Basins of attraction in nonsmooth models of gear rattle

This paper is concerned with the computation of the basins of attraction of a simple one degree-of-freedom backlash oscillator using cell-to-cell mapping techniques. This analysis is motivated by the modeling of order vibration in geared systems. We consider both a piecewise-linear stiffness model and a simpler infinite stiffness impacting limit. The basins reveal rich and delicate dynamics, and we analyze some of the transitions in the system's behavior in terms of smooth and discontinuity-induced bifurcations. The stretching and folding of phase space are illustrated via computations of the grazing curve, and its preimages, and manifold computations of basin boundaries using DsTool (Dynamical Systems Toolkit)

Behavioural mediators of genetic life-history trade-offs: a test of the pace-of-life syndrome hypothesis in field crickets

This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from the publisher via the DOI in this record.The pace-of-life syndrome (POLS) hypothesis predicts associations between life history and 'risky' behaviours. Individuals with 'fast' lifestyles should develop faster, reproduce earlier, exhibit more risk-prone behaviours, and die sooner than those with 'slow' lifestyles. While support for POLS has been equivocal to date, studies have relied on individual-level (phenotypic) patterns in which genetic trade-offs may be masked by environmental effects on phenotypes. We estimated genetic correlations between life history (development, lifespan, size) and risky behaviours (exploration, aggression) in a pedigreed population of Mediterranean field crickets (Gryllus bimaculatus). Path analyses showed that behaviours mediated some genetic relationships between life history traits, though not those involved in trade-offs. Thus, while specific predictions of POLS theory were not supported, genetic integration of behaviour and life history was present. This implies a major role for risky behaviours in life history evolution.F.S. and N.J.D. were supported by the Max Planck Society, F.S. by the International Max Planck Research School for Organismal Biology, A.J.W. by a BBSRC David Phillips Research Fellowship, and P.T.N. by a postdoctoral fellowship of the German Science Foundation (DFG)

The Effect of an Instructional Video on Parental Test-Retest Reliability When Scoring the ASQ-3

Introduction Less than one-fifth of children with developmental delay receive early intervention before age 3. At well-child visits, parents may voice concerns they have about their child; however, physicians may not consider their input in overall decision making. Parents can complete formal screening tools across different settings, suggesting their ability to complete assessments in the home. Verbal parental input can be supplemented by viewing an instructional video on typical development and completing standardized screening tools. Objective The purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of an instructional video explaining test administration of the ASQ-3 on parental test-retest reliability. We hypothesize that ASQ-3 scores from the second session will be different from the first session, indicating an instructional video is beneficial in parents\u27 abilities to complete standardized screening tools at home. Participants Five children and parents from Lasting Impressions Child Care Center. Methods Outcome measure: 36-month, 42-month, 48-month, and 54-month ASQ-3 questionnaires Standardized developmental screening tool designed to test a wide age range across five developmental domains Administered by parents and various professionals Questionnaires were converted into Google Forms for easy administration Developmental screening was conducted across two testing sessions with the parent watching the instructional video before completing the second session. SPTs waited 1-2 weeks before sending out instructional video and Google Form for second session in order to avoid the learning effect. Session 1: Parent scored child\u27s performance from memory on their child\u27s age appropriate ASQ-3 questionnaire through Google Forms. Session 2: SPT sent parent instructional video to watch prior to scoring child\u27s performance from memory on their child\u27s age appropriate ASQ-3 questionnaire for a second time again through Google Forms. Results Fine motor was the only domain with changes made by all participants at post-test. More space for change in the fine motor domain. 13 of 30 responses were yes Other domains 22-26 of 30 responses yes Following the instructional video, parents changed responses in at least two domains. Two parents changed more responses following the instructional video. Conclusion Based on these trends, fine motor scoring appears to be more influenced by the instructional video. If a child\u27s performance matched typical peers, it decreased the chance of a parent changing their answer in the second trial. A ceiling effect may be present for typically developing children. Clinical Relevance Standardized testing is feasible to complete virtually. Instructional videos may augment developmental surveillance allowing parents to contribute to the detection of delay. Recommend future exploration into: Larger sample size for statistical analysis; and, recruitment through social media to target typical parental age

Accounting for female space sharing in St. Kilda Soay sheep (Ovis aries) results in little change in heritability estimates

