An accurate test for homogeneity of odds ratios based on Cochran's Q-statistic

Background: A frequently used statistic for testing homogeneity in a meta-analysis of K independent studies is Cochran's Q. For a standard test of homogeneity the Q statistic is referred to a chi-square distribution with K - 1 degrees of freedom. For the situation in which the effects of the studies are logarithms of odds ratios, the chi-square distribution is much too conservative for moderate size studies, although it may be asymptotically correct as the individual studies become large. Methods: Using a mixture of theoretical results and simulations, we provide formulas to estimate the shape and scale parameters of a gamma distribution to t the distribution of Q. Results: Simulation studies show that the gamma distribution is a good approximation to the distribution for Q. Conclusions: : Use of the gamma distribution instead of the chi-square distribution for Q should eliminate inaccurate inferences in assessing homogeneity in a meta-analysis. (A computer program for implementing this test is provided.) This hypothesis test is competitive with the Breslow-Day test both in accuracy of level and in power

A Study of D0 --> K0(S) K0(S) X Decay Channels

Using data from the FOCUS experiment (FNAL-E831), we report on the decay of $D^0$ mesons into final states containing more than one $K^0_S$. We present evidence for two Cabibbo favored decay modes, $D^0\to K^0_SK^0_S K^- \pi^+$ and $D^0\to K^0_SK^0_S K^+ \pi^-$, and measure their combined branching fraction relative to $D^0\to \bar{K} ^0\pi^+\pi^-$ to be $\frac{\Gamma(D^0\to K^0_SK^0_SK^{\pm}\pi^{\mp})}{\Gamma(D^0\to \bar{K} ^0\pi^+\pi^-)}$ = 0.0106 $\pm$ 0.0019 $\pm$ 0.0010. Further, we report new measurements of $\frac{\Gamma(D^0\to K^0_SK^0_SK^0_S)}{\Gamma(D^0\to \bar{K} ^0\pi^+\pi^-)}$ = 0.0179 $\pm$ 0.0027 $\pm$ 0.0026, $\frac{\Gamma(D^0\to K^0\bar{K} ^0)}{\Gamma(D^0\to \bar{K} ^0\pi^+\pi^-)}$ = 0.0144 $\pm$ 0.0032 $\pm$ 0.0016, and $\frac{\Gamma(D^0\to K^0_SK^0_S\pi^+\pi^-)}{\Gamma(D^0\to \bar{K} ^0\pi^+\pi^-)}$ = 0.0208 $\pm$ 0.0035 $\pm$ 0.0021 where the first error is statistical and the second is systematic.Comment: 11 pages, 3 figures, typos correcte

Search for CP violation in D0 and D+ decays

A high statistics sample of photoproduced charm particles from the FOCUS (E831) experiment at Fermilab has been used to search for CP violation in the Cabibbo suppressed decay modes D+ to K-K+pi+, D0 to K-K+ and D0 to pi-pi+. We have measured the following CP asymmetry parameters: A_CP(K-K+pi+) = +0.006 +/- 0.011 +/- 0.005, A_CP(K-K+) = -0.001 +/- 0.022 +/- 0.015 and A_CP(pi-pi+) = +0.048 +/- 0.039 +/- 0.025 where the first error is statistical and the second error is systematic. These asymmetries are consistent with zero with smaller errors than previous measurements.Comment: 12 pages, 4 figure

Predictors of linkage to care following community-based HIV counseling and testing in rural Kenya

Despite innovations in HIV counseling and testing (HCT), important gaps remain in understanding linkage to care. We followed a cohort diagnosed with HIV through a community-based HCT campaign that trained persons living with HIV/AIDS (PLHA) as navigators. Individual, interpersonal, and institutional predictors of linkage were assessed using survival analysis of self-reported time to enrollment. Of 483 persons consenting to follow-up, 305 (63.2%) enrolled in HIV care within 3 months. Proportions linking to care were similar across sexes, barring a sub-sample of men aged 18–25 years who were highly unlikely to enroll. Men were more likely to enroll if they had disclosed to their spouse, and women if they had disclosed to family. Women who anticipated violence or relationship breakup were less likely to link to care. Enrolment rates were significantly higher among participants receiving a PLHA visit, suggesting that a navigator approach may improve linkage from community-based HCT campaigns.Vestergaard Frandse

