Shape restricted regression with random Bernstein polynomials

Shape restricted regressions, including isotonic regression and concave regression as special cases, are studied using priors on Bernstein polynomials and Markov chain Monte Carlo methods. These priors have large supports, select only smooth functions, can easily incorporate geometric information into the prior, and can be generated without computational difficulty. Algorithms generating priors and posteriors are proposed, and simulation studies are conducted to illustrate the performance of this approach. Comparisons with the density-regression method of Dette et al. (2006) are included.Comment: Published at http://dx.doi.org/10.1214/074921707000000157 in the IMS Lecture Notes Monograph Series (http://www.imstat.org/publications/lecnotes.htm) by the Institute of Mathematical Statistics (http://www.imstat.org

Profiling time course expression of virus genes---an illustration of Bayesian inference under shape restrictions

There have been several studies of the genome-wide temporal transcriptional program of viruses, based on microarray experiments, which are generally useful in the construction of gene regulation network. It seems that biological interpretations in these studies are directly based on the normalized data and some crude statistics, which provide rough estimates of limited features of the profile and may incur biases. This paper introduces a hierarchical Bayesian shape restricted regression method for making inference on the time course expression of virus genes. Estimates of many salient features of the expression profile like onset time, inflection point, maximum value, time to maximum value, area under curve, etc. can be obtained immediately by this method. Applying this method to a baculovirus microarray time course expression data set, we indicate that many biological questions can be formulated quantitatively and we are able to offer insights into the baculovirus biology.Comment: Published in at http://dx.doi.org/10.1214/09-AOAS258 the Annals of Applied Statistics (http://www.imstat.org/aoas/) by the Institute of Mathematical Statistics (http://www.imstat.org

Adiponectin Gene Polymorphism Is Selectively Associated with the Concomitant Presence of Metabolic Syndrome and Essential Hypertension

OBJECTIVE: Cardiovascular risk increases with the presence of both metabolic syndrome (MetS) and hypertension (HTN). Although the adiponectin (ADIPOQ) gene has been reported to be involved in MetS, its association with HTN remained undetermined. This study aimed to investigate the association of ADIPOQ gene with the phenotypes of HTN and MetS. METHODS: A total of 962 participants from 302 families from the Taiwan young-onset hypertension genetic study were enrolled. Plasma adiponectin were measured, and association analysis was conducted by using GEE regression-based method. Another study, of 1448 unrelated participants, was conducted to replicate the association between ADIPOQ gene and variable phenotypes of MetS with or without HTN. RESULTS: Among 962 subjects from family samples, the lowest plasma adiponectin value was observed in MetS with HTN component (9.3±0.47 µg/ml) compared with hypertensives (13.4±0.74 µg /ml) or MetS without HTN (11.9±0.60 µg/ml, P<0.05). The SNP rs1501299 (G276T) in ADIPOQ gene was found associated with the presence of HTN in MetS (odds ratio for GG+GT vs. TT = 2.46; 95% CI: 1.14-5.3, p = 0.02), but not rs2241766 (T45G). No association of ADIPOQ gene with HTN alone or MetS without HTN was observed. The significant association of the SNP rs1501299 (G276T) with the phenotype of presence of HTN in MetS was confirmed (odds ratio for GG+GT vs. TT = 2.15; 95% CI: 1.1-4.3) in the replication study. CONCLUSIONS: ADIPOQ genetic variants were selectively and specifically associated with the concomitant presence of MetS and HTN, suggesting potential genetic linkage between MetS and HTN

Electroacupuncture-Induced Cholinergic Nerve Activation Enhances the Hypoglycemic Effect of Exogenous Insulin in a Rat Model of Streptozotocin-Induced Diabetes

The aim of this study is to explore the mechanisms by which electroacupuncture (EA) enhances the hypoglycemic effect of exogenous insulin in a streptozotocin- (STZ-) diabetic rats. Animals in the EA group were anesthetized and subjected to the insulin challenge test (ICT) and EA for 60 minutes. In the control group, rats were subjected to the same treatment with the exception of EA stimulation. Blood samples were drawn to measure changes in plasma glucose, free fatty acids (FFA), and insulin levels. Western blot was used to assay proteins involved in insulin signaling. Furthermore, atropine, hemicholinium-3 (HC-3), and Eserine were used to explore the relationship between EA and cholinergic nerve activation during ICT. EA augmented the blood glucose-lowering effects of EA by activating the cholinergic nerves in STZ rats that had been exposed to exogenous insulin. This phenomenon may be related to enhancement of insulin signaling rather than to changes in FFA concentration

Study on IoT and Big Data Analysis of 12” 7 nm Advanced Furnace Process Exhaust Gas Leakage

Modern FAB uses a large number of high-energy processes, including plasma, CVD, and ion implantation. Furnaces are one of the important tools for semiconductor manufacturing. According to the requirements of conversion production management, FAB installed a set of IoT-based research based on 12″ 7 nm-level furnaces chip process. Two furnace processing tool measurement points were set up in a 12-inch 7 nm-level factory in Hsinchu Science Park, Taiwan, this is a 24-hour continuous monitoring system, the data obtained every second is sequentially send and stored in the cloud system. This study will be set in the cloud database for big data analysis and decision-making. The lower limit of TEOS, C2H4, CO is 0.4, 1.5, 1 ppm. Semiconductor process, so that IoT integration and big data operations can be performed in all processes, this is an important step to promote FAB intelligent production, and also an important contribution to this research

