MAPfastR: Quantitative Trait Loci Mapping in Outbred Line Crosses

MAPfastR is a software package developed to analyze quantitative trait loci data from inbred and outbred line-crosses. The package includes a number of modules for fast and accurate quantitative trait loci analyses. It has been developed in the R language for fast and comprehensive analyses of large datasets. MAPfastR is freely available at: http://www.computationalgenetics.se/?page_id=7.Swedish Foundation for Strategic Research (Future Research Leader program), European Science Foundation (EURYI Award)

Up-scaling, formative phases, and learning in the historical diffusion of energy technologies

The 20th century has witnessed wholesale transformation in the energy system marked by the pervasive diffusion of both energy supply and end-use technologies. Just as whole industries have grown, so too have unit sizes or capacities. Analysed in combination, these unit level and industry level growth patterns reveal some consistencies across very different energy technologies. First, the up-scaling or increase in unit size of an energy technology comes after an often prolonged period of experimentation with many smaller-scale units. Second, the peak growth phase of an industry can lag these increases in unit size by up to 20 years. Third, the rate and timing of up-scaling at the unit level is subject to countervailing influences of scale economies and heterogeneous market demand. These observed patterns have important implications for experience curve analyses based on time series data covering the up-scaling phases of energy technologies, as these are likely to conflate industry level learning effects with unit level scale effects. The historical diffusion of energy technologies also suggests that low carbon technology policies pushing for significant jumps in unit size before a ‘formative phase’ of experimentation with smaller-scale units are risky

Light smoking at base-line predicts a higher mortality risk to women than to men; evidence from a cohort with long follow-up

BACKGROUND: There is conflicting evidence as to whether smoking is more harmful to women than to men. The UK Cotton Workers’ Cohort was recruited in the 1960s and contained a high proportion of men and women smokers who were well matched in terms of age, job and length of time in job. The cohort has been followed up for 42 years. METHODS: Mortality in the cohort was analysed using an individual relative survival method and Cox regression. Whether smoking, ascertained at baseline in the 1960s, was more hazardous to women than to men was examined by estimating the relative risk ratio women to men, smokers to never smoked, for light (1–14), medium (15–24), heavy (25+ cigarettes per day) and former smoking. RESULTS: For all-cause mortality relative risk ratios were 1.35 for light smoking at baseline (95% CI 1.07-1.70), 1.15 for medium smoking (95% CI 0.89-1.49) and 1.00 for heavy smoking (95% CI 0.63-1.61). Relative risk ratios for light smoking at baseline for circulatory system disease was 1.42 (95% CI 1.01 to 1.98) and for respiratory disease was 1.89 (95% CI 0.99 to 3.63). Heights of participants provided no explanation for the gender difference. CONCLUSIONS: Light smoking at baseline was shown to be significantly more hazardous to women than to men but the effect decreased as consumption increased indicating a dose response relationship. Heavy smoking was equally hazardous to both genders. This result may help explain the conflicting evidence seen elsewhere. However gender differences in smoking cessation may provide an alternative explanation

Language and social/emotional problems identified at a universal developmental assessment at 30 months

Non peer reviewedPublisher PD

Prevention and management of excessive gestational weight gain: a survey of overweight and obese pregnant women

Background - Excessive gestational weight gain is associated with adverse infant, childhood and maternal outcomes and research to develop interventions to address this issue is ongoing. The views of women on gestational weight gain and the resources they would consider helpful in addressing this are however largely unknown. This survey aimed to determine the views of newly pregnant women, living in areas of social disadvantage, on 1) their current body weight and potential gestational weight gain and 2) the resources or interventions they would consider helpful in preventing excessive gestational weight gain. Methods - A convenience sample of overweight and obese pregnant women living in Fife, UK, were invited to complete a short anonymised questionnaire at their 12 week booking visit. Results - 428 women, BMI>25 kg/m2, completed the questionnaire. Fifty-four per cent of respondents were obese (231) and 62% were living in areas of mild to moderate deprivation. Over three-quarters of participants felt dissatisfied with their current weight (81%). The majority of women (60%) expressed some concern about potential weight gain. Thirty-nine percent were unconcerned about weight gain during their pregnancy, including 34 women (19%) who reported having retained weight gained in earlier pregnancies. Amongst those concerned about weight gain advice on physical activity (41%) and access to sports/leisure facilities were favoured resources (36%). Fewer women (12%) felt that group sessions on healthy eating or attending a clinic for individualised advice (14%) would be helpful. "Getting time off work" was the most frequently cited barrier (48%) to uptake of resources other than leaflets. Conclusions- These data suggest a lack of awareness amongst overweight and obese women regarding excessive gestational weight gain. Monitoring of gestational weight gain, and approaches for its management, should be formally integrated into routine antenatal care. Barriers to the uptake of resources to address weight gain are numerous and must be considered in the design of future interventions and services

Two experiments for the price of one? -- The role of the second oscillation maximum in long baseline neutrino experiments