Production of electrospun fast-dissolving drug delivery systems with therapeutic eutectic systems encapsulated in gelatin

Fast-dissolving delivery systems (FDDS) have received increasing attention in the last years. Oral drug delivery is still the preferred route for the administration of pharmaceutical ingredients. Nevertheless, some patients, e.g. children or elderly people, have difficulties in swallowing solid tablets. In this work, gelatin membranes were produced by electrospinning, containing an encapsulated therapeutic deep-eutectic solvent (THEDES) composed by choline chloride/mandelic acid, in a 1:2 molar ratio. A gelatin solution (30% w/ v) with 2% (v/v) of THEDES was used to produce electrospun fibers and the experimental parameters were optimized. Due to the high surface area of polymer fibers, this type of construct has wide applicability. With no cytotoxicity effect, and showing a fast-dissolving release profile in PBS, the gelatin fibers with encapsulated THEDES seem to have promising applications in the development of new drug delivery systems.The research leading to these results has received funding from Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT) through the projects ENIGMA - PTDC/EQU-EPR/ 121491/2010 and UID/CTM/50025/2013, LAQVREQUIMTE: UID/QUI/50006/2013, UCIBIO-REQUIMTE: UID/Multi/04378/2013 (co-financed by the ERDF under the PT2020 Partnership Agreement [POCI-01-0145-FEDER- 007728]) and by FEDER through the COMPETE 2020 Programme. Marta Martins is grateful for financial support from FCT through the grant BIM/PTDC/EQUEPR/121491/ 2010/ENIGMA. This research has also received funding from the European Union Seventh Framework Programme (FP7/ 2007-2013) under grant agreement number REGPOTCT2012-316331-POLARIS and from the project BNovel smart and biomimetic materials for innovative regenerative medicine approaches^ RL1 - ABMR - NORTE-01-0124- FEDER-000016) co-financed by North Portugal Regional Operational Programme (ON.2 – O Novo Norte), under the National Strategic Reference Framework (NSRF), through the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF).info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Experimental system for testing a superconducting motor at temperatures close to 15 K

Integrating superconducting elements in an electric motor can greatly increase its power density. By doing so, lighter and more powerful machines can be produced for applications such as aviation, wind turbines and marine propulsion. Superconducting tapes can be stacked and magnetised to produce powerful trapped-flux magnets. The experimental setup was designed to allow measurements in a low temperature environment, providing tightness for the rotating part. We report on the design and construction of the setup and results from its first operation. The temperatures achieved during the experimental measurements reached 15 K, close to the actual operational temperatures of a liquid hydrogen cooled motor. The application of hydrogen onboard an aircraft is highly advantageous due to the possibility of its application as both coolant and fuel. Examination of the operation of the trapped-flux magnets at such temperatures is crucial for the understanding of the behavior of fully superconducting motors for future applications

Phage Display Technology in Biomaterials Engineering: Progress and Opportunities for Applications in Regenerative Medicine

This work was supported by national funds through the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology under the scope of the project PTDC/EBB-BIO/114523/2009 and by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) through the Operational Competitiveness Programme “COMPETE” (FCOMP-01-0124-FEDER-014758). The authors are also thankful for the financial support of the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology under the strategic funding of UID/ BIO/04469/2013 unit and RECI/BBB-EBI/0179/2012 (FCOMP-01-0124-FEDER-027462) and the European Union under the Marie Curie Career Integration Grant SuprHApolymers (PCIG14-GA-2013-631871)

