Search

We introduce a directed, weighted random graph model, where the edge-weights are independent and beta distributed with parameters depending on their endpoints. We will show that the row- and column-sums of the transformed edge-weight matrix are sufficient statistics for the parameters, and use the theory of exponential families to prove that the ML estimate of the parameters exists and is unique. Then an algorithm to find this estimate is introduced together with convergence proof that uses properties of the digamma function. Simulation results and applications are also presented., 1. Introduction The theory of ML estimation in the following types of exponential family random graph models has frequently been investigated in the last decade, see, e.g., [5,6,8,10,11]. The graph [...]

Background: While research suggests that manifestations of the hidden curriculum (HC) phenomenon have the potential to reinforce or undermine the values of an institution, very few studies have comprehensively measured its scope, impact, and the varied clinical teaching and learning contexts within which they occur. We explored the HC and examined the validity of newly developed constructs and determined the influence of context on the HC. Methods: We surveyed medical students (n =182), residents (n =148), and faculty (n = 140) from all disciplines at our institution between 2019 and 2020. Based on prior research and expertise, we measured participants’ experience with the HC including perceptions of respect and disrespect for different medical disciplines, settings in which the HC is experienced, impact of the HC, personal actions, efficacy, and their institutional perceptions. We examined the factor structure, reliability, and validity of the HC constructs using exploratory factor analysis Cronbach’s alpha, regression analysis and Pearson’s correlations. Results: Expert judges (physician faculty and medical learners) confirmed the content validity of the items used and the analysis revealed new HC constructs reflecting negative expressions, positive impacts and expressions, negative impacts, personal actions, and positive institutional perceptions of the HC. Evidence for criterion validity was found for the negative impacts and the personal actions constructs and were significantly associated with the stage of respondents’ career and gender. Support for convergent validity was obtained for HC constructs that were significantly correlated with certain contexts within which the HC occurs. Conclusion: More unique dimensions and contexts of the HC exist than have been previously documented. The findings demonstrate that specific clinical contexts can be targeted to improve negative expressions and impacts of the HC.

Introduction: In the present era, the classification of lung carcinoma is not confined to Small Cell Lung Carcinoma (SCLC) and Non Small Cell Lung Carcinoma (NSCLC). Precise subtyping of lung carcinoma has a direct impact on patient management and prognosis. Further molecular study helps in identifying adenocarcinoma receptors, such as Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor (EGFR) and Anaplastic Lymphoma Kinase (ALK), which are useful in targeted therapy. Aim: To assess the role of Immunohistochemistry (IHC) in accurate diagnosis and subtyping of lung carcinoma and to analyse the prevalence of EGFR mutations and ALK rearrangement in lung adenocarcinoma. Materials and Methods: A retrospective hospital-based, observational study was conducted at the Department of Pathology of American International Institute of Medical Sciences, Udaipur, Rajasthan from January 2020 to August 2021. Total of 105 cases of guided core needle biopsies from lung and bronchoscopic biopsies were included. IHC markers were applied based on histopathological diagnosis from a panel of p63, Cytokeratin 7 (CK7), AE1/AE3, Thyroid Transcription Factor (TTF1), Napsin A, p40, synaptophysin, chromogranin, CD56 and Ki67. Adenocarcinoma cases were further analysed for EGFR mutations and ALK rearrangements. Data was tabulated and analysed statistically using Microsoft Excel to determine the percentage frequency distribution of cases. Results: Among 105, there were 88 males and 17 females and the mean age of the population was 60.57 years. The most prevalent subtype of lung malignancy was squamous cell carcinoma (44.7%) followed by adenocarcinoma (29.5%). The diagnostic accuracy of squamous cell carcinomas and adenocarcinomas on morphology was 93.1% and 84.6%, respectively and for small cell carcinoma it was 100%. Amongst 28 cases of adenocarcinoma, EGFR mutation was found in 46.42% cases whereas ALK mutation was found only in 21.42% cases. Conclusion: The study highlights the importance of IHC, and a substantial prevalence of EGFR mutations was found in patients with lung carcinoma.

