2494 research outputs found
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A new method of large-scale short-term forecasting of agricultural commodity prices: illustrated by the case of agricultural markets in Beijing
No full textAbstract
In order to forecast prices of arbitrary agricultural commodity in different wholesale markets in one city, this paper proposes a mixed model, which combines ARIMA model and PLS regression method based on time and space factors. This mixed model is able to obtain the forecasting results of weekly prices of agricultural commodities in different markets. Meanwhile, this paper sets up variables to measure the price changing trend based on the change of exogenous variables and prices, thus achieves the warning of daily price changes using neural networks. The model is tested with the data of several types of agricultural commodities and error analysis is made. The result shows that the mixed model is more accurate in forecasting agricultural commodity prices than each single model does, and has better accuracy in warning values. The mixed model, to some extent, forecasts the daily price changes of agricultural commodities
Early development of dietary patterns: transitions in the contribution of food groups to total energy\u2014Feeding Infants and Toddlers Study, 2008
No full textAbstract
Background
Early dietary patterns are critical to growth and development and play an important role in development of food preferences and habits. The objective of this paper is to describe when different foods enter the diet and how food consumption changes over the period of complementary feeding.
Methods
We analyzed cross-sectional 24-h dietary recall data from the Feeding Infants and Toddlers Study (FITS) 2008, a nationally representative sample of young children. Data are presented for 7 age groups: 6\u20138.9\ua0months ( n \u2009=\u2009249), 9\u201311.9\ua0months ( n \u2009=\u2009256), 12\u201314.9\ua0months ( n \u2009=\u2009243), 15\u201317.9\ua0months ( n \u2009=\u2009251), 18\u201320.9\ua0months ( n \u2009=\u2009219), 21\u201323.9\ua0months ( n \u2009=\u2009212) and 24\u201347.9\ua0months ( n \u2009=\u20091461). Per capita energy was calculated from major food groups and specific types of food within each food group.
Results
The predominant source of energy in the infant diet was milk (breast milk and infant formula), contributing 98% of energy at 0\u20133 months, and 91% at 4\u20135 months. At 6\u20138 months, when complementary feeding had begun for most infants, 69% of daily energy was coming from milk, 11% from grains, 6% from fruits, 5% from vegetables and 4% from mixed dishes. The diet then quickly transitioned until at 21\u201323.9\ua0months, 26% of energy came from milk, with other key sources of energy being grains (17%), mixed dishes (14%), meats (12%) and sweets (12%). The period from 4 to 14\ua0months was the most dynamic period of change regarding the introduction of complementary foods for all food groups, with a slower rate of change between 15 and 24\ua0months. After 24\ua0months, the diet stabilized and included less energy from milk (20%) and vegetables (4%) and more energy from mixed dishes (18%), grains (16%), and sweets (17%), and began to resemble adult diets.
Conclusions
Feeding in the first 24\ua0months shapes dietary patterns, and thus provides a critical window of opportunity to shape subsequent dietary patterns and eating habits. Findings from FITS identified high sweet and low vegetable consumption as key issues. Education is needed for health care professionals and parents on feeding during this important period. These findings can be used to support the development of specific and actionable feeding guidance for parents
Smoking treatment optimisation in pharmacies (STOP): a cluster randomised pilot trial of a training intervention
No full textAbstract
Background
UK government policy aims to strengthen the role of community pharmacies in health promotion. Thus, we conducted feasibility studies for an intervention to enhance delivery of the NHS Smoking Cessation Service.
Methods
The overall aims were to assess acceptability and feasibility of conducting the intervention in community pharmacies and piloting this with a cluster randomised trial. Specific objectives were (1) to estimate likely participation rates of pharmacies and stop smoking advisors, (2) to establish the potential impact of the training intervention on throughput and retention of smokers in smoking services, (3) to establish potential impact on smoking cessation outcomes, (4) to optimise logistics for conducting a cluster randomised trial in the next phase of the research programme and (5) to consider the feasibility of collecting pharmacy and service user data.
In this cluster randomised parallel group pilot trial, 12 community pharmacies in East London were allocated to intervention or usual practice using simple randomisation (allocation ratio 2:1). Data were analysed descriptively.
