Distribution Of Different Variables Research Articles

Association of neighborhood-level superfund sites with atmospheric toxic exposures and increasing cancer risk in the United States: A proof-of-concept geospatial study.

10577 Background: Decades of underinvestment have disproportionately exposed several neighborhoods in the US to hazardous conditions. Superfund is the name given to the environmental program established by the US Congress in 1980, to address abandoned hazardous waste sites. The extent to which Superfund sites have contributed to differences in cancer risk remains unknown. We investigated atmospheric toxic exposures increasing cancer risk by proximity to Superfund sites at the neighborhood level. Methods: In this cross-sectional study of US neighborhoods, census-tract level air toxic cancer risk data from the Environmental Protection Agency for 2019 were linked with census-tract level geolocation data of ~1300 Superfund sites from the Superfund Enterprise Management System database. Linear regression models were utilized to explore association between cancer risk and proximity to Superfunds. Geographically Weighted Regression models explored spatial non-stationarity by modeling spatial relationships that vary across the study area. Bivariate Local Indicators of Spatial Association (LISA) cluster maps were created for superfund site proximity and cancer risk (high-high, low-low, low-high, high-low). Kruskal-Wallis testing compared the distributions of different variables across the four LISA cluster types. Results: Study explored 82,770 census tracts nationwide. For every 10 percentile increase in Superfund proximity, there was an increase of 4% in cancer risk (p < 0.001). This association was strongest in the Intermountain West, South-Southeast, and Northeast regions. High-high clusters (high proximity to Superfund, high cancer risk) had higher percentage of non-White, low-income, unemployed and lower education attainment populations compared to low-low clusters (all p < 0.001). Within high-high clusters, non-White population had the strongest correlation with proximity to Superfunds. Cancer risk was much higher for the top 10% than the bottom 10% of proximity to Superfunds (Table). Conclusions: Our study highlights higher clustering of cancer risk around neighborhoods with existing Superfund sites. Further, we demonstrate the closer a neighborhood is to a Superfund site, the greater the cancer risk is with associated sociodemographic changes. Using a novel approach to geospatial analytics, the results demonstrate the first clear evidence of a dangerous association between Superfunds and healthcare, and encourage the urgent prioritization of Congressional policies that optimize investment in Superfund site clean up for public health. [Table: see text]

Frequency of Hyponatremia in Patients with Chronic Kidney Disease in a Tertiary Care Hospital

Objectives: To assess the frequency of hyponatremia in patients with chronic kidney disease. Materials and Methods: The design of this study was cross sectional study design. This study was conducted in the Department of Nephrology, in a DHQ Hospital Faisalabad. Totally 179 patients who were suffering from chronic kidney disease were enrolled. A 3ml blood samples were taken from each patient and sent for the measurement of electrolytes to the hospital laboratory. A unique number will be given to each sample. All the demographic details and study results were recorded on a predesigned data collection proforma. Results: Out of total 179 patients, 105 were male and 74 were female with mean age of 40.91±12.13 years. The most common age group was 20-35 years in which 76 (42.5%), followed by 36-50 years in which 52 (29.0%) and 51 (28.5%) patients were in the age group of < 60 years. 41.9%) patients have hyponatremia while 104 (58.1%) patients do not have hyponatremia. Frequency distribution of different variables in patients with respect to Hyponatremia was done ad it was noted that P-value was not significant. Practical Implication: In human Hyponatremia develops as a result of the kidney’s inability to emit extra water, particularly in chronic kidney disease (CKD). In CKD the human kidney fails to regulate water homeostasis. The main aim of this study was to determine the frequency of hyponatremia in CKD patients. Conclusion: It is concluded that in most of the CKD patients, hyponatremia was developed. And also, hyponatremia is age dependent so in elder patients the hyponatremia prone to develop. Keywords: Hyponatremia, Chronic Kidney Disease, Frequency, Laboratory, Variables, Symptom.

