The Influence of Model Features on Goodness-of-Fit Indices: Choosing Indices to Evaluate Your Model

Two studies were conducted to examine the performance of eight goodness-of-fit indices (i.e., the chi-square statistic, Comparative fit index, Critical N; Goodness-of-fit index, Normed fit index, Nonnormed fit index, Root mean square error of approximation, and Relative noncentrality index) used in structural equation applications. Study 1 consisted of (a) an empirical review in four journals (1986-1996) to determine the typical application, (b) a recreation of the goodness-of-fit indices from the published research, (c) a multiple regression analysis of the recreated indices to determine if values were predicted based on model and sample features, and (d) the development of a representative sample for model selection in Study 2. Study 1 identified 366 articles, and recreated indices for 187 of those articles. The regression analysis demonstrated that several indices were predicted by sample size and the hypothesized model\u27s degrees of freedom. Study 2 consisted of (a) three Monte Carlo simulations differing in model complexity which assessed the performance of the indices under conditions of sample size, number of indicators, and model misspecifications, and (b) an evaluation of recommended and alternative cutoff values for the indices. In Study 2, simulated results replicated effects for sample size and number of indicators and extended findings to single indicator models. In agreement with prior research, indices were successful at detecting omitted misspecifications, but unsuccessful at detecting inclusion misspecifications. Most indices favored simple over complex models. Previously recommended values of indices were often inappropriate, but alternative values were suggested to reduce the frequency of accepted models with omission errors. When evaluating model fit with indices, researchers should consider the effects of sample and model features to avoid drawing erroneous conclusions

AS CONFERÊNCIAS NACIONAIS DE SAÚDE MENTAL E O PARADIGMA DA DESINSTITUCIONALIZAÇÃO

Resumo Os Relatórios Finais das Conferências Nacionais de Saúde Mental são o objeto de análise deste trabalho. Busca-se verificar se os princípios do paradigma da desinstitucionalização estão presentes no processo de reforma psiquiátrica que vem sendo instituído no país. Considerando que a reforma psiquiátrica é processo social complexo que envolve quatro dimensões (técnico-conceitual, técnico-assistencial, jurídico-política e sociocultural), busca apreender nos textos dos Relatórios, as discussões que se pautam pela reforma psiquiátrica como modelo de transformação que opera além da questão da doença mental, evidenciando se a transformação em processo extrapola a mudança de espaço de cuidado

An Examination of Social Justice and U.S Politics Among Mexican Americans: The Role of Education in Political Participation

The purpose of this study was to examine the perceptions and behaviors of Mexican Americans toward social justice issues in a political context, as a function of educational attainment. Based on the premise set forth by Boakari (2006), we expected those with a higher level of educational attainment would reflect both perceptions and behaviors that represent a more socially aware and participative citizen within a political context. Results were significant for all analyses, indicating that participants with a higher level of educational attainment had perceptions and self-reported behaviors more congruent with social justice issues in a political context, compared to participants with a lower level of educational attainment. Results are discussed in terms of the importance of education in shaping the participation of Mexican Americans in issues related to social justice and U.S. politics

Modelling Robust Feedback Control Mechanisms That Ensure Reliable Coordination of Histone Gene Expression with DNA Replication

Funding: Andrea Christopher was supported by the University of Aberdeen through a Milner Studentship. Heike Hameister was supported by a Postgraduate Research Studentship of the University of Aberdeen. Oliver Ebenhöh was supported by the University of Aberdeen and the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft [Cluster of Excellence on Plant Sciences, CEPLAS (EXC 1028)]. Berndt Müller was supported by the University of Aberdeen. Ekkehard Ullner was supported by the Scottish Universities Life Sciences Alliance (SULSA). The funders provided support in the form of salaries for authors but did not have any additional role in the study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript. The specific roles of these authors are articulated in the ‘author contributions’ section. Heike Hameister is currently employed by Merck Serono GmbH. Merck Serono GmbH did not provide any support for this work and did not have any role in the study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript. This does not alter our adherence to PLOS ONE policies on sharing data and materials.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

The Home of the Bison : An Ethnographic and Ethnohistorical Study of Traditional Cultural Affiliations to Wind Cave National Park

When Wind Cave National Park celebrated its Fiftieth Anniversary in 1953, a Lakota delegation from the Pine Ridge Reservation was invited to attend the festivities. As a way of honoring the event, the Lakotas adopted the park s superintendent, Earl M. Semingsen and named him Tatanka Tokahe [First Bison Bull]. Two things are significant about this name. On the one hand, it associates the park with bison, a culturally important connection for the Lakotas, who have long believed that Wind Cave is the home of the Buffalo Nation; and on the other, it refers to the name of the first human to emerge from the subterranean depths of the Black Hills through the portal that many Lakotas identify as Wind Cave. Much of the landscape of Wind Cave National Park, both above and below ground, is sacred to the Lakotas because it is a site of genesis and because it holds important teachings at the foundation of the way Lakotas have come to identify themselves as a people. The same holds true for the Cheyennes who hold the geological depression known as the Race Track in high regard and associate it with important cosmological precepts and the origins of their Sun Dance. The Lakotas identify the Race Track with an important spiritual pilgrimage their ancestors followed and that some have tried to recreate in modem times. In the traditions of both tribal nations, the story of the Great Race tells how the nature of relationships between humans and animals was established and how various topographic features of the Black Hills came into being