Results
Twelve of 54 (22.2%, 95% CI 12.0% to 35.6%) pharmacies and 20 of 23 (87.0%, 95% CI 66.4% to 97.2%) advisors invited, agreed to participate. Over 5\ua0months, 302 smokers in intervention pharmacies (mean per pharmacy 43.1, 95% CI: \u22124.3 to 90.5) and 319 in usual practice pharmacies (mean per pharmacy 79.8, 95% CI: 19.0 to 140.5) joined the service. 51 of 621 smokers (6.3% in intervention vs 10.0% in usual practice) consented to provide additional data on smoking cessation. 17 of 19 smokers that consented were retained at 4\ua0weeks in intervention arm (89.5%, 95% CI: 66.9% to 98.7%) and 24 of 32 in usual practice (75.0%, 95% CI: 56.6% to 88.5%). 10 of 19 in the intervention arm (52.6%, 95% CI: 28.9% to 75.6%) stopped smoking compared to 7 of 32 in usual practice arm (21.9%, 95% CI: 9.3% to 40.0%).
The pilot was useful in providing insights on how best to conduct the definitive trial and shortcomings of our present logistical arrangements, including feasibility of collecting pharmacy and service user data.
Conclusions
Recruitment rates show that the main trial is feasible, and the results suggest that the intervention may improve retention and quit rates in smoking cessation services. We gained insights on how best to conduct the definitive trial which will proceed as planned
Learning to work together \u2013 lessons from a reflective analysis of a research project on public involvement
No full textPlain English summary
Patient and public involvement (PPI) in research is very important, and funders and the NHS all expect this to happen. What this means in practice, and how to make it really successful, is therefore an important research question. This article analyses the experience of a research team using PPI, and makes recommendations on strengthening PPI in research.
There were different PPI roles in our study \u2013 some people were part of the research team: some were on the advisory group; and there were patient groups who gave specific feedback on how to make research work better for their needs. We used minutes, other written documents, and structured individual and group reflections to learn from our own experiences over time.
The main findings were:- for researchers and those in a PPI role to work in partnership, project structures must allow flexibility and responsiveness to different people\u2019s ideas and needs; a named link person can ensure support; PPI representatives need to feel fully included in the research; make clear what is expected for all roles; and ensure enough time and funding to allow meaningful involvement. Some roles brought more demands but also more rewards than others - highlighting that it is important that people giving up their time to help with research experience gains from doing so. Those contributing to PPI on a regular basis may want to learn new skills, rather than always doing the same things. Researchers and the public need to find ways to develop roles in PPI over time. We also found that, even for a team with expertise in PPI, there was a need both for understanding of different ways to contribute, and an evolving \u2018normalisation\u2019 of new ways of working together over time, which both enriched the process and the outputs.
Abstract
Background
Patient and public involvement (PPI) is now an expectation of research funders, in the UK, but there is relatively little published literature on what this means in practice \u2013 nor is there much evaluative research about implementation and outputs. Policy literature endorses the need to include PPI representation at all stages of planning, performing and research dissemination, and recommends resource allocation to these roles; but details of how to make such inputs effective in practice are less common. While literature on power and participation informs the debate, there are relatively few published case studies of how this can play out through the lived experience of PPI in research; early findings highlight key issues around access ..
Genetic effects and genotype\u2009\ud7\u2009environment interactions govern seed oil content in Brassica napus L.
No full textAbstract
Background
As seed oil content (OC) is a key measure of rapeseed quality, better understanding the genetic basis of OC would greatly facilitate the breeding of high-oil cultivars. Here, we investigated the components of genetic effects and genotype\u2009\ud7\u2009environment interactions (GE) that govern OC using a full diallel set of nine parents, which represented a wide range of the Chinese rapeseed cultivars and pure lines with various OCs.
Results
Our results from an embryo-cytoplasm-maternal (GoCGm) model for diploid seeds showed that OC was primarily determined by genetic effects (V
G
) and GE (V
GE
), which together accounted for 86.19% of the phenotypic variance (V
P
). GE (V
GE
) alone\ua0accounted for 51.68% of the total genetic variance, indicating the importance of GE interaction for OC. Furthermore, maternal variance explained 75.03% of the total genetic variance, embryo and cytoplasmic effects accounted for 21.02% and 3.95%, respectively. We also found that the OC of F
1
seeds was mainly determined by maternal effect and slightly affected by xenia. Thus, the OC of rapeseed was simultaneously affected by various genetic components, including maternal, embryo, cytoplasm, xenia and GE effects. In addition, general combining ability (GCA), specific combining ability (SCA), and maternal variance had significant influence on OC. The lines H2 and H1 were good general combiners, suggesting that they would be the best parental candidates for OC improvement. Crosses H3\u2009\ud7\u2009M2 and H1\u2009\ud7\u2009M3 exhibited significant SCA, suggesting their potentials in hybrid development.
