The ASCCR Frame for Learning Essential Collaboration Skills

Statistics and data science are especially collaborative disciplines that typically require practitioners to interact with many different people or groups. Consequently, interdisciplinary collaboration skills are part of the personal and professional skills essential for success as an applied statistician or data scientist. These skills are learnable and teachable, and learning and improving collaboration skills provides a way to enhance one's practice of statistics and data science. To help individuals learn these skills and organizations to teach them, we have developed a framework covering five essential components of statistical collaboration: Attitude, Structure, Content, Communication, and Relationship. We call this the ASCCR Frame. This framework can be incorporated into formal training programs in the classroom or on the job and can also be used by individuals through self-study. We show how this framework can be applied specifically to statisticians and data scientists to improve their collaboration skills and their interdisciplinary impact. We believe that the ASCCR Frame can help organize and stimulate research and teaching in interdisciplinary collaboration and call on individuals and organizations to begin generating evidence regarding its effectiveness.Comment: 12 pages, 1 figure. Updated to this Version 5 by adding a few more references, discussing how to teach ASCCR in the classroom, calling on others to add to research supporting the use of the ASCCR Frame, and adding discussion of ethics and reproducible researc

Immobilisation of Higher Activity Wastes from Nuclear Reactor Production of 99

A variety of intermediate- and low-level liquid and solid wastes are produced from reactor production of 99Mo using UAl alloy or UO2 targets and in principle can be collectively or individually converted into waste forms. At ANSTO, we have legacy acidic uranyl-nitrate-rich intermediate level waste (ILW) from the latter, and an alkaline liquid ILW, a U-rich filter cake, plus a shorter lived liquid stream that rapidly decays to low-level waste (LLW) standards, from the former. The options considered consist of cementitious products, glasses, glass-ceramics, or ceramics produced by vitrification or hot isostatic pressing for intermediate-level wastes. This paper discusses the progress in waste form development and processing to treat ANSTO’s ILW streams arising from 99Mo. The various waste forms and the reason for the process option chosen will be reviewed. We also address the concerns over adapting our chosen process for use in a hot-cell environment

Pit latrine fecal sludge resistance using a dynamic cone penetrometer in low income areas in Mzuzu city, Malawi

Pit latrines can provide improved household sanitation, but without effective and inexpensive emptying options, they are often abandoned once full and may pose a public health threat. Emptying techniques can be difficult, as the sludge contents of each pit latrine are different. The design of effective emptying techniques (e.g., pumps) is limited by a lack of data characterizing typical in situ latrine sludge resistance. This investigation aimed to better understand the community education and technical engineering needs necessary to improve pit latrine management. In low income areas within Mzuzu city, Malawi, 300 pit latrines from three distinct areas were assessed using a dynamic cone penetrometer to quantify fecal sludge strength, and household members were surveyed to determine their knowledge of desludging procedures and practices likely to impact fecal sludge characteristics. The results demonstrate that there is a significant difference in sludge strength between lined and unlined pits within a defined area, though sludge hardened with depth, regardless of the pit type or region. There was only limited association between cone penetration depth and household survey data. To promote the adoption of pit emptying, it is recommended that households be provided with information that supports pit emptying, such as latrine construction designs, local pit emptying options, and cost. This study indicates that the use of a penetrometer test in the field prior to pit latrine emptying may facilitate the selection of appropriate pit emptying technology

Forgotten Hispano-American Literature: Representation of Hispano-American Presses in Academic Libraries

As inclusion becomes a growing standard for universities in the United States, data extracted from OCLC suggest that university libraries in the United States build their Spanish-language collections with books purchased primarily in Spain and Mexico. This overlooks presses from 19 other Spanish-speaking countries in the Americas. This research is concerned with the representation of books published in these Hispano-American countries, and examines the holdings of 88 university libraries. The article discusses the drawbacks in neglecting purchase of literature published in Hispano-American countries, and the benefits of changing collection practices into a more inclusive design, including recommendations for best practices.</p