Association between television viewing and the risk of metabolic syndrome in a community-based population

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>As a result of metabolic syndrome becoming an important issue during recent decades, many studies have explored the risk factors contributing to its development. However, less attention has been paid to the risk associated with sedentary behavior, especially television viewing. This study examined the association between television viewing time and the risk of having metabolic syndrome in a population of Taiwanese subjects.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>This community-based cross-sectional study included 2,353 subjects (1,144 men and 1,209 women) aged 40 and over from October, 2004 to September, 2005. Information about the time spent watching TV was obtained using a self-administered questionnaire. The definition of metabolic syndrome was according to the Third Report of the National Cholesterol Education Program's Adult Treatment Panel modified for Asians.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Compared to subjects who viewed TV < 14 hr/week, those who viewed TV > 20 hr/week had a 1.50-fold (95% confidence intervals (CI): 1.10, 2.03) risk for men and a 1.93-fold (95% CI: 1.37, 2.71) risk for women of having metabolic syndrome, after adjusting for physical activity and other covariates. Stratifying by the three categories of total activity levels, TV viewing time > 20 hr/week was found to still hold a significant risk for having metabolic syndrome in the lowest of the three categories of total activity level for men and in all three categories of total activity level for women.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The findings suggest that TV viewing is an independent risk factor associated with metabolic syndrome in Taiwanese people.</p

Second-hand smoke and chronic bronchitis in Taiwanese women: a health-care based study

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Cigarette smoking cannot fully explain the epidemiologic characteristics of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) in women, particularly for those who rarely smoke, but COPD risk is not less than men. The aim of our study is to investigate the relationship between second-hand smoke (SHS) exposure and chronic bronchitis in Taiwanese women.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>We used Taiwan's National Health Insurance Bureau claims data in 1999, and cross-checked using criteria set by the American Thoracic Society; there were 33 women with chronic bronchitis, 182 with probable chronic bronchitis, and 205 with no chronic bronchitis during our interview time between 2000 and 2005. We measured second-hand smoke (SHS) exposure by self-reported measures (household users and duration of exposure), and validated this by measuring urinary cotinine levels of a subset subjects. Classification of chronic bronchitis was also based on spirometry defined according to the GOLD guidelines to get the severity of COPD.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Women who smoked and women who had been exposed to a lifetime of SHS were 24.81-fold (95% CI: 5.78-106.38) and 3.65-fold (95% CI: 1.19-11.26) more likely to have chronic bronchitis, respectively, than those who had not been exposed to SHS. In addition, there was a significant increasing trend between the severity of COPD and exposure years of SHS (<it>p </it>< 0.01). The population attributable risk percentages of chronic bronchitis for smokers and those exposed to SHS were 23.2 and 47.3% respectively.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>These findings indicate that, besides cigarette smoking, exposure to SHS is a major risk factor for chronic bronchitis in Taiwanese women.</p

Вихретоковый анизотропный термоэлектрический первичный преобразователь лучистого потока

Представлена оригинальная конструкция первичного преобразователя лучистого потока, который может служить основой для создания приемника неселективного излучения с повышенной чувствительностью

The 5p15.33 Locus Is Associated with Risk of Lung Adenocarcinoma in Never-Smoking Females in Asia

Genome-wide association studies of lung cancer reported in populations of European background have identified three regions on chromosomes 5p15.33, 6p21.33, and 15q25 that have achieved genome-wide significance with p-values of 10−7 or lower. These studies have been performed primarily in cigarette smokers, raising the possibility that the observed associations could be related to tobacco use, lung carcinogenesis, or both. Since most women in Asia do not smoke, we conducted a genome-wide association study of lung adenocarcinoma in never-smoking females (584 cases, 585 controls) among Han Chinese in Taiwan and found that the most significant association was for rs2736100 on chromosome 5p15.33 (p = 1.30×10−11). This finding was independently replicated in seven studies from East Asia totaling 1,164 lung adenocarcinomas and 1,736 controls (p = 5.38×10−11). A pooled analysis achieved genome-wide significance for rs2736100. This SNP marker localizes to the CLPTM1L-TERT locus on chromosome 5p15.33 (p = 2.60×10−20, allelic risk = 1.54, 95% Confidence Interval (CI) 1.41–1.68). Risks for heterozygote and homozygote carriers of the minor allele were 1.62 (95% CI; 1.40–1.87), and 2.35 (95% CI: 1.95–2.83), respectively. In summary, our results show that genetic variation in the CLPTM1L-TERT locus of chromosome 5p15.33 is directly associated with the risk of lung cancer, most notably adenocarcinoma

Review on the Modeling of Electrostatic MEMS

Electrostatic-driven microelectromechanical systems devices, in most cases, consist of couplings of such energy domains as electromechanics, optical electricity, thermoelectricity, and electromagnetism. Their nonlinear working state makes their analysis complex and complicated. This article introduces the physical model of pull-in voltage, dynamic characteristic analysis, air damping effect, reliability, numerical modeling method, and application of electrostatic-driven MEMS devices