Method and apparatus for improving resolution in spectrometers processing output steps from non-ideal signal sources

DOEpatents

Warburton, William K.; Momayezi, Michael

2006-06-20

A method and apparatus for processing step-like output signals (primary signals) generated by non-ideal, for example, nominally single-pole ("N-1P ") devices. An exemplary method includes creating a set of secondary signals by directing the primary signal along a plurality of signal paths to a signal summation point, summing the secondary signals reaching the signal summation point after propagating along the signal paths to provide a summed signal, performing a filtering or delaying operation in at least one of said signal paths so that the secondary signals reaching said summing point have a defined time correlation with respect to one another, applying a set of weighting coefficients to the secondary signals propagating along said signal paths, and performing a capturing operation after any filtering or delaying operations so as to provide a weighted signal sum value as a measure of the integrated area Q_gT of the input signal.

Outcomes of weight management in obese pet dogs: what can we do better?

PubMed

German, Alexander J

2016-08-01

Obesity is arguably the biggest health and welfare issue affecting pet dogs. Although successful weight loss has health benefits, current strategies are far from ideal. Many obese dogs that start a weight programme fail to lose weight, or subsequently regain the weight they have lost. Given that current weight loss strategies are not perfect, clinicians need to focus carefully on tailoring the programme, perhaps setting a pragmatic target for weight loss, so as to ensure the benefits are maximised. This review will summarise key findings from recent clinical research into pet obesity, and present a framework for improving success, by better tailoring weight management regimens and end points to the individual.

Determining an anthropometric surrogate measure for identifying low birth weight babies in Uganda: a hospital-based cross sectional study.

PubMed

Elizabeth, Nabiwemba L; Christopher, Orach Garimoi; Patrick, Kolsteren

2013-04-12

Achieving Millennium Development Goal 4 is dependent on significantly reducing neonatal mortality. Low birth weight is an underlying factor in most neonatal deaths. In developing countries the missed opportunity for providing life saving care is mainly a result of failure to identify low birth weight newborns. This study aimed at identifying a reliable anthropometric measurement for screening low birth weight and determining an operational cut-off point in the Uganda setting. This simple measurement is required because of lack of weighing scales in the community, and sometimes in the health facilities. This was a hospital-based cross-sectional study. Two midwives weighed 706 newborns and measured their foot length, head, chest, thigh and mid-upper arm circumferences within 24 hours after birth.Data was analysed using STATA version 10.0. Correlation with birth weight using Pearson's correlation coefficient and Receiver Operating Characteristics curve analysis were done to determine the measure that best predicts birth weight. Sensitivity and specificity were calculated for a range of measures to obtain operational cut-off points; and Likelihood Ratios and Diagnostic Odds Ratio were determined for each cut-off point. Birth weights ranged from 1370-5350 grams with a mean of 3050 grams (SD 0.53) and 85 (12%) babies weighed less than 2500 grams. All anthropometric measurements had a positive correlation with birth weight, with foot length showing the strongest (r = 0.76) and thigh circumference the weakest (r = 0.62) correlations. Foot length had the highest predictive value for low birth weight (AUC = 0.97) followed by mid-upper arm circumference (AUC = 0.94). Foot length and chest circumference had the highest sensitivity (94%) and specificity (90%) respectively for screening low birth weight babies at the selected cut-off points. Chest circumference had a significantly higher positive likelihood ratio (8.7) than any other measure, and foot length had the lowest negative likelihood ratio. Chest circumference and foot length had diagnostic odds ratios of 97% and 77% respectively. Foot length was easier to measure and it involved minimal exposure of the baby to cold. A cut-off of foot length 7.9 cm had sensitivity of 94% and specificity of 83% for predicting low birth weight. This study suggests foot length as the most appropriate predictor for low birth weight in comparison to chest, head, mid-upper arm and thigh circumference in the Uganda setting. Use of low cost and easy to use tools to identify low birth weight babies by village health teams could support community efforts to save newborns.

A Weighted Least Squares Approach To Robustify Least Squares Estimates.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lin, Chowhong; Davenport, Ernest C., Jr.

This study developed a robust linear regression technique based on the idea of weighted least squares. In this technique, a subsample of the full data of interest is drawn, based on a measure of distance, and an initial set of regression coefficients is calculated. The rest of the data points are then taken into the subsample, one after another,…

Consensus statement of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics/American Society for Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition: indicators recommended for the identification and documentation of pediatric malnutrition (undernutrition).

PubMed

Becker, Patricia; Carney, Liesje Nieman; Corkins, Mark R; Monczka, Jessica; Smith, Elizabeth; Smith, Susan E; Spear, Bonnie A; White, Jane V

2015-02-01

The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics (the Academy) and the American Society for Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition (A.S.P.E.N.), utilizing an evidence-informed, consensus-derived process, recommend that a standardized set of diagnostic indicators be used to identify and document pediatric malnutrition (undernutrition) in routine clinical practice. The recommended indicators include z scores for weight-for-height/length, body mass index-for-age, or length/height-for-age or mid-upper arm circumference when a single data point is available. When 2 or more data points are available, indicators may also include weight gain velocity (<2 years of age), weight loss (2-20 years of age), deceleration in weight for length/height z score, and inadequate nutrient intake. The purpose of this consensus statement is to identify a basic set of indicators that can be used to diagnose and document undernutrition in the pediatric population ages 1 month to 18 years. The indicators are intended for use in multiple settings (eg, acute, ambulatory care/outpatient, residential care). Several screening tools have been developed for use in hospitalized children. However, identifying criteria for use in screening for nutritional risk is not the purpose of this paper. Clinicians should use as many data points as available to identify and document the presence of malnutrition. The universal use of a single set of diagnostic parameters will expedite the recognition of pediatric undernutrition, lead to the development of more accurate estimates of its prevalence and incidence, direct interventions, and promote improved outcomes. A standardized diagnostic approach will also inform the prediction of the human and financial responsibilities and costs associated with the prevention and treatment of undernutrition in this vulnerable population and help to further ensure the provision of high-quality, cost-effective nutritional care. © 2014 American Society for Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition and Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.

A function space framework for structural total variation regularization with applications in inverse problems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hintermüller, Michael; Holler, Martin; Papafitsoros, Kostas

2018-06-01

In this work, we introduce a function space setting for a wide class of structural/weighted total variation (TV) regularization methods motivated by their applications in inverse problems. In particular, we consider a regularizer that is the appropriate lower semi-continuous envelope (relaxation) of a suitable TV type functional initially defined for sufficiently smooth functions. We study examples where this relaxation can be expressed explicitly, and we also provide refinements for weighted TV for a wide range of weights. Since an integral characterization of the relaxation in function space is, in general, not always available, we show that, for a rather general linear inverse problems setting, instead of the classical Tikhonov regularization problem, one can equivalently solve a saddle-point problem where no a priori knowledge of an explicit formulation of the structural TV functional is needed. In particular, motivated by concrete applications, we deduce corresponding results for linear inverse problems with norm and Poisson log-likelihood data discrepancy terms. Finally, we provide proof-of-concept numerical examples where we solve the saddle-point problem for weighted TV denoising as well as for MR guided PET image reconstruction.

Life cycle impact assessment weights to support environmentally preferable purchasing in the United States.

PubMed

Gloria, Thomas P; Lippiatt, Barbara C; Cooper, Jennifer

2007-11-01

LCA is a quantitative method for understanding the environmental impacts of a product, yet all product purchasing decisions are ultimately subjective. Weights are the nexus between the quantitative results of LCA and the values-based, subjective choices of decision makers. In May 2007, NIST introduced a new optional weight set in Version 4.0 of the BEES software. Three key points about this new optional weight set are the basis for discussion in this paper: The new weight set was created specifically in the context of BEES. It is intended to support a practical method to assist environmentally preferable purchasing in the United States based on LCIA results. This is in contrast to the weight sets currently in BEES, which are based on generalist perspectives. The new weight set was created by a multi-stakeholder panel via the AHP method, and is a synthesis of panelists' perspectives on the relative importance of each environmental impact category in BEES. The weight set draws on each panelist's personal and professional understanding of, and value attributed to, each impact category. While the synthesized weight set may not equally satisfy each panelist's view of impact importance, it does reflect contemporary values in applying LCAto real world decisions, and represents one approach others can learn from in producing weight sets. The new weight set offers BEES users an additional option for synthesizing and comparing the environmental performance of building products and making purchasing decisions. In so doing, it strengthens the decision-making process, which is important when making product comparisons in the public domain. The Weight Set: Across all panelists and with explicit consideration of all time horizons, anthropogenic contributions to global warming, weighted at 29%, was judged most important, yet not so important that decisions can be made solely on the basis of this impact. A strong tail of other concerns include fossil fuel depletion (10%), criteria air pollutants (9%), water intake/use (8%), human health cancerous effects (8%), ecological toxicity (7%), eutrophication of water bodies (6%), land use (6%), and human health noncancerous effects (5%). Also of interest are the identified impact areas of concern assigned the lowest weights: smog formation (4%), indoor air quality (3%), acidification (3%), and ozone depletion (2%). Their low weights may indicate that there is not as much immediate concern or that the remedial actions associated with the impact for the most part are underway.

Factor weighting in DRASTIC modeling.

PubMed

Pacheco, F A L; Pires, L M G R; Santos, R M B; Sanches Fernandes, L F

2015-02-01

Evaluation of aquifer vulnerability comprehends the integration of very diverse data, including soil characteristics (texture), hydrologic settings (recharge), aquifer properties (hydraulic conductivity), environmental parameters (relief), and ground water quality (nitrate contamination). It is therefore a multi-geosphere problem to be handled by a multidisciplinary team. The DRASTIC model remains the most popular technique in use for aquifer vulnerability assessments. The algorithm calculates an intrinsic vulnerability index based on a weighted addition of seven factors. In many studies, the method is subject to adjustments, especially in the factor weights, to meet the particularities of the studied regions. However, adjustments made by different techniques may lead to markedly different vulnerabilities and hence to insecurity in the selection of an appropriate technique. This paper reports the comparison of 5 weighting techniques, an enterprise not attempted before. The studied area comprises 26 aquifer systems located in Portugal. The tested approaches include: the Delphi consensus (original DRASTIC, used as reference), Sensitivity Analysis, Spearman correlations, Logistic Regression and Correspondence Analysis (used as adjustment techniques). In all cases but Sensitivity Analysis, adjustment techniques have privileged the factors representing soil characteristics, hydrologic settings, aquifer properties and environmental parameters, by leveling their weights to ≈4.4, and have subordinated the factors describing the aquifer media by downgrading their weights to ≈1.5. Logistic Regression predicts the highest and Sensitivity Analysis the lowest vulnerabilities. Overall, the vulnerability indices may be separated by a maximum value of 51 points. This represents an uncertainty of 2.5 vulnerability classes, because they are 20 points wide. Given this ambiguity, the selection of a weighting technique to integrate a vulnerability index may require additional expertise to be set up satisfactorily. Following a general criterion that weights must be proportional to the range of the ratings, Correspondence Analysis may be recommended as the best adjustment technique. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Does technique matter; a pilot study exploring weighting techniques for a multi-criteria decision support framework.

PubMed

van Til, Janine; Groothuis-Oudshoorn, Catharina; Lieferink, Marijke; Dolan, James; Goetghebeur, Mireille

2014-01-01

There is an increased interest in the use of multi-criteria decision analysis (MCDA) to support regulatory and reimbursement decision making. The EVIDEM framework was developed to provide pragmatic multi-criteria decision support in health care, to estimate the value of healthcare interventions, and to aid in priority-setting. The objectives of this study were to test 1) the influence of different weighting techniques on the overall outcome of an MCDA exercise, 2) the discriminative power in weighting different criteria of such techniques, and 3) whether different techniques result in similar weights in weighting the criteria set proposed by the EVIDEM framework. A sample of 60 Dutch and Canadian students participated in the study. Each student used an online survey to provide weights for 14 criteria with two different techniques: a five-point rating scale and one of the following techniques selected randomly: ranking, point allocation, pairwise comparison and best worst scaling. The results of this study indicate that there is no effect of differences in weights on value estimates at the group level. On an individual level, considerable differences in criteria weights and rank order occur as a result of the weight elicitation method used, and the ability of different techniques to discriminate in criteria importance. Of the five techniques tested, the pair-wise comparison of criteria has the highest ability to discriminate in weights when fourteen criteria are compared. When weights are intended to support group decisions, the choice of elicitation technique has negligible impact on criteria weights and the overall value of an innovation. However, when weights are used to support individual decisions, the choice of elicitation technique influences outcome and studies that use dissimilar techniques cannot be easily compared. Weight elicitation through pairwise comparison of criteria is preferred when taking into account its superior ability to discriminate between criteria and respondents' preferences.

Guidelines for Developing Spacecraft Structural Requirements: A Thermal and Environmental Perspective

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Holladay, Jon; Day, Greg; Gill, Larry

2004-01-01

Spacecraft are typically designed with a primary focus on weight in order to meet launch vehicle performance parameters. However, for pressurized and/or man-rated spacecraft, it is also necessary to have an understanding of the vehicle operating environments to properly size the pressure vessel. Proper sizing of the pressure vessel requires an understanding of the space vehicle's life cycle and compares the physical design optimization (weight and launch "cost") to downstream operational complexity and total life cycle cost. This paper will provide an overview of some major environmental design drivers and provide examples for calculating the optimal design pressure versus a selected set of design parameters related to thermal and environmental perspectives. In addition, this paper will provide a generic set of cracking pressures for both positive and negative pressure relief valves that encompasses worst case environmental effects for a variety of launch / landing sites. Finally, several examples are included to highlight pressure relief set points and vehicle weight impacts for a selected set of orbital missions.

Design of set-point weighting PIλ + Dμ controller for vertical magnetic flux controller in Damavand tokamak.

PubMed

Rasouli, H; Fatehi, A

2014-12-01

In this paper, a simple method is presented for tuning weighted PI(λ) + D(μ) controller parameters based on the pole placement controller of pseudo-second-order fractional systems. One of the advantages of this controller is capability of reducing the disturbance effects and improving response to input, simultaneously. In the following sections, the performance of this controller is evaluated experimentally to control the vertical magnetic flux in Damavand tokamak. For this work, at first a fractional order model is identified using output-error technique in time domain. For various practical experiments, having desired time responses for magnetic flux in Damavand tokamak, is vital. To approach this, at first the desired closed loop reference models are obtained based on generalized characteristic ratio assignment method in fractional order systems. After that, for the identified model, a set-point weighting PI(λ) + D(μ) controller is designed and simulated. Finally, this controller is implemented on digital signal processor control system of the plant to fast/slow control of magnetic flux. The practical results show appropriate performance of this controller.

Specific effects of a calorie-based intervention on stair climbing in overweight commuters.

PubMed

Lewis, Amanda L; Eves, Frank F

2011-10-01

Point-of-choice prompts consistently increase stair climbing; a greater increase in overweight than normal weight individuals was reported in a multi-component worksite campaign. The purpose of this study is to investigate effects of a multi-component campaign, on stair climbing, in a public access setting. In an interrupted-time-series-design, baseline observations (2 weeks) preceded a 2-week point-of-choice prompt. An additional message, positioned at the top of the climb for a further 6-week period, summarised the calorific consequences of a single ascent. Inconspicuous observers recorded traveller's methods of ascent, coded by sex and weight status, twice a week between 08:00 and 09:59. At baseline, the overweight chose stairs less than normal weight individuals. The multi-component campaign targeting weight control reversed this bias, increasing stair climbing only in overweight individuals. The specificity of the effect confirms the appeal of this lifestyle activity for the overweight. The discussion focuses on how intentions to control weight may be converted into behaviour.

Polynomial-Time Approximation Algorithm for the Problem of Cardinality-Weighted Variance-Based 2-Clustering with a Given Center

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kel'manov, A. V.; Motkova, A. V.

2018-01-01

A strongly NP-hard problem of partitioning a finite set of points of Euclidean space into two clusters is considered. The solution criterion is the minimum of the sum (over both clusters) of weighted sums of squared distances from the elements of each cluster to its geometric center. The weights of the sums are equal to the cardinalities of the desired clusters. The center of one cluster is given as input, while the center of the other is unknown and is determined as the point of space equal to the mean of the cluster elements. A version of the problem is analyzed in which the cardinalities of the clusters are given as input. A polynomial-time 2-approximation algorithm for solving the problem is constructed.

A simple weighted scoring system to guide surgical decision-making in patients with parapneumonic pleural effusion.

PubMed

Chang, Che-Chia; Chen, Tzu-Ping; Yeh, Chi-Hsiao; Huang, Pin-Fu; Wang, Yao-Chang; Yin, Shun-Ying

2016-11-01

The selection of ideal candidates for surgical intervention among patients with parapneumonic pleural effusion remains challenging. In this retrospective study, we sought to identify the main predictors of surgical treatment and devise a simple scoring system to guide surgical decision-making. Between 2005 and 2014, we identified 276 patients with parapneumonic pleural effusion. Patients in the training set (n=201) were divided into two groups according to their treatment modality (non-surgery vs. surgery). Using multivariable logistic regression analysis, we devised a scoring system to guide surgical decision-making. The score was subsequently validated in an independent set of 75 patients. A white blood cell count >13,500/µL, pleuritic pain, loculations, and split pleura sign were identified as independent predictors of surgical treatment. A weighted score based on these factors was devised, as follows: white blood cell count >13,500/µL (one point), pleuritic pain (one point), loculations (two points), and split pleura sign (three points). A score >4 was associated with a surgical approach with a sensitivity of 93.4%, a specificity of 82.4%, and an area under curve (AUC) of 0.879 (95% confidence interval: 0.828-0.930). In the validation set, a sensitivity of 94.3% and a specificity of 79.6% were found (AUC=0.869). The proposed scoring system reliably identifies patients with parapneumonic pleural effusion who are candidates for surgery. Pending independent external validation, our score may inform the appropriate use of surgical interventions in this clinical setting.

Determining an anthropometric surrogate measure for identifying low birth weight babies in Uganda: a hospital-based cross sectional study

PubMed Central

2013-01-01

Background Achieving Millennium Development Goal 4 is dependent on significantly reducing neonatal mortality. Low birth weight is an underlying factor in most neonatal deaths. In developing countries the missed opportunity for providing life saving care is mainly a result of failure to identify low birth weight newborns. This study aimed at identifying a reliable anthropometric measurement for screening low birth weight and determining an operational cut-off point in the Uganda setting. This simple measurement is required because of lack of weighing scales in the community, and sometimes in the health facilities. Methods This was a hospital-based cross-sectional study. Two midwives weighed 706 newborns and measured their foot length, head, chest, thigh and mid-upper arm circumferences within 24 hours after birth. Data was analysed using STATA version 10.0. Correlation with birth weight using Pearson’s correlation coefficient and Receiver Operating Characteristics curve analysis were done to determine the measure that best predicts birth weight. Sensitivity and specificity were calculated for a range of measures to obtain operational cut-off points; and Likelihood Ratios and Diagnostic Odds Ratio were determined for each cut-off point. Results Birth weights ranged from 1370–5350 grams with a mean of 3050 grams (SD 0.53) and 85 (12%) babies weighed less than 2500 grams. All anthropometric measurements had a positive correlation with birth weight, with foot length showing the strongest (r = 0.76) and thigh circumference the weakest (r = 0.62) correlations. Foot length had the highest predictive value for low birth weight (AUC = 0.97) followed by mid-upper arm circumference (AUC = 0.94). Foot length and chest circumference had the highest sensitivity (94%) and specificity (90%) respectively for screening low birth weight babies at the selected cut-off points. Chest circumference had a significantly higher positive likelihood ratio (8.7) than any other measure, and foot length had the lowest negative likelihood ratio. Chest circumference and foot length had diagnostic odds ratios of 97% and 77% respectively. Foot length was easier to measure and it involved minimal exposure of the baby to cold. A cut-off of foot length 7.9 cm had sensitivity of 94% and specificity of 83% for predicting low birth weight. Conclusions This study suggests foot length as the most appropriate predictor for low birth weight in comparison to chest, head, mid-upper arm and thigh circumference in the Uganda setting. Use of low cost and easy to use tools to identify low birth weight babies by village health teams could support community efforts to save newborns. PMID:23587297

Continuum Limit of Total Variation on Point Clouds

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

García Trillos, Nicolás; Slepčev, Dejan

2016-04-01

We consider point clouds obtained as random samples of a measure on a Euclidean domain. A graph representing the point cloud is obtained by assigning weights to edges based on the distance between the points they connect. Our goal is to develop mathematical tools needed to study the consistency, as the number of available data points increases, of graph-based machine learning algorithms for tasks such as clustering. In particular, we study when the cut capacity, and more generally total variation, on these graphs is a good approximation of the perimeter (total variation) in the continuum setting. We address this question in the setting of Γ-convergence. We obtain almost optimal conditions on the scaling, as the number of points increases, of the size of the neighborhood over which the points are connected by an edge for the Γ-convergence to hold. Taking of the limit is enabled by a transportation based metric which allows us to suitably compare functionals defined on different point clouds.

Automatic identification of the reference system based on the fourth ventricular landmarks in T1-weighted MR images.

PubMed

Fu, Yili; Gao, Wenpeng; Chen, Xiaoguang; Zhu, Minwei; Shen, Weigao; Wang, Shuguo

2010-01-01

The reference system based on the fourth ventricular landmarks (including the fastigial point and ventricular floor plane) is used in medical image analysis of the brain stem. The objective of this study was to develop a rapid, robust, and accurate method for the automatic identification of this reference system on T1-weighted magnetic resonance images. The fully automated method developed in this study consisted of four stages: preprocessing of the data set, expectation-maximization algorithm-based extraction of the fourth ventricle in the region of interest, a coarse-to-fine strategy for identifying the fastigial point, and localization of the base point. The method was evaluated on 27 Brain Web data sets qualitatively and 18 Internet Brain Segmentation Repository data sets and 30 clinical scans quantitatively. The results of qualitative evaluation indicated that the method was robust to rotation, landmark variation, noise, and inhomogeneity. The results of quantitative evaluation indicated that the method was able to identify the reference system with an accuracy of 0.7 +/- 0.2 mm for the fastigial point and 1.1 +/- 0.3 mm for the base point. It took <6 seconds for the method to identify the related landmarks on a personal computer with an Intel Core 2 6300 processor and 2 GB of random-access memory. The proposed method for the automatic identification of the reference system based on the fourth ventricular landmarks was shown to be rapid, robust, and accurate. The method has potentially utility in image registration and computer-aided surgery.

Multiview 3D sensing and analysis for high quality point cloud reconstruction

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Satnik, Andrej; Izquierdo, Ebroul; Orjesek, Richard

2018-04-01

Multiview 3D reconstruction techniques enable digital reconstruction of 3D objects from the real world by fusing different viewpoints of the same object into a single 3D representation. This process is by no means trivial and the acquisition of high quality point cloud representations of dynamic 3D objects is still an open problem. In this paper, an approach for high fidelity 3D point cloud generation using low cost 3D sensing hardware is presented. The proposed approach runs in an efficient low-cost hardware setting based on several Kinect v2 scanners connected to a single PC. It performs autocalibration and runs in real-time exploiting an efficient composition of several filtering methods including Radius Outlier Removal (ROR), Weighted Median filter (WM) and Weighted Inter-Frame Average filtering (WIFA). The performance of the proposed method has been demonstrated through efficient acquisition of dense 3D point clouds of moving objects.

Cubature versus Fekete-Gauss nodes for spectral element methods on simplicial meshes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pasquetti, Richard; Rapetti, Francesca

2017-10-01

In a recent JCP paper [9], a higher order triangular spectral element method (TSEM) is proposed to address seismic wave field modeling. The main interest of this TSEM is that the mass matrix is diagonal, so that an explicit time marching becomes very cheap. This property results from the fact that, similarly to the usual SEM (say QSEM), the basis functions are Lagrange polynomials based on a set of points that shows both nice interpolation and quadrature properties. In the quadrangle, i.e. for the QSEM, the set of points is simply obtained by tensorial product of Gauss-Lobatto-Legendre (GLL) points. In the triangle, finding such an appropriate set of points is however not trivial. Thus, the work of [9] follows anterior works that started in 2000's [2,6,11] and now provides cubature nodes and weights up to N = 9, where N is the total degree of the polynomial approximation. Here we wish to evaluate the accuracy of this cubature nodes TSEM with respect to the Fekete-Gauss one, see e.g.[12], that makes use of two sets of points, namely the Fekete points and the Gauss points of the triangle for interpolation and quadrature, respectively. Because the Fekete-Gauss TSEM is in the spirit of any nodal hp-finite element methods, one may expect that the conclusions of this Note will remain relevant if using other sets of carefully defined interpolation points.

Robust iterative closest point algorithm based on global reference point for rotation invariant registration.

PubMed

Du, Shaoyi; Xu, Yiting; Wan, Teng; Hu, Huaizhong; Zhang, Sirui; Xu, Guanglin; Zhang, Xuetao

2017-01-01

The iterative closest point (ICP) algorithm is efficient and accurate for rigid registration but it needs the good initial parameters. It is easily failed when the rotation angle between two point sets is large. To deal with this problem, a new objective function is proposed by introducing a rotation invariant feature based on the Euclidean distance between each point and a global reference point, where the global reference point is a rotation invariant. After that, this optimization problem is solved by a variant of ICP algorithm, which is an iterative method. Firstly, the accurate correspondence is established by using the weighted rotation invariant feature distance and position distance together. Secondly, the rigid transformation is solved by the singular value decomposition method. Thirdly, the weight is adjusted to control the relative contribution of the positions and features. Finally this new algorithm accomplishes the registration by a coarse-to-fine way whatever the initial rotation angle is, which is demonstrated to converge monotonically. The experimental results validate that the proposed algorithm is more accurate and robust compared with the original ICP algorithm.

Robust iterative closest point algorithm based on global reference point for rotation invariant registration

PubMed Central

Du, Shaoyi; Xu, Yiting; Wan, Teng; Zhang, Sirui; Xu, Guanglin; Zhang, Xuetao

2017-01-01

The iterative closest point (ICP) algorithm is efficient and accurate for rigid registration but it needs the good initial parameters. It is easily failed when the rotation angle between two point sets is large. To deal with this problem, a new objective function is proposed by introducing a rotation invariant feature based on the Euclidean distance between each point and a global reference point, where the global reference point is a rotation invariant. After that, this optimization problem is solved by a variant of ICP algorithm, which is an iterative method. Firstly, the accurate correspondence is established by using the weighted rotation invariant feature distance and position distance together. Secondly, the rigid transformation is solved by the singular value decomposition method. Thirdly, the weight is adjusted to control the relative contribution of the positions and features. Finally this new algorithm accomplishes the registration by a coarse-to-fine way whatever the initial rotation angle is, which is demonstrated to converge monotonically. The experimental results validate that the proposed algorithm is more accurate and robust compared with the original ICP algorithm. PMID:29176780

Bag-of-features based medical image retrieval via multiple assignment and visual words weighting.

PubMed

Wang, Jingyan; Li, Yongping; Zhang, Ying; Wang, Chao; Xie, Honglan; Chen, Guoling; Gao, Xin

2011-11-01

Bag-of-features based approaches have become prominent for image retrieval and image classification tasks in the past decade. Such methods represent an image as a collection of local features, such as image patches and key points with scale invariant feature transform (SIFT) descriptors. To improve the bag-of-features methods, we first model the assignments of local descriptors as contribution functions, and then propose a novel multiple assignment strategy. Assuming the local features can be reconstructed by their neighboring visual words in a vocabulary, reconstruction weights can be solved by quadratic programming. The weights are then used to build contribution functions, resulting in a novel assignment method, called quadratic programming (QP) assignment. We further propose a novel visual word weighting method. The discriminative power of each visual word is analyzed by the sub-similarity function in the bin that corresponds to the visual word. Each sub-similarity function is then treated as a weak classifier. A strong classifier is learned by boosting methods that combine those weak classifiers. The weighting factors of the visual words are learned accordingly. We evaluate the proposed methods on medical image retrieval tasks. The methods are tested on three well-known data sets, i.e., the ImageCLEFmed data set, the 304 CT Set, and the basal-cell carcinoma image set. Experimental results demonstrate that the proposed QP assignment outperforms the traditional nearest neighbor assignment, the multiple assignment, and the soft assignment, whereas the proposed boosting based weighting strategy outperforms the state-of-the-art weighting methods, such as the term frequency weights and the term frequency-inverse document frequency weights.

Design of set-point weighting PI{sup λ} + D{sup μ} controller for vertical magnetic flux controller in Damavand tokamak

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

Rasouli, H.; Fatehi, A.

2014-12-15

In this paper, a simple method is presented for tuning weighted PI{sup λ} + D{sup μ} controller parameters based on the pole placement controller of pseudo-second-order fractional systems. One of the advantages of this controller is capability of reducing the disturbance effects and improving response to input, simultaneously. In the following sections, the performance of this controller is evaluated experimentally to control the vertical magnetic flux in Damavand tokamak. For this work, at first a fractional order model is identified using output-error technique in time domain. For various practical experiments, having desired time responses for magnetic flux in Damavand tokamak,more » is vital. To approach this, at first the desired closed loop reference models are obtained based on generalized characteristic ratio assignment method in fractional order systems. After that, for the identified model, a set-point weighting PI{sup λ} + D{sup μ} controller is designed and simulated. Finally, this controller is implemented on digital signal processor control system of the plant to fast/slow control of magnetic flux. The practical results show appropriate performance of this controller.« less

Omega System Performance Assessment

DTIC Science & Technology

1989-03-01

defined locally (i.e., a point 3-9 function of space and time), a weighted average of P(X 3) over the earth’s surface is taken to match the definition...operations which follow, product indicates set intersection and addition indicates set union . 3-10 Bi event that only station i is off-air, i = 1, 2...case, event X3 could not occur under any circumstances. By expressing the set universe as the union of all possible (mutually exclusive) B-events, it is

Object matching using a locally affine invariant and linear programming techniques.

PubMed

Li, Hongsheng; Huang, Xiaolei; He, Lei

2013-02-01

In this paper, we introduce a new matching method based on a novel locally affine-invariant geometric constraint and linear programming techniques. To model and solve the matching problem in a linear programming formulation, all geometric constraints should be able to be exactly or approximately reformulated into a linear form. This is a major difficulty for this kind of matching algorithm. We propose a novel locally affine-invariant constraint which can be exactly linearized and requires a lot fewer auxiliary variables than other linear programming-based methods do. The key idea behind it is that each point in the template point set can be exactly represented by an affine combination of its neighboring points, whose weights can be solved easily by least squares. Errors of reconstructing each matched point using such weights are used to penalize the disagreement of geometric relationships between the template points and the matched points. The resulting overall objective function can be solved efficiently by linear programming techniques. Our experimental results on both rigid and nonrigid object matching show the effectiveness of the proposed algorithm.

Iterative Minimum Variance Beamformer with Low Complexity for Medical Ultrasound Imaging.

PubMed

Deylami, Ali Mohades; Asl, Babak Mohammadzadeh

2018-06-04

Minimum variance beamformer (MVB) improves the resolution and contrast of medical ultrasound images compared with delay and sum (DAS) beamformer. The weight vector of this beamformer should be calculated for each imaging point independently, with a cost of increasing computational complexity. The large number of necessary calculations limits this beamformer to application in real-time systems. A beamformer is proposed based on the MVB with lower computational complexity while preserving its advantages. This beamformer avoids matrix inversion, which is the most complex part of the MVB, by solving the optimization problem iteratively. The received signals from two imaging points close together do not vary much in medical ultrasound imaging. Therefore, using the previously optimized weight vector for one point as initial weight vector for the new neighboring point can improve the convergence speed and decrease the computational complexity. The proposed method was applied on several data sets, and it has been shown that the method can regenerate the results obtained by the MVB while the order of complexity is decreased from O(L 3 ) to O(L 2 ). Copyright © 2018 World Federation for Ultrasound in Medicine and Biology. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Accuracy of Inferior Vena Cava Ultrasound for Predicting Dehydration in Children with Acute Diarrhea in Resource-Limited Settings.

PubMed

Modi, Payal; Glavis-Bloom, Justin; Nasrin, Sabiha; Guy, Allysia; Chowa, Erika P; Dvor, Nathan; Dworkis, Daniel A; Oh, Michael; Silvestri, David M; Strasberg, Stephen; Rege, Soham; Noble, Vicki E; Alam, Nur H; Levine, Adam C

2016-01-01

Although dehydration from diarrhea is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality in children under five, existing methods of assessing dehydration status in children have limited accuracy. To assess the accuracy of point-of-care ultrasound measurement of the aorta-to-IVC ratio as a predictor of dehydration in children. A prospective cohort study of children under five years with acute diarrhea was conducted in the rehydration unit of the International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh (icddr,b). Ultrasound measurements of aorta-to-IVC ratio and dehydrated weight were obtained on patient arrival. Percent weight change was monitored during rehydration to classify children as having "some dehydration" with weight change 3-9% or "severe dehydration" with weight change > 9%. Logistic regression analysis and Receiver-Operator Characteristic (ROC) curves were used to evaluate the accuracy of aorta-to-IVC ratio as a predictor of dehydration severity. 850 children were enrolled, of which 771 were included in the final analysis. Aorta to IVC ratio was a significant predictor of the percent dehydration in children with acute diarrhea, with each 1-point increase in the aorta to IVC ratio predicting a 1.1% increase in the percent dehydration of the child. However, the area under the ROC curve (0.60), sensitivity (67%), and specificity (49%), for predicting severe dehydration were all poor. Point-of-care ultrasound of the aorta-to-IVC ratio was statistically associated with volume status, but was not accurate enough to be used as an independent screening tool for dehydration in children under five years presenting with acute diarrhea in a resource-limited setting.

Accuracy of Inferior Vena Cava Ultrasound for Predicting Dehydration in Children with Acute Diarrhea in Resource-Limited Settings

PubMed Central

Modi, Payal; Glavis-Bloom, Justin; Nasrin, Sabiha; Guy, Allysia; Rege, Soham; Noble, Vicki E.; Alam, Nur H.; Levine, Adam C.

2016-01-01

Introduction Although dehydration from diarrhea is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality in children under five, existing methods of assessing dehydration status in children have limited accuracy. Objective To assess the accuracy of point-of-care ultrasound measurement of the aorta-to-IVC ratio as a predictor of dehydration in children. Methods A prospective cohort study of children under five years with acute diarrhea was conducted in the rehydration unit of the International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh (icddr,b). Ultrasound measurements of aorta-to-IVC ratio and dehydrated weight were obtained on patient arrival. Percent weight change was monitored during rehydration to classify children as having “some dehydration” with weight change 3–9% or “severe dehydration” with weight change > 9%. Logistic regression analysis and Receiver-Operator Characteristic (ROC) curves were used to evaluate the accuracy of aorta-to-IVC ratio as a predictor of dehydration severity. Results 850 children were enrolled, of which 771 were included in the final analysis. Aorta to IVC ratio was a significant predictor of the percent dehydration in children with acute diarrhea, with each 1-point increase in the aorta to IVC ratio predicting a 1.1% increase in the percent dehydration of the child. However, the area under the ROC curve (0.60), sensitivity (67%), and specificity (49%), for predicting severe dehydration were all poor. Conclusions Point-of-care ultrasound of the aorta-to-IVC ratio was statistically associated with volume status, but was not accurate enough to be used as an independent screening tool for dehydration in children under five years presenting with acute diarrhea in a resource-limited setting. PMID:26766306

3D active shape models of human brain structures: application to patient-specific mesh generation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ravikumar, Nishant; Castro-Mateos, Isaac; Pozo, Jose M.; Frangi, Alejandro F.; Taylor, Zeike A.

2015-03-01

The use of biomechanics-based numerical simulations has attracted growing interest in recent years for computer-aided diagnosis and treatment planning. With this in mind, a method for automatic mesh generation of brain structures of interest, using statistical models of shape (SSM) and appearance (SAM), for personalised computational modelling is presented. SSMs are constructed as point distribution models (PDMs) while SAMs are trained using intensity profiles sampled from a training set of T1-weighted magnetic resonance images. The brain structures of interest are, the cortical surface (cerebrum, cerebellum & brainstem), lateral ventricles and falx-cerebri membrane. Two methods for establishing correspondences across the training set of shapes are investigated and compared (based on SSM quality): the Coherent Point Drift (CPD) point-set registration method and B-spline mesh-to-mesh registration method. The MNI-305 (Montreal Neurological Institute) average brain atlas is used to generate the template mesh, which is deformed and registered to each training case, to establish correspondence over the training set of shapes. 18 healthy patients' T1-weightedMRimages form the training set used to generate the SSM and SAM. Both model-training and model-fitting are performed over multiple brain structures simultaneously. Compactness and generalisation errors of the BSpline-SSM and CPD-SSM are evaluated and used to quantitatively compare the SSMs. Leave-one-out cross validation is used to evaluate SSM quality in terms of these measures. The mesh-based SSM is found to generalise better and is more compact, relative to the CPD-based SSM. Quality of the best-fit model instance from the trained SSMs, to test cases are evaluated using the Hausdorff distance (HD) and mean absolute surface distance (MASD) metrics.

Validation of an optical encoder during free weight resistance movements and analysis of bench press sticking point power during fatigue.

PubMed

Drinkwater, Eric J; Galna, Brook; McKenna, Michael J; Hunt, Patrick H; Pyne, David B

2007-05-01

During the concentric movement of the bench press, there is an initial high-power push after chest contact, immediately followed by a characteristic area of low power, the so-called "sticking region." During high-intensity lifting, a decline in power can result in a failed lift attempt. The purpose of this study was to determine the validity of an optical encoder to measure power and then employ this device to determine power changes during the initial acceleration and sticking region during fatiguing repeated bench press training. Twelve subjects performed a free weight bench press, a Smith Machine back squat, and a Smith Machine 40-kg bench press throw for power validation measures. All barbell movements were simultaneously monitored using cinematography and an optical encoder. Eccentric and concentric mean and peak power were calculated using time and position data derived from each method. Validity of power measures between the video (criterion) and optical encoder scores were evaluated by standard error of the estimate (SEE) and coefficient of variation (CV). Seven subjects then performed 4 sets of 6 free weight bench press repetitions progressively increasing from 85 to 95% of their 6 repetition maximum, with each repetition continually monitored by an optical encoder. The SEE for power ranged from 3.6 to 14.4 W (CV, 1.0-3.0%; correlation, 0.97-1.00). During the free weight bench press training, peak power declined by approximately 55% (p < 0.01) during the initial acceleration phase of the final 2 repetitions of the final set. Although decreases in power of the sticking point were significant (p < 0.01), as early as repetition 5 (-40%) they reached critically low levels in the final 2 repetitions (>-95%). In conclusion, the optical encoder provided valid measures of kinetics during free weight resistance training movements. The decline in power during the initial acceleration phase appears a factor in a failed lift attempt at the sticking point.

Addressing Weight Loss Recidivism: A Clinical Focus on Metabolic Rate and the Psychological Aspects of Obesity

PubMed Central

Grattan, Bruce J.; Connolly-Schoonen, Josephine

2012-01-01

Obesity in the United States has reached epidemic proportions and has become an unprecedented public health burden. This paper returns to the evidence for metabolic rate set points and emphasizes the clinical importance of addressing changes in metabolic rate throughout the weight loss process. In addition to the importance of clinically attending to the modulation of metabolic rate, the psychological aspects of obesity are addressed as part of the need to holistically treat obesity. PMID:24527265

Prioritizing material recovery for end-of-life printed circuit boards

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

Wang Xue, E-mail: xxw6590@rit.edu; Gaustad, Gabrielle, E-mail: gabrielle.gaustad@rit.edu

2012-10-15

Highlights: Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Material recovery driven by composition, choice of ranking, and weighting. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Economic potential for new recycling technologies quantified for several metrics. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Indicators developed for materials incurring high eco-toxicity costs. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Methodology useful for a variety of stakeholders, particularly policy-makers. - Abstract: The increasing growth in generation of electronic waste (e-waste) motivates a variety of waste reduction research. Printed circuit boards (PCBs) are an important sub-set of the overall e-waste stream due to the high value of the materials contained within them and potential toxicity. This work explores several environmental and economic metrics for prioritizing the recovery ofmore » materials from end-of-life PCBs. A weighted sum model is used to investigate the trade-offs among economic value, energy saving potentials, and eco-toxicity. Results show that given equal weights for these three sustainability criteria gold has the highest recovery priority, followed by copper, palladium, aluminum, tin, lead, platinum, nickel, zinc, and silver. However, recovery priority will change significantly due to variation in the composition of PCBs, choice of ranking metrics, and weighting factors when scoring multiple metrics. These results can be used by waste management decision-makers to quantify the value and environmental savings potential for recycling technology development and infrastructure. They can also be extended by policy-makers to inform possible penalties for land-filling PCBs or exporting to the informal recycling sector. The importance of weighting factors when examining recovery trade-offs, particularly for policies regarding PCB collection and recycling are explored further.« less

Optical signature of Weyl electronic structures in tantalum pnictides Ta P n (P n = P, As)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kimura, Shin-ichi; Yokoyama, Hiroko; Watanabe, Hiroshi; Sichelschmidt, Jörg; Süß, Vicky; Schmidt, Marcus; Felser, Claudia

2017-08-01

To investigate the electronic structure of Weyl semimetals Ta P n (P n = P, As), optical conductivity [σ (ω )] spectra are measured over a wide range of photon energies and temperatures, and these measured values are compared with band calculations. Two significant structures can be observed: a bending structure at ℏ ω ˜85 meV in TaAs, and peaks at ℏ ω ˜ 50 meV (TaP) and ˜30 meV (TaAs). The bending structure can be explained by the interband transition between saddle points connecting a set of W2 Weyl points. The temperature dependence of the peak intensity can be fitted by assuming the interband transition between saddle points connecting a set of W1 Weyl points. Owing to the different temperature dependence of the Drude weight in both materials, it is found that the Weyl points of TaAs are located near the Fermi level, whereas those of TaP are further away.

Invited commentary: Timing and types of cardiovascular risk factors in relation to offspring birth weight.

PubMed

Ness, Roberta B; Catov, Janet

2007-12-15

Birth weight is associated with later-life cardiovascular risk. A new study by Romundstad et al. (Am J Epidemiol 2007;166:1359-1364) challenges us to consider influences on birth weight with respect to timing and type. Timing of effects on birth weight, according to the "fetal origins hypothesis," is in utero. Alternatively, familial aggregation--genetics or shared environment--may explain birth weight and suggests prepregnancy influences. The Romundstad et al. findings support familial effects: maternal metabolic factors predicted birth weight for gestational age. However, because maternal physiology sets the fetal environment, these data do not necessarily counter the fetal origins hypothesis. Types of maternal metabolic influences demonstrated by Romundstad et al. include elevations in blood pressure being associated with lower birth weight for gestational age, whereas unfavorable glucose and lipid levels were associated with higher birth weight. These findings are consistent with the authors prior hypothesis that vascular dysfunction and metabolic profile (glucose and lipids) have divergent effects during pregnancy. Moreover, these new data underscore that both extremes of birth weight may be related to cardiovascular risk. Few data sets contain prepregnancy, pregnancy, and childhood information. Without all such time points, life course effects will remain only partially understood. It is hoped that studies such as the forthcoming National Children's Study will generate critical understanding of this issue.

A weighted adjustment of a similarity transformation between two point sets containing errors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Marx, C.

2017-10-01

For an adjustment of a similarity transformation, it is often appropriate to consider that both the source and the target coordinates of the transformation are affected by errors. For the least squares adjustment of this problem, a direct solution is possible in the cases of specific-weighing schemas of the coordinates. Such a problem is considered in the present contribution and a direct solution is generally derived for the m-dimensional space. The applied weighing schema allows (fully populated) point-wise weight matrices for the source and target coordinates, both weight matrices have to be proportional to each other. Additionally, the solutions of two borderline cases of this weighting schema are derived, which only consider errors in the source or target coordinates. The investigated solution of the rotation matrix of the adjustment is independent of the scaling between the weight matrices of the source and the target coordinates. The mentioned borderline cases, therefore, have the same solution of the rotation matrix. The direct solution method is successfully tested on an example of a 3D similarity transformation using a comparison with an iterative solution based on the Gauß-Helmert model.

Application of the QSPR approach to the boiling points of azeotropes.

PubMed

Katritzky, Alan R; Stoyanova-Slavova, Iva B; Tämm, Kaido; Tamm, Tarmo; Karelson, Mati

2011-04-21

CODESSA Pro derivative descriptors were calculated for a data set of 426 azeotropic mixtures by the centroid approximation and the weighted-contribution-factor approximation. The two approximations produced almost identical four-descriptor QSPR models relating the structural characteristic of the individual components of azeotropes to the azeotropic boiling points. These models were supported by internal and external validations. The descriptors contributing to the QSPR models are directly related to the three components of the enthalpy (heat) of vaporization.

Performance Analysis of Entropy Methods on K Means in Clustering Process

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dicky Syahputra Lubis, Mhd.; Mawengkang, Herman; Suwilo, Saib

2017-12-01

K Means is a non-hierarchical data clustering method that attempts to partition existing data into one or more clusters / groups. This method partitions the data into clusters / groups so that data that have the same characteristics are grouped into the same cluster and data that have different characteristics are grouped into other groups.The purpose of this data clustering is to minimize the objective function set in the clustering process, which generally attempts to minimize variation within a cluster and maximize the variation between clusters. However, the main disadvantage of this method is that the number k is often not known before. Furthermore, a randomly chosen starting point may cause two points to approach the distance to be determined as two centroids. Therefore, for the determination of the starting point in K Means used entropy method where this method is a method that can be used to determine a weight and take a decision from a set of alternatives. Entropy is able to investigate the harmony in discrimination among a multitude of data sets. Using Entropy criteria with the highest value variations will get the highest weight. Given this entropy method can help K Means work process in determining the starting point which is usually determined at random. Thus the process of clustering on K Means can be more quickly known by helping the entropy method where the iteration process is faster than the K Means Standard process. Where the postoperative patient dataset of the UCI Repository Machine Learning used and using only 12 data as an example of its calculations is obtained by entropy method only with 2 times iteration can get the desired end result.

What Variables are Associated with Successful Weight Loss Outcomes for Bariatric Surgery After One Year?

PubMed Central

Robinson, Athena H.; Adler, Sarah; Stevens, Helen B.; Darcy, Alison M.; Morton, John M.; Safer, Debra L.

2014-01-01

Background Prior evidence indicates that predictors of weight loss outcomes after gastric bypass surgery fall within 5 domains: 1) presurgical factors; 2) postsurgical psychosocial variables (e.g., support group attendance); 3) postsurgical eating patterns; 4) postsurgical physical activity; and 5) follow-up at postsurgical clinic. However, little data exist on which specific behavioral predictors are most associated with successful outcomes (e.g., ≥50% excess weight loss) when considering the 5 domains simultaneously. Objectives Specify the behavioral variables, and their respective cutoff points, most associated with successful weight loss outcomes. Setting On-line survey. Methods Signal Detection Analysis evaluated associations between 84 pre-and postsurgical behavioral variables (within the 5 domains) and successful weight loss at ≥1 year in 274 post-gastric bypass surgery patients. Results Successful weight loss was highest (92.6%) among those reporting dietary adherence of >3 on a 9 point scale (median=5) who grazed no more than once-per-day. Among participants reporting dietary adherence <3 and grazing daily or less, success rates more than doubled when highest lifetime Body Mass Index was <53.7 kg/m2. Success rates also doubled for participants with dietary adherence =3 if attending support groups. No variables from the physical activity or postsurgical follow-up domains were significant, nor were years since surgery. The overall model’s sensitivity =.62, specificity =.92. Conclusions To our knowledge, this is the first study to simultaneously consider the relative contribution of behavioral variables within 5 domains and offer clinicians an assessment algorithm identifying cut-off points for behaviors most associated with successful postsurgical weight loss. Such data may inform prospective study designs and postsurgical interventions. PMID:24913590

Gaussian windows: A tool for exploring multivariate data

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Jaeckel, Louis A.

1990-01-01

Presented here is a method for interactively exploring a large set of quantitative multivariate data, in order to estimate the shape of the underlying density function. It is assumed that the density function is more or less smooth, but no other specific assumptions are made concerning its structure. The local structure of the data in a given region may be examined by viewing the data through a Gaussian window, whose location and shape are chosen by the user. A Gaussian window is defined by giving each data point a weight based on a multivariate Gaussian function. The weighted sample mean and sample covariance matrix are then computed, using the weights attached to the data points. These quantities are used to compute an estimate of the shape of the density function in the window region. The local structure of the data is described by a method similar to the method of principal components. By taking many such local views of the data, we can form an idea of the structure of the data set. The method is applicable in any number of dimensions. The method can be used to find and describe simple structural features such as peaks, valleys, and saddle points in the density function, and also extended structures in higher dimensions. With some practice, we can apply our geometrical intuition to these structural features in any number of dimensions, so that we can think about and describe the structure of the data. Since the computations involved are relatively simple, the method can easily be implemented on a small computer.

Discrete cosine and sine transforms generalized to honeycomb lattice

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hrivnák, Jiří; Motlochová, Lenka

2018-06-01

The discrete cosine and sine transforms are generalized to a triangular fragment of the honeycomb lattice. The honeycomb point sets are constructed by subtracting the root lattice from the weight lattice points of the crystallographic root system A2. The two-variable orbit functions of the Weyl group of A2, discretized simultaneously on the weight and root lattices, induce a novel parametric family of extended Weyl orbit functions. The periodicity and von Neumann and Dirichlet boundary properties of the extended Weyl orbit functions are detailed. Three types of discrete complex Fourier-Weyl transforms and real-valued Hartley-Weyl transforms are described. Unitary transform matrices and interpolating behavior of the discrete transforms are exemplified. Consequences of the developed discrete transforms for transversal eigenvibrations of the mechanical graphene model are discussed.

A New Source Biasing Approach in ADVANTG

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

Bevill, Aaron M; Mosher, Scott W

2012-01-01

The ADVANTG code has been developed at Oak Ridge National Laboratory to generate biased sources and weight window maps for MCNP using the CADIS and FW-CADIS methods. In preparation for an upcoming RSICC release, a new approach for generating a biased source has been developed. This improvement streamlines user input and improves reliability. Previous versions of ADVANTG generated the biased source from ADVANTG input, writing an entirely new general fixed-source definition (SDEF). Because volumetric sources were translated into SDEF-format as a finite set of points, the user had to perform a convergence study to determine whether the number of sourcemore » points used accurately represented the source region. Further, the large number of points that must be written in SDEF-format made the MCNP input and output files excessively long and difficult to debug. ADVANTG now reads SDEF-format distributions and generates corresponding source biasing cards, eliminating the need for a convergence study. Many problems of interest use complicated source regions that are defined using cell rejection. In cell rejection, the source distribution in space is defined using an arbitrarily complex cell and a simple bounding region. Source positions are sampled within the bounding region but accepted only if they fall within the cell; otherwise, the position is resampled entirely. When biasing in space is applied to sources that use rejection sampling, current versions of MCNP do not account for the rejection in setting the source weight of histories, resulting in an 'unfair game'. This problem was circumvented in previous versions of ADVANTG by translating volumetric sources into a finite set of points, which does not alter the mean history weight ({bar w}). To use biasing parameters without otherwise modifying the original cell-rejection SDEF-format source, ADVANTG users now apply a correction factor for {bar w} in post-processing. A stratified-random sampling approach in ADVANTG is under development to automatically report the correction factor with estimated uncertainty. This study demonstrates the use of ADVANTG's new source biasing method, including the application of {bar w}.« less

Level set method for image segmentation based on moment competition

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Min, Hai; Wang, Xiao-Feng; Huang, De-Shuang; Jin, Jing; Wang, Hong-Zhi; Li, Hai

2015-05-01

We propose a level set method for image segmentation which introduces the moment competition and weakly supervised information into the energy functional construction. Different from the region-based level set methods which use force competition, the moment competition is adopted to drive the contour evolution. Here, a so-called three-point labeling scheme is proposed to manually label three independent points (weakly supervised information) on the image. Then the intensity differences between the three points and the unlabeled pixels are used to construct the force arms for each image pixel. The corresponding force is generated from the global statistical information of a region-based method and weighted by the force arm. As a result, the moment can be constructed and incorporated into the energy functional to drive the evolving contour to approach the object boundary. In our method, the force arm can take full advantage of the three-point labeling scheme to constrain the moment competition. Additionally, the global statistical information and weakly supervised information are successfully integrated, which makes the proposed method more robust than traditional methods for initial contour placement and parameter setting. Experimental results with performance analysis also show the superiority of the proposed method on segmenting different types of complicated images, such as noisy images, three-phase images, images with intensity inhomogeneity, and texture images.

A Division-Dependent Compartmental Model for Computing Cell Numbers in CFSE-based Lymphocyte Proliferation Assays

DTIC Science & Technology

2012-02-12

is the total number of data points, is an approximately unbiased estimate of the “expected relative Kullback - Leibler distance” ( information loss...possible models). Thus, after each model from Table 2 is fit to a data set, we can compute the Akaike weights for the set of candidate models and use ...computed from the OLS best- fit model solution (top), from a deconvolution of the data using normal curves (middle) and from a deconvolution of the data

The utility of monetary contingency contracts for weight loss: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

PubMed

Sykes-Muskett, Bianca J; Prestwich, Andrew; Lawton, Rebecca J; Armitage, Christopher J

2015-01-01

Financial incentives to improve health have received increasing attention, but are subject to ethical concerns. Monetary Contingency Contracts (MCCs), which require individuals to deposit money that is refunded contingent on reaching a goal, are a potential alternative strategy. This review evaluates systematically the evidence for weight loss-related MCCs. Randomised controlled trials testing the effect of weight loss-related MCCs were identified in online databases. Random-effects meta-analyses were used to calculate overall effect sizes for weight loss and participant retention. The association between MCC characteristics and weight loss/participant retention effects was calculated using meta-regression. There was a significant small-to-medium effect of MCCs on weight loss during treatment when one outlier study was removed. Group refunds, deposit not paid as lump sum, participants setting their own deposit size and additional behaviour change techniques were associated with greater weight loss during treatment. Post-treatment, there was no significant effect of MCCs on weight loss. There was a significant small-to-medium effect of MCCs on participant retention during treatment. Researcher-set deposits paid as one lump sum, refunds delivered on an all-or-nothing basis and refunds contingent on attendance at classes were associated with greater retention during treatment. Post-treatment, there was no significant effect of MCCs on participant retention. The results support the use of MCCs to promote weight loss and participant retention up to the point that the incentive is removed and identifies the conditions under which MCCs work best.

Supervised orthogonal discriminant subspace projects learning for face recognition.

PubMed

Chen, Yu; Xu, Xiao-Hong

2014-02-01

In this paper, a new linear dimension reduction method called supervised orthogonal discriminant subspace projection (SODSP) is proposed, which addresses high-dimensionality of data and the small sample size problem. More specifically, given a set of data points in the ambient space, a novel weight matrix that describes the relationship between the data points is first built. And in order to model the manifold structure, the class information is incorporated into the weight matrix. Based on the novel weight matrix, the local scatter matrix as well as non-local scatter matrix is defined such that the neighborhood structure can be preserved. In order to enhance the recognition ability, we impose an orthogonal constraint into a graph-based maximum margin analysis, seeking to find a projection that maximizes the difference, rather than the ratio between the non-local scatter and the local scatter. In this way, SODSP naturally avoids the singularity problem. Further, we develop an efficient and stable algorithm for implementing SODSP, especially, on high-dimensional data set. Moreover, the theoretical analysis shows that LPP is a special instance of SODSP by imposing some constraints. Experiments on the ORL, Yale, Extended Yale face database B and FERET face database are performed to test and evaluate the proposed algorithm. The results demonstrate the effectiveness of SODSP. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Core body temperature in obesity.

PubMed

Heikens, Marc J; Gorbach, Alexander M; Eden, Henry S; Savastano, David M; Chen, Kong Y; Skarulis, Monica C; Yanovski, Jack A

2011-05-01

A lower core body temperature set point has been suggested to be a factor that could potentially predispose humans to develop obesity. We tested the hypothesis that obese individuals have lower core temperatures than those in normal-weight individuals. In study 1, nonobese [body mass index (BMI; in kg/m(2)) <30] and obese (BMI ≥30) adults swallowed wireless core temperature-sensing capsules, and we measured core temperatures continuously for 24 h. In study 2, normal-weight (BMI of 18-25) and obese subjects swallowed temperature-sensing capsules to measure core temperatures continuously for ≥48 h and kept activity logs. We constructed daily, 24-h core temperature profiles for analysis. Mean (±SE) daily core body temperature did not differ significantly between the 35 nonobese and 46 obese subjects (36.92 ± 0.03°C compared with 36.89 ± 0.03°C; P = 0.44). Core temperature 24-h profiles did not differ significantly between 11 normal-weight and 19 obese subjects (P = 0.274). Women had a mean core body temperature ≈0.23°C greater than that of men (36.99 ± 0.03°C compared with 36.76 ± 0.03°C; P < 0.0001). Obesity is not generally associated with a reduced core body temperature. It may be necessary to study individuals with function-altering mutations in core temperature-regulating genes to determine whether differences in the core body temperature set point affect the regulation of human body weight. These trials were registered at clinicaltrials.gov as NCT00428987 and NCT00266500.

Core body temperature in obesity123

PubMed Central

Heikens, Marc J; Gorbach, Alexander M; Eden, Henry S; Savastano, David M; Chen, Kong Y; Skarulis, Monica C

2011-01-01

Background: A lower core body temperature set point has been suggested to be a factor that could potentially predispose humans to develop obesity. Objective: We tested the hypothesis that obese individuals have lower core temperatures than those in normal-weight individuals. Design: In study 1, nonobese [body mass index (BMI; in kg/m2) <30] and obese (BMI ≥30) adults swallowed wireless core temperature–sensing capsules, and we measured core temperatures continuously for 24 h. In study 2, normal-weight (BMI of 18–25) and obese subjects swallowed temperature-sensing capsules to measure core temperatures continuously for ≥48 h and kept activity logs. We constructed daily, 24-h core temperature profiles for analysis. Results: Mean (±SE) daily core body temperature did not differ significantly between the 35 nonobese and 46 obese subjects (36.92 ± 0.03°C compared with 36.89 ± 0.03°C; P = 0.44). Core temperature 24-h profiles did not differ significantly between 11 normal-weight and 19 obese subjects (P = 0.274). Women had a mean core body temperature ≈0.23°C greater than that of men (36.99 ± 0.03°C compared with 36.76 ± 0.03°C; P < 0.0001). Conclusions: Obesity is not generally associated with a reduced core body temperature. It may be necessary to study individuals with function-altering mutations in core temperature–regulating genes to determine whether differences in the core body temperature set point affect the regulation of human body weight. These trials were registered at clinicaltrials.gov as NCT00428987 and NCT00266500. PMID:21367952

[The principal components analysis--method to classify the statistical variables with applications in medicine].

PubMed

Dascălu, Cristina Gena; Antohe, Magda Ecaterina

2009-01-01

Based on the eigenvalues and the eigenvectors analysis, the principal component analysis has the purpose to identify the subspace of the main components from a set of parameters, which are enough to characterize the whole set of parameters. Interpreting the data for analysis as a cloud of points, we find through geometrical transformations the directions where the cloud's dispersion is maximal--the lines that pass through the cloud's center of weight and have a maximal density of points around them (by defining an appropriate criteria function and its minimization. This method can be successfully used in order to simplify the statistical analysis on questionnaires--because it helps us to select from a set of items only the most relevant ones, which cover the variations of the whole set of data. For instance, in the presented sample we started from a questionnaire with 28 items and, applying the principal component analysis we identified 7 principal components--or main items--fact that simplifies significantly the further data statistical analysis.

Wind Tunnel Strain-Gage Balance Calibration Data Analysis Using a Weighted Least Squares Approach

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ulbrich, N.; Volden, T.

2017-01-01

A new approach is presented that uses a weighted least squares fit to analyze wind tunnel strain-gage balance calibration data. The weighted least squares fit is specifically designed to increase the influence of single-component loadings during the regression analysis. The weighted least squares fit also reduces the impact of calibration load schedule asymmetries on the predicted primary sensitivities of the balance gages. A weighting factor between zero and one is assigned to each calibration data point that depends on a simple count of its intentionally loaded load components or gages. The greater the number of a data point's intentionally loaded load components or gages is, the smaller its weighting factor becomes. The proposed approach is applicable to both the Iterative and Non-Iterative Methods that are used for the analysis of strain-gage balance calibration data in the aerospace testing community. The Iterative Method uses a reasonable estimate of the tare corrected load set as input for the determination of the weighting factors. The Non-Iterative Method, on the other hand, uses gage output differences relative to the natural zeros as input for the determination of the weighting factors. Machine calibration data of a six-component force balance is used to illustrate benefits of the proposed weighted least squares fit. In addition, a detailed derivation of the PRESS residuals associated with a weighted least squares fit is given in the appendices of the paper as this information could not be found in the literature. These PRESS residuals may be needed to evaluate the predictive capabilities of the final regression models that result from a weighted least squares fit of the balance calibration data.

Pattern of growth of very low birth weight preterm infants, assessed using the WHO Growth Standards, is associated with neurodevelopment.

PubMed

Nash, Andrea; Dunn, Michael; Asztalos, Elizabeth; Corey, Mary; Mulvihill-Jory, Bridget; O'Connor, Deborah L

2011-08-01

Several Canadian professional organizations recently recommended that the growth of preterm infants be monitored using the World Health Organization Growth Standards (WHO-GS) after hospital discharge. The WHO-GS are a prescriptive set of growth charts that describe how term infants should grow under ideal environmental conditions. Whether preterm infants following this pattern of growth have better outcomes than infants that do not has yet to be evaluated. Our aim was to determine whether the pattern of growth of very low birth weight (VLBW) infants during the first 2 years, assessed using the WHO-GS or the traditional Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reference growth charts (CDC-RGC), is associated with neurodevelopment. Pattern of weight, length, and head circumference gain of appropriate-for-gestation VLBW preterm infants (n = 289) from birth to 18-24 months corrected age was classified, using the WHO-GS and CDC-RGC, as sustained (change in Z-score ≤1 SD), decelerated (decline >1 SD), or accelerated (incline >1 SD). Development was assessed using the Bayley Scales of Infant and Toddler Development (BSID)-III at 18-24 months corrected age. Using the WHO-GS, children with a decelerated pattern of weight gain had lower cognitive (10 points), language (6 points), and motor (4 points) scores than infants with sustained weight gain (p < 0.05), even after adjustment for morbidities. No association was found using the CDC-RGC. In conclusion, a decelerated pattern of weight gain, determined with the WHO-GS, but not the CDC-GRC, is associated with poorer neurodevelopment scores on the BSID-III than a pattern of sustained growth.

Generalized sidelobe canceler beamforming applied to medical ultrasound imaging

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Jiake; Chen, Xiaodong; Wang, Yi; Shi, Yifeng; Yu, Daoyin

2017-03-01

A generalized sidelobe canceler (GSC) approach is proposed for medical ultrasound imaging. The approach uses a set of adaptive weights instead of traditional non-adaptive weights, thus suppressing the interference and noise signal of echo data. In order to verify the validity of the proposed approach, Field II is applied to obtain the echo data of synthetic aperture (SA) for 13 scattering points and circular cysts. The performance of GSC is compared with SA using boxcar weights and Hamming weights, and is quantified by the full width at half maximum (FWHM) and peak signal-to-noise ratio (PSNR). Imaging of scattering point utilizing SA, SA (hamming), GSC provides FWHMs of 1.13411, 1.68910, 0.36195 mm and PSNRs of 60.65, 57.51, 66.72 dB, respectively. The simulation results of circular cyst also show that GSC can perform better lateral resolution than non-adaptive beamformers. Finally, an experiment is conducted on the basis of actual echo data of an ultrasound system, the imaging result after SA, SA (hamming), GSC provides PWHMs of 2.55778, 3.66776, 1.01346 mm at z = 75.6 mm, and 2.65430, 3.76428, 1.27889 mm at z = 77.3 mm, respectively.

Fast Voronoi Diagrams and Offsets on Triangulated Surfaces

DTIC Science & Technology

2000-01-01

118 (1996), 499-508. 14. Malladi , R ., and J. A. Sethian, An O(N log N) algorithm for shape mod- eling, Proceedings of National Academy of Sciences...rights of reproduction in any form reserved. 194 R . Kimmel and J. A. Sethian the Osher-Sethian level set method [16,20], which grew out of Sethian’s...where .F(x, y) : R 2 -* R + is a function that defines a weight for each point in the domain. The distance map T(x, y) from a given point Po assigns

Error Distribution Evaluation of the Third Vanishing Point Based on Random Statistical Simulation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, C.

2012-07-01

POS, integrated by GPS / INS (Inertial Navigation Systems), has allowed rapid and accurate determination of position and attitude of remote sensing equipment for MMS (Mobile Mapping Systems). However, not only does INS have system error, but also it is very expensive. Therefore, in this paper error distributions of vanishing points are studied and tested in order to substitute INS for MMS in some special land-based scene, such as ground façade where usually only two vanishing points can be detected. Thus, the traditional calibration approach based on three orthogonal vanishing points is being challenged. In this article, firstly, the line clusters, which parallel to each others in object space and correspond to the vanishing points, are detected based on RANSAC (Random Sample Consensus) and parallelism geometric constraint. Secondly, condition adjustment with parameters is utilized to estimate nonlinear error equations of two vanishing points (VX, VY). How to set initial weights for the adjustment solution of single image vanishing points is presented. Solving vanishing points and estimating their error distributions base on iteration method with variable weights, co-factor matrix and error ellipse theory. Thirdly, under the condition of known error ellipses of two vanishing points (VX, VY) and on the basis of the triangle geometric relationship of three vanishing points, the error distribution of the third vanishing point (VZ) is calculated and evaluated by random statistical simulation with ignoring camera distortion. Moreover, Monte Carlo methods utilized for random statistical estimation are presented. Finally, experimental results of vanishing points coordinate and their error distributions are shown and analyzed.

The effect of smoking habit changes on body weight: Evidence from the UK.

PubMed

Pieroni, Luca; Salmasi, Luca

2016-03-01

This paper evaluates the causal relationship between smoking and body weight through two waves (2004-2006) of the British Household Panel Survey. We model the effect of changes in smoking habits, such as quitting or reducing, and account for the heterogeneous responses of individuals located at different points of the body mass distribution by quantile regression. We test our results by means of a large set of control groups and investigate their robustness by using the changes-in-changes estimator and accounting for different thresholds to define smoking reductions. Our results reveal the positive effect of quitting smoking on weight changes, which is also found to increase in the highest quantiles, whereas the decision to reduce smoking does not affect body weight. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

WeightLifter: Visual Weight Space Exploration for Multi-Criteria Decision Making.

PubMed

Pajer, Stephan; Streit, Marc; Torsney-Weir, Thomas; Spechtenhauser, Florian; Muller, Torsten; Piringer, Harald

2017-01-01

A common strategy in Multi-Criteria Decision Making (MCDM) is to rank alternative solutions by weighted summary scores. Weights, however, are often abstract to the decision maker and can only be set by vague intuition. While previous work supports a point-wise exploration of weight spaces, we argue that MCDM can benefit from a regional and global visual analysis of weight spaces. Our main contribution is WeightLifter, a novel interactive visualization technique for weight-based MCDM that facilitates the exploration of weight spaces with up to ten criteria. Our technique enables users to better understand the sensitivity of a decision to changes of weights, to efficiently localize weight regions where a given solution ranks high, and to filter out solutions which do not rank high enough for any plausible combination of weights. We provide a comprehensive requirement analysis for weight-based MCDM and describe an interactive workflow that meets these requirements. For evaluation, we describe a usage scenario of WeightLifter in automotive engineering and report qualitative feedback from users of a deployed version as well as preliminary feedback from decision makers in multiple domains. This feedback confirms that WeightLifter increases both the efficiency of weight-based MCDM and the awareness of uncertainty in the ultimate decisions.

Obesity Impairs the Action of the Neuroendocrine Ghrelin System

PubMed Central

Zigman, Jeffrey M.; Bouret, Sebastien G.; Andrews, Zane B.

2016-01-01

Ghrelin is a metabolic hormone that promotes energy conservation by regulating appetite and energy expenditure. Although some studies suggest that antagonizing ghrelin function attenuates body weight gain and glucose intolerance on a high calorie diet, there is little information about the metabolic actions of ghrelin in the obese state. In this review, we discuss the novel concept of obesity-induced central ghrelin resistance in neural circuits regulating behavior, and impaired ghrelin secretion from the stomach. Interestingly, weight loss restores ghrelin secretion and function, and we hypothesize that ghrelin resistance is a mechanism designed to protect a higher body weight set-point established during times of food availability, to maximize energy reserves during a time of food scarcity. PMID:26542050

swot: Super W Of Theta

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Coupon, Jean; Leauthaud, Alexie; Kilbinger, Martin; Medezinski, Elinor

2017-07-01

SWOT (Super W Of Theta) computes two-point statistics for very large data sets, based on “divide and conquer” algorithms, mainly, but not limited to data storage in binary trees, approximation at large scale, parellelization (open MPI), and bootstrap and jackknife resampling methods “on the fly”. It currently supports projected and 3D galaxy auto and cross correlations, galaxy-galaxy lensing, and weighted histograms.

Precise control of flexible manipulators

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Cannon, R. H., Jr.; Bindford, T. O.; Schmitz, E.

1984-01-01

The design and experimental testing of end point position controllers for a very flexible one link lightweight manipulator are summarized. The latest upgraded version of the experimental set up, and the basic differences between conventional joint angle feedback and end point position feedback are described. A general procedure for application of modern control methods to the problem is outlined. The relationship between weighting parameters and the bandwidth and control stiffness of the resulting end point position closed loop system is shown. It is found that joint rate angle feedback in addition to the primary end point position sensor is essential for adequate disturbance rejection capability of the closed loop system. The use of a low order multivariable compensator design computer code; called Sandy is documented. A solution to the problem of control mode switching between position sensor sets is outlined. The proof of concept for endpoint position feedback for a one link flexible manipulator was demonstrated. The bandwidth obtained with the experimental end point position controller is about twice as fast as the beam's first natural cantilevered frequency, and comes within a factor of four of the absolute physical speed limit imposed by the wave propagation time of the beam.

Interdependency enriches the spatial reciprocity in prisoner's dilemma game on weighted networks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Meng, Xiaokun; Sun, Shiwen; Li, Xiaoxuan; Wang, Li; Xia, Chengyi; Sun, Junqing

2016-01-01

To model the evolution of cooperation under the realistic scenarios, we propose an interdependent network-based game model which simultaneously considers the difference of individual roles in the spatial prisoner's dilemma game. In our model, the system is composed of two lattices on which an agent designated as a cooperator or defector will be allocated, meanwhile each agent will be endowed as a specific weight taking from three typical distributions on one lattice (i.e., weighted lattice), and set to be 1.0 on the other one (i.e., un-weighted or standard lattice). In addition, the interdependency will be built through the utility coupling between point-to-point partners. Extensive simulations indicate that the cooperation will be continuously elevated for the weighted lattice as the utility coupling strength (α) increases; while the cooperation will take on a nontrivial evolution on the standard lattice as α varies, and will be still greatly promoted when compared to the case of α = 0. At the same time, the full T - K phase diagrams are also explored to illustrate the evolutionary behaviors, and it is powerfully shown that the interdependency drives the defectors to survive within the narrower range, but individual weighting of utility will further broaden the coexistence space of cooperators and defectors, which renders the nontrivial evolution of cooperation in our model. Altogether, the current consequences about the evolution of cooperation will be helpful for us to provide the insights into the prevalent cooperation phenomenon within many real-world systems.

Factors associated with infant feeding of human milk at discharge from neonatal intensive care: Cross-sectional analysis of nurse survey and infant outcomes data

PubMed Central

Hallowell, Sunny G.; Rogowski, Jeannette A.; Spatz, Diane L.; Hanlon, Alexandra L.; Kenny, Michael; Lake, Eileen T.

2016-01-01

Context Nurses are principal caregivers in the neonatal intensive care unit and support mothers to establish and sustain a supply of human milk for their infants. Whether an infant receives essential nutrition and immunological protection provided in human milk at discharge is an issue of health care quality in this setting. Objectives To examine the association of the neonatal intensive care unit work environment, staffing levels, level of nurse education, lactation consultant availability, and nurse-reported breastfeeding support with very low birth weight infant receipt of human milk at discharge. Design and setting Cross sectional analysis combining nurse survey data with infant discharge data. Participants A national sample of neonatal intensive care units (N = 97), nurses (N = 5614) and very low birth weight infants (N = 6997). Methods Sequential multivariate linear regression models were estimated at the unit level between the dependent variable (rate of very low birth weight infants discharged on “any human milk”) and the independent variables (nurse work environment, nurse staffing, nursing staff education and experience, lactation consultant availability, and nurse-reported breastfeeding support). Results The majority of very low birth weight infants (52%) were discharged on formula only. Fewer infants (42%) received human milk mixed with fortifier or formula. Only 6% of infants were discharged on exclusive human milk. A 1 SD increase (0.25) in the Practice Environment Scale of the Nursing Work Index composite score was associated with a four percentage point increase in the fraction of infants discharged on human milk (p < 0.05). A 1 SD increase (0.15) in the fraction of nurses with a bachelor’s degree in nursing was associated with a three percentage point increase in the fraction infants discharged on human milk (p < 0.05). The acuity-adjusted staffing ratio was marginally associated with the rate of human milk at discharge (p = .056). A 1 SD increase (7%) in the fraction of infants who received breastfeeding support was associated with an eight percentage point increase in the fraction of infants discharged on human milk (p < 0.001). Conclusions Neonatal intensive care units with better work environments, better educated nurses, and more infants who receive breastfeeding support by nurses have higher rates of very low birth weight infants discharged home on human milk. Investments by nurse administrators to improve work environments and support educational preparation of nursing staff may ensure that the most vulnerable infants have the best nutrition at the point of discharge. PMID:26518107

Aspiration-based coevolution of link weight promotes cooperation in the spatial prisoner's dilemma game

PubMed Central

Shen, Chen; Chu, Chen; Shi, Lei

2018-01-01

In this article, we propose an aspiration-based coevolution of link weight, and explore how this set-up affects the evolution of cooperation in the spatial prisoner's dilemma game. In particular, an individual will increase the weight of its link to its neighbours only if the payoff received via this interaction exceeds a pre-defined aspiration. Conversely, if the received payoff is below this aspiration, the link weight with the corresponding neighbour will decrease. Our results show that an appropriate aspiration level leads to a high-cooperation plateau, whereas too high or too low aspiration will impede the evolution of cooperation. We explain these findings with a comprehensive analysis of transition points and with a systematic analysis of typical configuration patterns. The presented results provide further theoretical insights with regards to the impact of different aspiration levels on cooperation in human societies. PMID:29892454

Aspiration-based coevolution of link weight promotes cooperation in the spatial prisoner's dilemma game

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shen, Chen; Chu, Chen; Shi, Lei; Perc, Matjaž; Wang, Zhen

2018-05-01

In this article, we propose an aspiration-based coevolution of link weight, and explore how this set-up affects the evolution of cooperation in the spatial prisoner's dilemma game. In particular, an individual will increase the weight of its link to its neighbours only if the payoff received via this interaction exceeds a pre-defined aspiration. Conversely, if the received payoff is below this aspiration, the link weight with the corresponding neighbour will decrease. Our results show that an appropriate aspiration level leads to a high-cooperation plateau, whereas too high or too low aspiration will impede the evolution of cooperation. We explain these findings with a comprehensive analysis of transition points and with a systematic analysis of typical configuration patterns. The presented results provide further theoretical insights with regards to the impact of different aspiration levels on cooperation in human societies.

Airborne Intercept Monitoring

DTIC Science & Technology

2006-04-01

Primary mirror of Zerodur with Pilkington 747 coating • FOV = 0.104 degrees Airborne Intercept Monitoring RTO-MP-SET-105 16 - 3 UNCLASSIFIED...Pointing System (SPS). The STS is a 0.75 meter aperture Mersenne Cassegrain telescope and the SAT is a 0.34 meter aperture 3- mirror anastigmat telescope...UNLIMITED UNCLASSIFIED/UNLIMITED • Air Flow to Mitigate Thermal “Seeing” Effects • Light weighted primary mirror to reduce mass The SAT

Directional kriging implementation for gridded data interpolation and comparative study with common methods

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mahmoudabadi, H.; Briggs, G.