Carcass persistence and detectability : reducing the uncertainty surrounding wildlife-vehicle collision surveys

Carcass persistence time and detectability are two main sources of uncertainty on roadkill surveys. In this study, we evaluate the influence of these uncertainties on roadkill surveys and estimates. To estimate carcass persistence time, three observers (including the driver) surveyed 114km by car on a monthly basis for two years, searching for wildlife-vehicle collisions (WVC). Each survey consisted of five consecutive days. To estimate carcass detectability, we randomly selected stretches of 500m to be also surveyed on foot by two other observers (total 292 walked stretches, 146 km walked). We expected that body size of the carcass, road type, presence of scavengers and weather conditions to be the main drivers influencing the carcass persistence times, but their relative importance was unknown. We also expected detectability to be highly dependent on body size. Overall, we recorded low median persistence times (one day) and low detectability (<10%) for all vertebrates. The results indicate that body size and landscape cover (as a surrogate of scavengers' presence) are the major drivers of carcass persistence. Detectability was lower for animals with body mass less than 100g when compared to carcass with higher body mass. We estimated that our recorded mortality rates underestimated actual values of mortality by 2±10 fold. Although persistence times were similar to previous studies, the detectability rates here described are very different from previous studies. The results suggest that detectability is the main source of bias across WVC studies. Therefore, more than persistence times, studies should carefully account for differing detectability when comparing WVC studies

Analytical tools used to distinguish chemical profiles of plants widely consumed as infusions and dietary supplements: artichoke, milk thistle and borututu

Artichoke, borututu and milk thistle are three medicinal plants widely consumed as infusions or included in dietary supplements (e.g., pills and syrups). Despite their high consumption, studies on nutritional value and primary metabolites are scarce, being only reported the composition in secondary metabolites such as phenolic compounds. Therefore, their nutritional value was assessed and analytical tools (liquid and gas chromatography coupled to different detectors) were used to distinguish the chemical profiles namely in hydrophilic (sugars and organic acids) and lipophilic (fatty acids and tocopherols) compounds. Chromatographic techniques are important analytical tools used in the identification and quantification of several molecules, also being a standard requirement to distinguish different profiles. Borututu gave the highest energetic value with the highest content of carbohydrates and fat, sucrose and total sugars, shikimic and citric acids, α-, β-, δ- and total tocopherols. Artichoke had the highest ash and protein contents, oxalic acid, SFA (mainly palmitic acid acid), and γ-tocopherol, as also the best n6/n3 ratio. Milk thistle showed the highest levels of fructose and glucose, quinic acid and total organic acids, PUFA, mainly linoleic acid, and the best PUFA/SFA ratio. The hydrophilic compounds identified in the studied plants, mostly sugars, are the responsible for the energetic contribution of their widely consumed infusions. Otherwise, the bioactivity of lipophilic compounds namely, unsaturated fatty acids and tocopherols, is lost in those preparations but can be recovered in dietary supplements based on the plants. As far as we know this is the first report on detailed composition of molecules with nutritional features.The authors are grateful to the Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT, Portugal) for financial support to the research centre CIMO (PEst-OE/AGR/UI0690/2011)

Measurement of the D+ and Ds+ decays into K+K-K+

We present the first clear observation of the doubly Cabibbo suppressed decay D+ --> K-K+K+ and the first observation of the singly Cabibbo suppressed decay Ds+ --> K-K+K+. These signals have been obtained by analyzing the high statistics sample of photoproduced charm particles of the FOCUS(E831) experiment at Fermilab. We measure the following relative branching ratios: Gamma(D+ --> K-K+K+)/Gamma(D+ --> K-pi+pi+) = (9.49 +/- 2.17(statistical) +/- 0.22(systematic))x10^-4 and Gamma(Ds+ --> K-K+K+)/Gamma(Ds+ --> K-K+pi+) = (8.95 +/- 2.12(statistical) +2.24(syst.) -2.31(syst.))x10^-3