scholarly journals Sunspot activity and influenza pandemics: a statistical assessment of the purported association

2017 ◽  
Vol 145 (13) ◽  
pp. 2640-2655 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. TOWERS

SUMMARYSince 1978, a series of papers in the literature have claimed to find a significant association between sunspot activity and the timing of influenza pandemics. This paper examines these analyses, and attempts to recreate the three most recent statistical analyses by Ertel (1994), Tappinget al.(2001), and Yeung (2006), which all have purported to find a significant relationship between sunspot numbers and pandemic influenza. As will be discussed, each analysis had errors in the data. In addition, in each analysis arbitrary selections or assumptions were also made, and the authors did not assess the robustness of their analyses to changes in those arbitrary assumptions. Varying the arbitrary assumptions to other, equally valid, assumptions negates the claims of significance. Indeed, an arbitrary selection made in one of the analyses appears to have resulted in almost maximal apparent significance; changing it only slightly yields a null result. This analysis applies statistically rigorous methodology to examine the purported sunspot/pandemic link, using more statistically powerful un-binned analysis methods, rather than relying on arbitrarily binned data. The analyses are repeated using both the Wolf and Group sunspot numbers. In all cases, no statistically significant evidence of any association was found. However, while the focus in this particular analysis was on the purported relationship of influenza pandemics to sunspot activity, the faults found in the past analyses are common pitfalls; inattention to analysis reproducibility and robustness assessment are common problems in the sciences, that are unfortunately not noted often enough in review.

PEDIATRICS ◽  
1956 ◽  
Vol 17 (6) ◽  
pp. 897-924
Author(s):  
Lytt I. Gardner

THE IDENTIFICATION and measurement of adrenocortical steroids in body fluids over the past 2 decades have made possible an extensive exploration of adrenal function. This review is restricted to adrenocortical metabolism in the fetus, infant and child. No attempt will be made to cover all of this rapidly developing area of endeavor. Certain aspects have been treated in other review articles, to which the reader is referred. The reviews by Moore on fetal endorinology, Klein on neonatal adrenal physiology, Lieberman and Teich and Roberts and Szego on steroid biochemistry, White and Wettstein and Anner on adrenal cortical hormones, Ingle on cortisone and Gaunt, Renzi and Chart on aldosterone are especially useful. The books by Wilkins and by Talbot and colleagues contain helpful treatments of this area. Due to the prolific nature of even the review literature, it is necessary to make a rather arbitrary selection of material. NEWER METHODOLOGY Within recent years a number of methods have been developed for the estimation of hormones in urine and plasma. Several techniques for the chromatographic separation of the 17-ketosteroids in urine have been described. Of particular value in the diagnosis of virilizing adrenal tumor has been the development of colorimetric methods for the estimation of dehydroepiandrosterone in urine. Some progress has been made in the estimation of corticosteroids in the urine. Techniques for the measurement of 11-oxygenated neutral 17-ketosteroids, pregnanetriol and pregnanediol in the urine of patients with congenital adrenal hyperplasia have been described. There has been a blossoming of methods for estimating steroids in plasma. Several varieties of techniques are now available for the measurement of corticosteroids and 17-ketosteroids in plasma.


2006 ◽  
Vol 110 ◽  
pp. 111-116
Author(s):  
Lester W. Schmerr

Over the past two and a half decades there has been considerable progress made in the modeling of ultrasonic nondestructive evaluation (NDE) inspections. These models have also been combined with models of the noise and variability present in an inspection to estimate probability of detection (POD) versus flaw size curves. An overview will be given of the past and present accomplishments made in ultrasonic NDE modeling, POD modeling, and the relationship of those advances to reliability modeling that incorporates explicitly the results of inspections. A brief look into the future of this modeling technology will also be given.


2019 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 50-61
Author(s):  
G Victor William

Personal guarantee (borgtocht) is an additional agreement (accesoir) which is made for the benefit of the creditor. Personal guarantee cannot exist if there is no legal principal agreement between the creditor and the debtor, therefore this guarantee agreement involves three parties, namely the creditor, the debtor and the guarantor. The main reason for the making of personal guarantee agreement is because there is a relationship of interest between the guarantor and the debtor (the guarantor has an economic interest in the business of the debtor). Personal guarantee in practice are always made in written form. Personal guarantee agreement can be made in the form of under the hand deed or notarial deed. In banking practices, the agreement is made in the form of a standard contract that has been provided by the bank as the creditor. The party that signs this deed is the debtor and the guarantor, hereinafter the deed kept by the bank.