Thoughts on opportunities from high-energy nuclear collisions

This document summarizes thoughts on opportunities from high-energy nuclear collisions.Comment: 10 pages, pd

Novel design and controls for focused DNA microarrays: applications in quality assurance/control and normalization for the Health Canada ToxArray™

BACKGROUND: Microarray normalizations typically apply methods that assume absence of global transcript shifts, or absence of changes in internal control features such as housekeeping genes. These normalization approaches are not appropriate for focused arrays with small sets of genes where a large portion may be expected to change. Furthermore, many microarrays lack control features that can be used for quality assurance (QA). Here, we describe a novel external control series integrated with a design feature that addresses the above issues. RESULTS: An EC dilution series that involves spike-in of a single concentration of the A. thaliana chlorophyll synthase gene to hybridize against spotted dilutions (0.000015 to 100 μM) of a single complimentary oligonucleotide representing the gene was developed. The EC series is printed in duplicate within each subgrid of the microarray and covers the full range of signal intensities from background to saturation. The design and placement of the series allows for QA examination of frequently encountered problems in hybridization (e.g., uneven hybridizations) and printing (e.g., cross-spot contamination). Additionally, we demonstrate that the series can be integrated with a LOWESS normalization to improve the detection of differential gene expression (improved sensitivity and predictivity) over LOWESS normalization on its own. CONCLUSION: The quality of microarray experiments and the normalization methods used affect the ability to measure accurate changes in gene expression. Novel methods are required for normalization of small focused microarrays, and for incorporating measures of performance and quality. We demonstrate that dilution of oligonucleotides on the microarray itself provides an innovative approach allowing the full dynamic range of the scanner to be covered with a single gene spike-in. The dilution series can be used in a composite normalization to improve detection of differential gene expression and to provide quality control measures

Hundreds of variants clustered in genomic loci and biological pathways affect human height

Most common human traits and diseases have a polygenic pattern of inheritance: DNA sequence variants at many genetic loci influence the phenotype. Genome-wide association (GWA) studies have identified more than 600 variants associated with human traits, but these typically explain small fractions of phenotypic variation, raising questions about the use of further studies. Here, using 183,727 individuals, we show that hundreds of genetic variants, in at least 180 loci, influence adult height, a highly heritable and classic polygenic trait. The large number of loci reveals patterns with important implications for genetic studies of common human diseases and traits. First, the 180 loci are not random, but instead are enriched for genes that are connected in biological pathways (P = 0.016) and that underlie skeletal growth defects (P < 0.001). Second, the likely causal gene is often located near the most strongly associated variant: in 13 of 21 loci containing a known skeletal growth gene, that gene was closest to the associated variant. Third, at least 19 loci have multiple independently associated variants, suggesting that allelic heterogeneity is a frequent feature of polygenic traits, that comprehensive explorations of already-discovered loci should discover additional variants and that an appreciable fraction of associated loci may have been identified. Fourth, associated variants are enriched for likely functional effects on genes, being over-represented among variants that alter amino-acid structure of proteins and expression levels of nearby genes. Our data explain approximately 10% of the phenotypic variation in height, and we estimate that unidentified common variants of similar effect sizes would increase this figure to approximately 16% of phenotypic variation (approximately 20% of heritable variation). Although additional approaches are needed to dissect the genetic architecture of polygenic human traits fully, our findings indicate that GWA studies can identify large numbers of loci that implicate biologically relevant genes and pathways.

Meta-analysis of Gene-Level Associations for Rare Variants Based on Single-Variant Statistics

Meta-analysis of genome-wide association studies (GWASs) has led to the discoveries of many common variants associated with complex human diseases. There is a growing recognition that identifying “causal” rare variants also requires large-scale meta-analysis. The fact that association tests with rare variants are performed at the gene level rather than at the variant level poses unprecedented challenges in the meta-analysis. First, different studies may adopt different gene-level tests, so the results are not compatible. Second, gene-level tests require multivariate statistics (i.e., components of the test statistic and their covariance matrix), which are difficult to obtain. To overcome these challenges, we propose to perform gene-level tests for rare variants by combining the results of single-variant analysis (i.e., p values of association tests and effect estimates) from participating studies. This simple strategy is possible because of an insight that multivariate statistics can be recovered from single-variant statistics, together with the correlation matrix of the single-variant test statistics, which can be estimated from one of the participating studies or from a publicly available database. We show both theoretically and numerically that the proposed meta-analysis approach provides accurate control of the type I error and is as powerful as joint analysis of individual participant data. This approach accommodates any disease phenotype and any study design and produces all commonly used gene-level tests. An application to the GWAS summary results of the Genetic Investigation of ANthropometric Traits (GIANT) consortium reveals rare and low-frequency variants associated with human height. The relevant software is freely available