina, Barbara; Rodella, Luigi F; L'Abbate, Antonio; Drummond, George; Abraham, Nader G; Frassoni, Francesco

2009-01-01

Background Atherosclerosis progression is accelerated in diabetes mellitus (DM) by either direct endothelial damage or reduced availability and function of endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs). Both alterations are related to increased oxidant damage. Aim We examined if DM specifically impairs vascular signaling, thereby reducing the recruitment of normal EPCs, and if increases in antioxidant levels by induction of heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1) can reverse this condition. Methods Control and diabetic rats were treated with the HO-1 inducer cobalt protoporphyrin (CoPP) once a week for 3 weeks. Eight weeks after the development of diabetes, EPCs harvested from the aorta of syngenic inbred normal rats and labeled with technetium-99m-exametazime were infused via the femoral vein to estimate their blood clearance and aortic recruitment. Circulating endothelial cells (CECs) and the aortic expression of thrombomodulin (TM), CD31, and endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) were used to measure endothelial damage. Results DM reduced blood clearance and aortic recruitment of EPCs. Both parameters were returned to control levels by CoPP treatment without affecting EPC kinetics in normal animals. These abnormalities of EPCs in DM were paralleled by reduced serum adiponectin levels, increased numbers of CECs, reduced endothelial expression of phosphorylated eNOS, and reduced levels of TM, CD31, and phosphorylated AMP-activated protein kinase (pAMPK). CoPP treatment restored all of these parameters to normal levels. Conclusion Type II DM and its related oxidant damage hamper the interaction between the vascular wall and normal EPCs by mechanisms that are, at least partially, reversed by the induction of HO-1 gene expression, adiponectin, and pAMPK levels. PMID:19038792

Temperature control at DBS electrodes using a heat sink: experimentally validated FEM model of DBS lead architecture.

PubMed

Elwassif, Maged M; Datta, Abhishek; Rahman, Asif; Bikson, Marom

2012-08-01

There is a growing interest in the use of deep brain stimulation (DBS) for the treatment of medically refractory movement disorders and other neurological and psychiatric conditions. The extent of temperature increases around DBS electrodes during normal operation (joule heating and increased metabolic activity) or coupling with an external source (e.g. magnetic resonance imaging) remains poorly understood and methods to mitigate temperature increases are being actively investigated. We developed a heat transfer finite element method (FEM) simulation of DBS incorporating the realistic architecture of Medtronic 3389 leads. The temperature changes were analyzed considering different electrode configurations, stimulation protocols and tissue properties. The heat-transfer model results were then validated using micro-thermocouple measurements during DBS lead stimulation in a saline bath. FEM results indicate that lead design (materials and geometry) may have a central role in controlling temperature rise by conducting heat. We show how modifying lead design can effectively control temperature increases. The robustness of this heat-sink approach over complimentary heat-mitigation technologies follows from several features: (1) it is insensitive to the mechanisms of heating (e.g. nature of magnetic coupling); (2) it does not interfere with device efficacy; and (3) can be practically implemented in a broad range of implanted devices without modifying the normal device operations or the implant procedure.

Temperature control at DBS electrodes using a heat sink: experimentally validated FEM model of DBS lead architecture

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Elwassif, Maged M.; Datta, Abhishek; Rahman, Asif; Bikson, Marom

2012-08-01

There is a growing interest in the use of deep brain stimulation (DBS) for the treatment of medically refractory movement disorders and other neurological and psychiatric conditions. The extent of temperature increases around DBS electrodes during normal operation (joule heating and increased metabolic activity) or coupling with an external source (e.g. magnetic resonance imaging) remains poorly understood and methods to mitigate temperature increases are being actively investigated. We developed a heat transfer finite element method (FEM) simulation of DBS incorporating the realistic architecture of Medtronic 3389 leads. The temperature changes were analyzed considering different electrode configurations, stimulation protocols and tissue properties. The heat-transfer model results were then validated using micro-thermocouple measurements during DBS lead stimulation in a saline bath. FEM results indicate that lead design (materials and geometry) may have a central role in controlling temperature rise by conducting heat. We show how modifying lead design can effectively control temperature increases. The robustness of this heat-sink approach over complimentary heat-mitigation technologies follows from several features: (1) it is insensitive to the mechanisms of heating (e.g. nature of magnetic coupling); (2) it does not interfere with device efficacy; and (3) can be practically implemented in a broad range of implanted devices without modifying the normal device operations or the implant procedure.

EMG normalization method based on grade 3 of manual muscle testing: Within- and between-day reliability of normalization tasks and application to gait analysis.

PubMed

Tabard-Fougère, Anne; Rose-Dulcina, Kevin; Pittet, Vincent; Dayer, Romain; Vuillerme, Nicolas; Armand, Stéphane

2018-02-01

Electromyography (EMG) is an important parameter in Clinical Gait Analysis (CGA), and is generally interpreted with timing of activation. EMG amplitude comparisons between individuals, muscles or days need normalization. There is no consensus on existing methods. The gold standard, maximum voluntary isometric contraction (MVIC), is not adapted to pathological populations because patients are often unable to perform an MVIC. The normalization method inspired by the isometric grade 3 of manual muscle testing (isoMMT3), which is the ability of a muscle to maintain a position against gravity, could be an interesting alternative. The aim of this study was to evaluate the within- and between-day reliability of the isoMMT3 EMG normalizing method during gait compared with the conventional MVIC method. Lower limb muscles EMG (gluteus medius, rectus femoris, tibialis anterior, semitendinosus) were recorded bilaterally in nine healthy participants (five males, aged 29.7±6.2years, BMI 22.7±3.3kgm -2 ) giving a total of 18 independent legs. Three repeated measurements of the isoMMT3 and MVIC exercises were performed with an EMG recording. EMG amplitude of the muscles during gait was normalized by these two methods. This protocol was repeated one week later. Within- and between-day reliability of normalization tasks were similar for isoMMT3 and MVIC methods. Within- and between-day reliability of gait EMG normalized by isoMMT3 was higher than with MVIC normalization. These results indicate that EMG normalization using isoMMT3 is a reliable method with no special equipment needed and will support CGA interpretation. The next step will be to evaluate this method in pathological populations. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Hypoglycemic and Antidiabetic Effect of Pleurotus sajor-caju Aqueous Extract in Normal and Streptozotocin-Induced Diabetic Rats

PubMed Central

Ng, Sze Han; Mohd Zain, Mohd Shazwan; Zakaria, Fatariah; Wan Ishak, Wan Rosli; Wan Ahmad, Wan Amir Nizam

2015-01-01

Introduction. Pleurotus sajor-caju (PSC) is an edible oyster mushroom featuring high nutritional values and pharmacological properties. Objective. To investigate the hypoglycemic and antidiabetic effects of single and repeated oral administration of PSC aqueous extract in normal and diabetic rats. Materials and Methods. A single dose of 500, 750, or 1000 mg/kg of the PSC extract was given to experimental rats to determine the effects on blood glucose (BG) and oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT). The effective dose (750 mg/kg) of PSC extract was repeatedly administrated daily for 21 days in diabetic rats to examine its antidiabetic effects in terms of BG control, body weight, urine sugar, HbA1c, and several serum profiles. Results. The dose of 750 mg/kg showed the most significant BG reduction (23.5%) in normal rats 6 hours after administration in BG study (p < 0.05). In OGTT study, the same dose produced a maximum BG fall of 41.3% in normal rats and 36.5% in diabetic rats 3 hours after glucose administration. In 21-day study, treated diabetic rats showed significant improvement in terms of fasting BG, body weight, and urine sugar as compared to control diabetic rats. Conclusion. The study evidenced scientifically the beneficial use of PSC as an alternative medicine in diabetes management. PMID:26682215

Omeprazole and PGC-formulated heparin binding epidermal growth factor normalizes fasting blood glucose and suppresses insulitis in multiple low dose streptozotocin diabetes model

PubMed Central

Castillo, Gerardo M.; Nishimoto-Ashfield, Akiko; Banerjee, Aryamitra A.; Landolfi, Jennifer A.; Lyubimov, Alexander V.; Bolotin, Elijah M.

2013-01-01

Purpose Our objective was to develop novel nanocarriers (protected graft copolymer, PGC) that improve the stability of heparin binding EGF (HBEGF) and gastrin and then to use PGC-formulated HBEGF (PGC-HBEGF) and Omeprazole (+/− PGC-gastrin) for normalizing fasting blood glucose (FBG) and improving islet function in diabetic mice. Method HBEGF, PGC-HBEGF, Omeprazole, Omeprazole+PGC-HBEGF, Omeprazole+PGC-gastrin+PGC-HBEGF and epidermal growth factor (EGF)+gastrin were tested in multiple low dose streptozotocin diabetic mice. Results Omeprazole+PGC-HBEGF normalized FBG and is better than EGF+gastrin at improving islet function and decreasing insulitis. Groups treated with Omeprazole, Omeprazole+PGC-HBEGF, or EGF+gastrin have significantly improved islet function versus saline control. All animals that received PGC-HBEGF had significantly reduced islet insulitis versus saline control. Non-FBG was lower for Omeprazole+PGC-gastrin+PGC-HBEGF but Omeprazole+PGC-HBEGF alone showed better FBG and glucose tolerance. Conclusions Omeprazole+PGC-HBEGF provides a sustained exposure to both EGFRA and gastrin, improves islet function, and decreases insulitis in multiple low dose streptozotocin diabetic mice. Although HBEGF or EGF elevates non-FBG, it facilitates a reduction of insulitis and, in the presence of Omeprazole, provides normalization of FBG at the end of treatment. The study demonstrates Omeprazole and PGC-HBEGF is a viable treatment for diabetes. PMID:23793991

Normalization of Intrinsic Neural Circuits Governing Tourette's Syndrome Using Cranial Electrotherapy Stimulation.

