Multivariate Survival Mixed Models for Genetic Analysis of Longevity Traits

A class of multivariate mixed survival models for continuous and discrete time with a complex covariance structure is introduced in a context of quantitative genetic applications. The methods introduced can be used in many applications in quantitative genetics although the discussion presented concentrates on longevity studies. The framework presented allows to combine models based on continuous time with models based on discrete time in a joint analysis. The continuous time models are approximations of the frailty model in which the hazard function will be assumed to be piece-wise constant. The discrete time models used are multivariate variants of the discrete relative risk models. These models allow for regular parametric likelihood-based inference by exploring a coincidence of their likelihood functions and the likelihood functions of suitably defined multivariate generalized linear mixed models. The models include a dispersion parameter, which is essential for obtaining a decomposition of the variance of the trait of interest as a sum of parcels representing the additive genetic effects, environmental effects and unspecified sources of variability; as required in quantitative genetic applications. The methods presented are implemented in such a way that large and complex quantitative genetic data can be analyzed.Comment: 36 pages, 2 figures, 3 table

Environmental effects on photosynthetic capacity of bean genotypes

Foram avaliadas as respostas fotossintéticas às variações diárias do ambiente nos genótipos de feijoeiro (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) ‘Carioca’, ‘Ouro Negro’ e Guarumbé. Curvas de resposta da assimilação de CO2 e condutância estomática (gs) à luz foram realizadas em condição ambiental controlada (ótima). Nessa condição a assimilação de CO2 de ‘Carioca’ não foi saturada mesmo a 2.000 mol m-2 s-1, enquanto Guarumbé e ‘Ouro Negro’ apresentaram diferentes níveis de saturação lumínica. Os genótipos mostraram fotoinibição dinâmica e aumento reversível da fluorescência mínima da clorofila em condição natural, assim como menor capacidade fotosintética quando comparada à sob condição controlada. Uma vez que Guarumbé e ‘Ouro Negro’ apresentaram valores similares de gs em ambas condições ambientais, a menor capacidade fotossintética desses genótipos sob condição natural parece ser causada pelos efeitos da alta temperatura nas reações bioquímicas, como sugerido pelo aumento dos drenos alternativos de elétrons. Os maiores valores de gs em ‘Carioca’ foram observados em condição controlada, podendo a redução da capacidade fotossintética em condição natural ser atribuída aos baixos valores de gs em adição aos efeitos da alta temperatura no aparato fotossintético. ‘Carioca’ exibiu as maiores taxas fotossintéticas em condições ambientais ótimas, sendo mais afetado pelas mudanças diárias de temperatura do ar e diferença de pressão de vapor folha-ar.Photosynthetic responses to daily environmental changes were studied in bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) genotypes ‘Carioca’, ‘Ouro Negro’, and Guarumbé. Light response curves of CO2 assimilation and stomatal conductance (gs) were also evaluated under controlled (optimum) environmental condition. Under this condition, CO2 assimilation of ‘Carioca’ was not saturated at 2,000 mol m-2 s-1, whereas Guarumbé and ‘Ouro Negro’ exhibited different levels of light saturation. All genotypes showed dynamic photoinhibition and reversible increase in the minimum chlorophyll fluorescence yield under natural condition, as well as lower photosynthetic capacity when compared with optimum environmental condition. Since differences in gs were not observed between natural and controlled conditions for Guarumbé and ‘Ouro Negro’, the lower photosynthetic capacity of these genotypes under natural condition seems to be caused by high temperature effects on biochemical reactions, as suggested by increased alternative electron sinks. The highest gs values of ‘Carioca’ were observed at controlled condition, providing evidences that reduction of photosynthetic capacity at natural condition was due to low gs in addition to the high temperature effects on the photosynthetic apparatus. ‘Carioca’ exhibited the highest photosynthetic rates under optimum environmental condition, and was more affected by daily changes of air temperature and leaf-to-air vapor pressure difference

Omecamtiv mecarbil in chronic heart failure with reduced ejection fraction, GALACTIC‐HF: baseline characteristics and comparison with contemporary clinical trials

Aims: The safety and efficacy of the novel selective cardiac myosin activator, omecamtiv mecarbil, in patients with heart failure with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF) is tested in the Global Approach to Lowering Adverse Cardiac outcomes Through Improving Contractility in Heart Failure (GALACTIC‐HF) trial. Here we describe the baseline characteristics of participants in GALACTIC‐HF and how these compare with other contemporary trials. Methods and Results: Adults with established HFrEF, New York Heart Association functional class (NYHA) ≥ II, EF ≤35%, elevated natriuretic peptides and either current hospitalization for HF or history of hospitalization/ emergency department visit for HF within a year were randomized to either placebo or omecamtiv mecarbil (pharmacokinetic‐guided dosing: 25, 37.5 or 50 mg bid). 8256 patients [male (79%), non‐white (22%), mean age 65 years] were enrolled with a mean EF 27%, ischemic etiology in 54%, NYHA II 53% and III/IV 47%, and median NT‐proBNP 1971 pg/mL. HF therapies at baseline were among the most effectively employed in contemporary HF trials. GALACTIC‐HF randomized patients representative of recent HF registries and trials with substantial numbers of patients also having characteristics understudied in previous trials including more from North America (n = 1386), enrolled as inpatients (n = 2084), systolic blood pressure < 100 mmHg (n = 1127), estimated glomerular filtration rate < 30 mL/min/1.73 m2 (n = 528), and treated with sacubitril‐valsartan at baseline (n = 1594). Conclusions: GALACTIC‐HF enrolled a well‐treated, high‐risk population from both inpatient and outpatient settings, which will provide a definitive evaluation of the efficacy and safety of this novel therapy, as well as informing its potential future implementation

