Log Transformation and the Effect on Estimation, Implication, and Interpretation of Mean and Measurement Uncertainty in Microbial Enumeration

2019 ◽  
Vol 102 (1) ◽  
pp. 233-238 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anli Gao ◽  
Perry Martos
Keyword(s):  
Measurement Uncertainty ◽  
Geometric Mean ◽  
Estimation Method ◽  
Original Data ◽  
Background Estimation ◽  
Bacterial Enumeration ◽  
The Common ◽  
The Mean ◽  
The Difference ◽  
Multiple Samples

Abstract Background: Estimation of measurement uncertainty (MU) has been extensively addressed in documents from standard authorities. In microbiology, bacterial counts are log transformed to get a more normal distribution. Unfortunately, the difference between using original and log-transformed data appears to not have been investigated even in publications focusing on MU estimation. Method: Statistical formulae inferencing and estimation of MU using real bacterial enumeration datasets. Results: Both mean and SD calculated from original data carry the same scale and unit as the original data. However, the mean of log-transformed data becomes a geometric mean in log, and the SD becomes the logarithm of a ratio. Furthermore, calculation of RSD obtained by dividing the SD by the mean is meaningless and misleading for log-transformed data. The ratio, the antilog of the SD of log-transformed data, copes with multiplicative and divisive relationships to geometric mean (without log), instead of the arithmetic mean. The ratio can be converted to an analog ratio, which is similar or almost identical to the RSD of the untransformed data, especially when the within-subject variation is small. When MU is estimated from multiple samples with different measurands, the calculated RSD of original data is independent of the mean and can be pooled; however, for log-transformed data, the SD can be combined to estimate the common uncertainty. Conclusions: Calculation and use of RSD of log-transformed data are meaningless and misleading. Procedures outlining the estimation and interpretation of MU from log-transformed data require re-evaluation.

scholarly journals Sperm metabolism is altered during storage by female insects: evidence from two-photon autofluorescence lifetime measurements in bedbugs

2015 ◽  
Vol 12 (110) ◽  
pp. 20150609 ◽  
Author(s):  
Klaus Reinhardt ◽  
Hans Georg Breunig ◽  
Aisada Uchugonova ◽  
Karsten König
Keyword(s):  
Fluorescence Lifetime ◽  
Sperm Cells ◽  
Fluorescence Lifetime Imaging ◽  
Two Photon ◽  
Lifetime Imaging ◽  
Photon Excitation ◽  
The Common ◽  
The Mean ◽  
The Difference ◽  
Male Genotype

We explore the possibility of characterizing sperm cells without the need to stain them using spectral and fluorescence lifetime analyses after multi-photon excitation in an insect model. The autofluorescence emission spectrum of sperm of the common bedbug, Cimex lectularius , was consistent with the presence of flavins and NAD(P)H. The mean fluorescence lifetimes showed smaller variation in sperm extracted from the male (tau m, τ m = 1.54–1.84 ns) than in that extracted from the female sperm storage organ (tau m, τ m = 1.26–2.00 ns). The fluorescence lifetime histograms revealed four peaks. These peaks (0.18, 0.92, 2.50 and 3.80 ns) suggest the presence of NAD(P)H and flavins and show that sperm metabolism can be characterized using fluorescence lifetime imaging. The difference in fluorescence lifetime variation between the sexes is consistent with the notion that female animals alter the metabolism of sperm cells during storage. It is not consistent, however, with the idea that sperm metabolism represents a sexually selected character that provides females with information about the male genotype.

scholarly journals A genetic method for dating ancient genomes provides a direct estimate of human generation interval in the last 45,000 years

2016 ◽  
Vol 113 (20) ◽  
pp. 5652-5657 ◽  
Author(s):  
Priya Moorjani ◽  
Sriram Sankararaman ◽  
Qiaomei Fu ◽  
Molly Przeworski ◽  
Nick Patterson ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Upper Paleolithic ◽  
Direct Estimate ◽  
Radiocarbon Dates ◽  
Genetic Method ◽  
Generation Interval ◽  
Neanderthal Admixture ◽  
The Common ◽  
The Mean ◽  
The Difference ◽  
Age Estimates

