Mediation analysis issues and recommendations

This editorial outlines and responds to some of the most frequently asked questions regarding mediation analysis. Specifically, six key issues are addressed with reference to the state-of-the-art mediation literature. In doing this, we provide practical guidelines for researchers to successfully conceptualise, test and interpret mediation models. Recent references are also provided to discourage researchers from using outdated mediation approaches in their theses/manuscripts. It is our hope that this effort will clarify misconceptions regarding mediation analysis and provide up-to-date guidelines for researchers to make informed decisions and conduct the analysis appropriately

The in Vitro Estrogenic Activities of Polyfluorinated Iodine Alkanes

Background: Polyfluorinated iodine alkanes (PFIs) are important intermediates in the synthesis of organic fluoride products. Recently, PFIs have been detected in fluoropolymers as residual raw materials, as well as in the ambient environment

Fixation of transparent bone pins with photocuring biocomposites

Bone fractures are in need of rapid fixation methods, but the current strategies are limited to metal pins and screws, which necessitate secondary surgeries upon removal. New techniques are sought to avoid surgical revisions, while maintaining or improving the fixation speed. Herein, a method of bone fixation is proposed with transparent biopolymers anchored in place via light-activated biocomposites based on expanding CaproGlu bioadhesives. The transparent biopolymers serve as a UV light guide for the activation of CaproGlu biocomposites, which results in evolution of molecular nitrogen (from diazirine photolysis), simultaneously expanding the covalently cross-linked matrix. Osseointegration additives of hydroxyapatite or Bioglass 45S5 yield a biocomposite matrix with increased stiffness and pullout strength. The structure-property relationships of UV joules dose, pin diameter, and biocomposite additives are assessed with respect to the apparent viscosity, shear modulus, spatiotemporal pin curing, and lap-shear adhesion. Finally, a model system is proposed based onex vivoinvestigation with bone tissue for the exploration and optimization of UV-active transparent biopolymer fixation

A data mining approach to face detection [J

a b s t r a c t In this paper, we propose a novel face detection method based on the MAFIA algorithm. Our proposed method consists of two phases, namely, training and detection. In the training phase, we first apply Sobel's edge detection operator, morphological operator, and thresholding to each training image, and transform it into an edge image. Next, we use the MAFIA algorithm to mine the maximal frequent patterns from those edge images and obtain the positive feature pattern. Similarly, we can obtain the negative feature pattern from the complements of edge images. Based on the feature patterns mined, we construct a face detector to prune non-face candidates. In the detection phase, we apply a sliding window to the testing image in different scales. For each sliding window, if the slide window passes the face detector, it is considered as a human face. The proposed method can automatically find the feature patterns that capture most of facial features. By using the feature patterns to construct a face detector, the proposed method is robust to races, illumination, and facial expressions. The experimental results show that the proposed method has outstanding performance in the MIT-CMU dataset and comparable performance in the BioID dataset in terms of false positive and detection rate

Genome maps across 26 human populations reveal population-specific patterns of structural variation.

Large structural variants (SVs) in the human genome are difficult to detect and study by conventional sequencing technologies. With long-range genome analysis platforms, such as optical mapping, one can identify large SVs (>2 kb) across the genome in one experiment. Analyzing optical genome maps of 154 individuals from the 26 populations sequenced in the 1000 Genomes Project, we find that phylogenetic population patterns of large SVs are similar to those of single nucleotide variations in 86% of the human genome, while ~2% of the genome has high structural complexity. We are able to characterize SVs in many intractable regions of the genome, including segmental duplications and subtelomeric, pericentromeric, and acrocentric areas. In addition, we discover ~60 Mb of non-redundant genome content missing in the reference genome sequence assembly. Our results highlight the need for a comprehensive set of alternate haplotypes from different populations to represent SV patterns in the genome

Information theoretical analysis of two-party secret computation

Abstract. Privacy protection has become one of the most important issues in the information era. Consequently, many protocols have been developed to achieve the goal of accomplishing a computational task cooperatively without revealing the participants' private data. Practical protocols, however, do not guarantee perfect privacy protection, as some degree of privacy leakage is allowed so that resources can be used efficiently, e.g., the number of random bits required and the computation time. A metric for measuring the degree of information leakage based on an information theoretical framework was proposed i

Using fuzzy PROMETHEE to select countries for developmental Aid

Wealthy nations continue to demonstrate their unwavering support to improving conditions and the general well-being of poor countries in spite of the recent economic crises. However, as developmental aid relatively shrinks, both Aid donors and recipient countries have shown keen interest in methodologies used in evaluating developmental assistance programs. Evaluation of aid programs is seen as a complex task mainly because of the several non-aid factors that tend to affect overall outcomes. Adding to the complexity are the subjective sets of criteria used in Aid evaluations programs. This paper proposes a two stage framework of fuzzy TOPSIS and sensitivity analysis to demonstrate how aid-recipient countries can be evaluated to deepen transparency, fairness, value for money and sustainability of such aid programs. Using the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) set of subjective criteria for evaluating aid programs; a numerical examplepre-defined by linguistic terms parameterized by triangular fuzzy numbers is provided to evaluate aid programs. Fuzzy PROMETHEE is used in the first stage to evaluate and rank aid-recipients followed by a comparative analysis with Fuzzy VIKOR and Fuzzy TOPSIS to ascertain an accurateness of the method used. A sensitivity analysis is further added that anticipates possible influences from lobbyists and examines the effect of that bias in expert ratings on the evaluation process. The result shows a framework that can be employed in evaluating aid effectiveness of recipient-countries