Analysis of the students performance at UNICAMP from entrance to conclusion using U-Statistics

Orientador: Hildete Prisco PinheiroDissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Instituto de Matematica, Estatistica e Computação CientificaResumo: O objetivo deste trabalho é propor novas metodologias para avaliar o desempenho dos alunos da UNICAMP, do ingresso à conclusão do curso. O conjunto de dados disponível foi obtido a partir dos questionários Sócio-Culturais aplicados pela Comissão Permanente de Vestibulares (COMVEST) na inscrição do vestibular e informações acadêmicas fornecidas pela Diretoria Acadêmica (DAC) da UNICAMP. Estes se referem às informações de todos os alunos ingressantes nos anos de 1997 a 2000. São propostas duas metodologias, uma com base na variável denominada "ganho relativo" sugerido por Dachs e Maia (2006) e a segunda utilizando as notas de todas as disciplinas cursadas pelos alunos durante a graduação. Essas novas metodologias baseiam-se em medidas de diversidades propostas por Rao (1982) e na utilização de U-Estatísticas. São propostos testes de homogeneidade para avaliar se existe diferença no desempenho entre alunos de grupos distintos (alunos oriundos de escola pública ou privada, por exemplo). Aspectos teóricos de U-Estatística e medidas de diversidade também são apresentados. Para a primeira metodologia foram feitas duas abordagens: paramétrica e não paramétrica, enquanto que para a segunda, apenas a abordagem não paramétrica foi explorada. Na abordagem paramétrica as estimativas são feitas por máxima verossimilhança e na não paramétrica foi utilizado o método de re-amostragem por jackknafe para se obter as estimativas das variâncias. Todas as aplicações utilizaram os dados dos alunos ingressantesAbstract: The main interest of this work is to propose new methods to evaluate the performances of the students at UNICAMP from admission to graduation. The data was obtained from questionnaires applied by the University Commission of admission's exam (COMVEST) during registration of the exam and academic informations provided by the Directory of Academic Studies (DAC). The data refer to information with respect to all the students enrolled in the University from 1997 to 2000. We propose two methods: one based on the variable "relative gain"(Dachs and Maia, 2006) and the other method uses information about the grades of all courses attended by the students during their undergraduate studies. These new methods are based on diversity measures proposed by Rao (1982) and the use of U-Statistics. Homogeneity tests are proposed to evaluate differences in the performance of the students according to different socio-economic groups. For the first method, we have two approaches: a parametric and a nonparametric analysis. For the second method, only a nonparametric analysis was done. In the parametric analysis, a Maximum Likelihood Estimation procedure is used and in the nonparametric analysis, resampling methods such as jackknife was used to obtain the estimates of the variances and confidence intervals. All the applications use the data of the enrolled studentsMestradoProbabilidade e Estatistica AplicadaMestre em Estatístic

Heterogeneidade do desempenho de alunos da Unicamp, do ingresso à conclusão.

O objetivo deste trabalho é propor uma metodologia para avaliar o desempenho dos alunos da Universidade Estadual de Campinas, do ingresso à conclusão do curso. A amostra é composta por todos os ingressantes dessa universidade nos anos de 1997 a 2000, e a população que corresponde ao universo dos alunos ingressantes em todo o período de existência da universidade. O conjunto de dados disponível foi obtido a partir dos questionários socioculturais, aplicados pela Comissão Permanente de Vestibulares na inscrição do vestibular, e de informações acadêmicas fornecidas pela Diretoria Acadêmica da Universidade. É proposta uma metodologia com base na variável denominada "ganho relativo" sugerida por Dachs e Maia (2006). Essa nova metodologia fundamenta-se em medidas de diversidades propostas por Rao (1982) e na utilização de U-estatísticas. Propõem-se testes de homogeneidade para avaliar se existe diferença no desempenho entre alunos segundo alguns agrupamentos

Academic performance of students from entrance to graduation via quasi U-statistics: a study at a Brazilian research university

<div><p>We present novel methodology to assess undergraduate students' performance. Emphasis is given to potential dissimilar behaviors due to high school background and gender. The proposed method is based on measures of diversity and on the decomposability of quasi <i>U</i>-statistics to define average distances between and within groups. One advantage of the new method over the classical analysis of variance is its robustness to distributional deviation from the normality. Moreover, compared with other nonparametric methods, it also includes tests for interaction effects which are not rank transform procedures. The variance of the test statistic is estimated by jackknife and <i>p</i>-values are computed using its asymptotic distribution. A college education performance data is analyzed. The data set is formed by students who entered in the University of Campinas, Brazil, between 1997 and 2000. Their academic performance has been recorded until graduation or drop-out. The classical ANOVA points to significant effects of gender, type of high school and working status. However, the residual analysis indicates a highly significant deviation from normality. The quasi <i>U</i>-statistics nonparametric tests proposed here present significant effect of interaction between type of high school and gender but did not present a significant effect of working status. The proposed nonparametric method also results in smaller error variances, illustrating its robustness against model misspecification.</p></div

Prevalence of zoonotic visceral leishmaniasis in dogs in an endemic area of Brazil

INTRODUCTION: The northeast region of Brazil is endemic for zoonotic visceral leishmaniasis (ZVL). The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of infection in dogs in Petrolina.METHODS: Blood samples were collected from dogs (n = 600), and bone-marrow biopsy was performed in animals with positive serological test results that presented clinical signs of ZVL. The serological analyses were performed using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) (S7(r)Biogene).RESULTS: Of the 600 dogs tested, 19% (115/600) presented anti-L. infantum chagasi antibodies.CONCLUSIONS: Our data are important because canine infection is an important risk factor for the human disease