bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
A Gradient Algorithm Locally Equivalent to the Em Algorithm
Authors: Lange Kenneth 
Published: December 2018

SUMMARY
In many problems of maximum likelihood estimation, it is impossible to carry out either the E-step or the M-step of the EM algorithm. The present paper introduces a gradient algorithm that is closely related to the EM algorithm. This EM gradient algorithm approximately solves the M-step of the EM algorithm by one iteration of Newton's method. Since Newton's method converges quickly, the local properties of the EM gradient algorithm are almost identical with those of the EM algorithm. Any strict local maximum point of the observed likelihood locally attracts the EM and EM gradient algorithm at the same rate of convergence, and near the maximum point the EM gradient algorithm always produces an increase in the likelihood. With proper modification the EM gradient algorithm also exhibits global convergence properties that are similar to those of the EM algorithm. Our proof of global convergence applies and improves existing theory for the EM algorithm. These theoretical points are reinforced by a discussion of three realistic examples illustrating how the EM gradient algorithm can succeed where the EM algorithm is intractable.
Experimental Design and Observation for Large Systems
Authors: Bates R. A. , Buck R. J. , Riccomagno E. , Wynn H. P. 
Published: December 2018

SUMMARY
Large systems require new methods of experimental designs suitable for the highly adaptive models which are employed to cope with complex non-linear responses and high dimensionality of input spaces. The area of computer experiments has started to provide such designs especially Latin hypercube and lattice designs. System decomposition, prevalent in several branches of engineering, can be employed to decrease complexity. A combination of system decomposition using a sparse matrix method, experimental design and modelling is applied to one example of an electrical circuit simulator producing a usable emulator of the circuit for use in optimization and sensitivity analysis.
Predictive Updating Methods with Application to Bayesian Classification
Authors: Chen Rong , Liu Jun S. 
Published: December 2018

SUMMARY
We propose algorithms based on random draws from predictive distributions of unknown quantities (missing values, for instance). This procedure can either be iterative, which is a special variation of the Gibbs sampler, or be sequential, which is a variation of sequential imputation. In the latter case one can update the posterior distribution with new observations easily. The methods proposed have intuitive statistical implications and can be generalized to accommodate other Bayesian-like procedures. We display some applications of the method in connection with the Bayesian bootstrap, classification, hierarchical models and selection of variables. In particular, as an application of the method, we present a unified treatment of switching regression models driven by a general binary process, and we develop a Bayesian testing procedure. Some simulations and a real example are used to illustrate the methods proposed.
Design, development, and evaluation of locust bean seed dehuller
Authors: Okonkwo Clinton Emeka , Olaniran Abiola , Ojediran John Olusegun , Olayanju Tajudeen Adeniyi , Ajao Faith , Alake Adewumi Samuel 
Published: December 2018

AbstractLocust beans dehulling machine was design, develop, and evaluated. The machine was evaluated at different speed and boiling time for its performance efficiency. The results showed that with increase in the boiling time from the first to second hr the throughput capacity, qualitative, and quantitative dehulling efficiency increased but from the second to the fourth hr of boiling, it decreased. Whereas as the dehulling speed increase the throughput capacity increased but the quantitative and qualitative dehulling efficiency decreased. Highest throughput capacity and the least labor requirement were recorded at 1 hr boiling, whereas highest quantitative and qualitative dehulling efficiency was recorded at 2 hr of boiling. The boiling time and dehulling speed significantly affects the throughput capacity, quantitative and qualitative dehulling efficiencies of the dehuller, but does not affect labor requirement. The economic analysis reveals that developed dehuller can be useful for small to medium scale locust bean processing industries.Practical applicationsThe developed dehuller is relevant in the dehulling of boiled locust bean seed. This would, therefore, combat the challenges surrounding locust bean processing especially with the rural women dwellers and commercial producers. The dehuller would, therefore, reduce the time consumption and drudgery associated with the processing of locust bean.
Validity and reliability of a freehand 3D ultrasound system for the determination of triceps surae muscle volume in children with cerebral palsy
Authors: Barber L. , Alexander C. , Shipman P. , Boyd R. , Reid S. , Elliott C. 
Published: December 2018