PubMed

Qiao, Jianping; Weng, Shenhong; Wang, Pengwei; Long, Jun; Wang, Zhishun

2015-05-01

The aim of this study was to investigate the normalization of the intrinsic functional activity and connectivity of TS adolescents before and after the cranial electrotherapy stimulation (CES) with alpha stim device. We performed resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging on eight adolescents before and after CES with mean age of about nine-years old who had Tourette's syndrome with moderate to severe tics symptom. Independent component analysis (ICA) with hierarchical partner matching method was used to examine the functional connectivity between regions within cortico-striato-thalamo-cortical (CSTC) circuit. Granger causality was used to investigate effective connectivity among these regions detected by ICA. We then performed pattern classification on independent components with significant group differences that served as endophenotype markers to distinguish the adolescents between TS and the normalized ones after CES. Results showed that TS adolescents after CES treatment had stronger functional activity and connectivity in anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), caudate and posterior cingulate cortex while had weaker activity in supplementary motor area within the motor pathway compared with TS before CES. The results suggest that the functional activity and connectivity in motor pathway was suppressed while activities in the control portions within CSTC loop including ACC and caudate were increased in TS adolescents after CES compared with adolescents before CES. The normalization of the balance between motor and control portions of the CSTC circuit may result in the recovery of TS adolescents.

Evaluation of serum uric acid levels in normal pregnant Nigerian women.

PubMed

Nwagha, U I; Ejezie, F E; Iyare, E E

2009-03-01

Hypertensive disorders in pregnancy are common in our environment. The aetiology is unknown and the prognostic indicators of the severity of maternal and fetal complications are variable. The level of uric acid, which is one of the prognostic indicators, is altered in normal pregnancy and as pregnancy advances. Base line values are thus extremely important to enable reasonable prognostic assessment in hypertensive pregnancies. To determine levels of serum uric acid during normal pregnancy in University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital (UNTH) Enugu. settings and methods: Sixty- five pregnant and 65 non-pregnant women with age range 20-38 years were recruited. The pregnant women were in their second and third trimesters, attending antenatal clinic at the University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital Enugu. Serum levels of uric acid were determined for the entire subjects. The serum uric acid levels were significantly lower in the pregnant women than in controls (P < 0.001). 0.15 +/- 0.03 mmol/L in the second trimester, 0.14 +/- 0.02 mmol/L in the third trimester and 0.29 +/- 0.04 mmoL for control. The low levels in pregnancy and as pregnancy progresses should be taken into consideration when monitoring hypertensive disorders in pregnancy using serum uric acid. Thus levels that are within normal for non pregnant population may indeed be an indication for intervention in pregnancies complicated by preeclampsia.

High-resolution frequency measurement method with a wide-frequency range based on a quantized phase step law.

PubMed

Du, Baoqiang; Dong, Shaofeng; Wang, Yanfeng; Guo, Shuting; Cao, Lingzhi; Zhou, Wei; Zuo, Yandi; Liu, Dan

2013-11-01

A wide-frequency and high-resolution frequency measurement method based on the quantized phase step law is presented in this paper. Utilizing a variation law of the phase differences, the direct different frequency phase processing, and the phase group synchronization phenomenon, combining an A/D converter and the adaptive phase shifting principle, a counter gate is established in the phase coincidences at one-group intervals, which eliminates the ±1 counter error in the traditional frequency measurement method. More importantly, the direct phase comparison, the measurement, and the control between any periodic signals have been realized without frequency normalization in this method. Experimental results show that sub-picosecond resolution can be easily obtained in the frequency measurement, the frequency standard comparison, and the phase-locked control based on the phase quantization processing technique. The method may be widely used in navigation positioning, space techniques, communication, radar, astronomy, atomic frequency standards, and other high-tech fields.

[Primary culture of human normal epithelial cells].

PubMed

Tang, Yu; Xu, Wenji; Guo, Wanbei; Xie, Ming; Fang, Huilong; Chen, Chen; Zhou, Jun

2017-11-28

The traditional primary culture methods of human normal epithelial cells have disadvantages of low activity of cultured cells, the low cultivated rate and complicated operation. To solve these problems, researchers made many studies on culture process of human normal primary epithelial cell. In this paper, we mainly introduce some methods used in separation and purification of human normal epithelial cells, such as tissue separation method, enzyme digestion separation method, mechanical brushing method, red blood cell lysis method, percoll layered medium density gradient separation method. We also review some methods used in the culture and subculture, including serum-free medium combined with low mass fraction serum culture method, mouse tail collagen coating method, and glass culture bottle combined with plastic culture dish culture method. The biological characteristics of human normal epithelial cells, the methods of immunocytochemical staining, trypan blue exclusion are described. Moreover, the factors affecting the aseptic operation, the conditions of the extracellular environment, the conditions of the extracellular environment during culture, the number of differential adhesion, and the selection and dosage of additives are summarized.

Correlation between 99Tcm-HMPAO-SPECT brain image and a history of decompression illness or extent of diving experience in commercial divers.

PubMed Central

Shields, T G; Duff, P M; Evans, S A; Gemmell, H G; Sharp, P F; Smith, F W; Staff, R T; Wilcock, S E

1997-01-01

OBJECTIVES: To explore the use of 99technetiumm-hexamethyl propylene amine oxime single photon computed tomography (HMPAO-SPECT) of the brain as a means of detecting nervous tissue damage in divers and to determine if there is any correlation between brain image and a diver's history of diving or decompression illness (DCI). METHODS: 28 commercial divers with a history of DCI, 26 divers with no history of DCI, and 19 non-diving controls were examined with brain HMPAO-SPECT. Results were classified by observer assessment as normal (I) or as a pattern variants (II-V). The brain images of a subgroup of these divers (n = 44) and the controls (n = 17) were further analysed with a first order texture analysis technique based on a grey level histogram. RESULTS: 15 of 54 commercial divers (28%) were visually assessed as having HMPAO-SPECT images outside normal limits compared with 15.8% in appropriately identified non-diver control subjects. 18% of divers with a history of DCI were classified as having a pattern different from the normal image compared with 38% with no history of DCI. No association was established between the presence of a pattern variant from the normal image and history of DCI, diving, or other previous possible neurological insult. On texture analysis of the brain images, divers had a significantly lower mean grey level (MGL) than non-divers. Divers with a history of DCI (n = 22) had a significantly lower MGL when compared with divers with no history of DCI (n = 22). Divers with > 14 years professional diving or > 100 decompression days a year had a significantly lower MGL value. CONCLUSIONS: Observer assessment of HMPAO-SPECT brain images can lead to disparity in results. Texture analysis of the brain images supplies both an objective and consistent method of measurement. A significant correlation was found between a low measure of MGL and a history of DCI. There was also an indication that diving itself had an effect on texture measurement, implying that it had caused subclinical nervous tissue damage. PMID:9166130

Cortical and Sensory Causes of Individual Differences in Selective Attention Ability Among Listeners With Normal Hearing Thresholds

PubMed Central

2017-01-01

Purpose This review provides clinicians with an overview of recent findings relevant to understanding why listeners with normal hearing thresholds (NHTs) sometimes suffer from communication difficulties in noisy settings. Method The results from neuroscience and psychoacoustics are reviewed. Results In noisy settings, listeners focus their attention by engaging cortical brain networks to suppress unimportant sounds; they then can analyze and understand an important sound, such as speech, amidst competing sounds. Differences in the efficacy of top-down control of attention can affect communication abilities. In addition, subclinical deficits in sensory fidelity can disrupt the ability to perceptually segregate sound sources, interfering with selective attention, even in listeners with NHTs. Studies of variability in control of attention and in sensory coding fidelity may help to isolate and identify some of the causes of communication disorders in individuals presenting at the clinic with “normal hearing.” Conclusions How well an individual with NHTs can understand speech amidst competing sounds depends not only on the sound being audible but also on the integrity of cortical control networks and the fidelity of the representation of suprathreshold sound. Understanding the root cause of difficulties experienced by listeners with NHTs ultimately can lead to new, targeted interventions that address specific deficits affecting communication in noise. Presentation Video http://cred.pubs.asha.org/article.aspx?articleid=2601617 PMID:29049598

Phenotypic regional fMRI activation patterns during memory encoding in MCI and AD

PubMed Central

Browndyke, Jeffrey N.; Giovanello, Kelly; Petrella, Jeffrey; Hayden, Kathleen; Chiba-Falek, Ornit; Tucker, Karen A.; Burke, James R.; Welsh-Bohmer, Kathleen A.

2014-01-01

Background Reliable blood-oxygen-level-dependent (BOLD) fMRI phenotypic biomarkers of Alzheimer's disease (AD) or mild cognitive impairment (MCI) are likely to emerge only from a systematic, quantitative, and aggregate examination of the functional neuroimaging research literature. Methods A series of random-effects, activation likelihood estimation (ALE) meta-analyses were conducted on studies of episodic memory encoding operations in AD and MCI samples relative to normal controls. ALE analyses were based upon a thorough literature search for all task-based functional neuroimaging studies in AD and MCI published up to January 2010. Analyses covered 16 fMRI studies, which yielded 144 distinct foci for ALE meta-analysis. Results ALE results indicated several regional task-based BOLD consistencies in MCI and AD patients relative to normal controls across the aggregate BOLD functional neuroimaging research literature. Patients with AD and those at significant risk (MCI) showed statistically significant consistent activation differences during episodic memory encoding in the medial temporal lobe (MTL), specifically parahippocampal gyrus, as well superior frontal gyrus, precuneus, and cuneus, relative to normal controls. Conclusions ALE consistencies broadly support the presence of frontal compensatory activity, MTL activity alteration, and posterior midline “default mode” hyperactivation during episodic memory encoding attempts in the diseased or prospective pre-disease condition. Taken together these robust commonalities may form the foundation for a task-based fMRI phenotype of memory encoding in AD. PMID:22841497

DNA Repair Alterations in Children With Pediatric Malignancies: Novel Opportunities to Identify Patients at Risk for High-Grade Toxicities