2016-12-01

Gridded data sets, such as geoid models or datum shift grids, are commonly used in coordinate transformation algorithms. Grid files typically contain known or measured values at regular fixed intervals. The process of computing a value at an unknown location from the values in the grid data set is called "interpolation". Generally, interpolation methods predict a value at a given point by computing a weighted average of the known values in the neighborhood of the point. Geostatistical Kriging is a widely used interpolation method for irregular networks. Kriging interpolation first analyzes the spatial structure of the input data, then generates a general model to describe spatial dependencies. This model is used to calculate values at unsampled locations by finding direction, shape, size, and weight of neighborhood points. Because it is based on a linear formulation for the best estimation, Kriging it the optimal interpolation method in statistical terms. The Kriging interpolation algorithm produces an unbiased prediction, as well as the ability to calculate the spatial distribution of uncertainty, allowing you to estimate the errors in an interpolation for any particular point. Kriging is not widely used in geospatial applications today, especially applications that run on low power devices or deal with large data files. This is due to the computational power and memory requirements of standard Kriging techniques. In this paper, improvements are introduced in directional kriging implementation by taking advantage of the structure of the grid files. The regular spacing of points simplifies finding the neighborhood points and computing their pairwise distances, reducing the the complexity and improving the execution time of the Kriging algorithm. Also, the proposed method iteratively loads small portion of interest areas in different directions to reduce the amount of required memory. This makes the technique feasible on almost any computer processor. Comparison between kriging and other standard interpolation methods demonstrated more accurate estimations in less denser data files.

Acceptable health and priority weighting: Discussing a reference-level approach using sufficientarian reasoning.

PubMed

Wouters, S; van Exel, N J A; Rohde, K I M; Vromen, J J; Brouwer, W B F

2017-05-01

Health care systems are challenged in allocating scarce health care resources, which are typically insufficient to fulfil all health care wants and needs. One criterion for priority setting may be the 'acceptable health' approach, which suggests that society may want to assign higher priority to health benefits in people with "unacceptable" than in people with "acceptable" health. A level of acceptable health then serves as a reference point for priority setting. Empirical research has indicated that people may be able and willing to define health states as "unacceptable" or "acceptable", but little attention has been given to the normative implications of evaluating health benefits in relation to a reference level of acceptable health. The current paper aims to address this gap by relating insights from the distributive justice literature, i.e. the sufficientarian literature, to the acceptable health approach, as we argue that these approaches are related. We specifically focus on the implications of an 'acceptability' approach for priority weighting of health benefits, derived from sufficientarian reasoning and debates, and assess the moral implications of such weighting. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Estimating population trends with a linear model

USGS Publications Warehouse

Bart, Jonathan; Collins, Brian D.; Morrison, R.I.G.

2003-01-01

We describe a simple and robust method for estimating trends in population size. The method may be used with Breeding Bird Survey data, aerial surveys, point counts, or any other program of repeated surveys at permanent locations. Surveys need not be made at each location during each survey period. The method differs from most existing methods in being design based, rather than model based. The only assumptions are that the nominal sampling plan is followed and that sample size is large enough for use of the t-distribution. Simulations based on two bird data sets from natural populations showed that the point estimate produced by the linear model was essentially unbiased even when counts varied substantially and 25% of the complete data set was missing. The estimating-equation approach, often used to analyze Breeding Bird Survey data, performed similarly on one data set but had substantial bias on the second data set, in which counts were highly variable. The advantages of the linear model are its simplicity, flexibility, and that it is self-weighting. A user-friendly computer program to carry out the calculations is available from the senior author.

Affinity learning with diffusion on tensor product graph.

PubMed

Yang, Xingwei; Prasad, Lakshman; Latecki, Longin Jan

2013-01-01

In many applications, we are given a finite set of data points sampled from a data manifold and represented as a graph with edge weights determined by pairwise similarities of the samples. Often the pairwise similarities (which are also called affinities) are unreliable due to noise or due to intrinsic difficulties in estimating similarity values of the samples. As observed in several recent approaches, more reliable similarities can be obtained if the original similarities are diffused in the context of other data points, where the context of each point is a set of points most similar to it. Compared to the existing methods, our approach differs in two main aspects. First, instead of diffusing the similarity information on the original graph, we propose to utilize the tensor product graph (TPG) obtained by the tensor product of the original graph with itself. Since TPG takes into account higher order information, it is not a surprise that we obtain more reliable similarities. However, it comes at the price of higher order computational complexity and storage requirement. The key contribution of the proposed approach is that the information propagation on TPG can be computed with the same computational complexity and the same amount of storage as the propagation on the original graph. We prove that a graph diffusion process on TPG is equivalent to a novel iterative algorithm on the original graph, which is guaranteed to converge. After its convergence we obtain new edge weights that can be interpreted as new, learned affinities. We stress that the affinities are learned in an unsupervised setting. We illustrate the benefits of the proposed approach for data manifolds composed of shapes, images, and image patches on two very different tasks of image retrieval and image segmentation. With learned affinities, we achieve the bull's eye retrieval score of 99.99 percent on the MPEG-7 shape dataset, which is much higher than the state-of-the-art algorithms. When the data- points are image patches, the NCut with the learned affinities not only significantly outperforms the NCut with the original affinities, but it also outperforms state-of-the-art image segmentation methods.

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

Vandersall, K S; Tarver, C M; Garcia, F

Shock initiation experiments on the HMX based explosives LX-10 (95% HMX, 5% Viton by weight) and LX-07 (90% HMX, 10% Viton by weight) were performed to obtain in-situ pressure gauge data, run-distance-to-detonation thresholds, and Ignition and Growth modeling parameters. A 101 mm diameter propellant driven gas gun was utilized to initiate the explosive samples with manganin piezoresistive pressure gauge packages placed between sample slices. The run-distance-to-detonation points on the Pop-plot for these experiments and prior experiments on another HMX based explosive LX LX-04 (85% HMX, 15% Viton by weight) will be shown, discussed, and compared as a function of themore » binder content. This parameter set will provide additional information to ensure accurate code predictions for safety scenarios involving HMX explosives with different percent binder content additions.« less

Critical assessment of the use of growth monitoring for identifying high risk children in primary health care programmes.

PubMed Central

Briend, A.; Bari, A.

1989-01-01

OBJECTIVE--To see whether change in weight was a more useful index than weight for age in assessing the risk of dying among malnourished children. DESIGN--Prospective cohort study. SETTING--Rural community in Bangladesh being served by international health organisation. PARTICIPANTS--1011 Children aged under 5, of whom 66 died. END POINT--Efficient screening method for identifying malnourished children at risk of dying. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS--Weight was measured every month. Weight for age and monthly change in weight averaged over one and three months were calculated. Sensitivity and specificity curves were used to compare the values of these two variables in identifying children with a high risk of dying. Weight for age was more sensitive than change in weight at all levels of specificity. Changes in weight, however, were independently related to the risk of dying even when intercurrent diseases and low weight for age were taken into account. CONCLUSIONS--For identifying children with a high risk of dying weight for age is a more efficient screening tool than a recent change in weight. Growth monitoring as currently recommended for primary health care programmes in developing countries does not seem to be the most effective approach in identifying children in need of urgent help. PMID:2503147

Simultaneous vs. sequential treatment for smoking and weight management in tobacco quitlines: 6 and 12 month outcomes from a randomized trial.

PubMed

Bush, Terry; Lovejoy, Jennifer; Javitz, Harold; Torres, Alula Jimenez; Wassum, Ken; Tan, Marcia M; Spring, Bonnie

2018-05-31

Smoking cessation often results in weight gain which discourages many smokers from quitting and can increase health risks. Treatments to reduce cessation-related weight gain have been tested in highly controlled trials of in-person treatment, but have never been tested in a real-world setting, which has inhibited dissemination. The Best Quit Study (BQS) is a replication and "real world" translation using telephone delivery of a prior in-person efficacy trial. randomized control trial in a quitline setting. Eligible smokers (n = 2540) were randomized to the standard 5-call quitline intervention or quitline plus simultaneous or sequential weight management. Regression analyses tested effectiveness of treatments on self-reported smoking abstinence and weight change at 6 and 12 months. Study enrollees were from 10 commercial employer groups and three state quitlines. Participants were between ages 18-72, 65.8% female, 68.2% white; 23.0% Medicaid-insured, and 76.3% overweight/obese. The follow-up response rate was lower in the simultaneous group than the control group at 6 months (p = 0.01). While a completers analysis of 30-day point prevalence abstinence detected no differences among groups at 6 or 12 months, multiply imputed abstinence showed quit rate differences at 6 months for:simultaneous (40.3%) vs. sequential (48.3%), p = 0.034 and simultaneous vs. control (44.9%), p = 0.043. At 12 months, multiply imputed abstinence, was significantly lower for the simultaneous group (40.7%) vs. control (46.0%), p < 0.05 and vs. sequential (46.3%), p < 0.05. Weight gain at 6 and 12 months was minimal and not different among treatment groups. The sequential group completed fewer total calls (3.75) vs. control (4.16) and vs. simultaneous group (3.83), p = 0.01, and fewer weight calls (0.94) than simultaneous (2.33), p < 0.0001. The number of calls completed predicted 30-day abstinence, p < 0.001, but not weight outcomes. This study offers a model for evaluating population-level public health interventions conducted in partnership with tobacco quitlines. Simultaneous (vs. sequential) delivery of phone/web weight management with cessation treatment in the quitline setting may adversely affect quit rate. Neither a simultaneous nor sequential approach to addressing weight produced any benefit on suppressing weight gain. This study highlights the need and the challenges of testing intensive interventions in real-world settings. ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT01867983 . Registered: May 30, 2013.

Can cognitive exercises help treat anorexia nervosa?

PubMed

Tchanturia, K; Whitney, J; Treasure, J

2006-12-01

Cognitive remediation therapy (CRT) is used as an intervention for people with brain lesions and psychosis. This case report demonstrates the possible benefits of introducing CRT into treatment packages for anorexia nervosa (AN). In our previous work, we reported that people with AN demonstrate inflexibility in cognitive set-shifting tasks. Weight gain alone does not improve the neuropsychological profile in set-shifting tasks. This case report illustrates how training programmes can address problems in cognitive rigidity. We acknowledge the limitations of case studies, however, this is a starting point in exploring the possibilities of introducing CRT as part of the treatment of AN.

Combined strategies in the management of obesity.

PubMed

Dixon, John B; Dixon, Maureen E

2006-01-01

Obesity is a chronic relapsing disease requiring a similar long term approach to management as that of other chronic conditions. Management needs to be multifaceted aiming to achieve sustainable behavioural changes to physical activity and diet to alter the patient and family microenvironment to one favouring better weight control. A range of therapies including specific diets, calorie counting, meal replacements, very low calorie diets, pharmacotherapy, intragastric balloons and surgery can provide very useful additional benefit. Use of these should be guided by the extent of weight loss required to reduce BMI to an acceptable level with regard to the patient's ethnicity, risk and comorbid conditions. Patients need to set goals that are optimistic, but realistic, and understand the benefits of sustained modest weight loss and the likelihood of weight regain requiring repeat episodes of weight loss. Practitioners need to be informed about the efficacy of current therapies and their combinations to enhance choice of suitable methods for achieving the optimal weight loss required by the patient. They will also need to anticipate trigger points for renewed periods of weight loss in the event of weight regain, as relapse is likely but not a reason for abandoning the battle.

Preliminary analysis of a flexible instrument mount for large instruments on the Space Shuttle

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1978-01-01

A flexible instrument mount for large instruments on the space shuttle is analyzed. Concepts for pointing instruments while in orbit, with weights up to 2000 Kg and dimensions of 2 to 3 m were identified and analyzed. A mechanical concept was selected that can accommodate a set class of scientific instruments such as the LAMAR X-ray experiment with 24 LAMAR telescopes.

An inventory of undiscovered Canadian mineral resources

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Labovitz, M. L.; Griffiths, J. C.

1982-01-01

Unit regional value (URV) and unit regional weight are area standardized measures of the expected value and quantity, respectively, of the mineral resources of a region. Estimation and manipulation of the URV statistic is the basis of an approach to mineral resource evaluation. Estimates of the kind and value of exploitable mineral resources yet to be discovered in the provinces of Canada are used as an illustration of the procedure. The URV statistic is set within a previously developed model wherein geology, as measured by point counting geologic maps, is related to the historical record of mineral resource production of well-developed regions of the world, such as the 50 states of the U.S.A.; these may be considered the training set. The Canadian provinces are related to this training set using geological information obtained in the same way from geologic maps of the provinces. The desired predictions of yet to be discovered mineral resources in the Canadian provinces arise as a consequence. The implicit assumption is that regions of similar geology, if equally well developed, will produce similar weights and values of mineral resources.

Mapping water table depth using geophysical and environmental variables.

PubMed

Buchanan, S; Triantafilis, J

2009-01-01

Despite its importance, accurate representation of the spatial distribution of water table depth remains one of the greatest deficiencies in many hydrological investigations. Historically, both inverse distance weighting (IDW) and ordinary kriging (OK) have been used to interpolate depths. These methods, however, have major limitations: namely they require large numbers of measurements to represent the spatial variability of water table depth and they do not represent the variation between measurement points. We address this issue by assessing the benefits of using stepwise multiple linear regression (MLR) with three different ancillary data sets to predict the water table depth at 100-m intervals. The ancillary data sets used are Electromagnetic (EM34 and EM38), gamma radiometric: potassium (K), uranium (eU), thorium (eTh), total count (TC), and morphometric data. Results show that MLR offers significant precision and accuracy benefits over OK and IDW. Inclusion of the morphometric data set yielded the greatest (16%) improvement in prediction accuracy compared with IDW, followed by the electromagnetic data set (5%). Use of the gamma radiometric data set showed no improvement. The greatest improvement, however, resulted when all data sets were combined (37% increase in prediction accuracy over IDW). Significantly, however, the use of MLR also allows for prediction in variations in water table depth between measurement points, which is crucial for land management.

Policy trends and reforms in the German DRG-based hospital payment system.

PubMed

Klein-Hitpaß, Uwe; Scheller-Kreinsen, David

2015-03-01

A central structural point in all DRG-based hospital payment systems is the conversion of relative weights into actual payments. In this context policy makers need to address (amongst other things) (a) how the price level of DRG-payments from one period to the following period is changed and (b) whether and how hospital payments based on DRGs are to be differentiated beyond patient characteristics, e.g. by organizational, regional or state-level factors. Both policy problems can be and in international comparison often are empirically addressed. In Germany relative weights are derived from a highly sophisticated empirical cost calculation, whereas the annual changes of DRG-based payments (base rates) as well as the differentiation of DRG-based hospital payments beyond patient characteristics are not empirically addressed. Rather a complex set of regulations and quasi-market negotiations are applied. There were over the last decade also timid attempts to foster the use of empirical data to address these points. However, these reforms failed to increase the fairness, transparency and rationality of the mechanism to convert relative weights into actual DRG-based hospital payments. Copyright © 2015 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ireland Ltd.. All rights reserved.

Acceptability and potential effectiveness of commercial portion control tools amongst people with obesity.

PubMed

Almiron-Roig, Eva; Domínguez, Angélica; Vaughan, David; Solis-Trapala, Ivonne; Jebb, Susan A

2016-12-01

Exposure to large portion sizes is a risk factor for obesity. Specifically designed tableware may modulate how much is eaten and help with portion control. We examined the experience of using a guided crockery set (CS) and a calibrated serving spoon set (SS) by individuals trying to manage their weight. Twenty-nine obese adults who had completed 7-12 weeks of a community weight-loss programme were invited to use both tools for 2 weeks each, in a crossover design, with minimal health professional contact. A paper-based questionnaire was used to collect data on acceptance, perceived changes in portion size, frequency, and type of meal when the tool was used. Scores describing acceptance, ease of use and perceived effectiveness were derived from five-point Likert scales from which binary indicators (high/low) were analysed using logistic regression. Mean acceptance, ease of use and perceived effectiveness were moderate to high (3·7-4·4 points). Tool type did not have an impact on indicators of acceptance, ease of use and perceived effectiveness (P>0·32 for all comparisons); 55 % of participants used the CS on most days v. 21 % for the SS. The CS was used for all meals, whereas the SS was mostly used for evening meals. Self-selected portion sizes increased for vegetables and decreased for chips and potatoes with both tools. Participants rated both tools as equally acceptable, easy to use and with similar perceived effectiveness. Formal trials to evaluate the impact of such tools on weight control are warranted.

Application of a computer model to predict optimum slaughter end points for different biological types of feeder cattle.

PubMed

Williams, C B; Bennett, G L

1995-10-01

A bioeconomic model was developed to predict slaughter end points of different genotypes of feeder cattle, where profit/rotation and profit/day were maximized. Growth, feed intake, and carcass weight and composition were simulated for 17 biological types of steers. Distribution of carcass weight and proportion in four USDA quality and five USDA yield grades were obtained from predicted carcass weights and composition. Average carcass value for each genotype was calculated from these distributions under four carcass pricing systems that varied from value determined on quality grade alone to value determined on yield grade alone. Under profitable market conditions, rotation length was shorter and carcass weights lighter when the producer's goal was maximum profit/day, compared with maximum profit/rotation. A carcass value system based on yield grade alone resulted in greater profit/rotation and in lighter and leaner carcasses than a system based on quality grade alone. High correlations ( > .97) were obtained between breed profits obtained with different sets of input/output prices and carcass price discount weight ranges. This suggests that breed rankings on the basis of breed profits may not be sensitive to changes in input/output market prices. Steers that were on a grower-stocker system had leaner carcasses, heavier optimum carcass weight, greater profits, and less variation in optimum carcass weights between genotypes than steers that were started on a high-energy finishing diet at weaning. Overall results suggest that breed choices may change with different carcass grading and value systems and postweaning production systems. This model has potential to provide decision support in marketing fed cattle.

Stereo Image Dense Matching by Integrating Sift and Sgm Algorithm

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhou, Y.; Song, Y.; Lu, J.

2018-05-01

Semi-global matching(SGM) performs the dynamic programming by treating the different path directions equally. It does not consider the impact of different path directions on cost aggregation, and with the expansion of the disparity search range, the accuracy and efficiency of the algorithm drastically decrease. This paper presents a dense matching algorithm by integrating SIFT and SGM. It takes the successful matching pairs matched by SIFT as control points to direct the path in dynamic programming with truncating error propagation. Besides, matching accuracy can be improved by using the gradient direction of the detected feature points to modify the weights of the paths in different directions. The experimental results based on Middlebury stereo data sets and CE-3 lunar data sets demonstrate that the proposed algorithm can effectively cut off the error propagation, reduce disparity search range and improve matching accuracy.

Improving Global Models of Remotely Sensed Ocean Chlorophyll Content Using Partial Least Squares and Geographically Weighted Regression

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gholizadeh, H.; Robeson, S. M.

2015-12-01

Empirical models have been widely used to estimate global chlorophyll content from remotely sensed data. Here, we focus on the standard NASA empirical models that use blue-green band ratios. These band ratio ocean color (OC) algorithms are in the form of fourth-order polynomials and the parameters of these polynomials (i.e. coefficients) are estimated from the NASA bio-Optical Marine Algorithm Data set (NOMAD). Most of the points in this data set have been sampled from tropical and temperate regions. However, polynomial coefficients obtained from this data set are used to estimate chlorophyll content in all ocean regions with different properties such as sea-surface temperature, salinity, and downwelling/upwelling patterns. Further, the polynomial terms in these models are highly correlated. In sum, the limitations of these empirical models are as follows: 1) the independent variables within the empirical models, in their current form, are correlated (multicollinear), and 2) current algorithms are global approaches and are based on the spatial stationarity assumption, so they are independent of location. Multicollinearity problem is resolved by using partial least squares (PLS). PLS, which transforms the data into a set of independent components, can be considered as a combined form of principal component regression (PCR) and multiple regression. Geographically weighted regression (GWR) is also used to investigate the validity of spatial stationarity assumption. GWR solves a regression model over each sample point by using the observations within its neighbourhood. PLS results show that the empirical method underestimates chlorophyll content in high latitudes, including the Southern Ocean region, when compared to PLS (see Figure 1). Cluster analysis of GWR coefficients also shows that the spatial stationarity assumption in empirical models is not likely a valid assumption.

Comparison of costs and outcomes of dapagliflozin with other glucose-lowering therapy classes added to metformin using a short-term cost-effectiveness model in the US setting.

PubMed

Chakravarty, Abhiroop; Rastogi, Mohini; Dhankhar, Praveen; Bell, Kelly F

2018-05-01

To compare 1-year costs and benefits of dapagliflozin (DAPA), a sodium-glucose cotransporter-2 (SGLT-2) inhibitor, with those of other treatments for type 2 diabetes (T2D), such as glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists (GLP-1RAs), sulfonylureas (SUs), thiazolidinediones (TZDs), and dipeptidyl peptidase-4 inhibitors (DPP-4i), all combined with metformin. A short-term decision-analytic model with a 1-year time horizon was developed from a payer's perspective in the United States setting. Costs and benefits associated with four clinical end-points (glycated hemoglobin [A1C], body weight, systolic blood pressure [SBP], and risk of hypoglycemia) were evaluated in the analysis. The impact of DAPA and other glucose-lowering therapy classes on these clinical end-points was estimated from a network meta-analysis (NMA). Data for costs and quality-adjusted life-years (QALYs) associated with a per-unit change in these clinical end-points were taken from published literature. Drug prices were taken from an annual wholesale price list. All costs were inflation-adjusted to December 2016 costs using the medical care component of the consumer price index. Total costs (both medical and drug costs), total QALYs, and incremental cost-effectiveness ratios (ICERs) were estimated. Sensitivity analyses (SA) were performed to explore uncertainty in the inputs. To assess face validity, results from the short-term model were compared with long-term models published for these drugs. The total annual medical cost for DAPA was less than that for GLP-1RA ($186 less), DPP-4i ($1,142 less), SU ($2,474 less), and TZD ($1,640 less). Treatment with DAPA resulted in an average QALY gain of 0.0107, 0.0587, 0.1137, and 0.0715 per treated patient when compared with GLP-1RA, DPP-4i, SU, and TZD, respectively. ICERs for DAPA vs SU and TZD were $19,005 and $25,835, respectively. DAPA was a cost-saving option when compared with GLP-1RAs and DPP-4is. Among all four clinical end-points, change in weight had the greatest impact on total annual costs and ICERS. Sensitivity analysis showed that results were robust, and results from the short-term model were found to be similar to those of published long-term models. This analysis showed that DAPA was cost-saving compared with GLP-1RA and DPP-4i, and cost-effective compared with SU and TZD in the US setting over 1 year. Furthermore, the results suggest that, among the four composite clinical end-points, change in weight and SBP had an impact on cost-effectiveness results.

Optimal Parameter Exploration for Online Change-Point Detection in Activity Monitoring Using Genetic Algorithms

PubMed Central

Khan, Naveed; McClean, Sally; Zhang, Shuai; Nugent, Chris

2016-01-01

In recent years, smart phones with inbuilt sensors have become popular devices to facilitate activity recognition. The sensors capture a large amount of data, containing meaningful events, in a short period of time. The change points in this data are used to specify transitions to distinct events and can be used in various scenarios such as identifying change in a patient’s vital signs in the medical domain or requesting activity labels for generating real-world labeled activity datasets. Our work focuses on change-point detection to identify a transition from one activity to another. Within this paper, we extend our previous work on multivariate exponentially weighted moving average (MEWMA) algorithm by using a genetic algorithm (GA) to identify the optimal set of parameters for online change-point detection. The proposed technique finds the maximum accuracy and F_measure by optimizing the different parameters of the MEWMA, which subsequently identifies the exact location of the change point from an existing activity to a new one. Optimal parameter selection facilitates an algorithm to detect accurate change points and minimize false alarms. Results have been evaluated based on two real datasets of accelerometer data collected from a set of different activities from two users, with a high degree of accuracy from 99.4% to 99.8% and F_measure of up to 66.7%. PMID:27792177

Heterogeneity Effects in Plutonium Contaminated Soil

DTIC Science & Technology

2009-03-01

masses up to one kilogram once the ratio of Americium - 241 (Am- 241 ) and plutonium concentrations was established (Rademacher, 2001). Alpha...with a sample number and tared weight with a non-smearing marker. A standard control was then set using a point source of Americium - 241 on an aluminum...During the fire the weapons grade plutonium (Pu- 239, Pu-240, and Pu- 241 ) ignited and was released into the surrounding area, due to both

Computer Programs for Settlement Analysis.

DTIC Science & Technology

1980-10-01

sieer ,d if - ... ly and identity by &ock .. mbr ) C(ohesiv’ soils Load tests (Foundations) Computer programs Set t l ement Embanikments Settlement...and stress conditions that are altered by a changing water table and settlement-dependent submergence of the soil. 9. FD31 is a specialized program...are saturated and have submerged unit weights of 50 lb/ft 3 The clay is linearly elastic and the consolidation curve passes through 2 2 the points (e, a

A pointing facilitation system for motor-impaired users combining polynomial smoothing and time-weighted gradient target prediction models.

PubMed

Blow, Nikolaus; Biswas, Pradipta

2017-01-01

As computers become more and more essential for everyday life, people who cannot use them are missing out on an important tool. The predominant method of interaction with a screen is a mouse, and difficulty in using a mouse can be a huge obstacle for people who would otherwise gain great value from using a computer. If mouse pointing were to be made easier, then a large number of users may be able to begin using a computer efficiently where they may previously have been unable to. The present article aimed to improve pointing speeds for people with arm or hand impairments. The authors investigated different smoothing and prediction models on a stored data set involving 25 people, and the best of these algorithms were chosen. A web-based prototype was developed combining a polynomial smoothing algorithm with a time-weighted gradient target prediction model. The adapted interface gave an average improvement of 13.5% in target selection times in a 10-person study of representative users of the system. A demonstration video of the system is available at https://youtu.be/sAzbrKHivEY.

Atmospheric bromoform at Cape Point, South Africa: an initial fixed-point data set on the African continent

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kuyper, Brett; Palmer, Carl J.; Labuschagne, Casper; Reason, Chris J. C.

2018-04-01

Bromoform mixing ratios in marine air were measured at Cape Point Global Atmospheric Watch Station, South Africa. This represents the first such bromoform data set recorded at this location. Manual daily measurements were made during a month-long field campaign (austral spring 2011) using a gas chromatograph-electron capture detector (GC-ECD) with a custom-built front end thermal desorption trap. The measured concentrations ranged between 4.4 and 64.6 (± 22.2 %) ppt with a mean of 24.8 ± 14.8 ppt. The highest mixing ratios recorded here occurred at, or shortly after, low tide. The diurnal cycle exhibited a morning and evening maximum with lower concentrations throughout the rest of the day. Initial analysis of the data presented indicates that the local kelp beds were the dominant source of the bromoform reported. A concentration-weighted trajectory analysis of the bromoform measurements suggests that two offshore source areas may exist. These source areas appear to be centred on the Agulhas retroflection and extend from St Helena Bay to the southwest.

System properties, feedback control and effector coordination of human temperature regulation.

PubMed

Werner, Jürgen

2010-05-01

The aim of human temperature regulation is to protect body processes by establishing a relative constancy of deep body temperature (regulated variable), in spite of external and internal influences on it. This is basically achieved by a distributed multi-sensor, multi-processor, multi-effector proportional feedback control system. The paper explains why proportional control implies inherent deviations of the regulated variable from the value in the thermoneutral zone. The concept of feedback of the thermal state of the body, conveniently represented by a high-weighted core temperature (T (c)) and low-weighted peripheral temperatures (T (s)) is equivalent to the control concept of "auxiliary feedback control", using a main (regulated) variable (T (c)), supported by an auxiliary variable (T (s)). This concept implies neither regulation of T (s) nor feedforward control. Steady-states result in the closed control-loop, when the open-loop properties of the (heat transfer) process are compatible with those of the thermoregulatory processors. They are called operating points or balance points and are achieved due to the inherent property of dynamical stability of the thermoregulatory feedback loop. No set-point and no comparison of signals (e.g. actual-set value) are necessary. Metabolic heat production and sweat production, though receiving the same information about the thermal state of the body, are independent effectors with different thresholds and gains. Coordination between one of these effectors and the vasomotor effector is achieved by the fact that changes in the (heat transfer) process evoked by vasomotor control are taken into account by the metabolic/sweat processor.

Least Squares Solution of Small Sample Multiple-Master PSInSAR System

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Lei; Ding, Xiao Li; Lu, Zhong

2010-03-01

In this paper we propose a least squares based approach for multi-temporal SAR interferometry that allows to estimate the deformation rate with no need of phase unwrapping. The approach utilizes a series of multi-master wrapped differential interferograms with short baselines and only focuses on the arcs constructed by two nearby points at which there are no phase ambiguities. During the estimation an outlier detector is used to identify and remove the arcs with phase ambiguities, and pseudoinverse of priori variance component matrix is taken as the weight of correlated observations in the model. The parameters at points can be obtained by an indirect adjustment model with constraints when several reference points are available. The proposed approach is verified by a set of simulated data.

Finite-density transition line for QCD with 695 MeV dynamical fermions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Greensite, Jeff; Höllwieser, Roman

2018-06-01

We apply the relative weights method to SU(3) gauge theory with staggered fermions of mass 695 MeV at a set of temperatures in the range 151 ≤T ≤267 MeV , to obtain an effective Polyakov line action at each temperature. We then apply a mean field method to search for phase transitions in the effective theory at finite densities. The result is a transition line in the plane of temperature and chemical potential, with an end point at high temperature, as expected, but also a second end point at a lower temperature. We cannot rule out the possibilities that a transition line reappears at temperatures lower than the range investigated, or that the second end point is absent for light quarks.

Utility of functional status for classifying community versus institutional discharges after inpatient rehabilitation for stroke.

PubMed

Reistetter, Timothy A; Graham, James E; Deutsch, Anne; Granger, Carl V; Markello, Samuel; Ottenbacher, Kenneth J

2010-03-01

To evaluate the ability of patient functional status to differentiate between community and institutional discharges after rehabilitation for stroke. Retrospective cross-sectional design. Inpatient rehabilitation facilities contributing to the Uniform Data System for Medical Rehabilitation. Patients (N=157,066) receiving inpatient rehabilitation for stroke from 2006 and 2007. Not applicable. Discharge FIM rating and discharge setting (community vs institutional). Approximately 71% of the sample was discharged to the community. Receiver operating characteristic curve analyses revealed that FIM total performed as well as or better than FIM motor and FIM cognition subscales in differentiating discharge settings. Area under the curve for FIM total was .85, indicating very good ability to identify persons discharged to the community. A FIM total rating of 78 was identified as the optimal cut point for distinguishing between positive (community) and negative (institution) tests. This cut point yielded balanced sensitivity and specificity (both=.77). Discharge planning is complex, involving many factors. Identifying a functional threshold for classifying discharge settings can provide important information to assist in this process. Additional research is needed to determine if the risks and benefits of classification errors justify shifting the cut point to weight either sensitivity or specificity of FIM ratings. Copyright 2010 American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Experimental study of adaptive pointing and tracking for large flexible space structures

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Boussalis, D.; Bayard, D. S.; Ih, C.; Wang, S. J.; Ahmed, A.

1991-01-01

This paper describes an experimental study of adaptive pointing and tracking control for flexible spacecraft conducted on a complex ground experiment facility. The algorithm used in this study is based on a multivariable direct model reference adaptive control law. Several experimental validation studies were performed earlier using this algorithm for vibration damping and robust regulation, with excellent results. The current work extends previous studies by addressing the pointing and tracking problem. As is consistent with an adaptive control framework, the plant is assumed to be poorly known to the extent that only system level knowledge of its dynamics is available. Explicit bounds on the steady-state pointing error are derived as functions of the adaptive controller design parameters. It is shown that good tracking performance can be achieved in an experimental setting by adjusting adaptive controller design weightings according to the guidelines indicated by the analytical expressions for the error.

Changes in infant disposable diaper weights at selected intervals post-wetting.

PubMed

Carlisle, Joan; Moore, Amanda; Cooper, Alyssa; Henderson, Terri; Mayfield, Debbie; Taylor, Randa; Thomas, Jennifer; Van Fleet, Laduska; Askanazi, David; Fineberg, Naomi; Sun, Yanhui

2012-01-01

Pediatric acute care nurses questioned the practice of weighing disposable infant diapers immediately after voiding. This study asked the research question, "Does volume of saline, diaper configuration, and/or size of diaper statistically effect changes in diaper weights over time?" The method was an experimental, laboratory model. Pre-set volumes of saline were added to disposable diapers that were then left folded or unfolded. Each diaper was weighed immediately post-wetting and re-weighed at hourly intervals for seven hours. Data were analyzed using a repeated measures analysis of variance (RMANOVA) with balanced data (F-test). Diaper weight changes over time were statistically significant for all time points and for all volumes regardless of diaper size; however, the changes in weight were small and without clinical significance. It is appropriate to weigh diapers at the end of eight hours without risk of altering subsequent fluid management of patients in open-air, non-humidified environments. This practice has led to more efficient use of nurses' time with fewer interruptions for patients and families.

Loss of pons-to-hypothalamic white matter tracks in brainstem obesity.

PubMed

Purnell, J Q; Lahna, D L; Samuels, M H; Rooney, W D; Hoffman, W F

2014-12-01

Hyperphagia and obesity have been reported following damage to the hypothalamus in humans. Other brain sites are also postulated to be involved in the control of food intake and body weight regulation, such as the amygdala and brainstem. The brainstem, however, is thought to primarily integrate short-term meal-related signals but not affect long-term alterations in body weight, which is controlled by higher centers. The objective of this study was to identify structural pathways damaged in a patient with a brainstem cavernoma who experienced sudden onset of hyperphagia and >50 kg weight gain in <1 year following surgical drainage via a midline suboccipital craniotomy. Diffusion tensor imaging revealed loss of nerve fiber connections between her brainstem, hypothalamus and higher brain centers with preservation of motor tracks. Imaging and endocrine testing confirmed normal hypothalamic structure and function. Gastric bypass surgery restored normal appetite and body weight to baseline. This is the first report of 'brainstem obesity' and adds to the brain regions that can determine the long-term body weight set point in humans.

Malnutrition in Hospitalized Pediatric Patients: Assessment, Prevalence, and Association to Adverse Outcomes.

PubMed

Daskalou, Efstratia; Galli-Tsinopoulou, Assimina; Karagiozoglou-Lampoudi, Thomais; Augoustides-Savvopoulou, Persefone

2016-01-01

Malnutrition is a frequent finding in pediatric health care settings in the form of undernutrition or excess body weight. Its increasing prevalence and impact on overall health status, which is reflected in the adverse outcomes, renders imperative the application of commonly accepted and evidence-based practices and tools by health care providers. Nutrition risk screening on admission and nutrition status evaluation are key points during clinical management of hospitalized pediatric patients, in order to prevent health deterioration that can lead to serious complications and growth consequences. In addition, anthropometric data based on commonly accepted universal growth standards can give accurate results for nutrition status. Both nutrition risk screening and nutrition status assessment are techniques that should be routinely implemented, based on commonly accepted growth standards and methodology, and linked to clinical outcomes. The aim of the present review was to address the issue of hospital malnutrition in pediatric settings in terms of prevalence, outline nutrition status evaluation and nutrition screening process using different criteria and available tools, and present its relationship with outcome measures. Key teaching points • Malnutrition-underweight or excess body weight-is a frequent imbalance in pediatric settings that affects physical growth and results in undesirable clinical outcomes. • Anthropometry interpretation through growth charts and nutrition screening are cornerstones for the assessment of malnutrition.To date no commonly accepted anthropometric criteria or nutrition screening tools are used in hospitalized pediatric patients. • Commonly accepted nutrition status and screening processes based on the World Health Organization's growth standards can contribute to the overall hospital nutrition care of pediatric patients.

A Targeted Search for Point Sources of EeV Neutrons

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Aab, A.; Abreu, P.; Aglietta, M.; Ahlers, M.; Ahn, E. J.; Samarai, I. Al; Albuquerque, I. F. M.; Allekotte, I.; Allen, J.; Allison, P.; Almela, A.; Alvarez Castillo, J.; Alvarez-Muñiz, J.; Alves Batista, R.; Ambrosio, M.; Aminaei, A.; Anchordoqui, L.; Andringa, S.; Aramo, C.; Arqueros, F.; Asorey, H.; Assis, P.; Aublin, J.; Ave, M.; Avenier, M.; Avila, G.; Badescu, A. M.; Barber, K. B.; Bäuml, J.; Baus, C.; Beatty, J. J.; Becker, K. H.; Bellido, J. A.; Berat, C.; Bertou, X.; Biermann, P. L.; Billoir, P.; Blanco, F.; Blanco, M.; Bleve, C.; Blümer, H.; Boháčová, M.; Boncioli, D.; Bonifazi, C.; Bonino, R.; Borodai, N.; Brack, J.; Brancus, I.; Brogueira, P.; Brown, W. C.; Buchholz, P.; Bueno, A.; Buscemi, M.; Caballero-Mora, K. S.; Caccianiga, B.; Caccianiga, L.; Candusso, M.; Caramete, L.; Caruso, R.; Castellina, A.; Cataldi, G.; Cazon, L.; Cester, R.; Chavez, A. G.; Cheng, S. H.; Chiavassa, A.; Chinellato, J. A.; Chudoba, J.; Cilmo, M.; Clay, R. W.; Cocciolo, G.; Colalillo, R.; Collica, L.; Coluccia, M. R.; Conceição, R.; Contreras, F.; Cooper, M. J.; Coutu, S.; Covault, C. E.; Criss, A.; Cronin, J.; Curutiu, A.; Dallier, R.; Daniel, B.; Dasso, S.; Daumiller, K.; Dawson, B. R.; de Almeida, R. M.; De Domenico, M.; de Jong, S. J.; de Mello Neto, J. R. T.; De Mitri, I.; de Oliveira, J.; de Souza, V.; del Peral, L.; Deligny, O.; Dembinski, H.; Dhital, N.; Di Giulio, C.; Di Matteo, A.; Diaz, J. C.; Díaz Castro, M. L.; Diep, P. N.; Diogo, F.; Dobrigkeit, C.; Docters, W.; D'Olivo, J. C.; Dong, P. N.; Dorofeev, A.; Dova, M. T.; Ebr, J.; Engel, R.; Erdmann, M.; Erfani, M.; Escobar, C. O.; Espadanal, J.; Etchegoyen, A.; Facal San Luis, P.; Falcke, H.; Fang, K.; Farrar, G.; Fauth, A. C.; Fazzini, N.; Ferguson, A. P.; Fernandes, M.; Fick, B.; Figueira, J. M.; Filevich, A.; Filipčič, A.; Fox, B. D.; Fratu, O.; Fröhlich, U.; Fuchs, B.; Fuji, T.; Gaior, R.; García, B.; Garcia Roca, S. T.; Garcia-Gamez, D.; Garcia-Pinto, D.; Garilli, G.; Gascon Bravo, A.; Gate, F.; Gemmeke, H.; Ghia, P. L.; Giaccari, U.; Giammarchi, M.; Giller, M.; Glaser, C.; Glass, H.; Gomez Albarracin, F.; Gómez Berisso, M.; Gómez Vitale, P. F.; Gonçalves, P.; Gonzalez, J. G.; Gookin, B.; Gorgi, A.; Gorham, P.; Gouffon, P.; Grebe, S.; Griffith, N.; Grillo, A. F.; Grubb, T. D.; Guardincerri, Y.; Guarino, F.; Guedes, G. P.; Hansen, P.; Harari, D.; Harrison, T. A.; Harton, J. L.; Hasankiadeh, Q. D.; Haungs, A.; Hebbeker, T.; Heck, D.; Heimann, P.; Herve, A. E.; Hill, G. C.; Hojvat, C.; Hollon, N.; Holt, E.; Homola, P.; Hörandel, J. R.; Horvath, P.; Hrabovský, M.; Huber, D.; Huege, T.; Insolia, A.; Isar, P. G.; Islo, K.; Jandt, I.; Jansen, S.; Jarne, C.; Josebachuili, M.; Kääpä, A.; Kambeitz, O.; Kampert, K. H.; Kasper, P.; Katkov, I.; Kégl, B.; Keilhauer, B.; Keivani, A.; Kemp, E.; Kieckhafer, R. M.; Klages, H. O.; Kleifges, M.; Kleinfeller, J.; Krause, R.; Krohm, N.; Krömer, O.; Kruppke-Hansen, D.; Kuempel, D.; Kunka, N.; La Rosa, G.; LaHurd, D.; Latronico, L.; Lauer, R.; Lauscher, M.; Lautridou, P.; Le Coz, S.; Leão, M. S. A. B.; Lebrun, D.; Lebrun, P.; Leigui de Oliveira, M. A.; Letessier-Selvon, A.; Lhenry-Yvon, I.; Link, K.; López, R.; Lopez Agüera, A.; Louedec, K.; Lozano Bahilo, J.; Lu, L.; Lucero, A.; Ludwig, M.; Lyberis, H.; Maccarone, M. C.; Malacari, M.; Maldera, S.; Maller, J.; Mandat, D.; Mantsch, P.; Mariazzi, A. G.; Marin, V.; Mariş, I. C.; Marsella, G.; Martello, D.; Martin, L.; Martinez, H.; Martínez Bravo, O.; Martraire, D.; Masías Meza, J. J.; Mathes, H. J.; Mathys, S.; Matthews, A. J.; Matthews, J.; Matthiae, G.; Maurel, D.; Maurizio, D.; Mayotte, E.; Mazur, P. O.; Medina, C.; Medina-Tanco, G.; Melissas, M.; Melo, D.; Menichetti, E.; Menshikov, A.; Messina, S.; Meyhandan, R.; Mićanović, S.; Micheletti, M. I.; Middendorf, L.; Minaya, I. A.; Miramonti, L.; Mitrica, B.; Molina-Bueno, L.; Mollerach, S.; Monasor, M.; Monnier Ragaigne, D.; Montanet, F.; Morello, C.; Moreno, J. C.; Mostafá, M.; Moura, C. A.; Muller, M. A.; Müller, G.; Münchmeyer, M.; Mussa, R.; Navarra, G.; Navas, S.; Necesal, P.; Nellen, L.; Nelles, A.; Neuser, J.; Niechciol, M.; Niemietz, L.; Niggemann, T.; Nitz, D.; Nosek, D.; Novotny, V.; Nožka, L.; Ochilo, L.; Olinto, A.; Oliveira, M.; Ortiz, M.; Pacheco, N.; Pakk Selmi-Dei, D.; Palatka, M.; Pallotta, J.; Palmieri, N.; Papenbreer, P.; Parente, G.; Parra, A.; Pastor, S.; Paul, T.; Pech, M.; Peķala, J.; Pelayo, R.; Pepe, I. M.; Perrone, L.; Pesce, R.; Petermann, E.; Peters, C.; Petrera, S.; Petrolini, A.; Petrov, Y.; Piegaia, R.; Pierog, T.; Pieroni, P.; Pimenta, M.; Pirronello, V.; Platino, M.; Plum, M.; Porcelli, A.; Porowski, C.; Privitera, P.; Prouza, M.; Purrello, V.; Quel, E. J.; Querchfeld, S.; Quinn, S.; Rautenberg, J.; Ravel, O.; Ravignani, D.; Revenu, B.; Ridky, J.; Riggi, S.; Risse, M.; Ristori, P.; Rizi, V.; Roberts, J.; Rodrigues de Carvalho, W.; Rodriguez Cabo, I.; Rodriguez Fernandez, G.; Rodriguez Rojo, J.; Rodríguez-Frías, M. D.; Ros, G.; Rosado, J.; Rossler, T.; Roth, M.; Roulet, E.; Rovero, A. C.; Rühle, C.; Saffi, S. J.; Saftoiu, A.; Salamida, F.; Salazar, H.; Salesa Greus, F.; Salina, G.; Sánchez, F.; Sanchez-Lucas, P.; Santo, C. E.; Santos, E.; Santos, E. M.; Sarazin, F.; Sarkar, B.; Sarmento, R.; Sato, R.; Scharf, N.; Scherini, V.; Schieler, H.; Schiffer, P.; Schmidt, A.; Scholten, O.; Schoorlemmer, H.; Schovánek, P.; Schulz, A.; Schulz, J.; Sciutto, S. J.; Segreto, A.; Settimo, M.; Shadkam, A.; Shellard, R. C.; Sidelnik, I.; Sigl, G.; Sima, O.; Śmiałkowski, A.; Šmída, R.; Snow, G. R.; Sommers, P.; Sorokin, J.; Squartini, R.; Srivastava, Y. N.; Stanič, S.; Stapleton, J.; Stasielak, J.; Stephan, M.; Stutz, A.; Suarez, F.; Suomijärvi, T.; Supanitsky, A. D.; Sutherland, M. S.; Swain, J.; Szadkowski, Z.; Szuba, M.; Taborda, O. A.; Tapia, A.; Tartare, M.; Thao, N. T.; Theodoro, V. M.; Tiffenberg, J.; Timmermans, C.; Todero Peixoto, C. J.; Toma, G.; Tomankova, L.; Tomé, B.; Tonachini, A.; Torralba Elipe, G.; Torres Machado, D.; Travnicek, P.; Trovato, E.; Tueros, M.; Ulrich, R.; Unger, M.; Urban, M.; Valdés Galicia, J. F.; Valiño, I.; Valore, L.; van Aar, G.; van den Berg, A. M.; van Velzen, S.; van Vliet, A.; Varela, E.; Vargas Cárdenas, B.; Varner, G.; Vázquez, J. R.; Vázquez, R. A.; Veberič, D.; Verzi, V.; Vicha, J.; Videla, M.; Villaseñor, L.; Vlcek, B.; Wahlberg, H.; Wainberg, O.; Walz, D.; Watson, A. A.; Weber, M.; Weidenhaupt, K.; Weindl, A.; Werner, F.; Whelan, B. J.; Widom, A.; Wiencke, L.; Wilczyńska, B.; Wilczyński, H.; Will, M.; Williams, C.; Winchen, T.; Wittkowski, D.; Wundheiler, B.; Wykes, S.; Yamamoto, T.; Yapici, T.; Younk, P.; Yuan, G.; Yushkov, A.; Zamorano, B.; Zas, E.; Zavrtanik, D.; Zavrtanik, M.; Zaw, I.; Zepeda, A.; Zhou, J.; Zhu, Y.; Zimbres Silva, M.; Ziolkowski, M.; Auger Collaboration101, The Pierre

2014-07-01

A flux of neutrons from an astrophysical source in the Galaxy can be detected in the Pierre Auger Observatory as an excess of cosmic-ray air showers arriving from the direction of the source. To avoid the statistical penalty for making many trials, classes of objects are tested in combinations as nine "target sets," in addition to the search for a neutron flux from the Galactic center or from the Galactic plane. Within a target set, each candidate source is weighted in proportion to its electromagnetic flux, its exposure to the Auger Observatory, and its flux attenuation factor due to neutron decay. These searches do not find evidence for a neutron flux from any class of candidate sources. Tabulated results give the combined p-value for each class, with and without the weights, and also the flux upper limit for the most significant candidate source within each class. These limits on fluxes of neutrons significantly constrain models of EeV proton emission from non-transient discrete sources in the Galaxy.

Nutrigenomics of Body Weight Regulation: A Rationale for Careful Dissection of Individual Contributors

PubMed Central

Keijer, Jaap; Hoevenaars, Femke P. M.; Nieuwenhuizen, Arie; van Schothorst, Evert M.

2014-01-01

Body weight stability may imply active regulation towards a certain physiological condition, a body weight setpoint. This interpretation is ill at odds with the world-wide increase in overweight and obesity. Until now, a body weight setpoint has remained elusive and the setpoint theory did not provide practical clues for body weight reduction interventions. For this an alternative theoretical model is necessary, which is available as the settling point model. The settling point model postulates that there is little active regulation towards a predefined body weight, but that body weight settles based on the resultant of a number of contributors, represented by the individual’s genetic predisposition, in interaction with environmental and socioeconomic factors, such as diet and lifestyle. This review refines the settling point model and argues that by taking body weight regulation from a settling point perspective, the road will be opened to careful dissection of the various contributors to establishment of body weight and its regulation. This is both necessary and useful. Nutrigenomic technologies may help to delineate contributors to body weight settling. Understanding how and to which extent the different contributors influence body weight will allow the design of weight loss and weight maintenance interventions, which hopefully are more successful than those that are currently available. PMID:25338273

Nutrigenomics of body weight regulation: a rationale for careful dissection of individual contributors.

PubMed

Keijer, Jaap; Hoevenaars, Femke P M; Nieuwenhuizen, Arie; van Schothorst, Evert M

2014-10-21

Body weight stability may imply active regulation towards a certain physiological condition, a body weight setpoint. This interpretation is ill at odds with the world-wide increase in overweight and obesity. Until now, a body weight setpoint has remained elusive and the setpoint theory did not provide practical clues for body weight reduction interventions. For this an alternative theoretical model is necessary, which is available as the settling point model. The settling point model postulates that there is little active regulation towards a predefined body weight, but that body weight settles based on the resultant of a number of contributors, represented by the individual's genetic predisposition, in interaction with environmental and socioeconomic factors, such as diet and lifestyle. This review refines the settling point model and argues that by taking body weight regulation from a settling point perspective, the road will be opened to careful dissection of the various contributors to establishment of body weight and its regulation. This is both necessary and useful. Nutrigenomic technologies may help to delineate contributors to body weight settling. Understanding how and to which extent the different contributors influence body weight will allow the design of weight loss and weight maintenance interventions, which hopefully are more successful than those that are currently available.

Modeling PSInSAR time series without phase unwrapping

USGS Publications Warehouse

Zhang, L.; Ding, X.; Lu, Z.

2011-01-01

In this paper, we propose a least-squares-based method for multitemporal synthetic aperture radar interferometry that allows one to estimate deformations without the need of phase unwrapping. The method utilizes a series of multimaster wrapped differential interferograms with short baselines and focuses on arcs at which there are no phase ambiguities. An outlier detector is used to identify and remove the arcs with phase ambiguities, and a pseudoinverse of the variance-covariance matrix is used as the weight matrix of the correlated observations. The deformation rates at coherent points are estimated with a least squares model constrained by reference points. The proposed approach is verified with a set of simulated data.

On E-discretization of tori of compact simple Lie groups. II

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hrivnák, Jiří; Juránek, Michal

2017-10-01

Ten types of discrete Fourier transforms of Weyl orbit functions are developed. Generalizing one-dimensional cosine, sine, and exponential, each type of the Weyl orbit function represents an exponential symmetrized with respect to a subgroup of the Weyl group. Fundamental domains of even affine and dual even affine Weyl groups, governing the argument and label symmetries of the even orbit functions, are determined. The discrete orthogonality relations are formulated on finite sets of points from the refinements of the dual weight lattices. Explicit counting formulas for the number of points of the discrete transforms are deduced. Real-valued Hartley orbit functions are introduced, and all ten types of the corresponding discrete Hartley transforms are detailed.

Effectiveness of employee internet-based weight management program.

PubMed

Petersen, Ruth; Sill, Stewart; Lu, Chifung; Young, Joyce; Edington, Dee W

2008-02-01

To evaluate an employee Internet-based weight management program. Changes in eating habits, stage of change, body weight, and weight categories were compared between enrollment and 6 months after enrollment. Weights and weight categories were compared among a subset of participants and non-participants at 12 months. Seven thousand seven hundred forty-three International Business Machines employees enrolled in the program between December 2004 and February 2006, and 74% were overweight or obese (body mass index > or =25). At 6 months, follow-up survey respondents (1639) had significantly increased most healthy eating habits (eg, 20% decrease in junk foods) and the frequency of healthy foods eaten (eg, 12% increase in fruits). The percentage of participants in the normal weight category had increased from 27.0% to 29.8%, while average weight decreased from 182.6 to 180.2 lbs (P < 0.05). Increased web site usage was associated with increased weight loss and stage of change improvements. At 12 months, a higher percentage of participants had moved into the normal weight category compared with the percentage of non-participants (+2.0% points; P < 0.05), although there were no differences in average weight change. Despite issues of limited penetration and potential self-selection, this Internet-based program had utility in reaching a large number of employees in dispersed work settings, and it led to improved eating habits and improved stage of change at 6 months and more individuals moving into the normal weight category at 6 and 12 months.

The Weighting Is The Hardest Part: On The Behavior of the Likelihood Ratio Test and the Score Test Under a Data-Driven Weighting Scheme in Sequenced Samples

PubMed Central

Minică, Camelia C.; Genovese, Giulio; Hultman, Christina M.; Pool, René; Vink, Jacqueline M.; Neale, Michael C.; Dolan, Conor V.; Neale, Benjamin M.

2017-01-01

Sequence-based association studies are at a critical inflexion point with the increasing availability of exome-sequencing data. A popular test of association is the sequence kernel association test (SKAT). Weights are embedded within SKAT to reflect the hypothesized contribution of the variants to the trait variance. Because the true weights are generally unknown, and so are subject to misspecification, we examined the efficiency of a data-driven weighting scheme. We propose the use of a set of theoretically defensible weighting schemes, of which, we assume, the one that gives the largest test statistic is likely to capture best the allele frequency-functional effect relationship. We show that the use of alternative weights obviates the need to impose arbitrary frequency thresholds in sequence data association analyses. As both the score test and the likelihood ratio test (LRT) may be used in this context, and may differ in power, we characterize the behavior of both tests. We found that the two tests have equal power if the set of weights resembled the correct ones. However, if the weights are badly specified, the LRT shows superior power (due to its robustness to misspecification). With this data-driven weighting procedure the LRT detected significant signal in genes located in regions already confirmed as associated with schizophrenia – the PRRC2A (P=1.020E-06) and the VARS2 (P=2.383E-06) – in the Swedish schizophrenia case-control cohort of 11,040 individuals with exome-sequencing data. The score test is currently preferred for its computational efficiency and power. Indeed, assuming correct specification, in some circumstances the score test is the most powerful. However, LRT has the advantageous properties of being generally more robust and more powerful under weight misspecification. This is an important result given that, arguably, misspecified models are likely to be the rule rather than the exception in weighting-based approaches. PMID:28238293

Modeling the solute transport by particle-tracing method with variable weights

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jiang, J.

2016-12-01

Particle-tracing method is usually used to simulate the solute transport in fracture media. In this method, the concentration at one point is proportional to number of particles visiting this point. However, this method is rather inefficient at the points with small concentration. Few particles visit these points, which leads to violent oscillation or gives zero value of concentration. In this paper, we proposed a particle-tracing method with variable weights. The concentration at one point is proportional to the sum of the weights of the particles visiting it. It adjusts the weight factors during simulations according to the estimated probabilities of corresponding walks. If the weight W of a tracking particle is larger than the relative concentration C at the corresponding site, the tracking particle will be splitted into Int(W/C) copies and each copy will be simulated independently with the weight W/Int(W/C) . If the weight W of a tracking particle is less than the relative concentration C at the corresponding site, the tracking particle will be continually tracked with a probability W/C and the weight will be adjusted to be C. By adjusting weights, the number of visiting particles distributes evenly in the whole range. Through this variable weights scheme, we can eliminate the violent oscillation and increase the accuracy of orders of magnitudes.

Semantics of directly manipulating spatializations.

PubMed

Hu, Xinran; Bradel, Lauren; Maiti, Dipayan; House, Leanna; North, Chris; Leman, Scotland

2013-12-01

When high-dimensional data is visualized in a 2D plane by using parametric projection algorithms, users may wish to manipulate the layout of the data points to better reflect their domain knowledge or to explore alternative structures. However, few users are well-versed in the algorithms behind the visualizations, making parameter tweaking more of a guessing game than a series of decisive interactions. Translating user interactions into algorithmic input is a key component of Visual to Parametric Interaction (V2PI) [13]. Instead of adjusting parameters, users directly move data points on the screen, which then updates the underlying statistical model. However, we have found that some data points that are not moved by the user are just as important in the interactions as the data points that are moved. Users frequently move some data points with respect to some other 'unmoved' data points that they consider as spatially contextual. However, in current V2PI interactions, these points are not explicitly identified when directly manipulating the moved points. We design a richer set of interactions that makes this context more explicit, and a new algorithm and sophisticated weighting scheme that incorporates the importance of these unmoved data points into V2PI.

Permutation flow-shop scheduling problem to optimize a quadratic objective function

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ren, Tao; Zhao, Peng; Zhang, Da; Liu, Bingqian; Yuan, Huawei; Bai, Danyu

2017-09-01

A flow-shop scheduling model enables appropriate sequencing for each job and for processing on a set of machines in compliance with identical processing orders. The objective is to achieve a feasible schedule for optimizing a given criterion. Permutation is a special setting of the model in which the processing order of the jobs on the machines is identical for each subsequent step of processing. This article addresses the permutation flow-shop scheduling problem to minimize the criterion of total weighted quadratic completion time. With a probability hypothesis, the asymptotic optimality of the weighted shortest processing time schedule under a consistency condition (WSPT-CC) is proven for sufficiently large-scale problems. However, the worst case performance ratio of the WSPT-CC schedule is the square of the number of machines in certain situations. A discrete differential evolution algorithm, where a new crossover method with multiple-point insertion is used to improve the final outcome, is presented to obtain high-quality solutions for moderate-scale problems. A sequence-independent lower bound is designed for pruning in a branch-and-bound algorithm for small-scale problems. A set of random experiments demonstrates the performance of the lower bound and the effectiveness of the proposed algorithms.

Developing a weighted measure of speech sound accuracy.

PubMed

Preston, Jonathan L; Ramsdell, Heather L; Oller, D Kimbrough; Edwards, Mary Louise; Tobin, Stephen J

2011-02-01

To develop a system for numerically quantifying a speaker's phonetic accuracy through transcription-based measures. With a focus on normal and disordered speech in children, the authors describe a system for differentially weighting speech sound errors on the basis of various levels of phonetic accuracy using a Weighted Speech Sound Accuracy (WSSA) score. The authors then evaluate the reliability and validity of this measure. Phonetic transcriptions were analyzed from several samples of child speech, including preschoolers and young adolescents with and without speech sound disorders and typically developing toddlers. The new measure of phonetic accuracy was validated against existing measures, was used to discriminate typical and disordered speech production, and was evaluated to examine sensitivity to changes in phonetic accuracy over time. Reliability between transcribers and consistency of scores among different word sets and testing points are compared. Initial psychometric data indicate that WSSA scores correlate with other measures of phonetic accuracy as well as listeners' judgments of the severity of a child's speech disorder. The measure separates children with and without speech sound disorders and captures growth in phonetic accuracy in toddlers' speech over time. The measure correlates highly across transcribers, word lists, and testing points. Results provide preliminary support for the WSSA as a valid and reliable measure of phonetic accuracy in children's speech.

Calibration of neural networks using genetic algorithms, with application to optimal path planning

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Smith, Terence R.; Pitney, Gilbert A.; Greenwood, Daniel

1987-01-01

Genetic algorithms (GA) are used to search the synaptic weight space of artificial neural systems (ANS) for weight vectors that optimize some network performance function. GAs do not suffer from some of the architectural constraints involved with other techniques and it is straightforward to incorporate terms into the performance function concerning the metastructure of the ANS. Hence GAs offer a remarkably general approach to calibrating ANS. GAs are applied to the problem of calibrating an ANS that finds optimal paths over a given surface. This problem involves training an ANS on a relatively small set of paths and then examining whether the calibrated ANS is able to find good paths between arbitrary start and end points on the surface.

Development of acute tolerance to the EEG effect of propofol in rats.

PubMed

Ihmsen, H; Schywalsky, M; Tzabazis, A; Schwilden, H

2005-09-01

A previous study in rats with propofol suggested the development of acute tolerance to the EEG effect. The aim of this study was to evaluate acute tolerance by means of EEG-controlled closed-loop anaesthesia as this approach allows precise determination of drug requirement to maintain a defined drug effect. Ten male Sprague-Dawley rats [weight 402 (40) g, mean (SD)] were included in the study. The EEG was recorded with occipito-occipital needle electrodes and a modified median frequency (mMEF) of the EEG power spectrum was used as a pharmacodynamic control parameter. The propofol infusion rate was controlled by a model-based adaptive algorithm to maintain a set point of mMEF=3 (0.5) Hz for 90 min. The performance of the closed-loop system was characterized by the prediction error PE=(mMEF-set point)/set point. Plasma propofol concentrations were determined from arterial samples by HPLC. The chosen set point was successfully maintained in all rats. The median (SE) and absolute median values of PE were -5.0 (0.3) and 11.3 (0.2)% respectively. Propofol concentration increased significantly from 2.9 (2.2) microg ml(-1) at the beginning to 5.8 (3.8) microg ml(-1) at 90 min [mean (SD), P<0.05]. The cumulative dose increased linearly, with a mean infusion rate of 0.60 (0.16) mg kg(-1) min(-1). The minimum value of the mean arterial pressure during closed-loop administration of propofol was 130 (24) mm Hg, compared with a baseline value of 141 (12) mm Hg. The increase in propofol concentration at constant EEG effect indicates development of acute tolerance to the hypnotic effect of propofol.

Portable Amplifier Design for a Novel EEG Monitor in Point-of-Care Applications.

PubMed

Luan, Bo; Sun, Mingui; Jia, Wenyan

2012-01-01

The Electroencephalography (EEG) is a common diagnostic tool for neurological diseases and dysfunctions, such as epilepsy and insomnia. However, the current EEG technology cannot be utilized quickly and conveniently at the point of care due to the complex skin preparation procedures required and the inconvenient EEG data acquisition systems. This work presents a portable amplifier design that integrates a set of skin screw electrodes and a wireless data link. The battery-operated amplifier contains an instrumentation amplifier, two noninverting amplifiers, two high-pass filters, and a low-pass filter. It is able to magnify the EEG signals over 10,000 times and has a high impedance, low noise, small size and low weight. Our electrode and amplifier are ideal for point-of-care applications, especially during transportation of patients suffering from traumatic brain injury or stroke.

Butyrylcholinesterase gene transfer in obese mice prevents postdieting body weight rebound by suppressing ghrelin signaling.

PubMed

Chen, Vicky Ping; Gao, Yang; Geng, Liyi; Brimijoin, Stephen

2017-10-10

The worldwide prevalence of obesity is increasing at an alarming rate but treatment options remain limited. Despite initial success, weight loss by calorie restriction (CR) often fails because of rebound weight gain. Postdieting hyperphagia along with altered hypothalamic neuro-architecture appears to be one direct cause of this undesirable outcome. In response to calorie deficiency the circulating levels of the appetite-promoting hormone, acyl-ghrelin, rise sharply. We hypothesize that proper modulation of acyl-ghrelin and its receptor's sensitivity will favorably impact energy intake and reprogram the body weight set point. Here we applied viral gene transfer of the acyl-ghrelin hydrolyzing enzyme, butyrylcholinesterase (BChE), in a mouse model of diet-induced obesity. Our results confirmed that BChE overexpression decreased circulating acyl-ghrelin levels, suppressed CR-provoked ghrelin signaling, and restored central ghrelin sensitivity. In addition to maintaining healthy body weights, BChE treated mice had modest postdieting food intake and showed normal glucose homeostasis. Spontaneous activity and energy expenditure did not differ significantly between treated and untreated mice after body weight rebound, suggesting that BChE gene transfer did not alter energy expenditure in the long term. These findings indicate that combining BChE treatment with CR could be an effective approach in treating human obesity and aiding lifelong weight management.

The generation of arbitrary order, non-classical, Gauss-type quadrature for transport applications

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

Spence, Peter J., E-mail: peter.spence@awe.co.uk

A method is presented, based upon the Stieltjes method (1884), for the determination of non-classical Gauss-type quadrature rules, and the associated sets of abscissae and weights. The method is then used to generate a number of quadrature sets, to arbitrary order, which are primarily aimed at deterministic transport calculations. The quadrature rules and sets detailed include arbitrary order reproductions of those presented by Abu-Shumays in [4,8] (known as the QR sets, but labelled QRA here), in addition to a number of new rules and associated sets; these are generated in a similar way, and we label them the QRS quadraturemore » sets. The method presented here shifts the inherent difficulty (encountered by Abu-Shumays) associated with solving the non-linear moment equations, particular to the required quadrature rule, to one of the determination of non-classical weight functions and the subsequent calculation of various associated inner products. Once a quadrature rule has been written in a standard form, with an associated weight function having been identified, the calculation of the required inner products is achieved using specific variable transformations, in addition to the use of rapid, highly accurate quadrature suited to this purpose. The associated non-classical Gauss quadrature sets can then be determined, and this can be done to any order very rapidly. In this paper, instead of listing weights and abscissae for the different quadrature sets detailed (of which there are a number), the MATLAB code written to generate them is included as Appendix D. The accuracy and efficacy (in a transport setting) of the quadrature sets presented is not tested in this paper (although the accuracy of the QRA quadrature sets has been studied in [12,13]), but comparisons to tabulated results listed in [8] are made. When comparisons are made with one of the azimuthal QRA sets detailed in [8], the inherent difficulty in the method of generation, used there, becomes apparent, with the highest order tabulated sets showing unexpected anomalies. Although not in an actual transport setting, the accuracy of the sets presented here is assessed to some extent, by using them to approximate integrals (over an octant of the unit sphere) of various high order spherical harmonics. When this is done, errors in the tabulated QRA sets present themselves at the highest tabulated orders, whilst combinations of the new QRS quadrature sets offer some improvements in accuracy over the original QRA sets. Finally, in order to offer a quick, visual understanding of the various quadrature sets presented, when combined to give product sets for the purposes of integrating functions confined to the surface of a sphere, three-dimensional representations of points located on an octant of the unit sphere (as in [8,12]) are shown.« less

Weighted Association Rule Mining for Item Groups with Different Properties and Risk Assessment for Networked Systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kim, Jungja; Ceong, Heetaek; Won, Yonggwan

In market-basket analysis, weighted association rule (WAR) discovery can mine the rules that include more beneficial information by reflecting item importance for special products. In the point-of-sale database, each transaction is composed of items with similar properties, and item weights are pre-defined and fixed by a factor such as the profit. However, when items are divided into more than one group and the item importance must be measured independently for each group, traditional weighted association rule discovery cannot be used. To solve this problem, we propose a new weighted association rule mining methodology. The items should be first divided into subgroups according to their properties, and the item importance, i.e. item weight, is defined or calculated only with the items included in the subgroup. Then, transaction weight is measured by appropriately summing the item weights from each subgroup, and the weighted support is computed as the fraction of the transaction weights that contains the candidate items relative to the weight of all transactions. As an example, our proposed methodology is applied to assess the vulnerability to threats of computer systems that provide networked services. Our algorithm provides both quantitative risk-level values and qualitative risk rules for the security assessment of networked computer systems using WAR discovery. Also, it can be widely used for new applications with many data sets in which the data items are distinctly separated.

Weight gain as a consequence of living a modern lifestyle: a discussion of barriers to effective weight control and how to overcome them

PubMed Central

Seaman, David R.

2013-01-01

Objective The purpose of this commentary is to discuss modern lifestyle factors that promote weight gain and to suggest methods for clinicians to more effectively educate patients about weight management. Discussion Most adults in the United States are overweight or obese. Multiple factors related to the modern lifestyle appear to play causal roles. In general, the population maintains sedentary lives and overconsumes calorie-dense foods. In particular, refined carbohydrates negatively impact metabolism and stimulate neural addiction mechanisms, which facilitate weight gain. As adipose tissue mass accumulates, satiation centers in the hypothalamus become resistant to insulin and leptin, which leads to increased caloric consumption. Several behavior issues further augment weight gain, such as eating too quickly, a lack of sleep, high stress levels, and a lack of exercise. Finally, adipose tissue accumulation alters the body weight set point, which leads to metabolic changes that function to resist weight loss efforts. Each of these factors may work together to augment weight gain and promote obesity. Health care providers, such as chiropractic physicians, who educate patients on wellness, prevention, and lifestyle changes are well positioned to address these issues. Conclusion People need to be educated about the modern lifestyle factors that prevent effective weight management. Without this knowledge and the associated practical application of lifestyle choices that prevent weight gain, becoming overweight or obese appears to be an unavoidable consequence of living a modern lifestyle. PMID:25067929

A posteriori noise estimation in variable data sets. With applications to spectra and light curves

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Czesla, S.; Molle, T.; Schmitt, J. H. M. M.

2018-01-01

Most physical data sets contain a stochastic contribution produced by measurement noise or other random sources along with the signal. Usually, neither the signal nor the noise are accurately known prior to the measurement so that both have to be estimated a posteriori. We have studied a procedure to estimate the standard deviation of the stochastic contribution assuming normality and independence, requiring a sufficiently well-sampled data set to yield reliable results. This procedure is based on estimating the standard deviation in a sample of weighted sums of arbitrarily sampled data points and is identical to the so-called DER_SNR algorithm for specific parameter settings. To demonstrate the applicability of our procedure, we present applications to synthetic data, high-resolution spectra, and a large sample of space-based light curves and, finally, give guidelines to apply the procedure in situation not explicitly considered here to promote its adoption in data analysis.

Using physiologically based pharmacokinetic modeling and benchmark dose methods to derive an occupational exposure limit for N-methylpyrrolidone.

PubMed

Poet, T S; Schlosser, P M; Rodriguez, C E; Parod, R J; Rodwell, D E; Kirman, C R

2016-04-01

The developmental effects of NMP are well studied in Sprague-Dawley rats following oral, inhalation, and dermal routes of exposure. Short-term and chronic occupational exposure limit (OEL) values were derived using an updated physiologically based pharmacokinetic (PBPK) model for NMP, along with benchmark dose modeling. Two suitable developmental endpoints were evaluated for human health risk assessment: (1) for acute exposures, the increased incidence of skeletal malformations, an effect noted only at oral doses that were toxic to the dam and fetus; and (2) for repeated exposures to NMP, changes in fetal/pup body weight. Where possible, data from multiple studies were pooled to increase the predictive power of the dose-response data sets. For the purposes of internal dose estimation, the window of susceptibility was estimated for each endpoint, and was used in the dose-response modeling. A point of departure value of 390 mg/L (in terms of peak NMP in blood) was calculated for skeletal malformations based on pooled data from oral and inhalation studies. Acceptable dose-response model fits were not obtained using the pooled data for fetal/pup body weight changes. These data sets were also assessed individually, from which the geometric mean value obtained from the inhalation studies (470 mg*hr/L), was used to derive the chronic OEL. A PBPK model for NMP in humans was used to calculate human equivalent concentrations corresponding to the internal dose point of departure values. Application of a net uncertainty factor of 20-21, which incorporates data-derived extrapolation factors, to the point of departure values yields short-term and chronic occupational exposure limit values of 86 and 24 ppm, respectively. Copyright © 2016 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Ain't no mountain high enough? Setting high weight loss goals predict effort and short-term weight loss.

PubMed

De Vet, Emely; Nelissen, Rob M A; Zeelenberg, Marcel; De Ridder, Denise T D

2013-05-01

Although psychological theories outline that it might be beneficial to set more challenging goals, people attempting to lose weight are generally recommended to set modest weight loss goals. The present study explores whether the amount of weight loss individuals strive for is associated with more positive psychological and behavioral outcomes. Hereto, 447 overweight and obese participants trying to lose weight completed two questionnaires with a 2-month interval. Many participants set goals that could be considered unrealistically high. However, higher weight loss goals did not predict dissatisfaction but predicted more effort in the weight loss attempt, as well as more self-reported short-term weight loss when baseline commitment and motivation were controlled for.

A healthy lifestyle coaching-persuasive application for patients with type 2 diabetes.

PubMed

Fico, G; Fioravanti, A; Arredondo, M T; Ardigó, D; Guillén, A

2010-01-01

Losing weight can be one of the toughest objectives related to diabetes treatment, especially for Type 2 diabetes mellitus. This paper describes a tool to set goals to achieve lifestyle behavioral changes, and keep track of the benefits derived from these changes. This strategy leans on the capability of evaluating users' compliance to treatment, identifying key points where the lack of motivation causes therapy dropping, and on the better resources that physicians will have to adjust the treatments and the prescriptions.

Development of a point-of-care HIV/AIDS medication dosing support system using the Android mobile platform.

PubMed

Sadasivam, Rajani S; Gathibandhe, Vaibhav; Tanik, Murat M; Willig, James H

2012-06-01

Medication dosing errors can greatly reduce HIV treatment effectiveness as incorrect dosing leads to drug resistance and non-adherence. In order to dose correctly, HIV therapy providers must balance several patient characteristics such as renal functions and weight. In developing countries and other resource-limited settings, dosing errors are more likely because treatment is provided by mid-level providers with only basic training in HIV therapy. These providers also typically lack electronic tools informing medical decisions. Widespread adoption of mobile phones in developing nations offers an opportunity to implement a point-of-care system to help providers reduce dosing errors. We discuss the development of the mHIV-Dr system prototype using the new Android mobile platform. mHIV-Dr is being designed to provide dosing recommendations for front-line providers in developing countries. We also discuss the additional challenges in the implementation of the mHIV-Dr system in a resource limited setting.

Group vs. single mindfulness meditation: exploring avoidance, impulsivity, and weight management in two separate mindfulness meditation settings.

PubMed

Mantzios, Michail; Giannou, Kyriaki

2014-07-01

Recent research has identified that mindfulness meditation in group settings supports people who are trying to lose weight. The present research investigated mindfulness meditation in group and individual settings, and explored the potential impact on weight loss and other factors (i.e. mindfulness, impulsivity, and avoidance) that may assist or hinder weight loss. Specifically, the hypotheses tested were that the group setting assisted dieters more than the individual setting by reducing weight, cognitive-behavioral avoidance, and impulsivity and by increasing mindfulness. Participants (n = 170) who were trying to lose weight were randomly assigned to practice meditation for 6 weeks within a group or independently. Measurements in mindfulness, cognitive-behavioral avoidance, impulsivity, and weight occurred twice (pre- and post-intervention). Results indicated that participants in the group setting lost weight and lowered their levels of cognitive-behavioral avoidance, while impulsivity and mindfulness remained stable. On the other hand, participants in the individual condition lost less weight, while there was an increase in cognitive-behavioral avoidance and mindfulness scores, but a decrease in impulsivity. Seeing that benefits and limitations observed in group settings are not replicated when people meditate alone, this study concluded that mindfulness meditation in individual settings needs to be used with caution, although there are some potential benefits that could aid future weight loss research. © 2014 The International Association of Applied Psychology.

Generating functions for weighted Hurwitz numbers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Guay-Paquet, Mathieu; Harnad, J.

2017-08-01

Double Hurwitz numbers enumerating weighted n-sheeted branched coverings of the Riemann sphere or, equivalently, weighted paths in the Cayley graph of Sn generated by transpositions are determined by an associated weight generating function. A uniquely determined 1-parameter family of 2D Toda τ -functions of hypergeometric type is shown to consist of generating functions for such weighted Hurwitz numbers. Four classical cases are detailed, in which the weighting is uniform: Okounkov's double Hurwitz numbers for which the ramification is simple at all but two specified branch points; the case of Belyi curves, with three branch points, two with specified profiles; the general case, with a specified number of branch points, two with fixed profiles, the rest constrained only by the genus; and the signed enumeration case, with sign determined by the parity of the number of branch points. Using the exponentiated quantum dilogarithm function as a weight generator, three new types of weighted enumerations are introduced. These determine quantum Hurwitz numbers depending on a deformation parameter q. By suitable interpretation of q, the statistical mechanics of quantum weighted branched covers may be related to that of Bosonic gases. The standard double Hurwitz numbers are recovered in the classical limit.

