Search results for " Nonparametric"
showing 10 items of 335 documents
Estimating growth charts via nonparametric quantile regression: a practical framework with application in ecology.
2013
We discuss a practical and effective framework to estimate reference growth charts via regression quantiles. Inequality constraints are used to ensure both monotonicity and non-crossing of the estimated quantile curves and penalized splines are employed to model the nonlinear growth patterns with respect to age. A companion R package is presented and relevant code discussed to favour spreading and application of the proposed methods.
Reliability of physical functioning measures in ambulatory subjects with MS.
2005
Background and Purpose. One of the primary reasons for measuring outcomes during rehabilitation is to determine the effect of physiotherapy. Repeated measurement situations are susceptible to several sources of error, including inconsistencies caused by the subject, the procedure, the instrument and the examiner. Therefore, the reliability of the measures needs to be examined. Method. The present study used a repeated-measures design. Two studies were undertaken to examine the test–retest and inter-rater reliability for physical functioning measures. The interval between the measurements was one week. The sample consisted of 19 ambulatory subjects with mutliple sclerosis (MS) in the test–re…
Cariostatic effect of a light-cured, resin-reinforced glass-ionomer for bonding orthodontic brackets in vivo
1998
The aim of this study was to evaluate in vivo the cariostatic potential of the resin-reinforced glass-ionomer (Vitremer core build-up restorative; 3M Dental Product Division) when used as a bonding agent for orthodontic brackets. The mineral distribution and topography of the enamel surface adjacent to the bracket base was determined by quantitative microradiography (TMR) and confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM). The study was designed in split-mouth technique using 9 pairs of premolars to be extracted for orthodontic reasons. One tooth of each pair was bonded with the resin-reinforced glass-ionomer, and the control contralateral premolar with the non-fluoridated composite (Concise, 3M…
Suppression of intestinal microbiota-dependent production of pro-atherogenic trimethylamine N-oxide by shifting L-carnitine microbial degradation.
2014
Abstract Aims Trimethylamine-N-oxide (TMAO) is produced in host liver from trimethylamine (TMA). TMAO and TMA share common dietary quaternary amine precursors, carnitine and choline, which are metabolized by the intestinal microbiota. TMAO recently has been linked to the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis and severity of cardiovascular diseases. We examined the effects of anti-atherosclerotic compound meldonium, an aza-analogue of carnitine bioprecursor gamma-butyrobetaine (GBB), on the availability of TMA and TMAO. Main methods Wistar rats received L-carnitine, GBB or choline alone or in combination with meldonium. Plasma, urine and rat small intestine perfusate samples were assayed for L-car…
MM3-ELISA evaluation of coproantigen release and serum antibody production in sheep experimentally infected with Fasciola hepatica and F. gigantica.
2008
During an experimental infection of sheep with Fasciola hepatica or F. gigantica, MM3-SERO and MM3-COPRO ELISA tests were applied to compare the kinetics of antibody production and coproantigen release between the 2nd and 32nd week post-infection (wpi). The Kato-Katz technique was used to measure the kinetics of egg shedding by both Fasciola species (eggs per gram of feces, epg). The kinetics of IgG antibodies for all sheep infected with F. hepatica and F. gigantica followed a similar pattern. Optical density (OD) increased rapidly between the 4th until the 12th wpi, when the highest values were reached and then decreased slowly until the 32nd wpi. Coproantigen levels increased above the cu…
Vertical root fracture in endodontically treated teeth: A review of 25 cases
2001
Abstract Objective: We sought to examine the clinical conditions under which 25 endodontically treated teeth underwent vertical root fracture (VRF) and to relate this condition to the time elapsed from endodontic treatment to fracture. Study Design: This was a retrospective study in which we reviewed 25 case histories of patients with postendodontic VRF and studied the effect of various pretreatment and posttreatment factors as they related to VRF. Results And Conclusions: The mean time to VRF was 54 months; this was not significantly influenced by the presence or absence of prior restoration or by the presence or absence of a crown fitting. The use of a prefabricated, cylindrical, cemented…
Long-Term Potentiation in the Neonatal Rat Barrel Cortex In Vivo
2012
Long-term potentiation (LTP) is important for the activity-dependent formation of early cortical circuits. In the neonatal rodent barrel cortex, LTP has been studied only in vitro . We combined voltage-sensitive dye imaging with extracellular multielectrode recordings to study whisker stimulation-induced LTP in the whisker-to-barrel cortex pathway of the neonatal rat barrel cortex in vivo . Single whisker stimulation at 2 Hz for 10 min induced an age-dependent expression of LTP in postnatal day (P) 0 to P14 rats, with the strongest expression of LTP at P3–P5. The magnitude of LTP was largest in the activated barrel-related column, smaller in the surrounding septal region, and no LTP could b…
Cardiac changes in subclinical and overt hyperthyroid women: retrospective study
2003
This retrospective and descriptive 4-year study was undertaken to describe cardiac changes in subclinical and overt hyperthyroidism.We revised the charts of 386 consecutive cardiopathic women whose blood samples were referred to the Radioimmunoassay Laboratory to evaluate thyroid function from 1 January 1997 through 31 December 2000.After excluding women because euthyroid or hypothyroid, or taking amiodarone and women with hypertension, rheumatic disease, myocardial infarction, a total of 31 hyperthyroid women were thus selected for the study: 19 with subclinical hyperthyroidism and 12 with overt hyperthyroidism. The prevalence of atrial fibrillation did not differ between subclinical (48%)…
Ovarian size and blood flow in women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) and their correlations with some endocrine parameters
2005
Objective: To determine how common polycystic ovarian morphology may be in women given the clinical diagnosis of polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) based on chronic anovulation and hyperandrogenism and whether certain hormonal factors correlate with ovarian morphology and blood flow. Design: Prospective study. Setting: Two academic endocrinology centers in Italy. Patient(s): Three hundred twenty-six women with PCOS and 50 age-matched and weight-matched ovulatory women. Intervention(s): Ultrasound assessment of ovarian morphology in patients and controls and ovarian blood flow and fasting hormone levels in a subset of 50 patients and matched controls. Main Outcome Measure(s): Ovarian morpholog…
Functional principal component analysis of quantile curves
2017
Literature on functional data analysis is mainly focused on estimation of individuals curves and characterization of average dynamics. The idea underlying this proposal is to focus attention on other particular features of the distribution of the observed data, moving from mean functions towards functional quantiles. The motivating examples are functional data sets that are collections of high frequency data recorded along time. As quantiles provide information on various aspects of a time series, we propose a modelling framework for the joint estimation of functional quantiles, varying along time, and functional principal components, summarizing some common dynamics shared by the functiona…