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

Ruebe, Claudia E., E-mail: claudia.ruebe@uks.e; Fricke, Andreas; Schneider, Ruth

Purpose: To evaluate, in a pilot study, the phosphorylated H2AX ({gamma}H2AX) foci approach for identifying patients with double-strand break (DSB) repair deficiencies, who may overreact to DNA-damaging cancer therapy. Methods and Materials: The DSB repair capacity of children with solid cancers was analyzed compared with that of age-matched control children and correlated with treatment-related normal-tissue responses (n = 47). Double-strand break repair was investigated by counting {gamma}H2AX foci in blood lymphocytes at defined time points after irradiation of blood samples. Results: Whereas all healthy control children exhibited proficient DSB repair, 3 children with tumors revealed clearly impaired DSB repair capacities,more » and 2 of these repair-deficient children developed life-threatening or even lethal normal-tissue toxicities. The underlying mutations affecting regulatory factors involved in DNA repair pathways were identified. Moreover, significant differences in mean DSB repair capacity were observed between children with tumors and control children, suggesting that childhood cancer is based on genetic alterations affecting DSB repair function. Conclusions: Double-strand break repair alteration in children may predispose to cancer formation and may affect children's susceptibility to normal-tissue toxicities. Phosphorylated H2AX analysis of blood samples allows one to detect DSB repair deficiencies and thus enables identification of children at risk for high-grade toxicities.« less

Tumor-associated autoantibodies are useful biomarkers in immunodiagnosis of α-fetoprotein-negative hepatocellular carcinoma

PubMed Central

Wang, Ting; Liu, Mei; Zheng, Su-Jun; Bian, Dan-Dan; Zhang, Jin-Yan; Yao, Jia; Zheng, Qing-Fen; Shi, A-Meng; Li, Wen-Han; Li, Lu; Chen, Yu; Wang, Jin-Hai; Duan, Zhong-Ping; Dong, Lei

2017-01-01

AIM To determine the prevalence and diagnostic value of autoantibodies in α-fetoprotein (AFP)-negative hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). METHODS Fifty-six serum samples from AFP-negative HCC cases, 86 from AFP-positive HCC cases, 168 from chronic liver disease cases, and 59 from normal human controls were included in this study. Autoantibodies to nucleophosmin (NPM)1, 14-3-3zeta and mouse double minute 2 homolog (MDM2) proteins in AFP-negative HCC serum were evaluated by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Partially positive sera were further evaluated by western blotting. Immunohistochemistry was used to detect the expression of three tumor-associated antigens (TAAs) in AFP-negative HCC and normal control tissues. RESULTS The frequency of autoantibodies to the three TAAs in AFP-negative HCC sera was 21.4%, 19.6% and 19.6%, which was significantly higher than in the chronic liver disease cases and normal human controls (P < 0.01) as well as AFP-positive HCC cases. The sensitivity of the three autoantibodies for diagnosis of AFP-negative HCC ranged from 19.6% to 21.4%, and the specificity was approximately 95%. When the three autoantibodies were combined, the sensitivity reached 30.4% and the specificity reached 91.6%. CONCLUSION Autoantibodies to NPM1, 14-3-3zeta and MDM2 may be useful biomarkers for immunodiagnosis of AFP-negative HCC. PMID:28596685

Whole-Blood Nested-PCR Amplification of M. leprae-Specific DNA for Early Diagnosis of Leprosy

PubMed Central

Wen, Yan; Xing, Yan; Yuan, Lian-Chao; Liu, Jian; Zhang, Ying; Li, Huan-Ying

2013-01-01

We evaluated the sensitivity and specificity of a nested-polymerase chain reaction (PCR) method for detection of Mycobacterium leprae DNA from whole blood. Whole-blood specimens were subjected to nested-PCR amplification of M. leprae repeat DNA sequences in 49 multibacillary (MB) and 30 paucibacillary (PB) leprosy patients, 96 household contacts (HHCs), 18 tuberculosis (TB) patients, and 35 normal healthy individuals. M. leprae DNA was detected in 95.92% (47/49) of MB, 70% (21/30) of PB, and 6.25% (6/96) of HHC, but it was not detected in 18 TB or 35 normal controls. The sensitivities of the anti-bovine serum albumin (ND-O-BSA) immunoglobulin M (IgM) and antifusion protein of ML0405-ML2331 IgG for MB were 97.96% and 89.8%, and these values for PB were 70% and 53.33%. However, the ND-O-BSA enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) had lower specificity, with relatively high false-positive results for TB patients (16.67%) and normal healthy controls (10%). Based on these promising findings, we propose the use of nested PCR of whole-blood samples along with ELISA test for early detection of leprosy cases. PMID:23478578

Trunk lean gait decreases multi-segmental coordination in the vertical direction.

PubMed

Tokuda, Kazuki; Anan, Masaya; Sawada, Tomonori; Tanimoto, Kenji; Takeda, Takuya; Ogata, Yuta; Takahashi, Makoto; Kito, Nobuhiro; Shinkoda, Koichi

2017-11-01

[Purpose] The strategy of trunk lean gait to reduce external knee adduction moment (KAM) may affect multi-segmental synergy control of center of mass (COM) displacement. Uncontrolled manifold (UCM) analysis is an evaluation index to understand motor variability. The purpose of this study was to investigate how motor variability is affected by using UCM analysis on adjustment of the trunk lean angle. [Subjects and Methods] Fifteen healthy young adults walked at their preferred speed under two conditions: normal and trunk lean gait. UCM analysis was performed with respect to the COM displacement during the stance phase. The KAM data were analyzed at the points of the first KAM peak during the stance phase. [Results] The KAM during trunk lean gait was smaller than during normal gait. Despite a greater segmental configuration variance with respect to mediolateral COM displacement during trunk lean gait, the synergy index was not significantly different between the two conditions. The synergy index with respect to vertical COM displacement during trunk lean gait was smaller than that during normal gait. [Conclusion] These results suggest that trunk lean gait is effective in reducing KAM; however, it may decrease multi-segmental movement coordination of COM control in the vertical direction.

Concurrent and discriminant validity of the Star Excursion Balance Test for military personnel with lateral ankle sprain.

PubMed

Bastien, Maude; Moffet, Hélène; Bouyer, Laurent; Perron, Marc; Hébert, Luc J; Leblond, Jean

2014-02-01

The Star Excursion Balance Test (SEBT) has frequently been used to measure motor control and residual functional deficits at different stages of recovery from lateral ankle sprain (LAS) in various populations. However, the validity of the measure used to characterize performance--the maximal reach distance (MRD) measured by visual estimation--is still unknown. To evaluate the concurrent validity of the MRD in the SEBT estimated visually vs the MRD measured with a 3D motion-capture system and evaluate and compare the discriminant validity of 2 MRD-normalization methods (by height or by lower-limb length) in participants with or without LAS (n = 10 per group). There is a high concurrent validity and a good degree of accuracy between the visual estimation measurement and the MRD gold-standard measurement for both groups and under all conditions. The Cohen d ratios between groups and MANOVA products were higher when computed from MRD data normalized by height. The results support the concurrent validity of visual estimation of the MRD and the use of the SEBT to evaluate motor control. Moreover, normalization of MRD data by height appears to increase the discriminant validity of this test.

Comparison of Modeling Methods to Determine Liver-to-blood Inocula and Parasite Multiplication Rates During Controlled Human Malaria Infection

PubMed Central

Douglas, Alexander D.; Edwards, Nick J.; Duncan, Christopher J. A.; Thompson, Fiona M.; Sheehy, Susanne H.; O'Hara, Geraldine A.; Anagnostou, Nicholas; Walther, Michael; Webster, Daniel P.; Dunachie, Susanna J.; Porter, David W.; Andrews, Laura; Gilbert, Sarah C.; Draper, Simon J.; Hill, Adrian V. S.; Bejon, Philip

2013-01-01

Controlled human malaria infection is used to measure efficacy of candidate malaria vaccines before field studies are undertaken. Mathematical modeling using data from quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) parasitemia monitoring can discriminate between vaccine effects on the parasite's liver and blood stages. Uncertainty regarding the most appropriate modeling method hinders interpretation of such trials. We used qPCR data from 267 Plasmodium falciparum infections to compare linear, sine-wave, and normal-cumulative-density-function models. We find that the parameters estimated by these models are closely correlated, and their predictive accuracy for omitted data points was similar. We propose that future studies include the linear model. PMID:23570846

Identification and validation of suitable reference genes for RT-qPCR analysis in mouse testis development.

PubMed

Gong, Zu-Kang; Wang, Shuang-Jie; Huang, Yong-Qi; Zhao, Rui-Qiang; Zhu, Qi-Fang; Lin, Wen-Zhen

2014-12-01

RT-qPCR is a commonly used method for evaluating gene expression; however, its accuracy and reliability are dependent upon the choice of appropriate reference gene(s), and there is limited information available on suitable reference gene(s) that can be used in mouse testis at different stages. In this study, using the RT-qPCR method, we investigated the expression variations of six reference genes representing different functional classes (Actb, Gapdh, Ppia, Tbp, Rps29, Hprt1) in mice testis during embryonic and postnatal development. The expression stabilities of putative reference genes were evaluated using five algorithms: geNorm, NormFinder, Bestkeeper, the comparative delta C(t) method and integrated tool RefFinder. Analysis of the results showed that Ppia, Gapdh and Actb were identified as the most stable genes and the geometric mean of Ppia, Gapdh and Actb constitutes an appropriate normalization factor for gene expression studies. The mRNA expression of AT1 as a test gene of interest varied depending upon which of the reference gene(s) was used as an internal control(s). This study suggested that Ppia, Gapdh and Actb are suitable reference genes among the six genes used for RT-qPCR normalization and provide crucial information for transcriptional analyses in future studies of gene expression in the developing mouse testis.

Adeno-associated virus transformation into the normal miniature pig and the normal guinea pigs cochlea via scala tympani.

PubMed

Shi, Xunbei; Wu, Nan; Zhang, Yue; Guo, Weiwei; Lin, Chang; Yang, Shiming

2017-09-01

To investigate the expression of the miniature pig cochlea after AAV1 transfect into the cochlea via round window membrane (RWM). Twenty miniature pigs are equally divided into four experimental groups. Twelve miniature pigs are equally divided into four control groups. Each pig was transfected with the AAV1 in the experimental group via RWM and each pig was transduced with the artificial perilymph in the control group. The expression of green fluorescent protein (GFP) was observed at 2 weeks, 3 weeks and 4 weeks, respectively. Likewise, AAV1 was delivered into the guinea pigs cochleas using the same method, and the results were compared with that of the miniature pigs. The expression was mainly in the inner hair cells of the miniature pig. The expression of GFP began to appear at 2 weeks, reached the peak at 3 weeks. It also expressed in Hensen's cells, inner pillar cells, outer pillar cells, spiral limbus, and spiral ligament. In the meanwhile, AAV1 was delivered into guinea pig cochlea via the same method, and AAV1 was also expressed in the inner hair cells. But the expression peaked at 2 weeks, and the efficiency of the inner hair cell transfection was higher than that of the pig. AAV1 can be transformed into miniature pig cochlea via scala tympani by the RWM method efficiently.