The study of human evolution has been revolutionized by inferences from ancient DNA analyses. Key to these studies is the reliable estimation of the age of ancient specimens. High-resolution age estimates can often be obtained using radiocarbon dating, and, while precise and powerful, this method has some biases, making it of interest to directly use genetic data to infer a date for samples that have been sequenced. Here, we report a genetic method that uses the recombination clock. The idea is that an ancient genome has evolved less than the genomes of present-day individuals and thus has experienced fewer recombination events since the common ancestor. To implement this idea, we take advantage of the insight that all non-Africans have a common heritage of Neanderthal gene flow into their ancestors. Thus, we can estimate the date since Neanderthal admixture for present-day and ancient samples simultaneously and use the difference as a direct estimate of the ancient specimen’s age. We apply our method to date five Upper Paleolithic Eurasian genomes with radiocarbon dates between 12,000 and 45,000 y ago and show an excellent correlation of the genetic and 14C dates. By considering the slope of the correlation between the genetic dates, which are in units of generations, and the 14C dates, which are in units of years, we infer that the mean generation interval in humans over this period has been 26–30 y. Extensions of this methodology that use older shared events may be applicable for dating beyond the radiocarbon frontier.

Investigations of Tripping Effect on the Friction Factor in Turbulent Pipe Flows

2009 ◽  
Vol 131 (7) ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Al-Salaymeh ◽  
O. A. Bayoumi
Keyword(s):  
Friction Factor ◽  
Reynolds Numbers ◽  
Original Data ◽  
Turbulent Pipe Flow ◽  
Wall Friction ◽  
Mean Flow ◽  
Mean Velocity ◽  
Fully Developed Turbulent Flow ◽  
The Mean ◽  
The Difference

Tripping devices are usually installed at the entrance of laboratory-scale pipe test sections to obtain a fully developed turbulent flow sooner. The tripping of laminar flow to induce turbulence can be carried out in different ways, such as using cylindrical wires, sand papers, well-organized tape elements, fences, etc. Claims of tripping effects have been made since the classical experiments of Nikuradse (1932, Gesetzmässigkeit der turbulenten Strömung in glatten Rohren, Forschungsheft 356, Ausgabe B, Vol. 3, VDI-Verlag, Berlin), which covered a significant range of Reynolds numbers. Nikuradse’s data have become the metric by which theories are established and have also been the subject of intense scrutiny. Several subsequent experiments reported friction factors as much as 5% lower than those measured by Nikuradse, and the authors of those reports attributed the difference to tripping effects, e.g., work of Durst et al. (2003, “Investigation of the Mean-Flow Scaling and Tripping Effect on Fully Developed Turbulent Pipe Flow,” J. Hydrodynam., 15(1), pp. 14–22). In the present study, measurements with and without ring tripping devices of different blocking areas of 10%, 20%, 30%, and 40% have been carried out to determine the effect of entrance condition on the developing flow field in pipes. Along with pressure drop measurements to compute the skin friction, both the Pitot tube and hot-wire anemometry measurements have been used to accurately determine the mean velocity profile over the working test section at different Reynolds numbers based on the mean velocity and pipe diameter in the range of 1.0×105–4.5×105. The results we obtained suggest that the tripping technique has an insignificant effect on the wall friction factor, in agreement with Nikuradse’s original data.

scholarly journals Pseudo-photometric distances of 30 open clusters

2018 ◽  
Vol 619 ◽  
pp. A132 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Chelli ◽  
G. Duvert
Keyword(s):  
Spectral Type ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Open Cluster ◽  
Estimation Method ◽  
Distance Estimation ◽  
Open Clusters ◽  
Distance Modulus ◽  
Stellar Clusters ◽  
The Mean ◽  
The Difference