AbstractThis study assessed the validity, intra‐rater and inter‐rater reliability of segmentation of in vivo medial gastrocnemius (MG), lateral gastrocnemius (LG) and soleus (SOL) muscle volume measurement using a single sweep freehand 3D ultrasound (3DUS) in children with cerebral palsy (CP). The MG, LG and SOL of both limbs of 18 children with CP (age 8 years 4 months ± 1 year 10 months, 11 males, unilateral CP = 9, bilateral CP = 9, Gross Motor Functional Classification System I = 11, II = 7) were scanned using freehand 3DUS and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). All freehand 3DUS and MRI images were segmented and volumes rendered by two raters. Validity was assessed using limits of agreement method. Intra‐rater and inter‐rater reliability was assessed using intra‐class correlation (ICC), coefficient of variance (CV) and minimal detectable change (MDC). Freehand 3DUS overestimated muscle volume of the MG and LG by < 0.3 mL (1%) and underestimated SOL by < 1.3 mL (1.5%) compared with MRI. ICCs for intra‐rater reliability of the segmentation process for the freehand 3DUS system and MRI for muscle volume were > 0.98 and 0.99, respectively, for all muscles. ICCs for inter‐rater reliability of the segmentation process for freehand 3DUS and MRI volumes were > 0.96 and 0.98, respectively, for all muscles. MDCs for single rater freehand 3DUS and MRI were < 4.0 mL (14%) and 3.2 mL (11%), respectively, in all muscles. Freehand 3DUS is a valid and reliable method for the measurement of lower leg muscle volume that can be measured with a single sweep in children with CP in vivo. It can be used as an alternative to MRI for the detection of clinically relevant changes in calf muscle volume as the result of growth and interventions.
Latino/a Citizen Children of Undocumented Parents Negotiating Illegality
Authors: Rodriguez Cassaundra 
Published: December 2018

Objective: The objective of this study is to examine how citizen young adults with undocumented parents manage parental illegality.Background: These citizen young adults are part of mixed‐status families, which consist of members with different immigration statuses and often include U.S. citizen and undocumented immigrant family members. With 16 million people in mixed‐status families, scholars are beginning to capture their unique experiences, but little is known about the adult‐age citizen children in these families.Method: Data for this study include interviews with 34 Latino/a citizen young adults ages 18 to 28. Interviews were analyzed by using the sociological concepts of legal violence and multigenerational punishment.Results: The findings demonstrate that young adults are somewhat shielded from parental deportation concerns because of less sustained contact with parents and because of the perception that parents are cautious. Young adults also manage illegality when they apply for federal college financial aid and navigate the possibility of sponsoring their immigrant parents for legalization. Young adults' legal access to wage labor also entails distinct responsibilities to participate in family breadwinning.Conclusion: This research demonstrates how parental undocumented status shapes family negotiations and state‐produced punishments for adult citizen children previously unaccounted for in immigration and family scholarship. These findings point to the distinct challenges of citizen young adults—experiences that differ from undocumented peers, the children of lawfully present parents, and minor children in mixed‐status families.
Ten un‐Aristotelian reasons for the instability of Aristotelian character friendships
Authors: Kristjánsson Kristján 
Published: December 2018

AbstractAristotle claims that friendship of the highest kind – ‘character friendship’ – is stable and enduring, once established. He is sensitive to one limitation placed upon such friendships: that, owing to their extreme closeness, devotion and intimacy, they can only be actualised with a small number of people. However, Aristotle is otherwise surprisingly cavalier about the formation and sustaining of character friendship, as if those are relatively unproblematic from psycho‐moral and psycho‐social perspectives. The main aim of this article is to repair the dearth of attention paid to these problematic areas. More specifically, after a brief rehearsal of some Aristotelian essentials in Section 2, I address five potential problems attached to character friendships between ‘equals’ in Section 3 (of substitutability, self‐verification, mismatched developmental levels, divergent developmental paths, initiation and trust) and five problems between ‘unequals’ in Section 4 (of proportionality, the disciple's and the guru's conflicting motivations, paternalism, role inertia), closing with some summarising remarks in Section 5. My conclusion is that despite the attractiveness and plausibility of much of what Aristotle says, his account of character friendships cannot be endorsed without various caveats and qualifications.
Effects of host‐derived chemokines on the motility and viability of Trypanosoma brucei
Authors: Alfituri Omar A. , Ajibola Olumide , Brewer James M. , Garside Paul , Benson Robert A. , Peel Tamlyn , Morrison Liam J. , Mabbott Neil A. 
Published: December 2018

SummaryAfrican trypanosomes (Trypanosoma brucei spp.) are extracellular, hemoflagellate, protozoan parasites. Mammalian infection begins when the tsetse fly vector injects trypanosomes into the skin during blood feeding. The trypanosomes then reach the draining lymph nodes before disseminating systemically. Intravital imaging of the skin post‐tsetse fly bite revealed that trypanosomes were observed both extravascularly and intravascularly in the lymphatic vessels. Whether host‐derived cues play a role in the attraction of the trypanosomes towards the lymphatic vessels to aid their dissemination from the site of infection is not known. Since chemokines can mediate the attraction of leucocytes towards the lymphatics, in vitro chemotaxis assays were used to determine whether chemokines might also act as chemoattractants for trypanosomes. Although microarray data suggested that the chemokines CCL8, CCL19, CCL21, CCL27 and CXCL12 were highly expressed in mouse skin, they did not stimulate the chemotaxis of T brucei. Certain chemokines also possess potent antimicrobial properties. However, none of the chemokines tested exerted any parasiticidal effects on T brucei. Thus, our data suggest that host‐derived chemokines do not act as chemoattractants for T brucei. Identification of the mechanisms used by trypanosomes to establish host infection will aid the development of novel approaches to block disease transmission.
Exploratory structural equation modeling for event‐related potential data—An all‐in‐one approach?
Authors: Scharf Florian , Nestler Steffen 
Published: December 2018