Urinary mRNA for the Diagnosis of Renal Allograft Rejection: The Issue of Normalization.

PubMed

Galichon, P; Amrouche, L; Hertig, A; Brocheriou, I; Rabant, M; Xu-Dubois, Y-C; Ouali, N; Dahan, K; Morin, L; Terzi, F; Rondeau, E; Anglicheau, D

2016-10-01

Urinary messenger RNA (mRNA) quantification is a promising method for noninvasive diagnosis of renal allograft rejection (AR), but the quantification of mRNAs in urine remains challenging due to degradation. RNA normalization may be warranted to overcome these issues, but the strategies of gene normalization have been poorly evaluated. Herein, we address this issue in a case-control study of 108 urine samples collected at time of allograft biopsy in kidney recipients with (n = 52) or without (n = 56) AR by comparing the diagnostic value of IP-10 and CD3ε mRNAs-two biomarkers of AR-after normalization by the total amount of RNA, normalization by one of the three widely used reference RNAs-18S, glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH) and Hypoxanthine-guanine phosphoribosyltransferase (HPRT)-or normalization using uroplakin 1A (UPK) mRNA as a possible urine-specific reference mRNA. Our results show that normalization based on the total quantity of RNA is not substantially improved by additional normalization and may even be worsened with some classical reference genes that are overexpressed during rejection. However, considering that normalization by a reference gene is necessary to ensure polymerase chain reaction (PCR) quality and reproducibility and to suppress the effect of RNA degradation, we suggest that GAPDH and UPK1A are preferable to 18S or HPRT RNA. © Copyright 2016 The American Society of Transplantation and the American Society of Transplant Surgeons.

Is the phone call the most effective method for recall in cervical cancer screening?--results from a randomised control trial.

PubMed

Abdul Rashid, Rima Marhayu; Mohamed, Majdah; Hamid, Zaleha Abdul; Dahlui, Maznah

2013-01-01

To compare the effectiveness of different methods of recall for repeat Pap smear among women who had normal smears in the previous screening. Prospective randomized controlled study. All community clinics in Klang under the Ministry of Health Malaysia. Women of Klang who attended cervical screening and had a normal Pap smear in the previous year, and were due for a repeat smear were recruited and randomly assigned to four different methods of recall for repeat smear. The recall methods given to the women to remind them for a repeat smear were either by postal letter, registered letter, short message by phone (SMS) or phone call. Number and percentage of women who responded to the recall within 8 weeks after they had received the recall, irrespective whether they had Pap test conducted. Also the numbers of women in each recall method that came for repeat Pap smear. The rates of recall messages reaching the women when using letter, registered letter, SMS and phone calls were 79%, 87%, 66% and 68%, respectively. However, the positive responses to recall by letter, registered letter, phone messages and telephone call were 23.9%, 23.0%, 32.9% and 50.9%, respectively (p<0.05). Furthermore, more women who received recall by phone call had been screened (p<0.05) compared to those who received recall by postal letter (OR=2.38, CI=1.56-3.62). Both the usual way of sending letters and registered letters had higher chances of reaching patients compared to using phone either for sending messages or calling. The response to the recall method and uptake of repeat smear, however, were highest via phone call, indicating the importance of direct communication.

Research on Snake-Like Robot with Controllable Scales

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, Kailin; Zhao, Yuting; Chen, Shuping

The purpose of this paper is to propose a new structure for a snake-like robot. This type of snake-like robot is different from the normal snake-like robot because it has lots of controllable scales which have a large role in helping moving. Besides, a new form of robot gait named as linear motion mode is developed based on theoretical analysis for the new mechanical structure. Through simulation and analysis in simmechanics of matlab, we proved the validity of theories about the motion mode of snake-like robot. The proposed machine construction and control method for the designed motion is verified experimentally by the independent developed snake robot.

Passive control of rotorcraft high-speed impulsive noise

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Szulc, O.; Doerffer, P.; Tejero, F.

2016-10-01

A strong, normal shock wave, terminating a local supersonic area located at the tip of a helicopter blade, not only limits the aerodynamic performance, but also constitutes an origin of the High-Speed Impulsive (HSI) noise. The application of a passive control device (a shallow cavity covered by a perforated plate) just beneath the interaction region weakens the compression level, thus reducing the main source of the HSI noise. The numerical investigation based on the URANS approach and Bohning/Doerffer (BD) transpiration law (SPARC code) confirms a large potential of the new method. Two exemplary implementations, adapted to model helicopter rotors tested at NASA Ames facility in transonic conditions: Caradonna-Tung (lifting, transonic hover) and Caradonna-Laub-Tung (non-lifting, high-speed forward flight), demonstrate the possible gains in terms of the reduction of acoustic pressure fluctuations in the near-field of the blade tip. The CFD results are validated against the experimental data obtained for the reference configurations (no control), while the analysis of the passive control arrangement is based on a purely numerical research. The normal shock wave is effectively eliminated by the wall ventilation exerting a positive impact on the generated level of the HSI noise.

Sample entropy analysis of cervical neoplasia gene-expression signatures

PubMed Central

Botting, Shaleen K; Trzeciakowski, Jerome P; Benoit, Michelle F; Salama, Salama A; Diaz-Arrastia, Concepcion R

2009-01-01

Background We introduce Approximate Entropy as a mathematical method of analysis for microarray data. Approximate entropy is applied here as a method to classify the complex gene expression patterns resultant of a clinical sample set. Since Entropy is a measure of disorder in a system, we believe that by choosing genes which display minimum entropy in normal controls and maximum entropy in the cancerous sample set we will be able to distinguish those genes which display the greatest variability in the cancerous set. Here we describe a method of utilizing Approximate Sample Entropy (ApSE) analysis to identify genes of interest with the highest probability of producing an accurate, predictive, classification model from our data set. Results In the development of a diagnostic gene-expression profile for cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN) and squamous cell carcinoma of the cervix, we identified 208 genes which are unchanging in all normal tissue samples, yet exhibit a random pattern indicative of the genetic instability and heterogeneity of malignant cells. This may be measured in terms of the ApSE when compared to normal tissue. We have validated 10 of these genes on 10 Normal and 20 cancer and CIN3 samples. We report that the predictive value of the sample entropy calculation for these 10 genes of interest is promising (75% sensitivity, 80% specificity for prediction of cervical cancer over CIN3). Conclusion The success of the Approximate Sample Entropy approach in discerning alterations in complexity from biological system with such relatively small sample set, and extracting biologically relevant genes of interest hold great promise. PMID:19232110

Detection of premature ventricular contractions on a ventricular electrocardiogram for patients with left ventricular assist devices.

PubMed

Park, Sung Min; Lee, Jin Hong; Choi, Seong Wook

2014-12-01

The ventricular electrocardiogram (v-ECG) was developed for long-term monitoring of heartbeats in patients with a left ventricular assist device (LVAD) and does not normally have the functionality necessary to detect additional heart irregularities that can progress to critical arrhythmias. Although the v-ECG has the benefits of physiological optimization and counterpulsation control, when abnormal heartbeats occur, the v-ECG does not show the distinct abnormal waveform that enables easy detection of an abnormal heartbeat among normal heartbeats on the conventional ECG. In this study, the v-ECGs of normal and abnormal heartbeats are compared with each other with respect to peak-to-peak voltage, area, and maximal slopes, and a new method to detect abnormal heartbeats is suggested. In a series of animal experiments with three porcine models (Yorkshire pigs weighing 30-40 kg), a v-ECG and conventional ECG were taken simultaneously during LVAD perfusion. Clinical experts found 104 abnormal heartbeats from the saved conventional ECG data and confirmed that the other 3159 heartbeats were normal. Almost all of the abnormal heartbeats were premature ventricular contractions (PVCs), and there was short-term tachycardia for 3 s. A personal computer was used to automatically detect abnormal heartbeats with the v-ECG according to the new method, and its results were compared with the clinicians' results. The new method found abnormal heartbeats with 90% accuracy, and less than 15% of the total PVCs were missed. Copyright © 2014 International Center for Artificial Organs and Transplantation and Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Lack of grading agreement among international hemostasis external quality assessment programs

PubMed Central

Olson, John D.; Jennings, Ian; Meijer, Piet; Bon, Chantal; Bonar, Roslyn; Favaloro, Emmanuel J.; Higgins, Russell A.; Keeney, Michael; Mammen, Joy; Marlar, Richard A.; Meley, Roland; Nair, Sukesh C.; Nichols, William L.; Raby, Anne; Reverter, Joan C.; Srivastava, Alok; Walker, Isobel

2018-01-01

Laboratory quality programs rely on internal quality control and external quality assessment (EQA). EQA programs provide unknown specimens for the laboratory to test. The laboratory's result is compared with other (peer) laboratories performing the same test. EQA programs assign target values using a variety of methods statistical tools and performance assessment of ‘pass’ or ‘fail’ is made. EQA provider members of the international organization, external quality assurance in thrombosis and hemostasis, took part in a study to compare outcome of performance analysis using the same data set of laboratory results. Eleven EQA organizations using eight different analytical approaches participated. Data for a normal and prolonged activated partial thromboplastin time (aPTT) and a normal and reduced factor VIII (FVIII) from 218 laboratories were sent to the EQA providers who analyzed the data set using their method of evaluation for aPTT and FVIII, determining the performance for each laboratory record in the data set. Providers also summarized their statistical approach to assignment of target values and laboratory performance. Each laboratory record in the data set was graded pass/fail by all EQA providers for each of the four analytes. There was a lack of agreement of pass/fail grading among EQA programs. Discordance in the grading was 17.9 and 11% of normal and prolonged aPTT results, respectively, and 20.2 and 17.4% of normal and reduced FVIII results, respectively. All EQA programs in this study employed statistical methods compliant with the International Standardization Organization (ISO), ISO 13528, yet the evaluation of laboratory results for all four analytes showed remarkable grading discordance. PMID:29232255

FORCED NORMALIZATION: Epilepsy and Psychosis Interaction

PubMed Central

Loganathan, Muruga A.; Enja, Manasa

2015-01-01

Forced normalization is the emergence of psychoses following the establishment of seizure control in an uncontrolled epilepsy patient. Two illustrative clinical vignettes are provided about people with epilepsy that was newly controlled and followed by emergence of a psychosis; symptoms appeared only after attaining ictal control. For recognition and differential diagnosis purposes, understanding forced normalization is important in clinical practice. PMID:26155377

An investigation into prospective memory in children with developmental dyslexia.