Aims. We demonstrate that reliable photometric distances of stellar clusters, and more generally of stars, can be obtained using pseudomagnitudes and rough spectral type without having to correct for visual absorption. Methods. We determine the mean absolute pseudomagnitude of all spectral (sub)types between B and K. Distances are computed from the difference between the star’s observed pseudomagnitude and its spectral type’s absolute pseudomagnitude. We compare the distances of 30 open clusters thus derived against the distances derived from TGAS parallaxes. Results. Our computed distances, up to distance modulus 12, agree within 0.1 mag rms with those obtained from TGAS parallaxes, proving excellent distance estimates. We show additionally that there are actually two markedly different distances in the cluster NGC 2264. Conclusions. We suggest that the pseudomagnitude distance estimation method, which is easy to perform, can be routinely used in all large-scale surveys where statistical distances on a set of stars, such as an open cluster, are required.

Comparing the Efficiency of Insect Traps

1951 ◽  
Vol 42 (3) ◽  
pp. 513-517 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. B. Williams
Keyword(s):  
Analysis Of Variance ◽  
Relative Efficiency ◽  
Geometric Mean ◽  
Logarithmic Scale ◽  
Actual Number ◽  
Light Traps ◽  
The Mean ◽  
The Difference

An experiment is described in which three light traps were tested for relative efficiency by having three locations in a wood and moving the traps each day so that over a period of three nights each trap had been once in each position. The actual number of moths caught were converted to a logarithmic scale and the mean log. (i.e., log. of the geometric mean catch) was used for comparison. By analysis of variance it is possible to show what portion of the differences between the catches is due to the difference between the locations, to the difference between the nights, and the difference between the traps.

scholarly journals Influence of Orthodontic Treatment on Smile Attractiveness as perceived by Common People, General Dentists and Orthodontists

2016 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 18-22
Author(s):  
Karan Nehra
Keyword(s):  
Orthodontic Treatment ◽  
Common People ◽  
The Common ◽  
The Mean ◽  
The Difference ◽  
General Dentists ◽  
Smile Esthetics ◽  
Post Hoc ◽  
Change In Mean ◽  
General Dentist

ABSTRACT Objectives To analyze the influence of orthodontic treatment on smile attractiveness as perceived by common people, general dentists and orthodontists. Materials and methods The photographic records of 114 patients were screened and 72 patients who fulfilled the inclusion criteria were selected. The pretreatment and posttreatment smile photographs were rated on a 10-point scale by panels of common people, general dentists and orthodontists. Data were analyzed by one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) with Tukey's post hoc test. Results The mean esthetic scores for pretreatment images as evaluated by the three panels; orthodontists, general dentists and common people were 3.26, 3.20 and 3.31 respectively. The difference in esthetic scores between these three groups was not statistically significant (p > 0.05). For post-treatment images, the mean esthetic scores by the three panels; orthodontists, general dentist and common people were 6.45, 6.50 and 7.32 respectively. Esthetic scores between these three groups differed significantly (p < 0.05) with common people displaying significantly higher score than orthodontists and general dentists, however no difference was seen between orthodontists and general dentists. It was also seen that the percentage change in mean esthetic scores from pre- to posttreatment smile was significantly higher for common people as compared to orthodontist (p < 0.05) and no difference was seen between orthodontists and general dentists or common people and general dentists respectively. Conclusion Though there is no difference in perception of smile esthetics between common people, general dentists and orthodontists, the influence of orthodontic treatment on smile attractiveness is appreciated differently by the common people as compared to general dentists and orthodontists. How to cite this article Kumar P, Patil C, Nehra K, Sharma M. Influence of Orthodontic Treatment on Smile Attractiveness as perceived by Common People, General Dentists and Orthodontists. World J Dent 2016;7(1):18-22.

The Effect of Vocabulary Intervention on Text Comprehension: Who Benefits?