We investigate the quantitative impact that data from the second oscillation maximum has on the performance of wide band beam neutrino oscillation experiments. We present results for the physics sensitivities to standard three flavor oscillation, as well as results for the sensitivity to non-standard interactions. The quantitative study is performed using an experimental setup similar to the Fermilab to DUSEL Long Baseline Neutrino Experiment (LBNE). We find that, with the single exception of sensitivity to the mass hierarchy, the second maximum plays only a marginal role due to the experimental difficulties to obtain a statistically significant and sufficiently background-free event sample at low energies. This conclusion is valid for both water Cherenkov and liquid argon detectors. Moreover, we confirm that non-standard neutrino interactions are very hard to distinguish experimentally from standard three-flavor effects and can lead to a considerable loss of sensitivity to \theta_{13}, the mass hierarchy and CP violation.Comment: RevTex 4.1, 23 pages, 10 figures; v2: Typos corrected, very minor clarifications; matches published version; v3: Fixed a typo in the first equation in sec. III

How to measure working memory capacity in the change detection paradigm

Although the measurement of working memory capacity is crucial to understanding working memory and its interaction with other cognitive faculties, there are inconsistencies in the literature on how to measure capacity. We address the measurement in the change detection paradigm, popularized by Luck and Vogel (Nature, 390, 279–281, 1997). Two measures for this task—from Pashler (Perception & Psychophysics, 44, 369–378, 1988) and Cowan (The Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 24, 87–114, 2001), respectively—have been used interchangeably, even though they may yield qualitatively different conclusions. We show that the choice between these two measures is not arbitrary. Although they are motivated by the same underlying discrete-slots working memory model, each is applicable only to a specific task; the two are never interchangeable. In the course of deriving these measures, we discuss subtle but consequential flaws in the underlying discrete-slots model. These flaws motivate revision in the modal model and capacity measures

The effect of acetaminophen (four grams a day for three consecutive days) on hepatic tests in alcoholic patients – a multicenter randomized study

Background: Hepatic failure has been associated with reported therapeutic use of acetaminophen by alcoholic patients. The highest risk period for alcoholic patients is immediately after discontinuation of alcohol intake. This period exhibits the largest increase in CYP2E1 induction and lowest glutathione levels. Our hypothesis was that common liver tests would be unaffected by administration of the maximum recommended daily dosage of acetaminophen for 3 consecutive days to newly-abstinent alcoholic subjects. Methods: Adult alcoholic subjects entering two alcohol detoxification centers were enrolled in a prospective double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trial. Subjects were randomized to acetaminophen, 4 g/day, or placebo for 3 consecutive days. The study had 95% probability of detecting a 15 IU/L difference in serum ALT. Results: A total of 443 subjects were enrolled: 308 (258 completed) received acetaminophen and 135 subjects (114 completed) received placebo. Study groups did not differ in demographics, alcohol consumption, nutritional status or baseline laboratory assessments. The peak mean ALT activity was 57 [plus or minus] 45 IU/L and 55 [plus or minus] 48 IU/L in the acetaminophen and placebo groups, respectively. Subgroup analyses for subjects presenting with an elevated ALT, subjects fulfilling a diagnosis of alcoholic hepatitis and subjects attaining a peak ALT greater than 200 IU/L showed no statistical difference between the acetaminophen and control groups. The one participant developing an increased international normalized ratio was in the placebo group. Conclusion: Alcoholic patients treated with the maximum recommended daily dose of acetaminophen for 3 consecutive days did not develop increases in serum transaminase or other measures of liver injury. Treatment of pain or fever for 3 days with acetaminophen appears safe in newly-abstinent alcoholic patients, such as those presenting for acute medical care.Funding for this study was provided by McNeil Consumer Healthcare to the Denver Health Authority, Denver, Colorado

A Filmless Radiology Department in a Full Digital Regional Hospital: Quantitative Evaluation of the Increased Quality and Efficiency

Reggio Emilia hospital installed Picture Archiving and Communications Systems (PACS) as the final step towards a completely digital clinical environment completing the HIS/EMR and 1,400 web/terminals for patient information access. Financial benefits throughout the hospital were assessed upfront and measured periodically. Key indicators (radiology exam turnaround time, number of radiology procedures performed, inpatients length of stay before and after the PACS implementation, etc.) were analyzed and values were statistically tested to assess workflow and productivity improvements. The hospital went “filmless” in 28 weeks. Between the half of 2004 and the respective period in 2003, overall Radiology Department productivity increased by 12%, TAT improved by more than 60%. Timelier patient care resulted in decreased lengths of stay. Neurology alone experienced a 12% improvement in average patient stay. To quantify the impact of PACS on the average hospital stays and the expected productivity benefits to inpatient productivity were used a “high level” and a “detailed” business model. Annual financial upsides have exceeded $1.9 millions/year. A well-planned PACS deployment simplifies imaging workflow and improves patient care throughout the hospital while delivering substantial financial benefits. Staff buy-in was the key in this process and on-going training and process monitoring are a must