Physical activity and post-treatment weight trajectory in anorexia nervosa

PubMed Central

Gianini, Loren M; Klein, Diane A; Call, Christine; Walsh, B. Timothy; Wang, Yuanjia; Wu, Peng; Attia, Evelyn

2015-01-01

Objective This study compared an objective measurement of physical activity (PA) in individuals with anorexia nervosa (AN) at low-weight, weight-restored, and post-treatment time points, and also compared PA in AN with that of healthy controls (HC). Method Sixty-one female inpatients with AN wore a novel accelerometer (the IDEEA) which measured PA at three time points: a) low-weight, b) weight-restored, and c) one month post-hospital discharge. Twenty-four HCs wore the IDEEA at one time point. Results Inpatients with AN became more physically active than they were at low-weight at weight restoration and following treatment discharge. Post-treatment patients with AN were more physically active than HCs during the day and less active at night, which was primarily accounted for by amount of time spent on feet, including standing and walking. Greater time spent on feet during the weight-restoration time point of inpatient treatment was associated with more rapid decrease in BMI over the 12 months following treatment discharge. Fidgeting did not differ between patients and controls, did not change with weight restoration, and did not predict post-treatment weight change. Discussion Use of a novel accelerometer demonstrated greater PA in AN than in healthy controls. PA following weight restoration in AN, particularly time spent in standing postures, may contribute to weight loss in the year following hospitalization. PMID:26712105

Neonatal immune challenge does not affect body weight regulation in rats.

PubMed

Spencer, Sarah J; Mouihate, Abdeslam; Galic, Michael A; Ellis, Shaun L; Pittman, Quentin J

2007-08-01

The perinatal environment plays a crucial role in programming many aspects of adult physiology. Myriad stressors during pregnancy, from maternal immune challenge to nutritional deficiency, can alter long-term body weight set points of the offspring. In light of the increasing concern over body weight issues, such as obesity and anorexia, in modern societies and accumulating evidence that developmental stressors have long-lasting effects on other aspects of physiology (e.g., fever, pain), we explored the role of immune system activation during neonatal development and its impact on body weight regulation in adulthood. Here we present a thorough evaluation of the effects of immune system activation (LPS, 100 microg/kg ip) at postnatal days 3, 7, or 14 on long-term body weight, adiposity, and body weight regulation after a further LPS injection (50 microg/kg ip) or fasting and basal and LPS-induced circulating levels of the appetite-regulating proinflammatory cytokine leptin. We show that neonatal exposure to LPS at various times during the neonatal period has no long-term effects on growth, body weight, or adiposity. We also observed no effects on body weight regulation in response to a short fasting period or a further exposure to LPS. Despite reductions in circulating leptin levels in response to LPS during the neonatal period, no long-term effects on leptin were seen. These results convincingly demonstrate that adult body weight and weight regulation are, unlike many other aspects of adult physiology, resistant to programming by a febrile-dose neonatal immune challenge.

A curvature-based weighted fuzzy c-means algorithm for point clouds de-noising

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cui, Xin; Li, Shipeng; Yan, Xiutian; He, Xinhua

2018-04-01

In order to remove the noise of three-dimensional scattered point cloud and smooth the data without damnify the sharp geometric feature simultaneity, a novel algorithm is proposed in this paper. The feature-preserving weight is added to fuzzy c-means algorithm which invented a curvature weighted fuzzy c-means clustering algorithm. Firstly, the large-scale outliers are removed by the statistics of r radius neighboring points. Then, the algorithm estimates the curvature of the point cloud data by using conicoid parabolic fitting method and calculates the curvature feature value. Finally, the proposed clustering algorithm is adapted to calculate the weighted cluster centers. The cluster centers are regarded as the new points. The experimental results show that this approach is efficient to different scale and intensities of noise in point cloud with a high precision, and perform a feature-preserving nature at the same time. Also it is robust enough to different noise model.

Bilateral weighted radiographs are required for accurate classification of acromioclavicular separation: an observational study of 59 cases.

PubMed

Ibrahim, E F; Forrest, N P; Forester, A

2015-10-01

Misinterpretation of the Rockwood classification system for acromioclavicular joint (ACJ) separations has resulted in a trend towards using unilateral radiographs for grading. Further, the use of weighted views to 'unmask' a grade III injury has fallen out of favour. Recent evidence suggests that many radiographic grade III injuries represent only a partial injury to the stabilising ligaments. This study aimed to determine (1) whether accurate classification is possible on unilateral radiographs and (2) the efficacy of weighted bilateral radiographs in unmasking higher-grade injuries. Complete bilateral non-weighted and weighted sets of radiographs for patients presenting with an acromioclavicular separation over a 10-year period were analysed retrospectively, and they were graded I-VI according to Rockwood's criteria. Comparison was made between grading based on (1) a single antero-posterior (AP) view of the injured side, (2) bilateral non-weighted views and (3) bilateral weighted views. Radiographic measurements for cases that changed grade after weighted views were statistically compared to see if this could have been predicted beforehand. Fifty-nine sets of radiographs on 59 patients (48 male, mean age of 33 years) were included. Compared with unilateral radiographs, non-weighted bilateral comparison films resulted in a grade change for 44 patients (74.5%). Twenty-eight of 56 patients initially graded as I, II or III were upgraded to grade V and two of three initial grade V patients were downgraded to grade III. The addition of a weighted view further upgraded 10 patients to grade V. No grade II injury was changed to grade III and no injury of any severity was downgraded by a weighted view. Grade III injuries upgraded on weighted views had a significantly greater baseline median percentage coracoclavicular distance increase than those that were not upgraded (80.7% vs. 55.4%, p=0.015). However, no cut-off point for this value could be identified to predict an upgrade. The accurate classification of ACJ separation requires weighted bilateral comparative views. Attempts to predict grade on a single AP radiograph result in a gross underestimation of severity. The value of bilateral weighted views is to 'unmask' a grade V injury, and it is recommended as a first-line investigation. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Effect of a hypocaloric diet with a commercial formula in weight loss and quality of life in obese patients with chronic osteoarthritis.

PubMed

de Luis, D A; Izaola, O; García Alonso, M; Aller, R; Cabezas, G; de la Fuente, B

2012-01-01

The aim of our study was to evaluate in patients with obesity and chronic osteoarthritis the impact on quality of life and metabolic control of a dietary intervention with a hypocaloric commercial formula. A sample of 55 obese patients with chronic osteoarthritis was enrolled. The study consisted of a 12-week weight reduction program where the participants received an oral diet replaced with 2 bricks of Optisource Plus®. In order to assess the effect of weight loss on different parameters, patients were divided in two groups by the median of weight loss percentage (9%); group 1 (< 9%) and group 2 (> 9%). In group 2, patients showed an improvement in total SF-36 score (4.0 ± 6.1 points), physical function domain of SF 36 (1.8 ± 3.4 points), role physical domain of SF 36 (0.6 ± 1.6 points) and vitality domain of SF 36 (2.7 ± 4.6 points) improved. Total score of WOMAC test (- 8.2 ± 15.0 points), function domain of WOMAC test (- 6.5 ± 10.6 points) and stiffness domain of WOMAC test (-0.7 ± 2.1 points) improved, too. The effect on metabolic response, functionality and quality of life was better in patients with a percentage of weight loss > 9% than patients with a lower weight loss.

MR imaging of meniscal tears: comparison of intermediate-weighted FRFSE imaging with intermediate-weighted FSE imaging.

PubMed

Tokuda, Osamu; Harada, Yuko; Ueda, Takaaki; Iida, Etsushi; Shiraishi, Gen; Motomura, Tetsuhisa; Fukuda, Kouji; Matsunaga, Naofumi

2012-11-01

We compared intermediate-weighted fast spin-echo (IW-FSE) images with intermediate-weighted fast-recovery FSE (IW-FRFSE) images in the diagnosis of meniscal tears. First, 64 patients were recruited, and the arthroscopic findings (n = 40) and image analysis (n = 19) identified 59 torn menisci with 36 patients. Both the diagnostic performance and image quality in assessing meniscal tears was evaluated for IW-FSE and IW-FRFSE images using a four-point scale. Signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) calculation was performed for both sets of images. IW-FRFSE image specificity (100 %) for diagnosing the posterior horn of the medial meniscus (MM) tear with reader 1 was significantly higher than that of IW-FSE images (90 %). Mean ratings of the contrast between the lesion and normal signal intensity within the meniscus were significantly higher for the IW-FRFSE image ratings than the IW-FSE images in most meniscal tears. Mean SNRs were significantly higher for IW-FSE images than for IW-FRFSE images (P < 0.05). IW-FRFSE imaging can be used as an alternative to the IW-FSE imaging to evaluate meniscal tears.

Child care choices, food intake, and children's obesity status in the United States.

PubMed

Mandal, Bidisha; Powell, Lisa M

2014-07-01

This article studies two pathways in which selection into different types of child care settings may affect likelihood of childhood obesity. Frequency of intake of high energy-dense and low energy-dense food items may vary across care settings, affecting weight outcomes. We find that increased use of paid and regulated care settings, such as center care and Head Start, is associated with higher consumption of fruits and vegetables. Among children from single-mother households, the probability of obesity increases by 15 percentage point with an increase in intake of soft drinks from four to six times a week to daily consumption and by 25 percentage point with an increase in intake of fast food from one to three times a week to four to six times a week. Among children from two-parent households, eating vegetables one additional time a day is associated with 10 percentage point decreased probability of obesity, while one additional drink of juice a day is associated with 10 percentage point increased probability of obesity. Second, variation across care types could be manifested through differences in the structure of the physical environment not captured by differences in food intake alone. This type of effect is found to be marginal and is statistically significant among children from two-parent households only. Data are used from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study - Birth Cohort surveys (N=10,700; years=2001-2008). Children's age ranged from four to six years in the sample. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Protocol optimization of sacroiliac joint MR Imaging at 3 Tesla: Impact of coil design and motion resistant sequences on image quality.

PubMed

Gondim Teixeira, P A; Bravetti, M; Hossu, G; Lecocq, S; Petit, D; Loeuille, D; Blum, A

2017-12-01

To evaluate the impact of coil design and motion-resistant sequences on the quality of sacroiliac magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) examination in patients with spondyloarthropathy. One hundred and twenty-one patients with suspected sacroiliitis and referred for MRI of the sacroiliac joints were retrospectively evaluated with MRI at 3-Tesla. There were 78 women and 43 men with a mean age of 36.7±11.5 (SD) years (range: 15.8-78.4 years). Conventional and motion-resistant fat-saturated fast-spin echo T2-weighted sequences were performed with two different coils. Image quality was subjectively evaluated by two independent readers (R1 and R2) using a four-point scale. Confidence in the identification of bone marrow edema pattern (BMEP) was also evaluated subjectively using a three-point scale. Phased array body coil yielded improved image quality compared to surface coil (14.1 to 30.4% for R1 and 14.6 to 25.7% for R2; P<0.0001). The impact of the sequence type on quality was also statistically significant (P=0.0046). BMEP was identified in 40 patients and best inter-reader agreement was obtained using the combination of phased-array body coil with motion-resistant T2-weighted sequence (kappa 0.990). The smallest number of indeterminate BMEP zones was seen on MRI set acquired with the phased-array body coil and motion-resistant T2-weighted sequence. Phased array body coil and motion-resistant T2-weighted sequences perform better than surface coil and conventional T2-weighted sequences for the evaluation of sacroiliac joints, increasing confidence in the identification of BMEP. Copyright © 2017 Editions françaises de radiologie. Published by Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

Associations of Linear Growth and Relative Weight Gain in Early Life with Human Capital at 30 Years of Age.

PubMed

Horta, Bernardo Lessa; Victora, Cesar G; de Mola, Christian Loret; Quevedo, Luciana; Pinheiro, Ricardo Tavares; Gigante, Denise P; Motta, Janaina Vieira Dos Santos; Barros, Fernando C

2017-03-01

To assess the associations of birthweight, nutritional status and growth in childhood with IQ, years of schooling, and monthly income at 30 years of age. In 1982, the 5 maternity hospitals in Pelotas, Brazil, were visited daily and 5914 live births were identified. At 30 years of age, 3701 subjects were interviewed. IQ, years of schooling, and income were measured. On average, their IQ was 98 points, they had 11.4 years of schooling, and the mean income was 1593 reais. After controlling for several confounders, birthweight and attained weight and length/height for age at 2 and 4 years of age were associated positively with IQ, years of years of schooling, and income, except for the association between length at 2 years of age and income. Conditional growth analyses were used to disentangle linear growth from relative weight gain. Conditional length at 2 years of age ≥1 SD score above the expected value, compared with ≥1 SD below the expected, was associated with an increase in IQ (4.28 points; 95% CI, 2.66-5.90), years of schooling (1.58 years; 95% CI, 1.08-2.08), and monthly income (303 Brazilian reais; 95% CI, 44-563). Relative weight gain, above what would be expected from linear growth, was not associated with the outcomes. In a middle-income setting, promotion of linear growth in the first 1000 days of life is likely to increase adult IQ, years of schooling, and income. Weight gain in excess of what is expected from linear growth does not seem to improve human capital. Copyright © 2016 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

A self-management intervention for African Americans with comorbid diabetes and hypertension: a pilot randomized controlled trial.

PubMed

Lynch, Elizabeth B; Liebman, Rebecca; Ventrelle, Jennifer; Avery, Elizabeth F; Richardson, DeJuran

2014-05-29

The objective of this pilot 6-month randomized controlled trial was to determine the effectiveness of an intensive, community-based, group intervention that focused on diet, physical activity, and peer support for reducing weight among urban-dwelling African Americans with comorbid type 2 diabetes and hypertension. Sixty-one participants were randomized into an intervention or control group. The 6-month intervention consisted of 18 group sessions led by a dietitian in a community setting and weekly telephone calls from a peer supporter. The intervention featured culturally tailored nutrition education, behavioral skills training, and social support focused on changes to diet and physical activity. The control group consisted of two 3-hour group sessions of diabetes self-management education taught by a community health worker. Outcome measures were assessed at baseline and 6 months. The primary outcome was achievement of a 5% weight reduction at 6 months. A secondary outcome was achievement of a 0.5 percentage-point reduction in hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c). Groups did not differ in achievement of the weight-loss goal. Intervention participants lost a mean of 2.8 kg (P = .01); control participants did not lose a significant amount of weight. A greater proportion of intervention (50.0%) than control (21.4%) participants reduced HbA1c by 0.5 percentage points or more at 6 months (P = .03). The intervention was more effective than usual care (short-term diabetes education) at improving glycemic control, but not weight, in low-income African Americans with comorbid diabetes and hypertension. A community-based 6-month group class with culturally tailored education, behavioral skills training, and peer support can lead to a clinically significant reduction in HbA1c.

Terminal attractors in neural networks

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Zak, Michail

1989-01-01

A new type of attractor (terminal attractors) for content-addressable memory, associative memory, and pattern recognition in artificial neural networks operating in continuous time is introduced. The idea of a terminal attractor is based upon a violation of the Lipschitz condition at a fixed point. As a result, the fixed point becomes a singular solution which envelopes the family of regular solutions, while each regular solution approaches such an attractor in finite time. It will be shown that terminal attractors can be incorporated into neural networks such that any desired set of these attractors with prescribed basins is provided by an appropriate selection of the synaptic weights. The applications of terminal attractors for content-addressable and associative memories, pattern recognition, self-organization, and for dynamical training are illustrated.

Establishing a standard definition for child overweight and obesity worldwide: international survey

PubMed Central

Cole, Tim J; Bellizzi, Mary C; Flegal, Katherine M; Dietz, William H

2000-01-01

Objective To develop an internationally acceptable definition of child overweight and obesity, specifying the measurement, the reference population, and the age and sex specific cut off points. Design International survey of six large nationally representative cross sectional growth studies. Setting Brazil, Great Britain, Hong Kong, the Netherlands, Singapore, and the United States. Subjects 97 876 males and 94 851 females from birth to 25 years of age. Main outcome measure Body mass index (weight/height2). Results For each of the surveys, centile curves were drawn that at age 18 years passed through the widely used cut off points of 25 and 30 kg/m2 for adult overweight and obesity. The resulting curves were averaged to provide age and sex specific cut off points from 2-18 years. Conclusions The proposed cut off points, which are less arbitrary and more internationally based than current alternatives, should help to provide internationally comparable prevalence rates of overweight and obesity in children. PMID:10797032

Chroma-preserved luma controlling technique using YCbCr color space

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lee, Sooyeon; Kwak, Youngshin; Kim, Youn Jin

2013-02-01

YCbCr color space composed of luma and chominance components is preferred for its ease of image processing. However the non-orthogonality between YCbCr components induces unwanted perceived chroma change as controlling luma values. In this study, a new method was designed for the unwanted chroma change compensation generated by luma change. For six different YCC_hue angles, data points named `Original data' generated with uniformly distributed luma and Cb, Cr values. Then the weight values were applied to luma values of `Original data' set resulting in `Test data' set followed by `new YCC_chroma' calculation having miminum CIECAM02 ΔC between original and test data for `Test data' set. Finally mathematical model is developed to predict amount of YCC_chroma values to compensate CIECAM02 chroma changes. This model implemented for luma controlling algorithm having constant perceived chroma. The performance was tested numerically using data points and images. After compensation the result is improved 51.69% than that before compensation when CIECAM02 Δ C between `Original data' and `Test data' after compensation is compared. When new model is applied to test images, there is 32.03% improvement.

The use of disease-specific outcome measures in cost-utility analysis: the development of Dutch societal preference weights for the FACT-L scale.

PubMed

Lamers, Leida M; Uyl-de Groot, Carin A; Buijt, Ivonne

2007-01-01

The Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-Lung (FACT-L) is a validated, sensitive and reliable patient questionnaire that evaluates and quantifies quality of life (QOL) across several domains, including lung cancer-related symptoms. The FACT-L was not designed for use in economic evaluation and does not incorporate preferences into its scoring system. To derive a set of Dutch preference weights for FACT-L health states that can be used to convert FACT-L into a single value that can be used in cost-utility analyses. A representative sample of the Dutch population (n = 1076) directly valued an orthogonal set of eight FACT-L health states on a 100-point rating scale with the anchor points 'worst imaginable health state' and 'best imaginable health state'. Eleven FACT-L items were selected to describe the FACT-L health states that were directly valued. Regression analysis was used to interpolate values for all other possible health states. Scores were transformed into values on a scale where 0 indicated dead and 1 indicated full health. The estimated values for FACT-L health states ranged from 0.08 to 0.93. The estimated value sets were applied to FACT-L data of lung cancer patients participating in a clinical study. Significant differences in the mean value and mean gain of 0.12 and 0.07, respectively, were found between patients in remission and patients with progressive disease at 4 weeks' follow-up. Our results reaffirmed that the methodology used here is a feasible option to convert data collected with a disease-specific outcome measure into preferences. We concluded that the sensitivity of the derived set of societal preferences to capture differences and changes in clinical health states is an indication of its construct validity.

Is a 4-bit synaptic weight resolution enough? - constraints on enabling spike-timing dependent plasticity in neuromorphic hardware.

PubMed

Pfeil, Thomas; Potjans, Tobias C; Schrader, Sven; Potjans, Wiebke; Schemmel, Johannes; Diesmann, Markus; Meier, Karlheinz

2012-01-01

Large-scale neuromorphic hardware systems typically bear the trade-off between detail level and required chip resources. Especially when implementing spike-timing dependent plasticity, reduction in resources leads to limitations as compared to floating point precision. By design, a natural modification that saves resources would be reducing synaptic weight resolution. In this study, we give an estimate for the impact of synaptic weight discretization on different levels, ranging from random walks of individual weights to computer simulations of spiking neural networks. The FACETS wafer-scale hardware system offers a 4-bit resolution of synaptic weights, which is shown to be sufficient within the scope of our network benchmark. Our findings indicate that increasing the resolution may not even be useful in light of further restrictions of customized mixed-signal synapses. In addition, variations due to production imperfections are investigated and shown to be uncritical in the context of the presented study. Our results represent a general framework for setting up and configuring hardware-constrained synapses. We suggest how weight discretization could be considered for other backends dedicated to large-scale simulations. Thus, our proposition of a good hardware verification practice may rise synergy effects between hardware developers and neuroscientists.

Is a 4-Bit Synaptic Weight Resolution Enough? – Constraints on Enabling Spike-Timing Dependent Plasticity in Neuromorphic Hardware

PubMed Central

Pfeil, Thomas; Potjans, Tobias C.; Schrader, Sven; Potjans, Wiebke; Schemmel, Johannes; Diesmann, Markus; Meier, Karlheinz

2012-01-01

Large-scale neuromorphic hardware systems typically bear the trade-off between detail level and required chip resources. Especially when implementing spike-timing dependent plasticity, reduction in resources leads to limitations as compared to floating point precision. By design, a natural modification that saves resources would be reducing synaptic weight resolution. In this study, we give an estimate for the impact of synaptic weight discretization on different levels, ranging from random walks of individual weights to computer simulations of spiking neural networks. The FACETS wafer-scale hardware system offers a 4-bit resolution of synaptic weights, which is shown to be sufficient within the scope of our network benchmark. Our findings indicate that increasing the resolution may not even be useful in light of further restrictions of customized mixed-signal synapses. In addition, variations due to production imperfections are investigated and shown to be uncritical in the context of the presented study. Our results represent a general framework for setting up and configuring hardware-constrained synapses. We suggest how weight discretization could be considered for other backends dedicated to large-scale simulations. Thus, our proposition of a good hardware verification practice may rise synergy effects between hardware developers and neuroscientists. PMID:22822388

When Dijkstra Meets Vanishing Point: A Stereo Vision Approach for Road Detection.

PubMed

Zhang, Yigong; Su, Yingna; Yang, Jian; Ponce, Jean; Kong, Hui

2018-05-01

In this paper, we propose a vanishing-point constrained Dijkstra road model for road detection in a stereo-vision paradigm. First, the stereo-camera is used to generate the u- and v-disparity maps of road image, from which the horizon can be extracted. With the horizon and ground region constraints, we can robustly locate the vanishing point of road region. Second, a weighted graph is constructed using all pixels of the image, and the detected vanishing point is treated as the source node of the graph. By computing a vanishing-point constrained Dijkstra minimum-cost map, where both disparity and gradient of gray image are used to calculate cost between two neighbor pixels, the problem of detecting road borders in image is transformed into that of finding two shortest paths that originate from the vanishing point to two pixels in the last row of image. The proposed approach has been implemented and tested over 2600 grayscale images of different road scenes in the KITTI data set. The experimental results demonstrate that this training-free approach can detect horizon, vanishing point, and road regions very accurately and robustly. It can achieve promising performance.

Soil cover characterization at large scale: the example of Perugia Province in central Italy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fanelli, Giulia; Salciarini, Diana; Tamagnini, Claudio

2015-04-01

In the last years, physically-based models aimed at predicting the occurrence of landslides have had a large diffusion because the opportunity of having landslide susceptibility maps can be essential to reduce damages and human losses. On one hand physically-based models rationally analyse problems, because mathematically describe the physical processes that actually happen, on the other hand their diffusion is limited by the difficulty of having and managing accurate data over large areas. For this reason, and also because in the Perugia province geotechnical data are partial and not regularly distributed, a data collection campaign has been started in order to have a wide physical-mechanical data set that can be used to apply any physically-based model. The collected data have been derived from mechanical tests and investigations performed to characterize the soil. The data set includes about 3000 points and each record is characterized by the following quantitative information: coordinates, geological description, cohesion, friction angle. Besides, the records contain the results of seismic tests that allow knowing the shear waves velocity in the first 30 meters of soil. The database covers the whole Perugia province territory and it can be used to evaluate the effects of both rainfall-induced and earthquake-induced landslides. The database has been analysed in order to exclude possible outliers; starting from the all data set, 16 lithological units have been isolated, each one with homogeneous geological features and the same mechanical behaviour. It is important to investigate the quality of the data and know how much they are reliable; therefore statistical analyses have been performed to quantify the dispersion of the data - i.e. relative and cumulative frequency - and also geostatistical analyses to know the spatial correlation - i.e. the variogram. The empirical variogram is a common and useful tool in geostatistics because it quantifies the spatial correlation between data. Once the variogram has been calculated, it is possible to use it to forecast the best estimation of a parameter in a generic point where information are missing. One of the most used interpolation techniques is the Kriging, which makes a prediction of a function in a given point as weighted average of known values of such function in the nearest points, deriving the weights from the variogram.

Butyrylcholinesterase gene transfer in obese mice prevents postdieting body weight rebound by suppressing ghrelin signaling

PubMed Central

Chen, Vicky Ping; Gao, Yang; Geng, Liyi; Brimijoin, Stephen

2017-01-01

The worldwide prevalence of obesity is increasing at an alarming rate but treatment options remain limited. Despite initial success, weight loss by calorie restriction (CR) often fails because of rebound weight gain. Postdieting hyperphagia along with altered hypothalamic neuro-architecture appears to be one direct cause of this undesirable outcome. In response to calorie deficiency the circulating levels of the appetite-promoting hormone, acyl-ghrelin, rise sharply. We hypothesize that proper modulation of acyl-ghrelin and its receptor’s sensitivity will favorably impact energy intake and reprogram the body weight set point. Here we applied viral gene transfer of the acyl-ghrelin hydrolyzing enzyme, butyrylcholinesterase (BChE), in a mouse model of diet-induced obesity. Our results confirmed that BChE overexpression decreased circulating acyl-ghrelin levels, suppressed CR-provoked ghrelin signaling, and restored central ghrelin sensitivity. In addition to maintaining healthy body weights, BChE treated mice had modest postdieting food intake and showed normal glucose homeostasis. Spontaneous activity and energy expenditure did not differ significantly between treated and untreated mice after body weight rebound, suggesting that BChE gene transfer did not alter energy expenditure in the long term. These findings indicate that combining BChE treatment with CR could be an effective approach in treating human obesity and aiding lifelong weight management. PMID:28973869

Does Body Mass Index Influence Behavioral Regulations, Dispositional Flow and Social Physique Anxiety in Exercise Setting?

PubMed Central

Ersöz, Gözde; Altiparmak, Ersin; Aşçı, F. Hülya

2016-01-01

The purpose of this study was to examine differences in behavioral regulations, dispositional flow, social physique anxiety of exercisers in terms of body mass index (BMI). 782 university students participated in this study. Dispositional Flow State Scale-2, Behavioral Regulations in Exercise Questionnaire-2, Social Physique Anxiety Scale and Physical Activity Stages of Change Questionnaire were administered to participants. After controlling for gender, analysis indicated significant differences in behavioral regulations, dispositional flow and social physique anxiety of exercise participants with regards to BMI. In summary, the findings demonstrate that normal weighted participants exercise for internal reasons while underweighted participants are amotivated for exercise participation. Additionally, participants who are underweight had higher dispositional flow and lower social physique anxiety scores than other BMI classification. Key points Normal weighted participants exercise for internal reasons. Underweighted participants are amotivated for exercise participation. Underweighted participants had higher dispositional flow. Underweighted participants have lower social physique anxiety scores than normal weighted, overweight and obese participants. PMID:27274667

Evaluation of body weight, body mass index, and body fat percentage changes in early stages of fixed orthodontic therapy.

PubMed

Sandeep, K Sai; Singaraju, Gowri Sankar; Reddy, V Karunakar; Mandava, Prasad; Bhavikati, Venkata N; Reddy, Rohit

2016-01-01

The aim of this study was to evaluate and compare the changes in body weight, body mass index (BMI), and body fat percentage (BFP) during the initial stages of fixed orthodontic treatment. The sample for this observational prospective study included 68 individuals with fixed orthodontic appliance in the age group of 18-25 years of both the sexes (25 males and 43 females). The control group consisted of 60 individuals (24 males and 36 females). The weight, BMI, and BFP were measured using a Body Composition Monitor at three points of time "T1" initial; "T2" after 1 month; and "T2" after 3 months. The results were tabulated and analyzed with the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences software. The mean changes between different parameters in both the study and control groups and between males and females in the study group was compared by using two-tailed unpaired student's t-test. The statistical significance is set atP ≤ 0.05. There was an overall decrease in the body weight, BMI, and BFP after 1 month in the study cohort, which was statistically significant compared to the control group (P < 0.0001). This was followed by an increase in the parameters after the end of the 3(rd) month. Comparison of the parameters between the study and control group at the start of the treatment and at the end of the 3(rd) month had no statistical significance. There was a marked variation in the changes of these parameters between males and females of the study group, which is statistically significant (<0.0001). There is a definite reduction in the weight, BMP, and BMI at the end of the first month followed by a gain of weight, but not at the initial point by the end of the 3(rd) month.

The Worst-Case Weighted Multi-Objective Game with an Application to Supply Chain Competitions.

PubMed

Qu, Shaojian; Ji, Ying

2016-01-01

In this paper, we propose a worst-case weighted approach to the multi-objective n-person non-zero sum game model where each player has more than one competing objective. Our "worst-case weighted multi-objective game" model supposes that each player has a set of weights to its objectives and wishes to minimize its maximum weighted sum objectives where the maximization is with respect to the set of weights. This new model gives rise to a new Pareto Nash equilibrium concept, which we call "robust-weighted Nash equilibrium". We prove that the robust-weighted Nash equilibria are guaranteed to exist even when the weight sets are unbounded. For the worst-case weighted multi-objective game with the weight sets of players all given as polytope, we show that a robust-weighted Nash equilibrium can be obtained by solving a mathematical program with equilibrium constraints (MPEC). For an application, we illustrate the usefulness of the worst-case weighted multi-objective game to a supply chain risk management problem under demand uncertainty. By the comparison with the existed weighted approach, we show that our method is more robust and can be more efficiently used for the real-world applications.

COSP for Windows: Strategies for Rapid Analyses of Cyclic Oxidation Behavior

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Smialek, James L.; Auping, Judith V.

2002-01-01

COSP is a publicly available computer program that models the cyclic oxidation weight gain and spallation process. Inputs to the model include the selection of an oxidation growth law and a spalling geometry, plus oxide phase, growth rate, spall constant, and cycle duration parameters. Output includes weight change, the amounts of retained and spalled oxide, the total oxygen and metal consumed, and the terminal rates of weight loss and metal consumption. The present version is Windows based and can accordingly be operated conveniently while other applications remain open for importing experimental weight change data, storing model output data, or plotting model curves. Point-and-click operating features include multiple drop-down menus for input parameters, data importing, and quick, on-screen plots showing one selection of the six output parameters for up to 10 models. A run summary text lists various characteristic parameters that are helpful in describing cyclic behavior, such as the maximum weight change, the number of cycles to reach the maximum weight gain or zero weight change, the ratio of these, and the final rate of weight loss. The program includes save and print options as well as a help file. Families of model curves readily show the sensitivity to various input parameters. The cyclic behaviors of nickel aluminide (NiAl) and a complex superalloy are shown to be properly fitted by model curves. However, caution is always advised regarding the uniqueness claimed for any specific set of input parameters,

Determining the amount of physical activity needed for long-term weight control

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wier, L. T.; Ayers, G. W.; Jackson, A. S.; Rossum, A. C.; Poston, W. S.; Foreyt, J. P.

2001-01-01

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate prospectively the influence of habitual physical activity on body weight of men and women and to develop a model that defines the role of physical activity on longitudinal weight change. DESIGN AND SETTING: Occupational cohort study conducted for a mean of 5.5 y. SUBJECTS: A total of 496 (341 male and 155 female) NASA/Johnson Space Center employees who completed the 3 month education component of the employee health-related fitness program and remained involved for a minimum of 2 y. MEASUREMENTS: Body weights were measured at baseline (T1) and follow-up (T2), and habitual physical activity was obtained from the mean of multiple ratings of the 11-point (0-10) NASA Activity Scale (NAS) recorded quarterly between T1 and T2. Other measures included age, gender, VO(2 max) obtained from maximal treadmill testing, body mass index (BMI), and body fat percentage. RESULTS: Multiple regression demonstrated that mean NAS, T1 weight, aging and gender all influence long-term T2 weight. T1 age was significant for the men only. Independently, each increase in mean NAS significantly (P<0.01) reduced T2 weight in men (b=-0.91 kg; 95% CI:-1.4 to-0.42 kg) and women (b=-2.14 kg; 95% CI:-2.93 to-1.35 kg). Mean NAS had a greater effect on T2 weight as T1 weight increased, and the relationship was dose-dependent. CONCLUSIONS: Habitual physical activity is a significant source of long-term weight change. The use of self-reported activity level is helpful in predicting long-term weight changes and may be used by health care professionals when counseling patients about the value of physical activity for weight control.

A 37.5-kW point design comparison of the nickel-cadmium battery, bipolar nickel-hydrogen battery, and regenerative hydrogen-oxygen fuel cell energy storage subsystems for low earth orbit

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Manzo, M. A.; Hoberecht, M. A.

1984-01-01

Nickel-cadmium batteries, bipolar nickel-hydrogen batteries, and regenerative fuel cell storage subsystems were evaluated for use as the storage subsystem in a 37.5 kW power system for Space Station. Design requirements were set in order to establish a common baseline for comparison purposes. The storage subsystems were compared on the basis of effective energy density, round trip electrical efficiency, total subsystem weight and volume, and life.

A 37.5-kW point design comparison of the nickel-cadmium battery, bipolar nickel-hydrogen battery, and regenerative hydrogen-oxygen fuel cell energy storage subsystems for low Earth orbit

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Manzo, M. A.; Hoberecht, M. A.

1984-01-01

Nickel-cadmium batteries, bipolar nickel-hydrogen batteries, and regenerative fuel cell storage subsystems were evaluated for use as the storage subsystem in a 37.5 kW power system for space station. Design requirements were set in order to establish a common baseline for comparison purposes. The storage subsystems were compared on the basis of effective energy density, round trip electrical efficiency, total subsystem weight and volume, and life.

Project Delivery System Mode Decision Based on Uncertain AHP and Fuzzy Sets

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kaishan, Liu; Huimin, Li

2017-12-01

The project delivery system mode determines the contract pricing type, project management mode and the risk allocation among all participants. Different project delivery system modes have different characteristics and applicable scope. For the owners, the selection of the delivery mode is the key point to decide whether the project can achieve the expected benefits, it relates to the success or failure of project construction. Under the precondition of comprehensively considering the influence factors of the delivery mode, the model of project delivery system mode decision was set up on the basis of uncertain AHP and fuzzy sets, which can well consider the uncertainty and fuzziness when conducting the index evaluation and weight confirmation, so as to rapidly and effectively identify the most suitable delivery mode according to project characteristics. The effectiveness of the model has been verified via the actual case analysis in order to provide reference for the construction project delivery system mode.

Ensemble Pulsar Time Scale

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yin, Dong-shan; Gao, Yu-ping; Zhao, Shu-hong

2017-07-01

Millisecond pulsars can generate another type of time scale that is totally independent of the atomic time scale, because the physical mechanisms of the pulsar time scale and the atomic time scale are quite different from each other. Usually the pulsar timing observations are not evenly sampled, and the internals between two data points range from several hours to more than half a month. Further more, these data sets are sparse. All this makes it difficult to generate an ensemble pulsar time scale. Hence, a new algorithm to calculate the ensemble pulsar time scale is proposed. Firstly, a cubic spline interpolation is used to densify the data set, and make the intervals between data points uniform. Then, the Vondrak filter is employed to smooth the data set, and get rid of the high-frequency noises, and finally the weighted average method is adopted to generate the ensemble pulsar time scale. The newly released NANOGRAV (North American Nanohertz Observatory for Gravitational Waves) 9-year data set is used to generate the ensemble pulsar time scale. This data set includes the 9-year observational data of 37 millisecond pulsars observed by the 100-meter Green Bank telescope and the 305-meter Arecibo telescope. It is found that the algorithm used in this paper can reduce effectively the influence caused by the noises in pulsar timing residuals, and improve the long-term stability of the ensemble pulsar time scale. Results indicate that the long-term (> 1 yr) stability of the ensemble pulsar time scale is better than 3.4 × 10-15.

Obesity, change of body mass index and subsequent physical and mental health functioning: a 12-year follow-up study among ageing employees.

PubMed

Svärd, Anna; Lahti, Jouni; Roos, Eira; Rahkonen, Ossi; Lahelma, Eero; Lallukka, Tea; Mänty, Minna

2017-09-26

Studies suggest an association between weight change and subsequent poor physical health functioning, whereas the association with mental health functioning is inconsistent. We aimed to examine whether obesity and change of body mass index among normal weight, overweight and obese women and men associate with changes in physical and mental health functioning. The Helsinki Health Study cohort includes Finnish municipal employees aged 40 to 60 in 2000-02 (phase 1, response rate 67%). Phase 2 mail survey (response rate 82%) took place in 2007 and phase 3 in 2012 (response rate 76%). This study included 5668 participants (82% women). Seven weight change categories were formed based on body mass index (BMI) (phase 1) and weight change (BMI change ≥5%) (phase 1-2). The Short Form 36 Health Survey (SF-36) measured physical and mental health functioning. The change in health functioning (phase 1-3) score was examined with repeated measures analyses. Covariates were age, sociodemographic factors, health behaviours, and somatic ill-health. Weight gain was common among women (34%) and men (25%). Weight-gaining normal weight (-1.3 points), overweight (-1.3 points) and obese (-3.6 points) women showed a greater decline in physical component summary scores than weight-maintaining normal weight women. Among weight-maintainers, only obese (-1.8 points) women showed a greater decline than weight-maintaining normal weight women. The associations were similar, but statistically non-significant for obese men. No statistically significant differences in the change in mental health functioning occurred. Preventing weight gain likely helps maintaining good physical health functioning and work ability.

Satellite radar altimetry over ice. Volume 2: Users' guide for Greenland elevation data from Seasat

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Zwally, H. Jay; Major, Judith A.; Brenner, Anita C.; Bindschadler, Robert A.; Martin, Thomas V.

1990-01-01

A gridded surface-elevation data set and a geo-referenced data base for the Seasat radar altimeter data over Antarctica are described. It is intended to be a user's guide to accompany the data provided to data centers and other users. The grid points are on a polar stereographic projection with a nominal spacing of 20 km. The gridded elevations are derived from the elevation data in the geo-referenced data base by a weighted fitting of a surface in the neighborhood of each grid point. The gridded elevations are useful for the creating smaller-scale contour maps, and examining individual elevation measurements in specific geographic areas. Tape formats are described, and a FORTRAN program for reading the data tape is listed and provided on the tape.

Alternative electrical distribution system architectures for automobiles

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

Afridi, K.K.; Tabors, R.D.; Kassakian, J.G.

At present most automobiles use a 12 V electrical system with point-to-point wiring. The capability of this architecture in meeting the needs of future electrical loads is questionable. Furthermore, with the development of electric vehicles (EVs) there is a greater need for a better architecture. In this paper the authors outline the limitations of the conventional architecture and identify alternatives. They also present a multi-attribute trade-off methodology which compares these alternatives, and identifies a set of Pareto optimal architectures. The system attributes traded off are cost, weight, losses and probability of failure. These are calculated by a computer program thatmore » has built-in component attribute models. System attributes of a few dozen architectures are also reported and the results analyzed. 17 refs.« less

Approximating scatterplots of large datasets using distribution splats

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Camuto, Matthew; Crawfis, Roger; Becker, Barry G.

2000-02-01

Many situations exist where the plotting of large data sets with categorical attributes is desired in a 3D coordinate system. For example, a marketing company may conduct a survey involving one million subjects and then plot peoples favorite car type against their weight, height and annual income. Scatter point plotting, in which each point is individually plotted at its correspond cartesian location using a defined primitive, is usually used to render a plot of this type. If the dependent variable is continuous, we can discretize the 3D space into bins or voxels and retain the average value of all records falling within each voxel. Previous work employed volume rendering techniques, in particular, splatting, to represent this aggregated data, by mapping each average value to a representative color.

A robust method of thin plate spline and its application to DEM construction

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, Chuanfa; Li, Yanyan

2012-11-01

In order to avoid the ill-conditioning problem of thin plate spline (TPS), the orthogonal least squares (OLS) method was introduced, and a modified OLS (MOLS) was developed. The MOLS of TPS (TPS-M) can not only select significant points, termed knots, from large and dense sampling data sets, but also easily compute the weights of the knots in terms of back-substitution. For interpolating large sampling points, we developed a local TPS-M, where some neighbor sampling points around the point being estimated are selected for computation. Numerical tests indicate that irrespective of sampling noise level, the average performance of TPS-M can advantage with smoothing TPS. Under the same simulation accuracy, the computational time of TPS-M decreases with the increase of the number of sampling points. The smooth fitting results on lidar-derived noise data indicate that TPS-M has an obvious smoothing effect, which is on par with smoothing TPS. The example of constructing a series of large scale DEMs, located in Shandong province, China, was employed to comparatively analyze the estimation accuracies of the two versions of TPS and the classical interpolation methods including inverse distance weighting (IDW), ordinary kriging (OK) and universal kriging with the second-order drift function (UK). Results show that regardless of sampling interval and spatial resolution, TPS-M is more accurate than the classical interpolation methods, except for the smoothing TPS at the finest sampling interval of 20 m, and the two versions of kriging at the spatial resolution of 15 m. In conclusion, TPS-M, which avoids the ill-conditioning problem, is considered as a robust method for DEM construction.

Advanced Variance Reduction Strategies for Optimizing Mesh Tallies in MAVRIC

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

Peplow, Douglas E.; Blakeman, Edward D; Wagner, John C

2007-01-01

More often than in the past, Monte Carlo methods are being used to compute fluxes or doses over large areas using mesh tallies (a set of region tallies defined on a mesh that overlays the geometry). For problems that demand that the uncertainty in each mesh cell be less than some set maximum, computation time is controlled by the cell with the largest uncertainty. This issue becomes quite troublesome in deep-penetration problems, and advanced variance reduction techniques are required to obtain reasonable uncertainties over large areas. The CADIS (Consistent Adjoint Driven Importance Sampling) methodology has been shown to very efficientlymore » optimize the calculation of a response (flux or dose) for a single point or a small region using weight windows and a biased source based on the adjoint of that response. This has been incorporated into codes such as ADVANTG (based on MCNP) and the new sequence MAVRIC, which will be available in the next release of SCALE. In an effort to compute lower uncertainties everywhere in the problem, Larsen's group has also developed several methods to help distribute particles more evenly, based on forward estimates of flux. This paper focuses on the use of a forward estimate to weight the placement of the source in the adjoint calculation used by CADIS, which we refer to as a forward-weighted CADIS (FW-CADIS).« less

Bayesian `hyper-parameters' approach to joint estimation: the Hubble constant from CMB measurements

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lahav, O.; Bridle, S. L.; Hobson, M. P.; Lasenby, A. N.; Sodré, L.

2000-07-01

Recently several studies have jointly analysed data from different cosmological probes with the motivation of estimating cosmological parameters. Here we generalize this procedure to allow freedom in the relative weights of various probes. This is done by including in the joint χ2 function a set of `hyper-parameters', which are dealt with using Bayesian considerations. The resulting algorithm, which assumes uniform priors on the log of the hyper-parameters, is very simple: instead of minimizing \\sum \\chi_j2 (where \\chi_j2 is per data set j) we propose to minimize \\sum Nj (\\chi_j2) (where Nj is the number of data points per data set j). We illustrate the method by estimating the Hubble constant H0 from different sets of recent cosmic microwave background (CMB) experiments (including Saskatoon, Python V, MSAM1, TOCO and Boomerang). The approach can be generalized for combinations of cosmic probes, and for other priors on the hyper-parameters.

Weight Gain Reduction Among 2-Year College Students: The CHOICES RCT

PubMed Central

Lytle, Leslie A.; Laska, Melissa N.; Linde, Jennifer A.; Moe, Stacey G.; Nanney, Marilyn S.; Hannan, Peter J.; Erickson, Darin J.

2016-01-01

Introduction The young adult years have been recognized as an influential period for excess weight gain. Non-traditional students and those attending 2-year community colleges are at particularly high risk for a range of adverse weight-related outcomes. Design Choosing Healthy Options in College Environments and Settings was an RCT with students randomly assigned into a control or intervention condition after baseline assessment. The study was designed to evaluate if a 24-month weight gain prevention intervention reduces the expected increase in BMI and overweight prevalence in young adults attending 2-year colleges. Two cohorts were recruited, corresponding to the fall and spring semesters. Data collection occurred at four time points for each cohort, with baseline occurring in fall 2011 for Cohort 1 and spring 2012 for Cohort 2. The 24-month follow-up occurred in fall 2013 for Cohort 1 and spring 2014 for Cohort 2. Data analysis occurred in 2015–2016. Setting/participants This research was conducted with 441 students from three community colleges in Minnesota. Intervention The 24-month intervention began with a 1-credit college course on healthy weight behaviors. A social networking and social support website was introduced as part of the course and participation encouraged for the duration of the trial. Main outcome measures Changes in BMI, weight, body fat percentage, waist circumference, and weight status were assessed. Results Retention of the cohorts at 24 months was 83.4%. There was not a statistically significant difference in BMI between conditions at the end of the trial. However, there was a statically significant difference in the prevalence of overweight/obesity between treatment conditions at 24 months. Also, participants randomized to the intervention who were overweight or obese at baseline were more than three times as likely to transition to a healthy weight by the end of the trial as compared with control students. Conclusions The intervention was not successful in achieving BMI differences between treatment groups. However, an 8% reduction in the prevalence of overweight and obesity over time may have population-level significance. PMID:27939237

Operator for object recognition and scene analysis by estimation of set occupancy with noisy and incomplete data sets

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rees, S. J.; Jones, Bryan F.

1992-11-01

Once feature extraction has occurred in a processed image, the recognition problem becomes one of defining a set of features which maps sufficiently well onto one of the defined shape/object models to permit a claimed recognition. This process is usually handled by aggregating features until a large enough weighting is obtained to claim membership, or an adequate number of located features are matched to the reference set. A requirement has existed for an operator or measure capable of a more direct assessment of membership/occupancy between feature sets, particularly where the feature sets may be defective representations. Such feature set errors may be caused by noise, by overlapping of objects, and by partial obscuration of features. These problems occur at the point of acquisition: repairing the data would then assume a priori knowledge of the solution. The technique described in this paper offers a set theoretical measure for partial occupancy defined in terms of the set of minimum additions to permit full occupancy and the set of locations of occupancy if such additions are made. As is shown, this technique permits recognition of partial feature sets with quantifiable degrees of uncertainty. A solution to the problems of obscuration and overlapping is therefore available.

Tensiometer-Based Irrigation Management of Subirrigated Soilless Tomato: Effects of Substrate Matric Potential Control on Crop Performance

PubMed Central

Montesano, Francesco F.; Serio, Francesco; Mininni, Carlo; Signore, Angelo; Parente, Angelo; Santamaria, Pietro

2015-01-01

Automatic irrigation scheduling based on real-time measurement of soilless substrate water status has been recognized as a promising approach for efficient greenhouse irrigation management. Identification of proper irrigation set points is crucial for optimal crop performance, both in terms of yield and quality, and optimal use of water resources. The objective of the present study was to determine the effects of irrigation management based on matric potential control on growth, plant–water relations, yield, fruit quality traits, and water-use efficiency of subirrigated (through bench system) soilless tomato. Tensiometers were used for automatic irrigation control. Two cultivars, “Kabiria” (cocktail type) and “Diana” (intermediate type), and substrate water potential set-points (−30 and −60 hPa, for “Diana,” and −30, −60, and −90 hPa for “Kabiria”), were compared. Compared with −30 hPa, water stress (corresponding to a −60 hPa irrigation set-point) reduced water consumption (14%), leaf area (18%), specific leaf area (19%), total yield (10%), and mean fruit weight (13%), irrespective of the cultivars. At −60 hPa, leaf-water status of plants, irrespective of the cultivars, showed an osmotic adjustment corresponding to a 9% average osmotic potential decrease. Total yield, mean fruit weight, plant water, and osmotic potential decreased linearly when −30, −60, and −90 hPa irrigation set-points were used in “Kabiria.” Unmarketable yield in “Diana” increased when water stress was imposed (187 vs. 349 g·plant−1, respectively, at −30 and −60 hPa), whereas the opposite effect was observed in “Kabiria,” where marketable yield loss decreased linearly [by 1.05 g·plant−1 per unit of substrate water potential (in the tested range from −30 to −90 hPa)]. In the second cluster, total soluble solids of the fruit and dry matter increased irrespective of the cultivars. In the seventh cluster, in “Diana,” only a slight increase was observed from −30 vs. −60 hPa (3.3 and 1.3%, respectively, for TSS and dry matter), whereas in “Kabiria,” the increase was more pronounced (8.7 and 12.0%, respectively, for TSS and dry matter), and further reduction in matric potential from −60 to −90 hPa confirmed the linear increase for both parameters. Both glucose and fructose concentrations increased linearly in “Kabiria” fruits on decreasing the substrate matric potential, whereas in “Diana,” there was no increase. It is feasible to act on matric potential irrigation set-points to control plant response in terms of fruit quality parameters. Precise control of substrate water status may offer the possibility to steer crop response by enhancing different crop-performance components, namely yield and fruit quality, in subirrigated tomato. Small-sized fruit varieties benefit more from controlled water stress in terms of reduced unmarketable yield loss and fruit quality improvements. PMID:26779189

Do body weight and gender shape the work force? The case of Iceland.

PubMed

Asgeirsdottir, Tinna Laufey

2011-03-01

Most studies of the relationship between body weight - as well as its corollary, beauty - and labor-market outcomes have indicated that it is a function of a gender bias, the negative relationship between excess weight or obesity and labor-market outcomes being greater for women than for men. Iceland offers an exceptional opportunity to examine this hypothesis, given that it scores relatively well on an index of gender equality comprising economic, political, educational, labor-market, and health-based criteria. Equipped with an advanced level of educational attainment, on average, women are well represented in Iceland's labor force. When it comes to women's presence in the political sphere, Iceland is out of the ordinary as well; that Icelanders were the first in the world to elect a woman to be president may suggest a relatively gender-blind assessment in the labor market. In the current study, survey data collected by Gallup Iceland in 2002 are used to examine the relationship between weight and employment within this political and social setting. Point estimates indicate that, despite apparently lesser gender discrimination in Iceland than elsewhere, the bias against excess weight and obesity remains gender-based, showing a slightly negative relationship between weight and the employment rate of women, whereas a slightly positive relationship was found for men. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

The Worst-Case Weighted Multi-Objective Game with an Application to Supply Chain Competitions

PubMed Central

Qu, Shaojian; Ji, Ying

2016-01-01

In this paper, we propose a worst-case weighted approach to the multi-objective n-person non-zero sum game model where each player has more than one competing objective. Our “worst-case weighted multi-objective game” model supposes that each player has a set of weights to its objectives and wishes to minimize its maximum weighted sum objectives where the maximization is with respect to the set of weights. This new model gives rise to a new Pareto Nash equilibrium concept, which we call “robust-weighted Nash equilibrium”. We prove that the robust-weighted Nash equilibria are guaranteed to exist even when the weight sets are unbounded. For the worst-case weighted multi-objective game with the weight sets of players all given as polytope, we show that a robust-weighted Nash equilibrium can be obtained by solving a mathematical program with equilibrium constraints (MPEC). For an application, we illustrate the usefulness of the worst-case weighted multi-objective game to a supply chain risk management problem under demand uncertainty. By the comparison with the existed weighted approach, we show that our method is more robust and can be more efficiently used for the real-world applications. PMID:26820512

Advances in locally constrained k-space-based parallel MRI.

PubMed

Samsonov, Alexey A; Block, Walter F; Arunachalam, Arjun; Field, Aaron S

2006-02-01

In this article, several theoretical and methodological developments regarding k-space-based, locally constrained parallel MRI (pMRI) reconstruction are presented. A connection between Parallel MRI with Adaptive Radius in k-Space (PARS) and GRAPPA methods is demonstrated. The analysis provides a basis for unified treatment of both methods. Additionally, a weighted PARS reconstruction is proposed, which may absorb different weighting strategies for improved image reconstruction. Next, a fast and efficient method for pMRI reconstruction of data sampled on non-Cartesian trajectories is described. In the new technique, the computational burden associated with the numerous matrix inversions in the original PARS method is drastically reduced by limiting direct calculation of reconstruction coefficients to only a few reference points. The rest of the coefficients are found by interpolating between the reference sets, which is possible due to the similar configuration of points participating in reconstruction for highly symmetric trajectories, such as radial and spirals. As a result, the time requirements are drastically reduced, which makes it practical to use pMRI with non-Cartesian trajectories in many applications. The new technique was demonstrated with simulated and actual data sampled on radial trajectories. Copyright 2006 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

Utilizing the Iterative Closest Point (ICP) algorithm for enhanced registration of high resolution surface models - more than a simple black-box application

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Stöcker, Claudia; Eltner, Anette

2016-04-01

Advances in computer vision and digital photogrammetry (i.e. structure from motion) allow for fast and flexible high resolution data supply. Within geoscience applications and especially in the field of small surface topography, high resolution digital terrain models and dense 3D point clouds are valuable data sources to capture actual states as well as for multi-temporal studies. However, there are still some limitations regarding robust registration and accuracy demands (e.g. systematic positional errors) which impede the comparison and/or combination of multi-sensor data products. Therefore, post-processing of 3D point clouds can heavily enhance data quality. In this matter the Iterative Closest Point (ICP) algorithm represents an alignment tool which iteratively minimizes distances of corresponding points within two datasets. Even though tool is widely used; it is often applied as a black-box application within 3D data post-processing for surface reconstruction. Aiming for precise and accurate combination of multi-sensor data sets, this study looks closely at different variants of the ICP algorithm including sub-steps of point selection, point matching, weighting, rejection, error metric and minimization. Therefore, an agricultural utilized field was investigated simultaneously by terrestrial laser scanning (TLS) and unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) sensors two times (once covered with sparse vegetation and once bare soil). Due to different perspectives both data sets show diverse consistency in terms of shadowed areas and thus gaps so that data merging would provide consistent surface reconstruction. Although photogrammetric processing already included sub-cm accurate ground control surveys, UAV point cloud exhibits an offset towards TLS point cloud. In order to achieve the transformation matrix for fine registration of UAV point clouds, different ICP variants were tested. Statistical analyses of the results show that final success of registration and therefore data quality depends particularly on parameterization and choice of error metric, especially for erroneous data sets as in the case of sparse vegetation cover. At this, the point-to-point metric is more sensitive to data "noise" than the point-to-plane metric which results in considerably higher cloud-to-cloud distances. Concluding, in order to comply with accuracy demands of high resolution surface reconstruction and the aspect that ground control surveys can reach their limits both in time exposure and terrain accessibility ICP algorithm represents a great tool to refine rough initial alignment. Here different variants of registration modules allow for individual application according to the quality of the input data.

Leveraging probabilistic peak detection to estimate baseline drift in complex chromatographic samples.

PubMed

Lopatka, Martin; Barcaru, Andrei; Sjerps, Marjan J; Vivó-Truyols, Gabriel

2016-01-29

Accurate analysis of chromatographic data often requires the removal of baseline drift. A frequently employed strategy strives to determine asymmetric weights in order to fit a baseline model by regression. Unfortunately, chromatograms characterized by a very high peak saturation pose a significant challenge to such algorithms. In addition, a low signal-to-noise ratio (i.e. s/n<40) also adversely affects accurate baseline correction by asymmetrically weighted regression. We present a baseline estimation method that leverages a probabilistic peak detection algorithm. A posterior probability of being affected by a peak is computed for each point in the chromatogram, leading to a set of weights that allow non-iterative calculation of a baseline estimate. For extremely saturated chromatograms, the peak weighted (PW) method demonstrates notable improvement compared to the other methods examined. However, in chromatograms characterized by low-noise and well-resolved peaks, the asymmetric least squares (ALS) and the more sophisticated Mixture Model (MM) approaches achieve superior results in significantly less time. We evaluate the performance of these three baseline correction methods over a range of chromatographic conditions to demonstrate the cases in which each method is most appropriate. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Synthesis and analysis of jet fuels from shale oil and coal syncrudes

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Antoine, A. C.; Gallagher, J. P.

1976-01-01

The technical problems involved in converting a significant portion of a barrel of either a shale oil or coal syncrude into a suitable aviation turbine fuel were studied. TOSCO shale oil, H-Coal and COED coal syncrudes were the starting materials. They were processed by distillation and hydrocracking to produce two levels of yield (20 and 40 weight percent) of material having a distillation range of approximately 422 to 561 K (300 F to 550 F). The full distillation range 311 to 616 K (100 F to 650 F) materials were hydrotreated to meet two sets of specifications (20 and 40 volume percent aromatics, 13.5 and 12.75 weight percent H, 0.2 and 0.5 weight percent S, and 0.1 and 0.2 weight percent N). The hydrotreated materials were distilled to meet given end point and volatility requirements. The syntheses were carried out in laboratory and pilot plant equipment scaled to produce thirty-two 0.0757 cu m (2-gal)samples of jet fuel of varying defined specifications. Detailed analyses for physical and chemical properties were made on the crude starting materials and on the products.

Implementation of Steiner point of fuzzy set.

PubMed

Liang, Jiuzhen; Wang, Dejiang

2014-01-01

This paper deals with the implementation of Steiner point of fuzzy set. Some definitions and properties of Steiner point are investigated and extended to fuzzy set. This paper focuses on establishing efficient methods to compute Steiner point of fuzzy set. Two strategies of computing Steiner point of fuzzy set are proposed. One is called linear combination of Steiner points computed by a series of crisp α-cut sets of the fuzzy set. The other is an approximate method, which is trying to find the optimal α-cut set approaching the fuzzy set. Stability analysis of Steiner point of fuzzy set is also studied. Some experiments on image processing are given, in which the two methods are applied for implementing Steiner point of fuzzy image, and both strategies show their own advantages in computing Steiner point of fuzzy set.

Threshold-free method for three-dimensional segmentation of organelles

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chan, Yee-Hung M.; Marshall, Wallace F.

2012-03-01

An ongoing challenge in the field of cell biology is to how to quantify the size and shape of organelles within cells. Automated image analysis methods often utilize thresholding for segmentation, but the calculated surface of objects depends sensitively on the exact threshold value chosen, and this problem is generally worse at the upper and lower zboundaries because of the anisotropy of the point spread function. We present here a threshold-independent method for extracting the three-dimensional surface of vacuoles in budding yeast whose limiting membranes are labeled with a fluorescent fusion protein. These organelles typically exist as a clustered set of 1-10 sphere-like compartments. Vacuole compartments and center points are identified manually within z-stacks taken using a spinning disk confocal microscope. A set of rays is defined originating from each center point and radiating outwards in random directions. Intensity profiles are calculated at coordinates along these rays, and intensity maxima are taken as the points the rays cross the limiting membrane of the vacuole. These points are then fit with a weighted sum of basis functions to define the surface of the vacuole, and then parameters such as volume and surface area are calculated. This method is able to determine the volume and surface area of spherical beads (0.96 to 2 micron diameter) with less than 10% error, and validation using model convolution methods produce similar results. Thus, this method provides an accurate, automated method for measuring the size and morphology of organelles and can be generalized to measure cells and other objects on biologically relevant length-scales.

Feasibility of Behavioral Weight Loss Treatment Enhanced with Peer Support and Mobile Health Technology for Individuals with Serious Mental Illness

PubMed Central

Aschbrenner, Kelly A.; Naslund, John A.; Shevenell, Megan; Mueser, Kim T.; Bartels, Stephen J.

2016-01-01

Objective Effective and scalable lifestyle interventions are needed to address high rates of obesity in people with serious mental illness (SMI). This pilot study evaluated the feasibility of a behavioral weight loss intervention enhanced with peer support and mobile health (mHealth) technology for obese individuals with SMI. Methods The Diabetes Prevention Program Group Lifestyle Balance intervention enhanced with peer support and mHealth technology was implemented in a public mental health setting. Thirteen obese individuals with SMI participated in a pre-post pilot study of the 24-week intervention. Feasibility was assessed by program attendance, and participant satisfaction and suggestions for improving the model. Descriptive changes in weight and fitness were also explored. Results Overall attendance amounted to approximately half (56%) of weekly sessions. At 6-month follow-up, 45% of participants had lost weight, and 45% showed improved fitness by increasing their walking distance. Participants suggested a number of modifications to increase the relevance of the intervention for people with SMI, including less didactic instruction and more active learning, a simplified dietary component, more in depth technology training, and greater attention to mental health. Conclusions The principles of standard behavioral weight loss treatment provide a useful starting point for promoting weight loss in people with SMI. However, adaptions to standard weight loss curricula are needed to enhance engagement, participation, and outcomes to respond to the unique challenges of individuals with SMI. PMID:26462674

Feasibility of Behavioral Weight Loss Treatment Enhanced with Peer Support and Mobile Health Technology for Individuals with Serious Mental Illness.

PubMed

Aschbrenner, Kelly A; Naslund, John A; Shevenell, Megan; Mueser, Kim T; Bartels, Stephen J

2016-09-01

Effective and scalable lifestyle interventions are needed to address high rates of obesity in people with serious mental illness (SMI). This pilot study evaluated the feasibility of a behavioral weight loss intervention enhanced with peer support and mobile health (mHealth) technology for obese individuals with SMI. The Diabetes Prevention Program Group Lifestyle Balance intervention enhanced with peer support and mHealth technology was implemented in a community mental health setting. Thirteen obese individuals with SMI participated in a pre-post pilot study of the 24-week intervention. Feasibility was assessed by program attendance, and participant satisfaction and suggestions for improving the model. Descriptive changes in weight and fitness were also explored. Overall attendance amounted to approximately half (56 %) of weekly sessions. At 6-month follow-up, 45 % of participants had lost weight, and 45 % showed improved fitness by increasing their walking distance. Participants suggested a number of modifications to increase the relevance of the intervention for people with SMI, including less didactic instruction and more active learning, a simplified dietary component, more in depth technology training, and greater attention to mental health. The principles of standard behavioral weight loss treatment provide a useful starting point for promoting weight loss in people with SMI. However, adaptions to standard weight loss curricula are needed to enhance engagement, participation, and outcomes to respond to the unique challenges of individuals with SMI.

Factors associated with infant feeding of human milk at discharge from neonatal intensive care: Cross-sectional analysis of nurse survey and infant outcomes data.

PubMed

Hallowell, Sunny G; Rogowski, Jeannette A; Spatz, Diane L; Hanlon, Alexandra L; Kenny, Michael; Lake, Eileen T

2016-01-01

Nurses are principal caregivers in the neonatal intensive care unit and support mothers to establish and sustain a supply of human milk for their infants. Whether an infant receives essential nutrition and immunological protection provided in human milk at discharge is an issue of health care quality in this setting. To examine the association of the neonatal intensive care unit work environment, staffing levels, level of nurse education, lactation consultant availability, and nurse-reported breastfeeding support with very low birth weight infant receipt of human milk at discharge. Cross sectional analysis combining nurse survey data with infant discharge data. A national sample of neonatal intensive care units (N=97), nurses (N=5614) and very low birth weight infants (N=6997). Sequential multivariate linear regression models were estimated at the unit level between the dependent variable (rate of very low birth weight infants discharged on "any human milk") and the independent variables (nurse work environment, nurse staffing, nursing staff education and experience, lactation consultant availability, and nurse-reported breastfeeding support). The majority of very low birth weight infants (52%) were discharged on formula only. Fewer infants (42%) received human milk mixed with fortifier or formula. Only 6% of infants were discharged on exclusive human milk. A 1 SD increase (0.25) in the Practice Environment Scale of the Nursing Work Index composite score was associated with a four percentage point increase in the fraction of infants discharged on human milk (p<0.05). A 1 SD increase (0.15) in the fraction of nurses with a bachelor's degree in nursing was associated with a three percentage point increase in the fraction infants discharged on human milk (p<0.05). The acuity-adjusted staffing ratio was marginally associated with the rate of human milk at discharge (p=.056). A 1 SD increase (7%) in the fraction of infants who received breastfeeding support was associated with an eight percentage point increase in the fraction of infants discharged on human milk (p<0.001). Neonatal intensive care units with better work environments, better educated nurses, and more infants who receive breastfeeding support by nurses have higher rates of very low birth weight infants discharged home on human milk. Investments by nurse administrators to improve work environments and support educational preparation of nursing staff may ensure that the most vulnerable infants have the best nutrition at the point of discharge. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Posterior Shift of Contact Point between Femoral Component and Polyethylene in the LCS Rotating Platform Implant under Weight Bearing Condition.

PubMed

Oh, Won Seok; Lee, Yong Seuk; Kim, Byung Kak; Sim, Jae Ang; Lee, Beom Koo

2016-06-01

To analyze the contact mechanics of the femoral component and polyethylene of the Low Contact Stress rotating platform (LCS-RP) in nonweight bearing and weight bearing conditions using full flexion lateral radiographs. From May 2009 to December 2013, 58 knees in 41 patients diagnosed with osteoarthritis and treated with total knee arthroplasty (TKA) were included in this study. TKA was performed using an LCS-RP knee prosthesis. Full flexion lateral radiographs in both weight bearing and nonweight bearing condition were taken at least one month postoperatively (average, 28.8 months). Translation of femoral component was determined by the contact point between the femoral component and polyethylene. Maximum flexion was measured as the angle between the lines drawn at the midpoint of the femur and tibia. Posterior shift of the contact point in LCS-RP TKA was observed under weight bearing condition, which resulted in deeper flexion compared to LCS-RP TKA under nonweight bearing condition. In the LCS-RP TKA, the contact point between the femoral component and polyethylene moved posteriorly under weight bearing condition, and the joint was more congruent and maximum flexion increased with weight bearing.

Dynamic Mesh Adaptation for Front Evolution Using Discontinuous Galerkin Based Weighted Condition Number Mesh Relaxation

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

Greene, Patrick T.; Schofield, Samuel P.; Nourgaliev, Robert

2016-06-21

A new mesh smoothing method designed to cluster mesh cells near a dynamically evolving interface is presented. The method is based on weighted condition number mesh relaxation with the weight function being computed from a level set representation of the interface. The weight function is expressed as a Taylor series based discontinuous Galerkin projection, which makes the computation of the derivatives of the weight function needed during the condition number optimization process a trivial matter. For cases when a level set is not available, a fast method for generating a low-order level set from discrete cell-centered elds, such as amore » volume fraction or index function, is provided. Results show that the low-order level set works equally well for the weight function as the actual level set. Meshes generated for a number of interface geometries are presented, including cases with multiple level sets. Dynamic cases for moving interfaces are presented to demonstrate the method's potential usefulness to arbitrary Lagrangian Eulerian (ALE) methods.« less

Treatment response to the RENEW weight loss intervention in schizophrenia: Impact of intervention setting

PubMed Central

Brown, Catana; Goetz, Jeannine; Hamera, Edna; Gajewski, Byron

2014-01-01

Background Individuals with serious mental illness have high rates of obesity and a need for specialized weight loss intervention programs. This study examines the efficacy of the RENEW weight loss intervention and examines the impact of the intervention setting on outcomes. Method 136 individuals with serious mental illness from 4 different settings were randomly assigned to receive the RENEW weight loss intervention or a control condition of treatment as usual. The RENEW intervention is a one year program that includes an intensive, maintenance and intermittent supports phase. Results The intervention group experienced a modest weight loss of 4.8 lbs at 3 months, 4.1 lbs at 6 months and a slight weight gain of 1.5 lbs at 12 months. The control group gained a total of 6.2 lbs at 12 months. However when settings were examined separately the responder sites had a weight loss of 9.4 lbs at 3 months, 10.9 lbs at 6 months and 7 lbs at 12 months. Discussion These results suggest that the settings in which individuals receive services may act as a support or hindrance toward response to weight loss interventions. The concept of the obesogenic environment deserves further examination as a factor in the success of weight loss programs. PMID:25261884

Treatment response to the RENEW weight loss intervention in schizophrenia: impact of intervention setting.

PubMed

Brown, Catana; Goetz, Jeannine; Hamera, Edna; Gajewski, Byron

2014-11-01

Individuals with serious mental illness have high rates of obesity and a need for specialized weight loss intervention programs. This study examines the efficacy of the RENEW weight loss intervention and examines the impact of the intervention setting on outcomes. 136 individuals with serious mental illness from 4 different settings were randomly assigned to receive the RENEW weight loss intervention or a control condition of treatment as usual. The RENEW intervention is a one year program that includes an intensive, maintenance and intermittent supports phase. The intervention group experienced a modest weight loss of 4.8 lbs at 3 months, 4.1 lbs at 6 months and a slight weight gain of 1.5 lbs at 12 months. The control group gained a total of 6.2 lbs at 12 months. However when settings were examined separately the responder sites had a weight loss of 9.4 lbs at 3 months, 10.9 lbs at 6 months and 7 lbs at 12 months. These results suggest that the settings in which individuals receive services may act as a support or hindrance toward response to weight loss interventions. The concept of the obesogenic environment deserves further examination as a factor in the success of weight loss programs. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Fatness and fitness: exposing the logic of evolutionary explanations for obesity.

PubMed

Higginson, Andrew D; McNamara, John M; Houston, Alasdair I

2016-01-13

To explore the logic of evolutionary explanations of obesity we modelled food consumption in an animal that minimizes mortality (starvation plus predation) by switching between activities that differ in energy gain and predation. We show that if switching does not incur extra predation risk, the animal should have a single threshold level of reserves above which it performs the safe activity and below which it performs the dangerous activity. The value of the threshold is determined by the environmental conditions, implying that animals should have variable 'set points'. Selection pressure to prevent energy stores exceeding the optimal level is usually weak, suggesting that immediate rewards might easily overcome the controls against becoming overweight. The risk of starvation can have a strong influence on the strategy even when starvation is extremely uncommon, so the incidence of mortality during famine in human history may be unimportant for explanations for obesity. If there is an extra risk of switching between activities, the animal should have two distinct thresholds: one to initiate weight gain and one to initiate weight loss. Contrary to the dual intervention point model, these thresholds will be inter-dependent, such that altering the predation risk alters the location of both thresholds; a result that undermines the evolutionary basis of the drifty genes hypothesis. Our work implies that understanding the causes of obesity can benefit from a better understanding of how evolution shapes the mechanisms that control body weight. © 2016 The Authors.

Comparing theories of reference-dependent choice.

PubMed

Bhatia, Sudeep

2017-09-01

Preferences are influenced by the presence or absence of salient choice options, known as reference points. This behavioral tendency is traditionally attributed to the loss aversion and diminishing sensitivity assumptions of prospect theory. In contrast, some psychological research suggests that reference dependence is caused by attentional biases that increase the subjective weighting of the reference point's primary attributes. Although both theories are able to successfully account for behavioral findings involving reference dependence, this article shows that these theories make diverging choice predictions when available options are inferior to the reference point. It presents the results of 2 studies that use settings with inferior choice options to compare these 2 theories. The analysis involves quantitative fits to participant-level choice data, and the results indicate that most participants are better described by models with attentional bias than they are by models with loss aversion and diminishing sensitivity. These differences appear to be caused by violations of loss aversion and diminishing sensitivity in losses. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).

Inter-rater agreement of the Quality of Life-Alzheimer's Disease (QoL-AD) self-rating and proxy rating scale: secondary analysis of RightTimePlaceCare data.

PubMed

Römhild, Josephine; Fleischer, Steffen; Meyer, Gabriele; Stephan, Astrid; Zwakhalen, Sandra; Leino-Kilpi, Helena; Zabalegui, Adelaida; Saks, Kai; Soto-Martin, Maria; Sutcliffe, Caroline; Rahm Hallberg, Ingalill; Berg, Almuth

2018-06-28

To assess the quality of life of people with dementia, measures are required for self-rating by the person with dementia, and for proxy rating by others. The Quality of Life in Alzheimer's Disease scale (QoL-AD) is available in two versions, QoL-AD-SR (self-rating) and QoL-AD-PR (proxy rating). The aim of our study was to analyse the inter-rater agreement between self- and proxy ratings, in terms of both the total score and the items, including an analysis specific to care setting, and to identify factors associated with this agreement. Cross-sectional QoL-AD data from the 7th Framework European RightTimePlaceCare study were analysed. A total of 1330 cases were included: n = 854 receiving home care and n = 476 receiving institutional long-term nursing care. The proxy raters were informal carers (home care) and best-informed professional carers (institutional long-term nursing care). Inter-rater agreement was investigated using Bland-Altman plots for the QoL-AD total score and by weighted kappa statistics for single items. Associations were investigated by regression analysis. The overall QoL-AD assessment of those with dementia revealed a mean value of 33.2 points, and the proxy ratings revealed a mean value of 29.8 points. The Bland-Altman plots revealed a poor agreement between self- and proxy ratings for the overall sample and for both care settings. With one exception (item 'Marriage' weighted kappa 0.26), the weighted kappa values for the single QoL-AD items were below 0.20, indicating poor agreement. Home care setting, dementia-related behavioural and psychological symptoms, and the functional status of the person with dementia, along with the caregiver burden, were associated with the level of agreement. Only the home care setting was associated with an increase larger than the predefined acceptable difference between self- and proxy ratings. Proxy quality of life ratings from professional and informal carers appear to be lower than the self-ratings of those with dementia. QoL-AD-SR and QoL-AD-PR are therefore not interchangeable, as the inter-rater agreement differs distinctly. Thus, a proxy rating should be judged as a complementary perspective for a self-assessment of quality of life by those with dementia, rather than as a valid substitute.

Robust non-rigid registration algorithm based on local affine registration

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wu, Liyang; Xiong, Lei; Du, Shaoyi; Bi, Duyan; Fang, Ting; Liu, Kun; Wu, Dongpeng

2018-04-01

Aiming at the problem that the traditional point set non-rigid registration algorithm has low precision and slow convergence speed for complex local deformation data, this paper proposes a robust non-rigid registration algorithm based on local affine registration. The algorithm uses a hierarchical iterative method to complete the point set non-rigid registration from coarse to fine. In each iteration, the sub data point sets and sub model point sets are divided and the shape control points of each sub point set are updated. Then we use the control point guided affine ICP algorithm to solve the local affine transformation between the corresponding sub point sets. Next, the local affine transformation obtained by the previous step is used to update the sub data point sets and their shape control point sets. When the algorithm reaches the maximum iteration layer K, the loop ends and outputs the updated sub data point sets. Experimental results demonstrate that the accuracy and convergence of our algorithm are greatly improved compared with the traditional point set non-rigid registration algorithms.

Weight compensation characteristics of Armeo®Spring exoskeleton: implications for clinical practice and research.

PubMed

Perry, Bonnie E; Evans, Emily K; Stokic, Dobrivoje S

2017-02-17

Armeo®Spring exoskeleton is widely used for upper extremity rehabilitation; however, weight compensation provided by the device appears insufficiently characterized to fully utilize it in clinical and research settings. Weight compensation was quantified by measuring static force in the sagittal plane with a load cell attached to the elbow joint of Armeo®Spring. All upper spring settings were examined in 5° increments at the minimum, maximum, and two intermediate upper and lower module length settings, while keeping the lower spring at minimum. The same measurements were made for minimum upper spring setting and maximum lower spring setting at minimum and maximum module lengths. Weight compensation was plotted against upper module angles, and slope was analyzed for each condition. The Armeo®Spring design prompted defining the slack angle and exoskeleton balance angle, which, depending on spring and length settings, divide the operating range into different unloading and loading regions. Higher spring tensions and shorter module lengths provided greater unloading (≤6.32 kg of support). Weight compensation slope decreased faster with shorter length settings (minimum length = -0.082 ± 0.002 kg/°; maximum length = -0.046 ± 0.001 kg/°) independent of spring settings. Understanding the impact of different settings on the Armeo®Spring weight compensation should help define best clinical practice and improve fidelity of research.

Assessment of Receiver Signal Strength Sensing for Location Estimation Based on Fisher Information

PubMed Central

Nielsen, John; Nielsen, Christopher

2016-01-01

Currently there is almost ubiquitous availability of wireless signaling for data communications within commercial building complexes resulting in receiver signal strength (RSS) observables that are typically sufficient for generating viable location estimates of mobile wireless devices. However, while RSS observables are generally plentiful, achieving an accurate estimation of location is difficult due to several factors affecting the electromagnetic coupling between the mobile antenna and the building access points that are not modeled and hence contribute to the overall estimation uncertainty. Such uncertainty is typically mitigated with a moderate redundancy of RSS sensor observations in combination with other constraints imposed on the mobile trajectory. In this paper, the Fisher Information (FI) of a set of RSS sensor observations in the context of variables related to the mobile location is developed. This provides a practical method of determining the potential location accuracy for the given set of wireless signals available. Furthermore, the information value of individual RSS measurements can be quantified and the RSS observables weighted accordingly in estimation combining algorithms. The practical utility of using FI in this context was demonstrated experimentally with an extensive set of RSS measurements recorded in an office complex. The resulting deviation of the mobile location estimation based on application of weighted likelihood processing to the experimental RSS data was shown to agree closely with the Cramer Rao bound determined from the FI analysis. PMID:27669262

Two wrongs make a right: linear increase of accuracy of visually-guided manual pointing, reaching, and height-matching with increase in hand-to-body distance.