PubMed

Khan, Azizuddin

2014-01-01

Developmental dyslexia hinders reading and writing acquisition of around 5-10% of the children all over the world. However, little is known about role of prospective memory among dyslexics. Prospective memory is realization of delayed intention. Realization of delayed intention requires self initiated process. The present study explored the role of memory (prospective and retrospective memory), meta-memory and attention among dyslexic's children. One hundred and fifteen children (51 dyslexics and 64 normal controls) participated in the study. Prospective and retrospective memory questionnaire, everyday attention questionnaire and meta-memory were administered on children. Analysis of variance was used to analyses the data. All the main effects were significant. Some interactions were also found to be significant. Results suggest that dyslexic's performance on memory (prospective and retrospective memory) was worse than normal control. Meta-memory influences both dyslexics and normal control on prospective and retrospective memory. However, meta-memory affected dyslexics much more than normal control group. Similarly, significant differential effects were observed for simple, difficult and mixed attentional condition among between dyslexics and normal control. Dyslexic's performance was deteriorated as compared to normal control group. The findings of the study are discussed in the light of the existing literature.

An investigation into prospective memory in children with developmental dyslexia

PubMed Central

Khan, Azizuddin

2014-01-01

Developmental dyslexia hinders reading and writing acquisition of around 5–10% of the children all over the world. However, little is known about role of prospective memory among dyslexics. Prospective memory is realization of delayed intention. Realization of delayed intention requires self initiated process. The present study explored the role of memory (prospective and retrospective memory), meta-memory and attention among dyslexic's children. One hundred and fifteen children (51 dyslexics and 64 normal controls) participated in the study. Prospective and retrospective memory questionnaire, everyday attention questionnaire and meta-memory were administered on children. Analysis of variance was used to analyses the data. All the main effects were significant. Some interactions were also found to be significant. Results suggest that dyslexic's performance on memory (prospective and retrospective memory) was worse than normal control. Meta-memory influences both dyslexics and normal control on prospective and retrospective memory. However, meta-memory affected dyslexics much more than normal control group. Similarly, significant differential effects were observed for simple, difficult and mixed attentional condition among between dyslexics and normal control. Dyslexic's performance was deteriorated as compared to normal control group. The findings of the study are discussed in the light of the existing literature. PMID:25538638

Comparing cancer vs normal gene expression profiles identifies new disease entities and common transcriptional programs in AML patients.

PubMed

Rapin, Nicolas; Bagger, Frederik Otzen; Jendholm, Johan; Mora-Jensen, Helena; Krogh, Anders; Kohlmann, Alexander; Thiede, Christian; Borregaard, Niels; Bullinger, Lars; Winther, Ole; Theilgaard-Mönch, Kim; Porse, Bo T

2014-02-06

Gene expression profiling has been used extensively to characterize cancer, identify novel subtypes, and improve patient stratification. However, it has largely failed to identify transcriptional programs that differ between cancer and corresponding normal cells and has not been efficient in identifying expression changes fundamental to disease etiology. Here we present a method that facilitates the comparison of any cancer sample to its nearest normal cellular counterpart, using acute myeloid leukemia (AML) as a model. We first generated a gene expression-based landscape of the normal hematopoietic hierarchy, using expression profiles from normal stem/progenitor cells, and next mapped the AML patient samples to this landscape. This allowed us to identify the closest normal counterpart of individual AML samples and determine gene expression changes between cancer and normal. We find the cancer vs normal method (CvN method) to be superior to conventional methods in stratifying AML patients with aberrant karyotype and in identifying common aberrant transcriptional programs with potential importance for AML etiology. Moreover, the CvN method uncovered a novel poor-outcome subtype of normal-karyotype AML, which allowed for the generation of a highly prognostic survival signature. Collectively, our CvN method holds great potential as a tool for the analysis of gene expression profiles of cancer patients.

Birth control pill - slideshow

MedlinePlus

... page: //medlineplus.gov/ency/presentations/100108.htm Birth control pill - series—Normal female anatomy To use the ... produce a successful pregnancy. To prevent pregnancy, birth control pills affect how these organs normally function. Review ...

Study design and data analysis considerations for the discovery of prognostic molecular biomarkers: a case study of progression free survival in advanced serous ovarian cancer.

PubMed

Qin, Li-Xuan; Levine, Douglas A

2016-06-10

Accurate discovery of molecular biomarkers that are prognostic of a clinical outcome is an important yet challenging task, partly due to the combination of the typically weak genomic signal for a clinical outcome and the frequently strong noise due to microarray handling effects. Effective strategies to resolve this challenge are in dire need. We set out to assess the use of careful study design and data normalization for the discovery of prognostic molecular biomarkers. Taking progression free survival in advanced serous ovarian cancer as an example, we conducted empirical analysis on two sets of microRNA arrays for the same set of tumor samples: arrays in one set were collected using careful study design (that is, uniform handling and randomized array-to-sample assignment) and arrays in the other set were not. We found that (1) handling effects can confound the clinical outcome under study as a result of chance even with randomization, (2) the level of confounding handling effects can be reduced by data normalization, and (3) good study design cannot be replaced by post-hoc normalization. In addition, we provided a practical approach to define positive and negative control markers for detecting handling effects and assessing the performance of a normalization method. Our work showcased the difficulty of finding prognostic biomarkers for a clinical outcome of weak genomic signals, illustrated the benefits of careful study design and data normalization, and provided a practical approach to identify handling effects and select a beneficial normalization method. Our work calls for careful study design and data analysis for the discovery of robust and translatable molecular biomarkers.

Is eye damage caused by stereoscopic displays?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mayer, Udo; Neumann, Markus D.; Kubbat, Wolfgang; Landau, Kurt

2000-05-01

A normal developing child will achieve emmetropia in youth and maintain it. Thereby cornea, lens and axial length of the eye grow astonishingly coordinated. In the last years research has evidenced that this coordinated growing process is a visually controlled closed loop. The mechanism has been studied particularly in animals. It was found that the growth of the axial length of the eyeball is controlled by image focus information from the retina. It was shown that maladjustment can occur by this visually-guided growth control mechanism that result in ametropia. Thereby it has been proven that e.g. short-sightedness is not only caused by heredity, but is acquired under certain visual conditions. It is shown that these conditions are similar to the conditions of viewing stereoscopic displays where the normal accommodation convergence coupling is disjoint. An evaluation is given of the potential of damaging the eyes by viewing stereoscopic displays. Concerning this, different viewing methods for stereoscopic displays are evaluated. Moreover, clues are given how the environment and display conditions shall be set and what users shall be chosen to minimize the risk of eye damages.

Functional sensibility assessment. Part I: develop a reliable apparatus to assess momentary pinch force control.

PubMed

Chiu, Haw-Yen; Hsu, Hsiu-Yun; Kuo, Li-Chieh; Chang, Jer-Hao; Su, Fong-Chin

2009-08-01

A precise magnitude and timing control of pinch performance is based on accurate feed-forward and feedback control mechanisms. Ratio of peak pinch force and maximum load force during a functional performance is a sensitive parameter to reflect the ability to scale pinch force output according to actual loads. A pinch apparatus was constructed to detect momentary pinch force modulation of 20 subjects with normal hand sensation. The results indicated high intra-class correlation coefficient and small coefficient of variation of the detected force ratio among three repeated tests, which represented that the stability test of the measured response confirmed the feasibility of this apparatus. The force ratio for a 480 g object with a steel surface ranged between 1.77 and 1.98. Normal subjects were able to scale and contribute pinch force precisely to a pinch-holding-up test. This study may provide clinicians a reliable apparatus and method to analyze the recovery of functional sensibility in patients with nerve injuries. Copyright 2009 Orthopaedic Research Society. Published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Efficacy of telbivudine in HBeAg-positive chronic hepatitis B patients with high baseline ALT levels

PubMed Central

Lv, Guo-Cai; Ma, Wen-Jiang; Ying, Lin-Jung; Jin, Xi; Zheng, Lin; Yang, Yi-Da

2010-01-01

AIM: To evaluate the efficacy and safety of telbivudine (LDT) in hepatitis B e antigen (HBeAg)-positive chronic hepatitis B (CHB) patients who have high baseline alanine aminotransferase (ALT) levels between 10 and 20 times the upper limit of normal. METHODS: Forty HBeAg-positive CHB patients with high baseline ALT levels between 10 and 20 times the upper limit of normal were enrolled and received LDT monotherapy for 52 wk. Another forty patients with baseline ALT levels between 2 and 10 times the upper limit of normal were included as controls. We compared the virological, biochemical, serological and side effect profiles between the two groups at 52 wk. RESULTS: By week 52, the mean decrease in hepatitis B virus (HBV) DNA level compared with baseline was 7.03 log10 copies/mL in the high baseline ALT group and 6.17 log10 copies/mL in the control group, respectively (P < 0.05). The proportion of patients in whom serum HBV DNA levels were undetectable by polymerase chain reaction assay was 72.5% in the high baseline ALT group and 60% in the control group, respectively (P < 0.05). In addition, 45.0% of patients in the high baseline ALT group and 27.5% of controls became HBeAg-negative, and 37.5% of those in the high baseline group and 22.5% of controls, respectively, had HBeAg seroconversion (P < 0.05) at week 52. Moreover, in the high baseline group, 4 out of 40 patients (10%) became hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg)-negative and 3 (7.5%) of them seroconverted (became HBsAg-positive). Only 1 patient in the control group became HBsAg-negative, but had no seroconversion. The ALT normalization rate, viral breakthrough, genotypic resistance to LDT, and elevations in creatine kinase levels were similar in the two groups over the 52 wk. CONCLUSION: High baseline ALT level is a strong predictor for optimal results during LDT treatment. PMID:20731026

Improving the dictionary lookup approach for disease normalization using enhanced dictionary and query expansion.

