Statistical Tests for Detecting Differential RNA-Transcript Expression from Read Counts

As a fruit of the current revolution in sequencing technology, transcriptomes can now be analyzed at an unprecedented level of detail. These advances have been exploited for detecting differential expressed genes across biological samples and for quantifying the abundances of various RNA transcripts within one gene. However, explicit strategies for detecting the hidden differential abundances of RNA transcripts in biological samples have not been defined. In this work, we present two novel statistical tests to address this issue: a 'gene structure sensitive' Poisson test for detecting differential expression when the transcript structure of the gene is known, and a kernel-based test called Maximum Mean Discrepancy when it is unknown. We analyzed the proposed approaches on simulated read data for two artificial samples as well as on factual reads generated by the Illumina Genome Analyzer for two _C. elegans_ samples. Our analysis shows that the Poisson test identifies genes with differential transcript expression considerably better that previously proposed RNA transcript quantification approaches for this task. The MMD test is able to detect a large fraction (75%) of such differential cases without the knowledge of the annotated transcripts. It is therefore well-suited to analyze RNA-Seq experiments when the genome annotations are incomplete or not available, where other approaches have to fail

Ethical Artificial Intelligence

In an age where technology is rapidly advancing and artificial intelligence is coming increasingly into focus, new questions are starting to arise. Researchers are trying to discover the best way for artificial intelligence to learn how to complete tasks with less help from humans. Currently, the most effective way for machines to learn is adaptive machine learning, which gives machines minimal instructions for a task and lets them learn on their own through repeated trials. It is unknown everything a machine could accomplish using this type of learning, including if they could learn how to be ethical. If it were possible for machines to learn ethics using adaptive machine learning, it would create unknown consequences for humans that are commonly explored in films and television. Combining the fictional portrayal of ethical machines in film with the reality of teaching machines ethics through adaptive machine learning, there is a lot to be uncovered before technology gets too ahead of us

Correlates and Cognitive Mechanisms Associated with Internet Pornography Use

This item is only available electronically.Since the advent of the Internet, pornography use has proliferated, covarying with increasing rates of Internet pornography (IP) addiction. However, IP addiction is a contentious concept because there are no definitive criteria for it and because it falls under the relatively unexplored category of behavioural additions. In this article, we review various domains of the related literature, such as estimated rates of IP use and problematic use, and evidence that IP use can become addictive including a neuroscientific perspective. We then consider the cognitive mechanisms that may be involved in IP addiction, before offering some directions for future research.Thesis (M.Psych(Clinical)) -- University of Adelaide, School of Psychology, 202

Development and evaluation of a diagnostic cytokine-release assay for Mycobacterium suricattae infection in meerkats (Suricata suricatta)

CITATION: Clarke, C., et al. 2017. Development and evaluation of a diagnostic cytokine-release assay for mycobacterium suricattae infection in meerkats (Suricata suricatta). BMC Veterinary Research, 13:2, doi:10.1186/s12917-016-0927-x.The original publication is available at http://bmcvetres.biomedcentral.comBackground: Sensitive diagnostic tools are necessary for the detection of Mycobacterium suricattae infection in meerkats (Suricata suricatta) in order to more clearly understand the epidemiology of tuberculosis and the ecological consequences of the disease in this species. We therefore aimed to develop a cytokine release assay to measure antigen-specific cell-mediated immune responses of meerkats. Results: Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISAs) were evaluated for the detection of interferon-gamma (IFN-γ) and IFN-γ inducible protein 10 (IP-10) in meerkat plasma. An IP-10 ELISA was selected to measure the release of this cytokine in whole blood in response to Bovigam® PC-HP Stimulating Antigen, a commercial peptide pool of M. bovis antigens. Using this protocol, captive meerkats with no known M. suricattae exposure (n = 10) were tested and results were used to define a diagnostic cut off value (mean plus 2 standard deviations). This IP-10 release assay (IPRA) was then evaluated in free-living meerkats with known M. suricattae exposure, categorized as having either a low, moderate or high risk of infection with this pathogen. In each category, respectively, 24.7%, 27.3% and 82.4% of animals tested IPRA-positive. The odds of an animal testing positive was 14.0 times greater for animals with a high risk of M. suricattae infection compared to animals with a low risk. Conclusion: These results support the use of this assay as a measure of M. suricattae exposure in meerkat populations. Ongoing longitudinal studies aim to evaluate the value of the IPRA as a diagnostic test of M. suricattae infection in individual animals.http://bmcvetres.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12917-016-0927-xPublisher's versio

Interaktionen kardialer und antiretroviraler Medikation

Zusammenfassung: Neue therapeutische Optionen der hochaktiven antiretroviralen Therapie (HAART) haben die Morbidität und Mortalität von HIV-infizierten Patienten deutlich gesenkt, so dass nun vermehrt die altersspezifischen Erkrankungen manifest werden, wie z. B. kardiovaskuläre Erkrankungen. Zusätzlich verursacht die HIV-Erkrankung selber eine gewisse kardiovaskuläre Morbidität. Aus diesem Grund gewinnt die Behandlung der kardiovaskulären Symptome eine zunehmende Bedeutung. Die Pharmakotherapie dieser HIV-positiven Patienten ist sehr komplex, da sie durch eine Polypharmazie aus Medikamenten mit einem hohen Interaktionspotential geprägt is

Evaluation of the usefulness at national level of the dairy cattle health and production recording systems in Great Britain

The aim of this study was to formally evaluate, qualitatively, the ability of existing recording systems to generate accurate and reliable estimates of the frequency of selected health conditions in the dairy herd of Great Britain. Fifty-nine recording systems were identified, of which 36 had their key characteristics defined through a web-based questionnaire. Nineteen of them were further assessed following the SERVAL, a SuRveillance EVALuation framework against a set of 12 attributes: benefit, bias, communication, coverage, data collection, data management, data analysis, data completeness, flexibility, multiple utility, representativeness and stability/sustainability. The evaluated systems showed considerable differences in their coverage, implementation and objectives. There were overlaps in recorded conditions, with Johne's disease, bovine viral diarrhoea, mastitis and lameness being recorded by most of the systems. Selection bias, data ownership and lack of integration of data from different systems appeared to be a key limitation on the future use of existing systems for nationwide monitoring. The results showed that even though the individual systems can provide reliable estimates of dairy health for individual farmers, none of the systems alone could provide accurate and reliable estimates for any of the conditions of interest at national level