PubMed

Li, Wenxun; Matin, Leonard

2005-03-01

Measurements were made of the accuracy of open-loop manual pointing and height-matching to a visual target whose elevation was perceptually mislocalized. Accuracy increased linearly with distance of the hand from the body, approaching complete accuracy at full extension; with the hand close to the body (within the midfrontal plane), the manual errors equaled the magnitude of the perceptual mislocalization. The visual inducing stimulus responsible for the perceptual errors was a single pitched-from-vertical line that was long (50 degrees), eccentrically-located (25 degrees horizontal), and viewed in otherwise total darkness. The line induced perceptual errors in the elevation of a small, circular visual target set to appear at eye level (VPEL), a setting that changed linearly with the change in the line's visual pitch as has been previously reported (pitch: -30 degrees topbackward to 30 degrees topforward); the elevation errors measured by VPEL settings varied systematically with pitch through an 18 degrees range. In a fourth experiment the visual inducing stimulus responsible for the perceptual errors was shown to induce separately-measured errors in the manual setting of the arm to feel horizontal that were also distance-dependent. The distance-dependence of the visually-induced changes in felt arm position accounts quantitatively for the distance-dependence of the manual errors in pointing/reaching and height matching to the visual target: The near equality of the changes in felt horizontal and changes in pointing/reaching with the finger at the end of the fully extended arm is responsible for the manual accuracy of the fully-extended point; with the finger in the midfrontal plane their large difference is responsible for the inaccuracies of the midfrontal-plane point. The results are inconsistent with the widely-held but controversial theory that visual spatial information employed for perception and action are dissociated and different with no illusory visual influence on action. A different two-system theory, the Proximal/Distal model, employing the same signals from vision and from the body-referenced mechanism with different weights for different hand-to-body distances, accounts for both the perceptual and the manual results in the present experiments.

Infant Growth Before and After Term: Effects on Neurodevelopment in Preterm Infants

PubMed Central

Rifas-Shiman, Sheryl L.; Sullivan, Thomas; Collins, Carmel T.; McPhee, Andrew J.; Ryan, Philip; Kleinman, Ken P.; Gillman, Matthew W.; Gibson, Robert A.; Makrides, Maria

2011-01-01

OBJECTIVE: To identify sensitive periods of postnatal growth for preterm infants relative to neurodevelopment at 18 months' corrected age. PATIENTS AND METHODS: We studied 613 infants born at <33 weeks' gestation who participated in the DHA for Improvement of Neurodevelopmental Outcome trial. We calculated linear slopes of growth in weight, length, BMI, and head circumference from 1 week of age to term (40 weeks' postmenstrual age), term to 4 months, and 4 to 12 months, and we estimated their associations with Bayley Scales of Infant Development, 2nd Edition, Mental (MDI) and Psychomotor (PDI) Development Indexes in linear regression. RESULTS: The median gestational age was 30 (range: 2–33) weeks. Mean ± SD MDI was 94 ± 16, and PDI was 93 ± 16. From 1 week to term, greater weight gain (2.4 MDI points per z score [95% confidence interval (CI): 0.8–3.9]; 2.7 PDI points [95% CI: 1.2–.2]), BMI gain (1.7 MDI points [95% CI: 0.4–3.1]; 2.5 PDI points [95% CI: 1.2–3.9]), and head growth (1.4 MDI points [95% CI: −0.0–2.8]; 2.5 PDI points [95% CI: 1.2–3.9]) were associated with higher scores. From term to 4 months, greater weight gain (1.7 points [95% CI: 0.2–3.1]) and linear growth (2.0 points [95% CI: 0.7–3.2]), but not BMI gain, were associated with higher PDI. From 4 to 12 months, none of the growth measures was associated with MDI or PDI score. CONCLUSIONS: In preterm infants, greater weight and BMI gain to term were associated with better neurodevelopmental outcomes. After term, greater weight gain was also associated with better outcomes, but increasing weight out of proportion to length did not confer additional benefit. PMID:21949135

18F-FDG PET/MRI fusion in characterizing pancreatic tumors: comparison to PET/CT.

PubMed

Tatsumi, Mitsuaki; Isohashi, Kayako; Onishi, Hiromitsu; Hori, Masatoshi; Kim, Tonsok; Higuchi, Ichiro; Inoue, Atsuo; Shimosegawa, Eku; Takeda, Yutaka; Hatazawa, Jun

2011-08-01

To demonstrate that positron emission tomography (PET)/magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) fusion was feasible in characterizing pancreatic tumors (PTs), comparing MRI and computed tomography (CT) as mapping images for fusion with PET as well as fused PET/MRI and PET/CT. We retrospectively reviewed 47 sets of (18)F-fluorodeoxyglucose ((18)F -FDG) PET/CT and MRI examinations to evaluate suspected or known pancreatic cancer. To assess the ability of mapping images for fusion with PET, CT (of PET/CT), T1- and T2-weighted (w) MR images (all non-contrast) were graded regarding the visibility of PT (5-point confidence scale). Fused PET/CT, PET/T1-w or T2-w MR images of the upper abdomen were evaluated to determine whether mapping images provided additional diagnostic information to PET alone (3-point scale). The overall quality of PET/CT or PET/MRI sets in diagnosis was also assessed (3-point scale). These PET/MRI-related scores were compared to PET/CT-related scores and the accuracy in characterizing PTs was compared. Forty-three PTs were visualized on CT or MRI, including 30 with abnormal FDG uptake and 13 without. The confidence score for the visibility of PT was significantly higher on T1-w MRI than CT. The scores for additional diagnostic information to PET and overall quality of each image set in diagnosis were significantly higher on the PET/T1-w MRI set than the PET/CT set. The diagnostic accuracy was higher on PET/T1-w or PET/T2-w MRI (93.0 and 90.7%, respectively) than PET/CT (88.4%), but statistical significance was not obtained. PET/MRI fusion, especially PET with T1-w MRI, was demonstrated to be superior to PET/CT in characterizing PTs, offering better mapping and fusion image quality.

SAS macro programs for geographically weighted generalized linear modeling with spatial point data: applications to health research.

PubMed

Chen, Vivian Yi-Ju; Yang, Tse-Chuan

2012-08-01

An increasing interest in exploring spatial non-stationarity has generated several specialized analytic software programs; however, few of these programs can be integrated natively into a well-developed statistical environment such as SAS. We not only developed a set of SAS macro programs to fill this gap, but also expanded the geographically weighted generalized linear modeling (GWGLM) by integrating the strengths of SAS into the GWGLM framework. Three features distinguish our work. First, the macro programs of this study provide more kernel weighting functions than the existing programs. Second, with our codes the users are able to better specify the bandwidth selection process compared to the capabilities of existing programs. Third, the development of the macro programs is fully embedded in the SAS environment, providing great potential for future exploration of complicated spatially varying coefficient models in other disciplines. We provided three empirical examples to illustrate the use of the SAS macro programs and demonstrated the advantages explained above. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Model predictive controller design for boost DC-DC converter using T-S fuzzy cost function

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Seo, Sang-Wha; Kim, Yong; Choi, Han Ho

2017-11-01

This paper proposes a Takagi-Sugeno (T-S) fuzzy method to select cost function weights of finite control set model predictive DC-DC converter control algorithms. The proposed method updates the cost function weights at every sample time by using T-S type fuzzy rules derived from the common optimal control engineering knowledge that a state or input variable with an excessively large magnitude can be penalised by increasing the weight corresponding to the variable. The best control input is determined via the online optimisation of the T-S fuzzy cost function for all the possible control input sequences. This paper implements the proposed model predictive control algorithm in real time on a Texas Instruments TMS320F28335 floating-point Digital Signal Processor (DSP). Some experimental results are given to illuminate the practicality and effectiveness of the proposed control system under several operating conditions. The results verify that our method can yield not only good transient and steady-state responses (fast recovery time, small overshoot, zero steady-state error, etc.) but also insensitiveness to abrupt load or input voltage parameter variations.

Geography and culture matter for malnutrition in Bolivia.

PubMed

Morales, Rolando; Aguilar, Ana María; Calzadilla, Alvaro

2004-12-01

The prevalence of health problems and malnutrition in Bolivia is exceptionally high, even in comparison to other underdeveloped countries. This study analyzes the relationship between a two measures of child health--height-for-age and weight-for-age z-scores--and a set of physical and cultural determinants of child nutrition, including mother's characteristics, household assets and access to public services. The ultimate aim is to identify the most important determinants of child health and to measure the relative impact of each factor on the height and weight z-scores. A sequential strategy was adopted in order to estimate a two-equation linear model with correlated error terms. A major finding points to geographical and cultural variables as main causes of nutritional status and highlights the role of mother's anthropometrical characteristics. This study uses data on over 3000 children gathered from a Demographic and Health Survey (DHS).

Boundary Closures for Fourth-order Energy Stable Weighted Essentially Non-Oscillatory Finite Difference Schemes

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Fisher, Travis C.; Carpenter, Mark H.; Yamaleev, Nail K.; Frankel, Steven H.

2009-01-01

A general strategy exists for constructing Energy Stable Weighted Essentially Non Oscillatory (ESWENO) finite difference schemes up to eighth-order on periodic domains. These ESWENO schemes satisfy an energy norm stability proof for both continuous and discontinuous solutions of systems of linear hyperbolic equations. Herein, boundary closures are developed for the fourth-order ESWENO scheme that maintain wherever possible the WENO stencil biasing properties, while satisfying the summation-by-parts (SBP) operator convention, thereby ensuring stability in an L2 norm. Second-order, and third-order boundary closures are developed that achieve stability in diagonal and block norms, respectively. The global accuracy for the second-order closures is three, and for the third-order closures is four. A novel set of non-uniform flux interpolation points is necessary near the boundaries to simultaneously achieve 1) accuracy, 2) the SBP convention, and 3) WENO stencil biasing mechanics.

Effectiveness of Training Clinicians' Communication Skills on Patients' Clinical Outcomes: A Systematic Review.

PubMed

Oliveira, Vinicius C; Ferreira, Manuela L; Pinto, Rafael Z; Filho, Ruben F; Refshauge, Kathryn; Ferreira, Paulo H

2015-10-01

The aim of this systematic review was to investigate the literature on the effectiveness of communication skills training for clinicians on patients' clinical outcomes in primary care and rehabilitation settings. We systematically reviewed the literature for randomized controlled trials investigating the effectiveness of communication skills training for clinicians on patients' satisfaction with care and on pain and disability in primary care and rehabilitation settings. The search strategy was conducted using AMED, PsycINFO, MEDLINE, CINAHL, EMBASE, PEDro, and Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials through June 2015. Methodological quality of included trials was assessed by 2 independent investigators using the PEDro scale, and consensus was used to resolve disagreements. Data were extracted, and meta-analyses were performed. Nineteen randomized controlled trials were included. Of these, 16 investigated communication training for clinicians that emphasized patient participation (eg, shared decision-making approaches). Communication training had small effects on patients' satisfaction with care when compared to control (4.1 points on a 100-point scale, 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.1-7.0). Communication training also had small effects on pain and disability with pooled results showing weighted mean differences of -3.8 points (95% CI, -6.5 to -1.1) and -3.6 (95% CI, -5.4 to -1.7), respectively. Studies show that communication training for clinicians produces small effects in improving patients' satisfaction with care or reducing pain and disability in primary care and rehabilitation settings. Copyright © 2015 National University of Health Sciences. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

IGARSS 89: Canadian Symposium on Remote Sensing (12th) (Symposium Canadien sur la Teledetection): Quantitative Remote Sensing: An Economic Tool for the Nineties Held in Vancouver, Canada on 10-14 July 1989. Volume 2. Tuesday, July 11

DTIC Science & Technology

1989-07-14

blunder-free DEMs, the manual verification group of Ground Control Points (GCPs); (ii) and editing stage is still needed. the orbit and attitude of... control the influence (weight) of the sources and model the that each information class only had one subclass! To set non -Gaussian data. When the...clear line of infinitesimally close laminae sliding parallel to a shear line of shear; a quasi -brittle inner regime and a non -linear viscous outer

A general solution for the registration of optical multispectral scanners

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Rader, M. L.

1974-01-01

The paper documents a general theory for registration (mapping) of data sets gathered by optical scanners such as the ERTS satellite MSS and the Skylab S-192 MSS. This solution is generally applicable to scanners which have rotating optics. Navigation data and ground control points are used in a statistically weighted adjustment based on a mathematical model of the dynamics of the spacecraft and the scanner system. This adjustment is very similar to the well known photogrammetric adjustments used in aerial mapping. Actual tests have been completed on NASA aircraft 24 channel MSS data, and the results are very encouraging.

Comparison of body weight-supported treadmill training versus body weight-supported overground training in people with incomplete tetraplegia: a pilot randomized trial.

PubMed

Senthilvelkumar, Thangavelu; Magimairaj, Henry; Fletcher, Jebaraj; Tharion, George; George, Jacob

2015-01-01

To compare the effectiveness of body weight-supported treadmill training and body weight-supported overground training for improving gait and strength in people with traumatic incomplete tetraplegia. Assessor blinded randomized trial. Rehabilitation institute of a tertiary care teaching hospital in India. Sixteen participants with traumatic motor incomplete tetraplegia and within two years of injury. Participants were randomised to one of two groups: body weight-supported overground training on level ground and body weight-supported treadmill training. Both groups received 30 minutes of gait training per day, five days a week for eight weeks. In addition, both groups received regular rehabilitation which included flexibility, strength, balance, self care and functional training. The primary outcome measure was the Walking Index for Spinal Cord Injury (/20 points) and the secondary outcome was the Lower Extremity Muscle Score (/50 points). There was no statistically significant between group differences in the Walking Index for Spinal Cord Injury [mean difference=0.3points; 95% CI (-4.8 to 5.4); p=0.748] or the Lower Extremity Muscle Score [mean difference=0.2 points; 95% CI (-3.8 to 5.1); p=0.749]. Gait training with body weight-supported overground training is comparable to treadmill training for improving locomotion in people with traumatic incomplete tetraplegia. © The Author(s) 2014.

Practices of Weight Regulation Among Elite Athletes in Combat Sports: A Matter of Mental Advantage?

PubMed Central

Pettersson, Stefan; Ekström, Marianne Pipping; Berg, Christina M

2013-01-01

Context The combination of extensive weight loss and inadequate nutritional strategies used to lose weight rapidly for competition in weight-category sports may negatively affect athletic performance and health. Objective To explore the reasoning of elite combat-sport athletes about rapid weight loss and regaining of weight before competitions. Design Qualitative study. Setting With grounded theory as a theoretical framework, we employed a cross-examinational approach including interviews, observations, and Internet sources. Sports observations were obtained at competitions and statements by combat-sport athletes were collected on the Internet. Patients or Other Participants Participants in the interviews were 14 Swedish national team athletes (9 men, 5 women; age range, 18 to 36 years) in 3 Olympic combat sports (wrestling, judo, and taekwondo). Data Collection and Analysis Semistructured interviews with 14 athletes from the Swedish national teams in wrestling, judo, and taekwondo were conducted at a location of each participant's choice. The field observations were conducted at European competitions in these 3 sports. In addition, interviews and statements made by athletes in combat sports were collected on the Internet. Results Positive aspects of weight regulation other than gaining physical advantage emerged from the data during the analysis: sport identity, mental diversion, and mental advantage. Together and individually, these categories point toward the positive aspects of weight regulation experienced by the athletes. Practicing weight regulation mediates a self-image of being “a real athlete.” Weight regulation is also considered mentally important as a part of the precompetition preparation, serving as a coping strategy by creating a feeling of increased focus and commitment. Moreover, a mental advantage relative to one's opponents can be gained through the practice of weight regulation. Conclusions Weight regulation has mentally important functions extending beyond the common notion that combat-sport athletes reduce their weight merely to gain a physical edge over their opponents. PMID:23672331

Design of asymptotic estimators: an approach based on neural networks and nonlinear programming.

PubMed

Alessandri, Angelo; Cervellera, Cristiano; Sanguineti, Marcello

2007-01-01

A methodology to design state estimators for a class of nonlinear continuous-time dynamic systems that is based on neural networks and nonlinear programming is proposed. The estimator has the structure of a Luenberger observer with a linear gain and a parameterized (in general, nonlinear) function, whose argument is an innovation term representing the difference between the current measurement and its prediction. The problem of the estimator design consists in finding the values of the gain and of the parameters that guarantee the asymptotic stability of the estimation error. Toward this end, if a neural network is used to take on this function, the parameters (i.e., the neural weights) are chosen, together with the gain, by constraining the derivative of a quadratic Lyapunov function for the estimation error to be negative definite on a given compact set. It is proved that it is sufficient to impose the negative definiteness of such a derivative only on a suitably dense grid of sampling points. The gain is determined by solving a Lyapunov equation. The neural weights are searched for via nonlinear programming by minimizing a cost penalizing grid-point constraints that are not satisfied. Techniques based on low-discrepancy sequences are applied to deal with a small number of sampling points, and, hence, to reduce the computational burden required to optimize the parameters. Numerical results are reported and comparisons with those obtained by the extended Kalman filter are made.

Computation and application of tissue-specific gene set weights.

PubMed

Frost, H Robert

2018-04-06

Gene set testing, or pathway analysis, has become a critical tool for the analysis of highdimensional genomic data. Although the function and activity of many genes and higher-level processes is tissue-specific, gene set testing is typically performed in a tissue agnostic fashion, which impacts statistical power and the interpretation and replication of results. To address this challenge, we have developed a bioinformatics approach to compute tissuespecific weights for individual gene sets using information on tissue-specific gene activity from the Human Protein Atlas (HPA). We used this approach to create a public repository of tissue-specific gene set weights for 37 different human tissue types from the HPA and all collections in the Molecular Signatures Database (MSigDB). To demonstrate the validity and utility of these weights, we explored three different applications: the functional characterization of human tissues, multi-tissue analysis for systemic diseases and tissue-specific gene set testing. All data used in the reported analyses is publicly available. An R implementation of the method and tissue-specific weights for MSigDB gene set collections can be downloaded at http://www.dartmouth.edu/∼hrfrost/TissueSpecificGeneSets. rob.frost@dartmouth.edu.

Fusion of classifiers for REIS-based detection of suspicious breast lesions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lederman, Dror; Wang, Xingwei; Zheng, Bin; Sumkin, Jules H.; Tublin, Mitchell; Gur, David

2011-03-01

After developing a multi-probe resonance-frequency electrical impedance spectroscopy (REIS) system aimed at detecting women with breast abnormalities that may indicate a developing breast cancer, we have been conducting a prospective clinical study to explore the feasibility of applying this REIS system to classify younger women (< 50 years old) into two groups of "higher-than-average risk" and "average risk" of having or developing breast cancer. The system comprises one central probe placed in contact with the nipple, and six additional probes uniformly distributed along an outside circle to be placed in contact with six points on the outer breast skin surface. In this preliminary study, we selected an initial set of 174 examinations on participants that have completed REIS examinations and have clinical status verification. Among these, 66 examinations were recommended for biopsy due to findings of a highly suspicious breast lesion ("positives"), and 108 were determined as negative during imaging based procedures ("negatives"). A set of REIS-based features, extracted using a mirror-matched approach, was computed and fed into five machine learning classifiers. A genetic algorithm was used to select an optimal subset of features for each of the five classifiers. Three fusion rules, namely sum rule, weighted sum rule and weighted median rule, were used to combine the results of the classifiers. Performance evaluation was performed using a leave-one-case-out cross-validation method. The results indicated that REIS may provide a new technology to identify younger women with higher than average risk of having or developing breast cancer. Furthermore, it was shown that fusion rule, such as a weighted median fusion rule and a weighted sum fusion rule may improve performance as compared with the highest performing single classifier.

Matching weights to simultaneously compare three treatment groups: Comparison to three-way matching

PubMed Central

Yoshida, Kazuki; Hernández-Díaz, Sonia; Solomon, Daniel H.; Jackson, John W.; Gagne, Joshua J.; Glynn, Robert J.; Franklin, Jessica M.

2017-01-01

BACKGROUND Propensity score matching is a commonly used tool. However, its use in settings with more than two treatment groups has been less frequent. We examined the performance of a recently developed propensity score weighting method in the three treatment group setting. METHODS The matching weight method is an extension of inverse probability of treatment weighting (IPTW) that reweights both exposed and unexposed groups to emulate a propensity score matched population. Matching weights can generalize to multiple treatment groups. The performance of matching weights in the three-group setting was compared via simulation to three-way 1:1:1 propensity score matching and IPTW. We also applied these methods to an empirical example that compared the safety of three analgesics. RESULTS Matching weights had similar bias, but better mean squared error (MSE) compared to three-way matching in all scenarios. The benefits were more pronounced in scenarios with a rare outcome, unequally sized treatment groups, or poor covariate overlap. IPTW’s performance was highly dependent on covariate overlap. In the empirical example, matching weights achieved the best balance for 24 out of 35 covariates. Hazard ratios were numerically similar to matching. However, the confidence intervals were narrower for matching weights. CONCLUSIONS Matching weights demonstrated improved performance over three-way matching in terms of MSE, particularly in simulation scenarios where finding matched subjects was difficult. Given its natural extension to settings with even more than three groups, we recommend matching weights for comparing outcomes across multiple treatment groups, particularly in settings with rare outcomes or unequal exposure distributions. PMID:28151746

Floor space covered by broiler chickens kept at stocking densities according to Council Directive 2007/43/EC.

PubMed

Giersberg, M F; Hartung, J; Kemper, N; Spindler, B

2016-07-30

It is controversially discussed whether the stocking densities set by the EU Directive 2007/43/EC allow a species-appropriate housing of broiler chickens. To calculate the exact area broilers occupy due to their physical size and shape, planimetric measurements using a colour-contrast method were carried out. In total, 1949 photographs of standing and 1482 of squatting chickens, taken from a top view, were analysed. A computer program counted the pixels representing the previously weighed animal in the photograph and calculated the animal area. The average area covered by chickens with 400 g live weight was 116.64±13.12 cm(2) in a standing and 138.61±12.92 cm(2) in a squatting position. These areas increased linearly as a function of live weight to 452.57±58.89 cm(2) (R(2)=0.90 standing) and 513.54±42.70 cm(2) (R(2)=0.82 squatting) at the end of the study (3200 g live weight). Squatting chickens occupied more space compared with a standing position in most of the tested weight classes (P<0.05). Depending on target weights, stocking densities and body positions, broilers occupied 48.5-77.7 per cent of 1 m(2) Thus, from a physical point of view, simultaneous resting is possible at any stocking density provided by the EU Directive and at common target weights. British Veterinary Association.

On the structure of the set of coincidence points

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

Arutyunov, A V; Gel'man, B D

2015-03-31

We consider the set of coincidence points for two maps between metric spaces. Cardinality, metric and topological properties of the coincidence set are studied. We obtain conditions which guarantee that this set (a) consists of at least two points; (b) consists of at least n points; (c) contains a countable subset; (d) is uncountable. The results are applied to study the structure of the double point set and the fixed point set for multivalued contractions. Bibliography: 12 titles.

An evidence-based gamified mHealth intervention for overweight young adults with maladaptive eating habits: study protocol for a randomized controlled trial.

PubMed

Podina, Ioana R; Fodor, Liviu A; Cosmoiu, Ana; Boian, Rareș

2017-12-12

Cognitive behavior therapy (CBT) is the first-line of treatment for overweight and obesity patients whose problems originate in maladaptive eating habits (e.g., emotional eating). However, in-person CBT is currently difficult to access by large segments of the population. The proposed SIGMA intervention (i.e., the Self-help, Integrated, and Gamified Mobile-phone Application) is a mHealth intervention based on CBT principles. It specifically targets overweight young adults with underlying maladaptive behaviors and cognitions regarding food. The SIGMA app was designed as a serious game and intended to work as a standalone app for weight maintenance or alongside a calorie-restrictive diet for weight loss. It uses a complex and novel scoring system that allows points earned within the game to be supplemented by points earned during outdoor activities with the help of an embedded pedometer. The efficacy of the SIGMA mHealth intervention will be investigated within a randomized, placebo-controlled trial. The intervention will be set to last 2 months with a 3-month follow-up. Selected participants will be young overweight adults with non-clinical maladaptive eating habits embodied by food cravings, binge eating, and emotional eating. The primary outcomes will be represented by changes in (1) self-reported maladaptive thoughts related to eating and body weight, (2) self-reported maladaptive eating behaviors in the range of urgent food cravings, emotional eating or binge eating, (3) as well as biased attentional processing of food items as indexed by reaction times. Secondary outcomes will be represented by changes in weight, Body Mass Index, general mood, and physical activity as indexed by the number of steps per day. Through an evidence-based cognitive behavioral approach and a user-friendly game interface, the SIGMA intervention offers a significant contribution to the development of a cost-effective and preventive self-help tool for young overweight adults with maladaptive eating habits. ISRCTN, ID: 70907354 . Registered on 6 February 2017. The ISRCTN registration is in line with the World Health Organization Trial Registration Data Set. The present paper represents the original version of the protocol. Any changes to the protocol will be communicated to ISRCTN.

46 CFR 154.452 - External pressure.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-10-01

...: P1=the vacuum relief valve setting for tanks with a vacuum relief valve, or 24.5 kPa gauge (3.55 psig) for tanks without a vacuum relief valve. P2=0, or the pressure relief valve setting for an enclosed... weight of the tank, including corrosion allowance, weight of insulation, weight of dome, weight of pipe...

46 CFR 154.452 - External pressure.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-10-01

...: P1=the vacuum relief valve setting for tanks with a vacuum relief valve, or 24.5 kPa gauge (3.55 psig) for tanks without a vacuum relief valve. P2=0, or the pressure relief valve setting for an enclosed... weight of the tank, including corrosion allowance, weight of insulation, weight of dome, weight of pipe...

46 CFR 154.452 - External pressure.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

...: P1=the vacuum relief valve setting for tanks with a vacuum relief valve, or 24.5 kPa gauge (3.55 psig) for tanks without a vacuum relief valve. P2=0, or the pressure relief valve setting for an enclosed... weight of the tank, including corrosion allowance, weight of insulation, weight of dome, weight of pipe...

46 CFR 154.452 - External pressure.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-10-01

...: P1=the vacuum relief valve setting for tanks with a vacuum relief valve, or 24.5 kPa gauge (3.55 psig) for tanks without a vacuum relief valve. P2=0, or the pressure relief valve setting for an enclosed... weight of the tank, including corrosion allowance, weight of insulation, weight of dome, weight of pipe...

46 CFR 154.452 - External pressure.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-10-01

...: P1=the vacuum relief valve setting for tanks with a vacuum relief valve, or 24.5 kPa gauge (3.55 psig) for tanks without a vacuum relief valve. P2=0, or the pressure relief valve setting for an enclosed... weight of the tank, including corrosion allowance, weight of insulation, weight of dome, weight of pipe...

The improved Apriori algorithm based on matrix pruning and weight analysis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lang, Zhenhong

2018-04-01

This paper uses the matrix compression algorithm and weight analysis algorithm for reference and proposes an improved matrix pruning and weight analysis Apriori algorithm. After the transactional database is scanned for only once, the algorithm will construct the boolean transaction matrix. Through the calculation of one figure in the rows and columns of the matrix, the infrequent item set is pruned, and a new candidate item set is formed. Then, the item's weight and the transaction's weight as well as the weight support for items are calculated, thus the frequent item sets are gained. The experimental result shows that the improved Apriori algorithm not only reduces the number of repeated scans of the database, but also improves the efficiency of data correlation mining.

Coordinate transformation by minimizing correlations between parameters

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kumar, M.

1972-01-01

This investigation was to determine the transformation parameters (three rotations, three translations and a scale factor) between two Cartesian coordinate systems from sets of coordinates given in both systems. The objective was the determination of well separated transformation parameters with reduced correlations between each other, a problem especially relevant when the sets of coordinates are not well distributed. The above objective is achieved by preliminarily determining the three rotational parameters and the scale factor from the respective direction cosines and chord distances (these being independent of the translation parameters) between the common points, and then computing all the seven parameters from a solution in which the rotations and the scale factor are entered as weighted constraints according to their variances and covariances obtained in the preliminary solutions. Numerical tests involving two geodetic reference systems were performed to evaluate the effectiveness of this approach.

Modeling The Skeleton Weight of an Adult Caucasian Man.

PubMed

Avtandilashvili, Maia; Tolmachev, Sergei Y

2018-05-17

The reference value for the skeleton weight of an adult male (10.5 kg) recommended by the International Commission on Radiological Protection in Publication 70 is based on weights of dissected skeletons from 44 individuals, including two U.S. Transuranium and Uranium Registries whole-body donors. The International Commission on Radiological Protection analysis of anatomical data from 31 individuals with known values of body height demonstrated significant correlation between skeleton weight and body height. The corresponding regression equation, Wskel (kg) = -10.7 + 0.119 × H (cm), published in International Commission on Radiological Protection Publication 70 is typically used to estimate the skeleton weight from body height. Currently, the U.S. Transuranium and Uranium Registries holds data on individual bone weights from a total of 40 male whole-body donors, which has provided a unique opportunity to update the International Commission on Radiological Protection skeleton weight vs. body height equation. The original International Commission on Radiological Protection Publication 70 and the new U.S. Transuranium and Uranium Registries data were combined in a set of 69 data points representing a group of 33- to 95-y-old individuals with body heights and skeleton weights ranging from 155 to 188 cm and 6.5 to 13.4 kg, respectively. Data were fitted with a linear least-squares regression. A significant correlation between the two parameters was observed (r = 0.28), and an updated skeleton weight vs. body height equation was derived: Wskel (kg) = -6.5 + 0.093 × H (cm). In addition, a correlation of skeleton weight with multiple variables including body height, body weight, and age was evaluated using multiple regression analysis, and a corresponding fit equation was derived: Wskel (kg) = -0.25 + 0.046 × H (cm) + 0.036 × Wbody (kg) - 0.012 × A (y). These equations will be used to estimate skeleton weights and, ultimately, total skeletal actinide activities for biokinetic modeling of U.S. Transuranium and Uranium Registries partial-body donation cases.

A novel method for vaginal cylinder treatment planning: a seamless transition to 3D brachytherapy

PubMed Central

Wu, Vincent; Wang, Zhou; Patil, Sachin

2012-01-01

Purpose Standard treatment plan libraries are often used to ensure a quick turn-around time for vaginal cylinder treatments. Recently there is increasing interest in transitioning from conventional 2D radiograph based brachytherapy to 3D image based brachytherapy, which has resulted in a substantial increase in treatment planning time and decrease in patient through-put. We describe a novel technique that significantly reduces the treatment planning time for CT-based vaginal cylinder brachytherapy. Material and methods Oncentra MasterPlan TPS allows multiple sets of data points to be classified as applicator points which has been harnessed in this method. The method relies on two hard anchor points: the first dwell position in a catheter and an applicator configuration specific dwell position as the plan origin and a soft anchor point beyond the last active dwell position to define the axis of the catheter. The spatial location of various data points on the applicator's surface and at 5 mm depth are stored in an Excel file that can easily be transferred into a patient CT data set using window operations and then used for treatment planning. The remainder of the treatment planning process remains unaffected. Results The treatment plans generated on the Oncentra MasterPlan TPS using this novel method yielded results comparable to those generated on the Plato TPS using a standard treatment plan library in terms of treatment times, dwell weights and dwell times for a given optimization method and normalization points. Less than 2% difference was noticed between the treatment times generated between both systems. Using the above method, the entire planning process, including CT importing, catheter reconstruction, multiple data point definition, optimization and dose prescription, can be completed in ~5–10 minutes. Conclusion The proposed method allows a smooth and efficient transition to 3D CT based vaginal cylinder brachytherapy planning. PMID:23349650

Children's weighting strategies for word-final stop voicing are not explained by auditory sensitivities.

PubMed

Nittrouer, Susan; Lowenstein, Joanna H

2007-02-01

It has been reported that children and adults weight differently the various acoustic properties of the speech signal that support phonetic decisions. This finding is generally attributed to the fact that the amount of weight assigned to various acoustic properties by adults varies across languages, and that children have not yet discovered the mature weighting strategies of their own native languages. But an alternative explanation exists: Perhaps children's auditory sensitivities for some acoustic properties of speech are poorer than those of adults, and children cannot categorize stimuli based on properties to which they are not keenly sensitive. The purpose of the current study was to test that hypothesis. Edited-natural, synthetic-formant, and sine wave stimuli were all used, and all were modeled after words with voiced and voiceless final stops. Adults and children (5 and 7 years of age) listened to pairs of stimuli in 5 conditions: 2 involving a temporal property (1 with speech and 1 with nonspeech stimuli) and 3 involving a spectral property (1 with speech and 2 with nonspeech stimuli). An AX discrimination task was used in which a standard stimulus (A) was compared with all other stimuli (X) equal numbers of times (method of constant stimuli). Adults and children had similar difference thresholds (i.e., 50% point on the discrimination function) for 2 of the 3 sets of nonspeech stimuli (1 temporal and 1 spectral), but children's thresholds were greater for both sets of speech stimuli. Results are interpreted as evidence that children's auditory sensitivities are adequate to support weighting strategies similar to those of adults, and so observed differences between children and adults in speech perception cannot be explained by differences in auditory perception. Furthermore, it is concluded that listeners bring expectations to the listening task about the nature of the signals they are hearing based on their experiences with those signals.

2016 American College of Rheumatology/European League Against Rheumatism Criteria for Minimal, Moderate, and Major Clinical Response in Adult Dermatomyositis and Polymyositis: An International Myositis Assessment and Clinical Studies Group/Paediatric Rheumatology International Trials Organisation Collaborative Initiative.

PubMed

Aggarwal, Rohit; Rider, Lisa G; Ruperto, Nicolino; Bayat, Nastaran; Erman, Brian; Feldman, Brian M; Oddis, Chester V; Amato, Anthony A; Chinoy, Hector; Cooper, Robert G; Dastmalchi, Maryam; Fiorentino, David; Isenberg, David; Katz, James D; Mammen, Andrew; de Visser, Marianne; Ytterberg, Steven R; Lundberg, Ingrid E; Chung, Lorinda; Danko, Katalin; García-De la Torre, Ignacio; Song, Yeong Wook; Villa, Luca; Rinaldi, Mariangela; Rockette, Howard; Lachenbruch, Peter A; Miller, Frederick W; Vencovsky, Jiri

2017-05-01

To develop response criteria for adult dermatomyositis (DM) and polymyositis (PM). Expert surveys, logistic regression, and conjoint analysis were used to develop 287 definitions using core set measures. Myositis experts rated greater improvement among multiple pairwise scenarios in conjoint analysis surveys, where different levels of improvement in 2 core set measures were presented. The PAPRIKA (Potentially All Pairwise Rankings of All Possible Alternatives) method determined the relative weights of core set measures and conjoint analysis definitions. The performance characteristics of the definitions were evaluated on patient profiles using expert consensus (gold standard) and were validated using data from a clinical trial. The nominal group technique was used to reach consensus. Consensus was reached for a conjoint analysis-based continuous model using absolute percent change in core set measures (physician, patient, and extramuscular global activity, muscle strength, Health Assessment Questionnaire, and muscle enzyme levels). A total improvement score (range 0-100), determined by summing scores for each core set measure, was based on improvement in and relative weight of each core set measure. Thresholds for minimal, moderate, and major improvement were ≥20, ≥40, and ≥60 points in the total improvement score. The same criteria were chosen for juvenile DM, with different improvement thresholds. Sensitivity and specificity in DM/PM patient cohorts were 85% and 92%, 90% and 96%, and 92% and 98% for minimal, moderate, and major improvement, respectively. Definitions were validated in the clinical trial analysis for differentiating the physician rating of improvement (P < 0.001). The response criteria for adult DM/PM consisted of the conjoint analysis model based on absolute percent change in 6 core set measures, with thresholds for minimal, moderate, and major improvement. © 2017, American College of Rheumatology.

Novel point estimation from a semiparametric ratio estimator (SPRE): long-term health outcomes from short-term linear data, with application to weight loss in obesity.

PubMed

Weissman-Miller, Deborah

2013-11-02

Point estimation is particularly important in predicting weight loss in individuals or small groups. In this analysis, a new health response function is based on a model of human response over time to estimate long-term health outcomes from a change point in short-term linear regression. This important estimation capability is addressed for small groups and single-subject designs in pilot studies for clinical trials, medical and therapeutic clinical practice. These estimations are based on a change point given by parameters derived from short-term participant data in ordinary least squares (OLS) regression. The development of the change point in initial OLS data and the point estimations are given in a new semiparametric ratio estimator (SPRE) model. The new response function is taken as a ratio of two-parameter Weibull distributions times a prior outcome value that steps estimated outcomes forward in time, where the shape and scale parameters are estimated at the change point. The Weibull distributions used in this ratio are derived from a Kelvin model in mechanics taken here to represent human beings. A distinct feature of the SPRE model in this article is that initial treatment response for a small group or a single subject is reflected in long-term response to treatment. This model is applied to weight loss in obesity in a secondary analysis of data from a classic weight loss study, which has been selected due to the dramatic increase in obesity in the United States over the past 20 years. A very small relative error of estimated to test data is shown for obesity treatment with the weight loss medication phentermine or placebo for the test dataset. An application of SPRE in clinical medicine or occupational therapy is to estimate long-term weight loss for a single subject or a small group near the beginning of treatment.

Determination of heat capacity of ionic liquid based nanofluids using group method of data handling technique

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sadi, Maryam

2018-01-01

In this study a group method of data handling model has been successfully developed to predict heat capacity of ionic liquid based nanofluids by considering reduced temperature, acentric factor and molecular weight of ionic liquids, and nanoparticle concentration as input parameters. In order to accomplish modeling, 528 experimental data points extracted from the literature have been divided into training and testing subsets. The training set has been used to predict model coefficients and the testing set has been applied for model validation. The ability and accuracy of developed model, has been evaluated by comparison of model predictions with experimental values using different statistical parameters such as coefficient of determination, mean square error and mean absolute percentage error. The mean absolute percentage error of developed model for training and testing sets are 1.38% and 1.66%, respectively, which indicate excellent agreement between model predictions and experimental data. Also, the results estimated by the developed GMDH model exhibit a higher accuracy when compared to the available theoretical correlations.

On the Performance of Linear Decreasing Inertia Weight Particle Swarm Optimization for Global Optimization

PubMed Central

Arasomwan, Martins Akugbe; Adewumi, Aderemi Oluyinka

2013-01-01

Linear decreasing inertia weight (LDIW) strategy was introduced to improve on the performance of the original particle swarm optimization (PSO). However, linear decreasing inertia weight PSO (LDIW-PSO) algorithm is known to have the shortcoming of premature convergence in solving complex (multipeak) optimization problems due to lack of enough momentum for particles to do exploitation as the algorithm approaches its terminal point. Researchers have tried to address this shortcoming by modifying LDIW-PSO or proposing new PSO variants. Some of these variants have been claimed to outperform LDIW-PSO. The major goal of this paper is to experimentally establish the fact that LDIW-PSO is very much efficient if its parameters are properly set. First, an experiment was conducted to acquire a percentage value of the search space limits to compute the particle velocity limits in LDIW-PSO based on commonly used benchmark global optimization problems. Second, using the experimentally obtained values, five well-known benchmark optimization problems were used to show the outstanding performance of LDIW-PSO over some of its competitors which have in the past claimed superiority over it. Two other recent PSO variants with different inertia weight strategies were also compared with LDIW-PSO with the latter outperforming both in the simulation experiments conducted. PMID:24324383

An objective approach to determining the weight ranges of prey preferred by and accessible to the five large African carnivores.

PubMed

Clements, Hayley S; Tambling, Craig J; Hayward, Matt W; Kerley, Graham I H

2014-01-01

Broad-scale models describing predator prey preferences serve as useful departure points for understanding predator-prey interactions at finer scales. Previous analyses used a subjective approach to identify prey weight preferences of the five large African carnivores, hence their accuracy is questionable. This study uses a segmented model of prey weight versus prey preference to objectively quantify the prey weight preferences of the five large African carnivores. Based on simulations of known predator prey preference, for prey species sample sizes above 32 the segmented model approach detects up to four known changes in prey weight preference (represented by model break-points) with high rates of detection (75% to 100% of simulations, depending on number of break-points) and accuracy (within 1.3±4.0 to 2.7±4.4 of known break-point). When applied to the five large African carnivores, using carnivore diet information from across Africa, the model detected weight ranges of prey that are preferred, killed relative to their abundance, and avoided by each carnivore. Prey in the weight ranges preferred and killed relative to their abundance are together termed "accessible prey". Accessible prey weight ranges were found to be 14-135 kg for cheetah Acinonyx jubatus, 1-45 kg for leopard Panthera pardus, 32-632 kg for lion Panthera leo, 15-1600 kg for spotted hyaena Crocuta crocuta and 10-289 kg for wild dog Lycaon pictus. An assessment of carnivore diets throughout Africa found these accessible prey weight ranges include 88±2% (cheetah), 82±3% (leopard), 81±2% (lion), 97±2% (spotted hyaena) and 96±2% (wild dog) of kills. These descriptions of prey weight preferences therefore contribute to our understanding of the diet spectrum of the five large African carnivores. Where datasets meet the minimum sample size requirements, the segmented model approach provides a means of determining, and comparing, the prey weight range preferences of any carnivore species.

Tier 3 multidisciplinary medical weight management improves outcome of Roux-en-Y gastric bypass surgery.

PubMed

Patel, P; Hartland, A; Hollis, A; Ali, R; Elshaw, A; Jain, S; Khan, A; Mirza, S

2015-04-01

In 2013 the Department of Health specified eligibility for bariatric surgery funded by the National Health Service. This included a mandatory specification that patients first complete a Tier 3 medical weight management programme. The clinical effectiveness of this recommendation has not been evaluated previously. Our bariatric centre has provided a Tier 3 programme six months prior to bariatric surgery since 2009. The aim of our retrospective study was to compare weight loss in two cohorts: Roux-en-Y gastric bypass only (RYGB only cohort) versus Tier 3 weight management followed by RYGB (Tier 3 cohort). A total of 110 patients were selected for the study: 66 in the RYGB only cohort and 44 in the Tier 3 cohort. Patients in both cohorts were matched for age, sex, preoperative body mass index and pre-existing co-morbidities. The principal variable was therefore whether they undertook the weight management programme prior to RYGB. Patients from both cohorts were followed up at 6 and 12 months to assess weight loss. The mean weight loss at 6 months for the Tier 3 cohort was 31% (range: 18-69%, standard deviation [SD]: 0.10 percentage points) compared with 23% (range: 4-93%, SD: 0.12 percentage points) for the RYGB only cohort (p=0.0002). The mean weight loss at 12 months for the Tier 3 cohort was 34% (range: 17-51%, SD: 0.09 percentage points) compared with 27% (range: 14-48%, SD: 0.87 percentage points) in the RYGB only cohort (p=0.0037). Our study revealed that in our matched cohorts, patients receiving Tier 3 specialist medical weight management input prior to RYGB lost significantly more weight at 6 and 12 months than RYGB only patients. This confirms the clinical efficacy of such a weight management programme prior to gastric bypass surgery and supports its inclusion in eligibility criteria for bariatric surgery.

The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, Food Insecurity, Dietary Quality, and Obesity Among U.S. Adults.

PubMed

Nguyen, Binh T; Shuval, Kerem; Bertmann, Farryl; Yaroch, Amy L

2015-07-01

We examined whether Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) participation changes associations between food insecurity, dietary quality, and weight among US adults. We analyzed adult dietary intake data (n = 8333) from the 2003 to 2010 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. Bivariate and multivariable methods assessed associations of SNAP participation and 4 levels of food security with diet and weight. Measures of dietary quality were the Healthy Eating Index 2010, total caloric intake, empty calories, and solid fat; weight measures were body mass index (BMI), overweight, and obesity. SNAP participants with marginal food security had lower BMI (1.83 kg/m2; P < .01) and lower probability of obesity (9 percentage points; P < .05). SNAP participants with marginal (3.46 points; P < .01), low (1.98 points; P < .05), and very low (3.84 points; P < .01) food security had better diets, as illustrated by the Healthy Eating Index. Associations between SNAP participation and improved diet and weight were stronger among Whites than Blacks and Hispanics. Our research highlights the role of SNAP in helping individuals who are at risk for food insecurity to obtain a healthier diet and better weight status.

A pediatric brain structure atlas from T1-weighted MR images

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shan, Zuyao Y.; Parra, Carlos; Ji, Qing; Ogg, Robert J.; Zhang, Yong; Laningham, Fred H.; Reddick, Wilburn E.

2006-03-01

In this paper, we have developed a digital atlas of the pediatric human brain. Human brain atlases, used to visualize spatially complex structures of the brain, are indispensable tools in model-based segmentation and quantitative analysis of brain structures. However, adult brain atlases do not adequately represent the normal maturational patterns of the pediatric brain, and the use of an adult model in pediatric studies may introduce substantial bias. Therefore, we proposed to develop a digital atlas of the pediatric human brain in this study. The atlas was constructed from T1 weighted MR data set of a 9 year old, right-handed girl. Furthermore, we extracted and simplified boundary surfaces of 25 manually defined brain structures (cortical and subcortical) based on surface curvature. Higher curvature surfaces were simplified with more reference points; lower curvature surfaces, with fewer. We constructed a 3D triangular mesh model for each structure by triangulation of the structure's reference points. Kappa statistics (cortical, 0.97; subcortical, 0.91) indicated substantial similarities between the mesh-defined and the original volumes. Our brain atlas and structural mesh models (www.stjude.org/BrainAtlas) can be used to plan treatment, to conduct knowledge and modeldriven segmentation, and to analyze the shapes of brain structures in pediatric patients.

Equivalent charge source model based iterative maximum neighbor weight for sparse EEG source localization.

PubMed

Xu, Peng; Tian, Yin; Lei, Xu; Hu, Xiao; Yao, Dezhong

2008-12-01

How to localize the neural electric activities within brain effectively and precisely from the scalp electroencephalogram (EEG) recordings is a critical issue for current study in clinical neurology and cognitive neuroscience. In this paper, based on the charge source model and the iterative re-weighted strategy, proposed is a new maximum neighbor weight based iterative sparse source imaging method, termed as CMOSS (Charge source model based Maximum neighbOr weight Sparse Solution). Different from the weight used in focal underdetermined system solver (FOCUSS) where the weight for each point in the discrete solution space is independently updated in iterations, the new designed weight for each point in each iteration is determined by the source solution of the last iteration at both the point and its neighbors. Using such a new weight, the next iteration may have a bigger chance to rectify the local source location bias existed in the previous iteration solution. The simulation studies with comparison to FOCUSS and LORETA for various source configurations were conducted on a realistic 3-shell head model, and the results confirmed the validation of CMOSS for sparse EEG source localization. Finally, CMOSS was applied to localize sources elicited in a visual stimuli experiment, and the result was consistent with those source areas involved in visual processing reported in previous studies.

Weight gain as a barrier to smoking cessation among military personnel.

PubMed

Russ, C R; Fonseca, V P; Peterson, A L; Blackman, L R; Robbins, A S

2001-01-01

To assess the relationships between active-duty military status, military weight standards, concern about weight gain, and anticipated relapse after smoking cessation. Cross-sectional study. Hospital-based tobacco cessation program. Two hundred fifty-two enrollees, of 253 eligible, to a tobacco cessation program in 1999 (135 men, 117 women; 43% on active duty in the military). Independent variables included gender, body mass index (weight/height2), and military status. Dependent variables included about weight gain with smoking cessation and anticipated relapse. In multivariate regression analyses that controlled for gender and body mass index, active-duty military status was associated with an elevated level of concern about weight gain (1.9-point increase on a 10-point scale; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.0- to 2.8-point increase), as well as higher anticipated relapse (odds ratio [OR] = 3.6; 95% CI, 1.3 to 9.8). Among subjects who were close to or over the U.S. Air Force maximum allowable weight for height, the analogous OR for active-duty military status was 6.9 (p = .02). Occupational weight standards or expectations may pose additional barriers for individuals contemplating or attempting smoking cessation, as they do among active-duty military personnel. These barriers are likely to hinder efforts to decrease smoking prevalence in certain groups.

A Paper and Plastic Device for Performing Recombinase Polymerase Amplification of HIV DNA

PubMed Central

Rohrman, Brittany A.; Richards-Kortum, Rebecca R.

2013-01-01

Despite the importance of early diagnosis and treatment of HIV, only a small fraction of HIV-exposed infants in low- and middle-income countries are tested for the disease. The gold standard for early infant diagnosis, DNA PCR, requires resources that are unavailable in poor settings, and no point-of-care HIV DNA test is currently available. We have developed a device constructed of layers of paper, glass fiber, and plastic that is capable of performing isothermal, enzymatic amplification of HIV DNA. The device is inexpensive, small, light-weight, and easy to assemble. The device stores lyophilized enzymes, facilitates mixing of reaction components, and supports recombinase polymerase amplification in five steps of operation. Using commercially available lateral flow strips as a detection method, we demonstrate the ability of our device to amplify 10 copies of HIV DNA to detectable levels in 15 minutes. Our results suggest that our device, which is designed to be used after DNA extraction from dried-blood spots, may serve in conjunction with lateral flow strips as part of a point-of-care HIV DNA test to be used in low resource settings. PMID:22733333

A paper and plastic device for performing recombinase polymerase amplification of HIV DNA.

PubMed

Rohrman, Brittany A; Richards-Kortum, Rebecca R

2012-09-07

Despite the importance of early diagnosis and treatment of HIV, only a small fraction of HIV-exposed infants in low- and middle-income countries are tested for the disease. The gold standard for early infant diagnosis, DNA PCR, requires resources that are unavailable in poor settings, and no point-of-care HIV DNA test is currently available. We have developed a device constructed of layers of paper, glass fiber, and plastic that is capable of performing isothermal, enzymatic amplification of HIV DNA. The device is inexpensive, small, light-weight, and easy to assemble. The device stores lyophilized enzymes, facilitates mixing of reaction components, and supports recombinase polymerase amplification in five steps of operation. Using commercially available lateral flow strips as a detection method, we demonstrate the ability of our device to amplify 10 copies of HIV DNA to detectable levels in 15 min. Our results suggest that our device, which is designed to be used after DNA extraction from dried-blood spots, may serve in conjunction with lateral flow strips as part of a point-of-care HIV DNA test to be used in low resource settings.

Optimizing Radiometric Processing and Feature Extraction of Drone Based Hyperspectral Frame Format Imagery for Estimation of Yield Quantity and Quality of a Grass Sward

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Näsi, R.; Viljanen, N.; Oliveira, R.; Kaivosoja, J.; Niemeläinen, O.; Hakala, T.; Markelin, L.; Nezami, S.; Suomalainen, J.; Honkavaara, E.

2018-04-01

Light-weight 2D format hyperspectral imagers operable from unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) have become common in various remote sensing tasks in recent years. Using these technologies, the area of interest is covered by multiple overlapping hypercubes, in other words multiview hyperspectral photogrammetric imagery, and each object point appears in many, even tens of individual hypercubes. The common practice is to calculate hyperspectral orthomosaics utilizing only the most nadir areas of the images. However, the redundancy of the data gives potential for much more versatile and thorough feature extraction. We investigated various options of extracting spectral features in the grass sward quantity evaluation task. In addition to the various sets of spectral features, we used photogrammetry-based ultra-high density point clouds to extract features describing the canopy 3D structure. Machine learning technique based on the Random Forest algorithm was used to estimate the fresh biomass. Results showed high accuracies for all investigated features sets. The estimation results using multiview data provided approximately 10 % better results than the most nadir orthophotos. The utilization of the photogrammetric 3D features improved estimation accuracy by approximately 40 % compared to approaches where only spectral features were applied. The best estimation RMSE of 239 kg/ha (6.0 %) was obtained with multiview anisotropy corrected data set and the 3D features.

Influence of body weight and body conformation on the pressure-volume curve during capnoperitoneum in dogs.

PubMed

Dorn, Melissa J; Bockstahler, Barbara A; Dupré, Gilles P

2017-05-01

OBJECTIVE To evaluate the pressure-volume relationship during capnoperitoneum in dogs and effects of body weight and body conformation. ANIMALS 86 dogs scheduled for routine laparoscopy. PROCEDURES Dogs were allocated into 3 groups on the basis of body weight. Body measurements, body condition score, and body conformation indices were calculated. Carbon dioxide was insufflated into the abdomen with a syringe, and pressure was measured at the laparoscopic cannula. Volume and pressure data were processed, and the yield point, defined by use of a cutoff volume (COV) and cutoff pressure (COP), was calculated. RESULTS 20 dogs were excluded because of recording errors, air leakage attributable to surgical flaws, or trocar defects. For the remaining 66 dogs, the pressure-volume curve was linear-like until the yield point was reached, and then it became visibly exponential. Mean ± SD COP was 5.99 ± 0.805 mm Hg. No correlation was detected between yield point, body variables, or body weight. Mean COV was 1,196.2 ± 697.9 mL (65.15 ± 20.83 mL of CO 2 /kg), and COV was correlated significantly with body weight and one of the body condition indices but not with other variables. CONCLUSION AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE In this study, there was a similar COP for all dogs of all sizes. In addition, results suggested that increasing the abdominal pressure after the yield point was reached did not contribute to a substantial increase in working space in the abdomen. No correlation was found between yield point, body variables, and body weight.

Non-contact weight measurement of flat-faced pharmaceutical tablets using terahertz transmission pulse delay measurements.

PubMed

Bawuah, Prince; Silfsten, Pertti; Ervasti, Tuomas; Ketolainen, Jarkko; Zeitler, J Axel; Peiponen, Kai-Erik

2014-12-10

By measuring the time delay of a terahertz pulse traversing a tablet, and hence its effective refractive index, it is possible to non-invasively and non-destructively detect the weight of tablets made of microcrystalline cellulose (MCC). Two sets of MCC tablets were used in the study: Set A (training set) consisted of 13 tablets with nominally constant height but varying porosities, whereas Set B (test set) comprised of 21 tablets with nominally constant porosity but different heights. A linear correlation between the estimated absolute weight based on the terahertz measurement and the measured weight of both sets of MCC tablets was found. In addition, it was possible to estimate the height of the tablets by utilizing the estimated absolute weight and calculating the relative change of height of each tablet with respect to an ideal tablet. A good agreement between the experimental and the calculated results was found highlighting the potential of this technique for in-line sensing of the weight, porosity and the relative change in height of the tablets compared to a reference/ideal tablet. In this context, we propose a quantitative quality control method to assess the deviations in porosity of tablets immediately after compaction. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Implementation of Point-of-Care Diagnostics Leads to Variable Uptake of Syphilis, Anemia and CD4+ T-Cell Count Testing in Rural Maternal and Child Health Clinics.

PubMed

De Schacht, Caroline; Lucas, Carlota; Sitoe, Nádia; Machekano, Rhoderick; Chongo, Patrina; Temmerman, Marleen; Tobaiwa, Ocean; Guay, Laura; Kassaye, Seble; Jani, Ilesh V

2015-01-01

Anemia, syphilis and HIV are high burden diseases among pregnant women in sub-Saharan Africa. A quasi-experimental study was conducted in four health facilities in Southern Mozambique to evaluate the effect of point-of-care technologies for hemoglobin quantification, syphilis testing and CD4+ T-cell enumeration performed within maternal and child health services on testing and treatment coverage, and assessing acceptability by health workers. Demographic and testing data on women attending first antenatal care services were extracted from existing records, before (2011; n = 865) and after (2012; n = 808) introduction of point-of-care testing. Study outcomes per health facility were compared using z-tests (categorical variables) and Wilcoxon rank-sum test (continuous variables), while inverse variance weights were used to adjust for possible cluster effects in the pooled analysis. A structured acceptability-assessment interview was conducted with health workers before (n = 22) and after (n = 19). After implementation of point-of-care testing, there was no significant change in uptake of overall hemoglobin screening (67.9% to 83.0%; p = 0.229), syphilis screening (80.8% to 87.0%; p = 0.282) and CD4+ T-cell testing (84.9% to 83.5%; p = 0.930). Initiation of antiretroviral therapy for treatment eligible women was similar in the weighted analysis before and after, with variability among the sites. Time from HIV diagnosis to treatment initiation decreased (median of 44 days to 17 days; p<0.0001). A generally good acceptability for point-of-care testing was seen among health workers. Point-of-care CD4+ T-cell enumeration resulted in a decreased time to initiation of antiretroviral therapy among treatment eligible women, without significant increase in testing coverage. Overall hemoglobin and syphilis screening increased. Despite the perception that point-of-care technologies increase access to health services, the variability in results indicate the potential for detrimental effects in some settings. Local context needs to be considered and services restructured to accommodate innovative technologies in order to improve service delivery to expectant mothers.

Shape dependence of holographic Rényi entropy in general dimensions

DOE PAGES

Bianchi, Lorenzo; Chapman, Shira; Dong, Xi; ...

2016-11-29

We present a holographic method for computing the response of Rényi entropies in conformal field theories to small shape deformations around a flat (or spherical) entangling surface. Our strategy employs the stress tensor one-point function in a deformed hyperboloid background and relates it to the coefficient in the two-point function of the displacement operator. We obtain explicit numerical results for d = 3, · · · , 6 spacetime dimensions, and also evaluate analytically the limits where the Rényi index approaches 1 and 0 in general dimensions. We use our results to extend the work of 1602.08493 and disprove amore » set of conjectures in the literature regarding the relation between the Rényi shape dependence and the conformal weight of the twist operator. As a result, we also extend our analysis beyond leading order in derivatives in the bulk theory by studying Gauss-Bonnet gravity.« less

Vortex equations: Singularities, numerical solution, and axisymmetric vortex breakdown

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bossel, H. H.

1972-01-01

A method of weighted residuals for the computation of rotationally symmetric quasi-cylindrical viscous incompressible vortex flow is presented and used to compute a wide variety of vortex flows. The method approximates the axial velocity and circulation profiles by series of exponentials having (N + 1) and N free parameters, respectively. Formal integration results in a set of (2N + 1) ordinary differential equations for the free parameters. The governing equations are shown to have an infinite number of discrete singularities corresponding to critical values of the swirl parameters. The computations point to the controlling influence of the inner core flow on vortex behavior. They also confirm the existence of two particular critical swirl parameter values: one separates vortex flow which decays smoothly from vortex flow which eventually breaks down, and the second is the first singularity of the quasi-cylindrical system, at which point physical vortex breakdown is thought to occur.

Determination of stores pointing error due to wing flexibility under flight load

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lokos, William A.; Bahm, Catherine M.; Heinle, Robert A.

1995-01-01

The in-flight elastic wing twist of a fighter-type aircraft was studied to provide for an improved on-board real-time computed prediction of pointing variations of three wing store stations. This is an important capability to correct sensor pod alignment variation or to establish initial conditions of iron bombs or smart weapons prior to release. The original algorithm was based upon coarse measurements. The electro-optical Flight Deflection Measurement System measured the deformed wing shape in flight under maneuver loads to provide a higher resolution database from which an improved twist prediction algorithm could be developed. The FDMS produced excellent repeatable data. In addition, a NASTRAN finite-element analysis was performed to provide additional elastic deformation data. The FDMS data combined with the NASTRAN analysis indicated that an improved prediction algorithm could be derived by using a different set of aircraft parameters, namely normal acceleration, stores configuration, Mach number, and gross weight.

Satellite radar altimetry over ice. Volume 4: Users' guide for Antarctica elevation data from Seasat

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Zwally, H. Jay; Major, Judith A.; Brenner, Anita C.; Bindschadler, Robert A.; Martin, Thomas V.

1990-01-01

A gridded surface-elevation data set and a geo-referenced data base for the Seasat radar altimeter data over Greenland are described. This is a user guide to accompany the data provided to data centers and other users. The grid points are on a polar stereographic projection with a nominal spacing of 20 km. The gridded elevations are derived from the elevation data in the geo-referenced data base by a weighted fitting of a surface in the neighborhood of each grid point. The gridded elevations are useful for the creating of large-scale contour maps, and the geo-referenced data base is useful for regridding, creating smaller-scale contour maps, and examinating individual elevation measurements in specific geographic areas. Tape formats are described, and a FORTRAN program for reading the data tape is listed and provided on the tape.

Design and Development of Thin Plastic Foil, Conical Approximation, High Through-out X-Ray Telescope: Light Weight, Thin Plastic Foil, X-Ray Telescopes

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Schnopper, Herbert W.; Barbera, Marco; Silver, Eric; Ingram, Russell; Christensen, Finn E.; Romaine, Suzanne; Cohen, Lester; Collura, Alfonso; Murray, Stephen S.; Brinton, John C. (Technical Monitor)

2002-01-01

We present results from a program to develop an X-ray telescope made from thin plastic shells. Our initial results have been obtained from multi-shell cylindrical lenses that are used in a point-to-point configuration to image the small focal spot of a an X-ray tube on a microchannel plate detector. We describe the steps that led up to the present design and present data from the tests that have been used to identify the properties of the plastic material that make it a suitable X-ray reflector. We discuss two applications of our technology to X-ray missions that are designed to address some of the scientific priorities set forth in NASA's long term plans for high energy astrophysics. One mission will observe in the 1 - 10 keV band, the other will extend up to ca. 100 keV.

Point-of-care Helicobacter pylori urine antibody detection in a multi-ethnic adult population in the United States.

PubMed

Opekun, Antone R; Luu, Phong; Gotschall, Ann B; Abdalla, Nageeb; Torres, Elizabeth; Rudd, Summer B; Graham, David Y; Nurgalieva, Zhannat Z; Tsuchiya, Kyoko

2006-07-01

A need exists for accurate point-of-care tests for diagnosis of Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) infection to evaluate a rapid urine-H. pylori antibody test device for detection of H. pylori infection in a point-of-care setting in the United States. A multi-center study in a multi-ethnic population compared the RAPIRUN urine antibody test with the (13)C-urea breath test (C-UBT) and a traditional serologic test, the high-molecular-weight cell-associated protein enzyme immunoassay (HM-CAP EIA). The primary comparator was with "definite positive" and "definite negative" patients defined as a concordance of combined results of the UBT and the HM-CAP IgG EIA. Overall, 188 eligible patients were enrolled (61 men, age range: 18-73 years, including 84 Hispanics, 73 Asian-Pacific Americans, 22 Black African-Americans, 6 non-Hispanic Caucasians, and 3 of "other" ethnicity). Compared with "definite positive" and "definite negative" results, the sensitivity and specificity of the urine antibody test were 0.9 and 1.0, respectively. The urine antibody test proved suitable for point-of-care rapid diagnosis of anti-H. pylori antibodies indicative of active or past H. pylori infection.

a Fast Method for Measuring the Similarity Between 3d Model and 3d Point Cloud

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Zongliang; Li, Jonathan; Li, Xin; Lin, Yangbin; Zhang, Shanxin; Wang, Cheng

2016-06-01

This paper proposes a fast method for measuring the partial Similarity between 3D Model and 3D point Cloud (SimMC). It is crucial to measure SimMC for many point cloud-related applications such as 3D object retrieval and inverse procedural modelling. In our proposed method, the surface area of model and the Distance from Model to point Cloud (DistMC) are exploited as measurements to calculate SimMC. Here, DistMC is defined as the weighted distance of the distances between points sampled from model and point cloud. Similarly, Distance from point Cloud to Model (DistCM) is defined as the average distance of the distances between points in point cloud and model. In order to reduce huge computational burdens brought by calculation of DistCM in some traditional methods, we define SimMC as the ratio of weighted surface area of model to DistMC. Compared to those traditional SimMC measuring methods that are only able to measure global similarity, our method is capable of measuring partial similarity by employing distance-weighted strategy. Moreover, our method is able to be faster than other partial similarity assessment methods. We demonstrate the superiority of our method both on synthetic data and laser scanning data.

Interactive 3D segmentation of the prostate in magnetic resonance images using shape and local appearance similarity analysis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shahedi, Maysam; Fenster, Aaron; Cool, Derek W.; Romagnoli, Cesare; Ward, Aaron D.

2013-03-01

3D segmentation of the prostate in medical images is useful to prostate cancer diagnosis and therapy guidance, but is time-consuming to perform manually. Clinical translation of computer-assisted segmentation algorithms for this purpose requires a comprehensive and complementary set of evaluation metrics that are informative to the clinical end user. We have developed an interactive 3D prostate segmentation method for 1.5T and 3.0T T2-weighted magnetic resonance imaging (T2W MRI) acquired using an endorectal coil. We evaluated our method against manual segmentations of 36 3D images using complementary boundary-based (mean absolute distance; MAD), regional overlap (Dice similarity coefficient; DSC) and volume difference (ΔV) metrics. Our technique is based on inter-subject prostate shape and local boundary appearance similarity. In the training phase, we calculated a point distribution model (PDM) and a set of local mean intensity patches centered on the prostate border to capture shape and appearance variability. To segment an unseen image, we defined a set of rays - one corresponding to each of the mean intensity patches computed in training - emanating from the prostate centre. We used a radial-based search strategy and translated each mean intensity patch along its corresponding ray, selecting as a candidate the boundary point with the highest normalized cross correlation along each ray. These boundary points were then regularized using the PDM. For the whole gland, we measured a mean+/-std MAD of 2.5+/-0.7 mm, DSC of 80+/-4%, and ΔV of 1.1+/-8.8 cc. We also provided an anatomic breakdown of these metrics within the prostatic base, mid-gland, and apex.

Pseudo-point transport technique: a new method for solving the Boltzmann transport equation in media with highly fluctuating cross sections

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

Nakhai, B.

A new method for solving radiation transport problems is presented. The heart of the technique is a new cross section processing procedure for the calculation of group-to-point and point-to-group cross sections sets. The method is ideally suited for problems which involve media with highly fluctuating cross sections, where the results of the traditional multigroup calculations are beclouded by the group averaging procedures employed. Extensive computational efforts, which would be required to evaluate double integrals in the multigroup treatment numerically, prohibit iteration to optimize the energy boundaries. On the other hand, use of point-to-point techniques (as in the stochastic technique) ismore » often prohibitively expensive due to the large computer storage requirement. The pseudo-point code is a hybrid of the two aforementioned methods (group-to-group and point-to-point) - hence the name pseudo-point - that reduces the computational efforts of the former and the large core requirements of the latter. The pseudo-point code generates the group-to-point or the point-to-group transfer matrices, and can be coupled with the existing transport codes to calculate pointwise energy-dependent fluxes. This approach yields much more detail than is available from the conventional energy-group treatments. Due to the speed of this code, several iterations could be performed (in affordable computing efforts) to optimize the energy boundaries and the weighting functions. The pseudo-point technique is demonstrated by solving six problems, each depicting a certain aspect of the technique. The results are presented as flux vs energy at various spatial intervals. The sensitivity of the technique to the energy grid and the savings in computational effort are clearly demonstrated.« less

Data quality scoring system for microcosm and mesocosm studies used to derive a level of concern for atrazine.

PubMed

Giddings, Jeffrey M; Campana, David; Nair, Shyam; Brain, Richard

2018-04-16

The US Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) has historically used different methods to derive an aquatic level of concern (LoC) for atrazine, though all have generally relied on an expanding set of mesocosm and microcosm ("cosm") studies for calibration. The database of results from ecological effects studies with atrazine in cosms now includes 108 data points from 39 studies and forms the basis for assessing atrazine's potential to impact aquatic plant communities. Inclusion of the appropriate cosm studies and accurate interpretation of each data point-delineated as binary scores of "effect" (effect score 1) or "no effect" (effect score 0) of a specific atrazine exposure profile on plant communities in a single study-is critical to USEPA's approach to determining the LoC. We reviewed the atrazine cosm studies in detail and carefully interpreted their results in terms of the binary effect scores. The cosm database includes a wide range of experimental systems and study designs, some of which are more relevant to natural plant communities than others. Moreover, the studies vary in the clarity and consistency of their results. We therefore evaluated each study against objective criteria for relevance and reliability to produce a weighting score that can be applied to the effect scores when calculating the LoC. This approach is useful because studies that are more relevant and reliable have greater influence on the LoC than studies with lower weighting scores. When the current iteration of USEPA's LoC approach, referred to as the plant assemblage toxicity index (PATI), was calibrated with the weighted cosm data set, the result was a 60-day LoC of 21.2 μg/L. Integr Environ Assess Manag 2018;00:000-000. © 2018 The Authors. Integrated Environmental Assessment and Management Published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. on behalf of Society of Environmental Toxicology & Chemistry (SETAC). © 2018 The Authors. Integrated Environmental Assessment and Management Published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. on behalf of Society of Environmental Toxicology & Chemistry (SETAC).

Process Evaluation Results from an Environmentally Focused Worksite Weight Management Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

DeJoy, David M.; Wilson, Mark G.; Padilla, Heather M.; Goetzel, Ron Z.; Parker, Kristin B.; Della, Lindsay J.; Roemer, Enid C.

2012-01-01

There is currently much interest in exploring environmental approaches to combat weight gain and obesity. This study presents process evaluation results from a workplace-based study that tested two levels of environmentally focused weight management interventions in a manufacturing setting. The moderate treatment featured a set of relatively…

Working fluid selection for space-based two-phase heat transport systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mclinden, Mark O.

1988-01-01

The working fluid for externally-mounted, space-based two-phase heat transport systems is considered. A sequence of screening criteria involving freezing and critical point temperatures and latent heat of vaporization and vapor density are applied to a data base of 860 fluids. The thermal performance of the 52 fluids which pass this preliminary screening are then ranked according to their impact on the weight of a reference system. Upon considering other nonthermal criteria (flammability, toxicity, and chemical stability) a final set of 10 preferred fluids is obtained. The effects of variations in system parameters is investigated for these 10 fluids by means of a factorial design.

Some spectral approximation of one-dimensional fourth-order problems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bernardi, Christine; Maday, Yvon

1989-01-01

Some spectral type collocation method well suited for the approximation of fourth-order systems are proposed. The model problem is the biharmonic equation, in one and two dimensions when the boundary conditions are periodic in one direction. It is proved that the standard Gauss-Lobatto nodes are not the best choice for the collocation points. Then, a new set of nodes related to some generalized Gauss type quadrature formulas is proposed. Also provided is a complete analysis of these formulas including some new issues about the asymptotic behavior of the weights and we apply these results to the analysis of the collocation method.

[Spatial variation of soil properties and quality evaluation for arable Ustic Cambosols in central Henan Province].

PubMed

Zhang, Xue-Lei; Feng, Wan-Wan; Zhong, Guo-Min

2011-01-01

A GIS-based 500 m x 500 m soil sampling point arrangement was set on 248 points at Wenshu Town of Yuzhou County in central Henan Province, where the typical Ustic Cambosols locates. By using soil digital data, the spatial database was established, from which, all the needed latitude and longitude data of the sampling points were produced for the field GPS guide. Soil samples (0-20 cm) were collected from 202 points, of which, bulk density measurement were conducted for randomly selected 34 points, and the ten soil property items used as the factors for soil quality assessment, including organic matter, available K, available P, pH, total N, total P, soil texture, cation exchange capacity (CEC), slowly available K, and bulk density, were analyzed for the other points. The soil property items were checked by statistic tools, and then, classified with standard criteria at home and abroad. The factor weight was given by analytic hierarchy process (AHP) method, and the spatial variation of the major 10 soil properties as well as the soil quality classes and their occupied areas were worked out by Kriging interpolation maps. The results showed that the arable Ustic Cambosols in study area was of good quality soil, over 95% of which ranked in good and medium classes and only less than 5% were in poor class.

Goal setting frequency and the use of behavioral strategies related to diet and physical activity.

PubMed

Nothwehr, Faryle; Yang, Jingzhen

2007-08-01

Goal setting is an effective way to focus attention on behavior change. Theoretically, frequency of goal setting may indicate the level of commitment to diet and physical activity behavior change. Yet, little is known about the association between goal setting frequency and use of specific diet or physical activity-related strategies. This study examines whether changes in goal setting frequency predict changes in use of behavioral strategies over time, controlling for baseline strategy use, demographics and whether a person was trying to lose weight. Data are from a baseline and 1-year follow-up survey of adults in rural Iowa (n = 385). Overall, goal setting frequency was positively associated with use of the strategies measured, at baseline and overtime. Frequent goal setting that is focused specifically on diet or physical activity was more predictive of using dietary or physical activity strategies, respectively, than goal setting focused on weight loss overall. The study provides empirical support for what has been assumed theoretically, that is, frequent goal setting for weight management is an indicator of use of specific behavioral strategies. Significant challenges remain in regard to maintenance of this activity and attainment of weight loss goals.

Automatic image equalization and contrast enhancement using Gaussian mixture modeling.

PubMed

Celik, Turgay; Tjahjadi, Tardi

2012-01-01

In this paper, we propose an adaptive image equalization algorithm that automatically enhances the contrast in an input image. The algorithm uses the Gaussian mixture model to model the image gray-level distribution, and the intersection points of the Gaussian components in the model are used to partition the dynamic range of the image into input gray-level intervals. The contrast equalized image is generated by transforming the pixels' gray levels in each input interval to the appropriate output gray-level interval according to the dominant Gaussian component and the cumulative distribution function of the input interval. To take account of the hypothesis that homogeneous regions in the image represent homogeneous silences (or set of Gaussian components) in the image histogram, the Gaussian components with small variances are weighted with smaller values than the Gaussian components with larger variances, and the gray-level distribution is also used to weight the components in the mapping of the input interval to the output interval. Experimental results show that the proposed algorithm produces better or comparable enhanced images than several state-of-the-art algorithms. Unlike the other algorithms, the proposed algorithm is free of parameter setting for a given dynamic range of the enhanced image and can be applied to a wide range of image types.

Bicriteria Network Optimization Problem using Priority-based Genetic Algorithm

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gen, Mitsuo; Lin, Lin; Cheng, Runwei

Network optimization is being an increasingly important and fundamental issue in the fields such as engineering, computer science, operations research, transportation, telecommunication, decision support systems, manufacturing, and airline scheduling. In many applications, however, there are several criteria associated with traversing each edge of a network. For example, cost and flow measures are both important in the networks. As a result, there has been recent interest in solving Bicriteria Network Optimization Problem. The Bicriteria Network Optimization Problem is known a NP-hard. The efficient set of paths may be very large, possibly exponential in size. Thus the computational effort required to solve it can increase exponentially with the problem size in the worst case. In this paper, we propose a genetic algorithm (GA) approach used a priority-based chromosome for solving the bicriteria network optimization problem including maximum flow (MXF) model and minimum cost flow (MCF) model. The objective is to find the set of Pareto optimal solutions that give possible maximum flow with minimum cost. This paper also combines Adaptive Weight Approach (AWA) that utilizes some useful information from the current population to readjust weights for obtaining a search pressure toward a positive ideal point. Computer simulations show the several numerical experiments by using some difficult-to-solve network design problems, and show the effectiveness of the proposed method.

Can a Simple Dietary Index Derived from a Sub-Set of Questionnaire Items Assess Diet Quality in a Sample of Australian Adults?

PubMed Central

Trapp, Georgina S. A.; Knuiman, Matthew; Hooper, Paula; Ambrosini, Gina L.

2018-01-01

Large, longitudinal surveys often lack consistent dietary data, limiting the use of existing tools and methods that are available to measure diet quality. This study describes a method that was used to develop a simple index for ranking individuals according to their diet quality in a longitudinal study. The RESIDential Environments (RESIDE) project (2004–2011) collected dietary data in varying detail, across four time points. The most detailed dietary data were collected using a 24-item questionnaire at the final time point (n = 555; age ≥ 25 years). At preceding time points, sub-sets of the 24 items were collected. A RESIDE dietary guideline index (RDGI) that was based on the 24-items was developed to assess diet quality in relation to the Australian Dietary Guidelines. The RDGI scores were regressed on the longitudinal sub-sets of six and nine questionnaire items at T4, from which two simple index scores (S-RDGI1 and S-RDGI2) were predicted. The S-RDGI1 and S-RDGI2 showed reasonable agreement with the RDGI (Spearman’s rho = 0.78 and 0.84; gross misclassification = 1.8%; correct classification = 64.9% and 69.7%; and, Cohen’s weighted kappa = 0.58 and 0.64, respectively). For all of the indices, higher diet quality was associated with being female, undertaking moderate to high amounts of physical activity, not smoking, and self-reported health. The S-RDGI1 and S-RDGI2 explained 62% and 73% of the variation in RDGI scores, demonstrating that a large proportion of the variability in diet quality scores can be captured using a relatively small sub-set of questionnaire items. The methods described in this study can be applied elsewhere, in situations where limited dietary data are available, to generate a sample-specific score for ranking individuals according to diet quality. PMID:29652828

Can a Simple Dietary Index Derived from a Sub-Set of Questionnaire Items Assess Diet Quality in a Sample of Australian Adults?

