5,422 research outputs found
The Application of Airtraq (fibreoptic intubation device) to Otolaryngology
The anaesthetic laryngoscope Airtraq is designed for the difficult airway. This disposable laryngoscope requires minimal cervical manipulation and unlike other common anaesthetic larynmgoscopes contains a channel for the guidance of an endotracheal tube. This could also be used for diagnosis and biopsy under a general anaesthetic or potentially under a local anaesthetic in an outpatient setting for biopsies or the removal of hypopharyngeal foreign bodies via flexible biopsy forceps obviating the need for a general anaesthetic. Thus Airtraq could be included in the armoury of pre-existing direct laryngoscopes because of its virtue of minimal airway manipulation
Joint Structure Learning of Multiple Non-Exchangeable Networks
Several methods have recently been developed for joint structure learning of
multiple (related) graphical models or networks. These methods treat individual
networks as exchangeable, such that each pair of networks are equally
encouraged to have similar structures. However, in many practical applications,
exchangeability in this sense may not hold, as some pairs of networks may be
more closely related than others, for example due to group and sub-group
structure in the data. Here we present a novel Bayesian formulation that
generalises joint structure learning beyond the exchangeable case. In addition
to a general framework for joint learning, we (i) provide a novel default prior
over the joint structure space that requires no user input; (ii) allow for
latent networks; (iii) give an efficient, exact algorithm for the case of time
series data and dynamic Bayesian networks. We present empirical results on
non-exchangeable populations, including a real data example from biology, where
cell-line-specific networks are related according to genomic features.Comment: To appear in Proceedings of the Seventeenth International Conference
on Artificial Intelligence and Statistics (AISTATS
Sequential pattern formation governed by signaling gradients
Rhythmic and sequential segmentation of the embryonic body plan is a vital
developmental patterning process in all vertebrate species. However, a
theoretical framework capturing the emergence of dynamic patterns of gene
expression from the interplay of cell oscillations with tissue elongation and
shortening and with signaling gradients, is still missing. Here we show that a
set of coupled genetic oscillators in an elongating tissue that is regulated by
diffusing and advected signaling molecules can account for segmentation as a
self-organized patterning process. This system can form a finite number of
segments and the dynamics of segmentation and the total number of segments
formed depend strongly on kinetic parameters describing tissue elongation and
signaling molecules. The model accounts for existing experimental perturbations
to signaling gradients, and makes testable predictions about novel
perturbations. The variety of different patterns formed in our model can
account for the variability of segmentation between different animal species.Comment: 12 pages, 5 figure
- …