Can stable isotope analysis and tooth histology assist in detecting stillbirth? An approach using neonatal remains from the Roman settlement Studen Petinesca

Infant burials in Roman settlements are a common observation. Even though ancient authors provide information many questions remain uncertain. For instance, the burial ritual for stillbirth and infanticide neonates is not specifically mentioned. This study therefore aimed to investigate the application of stable nitrogen (δ15N) and carbon (δ13C) isotopes from neonatal bone collagen in differentiating between a breastfeeding signal and stillbirth or a short survival of less than ten days. For this purpose collagen of 11 human and 14 non-human bones from the Roman settlement Petinesca (1st - 3rd century AD, Switzerland) was extracted and analysed for δ15N and δ13C. Tooth histology was performed for the central incisor and canine of the right mandible in order to investigate the presence of a neonatal line. According to the length of the long bones the age varied between 8.5 lunar months to 2 months ex utero. The stable isotope results provided a breastfeeding signal for all except one individual where the breastfeeding signal was absent. The tooth histological analysis of this individual exhibited no neonatal line. It is concluded that stable isotope analysis could indicate stillbirth or a short survival after birth. The tooth histology confirmed the stable isotope results. Furthermore, this might indicate that the burial ritual did not differentiate between stillbirth and neonates, who died within the time span stated by ancient authors of up to 40 days of age or the appearance of teeth. However, for further justifications additional research is going to be conducted.

A total variation discontinuous Galerkin approach for image restoration

The focal point of this paper is to propose and analyze a P 0 discontinuous Galerkin (DG) formulation for image denoising. The scheme is based on a total variation approach which has been applied successfully in previous papers on image processing. The main idea of the new scheme is to model the restoration process in terms of a discrete energy minimization problem and to derive a corresponding DG variational formulation. Furthermore, we will prove that the method exhibits a unique solution and that a natural maximum principle holds. In addition, a number of examples illustrate the effectiveness of the method.

The application of principal component analysis on human development indicators: Temporal approach from 1999 to 2010

Background and Objective. Ever since the human development index was published in 1990 by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), many researchers started searching and corporative studying for more effective methods to measure the human development. Published in 1999, Lai’s “Temporal analysis of human development indicators: principal component approach” provided a valuable statistical way on human developmental analysis. This study presented in the thesis is the extension of Lai’s 1999 research. ^ Methods. I used the weighted principal component method on the human development indicators to measure and analyze the progress of human development in about 180 countries around the world from the year 1999 to 2010. The association of the main principal component obtained from the study and the human development index reported by the UNDP was estimated by the Spearman’s rank correlation coefficient. The main principal component was then further applied to quantify the temporal changes of the human development of selected countries by the proposed Z-test. ^ Results. The weighted means of all three human development indicators, health, knowledge, and standard of living, were increased from 1999 to 2010. The weighted standard deviation for GDP per capita was also increased across years indicated the rising inequality of standard of living among countries. The ranking of low development countries by the main principal component (MPC) is very similar to that by the human development index (HDI). Considerable discrepancy between MPC and HDI ranking was found among high development countries with high GDP per capita shifted to higher ranks. The Spearman’s rank correlation coefficient between the main principal component and the human development index were all around 0.99. All the above results were very close to outcomes in Lai’s 1999 report. The Z test result on temporal analysis of main principal components from 1999 to 2010 on Qatar was statistically significant, but not on other selected countries, such as Brazil, Russia, India, China, and U.S.A.^ Conclusion. To synthesize the multi-dimensional measurement of human development into a single index, the weighted principal component method provides a good model by using the statistical tool on a comprehensive ranking and measurement. Since the weighted main principle component index is more objective because of using population of nations as weight, more effective when the analysis is across time and space, and more flexible when the countries reported to the system has been changed year after year. Thus, in conclusion, the index generated by using weighted main principle component has some advantage over the human development index created in UNDP reports.^

Longitudinal categorical data analysis: A continuous -time Markov chain approach

In this dissertation, we propose a continuous-time Markov chain model to examine the longitudinal data that have three categories in the outcome variable. The advantage of this model is that it permits a different number of measurements for each subject and the duration between two consecutive time points of measurements can be irregular. Using the maximum likelihood principle, we can estimate the transition probability between two time points. By using the information provided by the independent variables, this model can also estimate the transition probability for each subject. The Monte Carlo simulation method will be used to investigate the goodness of model fitting compared with that obtained from other models. A public health example will be used to demonstrate the application of this method. ^

A new approach to a model of the mammalian retina with optically programmable logic cells

This paper reports a model of the mammalian retina as well as an interpretation of some functions of the visual cortex. Its main objective is to simulate some of the behaviors observed at the different retina cells depending on the characteristics of the light impinging onto the photoreceptors. This simulation is carried out with a simple structure employed previously as basic building block of some optical computer architectures. Its possibility to perform any type of Boolean function allows a wide range of behaviors.

A Semantic-Based Approach to Attain Reproducibility of Computational Environments in Scientic Work ows: A Case Study

Reproducible research in scientic work ows is often addressed by tracking the provenance of the produced results. While this approach allows inspecting intermediate and nal results, improves understanding, and permits replaying a work ow execution, it does not ensure that the computational environment is available for subsequent executions to reproduce the experiment. In this work, we propose describing the resources involved in the execution of an experiment using a set of semantic vocabularies, so as to conserve the computational environment. We dene a process for documenting the work ow application, management system, and their dependencies based on 4 domain ontologies. We then conduct an experimental evaluation sing a real work ow application on an academic and a public Cloud platform. Results show that our approach can reproduce an equivalent execution environment of a predened virtual machine image on both computing platforms.

Recognition principle of the TAP transporter disclosed by combinatorial peptide libraries

Transport of peptides across the membrane of the endoplasmic reticulum for assembly with MHC class I molecules is an essential step in antigen presentation to cytotoxic T cells. This task is performed by the major histocompatibility complex-encoded transporter associated with antigen processing (TAP). Using a combinatorial approach we have analyzed the substrate specificity of human TAP at high resolution and in the absence of any given sequence context, revealing the contribution of each peptide residue in stabilizing binding to TAP. Human TAP was found to be highly selective with peptide affinities covering at least three orders of magnitude. Interestingly, the selectivity is not equally distributed over the substrate. Only the N-terminal three positions and the C-terminal residue are critical, whereas effects from other peptide positions are negligible. A major influence from the peptide backbone was uncovered by peptide scans and libraries containing d amino acids. Again, independent of peptide length, critical positions were clustered near the peptide termini. These approaches demonstrate that human TAP is selective, with residues determining the affinity located in distinct regions, and point to the role of the peptide backbone in binding to TAP. This binding mode of TAP has implications in an optimized repertoire selection and in a coevolution with the major histocompatibility complex/T cell receptor complex.

A different approach to treatment of phenylketonuria: Phenylalanine degradation with recombinant phenylalanine ammonia lyase

Phenylketonuria (PKU), with its associated hyperphenylalaninemia (HPA) and mental retardation, is a classic genetic disease and the first to have an identified chemical cause of impaired cognitive development. Treatment from birth with a low phenylalanine diet largely prevents the deviant cognitive phenotype by ameliorating HPA and is recognized as one of the first effective treatments of a genetic disease. However, compliance with dietary treatment is difficult and when it is for life, as now recommended by an internationally used set of guidelines, is probably unrealistic. Herein we describe experiments on a mouse model using another modality for treatment of PKU compatible with better compliance using ancillary phenylalanine ammonia lyase (PAL, EC 4.3.1.5) to degrade phenylalanine, the harmful nutrient in PKU; in this treatment, PAL acts as a substitute for the enzyme phenylalanine monooxygenase (EC 1.14.16.1), which is deficient in PKU. PAL, a robust enzyme without need for a cofactor, converts phenylalanine to trans-cinnamic acid, a harmless metabolite. We describe (i) an efficient recombinant approach to produce PAL enzyme, (ii) testing of PAL in orthologous N-ethyl-N′-nitrosourea (ENU) mutant mouse strains with HPA, and (iii) proofs of principle (PAL reduces HPA)—both pharmacologic (with a clear dose–response effect vs. HPA after PAL injection) and physiologic (protected enteral PAL is significantly effective vs. HPA). These findings open another way to facilitate treatment of this classic genetic disease.

A total system approach to sustainable pest management

A fundamental shift to a total system approach for crop protection is urgently needed to resolve escalating economic and environmental consequences of combating agricultural pests. Pest management strategies have long been dominated by quests for “silver bullet” products to control pest outbreaks. However, managing undesired variables in ecosystems is similar to that for other systems, including the human body and social orders. Experience in these fields substantiates the fact that therapeutic interventions into any system are effective only for short term relief because these externalities are soon “neutralized” by countermoves within the system. Long term resolutions can be achieved only by restructuring and managing these systems in ways that maximize the array of “built-in” preventive strengths, with therapeutic tactics serving strictly as backups to these natural regulators. To date, we have failed to incorporate this basic principle into the mainstream of pest management science and continue to regress into a foot race with nature. In this report, we establish why a total system approach is essential as the guiding premise of pest management and provide arguments as to how earlier attempts for change and current mainstream initiatives generally fail to follow this principle. We then draw on emerging knowledge about multitrophic level interactions and other specific findings about management of ecosystems to propose a pivotal redirection of pest management strategies that would honor this principle and, thus, be sustainable. Finally, we discuss the potential immense benefits of such a central shift in pest management philosophy.

Groups, information theory, and Einstein's likelihood principle

We propose a unifying picture where the notion of generalized entropy is related to information theory by means of a group-theoretical approach. The group structure comes from the requirement that an entropy be well defined with respect to the composition of independent systems, in the context of a recently proposed generalization of the Shannon-Khinchin axioms. We associate to each member of a large class of entropies a generalized information measure, satisfying the additivity property on a set of independent systems as a consequence of the underlying group law. At the same time, we also show that Einstein's likelihood function naturally emerges as a byproduct of our informational interpretation of (generally nonadditive) entropies. These results confirm the adequacy of composable entropies both in physical and social science contexts.