PubMed

Jonnagaddala, Jitendra; Jue, Toni Rose; Chang, Nai-Wen; Dai, Hong-Jie

2016-01-01

The rapidly increasing biomedical literature calls for the need of an automatic approach in the recognition and normalization of disease mentions in order to increase the precision and effectivity of disease based information retrieval. A variety of methods have been proposed to deal with the problem of disease named entity recognition and normalization. Among all the proposed methods, conditional random fields (CRFs) and dictionary lookup method are widely used for named entity recognition and normalization respectively. We herein developed a CRF-based model to allow automated recognition of disease mentions, and studied the effect of various techniques in improving the normalization results based on the dictionary lookup approach. The dataset from the BioCreative V CDR track was used to report the performance of the developed normalization methods and compare with other existing dictionary lookup based normalization methods. The best configuration achieved an F-measure of 0.77 for the disease normalization, which outperformed the best dictionary lookup based baseline method studied in this work by an F-measure of 0.13.Database URL: https://github.com/TCRNBioinformatics/DiseaseExtract. © The Author(s) 2016. Published by Oxford University Press.

Integrated control design for driver assistance systems based on LPV methods

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gáspár, Péter; Németh, Balázs

2016-12-01

The paper proposes a control design method for a driver assistance system. In the operation of the system, a predefined trajectory required by the driver with a steering command is followed. During manoeuvres the control system generates differential brake moment and the auxiliary front-wheel steering angle and changes the camber angles of the wheels in order to improve the tracking of the road trajectory. The performance specifications are guaranteed by the local controllers, i.e. the brake, the steering, and the suspension systems, while the coordination of these components is provided by the supervisor. The advantage of this architecture is that local controllers are designed independently, which is ensured by the fact that the monitoring signals are taken into consideration in the formalisation of their performance specifications. The fault-tolerant control can be achieved by incorporating the detected fault signals in their performance specifications. The control system also uses a driver model, with which the reference signal can be generated. In the control design, the parameter-dependent linear parameter-varyingmethod, which meets the performance specifications, is used. The operation of the control system is illustrated through different normal and emergency vehicle manoeuvres with a high-accuracy simulation software.

Targeted RNA-Sequencing with Competitive Multiplex-PCR Amplicon Libraries

PubMed Central

Blomquist, Thomas M.; Crawford, Erin L.; Lovett, Jennie L.; Yeo, Jiyoun; Stanoszek, Lauren M.; Levin, Albert; Li, Jia; Lu, Mei; Shi, Leming; Muldrew, Kenneth; Willey, James C.

2013-01-01

Whole transcriptome RNA-sequencing is a powerful tool, but is costly and yields complex data sets that limit its utility in molecular diagnostic testing. A targeted quantitative RNA-sequencing method that is reproducible and reduces the number of sequencing reads required to measure transcripts over the full range of expression would be better suited to diagnostic testing. Toward this goal, we developed a competitive multiplex PCR-based amplicon sequencing library preparation method that a) targets only the sequences of interest and b) controls for inter-target variation in PCR amplification during library preparation by measuring each transcript native template relative to a known number of synthetic competitive template internal standard copies. To determine the utility of this method, we intentionally selected PCR conditions that would cause transcript amplification products (amplicons) to converge toward equimolar concentrations (normalization) during library preparation. We then tested whether this approach would enable accurate and reproducible quantification of each transcript across multiple library preparations, and at the same time reduce (through normalization) total sequencing reads required for quantification of transcript targets across a large range of expression. We demonstrate excellent reproducibility (R2 = 0.997) with 97% accuracy to detect 2-fold change using External RNA Controls Consortium (ERCC) reference materials; high inter-day, inter-site and inter-library concordance (R2 = 0.97–0.99) using FDA Sequencing Quality Control (SEQC) reference materials; and cross-platform concordance with both TaqMan qPCR (R2 = 0.96) and whole transcriptome RNA-sequencing following “traditional” library preparation using Illumina NGS kits (R2 = 0.94). Using this method, sequencing reads required to accurately quantify more than 100 targeted transcripts expressed over a 107-fold range was reduced more than 10,000-fold, from 2.3×109 to 1.4×105 sequencing reads. These studies demonstrate that the competitive multiplex-PCR amplicon library preparation method presented here provides the quality control, reproducibility, and reduced sequencing reads necessary for development and implementation of targeted quantitative RNA-sequencing biomarkers in molecular diagnostic testing. PMID:24236095

Analysis of negative historical control group data from the in vitro micronucleus assay using TK6 cells.

PubMed

Lovell, David P; Fellows, Mick; Marchetti, Francesco; Christiansen, Joan; Elhajouji, Azeddine; Hashimoto, Kiyohiro; Kasamoto, Sawako; Li, Yan; Masayasu, Ozaki; Moore, Martha M; Schuler, Maik; Smith, Robert; Stankowski, Leon F; Tanaka, Jin; Tanir, Jennifer Y; Thybaud, Veronique; Van Goethem, Freddy; Whitwell, James

2018-01-01

The recent revisions of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) genetic toxicology test guidelines emphasize the importance of historical negative controls both for data quality and interpretation. The goal of a HESI Genetic Toxicology Technical Committee (GTTC) workgroup was to collect data from participating laboratories and to conduct a statistical analysis to understand and publish the range of values that are normally seen in experienced laboratories using TK6 cells to conduct the in vitro micronucleus assay. Data from negative control samples from in vitro micronucleus assays using TK6 cells from 13 laboratories were collected using a standard collection form. Although in some cases statistically significant differences can be seen within laboratories for different test conditions, they were very small. The mean incidence of micronucleated cells/1000 cells ranged from 3.2/1000 to 13.8/1000. These almost four-fold differences in micronucleus levels cannot be explained by differences in scoring method, presence or absence of exogenous metabolic activation (S9), length of treatment, presence or absence of cytochalasin B or different solvents used as vehicles. The range of means from the four laboratories using flow cytometry methods (3.7-fold: 3.5-12.9 micronucleated cells/1000 cells) was similar to that from the nine laboratories using other scoring methods (4.3-fold: 3.2-13.8 micronucleated cells/1000 cells). No laboratory could be identified as an outlier or as showing unacceptably high variability. Quality Control (QC) methods applied to analyse the intra-laboratory variability showed that there was evidence of inter-experimental variability greater than would be expected by chance (i.e. over-dispersion). However, in general, this was low. This study demonstrates the value of QC methods in helping to analyse the reproducibility of results, building up a 'normal' range of values, and as an aid to identify variability within a laboratory in order to implement processes to maintain and improve uniformity. Copyright © 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging of the fetal brain in intrauterine growth restriction.

PubMed

Arthurs, O J; Rega, A; Guimiot, F; Belarbi, N; Rosenblatt, J; Biran, V; Elmaleh, M; Sebag, G; Alison, M

2017-07-01

Diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging (DWI) is a sensitive method for assessing brain maturation and detecting brain lesions, providing apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) values as a measure of water diffusion. Abnormal ADC values are seen in ischemic brain lesions, such as those associated with acute or chronic hypoxia. The aim of this study was to assess whether ADC values in the fetal brain were different in fetuses with severe intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR) compared with normal controls. Brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) with single-shot axial DWI (b = 0 and b = 700 s/mm 2 ) was performed in 30 fetuses with severe IUGR (estimated fetal weight < 3 rd centile with absent or reversed umbilical artery Doppler flow) and in 24 normal controls of similar gestational age. Brain morphology and biometry were analyzed. ADC values were measured in frontal and occipital white matter, centrum semiovale, thalami, cerebellar hemisphere and pons. Frontal-occipital and frontal-cerebellar ADC ratios were calculated, and values were compared between IUGR fetuses and controls. There was no difference in gestational age at MRI between IUGR and control fetuses (IUGR, 30.2 ± 1.6 weeks vs controls, 30.7 ± 1.4 weeks). Fetal brain morphology and signals were normal in all fetuses. Brain dimensions (supratentorial ± infratentorial) were decreased (Z-score, < -2) in 20 (66.7%) IUGR fetuses. Compared with controls, IUGR fetuses had significantly lower ADC values in frontal white matter (1.97 ± 0.23 vs 2.17 ± 0.22 × 10 -3 mm 2 /s; P < 0.0001), thalami (1.04 ± 0.15 vs 1.13 ± 0.10 ×10 -3 mm 2 /s; P = 0.0002), centrum semiovale (1.86 ± 0.22 vs 1.97 ± 0.23 ×10 -3 mm 2 /s; P = 0.01) and pons (0.85 ± 0.19 vs 0.94 ± 0.12 ×10 -3 mm 2 /s; P = 0.043). IUGR fetuses had a lower frontal-occipital ADC ratio than did normal fetuses (1.00 ± 0.11 vs 1.08 ± 0.05; P = 0.003). ADC values in IUGR fetuses were significantly lower than in normal controls in the frontal white matter, thalami, centrum semiovale and pons, suggesting abnormal maturation in these regions. However, the prognostic value of these ADC changes is still unknown. Copyright © 2016 ISUOG. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd. Copyright © 2016 ISUOG. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Efficacy of mummy on healing of pressure ulcers: A randomized controlled clinical trial on hospitalized patients in intensive care unit

PubMed Central

Moghadari, Masoud; Rezvanipour, Mozafar; Mehrabani, Mitra; Ahmadinejad, Mehdi; Hashempur, Mohammad Hashem