2019 ◽  
Vol 50 (4) ◽  
pp. 562-578 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dawna Duff
Keyword(s):  
Middle School ◽  
Reading Comprehension ◽  
Text Comprehension ◽  
Classroom Instruction ◽  
Vocabulary Instruction ◽  
Clinical Intervention ◽  
Vocabulary Knowledge ◽  
Vocabulary Intervention ◽  
The Mean ◽  
The Difference

Purpose Vocabulary intervention can improve comprehension of texts containing taught words, but it is unclear if all middle school readers get this benefit. This study tests 2 hypotheses about variables that predict response to vocabulary treatment on text comprehension: gains in vocabulary knowledge due to treatment and pretreatment reading comprehension scores. Method Students in Grade 6 ( N = 23) completed a 5-session intervention based on robust vocabulary instruction (RVI). Knowledge of the semantics of taught words was measured pre- and posttreatment. Participants then read 2 matched texts, 1 containing taught words (treated) and 1 not (untreated). Treated texts and taught word lists were counterbalanced across participants. The difference between text comprehension scores in treated and untreated conditions was taken as a measure of the effect of RVI on text comprehension. Results RVI resulted in significant gains in knowledge of taught words ( d RM = 2.26) and text comprehension ( d RM = 0.31). The extent of gains in vocabulary knowledge after vocabulary treatment did not predict the effect of RVI on comprehension of texts. However, untreated reading comprehension scores moderated the effect of the vocabulary treatment on text comprehension: Lower reading comprehension was associated with greater gains in text comprehension. Readers with comprehension scores below the mean experienced large gains in comprehension, but those with average/above average reading comprehension scores did not. Conclusion Vocabulary instruction had a larger effect on text comprehension for readers in Grade 6 who had lower untreated reading comprehension scores. In contrast, the amount that children learned about taught vocabulary did not predict the effect of vocabulary instruction on text comprehension. This has implications for the identification of 6th-grade students who would benefit from classroom instruction or clinical intervention targeting vocabulary knowledge.

DMSA-scintigraphy in paediatrics: Is the evaluation of the geometric mean necessary for the calculation of the differential renal function?

2001 ◽  
Vol 40 (04) ◽  
pp. 107-110 ◽  
Author(s):  
B. Roßmüller ◽  
S. Alalp ◽  
S. Fischer ◽  
S. Dresel ◽  
K. Hahn ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Renal Function ◽  
Geometric Mean ◽  
Region Of Interest ◽  
Posterior View ◽  
Renal Abnormality ◽  
Anterior View ◽  
Differential Renal Function ◽  
The Mean ◽  
The Right ◽  
To Receive

SummaryFor assessment of differential renal function (PF) by means of static renal scintigraphy with Tc-99m-dimer-captosuccinic acid (DMSA) the calculation of the geometric mean of counts from the anterior and posterior view is recommended. Aim of this retrospective study was to find out, if the anterior view is necessary to receive an accurate differential renal function by calculating the geometric mean compared to calculating PF using the counts of the posterior view only. Methods: 164 DMSA-scans of 151 children (86 f, 65 m) aged 16 d to 16 a (4.7 ± 3.9 a) were reviewed. The scans were performed using a dual head gamma camera (Picker Prism 2000 XP, low energy ultra high resolution collimator, matrix 256 x 256,300 kcts/view, Zoom: 1.6-2.0). Background corrected values from both kidneys anterior and posterior were obtained. Using region of interest technique PF was calculated using the counts of the dorsal view and compared with the calculated geometric mean [SQR(Ctsdors x Ctsventr]. Results: The differential function of the right kidney was significantly less when compared to the calculation of the geometric mean (p<0.01). The mean difference between the PFgeom and the PFdors was 1.5 ± 1.4%. A difference > 5% (5.0-9.5%) was obtained in only 6/164 scans (3.7%). Three of 6 patients presented with an underestimated PFdors due to dystopic kidneys on the left side in 2 patients and on the right side in one patient. The other 3 patients with a difference >5% did not show any renal abnormality. Conclusion: The calculation of the PF from the posterior view only will give an underestimated value of the right kidney compared to the calculation of the geometric mean. This effect is not relevant for the calculation of the differntial renal function in orthotopic kidneys, so that in these cases the anterior view is not necesssary. However, geometric mean calculation to obtain reliable values for differential renal function should be applied in cases with an obvious anatomical abnormality.