A Life Cycle Approach to Investor Protection. ECMI Working Paper No. 1/September 2014

The market for investment products, including both securities and investment funds, is fraught with difficulties for consumers in terms of the ease of comparing products, trust in suppliers and consumer satisfaction. A comprehensive approach to investor protection, developed around the lifecycle of a financial product, may offer the investor greater protection during an investment’s life span. This paper proposes a new approach to investor protection, building on a review of major market failures affecting the origination, distribution and sale of financial products and based on a review of the relevant scientific literature and country experiences. The application of a ‘know-your-product’ principle at origination, a narrower ‘default rule’ for best execution and an ex-ante distinction between advice and ‘information-only’ services are among the options discussed in this paper to enhance the investor protection framework over the lifecycle of a financial product.

One Approach to the Problem Solution of Specialized Software Development for Subject Search

In the article relevance of system development for subject search using computational linguistics is considered. The basic principles of system functioning are defined. The principle of grammar development for information retrieval from the partially structured text in a natural language is considered. The ranging principle of results of information search is defined.

Taxation of couples: a mirrleesian approach for non-unitary households

Optimal tax theory in the Mirrlees’ (1971) tradition implicitly relies on the assumption that all agents are single or that couples may be treated as individuals, despite accumulating evidence against this view of household behavior. We consider an economy where agents may either be single or married, in which case choices result from Nash bargaining between spouses. In such an environment, tax schedules must play the double role of: i) defining households’ objective functions through their impact on threat points, and; ii) inducing the desired allocations as optimal choices for households given these objectives. We find that the taxation principle, which asserts that there is no loss in relying on tax schedules is not valid here: there are constrained efficient allocations which cannot be implemented via taxes. More sophisticated mechanisms expand the set of implementable allocations by: i) aligning the households’ and planner’s objectives; ii) manipulating taxable income elasticities, and; iii) freeing the design of singles’ tax schedules from its consequences on households’ objectives.

Phytotoxicity of surface waters of the Thames and Brisbane River Estuaries: A combined chemical analysis and bioassay approach for the comparison of two systems

The Thames Estuary, UK, and the Brisbane River, Australia, are comparable in size and catchment area. Both are representative of the large and growing number of the world's estuaries associated with major cities. Principle differences between the two systems relate to climate and human population pressures. In order to assess the potential phytotoxic impact of herbicide residues in the estuaries, surface waters were analysed with a PAM fluorometry-based bioassay that employs the photosynthetic efficiency (photosystem II quantum yield) of laboratory cultured microalgae, as an endpoint measure of phytotoxicity. In addition, surface waters were chemically analysed for a limited number of herbicides. Diuron atrazine and simazine were detected in both systems at comparable concentrations. In contrast, bioassay results revealed that whilst detected herbicides accounted for the observed phytotoxicity of Brisbane River extracts with great accuracy, they consistently explained only around 50% of the phytotoxicity induced by Thames Estuary extracts. Unaccounted for phytotoxicity in Thames surface waters is indicative of unidentified phytotoxins. The greatest phytotoxic response was measured at Charing Cross, Thames Estuary, and corresponded to a diuron equivalent concentration of 180 ng L-1. The study employs relative potencies (REP) of PSII impacting herbicides and demonstrates that chemical analysis alone is prone to omission of valuable information. Results of the study provide support for the incorporation of bioassays into routine monitoring programs where bioassay data may be used to predict and verify chemical contamination data, alert to unidentified compounds and provide the user with information regarding cumulative toxicity of complex mixtures. (c) 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

The production of male of-only offspring in beef cattle - a proof of principle project

The Australian beef industry places the greatest value in bulls, in comparison to cows, for prime beef production. Male carcasses can be sold for a larger profit due to their increased muscle mass. This project aims to demonstrate the feasibility of producing male animals that can sire male only offspring, through a transgenic approach in mice that could later be translated into livestock production systems. The mouse Sry (Sex determining region on the Y) gene has been shown to provide the initiating molecular signal leading to male sex determination in mammals. Sry has also been shown to cause sex reversal in XX mice transgenic for the gene. In this project Sry will be targeted to a locus not subject to X-inactivation on the X chromosome of XY mice. These mice will be bred to determine how the transgene is passed on, to determine expression of the transgene, and to assess its activity in causing XX sex reversal. The male mice transgenic for the Sry gene on their X chromosome will be produced using tetraploid aggregation, which in a single step produces 100% ES cell derived embryos. The same target locus can later be used to introduce the bovine SRY gene onto the X chromosome of bovidae species and using germ cell transplantation produce sex reversed animals. This would bypass the need for expensive chimera crosses and provide farmers with a stud bull capable of producing only sons.