2018-01-01

Background Mummy is a mineral substance which according to Persian medicine texts, may be useful in treatment of chronic ulcers. Objective The present study was performed with the aim of determining the effect of mummy on healing of pressure in male patients who had been hospitalized due to cerebrospinal injury in the Intensive Care Unit. Methods This randomized, placebo-controlled clinical trial was performed on 75 patients who had pressure ulcer at Shahid Bahonar Hospital in Kerman, Iran, from September 2016 to March 2017. The control group received normal saline and routine wound dressing, while the intervention group received mummy water solution 20% in addition to normal saline and routine wound dressing on a daily basis. Data was recorded based on the PUSH method. In both groups, ulcers were evaluated on days 0, 7, 14, 21 and 28 for the variables of ulcer surface area, the amount of exudate and type of tissue. Data analysis was done through SPSS 21 and using t-test, Repeated Measure Analysis, Cox Regression and Chi-square. Results Both groups showed reduction in the average ulcer surface area (3.26 to 0.53 in the intervention group and 5.1 to 3.46 in the control group), the average exudate amount (1.26 to 0.26 in the intervention group and 1.83 to 1.06 in the control group) and the average tissue score (1.36 to 0.23 in the intervention group and 2.13 to 1.26 in the control group). Over the entire study period, the intervention group showed more acceptable signs of healing compared to the control group (p<0.05). Conclusion The healing process was more prominent in the intervention group than the control group. Clinical trial registration The trial was registered at the Iranian Registry of Clinical Trials with registered NO. (IRCT2014042917494N1) (29/04/2014). Funding No financial support for the research. PMID:29588812

Effect of Mild Cognitive Impairment and Alzheimer Disease on Auditory Steady-State Responses

PubMed Central

Shahmiri, Elaheh; Jafari, Zahra; Noroozian, Maryam; Zendehbad, Azadeh; Haddadzadeh Niri, Hassan; Yoonessi, Ali

2017-01-01

Introduction: Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI), a disorder of the elderly people, is difficult to diagnose and often progresses to Alzheimer Disease (AD). Temporal region is one of the initial areas, which gets impaired in the early stage of AD. Therefore, auditory cortical evoked potential could be a valuable neuromarker for detecting MCI and AD. Methods: In this study, the thresholds of Auditory Steady-State Response (ASSR) to 40 Hz and 80 Hz were compared between Alzheimer Disease (AD), MCI, and control groups. A total of 42 patients (12 with AD, 15 with MCI, and 15 elderly normal controls) were tested for ASSR. Hearing thresholds at 500, 1000, and 2000 Hz in both ears with modulation rates of 40 and 80 Hz were obtained. Results: Significant differences in normal subjects were observed in estimated ASSR thresholds with 2 modulation rates in 3 frequencies in both ears. However, the difference was significant only in 500 Hz in the MCI group, and no significant differences were observed in the AD group. In addition, significant differences were observed between the normal subjects and AD patients with regard to the estimated ASSR thresholds with 2 modulation rates and 3 frequencies in both ears. A significant difference was observed between the normal and MCI groups at 2000 Hz, too. An increase in estimated 40 Hz ASSR thresholds in patients with AD and MCI suggests neural changes in auditory cortex compared to that in normal ageing. Conclusion: Auditory threshold estimation with low and high modulation rates by ASSR test could be a potentially helpful test for detecting cognitive impairment. PMID:29158880

Effect of spectrum bias on the diagnostic accuracy of spectral-domain optical coherence tomography in glaucoma.

PubMed

Rao, Harsha L; Kumbar, Tukaram; Addepalli, Uday K; Bharti, Neha; Senthil, Sirisha; Choudhari, Nikhil S; Garudadri, Chandra S

2012-02-29

To evaluate the influence of a control group on the diagnostic accuracy of spectral-domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT) in early glaucoma. In a diagnostic, case-control study, 119 eyes of 60 normal subjects with no findings suspicious for glaucoma (control cohort 1); 76 eyes of 41 subjects referred by general ophthalmologists as glaucoma suspects based on optic disc morphology, but found by glaucoma experts to be normal but with physiological variations in their optic nerves (control cohort 2); and 65 eyes of 46 early-glaucoma patients (cases) underwent imaging of the optic nerve head (ONH), retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL), and ganglion cell complex (GCC) by SD-OCT. Areas under the receiver operating characteristic curves (AUC) of ONH parameters discriminating glaucomatous eyes from normal eyes of control cohort 2 were significantly lesser (P < 0.001) than those discriminating glaucomatous eyes from normal eyes of control cohort 1. AUCs of RNFL parameters discriminating glaucomatous eyes from normal eyes of control cohorts 2 and 1 were comparable. Although the AUCs of GCC thickness parameters were comparable, AUCs of GCC focal and global loss volume in control cohort 2 (0.684 and 0.671. respectively) were significantly less (P < 0.05) than in control cohort 1 (0.881 and 0.841, respectively). The effectiveness of most SD-OCT parameters in detecting glaucoma significantly decreased when evaluated against a clinically relevant control group with suspicious-looking optic nerves compared with that against a control group consisting of normal subjects with no findings suspicious for glaucoma.

Metabolic effects of polycystic ovary syndrome in adolescents

PubMed Central

Han, Yejin; Lee, Hye-Jin; Oh, Jee-Young; Sung, Yeon-Ah

2015-01-01

Purpose Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is characterized by hyperandrogenic anovulation in women of reproductive age. We investigated the metabolic effects of lean and overweight adolescents with PCOS. Methods Anthropometric measurements and biochemical parameters were evaluated in 49 adolescents with PCOS and 40 age- and body mass index (BMI)-matched controls. We further divided both PCOS and control groups into those having BMI within the normal range of less than 85th percentile and those being overweight and obese with a BMI greater than 85th percentile. Results Hemoglobin, gamma-glutamyl transferase (r-GT), total cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol and 2-hour postglucose load plasma insulin levels were significantly elevated in the lean PCOS group than in the lean control group. In the overweight/obese PCOS group, hemoglobin and r-GT levels were significantly elevated than in the overweight/obese control group. In the normal weight group, none of the subjects had metabolic syndrome according to the Adult Treatment Panel III criteria, but the incidence of metabolic syndrome in the overweight/obese PCOS group was 8.3% and that in the overweight/obese control group was 6.7%. Conclusion PCOS in adolescents causes metabolic abnormalities, underscoring the importance of early diagnosis of PCOS in oligomenorrheic adolescents. PMID:26512349

Sensor fault-tolerant control for gear-shifting engaging process of automated manual transmission

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Liang; He, Kai; Wang, Xiangyu; Liu, Yahui

2018-01-01

Angular displacement sensor on the actuator of automated manual transmission (AMT) is sensitive to fault, and the sensor fault will disturb its normal control, which affects the entire gear-shifting process of AMT and results in awful riding comfort. In order to solve this problem, this paper proposes a method of fault-tolerant control for AMT gear-shifting engaging process. By using the measured current of actuator motor and angular displacement of actuator, the gear-shifting engaging load torque table is built and updated before the occurrence of the sensor fault. Meanwhile, residual between estimated and measured angular displacements is used to detect the sensor fault. Once the residual exceeds a determined fault threshold, the sensor fault is detected. Then, switch control is triggered, and the current observer and load torque table estimates an actual gear-shifting position to replace the measured one to continue controlling the gear-shifting process. Numerical and experiment tests are carried out to evaluate the reliability and feasibility of proposed methods, and the results show that the performance of estimation and control is satisfactory.

High-latitude filtering in a global grid-point model using model normal modes. [Fourier filters for synoptic weather forecasting

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Takacs, L. L.; Kalnay, E.; Navon, I. M.

1985-01-01

A normal modes expansion technique is applied to perform high latitude filtering in the GLAS fourth order global shallow water model with orography. The maximum permissible time step in the solution code is controlled by the frequency of the fastest propagating mode, which can be a gravity wave. Numerical methods are defined for filtering the data to identify the number of gravity modes to be included in the computations in order to obtain the appropriate zonal wavenumbers. The performances of the model with and without the filter, and with a time tendency and a prognostic field filter are tested with simulations of the Northern Hemisphere winter. The normal modes expansion technique is shown to leave the Rossby modes intact and permit 3-5 day predictions, a range not possible with the other high-latitude filters.

Regional cerebral blood flow and anxiety: a correlation study in neurologically normal patients

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

Rodriguez, G.; Cogorno, P.; Gris, A.

1989-06-01

Regional CBF (rCBF) was evaluated by the /sup 133/Xe inhalation method in 60 neurologically normal patients (30 men and 30 women) and hemispheric and regional values were correlated with anxiety measurements collected by a self-rating questionnaire before and after the examination. Statistically significant negative correlations between rCBF and anxiety measures were found. rCBF reduction for high anxiety levels is in line with results previously reported by others and could be related to lower performance levels for moderately high anxiety scores as those reported in the present population. This could perhaps be explained by rearrangement of flow from cortical zones tomore » deeper areas of the brain, classically known to be implicated in the control of emotions. However, these results should be interpreted cautiously, since they were obtained in patients and not in normal subjects.« less

Design and Implementation of Multifunctional Automatic Drilling End Effector

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Zhanxi; Qin, Xiansheng; Bai, Jing; Tan, Xiaoqun; Li, Jing

2017-03-01

In order to realize the automatic drilling in aircraft assembly, a drilling end effector is designed by integrating the pressure unit, drilling unit, measurement unit, control system and frame structure. In order to reduce the hole deviation, this paper proposes a vertical normal adjustment program based on 4 laser distance sensors. The actual normal direction of workpiece surface can be calculated through the sensors measurements, and then robot posture is adjusted to realize the hole deviation correction. A base detection method is proposed to detect and locate the hole automatically by using the camera and the reference hole. The experiment results show that the position accuracy of the system is less than 0.3mm, and the normal precision is less than 0.5°. The drilling end effector and robot can greatly improve the efficiency of the aircraft parts and assembly quality, and reduce the product development cycle.

A High Power Density Single-Phase PWM Rectifier with Active Ripple Energy Storage

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

Ning, Puqi; Wang, Ruxi; Wang, Fei

It is well known that there exist second-order harmonic current and corresponding ripple voltage on dc bus for single phase PWM rectifiers. The low frequency harmonic current is normally filtered using a bulk capacitor in the bus which results in low power density. This paper proposed an active ripple energy storage method that can effectively reduce the energy storage capacitance. The feed-forward control method and design considerations are provided. Simulation and 15 kW experimental results are provided for verification purposes.