A functional single-chain variable fragment (scFv) of mouse monoclonal antibody against norfloxacin was expressed in yeast Pichia pastoris GS115, purified and characterized. Gene encoding monoclonal antibody against norfloxacin was transformed to P. pastoris GS115 using the pJM01 plasmid. Integration of the plasmid into the genome was verified by PCR and DNA sequencing analysis. After screening for the transformant and production of the selected scFv, the norfloxacin-binding ability was determined by an enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and surface plasmon resonance (SPR) analysis. Eight transformats (O1-O8) were obtained from the transformation of P. pastoris GS115 with PmeI-linearized pJM01. PCR products detected by gel electrophoresis confirmed that pJM01 expression cassette was integrated at AOX1 promoter. After screening all transformants for high expression of the recombinant scFv, transformant O5 was selected for antibody production and purification. Detection of norfloxacin by ELISA with the recombinant scFv fragment was successful albeit with lower sensitivity compared to the original monoclonal antibody. In SPR analysis, our recombinant scFv fragments have the binding capability to norfloxacin equivalent to the original antibody with the average angle shift of 580 ± 133 and 505 ± 28 mDegree, respectively. The functional recombinant scFv of monoclonal antibody against norfloxacin successfully produced by methylotrophic yeast, P. pastoris GS115. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the Hewitt-Savage 0-1 law, symmetric measurable sets are considered in a countable product of a σ-algebra Σ with itself. Therefore, it may be of interest to find simple generators for these sets in terms of the generators of Σ. We put the problem into a more general framework of action groups and as an application find simple generators for the finite product case. We also have a partial result in the countable product case. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Background The letter of recommendation is currently an integral part of applicant selection for residency programs. Internal medicine residents will spend much time and expense completing sub-specialty away electives to obtain a letter of recommendation. The purpose of this study was 1) to examine a large sample of reference letters in order to define essential components of a high-quality letter, and 2) to elucidate the relationship between quality of reference letter and the letter writer. Methods We conducted a two-phase study. In phase one, a large sample of letters of recommendation was examined using an audit tool as a coding framework. A 5-point composite endpoint of high-quality letter components was subsequently developed. In phase two, program director letters were compared to non-program director home institution and non-home institution elective letters based on inclusion of components of the 5-point composite endpoint using Chi square testing. Results 715 letters were examined (398 non-program director home institution letters, 201 program director letters, and 116 non-home institution elective letters). High-quality letter components were: nature of relationship, duration of relationship, In Training Evaluation Report information, research involvement and comments on areas for improvement. Program director letters had a significantly higher proportion (10.4%) of all 5 high-quality components, compared to 0% in both non-program director home institution letters and elective letters (p

Video surveillance systems are omnipresent and automatic monitoring of human activities is gaining importance in highly secured environments. The proposed work explores the use of the bio-inspired third generation neural network called spiking neural network (SNN) in order to recognize the action sequences present in a video. The SNN used in this work carries the neural information in terms of timing of spikes rather than the shape of the spikes. The learning technique used herein is reward-modulated spike time-dependent plasticity (R-STDP). It is based on reinforcement learning that modulates or demodulates the synaptic weights depending on the reward or the punishment signal that it receives from the decision layer. The absence of gradient descent techniques and external classifiers makes the system computationally efficient and simple. Finally, the performance of the network is evaluated on the two benchmark datasets, viz., Weizmann and KTH datasets.

Objective: To observe the association of chronic hypertension in pregnant women on their health and fetal outcome. Methodology: This cross-sectional study was carried out from September 2019 to September 2020 upon a sample of 183 consenting pregnant women (chosen via non-probability – consecutive sampling) aged 20 – 35 years admitted to the study setting via OPD and emergency at Gynae Unit IV, Liaquat University of Medical & Health Sciences, Jamshoro (LUMHS). The data obtained was recorded on structured questionnaire comprising of inquiries pertaining to basic biodata, sociodemographic details, inferences obtained from history, clinical examination, and blood pressure. Data obtained was analyzed using SPSS V. 21.0. Results: The mean age of the women was 24 years ±3 SD. The mean gestational age was 38 weeks (±1 SD). A majority of the participants hailed from an urban background and most presented as booked elective cases (normal delivery more often than cesarean delivery). Chronic hypertension (mean value 134/92) was present among 38.8% of the study participants. Poor maternal and fetal outcome were encountered among patients with chronic hypertension. Conclusion: A heavy burden of chronic hypertension was unearthed by this study which consisted of around 2/5th of whole sample. Adverse maternal outcomes including postpartum hemorrhage, eclampsia & spontaneous abortion and fetal (low birth weight & neonatal deaths complications were strongly associated with chronic hypertension.