PubMed

Bivoltsis, Alexia; Trapp, Georgina S A; Knuiman, Matthew; Hooper, Paula; Ambrosini, Gina L

2018-04-13

Large, longitudinal surveys often lack consistent dietary data, limiting the use of existing tools and methods that are available to measure diet quality. This study describes a method that was used to develop a simple index for ranking individuals according to their diet quality in a longitudinal study. The RESIDential Environments (RESIDE) project (2004-2011) collected dietary data in varying detail, across four time points. The most detailed dietary data were collected using a 24-item questionnaire at the final time point ( n = 555; age ≥ 25 years). At preceding time points, sub-sets of the 24 items were collected. A RESIDE dietary guideline index (RDGI) that was based on the 24-items was developed to assess diet quality in relation to the Australian Dietary Guidelines. The RDGI scores were regressed on the longitudinal sub-sets of six and nine questionnaire items at T4, from which two simple index scores (S-RDGI1 and S-RDGI2) were predicted. The S-RDGI1 and S-RDGI2 showed reasonable agreement with the RDGI (Spearman's rho = 0.78 and 0.84; gross misclassification = 1.8%; correct classification = 64.9% and 69.7%; and, Cohen's weighted kappa = 0.58 and 0.64, respectively). For all of the indices, higher diet quality was associated with being female, undertaking moderate to high amounts of physical activity, not smoking, and self-reported health. The S-RDGI1 and S-RDGI2 explained 62% and 73% of the variation in RDGI scores, demonstrating that a large proportion of the variability in diet quality scores can be captured using a relatively small sub-set of questionnaire items. The methods described in this study can be applied elsewhere, in situations where limited dietary data are available, to generate a sample-specific score for ranking individuals according to diet quality.

Dynamic mesh adaptation for front evolution using discontinuous Galerkin based weighted condition number relaxation

DOE PAGES

Greene, Patrick T.; Schofield, Samuel P.; Nourgaliev, Robert

2017-01-27

A new mesh smoothing method designed to cluster cells near a dynamically evolving interface is presented. The method is based on weighted condition number mesh relaxation with the weight function computed from a level set representation of the interface. The weight function is expressed as a Taylor series based discontinuous Galerkin projection, which makes the computation of the derivatives of the weight function needed during the condition number optimization process a trivial matter. For cases when a level set is not available, a fast method for generating a low-order level set from discrete cell-centered fields, such as a volume fractionmore » or index function, is provided. Results show that the low-order level set works equally well as the actual level set for mesh smoothing. Meshes generated for a number of interface geometries are presented, including cases with multiple level sets. Lastly, dynamic cases with moving interfaces show the new method is capable of maintaining a desired resolution near the interface with an acceptable number of relaxation iterations per time step, which demonstrates the method's potential to be used as a mesh relaxer for arbitrary Lagrangian Eulerian (ALE) methods.« less

16 CFR 23.17 - Misrepresentation of weight and “total weight.”

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

... and “total weight.” (a) It is unfair or deceptive to misrepresent the weight of a diamond. (b) It is..., marking, or labeling to describe the weight of a diamond, unless the weight is also stated as decimal... weight for a diamond and is equivalent to 200 milligrams (1/5 gram). A point is one one hundredth (1/100...

16 CFR 23.17 - Misrepresentation of weight and “total weight.”

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... and “total weight.” (a) It is unfair or deceptive to misrepresent the weight of a diamond. (b) It is..., marking, or labeling to describe the weight of a diamond, unless the weight is also stated as decimal... weight for a diamond and is equivalent to 200 milligrams (1/5 gram). A point is one one hundredth (1/100...

16 CFR 23.17 - Misrepresentation of weight and “total weight.”

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... and “total weight.” (a) It is unfair or deceptive to misrepresent the weight of a diamond. (b) It is..., marking, or labeling to describe the weight of a diamond, unless the weight is also stated as decimal... weight for a diamond and is equivalent to 200 milligrams (1/5 gram). A point is one one hundredth (1/100...

16 CFR 23.17 - Misrepresentation of weight and “total weight.”

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

... and “total weight.” (a) It is unfair or deceptive to misrepresent the weight of a diamond. (b) It is..., marking, or labeling to describe the weight of a diamond, unless the weight is also stated as decimal... weight for a diamond and is equivalent to 200 milligrams (1/5 gram). A point is one one hundredth (1/100...

16 CFR 23.17 - Misrepresentation of weight and “total weight.”

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

... and “total weight.” (a) It is unfair or deceptive to misrepresent the weight of a diamond. (b) It is..., marking, or labeling to describe the weight of a diamond, unless the weight is also stated as decimal... weight for a diamond and is equivalent to 200 milligrams (1/5 gram). A point is one one hundredth (1/100...

Measurement of total acid number (TAN) and TAN boiling point distribution in petroleum products by electrospray ionization mass spectrometry.

PubMed

Qian, Kuangnan; Edwards, Kathleen E; Dechert, Gary J; Jaffe, Stephen B; Green, Larry A; Olmstead, William N

2008-02-01

We report a new method for rapid measurement of total acid number (TAN) and TAN boiling point (BP) distribution for petroleum crude and products. The technology is based on negative ion electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (ESI-MS) for selective ionization of petroleum acid and quantification of acid structures and molecular weight distributions. A chip-based nanoelectrospray system enables microscale (<200 mg) and higher throughput (20 samples/h) measurement. Naphthenic acid structures were assigned based on nominal masses of a set of predefined acid structures. Stearic acid is used as an internal standard to calibrate ESI-MS response factors for quantification purposes. With the use of structure-property correlations, boiling point distributions of TAN values can be calculated from the composition. The rapid measurement of TAN BP distributions by ESI is demonstrated for a series of high-TAN crudes and distillation cuts. TAN values determined by the technique agree well with those by the titration method. The distributed properties compare favorably with those measured by distillation and measurement of TAN of corresponding cuts.

Optimal two-stage dynamic treatment regimes from a classification perspective with censored survival data.

PubMed

Hager, Rebecca; Tsiatis, Anastasios A; Davidian, Marie

2018-05-18

Clinicians often make multiple treatment decisions at key points over the course of a patient's disease. A dynamic treatment regime is a sequence of decision rules, each mapping a patient's observed history to the set of available, feasible treatment options at each decision point, and thus formalizes this process. An optimal regime is one leading to the most beneficial outcome on average if used to select treatment for the patient population. We propose a method for estimation of an optimal regime involving two decision points when the outcome of interest is a censored survival time, which is based on maximizing a locally efficient, doubly robust, augmented inverse probability weighted estimator for average outcome over a class of regimes. By casting this optimization as a classification problem, we exploit well-studied classification techniques such as support vector machines to characterize the class of regimes and facilitate implementation via a backward iterative algorithm. Simulation studies of performance and application of the method to data from a sequential, multiple assignment randomized clinical trial in acute leukemia are presented. © 2018, The International Biometric Society.

Patient-reported quality of life in a randomized placebo-controlled trial of naltrexone/bupropion for obesity.

PubMed

Kolotkin, R L; Chen, S; Klassen, P; Gilder, K; Greenway, F L

2015-10-01

Weight loss is associated with improved quality of life in some, but not all, weight loss trials. We evaluated changes at 56 weeks in quality of life, measured by the Impact of Weight on Quality of Life-Lite (IWQOL-Lite) questionnaire, in a pooled analysis of patient-level data from four randomized controlled Phase 3 studies of naltrexone/bupropion (NB32 or Contrave®). The total number of subjects was 3362 (NB32 = 2043; placebo = 1319; mean body mass index = 36.3 kg m(2); mean age = 46). Improvements in IWQOL-Lite Total Score were greater in subjects treated with NB32 (11.9 points [SE 0.3]) vs. placebo (8.2 points [SE 0.3]; P < 0.001), corresponding to weight reductions of 7.0% (SE 0.2) and 2.3% (SE 0.2), respectively. Greater improvements were also observed for NB32 vs. placebo on all five subscale scores of the IWQOL-Lite. Fifty per cent of NB32-treated subjects achieved clinically meaningful improvements in IWQOL-Lite Total Score vs. 32.3% of placebo-treated subjects (odds ratio, 95% confidence interval; 2.09, 1.79-2.44). Subjects losing the most weight (≥ 15% of baseline weight) experienced the greatest improvement in IWQOL-Lite Total Score (19.3 points [SE 0.7] for NB32 and 18.7 points [SE 1.3] for placebo; P = 0.624). Improved quality of life was associated with weight reduction and was achieved in more subjects treated with NB32 than placebo. © 2015 World Obesity.

Application of Entropy Method in River Health Evaluation Based on Aquatic Ecological Function Regionalization

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shi, Yan-ting; Liu, Jie; Wang, Peng; Zhang, Xu-nuo; Wang, Jun-qiang; Guo, Liang

2017-05-01

With the implementation of water environment management in key basins in China, the monitoring and evaluation system of basins are in urgent need of innovation and upgrading. In view of the heavy workload of existing evaluation methods and the cumbersome calculation of multi-factor weighting method, the idea of using entroy method to assess river health based on aquatic ecological function regionalization was put forward. According to the monitoring data of songhua river in the year of 2011-2015, the entropy weight method was used to calculate the weight of 9 evaluation factors of 29 monitoring sections, and the river health assessment was carried out. In the study area, the river health status of the biodiversity conservation function area (4.111 point) was good, the water conservation function area (3.371 point), the habitat maintenance functional area (3.262 point), the agricultural production maintenance functional area (3.695 point) and the urban supporting functional area (3.399 point) was light pollution.

Effects of parenting style and parent-related weight and diet on adolescent weight status.

PubMed

Alia, Kassandra A; Wilson, Dawn K; St George, Sara M; Schneider, Elizabeth; Kitzman-Ulrich, Heather

2013-04-01

This study examined the interaction between parental limit setting of sedentary behaviors and health factors (weight status, physical activity [PA], fruit and vegetable [FV] intake) on standardized body mass index (zBMI) in African American adolescents. Data were from 67 parent-adolescent dyads. Parental limit setting, PA and FV intake were assessed via self-report, and objective height and weight measurements were collected. Regressions examined the interaction between parental limit setting and BMI, PA, FV intake on adolescent zBMI. The model for parent BMI and FV intake accounted for 31% of the variance in adolescent zBMI. A significant interaction for parent BMI by limit setting showed that as parental BMI increased, higher (vs. lower) limit setting was associated with lower adolescent zBMI. Higher parent FV consumption was associated with lower adolescent zBMI. Future interventions should integrate parent limit setting and target parent fruit and vegetable intake for obesity prevention in underserved adolescents.

The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, Food Insecurity, Dietary Quality, and Obesity Among US Adults

PubMed Central

Shuval, Kerem; Bertmann, Farryl; Yaroch, Amy L.

2015-01-01

Objectives. We examined whether Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) participation changes associations between food insecurity, dietary quality, and weight among US adults. Methods. We analyzed adult dietary intake data (n = 8333) from the 2003 to 2010 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. Bivariate and multivariable methods assessed associations of SNAP participation and 4 levels of food security with diet and weight. Measures of dietary quality were the Healthy Eating Index 2010, total caloric intake, empty calories, and solid fat; weight measures were body mass index (BMI), overweight, and obesity. Results. SNAP participants with marginal food security had lower BMI (1.83 kg/m2; P < .01) and lower probability of obesity (9 percentage points; P < .05). SNAP participants with marginal (3.46 points; P < .01), low (1.98 points; P < .05), and very low (3.84 points; P < .01) food security had better diets, as illustrated by the Healthy Eating Index. Associations between SNAP participation and improved diet and weight were stronger among Whites than Blacks and Hispanics. Conclusions. Our research highlights the role of SNAP in helping individuals who are at risk for food insecurity to obtain a healthier diet and better weight status. PMID:25973830

Comparison of weight loss by weight classification in a commercial, community-based weight loss program

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

The objective of our study was to determine the impact of grade of obesity on weight-loss outcomes of a community-based, intensive behavioral counseling program (Weight Watchers Points-Plus). Previous studies have shown that individuals with a higher body mass index (BMI) at the beginning of treatme...

Simulating Category Learning and Set Shifting Deficits in Patients Weight-Restored from Anorexia Nervosa

DTIC Science & Technology

2014-01-01

Neuropsychology, in press     Simulating Category Learning and Set Shifting Deficits in Patients Weight-Restored from Anorexia Nervosa J...University   Objective: To examine set shifting in a group of women previously diagnosed with anorexia nervosa (AN) who are now weight-restored (AN-WR...participant fails to switch to the new rule but rather persists with the previously correct rule. Adult patients with Anorexia Nervosa (AN) are often impaired

Effects of dietary history on energy metabolism and physiological parameters in C57BL/6J mice.

PubMed

Hoevenaars, Femke P M; Keijer, Jaap; Swarts, Hans J; Snaas-Alders, Sophie; Bekkenkamp-Grovenstein, Melissa; van Schothorst, Evert M

2013-05-01

Understanding body weight regulation is essential to fight obesity. Mouse studies, using different types of diets, showed conflicting results in terms of body weight persistence after changing from an ad libitum high-fat diet to an ad libitum low-fat diet. In this study, we questioned specifically whether the energy content of the diet has a lasting effect on energy balance and body weight, using multiple switches and two purified diets with a different fat-to-sugar ratio, but otherwise identical ingredients. Young-adult obesity-prone male C57BL/6J mice were fed single or double switches of semi-purified diets with either 10 energy % (en%) fat (LF) or 40en% fat (HF), with starch replaced by fat, while protein content remained equal. After none, one or two dietary changes, energy metabolism was assessed at 5, 14 and 19 weeks. We observed no systematic continuous compensation in diet and energy intake when returning to LF after HF consumption. Body weight, white adipose tissue mass and histology, serum metabolic parameters, energy expenditure and substrate usage all significantly reflected the current diet intake, independent of dietary changes. This contrasts with studies that used diets with different ingredients and showed persistent effects of dietary history on body weight, suggesting diet-dependent metabolic set points. We conclude that body weight and metabolic parameters 'settle', based on current energetic input and output. This study also highlights the importance of considering the choice of diet in physiological and metabolic intervention studies.

UNAERO: A package of FORTRAN subroutines for approximating unsteady aerodynamics in the time domain

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Dunn, H. J.

1985-01-01

This report serves as an instruction and maintenance manual for a collection of CDC CYBER FORTRAN IV subroutines for approximating the unsteady aerodynamic forces in the time domain. The result is a set of constant-coefficient first-order differential equations that approximate the dynamics of the vehicle. Provisions are included for adjusting the number of modes used for calculating the approximations so that an accurate approximation is generated. The number of data points at different values of reduced frequency can also be varied to adjust the accuracy of the approximation over the reduced-frequency range. The denominator coefficients of the approximation may be calculated by means of a gradient method or a least-squares approximation technique. Both the approximation methods use weights on the residual error. A new set of system equations, at a different dynamic pressure, can be generated without the approximations being recalculated.

Physical Activity of German Children and Adolescents 2003–2012: The MoMo-Study

PubMed Central

Henn, Annette; Albrecht, Claudia; Woll, Alexander

2017-01-01

Organized and unorganized physical activity (PA) hold an important role in the daily life of children and adolescents. Regular representative tracking of PA in different settings is important to evaluate social trends and implemented interventions. In this paper, representative PA data of German children and adolescents from the MoMo Baseline-Study (2004, n = 4528) are compared to those of Wave 1 (2010, n = 3994). Participants aged 4–17 were drawn out of 167 sample points in Germany and the data was weighted to ensure representativeness. PA was measured via questionnaire and was differentiated between organized (sports clubs and schools) and unorganized (unorganized sports and playing outside). Organized PA in extracurricular activities and sports clubs increased by eight percent, while unorganized PA decreased by seven percent. In addition to sports clubs, schools became a more prevalent setting for participation in physical activity in Germany. PMID:29137127

Physical Activity of German Children and Adolescents 2003-2012: The MoMo-Study.

PubMed

Schmidt, Steffen C E; Henn, Annette; Albrecht, Claudia; Woll, Alexander

2017-11-11

Organized and unorganized physical activity (PA) hold an important role in the daily life of children and adolescents. Regular representative tracking of PA in different settings is important to evaluate social trends and implemented interventions. In this paper, representative PA data of German children and adolescents from the MoMo Baseline-Study (2004, n = 4528) are compared to those of Wave 1 (2010, n = 3994). Participants aged 4-17 were drawn out of 167 sample points in Germany and the data was weighted to ensure representativeness. PA was measured via questionnaire and was differentiated between organized (sports clubs and schools) and unorganized (unorganized sports and playing outside). Organized PA in extracurricular activities and sports clubs increased by eight percent, while unorganized PA decreased by seven percent. In addition to sports clubs, schools became a more prevalent setting for participation in physical activity in Germany.

Evidence from catch-up growth and hoarding behavior of rats that exposure to hypobaric air lowers the body-mass set point.

PubMed

Bozzini, Carlos E; Lezón, Christian E; Norese, María F; Conti, María I; Martínez, María P; Olivera, María I; Alippi, Rosa M

2005-01-01

The depression of body growth rate and the reduction of body mass for chronological age and gender in growing experimental animals exposed to hypobaric air (simulated high altitude = SHA) have been associated with hypophagia because of reduced appetite. Catch-up growth during protein recovery after a short period of protein restriction only occurs if food intake becomes super-normal, which should not be possible under hypoxic conditions if the set-point for appetite is adjusted by the level of SHA. The present investigation was designed to test the hypothesis that growth retardation during exposure to SHA is due to an alteration of the neural mechanism for setting body mass size rather than a primary alteration of the central set-point for appetite. One group of female rats aged 35 d were exposed to SHA (5460m) in a SHA chamber for 27 d (HX rats). Other group was maintained under local barometric pressure conditions (NX rats). One half of both NX and HX rats were fed a protein-free diet for the initial 9 d of the experimental period. From this time on, they were fed a diet containing 20% protein, as were the remaining rats of both groups during the entire experimental period. The growth rates of both mass and length of the body were significantly depressed in well-nourished rats exposed to SHA during the entire observation period when compared to normoxic ones. At its end, body mass and body length were 24% and 21% less in HX than in NX rats. Growth rates were negatively affected by protein restriction in both NX and HX rats. During protein recovery, they reached supernormal values in response to supernormal levels of energy intake that allowed a complete catch-up of both body mass and length. The finding that energy intake during the period of protein rehabilitation in HX rats previously stunted by protein restriction was markedly higher than in HX control ones at equal levels of hypoxia demonstrates that the degree of hypoxia does not determine directly the degree of appetite and energy intake. Furthermore, the finding that catch-up growth in the stunted HX rats returns the animal only to the stunted size appropriate for the hypoxic animal supports the hypothesis that hypoxia lowers the set-point for body mass size, which is reached by inhibition of appetite. Confirmation of the hypothesis was done by assessment of the set-point of body mass by the behavioral method of the weight threshold to hoard food. It was lowered by 17.0% in HX rats.

Spatial feature analysis of a cosmic-ray sensor for measuring the soil water content: Comparison of four weighting methods

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cai, Jingya; Pang, Zhiguo; Fu, Jun'e.

2018-04-01

To quantitatively analyze the spatial features of a cosmic-ray sensor (CRS) (i.e., the measurement support volume of the CRS and the weight of the in situ point-scale soil water content (SWC) in terms of the regionally averaged SWC derived from the CRS) in measuring the SWC, cooperative observations based on CRS, oven drying and frequency domain reflectometry (FDR) methods are performed at the point and regional scales in a desert steppe area of the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. This region is flat with sparse vegetation cover consisting of only grass, thereby minimizing the effects of terrain and vegetation. Considering the two possibilities of the measurement support volume of the CRS, the results of four weighting methods are compared with the SWC monitored by FDR within an appropriate measurement support volume. The weighted average calculated using the neutron intensity-based weighting method (Ni weighting method) best fits the regionally averaged SWC measured by the CRS. Therefore, we conclude that the gyroscopic support volume and the weights determined by the Ni weighting method are the closest to the actual spatial features of the CRS when measuring the SWC. Based on these findings, a scale transformation model of the SWC from the point scale to the scale of the CRS measurement support volume is established. In addition, the spatial features simulated using the Ni weighting method are visualized by developing a software system.

Precise determination of time to reach viral load set point after acute HIV-1 infection.

PubMed

Huang, Xiaojie; Chen, Hui; Li, Wei; Li, Haiying; Jin, Xia; Perelson, Alan S; Fox, Zoe; Zhang, Tong; Xu, Xiaoning; Wu, Hao

2012-12-01

The HIV viral load set point has long been used as a prognostic marker of disease progression and more recently as an end-point parameter in HIV vaccine clinical trials. The definition of set point, however, is variable. Moreover, the earliest time at which the set point is reached after the onset of infection has never been clearly defined. In this study, we obtained sequential plasma viral load data from 60 acutely HIV-infected Chinese patients among a cohort of men who have sex with men, mathematically determined viral load set point levels, and estimated time to attain set point after infection. We also compared the results derived from our models and that obtained from an empirical method. With novel uncomplicated mathematic model, we discovered that set points may vary from 21 to 119 days dependent on the patients' initial viral load trajectory. The viral load set points were 4.28 ± 0.86 and 4.25 ± 0.87 log10 copies per milliliter (P = 0.08), respectively, as determined by our model and an empirical method, suggesting an excellent agreement between the old and new methods. We provide a novel method to estimate viral load set point at the very early stage of HIV infection. Application of this model can accurately and reliably determine the set point, thus providing a new tool for physicians to better monitor early intervention strategies in acutely infected patients and scientists to rationally design preventative vaccine studies.

Joint Clustering and Component Analysis of Correspondenceless Point Sets: Application to Cardiac Statistical Modeling.

PubMed

Gooya, Ali; Lekadir, Karim; Alba, Xenia; Swift, Andrew J; Wild, Jim M; Frangi, Alejandro F

2015-01-01

Construction of Statistical Shape Models (SSMs) from arbitrary point sets is a challenging problem due to significant shape variation and lack of explicit point correspondence across the training data set. In medical imaging, point sets can generally represent different shape classes that span healthy and pathological exemplars. In such cases, the constructed SSM may not generalize well, largely because the probability density function (pdf) of the point sets deviates from the underlying assumption of Gaussian statistics. To this end, we propose a generative model for unsupervised learning of the pdf of point sets as a mixture of distinctive classes. A Variational Bayesian (VB) method is proposed for making joint inferences on the labels of point sets, and the principal modes of variations in each cluster. The method provides a flexible framework to handle point sets with no explicit point-to-point correspondences. We also show that by maximizing the marginalized likelihood of the model, the optimal number of clusters of point sets can be determined. We illustrate this work in the context of understanding the anatomical phenotype of the left and right ventricles in heart. To this end, we use a database containing hearts of healthy subjects, patients with Pulmonary Hypertension (PH), and patients with Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy (HCM). We demonstrate that our method can outperform traditional PCA in both generalization and specificity measures.

Tin-silver-bismuth solders for electronics assembly

DOEpatents

Vianco, Paul T.; Rejent, Jerome A.

1995-01-01

A lead-free solder alloy for electronic assemblies composed of a eutectic alloy of tin and silver with a bismuth addition, x, of 0

Tin-silver-bismuth solders for electronics assembly

DOEpatents

Vianco, P.T.; Rejent, J.A.

1995-08-08

A lead-free solder alloy is disclosed for electronic assemblies composed of a eutectic alloy of tin and silver with a bismuth addition, x, of 0

Diagnostic value of T1-weighted gradient-echo in-phase images added to MRCP in differentiation of hepatolithiasis and intrahepatic pneumobilia.

PubMed

Erden, Ayşe; Haliloğlu, Nuray; Genç, Yasemin; Erden, Ilhan

2014-01-01

The purpose of this article is to determine the added diagnostic value of T1-weighted gradient-echo in-phase images obtained during MRCP in the detection and differentiation of hepatolithiasis and intrahepatic pneumobilia. Intrahepatic bile ducts in 47 patients were scored in terms of their possibility of containing biliary stone and air. MRI was performed with a 1-T system for 32 patients and with a 3-T system for 15 patients. Two radiologists independently reviewed two sets of MRI scans: set 1 included T2-weighted MRCP images, and set 2 included T2-weighted MRCP images plus T1-weighted gradient-echo in-phase images. The diagnostic performances of set 1 and set 2 in the evaluation of the bile ducts containing air or stone and bile ducts containing neither of them were analyzed using the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) for clustered data. The sensitivities and specificities of both image sets to detect intrahepatic stone or air were also calculated and compared. For the diagnosis of hepatolithiasis, the AUC obtained from set 2 (0.983) was significantly higher than that obtained from set 1 (0.879; p = 0.037). For the diagnosis of pneumobilia, the AUC obtained from set 2 (0.965) was also significantly higher than that of set 1 (0.765; p = 0.002). With use of percutaneous transhepatic cholangiography, ERCP, and CT as the reference standards, the sensitivity of set 2 (97.1%; 95% CI, 91.1-100%) was significantly higher than that of set 1 (74.3%; 95% CI, 56.7-91.9%) in detecting intrahepatic stones (p = 0.011). For the detection of pneumobilia, the sensitivity of set 2 (98.5%; 95% CI, 95.4-100%) was also significantly higher than that of set 1 (70.8%; 95% CI, 57.7-83.3%; p = 0.000). The addition of T1-weighted gradient-echo in-phase images to standard MRCP sequences improves the detection and differentiation of hepatolithiasis and intrahepatic pneumobilia.

The Power of Ground User in Recommender Systems

PubMed Central

Zhou, Yanbo; Lü, Linyuan; Liu, Weiping; Zhang, Jianlin

2013-01-01

Accuracy and diversity are two important aspects to evaluate the performance of recommender systems. Two diffusion-based methods were proposed respectively inspired by the mass diffusion (MD) and heat conduction (HC) processes on networks. It has been pointed out that MD has high recommendation accuracy yet low diversity, while HC succeeds in seeking out novel or niche items but with relatively low accuracy. The accuracy-diversity dilemma is a long-term challenge in recommender systems. To solve this problem, we introduced a background temperature by adding a ground user who connects to all the items in the user-item bipartite network. Performing the HC algorithm on the network with ground user (GHC), it showed that the accuracy can be largely improved while keeping the diversity. Furthermore, we proposed a weighted form of the ground user (WGHC) by assigning some weights to the newly added links between the ground user and the items. By turning the weight as a free parameter, an optimal value subject to the highest accuracy is obtained. Experimental results on three benchmark data sets showed that the WGHC outperforms the state-of-the-art method MD for both accuracy and diversity. PMID:23936380

Analytics-Driven Lossless Data Compression for Rapid In-situ Indexing, Storing, and Querying

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

Jenkins, John; Arkatkar, Isha; Lakshminarasimhan, Sriram

2013-01-01

The analysis of scientific simulations is highly data-intensive and is becoming an increasingly important challenge. Peta-scale data sets require the use of light-weight query-driven analysis methods, as opposed to heavy-weight schemes that optimize for speed at the expense of size. This paper is an attempt in the direction of query processing over losslessly compressed scientific data. We propose a co-designed double-precision compression and indexing methodology for range queries by performing unique-value-based binning on the most significant bytes of double precision data (sign, exponent, and most significant mantissa bits), and inverting the resulting metadata to produce an inverted index over amore » reduced data representation. Without the inverted index, our method matches or improves compression ratios over both general-purpose and floating-point compression utilities. The inverted index is light-weight, and the overall storage requirement for both reduced column and index is less than 135%, whereas existing DBMS technologies can require 200-400%. As a proof-of-concept, we evaluate univariate range queries that additionally return column values, a critical component of data analytics, against state-of-the-art bitmap indexing technology, showing multi-fold query performance improvements.« less

Evidence of euryhalinity of the Gulf corvina (Cynoscion othonopterus).

PubMed

Perez-Velazquez, M; Urquidez-Bejarano, P; González-Félix, M L; Minjarez-Osorio, C

2014-01-01

The effects of environmental salinity on physiological responses, growth, and survival of the Gulf corvina, C. othonopterus, were evaluated in a 6-week completely randomized design experiment. Corvina (17.2+/-2.3 g mean initial body weight) were subjected to salinities of 5, 15, 25, and 35 ‰ and fed a commercial feed with protein and lipid contents of 46 and 14 %, respectively. Plasma osmolality increased significantly with salinity, ranging from 335.1+/-5.3 mOsm/kg in fish maintained at 5 ‰, to 354.8+/-6.8 mOsm/kg in fish kept in seawater, while a significant inverse relationship was observed between salinity and moisture content of whole fish, ranging from 73.8+/-0.7 (measured at 5 ‰) to 76.9+/-1.0 % (measured at 35 ‰). In spite of this, growth indices (final weight, weight gain, specific growth rate, condition factor, survival) were not altered, suggesting that, like other members of the family Sciaenidae, the Gulf corvina is a strong osmoregulator. The isosmotic point for this species was estimated to correspond to a salinity of 9.8 ‰. The present study represents the first set of experimental data on salinity tolerance of C. othonopterus and confirms the euryhalinity of this species.

Early-life Determinants of Stunted Adolescent Girls and Boys in Matlab, Bangladesh

PubMed Central

Bosch, Alinda M.; Baqui, Abdullah H.; van Ginneken, Jeroen K.

2008-01-01

This paper presents the results of a longitudinal study, conducted in Matlab, Bangladesh, that examined to what extent the level of stunting in adolescence can be predicted by nutritional status in early childhood and maternal height. A linked set of data collected from the same individuals at two moments in time, i.e. early childhood (1988–1989) and adolescence (2001), was analyzed. The study found that the odds of being stunted in adolescence could be explained by the combined effect of being stunted in childhood and having a mother whose height was less than 145 cm. Also, girls were more likely than boys to be stunted in childhood, whereas boys were more likely than girls to be stunted in adolescence. The latter is probably attributable to differences in the pace of maturation. In terms of policy and (reproductive health) programmes, it is important to recall that adolescent girls whose height and weight were subnormal (weight <45 kg and height <145 cm) might run an obstetric risk. Following these cut-off points, 83% and 23% of 16-year-old girls in this study would face obstetric risk, respectively, for weight and height if they marry and become pregnant soon. PMID:18686552

Maximizing Information Diffusion in the Cyber-physical Integrated Network †

PubMed Central

Lu, Hongliang; Lv, Shaohe; Jiao, Xianlong; Wang, Xiaodong; Liu, Juan

2015-01-01

Nowadays, our living environment has been embedded with smart objects, such as smart sensors, smart watches and smart phones. They make cyberspace and physical space integrated by their abundant abilities of sensing, communication and computation, forming a cyber-physical integrated network. In order to maximize information diffusion in such a network, a group of objects are selected as the forwarding points. To optimize the selection, a minimum connected dominating set (CDS) strategy is adopted. However, existing approaches focus on minimizing the size of the CDS, neglecting an important factor: the weight of links. In this paper, we propose a distributed maximizing the probability of information diffusion (DMPID) algorithm in the cyber-physical integrated network. Unlike previous approaches that only consider the size of CDS selection, DMPID also considers the information spread probability that depends on the weight of links. To weaken the effects of excessively-weighted links, we also present an optimization strategy that can properly balance the two factors. The results of extensive simulation show that DMPID can nearly double the information diffusion probability, while keeping a reasonable size of selection with low overhead in different distributed networks. PMID:26569254

The Relationship Between Breastfeeding, Postpartum Depression, and Postpartum Weight in Mexican American Women

PubMed Central

Reifsnider, Elizabeth; Flowers, Jenna; Todd, Michael; Babendure, Jennie Bever; Moramarco, Michael

2016-01-01

Objective To determine if symptoms of postpartum depression and postpartum weight varied according to the level of breastfeeding among women of Mexican origin at 1 month and 6 months postpartum. Design We used data from a parent study in which promotoras interviewed new mothers of Mexican origin to encourage appropriate infant weight gain. We performed a secondary quantitative analysis to study the differences in postpartum weight and depression among the mothers in the study who breastfed and those who did not. Setting and Participants The study occurred in a heavily Hispanic community located in a major southwest city. The sample consisted of 150 women of Mexican origin who enrolled during their third trimesters in a local Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children clinic and were followed for 6 months. Methods Weight was measured at 1 month and at 6 months postpartum at home visits with validated digital scales. Breastfeeding was measured with monthly phone calls to record the level of breastfeeding according to World Health Organization criteria. Depression was measured at home visits at 1 month and 6 months by the Edinburg Postpartum Depression Scale. Results At 6 months postpartum, women who did not breastfeed had the highest scores on the Edinburgh Depression Scale, while the women who breastfed non-exclusively had the lowest scores (p = .067). Considering both time points, there was a significant difference in weight (p = .017) between women who were doing any breastfeeding and women who were not breastfeeding. Conclusions Breastfeeding, even if not exclusive, contributed to lower depression scores and significantly lower postpartum weight among this sample of Mexican American women. PMID:27632434

Psychosocial outcomes in a weight loss camp for overweight youth

PubMed Central

QUINLAN, NICOLE P.; KOLOTKIN, RONETTE L.; FUEMMELER, BERNARD F.; COSTANZO, PHILIP R.

2015-01-01

Objective There is good evidence that youth attending weight loss camps in the UK and US are successful at achieving weight loss. Limited research suggests improvement in body image and self-esteem as well. This study evaluated changes in eight psychosocial variables following participation in a weight loss camp and examined the role of gender, age, length of stay, and body mass index (BMI) in these changes. Methods This was an observational and self-report study of 130 participants (mean age=12.8; mean BMI=33.5; 70% female; 77% Caucasian). The program consisted of an 1 800 kcal/day diet, daily supervised physical activities, cooking/nutrition classes, and weekly psycho-educational/support groups led by psychology staff. Participants completed measures of anti-fat attitudes, values (e.g., value placed on appearance, athletic ability, popularity), body- and self-esteem, weight- and health-related quality of life, self-efficacy, and depressive symptoms. Results Participants experienced significant BMI reduction (average decrease of 7.5 kg [standard deviation, SD=4.2] and 2.9 BMI points [SD=1.4]). Participants also exhibited significant improvements in body esteem, self-esteem, self-efficacy, generic and weight-related quality of life, anti-fat attitudes, and the importance placed on appearance. Changes in self-efficacy, physical functioning and social functioning remained significant even after adjusting for initial zBMI, BMI change, and length of stay. Gender differences were found on changes in self-efficacy, depressive symptoms, and social functioning. Conclusion Participation in weight loss programs in a group setting, such as a camp, may have added benefit beyond BMI reduction. Greater attention to changes in psychosocial variables may be warranted when designing such programs for youth. PMID:19107660

Evaluation of Two Approaches to Defining Extinction Risk under the U.S. Endangered Species Act.

PubMed

Thompson, Grant G; Maguire, Lynn A; Regan, Tracey J

2018-05-01

The predominant definition of extinction risk in conservation biology involves evaluating the cumulative distribution function (CDF) of extinction time at a particular point (the "time horizon"). Using the principles of decision theory, this article develops an alternative definition of extinction risk as the expected loss (EL) to society resulting from eventual extinction of a species. Distinct roles are identified for time preference and risk aversion. Ranges of tentative values for the parameters of the two approaches are proposed, and the performances of the two approaches are compared and contrasted for a small set of real-world species with published extinction time distributions and a large set of hypothetical extinction time distributions. Potential issues with each approach are evaluated, and the EL approach is recommended as the better of the two. The CDF approach suffers from the fact that extinctions that occur at any time before the specified time horizon are weighted equally, while extinctions that occur beyond the specified time horizon receive no weight at all. It also suffers from the fact that the time horizon does not correspond to any natural phenomenon, and so is impossible to specify nonarbitrarily; yet the results can depend critically on the specified value. In contrast, the EL approach has the advantage of weighting extinction time continuously, with no artificial time horizon, and the parameters of the approach (the rates of time preference and risk aversion) do correspond to natural phenomena, and so can be specified nonarbitrarily. © 2017 Society for Risk Analysis.

Evaluating flow cytometer performance with weighted quadratic least squares analysis of LED and multi-level bead data

PubMed Central

Parks, David R.; Khettabi, Faysal El; Chase, Eric; Hoffman, Robert A.; Perfetto, Stephen P.; Spidlen, Josef; Wood, James C.S.; Moore, Wayne A.; Brinkman, Ryan R.

2017-01-01

We developed a fully automated procedure for analyzing data from LED pulses and multi-level bead sets to evaluate backgrounds and photoelectron scales of cytometer fluorescence channels. The method improves on previous formulations by fitting a full quadratic model with appropriate weighting and by providing standard errors and peak residuals as well as the fitted parameters themselves. Here we describe the details of the methods and procedures involved and present a set of illustrations and test cases that demonstrate the consistency and reliability of the results. The automated analysis and fitting procedure is generally quite successful in providing good estimates of the Spe (statistical photoelectron) scales and backgrounds for all of the fluorescence channels on instruments with good linearity. The precision of the results obtained from LED data is almost always better than for multi-level bead data, but the bead procedure is easy to carry out and provides results good enough for most purposes. Including standard errors on the fitted parameters is important for understanding the uncertainty in the values of interest. The weighted residuals give information about how well the data fits the model, and particularly high residuals indicate bad data points. Known photoelectron scales and measurement channel backgrounds make it possible to estimate the precision of measurements at different signal levels and the effects of compensated spectral overlap on measurement quality. Combining this information with measurements of standard samples carrying dyes of biological interest, we can make accurate comparisons of dye sensitivity among different instruments. Our method is freely available through the R/Bioconductor package flowQB. PMID:28160404

Childhood obesity among the poor in Peru: Are there implications for cognitive outcomes?

PubMed

Wisniewski, Suzanne L

2017-08-01

This paper exploits three rounds of panel data provided by the Peruvian dataset of the Young Lives study to investigate the relationship between child cognition and obesity status among the poor. Child weight status is measured by a full distribution of child weight, from severely thin to obese, using data from a z-score for body mass index and cognition is measured by the Spanish version of the Picture Peabody Vocabulary Test (PPVT). This relationship is studied at age five and age eight (school age), and disaggregated across socioeconomic factors of gender, urban/rural setting and indigenous/nonindigenous status. The initial results suggests that obese children have higher cognitive scores and that this result is driven by those who are female, non-indigenous and live in an urban region. However, after correcting for possible bias due to unobservable heterogeneity, there is little evidence of this relationship. The one exception is for a weakly significant relationship between obese female children and higher cognition, a relationship which tends to weaken between the ages of five and eight. On the other end of the weight distribution, indigenous children who are severely thin or thin have significantly lower cognitive scores, a relationship that holds after correcting for possible bias and appears to strengthen between ages of five and eight. This paper contributes to a very small set of literature on child cognition and obesity, points to the importance of controlling for unobserved heterogeneity in estimation, and is the first of its kind to study this relationship in a developing country. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Positive Parenting Practices Associated with Subsequent Childhood Weight Change

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Avula, Rasmi; Gonzalez, Wendy; Shapiro, Cheri J.; Fram, Maryah S.; Beets, Michael W.; Jones, Sonya J.; Blake, Christine E.; Frongillo, Edward A.

2011-01-01

We aimed to identify positive parenting practices that set children on differential weight-trajectories. Parenting practices studied were cognitively stimulating activities, limit-setting, disciplinary practices, and parent warmth. Data from two U.S. national longitudinal data sets and linear and logistic regression were used to examine…

On the Impact of Local Taxes in a Set Cover Game

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Escoffier, Bruno; Gourvès, Laurent; Monnot, Jérôme

Given a collection C of weighted subsets of a ground set E, the SET cover problem is to find a minimum weight subset of C which covers all elements of E. We study a strategic game defined upon this classical optimization problem. Every element of E is a player which chooses one set of C where it appears. Following a public tax function, every player is charged a fraction of the weight of the set that it has selected. Our motivation is to design a tax function having the following features: it can be implemented in a distributed manner, existence of an equilibrium is guaranteed and the social cost for these equilibria is minimized.

[Weight parameters of water quality impact and risk grade determination of water environmental sensitive spots in Jiashan].

PubMed

Xie, Rong-Rong; Pang, Yong; Zhang, Qian; Chen, Ke; Sun, Ming-Yuan

2012-07-01

For the safety of the water environment in Jiashan county in Zhejiang Province, one-dimensional hydrodynamic and water quality models are established based on three large-scale monitoring of hydrology and water quality in Jiashan county, three water environmental sensitive spots including Hongqitang dam Chijia hydrological station and Luxie pond are selected to investigate weight parameters of water quality impact and risk grade determination. Results indicate as follows (1) Internal pollution impact in Jiashan areas was greater than the external, the average weight parameters of internal chemical oxygen demand (COD) pollution is 55.3%, internal ammonia nitrogen (NH(4+)-N) is 67.4%, internal total phosphor (TP) is 63.1%. Non-point pollution impact in Jiashan areas was greater than point pollution impact, the average weight parameters of non-point COD pollutions is 53.7%, non-point NH(4+)-N is 65.9%, non-point TP is 57.8%. (2) The risk of Hongqitang dam and Chijia hydrological station are in the middle risk. The risk of Luxie pond is also in the middle risk in August, and in April and December the risk of Luxie pond is low. The strategic decision will be suggested to guarantee water environment security and social and economic security in the study.

Development and testing of new candidate psoriatic arthritis screening questionnaires combining optimal questions from existing tools.

PubMed

Coates, Laura C; Walsh, Jessica; Haroon, Muhammad; FitzGerald, Oliver; Aslam, Tariq; Al Balushi, Farida; Burden, A D; Burden-Teh, Esther; Caperon, Anna R; Cerio, Rino; Chattopadhyay, Chandrabhusan; Chinoy, Hector; Goodfield, Mark J D; Kay, Lesley; Kelly, Stephen; Kirkham, Bruce W; Lovell, Christopher R; Marzo-Ortega, Helena; McHugh, Neil; Murphy, Ruth; Reynolds, Nick J; Smith, Catherine H; Stewart, Elizabeth J C; Warren, Richard B; Waxman, Robin; Wilson, Hilary E; Helliwell, Philip S

2014-09-01

Several questionnaires have been developed to screen for psoriatic arthritis (PsA), but head-to-head studies have found limitations. This study aimed to develop new questionnaires encompassing the most discriminative questions from existing instruments. Data from the CONTEST study, a head-to-head comparison of 3 existing questionnaires, were used to identify items with a Youden index score of ≥0.1. These were combined using 4 approaches: CONTEST (simple additions of questions), CONTESTw (weighting using logistic regression), CONTESTjt (addition of a joint manikin), and CONTESTtree (additional questions identified by classification and regression tree [CART] analysis). These candidate questionnaires were tested in independent data sets. Twelve individual questions with a Youden index score of ≥0.1 were identified, but 4 of these were excluded due to duplication and redundancy. Weighting for 2 of these questions was included in CONTESTw. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis showed that involvement in 6 joint areas on the manikin was predictive of PsA for inclusion in CONTESTjt. CART analysis identified a further 5 questions for inclusion in CONTESTtree. CONTESTtree was not significant on ROC curve analysis and discarded. The other 3 questionnaires were significant in all data sets, although CONTESTw was slightly inferior to the others in the validation data sets. Potential cut points for referral were also discussed. Of 4 candidate questionnaires combining existing discriminatory items to identify PsA in people with psoriasis, 3 were found to be significant on ROC curve analysis. Testing in independent data sets identified 2 questionnaires (CONTEST and CONTESTjt) that should be pursued for further prospective testing. Copyright © 2014 by the American College of Rheumatology.

An Objective Approach to Determining the Weight Ranges of Prey Preferred by and Accessible to the Five Large African Carnivores

PubMed Central

Clements, Hayley S.; Tambling, Craig J.; Hayward, Matt W.; Kerley, Graham I. H.

2014-01-01

Broad-scale models describing predator prey preferences serve as useful departure points for understanding predator-prey interactions at finer scales. Previous analyses used a subjective approach to identify prey weight preferences of the five large African carnivores, hence their accuracy is questionable. This study uses a segmented model of prey weight versus prey preference to objectively quantify the prey weight preferences of the five large African carnivores. Based on simulations of known predator prey preference, for prey species sample sizes above 32 the segmented model approach detects up to four known changes in prey weight preference (represented by model break-points) with high rates of detection (75% to 100% of simulations, depending on number of break-points) and accuracy (within 1.3±4.0 to 2.7±4.4 of known break-point). When applied to the five large African carnivores, using carnivore diet information from across Africa, the model detected weight ranges of prey that are preferred, killed relative to their abundance, and avoided by each carnivore. Prey in the weight ranges preferred and killed relative to their abundance are together termed “accessible prey”. Accessible prey weight ranges were found to be 14–135 kg for cheetah Acinonyx jubatus, 1–45 kg for leopard Panthera pardus, 32–632 kg for lion Panthera leo, 15–1600 kg for spotted hyaena Crocuta crocuta and 10–289 kg for wild dog Lycaon pictus. An assessment of carnivore diets throughout Africa found these accessible prey weight ranges include 88±2% (cheetah), 82±3% (leopard), 81±2% (lion), 97±2% (spotted hyaena) and 96±2% (wild dog) of kills. These descriptions of prey weight preferences therefore contribute to our understanding of the diet spectrum of the five large African carnivores. Where datasets meet the minimum sample size requirements, the segmented model approach provides a means of determining, and comparing, the prey weight range preferences of any carnivore species. PMID:24988433

Maternal pre-pregnancy BMI, gestational weight gain, and infant birth weight: A within-family analysis in the United States.

PubMed

Yan, Ji

2015-07-01

In the United States, the high prevalence of unhealthy preconception body weight and inappropriate gestational weight gain among pregnant women is an important public health concern. However, the relationship among pre-pregnancy BMI, gestational weight gain, and newborn birth weight has not been well established. This study uses a very large dataset of sibling births and a within-family design to thoroughly address this issue. The baseline analysis controlling for mother fixed effects indicates maternal preconception overweight, preconception obesity, and excessive gestational weight gain significantly increase the risk of having a high birth weight baby, respectively, by 1.3, 3 and 3.9 percentage points, while underweight before pregnancy and inadequate gestational weight gain increase the low birth weight incidence by 1.4 and 2 percentage points. The benchmark results are robust in a variety of sensitivity checks. Since poor birth outcomes especially high birth weight and low birth weight have lasting adverse impacts on one's health, education, and socio-economic outcomes later in life, the findings of this research suggest promoting healthy weight among women before pregnancy and preventing inappropriate weight gain during pregnancy can generate significant intergenerational benefits. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Narrative review of yoga intervention clinical trials including weight-related outcomes.

PubMed

Rioux, Jennifer Grace; Ritenbaugh, Cheryl

2013-01-01

Medical authorities have identified obesity as a causal factor in the development of diabetes, hypertension, and cardiovascular disease (CVD), and more broadly, of metabolic syndrome/insulin resistance syndrome. To provide solutions that can modify this risk factor, researchers need to identify methods of effective risk reduction and primary prevention of obesity. Research on the effectiveness of yoga as a treatment for obesity is limited, and studies vary in overall quality and methodological rigor. This narrative review assessed the quantity and quality of clinical trials of yoga as an intervention for weight loss or as a means of risk reduction or treatment for obesity and diseases in which obesity is a causal factor. This review summarized the studies' research designs and evaluated the efficacy of yoga for weight loss via the current evidence base. The research team evaluated published studies to determine the appropriateness of research designs, comparability of programs' intervention elements, and standardization of outcome measures. The research team's literature search used the key terms yoga and obesity or yoga and weight loss in three primary medical-literature databases (PubMed, PsychInfo, and Web of Science). The study excluded clinical trials with no quantitative obesity related measure. Extracted data included each study's (1) design; (2) setting and population; (3) nature, duration, and frequency of interventions; (4) comparison groups; (5) recruitment strategies; (6) outcome measures; (7) data analysis and presentation; and (8) results and conclusions. The research team developed an overall evaluation parameter to compare disparate trials. The research team reviewed each study to determine its key features, each worth a specified number of points, with a maximum total of 20 points. The features included a study's (1) duration, (2) frequency of yoga practice, (3) intensity of (length of) each practice, (4) number of yogic elements, (5) inclusion of dietary modification, (6) inclusion of a residential component, (7) the number of weight-related outcome measures, and (8) a discussion of the details of the yogic elements. Overall, therapeutic yoga programs are frequently effective in promoting weight loss and/or improvements in body composition. The effectiveness of yoga for weight loss is related to the following key features: (1) an increased frequency of practice; (2) a longer intervention duration (3) a yogic dietary component; (4) a residential component; (5) the comprehensive inclusion of yogic components; (5) and a home-practice component. Yoga appears to be an appropriate and potentially successful intervention for weight maintenance, prevention of obesity, and risk reduction for diseases in which obesity plays a significant causal role.

Weight and Metabolic Outcomes After 2 Years on a Low-Carbohydrate Versus Low-Fat Diet

PubMed Central

Foster, Gary D.; Wyatt, Holly R.; Hill, James O.; Makris, Angela P.; Rosenbaum, Diane L.; Brill, Carrie; Stein, Richard I.; Mohammed, B. Selma; Miller, Bernard; Rader, Daniel J.; Zemel, Babette; Wadden, Thomas A.; Tenhave, Thomas; Newcomb, Craig W.; Klein, Samuel

2010-01-01

Background Previous studies comparing low-carbohydrate and low-fat diets have not included a comprehensive behavioral treatment, resulting in suboptimal weight loss. Objective To evaluate the effects of 2-year treatment with a low-carbohydrate or low-fat diet, each of which was combined with a comprehensive lifestyle modification program. Design Randomized parallel-group trial. (ClinicalTrials.gov registration number: NCT00143936) Setting 3 academic medical centers. Patients 307 participants with a mean age of 45.5 years (SD, 9.7 years) and mean body mass index of 36.1 kg/m2 (SD, 3.5 kg/m2). Intervention A low-carbohydrate diet, which consisted of limited carbohydrate intake (20 g/d for 3 months) in the form of low–glycemic index vegetables with unrestricted consumption of fat and protein. After 3 months, participants in the low-carbohydrate diet group increased their carbohydrate intake (5 g/d per wk) until a stable and desired weight was achieved. A low-fat diet consisted of limited energy intake (1200 to 1800 kcal/d; ≤30% calories from fat). Both diets were combined with comprehensive behavioral treatment. Measurements Weight at 2 years was the primary outcome. Secondary measures included weight at 3, 6, and 12 months and serum lipid concentrations, blood pressure, urinary ketones, symptoms, bone mineral density, and body composition throughout the study. Results Weight loss was approximately 11 kg (11%) at 1 year and 7 kg (7%) at 2 years. There were no differences in weight, body composition, or bone mineral density between the groups at any time point. During the first 6 months, the low-carbohydrate diet group had greater reductions in diastolic blood pressure, triglyceride levels, and very-low-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels, lesser reductions in low-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels, and more adverse symptoms than did the low-fat diet group. The low-carbohydrate diet group had greater increases in high-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels at all time points, approximating a 23% increase at 2 years. Limitation Intensive behavioral treatment was provided, patients with dyslipidemia and diabetes were excluded, and attrition at 2 years was high. Conclusion Successful weight loss can be achieved with either a low-fat or low-carbohydrate diet when coupled with behavioral treatment. A low-carbohydrate diet is associated with favorable changes in cardiovascular disease risk factors at 2 years. Primary Funding Source National Institutes of Health. PMID:20679559

A Nitration Reaction Puzzle for the Organic Chemistry Laboratory

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wieder, Milton J.; Barrows, Russell

2008-01-01

Treatment of phenylacetic acid with 90% HNO[subscript 3] yields a product, I, whose observed melting point is 175-179 degrees C and whose equivalent weight is approximately 226 grams. Treatment of phenylacetic acid with 70% HNO[subscript 3] yields a product, II, whose observed melting point is 106-111 degrees C and whose equivalent weight is…

Weighted optimization of irradiance for photodynamic therapy of port wine stains

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

He, Linhuan; Zhou, Ya; Hu, Xiaoming

2016-10-01

Planning of irradiance distribution (PID) is one of the foremost factors for on-demand treatment of port wine stains (PWS) with photodynamic therapy (PDT). A weighted optimization method for PID was proposed according to the grading of PWS with a three dimensional digital illumination instrument. Firstly, the point clouds of lesions were filtered to remove the error or redundant points, the triangulation was carried out and the lesion was divided into small triangular patches. Secondly, the parameters such as area, normal vector and orthocenter for optimization of each triangular patch were calculated, and the weighted coefficients were determined by the erythema indexes and areas of patches. Then, the optimization initial point was calculated based on the normal vectors and orthocenters to optimize the light direction. In the end, the irradiation can be optimized according to cosine values of irradiance angles and weighted coefficients. Comparing the irradiance distribution before and after optimization, the proposed weighted optimization method can make the irradiance distribution match better with the characteristics of lesions, and has the potential to improve the therapeutic efficacy.

Acute interstitial edematous pancreatitis: Findings on non-enhanced MR imaging

PubMed Central

Zhang, Xiao-Ming; Feng, Zhi-Song; Zhao, Qiong-Hui; Xiao, Chun-Ming; Mitchell, Donald G; Shu, Jian; Zeng, Nan-Lin; Xu, Xiao-Xue; Lei, Jun-Yang; Tian, Xiao-Bing

2006-01-01

AIM: To study the appearances of acute interstitial edematous pancreatitis (IEP) on non-enhanced MR imaging. METHODS: A total of 53 patients with IEP diagnosed by clinical features and laboratory findings were underwent MR imaging. MR imaging sequences included fast spoiled gradient echo (FSPGR) fat saturation axial T1-weighted imaging, gradient echo T1-weighted (in phase), single shot fast spin echo (SSFSE) T2-weighted, respiratory triggered (R-T) T2-weighted with fat saturation, and MR cholangiopancreatography. Using the MR severity score index, pancreatitis was graded as mild (0-2 points), moderate (3-6 points) and severe (7-10 points). RESULTS: Among the 53 patients, IEP was graded as mild in 37 patients and as moderate in 16 patients. Forty-seven of 53 (89%) patients had at least one abnormality on MR images. Pancreas was hypointense relative to liver on FSPGR T1-weighted images in 18.9% of patients, and hyperintense in 25% and 30% on SSFSE T2-weighted and R-T T2-weighted images, respectively. The prevalences of the findings of IEP on R-T T2-weighted images were, respectively, 85% for pancreatic fascial plane, 77% for left renal fascial plane, 55% for peripancreatic fat stranding, 42% for right renal fascial plane, 45% for perivascular fluid, 40% for thickened pancreatic lobular septum and 25% for peripancreatic fluid, which were markedly higher than those on in-phase or SSFSE T2-weighted images (P < 0.001). CONCLUSION: IEP primarily manifests on non-enhanced MR images as thickened pancreatic fascial plane, left renal fascial plane, peripancreatic fat stranding, and peripancreatic fluid. R-T T2-weighted imaging is more sensitive than in-phase and SSFSE T2-weighted imaging for depicting IEP. PMID:17007053

Acute interstitial edematous pancreatitis: Findings on non-enhanced MR imaging.

PubMed

Zhang, Xiao-Ming; Feng, Zhi-Song; Zhao, Qiong-Hui; Xiao, Chun-Ming; Mitchell, Donald-G; Shu, Jian; Zeng, Nan-Lin; Xu, Xiao-Xue; Lei, Jun-Yang; Tian, Xiao-Bing

2006-09-28

To study the appearances of acute interstitial edematous pancreatitis (IEP) on non-enhanced MR imaging. A total of 53 patients with IEP diagnosed by clinical features and laboratory findings were underwent MR imaging. MR imaging sequences included fast spoiled gradient echo (FSPGR) fat saturation axial T1-weighted imaging, gradient echo T1-weighted (in phase), single shot fast spin echo (SSFSE) T2-weighted, respiratory triggered (R-T) T2-weighted with fat saturation, and MR cholangiopancreatography. Using the MR severity score index, pancreatitis was graded as mild (0-2 points), moderate (3-6 points) and severe (7-10 points). Among the 53 patients, IEP was graded as mild in 37 patients and as moderate in 16 patients. Forty-seven of 53 (89%) patients had at least one abnormality on MR images. Pancreas was hypointense relative to liver on FSPGR T1-weighted images in 18.9% of patients, and hyperintense in 25% and 30% on SSFSE T2-weighted and R-T T2-weighted images, respectively. The prevalences of the findings of IEP on R-T T2-weighted images were, respectively, 85% for pancreatic fascial plane, 77% for left renal fascial plane, 55% for peripancreatic fat stranding, 42% for right renal fascial plane, 45% for perivascular fluid, 40% for thickened pancreatic lobular septum and 25% for peripancreatic fluid, which were markedly higher than those on in-phase or SSFSE T2-weighted images (P<0.001). IEP primarily manifests on non-enhanced MR images as thickened pancreatic fascial plane, left renal fascial plane, peripancreatic fat stranding, and peripancreatic fluid. R-T T2-weighted imaging is more sensitive than in-phase and SSFSE T2-weighted imaging for depicting IEP.

The architecture design of a 2mW 18-bit high speed weight voltage type DAC based on dual weight resistance chain

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Qixing, Chen; Qiyu, Luo

2013-03-01

At present, the architecture of a digital-to-analog converter (DAC) in essence is based on the weight current, and the average value of its D/A signal current increases in geometric series according to its digital signal bits increase, which is 2n-1 times of its least weight current. But for a dual weight resistance chain type DAC, by using the weight voltage manner to D/A conversion, the D/A signal current is fixed to chain current Icha; it is only 1/2n-1 order of magnitude of the average signal current value of the weight current type DAC. Its principle is: n pairs dual weight resistances form a resistance chain, which ensures the constancy of the chain current; if digital signals control the total weight resistance from the output point to the zero potential point, that could directly control the total weight voltage of the output point, so that the digital signals directly turn into a sum of the weight voltage signals; thus the following goals are realized: (1) the total current is less than 200 μA (2) the total power consumption is less than 2 mW; (3) an 18-bit conversion can be realized by adopting a multi-grade structure; (4) the chip area is one order of magnitude smaller than the subsection current-steering type DAC; (5) the error depends only on the error of the unit resistance, so it is smaller than the error of the subsection current-steering type DAC; (6) the conversion time is only one action time of switch on or off, so its speed is not lower than the present DAC.

Nutrition screening and assessment of anthropometry and bioelectrical impedance in the frail elderly: a clinical appraisal of methodology in a clinical setting.

PubMed

Davidson, Jeanette; Getz, Majorie

2004-01-01

Nutrition screening is recommended to identify those at risk for malnutrition; nutrition assessment by anthropometry and impedance is widely used to indicate nutritional status but may be problematical in the frail elderly in nursing homes. Acceptability, availability, suitability and appropriate reference data influence clinical application of these measurements. In our study, nutrition screening and assessment methodology were evaluated in 46 nursing home residents, mean age 86.3 +/- 6.6 years, mean weight 66.1 +/- 12.9 kg, mean height 163.1 +/- 9.6 cm, and mean BMI 24.9 +/- 4.6 kg/m2. Significant correlations (P < 0.05) were found in all measures of body weight, BMI, body fatness and leanness. Interpretation of data by five different reference standards and cutoff points revealed wide variation in identification of malnutrition by anthropometry. Appropriate reference data for body lean and fatness are not yet available. Thus, population-specific methodology and reference standards are of crucial importance.

Effects of food price shocks on child malnutrition: The Mozambican experience 2008/2009.

PubMed

Arndt, Channing; Hussain, M Azhar; Salvucci, Vincenzo; Østerdal, Lars Peter

2016-09-01

A propitiously timed household survey carried out in Mozambique over the period 2008/2009 permits us to study the relationship between shifts in food prices and child nutrition status in a low income setting. We focus on weight-for-height and weight-for-age in different survey quarters characterized by very different food price inflation rates. Using propensity score matching techniques, we find that these nutrition measures, which are sensitive in the short run, improve significantly in the fourth quarter of the survey, when the inflation rate for basic food products is low, compared to the first semester or three quarters, when food price inflation was generally high. The prevalence of underweight, in particular, falls by about 40 percent. We conclude that the best available evidence points to food penury, driven by the food and fuel price crisis combined with a short agricultural production year, as substantially increasing malnutrition amongst under-five children in Mozambique. Copyright © 2016 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Multi-objective optimization of a continuous bio-dissimilation process of glycerol to 1, 3-propanediol.

PubMed

Xu, Gongxian; Liu, Ying; Gao, Qunwang

2016-02-10

This paper deals with multi-objective optimization of continuous bio-dissimilation process of glycerol to 1, 3-propanediol. In order to maximize the production rate of 1, 3-propanediol, maximize the conversion rate of glycerol to 1, 3-propanediol, maximize the conversion rate of glycerol, and minimize the concentration of by-product ethanol, we first propose six new multi-objective optimization models that can simultaneously optimize any two of the four objectives above. Then these multi-objective optimization problems are solved by using the weighted-sum and normal-boundary intersection methods respectively. Both the Pareto filter algorithm and removal criteria are used to remove those non-Pareto optimal points obtained by the normal-boundary intersection method. The results show that the normal-boundary intersection method can successfully obtain the approximate Pareto optimal sets of all the proposed multi-objective optimization problems, while the weighted-sum approach cannot achieve the overall Pareto optimal solutions of some multi-objective problems. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Reassessment of Resuspension Factor Following Radionuclide Dispersal: Toward a General-purpose Rate Constant

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

Marshall, Shaun; Potter, Charles; Medich, David

A recent analysis of historical radionuclide resuspension datasets con rmed the general applicability of the Anspaugh and modified Anspaugh models of resuspension factors following both controlled and disastrous releases. The observations appear to increase in variance earlier in time, however all points were equally weighted in statistical fit calculations, inducing a positive skewing of resuspension coeffcients. Such data are extracted from the available deposition experiments spanning 2900 days. Measurements within a 3-day window are grouped into singular sample sets to construct standard deviations. A refitting is performed using a relative instrumental weighting of the observations. The resulting best-fit equations producesmore » tamer exponentials which give decreased integrated resuspension factor values relative to those reported by Anspaugh. As expected, the fits attenuate greater error amongst the data at earlier time. The reevaluation provides a sharper contrast between the empirical models, and reafirms their deficiencies in the short-lived timeframe wherein the dynamics of particulate dispersion dominate the resuspension process.« less

The effect of load reductions on repetition performance for commonly performed multijoint resistance exercises.

PubMed

Willardson, Jeffrey M; Simão, Roberto; Fontana, Fabio E

2012-11-01

The purpose of this study was to compare 4 different loading schemes for the free weight bench press, wide grip front lat pull-down, and free weight back squat to determine the extent of progressive load reductions necessary to maintain repetition performance. Thirty-two recreationally trained women (age = 29.34 ± 4.58 years, body mass = 59.61 ± 4.72 kg, height = 162.06 ± 4.04 cm) performed 4 resistance exercise sessions that involved 3 sets of the free weight bench press, wide grip front lat pull-down, and free weight back squat, performed in this exercise order during all 4 sessions. Each of the 4 sessions was conducted under different randomly ordered loading schemes, including (a) a constant 10 repetition maximum (RM) load for all 3 sets and for all 3 exercises, (b) a 5% reduction after the first and second sets for all the 3 exercises, (c) a 10% reduction after the first and second sets for all the 3 exercises, and (d) a 15% reduction after the first and second sets for all the 3 exercises. The results indicated that for the wide grip front lat pull-down and free weight back squat, a 10% load reduction was necessary after the first and second sets to accomplish 10 repetitions on all the 3 sets. For the free weight bench press, a load reduction between 10 and 15% was necessary; specifically, a 10% reduction was insufficient and a 15% reduction was excessive, as evidenced by significantly >10 repetitions on the second and third sets for this exercise (p ≤ 0.05). In conclusion, the results of this study indicate that a resistance training prescription that involves 1-minute rest intervals between multiple 10RM sets does require load reductions to maintain repetition performance. Practitioners might apply these results by considering an approximate 10% load reduction after the first and second sets for the exercises examined, when training women of similar characteristics as in this study.

Weight-Related Goal Setting in a Telephone-Based Preventive Health-Coaching Program: Demonstration of Effectiveness.

PubMed

O'Hara, Blythe J; Gale, Joanne; McGill, Bronwyn; Bauman, Adrian; Hebden, Lana; Allman-Farinelli, Margaret; Maxwell, Michelle; Phongsavan, Philayrath

2017-11-01

This study investigated whether participants in a 6-month telephone-based coaching program, who set physical activity, nutrition, and weight loss goals had better outcomes in these domains. Quasi-experimental design. The Australian Get Healthy Information and Coaching Service (GHS), a free population-wide telephone health-coaching service that includes goal setting as a key component of its coaching program. Consenting GHS coaching participants who had completed coaching between February 2009 and December 2012 (n = 4108). At baseline, participants select a goal for the coaching program, and sociodemographic variables are collected. Self-reported weight, height, waist circumference, physical activity, and nutrition-related behaviors are assessed at baseline and 6 months. Descriptive analysis was performed on key sociodemographic variables, and the relationship between goal type and change in health outcomes was assessed using a series of linear mixed models that modeled change from baseline to 6 months. Participants who set goals in relation to weight management and physical activity achieved better results in these areas than those who set alternate goals, losing more than those who set alternate goals (1.5 kg and 0.9 cm in waist circumference) and increasing walking per week (40 minutes), respectively. There was no difference in food-related outcomes for those that set nutrition-related goals. Goal setting for weight management and increasing physical activity in the overweight and obese population, undertaken in a telephone-based coaching program, can be effective.

Muscle synergies obtained from comprehensive mapping of the primary motor cortex forelimb representation using high-frequency, long-duration ICMS.

PubMed

Amundsen Huffmaster, Sommer L; Van Acker, Gustaf M; Luchies, Carl W; Cheney, Paul D

2017-07-01

Simplifying neuromuscular control for movement has previously been explored by extracting muscle synergies from voluntary movement electromyography (EMG) patterns. The purpose of this study was to investigate muscle synergies represented in EMG recordings associated with direct electrical stimulation of single sites in primary motor cortex (M1). We applied single-electrode high-frequency, long-duration intracortical microstimulation (HFLD-ICMS) to the forelimb region of M1 in two rhesus macaques using parameters previously found to produce forelimb movements to stable spatial end points (90-150 Hz, 90-150 μA, 1,000-ms stimulus train lengths). To develop a comprehensive representation of cortical output, stimulation was applied systematically across the full extent of M1. We recorded EMG activity from 24 forelimb muscles together with movement kinematics. Nonnegative matrix factorization (NMF) was applied to the mean stimulus-evoked EMG, and the weighting coefficients associated with each synergy were mapped to the cortical location of the stimulating electrode. Synergies were found for three data sets including 1 ) all stimulated sites in the cortex, 2 ) a subset of sites that produced stable movement end points, and 3 ) EMG activity associated with voluntary reaching. Two or three synergies accounted for 90% of the overall variation in voluntary movement EMG whereas four or five synergies were needed for HFLD-ICMS-evoked EMG data sets. Maps of the weighting coefficients from the full HFLD-ICMS data set show limited regional areas of higher activation for particular synergies. Our results demonstrate fundamental NMF-based muscle synergies in the collective M1 output, but whether and how the central nervous system might coordinate movements using these synergies remains unclear. NEW & NOTEWORTHY While muscle synergies have been investigated in various muscle activity sets, it is unclear whether and how synergies may be organized in the cortex. We have investigated muscle synergies resulting from high-frequency, long-duration intracortical microstimulation (HFLD-ICMS) applied throughout M1. We compared HFLD-ICMS synergies to synergies from voluntary movement. While synergies can be identified from M1 stimulation, they are not clearly related to voluntary movement synergies and do not show an orderly topographic organization across M1. Copyright © 2017 the American Physiological Society.

Manipulating central nervous mechanisms of food intake and body weight regulation by intranasal administration of neuropeptides in man.

PubMed

Hallschmid, Manfred; Benedict, Christian; Born, Jan; Fehm, Horst-Lorenz; Kern, Werner

2004-10-30

Maintaining a stable body weight set-point is assumed to rely on a homeostatic central nervous system (CNS) regulation of body fat with the particular involvement of hypothalamic pathways. The peripheral adiposity signals insulin and leptin convey information on the amount of energy stored as body fat to the arcuate nucleus of the hypothalamus, where anabolic/orexigenic and catabolic/anorexigenic pathways interact to regulate food intake and energy expenditure. One of the most prominent orexigenic messengers is neuropeptide Y (NPY), whereas melanocortins, including alpha-melanocyte-stimulating hormone (alpha-MSH), are essential for inducing anorexigenic effects. The melanocortin receptor 4 (MC4-R) plays the most important role in mediating catabolic effects of alpha-MSH. In this review, we present a series of own studies on NPY, insulin and MSH/ACTH4-10, an MC4-R agonist. The studies were all based on the intranasal route of administration which enables a direct access of the peptides to hypothalamic functions. NPY acutely attenuated electrocortical signs of meal-related satiety. Prolonged intranasal administration of insulin as well as of MSH induced weight loss in healthy human subjects. However, overweight subjects did not lose body fat after MSH administration. The results corroborate in humans the significance of all three messengers for the central nervous regulation of adiposity and might contribute to the future development of medical strategies against body-weight-related disorders.

Parents' education and child body weight in France: The trajectory of the gradient in the early years.

PubMed

Apouey, Bénédicte H; Geoffard, Pierre-Yves

2016-03-01

This paper explores the relationship between parental education and offspring body weight in France. Using two large datasets spanning the 1991-2010 period, we examine the existence of inequalities in maternal and paternal education and reported child body weight measures, as well as their evolution across childhood. Our empirical specification is flexible and allows this evolution to be non-monotonic. Significant inequalities are observed for both parents' education--maternal (respectively paternal) high education is associated with a 7.20 (resp. 7.10) percentage points decrease in the probability that the child is reported to be overweight or obese, on average for children of all ages. The gradient with respect to parents' education follows an inverted U-shape across childhood, meaning that the association between parental education and child body weight widens from birth to age 8, and narrows afterward. Specifically, maternal high education is correlated with a 5.30 percentage points decrease in the probability that the child is reported to be overweight or obese at age 2, but a 9.62 percentage points decrease at age 8, and a 1.25 percentage point decrease at age 17. The figures for paternal high education are respectively 5.87, 9.11, and 4.52. This pattern seems robust, since it is found in the two datasets, when alternative variables for parental education and reported child body weight are employed, and when controls for potential confounding factors are included. The findings for the trajectory of the income gradient corroborate those of the education gradient. The results may be explained by an equalization in actual body weight across socioeconomic groups during youth, or by changes in reporting styles of height and weight. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Exploring the parameter space of the coarse-grained UNRES force field by random search: selecting a transferable medium-resolution force field.

PubMed

He, Yi; Xiao, Yi; Liwo, Adam; Scheraga, Harold A

2009-10-01

We explored the energy-parameter space of our coarse-grained UNRES force field for large-scale ab initio simulations of protein folding, to obtain good initial approximations for hierarchical optimization of the force field with new virtual-bond-angle bending and side-chain-rotamer potentials which we recently introduced to replace the statistical potentials. 100 sets of energy-term weights were generated randomly, and good sets were selected by carrying out replica-exchange molecular dynamics simulations of two peptides with a minimal alpha-helical and a minimal beta-hairpin fold, respectively: the tryptophan cage (PDB code: 1L2Y) and tryptophan zipper (PDB code: 1LE1). Eight sets of parameters produced native-like structures of these two peptides. These eight sets were tested on two larger proteins: the engrailed homeodomain (PDB code: 1ENH) and FBP WW domain (PDB code: 1E0L); two sets were found to produce native-like conformations of these proteins. These two sets were tested further on a larger set of nine proteins with alpha or alpha + beta structure and found to locate native-like structures of most of them. These results demonstrate that, in addition to finding reasonable initial starting points for optimization, an extensive search of parameter space is a powerful method to produce a transferable force field. Copyright 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Multi-ray-based system matrix generation for 3D PET reconstruction

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Moehrs, Sascha; Defrise, Michel; Belcari, Nicola; DelGuerra, Alberto; Bartoli, Antonietta; Fabbri, Serena; Zanetti, Gianluigi

2008-12-01

Iterative image reconstruction algorithms for positron emission tomography (PET) require a sophisticated system matrix (model) of the scanner. Our aim is to set up such a model offline for the YAP-(S)PET II small animal imaging tomograph in order to use it subsequently with standard ML-EM (maximum-likelihood expectation maximization) and OSEM (ordered subset expectation maximization) for fully three-dimensional image reconstruction. In general, the system model can be obtained analytically, via measurements or via Monte Carlo simulations. In this paper, we present the multi-ray method, which can be considered as a hybrid method to set up the system model offline. It incorporates accurate analytical (geometric) considerations as well as crystal depth and crystal scatter effects. At the same time, it has the potential to model seamlessly other physical aspects such as the positron range. The proposed method is based on multiple rays which are traced from/to the detector crystals through the image volume. Such a ray-tracing approach itself is not new; however, we derive a novel mathematical formulation of the approach and investigate the positioning of the integration (ray-end) points. First, we study single system matrix entries and show that the positioning and weighting of the ray-end points according to Gaussian integration give better results compared to equally spaced integration points (trapezoidal integration), especially if only a small number of integration points (rays) are used. Additionally, we show that, for a given variance of the single matrix entries, the number of rays (events) required to calculate the whole matrix is a factor of 20 larger when using a pure Monte-Carlo-based method. Finally, we analyse the quality of the model by reconstructing phantom data from the YAP-(S)PET II scanner.

The theory of maximally and minimally even sets, the one- dimensional antiferromagnetic Ising model, and the continued fraction compromise of musical scales

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Douthett, Elwood (Jack) Moser, Jr.

1999-10-01

Cyclic configurations of white and black sites, together with convex (concave) functions used to weight path length, are investigated. The weights of the white set and black set are the sums of the weights of the paths connecting the white sites and black sites, respectively, and the weight between sets is the sum of the weights of the paths that connect sites opposite in color. It is shown that when the weights of all configurations of a fixed number of white and a fixed number of black sites are compared, minimum (maximum) weight of a white set, minimum (maximum) weight of the a black set, and maximum (minimum) weight between sets occur simultaneously. Such configurations are called maximally even configurations. Similarly, the configurations whose weights are the opposite extremes occur simultaneously and are called minimally even configurations. Algorithms that generate these configurations are constructed and applied to the one- dimensional antiferromagnetic spin-1/2 Ising model. Next the goodness of continued fractions as applied to musical intervals (frequency ratios and their base 2 logarithms) is explored. It is shown that, for the intermediate convergents between two consecutive principal convergents of an irrational number, the first half of the intermediate convergents are poorer approximations than the preceding principal convergent while the second half are better approximations; the goodness of a middle intermediate convergent can only be determined by calculation. These convergents are used to determine what equal-tempered systems have intervals that most closely approximate the musical fifth (pn/ qn = log2(3/2)). The goodness of exponentiated convergents ( 2pn/qn~3/2 ) is also investigated. It is shown that, with the exception of a middle convergent, the goodness of the exponential form agrees with that of its logarithmic Counterpart As in the case of the logarithmic form, the goodness of a middle intermediate convergent in the exponential form can only be determined by calculation. A Desirability Function is constructed that simultaneously measures how well multiple intervals fit in a given equal-tempered system. These measurements are made for octave (base 2) and tritave systems (base 3). Combinatorial properties important to music modulation are considered. These considerations lead These considerations lead to the construction of maximally even scales as partitions of an equal-tempered system.

A naturalistic multicenter trial of a 12-week weight management program for overweight and obese patients with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder.

PubMed

Lee, Seung Jae; Choi, Eun Ju; Kwon, Jun Soo

2008-04-01

The primary aim of this study was to examine the efficacy and feasibility of a weight control program for overweight and obese patients with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder using a large sample across various clinical settings. Psychiatric patients taking antipsychotics participated in a 12-week weight management program at 33 clinical centers across South Korea, and the data for 232 subjects who had a body mass index (BMI) 25 kg/m(2) or above and were diagnosed with DSM-IV schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder were used in the final analysis. The primary measures of efficacy were changes in body weight and BMI. The study was conducted from December 2005 to July 2006. These patients showed significant mean +/- SD reductions in BMI (0.98 +/- 1.01 kg/m(2), p < .001) and body weight (2.64 +/- 2.75 kg, p < .001), with moderate compliance, after the 12-week intervention. Diet compliance was the strongest single predictor of weight loss. Although significant differences in BMI reduction occurred between groups classified by clinical setting and compliance, all sex, age, clinical setting, compliance, and initial BMI groups showed significant BMI reductions, which fell between 0.4 and 1.5 kg/m(2). Overall results suggest that a weight management program may be disseminated and adopted by practitioners across settings, resulting in short-term weight loss in schizophrenic and schizoaffective patients.