2017 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Emily Kaliel

The articles published in our Fall 2016 edition are connected loosely under the themes of public memory and the uses of identity in the past. We are thrilled to present to you three excellent articles in our Fall 2016 edition: The article "Dentro de la Revolución: Mobilizing the Artist in Alfredo Sosa Bravo's Libertad, Cultura, Igualdad (1961)" analyzes Cuban artwork as multi-layered work of propaganda whose conditions of creation, content, and exhibition reinforce a relationship of collaboration between artists and the state-run cultural institutions of post-revolutionary Cuba; moving through fifty years of history “’I Shall Never Forget’: The Civil War in American Historical Memory, 1863-1915" provides a captivating look at the role of reconciliationist and emancipationist intellectuals, politicians, and organizations as they contested and shaped the enduring memory of the Civil War; and finally, the article “Politics as Metis Ethnogenesis in Red River: Instrumental Ethnogenesis in the 1830s and 1840s in Red River” takes the reader through a historical analysis of the development of the Metis identity as a means to further their economic rights. We wholly hope you enjoy our Fall 2016 edition as much as our staff has enjoyed curating it. Editors  Jean Middleton and Emily Kaliel Assistant Editors Magie Aiken and Hannah Rudderham Senior Reviewers Emily Tran Connor Thompson Callum McDonald James Matiko Bronte Wells


1973 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 181-188
Author(s):  
Rafiq Ahmad

Like nations and civilizations, sciences also pass through period of crises when established theories are overthrown by the unpredictable behaviour of events. Economics is passing through such a crisis. The challenge thrown by the Great Depression of early 1930s took a decade before Keynes re-established the supremacy of economics. But this supremacy has again been upset by the crisis of poverty in the vast under-developed world which attained political independence after the Second World War. Poverty had always existed but never before had it been of such concern to economists as during the past twenty five years or so. Economic literature dealing with this problem has piled up but so have the agonies of poverty. No plausible and well-integrated theory of economic development or under-development has emerged so far, though brilliant advances have been made in isolated directions.


Author(s):  
Rocco J. Rotello ◽  
Timothy D. Veenstra

: In the current omics-age of research, major developments have been made in technologies that attempt to survey the entire repertoire of genes, transcripts, proteins, and metabolites present within a cell. While genomics has led to a dramatic increase in our understanding of such things as disease morphology and how organisms respond to medications, it is critical to obtain information at the proteome level since proteins carry out most of the functions within the cell. The primary tool for obtaining proteome-wide information on proteins within the cell is mass spectrometry (MS). While it has historically been associated with the protein identification, developments over the past couple of decades have made MS a robust technology for protein quantitation as well. Identifying quantitative changes in proteomes is complicated by its dynamic nature and the inability of any technique to guarantee complete coverage of every protein within a proteome sample. Fortunately, the combined development of sample preparation and MS methods have made it capable to quantitatively compare many thousands of proteins obtained from cells and organisms.


Author(s):  
John Hunsley ◽  
Eric J. Mash

Evidence-based assessment relies on research and theory to inform the selection of constructs to be assessed for a specific assessment purpose, the methods and measures to be used in the assessment, and the manner in which the assessment process unfolds. An evidence-based approach to clinical assessment necessitates the recognition that, even when evidence-based instruments are used, the assessment process is a decision-making task in which hypotheses must be iteratively formulated and tested. In this chapter, we review (a) the progress that has been made in developing an evidence-based approach to clinical assessment in the past decade and (b) the many challenges that lie ahead if clinical assessment is to be truly evidence-based.


1893 ◽  
Vol 10 (9) ◽  
pp. 401-412 ◽  
Author(s):  
Karl A. von Zittel

In a spirited treatise on the ‘Origin of our Animal World’ Prof. L. Rütimeyer, in the year 1867, described the geological development and distribution of the mammalia, and the relationship of the different faunas of the past with each other and with that now existing. Although, since the appearance of that masterly sketch the palæontological material has been, at least, doubled through new discoveries in Europe and more especially in North and South America, this unexpected increase has in most instances only served as a confirmation of the views which Rutimeyer advanced on more limited experience. At present, Africa forms the only great gap in our knowledge of the fossil mammalia; all the remaining parts of the world can show materials more or less abundantly, from which the course followed by the mammalia in their geological development can be traced with approximate certainty.


2021 ◽  
pp. 088506662199232
Author(s):  
Xiaojuan Zhang ◽  
Xin Li

Septic shock with multiple organ failure is a devastating situation in clinical settings. Through the past decades, much progress has been made in the management of sepsis and its underlying pathogenesis, but a highly effective therapeutic has not been developed. Recently, macromolecules such as histones have been targeted in the treatment of sepsis. Histones primarily function as chromosomal organizers to pack DNA and regulate its transcription through epigenetic mechanisms. However, a growing body of research has shown that histone family members can also exert cellular toxicity once they relocate from the nucleus into the extracellular space. Heparin, a commonly used anti-coagulant, has been shown to possess life-saving capabilities for septic patients, but the potential interplay between heparin and extracellular histones has not been investigated. In this review, we summarize the pathogenic roles of extracellular histones and the therapeutic roles of heparin in the development and management of sepsis and septic shock.


2021 ◽  
Vol 35 ◽  
pp. 205873842110005
Author(s):  
Xia Ma ◽  
Meng Yang ◽  
Yan He ◽  
Chuntao Zhai ◽  
Chengliang Li

Tremella polysaccharide is known to be structurally unique and biologically active natural products, abundant and versatile in activities and applications in food industry, daily chemical industry and medicine industry. In order to improve the industrialisation of Tremella polysaccharide, the limitations of preparation and structure-activity relationship of Tremella polysaccharide were reviewed in this paper. The research progress of Tremella polysaccharide in the past 20 years was summarized from the sources, preparation methods, molecular structure, activity and application, and the research trend in the future was also prospected. The application prospect of Tremella polysaccharide in against multiple sub-health states was worth expecting.


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