Conclusions
Our study thoroughly investigated and reliably quantified various genetic factors associated with OC of rapeseed by using a full diallel and backcross and reciprocal backcross. This findings lay a foundation for future genetic studies of OC and provide guidance for breeding of high-oil rapeseed cultivars
Identification of coding and non-coding mutational hotspots in cancer genomes
No full textAbstract
Background
The identification of mutations that play a causal role in tumour development, so called \u201cdriver\u201d mutations, is of critical importance for understanding how cancers form and how they might be treated. Several large cancer sequencing projects have identified genes that are recurrently mutated in cancer patients, suggesting a role in tumourigenesis. While the landscape of coding drivers has been extensively studied and many of the most prominent driver genes are well characterised, comparatively less is known about the role of mutations in the non-coding regions of the genome in cancer development. The continuing fall in genome sequencing costs has resulted in a concomitant increase in the number of cancer whole genome sequences being produced, facilitating systematic interrogation of both the coding and non-coding regions of cancer genomes.
Results
To examine the mutational landscapes of tumour genomes we have developed a novel method to identify mutational hotspots in tumour genomes using both mutational data and information on evolutionary conservation. We have applied our methodology to over 1300 whole cancer genomes and show that it identifies prominent coding and non-coding regions that are known or highly suspected to play a role in cancer. Importantly, we applied our method to the entire genome, rather than relying on predefined annotations ( e.g. promoter regions) and we highlight recurrently mutated regions that may have resulted from increased exposure to mutational processes rather than selection, some of which have been identified previously as targets of selection. Finally, we implicate several pan-cancer and cancer-specific candidate non-coding regions, which could be involved in tumourigenesis.
Conclusions
We have developed a framework to identify mutational hotspots in cancer genomes, which is applicable to the entire genome. This framework identifies known and novel coding and non-coding mutional hotspots and can be used to differentiate candidate driver regions from likely passenger regions susceptible to somatic mutation
Competition assays and physiological experiments of soil and phyllosphere yeasts identify Candida subhashii as a novel antagonist of filamentous fungi
No full textAbstract
Background
While recent advances in next generation sequencing technologies have enabled researchers to readily identify countless microbial species in soil, rhizosphere, and phyllosphere microbiomes, the biological functions of the majority of these species are unknown. Functional studies are therefore urgently needed in order to characterize the plethora of microorganisms that are being identified and to point out species that may be used for biotechnology or plant protection. Here, we used a dual culture assay and growth analyses to characterise yeasts (40 different isolates) and their antagonistic effect on 16 filamentous fungi; comprising plant pathogens, antagonists, and saprophytes.
Results
Overall, this competition screen of 640 pairwise combinations revealed a broad range of outcomes, ranging from small stimulatory effects of some yeasts up to a growth inhibition of more than 80% by individual species. On average, yeasts isolated from soil suppressed filamentous fungi more strongly than phyllosphere yeasts and the antagonistic activity was a species-/isolate-specific property and not dependent on the filamentous fungus a yeast was interacting with. The isolates with the strongest antagonistic activity were Metschnikowia pulcherrima , Hanseniaspora sp. , Cyberlindnera sargentensis , Aureobasidium pullulans , Candida subhashii , and Pichia kluyveri . Among these, the soil yeasts ( C. sargentensis, A. pullulans, C. subhashii ) assimilated and/or oxidized more di-, tri- and tetrasaccharides and organic acids than yeasts from the phyllosphere. Only the two yeasts C. subhashii and M. pulcherrima were able to grow with N-acetyl-glucosamine as carbon source.
Conclusions
The competition assays and physiological experiments described here identified known antagonists that have been implicated in the biological control of plant pathogenic fungi in the past, but also little characterised species such as C. subhashii . Overall, soil yeasts were more antagonistic and metabolically versatile than yeasts from the phyllosphere. Noteworthy was the strong antagonistic activity of the soil yeast C. subhashii , which had so far only been described from a clinical sample and not been studied with respect to biocontrol. Based on binary competition assays and growth analyses (e.g., on different carbon sources, growth in root exudates), C. subhashii was identified as a competitive and antagonistic soil yeast with potential as a novel biocontrol agent against plant pathogenic fungi
Admission hyperglycemia and adverse outcomes in diabetic and non-diabetic patients with non-ST-elevation myocardial infarction undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention
No full textAbstract
Background
The association between admission hyperglycemia and adverse outcomes in patients with non-ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (NSTEMI) undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) has not been well studied, and the optimal plasma glucose cut-off values for prognosis for NSTEMI patients with and without diabetes have not been determined.
Methods
According to glucose level and diabetes status, consecutive NSTEMI patients undergoing PCI ( n \u2009=\u2009890) were divided into four groups: without diabetes mellitus (DM) and admission plasma glucose (APG) <144 or \u2265144\ua0mg/dL; or with DM and APG <180 or \u2265180\ua0mg/dL. All patients were followed up at 30\ua0days and 3\ua0years after discharge, and the outcomes were assessed.