This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from Wiley via the DOI in this record.When estimating heritability in free-living populations, it is common practice to account for common environment effects, because of their potential to generate phenotypic covariance among relatives thereby biasing heritability estimates. In quantitative genetic studies of natural populations, however, philopatry, which results in relatives being clustered in space, is rarely accounted for. The two studies to have done so suggest absolute declines in heritability estimates of up to 43% when accounting for space sharing by relatives. However, due to methodological limitations these estimates may not be representative. We used data from the St. Kilda Soay sheep population to estimate heritabilities with and without accounting for space sharing for five traits for which there is evidence for additive genetic variance (birth weight, birth date, lamb August weight, and female post mortem jaw and metacarpal length). We accounted for space sharing by related females by separately incorporating spatial autocorrelation, and a home range similarity matrix. Although these terms accounted for up to 17% of the variance in these traits, heritability estimates were only reduced by up to 7%. Our results suggest that the bias caused by not accounting for space sharing may be lower than previously thought. This suggests that philopatry does not inevitably lead to a large bias if space sharing by relatives is not accounted for. We hope our work stimulates researchers to model shared space when relatives in their study population share space, as doing so will enable us to better understand when bias may be of particular concern.The Soay Sheep Project is supported by grants from the UK Natural Environment Research Council, whilst CER is supported by a BBSRC PhD studentship

Salmonella Typhimurium-specific bacteriophage ΦSH19 and the origins of species specificity in the Vi01-like phage family

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Whole genome sequencing of bacteriophages suitable for biocontrol of pathogens in food products is a pre-requisite to any phage-based intervention procedure. Trials involving the biosanitization of <it>Salmonella </it>Typhimurium in the pig production environment identified one such candidate, ΦSH19.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>This phage was sequenced and analysis of its 157,785 bp circular dsDNA genome revealed a number of interesting features. ΦSH19 constitutes another member of the recently-proposed <it>Myoviridae </it>Vi01-like family of phages, containing <it>S</it>. Typhi-specific Vi01 and <it>Shigella</it>-specific SboM-AG3. At the nucleotide level ΦSH19 is highly similar to phage Vi01 (80-98% pairwise identity over the length of the genome), with the major differences lying in the region associated with host-range determination. Analyses of the proteins encoded within this region by ΦSH19 revealed a cluster of three putative tail spikes. Of the three tail spikes, two have protein domains associated with the pectate lyase family of proteins (Tsp2) and P22 tail spike family (Tsp3) with the prospect that these enable <it>Salmonella </it>O antigen degradation. Tail spike proteins of Vi01 and SboM-AG3 are predicted to contain conserved right-handed parallel β-helical structures but the internal protein domains are varied allowing different host specificities.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The addition or exchange of tail spike protein modules is a major contributor to host range determination in the Vi01-like phage family.</p

Informant Personality Is Associated With Ratings of Memory Problems in Older Adults

Memory complaints are a key diagnostic criterion for dementia and Mild Cognitive Impairment. Rating scales can be used to capture information about individuals’ memory problems from informants such as family members. However, problems with scale reliability suggest that individual differences influence the ratings informants provide. This project tested whether informants’ neuroticism was associated with their ratings of an older adult’s memory. In an online study, 293 volunteers completed a Five Factor personality questionnaire and used two memory questionnaires to provide ratings of memory problems in an older individual they knew well. Rater neuroticism correlated positively with estimates of memory problems: more neurotic informants provided higher estimates of memory difficulties in the person they were rating. A second study replicated this finding with 786 volunteers and another widely used memory measure, the AD8. In both studies, exploratory analyses suggested the effect size was large enough to impact on clinical practice

The complete plasmid sequences of Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium U288.

Salmonella enterica Serovar Typhimurium U288 is an emerging pathogen of pigs. The strain contains three plasmids of diverse origin that encode traits that are of concern for food security and safety, these include antibiotic resistant determinants, an array of functions that can modify cell physiology and permit genetic mobility. At 148,711 bp, pSTU288-1 appears to be a hybrid plasmid containing a conglomerate of genes found in pSLT of S. Typhimurium LT2, coupled with a mosaic of horizontally-acquired elements. Class I integron containing gene cassettes conferring resistance against clinically important antibiotics and compounds are present in pSTU288-1. A curious feature of the plasmid involves the deletion of two genes encoded in the Salmonella plasmid virulence operon (spvR and spvA) following the insertion of a tnpA IS26-like element coupled to a blaTEM gene. The spv operon is considered to be a major plasmid-encoded Salmonella virulence factor that is essential for the intracellular lifecycle. The loss of the positive regulator SpvR may impact on the pathogenesis of S. Typhimurium U288. A second 11,067 bp plasmid designated pSTU288-2 contains further antibiotic resistance determinants, as well as replication and mobilization genes. Finally, a small 4675 bp plasmid pSTU288-3 was identified containing mobilization genes and a pleD-like G-G-D/E-E-F conserved domain protein that modulate intracellular levels of cyclic di-GMP, and are associated with motile to sessile transitions in growth

