Search results for "Linear Models"
showing 10 items of 440 documents
How to validate similarity in linear transform models of event-related potentials between experimental conditions?
2014
Abstract Background It is well-known that data of event-related potentials (ERPs) conform to the linear transform model (LTM). For group-level ERP data processing using principal/independent component analysis (PCA/ICA), ERP data of different experimental conditions and different participants are often concatenated. It is theoretically assumed that different experimental conditions and different participants possess the same LTM. However, how to validate the assumption has been seldom reported in terms of signal processing methods. New method When ICA decomposition is globally optimized for ERP data of one stimulus, we gain the ratio between two coefficients mapping a source in brain to two…
Immune-mediated change in the expression of a sexual trait predicts offspring survival in the wild.
2011
9 pages; International audience; BACKGROUND: The "good genes" theory of sexual selection postulates that females choose mates that will improve their offspring's fitness through the inheritance of paternal genes. In spite of the attention that this hypothesis has given rise to, the empirical evidence remains sparse, mostly because of the difficulties of controlling for the many environmental factors that may covary with both the paternal phenotype and offspring fitness. Here, we tested the hypothesis that offspring sired by males of a preferred phenotype should have better survival in an endangered bird, the houbara bustard (Chlamydotis undulata undulata). METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: We…
Stir bar sorptive-dispersive microextraction for trace determination of triphenyl and diphenyl phosphate in urine of nail polish users
2018
Abstract This work describes a new analytical method useful for monitoring the human exposure to the endocrine-disrupting plasticizer triphenyl phosphate (TPP) via nail polish use. The method allows trace determination of this parent compound and its main metabolite, namely diphenyl phosphate (DPP), in urine samples of nail polish users. The method is based on a novel microextraction technique termed stir bar sorptive-dispersive microextraction (SBSDME) using a magnetic composite made of CoFe2O4 magnetic nanoparticles embedded into a mixed-mode weak anion exchange polymer (Strata™-X-AW), followed by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC–MS/MS). The main parameters involved in t…
Sex–biased maternal investment in voles: importance of environmental conditions
2004
Adaptive bias in sex allocation is traditionally proposed to be related to the condition of mothers as well as to the unequal fitness values of produced sexes. A positive relationship between mother condition and investment into male offspring is often predicted. This relationship was also recently found to depend on environmental conditions. We studied these causalities experimentally using a design where winter food supply was manipulated in eight outdoor-enclosed populations of field voles Microtus agrestis. At the beginning of the breeding season in spring, food-supplemented mothers seemed to be in a similar condition, measured as body mass, head width, body condition index and parasite…
Severe reduction of blood lysosomal acid lipase activity in cryptogenic cirrhosis: A nationwide multicentre cohort study
2017
Background and aims Blood lysosomal acid lipase (LAL) is reduced in non-alcoholic steatohepatitis, which is the major cause of cryptogenic cirrhosis (CC); few data on LAL activity in CC do exist. We investigated LAL activity in a cohort of patients with liver cirrhosis. Methods This is a multicentre cohort study including 274 patients with liver cirrhosis of different aetiology from 19 centres of Internal Medicine, Gastroenterology and Hepatology distributed throughout Italy. Blood LAL activity (nmol/spot/h) was measured with dried blood spot extracts using Lalistat 2. Results Overall, 133 patients had CC, and 141 patients had cirrhosis by other causes (61 viral, 53 alcoholic, 20 alcoholic …
The Role of Liver in Determining Serum Colon-Derived Uremic Solutes.
2015
Evidence has shown that indoxyl sulfate (IS) and p-cresyl sulfate (PCS) may be alternative predictors of clinical outcomes in chronic kidney disease (CKD). Both toxins are derived from the gastrointestinal tract and metabolised in the liver. However, it is unclear whether the liver affects the production of IS and PCS. Here, we explore the association between IS and PCS levels in liver cirrhosis and a CKD-based cohort (N = 115). Liver and kidney function was assessed and classified by a Child-Pugh score (child A–C) and a modified version of the Modification of Diet in Renal Disease (MDRD) equation (Stages 1–4), respectively. An animal model was also used to confirm the two toxin levels in a…
Health-related quality of life in patients with compensated and decompensated liver cirrhosis.
2019
Compensated (Child-Pugh [CP] A) and decompensated (CP B/C) liver cirrhosis significantly differs in terms of impairment of health-related quality of life (HRQoL). However, sufficient data on potentially treatable factors associated with HRQoL in both stages of the disease are still lacking. Consequently, aims of this study were to determine differences in HRQoL between patients with compensated and decompensated liver cirrhosis and to identify potentially treatable factors associated with HRQoL.218 patients with liver cirrhosis were enrolled into this study. Chronic Liver Disease Questionnaire (CLDQ) was used to assess HRQoL. Covert hepatic encephalopathy (CHE) was diagnosed according to a …
Determination of organic and inorganic mercury species in water and sediment samples by HPLC on-line coupled with ICP-MS.
2009
This paper describes a preconcentration method for Hg(2+) and MeHg(+) in water samples using sodium diethyldithiocarbamate immobilized in polyurethane foam (PU-NaDDC) and an extraction method for several mercury species in sediment samples, including MeHg(+), EtHg(+) and PhHg(+), which is simple, rapid, and uses a single organic solvent. Separation and measurement were done by high-performance liquid chromatography on-line with inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (HPLC/ICP-MS). Initially, the test of recovery was applied using procedures compatible with HPLC. Under the optimum extraction conditions, recoveries of 96.7, 96.3 and 97.3% were obtained for MeHg(+), EtHg(+), and PhHg(+),…
Rapid Evaluation of Oxidized Fatty Acid Concentration in Virgin Olive Oils Using Metal Oxide Semiconductor Sensors and Multiple Linear Regression
2009
This works aims to set up a rapid and nondestructive method to evaluate the advanced oxidation of virgin olive oils (VOOs). An electronic nose based on an array of six metal oxide semiconductor sensors was used, jointly with multiple linear regression (MLR), to predict the oxidized fatty acid (OFA) concentration in VOO samples characterized by different oxidative status. An MLR model constructed using five predictors was able to predict OFA concentration with an average validation error of 9%.
Clinical efficacy of nab-paclitaxel in patients with metastatic pancreatic cancer
2018
Rossella De Luca,1 Livio Blasi,2 Massimiliano Alù,2 Valerio Gristina,1 Giuseppe Cicero1 1Department of Surgical, Oncological and Oral Sciences, Section of Medical Oncology, University of Palermo, Palermo, Italy; 2Medical Oncology Unit, ARNAS Hospital Civico, Di Cristina, Benfratelli, Palermo, Italy Purpose: Pancreatic carcinoma is the neoplasia with the major mortality, and main standard treatments in this cancer increase survival but do not lead to complete recovery of the patient. The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of Abraxane® (nab-paclitaxel) in Italian patients with metastatic pancreatic cancer (MPC).Patients and methods: We conducted a retrospective …