[Prevalence and quality of control of calcium and phosphorus metabolism disorders among Lithuanian hemodialysis patients in 2004 and 2005].

PubMed

Petrauskiene, Vaida; Ziginskiene, Edita; Kuzminskis, Vytautas; Burciuviene, Asta; Grazulis, Saulius; Sileikiene, Elvyra; Masalskiene, Jūrate; Juodeikiene, Laima; Tamosaitis, Donatas; Alisauskiene, Violeta

2007-01-01

The aim of the study was to determine the prevalence and quality of control of disorders of calcium and phosphorus metabolism among patients on hemodialysis in Lithuania during the period of 2004-2005 and to assess rarely used methods of treatment such as parathyroidectomy and administration of calcimimetics. All Lithuanian hemodialysis centers were visited, and data on disorders of calcium-phosphorus metabolism were collected in December 2004 and 2005. The quality of control was evaluated according to Kidney Disease Outcome Quality Initiative recommendations. According to Kidney Disease Outcome Quality Initiative guidelines, normal parathyroid hormone levels were found in 20.4% of hemodialysis patients in 2004 and 18.8% of hemodialysis patients in 2005; normal levels of phosphate were in 41.9% and 39.4%, respectively; normal levels of calcium were observed in 44.7% of patients in 2004 and in 42.3% of patients in 2005. In 2005 as compared to 2004, there were statistically significantly more patients with low parathyroid hormone level (39.9% and 45.8%, respectively, P<0.05). Only in 5.6% of patients in 2004 and 3.9% of patients in 2005, all four parameters of calcium-phosphate metabolism (calcium, phosphate, and of parathyroid hormone levels and calcium-phosphate product) were within the normal range. No parameters in the normal range were found in 17-20% of patients. The use of alfacalcidol significantly increased: 316 (30.8%) patients in 2004 and 388 (35.7%) patients in 2005 were treated with alfacalcidol (P<0.05). Alfacalcidol was prescribed for 16.5% of patients in 2004 and for 17% of patients in 2005, in whom parathyroid hormone level was below the normal range in the presence of hypercalcemia and hyperphosphatemia. The use of calcimimetics was considered rational in 142 (13.8%) patients in 2004 and 119 (10.9%) patients in 2005. According to the data of our study, parathyroidectomy was indicated in 19 (1.85%) patients in 2004 and 17 (1.56%) patients in 2005. According to Kidney Disease Outcome Quality Initiative recommendations, the control of disorders of calcium-phosphate metabolism in Lithuanian hemodialysis patients was insufficient in 2004 and 2005. One-third of the patients were treated with alfacalcidol when parathyroid hormone level was low and hypercalcemia and hyperphosphatemia persisted. Calcimimetics for the treatment of secondary hyperparathyroidism were administered in about 10% of patients.

Classifying depression patients and normal subjects using machine learning techniques and nonlinear features from EEG signal.

PubMed

Hosseinifard, Behshad; Moradi, Mohammad Hassan; Rostami, Reza

2013-03-01

Diagnosing depression in the early curable stages is very important and may even save the life of a patient. In this paper, we study nonlinear analysis of EEG signal for discriminating depression patients and normal controls. Forty-five unmedicated depressed patients and 45 normal subjects were participated in this study. Power of four EEG bands and four nonlinear features including detrended fluctuation analysis (DFA), higuchi fractal, correlation dimension and lyapunov exponent were extracted from EEG signal. For discriminating the two groups, k-nearest neighbor, linear discriminant analysis and logistic regression as the classifiers are then used. Highest classification accuracy of 83.3% is obtained by correlation dimension and LR classifier among other nonlinear features. For further improvement, all nonlinear features are combined and applied to classifiers. A classification accuracy of 90% is achieved by all nonlinear features and LR classifier. In all experiments, genetic algorithm is employed to select the most important features. The proposed technique is compared and contrasted with the other reported methods and it is demonstrated that by combining nonlinear features, the performance is enhanced. This study shows that nonlinear analysis of EEG can be a useful method for discriminating depressed patients and normal subjects. It is suggested that this analysis may be a complementary tool to help psychiatrists for diagnosing depressed patients. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Measurement of aspheric mirror by nanoprofiler using normal vector tracing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kitayama, Takao; Shiraji, Hiroki; Yamamura, Kazuya; Endo, Katsuyoshi

2016-09-01

Aspheric or free-form optics with high accuracy are necessary in many fields such as third-generation synchrotron radiation and extreme-ultraviolet lithography. Therefore the demand of measurement method for aspherical or free-form surface with nanometer accuracy increases. Purpose of our study is to develop a non-contact measurement technology for aspheric or free-form surfaces directly with high repeatability. To achieve this purpose we have developed threedimensional Nanoprofiler which detects normal vectors of sample surface. The measurement principle is based on the straightness of laser light and the accurate motion of rotational goniometers. This machine consists of four rotational stages, one translational stage and optical head which has the quadrant photodiode (QPD) and laser source. In this measurement method, we conform the incident light beam to reflect the beam by controlling five stages and determine the normal vectors and the coordinates of the surface from signal of goniometers, translational stage and QPD. We can obtain three-dimensional figure from the normal vectors and their coordinates by surface reconstruction algorithm. To evaluate performance of this machine we measure a concave aspheric mirror with diameter of 150 mm. As a result we achieve to measure large area of 150mm diameter. And we observe influence of systematic errors which the machine has. Then we simulated the influence and subtracted it from measurement result.

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

Ji, Changyoon, E-mail: changyoon@yonsei.ac.kr; Hong, Taehoon, E-mail: hong7@yonsei.ac.kr

Previous studies have proposed several methods for integrating characterized environmental impacts as a single index in life cycle assessment. Each of them, however, may lead to different results. This study presents internal and external normalization methods, weighting factors proposed by panel methods, and a monetary valuation based on an endpoint life cycle impact assessment method as the integration methods. Furthermore, this study investigates the differences among the integration methods and identifies the causes of the differences through a case study in which five elementary school buildings were used. As a result, when using internal normalization with weighting factors, the weightingmore » factors had a significant influence on the total environmental impacts whereas the normalization had little influence on the total environmental impacts. When using external normalization with weighting factors, the normalization had more significant influence on the total environmental impacts than weighing factors. Due to such differences, the ranking of the five buildings varied depending on the integration methods. The ranking calculated by the monetary valuation method was significantly different from that calculated by the normalization and weighting process. The results aid decision makers in understanding the differences among these integration methods, and, finally, help them select the method most appropriate for the goal at hand.« less

Association of anti-sperm antibodies with chronic prostatitis: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

PubMed

Jiang, Yumei; Cui, Dong; Du, Yuefeng; Lu, Jun; Yang, Lin; Li, Jinmei; Zhang, Jing; Bai, Xiaojing

2016-11-01

Chronic prostatitis is a risk factor for impaired male fertility potential, and anti-sperm antibodies (ASAs) cause the autoimmune disease immune infertility, which has a negative effect on semen parameters. Current studies have investigated the ASA-positive relationship between chronic prostatitis versus normal controls, but have shown inconsistent results. Hence, we systematic searched the PubMed, EMBASE, Science Direct/Elsevier, Medline, and the Cochrane Library up to October 2015 for case-control studies that involved the ASA-positive relationship between chronic prostatitis patients versus normal controls. The meta-analysis was performed with Review Manager and Stata software. After literature search, six studies were identified, including 721 cases of chronic prostatitis and 160 normal controls. Our results illustrated a significant correlation of the ASA-positive relationship between chronic prostatitis patients versus normal controls. The combined odds ratio of the ASA-positive rate in chronic prostatitis patients and normal controls was 3.26 (1.86-5.71). There was also a significant correlation of the ASA-positive relationship between National Institutes of Health (NIH) III versus normal controls, and the combined OR was 2.46 (1.10-5.51). However, there was no significant correlation of the ASA-positive relationship between National Institutes of Health (NIH) II versus normal controls. The present study illustrates that the positive rate of ASAs in chronic prostatitis patients was significantly higher than in the control group, suggesting that chronic prostatitis has a negative effect on male reproductive function. However, studies with larger samples are needed to better illuminate the correlation between ASAs and chronic prostatitis. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

A Method to Measure and Estimate Normalized Contrast in Infrared Flash Thermography

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Koshti, Ajay M.

2016-01-01

The paper presents further development in normalized contrast processing used in flash infrared thermography method. Method of computing normalized image or pixel intensity contrast, and normalized temperature contrast are provided. Methods of converting image contrast to temperature contrast and vice versa are provided. Normalized contrast processing in flash thermography is useful in quantitative analysis of flash thermography data including flaw characterization and comparison of experimental results with simulation. Computation of normalized temperature contrast involves use of flash thermography data acquisition set-up with high reflectivity foil and high emissivity tape such that the foil, tape and test object are imaged simultaneously. Methods of assessing other quantitative parameters such as emissivity of object, afterglow heat flux, reflection temperature change and surface temperature during flash thermography are also provided. Temperature imaging and normalized temperature contrast processing provide certain advantages over normalized image contrast processing by reducing effect of reflected energy in images and measurements, therefore providing better quantitative data. Examples of incorporating afterglow heat-flux and reflection temperature evolution in flash thermography simulation are also discussed.

Torque limit of PM motors for field-weakening region operation

DOEpatents

Royak, Semyon [Beachwood, OH; Harbaugh, Mark M [Richfield, OH

2012-02-14

The invention includes a motor controller and technique for controlling a permanent magnet motor. In accordance with one aspect of the present technique, a permanent magnet motor is controlled by receiving a torque command, determining a physical torque limit based on a stator frequency, determining a theoretical torque limit based on a maximum available voltage and motor inductance ratio, and limiting the torque command to the smaller of the physical torque limit and the theoretical torque limit. Receiving the torque command may include normalizing the torque command to obtain a normalized torque command, determining the physical torque limit may include determining a normalized physical torque limit, determining a theoretical torque limit may include determining a normalized theoretical torque limit, and limiting the torque command may include limiting the normalized torque command to the smaller of the normalized physical torque limit and the normalized theoretical torque limit.