Weight isn't selling: The insidious effects of weight stigmatization in retail settings.

PubMed

Ruggs, Enrica N; Hebl, Michelle R; Williams, Amber

2015-09-01

In recent years, the literature on the stigma of obesity has grown but there still remains a paucity of research examining specific issues associated with its impact in the workplace. In the current study, we examine 3 such issues related to the influence of weight-based stigmatization in retail settings. First, we highlight research on the impact of obesity in men often is minimized or altogether excluded, and we examine whether weight-based stigmatization influences men in authentic retail settings (Study 1). Across retail contexts, Study 1 reveals that heavy (vs. nonheavy) men do experience significantly more interpersonal (subtle) discrimination. Second, we examine the "why" of weight-based stigmatization and find that weight-related negative stereotypes compound to produce indirect but strong effects of stigmatization in retail settings (Study 2). Third and finally, we examine whether weight-based stigmatization against men and women in retail also influences ratings of associated products and the organizations for which heavy individuals work (also Study 2). Results from Study 2 show that stereotypes work similarly for men and women and that a stigma-by-association effect occurs in which evaluators rate products and organizations associated with heavy (vs. nonheavy) retail personnel more negatively. Finally, we discuss the importance of these findings in gaining a more holistic look at the influence of weight stigmatization in the workplace. (c) 2015 APA, all rights reserved).

Gross Olfaction Before and After Laparoscopic Gastric Bypass.

PubMed

Zerrweck, Carlos; Gallardo, Vannia Castañeda; Calleja, Carmen; Sepúlveda, Elisa; Guilber, Lizbeth

2017-11-01

Obesity leads to olfaction alterations, and this can further impact food choices, appetite, and nutritional status. Bariatric procedures induce weight loss and change in taste and smell perception, but more information is needed, especially using objective olfaction tests. A prospective study was conducted during 6 months, with candidates to laparoscopic gastric bypass at a single institution. A preoperative nasofibroscopy and gross smell identification test (The Pocket Smell Test ®) were performed in those meeting the inclusion criteria. After 6 months, a new test was performed, and the primary objective was to determine if there was an improvement in the olfaction score. Weight loss and comorbidities improvement were also analyzed. From the 30 patients with morbid obesity enrolled, 21 met the inclusion criteria and ENT evaluation. At baseline, 42.8% of patients scored 3 points, 53.3% scored 2 points, and 4.7% scored 1 point. After 6 months, there was a -81.1% of change. Seventeen patients scored 3 points (p = 0.002 vs initial) and two scored 2 points (p = 0.006 vs initial). There were no patients with less than 2 points. Weight and comorbidities had a significant improvement as well. Laparoscopic gastric bypass improves the olfaction scores of the Pocket Smell Test in morbidly obese patients 6 months after their procedure. More complex tests can be used in candidates to bariatric surgery if low scores are detected initially. Other causes of olfaction dysfunctions should be determined if there is no improvement after weight loss.

Down-weighting overlapping genes improves gene set analysis

PubMed Central

2012-01-01

Background The identification of gene sets that are significantly impacted in a given condition based on microarray data is a crucial step in current life science research. Most gene set analysis methods treat genes equally, regardless how specific they are to a given gene set. Results In this work we propose a new gene set analysis method that computes a gene set score as the mean of absolute values of weighted moderated gene t-scores. The gene weights are designed to emphasize the genes appearing in few gene sets, versus genes that appear in many gene sets. We demonstrate the usefulness of the method when analyzing gene sets that correspond to the KEGG pathways, and hence we called our method Pathway Analysis with Down-weighting of Overlapping Genes (PADOG). Unlike most gene set analysis methods which are validated through the analysis of 2-3 data sets followed by a human interpretation of the results, the validation employed here uses 24 different data sets and a completely objective assessment scheme that makes minimal assumptions and eliminates the need for possibly biased human assessments of the analysis results. Conclusions PADOG significantly improves gene set ranking and boosts sensitivity of analysis using information already available in the gene expression profiles and the collection of gene sets to be analyzed. The advantages of PADOG over other existing approaches are shown to be stable to changes in the database of gene sets to be analyzed. PADOG was implemented as an R package available at: http://bioinformaticsprb.med.wayne.edu/PADOG/or http://www.bioconductor.org. PMID:22713124

Weighing up the weighted case mix tool (WCMT): a psychometric investigation using confirmatory factor analysis.

PubMed

Duane, B G; Humphris, G; Richards, D; Okeefe, E J; Gordon, K; Freeman, R

2014-12-01

To assess the use of the WCMT in two Scottish health boards and to consider the impact of simplifying the tool to improve efficient use. A retrospective analysis of routine WCMT data (47,276 cases). Public Dental Service (PDS) within NHS Lothian and Highland. The WCMT consists of six criteria. Each criterion is measured independently on a four-point scale to assess patient complexity and the dental care for the disabled/impaired patient. Psychometric analyses on the data-set were conducted. Conventional internal consistency coefficients were calculated. Latent variable modelling was performed to assess the 'fit' of the raw data to a pre-specified measurement model. A Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) was used to test three potential changes to the existing WCMT that included, the removal of the oral risk factor question, the removal of original weightings for scoring the Tool, and collapsing the 4-point rating scale to three categories. The removal of the oral risk factor question had little impact on the reliability of the proposed simplified CMT to discriminate between levels of patient complexity. The removal of weighting and collapsing each item's rating scale to three categories had limited impact on reliability of the revised tool. The CFA analysis provided strong evidence that a new, proposed simplified Case Mix Tool (sCMT) would operate closely to the pre-specified measurement model (the WMCT). A modified sCMT can demonstrate, without reducing reliability, a useful measure of the complexity of patient care. The proposed sCMT may be implemented within primary care dentistry to record patient complexity as part of an oral health assessment.

Creation and validation of a novel body condition scoring method for the magellanic penguin (Spheniscus magellanicus) in the zoo setting.

PubMed

Clements, Julie; Sanchez, Jessica N

2015-11-01

This research aims to validate a novel, visual body scoring system created for the Magellanic penguin (Spheniscus magellanicus) suitable for the zoo practitioner. Magellanics go through marked seasonal fluctuations in body mass gains and losses. A standardized multi-variable visual body condition guide may provide a more sensitive and objective assessment tool compared to the previously used single variable method. Accurate body condition scores paired with seasonal weight variation measurements give veterinary and keeper staff a clearer understanding of an individual's nutritional status. San Francisco Zoo staff previously used a nine-point body condition scale based on the classic bird standard of a single point of keel palpation with the bird restrained in hand, with no standard measure of reference assigned to each scoring category. We created a novel, visual body condition scoring system that does not require restraint to assesses subcutaneous fat and muscle at seven body landmarks using illustrations and descriptive terms. The scores range from one, the least robust or under-conditioned, to five, the most robust, or over-conditioned. The ratio of body weight to wing length was used as a "gold standard" index of body condition and compared to both the novel multi-variable and previously used single-variable body condition scores. The novel multi-variable scale showed improved agreement with weight:wing ratio compared to the single-variable scale, demonstrating greater accuracy, and reliability when a trained assessor uses the multi-variable body condition scoring system. Zoo staff may use this tool to manage both the colony and the individual to assist in seasonally appropriate Magellanic penguin nutrition assessment. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Reducing failures of working memory with performance feedback.

PubMed

Adam, Kirsten C S; Vogel, Edward K

2016-10-01

Fluctuations in attentional control can lead to failures of working memory (WM), in which the subject is no better than chance at reporting items from a recent display. In three experiments, we used a whole-report measure of visual WM to examine the impact of feedback on the rate of failures. In each experiment, subjects remembered an array of colored items across a blank delay, and then reported the identity of items using a whole-report procedure. In Experiment 1, we gave subjects simple feedback about the number of items they correctly identified at the end of each trial. In Experiment 2, we gave subjects additional information about the cumulative number of items correctly identified within each block. Finally, in Experiment 3, we gave subjects weighted feedback in which poor trials resulted in lost points and consistent successful performance received "streak" points. Surprisingly, simple feedback (Exp. 1) was ineffective at improving average performance or decreasing the rate of poor-performance trials. Simple cumulative feedback (Exp. 2) modestly decreased poor-performance trials (by 7 %). Weighted feedback produced the greatest benefits, decreasing the frequency of poor-performance trials by 28 % relative to baseline performance. This set of results demonstrates the usefulness of whole-report WM measures for investigating the effects of feedback on WM performance. Further, we showed that only a feedback structure that specifically discouraged lapses using negative feedback led to large reductions in WM failures.

Spatial and velocity statistics of inertial particles in turbulent flows

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bec, J.; Biferale, L.; Cencini, M.; Lanotte, A. S.; Toschi, F.

2011-12-01

Spatial and velocity statistics of heavy point-like particles in incompressible, homogeneous, and isotropic three-dimensional turbulence is studied by means of direct numerical simulations at two values of the Taylor-scale Reynolds number Reλ ~ 200 and Reλ ~ 400, corresponding to resolutions of 5123 and 20483 grid points, respectively. Particles Stokes number values range from St ≈ 0.2 to 70. Stationary small-scale particle distribution is shown to display a singular -multifractal- measure, characterized by a set of generalized fractal dimensions with a strong sensitivity on the Stokes number and a possible, small Reynolds number dependency. Velocity increments between two inertial particles depend on the relative weight between smooth events - where particle velocity is approximately the same of the fluid velocity-, and caustic contributions - when two close particles have very different velocities. The latter events lead to a non-differentiable small-scale behaviour for the relative velocity. The relative weight of these two contributions changes at varying the importance of inertia. We show that moments of the velocity difference display a quasi bi-fractal-behavior and that the scaling properties of velocity increments for not too small Stokes number are in good agreement with a recent theoretical prediction made by K. Gustavsson and B. Mehlig arXiv: 1012.1789v1 [physics.flu-dyn], connecting the saturation of velocity scaling exponents with the fractal dimension of particle clustering.

Mothers' health and babies' weights: the biology of poverty at the Melbourne Lying-in Hospital, 1857-83.

PubMed

Mccalman, Janet; Morley, Ruth

2003-04-01

Birth weight remains a major focus of medical research into the relationship between pre-natal growth and life course health, and historians have used mean birth weight to assess women's standard of living. However, there are intrinsic difficulties in inferring maternal health and nutritional status from birth weight, and some of the known data sets produce puzzling results. One rich data set comes from the Melbourne Lying-in Hospital, 1857-83, and the article discusses the complex institutional, social, and economic causes that may underlie its apparently counter-intuitive anthropometric results. This data set reveals the biological effects differential social conditions can inflict, even within an otherwise affluent society.

The association between body mass index, weight loss and physical function in the year following a hip fracture.

PubMed

Reider, L; Hawkes, W; Hebel, J R; D'Adamo, C; Magaziner, J; Miller, R; Orwig, D; Alley, D E

2013-01-01

To determine whether body mass index (BMI) at the time of hospitalization or weight change in the period immediately following hospitalization predict physical function in the year after hip fracture. Prospective observational study. Two hospitals in Baltimore, Maryland. Female hip fracture patients age 65 years or older (N=136 for BMI analysis, N=41 for analysis of weight change). Body mass index was calculated based on weight and height from the medical chart. Weight change was based on DXA scans at 3 and 10 days post fracture. Physical function was assessed at 2, 6 and 12 months following fracture using the lower extremity gain scale (LEGS), walking speed and grip strength. LEGS score and walking speed did not differ across BMI tertiles. However, grip strength differed significantly across BMI tertiles (p=0.029), with underweight women having lower grip strength than normal weight women at all time points. Women experiencing the most weight loss (>4.8%) had significantly lower LEGS scores at all time points, slower walking speed at 6 months, and weaker grip strength at 12 months post-fracture relative to women with more modest weight loss. In adjusted models, overall differences in function and functional change across all time points were not significant. However, at 12 months post fracture,women with the most weight loss had an average grip strength 7.0 kg lower than women with modest weight loss (p=0.030). Adjustment for confounders accounts for much of the relationships between BMI and function and weight change and function in the year after fracture. However, weight loss is associated with weakness during hip fracture recovery. Weight loss during and immediately after hospitalization appears to identify women at risk of poor function and may represent an important target for future interventions.

Situational Management, Standard Setting, and Self-Reward in a Behavior Modification Weight Loss Program.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chapman, Stanley L.; Jeffrey, D. Balfour

1978-01-01

In comprehensive wieght loss program, overweight women exposed to instruction in self-standard setting and to situational management techniques lost more weight than those instructed only in situational management techniques. Findings illustrate facilitative effect of teaching individuals to set specific, objective, and realistic goals for eating…

Teaching Goal-Setting for Weight-Gain Prevention in a College Population: Insights from the CHOICES Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gardner, Jolynn; Kjolhaug, Jerri; Linde, Jennifer A.; Sevcik, Sarah; Lytle, Leslie A.

2013-01-01

Purpose: This article describes the effectiveness of goal setting instruction in the CHOICES (Choosing Healthy Options in College Environments and Settings) study, an intervention evaluating the effectiveness of weight gain prevention strategies for 2-year college students. Methods: Four hundred and forty-one participants from three community…

[Study on Oxygen Consumption, Oxygen Consumption Rate and Asphyxiation Point of Poecilobdella manillensis].

PubMed

Zhou, Wei-guan; Lv, Wei-ping; Qiu, Yi; Zhou, Wei-hai

2014-12-01

To investigate the oxygen consumption, oxygen consumption rate and asphyxiation point of Poecilobdella ma- nillensis. Oxygen consumption, oxygen consumption rate and asphyxiation point on juvenile (the average weight of 0. 29 g) and adult leech (the average weight of 2.89 g) of Poecilobdella manillensis were measured at water temperature conditions of 20. 2 and 30. 4 °C respectively using an airtight container with flowing water. Oxygen consumptions of Poecilobdella manillensis were increased with the increase of temperature and body weight respectively; However, their oxygen consumption rates circadian variation and the aver- age oxygen consumption rate at daytime were higher than those at night. In addition, their asphyxiation point was declined accordingly with the increase of temperature and body weight respectively. Oxygen consumption and oxygen consumption rate of Poeci- lobdella manillensis were closely associated with their activities and influenced by circadian variation, the preferable feeding time were the period of 6:00-10:00 in the morning or 17:00-19:00 in the afternoon; Meanwhile, Poecilobdella manillensis had a higher ability of the hypoxia tolerance for high density or factory farming, the long time living preservation and the long distance transport.

[Study on correlation of oxygen consumption rate and suffocation point of Whitmania pigra and Bellamya purificata and optimum way of feeding Whitmania pigra].

PubMed

Li, Meng-Meng; Shi, Hong-Zhuan; Guo, Qiao-Sheng; Wang, Jia; Dai, Dao-Xin

2016-08-01

The oxygen consumption, oxygen consumption rate and suffocation point of different quality Whitmania pigra and Bellamya purificata were determined by hydrostatic breathing room method. The effects of feeding modes on growth of W.pigra were determined by biomass. The results showed that the oxygen consumption correlated positively with the weight of W.pigra and B. purificata（P<0.05）, suffocation point increased with the increases of the weight（P<0.05）.Oxygen consumption correlated negatively with the weight of W. pigra, the oxygen consumption rate of B.purificata first increased and then decreased with the increasing of the weight. Feeding modes had no significant effects on the finial weight, SGR, WGR, death rates of W. pigra. Feeding modes had significant effects on eating ratio. It suggested that the optimum feeding frequency of W. pigra was once every three days. Scientific and reasonable feeding amount of B. purificata should be calculated based on oxygen consumption and suffocation point of W.pigra and B.purificata at every period. Meanwhile, stocking density, water area and water exchanging frequency should be taken into consideration. Copyright© by the Chinese Pharmaceutical Association.

Physical activity and healthy weight maintenance from childhood to adulthood.

PubMed

Cleland, Verity J; Dwyer, Terence; Venn, Alison J

2008-06-01

The objective of this study was to determine whether change in physical activity was associated with maintaining a healthy weight from childhood to adulthood. This prospective cohort study examined 1,594 young Australian adults (48.9% female) aged 27-36 years who were first examined at age 9-15 years as part of a national health and fitness survey. BMI was calculated from measured height and weight, and physical activity was self-reported at both time points; pedometers were also used at follow-up. Change in physical activity was characterized by calculating the difference between baseline and follow-up z-scores. Change scores were categorized as decreasing (large, moderate), stable, or increasing (large, moderate). Healthy weight was defined in childhood as a BMI less than international overweight cutoff points, and in adulthood as BMI<25 kg/m(2). Healthy weight maintainers were healthy weight at both time points. Compared with those who demonstrated large relative decreases in physical activity, females in all other groups were 25-37% more likely to be healthy weight maintainers, although associations differed according to the physical activity measure used at follow-up and few reached statistical significance. Although younger males whose relative physical activity moderately or largely increased were 27-34% more likely to be healthy weight maintainers than those whose relative physical activity largely decreased, differences were not statistically significant. In conclusion, relatively increasing and stable physical activity from childhood to adulthood was only weakly associated with healthy weight maintenance. Examining personal, social, and environmental factors associated with healthy weight maintenance will be an important next step in understanding why some groups avoid becoming overweight.

Design and Testing of a Variable Pressure Regulator for the Constellation Space Suit

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gill, Larry; Campbell, Colin

2008-01-01

The next generation space suit requires additional capabilities for controlling and adjusting internal pressure than previous design suits. Next generation suit pressures will range from slight pressure, for astronaut prebreath comfort, to hyperbaric pressure levels for emergency medical treatment. Carleton was awarded a contract in 2008 to design and build a proof of concept bench top demonstrator regulator having five setpoints which are selectable using input electronic signaling. Although the basic regulator architecture is very similar to the existing SOP regulator used in the current EMU, the major difference is the electrical selectivity of multiple setpoints rather than the mechanical On/Off feature found on the SOP regulator. The concept regulator employs a linear actuator stepper motor combination to provide variable compression to a custom design main regulator spring. This concept allows for a continuously adjustable outlet pressures from 8.2 psid (maximum) down to "firm" zero thus effectively allowing it to serve as a shutoff valve. This paper details the regulator design and presents test results on regulation band width, command set point accuracy; slue rate and regulation stability, particularly when the set point is being slued. Projections for a flight configuration version are also offered for performance, architectural layout and weight.

Neural networks for the generation of sea bed models using airborne lidar bathymetry data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kogut, Tomasz; Niemeyer, Joachim; Bujakiewicz, Aleksandra

2016-06-01

Various sectors of the economy such as transport and renewable energy have shown great interest in sea bed models. The required measurements are usually carried out by ship-based echo sounding, but this method is quite expensive. A relatively new alternative is data obtained by airborne lidar bathymetry. This study investigates the accuracy of these data, which was obtained in the context of the project `Investigation on the use of airborne laser bathymetry in hydrographic surveying'. A comparison to multi-beam echo sounding data shows only small differences in the depths values of the data sets. The IHO requirements of the total horizontal and vertical uncertainty for laser data are met. The second goal of this paper is to compare three spatial interpolation methods, namely Inverse Distance Weighting (IDW), Delaunay Triangulation (TIN), and supervised Artificial Neural Networks (ANN), for the generation of sea bed models. The focus of our investigation is on the amount of required sampling points. This is analyzed by manually reducing the data sets. We found that the three techniques have a similar performance almost independently of the amount of sampling data in our test area. However, ANN are more stable when using a very small subset of points.

Nominal and functional task difficulty in skill acquisition: Effects on performance in two tests of transfer.

PubMed

Sanli, Elizabeth A; Lee, Timothy D

2015-06-01

The influence of nominal and functional task difficulty during the acquisition of a motor skill was examined in two tests of transfer of learning. The task involved a ballistic, target-directed, finger action. Nominal task difficulty was defined as the distance of the target from the home position. Functional task difficulty was created by manipulating the progression of target distances during practice. Based on the challenge point framework (Guadagnoli & Lee, 2004), we predicted that practice with a set of targets farther away from the performer would benefit from less functional task difficulty, while practice with a closer set of targets would benefit from more functional task difficulty. In single-task transfer tests, learners who practiced using the high nominal task difficulty targets benefitted in terms of persistence of performance over time. In dual-task transfer tests, groups with an intermediate combined (nominal and functional) task difficulty performed with greater persistence over time on tests of transfer than those who practiced with the highest or lowest combined difficulty. Together these findings suggest that the influences of nominal and functional task difficulty during acquisition are weighted differentially depending upon the transfer test context. The challenge point framework does not accurately capture this complex relationship in its current form. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Anthropometric Measures at Multiple Times Throughout Life and Prostate Cancer Diagnosis, Metastasis, and Death.

PubMed

Gerdtsson, Axel; Poon, Jessica B; Thorek, Daniel L; Mucci, Lorelei A; Evans, Michael J; Scardino, Peter; Abrahamsson, Per-Anders; Nilsson, Peter; Manjer, Jonas; Bjartell, Anders; Malm, Johan; Vickers, Andrew; Freedland, Stephen J; Lilja, Hans; Ulmert, David

2015-12-01

Previous studies of prostate cancer (PCa) risk and anthropometrics (ie, body measurements) were based on single measurements or obtained over limited time spans. To study the association between anthropometrics measured at multiple time points in life and their relation to later diagnosis, metastasis, or death from PCa. This case-control study includes 27 167 Swedish men enrolled in two population-based projects from 1974 to 1996. PCa diagnosis up to December 31, 2006, disease information, gestation time, and anthropometrics at birth, military conscript testing, and adulthood were collected. A total of 1355 PCa cases were matched with 5271 controls. Univariate conditional logistic regression was used to determine whether clinical diagnosis, metastasis, or PCa death was associated with low birth weight (weight <2500 g); with small size for gestational age; or with weight, length, or body mass index (BMI) at birth, adolescence (aged 16-22 yr), or early middle age (aged 44-50 yr). Apart from weight at adolescence, which was associated with an increased risk of PCa diagnosis (odds ratio [OR] per 5 kg: 1.05; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.01-1.09; p=0.026), preadulthood measurements were not associated with any PCa end point. Adulthood parameters were not associated with diagnosis. In contrast, weight and BMI at early middle age were significantly associated with metastasis (OR per 5 kg: 1.13; 95% CI, 1.06-1.20; p<0.0001, and OR: 1.09; 95% CI, 1.05-1.14; p<0.0001) and death (OR per 5 kg: 1.11 (95% CI, 1.03-1.19; p=0.005, and OR: 1.08; 95% CI, 1.03-1.13; p=0.003), respectively. It remains unclear whether these results apply to men of nonwhite origin, to populations with active PCa screening programs, or to countries without socialized health care. The analyses of these large data sets demonstrate that significant effects of body characteristics (with links to metabolic syndrome) measured at early middle age are associated with PCa disease severity, metastatic progression, and outcome. Conversely, measurements at birth and adolescence are not associated with PCa prevalence or outcome. Increased weight and body mass index in adults is associated with a higher risk of prostate cancer metastasis and death. Copyright © 2015 European Association of Urology. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Goal setting: Eating, Physical activity & Weight loss

Cancer.gov

No matter what your weight loss goal is, the key to reaching your goals is to make changes to your lifestyle behaviors like eating and physical activity. This involves setting realistic expectations and making a plan.

Generalized minimum dominating set and application in automatic text summarization

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xu, Yi-Zhi; Zhou, Hai-Jun

2016-03-01

For a graph formed by vertices and weighted edges, a generalized minimum dominating set (MDS) is a vertex set of smallest cardinality such that the summed weight of edges from each outside vertex to vertices in this set is equal to or larger than certain threshold value. This generalized MDS problem reduces to the conventional MDS problem in the limiting case of all the edge weights being equal to the threshold value. We treat the generalized MDS problem in the present paper by a replica-symmetric spin glass theory and derive a set of belief-propagation equations. As a practical application we consider the problem of extracting a set of sentences that best summarize a given input text document. We carry out a preliminary test of the statistical physics-inspired method to this automatic text summarization problem.

Point-based warping with optimized weighting factors of displacement vectors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pielot, Ranier; Scholz, Michael; Obermayer, Klaus; Gundelfinger, Eckart D.; Hess, Andreas

2000-06-01

The accurate comparison of inter-individual 3D image brain datasets requires non-affine transformation techniques (warping) to reduce geometric variations. Constrained by the biological prerequisites we use in this study a landmark-based warping method with weighted sums of displacement vectors, which is enhanced by an optimization process. Furthermore, we investigate fast automatic procedures for determining landmarks to improve the practicability of 3D warping. This combined approach was tested on 3D autoradiographs of Gerbil brains. The autoradiographs were obtained after injecting a non-metabolized radioactive glucose derivative into the Gerbil thereby visualizing neuronal activity in the brain. Afterwards the brain was processed with standard autoradiographical methods. The landmark-generator computes corresponding reference points simultaneously within a given number of datasets by Monte-Carlo-techniques. The warping function is a distance weighted exponential function with a landmark- specific weighting factor. These weighting factors are optimized by a computational evolution strategy. The warping quality is quantified by several coefficients (correlation coefficient, overlap-index, and registration error). The described approach combines a highly suitable procedure to automatically detect landmarks in autoradiographical brain images and an enhanced point-based warping technique, optimizing the local weighting factors. This optimization process significantly improves the similarity between the warped and the target dataset.

40 CFR 201.11 - Standard for locomotive operation under stationary conditions.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... completed on or before December 31, 1979, which produces A-weighted sound levels in excess of 93 dB at any..., 1979, which produces A-weighted sound levels in excess of 87 dB at any throttle setting except idle... December 31, 1979, which produces A-weighted sound levels in excess of 87 dB at any throttle setting except...

40 CFR 201.11 - Standard for locomotive operation under stationary conditions.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... completed on or before December 31, 1979, which produces A-weighted sound levels in excess of 93 dB at any..., 1979, which produces A-weighted sound levels in excess of 87 dB at any throttle setting except idle... December 31, 1979, which produces A-weighted sound levels in excess of 87 dB at any throttle setting except...

Longitudinal Mediation Analysis with Time-varying Mediators and Exposures, with Application to Survival Outcomes

PubMed Central

Zheng, Wenjing; van der Laan, Mark

2017-01-01

In this paper, we study the effect of a time-varying exposure mediated by a time-varying intermediate variable. We consider general longitudinal settings, including survival outcomes. At a given time point, the exposure and mediator of interest are influenced by past covariates, mediators and exposures, and affect future covariates, mediators and exposures. Right censoring, if present, occurs in response to past history. To address the challenges in mediation analysis that are unique to these settings, we propose a formulation in terms of random interventions based on conditional distributions for the mediator. This formulation, in particular, allows for well-defined natural direct and indirect effects in the survival setting, and natural decomposition of the standard total effect. Upon establishing identifiability and the corresponding statistical estimands, we derive the efficient influence curves and establish their robustness properties. Applying Targeted Maximum Likelihood Estimation, we use these efficient influence curves to construct multiply robust and efficient estimators. We also present an inverse probability weighted estimator and a nested non-targeted substitution estimator for these parameters. PMID:29387520

Fast-Solving Quasi-Optimal LS-S3VM Based on an Extended Candidate Set.

PubMed

Ma, Yuefeng; Liang, Xun; Kwok, James T; Li, Jianping; Zhou, Xiaoping; Zhang, Haiyan

2018-04-01

The semisupervised least squares support vector machine (LS-S 3 VM) is an important enhancement of least squares support vector machines in semisupervised learning. Given that most data collected from the real world are without labels, semisupervised approaches are more applicable than standard supervised approaches. Although a few training methods for LS-S 3 VM exist, the problem of deriving the optimal decision hyperplane efficiently and effectually has not been solved. In this paper, a fully weighted model of LS-S 3 VM is proposed, and a simple integer programming (IP) model is introduced through an equivalent transformation to solve the model. Based on the distances between the unlabeled data and the decision hyperplane, a new indicator is designed to represent the possibility that the label of an unlabeled datum should be reversed in each iteration during training. Using the indicator, we construct an extended candidate set consisting of the indices of unlabeled data with high possibilities, which integrates more information from unlabeled data. Our algorithm is degenerated into a special scenario of the previous algorithm when the extended candidate set is reduced into a set with only one element. Two strategies are utilized to determine the descent directions based on the extended candidate set. Furthermore, we developed a novel method for locating a good starting point based on the properties of the equivalent IP model. Combined with the extended candidate set and the carefully computed starting point, a fast algorithm to solve LS-S 3 VM quasi-optimally is proposed. The choice of quasi-optimal solutions results in low computational cost and avoidance of overfitting. Experiments show that our algorithm equipped with the two designed strategies is more effective than other algorithms in at least one of the following three aspects: 1) computational complexity; 2) generalization ability; and 3) flexibility. However, our algorithm and other algorithms have similar levels of performance in the remaining aspects.

Type-2 fuzzy set extension of DEMATEL method combined with perceptual computing for decision making

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hosseini, Mitra Bokaei; Tarokh, Mohammad Jafar

2013-05-01

Most decision making methods used to evaluate a system or demonstrate the weak and strength points are based on fuzzy sets and evaluate the criteria with words that are modeled with fuzzy sets. The ambiguity and vagueness of the words and different perceptions of a word are not considered in these methods. For this reason, the decision making methods that consider the perceptions of decision makers are desirable. Perceptual computing is a subjective judgment method that considers that words mean different things to different people. This method models words with interval type-2 fuzzy sets that consider the uncertainty of the words. Also, there are interrelations and dependency between the decision making criteria in the real world; therefore, using decision making methods that cannot consider these relations is not feasible in some situations. The Decision-Making Trail and Evaluation Laboratory (DEMATEL) method considers the interrelations between decision making criteria. The current study used the combination of DEMATEL and perceptual computing in order to improve the decision making methods. For this reason, the fuzzy DEMATEL method was extended into type-2 fuzzy sets in order to obtain the weights of dependent criteria based on the words. The application of the proposed method is presented for knowledge management evaluation criteria.

Dynamic parameters of three-point crutch gait in female patients after total hip arthroplasty.

PubMed

Murawa, Michał; Dworak, Lechosław B; Kabaciński, Jarosław; Syczewska, Małgorzata; Rzepnicka, Agata

2016-01-01

Patient recovery after a surgical procedure depends, among other factors, on the amount of the body weight with which patient loads lower limb. Research studies report different results of the degree of body weight with which lower limb is loaded during three-point crutch gait. The aim of this study was to evaluate the level of the ground reaction forces (GRF) during crutch gait used by patients after total hip arthroplasty (THA) in the first week after discharge from the orthopaedic units. Ten female patients diagnosed with primary unilateral coxarthrosis participated in a single measurement session. In order to record kinematic and dynamic variables of this gait pattern motion analysis system was used together with two force plates. The static test of body weight distribution between lower limbs was performed on a dual-top stabilometric plate. The average peak values of loading on the operated (O) limb during mid stance and terminal stance of three-point crutch gait were 64.6% and 64.3% of body weight (BW), respectively, whereas in the case of the nonoperated (NO) limb 103.5%BW and 108.8%BW, respectively. The maximum loads on the crutches were significantly higher (by 9%BW) on the NO side as compared to the O side ( p < 0.05). During the static test, average values of body weight distribution on the O and NO limb were 36%BW and 64%BW, respectively. The patients showed surprisingly similar level of loading on the O limb. The weight bearing on the O limb was lower during static trial than during three-point crutch gait.

Multi-component access to a commercially available weight loss program: A randomized controlled trial

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

This study examined weight loss between a community-based, intensive behavioral counseling program (Weight Watchers PointsPlus that included three treatment access modes and a self-help condition. A total of 292 participants were randomized to a Weight Watchers (WW; n=147) or a self-help condition (...

Multi-component access to a community-based weight loss program: 12 week results

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

The current study examined weight loss between a comprehensive lifestyle modification program (Weight Watchers PointsPlus program) that included three ways to access and a self-help (SH) condition. A total of 293 participants were randomized to either a Weight Watchers condition (WW) (n=148) or a SH...

Reliability of Urinary Dehydration Markers in Elite Youth Boxers.

PubMed

Zubac, Damir; Cular, Drazen; Marusic, Uros

2018-03-01

To determine the reliability and diagnostic accuracy of noninvasive urinary dehydration markers in field-based settings on a day-to-day basis in elite adolescent amateur boxers. Sixty-nine urine samples were collected daily from 23 athletes (17.3 ± 1.9 y) during their weight-stable phase and analyzed by field and laboratory measures of hydration status. Urine osmolality (U OSM ), urine specific gravity (U SG ), total protein content (T PC ), and body-mass stability were evaluated to determine fluid balance and hydration status. Overall macronutrient and water intake were determined using dietary records. According to their anthropometric characteristics, athletes were assigned into 2 groups: lightweight (L WB ) and heavyweight (H WB ) boxers. Data presented on U OSM demonstrated a uniform increment by 11.2% ± 12.8% (L WB ) and 19.9% ± 22.7% (H WB ) (P < .001) over the course of the study, even during the weight-stable phase (body mass, ICC = .99) and ad libitum fluid intake (42 ± 4 mL · kg -1  · d -1 ). The intraclass correlation coefficients (ICCs) ranged from .52 to .55 for U SG and .38 to .52 for U OSM , further indicating inconsistency of the urinary dehydration markers. Poor correlations were found between U SG and T PC metabolites (r = .27, P = .211). Urinary dehydration markers (both U SG and U OSM ) exhibit high variability and seem to be unreliable diagnostic tools to track actual body-weight loss in real-life settings. The ad libitum fluid intake was apparently inadequate to match acute fluid loss during and after intense preparation. The applicability of a single-time-point hydration-status assessment concept may preclude accurate assessment of actual body-weight deficits in youth boxers.

Anatomy of hierarchy: Feedforward and feedback pathways in macaque visual cortex

PubMed Central

Markov, Nikola T; Vezoli, Julien; Chameau, Pascal; Falchier, Arnaud; Quilodran, René; Huissoud, Cyril; Lamy, Camille; Misery, Pierre; Giroud, Pascale; Ullman, Shimon; Barone, Pascal; Dehay, Colette; Knoblauch, Kenneth; Kennedy, Henry

2013-01-01

The laminar location of the cell bodies and terminals of interareal connections determines the hierarchical structural organization of the cortex and has been intensively studied. However, we still have only a rudimentary understanding of the connectional principles of feedforward (FF) and feedback (FB) pathways. Quantitative analysis of retrograde tracers was used to extend the notion that the laminar distribution of neurons interconnecting visual areas provides an index of hierarchical distance (percentage of supragranular labeled neurons [SLN]). We show that: 1) SLN values constrain models of cortical hierarchy, revealing previously unsuspected areal relations; 2) SLN reflects the operation of a combinatorial distance rule acting differentially on sets of connections between areas; 3) Supragranular layers contain highly segregated bottom-up and top-down streams, both of which exhibit point-to-point connectivity. This contrasts with the infragranular layers, which contain diffuse bottom-up and top-down streams; 4) Cell filling of the parent neurons of FF and FB pathways provides further evidence of compartmentalization; 5) FF pathways have higher weights, cross fewer hierarchical levels, and are less numerous than FB pathways. Taken together, the present results suggest that cortical hierarchies are built from supra- and infragranular counterstreams. This compartmentalized dual counterstream organization allows point-to-point connectivity in both bottom-up and top-down directions. PMID:23983048

The cognitive cost of being a twin: evidence from comparisons within families in the Aberdeen children of the 1950s cohort study

PubMed Central

Ronalds, Georgina A; De Stavola, Bianca L; Leon, David A

2005-01-01

Objectives To determine whether twins have lower IQ scores in childhood than singletons in the same family and, if so, whether differences in fetal growth explain this deficit. Design Cohort study. Setting Scotland. Participants 9832 singletons and 236 twins born in Aberdeen between 1950 and 1956. Results At age 7, the mean IQ score of twins was 5.3 points lower (95% confidence interval 1.5 to 9.1) and at age 9, 6.0 points lower (1.7 to 10.2) than that of singletons in the same family. Adjustment for sex, mother's age, and number of older siblings had little effect on these differences. Further adjustment for birth weight and gestational age attenuated the IQ difference between twins and singletons: the difference in mean IQ was 2.6 points (-1.5 to 6.7) at age 7 and 4.1 points (-0.5 to 8.8) at age 9. Conclusions Twins have substantially lower IQ in childhood than singletons in the same family. This effect cannot be explained by confounding due to socioeconomic, maternal, or other family characteristics, or by recruitment bias. The reduced prenatal growth and shorter gestations of twins may explain an important part of their lower IQ in childhood. PMID:16299014

Estimation model for habitual 24-hour urinary-sodium excretion using simple questionnaires from normotensive Koreans.

PubMed

Kong, Ji-Sook; Lee, Yeon-Kyung; Kim, Mi Kyung; Choi, Mi-Kyeong; Heo, Young-Ran; Hyun, Taisun; Kim, Sun Mee; Lyu, Eun-Soon; Oh, Se-Young; Park, Hae-Ryun; Rhee, Moo-Yong; Ro, Hee-Kyong; Song, Mi Kyung

2018-01-01

This study was conducted to develop an equation for estimation of 24-h urinary-sodium excretion that can serve as an alternative to 24-h dietary recall and 24-h urine collection for normotensive Korean adults. In total, data on 640 healthy Korean adults aged 19 to 69 years from 4 regions of the country were collected as a training set. In order to externally validate the equation developed from that training set, 200 subjects were recruited independently as a validation set. Due to heterogeneity by gender, we constructed a gender-specific equation for estimation of 24-h urinary-sodium excretion by using a multivariable linear regression model and assessed the performance of the developed equation in validation set. The best model consisted of age, body weight, dietary behavior ('eating salty food', 'Kimchi consumption', 'Korean soup or stew consumption', 'soy sauce or red pepper paste consumption'), and smoking status in men, and age, body weight, dietary behavior ('salt preference', 'eating salty food', 'checking sodium content for processed foods', 'nut consumption'), and smoking status in women, respectively. When this model was tested in the external validation set, the mean bias between the measured and estimated 24-h urinary-sodium excretion from Bland-Altman plots was -1.92 (95% CI: -113, 110) mmol/d for men and -1.51 (95% CI: -90.6, 87.6) mmol/d for women. The cut-points of sodium intake calculated based on the equations were ≥4,000 mg/d for men and ≥3,500 mg/d for women, with 89.8 and 76.6% sensitivity and 29.3 and 64.2% specificity, respectively. In this study, a habitual 24-hour urinary-sodium-excretion-estimation model of normotensive Korean adults based on anthropometric and lifestyle factors was developed and showed feasibility for an asymptomatic population.

Estimation model for habitual 24-hour urinary-sodium excretion using simple questionnaires from normotensive Koreans

PubMed Central

Choi, Mi-Kyeong; Heo, Young-Ran; Hyun, Taisun; Kim, Sun Mee; Lyu, Eun-Soon; Oh, Se-Young; Park, Hae-Ryun; Rhee, Moo-Yong; Ro, Hee-Kyong; Song, Mi Kyung

2018-01-01

This study was conducted to develop an equation for estimation of 24-h urinary-sodium excretion that can serve as an alternative to 24-h dietary recall and 24-h urine collection for normotensive Korean adults. In total, data on 640 healthy Korean adults aged 19 to 69 years from 4 regions of the country were collected as a training set. In order to externally validate the equation developed from that training set, 200 subjects were recruited independently as a validation set. Due to heterogeneity by gender, we constructed a gender-specific equation for estimation of 24-h urinary-sodium excretion by using a multivariable linear regression model and assessed the performance of the developed equation in validation set. The best model consisted of age, body weight, dietary behavior (‘eating salty food’, ‘Kimchi consumption’, ‘Korean soup or stew consumption’, ‘soy sauce or red pepper paste consumption’), and smoking status in men, and age, body weight, dietary behavior (‘salt preference’, ‘eating salty food’, ‘checking sodium content for processed foods’, ‘nut consumption’), and smoking status in women, respectively. When this model was tested in the external validation set, the mean bias between the measured and estimated 24-h urinary-sodium excretion from Bland-Altman plots was -1.92 (95% CI: -113, 110) mmol/d for men and -1.51 (95% CI: -90.6, 87.6) mmol/d for women. The cut-points of sodium intake calculated based on the equations were ≥4,000 mg/d for men and ≥3,500 mg/d for women, with 89.8 and 76.6% sensitivity and 29.3 and 64.2% specificity, respectively. In this study, a habitual 24-hour urinary-sodium-excretion-estimation model of normotensive Korean adults based on anthropometric and lifestyle factors was developed and showed feasibility for an asymptomatic population. PMID:29447201

Improving Space Project Cost Estimating with Engineering Management Variables

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hamaker, Joseph W.; Roth, Axel (Technical Monitor)

2001-01-01

Current space project cost models attempt to predict space flight project cost via regression equations, which relate the cost of projects to technical performance metrics (e.g. weight, thrust, power, pointing accuracy, etc.). This paper examines the introduction of engineering management parameters to the set of explanatory variables. A number of specific engineering management variables are considered and exploratory regression analysis is performed to determine if there is statistical evidence for cost effects apart from technical aspects of the projects. It is concluded that there are other non-technical effects at work and that further research is warranted to determine if it can be shown that these cost effects are definitely related to engineering management.

Levothyroxine Dosing Following Bariatric Surgery.

PubMed

Gadiraju, Silpa; Lee, Clare J; Cooper, David S

2016-10-01

Based on the mechanisms of drug absorption, increased levothyroxine requirements are expected after bariatric surgery. However, there are conflicting data on this topic. This review evaluates the effects of bariatric surgery on levothyroxine dosing. Data were obtained from PubMed, Scopus, and review of published bibliographies. Six of 10 studies demonstrated decreased postoperative requirements. Most demonstrated correlations between weight loss and dose. Only 3 case reports and 1 case series demonstrated increased levothyroxine requirements, attributed to malabsorption. The loss of both fat and lean body mass may counteract malabsorptive effects from surgery, resulting in decreased postoperative levothyroxine requirements. In addition, the reversal of impaired levothyroxine pharmacokinetics and an altered set point of thyroid hormone homeostasis may also contribute to postoperative levothyroxine reductions.

Matrix Sturm-Liouville equation with a Bessel-type singularity on a finite interval

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bondarenko, Natalia

2017-03-01

The matrix Sturm-Liouville equation on a finite interval with a Bessel-type singularity in the end of the interval is studied. Special fundamental systems of solutions for this equation are constructed: analytic Bessel-type solutions with the prescribed behavior at the singular point and Birkhoff-type solutions with the known asymptotics for large values of the spectral parameter. The asymptotic formulas for Stokes multipliers, connecting these two fundamental systems of solutions, are derived. We also set boundary conditions and obtain asymptotic formulas for the spectral data (the eigenvalues and the weight matrices) of the boundary value problem. Our results will be useful in the theory of direct and inverse spectral problems.

Association Between Change in Body Mass Index, Unified Parkinson’s Disease Rating Scale Scores, and Survival Among Persons With Parkinson Disease

PubMed Central

Wills, Anne-Marie A.; Pérez, Adriana; Wang, Jue; Su, Xiao; Morgan, John; Rajan, Suja S.; Leehey, Maureen A.; Pontone, Gregory M.; Chou, Kelvin L.; Umeh, Chizoba; Mari, Zoltan; Boyd, James

2017-01-01

IMPORTANCE Greater body mass index (BMI, calculated as weight in kilograms divided by height in meters squared) is associated with improved survival among persons with Huntington disease or amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. Weight loss is common among persons with Parkinson disease (PD) and is associated with worse quality of life. OBJECTIVE To explore the association between change in BMI, Unified Parkinson’s Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS) motor and total scores, and survival among persons with PD and to test whether there is a positive association between BMI at randomization and survival. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS Secondary analysis (from May 27, 2014, to October 13, 2015) of longitudinal data (3–6 years) from 1673 participants who started the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke Exploratory Trials in PD Long-term Study-1 (NET-PD LS-1). This was a double-blind randomized placebo-controlled clinical trial of creatine monohydrate (10 g/d) that was performed at 45 sites throughout the United States and Canada. Participants with early (within 5 years of diagnosis) and treated (receiving dopaminergic therapy) PD were enrolled from March 2007 to May 2010 and followed up until September 2013. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES Change across time in motor UPDRS score, change across time in total UPDRS score, and time to death. Generalized linear mixed models were used to estimate the effect of BMI on the change in motor and total UPDRS scores after controlling for covariates. Survival was analyzed using Cox proportional hazards models of time to death. A participant’s BMI was measured at randomization, and BMI trajectory groups were classified according to whether participants experienced weight loss (“decreasing BMI”), weight stability (“stable BMI”), or weight gain (“increasing BMI”) during the study. RESULTS Of the 1673 participants (mean [SD] age, 61.7 [9.6] years; 1074 [64.2%] were male), 158 (9.4%) experienced weight loss (decreasing BMI), whereas 233 (13.9%) experienced weight gain (increasing BMI). After adjusting for covariates, we found that the weight-loss group’s mean (SE) motor UPDRS score increased by 1.48 (0.28) (P < .001) more points per visit than the weight-stable group’s mean (SE) motor UPDRS score. The weight-gain group’s mean (SE) motor UPDRS score decreased by −0.51 (0.24) (P = .03) points per visit, relative to the weight-stable group. While there was an unadjusted difference in survival between the 3 BMI trajectory groups (log-rank P < .001), this was not significant after adjusting for covariates. CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE Change in BMI was inversely associated with change in motor and total UPDRS scores in the NET-PD LS-1. Change in BMI was not associated with survival; however, these results were limited by the low number of deaths in the NET-PD LS-1. TRIAL REGISTRATION clinicaltrials.gov Identifier: NCT00449865 PMID:26751506

NDARC NASA Design and Analysis of Rotorcraft - Input, Appendix 4

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Johnson, Wayne

2016-01-01

The NDARC code performs design and analysis tasks. The design task involves sizing the rotorcraft to satisfy specified design conditions and missions. The analysis tasks can include off-design mission performance analysis, flight performance calculation for point operating conditions, and generation of subsystem or component performance maps. The principal tasks (sizing, mission analysis, flight performance analysis) are shown in the figure as boxes with heavy borders. Heavy arrows show control of subordinate tasks. The aircraft description consists of all the information, input and derived, that denes the aircraft. The aircraft consists of a set of components, including fuselage, rotors, wings, tails, and propulsion. This information can be the result of the sizing task; can come entirely from input, for a fixed model; or can come from the sizing task in a previous case or previous job. The aircraft description information is available to all tasks and all solutions. The sizing task determines the dimensions, power, and weight of a rotorcraft that can perform a specified set of design conditions and missions. The aircraft size is characterized by parameters such as design gross weight, weight empty, rotor radius, and engine power available. The relations between dimensions, power, and weight generally require an iterative solution. From the design flight conditions and missions, the task can determine the total engine power or the rotor radius (or both power and radius can be fixed), as well as the design gross weight, maximum takeoff weight, drive system torque limit, and fuel tank capacity. For each propulsion group, the engine power or the rotor radius can be sized. Missions are defined for the sizing task, and for the mission performance analysis. A mission consists of a number of mission segments, for which time, distance, and fuel burn are evaluated. For the sizing task, certain missions are designated to be used for design gross weight calculations; for transmission sizing; and for fuel tank sizing. The mission parameters include mission takeoff gross weight and useful load. For specified takeoff fuel weight with adjustable segments, the mission time or distance is adjusted so the fuel required for the mission equals the takeoff fuel weight. The mission iteration is on fuel weight or energy. Flight conditions are specified for the sizing task, and for the flight performance analysis. For the sizing task, certain flight conditions are designated to be used for design gross weight calculations; for transmission sizing; for maximum takeoff weight calculations; and for anti-torque or auxiliary thrust rotor sizing. The flight condition parameters include gross weight and useful load. For flight conditions and mission takeoff, the gross weight can be maximized, such that the power required equals the power available. A flight state is defined for each mission segment and each flight condition. The aircraft performance can be analyzed for the specified state, or a maximum effort performance can be identified. The maximum effort is specified in terms of a quantity such as best endurance or best range, and a variable such as speed, rate of climb, or altitude.

2016 American College of Rheumatology/European League Against Rheumatism criteria for minimal, moderate, and major clinical response in adult dermatomyositis and polymyositis: An International Myositis Assessment and Clinical Studies Group/Paediatric Rheumatology International Trials Organisation Collaborative Initiative.

PubMed

Aggarwal, Rohit; Rider, Lisa G; Ruperto, Nicolino; Bayat, Nastaran; Erman, Brian; Feldman, Brian M; Oddis, Chester V; Amato, Anthony A; Chinoy, Hector; Cooper, Robert G; Dastmalchi, Maryam; Fiorentino, David; Isenberg, David; Katz, James D; Mammen, Andrew; de Visser, Marianne; Ytterberg, Steven R; Lundberg, Ingrid E; Chung, Lorinda; Danko, Katalin; García-De la Torre, Ignacio; Song, Yeong Wook; Villa, Luca; Rinaldi, Mariangela; Rockette, Howard; Lachenbruch, Peter A; Miller, Frederick W; Vencovsky, Jiri

2017-05-01

To develop response criteria for adult dermatomyositis (DM) and polymyositis (PM). Expert surveys, logistic regression, and conjoint analysis were used to develop 287 definitions using core set measures. Myositis experts rated greater improvement among multiple pairwise scenarios in conjoint analysis surveys, where different levels of improvement in 2 core set measures were presented. The PAPRIKA (Potentially All Pairwise Rankings of All Possible Alternatives) method determined the relative weights of core set measures and conjoint analysis definitions. The performance characteristics of the definitions were evaluated on patient profiles using expert consensus (gold standard) and were validated using data from a clinical trial. The nominal group technique was used to reach consensus. Consensus was reached for a conjoint analysis-based continuous model using absolute per cent change in core set measures (physician, patient, and extramuscular global activity, muscle strength, Health Assessment Questionnaire, and muscle enzyme levels). A total improvement score (range 0-100), determined by summing scores for each core set measure, was based on improvement in and relative weight of each core set measure. Thresholds for minimal, moderate, and major improvement were ≥20, ≥40, and ≥60 points in the total improvement score. The same criteria were chosen for juvenile DM, with different improvement thresholds. Sensitivity and specificity in DM/PM patient cohorts were 85% and 92%, 90% and 96%, and 92% and 98% for minimal, moderate, and major improvement, respectively. Definitions were validated in the clinical trial analysis for differentiating the physician rating of improvement (p<0.001). The response criteria for adult DM/PM consisted of the conjoint analysis model based on absolute per cent change in 6 core set measures, with thresholds for minimal, moderate, and major improvement. 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/.

Relationship between the surrogate anthropometric measures, foot length and chest circumference and birth weight among newborns of Sarlahi, Nepal

PubMed Central

Mullany, LC; Darmstadt, GL; Khatry, SK; LeClerq, SC; Tielsch, JM

2008-01-01

Background Classification of infants into low birth weight (LBW, <2500 g) or very low birth weight (VLBW, <2000 g) categories is a crucial step in targeting interventions to high-risk infants. Objective To compare the validity of chest circumference and foot length as surrogate anthropometric measures for the identification of LBW and VLBW infants. Subjects and setting Newborn infants (n = 1640) born between March and June 2004 in 30 Village Development Committees of Sarlahi district, Nepal. Design Chest circumference, foot length and weight (SECA 727, precise to 2 g) of newborns were measured within 72 h after birth. The sensitivity, specificity and predictive values for a range of cutoff points of the anthropometric measures were estimated using the digital scale measurements as the gold standard. Results Among LBW infants (469/1640, 28.6%), chest circumference measures <30.3 cm were 91% sensitive and 83% specific. Similar levels of sensitivity for foot length were achieved only with considerable loss of specificity (<45%). Foot length measurements <6.9 cm were 88% sensitive and 86% specific for the identification of VLBW infants. Conclusion Chest circumference was superior to foot length in classification of infants into birth weight categories. For the identification of VLBW infants, foot length performed well, and may be preferable to chest circumference, as the former measure does not require removal of infant swaddling clothes. In the absence of more precise direct measures of birth weight, chest circumference is recommended over foot length for the identification of LBW infants. Sponsorship The National Institute of Child Health and Human Development; the Saving Newborn Lives Initiative, Save the Children – US and the Office of Heath and Nutrition, United States Agency for International Development (see Acknowledgements). PMID:16885929

Advantages of high b-value diffusion-weighted imaging to diagnose pseudo-responses in patients with recurrent glioma after bevacizumab treatment.

PubMed

Yamasaki, Fumiyuki; Kurisu, Kaoru; Aoki, Tomokazu; Yamanaka, Masami; Kajiwara, Yoshinori; Watanabe, Yosuke; Takayasu, Takeshi; Akiyama, Yuji; Sugiyama, Kazuhiko

2012-10-01

The diagnosis of pseudo-responses after bevacizumab treatment is difficult. Because diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) is associated with cell density, it may facilitate the differentiation between true- and pseudo-responses. Furthermore, as high b-value DWI is even more sensitive to diffusion, it has been reported to be diagnostically useful in various clinical settings. Between September 2008 and May 2011, 10 patients (5 males, 5 females; age range 6-65 years) with recurrent glioma were treated with bevacizumab. All underwent pre- and post-treatment MRI including T2- or FLAIR imaging, post-gadolinium contrast T1-weighted imaging, and DWI with b-1000 and b-4000. Response rates were evaluated by MacDonald- and by response assessment in neuro-oncology working group (RANO) criteria. We also assessed the response rate by calculating the size of high intensity areas using high b-value diffusion-weighted criteria. Prognostic factors were evaluated using Kaplan-Meier survival curves (log-rank test). It was easier to identify pseudo-responses with RANO- than MacDonald criteria, however the reduction of edema by bevacizumab rendered the early diagnosis of tumor progression difficult by RANO criteria. In some patients with recurrent glioma treated with bevacizumab, high b-value diffusion-weighted criteria did, while MacDonald- and RANO criteria did not identify pseudo-responses at an early point after the start of therapy. High b-value DWI reflects cell density more accurately than regular b-value DWI. Our findings suggest that in patients with recurrent glioma, high b-value diffusion-weighted criteria are useful for the differentiation between pseudo- and true responses to treatment with bevacizumab. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

The quest for conditional independence in prospectivity modeling: weights-of-evidence, boost weights-of-evidence, and logistic regression

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schaeben, Helmut; Semmler, Georg

2016-09-01

The objective of prospectivity modeling is prediction of the conditional probability of the presence T = 1 or absence T = 0 of a target T given favorable or prohibitive predictors B, or construction of a two classes 0,1 classification of T. A special case of logistic regression called weights-of-evidence (WofE) is geologists' favorite method of prospectivity modeling due to its apparent simplicity. However, the numerical simplicity is deceiving as it is implied by the severe mathematical modeling assumption of joint conditional independence of all predictors given the target. General weights of evidence are explicitly introduced which are as simple to estimate as conventional weights, i.e., by counting, but do not require conditional independence. Complementary to the regression view is the classification view on prospectivity modeling. Boosting is the construction of a strong classifier from a set of weak classifiers. From the regression point of view it is closely related to logistic regression. Boost weights-of-evidence (BoostWofE) was introduced into prospectivity modeling to counterbalance violations of the assumption of conditional independence even though relaxation of modeling assumptions with respect to weak classifiers was not the (initial) purpose of boosting. In the original publication of BoostWofE a fabricated dataset was used to "validate" this approach. Using the same fabricated dataset it is shown that BoostWofE cannot generally compensate lacking conditional independence whatever the consecutively processing order of predictors. Thus the alleged features of BoostWofE are disproved by way of counterexamples, while theoretical findings are confirmed that logistic regression including interaction terms can exactly compensate violations of joint conditional independence if the predictors are indicators.

Random regression models for the prediction of days to weight, ultrasound rib eye area, and ultrasound back fat depth in beef cattle.

PubMed

Speidel, S E; Peel, R K; Crews, D H; Enns, R M

2016-02-01

Genetic evaluation research designed to reduce the required days to a specified end point has received very little attention in pertinent scientific literature, given that its economic importance was first discussed in 1957. There are many production scenarios in today's beef industry, making a prediction for the required number of days to a single end point a suboptimal option. Random regression is an attractive alternative to calculate days to weight (DTW), days to ultrasound back fat (DTUBF), and days to ultrasound rib eye area (DTUREA) genetic predictions that could overcome weaknesses of a single end point prediction. The objective of this study was to develop random regression approaches for the prediction of the DTW, DTUREA, and DTUBF. Data were obtained from the Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada Research Centre, Lethbridge, AB, Canada. Data consisted of records on 1,324 feedlot cattle spanning 1999 to 2007. Individual animals averaged 5.77 observations with weights, ultrasound rib eye area (UREA), ultrasound back fat depth (UBF), and ages ranging from 293 to 863 kg, 73.39 to 129.54 cm, 1.53 to 30.47 mm, and 276 to 519 d, respectively. Random regression models using Legendre polynomials were used to regress age of the individual on weight, UREA, and UBF. Fixed effects in the model included an overall fixed regression of age on end point (weight, UREA, and UBF) nested within breed to account for the mean relationship between age and weight as well as a contemporary group effect consisting of breed of the animal (Angus, Charolais, and Charolais sired), feedlot pen, and year of measure. Likelihood ratio tests were used to determine the appropriate random polynomial order. Use of the quadratic polynomial did not account for any additional genetic variation in days for DTW ( > 0.11), for DTUREA ( > 0.18), and for DTUBF ( > 0.20) when compared with the linear random polynomial. Heritability estimates from the linear random regression for DTW ranged from 0.54 to 0.74, corresponding to end points of 293 and 863 kg, respectively. Heritability for DTUREA ranged from 0.51 to 0.34 and for DTUBF ranged from 0.55 to 0.37. These estimates correspond to UREA end points of 35 and 125 cm and UBF end points of 1.53 and 30 mm, respectively. This range of heritability shows DTW, DTUREA, and DTUBF to be highly heritable and indicates that selection pressure aimed at reducing the number of days to reach a finish weight end point can result in genetic change given sufficient data.

Combining diffusion-weighted MRI with Gd-EOB-DTPA-enhanced MRI improves the detection of colorectal liver metastases.

PubMed

Koh, D-M; Collins, D J; Wallace, T; Chau, I; Riddell, A M

2012-07-01

To compare the diagnostic accuracy of gadolinium-ethoxybenzyl-diethylenetriaminepentaacetic acid (Gd-EOB-DTPA)-enhanced MRI, diffusion-weighted MRI (DW-MRI) and a combination of both techniques for the detection of colorectal hepatic metastases. 72 patients with suspected colorectal liver metastases underwent Gd-EOB-DTPA MRI and DW-MRI. Images were retrospectively reviewed with unenhanced T(1) and T(2) weighted images as Gd-EOB-DTPA image set, DW-MRI image set and combined image set by two independent radiologists. Each lesion detected was scored for size, location and likelihood of metastasis, and compared with surgery and follow-up imaging. Diagnostic accuracy was compared using receiver operating characteristics and interobserver agreement by kappa statistics. 417 lesions (310 metastases, 107 benign) were found in 72 patients. For both readers, diagnostic accuracy using the combined image set was higher [area under the curve (Az)=0.96, 0.97] than Gd-EOB-DTPA image set (Az=0.86, 0.89) or DW-MRI image set (Az=0.93, 0.92). Using combined image set improved identification of liver metastases compared with Gd-EOB-DTPA image set (p<0.001) or DW-MRI image set (p<0.001). There was very good interobserver agreement for lesion classification (κ=0.81-0.88). Combining DW-MRI with Gd-EOB-DTPA-enhanced T(1) weighted MRI significantly improved the detection of colorectal liver metastases.

A data base of crop nutrient use, water use, and carbon dioxide exchange in a 2O square meter growth chamber: I. Wheat as a case study

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wheeler, R. M.; Berry, W. L.; Mackowiak, C.; Corey, K. A.; Sager, J. C.; Heeb, M. M.; Knott, W. M.

1993-01-01

A data set is given describing the daily nutrient uptake, gas exchange, environmental conditions, and carbon (C), and nutrient partitioning at harvest for the entire canopy and root system of a wheat crop (Triticum aestivum, cv. Yecora Rojo). The data were obtained from a 20 m2 stand of wheat plants grown from planting to maturity in a closed, controlled environment, and include daily nutrient uptake [macronutrients, nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), potassium (K), calcium (Ca), magnesium (Mg), and sulfur (S); and micronutrients, iron (Fe), boron (B), manganese (Mn), zinc (Zn), copper (Cu), and molybdenum (Mo)], canopy carbon dioxide (CO2) exchange rates, and transpiration. Environmental factors such as relative humidity, air temperature, nutrient solution temperature, pH and electrical conductivity, and photoperiod were controlled in the chamber to specific set points. A detailed description of biomass yield for each of the 64 plant growth trays comprising the 20 m2 of growth area is also provided, and includes dry weights of grain, straw, chaff, and roots, along with the concentration of nutrients in different plant tissues and the percent carbohydrate, fat, and protein. To our knowledge, this information represents one of the most extensive data sets available for a canopy of wheat grown from seed to maturity under controlled environmental and nutritional conditions, and thus may provide useful information for model development and validation. A methods section is included to qualify any assumptions that might be required for the use of the data in plant growth models, along with a daily event calendar indicating when adjustments in set points and occasional equipment or sensor failures occurred.

A Data Base of Crop Nutrient Use, Water Use, and Carbon Dioxide Exchange in a 20 Square Meter Growth Chamber. Part 1; Wheat as a Case Study

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wheeler, Raymond M.; Berry, Wade L.; Mackowiak, Cheryl; Corey, Kenneth A.; Sager, John C.; Heeb, Margaret M.; Knott, William M.

1993-01-01

A data set is given describing the daily nutrient uptake, gas exchange, environmental conditions, and carbon (C), and nutrient partitioning at harvest for the entire canopy and root system of a wheat crop (Triticum aestivum, cv. Yecora Rojo). The data were obtained from a 20 sq m stand of wheat plants grown from planting to maturity in a closed, controlled environment, and include daily nutrient uptake [macronutrients, nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), potassium (K), calcium (Ca), magnesium (Mg), and sulfur (S); and micronutrients, iron (Fe), boron (B), manganese (Mn), zinc (Zn), copper (Cu), and molybdenum (Mo)], canopy carbon dioxide (CO2) exchange rates, and transpiration. Environmental factors such as relative humidity, air temperature, nutrient solution temperature, pH and electrical conductivity, and photoperiod were controlled in the chamber to specific set points. A detailed description of biomass yield for each of the 64 plant growth trays comprising the 20 sq m of growth area is also provided, and includes dry weights of grain, straw, chaff, and roots, along with the concentration of nutrients in different plant tissues and the percent carbohydrate, fat, and protein. To our knowledge, this information represents one of the most extensive data sets available for a canopy of wheat grown from seed to maturity under controlled environmental and nutritional conditions, and thus may provide useful information for model development and validation. A methods section is included to qualify any assumptions that might he required for the use of the data in plant growth models, along with a daily event calendar indicating when adjustments in set points and occasional equipment or sensor failures occurred.

Weighting by Inverse Variance or by Sample Size in Random-Effects Meta-Analysis

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Marin-Martinez, Fulgencio; Sanchez-Meca, Julio

2010-01-01

Most of the statistical procedures in meta-analysis are based on the estimation of average effect sizes from a set of primary studies. The optimal weight for averaging a set of independent effect sizes is the inverse variance of each effect size, but in practice these weights have to be estimated, being affected by sampling error. When assuming a…

Predicting objective function weights from patient anatomy in prostate IMRT treatment planning

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

Lee, Taewoo, E-mail: taewoo.lee@utoronto.ca; Hammad, Muhannad; Chan, Timothy C. Y.

2013-12-15

Purpose: Intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) treatment planning typically combines multiple criteria into a single objective function by taking a weighted sum. The authors propose a statistical model that predicts objective function weights from patient anatomy for prostate IMRT treatment planning. This study provides a proof of concept for geometry-driven weight determination. Methods: A previously developed inverse optimization method (IOM) was used to generate optimal objective function weights for 24 patients using their historical treatment plans (i.e., dose distributions). These IOM weights were around 1% for each of the femoral heads, while bladder and rectum weights varied greatly between patients. Amore » regression model was developed to predict a patient's rectum weight using the ratio of the overlap volume of the rectum and bladder with the planning target volume at a 1 cm expansion as the independent variable. The femoral head weights were fixed to 1% each and the bladder weight was calculated as one minus the rectum and femoral head weights. The model was validated using leave-one-out cross validation. Objective values and dose distributions generated through inverse planning using the predicted weights were compared to those generated using the original IOM weights, as well as an average of the IOM weights across all patients. Results: The IOM weight vectors were on average six times closer to the predicted weight vectors than to the average weight vector, usingl{sub 2} distance. Likewise, the bladder and rectum objective values achieved by the predicted weights were more similar to the objective values achieved by the IOM weights. The difference in objective value performance between the predicted and average weights was statistically significant according to a one-sided sign test. For all patients, the difference in rectum V54.3 Gy, rectum V70.0 Gy, bladder V54.3 Gy, and bladder V70.0 Gy values between the dose distributions generated by the predicted weights and IOM weights was less than 5 percentage points. Similarly, the difference in femoral head V54.3 Gy values between the two dose distributions was less than 5 percentage points for all but one patient. Conclusions: This study demonstrates a proof of concept that patient anatomy can be used to predict appropriate objective function weights for treatment planning. In the long term, such geometry-driven weights may serve as a starting point for iterative treatment plan design or may provide information about the most clinically relevant region of the Pareto surface to explore.« less

Predicting objective function weights from patient anatomy in prostate IMRT treatment planning

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

Lee, Taewoo, E-mail: taewoo.lee@utoronto.ca; Hammad, Muhannad; Chan, Timothy C. Y.

Purpose: Intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) treatment planning typically combines multiple criteria into a single objective function by taking a weighted sum. The authors propose a statistical model that predicts objective function weights from patient anatomy for prostate IMRT treatment planning. This study provides a proof of concept for geometry-driven weight determination. Methods: A previously developed inverse optimization method (IOM) was used to generate optimal objective function weights for 24 patients using their historical treatment plans (i.e., dose distributions). These IOM weights were around 1% for each of the femoral heads, while bladder and rectum weights varied greatly between patients. Amore » regression model was developed to predict a patient's rectum weight using the ratio of the overlap volume of the rectum and bladder with the planning target volume at a 1 cm expansion as the independent variable. The femoral head weights were fixed to 1% each and the bladder weight was calculated as one minus the rectum and femoral head weights. The model was validated using leave-one-out cross validation. Objective values and dose distributions generated through inverse planning using the predicted weights were compared to those generated using the original IOM weights, as well as an average of the IOM weights across all patients. Results: The IOM weight vectors were on average six times closer to the predicted weight vectors than to the average weight vector, usingl{sub 2} distance. Likewise, the bladder and rectum objective values achieved by the predicted weights were more similar to the objective values achieved by the IOM weights. The difference in objective value performance between the predicted and average weights was statistically significant according to a one-sided sign test. For all patients, the difference in rectum V54.3 Gy, rectum V70.0 Gy, bladder V54.3 Gy, and bladder V70.0 Gy values between the dose distributions generated by the predicted weights and IOM weights was less than 5 percentage points. Similarly, the difference in femoral head V54.3 Gy values between the two dose distributions was less than 5 percentage points for all but one patient. Conclusions: This study demonstrates a proof of concept that patient anatomy can be used to predict appropriate objective function weights for treatment planning. In the long term, such geometry-driven weights may serve as a starting point for iterative treatment plan design or may provide information about the most clinically relevant region of the Pareto surface to explore.« less

Solution of the weighted symmetric similarity transformations based on quaternions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mercan, H.; Akyilmaz, O.; Aydin, C.

2017-12-01

A new method through Gauss-Helmert model of adjustment is presented for the solution of the similarity transformations, either 3D or 2D, in the frame of errors-in-variables (EIV) model. EIV model assumes that all the variables in the mathematical model are contaminated by random errors. Total least squares estimation technique may be used to solve the EIV model. Accounting for the heteroscedastic uncertainty both in the target and the source coordinates, that is the more common and general case in practice, leads to a more realistic estimation of the transformation parameters. The presented algorithm can handle the heteroscedastic transformation problems, i.e., positions of the both target and the source points may have full covariance matrices. Therefore, there is no limitation such as the isotropic or the homogenous accuracy for the reference point coordinates. The developed algorithm takes the advantage of the quaternion definition which uniquely represents a 3D rotation matrix. The transformation parameters: scale, translations, and the quaternion (so that the rotation matrix) along with their covariances, are iteratively estimated with rapid convergence. Moreover, prior least squares (LS) estimation of the unknown transformation parameters is not required to start the iterations. We also show that the developed method can also be used to estimate the 2D similarity transformation parameters by simply treating the problem as a 3D transformation problem with zero (0) values assigned for the z-components of both target and source points. The efficiency of the new algorithm is presented with the numerical examples and comparisons with the results of the previous studies which use the same data set. Simulation experiments for the evaluation and comparison of the proposed and the conventional weighted LS (WLS) method is also presented.

Perceived Racial Discrimination in the Workplace and Body Weight among the Unemployed.

PubMed

Kuroki, Masanori

2017-01-01

This study investigates the association between body weight and the likelihood that people perceive that they have been the victims of racial discrimination in the workplace among the unemployed. I find that unemployed obese men and women are 8.4 percentage points and 7.7 percentage points, respectively, more likely to have experienced racial discrimination before becoming unemployed than their non-obese counterparts. For unemployed men, the relationship between body weight and perceived racial discrimination does not seem to be associated with race. For unemployed women, being black and obese significantly increases the likelihood of perceiving racial discrimination.

Birth weight and cognitive ability in childhood among siblings and nonsiblings.

PubMed

Yang, Seungmi; Lynch, John; Susser, Ezra S; Lawlor, Debbie A

2008-08-01

The purpose of this work was to examine whether the positive association between birth weight and childhood cognitive ability is seen within siblings from the same family, as well as between nonsiblings, and to determine whether these associations vary with age. We compared the association of birth weight with cognitive ability measured at ages 5 to 6, 7 to 9, and 11 to 12 years among a total of 5402 children from different families with that among 2236 to 3083 sibships from the National Longitudinal Study of Youth 1979-Children. In the whole cohort, there were positive associations between birth weight and cognitive ability at all ages, with the association increasing with age from a 0.81-point increase at ages 5 to 6 years to 1.30 and 1.44 points at ages 7 to 9 and 11 to 12 years, respectively, per 1 SD of gestational age- and gender-adjusted birth weight z score. With adjustment for covariates, there was marked attenuation of these associations. Mean differences were 0.28 points in children aged 5 to 6 years, 0.67 points in those aged 7 to 9 years, and 0.52 points in those aged 11 to 12 years after adjusting for child's gender, race or ethnicity, year of birth, and age at test; maternal age, height, parity, education, smoking during pregnancy, and cognitive ability; and household income. Our family-based analyses that separated within- and between-family effects found that the between-family associations were much stronger than the within-family associations. However, adjustment for potential confounders attenuated the between-family associations, and there was no evidence for a difference in association comparing the between- and within-family associations. In these data, the positive association between birth weight and childhood cognitive ability at ages 5 to 12 years is explained largely by family characteristics rather than a specific intrauterine effect.

Assessing value-based health care delivery for haemodialysis.

PubMed

Parra, Eduardo; Arenas, María Dolores; Alonso, Manuel; Martínez, María Fernanda; Gamen, Ángel; Aguarón, Juan; Escobar, María Teresa; Moreno-Jiménez, José María; Alvarez-Ude, Fernando

2017-06-01

Disparities in haemodialysis outcomes among centres have been well-documented. Besides, attempts to assess haemodialysis results have been based on non-comprehensive methodologies. This study aimed to develop a comprehensive methodology for assessing haemodialysis centres, based on the value of health care. The value of health care is defined as the patient benefit from a specific medical intervention per monetary unit invested (Value = Patient Benefit/Cost). This study assessed the value of health care and ranked different haemodialysis centres. A nephrology quality management group identified the criteria for the assessment. An expert group composed of stakeholders (patients, clinicians and managers) agreed on the weighting of each variable, considering values and preferences. Multi-criteria methodology was used to analyse the data. Four criteria and their weights were identified: evidence-based clinical performance measures = 43 points; yearly mortality = 27 points; patient satisfaction = 13 points; and health-related quality of life = 17 points (100-point scale). Evidence-based clinical performance measures included five sub-criteria, with respective weights, including: dialysis adequacy; haemoglobin concentration; mineral and bone disorders; type of vascular access; and hospitalization rate. The patient benefit was determined from co-morbidity-adjusted results and corresponding weights. The cost of each centre was calculated as the average amount expended per patient per year. The study was conducted in five centres (1-5). After adjusting for co-morbidity, value of health care was calculated, and the centres were ranked. A multi-way sensitivity analysis that considered different weights (10-60% changes) and costs (changes of 10% in direct and 30% in allocated costs) showed that the methodology was robust. The rankings: 4-5-3-2-1 and 4-3-5-2-1 were observed in 62.21% and 21.55%, respectively, of simulations, when weights were varied by 60%. Value assessments may integrate divergent stakeholder perceptions, create a context for improvement and aid in policy-making decisions. © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Estimating quality weights for EQ-5D health states with the time trade-off method in South Korea.

PubMed

Jo, Min-Woo; Yun, Sung-Cheol; Lee, Sang-Il

2008-12-01

To estimate quality weights of EQ-5D health states with the time trade-off (TTO) method in the general population of South Korea. A total of 500 respondents valued 42 hypothetical EQ-5D health states using the TTO and visual analog scale. The quality weights for all EQ-5D health states were estimated by a random effects model and compared with those from studies in other countries. Overall estimated quality weights for all EQ-5D health states from this study were highly correlated with those from previous studies, but quality weights of individual states were substantially different from those of their corresponding states in other studies. The Korean value set differed from value sets from other countries. Special caution is needed when a value set from one country is applied to another with a different culture.

Body dysmorphic disorder in different settings: A systematic review and estimated weighted prevalence.

PubMed

Veale, David; Gledhill, Lucinda J; Christodoulou, Polyxeni; Hodsoll, John

2016-09-01

Our aim was to systematically review the prevalence of body dysmorphic disorder (BDD) in a variety of settings. Weighted prevalence estimate and 95% confidence intervals in each study were calculated. The weighted prevalence of BDD in adults in the community was estimated to be 1.9%; in adolescents 2.2%; in student populations 3.3%; in adult psychiatric inpatients 7.4%; in adolescent psychiatric inpatients 7.4%; in adult psychiatric outpatients 5.8%; in general cosmetic surgery 13.2%; in rhinoplasty surgery 20.1%; in orthognathic surgery 11.2%; in orthodontics/cosmetic dentistry settings 5.2%; in dermatology outpatients 11.3%; in cosmetic dermatology outpatients 9.2%; and in acne dermatology clinics 11.1%. Women outnumbered men in the majority of settings but not in cosmetic or dermatological settings. BDD is common in some psychiatric and cosmetic settings but is poorly identified. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Long term effect of breast feeding: cognitive function in the Caerphilly cohort

PubMed Central

Elwood, P; Pickering, J.; Gallacher, J; Hughes, J.; Davies, D.

2005-01-01

Study objective: There is evidence suggesting that artificial feeding is associated with a reduction in cognitive function in infants and children, in contrast with breast feeding, but the available evidence suffers from confounding by social and educational factors. An opportunity arose in the Caerphilly cohort study to examine relations between cognitive function in older men and their feeding as infants, when breast feeding was usual. Design: A prospective cohort study. Setting: Caerphilly, South Wales, UK, was a deprived coal mining community when the men had been born in 1920–35. Most had been breast fed as infants. Participants: 779 men aged 60–74 years when tested. The men had earlier been asked to obtain from their mothers their birth weight, and how they had been fed as infants. Results: Complete data were obtained for 779 men. In those whose birth weight had been at or above the median, the adjusted mean cognitive function was only slightly and non-significantly lower in those who had been artificially fed. In the men whose birth weight had been below the median, having been artificially fed was associated with significantly lower results in both a test of reasoning (the AH4) and word power (the national adult reading test (NART)). Two standard deviations below the median birth weight, artificial feeding was associated with a reduction of six points (70% of a SD) on word power (the NART). Conclusions: In men whose birth weight had been low, having been artificially fed is associated with poorer cognitive function in late adult life. PMID:15650144

Theoretical study of the accuracy of the elution by characteristic points method for bi-langmuir isotherms.

