The Development of Agriculture in Minnesota

University of Minnesota Masters thesis. May 1912. 1 computer file (PDF); 41 pages, 67 unnumbered pages of plates

Codes with a poset metric

AbstractNiederreiter generalized the following classical problem of coding theory: given a finite field Fq and integers n > k ⩾ 1, find the largest minimum distance achievable by a linear code over Fq of length n and dimension k. In this paper we place this problem in the more general setting of a partially ordered set and define what we call poset-codes. In this context, Niederreiter's setting may be viewed as the disjoint union of chains. We extend some of Niederreiter's bounds and also obtain bounds for posets which are the product of two chains

Strategic toolkits: seniority, usage and performance in the German SME machinery and equipment sector

This paper examines the strategic tool kit, from a human resource management (HRM) perspective, in terms of usage and impact. Research to date has tended to consider usage, assuming to a certain extent that knowledge and understanding of particular tools suggest that practitioners value them. The research on which this paper is based builds upon the idea that usage indicates satisfaction, but develops the usage theme to investigate which decision-makers are actually engaged in both tool appliance and the strategic process. Of particular interest to the researchers are the educational background, age and seniority of the decision-makers. In addition, potential links with HRM and organizational performance are also explored. The context of the research, the German machinery and equipment sector, provides an insight into the industry's ability to sustain growth in face of increasing international competition. The paper calls for a greater awareness, from a human resource perspective, and utilization of strategic management practice and associated decision-making aids

Can Forel–Ule Index Act as a Proxy of Water Quality in Temperate Waters? Application of Plume Mapping in Liverpool Bay, UK

The use of ocean colour classification algorithms, linked to water quality gradients, can be a useful tool for mapping river plumes in both tropical and temperate systems. This approach has been applied in operational water quality programs in the Great Barrier Reef to map river plumes and assess trends in marine water composition and ecosystem health during flood periods. In this study, we used the Forel–Ule colour classification algorithm for Sentinel-3 OLCI imagery in an automated process to map monthly, annual and long-term plume movement in the temperate coastal system of Liverpool Bay (UK). We compared monthly river plume extent to the river flow and in situ water quality data between 2017–2020. The results showed a strong positive correlation (Spearman’s rho = 0.68) between the river plume extent and the river flow and a strong link between the FUI defined waterbodies and nutrients, SPM, turbidity and salinity, hence the potential of the Forel–Ule index to act as a proxy for water quality in the temperate Liverpool Bay water. The paper discusses how the Forel–Ule index could be used in operational water quality programs to better understand river plumes and the land-based inputs to the coastal zones in UK waters, drawing parallels with methods that have been developed in the GBR and Citclops project. Overall, this paper provides the first insight into the systematic long-term river plume mapping in UK coastal waters using a fast, cost-effective, and reproducible workflow. The study created a novel water assessment typology based on the common physical, chemical and biological ocean colour properties captured in the Forel–Ule index, which could replace the more traditional eutrophication assessment regions centred around strict geographic and political boundaries. Additionally, the Forel–Ule assessment typology is particularly important since it identifies areas of the greatest impact from the land-based loads into the marine environment, and thus potential risks to vulnerable ecosystems

Sealant Effectiveness for Children Receiving a Combination of Preventive Methods in a Fluoridated Community: Two-Year Results

A series of preventive methods in combination have been used to reduce dental caries in children including dental health education, prophylaxes, pit and fissure sealants, topical application of fluoride and restorative care. Prophylaxes, sealant, and fluoride procedures are repeated every six months. Two-year results show reductions of occlusal caries increments of 74.3% for first graders and 77.1% for sixth graders. Sealant loss, as defined in this study, varied from 33% to 90% with the highest loss occurring in the newly erupted permanent molars during the first six months of the project. These high sealant loss rates are thought to be related to the age of the population which was designed to include children at the ages of peak eruption of permanent molar teeth (ages six and twelve). These teeth were often only minimally erupted and maintaining the dry field required for sealant retention was extremely difficult. However, in spite of these high rates of sealant loss, caries reduction on occlusal surfaces was highly significant in comparison to that of children who did not receive sealants.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/68154/2/10.1177_00220345770560121801.pd

Accounting for seasonal patterns in syndromic surveillance data for outbreak detection

