Monte Carlo Study of Some Classification-Based Ridge Parameter Estimators

Ridge estimator in linear regression model requires a ridge parameter, K, of which many have been proposed. In this study, estimators based on Dorugade (2014) and Adnan et al. (2014) were classified into different forms and various types using the idea of Lukman and Ayinde (2015). Some new ridge estimators were proposed. Results shows that the proposed estimators based on Adnan et al. (2014) perform generally better than the existing ones

Seroprevalence of contagious bovine pleuropneumonia and contagious caprine pleuropneumonia in the Middle-Belt of Nigeria

The aim of the study was to establish the seroprevalence of contagious bovine pleuropneumonia (CBPP) and contagious caprine pleuropneumonia (CCPP) among cattle and small ruminants received at abattoirs in Ilorin, Nigeria. A total of 643 blood samples were taken from 324 cattle and 319 sheep and goats. These samples were screened for CBPP and CCPP using rapid latex agglutination tests. The majority were from the north of Nigeria. Sera from cattle were screened for the causative mycoplasma of CBPP, Mycoplasma mycoides subsp. mycoides (Mmm) and small ruminants were screened for the presence of Mycoplasma capricolum subsp. capripneumoniae (Mccp), the cause of CCPP, using specific latex agglutination tests. Clinical signs including specific clinical signs associated with CBPP were also assessed. A prevalence rate of just over 56% was recorded for CBPP. In all, 22 of 324 cattle showed clinical signs but only 10 showed specific clinical signs associated with CBPP infection such as dyspnoea, nasal discharge and cough. A CCPP prevalence rate of about 33% was found among the small ruminants. In total, 52 of 319 small ruminants showed clinical signs of disease but only 22 of these were associated with seropositivity. The high seroprevalence of CBPP and CCPP in this study is suggestive of extensive CBPP and CCPP infection in Ilorin, Nigeria

Safety of maintaining elective and emergency surgery during the COVID-19 pandemic with the introduction of a Protected Elective Surgical Unit (PESU): A cross-specialty evaluation of 30-day outcomes in 9,925 patients undergoing surgery in a University Health Board

Background The COVID-19 pandemic has caused unprecedented health care challenges mandating surgical service reconfiguration. Within our hospital, emergency and elective streams were separated and self-contained Protected Elective Surgical Units were developed to mitigate against infection-related morbidity. Aims of this study were to determine the risk of COVID-19 transmission and mortality and whether the development of Protected Elective Surgical Units can result in significant reduction in risk. Methods A retrospective observational study of consecutive patients from 18 specialties undergoing elective or emergency surgery under general, spinal, or epidural anaesthetic over a 12-month study period was undertaken. Primary outcome measures were 30-day postoperative COVID-19 transmission rate and mortality. Secondary adjusted analyses were performed to ascertain hospital and Protected Elective Surgical Unit transmission rates. Results Between 15 March 2020 and 14 March 2021, 9,925 patients underwent surgery: 6,464 (65.1%) elective, 5,116 (51.5%) female, and median age 57 (39–70). A total of 69.5% of all procedures were performed in Protected Elective Surgical Units. Overall, 30-day postoperative COVID-19 transmission was 2.8% (3.4% emergency vs 1.2% elective P  70, male sex, American Society of Anesthesiologists grade > 2, and emergency surgery were all independently associated with mortality. Conclusion This study has demonstrated that Protected Elective Surgical Units can facilitate high-volume elective surgical services throughout peaks of the COVID-19 pandemic while minimising viral transmission and mortality. However, mortality risk associated with perioperative COVID-19 infection remains high

The 1000 Mitoses Project : A Consensus-Based International Collaborative Study on Mitotic Figures Classification

Introduction. The identification of mitotic figures is essential for the diagnosis, grading, and classification of various different tumors. Despite its importance, there is a paucity of literature reporting the consistency in interpreting mitotic figures among pathologists. This study leverages publicly accessible datasets and social media to recruit an international group of pathologists to score an image database of more than 1000 mitotic figures collectively. Materials and Methods. Pathologists were instructed to randomly select a digital slide from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) datasets and annotate 10-20 mitotic figures within a 2 mm2 area. The first 1010 submitted mitotic figures were used to create an image dataset, with each figure transformed into an individual tile at 40x magnification. The dataset was redistributed to all pathologists to review and determine whether each tile constituted a mitotic figure. Results. Overall pathologists had a median agreement rate of 80.2% (range 42.0%-95.7%). Individual mitotic figure tiles had a median agreement rate of 87.1% and a fair inter-rater agreement across all tiles (kappa = 0.284). Mitotic figures in prometaphase had lower percentage agreement rates compared to other phases of mitosis. Conclusion. This dataset stands as the largest international consensus study for mitotic figures to date and can be utilized as a training set for future studies. The agreement range reflects a spectrum of criteria that pathologists use to decide what constitutes a mitotic figure, which may have potential implications in tumor diagnostics and clinical management.Peer reviewe

Some Properties of Polymethylmethacrylate-Polyisobutylene Rubber Blends

798-801Polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) was solution blended with medium and low molecular weight polyisobutylene rubber samples (PIBm and PIBl) in toluene. The compatibility of the blends was assessed from density and viscometric methods at 2 per cent total solid content of solution. The experiment al densities were observed to be lower than the theoretical values assuming additivity of volumes of the polymers and the solvent for both PIB samples. The plots of relative viscosities against composition were found to be non-linear. The experimental values for reduced viscosities were found to be lower than calculated values using Krigbaum-Wall equation for all blend solutions. A visual study of the blend films showed marked phase separation and impaired clarity. The tensile mechanical test on the blend films showed a higher yield stress and a larger area under the stress-strain curve compared to the pure PMMA, suggesting that blending with the PIB rubber toughened PMMA. The density and viscometric methods have again been proved to be an easy and reliable method for assessing polymer-polymer compatibility

Orthogonal-Based Second Order Hybrid Initial Value Problem Solver

This work focuses on development of an initial value problem solver by employing a new class of orthogonal polynomial, the basis function. We present the recursive formula of the class of polynomials constructed and adopt collocation technique to develop the method. The method was analyzed for its basic properties and findings show that the method is accurate and convergent.AMS Subject Classification: 65L05, 65L06 Keywords: Orthogonal polynomials, Algorithm, Block method, Collocation, Interpolation, Zero-Stable