The Safety and Efficacy of Physical Agents on Cancer Survivors: An Update

Title: The Safety and Efficacy of Physical Agents on Cancer Survivors: An Update Authors: Gentry Ensign, SPT1; Kathryn Flyte, SPT1; Michael Moore, SPT1; Katelyn Ratliff, SPT1; Ann Wilson, P.T., M.Ed., GCS1 Affiliations: 1. School of Physical Therapy, University of Puget Sound Theory: Cancer patients are often referred to physical therapy to treat impairments associated with cancer, its treatment, and the disease progression. Physical therapists sometimes use physical agents as part of a complete rehabilitation program for the purpose of decreasing pain, increasing strength, and facilitating tissue healing while avoiding possible malignant tumor growth. The benefits of physical therapy modalities in cancer treatment has not been well defined, but have potential to improve quality of life, functional abilities, and participation for these patients. Currently, many physical agents are contraindicated in the treatment of cancer patients because of potential concerns that they may increase the growth or rate of growth of malignant tumors. The lack of clinically-applicable and high-quality studies that support or refute these theories makes the use of some physical therapy modalities in the treatment of cancer patients controversial. For this reason and due to the changes in contemporary modality use over the last fifteen years, an update of the current literature is warranted. The purpose of this literature review is to update an already-existing literature review by Pfalzer in 2001 discussing the use of modalities in treatment of cancer-related impairments. References: Kozanoglu E, Basaran S, Paydas S, Sarpel T. Efficacy of pneumatic compression and low-level laser therapy in the treatment of postmastectomy lymphoedema: A randomized controlled trial. Clin Rehabil. 2009;23(2):117-124. Hurlow A, Bennet MI, Robb KA, Johnson MI, Simpson KH, Oxberry SG, Transcutaneous electric nerve stimulation (TENS) for cancer pain in adults. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews. 2012; 3: 1-26. Cheville AL, Basford JR. Role of Rehabilitation Medicine and Physical Agents in the Treatment of Cancer-Associated Pain. J Clin Oncol. 2014;32(16):1691-1702. Majithia N, Smith TJ, Coyne PJ, et al. Scrambler Therapy for the management of chronic pain. Support Care Cancer. 2016;24:2807-2814

The integrated academic information system support for education 3.0 in higher education institution: lecturer perspective

Education 3.0 has been implemented in many higher education institutions (HEIs). Education 3.0 has been directed the institution toward better educational experience. But on the other hands, the implementation of Education 3.0 also caused some problems. Previous research has found administrative problem experienced by the lecturer. This research explores deeper from the lecturer and suggested the solution from lecturer perspective, combined with information technology capabilities owned by the HEIs. The research used a case study as the method and conducted a qualitative research with a semi-structured interview. The interview analysis has found that the increase of the administrative processes is caused by online and offline administrative activities. The online activities are from e-learning and the offline activities are from traditional learning (face-to-face). The administrative processes also involved the academic information system (AIS). Simplified all of the administrative processes are more preferred. To overcome the problems, integrating the AIS and e-learning become necessary. This research suggests transforming the existing AIS into an integrated AIS and hopes the solution can simplify the administration process

Total parenteral nutrition associated cholestasis: A predisposing factor for sepsis in surgical neonates?

Of 496 neonates and infants less than 1 year of age admitted to the paediatric surgical intensive care unit (PSICU) over a 5 year period (1983-1987), 94 required total parenteral nutrition (TPN) for more than 14 consecutive days, generally due to congenital anomalies of the digestive tract. Cholestasis occurred in 15 of them and 12 of these patients developed sepsis. In contrast, of the 79 patients on TPN that remained free from cholestasis, only 23 developed sepsis. The mortality rate for the TPNAC-group was substantially higher than for the group without TPNAC. It is suggested that development of TPNAC might lead to impairment of non-specific cellular immunity in neonates