Results
Admission hyperglycemia was found in 44 and 28% of the DM and non-DM patients, respectively. Multivariable analyses showed that the APG level was an independent predictor of 30-day and 3-year MACEs. Receiver operating characteristic curve analysis revealed that the appropriate cut-off values were 178 and 145\ua0mg/dL for patients with and without DM, respectively, or 157\ua0mg/dL for all patients.
Conclusions
Admission hyperglycemia may be used to predict 30-day and 3-year MACEs in patients with NSTEMI undergoing PCI, irrespective of diabetes status. However, the optimal admission glucose cut-off values for predicting prognosis differ for patients with or without DM
Effect of diabetes mellitus on long-term outcomes after repeat drug-eluting stent implantation for in-stent restenosis
No full textAbstract
Background
Whether diabetes mellitus (DM) is a predictor of long-term adverse clinical outcomes after repeat drug eluting stent (DES) implantation for DES in-stent restenosis (ISR) remains controversial. We sought to evaluate the effect of DM on the long-term clinical outcomes in patients undergoing repeat DES implantation for DES-ISR lesions.
Methods
In the present study, 254 patients with DES-ISR were divided into DM or non-DM groups according to the presence or absence of DM. All patients received repeat 2
nd
generation DES implantation for DES-ISR. The occurrences of major adverse cardiac events (MACEs) over a 2-year follow-up period were compared between the two groups. MACEs were defined as cardiac death, myocardial infarction (MI), and target lesion revascularization (TLR). MACE free survival was investigated with Kaplan-Meier curve analysis. Cox regression analysis was used to identify factors associated with MACEs.
Results
Baseline clinical characteristics were similar between groups, except for the prevalence of early restenosis (lower) in the DM group. Differences in angiographic and procedural characteristics were not significant between groups. The rates of 2-year MACE (30.9 vs. 26.0%; P \u2009=\u20090.453) and TLR (24.7 vs. 19.7%; P \u2009=\u20090.411) were similar between groups. MACE-free survival and TLR-free survival were also similar between groups ( P \u2009=\u20090.441 and P \u2009=\u20090.807). Subgroup analysis suggested a significant difference in the MACE (39.0 vs.15.3%, P \u2009<\u20090.001) and TLR occurrence (30.5 vs.8.2%, P \u2009<\u20090.001) and TLR-free survival (lower in early subgroup, P \u2009<\u20090.001) between early and late occurrence of ISR in the non-DM group of patients but not in the DM group. After adjustment for all significant clinical variables, Cox regression analysis indicated that DM was not associated with MACEs (hazard ratio [HR] 1.531, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.882-2.658, P \u2009=0.130). Non-focal type ISR and early ISR were predictors of MACEs (HR 2.671, 95% CI 1.468-4.858, P \u2009=\u20090.001; HR 4.703, 95% CI 2.725-8.117, P \u2009<\u20090.001, respectively).
Conclusions
Patients with DM have similar 2-year clinical outcomes to patients without DM when repeat 2
nd
generation DES was used for treatment of DES-ISR. DM is not the predictor of long-term prognosis in patients undergoing repeat 2
nd
generation DES for DES-ISR
Factors affecting the exposure, vulnerability and emergency medical service capacity for victims of road traffic incidents in Kampala Metropolitan Area: a Delphi study
No full textAbstract
Background
The Kampala Metropolitan Area (KMA) is the fastest developing region in Uganda. Over recent years, this has placed exponential demand on the road sector, which consequently has contributed to rapid growth in motorized vehicles which, predisposes the region to a high risk of road traffic incidents (RTIs). A number of concerted road safety and post-crash management measures to respond to RTIs in the KMA in particular and Uganda as a whole have been undertaken. However, there is a need to greatly improve the measures by better identifying the factors influencing the exposure, vulnerability and emergency medical service (EMS) capacity for RTI victims. The present study seeks to investigate and reveal these factors.
Methods
A Delphi technique employing a questionnaire and involving a multidisciplinary panel of experts was used in three rounds.
Results
The ten (10) most important factors affecting the exposure, vulnerability and EMS capacity for victims of RTIs in the KMA were identified. Socio-cultural, infrastructure and road safety aspects were the factors most identified as affecting the exposure and vulnerability. The absence of a national EMS policy and post-crash care system, as well as the fact that many victims lack health insurance, were noted to be the factors adversely affecting the EMS capacity.
Conclusions
There exists is a real need to substantially reduce the burden of RTIs in KMA, with ultimate goal of saving lives that are being lost needlessly and reducing the impact of injuries and trauma and the economic losses associated with it. This study offers insights into the causes of RTIs and the most appropriate ways of responding to them especially with the establishment and empowerment of predefined and structured EMS systems