From FATS to feets: Further improvements to an astronomical feature extraction tool based on machine learning

Machine learning algorithms are highly useful for the classification of time series data in astronomy in this era of peta-scale public survey data releases. These methods can facilitate the discovery of new unknown events in most astrophysical areas, as well as improving the analysis of samples of known phenomena. Machine learning algorithms use features extracted from collected data as input predictive variables. A public tool called Feature Analysis for Time Series (FATS) has proved an excellent workhorse for feature extraction, particularly light curve classification for variable objects. In this study, we present a major improvement to FATS, which corrects inconvenient design choices, minor details, and documentation for the re-engineering process. This improvement comprises a new Python package called feets, which is important for future code-refactoring for astronomical software tools.Fil: Cabral, Juan Bautista. Universidad Nacional de Rosario; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Córdoba. Instituto de Astronomía Teórica y Experimental. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Observatorio Astronómico de Córdoba. Instituto de Astronomía Teórica y Experimental; ArgentinaFil: Sánchez, Bruno Orlando. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Córdoba. Instituto de Astronomía Teórica y Experimental. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Observatorio Astronómico de Córdoba. Instituto de Astronomía Teórica y Experimental; ArgentinaFil: Ramos Almendares, Felipe Alberto. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Córdoba. Instituto de Astronomía Teórica y Experimental. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Observatorio Astronómico de Córdoba. Instituto de Astronomía Teórica y Experimental; ArgentinaFil: Gurovich, Sebastian. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Córdoba. Instituto de Astronomía Teórica y Experimental. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Observatorio Astronómico de Córdoba. Instituto de Astronomía Teórica y Experimental; ArgentinaFil: Granitto, Pablo Miguel. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Rosario. Centro Internacional Franco Argentino de Ciencias de la Información y de Sistemas. Universidad Nacional de Rosario. Centro Internacional Franco Argentino de Ciencias de la Información y de Sistemas; ArgentinaFil: Vanderplas, J.. University of Washington; Estados Unido

Short Report : Use of a rapid test on umbilical cord blood to screen for Trypanosoma cruzi infection in pregnant women in Argentina, Bolivia, Honduras, and Mexico

We conducted a cross-sectional study of Chagas disease in five endemic areas in Argentina, Bolivia. Honduras, and Mexico to estimate the prevalence of Trypanosoma cruzi-specific antibodies in pregnant women, and to assess the use of a rapid test (Chagas Stat-Pak) to screen for T. cruzi infection ill the time of delivery. The prevalence of antibodies to T. cruzi measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) in maternal blood was 5.5% (a range of 0.8-28.8% among the countries) in 2,495 women enrolled. Compared with ELISA in maternal blood samples, the Chagas Stat-Pak rapid test sensitivity and specificity in umbilical cord blood were 94.6% and 99.0%, respectively. These results show the ability for a rapid determination of the presence of T. cruzi-specific antibodies in umbilical cord blood as a pragmatic strategy to screen for infection in pregnant women

Mother-to-child transmission of Chagas' disease in North America: why don't we do more?

OBJECTIVES: Mothers with Chagas' disease can transmit Trypanosoma cruzi to their fetuses, who often become carriers of the infection and are then at risk of developing severe cardiac disease later in the course of their lives. If identified early enough after birth, the infected newborns can be treated and cured. Our objective was to review the data available in Canada, Mexico, and the United States and to discuss the need for prevention programs. METHODS: We reviewed the literature and estimated the number of seropositive mothers and newborns infected by T. cruzi. RESULTS: We estimate that about 40,000 pregnant women and 2,000 newborns are likely to be infected by T. cruzi in North America. We have not identified any ongoing prevention programs. CONCLUSIONS: Mother-to-child transmission of T. cruzi has all the characteristics required to be a public health priority, as it is relatively frequent, severe, identifiable, and treatable. In reality, it is a neglected disease and a missed opportunity. It is urgent to better understand the epidemiology of mother-to-child transmission of T. cruzi in North America and to develop effective prevention programs.Journal ArticleSCOPUS: ar.jinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishe