PSXII-15 Evaluation of later timing of fixed-time artificial insemination for beef cows when using sex-sorted semen following the 7 & 7 Synch protocol

An experiment was designed to evaluate later timing of fixed-time artificial insemination (FTAI) with sex-sorted semen among postpartum beef cows following the 7 & 7 Synch protocol, with the hypothesis that later timing would result in increased pregnancy rates (P/AI) among cows that expressed estrus prior to FTAI. Beef cows (n = 414) were blocked based on age and days postpartum (DPP) and randomly assigned to receive FTAI at 66 or 72 h after administration of prostaglandin F2α (PG). Estrus was synchronized using the 7 & 7 Synch protocol, which consists of administration of PG (500 μg cloprostenol) and insertion of an intravaginal progesterone-releasing insert (CIDR; 1.38 g progesterone) on Day 0, gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH; 100 μg gonadorelin) on Day 7, and PG coincident with CIDR removal on Day 14. Estrus detection aids (EstrotectTM) were applied to all cows on Day 14, and activation status was recorded at fixed-time artificial insemination (FTAI) on Day 17. All cows that expressed estrus prior to FTAI received sex-sorted semen (4 × 106 cells per unit; SexedULTRA 4MTM). The proportion of cows expressing estrus prior to FTAI did not differ between treatments at this power of test [66 h: 71% (146/205); 72 h: 76% (158/209)]. Additionally, P/AI of estrous cows inseminated with sex-sorted semen did not differ between treatments [66 h: 44% (90/205); 72 h: 39% (82/209)]. In conclusion, later timing of FTAI following the 7 & 7 Synch protocol failed to improve P/AI of estrous cows inseminated with sex-sorted semen.

Palatal Soft Tissue Thickness on Maxillary Posterior Teeth and Its Relation to Palatal Vault Angle Measured by Cone-Beam Computed Tomography

Objective. Analyzing palatal soft tissue thickness in cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) images and evaluating the relationship between tissue thickness and palatal vault angulation. Methods. Out of 1,737 CBCT images, fifty-six images met the inclusion criteria and were included in this cross-sectional study. The palatal vault angle on the maxillary first molar was measured and divided the images into 3 groups. The soft tissue thickness between the maxillary first premolar and second molar was measured at a distance of 3, 6, 7, 8, and 9 mm from the cementoenamel junction. All the image measurements were performed using CBCT-viewer software. Result. In this study, 56 CBCT images with full permanent maxillary posterior teeth and absence of light scattering were found. The mean age of the patients was 31.59 ± 13.92 years. The moderate and deep palatal vault angle patterns had the greatest and least prevalence, respectively. The average thickness on shallow, moderate, and deep palatal vault groups was 4.02 ± 0.58, 3.75 ± 0.73, and 3.43 ± 0.38 mm, respectively. Furthermore, the mean palatal mucosal thickness was statistically different between the deep and shallow palatal vault angle groups (p<0.05, power of test 0.8). Based on the Pearson correlation coefficient, there was a negative correlation between the palatal mucosal thickness and palatal vault angle (p<0.05, power of test 0.85). Conclusion. A negative correlation between the palatal mucosal thickness and palatal vault angle was observed. Furthermore, this study suggested that the shape of the palatal vault can be one of the supporting data for evaluating the graft dimensions.

The W/S Test for Data Having Neutrosophic Numbers: An Application to USA Village Population

The W/S test under neutrosophic statistics is proposed in this paper. The Monte Carlo simulation under the neutrosophic statistical interval method is proposed and applied to study the sensitivity of various neutrosophic statistical distributions. The power of test curves for neutrosophic distributions is presented. The efficiency of the proposed W/S test under neutrosophic statistics is compared with that of the W/S test under classical statistics. The proposed test is explained with the aid of an example.

Kernel Function in Local Linear Peters-Belson Regression

Determining the extent of a disparity, if any, between groups of people, for example, race or gender, is of interest in many fields, including public health for medical treatment and prevention of disease or in discrimination cases concerning equal pay to estimate the pay disparities between minority and majority employees. An observed difference in the mean outcome between a majority/advantaged group (AG) and minority/disadvantaged group (DG) can be due to differences in the distribution of relevant covariates. The Peters Belson (PB) method fits a regression model with covariates to the AG to predict, for each DG member, their outcome measure as if they had been from the AG. The difference between the mean predicted and the mean observed outcomes of DG members is the (unexplained) disparity of interest. PB regression is a form of statistical matching, akin in spirit to Bhattacharya's band-width matching. In this paper we review the use of PB regression in legal cases from Hikawa et al. (2010b) Parametric and nonparametric approaches to PB regression are described and we show that in nonparametric PB regression choose a kernel function can be better resulted, i.e. by selecting the appropriate kernel function we can reduce bias and variance of estimators, also increase power of test.

Test Validation Without Measurement

Test validation based on usual statistical analyses is paradoxical, as, from a falsificationist perspective, they do not test that test data are ordinal measurements, and, from the ethical perspective, they do not justify the use of test scores. This paper (i) proposes some basic definitions, where measurement is a special case of scientific explanation; starting from the examples of memory accuracy and suicidality as scored by two widely used clinical tests/questionnaires. Moreover, it shows (ii) how to elicit the logic of the observable test events underlying the test scores, and (iii) how the measurability of the target theoretical quantities – memory accuracy and suicidality – can and should be tested at the respondent scale as opposed to the scale of aggregates of respondents. (iv) Criterion-related validity is revisited to stress that invoking the explanative power of test data should draw attention on counterexamples instead of statistical summarization. (v) Finally, it is argued that the justification of the use of test scores in specific settings should be part of the test validation task, because, as tests specialists, psychologists are responsible for proposing their tests for social uses.

A Moment inequality to class used better than aged in convex ordering upper tail (UBACT) of life distributions and its applications

The class of life distributions used better than aged in convex order upper tail ordering (UBACT) is introduced. A Moment inequality to this class (UBACT) of life distribution is given. In addition testing exponentiality versus (UBACT) class of life distribution based on a moment inequality is presented. Simulation such as critical values, Pitmans asymptotic efficiency and the power of test are discussed. Medical applications are given at the end of the paper.