Solid Solubilities of Pu, U, Gd and Hf in Candidate Ceramic Nuclear Wasteforms

This goal of this research project was to determine the solid solubility of Pu, U, Gd, and Hf in candidate ceramics for immobilization of high-level nuclear waste. The experimental approach was to saturate each phase by adding more than the solid solubility limit of the given cation, using a nominated substitution scheme, and then analyzing the candidate phase that formed to evaluate the solid solubility limit under firing conditions. Confirmation that the solid solution limit had been reached insofar as other phases rich in the cation of interest was also required. The candidate phases were monazite, titanite, zirconolite, perovskite, apatite, pyrochlore, and brannerite. The valences of Pu and U were typically deduced from the firing atmosphere, and charge balancing in the candidate phase composition as evaluated from electron microscopy, although in some cases it was measured directly by x-ray absorption and diffuse reflectance spectroscopies (for U). Tetravalent Pu and U have restricted (&lt; 0.1 formula units) solid solubility in apatite, titanite, and perovskite. Trivalent Pu has a larger solubility in apatite and perovskite than Pu4+. U3+ appears to be a credible species in reduced perovskite with a solubility of {approximately} 0.25 f.u. as opposed to {approximately} 0.05 f.u. for U4+. Pu4+ is a viable species in monazite and is promoted at lower firing temperatures ({approximately} 800 C) in an air atmosphere. Hf solubility is restricted in apatite, monazite (&lt; 0.1 f.u.), but is {approximately} 0.2 and 0.5 f.u. in brannerite and titanite, respectively. Gd solubility is extended in all phases except for titanite ({approximately} 0.3 f.u.). U5+ was identified by DRS observations of absorption bands in the visible/near infrared photon energy ranges in brannerite and zirconolite, and U4+ in zirconolite was similarly identified

Ordered subset linkage analysis supports a susceptibility locus for age-related macular degeneration on chromosome 16p12

BACKGROUND: Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is a complex disorder that is responsible for the majority of central vision loss in older adults living in developed countries. Phenotypic and genetic heterogeneity complicate the analysis of genome-wide scans for AMD susceptibility loci. The ordered subset analysis (OSA) method is an approach for reducing heterogeneity, increasing statistical power for detecting linkage, and helping to define the most informative data set for follow-up analysis. OSA assesses the linkage evidence in subsets of potentially more homogeneous families by rank-ordering family-specific lod scores with respect to trait-associated covariates or phenotypic features. Here, we present results of incorporating five continuous covariates into our genome-wide linkage analysis of 389 microsatellite markers in 62 multiplex families: Body mass index (BMI), systolic (SBP) and diastolic (DBP) blood pressure, intraocular pressure (IOP), and pack-years of cigarette smoking. Chromosome-wide significance of increases in nonparametric multipoint lod scores in covariate-defined subsets relative to the overall sample was assessed by permutation. RESULTS: Using a correction for testing multiple covariates, statistically significant lod score increases were observed for two chromosomal regions: 14q13 with a lod score of 3.2 in 28 families with average IOP ≤ 15.5 (p = 0.002), and 6q14 with a lod score of 1.6 in eight families with average BMI ≥ 30.1 (p = 0.0004). On chromosome 16p12, nominally significant lod score increases (p ≤ 0.05), up to a lod score of 2.9 in 32 families, were observed with several covariate orderings. While less significant, this was the only region where linkage evidence was associated with multiple clinically meaningful covariates and the only nominally significant finding when analysis was restricted to advanced forms of AMD. Families with linkage to 16p12 had higher averages of SBP, IOP and BMI and were primarily affected with neovascular AMD. For all three regions, linkage signals at or very near the peak marker have previously been reported. CONCLUSION: Our results suggest that a susceptibility gene on chromosome 16p12 may predispose to AMD, particularly to the neovascular form, and that further research into the previously suggested association of neovascular AMD and systemic hypertension is warranted

Exome Sequencing of a Multigenerational Human Pedigree

Over the next few years, the efficient use of next-generation sequencing (NGS) in human genetics research will depend heavily upon the effective mechanisms for the selective enrichment of genomic regions of interest. Recently, comprehensive exome capture arrays have become available for targeting approximately 33 Mb or ∼180,000 coding exons across the human genome. Selective genomic enrichment of the human exome offers an attractive option for new experimental designs aiming to quickly identify potential disease-associated genetic variants, especially in family-based studies. We have evaluated a 2.1 M feature human exome capture array on eight individuals from a three-generation family pedigree. We were able to cover up to 98% of the targeted bases at a long-read sequence read depth of ≥3, 86% at a read depth of ≥10, and over 50% of all targets were covered with ≥20 reads. We identified up to 14,284 SNPs and small indels per individual exome, with up to 1,679 of these representing putative novel polymorphisms. Applying the conservative genotype calling approach HCDiff, the average rate of detection of a variant allele based on Illumina 1 M BeadChips genotypes was 95.2% at ≥10x sequence. Further, we propose an advantageous genotype calling strategy for low covered targets that empirically determines cut-off thresholds at a given coverage depth based on existing genotype data. Application of this method was able to detect >99% of SNPs covered ≥8x. Our results offer guidance for “real-world” applications in human genetics and provide further evidence that microarray-based exome capture is an efficient and reliable method to enrich for chromosomal regions of interest in next-generation sequencing experiments

Timing of the Infancy-Childhood Growth Transition in Rural Gambia.

The Karlberg model of human growth describes the infancy, childhood, and puberty (ICP) stages as continuous and overlapping, and defined by transitions driven by sequential additional effects of several endocrine factors that shape the growth trajectory and resultant adult size. Previous research has suggested that a delayed transition from the infancy to the childhood growth stage contributes to sub-optimal growth outcomes. A new method developed to analyze the structure of centile crossing in early life has emerged as a potential tool for identifying the infancy-childhood transition (ICT), through quantifying patterns of adjacent monthly weight-for-age z-score (WAZ) deviation correlations. Using this method, the infancy-childhood transition was identified as taking place at around 12 months of age in two cohorts of UK infants. Here, we apply this method to data collected as part of a longitudinal growth study in rural Gambia [the Hormonal and Epigenetic Regulators of Growth, or HERO-G study, N = 212 (F = 99, M = 113)], in order to identify the ICT and assess whether timing of this transition differs across groups based on sex or birth seasonality. We calculated Pearson correlation coefficients for adjacent monthly WAZ score deviations. Based on the patterns of change in the correlation structure over time, our results suggest that the infancy-childhood transition occurs at around 9 months of age in rural Gambian infants. This points to an accelerated ICT compared to UK infants, rather than a delayed ICT. A comparatively later transition, seen in UK infants, allows maximal extension of the high rates of growth during the infancy stage; an earlier transition as seen in Gambian infants cuts short this period of rapid growth, potentially impacting on growth outcomes in childhood while diverting energy into other processes critical to responses to acute infectious challenges. Growth in later developmental stages in this population offers an extended window for catch-up

Students' Emotions, Perceived Coping, and Outcomes in Response to Research-Based Challenges and Failures in Two Sequential CUREs

The ability to navigate scientific obstacles is widely recognized as a hallmark of a scientific disposition and is one predictor of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics persistence for early-career scientists. However, the development of this competency in undergraduate research has been largely underexplored. This study addresses this gap by examining introductory students&rsquo; emotional and behavioral responses to research-related challenges and failures that occur in two sequential research-based courses. We describe commonly reported emotions, coping responses, and perceived outcomes and examine relationships between these themes, student demographics, and course enrollment. Students commonly experience frustration, confusion, and disappointment when coping with challenges and failures. Yet the predominance of students report coping responses likely to be adaptive in academic contexts despite experiencing negative emotions. Being enrolled in the second course of a research-based course sequence was related to several shifts in response to challenges during data collection, including less reporting of confusion and fewer reports of learning to be cautious from students. Overall, students in both the first and second courses reported many positive outcomes indicating improvements in their ability to cope with challenge and failure. We assert that educators can improve research-based educational courses by scaffolding students&rsquo; research trials, failures, and iterations to support students&rsquo; perseverance. &nbsp;</p