BACKGROUND: Syndromic surveillance (SS) can potentially contribute to outbreak detection capability by providing timely, novel data sources. One SS challenge is that some syndrome counts vary with season in a manner that is not identical from year to year. Our goal is to evaluate the impact of inconsistent seasonal effects on performance assessments (false and true positive rates) in the context of detecting anomalous counts in data that exhibit seasonal variation. METHODS: To evaluate the impact of inconsistent seasonal effects, we injected synthetic outbreaks into real data and into data simulated from each of two models fit to the same real data. Using real respiratory syndrome counts collected in an emergency department from 2/1/94–5/31/03, we varied the length of training data from one to eight years, applied a sequential test to the forecast errors arising from each of eight forecasting methods, and evaluated their detection probabilities (DP) on the basis of 1000 injected synthetic outbreaks. We did the same for each of two corresponding simulated data sets. The less realistic, nonhierarchical model's simulated data set assumed that "one season fits all," meaning that each year's seasonal peak has the same onset, duration, and magnitude. The more realistic simulated data set used a hierarchical model to capture violation of the "one season fits all" assumption. RESULTS: This experiment demonstrated optimistic bias in DP estimates for some of the methods when data simulated from the nonhierarchical model was used for DP estimation, thus suggesting that at least for some real data sets and methods, it is not adequate to assume that "one season fits all." CONCLUSION: For the data we analyze, the "one season fits all " assumption is violated, and DP performance claims based on simulated data that assume "one season fits all," for the forecast methods considered, except for moving average methods, tend to be optimistic. Moving average methods based on relatively short amounts of training data are competitive on all three data sets, but are particularly competitive on the real data and on data from the hierarchical model, which are the two data sets that violate the "one season fits all" assumption

Discovery and genotyping of structural variation from long-read haploid genome sequence data

In an effort to more fully understand the full spectrum of human genetic variation, we generated deep single-molecule, real-time (SMRT) sequencing data from two haploid human genomes. By using an assembly-based approach (SMRT-SV), we systematically assessed each genome independently for structural variants (SVs) and indels resolving the sequence structure of 461,553 genetic variants from 2 bp to 28 kbp in length. We find that &gt;89% of these variants have been missed as part of analysis of the 1000 Genomes Project even after adjusting for more common variants (MAF &gt; 1%). We estimate that this theoretical human diploid differs by as much as ∼16 Mbp with respect to the human reference, with long-read sequencing data providing a fivefold increase in sensitivity for genetic variants ranging in size from 7 bp to 1 kbp compared with short-read sequence data. Although a large fraction of genetic variants were not detected by short-read approaches, once the alternate allele is sequence-resolved, we show that 61% of SVs can be genotyped in short-read sequence data sets with high accuracy. Uncoupling discovery from genotyping thus allows for the majority of this missed common variation to be genotyped in the human population. Interestingly, when we repeat SV detection on a pseudodiploid genome constructed in silico by merging the two haploids, we find that ∼59% of the heterozygous SVs are no longer detected by SMRT-SV. These results indicate that haploid resolution of long-read sequencing data will significantly increase sensitivity of SV detection.</jats:p

Interaction of Oral Bacteria With Gingival Epithelial Cell Multilayers

Primary gingival epithelial cells were cultured in multilayers as a model for the study of interactions with oral bacteria associated with health and periodontal disease. Multilayers maintained at an air-liquid interface in low calcium medium displayed differentiation and cytokeratin properties characteristic of junctional epithelium. Multilayers were infected with fluorescently labeled Porphyromonas gingivalis, Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans, Fusobacterium nucleatum or Streptococcus gordonii, and bacterial association was determined by confocal microscopy and quantitative image analysis. P. gingivalis invaded intracellularly and spread cell to cell. A. actinomycetemcomitans and F. nucleatum remained extracellular and showed intercellular movement through the multilayer. S. gordonii remained extracellular and predominantly associated with the superficial cell layer. None of the bacterial species disrupted barrier function as measured by transepithelial electrical resistance. P. gingivalis did not elicit secretion of proinflammatory cytokines. However, A. actinomycetemcomitans and S. gordonii induced IL-1β, TNF-α, IL-6 and IL-8 secretion; and F. nucleatum stimulated production of IL-1β and TNF-α. A. actinomycetemcomitans, F. nucleatum and S. gordonii, but not P. gingivalis, increased levels of apoptosis after 24 h infection. The results indicate that the organisms with pathogenic potential were able to traverse the epithelium, while the commensal bacteria did not. In addition, distinct host responses characterized the interaction between the junctional epithelium and oral bacteria