AbstractERP data are characterized by high dimensionality and a mixture of constituting signals and are thus challenging for researchers to analyze. To address these challenges, exploratory factor analysis (EFA) has been used to provide estimates of the unobserved factors and to use these estimates for further statistical analyses (e.g., analyses of group effects). However, the EFA approach is prone to biases due to assigning individual factor scores to each observation as an intermediate step and does not properly consider participants, electrodes, and groups/conditions as differentiable sources of factor variance, with the consequence that factor correlations are inaccurately estimated. Here, we suggest exploratory structural equation modeling (ESEM) as a potential approach to address these limitations. ESEM may handle the complexity of ERP data more appropriately because multiple sources of variance can be formally taken into consideration. We demonstrate the application of ESEM to ERP data (in comparison with EFA) with an illustrative example and report the results of a small simulation study in which ESEM clearly outperformed EFA with respect to accurate estimation of the population factor loadings, population factor correlations, and group differences. We discuss how robust statistical inference can be conducted within the ESEM approach. We conclude that ESEM naturally extends the current EFA approach for ERP data and that it can provide a coherent and flexible analysis framework for all kinds of ERP research questions.
Genetic factors influencing hemoglobin levels in 15,567 blood donors: results from the Danish Blood Donor Study
Authors: Sørensen Erik , Rigas Andreas S. , Didriksen Maria , Burgdorf Kristoffer S. , Thørner Lise W. , Pedersen Ole B. , Hjalgrim Henrik , Petersen Mikkel S. , Erikstrup Christian , Ullum Henrik 
Published: December 2018

BACKGROUNDBlood donors have an increased risk of low hemoglobin (Hb) levels due to iron deficiency. Therefore, knowledge of genetic variants associated with low Hb could facilitate individualized donation intervals. We have previously reported three specific single‐nucleotide polymorphisms that were associated with ferritin levels in blood donors. In this study, we investigated the effect of these single‐nucleotide polymorphisms on Hb levels in 15,567 Danish blood donors.STUDY DESIGN AND METHODSWe studied 15,567 participants in the Danish Blood Donor Study. The examined genes and single‐nucleotide polymorphisms were 1) TMPRSS6, involved in regulation of hepcidin: rs855791; 2) HFE, associated with hemochromatosis: rs1800562 and rs1799945; 3) BTBD9, associated with restless leg syndrome: rs9357271; and 4) TF, encoding transferrin: rs2280673 and rs1830084. Associations with Hb levels and risk of Hb deferral were assessed in multivariable linear and logistic regression models.RESULTSThe HFE,rs1800562 G‐allele and the HFE rs1799945 C‐allele were associated with lower Hb levels in men and women, and with an increased risk of Hb below 7.8 mmol/L (12.5 g/dL) in women. Only the rs1799945 C‐allele increased the risk of Hb below 8.4 mmol/L (13.5 g/dL) in men. In TMPRSS6, the rs855791 T‐allele was associated with lower Hb levels in both men and women, and with an increased risk of low Hb among women.CONCLUSIONWith this study we demonstrate that HFE and TMPRSS6 are associated with Hb levels and risk of Hb below the limit of deferral. Thus, genetic testing may be useful in a future assay for personalized donation intervals.
Geographical analysis of evaluated chronic disease programs for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in the primary healthcare setting: a scoping review protocol
Authors: Beks Hannah , Binder Marley , Kourbelis Constance , May Nikki , Clark Robyn , Hudson Kerry , Versace Vincent 
Published: December 2018

Review question:
The question of this review is: Which locations in Australia have chronic disease programs for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander adult populations in the primary healthcare context been evaluated?
Specific objectives are to:
Development and evaluation of a WeChat-based life review programme for patients with cancer: protocol for a randomised controlled trial
Authors: Zhang Xiaoling , Xiao Huimin 
Published: December 2018