Ethnic Orientation over Ethical Underpinnings: Emerging Trends of the Ethiopian Media Landscape

ABSTRACT The study aims to assess the interplay between ethnic identity politics and editorial independence of the six purposively selected ethnic-based Ethiopian media through the context of conflict reporting. In so doing, a total of 188 conflict news stories were collected from the selected television outlets and subjected to quantitative content analysis. Descriptive statistics of percentage and a non-parametric test of Chi-square were computed to see the extent and distributions of different variables across categories, and interpretations were mainly made in light of the constructs of social identity theory and hierarchy of influences model. Journalism of activism has become an emerging trend so that the ethnic orientation seems to overwhelm the ethical underpinnings. Ethnically affiliated polarization and political parallelism seem to prevail in the media landscape. Journalists’ professional identity appears to be compromised at the expense of ethnic solidarity. This was intensified by prominence by placement, bias by omission and source selection bias, in-group favoritism and out-group derogation, strategic alliance to other groups and out lauding exclusive victimization in reporting conflicts.

Self-perceived Satisfaction with Dental Appearance and Associated Factors among Secondary School Students in Iringa, Tanzania

Introduction: Oral health is not only the absence of oral ailments and dysfunctions but also includes other components that influence a person's social life like satisfaction with one's dental appearance and beauty. This study was done to determine the self-perceived satisfaction with dental appearance and associated factors among secondary school students in Iringa, Tanzania. Methods: This descriptive cross-sectional study was done in the Kilolo district of the Iringa region on the southern highlands of Tanzania. It involved students from four private and four government secondary schools. A self-administered structured questionnaire was used to collect information regarding students' perceptions of their teeth and satisfaction with their dental appearance. Data were entered in a computer program SPPS version 23.0 for analysis. Frequency distribution of different variables was generated, the association between variables was assessed by the Chi-square test, the P value was set at P < 0.05. Results: A total of 787 participants were included, of which 410 (52.9%) were female and the male/female ratio was 1:1.1. The age range was 15–21 years (mean 16.64 ± 1.35 years). Only 27% of the students perceived their dental appearance to be good. About 39% of the students were satisfied with their general dental appearance. There was a statistically significant association between students level of perception of their dental appearance and level of satisfaction with dental appearance Conclusion: The level of self-perceived satisfaction with dental appearance was low among the study participants. The students' self-perceived dental appearance influenced their satisfaction with their dental appearance, unlike factors such as age and sex. Self-satisfaction with dental appearance had a significant impact on the social life of the participants.

An outlier detection approach for water footprint assessments in shale formations: case Eagle Ford play (Texas)

The increasing trend on water use for hydraulic fracturing (HF) in multiple plays across the U.S. has raised the need to improve the HF water management model. Such approaches require good-quality datasets, particularly in water-stressed regions. In this work, we presented a QA/QC framework for HF data using an outlier detection methodology based on five univariate techniques: two interquartile ranges at 95 and 90% (PCTL95, PCTL90), the median absolute deviation (MAD) and Z score with thresholds of two and three times the standard deviation (2STD, 3STD). The cleaning techniques were tested using multiple variables from two data sources centered on the Eagle Ford play (EFP), Texas, for the period 2011–2017. Results suggest that the PCTL95 and MAD techniques are the best choices to remove long-tailed statistical distributions of different variables, classifying the minimum number of records as outliers. Overall, outliers represent 13–23% of the total HF water volume in the EFP. In addition, outliers highly impacted minimum and maximum HF water use values (min–max range of 0–47 m3/m and 5.3–24.6 m3/m of frac length, before and after the outlier removal process, respectively), that are frequently used as a proxy to develop future water–energy scenarios in early-stage plays. The data and framework presented here can be extended to other plays to improve water footprint estimates with similar conditions.