PubMed

Ravald, L; Fornstedt, T

2001-01-26

The bi-Langmuir equation has recently been proven essential to describe chiral chromatographic surfaces and we therefore investigated the accuracy of the elution by characteristic points method (ECP) for estimation of bi-Langmuir isotherm parameters. The ECP calculations was done on elution profiles generated by the equilibrium-dispersive model of chromatography for five different sets of bi-Langmuir parameters. The ECP method generates two different errors; (i) the error of the ECP calculated isotherm and (ii) the model error of the fitting to the ECP isotherm. Both errors decreased with increasing column efficiency. Moreover, the model error was strongly affected by the weight of the bi-Langmuir function fitted. For some bi-Langmuir compositions the error of the ECP calculated isotherm is too large even at high column efficiencies. Guidelines will be given on surface types to be avoided and on column efficiencies and loading factors required for adequate parameter estimations with ECP.

Exact Solution to Stationary Onset of Convection Due to Surface Tension Variation in a Multicomponent Fluid Layer With Interfacial Deformation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Skarda, J. Raymond Lee; McCaughan, Frances E.

1998-01-01

Stationary onset of convection due to surface tension variation in an unbounded multicomponent fluid layer is considered. Surface deformation is included and general flux boundary conditions are imposed on the stratifying agencies (temperature/composition) disturbance equations. Exact solutions are obtained to the general N-component problem for both finite and infinitesimal wavenumbers. Long wavelength instability may coexist with a finite wavelength instability for certain sets of parameter values, often referred to as frontier points. For an impermeable/insulated upper boundary and a permeable/conductive lower boundary, frontier boundaries are computed in the space of Bond number, Bo, versus Crispation number, Cr, over the range 5 x 10(exp -7) less than or equal to Bo less than or equal to 1. The loci of frontier points in (Bo, Cr) space for different values of N, diffusivity ratios, and, Marangoni numbers, collapsed to a single curve in (Bo, D(dimensional variable)Cr) space, where D(dimensional variable) is a Marangoni number weighted diffusivity ratio.

A Parallel Product-Convolution approach for representing the depth varying Point Spread Functions in 3D widefield microscopy based on principal component analysis.

PubMed

Arigovindan, Muthuvel; Shaevitz, Joshua; McGowan, John; Sedat, John W; Agard, David A

2010-03-29

We address the problem of computational representation of image formation in 3D widefield fluorescence microscopy with depth varying spherical aberrations. We first represent 3D depth-dependent point spread functions (PSFs) as a weighted sum of basis functions that are obtained by principal component analysis (PCA) of experimental data. This representation is then used to derive an approximating structure that compactly expresses the depth variant response as a sum of few depth invariant convolutions pre-multiplied by a set of 1D depth functions, where the convolving functions are the PCA-derived basis functions. The model offers an efficient and convenient trade-off between complexity and accuracy. For a given number of approximating PSFs, the proposed method results in a much better accuracy than the strata based approximation scheme that is currently used in the literature. In addition to yielding better accuracy, the proposed methods automatically eliminate the noise in the measured PSFs.

Improved Statistics for Determining the Patterson Symmetry fromUnmerged Diffraction Intensities

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

Sauter, Nicholas K.; Grosse-Kunstleve, Ralf W.; Adams, Paul D.

We examine procedures for detecting the point-group symmetryof macromolecular datasets and propose enhancements. To validate apoint-group, it is sufficient to compare pairs of Bragg reflections thatare related by each of the group's component symmetry operators.Correlation is commonly expressed in the form of a single statisticalquantity (such as Rmerge) that incorporates information from all of theobserved reflections. However, the usual practice of weighting all pairsof symmetry-related intensities equally can obscure the fact that thevarious symmetry operators of the point-group contribute differingfractions of the total set. In some cases where particular symmetryelements are significantly under-represented, statistics calculatedglobally over all observations do notmore » permit conclusions about thepoint-group and Patterson symmetry. The problem can be avoided byrepartitioning the data in a way that explicitly takes note of individualoperators. The new analysis methods, incorporated into the programLABELIT (cci.lbl.gov/labelit), can be performed early enough during dataacquisition, and are quick enough, that it is feasible to pause tooptimize the data collection strategy.« less

Synthesis of atmospheric turbulence point spread functions by sparse and redundant representations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hunt, Bobby R.; Iler, Amber L.; Bailey, Christopher A.; Rucci, Michael A.

2018-02-01

Atmospheric turbulence is a fundamental problem in imaging through long slant ranges, horizontal-range paths, or uplooking astronomical cases through the atmosphere. An essential characterization of atmospheric turbulence is the point spread function (PSF). Turbulence images can be simulated to study basic questions, such as image quality and image restoration, by synthesizing PSFs of desired properties. In this paper, we report on a method to synthesize PSFs of atmospheric turbulence. The method uses recent developments in sparse and redundant representations. From a training set of measured atmospheric PSFs, we construct a dictionary of "basis functions" that characterize the atmospheric turbulence PSFs. A PSF can be synthesized from this dictionary by a properly weighted combination of dictionary elements. We disclose an algorithm to synthesize PSFs from the dictionary. The algorithm can synthesize PSFs in three orders of magnitude less computing time than conventional wave optics propagation methods. The resulting PSFs are also shown to be statistically representative of the turbulence conditions that were used to construct the dictionary.

Geometrical and material parameters to assess the macroscopic mechanical behaviour of fresh cranial bone samples.

PubMed

Auperrin, Audrey; Delille, Rémi; Lesueur, Denis; Bruyère, Karine; Masson, Catherine; Drazétic, Pascal

2014-03-21

The present study aims at providing quantitative data for the personalisation of geometrical and mechanical characteristics of the adult cranial bone to be applied to head FE models. A set of 351 cranial bone samples, harvested from 21 human skulls, were submitted to three-point bending tests at 10 mm/min. For each of them, an apparent elastic modulus was calculated using the beam's theory and a density-dependant beam inertia. Thicknesses, apparent densities and percentage of ash weight were also measured. Distributions of characteristics among the different skull bones show their symmetry and their significant differences between skull areas. A data analysis was performed to analyse potential relationship between thicknesses, densities and the apparent elastic modulus. A specific regression was pointed out to estimate apparent elastic modulus from the product of thickness by apparent density. These results offer quantitative tools in view of personalising head FE models and thus improve definition of local injury criteria for this body part. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Term frequency - function of document frequency: a new term weighting scheme for enterprise information retrieval

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Hui; Wang, Deqing; Wu, Wenjun; Hu, Hongping

2012-11-01

In today's business environment, enterprises are increasingly under pressure to process the vast amount of data produced everyday within enterprises. One method is to focus on the business intelligence (BI) applications and increasing the commercial added-value through such business analytics activities. Term weighting scheme, which has been used to convert the documents as vectors in the term space, is a vital task in enterprise Information Retrieval (IR), text categorisation, text analytics, etc. When determining term weight in a document, the traditional TF-IDF scheme sets weight value for the term considering only its occurrence frequency within the document and in the entire set of documents, which leads to some meaningful terms that cannot get the appropriate weight. In this article, we propose a new term weighting scheme called Term Frequency - Function of Document Frequency (TF-FDF) to address this issue. Instead of using monotonically decreasing function such as Inverse Document Frequency, FDF presents a convex function that dynamically adjusts weights according to the significance of the words in a document set. This function can be manually tuned based on the distribution of the most meaningful words which semantically represent the document set. Our experiments show that the TF-FDF can achieve higher value of Normalised Discounted Cumulative Gain in IR than that of TF-IDF and its variants, and improving the accuracy of relevance ranking of the IR results.

Mixed linear-non-linear inversion of crustal deformation data: Bayesian inference of model, weighting and regularization parameters

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fukuda, Jun'ichi; Johnson, Kaj M.

2010-06-01

We present a unified theoretical framework and solution method for probabilistic, Bayesian inversions of crustal deformation data. The inversions involve multiple data sets with unknown relative weights, model parameters that are related linearly or non-linearly through theoretic models to observations, prior information on model parameters and regularization priors to stabilize underdetermined problems. To efficiently handle non-linear inversions in which some of the model parameters are linearly related to the observations, this method combines both analytical least-squares solutions and a Monte Carlo sampling technique. In this method, model parameters that are linearly and non-linearly related to observations, relative weights of multiple data sets and relative weights of prior information and regularization priors are determined in a unified Bayesian framework. In this paper, we define the mixed linear-non-linear inverse problem, outline the theoretical basis for the method, provide a step-by-step algorithm for the inversion, validate the inversion method using synthetic data and apply the method to two real data sets. We apply the method to inversions of multiple geodetic data sets with unknown relative data weights for interseismic fault slip and locking depth. We also apply the method to the problem of estimating the spatial distribution of coseismic slip on faults with unknown fault geometry, relative data weights and smoothing regularization weight.

Evaluating flow cytometer performance with weighted quadratic least squares analysis of LED and multi-level bead data.

PubMed

Parks, David R; El Khettabi, Faysal; Chase, Eric; Hoffman, Robert A; Perfetto, Stephen P; Spidlen, Josef; Wood, James C S; Moore, Wayne A; Brinkman, Ryan R

2017-03-01

We developed a fully automated procedure for analyzing data from LED pulses and multilevel bead sets to evaluate backgrounds and photoelectron scales of cytometer fluorescence channels. The method improves on previous formulations by fitting a full quadratic model with appropriate weighting and by providing standard errors and peak residuals as well as the fitted parameters themselves. Here we describe the details of the methods and procedures involved and present a set of illustrations and test cases that demonstrate the consistency and reliability of the results. The automated analysis and fitting procedure is generally quite successful in providing good estimates of the Spe (statistical photoelectron) scales and backgrounds for all the fluorescence channels on instruments with good linearity. The precision of the results obtained from LED data is almost always better than that from multilevel bead data, but the bead procedure is easy to carry out and provides results good enough for most purposes. Including standard errors on the fitted parameters is important for understanding the uncertainty in the values of interest. The weighted residuals give information about how well the data fits the model, and particularly high residuals indicate bad data points. Known photoelectron scales and measurement channel backgrounds make it possible to estimate the precision of measurements at different signal levels and the effects of compensated spectral overlap on measurement quality. Combining this information with measurements of standard samples carrying dyes of biological interest, we can make accurate comparisons of dye sensitivity among different instruments. Our method is freely available through the R/Bioconductor package flowQB. © 2017 International Society for Advancement of Cytometry. © 2017 International Society for Advancement of Cytometry.

The Quantified Characterization Method of the Micro-Macro Contacts of Three-Dimensional Granular Materials on the Basis of Graph Theory.

PubMed

Guan, Yanpeng; Wang, Enzhi; Liu, Xiaoli; Wang, Sijing; Luan, Hebing

2017-08-03

We have attempted a multiscale and quantified characterization method of the contact in three-dimensional granular material made of spherical particles, particularly in cemented granular material. Particle contact is defined as a type of surface contact with voids in its surroundings, rather than a point contact. Macro contact is a particle contact set satisfying the restrictive condition of a two-dimensional manifold with a boundary. On the basis of graph theory, two dual geometrical systems are abstracted from the granular pack. The face and the face set, which satisfies the two-dimensional manifold with a boundary in the solid cell system, are extracted to characterize the particle contact and the macro contact, respectively. This characterization method is utilized to improve the post-processing in DEM (Discrete Element Method) from a micro perspective to describe the macro effect of the cemented granular material made of spherical particles. Since the crack has the same shape as its corresponding contact, this method is adopted to characterize the crack and realize its visualization. The integral failure route of the sample can be determined by a graph theory algorithm. The contact force is assigned to the weight value of the face characterizing the particle contact. Since the force vectors can be added, the macro contact force can be solved by adding the weight of its corresponding faces.

Blood pressure long term regulation: A neural network model of the set point development

PubMed Central

2011-01-01

Background The notion of the nucleus tractus solitarius (NTS) as a comparator evaluating the error signal between its rostral neural structures (RNS) and the cardiovascular receptor afferents into it has been recently presented. From this perspective, stress can cause hypertension via set point changes, so offering an answer to an old question. Even though the local blood flow to tissues is influenced by circulating vasoactive hormones and also by local factors, there is yet significant sympathetic control. It is well established that the state of maturation of sympathetic innervation of blood vessels at birth varies across animal species and it takes place mostly during the postnatal period. During ontogeny, chemoreceptors are functional; they discharge when the partial pressures of oxygen and carbon dioxide in the arterial blood are not normal. Methods The model is a simple biological plausible adaptative neural network to simulate the development of the sympathetic nervous control. It is hypothesized that during ontogeny, from the RNS afferents to the NTS, the optimal level of each sympathetic efferent discharge is learned through the chemoreceptors' feedback. Its mean discharge leads to normal oxygen and carbon dioxide levels in each tissue. Thus, the sympathetic efferent discharge sets at the optimal level if, despite maximal drift, the local blood flow is compensated for by autoregulation. Such optimal level produces minimum chemoreceptor output, which must be maintained by the nervous system. Since blood flow is controlled by arterial blood pressure, the long-term mean level is stabilized to regulate oxygen and carbon dioxide levels. After development, the cardiopulmonary reflexes play an important role in controlling efferent sympathetic nerve activity to the kidneys and modulating sodium and water excretion. Results Starting from fixed RNS afferents to the NTS and random synaptic weight values, the sympathetic efferents converged to the optimal values. When learning was completed, the output from the chemoreceptors became zero because the sympathetic efferents led to normal partial pressures of oxygen and carbon dioxide. Conclusions We introduce here a simple simulating computational theory to study, from a neurophysiologic point of view, the sympathetic development of cardiovascular regulation due to feedback signals sent off by cardiovascular receptors. The model simulates, too, how the NTS, as emergent property, acts as a comparator and how its rostral afferents behave as set point. PMID:21693057

A novel point-of-care testing strategy for sexually transmitted infections among pregnant women in high-burden settings: results of a feasibility study in Papua New Guinea.

PubMed

Badman, Steven G; Vallely, Lisa M; Toliman, Pamela; Kariwiga, Grace; Lote, Bomesina; Pomat, William; Holmer, Caroline; Guy, Rebecca; Luchters, Stanley; Morgan, Chris; Garland, Suzanne M; Tabrizi, Sepehr; Whiley, David; Rogerson, Stephen J; Mola, Glen; Wand, Handan; Donovan, Basil; Causer, Louise; Kaldor, John; Vallely, Andrew

2016-06-06

Sexually transmitted and genital infections in pregnancy are associated with an increased risk of adverse maternal and neonatal health outcomes. High prevalences of sexually transmitted infections have been identified among antenatal attenders in Papua New Guinea. Papua New Guinea has amongst the highest neonatal mortality rates worldwide, with preterm birth and low birth weight major contributors to neonatal mortality. The overall aim of our study was to determine if a novel point-of-care testing and treatment strategy for the sexually transmitted and genital infections Chlamydia trachomatis (CT), Neisseria gonorrhoeae (NG), Trichomonas vaginalis (TV) and Bacterial vaginosis (BV) in pregnancy is feasible in the high-burden, low-income setting of Papua New Guinea. Women attending their first antenatal clinic visit were invited to participate. CT/NG and TV were tested using the GeneXpert platform (Cepheid, USA), and BV tested using BVBlue (Gryphus Diagnostics, USA). Participants received same-day test results and antibiotic treatment as indicated. Routine antenatal care including HIV and syphilis screening were provided. Point-of-care testing was provided to 125/222 (56 %) of women attending routine antenatal care during the three-month study period. Among the 125 women enrolled, the prevalence of CT was 20.0 %; NG, 11.2 %; TV, 37.6 %; and BV, 17.6 %. Over half (67/125, 53.6 %) of women had one or more of these infections. Most women were asymptomatic (71.6 %; 47/67). Women aged 24 years and under were more likely to have one or more STI compared with older women (odds ratio 2.38; 95 % CI: 1.09, 5.21). Most women with an STI received treatment on the same day (83.6 %; 56/67). HIV prevalence was 1.6 % and active syphilis 4.0 %. Point-of-care STI testing and treatment using a combination of novel, newly-available assays was feasible during routine antenatal care in this setting. This strategy has not previously been evaluated in any setting and offers the potential to transform STI management in pregnancy and to prevent their associated adverse health outcomes.

Vertical Optical Scanning with Panoramic Vision for Tree Trunk Reconstruction

PubMed Central

Berveglieri, Adilson; Liang, Xinlian; Honkavaara, Eija

2017-01-01

This paper presents a practical application of a technique that uses a vertical optical flow with a fisheye camera to generate dense point clouds from a single planimetric station. Accurate data can be extracted to enable the measurement of tree trunks or branches. The images that are collected with this technique can be oriented in photogrammetric software (using fisheye models) and used to generate dense point clouds, provided that some constraints on the camera positions are adopted. A set of images was captured in a forest plot in the experiments. Weighted geometric constraints were imposed in the photogrammetric software to calculate the image orientation, perform dense image matching, and accurately generate a 3D point cloud. The tree trunks in the scenes were reconstructed and mapped in a local reference system. The accuracy assessment was based on differences between measured and estimated trunk diameters at different heights. Trunk sections from an image-based point cloud were also compared to the corresponding sections that were extracted from a dense terrestrial laser scanning (TLS) point cloud. Cylindrical fitting of the trunk sections allowed the assessment of the accuracies of the trunk geometric shapes in both clouds. The average difference between the cylinders that were fitted to the photogrammetric cloud and those to the TLS cloud was less than 1 cm, which indicates the potential of the proposed technique. The point densities that were obtained with vertical optical scanning were 1/3 less than those that were obtained with TLS. However, the point density can be improved by using higher resolution cameras. PMID:29207468

Vertical Optical Scanning with Panoramic Vision for Tree Trunk Reconstruction.

PubMed

Berveglieri, Adilson; Tommaselli, Antonio M G; Liang, Xinlian; Honkavaara, Eija

2017-12-02

This paper presents a practical application of a technique that uses a vertical optical flow with a fisheye camera to generate dense point clouds from a single planimetric station. Accurate data can be extracted to enable the measurement of tree trunks or branches. The images that are collected with this technique can be oriented in photogrammetric software (using fisheye models) and used to generate dense point clouds, provided that some constraints on the camera positions are adopted. A set of images was captured in a forest plot in the experiments. Weighted geometric constraints were imposed in the photogrammetric software to calculate the image orientation, perform dense image matching, and accurately generate a 3D point cloud. The tree trunks in the scenes were reconstructed and mapped in a local reference system. The accuracy assessment was based on differences between measured and estimated trunk diameters at different heights. Trunk sections from an image-based point cloud were also compared to the corresponding sections that were extracted from a dense terrestrial laser scanning (TLS) point cloud. Cylindrical fitting of the trunk sections allowed the assessment of the accuracies of the trunk geometric shapes in both clouds. The average difference between the cylinders that were fitted to the photogrammetric cloud and those to the TLS cloud was less than 1 cm, which indicates the potential of the proposed technique. The point densities that were obtained with vertical optical scanning were 1/3 less than those that were obtained with TLS. However, the point density can be improved by using higher resolution cameras.

A Unique Computational Algorithm to Simulate Probabilistic Multi-Factor Interaction Model Complex Material Point Behavior

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Chamis, Christos C.; Abumeri, Galib H.

2010-01-01

The Multi-Factor Interaction Model (MFIM) is used to evaluate the divot weight (foam weight ejected) from the launch external tanks. The multi-factor has sufficient degrees of freedom to evaluate a large number of factors that may contribute to the divot ejection. It also accommodates all interactions by its product form. Each factor has an exponent that satisfies only two points--the initial and final points. The exponent describes a monotonic path from the initial condition to the final. The exponent values are selected so that the described path makes sense in the absence of experimental data. In the present investigation, the data used was obtained by testing simulated specimens in launching conditions. Results show that the MFIM is an effective method of describing the divot weight ejected under the conditions investigated.

Physical, chemical and sensorial parameters for lambs of different groups, slaughtered at different weights.

PubMed

Landim, Aline Vieira; Castanheira, Marlos; Fioravanti, Maria Clorinda Soares; Pacheco, Aline; Cardoso, Maximiliano Tadeu Memória; Louvandini, Helder; McManus, Concepta

2011-08-01

The object of this experiment was to study physicochemical and sensorial traits in the 11th and 13th ribs of 24 Santa Ines (SI), 24 1/2 Ile de France × 1/2 Santa Inês (ILE × SI) and 8 1/2 Texel × 1/2 Santa Inês (TE × SI), slaughtered at different weights (30, 35, 40 and 45 kg, respectively). Subjective measurements (marbling, colour and texture) were carried out on the Longissimus dorsi, as well as initial pH (0 h) and final pH (24 h) after slaughter. The experiment was in a 3 × 4 factorial design and analysed using general linear model and correlation procedures in SAS®. Breed group did not influence colour (3.32), shear force (3.57 kg-force (kgf)) or loss in cooking (24.05%) of the L. dorsi, but slaughter weight affected these, with stronger colour, tougher meat and greater loss in cooking as slaughter weight increased. For sensorial analysis, the L. dorsi were cut, identified and evaluated by 30 untrained judges using a linear scale. Significant differences were detected in preference (6.61 points), tenderness (6.32 points), succulence (6.33 points) and flavour (7.08 points) of the meat from different breed groups and slaughter weights. For preference, all meats were well accepted although the crossbred animals slaughtered at 45 kg were less acceptable.

Early prediction of olanzapine-induced weight gain for schizophrenia patients.

PubMed

Lin, Ching-Hua; Lin, Shih-Chi; Huang, Yu-Hui; Wang, Fu-Chiang; Huang, Chun-Jen

2018-05-01

The aim of this study was to determine whether weight changes at week 2 or other factors predicted weight gain at week 6 for schizophrenia patients receiving olanzapine. This study was the secondary analysis of a six-week trial for 94 patients receiving olanzapine (5 mg/d) plus trifluoperazine (5 mg/d), or olanzapine (10 mg/d) alone. Patients were included in analysis only if they had completed the 6-week trial (per protocol analysis). Weight gain was defined as a 7% or greater increase of the patient's baseline weight. The receiver operating characteristic curve was employed to determine the optimal cutoff points of statistically significant predictors. Eleven of the 67 patients completing the 6-week trial were classified as weight gainers. Weight change at week 2 was the statistically significant predictor for ultimate weight gain at week 6. A weight change of 1.0 kg at week 2 appeared to be the optimal cutoff point, with a sensitivity of 0.92, a specificity of 0.75, and an AUC of 0.85. Using weight change at week 2 to predict weight gain at week 6 is favorable in terms of both specificity and sensitivity. Weight change of 1.0 kg or more at 2 weeks is a reliable predictor. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Area under precision-recall curves for weighted and unweighted data.

PubMed

Keilwagen, Jens; Grosse, Ivo; Grau, Jan

2014-01-01

Precision-recall curves are highly informative about the performance of binary classifiers, and the area under these curves is a popular scalar performance measure for comparing different classifiers. However, for many applications class labels are not provided with absolute certainty, but with some degree of confidence, often reflected by weights or soft labels assigned to data points. Computing the area under the precision-recall curve requires interpolating between adjacent supporting points, but previous interpolation schemes are not directly applicable to weighted data. Hence, even in cases where weights were available, they had to be neglected for assessing classifiers using precision-recall curves. Here, we propose an interpolation for precision-recall curves that can also be used for weighted data, and we derive conditions for classification scores yielding the maximum and minimum area under the precision-recall curve. We investigate accordances and differences of the proposed interpolation and previous ones, and we demonstrate that taking into account existing weights of test data is important for the comparison of classifiers.

Area under Precision-Recall Curves for Weighted and Unweighted Data

PubMed Central

Grosse, Ivo

2014-01-01

Precision-recall curves are highly informative about the performance of binary classifiers, and the area under these curves is a popular scalar performance measure for comparing different classifiers. However, for many applications class labels are not provided with absolute certainty, but with some degree of confidence, often reflected by weights or soft labels assigned to data points. Computing the area under the precision-recall curve requires interpolating between adjacent supporting points, but previous interpolation schemes are not directly applicable to weighted data. Hence, even in cases where weights were available, they had to be neglected for assessing classifiers using precision-recall curves. Here, we propose an interpolation for precision-recall curves that can also be used for weighted data, and we derive conditions for classification scores yielding the maximum and minimum area under the precision-recall curve. We investigate accordances and differences of the proposed interpolation and previous ones, and we demonstrate that taking into account existing weights of test data is important for the comparison of classifiers. PMID:24651729

Machine Learning Techniques in Optimal Design

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Cerbone, Giuseppe

1992-01-01

Many important applications can be formalized as constrained optimization tasks. For example, we are studying the engineering domain of two-dimensional (2-D) structural design. In this task, the goal is to design a structure of minimum weight that bears a set of loads. A solution to a design problem in which there is a single load (L) and two stationary support points (S1 and S2) consists of four members, E1, E2, E3, and E4 that connect the load to the support points is discussed. In principle, optimal solutions to problems of this kind can be found by numerical optimization techniques. However, in practice [Vanderplaats, 1984] these methods are slow and they can produce different local solutions whose quality (ratio to the global optimum) varies with the choice of starting points. Hence, their applicability to real-world problems is severely restricted. To overcome these limitations, we propose to augment numerical optimization by first performing a symbolic compilation stage to produce: (a) objective functions that are faster to evaluate and that depend less on the choice of the starting point and (b) selection rules that associate problem instances to a set of recommended solutions. These goals are accomplished by successive specializations of the problem class and of the associated objective functions. In the end, this process reduces the problem to a collection of independent functions that are fast to evaluate, that can be differentiated symbolically, and that represent smaller regions of the overall search space. However, the specialization process can produce a large number of sub-problems. This is overcome by deriving inductively selection rules which associate problems to small sets of specialized independent sub-problems. Each set of candidate solutions is chosen to minimize a cost function which expresses the tradeoff between the quality of the solution that can be obtained from the sub-problem and the time it takes to produce it. The overall solution to the problem, is then obtained by solving in parallel each of the sub-problems in the set and computing the one with the minimum cost. In addition to speeding up the optimization process, our use of learning methods also relieves the expert from the burden of identifying rules that exactly pinpoint optimal candidate sub-problems. In real engineering tasks it is usually too costly to the engineers to derive such rules. Therefore, this paper also contributes to a further step towards the solution of the knowledge acquisition bottleneck [Feigenbaum, 1977] which has somewhat impaired the construction of rulebased expert systems.

Research on early-warning index of the spatial temperature field in concrete dams.

PubMed

Yang, Guang; Gu, Chongshi; Bao, Tengfei; Cui, Zhenming; Kan, Kan

2016-01-01

Warning indicators of the dam body's temperature are required for the real-time monitoring of the service conditions of concrete dams to ensure safety and normal operations. Warnings theories are traditionally targeted at a single point which have limitations, and the scientific warning theories on global behavior of the temperature field are non-existent. In this paper, first, in 3D space, the behavior of temperature field has regional dissimilarity. Through the Ward spatial clustering method, the temperature field was divided into regions. Second, the degree of order and degree of disorder of the temperature monitoring points were defined by the probability method. Third, the weight values of monitoring points of each regions were explored via projection pursuit. Forth, a temperature entropy expression that can describe degree of order of the spatial temperature field in concrete dams was established. Fifth, the early-warning index of temperature entropy was set up according to the calculated sequential value of temperature entropy. Finally, project cases verified the feasibility of the proposed theories. The early-warning index of temperature entropy is conducive to the improvement of early-warning ability and safety management levels during the operation of high concrete dams.

Inter and intra-modal deformable registration: continuous deformations meet efficient optimal linear programming.

PubMed

Glocker, Ben; Paragios, Nikos; Komodakis, Nikos; Tziritas, Georgios; Navab, Nassir

2007-01-01

In this paper we propose a novel non-rigid volume registration based on discrete labeling and linear programming. The proposed framework reformulates registration as a minimal path extraction in a weighted graph. The space of solutions is represented using a set of a labels which are assigned to predefined displacements. The graph topology corresponds to a superimposed regular grid onto the volume. Links between neighborhood control points introduce smoothness, while links between the graph nodes and the labels (end-nodes) measure the cost induced to the objective function through the selection of a particular deformation for a given control point once projected to the entire volume domain, Higher order polynomials are used to express the volume deformation from the ones of the control points. Efficient linear programming that can guarantee the optimal solution up to (a user-defined) bound is considered to recover the optimal registration parameters. Therefore, the method is gradient free, can encode various similarity metrics (simple changes on the graph construction), can guarantee a globally sub-optimal solution and is computational tractable. Experimental validation using simulated data with known deformation, as well as manually segmented data demonstrate the extreme potentials of our approach.

Foot Length, Chest Circumference, and Mid Upper Arm Circumference Are Good Predictors of Low Birth Weight and Prematurity in Ethnic Minority Newborns in Vietnam: A Hospital-Based Observational Study.

PubMed

Thi, Hai Nguyen; Khanh, Dung Khu Thi; Thu, Ha Le Thi; Thomas, Emma G; Lee, Katherine J; Russell, Fiona M

2015-01-01

The evaluation of tools to accurately identify low birth weight (LBW) and/or premature newborns in resource-limited countries is a research priority. We explored the use of foot length, chest circumference, and mid-upper arm circumference (MUAC) measured within 24 h as diagnostic tools for identifying newborns who are LBW, premature, or both; and compared measurements taken at birth with those taken at five days of age. An observational study was undertaken in Hoa Binh Province General Hospital, Vietnam, in ethnic minority newborns. Birth weight, foot length, chest circumference, and MUAC were measured within 24 h of birth and in a subset of 200, were repeated on day five of life. Gestational age was estimated using the New Ballard Score. Receiver Operating Characteristic curves and optimal cut-points (the point with the highest sensitivity and specificity where the sensitivity was at least 0.8) were calculated, for predicting prematurity, LBW, and both. Measurements within 24 h and at five days of life were compared. 485 newborns were recruited. Chest circumference and MUAC measured within 24 h of birth were found to be highly predictive of LBW (both yielding area under the curve [AUC] of 0.98, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.96-0.99), and performed marginally better than foot length (AUC 0.94, 95%CI 0.92-0.96). The optimal cut-points for measurements within 24 h of birth were ≤ 7.4 cm for foot length; ≤ 30.4 cm for chest circumference; and ≤ 9.0 cm for MUAC. There was statistical evidence that anthropometric measurements taken within 24 h of birth were higher than measurements on day five (p<0.02 for all anthropometric measurements) but the magnitude of these differences was small (at most 2mm). All measurements taken within 24 h of birth were good predictors of LBW, prematurity and both. Differences in measurements taken within 24 h and on day five were not clinically relevant. Further research will ensure that the application of these measures is reliable in community settings.

Right sizing prevention. Food portion size effects on children's eating and weight.

PubMed

Birch, Leann L; Savage, Jennifer S; Fisher, Jennifer Orlet

2015-05-01

Experimental findings provide consistent evidence that increasing the portion size of palatable, energy dense entrees relative to an age appropriate reference portion increases children's energy intake of the entree and the meal. Most of these studies have been conducted on preschool aged children between 2 and 6 years of age, in childcare or laboratory settings, using repeated measures designs. In these studies, children's intake is compared across a series of meals, where the size of the entrée portion is varied and other aspects of the meal, including the portion size of other items on the menu, are held constant. This paper provides an overview of what we know from this research, what is not known about the effects of portion size on children's intake and weight status, and points to some of the important unanswered questions and gaps in the literature. Lastly, we discuss how individual characteristics may make someone more or less susceptible to large portions of foods and how the palatability of foods may moderate observed associations among portion size, children's intake, and weight status. Future studies that address the gaps identified in this paper are needed to inform policy and to develop effective and efficient interventions to prevent childhood obesity. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Advanced glycation end products (AGEs) and cardiovascular dysfunction: focus on high molecular weight AGEs.

PubMed

Deluyker, Dorien; Evens, Lize; Bito, Virginie

2017-09-01

Advanced glycation end products (AGEs) are a group of proteins and lipids becoming glycated and oxidized after persistent contact with reducing sugars or short-chain aldehydes with amino group and/or high degree of oxidative stress. The accumulation of AGEs in the body is a natural process that occurs with senescence, when the turnover rate of proteins is reduced. However, increased circulating AGEs have been described to arise at early lifetime and are associated with adverse outcome and survival, in particular in settings of cardiovascular diseases. AGEs contribute to the development of cardiac dysfunction by two major mechanisms: cross-linking of proteins or binding to their cell surface receptor. Recently, growing evidence shows that high-molecular weight AGEs (HMW-AGEs) might be as important as the characterized low-molecular weight AGEs (LMW-AGEs). Here, we point out the targets of AGEs in the heart and the mechanisms that lead to heart failure with focus on the difference between LMW-AGEs and the less characterized HMW-AGEs. As such, this review is a compilation of relevant papers in the form of a useful resource tool for researchers who want to further investigate the role of HMW-AGEs on cardiac disorders and need a solid base to start on this specific topic.

Combining sky and earth: desert ants (Melophorus bagoti) show weighted integration of celestial and terrestrial cues.

PubMed

Legge, Eric L G; Wystrach, Antoine; Spetch, Marcia L; Cheng, Ken

2014-12-01

Insects typically use celestial sources of directional information for path integration, and terrestrial panoramic information for view-based navigation. Here we set celestial and terrestrial sources of directional information in conflict for homing desert ants (Melophorus bagoti). In the first experiment, ants learned to navigate out of a round experimental arena with a distinctive artificial panorama. On crucial tests, we rotated the arena to create a conflict between the artificial panorama and celestial information. In a second experiment, ants at a feeder in their natural visually-cluttered habitat were displaced prior to their homing journey so that the dictates of path integration (feeder to nest direction) based on a celestial compass conflicted with the dictates of view-based navigation (release point to nest direction) based on the natural terrestrial panorama. In both experiments, ants generally headed in a direction intermediate to the dictates of celestial and terrestrial information. In the second experiment, the ants put more weight on the terrestrial cues when they provided better directional information. We conclude that desert ants weight and integrate the dictates of celestial and terrestrial information in determining their initial heading, even when the two directional cues are highly discrepant. © 2014. Published by The Company of Biologists Ltd.

Association of the gut microbiota mobilome with hospital location and birth weight in preterm infants.

PubMed

Ravi, Anuradha; Estensmo, Eva Lena F; Abée-Lund, Trine M L'; Foley, Steven L; Allgaier, Bernhard; Martin, Camilia R; Claud, Erika C; Rudi, Knut

2017-11-01

BackgroundThe preterm infant gut microbiota is vulnerable to different biotic and abiotic factors. Although the development of this microbiota has been extensively studied, the mobilome-i.e. the mobile genetic elements (MGEs) in the gut microbiota-has not been considered. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate the association of the mobilome with birth weight and hospital location in the preterm infant gut microbiota.MethodsThe data set consists of fecal samples from 62 preterm infants with and without necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) from three different hospitals. We analyzed the gut microbiome by using 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing, shot-gun metagenome sequencing, and quantitative PCR. Predictive models and other data analyses were performed using MATLAB and QIIME.ResultSThe microbiota composition was significantly different between NEC-positive and NEC-negative infants and significantly different between hospitals. An operational taxanomic unit (OTU) showed strong positive and negative correlation with NEC and birth weight, respectively, whereas none showed significance for mode of delivery. Metagenome analyses revealed high levels of conjugative plasmids with MGEs and virulence genes. Results from quantitative PCR showed that the plasmid signature genes were significantly different between hospitals and in NEC-positive infants.ConclusionOur results point toward an association of the mobilome with hospital location in preterm infants.

A WHO Collaborative Study of Maternal Anthropometry and Pregnancy Outcomes.

PubMed

Kelly, A; Kevany, J; de Onis, M; Shah, P M

1996-06-01

To evaluate to what degree anthropometric measurements are useful and efficient in predicting maternal and fetal outcomes in different country settings and to develop appropriate reference curves for maternal weight gain. A meta-analysis of 25 data sets providing information on over 111,000 births worldwide. Attained weight indicators from pre-pregnancy (Pp) through 9 lunar months demonstrated high odds ratios (O.R.) for both low birth weight (LBW) and intra-uterine growth retardation (IUGR). The strongest effect size (O.R. = 4.0) was provided by attained weight at 7 lunar months for IUGR, when applied to women of below average pre-pregnancy weight. The study indicators showed only minor and inconsistent O.R. for preterm birth (PTB). The ability of study indicators to predict the three maternal outcomes was much weaker. Maternal height as a predictor of assisted delivery showed the highest positive O.R. (1.6), but did not meet the screening criteria. A single measurement of attained weight at 5 or 7 lunar months (16-20 or 24-28 weeks) is the most practical screening instrument for LBW and IUGR in most primary health care settings and provides warning of the need for intervention. The operational value of these findings should be demonstrated through their successful large-scale application in service settings.

Stability of Geriatric Syndromes in Hospitalized Medicare Patients Discharged to Skilled Nursing Facilities

PubMed Central

Simmons, Sandra F.; Bell, Susan; Saraf, Avantika A.; Coelho, Chris Simon; Long, Emily A.; Jacobsen, J. Mary Lou; Schnelle, John F.; Vasilevskis, Eduard E.

2016-01-01

Objectives The purpose of this study was to assess multiple geriatric syndromes in a sample of older hospitalized patients discharged to skilled nursing facilities and, subsequently, to home to determine the prevalence and stability of each geriatric syndrome at the point of these care transitions. Design Descriptive, prospective study. Setting One large university-affiliated hospital and four area SNFs. Participants Fifty-eight hospitalized Medicare beneficiaries discharged to SNF. Measurements Research personnel conducted standardized assessments of the following geriatric syndromes at hospital discharge and two weeks following SNF discharge to home: cognitive impairment, depression, incontinence, unintentional weight loss, loss of appetite, pain, pressure ulcers, history of falls, mobility impairment and polypharmacy. Results The average number of geriatric syndromes per patient was 4.4 (± 1.2) at hospital discharge and 3.8 (±1.5) following SNF discharge. There was low to moderate stability for most syndromes. On average, participants had 2.9 syndromes that persisted across both care settings, 1.4 syndromes that resolved, and 0.7 new syndromes that developed between hospital and SNF discharge. Conclusion Geriatric syndromes were prevalent at the point of each care transition but also reflected significant within-individual variability. These findings suggest that multiple geriatric syndromes present during a hospital stay are not transient nor are most syndromes resolved prior to SNF discharge. These results underscore the importance of conducting standardized screening assessments at the point of each care transition and effectively communicating this information to the next provider to support the management of geriatric conditions. PMID:27590032

Randomised clinical trial of five ear acupuncture points for the treatment of overweight people.

PubMed

Yeo, Sujung; Kim, Kang Sik; Lim, Sabina

2014-04-01

To evaluate the efficacy of the five ear acupuncture points (Shen-men, Spleen, Stomach, Hunger, Endocrine), generally used in Korean clinics for treating obesity, and compare them with the Hunger acupuncture point. A randomised controlled clinical trial was conducted in 91 Koreans (16 male and 75 female, body mass index (BMI)≥23), who had not received any other weight control treatment within the past 6 months. Subjects were divided randomly into treatment I, treatment II or sham control groups and received unilateral auricular acupuncture with indwelling needles replaced weekly for 8 weeks. Treatment I group received acupuncture at the five ear acupuncture points, treatment II group at the Hunger acupuncture point only and the sham control group received acupuncture at the five ear acupuncture points used in treatment I, but the needles were removed immediately after insertion. BMI, waist circumference, weight, body fat mass (BFM), percentage body fat and blood pressure were measured at baseline and at 4 and 8 weeks after treatment. For the 58 participants who provided data at 8 weeks, significant differences in BMI, weight and BFM were found between the treatment and control groups. Treatment groups I and II showed 6.1% and 5.7% reduction in BMI, respectively (p<0.004). There were no significant differences between the two treatment groups. This finding suggests that the five ear acupuncture points, generally used in Korean clinics, and the Hunger point alone treatment are both effective for treating overweight people.

Parametric Flutter Analysis of the TCA Configuration and Recommendation for FFM Design and Scaling

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Baker, Myles; Lenkey, Peter

1997-01-01

The current HSR Aeroelasticity plan to design, build, and test a full span, free flying transonic flutter model in the TDT has many technical obstacles that must be overcome for a successful program. One technical obstacle is the determination of a suitable configuration and point in the sky to use in setting the scaling point for the ASE models program. Determining this configuration and point in the sky requires balancing several conflicting requirements, including model buildability, tunnel test safety, and the ability of the model to represent the flutter mechanisms of interest. As will be discussed in detail in subsequent sections, the current TCA design exhibits several flutter mechanisms of interest. It has been decided that the ASE models program will focus on the low frequency symmetric flutter mechanism, and will make no attempt to investigate high frequency flutter mechanisms. There are several reasons for this choice. First, it is believed that the high frequency flutter mechanisms are similar in nature to classical wing bending/torsion flutter, and therefore there is more confidence that this mechanism can be predicted using current techniques. The low frequency mode, on the other hand, is a highly coupled mechanism involving wing, body, tail, and engine motion which may be very difficult to predict. Second, the high frequency flutter modes result in very small weight penalties (several hundred pounds), while suppression of the low frequency mechanism inside the flight envelope causes thousands of pounds to be added to the structure. In order to successfully test the low frequency flutter mode of interest, a suitable starting configuration and point in the sky must be identified. The configuration and point in the sky must result in a wind tunnel model that (1) represents the low-frequency wing/body/engine/empennage flutter mechanisms that are unique to HSCT configurations, (2) flutters at an acceptably low frequency in the tunnel, (3) flutters at an acceptably low dynamic pressure in the tunnel, (4) allows sufficient weight for model buildability without inordinately high cost, and (5) has significant separation between the target flutter mechanism and other, potentially catastrophic, flutter mechanisms.

Microgravity

NASA Image and Video Library

1992-10-01

MSFC Test Engineer performing a functional test on the TES. The TES can be operated as a refrigerator, with a minimum set point temperature of 4.0 degrees C, or as an incubator, with a maximum set point temperature 40.0 degrees C of the set point. The TES can be set to maintain a constant temperature or programmed to change temperature settings over time, internal temperature recorded by a date logger.

Rank Weighting in Multiattribute Utility Decision Making: Avoiding the Pitfalls of Equal Weights.

DTIC Science & Technology

1979-09-01

set change are discussed in relation to the conditions of Wainer’s (Wainer, 1976) ’ equal weights theorem’ and the resulting sensitivity to weighting of...as equal weights. Rank weighting of importance dimensions demonstrate marked improvement of approximation as reflected in both Pearson and rank order

Competition of mesoscales and crossover to theta-point tricriticality in near-critical polymer solutions.

PubMed

Anisimov, M A; Kostko, A F; Sengers, J V; Yudin, I K

2005-10-22

The approach to asymptotic critical behavior in polymer solutions is governed by a competition between the correlation length of critical fluctuations diverging at the critical point of phase separation and an additional mesoscopic length scale, the radius of gyration. In this paper we present a theory for crossover between two universal regimes: a regime with Ising (fluctuation-induced) asymptotic critical behavior, where the correlation length prevails, and a mean-field tricritical regime with theta-point behavior controlled by the mesoscopic polymer chain. The theory yields a universal scaled description of existing experimental phase-equilibria data and is in excellent agreement with our light-scattering experiments on polystyrene solutions in cyclohexane with polymer molecular weights ranging from 2 x 10(5) up to 11.4 x 10(6). The experiments demonstrate unambiguously that crossover to theta-point tricriticality is controlled by a competition of the two mesoscales. The critical amplitudes deduced from our experiments depend on the polymer molecular weight as predicted by de Gennes [Phys. Lett. 26A, 313 (1968)]. Experimental evidence for the presence of logarithmic corrections to mean-field tricritical theta-point behavior in the molecular-weight dependence of the critical parameters is also presented.

Effect of clothing weight on body weight

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Background: In clinical settings, it is common to measure weight of clothed patients and estimate a correction for the weight of clothing, but we can find no papers in the medical literature regarding the variability in clothing weight with weather, season, and gender. Methods: Fifty adults (35 wom...

Promoting Healthy Weight with "Stability Skills First": A Randomized Trial

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kiernan, Michaela; Brown, Susan D.; Schoffman, Danielle E.; Lee, Katherine; King, Abby C.; Taylor, C. Barr; Schleicher, Nina C.; Perri, Michael G.

2013-01-01

Objective: Although behavioral weight-loss interventions produce short-term weight loss, long-term maintenance remains elusive. This randomized trial examined whether learning a novel set of "stability skills" before losing weight improved long-term weight management. Stability skills were designed to optimize individuals' current…

Weighted LCS

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Amir, Amihood; Gotthilf, Zvi; Shalom, B. Riva

The Longest Common Subsequence (LCS) of two strings A and B is a well studied problem having a wide range of applications. When each symbol of the input strings is assigned a positive weight the problem becomes the Heaviest Common Subsequence (HCS) problem. In this paper we consider a different version of weighted LCS on Position Weight Matrices (PWM). The Position Weight Matrix was introduced as a tool to handle a set of sequences that are not identical, yet, have many local similarities. Such a weighted sequence is a 'statistical image' of this set where we are given the probability of every symbol's occurrence at every text location. We consider two possible definitions of LCS on PWM. For the first, we solve the weighted LCS problem of z sequences in time O(zn z + 1). For the second, we prove \\cal{NP}-hardness and provide an approximation algorithm.

Weight bias in work settings - a qualitative review.

PubMed

Giel, Katrin Elisabeth; Thiel, Ansgar; Teufel, Martin; Mayer, Jochen; Zipfel, Stephan

2010-02-01

Studies have repeatedly demonstrated the influence of physical appearance on behavior and treatment of individuals in work settings. A high proportion of obese individuals in the USA have reported perceived discrimination in the work place due to their body weight. The present review examines the specific kind, context and extent of a weight bias in work settings. We performed a literature search in the scientific databases PubMed and PsychINFO to identify studies which have investigated aspects of a potential weight bias in the occupational context. There is evidence from self-report data, surveys, and laboratory research for a weight bias in five aspects of work life. Evidence shows that obesity is a general barrier to employment, certain professions and professional success. Obese individuals are at higher risk of encountering stereotypes concerning their work-related qualities and for general unequal treatment in the work place. Current evidence reveals a weight bias in several areas in the work place. The ecological validity of results is limited due to the predominant reliance on laboratory studies with student samples. Field studies are needed to examine weight-based discrimination in actual work environments as well as to uncover underlying mechanisms. Copyright 2010 S. Karger AG, Basel.

In vitro comparison of stone retropulsion and fragmentation of the frequency doubled, double pulse nd:yag laser and the holmium:yag laser.

PubMed

Marguet, Charles G; Sung, Jeff C; Springhart, W Patrick; L'Esperance, James O; Zhou, Songlin; Zhong, Pei; Albala, David M; Preminger, Glenn M

2005-05-01

The frequency doubled, double pulse Nd:YAG (FREDDY) laser (World of Medicine, Berlin, Germany) functions through the generation of a plasma bubble. Upon bubble collapse a mechanical shock wave is generated, causing stone fragmentation. This mechanism of action is in contrast to the holmium laser, which cause stone destruction by vaporization. Observed clinical stone retropulsion and fragmentation with the FREDDY and holmium lasers has prompted a series of in vitro experiments designed to compare laser induced retropulsion and fragmentation with those of a holmium laser and pneumatic lithotrite. For retropulsion a hands-off underwater laboratory setup, including a horizontally oriented silicone tube 1.3 cm in diameter and a holder to keep the stone phantom in contact with the quartz laser fiber or pneumatic probe, was used. Previously weighed, cylindrical Bego stone phantoms (Bego USA, Smithfield, Rhode Island) were placed in the apparatus. Stone fragmentation was performed with the FREDDY or holmium laser, or the pneumatic lithotripter. The FREDDY and holmium lasers were tested at similar pulse energy and frequency settings. As a standard for comparison, a pneumatic lithotrite was tested with a semirigid probe and single pulse settings of 100, 200 and 300 kPa. Stone phantoms underwent 30 shocks per setting. Mean net retropulsion, defined as the final resting point of the stone, as determined by direct measurement, was recorded for each setting. For fragmentation plaster of Paris stone phantoms of known weights were used to compare the fragmentation ability of each laser. Stones phantoms were placed in a hands-off underwater setup, consisting of an inverted silicon syringe and holder immersed in tap water. The laser fiber (365 microm for the holmium and 280 microm for the FREDDY) was placed through the tip of the syringe in contact with the stone phantom. A total of 24 stones were divided into 4 groups of 6 per group. Two groups were fragmented with the FREDDY laser at 300 and 400 J total energy. The other 2 groups were fragmented using the holmium laser at 300 and 480 J total energy. Fragmentation efficiency was determined as percent weight loss. For retropulsion at 160 mJ the FREDDY laser caused stone retropulsion to a mean distance of 7.6, 8.1 and 6.8 cm at settings of 5, 10 and 15 Hz, respectively. At 0.8 J the holmium laser retropulsed the stone to a mean distance of 3.3 and 4.9 cm at settings of 5 and 10 Hz, respectively. The pneumatic device caused stone retropulsion a mean distance of 8.5, 9.9 and 13.8 cm at pressure settings of 100, 200 and 300 kPa, respectively. The FREDDY laser generally caused less retropulsion than the pneumatic device, although this difference was only significant at the highest pneumatic lithoclast setting (p <0.05). At clinically relevant settings the FREDDY laser caused significantly more retropulsion than the holmium laser (p <0.05). For fragmentation at total energy settings of 300 and 400 J the FREDDY laser resulted in 44.9% and 86.8% weight loss, respectively (p <0.05). At settings of 300 and 480 J the holmium:YAG laser resulted in 3.3% and 7.1% weight loss, respectively (p <0.05). At lower frequency settings stone retropulsion was significantly greater with the FREDDY laser compared with the holmium laser. However, retropulsion was significantly less than that caused by the pneumatic lithotripter at all settings. Therefore, we recommend the use of an occlusive device, such as the Stone Cone (Boston Scientific, Natick, Massachusetts) proximal to the calculus during intracorporeal ureteral lithotripsy and in the ureteropelvic junction during percutaneous laser nephrostolithotomy. In vitro stone fragmentation was significantly greater with the FREDDY laser than with the holmium:YAG laser, suggesting that the FREDDY may offer a low cost alternative to the holmium:YAG laser lithotrite in select patients.

Systemic Sclerosis Classification Criteria: Developing methods for multi-criteria decision analysis with 1000Minds

PubMed Central

Johnson, Sindhu R.; Naden, Raymond P.; Fransen, Jaap; van den Hoogen, Frank; Pope, Janet E.; Baron, Murray; Tyndall, Alan; Matucci-Cerinic, Marco; Denton, Christopher P.; Distler, Oliver; Gabrielli, Armando; van Laar, Jacob M.; Mayes, Maureen; Steen, Virginia; Seibold, James R.; Clements, Phillip; Medsger, Thomas A.; Carreira, Patricia E.; Riemekasten, Gabriela; Chung, Lorinda; Fessler, Barri J.; Merkel, Peter A.; Silver, Richard; Varga, John; Allanore, Yannick; Mueller-Ladner, Ulf; Vonk, Madelon C.; Walker, Ulrich A.; Cappelli, Susanna; Khanna, Dinesh

2014-01-01

Objective Classification criteria for systemic sclerosis (SSc) are being developed. The objectives were to: develop an instrument for collating case-data and evaluate its sensibility; use forced-choice methods to reduce and weight criteria; and explore agreement between experts on the probability that cases were classified as SSc. Study Design and Setting A standardized instrument was tested for sensibility. The instrument was applied to 20 cases covering a range of probabilities that each had SSc. Experts rank-ordered cases from highest to lowest probability; reduced and weighted the criteria using forced-choice methods; and re-ranked the cases. Consistency in rankings was evaluated using intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC). Results Experts endorsed clarity (83%), comprehensibility (100%), face and content validity (100%). Criteria were weighted (points): finger skin thickening (14–22), finger-tip lesions (9–21), friction rubs (21), finger flexion contractures (16), pulmonary fibrosis (14), SSc-related antibodies (15), Raynaud’s phenomenon (13), calcinosis (12), pulmonary hypertension (11), renal crisis (11), telangiectasia (10), abnormal nailfold capillaries (10), esophageal dilation (7) and puffy fingers (5). The ICC across experts was 0.73 (95%CI 0.58,0.86) and improved to 0.80 (95%CI 0.68,0.90). Conclusions Using a sensible instrument and forced-choice methods, the number of criteria were reduced by 39% (23 to 14) and weighted. Our methods reflect the rigors of measurement science, and serves as a template for developing classification criteria. PMID:24721558

[Spectral scatter correction of coal samples based on quasi-linear local weighted method].

PubMed

Lei, Meng; Li, Ming; Ma, Xiao-Ping; Miao, Yan-Zi; Wang, Jian-Sheng

2014-07-01

The present paper puts forth a new spectral correction method based on quasi-linear expression and local weighted function. The first stage of the method is to search 3 quasi-linear expressions to replace the original linear expression in MSC method, such as quadratic, cubic and growth curve expression. Then the local weighted function is constructed by introducing 4 kernel functions, such as Gaussian, Epanechnikov, Biweight and Triweight kernel function. After adding the function in the basic estimation equation, the dependency between the original and ideal spectra is described more accurately and meticulously at each wavelength point. Furthermore, two analytical models were established respectively based on PLS and PCA-BP neural network method, which can be used for estimating the accuracy of corrected spectra. At last, the optimal correction mode was determined by the analytical results with different combination of quasi-linear expression and local weighted function. The spectra of the same coal sample have different noise ratios while the coal sample was prepared under different particle sizes. To validate the effectiveness of this method, the experiment analyzed the correction results of 3 spectral data sets with the particle sizes of 0.2, 1 and 3 mm. The results show that the proposed method can eliminate the scattering influence, and also can enhance the information of spectral peaks. This paper proves a more efficient way to enhance the correlation between corrected spectra and coal qualities significantly, and improve the accuracy and stability of the analytical model substantially.

The Relationship between Structure-Related Food Parenting Practices and Children's Heightened Levels of Self-Regulation in Eating.

PubMed

Frankel, Leslie A; Powell, Elisabeth; Jansen, Elena

Food parenting practices influence children's eating behaviors and weight status. Food parenting practices also influence children's self-regulatory abilities around eating, which has important implications for children's eating behaviors. The purpose of the following study is to examine use of structure-related food parenting practices and the potential impact on children's ability to self-regulate energy intake. Parents (n = 379) of preschool age children (M = 4.10 years, SD = 0.92) were mostly mothers (68.6%), Non-White (54.5%), and overweight/obese (50.1%). Hierarchical Multiple Regression was conducted to predict child self-regulation in eating from structure-related food parenting practices (structured meal setting, structured meal timing, family meal setting), while accounting for child weight status, parent age, gender, BMI, race, and yearly income. Hierarchical Multiple Regression results indicated that structure-related feeding practices (structured meal setting and family meal setting, but not structured meal timing) are associated with children's heightened levels of self-regulation in eating. Models examining the relationship within children who were normal weight and overweight/obese indicated the following: a relationship between structured meal setting and heightened self-regulation in eating for normal-weight children and a relationship between family meal setting and heightened self-regulation in eating for overweight/obese children. Researchers should further investigate these potentially modifiable parent feeding behaviors as a protective parenting technique, which possibly contributes to a healthy weight development by enhancing self-regulation in eating.

The effect of diffuse basis functions on valence bond structural weights

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Galbraith, John Morrison; James, Andrew M.; Nemes, Coleen T.

2014-03-01

Structural weights and bond dissociation energies have been determined for H-F, H-X, and F-X molecules (-X = -OH, -NH2, and -CH3) at the valence bond self-consistent field (VBSCF) and breathing orbital valence bond (BOVB) levels of theory with the aug-cc-pVDZ and 6-31++G(d,p) basis sets. At the BOVB level, the aug-cc-pVDZ basis set yields a counterintuitive ordering of ionic structural weights when the initial heavy atom s-type basis functions are included. For H-F, H-OH, and F-X, the ordering follows chemical intuition when these basis functions are not included. These counterintuitive weights are shown to be a result of the diffuse polarisation function on one VB fragment being spatially located, in part, on the other VB fragment. Except in the case of F-CH3, this problem is corrected with the 6-31++G(d,p) basis set. The initial heavy atom s-type functions are shown to make an important contribution to the VB orbitals and bond dissociation energies and, therefore, should not be excluded. It is recommended to not use diffuse basis sets in valence bond calculations unless absolutely necessary. If diffuse basis sets are needed, the 6-31++G(d,p) basis set should be used with caution and the structural weights checked against VBSCF values which have been shown to follow the expected ordering in all cases.

Shared medical appointments: promoting weight loss in a clinical setting.

PubMed

Palaniappan, Latha P; Muzaffar, Amy L; Wang, Elsie J; Wong, Eric C; Orchard, Trevor J

2011-01-01

Shared medical appointments (SMAs) are 90-minute group appointments for patients with similar medical complaints. SMAs include components of a traditional office visit but provide further emphasis on health education. The effectiveness of SMAs on weight-loss in an outpatient setting has not been studied. Weight-loss SMAs were offered by one physician at the Palo Alto Medical Foundation. Teaching content included Diabetes Prevention Program materials. This analysis includes patients who attended at least one SMA (n = 74) compared with patients in the same physician's practice who had at least one office visit and a body mass index ≥ 25 kg/m(2) (n = 356). The SMA group had a higher proportion of women than the comparison group (76% vs 64%) and were older (mean, 52.4 years; SD, 13.1 years vs mean, 47.0 years; SD, 13.3 years). SMA patients on average lost 1.0% of their baseline weight. Patients in the comparison group on average gained 0.8% of their baseline weight. SMAs may be a viable option for physicians to promote weight loss in the clinical setting.

Functional Test on (TES) Thermal Enclosure System

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1992-01-01

MSFC Test Engineer performing a functional test on the TES. The TES can be operated as a refrigerator, with a minimum set point temperature of 4.0 degrees C, or as an incubator, with a maximum set point temperature 40.0 degrees C of the set point. The TES can be set to maintain a constant temperature or programmed to change temperature settings over time, internal temperature recorded by a date logger.

The colligative properties of fruit juices by photopyroelectric calorimetry

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Frandas, A.; Surducan, V.; Nagy, G.; Bicanic, D.

1999-03-01

The photopyroelectric method was used to study the depression of freezing point in juices prepared from selected apple and orange juice concentrates. By using the models for real solutions, the effective molecular weight of the dissolved solids was obtained. The acids concentration in the fruit juice is reflected both in the equivalent molecular weight (by lowering it) and in the interaction coefficients b and C. Using the data for the molecular weight and the characteristic coefficients, prediction curves for the samples investigated can be used in practice. Freezing point depression can also be used as an indicator of the degree of spoilage of fruit juices.

Obesity as a Presentation of Munchausen Syndrome by Proxy.

PubMed

Nogueira-de-Almeida, Carlos Alberto; de Almeida, Carla Cristina J N; Pereira, Natália Inocêncio; de Souza Filho, Nilton Antonio; de Oliveira, Valmir Aparecido

2018-02-01

To describe a case of an obese child whose weight gain was related to the Munchausen Syndrome by proxy (MSP). This is a case report including information regarding the child's clinical history and the mother's behavior. The common features of the syndrome are confronted with the description of the case, seeking to demonstrate the similarities. The description ratifies the diagnosis based on the signs and symptoms presented by the child (<5 years old, frequent contacts with health system, symptoms witnessed only by the mother, confusing findings, not helped by treatments, emotionally distant father) and the attitude of the mother (concerned, interested in procedures, comfortable in the medical setting, higher medical knowledge, hostile when thwarted). The case presented points to a new etiology, the MSP, to be considered within the set of factors currently known to cause and maintain obesity in childhood. © The Author [2017]. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com

Modeling and control for closed environment plant production systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Fleisher, David H.; Ting, K. C.; Janes, H. W. (Principal Investigator)

2002-01-01

A computer program was developed to study multiple crop production and control in controlled environment plant production systems. The program simulates crop growth and development under nominal and off-nominal environments. Time-series crop models for wheat (Triticum aestivum), soybean (Glycine max), and white potato (Solanum tuberosum) are integrated with a model-based predictive controller. The controller evaluates and compensates for effects of environmental disturbances on crop production scheduling. The crop models consist of a set of nonlinear polynomial equations, six for each crop, developed using multivariate polynomial regression (MPR). Simulated data from DSSAT crop models, previously modified for crop production in controlled environments with hydroponics under elevated atmospheric carbon dioxide concentration, were used for the MPR fitting. The model-based predictive controller adjusts light intensity, air temperature, and carbon dioxide concentration set points in response to environmental perturbations. Control signals are determined from minimization of a cost function, which is based on the weighted control effort and squared-error between the system response and desired reference signal.

Nutritional issues in heart transplant candidates and recipients.

PubMed

Amarelli, Cristiano; Buonocore, Marianna; Romano, Gianpaolo; Maiello, Ciro; De Santo, Luca Salvatore

2012-01-01

Heart transplant is the golden standard in the management of end-stage heart failure. Recent studies have pointed out the role of nutritional issues in patients evaluated for heart transplant listing. In particular, extremes in body habitus, cachexia and obesity, have been characterized and identified as independent prognostic factors and clinically relevant target for therapeutic interventions. Effects of such conditions exert a prognostic implication well beyond waiting time up to early post transplant setting. Changes in posttransplant clinical conditions and nutritional status have been recently described in their pattern of presentation and implications on weight gain, reversal of preoperative cachexia and early and late morbidity and mortality. New onset diabetes mellitus and metabolic syndrome have been disclosed as relevant clinical conditions in this setting. Implications for tailoring of immunosuppressive therapy and dietary prescription emerged as main stem of long term recipient management. All this issues have been reviewed focusing on the clinical relevance of this growing body of knowledge and emphasizing the role of a multidisciplinary approach for selection and management of heart transplant recipients.

Coherent Structure Detection using Persistent Homology and other Topological Tools

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Smith, Spencer; Roberts, Eric; Sindi, Suzanne; Mitchell, Kevin

2017-11-01

For non-autonomous, aperiodic fluid flows, coherent structures help organize the dynamics, much as invariant manifolds and periodic orbits do for autonomous or periodic systems. The prevalence of such flows in nature and industry has motivated many successful techniques for defining and detecting coherent structures. However, often these approaches require very fine trajectory data to reconstruct velocity fields and compute Cauchy-Green-tensor-related quantities. We use topological techniques to help detect coherent trajectory sets in relatively sparse 2D advection problems. More specifically, we have developed a homotopy-based algorithm, the ensemble-based topological entropy calculation (E-tec), which assigns to each edge in an initial triangulation of advected points a topologically forced lower bound on its future stretching rate. The triangulation and its weighted edges allow us to analyze flows using persistent homology. This topological data analysis tool detects clusters and loops in the triangulation that are robust in the presence of noise and in this case correspond to coherent trajectory sets.

Watershed-based survey designs

USGS Publications Warehouse

Detenbeck, N.E.; Cincotta, D.; Denver, J.M.; Greenlee, S.K.; Olsen, A.R.; Pitchford, A.M.

2005-01-01

Watershed-based sampling design and assessment tools help serve the multiple goals for water quality monitoring required under the Clean Water Act, including assessment of regional conditions to meet Section 305(b), identification of impaired water bodies or watersheds to meet Section 303(d), and development of empirical relationships between causes or sources of impairment and biological responses. Creation of GIS databases for hydrography, hydrologically corrected digital elevation models, and hydrologic derivatives such as watershed boundaries and upstream–downstream topology of subcatchments would provide a consistent seamless nationwide framework for these designs. The elements of a watershed-based sample framework can be represented either as a continuous infinite set defined by points along a linear stream network, or as a discrete set of watershed polygons. Watershed-based designs can be developed with existing probabilistic survey methods, including the use of unequal probability weighting, stratification, and two-stage frames for sampling. Case studies for monitoring of Atlantic Coastal Plain streams, West Virginia wadeable streams, and coastal Oregon streams illustrate three different approaches for selecting sites for watershed-based survey designs.

How close are we to implementing a genetic risk score for coronary heart disease?

PubMed

Beaney, Katherine; Drenos, Fotios; Humphries, Steve E

2017-10-01

Genome-wide association meta-analysis have now identified more than 150 loci where common variants (SNPs) are significantly associated with coronary heart disease (CHD) and CHD end points. Areas covered: The authors review publications from their own laboratory and published recently where identified CHD risk SNPs are used in combination, and 'scaled' by their effect size, to create a 'weighted' Genetic risk Score (GRS), which, in combination with an individual's classical CHD risk factors, can be used to identify those at overall low, intermediate and high future risk. Those at highest risk can be offered life-style and therapeutic options to reduce their risk and those at intermediate levels can be monitored. Expert commentary: The authors discuss the selection of the best variants to be included in the GRS, and the potential utility of such scores in different clinical settings. The limitations of the current data sets and the way forward in the next 5 years is discussed.

Local Kernel for Brains Classification in Schizophrenia

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Castellani, U.; Rossato, E.; Murino, V.; Bellani, M.; Rambaldelli, G.; Tansella, M.; Brambilla, P.

In this paper a novel framework for brain classification is proposed in the context of mental health research. A learning by example method is introduced by combining local measurements with non linear Support Vector Machine. Instead of considering a voxel-by-voxel comparison between patients and controls, we focus on landmark points which are characterized by local region descriptors, namely Scale Invariance Feature Transform (SIFT). Then, matching is obtained by introducing the local kernel for which the samples are represented by unordered set of features. Moreover, a new weighting approach is proposed to take into account the discriminative relevance of the detected groups of features. Experiments have been performed including a set of 54 patients with schizophrenia and 54 normal controls on which region of interest (ROI) have been manually traced by experts. Preliminary results on Dorso-lateral PreFrontal Cortex (DLPFC) region are promising since up to 75% of successful classification rate has been obtained with this technique and the performance has improved up to 85% when the subjects have been stratified by sex.

NDARC-NASA Design and Analysis of Rotorcraft Theoretical Basis and Architecture

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Johnson, Wayne

2010-01-01

The theoretical basis and architecture of the conceptual design tool NDARC (NASA Design and Analysis of Rotorcraft) are described. The principal tasks of NDARC are to design (or size) a rotorcraft to satisfy specified design conditions and missions, and then analyze the performance of the aircraft for a set of off-design missions and point operating conditions. The aircraft consists of a set of components, including fuselage, rotors, wings, tails, and propulsion. For each component, attributes such as performance, drag, and weight can be calculated. The aircraft attributes are obtained from the sum of the component attributes. NDARC provides a capability to model general rotorcraft configurations, and estimate the performance and attributes of advanced rotor concepts. The software has been implemented with low-fidelity models, typical of the conceptual design environment. Incorporation of higher-fidelity models will be possible, as the architecture of the code accommodates configuration flexibility, a hierarchy of models, and ultimately multidisciplinary design, analysis and optimization.

14 CFR 420.19 - Launch site location review-general.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... nm orbit Weight class Small Medium Medium large Large 28 degrees inclination * ≤4400 >4400 to ≤11100.... Orbital expendable launch vehicles are further classified by weight class, based on the weight of payload... class of orbital expendable launch vehicles flown from a launch point, the applicant shall demonstrate...

Is Weight Gain after Smoking Cessation Inevitable?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Talcott, Gerald W.; And Others

1995-01-01

Studied weight gain after smoking cessation in a naturalistic setting where all smokers quit and risk factors for postcessation weight gain were modified. Results showed no significant weight changes for smokers who quit. Suggests that an intensive program featuring dietary guidelines and increased physical activity can attenuate weight gain. (RJM)

A multiresolution prostate representation for automatic segmentation in magnetic resonance images.

PubMed

Alvarez, Charlens; Martínez, Fabio; Romero, Eduardo

2017-04-01

Accurate prostate delineation is necessary in radiotherapy processes for concentrating the dose onto the prostate and reducing side effects in neighboring organs. Currently, manual delineation is performed over magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) taking advantage of its high soft tissue contrast property. Nevertheless, as human intervention is a consuming task with high intra- and interobserver variability rates, (semi)-automatic organ delineation tools have emerged to cope with these challenges, reducing the time spent for these tasks. This work presents a multiresolution representation that defines a novel metric and allows to segment a new prostate by combining a set of most similar prostates in a dataset. The proposed method starts by selecting the set of most similar prostates with respect to a new one using the proposed multiresolution representation. This representation characterizes the prostate through a set of salient points, extracted from a region of interest (ROI) that encloses the organ and refined using structural information, allowing to capture main relevant features of the organ boundary. Afterward, the new prostate is automatically segmented by combining the nonrigidly registered expert delineations associated to the previous selected similar prostates using a weighted patch-based strategy. Finally, the prostate contour is smoothed based on morphological operations. The proposed approach was evaluated with respect to the expert manual segmentation under a leave-one-out scheme using two public datasets, obtaining averaged Dice coefficients of 82% ± 0.07 and 83% ± 0.06, and demonstrating a competitive performance with respect to atlas-based state-of-the-art methods. The proposed multiresolution representation provides a feature space that follows a local salient point criteria and a global rule of the spatial configuration among these points to find out the most similar prostates. This strategy suggests an easy adaptation in the clinical routine, as supporting tool for annotation. © 2017 American Association of Physicists in Medicine.

Simulation of fruit-set and trophic competition and optimization of yield advantages in six Capsicum cultivars using functional-structural plant modelling.

PubMed

Ma, Y T; Wubs, A M; Mathieu, A; Heuvelink, E; Zhu, J Y; Hu, B G; Cournède, P H; de Reffye, P

2011-04-01

Many indeterminate plants can have wide fluctuations in the pattern of fruit-set and harvest. Fruit-set in these types of plants depends largely on the balance between source (assimilate supply) and sink strength (assimilate demand) within the plant. This study aims to evaluate the ability of functional-structural plant models to simulate different fruit-set patterns among Capsicum cultivars through source-sink relationships. A greenhouse experiment of six Capsicum cultivars characterized with different fruit weight and fruit-set was conducted. Fruit-set patterns and potential fruit sink strength were determined through measurement. Source and sink strength of other organs were determined via the GREENLAB model, with a description of plant organ weight and dimensions according to plant topological structure established from the measured data as inputs. Parameter optimization was determined using a generalized least squares method for the entire growth cycle. Fruit sink strength differed among cultivars. Vegetative sink strength was generally lower for large-fruited cultivars than for small-fruited ones. The larger the size of the fruit, the larger variation there was in fruit-set and fruit yield. Large-fruited cultivars need a higher source-sink ratio for fruit-set, which means higher demand for assimilates. Temporal heterogeneity of fruit-set affected both number and yield of fruit. The simulation study showed that reducing heterogeneity of fruit-set was obtained by different approaches: for example, increasing source strength; decreasing vegetative sink strength, source-sink ratio for fruit-set and flower appearance rate; and harvesting individual fruits earlier before full ripeness. Simulation results showed that, when we increased source strength or decreased vegetative sink strength, fruit-set and fruit weight increased. However, no significant differences were found between large-fruited and small-fruited groups of cultivars regarding the effects of source and vegetative sink strength on fruit-set and fruit weight. When the source-sink ratio at fruit-set decreased, the number of fruit retained on the plant increased competition for assimilates with vegetative organs. Therefore, total plant and vegetative dry weights decreased, especially for large-fruited cultivars. Optimization study showed that temporal heterogeneity of fruit-set and ripening was predicted to be reduced when fruits were harvested earlier. Furthermore, there was a 20 % increase in the number of extra fruit set.

Changes in body weight and food security of adult North Korean refugees living in South Korea

PubMed Central

Jeong, HaYoung; Kim, Sin-Gon

2017-01-01

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES Relocation to new environments can have a negative impact on health by altering body weight and dietary patterns. This study attempted to elucidate changes in body weight, food security, and their current food and nutrient consumption in adult North Korean refugees (NKR) living in South Korea (SK). SUBJECTS/METHODS This study analyzed data on 149 adult NKR from a North Korean refugee health in SK cohort at four time points (leaving North Korea, entering SK, first examination, and second examination). Body weight was self-reported at the two earlier time points and directly measured at the two later time points. Food security, diet-related behaviors (dietary habits and food consumption), and sociodemographic information were obtained using a self-administered questionnaire. Nutrient intake information was obtained by one-day 24-hour recall. Statistical analyses were performed with SPSS ver 23.0. RESULTS Body weight increased during relocation by an average of 4 kg, although diversified patterns were observed during the settlement period in SK. Approximately 39.6% of subjects maintained their body weight between the first and second examinations, whereas 38.6% gained and 22.1% lost at least 3% of their body weight at the first examination by the second examination. Food security status improved from 12.1% food secure proportion to 61.7%. NKR showed generally good food and nutrient consumption (index of nutrient quality: 0.77–1.93). The body weight loss group showed the most irregular meal consumption pattern (P < 0.05), and eating-out was infrequent in all three groups. Consumption frequencies of food groups did not differ by group, except in the fish group (P = 0.036). CONCLUSION This study observed considerable body weight adjustment during the settlement period in SK after initial weight gain, whereas food security consistently improved. More detailed understanding of this process is needed to assist healthy settlement for NKR in SK. PMID:28765777

Changes in body weight and food security of adult North Korean refugees living in South Korea.

PubMed

Jeong, HaYoung; Lee, Soo-Kyung; Kim, Sin-Gon

2017-08-01

Relocation to new environments can have a negative impact on health by altering body weight and dietary patterns. This study attempted to elucidate changes in body weight, food security, and their current food and nutrient consumption in adult North Korean refugees (NKR) living in South Korea (SK). This study analyzed data on 149 adult NKR from a North Korean refugee health in SK cohort at four time points (leaving North Korea, entering SK, first examination, and second examination). Body weight was self-reported at the two earlier time points and directly measured at the two later time points. Food security, diet-related behaviors (dietary habits and food consumption), and sociodemographic information were obtained using a self-administered questionnaire. Nutrient intake information was obtained by one-day 24-hour recall. Statistical analyses were performed with SPSS ver 23.0. Body weight increased during relocation by an average of 4 kg, although diversified patterns were observed during the settlement period in SK. Approximately 39.6% of subjects maintained their body weight between the first and second examinations, whereas 38.6% gained and 22.1% lost at least 3% of their body weight at the first examination by the second examination. Food security status improved from 12.1% food secure proportion to 61.7%. NKR showed generally good food and nutrient consumption (index of nutrient quality: 0.77-1.93). The body weight loss group showed the most irregular meal consumption pattern ( P < 0.05), and eating-out was infrequent in all three groups. Consumption frequencies of food groups did not differ by group, except in the fish group ( P = 0.036). This study observed considerable body weight adjustment during the settlement period in SK after initial weight gain, whereas food security consistently improved. More detailed understanding of this process is needed to assist healthy settlement for NKR in SK.

Binge Eating Behavior and Weight Loss Maintenance over a 2-Year Period

PubMed Central

Pacanowski, Carly R.; Senso, Meghan M.; Crain, A. Lauren; Sherwood, Nancy E.

2014-01-01

Objective. To investigate the relationship between binge eating behavior and weight loss maintenance over a two-year period in adults. Design. Secondary data analysis using the Keep It Off study, a randomized trial evaluating an intervention to promote weight loss maintenance. Participants. 419 men and women (ages: 20 to 70 y; BMI: 20–44 kg/m2) who had intentionally lost ≥10% of their weight during the previous year. Measurements. Body weight was measured and binge eating behavior over the past 6 months was reported at baseline, 12 months and 24 months. Height was measured at baseline. Results. Prevalence of binge eating at baseline was 19.4% (n = 76). Prevalence of binge eating at any time point was 30.1% (n = 126). Although rate of weight regain did not differ significantly between those who did or did not report binge eating at baseline, binge eating behavior across the study period (additive value of presence or absence at each time point) was significantly associated with different rates of weight regain. Conclusion. Tailoring weight loss maintenance interventions to address binge eating behavior is warranted given the prevalence and the different rates of weight regain experienced by those reporting this behavior. PMID:24891946

The effectiveness of family-based treatment for full and partial adolescent anorexia nervosa in an independent private practice setting: Clinical outcomes.