IntroductionPatients with cancer often suffer from considerable distress. Life review is a process of recalling, evaluating and integrating life experiences to alleviate a sense of despair and achieve self-integrity. Empirical data have supported the fact that life review is an effective psychological intervention, but it is not always accessible to patients with cancer. There is little evidence of internet-based life review programmes tailored to patients with cancer. This study aims to develop a WeChat-based life review programme and evaluate its effectiveness on the psycho-spiritual well-being of patients with cancer undergoing chemotherapy.Methods and analysisA single-centre randomised parallel group superiority design will be used. Patients with cancer will be randomised, to either a control group, or to an experimental group receiving a 6-week WeChat-based life review programme. The programme, which was mainly developed based on Erikson’s psycho-social development theory and Reed’s self-transcendence theory, provides synchronous and asynchronous communication modes for patients to review their life. The former is real-time communication, providing an e-life review interview guided by a facilitator online. The latter is not simultaneously dialogic and is used to interact with patients before and after a life review interview through Memory Prompts, Review Extraction, Mind Space and E-legacy products. The primary outcomes include anxiety, depression and self-transcendence, and the secondary outcomes are meaning in life and hope. These will be measured at baseline, and immediately, at 3 months, and at 6 months after the programme’s conclusion.Ethics and disseminationEthics approval has been obtained from the Biological and Medical Research Ethics Committee of the corresponding author’s university (IRB Ref No: 2016/00020). The trial results will be published in a peer-reviewed journal and presented at national and international conferences.Trial registration numberChiCTR-IOR-17011998.
Does adult alcohol consumption combine with adverse childhood experiences to increase involvement in violence in men and women? A cross-sectional study in England and Wales
Authors: Bellis Mark A , Hughes Karen , Ford Kat , Edwards Sara , Sharples Olivia , Hardcastle Katie , Wood Sara 
Published: December 2018

ObjectivesTo examine if, and to what extent, a history of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) combines with adult alcohol consumption to predict recent violence perpetration and victimisation.DesignRepresentative face-to-face survey (n=12 669) delivered using computer-assisted personal interviewing and self-interviewing.SettingDomiciles of individuals living in England and Wales.ParticipantsIndividuals aged 18–69 years resident within randomly selected locations. 12 669 surveys were completed with participants within our defined age range.Main outcome measuresAlcohol consumption was measured using the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test-Consumption (AUDIT-C) and childhood adversity using the short ACEs tool. Violence was measured using questions on perpetration and victimisation in the last 12 months.ResultsCompliance was 55.7%. There were strong positive relationships between numbers of ACEs and recent violence perpetration and victimisation in both sexes. Recent violence was also strongly related to positive AUDIT-C (≥5) scores. In males, heavier drinking and ≥4ACEs had a strong multiplicative relationship with adjusted prevalence of recent violent perpetration rising from 1.3% (95% CIs 0.9% to 1.9%; 0 ACEs, negative AUDIT-C) to 3.6% (95% CIs 2.7% to 4.9%; 0 ACEs, positive AUDIT-C) and 8.5% (95% CI 5.6% to 12.7%; ≥4ACEs, negative AUDIT-C) to 28.3% (95% CI 22.5% to 34.8%; ≥4ACEs, positive AUDIT-C). In both sexes, violence perpetration and victimisation reduced with age independently of ACE count and AUDIT-C status. The combination of young age (18–29 years), ≥4ACEs and positive AUDIT-C resulted in the highest adjusted prevalence for both perpetration and victimisation in males (61.9%, 64.9%) and females (24.1%, 27.2%).ConclusionsThose suffering multiple adverse experiences in childhood are also more likely to be heavier alcohol users. Especially for males, this combination results in substantially increased risks of violence. Addressing ACEs and heavy drinking together is rarely a feature of public health policy, but a combined approach may help reduce the vast costs associated with both.
Martian gullies and their Earth analogues: introduction
Authors: Conway Susan J. , de Haas Tjalling , Harrison Tanya N. , Carling Paul A. , Carrivick Jonathan 
Published: December 2018

Abstract

Martian gullies are widespread landforms in the mid-latitudes of Mars. When the first reports of these kilometre-scale features were published in 2000, they were controversially hailed as a sign of recent flows of liquid water on the surface of Mars. This supposition was contrary to our understanding of recent environmental conditions on Mars, under which water should not exist in its liquid form. In response to their discovery, researchers proposed a wide range of scenarios to explain this apparent paradox, including scenarios driven by CO
2
, climate change or the presence of a liquid water aquifer. This Special Publication is a collection of papers arising from the topics discussed at the Second International Workshop on Martian Gullies held at the Geological Society, London. A review paper opens the Special Publication and thereafter the papers are presented under three themes: Martian remote sensing, Earth analogues and laboratory simulations. This Special Publication establishes the state of the art in Martian gully research, presents the latest observations and interpretations of the present-day activity and long-term evolution of Martian gullies, explores the role of Earth analogues, highlights novel experimental work and identifies future avenues of research. The importance of gullies as a potential marker of habitable environments on Mars underlines their importance in framing space exploration programmes.