Heterogeneous effects of endogenous and foreign innovation on CO2 emissions stochastic convergence across China

Abstract This paper mainly explores the heterogeneous effects of endogenous and foreign innovation on convergence of CO2 emissions across China's 30 provinces from 2003 to 2017. The main academic contributions of this paper are as follows: convergence analysis of CO2 emissions in China is conducted by integrating the β-convergence and stochastic convergence, which can overcome the invalid inferences of conventional convergence. We also compare different effects of inward foreign direction investment (IFDI) versus outward foreign direction investment (OFDI) on CO2 emissions convergence. Quantile regression is employed in absolute and conditional β-convergence of CO2 emissions, which considers more detailed quantile distribution of different variables than traditional ordinary least squares regression. We also compare different convergence of CO2 emissions across China's East, Middle and West. According to the stochastic convergence, East China has the largest convergence rate, followed by Middle China; endogenous innovation decreased CO2 emissions in China. OFDI had negative effects on CO2 missions in China. It is important for Chinese firms to enhance endogenous green innovation capacity. It is imperative for Chinese government to increase reverse green technology spillover from OFDI.

Prognostic factors and the role of pelvic lymphadenectomy in uterine leiomyosarcomas.

Objectives:Leiomyosarcomas are relatively rare uterine smooth muscle tumors. Surgery is the most common therapy choice for uterine leiomyosarcomas. However, controversy exists over the appropriate initial surgical management, especially about the role of lymph node sampling. The aim of our study is to analyze the prognostic factors and the role of lymphadenectomy in overall survival and in disease-free survival.Methods:We analyzed retrospectively 31 patients suffering from uterine leiomyosarcomas at Institute of Salah Azaiez during 2000–2014. Demographic and clinical features such as age, menopausal status, stage, tumor size, and management options were examined, and pathological characteristics such as mitotic count, lymphovascular space invasion, and tumor necrosis were evaluated.Results:Out of 31 patients treated for uterine leiomyosarcomas, pelvic lymphadenectomy was done for 18 patients. No para-aortic lymphadenectomy was performed. Median number of resected lymph nodes was 13 ± 7 (range: 3–27). Lymphatic metastasis was observed in 2 out of 18 patients with clinical stage IA and IIIB. The distribution of different variables (age, International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics stage, tumor size, mitotic count, and adjuvant treatment) between the group of patients, who had or had not lymphadenectomy done, had no significant difference. The 5-year overall survival and disease-free survival were 61% and 50%, respectively. Clinical stage, presence of lymphovascular space invasion, and lymph nodal dissection were found to be relevant for disease-free survival on univariate analysis. Only age and menopausal status were found to be a prognostic factor for overall survival.Conclusion:Hence, routine lymph node dissection was not generally recommended. Our study demonstrates that lymphadenectomy has a statistically significant effect on disease-free survival but not on overall survival.

An analysis of meteorological parameters influencing solar drying systems in Algeria using the isopleth chart technique

Abstract In the current contribution identifications of different climate areas existing in Algeria, as categorized by Borel [1], are made. Meteorological parameters that have direct impact on solar dryer design were modelled and performances were explored and extracted from a database established by a software package named Meteonorm®. More particularly, interest was made on parameters of utmost importance namely, solar irradiation intensity, ambient temperature and air relative humidity. A so called isopleth charts showing clearly contrasts existing between different studied sites were plotted. They also provided solid bases to solar drier designer in Algeria. Also the concept of PDF (Probability Density Function) was introduced to estimate the distribution of different variables.

A distributed real-time model of degradation in a solid oxide fuel cell, part I: Model characterization

Abstract Despite the high efficiency and flexibility of fuel cells, which make them an attractive technology for the future energy generation, their economic competitiveness is still penalized by their short lifetime, due to multiple degradation phenomena. As a matter of fact, electrochemical performance of solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs) is reduced because of different degradation mechanisms, which depend on operating conditions, fuel and air contaminants, impurities in materials, and others. In this work, a real-time, one dimensional (1D) model of a SOFC is used to simulate the effects of voltage degradation in the cell. Different mechanisms are summarized in a simple empirical expression that relates degradation rate to cell operating parameters (current density, fuel utilization and temperature), on a localized basis. Profile distributions of different variables during cell degradation are analyzed. In particular, the effect of degradation on current density, temperature, and total resistance of the cell are investigated. An analysis of localized degradation effects shows how different parts of the cell degrade at a different time rate, and how the various profiles are redistributed along the cell as consequence of different degradation rates.