PubMed

Goldstein, Mandy; Murray, Stuart B; Griffiths, Scott; Rayner, Kathryn; Podkowka, Jessica; Bateman, Joel E; Wallis, Andrew; Thornton, Christopher E

2016-11-01

Anorexia nervosa (AN) is a severe psychiatric illness with little evidence supporting treatment in adults. Among adolescents with AN, family-based treatment (FBT) is considered first-line outpatient approach, with a growing evidence base. However, research on FBT has stemmed from specialist services in research/public health settings. This study investigated the effectiveness of FBT in a case series of adolescent AN treated in a private practice setting. Thirty-four adolescents with full or partial AN, diagnosed according to DSM-IV criteria, participated, and were assessed at pretreatment and post-treatment. Assessments included change in % expected body weight, mood, and eating pathology. Significant weight gain was observed from pretreatment to post-treatment. 45.9% of the sample demonstrated full weight restoration and a further 43.2% achieved partial weight-based remission. Missing data precluded an examination of change in mood and ED psychopathology. Effective dissemination across different service types is important to the wider availability of evidence-based treatments. These weight restoration data lend preliminary support to the implementation of FBT in real world treatment settings. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. (Int J Eat Disord 2016; 49:1023-1026). © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Reactor and method for hydrocracking carbonaceous material

DOEpatents

Duncan, Dennis A.; Beeson, Justin L.; Oberle, R. Donald; Dirksen, Henry A.

1980-01-01

Solid, carbonaceous material is cracked in the presence of hydrogen or other reducing gas to provide aliphatic and aromatic hydrocarbons of lower molecular weight for gaseous and liquid fuels. The carbonaceous material, such as coal, is entrained as finely divided particles in a flow of reducing gas and preheated to near the decomposition temperature of the high molecular weight polymers. Within the reactor, small quantities of oxygen containing gas are injected at a plurality of discrete points to burn corresponding amounts of the hydrogen or other fuel and elevate the mixture to high temperatures sufficient to decompose the high molecular weight, carbonaceous solids. Turbulent mixing at each injection point rapidly quenches the material to a more moderate bulk temperature. Additional quenching after the final injection point can be performed by direct contact with quench gas or oil. The reactions are carried out in the presence of a hydrogen-containing reducing gas at moderate to high pressure which stabilizes the products.

Predicting birth weight with conditionally linear transformation models.

PubMed

Möst, Lisa; Schmid, Matthias; Faschingbauer, Florian; Hothorn, Torsten

2016-12-01

Low and high birth weight (BW) are important risk factors for neonatal morbidity and mortality. Gynecologists must therefore accurately predict BW before delivery. Most prediction formulas for BW are based on prenatal ultrasound measurements carried out within one week prior to birth. Although successfully used in clinical practice, these formulas focus on point predictions of BW but do not systematically quantify uncertainty of the predictions, i.e. they result in estimates of the conditional mean of BW but do not deliver prediction intervals. To overcome this problem, we introduce conditionally linear transformation models (CLTMs) to predict BW. Instead of focusing only on the conditional mean, CLTMs model the whole conditional distribution function of BW given prenatal ultrasound parameters. Consequently, the CLTM approach delivers both point predictions of BW and fetus-specific prediction intervals. Prediction intervals constitute an easy-to-interpret measure of prediction accuracy and allow identification of fetuses subject to high prediction uncertainty. Using a data set of 8712 deliveries at the Perinatal Centre at the University Clinic Erlangen (Germany), we analyzed variants of CLTMs and compared them to standard linear regression estimation techniques used in the past and to quantile regression approaches. The best-performing CLTM variant was competitive with quantile regression and linear regression approaches in terms of conditional coverage and average length of the prediction intervals. We propose that CLTMs be used because they are able to account for possible heteroscedasticity, kurtosis, and skewness of the distribution of BWs. © The Author(s) 2014.

NDARC - NASA Design and Analysis of Rotorcraft Validation and Demonstration

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Johnson, Wayne

2010-01-01

Validation and demonstration results from the development of the conceptual design tool NDARC (NASA Design and Analysis of Rotorcraft) are presented. The principal tasks of NDARC are to design a rotorcraft to satisfy specified design conditions and missions, and then analyze the performance of the aircraft for a set of off-design missions and point operating conditions. The aircraft chosen as NDARC development test cases are the UH-60A single main-rotor and tail-rotor helicopter, the CH-47D tandem helicopter, the XH-59A coaxial lift-offset helicopter, and the XV-15 tiltrotor. These aircraft were selected because flight performance data, a weight statement, detailed geometry information, and a correlated comprehensive analysis model are available for each. Validation consists of developing the NDARC models for these aircraft by using geometry and weight information, airframe wind tunnel test data, engine decks, rotor performance tests, and comprehensive analysis results; and then comparing the NDARC results for aircraft and component performance with flight test data. Based on the calibrated models, the capability of the code to size rotorcraft is explored.

The Subset Sum game.

PubMed

Darmann, Andreas; Nicosia, Gaia; Pferschy, Ulrich; Schauer, Joachim

2014-03-16

In this work we address a game theoretic variant of the Subset Sum problem, in which two decision makers (agents/players) compete for the usage of a common resource represented by a knapsack capacity. Each agent owns a set of integer weighted items and wants to maximize the total weight of its own items included in the knapsack. The solution is built as follows: Each agent, in turn, selects one of its items (not previously selected) and includes it in the knapsack if there is enough capacity. The process ends when the remaining capacity is too small for including any item left. We look at the problem from a single agent point of view and show that finding an optimal sequence of items to select is an [Formula: see text]-hard problem. Therefore we propose two natural heuristic strategies and analyze their worst-case performance when (1) the opponent is able to play optimally and (2) the opponent adopts a greedy strategy. From a centralized perspective we observe that some known results on the approximation of the classical Subset Sum can be effectively adapted to the multi-agent version of the problem.

The Subset Sum game☆

PubMed Central

Darmann, Andreas; Nicosia, Gaia; Pferschy, Ulrich; Schauer, Joachim

2014-01-01

In this work we address a game theoretic variant of the Subset Sum problem, in which two decision makers (agents/players) compete for the usage of a common resource represented by a knapsack capacity. Each agent owns a set of integer weighted items and wants to maximize the total weight of its own items included in the knapsack. The solution is built as follows: Each agent, in turn, selects one of its items (not previously selected) and includes it in the knapsack if there is enough capacity. The process ends when the remaining capacity is too small for including any item left. We look at the problem from a single agent point of view and show that finding an optimal sequence of items to select is an NP-hard problem. Therefore we propose two natural heuristic strategies and analyze their worst-case performance when (1) the opponent is able to play optimally and (2) the opponent adopts a greedy strategy. From a centralized perspective we observe that some known results on the approximation of the classical Subset Sum can be effectively adapted to the multi-agent version of the problem. PMID:25844012

Mail and phone interventions for weight loss in a managed-care setting: Weigh-To-Be one-year outcomes.

PubMed

Jeffery, R W; Sherwood, N E; Brelje, K; Pronk, N P; Boyle, R; Boucher, J L; Hase, K

2003-12-01

To describe methods, recruitment success, and 1-y results of a study evaluating the effectiveness of phone- and mail-based weight-loss interventions in a managed care setting. Randomized clinical trial with three groups, that is, usual care, mail intervention, and phone intervention. In total, 1801 overweight members of a managed-care organization (MCO). Height, weight, medical status, and weight-loss history were measured at baseline. Participation in intervention activities was monitored for 12 months in the two active treatment groups. Self-reported weight was obtained at 6 and 12 months. More individuals assigned to mail treatment started it (88%) than did those assigned to phone treatment (69%). However, program completion rates were higher in the phone (36%) than mail (7%) intervention. The mean weight losses were 1.93, 2.38, and 1.47 kg at 6 months in the mail, phone, and usual care groups, respectively. The differences between the phone and usual care groups were statistically significant. The mean weight losses at 12 months did not differ by treatment group (2.28 kg mail, 2.29 kg phone, and 1.92 kg usual care). Greater weight loss was seen in men, older participants, and those with no prior experience in a weight-loss program. Heavier participants and those who reported current treatment for depression lost less weight. Although mail- and phone-based weight-loss programs can be delivered to large numbers of people in an MCO setting, additional work is needed to enhance their clinical efficacy as well as to assess their costs.

sw-SVM: sensor weighting support vector machines for EEG-based brain-computer interfaces.

PubMed

Jrad, N; Congedo, M; Phlypo, R; Rousseau, S; Flamary, R; Yger, F; Rakotomamonjy, A

2011-10-01

In many machine learning applications, like brain-computer interfaces (BCI), high-dimensional sensor array data are available. Sensor measurements are often highly correlated and signal-to-noise ratio is not homogeneously spread across sensors. Thus, collected data are highly variable and discrimination tasks are challenging. In this work, we focus on sensor weighting as an efficient tool to improve the classification procedure. We present an approach integrating sensor weighting in the classification framework. Sensor weights are considered as hyper-parameters to be learned by a support vector machine (SVM). The resulting sensor weighting SVM (sw-SVM) is designed to satisfy a margin criterion, that is, the generalization error. Experimental studies on two data sets are presented, a P300 data set and an error-related potential (ErrP) data set. For the P300 data set (BCI competition III), for which a large number of trials is available, the sw-SVM proves to perform equivalently with respect to the ensemble SVM strategy that won the competition. For the ErrP data set, for which a small number of trials are available, the sw-SVM shows superior performances as compared to three state-of-the art approaches. Results suggest that the sw-SVM promises to be useful in event-related potentials classification, even with a small number of training trials.

Reduced energy and volume air pump for a seat cushion

DOEpatents

Vaughn, M.R.; Constantineau, E.J.; Groves, G.E.

1997-08-19

An efficient pump system is described for transferring air between sets of bladders in a cushion. The pump system utilizes a reversible piston within a cylinder in conjunction with an equalizing valve in the piston which opens when the piston reaches the end of travel in one direction. The weight of a seated user then forces air back across the piston from an inflated bladder to the previously deflated bladder until the pressure is equalized. In this fashion the work done by the pump is cut in half. The inflation and deflation of the different bladders is controlled to vary the pressure on the several pressure points of a seated user. A principal application is for wheel chair use to prevent pressure ulcers. 12 figs.

OPTIM: Computer program to generate a vertical profile which minimizes aircraft fuel burn or direct operating cost. User's guide

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1983-01-01

A profile of altitude, airspeed, and flight path angle as a function of range between a given set of origin and destination points for particular models of transport aircraft provided by NASA is generated. Inputs to the program include the vertical wind profile, the aircraft takeoff weight, the costs of time and fuel, certain constraint parameters and control flags. The profile can be near optimum in the sense of minimizing: (1) fuel, (2) time, or (3) a combination of fuel and time (direct operating cost (DOC)). The user can also, as an option, specify the length of time the flight is to span. The theory behind the technical details of this program is also presented.

A technique for magnetic resonance imaging of equine cadaver specimens.

PubMed

Widmer, W R; Buckwalter, K A; Hill, M A; Fessler, J F; Ivancevich, S

1999-01-01

We tested an adaptation of a technique for performing magnetic resonance (MR) imaging of human cadaver limbs in the horse. The forelimbs from a normal horse were collected, frozen, and sealed with a paraffin-polymer combination prior to imaging with either a high- or midfield magnetic resonance scanner. Each forelimb was defrosted, scanned, and refrozen on two separate occasions. A five-point scale was used to evaluate the quality of each set of sagittal and transverse, T1-weighted images of each digit. There was no difference in image quality between first and second scans of either specimen (p > 0.05). We conclude that this technique allows investigators to bank tissue specimens for future magnetic resonance imaging without significant loss of image quality.

Efficient Robust Regression via Two-Stage Generalized Empirical Likelihood

PubMed Central

Bondell, Howard D.; Stefanski, Leonard A.

2013-01-01

Large- and finite-sample efficiency and resistance to outliers are the key goals of robust statistics. Although often not simultaneously attainable, we develop and study a linear regression estimator that comes close. Efficiency obtains from the estimator’s close connection to generalized empirical likelihood, and its favorable robustness properties are obtained by constraining the associated sum of (weighted) squared residuals. We prove maximum attainable finite-sample replacement breakdown point, and full asymptotic efficiency for normal errors. Simulation evidence shows that compared to existing robust regression estimators, the new estimator has relatively high efficiency for small sample sizes, and comparable outlier resistance. The estimator is further illustrated and compared to existing methods via application to a real data set with purported outliers. PMID:23976805

Reduced energy and volume air pump for a seat cushion

DOEpatents

Vaughn, Mark R.; Constantineau, Edward J.; Groves, Gordon E.

1997-01-01

An efficient pump system for transferring air between sets of bladders in a cushion. The pump system utilizes a reversible piston within a cylinder in conjunction with an equalizing valve in the piston which opens when the piston reaches the end of travel in one direction. The weight of a seated user then forces air back across the piston from an inflated bladder to the previously deflated bladder until the pressure is equalized. In this fashion the work done by the pump is cut in half. The inflation and deflation of the different bladders is controlled to vary the pressure on the several pressure points of a seated user. A principal application is for wheel chair use to prevent pressure ulcers.

Terrestrial cross-calibrated assimilation of various datasources

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Groß, André; Müller, Richard; Schömer, Elmar; Trentmann, Jörg

2014-05-01

We introduce a novel software tool, ANACLIM, for the efficient assimilation of multiple two-dimensional data sets using a variational approach. We consider a single objective function in two spatial coordinates with higher derivatives. This function measures the deviation of the input data from the target data set. By using the Euler-Lagrange formalism the minimization of this objective function can be transformed into a sparse system of linear equations, which can be efficiently solved by a conjugate gradient solver on a desktop workstation. The objective function allows for a series of physically-motivated constraints. The user can control the relative global weights, as well as the individual weight of each constraint on a per-grid-point level. The different constraints are realized as separate terms of the objective function: One similarity term for each input data set and two additional smoothness terms, penalizing high gradient and curvature values. ANACLIM is designed to combine similarity and smoothness operators easily and to choose different solvers. We performed a series of benchmarks to calibrate and verify our solution. We use, for example, terrestrial stations of BSRN and GEBA for the solar incoming flux and AERONET stations for aerosol optical depth. First results show that the combination of these data sources gain a significant benefit against the input datasets with our approach. ANACLIM also includes a region growing algorithm for the assimilation of ground based data. The region growing algorithm computes the maximum area around a station that represents the station data. The regions are grown under several constraints like the homogeneity of the area. The resulting dataset is then used within the assimilation process. Verification is performed by cross-validation. The method and validation results will be presented and discussed.

Nature versus nurture: identical twins and bariatric surgery.

PubMed

Hagedorn, Judith C; Morton, John M

2007-06-01

Genetics and environment both play a role in weight maintenance. Twin studies may help clarify the influence of nature vs nurture in weight loss. We present the largest U.S. experience with monozygotic (MZ) twins undergoing bariatric surgery. We retrospectively reviewed the charts of four sets of MZ twins who underwent Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (RYGBP) surgery and laparoscopic adjustable gastric band (LAGB) placement at three different institutions. BMI and co-morbidities were examined pre- and postoperatively, and laboratory values were recorded. All four sets of twins are female, live together, and have similar professions. Twin cohort 1 had near identical weight loss patterns after open RYGBP surgery in 1996 (preop 146/142 kg; 2 years 82/82; and 10 years 108/107). Twin cohort 1 also both underwent cholecystectomies within the first year postoperatively. Twin cohort 2 underwent laparoscopic RYGBP surgery and also required cholecystectomies in the first postoperative year. Cohort 2 also experienced nearly identical weight loss at 1 year (36.7% vs 37.0% BMI loss). Twin cohort 3 underwent LAGB placement with two different surgeons with differing amounts of weight loss at 6 months (6.5% vs 15.7% BMI loss). Finally, twin cohort 4 underwent laparoscopic RYGBP with 2-year BMI loss of 39% vs 34%. In twin cohort 4, the twin who lost less weight lived apart from her twin and extended family, and her weight loss was less than the twin living with her family. Two sets of MZ twins had identical responses to bariatric surgery. The other two sets of identical twins had differential weight loss results, possibly due to differences in surgical approach and social support. While genetics do exert a strong influence on weight loss and maintenance, this case series demonstrates the potential effect of social support and postoperative management upon postoperative weight loss in the presence of identical genetics.

Method‐of‐use study of naltrexone sustained release (SR)/bupropion SR on body weight in individuals with obesity

PubMed Central

Shan, Kevin; Walsh, Brandon; Gilder, Kye; Fujioka, Ken

2016-01-01

Objective This study assessed the effects of 32 mg naltrexone sustained release (SR)/360 mg bupropion SR (NB) on body weight in adults with obesity, with comprehensive lifestyle intervention (CLI), for 78 weeks. Methods In this phase 3b, randomized, open‐label, controlled study, subjects received NB + CLI or usual care (standard diet/exercise advice) for 26 weeks. NB subjects not achieving 5% weight loss at week 16 were discontinued, as indicated by product labeling. After week 26, usual care subjects began NB + CLI. Assessments continued through week 78. The primary end point was percent change in weight from baseline to week 26 in the per protocol population. Other end points included percentage of subjects achieving ≥5%, ≥10%, and ≥15% weight loss, percent change in weight at week 78, and adverse events (AEs) necessitating study medication discontinuation. Results NB + CLI subjects lost significantly more weight than usual care subjects at week 26 (8.52% difference; P < 0.0001). Weight loss persisted through 78 weeks. In total, 20.7% of subjects discontinued medication for AEs, including 7.0% for nausea. Conclusions Treatment with NB, used as indicated by prescribing information and with CLI, significantly improved weight loss over usual care alone. NB‐facilitated weight loss was sustained for 78 weeks and was deemed safe and well tolerated. PMID:28026920

Molecular weight analyses and enzymatic degradation profiles of the soft-tissue fillers Belotero Balance, Restylane, and Juvéderm Ultra.

PubMed

Flynn, Timothy Corcoran; Thompson, David H; Hyun, Seok-Hee

2013-10-01

In this study, the authors sought to determine the molecular weight distribution of three hyaluronic acids-Belotero Balance, Restylane, and Juvéderm Ultra-and their rates of degradation following exposure to hyaluronidase. Lot consistency of Belotero Balance also was analyzed. Three lots of Belotero Balance were analyzed using liquid chromatography techniques. The product was found to have high-molecular-weight and low-molecular-weight species. One lot of Belotero Balance was compared to one lot each of Juvéderm Ultra and Restylane. Molecular weights of the species were analyzed. The hyaluronic acids were exposed to ovine testicular hyaluronidase at six time points-baseline and 0.5, 1, 2, 6, and 24 hours-to determine degradation rates. Belotero Balance lots were remarkably consistent. Belotero Balance had the largest high-molecular-weight species, followed by Juvéderm Ultra and Restylane (p < 0.001). Low-molecular-weight differences among all three hyaluronic acids were not statistically significant. Percentages of high-molecular-weight polymer differ among the three materials, with Belotero Balance having the highest fraction of high-molecular-weight polymer. Degradation of the high-molecular-weight species over time showed different molecular weights of the high-molecular-weight fraction. Rates of degradation of the hyaluronic acids following exposure to ovine testicular hyaluronidase were similar. All hyaluronic acids were fully degraded at 24 hours. Fractions of high-molecular-weight polymer differ across the hyaluronic acids tested. The low-molecular-weight differences are not statistically significant. The high-molecular-weight products have different molecular weights at the 0.5- and 2-hour time points when exposed to ovine testicular hyaluronidase and are not statistically different at 24 hours.

Effectiveness and tolerability of second-line therapy with vildagliptin vs. other oral agents in type 2 diabetes: A real-life worldwide observational study (EDGE)

PubMed Central

Mathieu, C; Barnett, A H; Brath, H; Conget, I; de Castro, J J; Göke, R; Márquez Rodriguez, E; Nilsson, P M; Pagkalos, E; Penfornis, A; Schaper, NC; Wangnoo, S K; Kothny, W; Bader, G

2013-01-01

Aim Real-life studies are needed to confirm the clinical relevance of findings from randomised controlled trials (RCTs). This study aimed to assess the effectiveness and tolerability of vildagliptin add-on vs. other oral antihyperglycaemic drugs (OADs) added to OAD monotherapy in a real-life setting, and to explore the advantages and limitations of large-scale ‘pragmatic’ trials. Methods EDGE was a prospective, 1-year, worldwide, real-life observational study in which 2957 physicians reported on the effects of second-line OADs in 45,868 patients with T2DM not reaching glycaemic targets with monotherapy. Physicians could add any OAD, and patients entered either vildagliptin or (pooled) comparator cohort. The primary effectiveness and tolerability end-point (PEP) evaluated proportions of patients decreasing HbA1c > 0.3%, without hypoglycaemia, weight gain, peripheral oedema or gastrointestinal side effects. The most clinically relevant secondary end-point (SEP 3) was attainment of end-point HbA1c < 7% without hypoglycaemia or ≥ 3% increase in body weight. Results In this large group of T2DM patients, a second OAD was added at mean HbA1c of 8.2 ± 1.3%, with no baseline HbA1c difference between cohorts. Second-line OAD therapy attained the PEP in the majority of patients, with higher attainment in those prescribed a vildagliptin-based regimen. The adjusted odds ratio was 1.49 (95% CI: 1.42, 1.55; p < 0.001). In patients with baseline HbA1c ≥ 7%, SEP 3 was achieved by 35% of patients on a vildagliptin-based combination and by 23% of those receiving comparator combinations. The adjusted odds ratio was 1.96 (95% CI: 1.85, 2.07; p < 0.001). Safety events were reported infrequently and safety profiles of vildagliptin and other OADs were consistent with previous data. Conclusion EDGE demonstrates that in a ‘real-life’ setting, vildagliptin as second OAD can lower HbA1c to target without well-recognised OAD side effects, more frequently than comparator OADs. In addition, EDGE illustrates that conducting large-scale, prospective, real-life studies poses challenges but yields valuable clinical information complementary to RCTs. PMID:23961850

Fitness Instructors: How Does Their Knowledge on Weight Loss Measure Up?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Forsyth, Glenys; Handcock, Phil; Rose, Elaine; Jenkins, Carolyn

2005-01-01

Objective: To examine the knowledge, approaches and attitudes of fitness instructors dealing with clients seeking weight loss advice. Design: A qualitative project whereby semi-structured interviews were conducted with ten fitness instructors representing a range of qualifications, work settings and years of experience. Setting: Interviews were…

A Measure for the Cohesion of Weighted Networks.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Egghe, Leo; Rousseau, Ronald

2003-01-01

Discusses graph theory in information science, focusing on measures for the cohesion of networks. Illustrates how a set of weights between connected nodes can be transformed into a set of dissimilarity measures and presents an example of the new compactness measures for a cocitation and a bibliographic coupling network. (Author/LRW)

Real-time seam tracking control system based on line laser visions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zou, Yanbiao; Wang, Yanbo; Zhou, Weilin; Chen, Xiangzhi

2018-07-01

A set of six-degree-of-freedom robotic welding automatic tracking platform was designed in this study to realize the real-time tracking of weld seams. Moreover, the feature point tracking method and the adaptive fuzzy control algorithm in the welding process were studied and analyzed. A laser vision sensor and its measuring principle were designed and studied, respectively. Before welding, the initial coordinate values of the feature points were obtained using morphological methods. After welding, the target tracking method based on Gaussian kernel was used to extract the real-time feature points of the weld. An adaptive fuzzy controller was designed to input the deviation value of the feature points and the change rate of the deviation into the controller. The quantization factors, scale factor, and weight function were adjusted in real time. The input and output domains, fuzzy rules, and membership functions were constantly updated to generate a series of smooth bias robot voltage. Three groups of experiments were conducted on different types of curve welds in a strong arc and splash noise environment using the welding current of 120 A short-circuit Metal Active Gas (MAG) Arc Welding. The tracking error was less than 0.32 mm and the sensor's metrical frequency can be up to 20 Hz. The end of the torch run smooth during welding. Weld trajectory can be tracked accurately, thereby satisfying the requirements of welding applications.

Epidemiology of Vocal Health in Young Adults Attending College in the United States.

PubMed

Hartley, Naomi A; Breen, Ellen; Thibeault, Susan L

2016-10-01

The purpose of this study was to document typical vocal health characteristics (including voice-related activities, behaviors, and symptomatology) of young adults attending college and to determine lifetime and point prevalence rates of voice disorders. Undergraduates at University of Wisconsin-Madison completed an anonymous online survey detailing vocal use, symptomatology, impact, sociodemographics, and voice-related quality of life. Univariate analyses and multivariate regression models isolated risk factors for lifetime and point prevalence rates of a voice disorder. Vocal health and associated factors were analyzed for 652 students (predominantly 18-25 years of age). Lifetime prevalence rate of a voice disorder was 33.9% (point prevalence = 4.45%). Change in voice function (odds ratio [OR] = 2.77), seasonal or chronic postnasal drip (OR = 2.11), hoarseness (OR = 2.08), and restrictions to social activity (OR = 2.07; all p < .05) were identified as the strongest predictors of disorder. A total of 46% of students reported some form of voice problem in the past year, most frequently lasting between 1 and 6 days (39%). Voice usage in social and work settings exceeded demands in the classroom. Young adults in college frequently experience disturbances to vocal health; however, this is not usually perceived to interfere with communication. Relative weighting of risk factors appears to differ from older adults, highlighting the need for individualized evaluation and management, with reference to age-appropriate normative reference points.

Biliary atresia

MedlinePlus

... weight normally for the first month. After that point, the baby will lose weight and become irritable, and will have worsening jaundice. Other symptoms may include: Dark urine Enlarged spleen Floating stools Foul-smelling stools Pale or clay-colored ...

Learning to assign binary weights to binary descriptor

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Huang, Zhoudi; Wei, Zhenzhong; Zhang, Guangjun

2016-10-01

Constructing robust binary local feature descriptors are receiving increasing interest due to their binary nature, which can enable fast processing while requiring significantly less memory than their floating-point competitors. To bridge the performance gap between the binary and floating-point descriptors without increasing the computational cost of computing and matching, optimal binary weights are learning to assign to binary descriptor for considering each bit might contribute differently to the distinctiveness and robustness. Technically, a large-scale regularized optimization method is applied to learn float weights for each bit of the binary descriptor. Furthermore, binary approximation for the float weights is performed by utilizing an efficient alternatively greedy strategy, which can significantly improve the discriminative power while preserve fast matching advantage. Extensive experimental results on two challenging datasets (Brown dataset and Oxford dataset) demonstrate the effectiveness and efficiency of the proposed method.

Characterizing and understanding body weight patterns in patients treated with pregabalin.

PubMed

Cabrera, Javier; Emir, Birol; Dills, Diana; Murphy, T Kevin; Whalen, Ed; Clair, Andrew

2012-06-01

We examined patterns of weight change among patients treated with pregabalin for up to 1 year. Patients with ≥1 pre-treatment weight measurement, ≥2 measurements in Period 1 (day 2-56), and ≥2 during Period 2 (day 57-356) were identified from pooled data of 106 studies including 43,525 patients. Seven patterns were developed and used for exploratory 'change point' analyses (day on-treatment when weight-change trend changed from initial trajectory) and to assess patterns of weight change by baseline weight/body mass index (BMI). A total of 3187 patients (from 41 studies) were eligible. 98.9% of patients were described by three of the seven patterns. The majority of patients (2607/3187 [81.8%]) remained within ±7% of baseline weight ('Pattern 4'). Fewer patients (463/3187 [14.5%]) were 'delayed weight gainers' (exceeded 7% weight gain in Period 2 but not Period 1 ['Pattern 6']), fewer still (82/3187 [2.6%]) were 'early weight gainers' (exceeded ≥7% baseline weight in Period 1 and remained above 7% or continued to gain weight in Period 2 ['Pattern 7']). Overall weight gainers (Patterns 6, 7) experienced 1-year weight gain (median [% change]) of +6.20 kg [+9.12%] and 5.46 kg [+13.9%] vs. 2.22 kg [+2.10%] for non-weight gainers (Pattern 4). Average baseline weight/BMI was lower for weight gainers (Patterns 6, 7) versus other patterns. Early weight gainers (Pattern 7) had change point day at day 40 versus day 54 for Pattern 4 and day 69 for Pattern 6. Use of concomitant medications and influence of comorbid conditions on weight should be considered as inherent variables when interpreting the study. The majority of patients treated with pregabalin (150-600 mg/day) for 1 year maintained weight within ±7% baseline weight. One in six patients gained ≥7% weight from baseline, and generally exceeded 7%, 2-12 months after treatment onset.

Cross-validation of pedometer-determined cut-points for healthy weight in British children from White and South Asian backgrounds.

PubMed

Duncan, Michael J; Eyre, Emma L J; Bryant, Elizabeth; Birch, Samantha L

2014-01-01

Evidence-based pedometer cut-points for health have not been sufficiently examined in the context of ethnicity. To (1) evaluate previously described steps/day cut-points in a sample of White and South Asian British primary school children and (2) use ROC analysis to generate alternative, ethnic specific, steps/day cut-offs for children. Height, body mass and pedometer determined physical activity were assessed in 763 British children (357 boys and 406 girls) from White (n = 593) and South Asian (n = 170) ethnic groups, aged 8-11 years. The Vincent and Pangrazi cut-points significantly predicted BMI in white (p = 0.006, Adjusted R(2 )= 0.08) and South Asian children (p = 0.039, Adjusted R(2 )= 0.078). The Tudor-Locke et al. cut-points significantly predicted BMI in White children (p = 0.0001, Adjusted R(2 )= 0.079) but not South Asian children (p < 0.05). ROC analysis indicated significant alternative cut-points in White and South Asian boys and girls (all p = 0.04 or better, Adjusted R(2 )= 0.091 for White and 0.09 for South Asian children). Subsequent cut-points associated with healthy weight, when translated to steps/day were 13,625 for White boys, 13,135 for White girls, 10,897 for South Asian boys and 10,161 for South Asian girls. Previously published steps/day cut-points for healthy weight may not account for known ethnic variation in physical activity between White and South Asian children in the UK. Alternative, ethnic-specific, cut-points may be better placed to distinguish British children based on pedometer-determined physical activity.

Magnetic resonance imaging of the ankle in female ballet dancers en pointe.

PubMed

Russell, Jeffrey A; Shave, Ruth M; Yoshioka, Hiroshi; Kruse, David W; Koutedakis, Yiannis; Wyon, Matthew A

2010-07-01

Ballet dancers require extreme range of motion of the ankle, especially weight-bearing maximum plantar flexion (en pointe). In spite of a high prevalence of foot and ankle injuries in ballet dancers, the anatomy and pathoanatomy of this position have not been sufficiently studied in weight-bearing. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is a beneficial method for such study. To develop an MRI method of evaluating the ankles of female ballet dancers standing en pointe and to assess whether pathological findings from the MR images were associated with ankle pain reported by the subjects. Nine female ballet dancers (age, 21+/-2.9 years; dance experience, 16+/-4.1 years; en pointe dance experience, 7+/-4.9 years) completed an ankle pain visual analog scale questionnaire and underwent T1- and T2-weighted scans using a 0.25 T open MRI device. The ankle was scanned in three positions: supine with full plantar flexion, standing with the ankle in anatomical position, and standing en pointe. Obtaining MR images of the ballet dancers en pointe was successful in spite of limitations imposed by the difficulty of remaining motionless in the en pointe position during scanning. MRI signs of ankle pathology and anatomical variants were observed. Convergence of the posterior edge of the tibial plafond, posterior talus, and superior calcaneus was noted in 100% of cases. Widened anterior joint congruity and synovitis/joint effusion were present in 71% and 67%, respectively. Anterior tibial and/or talar spurs and Stieda's process were each seen in 44%. However, clinical signs did not always correlate with pain reported by the subjects. This study successfully established an ankle imaging technique for ballet dancers en pointe that can be used in the future to assess the relationship between en pointe positioning and ankle pathoanatomy in ballet dancers.

A networks-based discrete dynamic systems approach to volcanic seismicity

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Suteanu, Mirela

2013-04-01

The detection and relevant description of pattern change concerning earthquake events is an important, but challenging task. In this paper, earthquake events related to volcanic activity are considered manifestations of a dynamic system evolving over time. The system dynamics is seen as a succession of events with point-like appearance both in time and in space. Each event is characterized by a position in three-dimensional space, a moment of occurrence, and an event size (magnitude). A weighted directed network is constructed to capture the effects of earthquakes on subsequent events. Each seismic event represents a node. Relations among events represent edges. Edge directions are given by the temporal succession of the events. Edges are also characterized by weights reflecting the strengths of the relation between the nodes. Weights are calculated as a function of (i) the time interval separating the two events, (ii) the spatial distance between the events, (iii) the magnitude of the earliest event among the two. Different ways of addressing weight components are explored, and their implications for the properties of the produced networks are analyzed. The resulting networks are then characterized in terms of degree- and weight distributions. Subsequently, the distribution of system transitions is determined for all the edges connecting related events in the network. Two- and three-dimensional diagrams are constructed to reflect transition distributions for each set of events. Networks are thus generated for successive temporal windows of different size, and the evolution of (a) network properties and (b) system transition distributions are followed over time and compared to the timeline of documented geologic processes. Applications concerning volcanic seismicity on the Big Island of Hawaii show that this approach is capable of revealing novel aspects of change occurring in the volcanic system on different scales in time and in space.

Artificial intelligence in sports on the example of weight training.

PubMed

Novatchkov, Hristo; Baca, Arnold

2013-01-01

The overall goal of the present study was to illustrate the potential of artificial intelligence (AI) techniques in sports on the example of weight training. The research focused in particular on the implementation of pattern recognition methods for the evaluation of performed exercises on training machines. The data acquisition was carried out using way and cable force sensors attached to various weight machines, thereby enabling the measurement of essential displacement and force determinants during training. On the basis of the gathered data, it was consequently possible to deduce other significant characteristics like time periods or movement velocities. These parameters were applied for the development of intelligent methods adapted from conventional machine learning concepts, allowing an automatic assessment of the exercise technique and providing individuals with appropriate feedback. In practice, the implementation of such techniques could be crucial for the investigation of the quality of the execution, the assistance of athletes but also coaches, the training optimization and for prevention purposes. For the current study, the data was based on measurements from 15 rather inexperienced participants, performing 3-5 sets of 10-12 repetitions on a leg press machine. The initially preprocessed data was used for the extraction of significant features, on which supervised modeling methods were applied. Professional trainers were involved in the assessment and classification processes by analyzing the video recorded executions. The so far obtained modeling results showed good performance and prediction outcomes, indicating the feasibility and potency of AI techniques in assessing performances on weight training equipment automatically and providing sportsmen with prompt advice. Key pointsArtificial intelligence is a promising field for sport-related analysis.Implementations integrating pattern recognition techniques enable the automatic evaluation of data measurements.Artificial neural networks applied for the analysis of weight training data show good performance and high classification rates.

Artificial Intelligence in Sports on the Example of Weight Training

PubMed Central

Novatchkov, Hristo; Baca, Arnold

2013-01-01

The overall goal of the present study was to illustrate the potential of artificial intelligence (AI) techniques in sports on the example of weight training. The research focused in particular on the implementation of pattern recognition methods for the evaluation of performed exercises on training machines. The data acquisition was carried out using way and cable force sensors attached to various weight machines, thereby enabling the measurement of essential displacement and force determinants during training. On the basis of the gathered data, it was consequently possible to deduce other significant characteristics like time periods or movement velocities. These parameters were applied for the development of intelligent methods adapted from conventional machine learning concepts, allowing an automatic assessment of the exercise technique and providing individuals with appropriate feedback. In practice, the implementation of such techniques could be crucial for the investigation of the quality of the execution, the assistance of athletes but also coaches, the training optimization and for prevention purposes. For the current study, the data was based on measurements from 15 rather inexperienced participants, performing 3-5 sets of 10-12 repetitions on a leg press machine. The initially preprocessed data was used for the extraction of significant features, on which supervised modeling methods were applied. Professional trainers were involved in the assessment and classification processes by analyzing the video recorded executions. The so far obtained modeling results showed good performance and prediction outcomes, indicating the feasibility and potency of AI techniques in assessing performances on weight training equipment automatically and providing sportsmen with prompt advice. Key points Artificial intelligence is a promising field for sport-related analysis. Implementations integrating pattern recognition techniques enable the automatic evaluation of data measurements. Artificial neural networks applied for the analysis of weight training data show good performance and high classification rates. PMID:24149722

In-flight photogrammetric camera calibration and validation via complementary lidar

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gneeniss, A. S.; Mills, J. P.; Miller, P. E.

2015-02-01

This research assumes lidar as a reference dataset against which in-flight camera system calibration and validation can be performed. The methodology utilises a robust least squares surface matching algorithm to align a dense network of photogrammetric points to the lidar reference surface, allowing for the automatic extraction of so-called lidar control points (LCPs). Adjustment of the photogrammetric data is then repeated using the extracted LCPs in a self-calibrating bundle adjustment with additional parameters. This methodology was tested using two different photogrammetric datasets, a Microsoft UltraCamX large format camera and an Applanix DSS322 medium format camera. Systematic sensitivity testing explored the influence of the number and weighting of LCPs. For both camera blocks it was found that when the number of control points increase, the accuracy improves regardless of point weighting. The calibration results were compared with those obtained using ground control points, with good agreement found between the two.

Application of two procedures for dual-point design of transonic airfoils

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mineck, Raymond E.; Campbell, Richard L.; Allison, Dennis O.

1994-01-01

Two dual-point design procedures were developed to reduce the objective function of a baseline airfoil at two design points. The first procedure to develop a redesigned airfoil used a weighted average of the shapes of two intermediate airfoils redesigned at each of the two design points. The second procedure used a weighted average of two pressure distributions obtained from an intermediate airfoil redesigned at each of the two design points. Each procedure was used to design a new airfoil with reduced wave drag at the cruise condition without increasing the wave drag or pitching moment at the climb condition. Two cycles of the airfoil shape-averaging procedure successfully designed a new airfoil that reduced the objective function and satisfied the constraints. One cycle of the target (desired) pressure-averaging procedure was used to design two new airfoils that reduced the objective function and came close to satisfying the constraints.

Predicting Transition from Laminar to Turbulent Flow over a Surface

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Sturdza, Peter (Inventor); Rajnarayan, Dev (Inventor)

2013-01-01

A prediction of whether a point on a computer-generated surface is adjacent to laminar or turbulent flow is made using a transition prediction technique. A plurality of boundary-layer properties at the point are obtained from a steady-state solution of a fluid flow in a region adjacent to the point. A plurality of instability modes are obtained, each defined by one or more mode parameters. A vector of regressor weights is obtained for the known instability growth rates in a training dataset. For each instability mode in the plurality of instability modes, a covariance vector is determined, which is the covariance of a predicted local growth rate with the known instability growth rates. Each covariance vector is used with the vector of regressor weights to determine a predicted local growth rate at the point. Based on the predicted local growth rates, an n-factor envelope at the point is determined.

Evaluation of facial attractiveness for patients with malocclusion: a machine-learning technique employing Procrustes.

PubMed

Yu, Xiaonan; Liu, Bin; Pei, Yuru; Xu, Tianmin

2014-05-01

To establish an objective method for evaluating facial attractiveness from a set of orthodontic photographs. One hundred eight malocclusion patients randomly selected from six universities in China were randomly divided into nine groups, with each group containing an equal number of patients with Class I, II, and III malocclusions. Sixty-nine expert Chinese orthodontists ranked photographs of the patients (frontal, lateral, and frontal smiling photos) before and after orthodontic treatment from "most attractive" to "least attractive" in each group. A weighted mean ranking was then calculated for each patient, based on which a three-point scale was created. Procrustes superimposition was conducted on 101 landmarks identified on the photographs. A support vector regression (SVR) function was set up according to the coordinate values of identified landmarks of each photographic set and its corresponding grading. Its predictive ability was tested for each group in turn. The average coincidence rate obtained for comparisons of the subjective ratings with the SVR evaluation was 71.8% according to 18 verification tests. Geometric morphometrics combined with SVR may be a prospective method for objective comprehensive evaluation of facial attractiveness in the near future.

The role of a personalized dietary intervention in managing gestational weight gain: a prospective, controlled study in a low-risk antenatal population.

PubMed

Di Carlo, Costantino; Iannotti, Giuseppina; Sparice, Stefania; Chiacchio, Maria Pia; Greco, Elena; Tommaselli, Giovanni Antonio; Nappi, Carmine

2014-04-01

To compare the efficacy of a personal dietary intervention on gestational weight gain control with a general intervention promoting healthy eating. Prospective, controlled study including 154 low-risk pregnant women randomly allocated to two groups: 77 receiving a personalized diet plan and a close follow-up by a dietician (intervention group), 77 receiving standard dietary care by means of a brochure on healthy eating during pregnancy (control group). Pre-pregnancy weight, gestational age, height, weight and BMI at baseline, weight at term, gestational age at delivery and newborn weight were recorded for all participants. The primary end-point was the difference in body weight between baseline and term. Secondary end-points were the difference in body weight between pre-pregnancy and term and in newborn weights. Maternal weight gain at term was significantly lower both as compared to pre-pregnancy weight (8.2 ± 4.0 vs. 13.4 ± 4.2 kg; p < 0.001) and to weight at baseline (7.7 ± 3.8 vs. 13.7 ± 4.3 kg; p < 0.001) in the intervention group as compared to controls. A positive, significant correlation between the delta weight between baseline and term and newborn weight was observed in both groups, but stronger in patients from the intervention group (intervention group R = 0.76, p < 0.001; control group R = 0.35, p = 0.01). This study suggests that a personalized nutritional intervention, in which the dietician plays an active role within the obstetric team, may represent a successful approach in limiting weight gain in pregnant women.

Real-time depth camera tracking with geometrically stable weight algorithm

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fu, Xingyin; Zhu, Feng; Qi, Feng; Wang, Mingming

2017-03-01

We present an approach for real-time camera tracking with depth stream. Existing methods are prone to drift in sceneries without sufficient geometric information. First, we propose a new weight method for an iterative closest point algorithm commonly used in real-time dense mapping and tracking systems. By detecting uncertainty in pose and increasing weight of points that constrain unstable transformations, our system achieves accurate and robust trajectory estimation results. Our pipeline can be fully parallelized with GPU and incorporated into the current real-time depth camera tracking system seamlessly. Second, we compare the state-of-the-art weight algorithms and propose a weight degradation algorithm according to the measurement characteristics of a consumer depth camera. Third, we use Nvidia Kepler Shuffle instructions during warp and block reduction to improve the efficiency of our system. Results on the public TUM RGB-D database benchmark demonstrate that our camera tracking system achieves state-of-the-art results both in accuracy and efficiency.

Effects of climatic variables on weight loss: a global analysis.

PubMed

Ustulin, Morena; Keum, Changwon; Woo, Junghoon; Woo, Jeong-Taek; Rhee, Sang Youl

2017-01-20

Several studies have analyzed the effects of weather on factors associated with weight loss. In this study, we directly analyzed the effect of weather on intentional weight loss using global-scale data provided by smartphone applications. Through Weather Underground API and the Noom Coach application, we extracted information on weather and body weight for each user located in each of several geographic areas on all login days. We identified meteorological information (pressure, precipitation, wind speed, dew point, and temperature) and self-monitored body weight data simultaneously. A linear mixed-effects model was performed analyzing 3274 subjects. Subjects in North America had higher initial BMIs than those of subjects in Eastern Asia. During the study period, most subjects who used the smartphone application experienced weight loss in a significant way (80.39%, p-value < 0.001). Subjects who infrequently recorded information about dinner had smaller variations than those of other subjects (β freq.users dinner*time  = 0.007, p-value < 0.001). Colder temperature, lower dew point, and higher values for wind speed and precipitation were significantly associated with weight loss. In conclusion, we found a direct and independent impact of meteorological conditions on intentional weight loss efforts on a global scale (not only on a local level).

Effects of climatic variables on weight loss: a global analysis

PubMed Central

Ustulin, Morena; Keum, Changwon; Woo, Junghoon; Woo, Jeong-taek; Rhee, Sang Youl

2017-01-01

Several studies have analyzed the effects of weather on factors associated with weight loss. In this study, we directly analyzed the effect of weather on intentional weight loss using global-scale data provided by smartphone applications. Through Weather Underground API and the Noom Coach application, we extracted information on weather and body weight for each user located in each of several geographic areas on all login days. We identified meteorological information (pressure, precipitation, wind speed, dew point, and temperature) and self-monitored body weight data simultaneously. A linear mixed-effects model was performed analyzing 3274 subjects. Subjects in North America had higher initial BMIs than those of subjects in Eastern Asia. During the study period, most subjects who used the smartphone application experienced weight loss in a significant way (80.39%, p-value < 0.001). Subjects who infrequently recorded information about dinner had smaller variations than those of other subjects (βfreq.users dinner*time = 0.007, p-value < 0.001). Colder temperature, lower dew point, and higher values for wind speed and precipitation were significantly associated with weight loss. In conclusion, we found a direct and independent impact of meteorological conditions on intentional weight loss efforts on a global scale (not only on a local level). PMID:28106167

Self-weighing throughout adolescence and young adulthood: implications for well-being

PubMed Central

Pacanowski, Carly R; Loth, Katie A; Hannan, Peter J; Linde, Jennifer A; Neumark-Sztainer, Dianne R

2015-01-01

Objective This paper describes the prevalence of self-weighing in the transition period from adolescence to young adulthood and examines cross-sectional and longitudinal associations between self-weighing and weight status, psychological, and behavioral outcomes. Design Project EAT (Eating and Activity in Teens and Young Adults), a longitudinal cohort study that assessed variables 3 times over 10 years. Participants 1,868 adolescents and young adults. Main Outcome Measures weight, BMI, weight disparity, body satisfaction, weight concern, self-esteem, depression and unhealthy weight control behaviors. Analysis cross-sectional and longitudinal. Results Significant positive correlations were found at each time point between self-weighing and weight concern for both genders. Self-weighing was significantly inversely related to self-esteem at each time point in female participants. Increases in endorsement of self-weighing were significantly related to decreases in body satisfaction and self-esteem and increases in weight concern and depression in female participants; and increases in weight concern in male participants. Conclusions and Implications Findings suggest that self-weighing may not be an innocuous behavior for young people, particularly women. Interventions should assess potential harmful consequences of self-weighing in addition to any potential benefits. It may be appropriate for clinicians to ask about self-weighing, and if frequent, explore motivations, perceived benefits, and potential adverse correlates or consequences. PMID:26566095

Multifunctional Inflatable Structure Being Developed for the PowerSphere Concept

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Peterson, Todd T.

2003-01-01

The continuing development of microsatellites and nanosatellites for low Earth orbits requires the collection of sufficient power for instruments onboard a low-weight, low-volume spacecraft. Because the overall surface area of a microsatellite or nanosatellite is small, body-mounted solar cells cannot provide enough power. The deployment of traditional, rigid, solar arrays necessitates larger satellite volumes and weights, and also requires extra apparatus for pointing. One solution to this power choke problem is the deployment of a spherical, inflatable power system. This power system, termed the "PowerSphere," has several advantages, including a high collection area, low weight and stowage volume, and the elimination of solar array pointing mechanisms.

Consumer perspectives about weight management services in a community pharmacy setting in NSW, Australia

PubMed Central

Um, Irene S.; Armour, Carol; Krass, Ines; Gill, Timothy; Chaar, Betty B.

2012-01-01

Abstract Background  Obesity is a public health challenge faced worldwide. Community pharmacists may be well placed to manage Australia’s obesity problem owing to their training, accessibility and trustworthiness. However, determining consumers’ needs is vital to the development of any new services or the evaluation of existing services. Objective  To explore Australian consumers’ perspectives regarding weight management services in the community pharmacy setting, including their past experiences and willingness to pay for a specific pharmacy‐based service. Design  An online cross‐sectional consumer survey was distributed through a marketing research company. The survey instrument comprised open‐ended and closed questions exploring consumers’ experiences of and preferences for weight management services in pharmacy. It also included an attitudinal measure, the Consumer Attitude to Pharmacy Weight Management Services (CAPWMS) scale. Setting and participants  A total of 403 consumers from New South Wales, Australia, completed the survey. Results  The majority of respondents had previously not sought a pharmacist’s advice regarding weight management. Those who had previously consulted a pharmacist were more willing to pay for and support pharmacy‐based services in the future. Most consumers considered pharmacists’ motivations to provide advice related to gaining profit from selling a product and expressed concerns about the perceived conflicts of interest. Participants also perceived pharmacists as lacking expertise and time. Conclusion  Although Australian consumers were willing to seek pharmacists’ advice about weight management, they perceived several barriers to the provision of weight management services in community pharmacy. If barriers are addressed, community pharmacies could be a viable and accessible setting to manage obesity. PMID:22646843

Teaching Goal-Setting for Weight-Gain Prevention in a College Population: Insights from the CHOICES Study.

PubMed

Gardner, Jolynn; Kjolhaug, Jerri; Linde, Jennifer A; Sevcik, Sarah; Lytle, Leslie A

2013-01-01

This article describes the effectiveness of goal setting instruction in the CHOICES (Choosing Healthy Options in College Environments and Settings) study, an intervention evaluating the effectiveness of weight gain prevention strategies for 2-year college students. Four hundred and forty-one participants from three community colleges were recruited. Participants randomized into the intervention (n=224) enrolled in a course that taught strategies to help maintain or achieve a healthy weight. Participants were instructed in SMART (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, Time-based) and behavioral goal-setting practices. Throughout the course, participants set goals related to improving their sleep, stress-management, exercise, and nutrition." Intervention participants set four hundred eighteen goals. Each goal was carefully evaluated. The efforts to teach behavioral goal-setting strategies were largely successful; however efforts to convey the intricacies of SMART goal-setting were not as successful. Implications for effective teaching of skills in setting SMART behavioral goals were realized in this study. The insights gained from the goal-setting activities of this study could be used to guide educators who utilize goals to achieve health behavior change. Based on the results of this study, it is recommended that very clear and directed instruction be provided in addition to multiple opportunities for goal-setting practice. Implications for future interventions involving education about goal-setting activities are discussed.

Origins and fates of PAHs in the coastal marine environment off San Diego (California)

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

Zeng, E.Y.; Yu, C.C.; Vista, C.L.

1995-12-31

The main inputs of anthropogenic hydrocarbons to the coastal marine environment off San Diego include the Point Lama wastewater outfall (City of San Diego), Tijuana River (crossing the boarder between the US and Mexico) and several storm drains along the coastline and in San Diego Bay, inadvertent spills, and aerial deposition. Samples collected (in January and June 1994) from the Point Loma wastewater effluent, Tijuana River runoff, and microlayer, sediment trap, and surface sediment at several locations adjacent to the Point Loma outfall, entrance of Tijuana River into the ocean, and San Diego Bay (near the San Diego International Airport)more » were analyzed to determine the origins and fates of PAHs in the coastal marine environment. Alkyl homologue distributions (AHDS) for naphthalene indicated a mainly petrogenic origin for low molecular-weight PAHs in the effluent, water column particle, and sediment near the outfall. Parent compound distributions (PCDS) for PAHs with molecular weights 178, 202, 228, 252, 276, and 278 showed combustion-related inputs in the water column particle and sediment, especially for mid to high molecular-weight PAHs. PAHs with molecular weight equal to or higher than 252 were not detected in the effluent. The compositions of PAHs were substantially different in the effluent particulates and filtrates, implying a great deal about the fates of PAHs from the outfall and their bioaccumulation by organisms. PAHs detected in Tijuana River runoff had similar AHDs and PCDs to those of the Point Loma outfall effluent. AHDs in the San Diego Bay sediment exhibited marked seasonal variation; low molecular-weight PAHs were significantly combustion-related in January and more petrogenic in June. Microlayer samples generally contained dominant combustion-generated PAHs. The impact of the wastewater outfall discharge on the nearby water column and sediment appeared compromised by other non-point source inputs.« less

Comparison of accelerometer cut points for predicting activity intensity in youth.

PubMed

Trost, Stewart G; Loprinzi, Paul D; Moore, Rebecca; Pfeiffer, Karin A

2011-07-01

The absence of comparative validity studies has prevented researchers from reaching consensus regarding the application of intensity-related accelerometer cut points for children and adolescents. This study aimed to evaluate the classification accuracy of five sets of independently developed ActiGraph cut points using energy expenditure, measured by indirect calorimetry, as a criterion reference standard. A total of 206 participants between the ages of 5 and 15 yr completed 12 standardized activity trials. Trials consisted of sedentary activities (lying down, writing, computer game), lifestyle activities (sweeping, laundry, throw and catch, aerobics, basketball), and ambulatory activities (comfortable walk, brisk walk, brisk treadmill walk, running). During each trial, participants wore an ActiGraph GT1M, and V˙O2 was measured breath-by-breath using the Oxycon Mobile portable metabolic system. Physical activity intensity was estimated using five independently developed cut points: Freedson/Trost (FT), Puyau (PU), Treuth (TR), Mattocks (MT), and Evenson (EV). Classification accuracy was evaluated via weighted κ statistics and area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC-AUC). Across all four intensity levels, the EV (κ=0.68) and FT (κ=0.66) cut points exhibited significantly better agreement than TR (κ=0.62), MT (κ=0.54), and PU (κ=0.36). The EV and FT cut points exhibited significantly better classification accuracy for moderate- to vigorous-intensity physical activity (ROC-AUC=0.90) than TR, PU, or MT cut points (ROC-AUC=0.77-0.85). Only the EV cut points provided acceptable classification accuracy for all four levels of physical activity intensity and performed well among children of all ages. The widely applied sedentary cut point of 100 counts per minute exhibited excellent classification accuracy (ROC-AUC=0.90). On the basis of these findings, we recommend that researchers use the EV ActiGraph cut points to estimate time spent in sedentary, light-, moderate-, and vigorous-intensity activity in children and adolescents.

Development of a novel clinical scoring system for on-farm diagnosis of bovine respiratory disease in pre-weaned dairy calves.

PubMed

Love, William J; Lehenbauer, Terry W; Kass, Philip H; Van Eenennaam, Alison L; Aly, Sharif S

2014-01-01

Several clinical scoring systems for diagnosis of bovine respiratory disease (BRD) in calves have been proposed. However, such systems were based on subjective judgment, rather than statistical methods, to weight scores. Data from a pair-matched case-control study on a California calf raising facility was used to develop three novel scoring systems to diagnose BRD in preweaned dairy calves. Disease status was assigned using both clinical signs and diagnostic test results for BRD-associated pathogens. Regression coefficients were used to weight score values. The systems presented use nasal and ocular discharge, rectal temperature, ear and head carriage, coughing, and respiratory quality as predictors. The systems developed in this research utilize fewer severity categories of clinical signs, require less calf handling, and had excellent agreement (Kappa > 0.8) when compared to an earlier scoring system. The first scoring system dichotomized all clinical predictors but required inducing a cough. The second scoring system removed induced cough as a clinical abnormality but required distinguishing between three levels of nasal discharge severity. The third system removed induced cough and forced a dichotomized variable for nasal discharge. The first system presented in this study used the following predictors and assigned values: coughing (induced or spontaneous coughing, 2 points), nasal discharge (any discharge, 3 points), ocular discharge (any discharge, 2 points), ear and head carriage (ear droop or head tilt, 5 points), fever (≥39.2°C or 102.5°F, 2 points), and respiratory quality (abnormal respiration, 2 points). Calves were categorized "BRD positive" if their total score was ≥4. This system correctly classified 95.4% cases and 88.6% controls. The second presented system categorized the predictors and assigned weights as follows: coughing (spontaneous only, 2 points), mild nasal discharge (unilateral, serous, or watery discharge, 3 points), moderate to severe nasal discharge (bilateral, cloudy, mucoid, mucopurlent, or copious discharge, 5 points), ocular discharge (any discharge, 1 point), ear and head carriage (ear droop or head tilt, 5 points), fever (≥39.2°C, 2 points), and respiratory quality (abnormal respiration, 2 points). Calves were categorized "BRD positive" if their total score was ≥4. This system correctly classified 89.3% cases and 92.8% controls. The third presented system used the following predictors and scores: coughing (spontaneous only, 2 points), nasal discharge (any, 4 points), ocular discharge (any, 2 points), ear and head carriage (ear droop or head tilt, 5 points), fever (≥39.2°C, 2 points), and respiratory quality (abnormal respiration, 2 points). Calves were categorized "BRD positive" if their total score was ≥5. This system correctly classified 89.4% cases and 90.8% controls. Each of the proposed systems offer few levels of clinical signs and data-based weights for on-farm diagnosis of BRD in dairy calves.

Development of a novel clinical scoring system for on-farm diagnosis of bovine respiratory disease in pre-weaned dairy calves

PubMed Central

Love, William J.; Lehenbauer, Terry W.; Kass, Philip H.; Van Eenennaam, Alison L.

2014-01-01

Several clinical scoring systems for diagnosis of bovine respiratory disease (BRD) in calves have been proposed. However, such systems were based on subjective judgment, rather than statistical methods, to weight scores. Data from a pair-matched case-control study on a California calf raising facility was used to develop three novel scoring systems to diagnose BRD in preweaned dairy calves. Disease status was assigned using both clinical signs and diagnostic test results for BRD-associated pathogens. Regression coefficients were used to weight score values. The systems presented use nasal and ocular discharge, rectal temperature, ear and head carriage, coughing, and respiratory quality as predictors. The systems developed in this research utilize fewer severity categories of clinical signs, require less calf handling, and had excellent agreement (Kappa > 0.8) when compared to an earlier scoring system. The first scoring system dichotomized all clinical predictors but required inducing a cough. The second scoring system removed induced cough as a clinical abnormality but required distinguishing between three levels of nasal discharge severity. The third system removed induced cough and forced a dichotomized variable for nasal discharge. The first system presented in this study used the following predictors and assigned values: coughing (induced or spontaneous coughing, 2 points), nasal discharge (any discharge, 3 points), ocular discharge (any discharge, 2 points), ear and head carriage (ear droop or head tilt, 5 points), fever (≥39.2°C or 102.5°F, 2 points), and respiratory quality (abnormal respiration, 2 points). Calves were categorized “BRD positive” if their total score was ≥4. This system correctly classified 95.4% cases and 88.6% controls. The second presented system categorized the predictors and assigned weights as follows: coughing (spontaneous only, 2 points), mild nasal discharge (unilateral, serous, or watery discharge, 3 points), moderate to severe nasal discharge (bilateral, cloudy, mucoid, mucopurlent, or copious discharge, 5 points), ocular discharge (any discharge, 1 point), ear and head carriage (ear droop or head tilt, 5 points), fever (≥39.2°C, 2 points), and respiratory quality (abnormal respiration, 2 points). Calves were categorized “BRD positive” if their total score was ≥4. This system correctly classified 89.3% cases and 92.8% controls. The third presented system used the following predictors and scores: coughing (spontaneous only, 2 points), nasal discharge (any, 4 points), ocular discharge (any, 2 points), ear and head carriage (ear droop or head tilt, 5 points), fever (≥39.2°C, 2 points), and respiratory quality (abnormal respiration, 2 points). Calves were categorized “BRD positive” if their total score was ≥5. This system correctly classified 89.4% cases and 90.8% controls. Each of the proposed systems offer few levels of clinical signs and data-based weights for on-farm diagnosis of BRD in dairy calves. PMID:24482759

Alternator control for battery charging

DOEpatents

Brunstetter, Craig A.; Jaye, John R.; Tallarek, Glen E.; Adams, Joseph B.

2015-07-14

In accordance with an aspect of the present disclosure, an electrical system for an automotive vehicle has an electrical generating machine and a battery. A set point voltage, which sets an output voltage of the electrical generating machine, is set by an electronic control unit (ECU). The ECU selects one of a plurality of control modes for controlling the alternator based on an operating state of the vehicle as determined from vehicle operating parameters. The ECU selects a range for the set point voltage based on the selected control mode and then sets the set point voltage within the range based on feedback parameters for that control mode. In an aspect, the control modes include a trickle charge mode and battery charge current is the feedback parameter and the ECU controls the set point voltage within the range to maintain a predetermined battery charge current.

Assimilation of global versus local data sets into a regional model of the Gulf Stream system. 1. Data effectiveness

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Malanotte-Rizzoli, Paola; Young, Roberta E.

1995-12-01

The primary objective of this paper is to assess the relative effectiveness of data sets with different space coverage and time resolution when they are assimilated into an ocean circulation model. We focus on obtaining realistic numerical simulations of the Gulf Stream system typically of the order of 3-month duration by constructing a "synthetic" ocean simultaneously consistent with the model dynamics and the observations. The model used is the Semispectral Primitive Equation Model. The data sets are the "global" Optimal Thermal Interpolation Scheme (OTIS) 3 of the Fleet Numerical Oceanography Center providing temperature and salinity fields with global coverage and with bi-weekly frequency, and the localized measurements, mostly of current velocities, from the central and eastern array moorings of the Synoptic Ocean Prediction (SYNOP) program, with daily frequency but with a very small spatial coverage. We use a suboptimal assimilation technique ("nudging"). Even though this technique has already been used in idealized data assimilation studies, to our knowledge this is the first study in which the effectiveness of nudging is tested by assimilating real observations of the interior temperature and salinity fields. This is also the first work in which a systematic assimilation is carried out of the localized, high-quality SYNOP data sets in numerical experiments longer than 1-2 weeks, that is, not aimed to forecasting. We assimilate (1) the global OTIS 3 alone, (2) the local SYNOP observations alone, and (3) both OTIS 3 and SYNOP observations. We assess the success of the assimilations with quantitative measures of performance, both on the global and local scale. The results can be summarized as follows. The intermittent assimilation of the global OTIS 3 is necessary to keep the model "on track" over 3-month simulations on the global scale. As OTIS 3 is assimilated at every model grid point, a "gentle" weight must be prescribed to it so as not to overconstrain the model. However, in these assimilations the predicted velocity fields over the SYNOP arrays are greatly in error. The continuous assimilation of the localized SYNOP data sets with a strong weight is necessary to obtain local realistic evolutions. Then assimilation of velocity measurements alone recovers the density structure over the array area. However, the spatial coverage of the SYNOP measurements is too small to constrain the model on the global scale. Thus the blending of both types of datasets is necessary in the assimilation as they constrain different time and space scales. Our choice of "gentle" nudging weight for the global OTIS 3 and "strong" weight for the local SYNOP data provides for realistic simulations of the Gulf Stream system, both globally and locally, on the 3- to 4-month-long timescale, the one governed by the Gulf Stream jet internal dynamics.

The role of perfectionism, dichotomous thinking, shape and weight overvaluation, and conditional goal setting in eating disorders.

PubMed

Lethbridge, Jessica; Watson, Hunna J; Egan, Sarah J; Street, Helen; Nathan, Paula R

2011-08-01

This study examined the role of perfectionism (self-oriented and socially prescribed), shape and weight overvaluation, dichotomous thinking, and conditional goal setting in eating disorder psychopathology. Perfectionism and shape and weight overvaluation have had longstanding implication in the development and maintenance of eating disorders. A leading evidence-based theory of eating disorders (Fairburn, Cooper & Shafran, 2003) outlines perfectionism as a maintaining mechanism of eating disorder psychopathology and as a proximal risk factor for the development of shape and weight overvaluation. These constructs have been linked to other cognitive processes relevant to eating disorders, specifically, dichotomous thinking and conditional goal setting. Women with DSM-IV eating disorders (N=238) were compared to women in the general community (N=248) and, as hypothesised, scores on measures of these constructs were pronounced in the clinical sample. Hierarchical regression analyses predicting eating disorder psychopathology showed that for both groups, dichotomous thinking and conditional goal setting significantly improved model fit beyond perfectionism and shape and weight overvaluation alone. Self-oriented perfectionism, but not socially prescribed perfectionism, was relevant to eating disorder psychopathology. We discuss the implications for current treatment protocols and early intervention. Crown Copyright © 2011. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Obesity and chronic stress are able to desynchronize the temporal pattern of serum levels of leptin and triglycerides.

PubMed

de Oliveira, Carla; Scarabelot, Vanessa Leal; de Souza, Andressa; de Oliveira, Cleverson Moraes; Medeiros, Liciane Fernandes; de Macedo, Isabel Cristina; Marques Filho, Paulo Ricardo; Cioato, Stefania Giotti; Caumo, Wolnei; Torres, Iraci L S

2014-01-01

Disruption of the circadian system can lead to metabolic dysfunction as a response to environmental alterations. This study assessed the effects of the association between obesity and chronic stress on the temporal pattern of serum levels of adipogenic markers and corticosterone in rats. We evaluated weekly weight, delta weight, Lee index, and weight fractions of adipose tissue (mesenteric, MAT; subcutaneous, SAT; and pericardial, PAT) to control for hypercaloric diet-induced obesity model efficacy. Wistar rats were divided into four groups: standard chow (C), hypercaloric diet (HD), stress plus standard chow (S), and stress plus hypercaloric diet (SHD), and analyzed at three time points: ZT0, ZT12, and ZT18. Stressed animals were subjected to chronic stress for 1h per day, 5 days per week, during 80 days. The chronic exposure to a hypercaloric diet was an effective model for the induction of obesity and metabolic syndrome, increasing delta weight, Lee index, weight fractions of adipose tissue, and triglycerides and leptin levels. We confirmed the presence of a temporal pattern in the release of triglycerides, corticosterone, leptin, and adiponectin in naïve animals. Chronic stress reduced delta weight, MAT weight, and levels of triglycerides, total cholesterol, and leptin. There were interactions between chronic stress and obesity and serum total cholesterol levels, between time points and obesity and adiponectin and corticosterone levels, and between time points and chronic stress and serum leptin levels. In conclusion, both parameters were able to desynchronize the temporal pattern of leptin and triglyceride release, which could contribute to the development of metabolic diseases such as obesity and metabolic syndrome. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

An exploratory investigation of weight estimation techniques for hypersonic flight vehicles

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Cook, E. L.

1981-01-01

The three basic methods of weight prediction (fixed-fraction, statistical correlation, and point stress analysis) and some of the computer programs that have been developed to implement them are discussed. A modified version of the WAATS (Weights Analysis of Advanced Transportation Systems) program is presented, along with input data forms and an example problem.

Dietary intakes associated with successful weight loss and maintenance during the Weight Loss Maintenance Trial

PubMed Central

Champagne, Catherine M.; Broyles, Stephanie T; Moran, Laura D.; Cash, Katherine C.; Levy, Erma J.; Lin, Pao-Hwa; Batch, Bryan C.; Lien, Lillian F.; Funk, Kristine L.; Dalcin, Arlene; Loria, Catherine; Myers, Valerie H.

2011-01-01

Background Dietary components effective in weight maintenance efforts have not been adequately identified. Objective To determine impact of changes in dietary consumption on weight loss and maintenance during the Weight Loss Maintenance (WLM) clinical trial. Design WLM was a randomized controlled trial. Successful weight loss participants who completed Phase I of the trial and lost 4kg were randomized to one of three maintenance intervention arms in Phase II and followed for an additional 30 months. Participants/setting The multicenter trial was conducted from 2003–2007. This substudy included 828 successful weight loss participants. Methods Dietary Measures The Block Food Frequency Questionnaire (FFQ) was used to assess nutrient intake levels and food group servings. Carbohydrates, proteins, fats, dietary fiber and fruit/vegetable and dairy servings were utilized as predictor variables. Data collection The FFQ was collected on all participants at study entry (beginning of Phase I). Those randomized to Phase II completed the FFQ at three additional time points; randomization (beginning of Phase II), 12 and 30 months. Intervention The main intervention focused on long term maintenance of weight loss using the Dietary Approaches to Hypertension (DASH) diet. This substudy examined whether changes to specific dietary variables were associated with weight loss and maintenance. Statistical analyses performed Linear regression models that adjusted for change in total energy examined the relationship between changes in dietary intake and weight for each time period. Site, age, race, sex, and a race-sex interaction were included as covariates. Results Participants who substituted protein for fat lost, on average, 0.33 kg per 6-months during Phase I (p<0.0001) and 0.07 kg per 6-months during Phase II (p<0.0001) per 1% increase in protein. Increased intake of fruits and vegetables was associated with weight loss in Phases I and II: 0.29 kg per 6-months (p<0.0001) and 0.04 kg per 6-months (p=0.0062), respectively, per 1-serving increase. Substitution of carbohydrates for fat and protein for carbohydrates were associated with weight loss during both phases. Increasing dairy intake was associated with significant weight loss during Phase II (−0.17 kg per 6-months per 1-serving increase, p=0.0002), but not in Phase I. Dietary fiber revealed no significant findings. Conclusion Increasing fruits, vegetables, and low-fat dairy may help achieve weight loss and maintenance. PMID:22117658

Orbit Estimation of Non-Cooperative Maneuvering Spacecraft

DTIC Science & Technology

2015-06-01

only take on values that generate real sigma points; therefore, λ > −n. The additional weighting scheme is outlined in the following equations κ = α2...orbit shapes resulted in a similar model weighting. Additional cases of this orbit type also resulted in heavily weighting smaller η value models. It is...determined using both the symmetric and additional parameters UTs. The best values for the weighting parameters are then compared for each test case

Effect of weight reduction on the quality of life in obese patients with fibromyalgia syndrome: a randomized controlled trial.

PubMed

Senna, Mohammed Kamal; Sallam, Rehab Abd-El Raouf; Ashour, Hala Salah; Elarman, Mohammed

2012-11-01

The aim of the study was to examine whether weight reduction can result in improvement of fibromyalgia impact questionnaire (FIQ) in the patients with fibromyalgia syndrome (FMS). This study was a randomized controlled trial. Obese patients with fibromyalgia were randomly assigned to 6-month dietary weight loss (n = 41) and no weight loss (n = 42) groups. Patients were assessed at baseline and at 6 months. The primary outcome measure was FIQ. Secondary measures included the tender point (TP) examination, Beck Depression Inventory-II, and Pittsburg Sleep Quality Index. Compared to the control group, patients who underwent weight reduction obtained significantly better FIQ (p = 0.007), lower mean TP count (p = 0.015), and lower mean TP pain rating in the lower body (p < 0.001). Patients who lost weight had less depression and better sleep quality than the controls. Patients who lost weight had significantly lower interleukin 6 and C-reactive protein levels than those in the control group (p = 0.034 and p = 0.007, respectively). Weight loss in obese patients with FMS leads to significant improvement in the quality of life as shown by the decrease in the FIQ score. Depression, sleep quality, and tender point count are also significantly improved by weight loss in obese patients with fibromyalgia. Our results suggest that weight reduction should be a part of fibromyalgia treatment.

Locally Compact Quantum Groups. A von Neumann Algebra Approach

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Van Daele, Alfons

2014-08-01

In this paper, we give an alternative approach to the theory of locally compact quantum groups, as developed by Kustermans and Vaes. We start with a von Neumann algebra and a comultiplication on this von Neumann algebra. We assume that there exist faithful left and right Haar weights. Then we develop the theory within this von Neumann algebra setting. In [Math. Scand. 92 (2003), 68-92] locally compact quantum groups are also studied in the von Neumann algebraic context. This approach is independent of the original C^*-algebraic approach in the sense that the earlier results are not used. However, this paper is not really independent because for many proofs, the reader is referred to the original paper where the C^*-version is developed. In this paper, we give a completely self-contained approach. Moreover, at various points, we do things differently. We have a different treatment of the antipode. It is similar to the original treatment in [Ann. Sci. & #201;cole Norm. Sup. (4) 33 (2000), 837-934]. But together with the fact that we work in the von Neumann algebra framework, it allows us to use an idea from [Rev. Roumaine Math. Pures Appl. 21 (1976), 1411-1449] to obtain the uniqueness of the Haar weights in an early stage. We take advantage of this fact when deriving the other main results in the theory. We also give a slightly different approach to duality. Finally, we collect, in a systematic way, several important formulas. In an appendix, we indicate very briefly how the C^*-approach and the von Neumann algebra approach eventually yield the same objects. The passage from the von Neumann algebra setting to the C^*-algebra setting is more or less standard. For the other direction, we use a new method. It is based on the observation that the Haar weights on the C^*-algebra extend to weights on the double dual with central support and that all these supports are the same. Of course, we get the von Neumann algebra by cutting down the double dual with this unique support projection in the center. All together, we see that there are many advantages when we develop the theory of locally compact quantum groups in the von Neumann algebra framework, rather than in the C^*-algebra framework. It is not only simpler, the theory of weights on von Neumann algebras is better known and one needs very little to go from the C^*-algebras to the von Neumann algebras. Moreover, in many cases when constructing examples, the von Neumann algebra with the coproduct is constructed from the very beginning and the Haar weights are constructed as weights on this von Neumann algebra (using left Hilbert algebra theory). This paper is written in a concise way. In many cases, only indications for the proofs of the results are given. This information should be enough to see that these results are correct. We will give more details in forthcoming paper, which will be expository, aimed at non-specialists. See also [Bull. Kerala Math. Assoc. (2005), 153-177] for an 'expanded' version of the appendix.

A common biological basis of obesity and nicotine addiction.

PubMed

Thorgeirsson, T E; Gudbjartsson, D F; Sulem, P; Besenbacher, S; Styrkarsdottir, U; Thorleifsson, G; Walters, G B; Furberg, H; Sullivan, P F; Marchini, J; McCarthy, M I; Steinthorsdottir, V; Thorsteinsdottir, U; Stefansson, K

2013-10-01

Smoking influences body weight such that smokers weigh less than non-smokers and smoking cessation often leads to weight increase. The relationship between body weight and smoking is partly explained by the effect of nicotine on appetite and metabolism. However, the brain reward system is involved in the control of the intake of both food and tobacco. We evaluated the effect of single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) affecting body mass index (BMI) on smoking behavior, and tested the 32 SNPs identified in a meta-analysis for association with two smoking phenotypes, smoking initiation (SI) and the number of cigarettes smoked per day (CPD) in an Icelandic sample (N=34,216 smokers). Combined according to their effect on BMI, the SNPs correlate with both SI (r=0.019, P=0.00054) and CPD (r=0.032, P=8.0 × 10(-7)). These findings replicate in a second large data set (N=127,274, thereof 76,242 smokers) for both SI (P=1.2 × 10(-5)) and CPD (P=9.3 × 10(-5)). Notably, the variant most strongly associated with BMI (rs1558902-A in FTO) did not associate with smoking behavior. The association with smoking behavior is not due to the effect of the SNPs on BMI. Our results strongly point to a common biological basis of the regulation of our appetite for tobacco and food, and thus the vulnerability to nicotine addiction and obesity.

Weights and topology: a study of the effects of graph construction on 3D image segmentation.

PubMed

Grady, Leo; Jolly, Marie-Pierre

2008-01-01

Graph-based algorithms have become increasingly popular for medical image segmentation. The fundamental process for each of these algorithms is to use the image content to generate a set of weights for the graph and then set conditions for an optimal partition of the graph with respect to these weights. To date, the heuristics used for generating the weighted graphs from image intensities have largely been ignored, while the primary focus of attention has been on the details of providing the partitioning conditions. In this paper we empirically study the effects of graph connectivity and weighting function on the quality of the segmentation results. To control for algorithm-specific effects, we employ both the Graph Cuts and Random Walker algorithms in our experiments.

A Comparative Study of Interferometric Regridding Algorithms

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hensley, Scott; Safaeinili, Ali

1999-01-01

THe paper discusses regridding options: (1) The problem of interpolating data that is not sampled on a uniform grid, that is noisy, and contains gaps is a difficult problem. (2) Several interpolation algorithms have been implemented: (a) Nearest neighbor - Fast and easy but shows some artifacts in shaded relief images. (b) Simplical interpolator - uses plane going through three points containing point where interpolation is required. Reasonably fast and accurate. (c) Convolutional - uses a windowed Gaussian approximating the optimal prolate spheroidal weighting function for a specified bandwidth. (d) First or second order surface fitting - Uses the height data centered in a box about a given point and does a weighted least squares surface fit.

Predicting Transition from Laminar to Turbulent Flow over a Surface

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Rajnarayan, Dev (Inventor); Sturdza, Peter (Inventor)

2016-01-01

A prediction of whether a point on a computer-generated surface is adjacent to laminar or turbulent flow is made using a transition prediction technique. A plurality of instability modes are obtained, each defined by one or more mode parameters. A vector of regressor weights is obtained for the known instability growth rates in a training dataset. For an instability mode in the plurality of instability modes, a covariance vector is determined. A predicted local instability growth rate at the point is determined using the covariance vector and the vector of regressor weights. Based on the predicted local instability growth rate, an n-factor envelope at the point is determined.