Modified two-tier testing (MTTT) for Lyme borreliosis (i.e. confirmation with an EIA instead of an immunoblot) has been shown to have improved sensitivity compared with standard two-tier testing ...(STTT) in samples from American patients, without losing specificity. The current study assesses the sensitivity and specificity of various algorithms of MTTT in European patients with erythema migrans (EM) as a model disease for early Lyme borreliosis, and in appropriate controls. Four different immunoassays were used in the first tier, followed by either an immunoblot or the C6-EIA, or were used as standalone single-tier test. These tests were performed on consecutively collected sera of 228 Dutch patients with physician-diagnosed EM in the setting of general practice, 231 controls from the general population, and 50 controls with potentially cross-reactive antibodies. All the variants of MTTT that were studied had significantly higher sensitivity compared with their equivalent STTT, while retaining comparable specificity. Within the MTTT algorithms, classifying equivocal results as positive yielded better diagnostic parameters than classifying equivocal results as negative. The best diagnostic parameters were found using the Enzygnost-2 assay in the first tier, followed by a C6-ELISA in the second tier (sensitivity 77.6%, 95% CI 71.7–82.9; specificity 96.1%, 95% CI 92.7–98.2). This algorithm performed significantly better than the equivalent STTT algorithm in terms of sensitivity (
p
< 0.001), while maintaining comparable specificity (population controls
p
= 0.617). Our results show that MTTT can be a useful tool for the serodiagnosis of European patients with early Lyme borreliosis.
Abstract
Motivation
Recent methods for selective sweep detection cast the problem as a classification task and use summary statistics as features to capture region characteristics that are indicative ...of a selective sweep, thereby being sensitive to confounding factors. Furthermore, they are not designed to perform whole-genome scans or to estimate the extent of the genomic region that was affected by positive selection; both are required for identifying candidate genes and the time and strength of selection.
Results
We present ASDEC (https://github.com/pephco/ASDEC), a neural-network-based framework that can scan whole genomes for selective sweeps. ASDEC achieves similar classification performance to other convolutional neural network-based classifiers that rely on summary statistics, but it is trained 10× faster and classifies genomic regions 5× faster by inferring region characteristics from the raw sequence data directly. Deploying ASDEC for genomic scans achieved up to 15.2× higher sensitivity, 19.4× higher success rates, and 4× higher detection accuracy than state-of-the-art methods. We used ASDEC to scan human chromosome 1 of the Yoruba population (1000Genomes project), identifying nine known candidate genes.
Neck aging encompasses intrinsic and extrinsic factors that need to be understood in order to achieve good treatment outcomes in the area. Minimally or noninvasive methods for neck rejuvenation have ...gained popularity because they provide individualized, natural, and safe results with no downtime. However, few studies have debated the need for global neck treatment or have offered suggestions and ways to combine different methods in single or multiple sessions. We report here a novel protocol with the combined use of injectables and technologies in a single session, which act on laxity, fine lines, wrinkles, and skin quality.
Profile Steering with Non-regular Time-Intervals Bollen, L. M.; Heinsius, L. R.; Souilljee, M. L. ...
2020 IEEE PES Innovative Smart Grid Technologies Europe (ISGT-Europe),
2020-Oct.-26
Conference Proceeding
Odprti dostop
Demand Side Management (DSM) using the profile steering algorithm has succeeded to improve power quality and reduce energy losses. This paper presents an extension to pro-file steering called ..."IntervalMerge". IntervalMerge distinguishes itself from the original profile steering algorithm by using non-regular time interval lengths instead of static time interval lengths. This paper shows that by adjusting the profile steering algorithm, the execution time is reduced without significantly affecting the objective value. IntervalMerge is evaluated for different parameters and the achieved results show that by using different time interval lengths, the total execution time can be lowered up to 20%.
A prevalência de diabete mélito (DM) tipo 2 em adultos no Brasil é de 7,6%, estimando-se que 46,5% não estejam diagnosticados. O objetivo deste estudo foi rastrear pacientes internados em Passo ...Fundo, RS, nos quatro hospitais da cidade, para detectar a presença de hiperglicemia em jejum (glicemia >126mg/dl) durante o período de hospitalização. Incluíram-se nele todos os pacientes com idade igual ou superior a 40 anos internados no dia da visita ao hospital, feitas entre setembro de 1997 e fevereiro de 1998. Excluíram-se diabéticos conhecidos, pacientes em uso de corticoesteróides, período agudo de doença isquêmica e pós-operatório. Obtiveram-se identificação, antecedentes pessoais e familiares e nível socioeconômico. Aferiam-se peso, altura, circunferência abdominal e pélvica, a partir dos quais foram obtidos o índice de massa corporal (IMC) e o índice cintura quadril (ICQ). A glicemia capilar foi medida com tiras reagentes e lida em reflectômetro (coeficiente de variação 3,9%). Foram considerados pacientes com hiperglicemia aqueles que apresentassem glicemia igual ou maior que 126mg/dl após oito horas de jejum. Entre os 147 indivíduos elegíveis estudados, encontraram-se seis (4,1%) pacientes com hiperglicemia. A prevalência de pacientes com hiperglicemia foi semelhante nos quatro hospitais. Utilizando-se a análise bivariada, encontrou-se que os pacientes com hiperglicemia tinham ICQ maior que os não-diabéticos (F= 4,2; p= 0,04). Quando todas as outras variáveis foram analisadas através da regressão logística múltipla, não houve associações significativas com a presença de hiperglicemia, embora o IMC (p= 0,20) e a idade (p= 0,36) possam ser um indício de associação. Considerou-se alta a prevalência de 4,1% de indivíduos com hiperglicemia não diagnosticada internados nos hospitais. Esses indivíduos não tinham sido identificados no atendimento primário e, provavelmente, sejam portadores de DM do tipo 2. Provavelmente, indivíduos com maior ICQ, IMC e mais velhos sejam aqueles com maior risco de ter hiperglicemia não diagnosticada quando internados nos hospitais de Passo Fundo.
The prevalence of diabetes mellitus (DM) in Brazil amongst individuals between 30 and 69 years old is 7.6%. It was estimated that 46.4% of the cases are undiagnosed. The aim of this study was to detect hyper-glycemia (fasting glucose >126mg/dl) amongst individuals hospitalized in Passo Fundo, RS. All patients over 39 years admitted to a hospital between September 1997 and February 1998 were eligible. Diabetics, patients using corticosteroids, in acute phase of ischemic circulatory disease or in the early post surgical convalescence period were excluded. Data on personal and family history were obtained. Weight, height, waist and hip circumferences were used to calculate the body mass index (BMI) and the waist to hip ratio (WHR), respectively. Fasting plasma glucose (FPG) was obtained using Glucotide® sticks and read by Glucometer 4® reflectometer. Hyperglycemia was diagnosed if fasting glucose level was higher than 126mg/dl. Amongst 147 individuals eligible for the study 6 (4.1%) were found to have hyperglycemia. The prevalence was similar in the four hospitals. Using a bivariate analysis it was found that hyperglycemic patients had WHR higher than non-hyperglycemics (F= 4.2; p= 0.04). Using multiple logistic regression no significant association was found in hyperglycemic patients, but the age (p= 0.36) and the BMI (p= 0.20) may indicate a possible association if more patients were included. The prevalence of 4.1% of undiagnosed hyperglycemia amongst inpatients was considered high and probably these patients had type 2 DM. Possibly, hospitalized individuals with higher BMI, WHR and older, could have an increased risk of having undiagnosed hyperglycemia in Passo Fundo.
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