Efficacy and Safety of Oral Ivermectin and Topical Permethrin in the Treatment of Scabies

2020 ◽  
Vol 33 (1) ◽  
pp. 41-47
Author(s):  
Mohsena Akhter ◽  
Ishrat Bhuiyan ◽  
Zulfiqer Hossain Khan ◽  
Mahfuza Akhter ◽  
Gulam Kazem Ali Ahmad ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Skin Diseases ◽  
Close Contact ◽  
Randomized Study ◽  
Sarcoptes Scabiei ◽  
Efficacy And Safety ◽  
Common Skin ◽  
Group A ◽  
The Mean ◽  
The Difference ◽  
Group B

Background: Scabies is one of the most common skin diseases in our country. It is caused by the mite Sarcoptes scabiei var hominis, which is an ecto-parasite infesting the epidermis. Scabies is highly contagious. Prevalence is high in congested or densely populated areas. Individuals with close contact with an affected person should be treated with scabicidal which is available in both oral and topical formulations. The only oral but highly effective scabicidal known to date is Ivermectin. Amongst topical preparations, Permethrin 5 % cream is the treatment of choice. Objective: To evaluate the efficacy & safety of oral Ivermectin compared to topical Permethrin in the treatment of scabies. Methodology: This prospective, non-randomized study was conducted at the out-patient department of Dermatology and Venereology of Shaheed Suhrawardy Medical College & Hospital over a period of 6 months, from August 2016 to January 2017. The study population consisted of one hundred patients having scabies, enrolled according to inclusion criteria. They were divided into two groups. group A was subjected to oral Ivermectin and the group B to Permethrin 5% cream. Patients were followed up on day 7 and 14 for assessment of efficacy and safety. Result: The mean scoring with SD in group A (Ivermectin) and group B (Permethrin) were 8.26 ± 2.22 and 7.59 ± 2.01 respectively at the time of observation. The difference between the mean score of the two group is not significant (p=0.117) the mean scoring with SD in group A and group B were 4.54 ± 2.05 and 1.64 ± 1.84 respectively at 7thdays. The difference between the mean score of the two group is significant (p<0.001). The mean scoring with SD in group A and group B were 2.68± 2.35 and .36± 1.10 respectively at 14th day difference between the mean score of the group is significant (p<0.001). Conclusion: Topical application of permethrin 5% cream is more effective and safer than oral Ivermectin in the treatment of scabies. TAJ 2020; 33(1): 41-47

EFFECTS OF SYNTHETIC LH/FSH-RELEASING HORMONE (LRH) ON PLASMA LH AND FSH IN AMENORRHOEIC WOMEN

1974 ◽  
Vol 75 (4) ◽  
pp. 647-652 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. Rannevik ◽  
J. Thorell
Keyword(s):  
Urinary Excretion ◽  
Initial Response ◽  
Releasing Hormone ◽  
The Mean ◽  
The Difference ◽  
Serial Measurements

ABSTRACT Eight amenorrhoeic women were given 100 μg synthetic LRH (Hoechst) iv and im, respectively, at an interval of 2 weeks. Four of the women received the iv injection first and four the im injection. The urinary excretion of oestrogens and pregnanediol was low and unaltered throughout the test weeks. The effects of LRH were compared by serial measurements of the plasma LH and FSH during 8 h. The initial response of LH for up to 25 min and that of FSH for up to 60 min were equal whether LRH was given iv or im. The difference appeared later. Four hours after the injection the mean increase of LH to iv injection was 0.5 ng/ml (N. S.), while that to im injection was 1.9 ng/ml (P < 0.01). The corresponding values for FSH were 1.3 (P < 0.05) and 3.2 (P < 0.001). The effect of LRH administration im was thus found to be larger and more prolonged.

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