The Liability Threshold Model for Censored Twin Data

Family studies provide an important tool for understanding etiology of diseases, with the key aim of discovering evidence of family aggregation and to determine if such aggregation can be attributed to genetic components. Heritability and concordance estimates are routinely calculated in twin studies of diseases, as a way of quantifying such genetic contribution. The endpoint in these studies are typically defined as occurrence of a disease versus death without the disease. However, a large fraction of the subjects may still be alive at the time of follow-up without having experienced the disease thus still being at risk. Ignoring this right-censoring can lead to severely biased estimates. We propose to extend the classical liability threshold model with inverse probability of censoring weighting of complete observations. This leads to a flexible way of modeling twin concordance and obtaining consistent estimates of heritability. We apply the method in simulations and to data from the population based Danish twin cohort where we describe the dependence in prostate cancer occurrence in twins

Information Aggregation in Standing and Ad Hoc Committees

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Functional outcome of traumatic paraplegia and paraparesis patients treated with pedicle screw stabilization with decompression

Background: In this study, unstable thoracolumbar spine fractures with neurological deficit fixed with Moss Miami pedicle screw and decompression were followed up for neurological improvement (sensory and motor functions). Patients were admitted in the department of Orthopaedics, Government medical college, Kottayam from November 2016 to October 2017.Methods: In this observational study, 96 patients (aged 17 to 60 years) are followed up. The preoperative neurological status and post-operative recovery are follow-up at 1, 3 and 6 months and graded by Frankel’s grading. Change from Frankel’s grade A OR B to Frankel grade C, D OR E was said to be improved neurologically.Results: 87.3% males and 12.7% females with 58.3% patients having fall from height sustained wedge compression fractures (49.1%), burst fractures (46.8%) and fracture dislocations (4.1%). vertebra fractured were L1-31.4%, T12-22.9% and L2-19.7%. Complete paralysis was 44.8% and 55.2% incomplete. At 6 months 75% patients showed improvement and 25% patients showed nil. 95.5% patients (18-30 years) showed improvement and only 50% (51-60 years). Incomplete neurological deficit showed significant improvement (100%) compared to patients with complete paralysis (44.2%). Preoperative Frankel score has significant relationship with final neurological (44% of patients with Frankel A and 100% with Frankel D.Conclusions: Moss Miami pedicle screw stabilization with decompression is an effective surgical technique in maintaining stability of spine in traumatic paraplegia and paraparesis patients and there is significant improvement in neurological status

A durable pollination raincoat for hybridization during monsoon in coconut

Large-scale production of hybrid seed nuts of coconut is necessary to match the high demand for hybrid seedlings. But in major coconut producing states such as Kerala, Karnataka and Goa hybridisation is carried suspended during monsoon season and out effectively only during dry season for a period of six months from November to May. Some of the reasons attributed to the stoppage of pollination work during monsoon are the slippage of the trunk while climbing, problems in male flower collection and wetting of the pollination bags during heavy rains. Technological developments in coconut sector viz., the invention of coconut climbing devices and cryopreservation techniques have contributed to safe climbing and pollen storage for utilisation during off-seasons, respectively. However, the wetting of the pollination bag used for hybridization remains a problem. We report the development and successful initial testing of a durable raincoat for the pollination bag so that coconut pollination can be carried out throughout the year in heavy monsoon areas. This reusable raincoat is integrated with the ground pollination unit and can be fitted easily on the pollination bag, and it ensures complete dryness of the pollination bag. Only one climbing per tree is required for emasculation, bagging and raincoat fitting on a single inflorescence. The raincoat has provisions for suspending a pollen delivery tube and pollen dusting and bag removal can be done from the ground. The durable raincoat cover for the pollination bags has resulted in a fruit setting of 22.5-41.3 per cent

Captive breeding, developmental biology and commercial production of Dravidia fasciata- An indigenous ornamental fish of the Western Ghats of India

Ornamental fishes of the Western Ghats of India have great demand in the export market. At present these fishes are collected from the wild and exported. Hence many times, the demand could not be met due to short supply. The only remedial measure for a sustainable supply is to produce the fish in captive conditions. Unfortunately, the breeding technology for the ornamental fishes of the Western Ghats of India has not been attempted seriously till date. The present paper is almost a pioneering attempt to develop captive breeding technology for 12 prioritized species of the indigenous ornamental fishes of the Western Ghats of India. Dravidia fasciata is one of them. It is popularly known as Melon barb. It is a beautiful barb, growing to a maximum size of 80 mm. In the present paper the methodology of captive breeding of this fish is provided with the economics of its production. Melon barbs were collected from the wild and brought to the hatchery of College of Fisheries in oxygen filled plastic bags and gradually acclimatized to the captive conditions. Its size at first maturity, sexual dimorphism, and developmental biology were studied and described with photographs. The total length (TL) at first maturity for males was 50 mm (50-55 mm) and 40 mm for females (40-45 mm). A sexually mature male developed beautiful pinkish red tinge all over the body. The black bands over the body also became deeper in colour during this time. The intensity of the colour reached its maximum during the courtship activities. Male also possessed nuptial tubercles on the operculum which could be identified only by keen observation. But a sexually mature female did not develop any colour change by the onset of sexual maturity. The results of the study clearly demonstrated that D. fasciata could be successfully produced in captivity through scientific management of brooders, eggs, larvae and hatchlings. The successful development of captive breeding technology is likely to pave way towards commercialization of the technology thus leading to the sustainable export of the species

Approaching the adiabatic timescale with machine-learning

The control and manipulation of quantum systems without excitation is challenging, due to the complexities in fully modeling such systems accurately and the difficulties in controlling these inherently fragile systems experimentally. For example, while protocols to decompress Bose-Einstein condensates (BEC) faster than the adiabatic timescale (without excitation or loss) have been well developed theoretically, experimental implementations of these protocols have yet to reach speeds faster than the adiabatic timescale. In this work, we experimentally demonstrate an alternative approach based on a machine learning algorithm which makes progress towards this goal. The algorithm is given control of the coupled decompression and transport of a metastable helium condensate, with its performance determined after each experimental iteration by measuring the excitations of the resultant BEC. After each iteration the algorithm adjusts its internal model of the system to create an improved control output for the next iteration. Given sufficient control over the decompression, the algorithm converges to a novel solution that sets the current speed record in relation to the adiabatic timescale, beating out other experimental realizations based on theoretical approaches. This method presents a feasible approach for implementing fast state preparations or transformations in other quantum systems, without requiring a solution to a theoretical model of the system. Implications for fundamental physics and cooling are discussed.Comment: 7 pages main text, 2 pages supporting informatio

Influence of fatigue on superconducting REBCO tapes under repeated cyclic tensile, bending and twisting loads:A simulation-based investigation

The effect of repeated cyclic loading on the superconducting REBCO tape under tensile, bending, and torsional loadings is investigated. The Fatigue Usage Factor (FUS) is calculated for each cyclic loading condition to identify degradation using the Matake criterion. The thicknesses of the tapes' constituent layers are also varied to identify the relative influence of each layer on overall fatigue performance. When the tape was subjected to fatigue-type loading, the thickness of the copper and Hastelloy layers was found to play a significant role. This holds true under tensile, bending, and twisting loading conditions. However, out of the three loading conditions, bending exhibits the greatest variation in FUS value with changes in Hastelloy and copper layer thickness. The maximum value of the fatigue usage factor is observed in the edges of the Hastelloy layer in all three loading cases. It has been found that the properties of the layer material, as well as the adjacent layer, play an important role in determining the fatigue strength of the tape.</p