Development of food photographs for use with children aged 18 months to 16 years:comparison against weighed food diaries – The Young Person’s Food Atlas (UK)

Traditional dietary assessment methods, used in the UK, such as weighed food diaries impose a large participant burden, often resulting in difficulty recruiting representative samples and underreporting of energy intakes. One approach to reducing the burden placed on the participant is to use portion size assessment tools to obtain an estimate of the amount of food consumed, removing the need to weigh all foods. An age range specific food atlas was developed for use in assessing children’s dietary intakes. The foods selected and portion sizes depicted were derived from intakes recorded during the UK National Diet and Nutrition Surveys of children aged 1.5 to 16 years. Estimates of food portion sizes using the food atlas were compared against 4-day weighed intakes along with in-school / nursery observations, by the research team. Interviews were conducted with parents the day after completion of the diary, and for children aged 4 to 16 years, also with the child. Mean estimates of portion size consumed were within 7% of the weight of food recorded in the weighed food diary. The limits of agreement were wide indicating high variability of estimates at the individual level but the precision increased with increasing age. For children 11 years and over, agreement with weighed food diaries, was as good as that of their parents in terms of total weight of food consumed and of intake of energy and key nutrients. The age appropriate food photographs offer an alternative to weighed intakes for dietary assessment with children

M Dwarfs from Hubble Space Telescope Star Counts. IV

We study a sample of about 1400 disk M dwarfs that are found in 148 fields observed with the Wide Field Camera 2 (WFC2) on the Hubble Space Telescope and 162 fields observed with pre-repair Planetary Camera 1 (PC1), of which 95 of the WFC2 fields are newly analyzed. The method of maximum likelihood is applied to derive the luminosity function and the Galactic disk parameters. At first, we use a local color-magnitude relation and a locally determined mass-luminosity relation in our analysis. The results are consistent with those of previous work but with considerably reduced statistical errors. These small statistical errors motivate us to investigate the systematic uncertainties. Considering the metallicity gradient above the Galactic plane, we introduce a modified color-magnitude relation that is a function of Galactic height. The resultant M dwarf luminosity function has a shape similar to that derived using the local color-magnitude relation but with a higher peak value. The peak occurs at $M_V \sim 12$ and the luminosity function drops sharply toward $M_V \sim 14$. We then apply a height-dependent mass-luminosity function interpolated from theoretical models with different metallicities to calculate the mass function. Unlike the mass function obtained using local relations, which has a power-law index $\alpha = 0.47$, the one derived from the height-dependent relations tends to be flat ($\alpha = -0.10$). The resultant local surface density of disk M dwarfs (12.2 +/- 1.6 M_sun pc^{-2}) is somewhat smaller than the one obtained using local relations (14.3 +/- 1.3 M_sun pc^{-2}). Our measurement favors a short disk scale length, H = 2.75 +/- 0.16 (statistical) +/- 0.25 (systematic) kpc.Comment: 20 pages, 10 ps figures, accepted for publication in Ap

The relationship between transcription initiation RNAs and CCCTC-binding factor (CTCF) localization

Background: Transcription initiation RNAs (tiRNAs) are nuclear localized 18 nucleotide RNAs derived from sequences immediately downstream of RNA polymerase II (RNAPII) transcription start sites. Previous reports have shown that tiRNAs are intimately correlated with gene expression, RNA polymerase II binding and behaviors, and epigenetic marks associated with transcription initiation, but not elongation. Results: In the present work, we show that tiRNAs are commonly found at genomic CCCTC-binding factor (CTCF) binding sites in human and mouse, and that CTCF sites that colocalize with RNAPII are highly enriched for tiRNAs. To directly investigate the relationship between tiRNAs and CTCF we examined tiRNAs originating near the intronic CTCF binding site in the human tumor suppressor gene, p21 (cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor 1A gene, also known as CDKN1A). Inhibition of CTCF-proximal tiRNAs resulted in increased CTCF localization and increased p21 expression, while overexpression of CTCF-proximal tiRNA mimics decreased CTCF localization and p21 expression. We also found that tiRNA-regulated CTCF binding influences the levels of trimethylated H3K27 at the alternate upstream p21 promoter, and affects the levels of alternate p21 (p21) transcripts. Extending these studies to another randomly selected locus with conserved CTCF binding we found that depletion of tiRNA alters nucleosome density proximal to sites of tiRNA biogenesis. Conclusions: Taken together, these data suggest that tiRNAs modulate local epigenetic structure, which in turn regulates CTCF localization

