A nonparametric regression cross spectrum for multivariate time series

We consider dependence structures in multivariate time series that are characterized by deterministic trends. Results from spectral analysis for stationary processes are extended to deterministic trend functions. A regression cross covariance and spectrum are defined. Estimation of these quantities is based on wavelet thresholding. The method is illustrated by a simulated example and a three-dimensional time series consisting of ECG, blood pressure and cardiac stroke volume measurements.Nonparametric trend estimation, cross spectrum, wavelets, regression spectrum, phase, threshold estimator

Estimation of a nonparametric regression spectrum for multivariate time series

Estimation of a nonparametric regression spectrum based on the periodogram is considered. Neither trend estimation nor smoothing of the periodogram are required. Alternatively, for cases where spectral estimation of phase shifts fails and the shift does not depend on frequency, a time domain estimator of the lag-shift is defined. Asymptotic properties of the frequency and time domain estimators are derived. Simulations and a data example illustrate the methods.Periodogram, cross spectrum, regression spectrum, phase, wavelets.

Campylobacter jejuni Transmission from Pet Animals: A New Zoonosis?

In recent years, Campylobacter jejuni has been recognized as an important enteric pathogen of human beings causing acute and subacute gastrointestinal illness. Recent reports have suggested that infected household pets may be vectors for the human infection. It has been theorized that as more research will be conducted\u27 the zoonotic implications of C. jejuni will rival and probably exceed those of salmonellosis. Therefore, as veterinarians, it is important to be aware of the disease in animals, the zoonotic implications, and be able to advise our clientele

The First Well Documented Case of Recovery From Clinical Rabies in a Human Being

The extensive animal contact dictated by the nature of their careers exposes veterinarians to a multitude of zoonoses, one of which is rabies. In one survey, over 22 % of responding veterinarians reponed the necessity of having post-exposure rabies vaccinations. the vast majority of which were the result of patient examination.\u27 In this light, exposure to rabies of veterinarians may be less a question of if and more a question of when

Animal Facilitated Therapy for the Young and Elderly

Historically, animals have played many roles to improve the well-being of people through companionship, work, sport, and food. Currently, the trend has been to use animals therapeutically to improve the physical and emotional health of people. There are a variety of terms defining this type of therapy, but the most accurate and inclusive is Animal Facilitated Therapy (AFT)

A Longitudinal Study of Bacterial Contamination in Retail Meats and Meat Products

Beginning in September 1975, and with records continuing through May, 1997, a laboratory class in food safety has been conducted at Iowa State University in 2-week rotations of 6–9 students each. As a component of the class, inspections has been made of local food establishments and a total of 825 meats and meat products have been purchased for microbiological laboratory cultures, with 77.6% positive for total aerobic plate counts, 55.3% positive for fecal coliforms, and 54.9% positive for Staphylococcus aureus. Titers ranged between 102.3 and 107.2 colony forming units (CFU) per gram. Analysis by 5-year periods has identified no progress over the 23 year period in lower prevalence or lower titers of contamination by these bacteria

The Relationship between Event-Based Prospective Memory and Ongoing Task Performance in Chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes)

Prospective memory is remembering to do something at a future time. A growing body of research supports that prospective memory may exist in nonhuman animals, but the methods used to test nonhuman prospective memory differ from those used with humans. The current work tests prospective memory in chimpanzees using a method that closely approximates a typical human paradigm. In these experiments, the prospective memory cue was embedded within an ongoing task. Tokens representing food items could be used in one of two ways: in a matching task with pictures of items (the ongoing task) or to request a food item hidden in a different location at the beginning of the trial. Chimpanzees had to disengage from the ongoing task in order to use the appropriate token to obtain a higher preference food item. In Experiment 1, chimpanzees effectively matched tokens to pictures, when appropriate, and disengaged from the ongoing task when the token matched the hidden item. In Experiment 2, performance did not differ when the target item was either hidden or visible. This suggested no effect of cognitive load on either the prospective memory task or the ongoing task, but performance was near ceiling, which may have contributed to this outcome. In Experiment 3, we created a more challenging version of the task. More errors on the matching task occurred before the prospective memory had been carried out, and this difference seemed to be limited to the hidden condition. This finding parallels results from human studies and suggests that working memory load and prospective memory may have a similar relationship in nonhuman primates