Molecular epidemiology of methicillin resistant staphylococcus aureus colonizing the anterior Nares of school children of Udupi Taluk

Community associated methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (CA-MRSA) cause serious skin and soft tissue infections including necrotizing fasciitis and necrotizing pneumonia. Production of Panton Valentine Leucocidine (PVL) toxin is implicated in its enhanced virulence. A variant of epidemic MRSA-15 (EMRSA-15) which produces PVL toxin has been isolated and characterized by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) method from the Indian population both in hospital and community settings. Identify the epidemiological type of MRSA colonizing the anterior nares of school children in Udupi taluk. The study population included children of the age group of 5-16 years belonging to the Udupi taluk of Karnataka, India. A total of 1503 children were screened for MRSA colonization during July 2009 to December 2010. PVL assay, Staphylococcal Cassette Chromosome (SCC) mec typing and PFGE typing were carried out with all the MRSA isolates. Frequency distribution of different variables was assessed by SPSS. Among the 1.1% of MRSA, 58.8% (10/17) of isolates were positive for pvl and 41.7% (7/17) were identified as SCC mec type IV. PFGE patterns of all the strains were identical with Indian variant EMRSA-15; however they were different from classical EMRSA-15 in 3-4 bands. The Indian variant EMRSA-15 gains much epidemiological relevance owing to the acquisition of pvl gene. In spite of low prevalence of nasal colonization of MRSA, emergence of the virulent Indian variant EMRSA-15 in our community is a worrisome fact to be reckoned with.

Event generators for η/η′ rare decays into π+π−l+l− and e+e−μ+μ−

Study of the rare and forbidden decays of η/η′ offers a sensitive probe to test fundamental symmetries of quantum chromodynamics and search for new physics beyond the Standard Model. To study the rare decays of η/η′ to π+π−e+e−, π+π−μ+μ− and e+e−μ+μ− at the BESIII detector, we developed several event generators based on the vector meson dominant model with finite-width corrections and the pseudoscalar mesons mixing theory. The various distributions from event generators are in good agreement with the theoretical predictions, which indicates that the event generators work very well after implemention in the BESIII Monte Carlo simulation package. In the BESIII physics analysis, the performance of the event generators will be improved in accordance with the distributions of different variables of η/η′ from data and the improvement on the theoretical calculations.

Red blood cell distribution width and its relation to cardiac function and biomarkers in a prospective hospital cohort referred for echocardiography

Red blood cell distribution width (RDW), a measure of anisocytosis, is a prognostic biomarker for heart failure (HF). However it is still unclear how RDW is associated with heart function and established cardiac biomarkers. In a prospective hospital cohort of 296 patients referred for echocardiography because of suspected HF, blood sampling and clinical examination were performed within 24h after echocardiography. The patients were divided into four HF groups, including one group where the HF diagnosis was uncertain (gray zone). In the patients the mean age was 70 ± 11 years, 44% with systolic HF (SHF), 18% with heart failure with normal ejection fraction (HFNEF), 17% with gray zone and 21% without HF (non-HF). RDW was higher among patients with SHF and HFNEF, compared with gray zone and non-HF patients. The distribution of different variables over the RDW quartiles showed an inverse correlation between RDW levels and LVEF and a positive correlation between RDW and NT-proBNP levels. Further analysis with stepwise multiple linear regression demonstrated that NT-proBNP levels, but not LVEF, were independently correlated with RDW. In patients referred for echocardiography because of suspected HF, RDW levels were higher in patients with SHF and HFNEF. Moreover, NT-proBNP levels were independently linked with elevated RDW.