The effect of maternal dietary intakes on pregnancy outcomes was assessed in a descriptive, cross-sectional survey among women attending the Prevention of Mother-to-Child Transmission (PMTCT) of HIV program at Nyanza Provincial General Hospital (NPGH), Kenya. A Purposive sampling procedure was employed to select pregnant women (n=107) who had been tested for HIV into the study. Data on socio-demographic characteristics, health factors, dietary intakes and pregnancy outcomes were collected through an interview schedule from HIV-infected (n=48) and uninfected (n=59) pregnant women. Maternal dietary intakes were investigated using 24-Hour Diet Recalls and Food Frequency Questionnaires (FFQs). Pregnancy outcomes were assessed in terms of infants' birth weights, gestational age, birth complications and stillbirths. Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) was used to analyze data for descriptive and inferential statistics while NutriSurvey computer program analyzed dietary data for nutrient intake levels. The results showed that protein (p = 0.025) and vitamin B12 (p = 0.021) intakes had significant correlation with infant's gestational age among the HIV-infected women while calorie (p = 0.042), vitamin B6 (p = 0.048) and vitamin B12 (p = 0.015) intakes significantly influenced infant's gestational age among uninfected women. Magnesium, iron and folate had a significant influence (p < 0.05) on infant's gestational age in both HIV-infected and uninfected mothers. The results further revealed that HIV-infected women gave birth to infants of low birth weight (2.70 ± 0.3799 kg) compared with those uninfected (3.16 ± 0.5307 kg), while the gestational age of infants born to HIV-infected mothers was shorter (34.6 ± 3.24 weeks) compared with that of infants born to uninfected mothers (39.4 ± 2.21 weeks). The study concluded that both HIV and dietary intake have significant effects on pregnancy outcomes. It is imperative, therefore, that appropriate nutrition intervention be put in place to improve maternal health during HIV infection to ensure favourable pregnancy outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Information on public attitudes towards the use of transgenic trees in forest plantations is important in the decision-making process and policy implementation for safe tree development, particularly at the EU level. In Europe, the use of transgenic forest trees is very limited and therefore such information is completely lacking. To address this issue within the FP0905 European COST Action on the Biosafety of Transgenic Forest Trees a pioneer cross-country pilot survey on public attitudes towards the use of transgenic forest trees was conducted using young population as a focus group. This was decided mainly because this focus group represents the future consumers, policy makers or developers. Specifically, the survey aimed to: i) assess the level of young people’s knowledge about transgenic forest trees, ii) identify issues of concern to them regarding the cultivation of transgenic forest trees and iii) explore whether they approve or disapprove of the use of transgenic forest trees in plantations. Purposive sampling was performed and university students of different disciplines were included in the research as sampling subjects. In total, 1868 completed questionnaires from 15 European and non-European countries were analyzed. The young educated people that took part in the survey appeared to approve of the use of transgenic forest trees in plantations and would be willing to buy forest transgenic products. The potential loss of biodiversity due to a risk of gene flow between transgenic and wild trees was seen as the safety issue of most concern when considering the commercial release of transgenic forest trees. However, a serious perceived lack of knowledge about potential benefits and risks of the cultivation of transgenic forest trees was recorded in most of the countries. K-means clustering was implemented on respondents’ positive responses to identify potential country patterns. No differences in patterns of public attitude towards the acceptance of the commercial growing of transgenic forest trees were observed between European and non-European countries. Extended research on public attitude issues towards the use of transgenic forest trees is strongly recommended as a basis for policy implementation on safe tree development.

The purpose of this study was to determine the relationship between the hip point and the centre of mass for kinematical parameters (displacement, velocity and acceleration) in the three axes of motion. One complete stroke cycle was analyzed in eight swimmers performing a 25 m front crawl swim test at high intensity. Within-subject correlation coefficients were computed between the centre of mass and both hips, as well as mean of the errors, RMS error and a paired sample t- test. High correlation coefficients were found for the displacement in the horizontal direction (r=1.00 for both hips) and low to moderate correlation coefficients (r= -0.01 to r=0.54) were found for all other studied variables. Moreover, moderate to large RMS errors were observed: (i) between 0.05 and 0.15 for the displacement: (ii) between 0.16 and 0.30 for the velocity and (iii) between 5.28 and 7.86 for the acceleration. Complementarily, RMS errors for the intracyclic velocity variation were between 0.07 and 0.18. Considering the centre of mass and hip values statistical differences were found in velocity in x, acceleration in x and y. and intracyclic velocity variation in y axes. Therefore, results suggest that the hip point does not represent most kinematical parameters of the estimated centre of mass in front crawl swimming. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]