Synchronization of estrus and ovulation in dairy heifers using norgestomet, GnRH, and PGF2α

Two experiments were performed using the same treatments. All heifers received two injections of PGF2α 14 days apart. Controls then were inseminated after detected estrus. Heifers assigned to the two treatments also received 6 mg of norgestomet for 8 days beginning 7 days before the second of two PGF2α injections. The heifers in the last treatment also received GnRH 48 hr after the second PGF2α injection to induce ovulation in any heifer not observed in estrus before a fixed-time insemination at 72 hr after PGF2α. In Experiment 1, any control heifer or herifer in the two treatments not detected in estrus by 72 hr after PGF2α received a fixed-time insemination at 72 hr. Heifers receiving GnRH tended to have fewer standing events and a shorter duration of estrus. Fixed-time inseminations reduced conception compared to those after detected estrus. In Experiment 2, when inseminations were performed only after detected estrus, all measures of fertility were unaffected by treatments. These results indicated that addition of norgestomet and(or) GnRH did not improve measures of estrus synchronization or fertility of dairy heifers.; Dairy Day, 1997, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS, 1997

The Maunder minimum and the Little Ice Age: an update from recent reconstructions and climate simulations

The Maunder minimum (MM) was a period of extremely low solar activity from approximately AD 1650 to 1715. In the solar physics literature, the MM is sometimes associated with a period of cooler global temperatures, referred to as the Little Ice Age (LIA), and thus taken as compelling evidence of a large, direct solar influence on climate. In this study, we bring together existing simulation and observational studies, particularly the most recent solar activity and paleoclimate reconstructions, to examine this relation. Using northern hemisphere surface air temperature reconstructions, the LIA can be most readily defined as an approximately 480 year period spanning AD 1440–1920, although not all of this period was notably cold. While the MM occurred within the much longer LIA period, the timing of the features are not suggestive of causation and should not, in isolation, be used as evidence of significant solar forcing of climate. Climate model simulations suggest multiple factors, particularly volcanic activity, were crucial for causing the cooler temperatures in the northern hemisphere during the LIA. A reduction in total solar irradiance likely contributed to the LIA at a level comparable to changing land use

Reporting of lost to follow-up and treatment discontinuation in device and pharmacotherapy trials in chronic heart failure: a systematic review

Background—Premature treatment discontinuation and loss to follow-up (LTFU) with unknown outcomes leave uncertainty about the true efficacy and safety of a treatment and a lack of confidence in the results of any trial. We reviewed the extent of (and trends over time in) reporting LTFU and treatment discontinuation in large studies in chronic heart failure published since 1990. Methods and Results—Online databases were systematically reviewed to identify randomized controlled clinical trials (RCTs) in chronic heart failure with >400 participants and utilizing all-cause mortality as a component of the primary or secondary end point. Assessments were made of documentation of treatment discontinuation, LTFU, inclusion of and completeness of a Consolidated Standards Of Reporting Trials (CONSORT) diagram, and whether LTFU was differentiated from withdrawal of consent. Sixty-eight trials were identified, with >154 000 participants. Reasons for treatment discontinuation in pharmacotherapy trials were infrequently reported (35%), particularly in a CONSORT diagram (20%). Eighty-three percent of trials reported LTFU, although only 34% of these differentiated LTFU for vital status from withdrawal of consent. Use of a CONSORT diagram increased over time, although reporting of LTFU in the CONSORT diagram remained low overall at 35%. Conclusions—Participant flow through RCTs in chronic heart failure has not been uniformly reported, and the use of a complete CONSORT diagram has been low, although it seems to be improving. All study participants should be accounted for within a CONSORT diagram in any RCT to enable the practicing cardiologist to interpret how the results should influence his/her clinical practice

Rancang Bangun Mobile Robot Pengikut Manusia Berdasarkan Warna Menggunakan Metode Template Matching Berbasis Mini Pc

Penerapan teknologi di bidang robotika telah banyak dimanfaatkan oleh kalangan industri di dunia kerja dalam rangka meningkatkan efisiensi dan efektivitas berbagai aktivitas kerja manusia. Sebuah mobile robot dibuat agar dapat mengikuti pergerakan objek berupa manusia berdasarkan warna menggunakan webcam. Mobile robot yang dibuat dapat melakukan proses pengolahan citra dari warna objek yang ditangkap oleh webcam, sehingga dapat mengenali warna objek yang diikuti. Proses pengolahan citra akan di proses di dalam Raspberry Pi sebagai pusat kontrol, yang akan menggerakkan motor pada mobile robot. Ada beberapa proses pengolahan citra untuk mengikuti pergerakan objek, yaitu: mencari nilai HSV masing-masing warna pada kondisi pencahayaan yang berbeda, menganalisa warna objek yang akan diikuti dengan membandingkan nilai HSV yang didapat dengan nilai HSV pada proses sebelumnya, dan mendeteksi warna lingkaran pada objek yang tujuan dengan menggunakan metode template matching. Mobile robot akan mengikuti pergerakan objek yang telah ditangkap oleh webcam, Dari penelitian yang dilakukan, didapatkan nilai HSV yang tepat untuk semua keadaan pencahayaan untuk masing-masing warna yaitu: nilai H (Hue) untuk warna, merah: 0-66, nilai S (Saturation): 64-169, dan nilai V (Value): 75-124. Dari 11 kali pengujian sistem yang dilakukan pada semua kondisi pencahayaan, diperoleh 5 kali kegagalan dengan persentase kegagalan sebesar 45.4 % dan 6 kali keberhasilan dengan persentase keberhasilan sebesar 54.6 %

Mapping the Galactic Halo I. The `Spaghetti' Survey

We describe a major survey of the Milky Way halo designed to test for kinematic substructure caused by destruction of accreted satellites. We use the Washington photometric system to identify halo stars efficiently for spectroscopic followup. Tracers include halo giants (detectable out to more than 100 kpc), blue horizontal branch stars, halo stars near the main sequence turnoff, and the ``blue metal-poor stars'' of Preston et al (1994). We demonstrate the success of our survey by showing spectra of stars we have identified in all these categories, including giants as distant as 75 kpc. We discuss the problem of identifying the most distant halo giants. In particular, extremely metal-poor halo K dwarfs are present in approximately equal numbers to the distant giants for V fainter than 18, and we show that our method will distinguish reliably between these two groups of metal-poor stars. We plan to survey 100 square degrees at high galactic latitude, and expect to increase the numbers of known halo giants, BHB stars and turnoff stars by more than an order of magnitude. In addition to the strong test that this large sample will provide for the question `was the Milky Way halo accreted from satellite galaxies?', we will improve the accuracy of mass measurements of the Milky Way beyond 50 kpc via the kinematics of the many distant giants and BHB stars we will find. We show that one of our first datasets constrains the halo density law over galactocentric radii of 5-20 kpc and z heights of 2-15 kpc. The data support a flattened power-law halo with b/a of 0.6 and exponent -3.0. More complex models with a varying axial ratio may be needed with a larger dataset.Comment: 55 pages, 22 figures, to appear in the Astronomical Journa