The imprints of superstatistics in multiparticle production processes

AbstractWe provide an update of the overview of imprints of Tsallis nonextensive statistics seen in a multiparticle production processes. They reveal an ubiquitous presence of power law distributions of different variables characterized by the nonextensivity parameter q > 1. In nuclear collisions one additionally observes a q-dependence of the multiplicity fluctuations reflecting the finiteness of the hadronizing source. We present sum rules connecting parameters q obtained from an analysis of different observables, which allows us to combine different kinds of fluctuations seen in the data and analyze an ensemble in which the energy (E), temperature (T) and multiplicity (N) can all fluctuate. This results in a generalization of the so called Lindhard’s thermodynamic uncertainty relation. Finally, based on the example of nucleus-nucleus collisions (treated as a quasi-superposition of nucleon-nucleon collisions) we demonstrate that, for the standard Tsallis entropy with degree of nonextensivity q < 1, the corresponding standard Tsallis distribution is described by q′ = 2 − q > 1.

Long-term avalanche hazard assessment with a Bayesian depth-averaged propagation model

AbstractWhile performing statistical–dynamical simulations for avalanche predetermination, a propagation model must reach a compromise between precise description of the avalanche flow and computation times. Crucial problems are the choice of appropriate distributions describing the variability of the different inputs/outputs and model identifiability. In this study, a depth-averaged propagation model is used within a hierarchical Bayesian framework. First, the joint posterior distribution is estimated using a sequential Metropolis–Hastings algorithm. Details for tuning the estimation algorithm are provided, as well as tests to check convergence. Of particular interest is the calibration of the two coefficients of a Voellmy friction law, with model identifiability ensured by prior information. Second, the point estimates are used to predict the joint distribution of different variables of interest for hazard mapping. Recent developments are employed to compute pressure distributions taking into account the rheology of snow. The different steps of the method are illustrated with a real case study, for which all possible decennial scenarios are simulated. It appears that the marginal distribution of impact pressures is strongly skewed, with possible high values for avalanches characterized by low Froude numbers. Model assumptions and results are discussed.

Particle size and size distribution of albumin microspheres produced by heat and chemical stabilization

Abstract Albumin microspheres of sizes ranging from 1 to 32 μm were prepared by an oil-in-water emulsification method. The effect on mean size and size distribution of different variables at two levels was studied according to a factorial design of experiments. The following variables were studied: (1) type of albumin; (2) albumin concentration; (3) speed of agitation; (4) chemical cross-linking or heat denaturation; (5) glutaraldehyde concentration or temperature; (6) addition or absence of surfactant (Span 85); (7) type of oil; and (8) mixing-cell with or without baffles. Particle size analysis was performed on the resultant microspheres using a laser diffraction technique. The effect of each variable and possible interactions between the variables on microsphere size are discussed.

Risk factors for bladder cancer in a cohort exposed to aromatic amines.

Occupational and nonoccupational risk factors for bladder cancer were analyzed in a cohort of 1385 workers with known exposure to a potent bladder carcinogen, beta-naphthylamine. Bladder cancer was approximately seven times (95% confidence interval [CI] = 3.9, 12.4) more likely in exposed rather than nonexposed individuals, yet, otherwise, the groups were generally similar in other exogenous or hereditary risk factors. A total of 13 cases of bladder cancer were identified. After the first year of a screening program involving 380 members of the cohort, 9 of the 13 cases of bladder cancer and 36 persons with atypical bladder cytology, histology, or pathology were compared with 335 noncases for distributions of different variables. Occupational variables were significant in a multivariate model that controlled for age, cigarette smoking history, and source of drinking water. The estimated odds ratio for the association for bladder cancer and the duration of employment, when controlling of these other variables, is 4.3 (95% CI = 1.8, 10.3). In addition to the occupational factors, age was significant in the multivariate analysis. Other potential risk factors, such as consumption of coffee or artificial sweeteners, use of phenacetin, or decreased use of vitamin A were not found to be significantly different in cases and noncases.

Reliability analysis of continuous beams

Abstract The paper presents a method for the reliability analysis of continuous beams. Both the material and geometric parameters are taken as probabilistic. Initially a parametric study is carried out in the case of deterministic analysis to establish the hierarchy of the variables before undertaking the probabilistic analysis. Based upon the probabilistic analysis, the frequency distribution of different variables, such as rotations, end moments and reactions is presented for a particular problem. The study revealed that the variation of the generated set from its mean value is maximum in the case of rotations, followed by moment of inertia, end moments and reactions.