Statistics and Technology: Reflections on 35 Years of Change

From the days when statistical calculations were done on mechanical calculators to today, technology has transformed the discipline of statistics. More than just giving statisticians the power to crunch numbers, it has fundamentally changed the way we teach, do research, and consult. In this article, I give some examples of this from my 35 years as an academic statistician

Effect of calf-starter protein solubility on calf performance

Three starters containing differently processed protein supplements were fed to Holstein heifer calves, using an early weaning program. One starter contained soybean meal. The other starters contained soybean grits processed through an extrusion cooker to reduce the protein solubility to an intermediate (PDI> 50%) or low (PDI < 15 %) level. Calf performance was similar on all three starters

Design, Testing and Evaluation of Robotic Mechanisms and Systems for Environmental Monitoring and Interaction

Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) have significantly lowered the cost of remote aerial data collection. The next generation of UAVs, however, will transform the way that scientists and practitioners interact with the environment. In this thesis, we address the challenges of flying low over water to collect water samples and temperature data. We also develop a system that allows UAVs to ignite prescribed fires. Specifically, this thesis contributes a new peristaltic pump designed for use on a UAV for collecting water samples from up to 3m depth and capable of pumping over 6m above the water. Next, temperature sensors and their deployment on UAVs, which have successfully created a 3D thermal structure map of a lake, contributes to mobile sensors. A sub-surface sampler, the “Waterbug” which can sample from 10m deep and vary buoyancy for longer in-situ analysis contributes to robotics and mobile sensors. Finally, we designed and built an Unmanned Aerial System for Fire Fighting (UAS-FF), which successfully ignited over 150 acres of prescribed fire during two field tests and is the first autonomous robot system for this application. Advisers: Carrick Detweiler and Carl Nelso

Experimental evolution of environment dependent gene regulation.

The effects of environment on evolution can be explored by experimentally controlling the environment experienced by a population. Data can be collected continuously on evolutionary change and related to the experimental environment. Further, the controlled conditions allow theoretical predictions to be tested. This thesis reports on the development of two experimental evolution systems that can be used to investigate the effects of environmental change on the evolution of gene regulation. In both systems the fission yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe grows under defined selection pressures in two alternating environments. Conditions in both environments are under tight control, with one selecting positively for expression of a target gene, and the other selecting negatively against expression. Alternating growth between the two environments creates a selection pressure for environment dependent regulation of the gene. This is an example of phenotypic plasticity – an environment dependent phenotypic change. Thus, the two systems can be used to investigate phenotypic plasticity and gene regulation, including testing of related theories. The first system targets the expression of the ura4 gene. This gene is necessary for the production of uracil, so an environment lacking uracil selects strongly for expression. The alternate environment contains the compound 5-fluoroorotic acid (FOA) which is metabolised by URA4 into a toxin, thus strongly selecting against expression. The second system targets the expression of an introduced green fluorescent protein (GFP) gene using fluorescence activated cell sorting (FACS). The sorting can alternately select for high and low expressing cells from a population. Environmental conditions between the sorts can be altered to provide a cue for the selection the population will face next, thus allowing evolution of environment dependent expression. Experimental work in developing and testing these systems is presented

Establishing the relationship of inhaler satisfaction, treatment adherence, and patient outcomes : A prospective, real-world, cross-sectional survey of US adult asthma patients and physicians

Date of Acceptance: 26/06/2015 Acknowledgements The disease-specific program, on which the analyses were based, was designed and run by Adelphi Real World. The program was supported by a number of pharmaceutical companies, including Meda Pharmaceuticals. This specific analysis, together with this publication, was supported by Meda Pharmaceuticals. The decision to publish was made jointly by all authors cited. Medical writing support and literature searching was provided by Carole Alison Chrvala, PhD of Health Matters, Inc.Peer reviewedPublisher PD